April 28, 2011 | 5:38 pm

Top 5 Reasons Why the Royal Wedding is Important

Posted by Misha Henckel

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1. Kate is a commoner. Yep, Kate might be the perfect woman in every respect, to the rest of the world, but to the British royal family, she is just a commoner. Just one of us. This wedding is a huge symbol of change. Prince William is breaking with tradition to follow his heart and wed his beshert. It’s a triumph of the soul and of love. There’s nothing more worth celebrating.
2. Princess Diana would approve. William’s mother, the great Princess Diana, who did so much to challenge the establishment and to bring care and compassion to the suffering would be delighted and would bless the union. I bet she’s dancing around, right now, as she looks down on her first born. He was not afraid to make the right choice.
3. Marriage is a blessing. With so many marriages in the toilet, and the divorce rate at over 50 %, it is rare to see a couple so well matched, so perfectly suited to one another. And it is heart-warming and inspiring that these two found each other, and allowed their connection to flourish. In these times, we need examples of great marriages, and to be reminded that it can work, particularly if the souls fit together.
4. It brings us together. With all the pain, struggle and turmoil of recent years, we are all desperately in need of something we can all celebrate. It’s easy to mock the Brits and their love for the monarchy, but why not just see the beauty of these two youngsters and join in the joy?
5. The dress, duh! Who doesn’t want to see what fashionable Kate will be wearing? She is perfectly stylish, and a true fashion icon. And I’m sure the dress is going to be a real statement. Fashion is art, and art nourishes the soul. So I will be sitting on the edge of my seat for that first glimpse of Kate’s dress, and everything else that she and William will be doing. And to all those who could care less, well they can just stay steeped in their misery. I am happy for this grand excuse to celebrate!

April 22, 2011 | 12:40 pm

Prince William and Kate Middleton: Fairy Tale or True Romance?

Posted by Misha Henckel

The royal wedding will be seen by more people around the world than any other event in television history. Every major network and quite a few less important ones will be devoting their best reporters, and hours and hours of airtime to the historic event. Forget tsunami-ravaged Japan, people-led revolts in the Arab nations, and the almost hopeless, economic situation here in the US, come April 29th, CNN will have at least 125 reporters on the ground in London, the main anchors camped out in front of Buckingham Palace.

Where are our priorities? Is this massive outlay of resources justifiable? Or have we simply gone royal wedding mad?

If we have, there is good reason. At a time of so much upheaval, tragedy, and human suffering, America, Britain and the rest of the world are all desperately seeking a feel good story, something to celebrate, to believe in, a bit of hope, a fairy tale. And these young, British royals seem to have the answer.

I can remember 1981, when Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer fever gripped the world. Everybody was caught up in that fairy tale. It all seemed so glamorous, so romantic. The prince had finally found his princess. But it was only a fairy tale, a façade. Charles married Diana even though he was in love with someone else. And Diana knew it, but was pressured into following through with the wedding. That someone else, of course, was Camilla Parker Bowles, Charles’ current wife, and clearly his true soul mate.

Can you imagine having to marry someone you do not love because it’s the “right” thing to do? Or watch the person you love marry another, again because it was appropriate or what the royal family required? Or find yourself marrying someone that you know does not love you, and whom you do not love, but you feel like you have no choice?

While the world delighted in the fairy tale, the participants themselves were suffering.

So what about Prince William and Kate Middleton? Is this just another fairy tale? Just fodder for the prying eyes of a desperate world? Is this another marriage where the participants do the “right” thing? Where they just play the role their families and their country want them to play, regardless of how they really feel inside? Is this just a fairy tale or is this a true romance?

The measure of a relationship is in the degree to which the people involved make each other better persons, or not. Do they bring out the best in each other? Do they push each other to grow? Do they “get” each other’s souls? Do they nurture each other?

It looks like William and Kate have something real. She is not at all whom he should be marrying. She is a commoner, a middleclass girl with no links to British nobility. That’s a good start, he’s chosen from the heart. Then there is a true friendship between them that is the basis for the marriage. They have been through much together, over the last ten years. The relationship has been tried and tested and their bond has proven to be very, very strong. It looks very much like they are equals in every respect. And that they make each other stronger, better individuals. Add to that William’s awareness of what his mother suffered, his own compassion and sensitivity, and Kate’s real, inner strength and this thing may actually be a real, true romance that can go the distance.

In the past, royals married for every wrong reason - wealth, power, bloodlines. Perhaps William’s first significant act, as an heir to the British throne, is to be a true example of romance and marriage, one that transcends class, tradition, and bloodlines, and that is simply based in honest, pure, love and friendship.

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April 18, 2011 | 4:56 pm

Kate Middleton is no Princess Diana

Posted by Misha Henckel

With the wedding of Britain’s Prince William to Kate Middleton just around the corner, the pop culture world is abuzz with comparisons between the princess-to-be and William’s mother, the ever-popular, late Princess Diana. But Kate is no Diana. And for that she can thank her lucky stars. For as beautiful, as caring, and as popular as Diana was, her path was always a challenging one – one that eventually came to an early and most tragic end.

Born into British nobility, Diana was the third daughter of the 8th Earl Spencer. Spencer was a descendent of Charles II, and he himself served as equerry to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II. Diana’s maternal grandmother was lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. But it was a family that was tragically dysfunctional. Her parents divorced when Diana was seven, and Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, lost custody of the children, when her own mother testified that she was an unfit mother. Diana would grow up to be a poor student and prior to her engagement to Prince Charles, at the age of 19, she worked as a nanny.

Kate Middleton on the other hand, comes from decidedly common stock - working class laborers, miners, and the like. Her parents worked for British Airways, her mom - a flight attendant, dad - an airline officer. The Middletons rose to affluence when the online party supplies business they founded, in 1987, became very successful. In secondary school, Kate was a great athlete and an excellent student and went on to the University of St. Andrews to earn an Honors degree in the History of Art. It was here that she would meet William.

Diana may have come from nobility, but it was a nobility fraught with pain, neuroses, and dysfunction. And Diana embodied much of what she came from. It was in spite of her DNA that she became an icon of philanthropy and a force for change within the stagnant, British royal family.

Kate comes from self made people. She is grounded in good, English common sense. She is a strong, young woman who seems, in every way, on equal footing with William. Same age, similar education, true, long-term friendship, looks like everything they need to deeply respect each other. Unlike the situation with Diana, where Charles always had Camilla (Parker Bowles), his soul-mate, in the wings, for William, Kate is the soul mate. And she looks ready to take on whatever the journey brings. I have a feeling she won’t battle away with the Queen, like Diana did. No, Kate would probably get her way with the House of Windsor with far more skill and savvy. After all she is nearly 10 years older than Diana was when she entered the royal family. And a well educated Kate is probably less inclined to be driven by her feelings than the very emotional Diana.

Kate is no Diana, and she can thank her lucky stars for that!

So the million dollar question is: Will things work out for Kate and William? I think they have a much better chance than Diana and Charles ever did. But much remains to be seen.

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April 6, 2011 | 11:47 am

Finally, When Harry Met Sally 2 - Billy Crystal & Helen Mirren

Posted by Misha Henckel

It’s the sequel we’ve all been waiting for. And it does not disappoint. When Harry Met Sally 2 matches the spirit and feeling of the original blockbuster hit, and then takes it to the next level. It’s a must see movie, with Billy Crystal, Helen Mirren, Rob Reiner, Maya Rudolph among others. I love that Billy Crystal is still making great art. And Helen Mirren? Well the woman is older, and seriously sexy. I want to be like that when I grow up. Now take a look. My 14 year old daughter, nearly died laughing. Don’t forget to post your comment on this page.

 
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April 4, 2011 | 12:44 pm

Charlie Sheen: Booed in Detroit, Standing O in Chicago

Posted by Misha Henckel

Charlie Sheen’s My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option tour is off, and well, after a disastrous start, improving. So with 18 cities to go, can this actually work out for him?

After bombing in Detroit, where the fans booed him off the stage, Sheen regrouped, reformatted the show and received a standing ovation at the second stop, Chicago. Surprised? I know most people, after Detroit, felt that this was it! This entire ridiculous farce was over, and Charlie would cancel the tour and head back to California to lick his wounds and binge away whatever little is left of his life.

This may well, still play out. But suppose it doesn’t? What if the ego in him is greater than the addict? Having thrown down the gauntlet on himself making “defeat really not an option” he might just be forced to deal with reality. Finally!

It could happen. The male ego is a powerful thing. For many men, not failing is the driving force in their lives. It’s not about winning, it’s about not failing. Winning? Who knows what that is? We can spin anything into “winning, duh!” But for a guy, failure - that is very real and it can sting. And the fear of failure is even worse than the failure itself.

After Detroit, Charlie was probably looking down a dark chute, for the first time in his life, peering into the abyss. That Detroit crowd may accomplish what no one in Charlie’s life has ever done. Staring failure in the face, his ego screaming, “defeat, really is not an option!” shocked and shamed at the possibility that all his ridiculous claims may come to nothing, he may wake up and decide to finally grow up. He may realize that it is in his best interest to clean up his act. To go get some help, for real, this time.

And who wouldn’t want to see that happen? Even in the midst of all the craziness, he still somehow maintains a likeability that is quite remarkable. I’m thinking even the so called “Trolls” would feel a twinge of happiness should Charlie turn his life around.

I guess we will see… Next stop Cleveland, Tuesday.

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