Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

The Hungry Helping the Hungry. That’s the motto of the Downtown Gastonia Zombie Walk and Food Drive. The event, now in its fourth year, will take place on Saturday, October 3 rd in Downtown Gastonia.   Flagship, a Charlotte-based band gaining national notoriety with songs like “Life Underwater” and “I Want You” will be headlining the day’s musical acts in the Rotary Pavilion.   According to Sue Ann Robb, event organizer and owner of the popular Gastonia salon Running With Scissors, the idea was to bring people downtown by using a popular show and current fad as a means to gain interest. “A lot of cities have similar events,” says Robb, “but we wanted something fresh, something not so tame.   It’s definitely made bigger by the show.” The 2014 event in downtown.  Photo by Dave Superville. The popularity of the AMC show, The Walking Dead, is undeniable but it appears that most folks just love the event and want to support the burgeoning development of Downtown Gasto

This movie is definitely weird and depressing but also not terribly far-fetched given how detached and technologically-driven our society has become.  Other than this terse description, you would really have to see this for yourself to really get it.  I will say that it is kinda funny to realize that a relationship with a computer would be as complicated as one with a real-life woman.  Chew on that for a minute, guys.  And in the end, the film's message becomes a basic treatise on how we're all connected, but actually quite cut off from the real people around us.  It's probably a sentiment worth repeating every now and then to keep ourselves straight.

See?  When I get on kicks of movies that revolt my husband from the room, I stay on it!  So, this is a book/movie I've always wanted to see and read.  And look!  It's got Daniel Day-Lewis !  One of my top 3 dream mans ! So onto the story....... Set amidst the turbulent backdrop of Prague Spring , a womanizing doctor balances a marriage to a naïve young photographer, an ongoing love affair with a sexy adventurous artist, and the uprising against communist Russia.  Whew.  It's as heavy as it sounds.  It's a good film, although rather slow and plodding, but I'm thinking that is pretty much as it should be.  All I kept thinking of was the later pairing of the two female stars in Chocolat .  This is a rainy day flick for sure.  And perfect if you hate both your lover and your government with equal passion.

This film made me do something I didn't think was possible: like and appreciate Kristen Stewart! Seriously though, this film is exquisitely painful and beautiful.  It tells the story of the progression of Alzheimer's in a way that most of us have probably never considered, that is, what happens when it strikes early in a driven intellectual.  This movie makes you think, is great for a good cathartic cry and might also seriously make you stop and think about the worthless everyday shit you spend too much time on.  If you're ready for that, grab a box of Kleenex and give it a try.

Le sigh.  I have such a love/hate relationship with Jen Lancaster .  And it doesn't seem to be improving.   I really loved her in the beginning.  She was gutsy and sharp, and even though I didn't agree with her politics I certainly enjoyed her fighting spirit.  With each book, I feel less so. And it's funny because in this most recent memoir (how many of those can one person write, exactly?) she waxes on about how people are so mean to her in online formats.  The only thing I can think is this, Jen: you're not really that lovable. (Smug.  That pretty much sums it up.  And it's the word I see again and again when readers review her.) Not that you have to be lovable.  That may not be your goal or even on your radar.  But if you're really looking to learn and grow (like you always say you are) maybe you should consider that's why trolls are always busting your chops.  But I will say that and still be quick to tell anyone to be yourself.  Haters be

After I listened to Ron Rash talk about his most recent book on NPR, I decided to get this one from the library.  Let me just say right quick that I don't think it will be the last of his books that I read.  And I also reminded myself that I should read more regional authors more often.  They have hardly ever let me down.  I so love the re-telling of North Carolina from another time.  Particularly the mountains.  It's like my ancestry is literally calling out to me from the pages.    Riveting.  It is just riveting.  I had ideas about how it would end, but I absolutely did not see it coming.  And I can't remember the last time a book was a real page-turner for me like this one was.  So of course, I had some pretty high hopes for the movie...... And it was a huge let-down.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that the film barely resembled the book.  The entire theme was lost.  All of the major plot points were missing.  The characters were underdeveloped.  As

Let me say straight up that this 2012 film is in no way related to the 1956 film starring Paul Newman with the same title. It is also in no way related to any movie that is any good.  Here's a note to all you would-be indie filmmakers out there:  not every movie is going to be Juno , Napolean Dynamite or The Baxter .  You may think you're really cute and funny, but just because your mom likes your film doesn't mean it's good.  Stop trying so hard.  Stop being so precious.  Also, tinkly cutesy coffee house indie rock isn't doing you any favors.  JS.

"I am looking for a dare to be great situation."

 Hey, blog fans!  Are you kinda like Depeche Mode and just can't get enough of me?  Well, you're in luck......   You will find my article on the upcoming Downtown Gastonia Zombie Walk & Food Drive in today's (September 13) print edition of The Gaston Gazette .  You can also find it in the Lifestyle section of the online Gazette .  And I am soooper excited about the article I have being published in the November 1st issue of My City Magazine about Tiff Tantrum of No Anger Control.  Stay tuned for other upcoming explosions of creativity and thanks for your continued support of my blog and other endeavors!

Like most kids in high school, I made my way through Anthem .  As an adult, I tried to get through The Fountainhead and failed.  I never even attempted Atlas Shrugged .  But I've still always been fascinated by Ayn Rand.  Her name and philosophy of Objectivism seem to come up every now and then......especially around the time of political campaigns.  Hmmmm.......ever wonder why that is?  (Seriously, why?  I'm asking!  Really!) This documentary was extremely thorough and charted Rand's birth in Russia as an eye witness to the Russian Revolution to a young woman who wanted nothing more than to be American.  She made it to America, worked in the film industry during its early silent years, became a novelist, a screenwriter and later a modern-day philosopher espousing a view of why it's good to be selfish. Since freshmen year philosophy was as far as I ever got, I have a hard time wrapping my head around all of this.......it's extremely heady and thinky (I i

  "Have some goddamn fun!  If you wanna not have fun, go be an accountant!"   Pat Benatar Rock Legend, Friggin Genius

It all started at the armory for me........ National Guard Armory in Kings Mountain, NC. I went to my first DIY rock show at this armory in Kings Mountain.  It was 1993.  I was eighteen years-old and about to head off to college.  My then ex-boyfriend now husband (long story) remembers all the bands that played even if I don't: Stylin' Johnny Appleseeds (one of the best band names of all time), 1three4 (an institution in North AND South Carolina), Hardware, 11th Hour, Styrofoam Skeeter and of course my ex-boyfriend now husband's band at the time, the always memorable, Popes on Dope. Popes on Dope.  Or, that time my husband tried to be a drummer. Aaah, the memories. And even though that show was over 20 years ago and there have been many since, I think of it often.  Especially now that I spend more time in Kings Mountain and I have occasion to drive past the armory.  All those memories come back.  I don't remember everything about the show but some th

I read To Kill a Mockingbird so long ago that aside from the basic plot, I don't remember much about it.  I do remember it being one of my favorite books though.  And since I've often found that re-reading books I loved as a kid is often a different experience as an adult, I decided to give it another go and compare it to Harper Lee's latest follow-up. And it all came back to me.  But this time I see it through the eyes of a 40 year-old who has seen and experienced a lot more......especially in most recent times with Ferguson, Hurricane Katrina, Black Lives Matter, etc. and on and on.  I'm no longer reading like Scout.  But I'm not really Jem or Atticus either.  I think the thing that most rings true of this novel is how none of it is simple and it's all fairly subjective depending on who you are and what kind of life you've had.  You have to remember that Mockingbird is set in 1935, but how true does this particular passage ring in today's curren