Good Deeds

Saw Tyler Perry's movie Good Deeds. I recommend it. At the end my neighbor Mary said something to me, because I was a bit like the struggling single mother in the film, and I just wept... Because I had a flashback to when I was homeless and spent a winter sleeping in my car. I wish someone like the man in the movie would come rescue me, but alas it's a fairy tale- another Cinderella story-I enjoyed the dream though.

Frankenhooker

Went to see Frankenhooker at Wealthy theater to support Gilda's Club during Laughfest. I thought it'd be packed like a Rocky Horror picture show with peeps all dressed up. Nope. One wolf, n Mr. Spookify who dresses vampirish but howls like a wolf.

N then there was meeee. I brought my little Frankenhooker doll, n she wore the fuck me pumps so I didn't have to. I did, however, have stitches drawn all over me, skull knee highs n gray chucks with glow in the dark laces.

Frankenstein is my all time fav book, so this spoof was calling to me. I went, I saw, I laughed, I crunched my face up. It was weird. But I liked her purple boobs!

Thrive

Watched the film Thrive tonite with a group of people at Healing Arts Yoga Center in Muskegon, MI.  Between me writing my poem Matter of Fact yesterday--that touches on some of the topics in this film, like when is $ printed and who decides, and the big bank ballers--my brain is ready to just chillax right now.  I was cold most the evening, so I just wanna get under the covers and cuddle up with Mickey Lou.  I'll maybe elaborate on these topics later--feel free to view the film and start a discussion in the comments.  It's a lot to think about.  I believe it's more of an expose--and a much needed one to open the eyes of the people--but the solutions are not as clear as they suggest.  Easier said than done, is the best I can put it for right now.

Have a good night peeps, catch u manana!

This link will take u to the site with a trailor of the film, option to view the film, and lots of extra info to get ur brain churning:

Thrive

The Skin I Live In

Saw this Spanish film last nite--The Skin I Live In.  It was wild in a Frankensteinish sorta way.  Frankenstein is my fav book, so I got into this.  It's something that can ignite conversation after, but I don't wanna give away the plot...just watch it and be surprised.  I'd like to read the book Tarantula by Thierry Jonquet--because it's based on that book, but twisted a bit.  Then perhaps I can make a comparison between it and Frankenstein.

Antonio Banderes plays the plastic surgeon in The Skin I Live In, and does a wonderful job.  You can get a little confused, because it goes from present to past, and some of the characters look alike, so you're not exactly sure who is who--and is it her, only younger, or who?  I wasn't surprised by a certain outcome, though still enthralled, but there were gasps in the audience!  It's spellbinding! 

It's labeled as horror, but I don't view it that way...it's not bloody/gory (which I don't care for), but more an intellectual thriller.  I dig that it explores dysfunction on both sides of the track...so-to-speak.  I can understand why some of these characters do what they do, because of their dark or tragic pasts.  It leads the viewer to question What is right or wrong? and Are their actions justified?

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Saw the American version today. Was good. Friend treated me to dinner after... was a very nice evening. #grateful

Movie List

Movies I like to watch include (not necessarily in this order):
comedy, documentaries, foreign, independent, psychological thriller (but nothing gory, not into horror).  I also like some fantasy, and TV mini-series.  I relish in topics that make me think.  I seek films that provide insight into the lives of others who live in a different environment or country than I do; those who face similar and/or varying challenges and how they overcome them.

These are my own categories, and some films you will see I've placed in several categories.
Marked with * they are my top Favs!


FUNNY:

• MouseHunt *
• Charlie Bartlett
• Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
• The Big Lebowski
• Harold & Maude *
• Talledega Nights
• Blazing Saddles
• Superbad

NOT your typical ROMANCE & then some--FOREIGN FILMS:

• Amelie *
• Y Tu Mama Tambien
• Life is Beautiful
• Once
• Il Postino *
• Elsa & Fred
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• XXY
• Fire (the one about 2 Hindi women) (in English & Hindi)

NOT your typical ROMANCE & then some--American:

• Untamed Heart *
• The Love Letter
• Harold & Maude *
• Closer
• Red Shoe Diaries (the 1st full length film, NOT the shorts!)
• Moulin Rouge
• The Lover *
• Forrest Gump

SHOULD BE REQUIRED VIEWING:

• Crash
• For Colored Girls
• What I Want My Words to Do to You
• XXY

GAY/LESBIAN (but please don't shy away from these films if you label yourself as straight!):

• Chris & Don:  A Love Story
• Milk
• XXY
• Beginners
• Brokeback Mountain
• Boys Don't Cry
• Fire (the one about 2 Hindi women) (in English & Hindi)

GREAT STORY/GREAT SOUNDTRACK & more:

• Slumdog Millionaire
• Forrest Gump

BOOKS TO FILM:

• Waiting to Exhale
• How Stella Got her Groove Back
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein * (my Favorite book!)
• The Talented Mr. Ripley
• The English Patient
• The Lover *
• Henry & June *

STREET LIFE:

• Hustle & Flow
• Shottas
• What I Want My Words to Do to You
• The Dhamma Brothers
• Grand Ave (an HBO movie, not sure how u can find this, but it's superb!)

ARISTS/MUSICIANS/POETS/writers:

• Frida
• Pollock
• Il Postino *
• Henry & June *
• Chris & Don:  A Love Story
• Naked States
• Naked World
• What I Want My Words to Do to You
• For Colored Girls
• Hustle & Flow
• A Man Named Pearl
• Poetry in Motion
• The Lover *
• Dangerous Beauty

DOCUMENTARIES:

• What the Bleep do We Know?
• Chris & Don:  A Love Story
• The Dhamma Brothers
• Emmanuel's Gift
• What I Want My Words to Do to You
• A Man Named Pearl
• I Know I'm Not Alone
• Mad Hot Ballroom
• Scottsboro:  An American Tragedy
• Winged Migration *

ADORABLE & GOOD PLOT:

• WALL-E
• ET *
• Up
• MouseHunt *
• Ratatouille (the girl chef's name is Colette!) 

About FAMILY relationships:

• Dad *
• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Yesterday
• Grand Ave (an HBO movie, not sure how u can find this, but it's superb!)
• Fire (about 2 Hindi women & their husbands) (in English & Hindi)

FOODIE FILMS:

• Eat Drink Man Woman
• Chocolat
• Ratatouille (the girl chef's name is Colette!)

INDEPENDENT FILMS:

• XX/XY (not to be confused with XXY)
• Grand Ave (an HBO movie, not sure how u can find this, but it's superb!)
• I'm Not There
• Slumdog Millionaire

ALCOHOL/DRUG ABUSE:

• Crazy Heart
• When a Man Loves a Woman
• Gia

FAVORITE FILMMAKERS & on the weird tip:

Coen Brothers

• Oh Brother Where Art Thou
• The Big Lebowski 
• No Country for Old Men
• Fargo

David Lynch

• Twin Peaks (mini-series)
• Wild at Heart
• Blue Velvet

FANTASY:

• Underworld
• Underworld: Evolution
• Mary Shelley's Frankenstein *

TV:

• Sex and the City
• The L Word
• True Blood
• Mistresses
• My Name is Earl
• Weeds

I'm sure I've left out many worthy films.  As I think of, or watch more, I'll add to this list.  If you have a suggestion, please leave me a comment!  If you watch any of these, I'd love to hear your opinions!

She's Baaaaaaaaaaaack! hahahahaha!

So...I'm making a New Year's 2012 resolution to write in this blog daily...I'm started today--why procrastinate?!  I'm just gonna write about whatever gets into this pretty, yet strange, often highly intellectual, yet goofy, little head, and yet big brain of mine!  Maybe I'll touch on politics or religion.  I'll definitely talk about male/female relationships, and LGBT friendly conversations.  You know--well now you do--I'm all about supporting diversity, yet finding unity within our diversities.  I like to take photos...so there will be images.  I'll share an occasional poem with you.  I'll interview artists, writers, musicians, and people of interest.  If I watch a film and it moves me somehow, I'll share it.

Here's a link to my fav movie scene ever!  crazy ass dance scene in Wild at Heart by David Lynch

I watch documentaries and foreign films that are thought provoking.  I watch tripped out films.  Sometimes I just like to laugh!  I'm compiling a list of some of my favs, so I'll post that here and add to it along the way.

Yesterday, my friend and fellow poet Joyce Conley discussed how we want to take our poetry to the next level.  Last August we delivered some empowering spoken word to the guests at a Women's Equality Day dinner to support the NOW  National Organization for Women and in celebration of the 19th Amendment giving women the Right to Vote.

Gosh, I just teared up watching that clip, and I don't know if it's cuz I can't stand how dorky I look, or I was actually touched by my own words--I think both!  haha!  Anyway....Joyce and I would like to participate in more events such as this one to help support non-profit organizations, and be the change we wish to see in the world (as Gandhi suggests!).  With our poetry we want to educate and uplift.  We are going to begin creating video versions of our poems with the help of Chris Penney--our local bad ass film producer dude!  And trust me...we are gonna look way more fly in these videos!  We wanna give ya'all something sexy to look at, something silly to laugh at, something cool to listen to (yeah, we'll add some jams) and most importantly SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT!

WRITE ON!

Oh...and lemme throw this one in here too where Joyce did a dedication poem for ME!
at the Avant Garde 2434!  Love U Gold n Bold girl!

Slow Down People!

I'm terribly sad to hear this weekend of 3 dogs that have been hit and killed by cars.


Last night I spoke with a friend for a few hours who I hadn't spoke to in a few years. He told me about his sister's little dog--that was like her child--that got hit and killed by a car last October. He said that she has serious depression over it. She saw it happen. After my friend moved to NYC, and his parents and brother to Cali, his sister was alone for a while in their old house, and she got the little dog to keep her company. My heart seriously breaks for her. I lost 2 cats earlier this year, and have been witness to too many deaths of loved ones--both animals and people. It does haunt a person. Even if your life goes on, there are events that bring the tragedy to the surface again. It can be debilitating at times. It's a form of post-traumatic stress syndrome I suppose. I can only imagine how devastated she was/is.

For this reason...because I do think about and imagine how it would feel to lose a beloved pet this way, I drive so slowly and carefully on side roads. I am a careful driver overall, but on side roads in particular I am always watching the sides of the road to make sure nothing runs out in front of me. I never want to be going at a speed that I can't brake fast enough to prevent a tragedy. I don't want to hit a bird or a squirrel! People make fun of me when I brake for tiny critters. I find it kind of sick that these same people drive drunk. Don't they get it? If I'm careful enough to avoid a squirrel, then surely I'd be prepared to brake if a child ran into the street from behind a car, or an elderly person stumbled into the road.


SLOW DOWN PEOPLE!


Please, think about not only the animal you could take the life of, but how it will affect the people's lives who loved these animals. Even if it's a wild animal, someone is gonna mourn its loss of life. I saw a deer that got hit by my last apartment in the city (near a park), and the woman kept driving. The deer was left struggling in the road, and drivers continued to speed by well beyond the speed limit. I got out of my car and stood by this deer hoping to prevent it from getting hit a second time. I still have a lot of sorrow wave over me from this experience. Prior to the deer getting hit there, a neighbor's dog was hit and killed. Ducks and geese that would cross the street to get to the pond would also get hit.


Getting back to this weekend...a friend's mother's dog was hit and killed tonight. When I spoke to my dad today he told me that my aunt's sweet dog got hit and killed. I'm sad. Much of the time I wonder why people share these things with me when they know how sensitive I am. It does bring up memories of past heart-breaking moments. Like when I was at a birthday party as a young girl and my friend's dog got hit and killed. Probably every birthday she has she remembers that. It's horrible. While traveling with my parents as a little girl, I remember driving by an adorable little black puppy that was playing in the grass. On our way back down that road it was dead in the street. I saw it full of life, and then still, and it was difficult for my young mind to process. It is still difficult today when it re-enters my thoughts.

I have flashbacks.

I also think of an exotic type bird that would visit with me when we were in France at my mom's cousin's little grocery store. It was the pet of a person who lived across from the store. Across the small road there were cherry trees, and the bird liked to go over there to get berries. I saw it get hit and killed. I was heartbroken. Birds don't or can't always fly out of the way in time for cars! It is such a fallacy to think they will move faster than you in your speeding bullet! It makes me crazy when I watch people speed straight for them as though they will just fly out of the way! They need time to gain speed and adjust direction! The larger the bird, the more time they need. Please, remember this!!!!!

I sadly remember a squirrel that was run over, but still alive, and was pulling itself across the road with his hind legs dragging. I cry now thinking about him. Yes, I cry over a squirrel.

If you made it this far, then you too must care a little. If you need any further encouragement to slow down and be more alert while driving, then watch the movie "Bella".
Spread the word!