BECAUSE I CAN'T THINK OF A BETTER WAY TO SAY HAPPY NEW YEAR...

After having survived the year just past, at first I felt like posting a picture of the S.S. Poseidon hitting that infamous tidal wave. ("Oh, my God... an enormous wall of water coming straight for us!") But that really wasn't the image I wanted freshest on my mind as I skipped with caution into a new year which will hopefully be more fulfilling, less stressful and more conducive to peace on the domestic, international and personal front than was 2009. As I considered what image I wanted to hold up as a signifier of hope for 2010 (other than ones of my own family, which I don't usually tend to use for purposes of this blog), it didn't take me long to drift toward the earthy yet somehow ethereal beauty of the donna bellissima who has come to serve as the unofficial muse (gorgeous female division) and siren of this site, the incomparably lovely Claudia Cardinale. In the spirit of best wishes for us all in everything we do, may we approach life in the new year with even just a fraction of the quality of grace and will and intelligence that she brought to the films of directors great and small throughout her career. And may the fortunes of the next 12 months shine for us as brightly as the incandescent firmament on which her status as an icon of cinematic beauty has been firmly and irrefutably established. I just can't think of a better way to say happy new year to everyone I know and all the readers of SLIFR, the usual suspects as well as the newcomers.

Please have a wonderful New Year's Eve, wherever you may be, and a happy and productive 2010, spent at least partially around these here parts! The year-end festivities at SLIFR are just a few hours away, so stay tuned! Ciao!



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