Truly Regal.

I missed the Oscar show last night, while having a great time with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony (more on that coming, soon as I get a hold of some pictures from the evening.) Caught some news clips on TV this morning, and was happy to see a royal pair of wins, so to speak: Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland, and Helen Mirren for The Queen.

As stars go, Dame Helen is in a constellation all her own, as far as I'm concerned. It's somewhat strange that for her supreme acting, she hasn't been awarded an Oscar till now. I was absorbed in her brilliant, multi-dimensional performances, among them as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison in the Prime Suspect series, as Ayn Rand in The Passion of Ayn Rand, and in Gosford Park, Calendar Girls, and lately, as queens Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II.

But there's so much to enjoy about Helen Mirren apart from her supreme craft. There's always a cheeky sense about her, of which I caught a glimpse on Oprah's day-after-the-Oscars show.



(image from from oprah.com)

See her black T-shirt in this photo? I couldn't make out everything on it, but did decipher these words in a close-up shot:

lah dee dah

As Meryl Streep sang out upon meeting Helen Mirren recently, "There's Nothing Like a Dame!"