Movie Weekend
Current mood: lonely
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Gotta get this out of the way. I miss Jerry. I got spoiled last week, seeing him nearly every day.  B/c of some work stuff that happened last week - not sure when or if he'll be back in Austin. I am beyond bummed.

Anyway. Caught up on movies this weekend. Would rather be catching up on them with Jerry, but - oh well.

Movie One: Frozen River. This is the kind of movie I really like. Understated, opens your eyes about stuff you probably didn't know/think about before.  I used to joke about illegal immigrants flooding North Dakota but they seriously do cross the Canadian border - or, more accurately, are smuggled across.  Humans treated like UPS packages. Cargo - slaves.  Great movie.  Yes, it deals with a heavy subject but it definitely has its lighter moments, too.

Movie Two: Smart People. Wow. Dennis Quaid looked like CRAP. I realize that was the idea, but I didn't think it was possible. ;-) Ellen Page was outstanding although  I hope she gets cast soon in a role other than sardonic wise-ass. Thomas Hayden Church was also terrific - think about Matthew McConaughey's character in Dazed and Confused and extend it about 20 years. But the story was kinda weak.  Yeah - the first person you date after your wife dies/you get divorced works out great and you live happily ever after.  Six years after the ink was dry on my divorce papers, I'm here to tell you - Not bloody likely. Took me a hell of a long time to find someone.  But then again maybe I'm the exception and everyone else does meet their soul mate fresh out of the divorce/widow gate.

Movie Three:  Sex and the City. My second viewing. Which is interesting because I never watched the series.  I like the idea of a movie about women's friendships but just as when I caught any of the series, I couldn't help thinking this is such a superficial, silly, shallow disservice to real women.  I watched this at a friend's house with a bunch of my girl friends.  I guess the appeal is the whole big happy ending thing - it was a harmless way to spend two hours.  Most of the time I couldn't get past Miranda's long ET neck.  The rest of the time I was distracted wondering if I'm gonna ever have a happy ending/beginning.  I hope so.  I'm sure having an overwhelmingly happy journey this time.

Everybody please take a minute and channel some positive energy toward Jerry coming back to Austin SOON.

Still need to see Miracle at St. Anna - trying to psych myself up for having my ass in a theater seat for 2 hours and 40 minutes.

Currently listening : The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster By Ruthie Foster Release date: 2007-02-06

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Fiction vs. Documentary
Current mood: aggravated
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Oh good lord.  I pulled up yahoo today to check my email and found this:

http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20081001/122289041500.html

stating that there's a big uproar in Italy over a pivotal scene in the new Spike Lee movie.

I want to qualify my remarks by stating that I have not yet seen this film. It was on my list of things to do last weekend - and then Mr. Wonderful sweetly surprised me with ACL passes. Yup, the movie can wait. :-)

However, I do know enough about "thangs" to say - this is a movie. Not a documentary.  Do ya know the difference?

The movie was "inspired by actual events".  This is Spike Lee. Not Ken Burns. When you write a screenplay, it's often inspired by something that really happened. However, since this is a work of fiction, you leave some things out, change some things around, play some things up - to create a dramatic story.

I understand that surviving members of the resistance are not liking the fact that one of their own is portrayed as colluding with the Nazis and paving the way for a slaughter. Really, I understand that. I mean I wouldn't like it if some Norwegian was portrayed as colluding with the Nazis.

But let me think for, oh - half a nanosecond.  Is there any other cultural group who has been wrongly portrayed in film?  Uhhhh, yeah. (And yes I am implying that black people have been wrongly portrayed for YEARS.) And there are many other cultural groups who have been wrongly portrayed or just completely left out of history books from which kids are taught the "facts". 

But that's kinda beside the point. The main point is that this is a work of fiction and Spike Lee has never claimed otherwise.  When people write screenplays, they take something and go, "What if . . . ?" 

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Random Thoughts on ACL
Category: Music

Wow. I am tired. That is my first random thought. :-)

I was surprised with 3-day passes to ACL Friday by my wonderful, amazing boyfriend. I've never been to ACL before so it was a pretty cool surprise. The best thing was getting to spend the weekend with him - the music was like a bonus.

Last year it was 100 degrees for most of the festival. I cannot imagine. This year I think the temps topped out at 90 and it was pretty steamy at times. Today the female singer from The Kills could not stop bitching about the heat and the sun. I wanted to yell, "Shut up. If you don't wanna play, there are hundreds of bands who would LOVE to be up there sweating their asses off right now."

The Raconteurs were great.  Despite the bitching, I liked the Kills.  Jerry is a huge fan of Back Door Slam - they are pretty phenomenal. If you like Stevie Ray-style guitar, check them out.

Wow. People were pissed off about Erykah Badu using her time to talk about her political beliefs. That's a tough call. People paid to come hear her music - but ya know, if I ever got into a position to have a national/international audience, and there was a cause I felt passionate about - I don't think I would shut up about it.  I think I'd want to take advantage of my "celebrity" to bring awareness to whatever my cause happened to be - while still being mindful that the reason I have this platform is the people who bought tickets. Delicate balance.  Still - if you've ever listened to one of her CDs and you're surprised that she's so political? You need to listen more closely.

Other thoughts - it is dirty. As in dirt blowing around to the point where people wore face masks.  Poor Jerry was miserable yesterday and a guy he works with stayed home today because he felt so rotten.  

Anyway this was a terrific birthday present from a terrific human being. I am so, so lucky. :-)

9:48 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Random Things That Make Me Happy
Current mood: excited
Category: Life

1.  The lemonade at Nordstrom's. There are days when I crave this so damn badly it's like a physical pain. One of very few places I know of in Austin where you can get fresh-squeezed lemonade. Of course, like everything else at Nordstrom's, it's way overpriced (which is why I've never purchased anything there) but it is yummy!

2.  Hearing Jerry say, totally unprompted last night, "It's good to be back." :-)

3.  Watching my silly cat, Jimi Hendrix, curl up in the big glass bowl on my coffee table like it contains some kind of force field or something.

4.  Getting positive feedback from the people taking my RPM classes.

5.  Finally securing a local source for Atomic Fireballs.

6. Hearing from my cousins in Alaska.

7.  Making people laugh.

8.  Spending time with Jerry.

9.  Wasting an hour in a book store.

10.  Traveling. Anywhere.

Currently listening : Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams By Solange Knowles Release date: 2008-08-26

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It’s Been a Good Year
Current mood: content
Category: Life

Most people reflect and set goals around New Year's. I've always done it on my birthday for some reason.  Don't know why - but it's part of the reason I hide away on my birthday.  I like to have time to think and dream and plan.

It's been a good year.  Parts of it have been EXCELLENT. :-)

A year ago I had pretty much given up on finding love.  This year I found someone I think God created to be just about perfect for me and said, "Here ya go." (FINALLY! Totally worth waiting for, though.)  He is ridiculously smart. He's hilarious. He loves to learn new things (ie music) and he is interested in the world beyond the end of his own nose.  He can laugh at himself.  We've been together nearly a year and I am absolutely crazy about him. It hasn't been completely without its bumps but they've been so, so minor and the cool thing is we just talk about stuff calmly, like grownups, resolve it, and let it go.

I have a job I like 99% of the time - which is huge. I work for one of the best people ever. He lets us do what we need to do, how we need to do it - doesn't micromanage, is secure enough to listen to differing opinions . . . it's pretty cool. I work with great people I'm proud to call friends.

Even though my screenplay didn't place in the Austin Film Festival - I did finish and submit it and it placed in the top 20% of another competition. Which is something.

I achieved another goal I've been dancing around for awhile - getting certified to teach aerobics. So far I really love it and I've been getting good feedback.

So all in all, it's been a good year. There are some areas of my life I wish were progressing more quickly, but then again patience has never been one of my stronger qualities.

Here's to an even better year ahead!

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Dreams
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Crazy how what you're dreaming right before you wake up can haunt you all day.

I never, ever dream about my ex-husband. I didn't even dream about him when we were dating or married. 

But last night, for some reason, I dreamed about him. Ugh. He was living in this big, beautiful house and I have no idea why I was there, but I was.  I was like, "You're living in this amazing place - why are you still so unhappy?"  He was yelling at me and spitting his blame and self-pity at me. I was like, "How can you still be so angry?" I was stunned because it's been ten years since I left and he still had some of my stuff in the closets of the many rooms in the house.

When I wanted to be a psychologist, I planned to do my thesis on dreams. I've always been fascinated by them. I'm sure there is some meaning here, Freudian or otherwise.

In other news, I find myself with a whole day free, thanks to the Hurricane. I think I'm gonna go see a movie - it's been awhile. I think most chicks with a free day would go see "The Women", which opens today. But I'm gonna go see Frozen River. Melissa Leo is supposed to be phenomenal.

Anyway - trying to shake off the ugly dream hangover.  I have no clue why I dreamed about him - I sure don't think about him other than to be grateful I'm not living in that mess anymore. The book I've been working on is about what it's like to live with an alcoholic - there's lots of stuff out there written by alcoholics about what they go through but not much about the effects on the people around them.

And finally, just a request to keep the people of Houston and Galveston in your thoughts.

1:08 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Evac
Current mood: grateful
Category: Life

If anyone was worried/interested (HA!) I went to the beach this morning to find - no beach. The water was all the way up to where people usually park - you can usually drive along the beach and it was closed because the water had been up to the dunes this morning.

Well, not much point being at the beach if there's no beach. I was back in the ATx by 3 pm and subbed a class for a friend at Gold's this evening. Since I'm not at the beach, might as well make some money, right?

Anyway. It looks like the main force of the hurricane is tracking north. For a while there it was looking like it was headed right for Corpus. 

Sure, my vacation was cut short but I am grateful I'm not a resident of Galveston or Houston today.  My biggest problem was being totally pissed off at the car rental company. In the big scheme of things, I am a lucky woman.

Currently listening : The Quilt By Gym Class Heroes Release date: 2008-09-09

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Oh, the humanity . . .
Category: Life

I was down at the beach a bit ago and watched as a front-end loader came by and pulled all the portable toilets into a bunch - so they can be taken away and secured. Never really thought about it, but ok - in a hurricane you sure don't wanna leave those on the beach! 

The lifeguard stations are also gone today. Lots of places have already started boarding up.

I Don't Like Ike.

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One of the Things to Write About
Category: Writing and Poetry

One of the things I look forward to during my annual birthday (or, this year, pre-birthday) escape to the beach is the chance to do some reading.

Yup, I'm a wild woman. I live on the edge all right.

Anyway. I'm finally getting to read Dave Eggers' "What is the What". And let me tell you - none of us has anything to complain about. Being 10 or 12 years old and seeing people fly through the air in pieces after a bomb has hit your village? Now that is something to complain about. Seeing your friends who are also 10 - 12 die in front of your eyes?  Seeing the girl you love be tied up and taken away, even though you are probably too young to comprehend the horror that surely will be done to her? Knowing that your mother runs too slowly to dodge the soldiers' bullets?

Now those are things to complain about.

I'm sure the Sudanese - and countless others who come to the US from other countries - look at our fat, lazy lives and wonder why we are so unhappy and impatient. For most of us, we know where our family members and friends are and we know they're not walking through the night trying to survive armies, lions, and disease. Nor are we ourselves tyring to survive those things.

For the great majority of us our biggest dilemma each day is what to have for lunch. We should be so, so grateful.

Currently reading : What Is the What (Vintage) By Dave Eggers Release date: 2007-10-09

1:03 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Ocean=Writer’s Unblock
Category: Life

There are many days when I think, "Man, I should write something." And I draw a blank. I cannot think of a damn thing to write about.

So this afternoon I'm sitting on the beach watching and listening to the ocean and all of a sudden I can think of about a million things to write about.  If there were a way to have my laptop with me I'd probably still be sitting on the beach, writing.

I think when I'm at home I'm so caught up in "survival" mode my creative mind doesn't have time to wander. For me, in order to be creative, I have to have down time - quiet time when I'm not thinking about the 900 things I need to do.  It's not like being here takes those things away, but they're not so in my face.

So. I am just about exactly where they are now predicting Hurricane Ike to land.  I don't care. I am just so freakin' happy to be here and to have some time to just "be" that I really don't care. Ike isn't supposed to hit until Saturday and I'm scheduled to be outta here Friday. In the meantime I have a lot of ocean to watch, dreaming to do, and writing to do.

1:52 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment