The Hollywood of Stuff
I’ve never been one of those people who sleep till noon.
Well, okay, yes I was. I was the typical teenager who slept the morning away on the weekend. But not till noon. Maybe 11:51.
But as an adult anyhow, I’ve always been up each morning at a reasonable hour. Even on weekends. And if it was mostly because I prefer an afternoon nap…whatever. It still counts.
Sometimes I have risen early enough to see the sunrise. But by ‘seeing the sunrise’, I mean ‘watching it from my kitchen window’.
This year has changed. Thanks to becoming a puppy parent, I am often actually outside at dawn. It is pretty amazing (in good weather).
There is a tree way in the back of our yard. It’s an ordinary tree. But in the early morning, with the sun rising behind it, it takes on an ethereal glow.
I was contemplating this tree yesterday morning, and suddenly I thought:
This is the Grace Kelly of trees.
And I think you may understand what I mean: Classic, exquisite, elegant.
And it occurred to me that many things we see everyday could benefit from similar personifications. By comparing the object to a person so transcendentally famous, we can immediately and clearly convey the precise attributes of that object.
We could call it
The Hollywood Metaphor.
For example:
A great old wrap-around porch could be The Tom Hanks of Porches: Welcoming, comfortable, unpretentious.
And how about
The Audrey Hepburn of Lamps – slender and upright and distinctly European.
The Oprah Winfrey of Teas – reassuring and warm, while instilling a sense of power.
The Humphrey Bogart of Opossums – so homely you have to love ’em.
The Gregory Peck of Bridges – trustworthy and enduring, but not ostentatious.
The Mick Jagger of Backpacks – leather so worn, your want to rub your body against it.
The Al Pacino of Shoes – over-the-top flamboyant, but you still want to wear them every day.
The Morgan Freeman of Antique Shops – perfect combination of seedy and dignified.
The Gene Hackman of Pickup Trucks – it doesn’t have to look good to get you and your stuff where you need to be.
The Marilyn Monroe of Brandy Snifters – lovely but so fragile you can’t bear to use them.
And of course,
The Meryl Streep of Saucepans – where you can cook absolutely anything and it always comes out perfectly.
- Posted in: Beauty ♦ Humor ♦ movies
- Tagged: Al Pacino, Audrey Hepburn, Gene Hackman, Grace Kelly, Gregory Peck, hollywood, Hollywood Metaphor, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Meryl Streep, Metaphors, Mick Jagger, Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks
notquiteold 
Love this post – great analogies! And sunrise is my favorite time of day.
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It is beginning to be my favorite time of day too. Although I still love the stillness of the late afternoon.
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Sort of a toss-up for me: sunrise or sunset!?
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Love the Meryl Streep of saucepans. I think she is amazing.
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She is truly amazing.
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i love this
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The Tom Hanks of porches is of course wooden 😉
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Of course.
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I enjoyed your great analogies! Love your Grace Kelly tree!
Just this morning, since I was babysitting my grandpuppy overnight, I was out in the backyard with her at 6:00 a.m, when it was so peaceful and absolutely quiet that I noticed a rooster crowing in the distance. I didn’t know there were roosters anywhere near my house! Ha, no kidding! There is something special about the dawn of a new day before the hustle and bustle starts in. It makes me feel like I have the world all to myself for a little while. I always get up earlier than necessary just to have a little time to meditate and acknowledge that all is well. (when it is)
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I am just discovering the truth of what you have found in the quiet of dawn.
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I am not a sleep till noon type of person either I like to be up and get things done with type of person
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I can’t exactly claim I like to get things done. I just like to enjoy the early morning.
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A Nancy Roman type of post! Funny, original, and clever!!!
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Thanks, OGNT!
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We just talked about Meryl Streep, as yesterday “east of Africa” was on TV here in Germany. And yes, she can play almost anything, even a saucepan..
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I am also getting good at afternoon naps. It seems to be a luxury. I was able to get the house to myself for a few hours on Sunday and me and a couple of cats luxuriated in the quiet afternoon. Awesome metaphors. I might have to try some of those, but I might also get a headache.
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I’d love it if you (or anyone) could come up with some more!
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Since we got a dog I found the dawn and last-at-night walks to be the best.
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Late night is a little spooky around here… very dark, coyotes, etc.
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In addition to the Grace Kelly of trees I think you can have a John Wayne of trees too — a totally different type, big and solid, maybe storm-damaged but still standing.
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That would work. I’ve seen some John Wayne trees.
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Perfect descriptors. And Sunday afternoon naps are the secret to a happy life.
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late afternoon works best for me…
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I also enjoy early mornings (more in summer than winter) and feel I get more out of the day. Plus sunrises are beautiful!
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I am enjoying more than I thought I would. And although I agree that summers are best, I even liked going out in the dark in the early winter morning.
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Love all these, especially the Mike Jagger backpack. I’m not sure how he’s still getting women to rub against him, but that’s another blog post! Funny!
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I think charisma is a real and physical thing.
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And you, my dear, are the Simone Biles of bloggers!
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Thank You So Much! Very high praise!
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Oops! I meant every word of my ‘label’, but just realized that Simone, wonderful tho she is, is NOT ‘Hollywood’. Hmmm. I guess you’d have to be the Jennifer Lawrence of Bloggers
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Oh, Simone probably WILL be Hollywood, so you are just ahead of the field.
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If it has Meryl Streep in it, I will want to go see it. I did recently see the one where she sings. Amazing performance.
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Enjoyed the list of comparisons. The classic stars will never date your writings!
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