Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

Right on time, I finished this awesome autobiography last night.  I found it to be very creative in the way that it intermingled the history and culture of the Native American people, particularly the Cherokee, with the personal story of Wilma Mankiller.  I was personally inspired by how Mankiller didn't really find her voice, her calling and her independence until after she was older, married and a mother.  I can relate, let me tell you.  I was also enamored to learn more about the matrilineal society of the Cherokee and the designations of "Beloved Women", "Pretty Women", and "Most Honored Women".  Wilma Mankiller herself could be described as nothing less than a survivor.  She came through a difficult adolescence after being uprooted from her ancestral home, a divorce and relocation as a young mother, endless health problems and a near-death car accident that took the life of one of her best friends.  In even with all that, she still became the ...

The Native American women of our country have been very much on my mind lately while I've been doing some research and reading.  To hear of Robin Poor Bear's death this morning made their sacrifices all the more real.  Her story deeply touched me, and I was so moved by her bravery in discussing subjects that many people shy away from out of fear, guilt and shame.  My heart breaks for her children.  I hope they grow up knowing how special their mother was and find their place in this world.  I hope Robin Poor Bear is always remembered well.  She truly was a "kind hearted woman". 

This is a cute, funny movie that ends up having a fairly big message about how society views young black men.  Written and directed by Rick Famuyiwa who seems to remember the 90's as fondly as I do and who also wrote and directed 1999's The Wood .  Oh, and the whole homage to Stacy, now a school security officer, may have made the whole film.  Dope reminded me a little of the classic Friday in how it started out pretty light and funny and then went a little dark.  I liked Dope, but it actually made me want to go back and watch The Wood again.......aaaaah, Omar!

This flick is funny (in some places) but way too long (like most comedies made lately).  But I have to admit that my favorite parts of any Melissa McCarthy movie is when she starts dropping that f-bomb.  Also, it made me all the more excited about the upcoming Ghostbusters remake .  Bring it on, Melissa!

I liked the book but was a little uncertain about the film.  Even Cheryl Strayed herself didn't really like how the film relied too heavily on her tales of promiscuity.  But the flashback sequences of her personal decline due to her mother's young death were important fuel in pushing her across that trail.  I rooted for Reese in the movie just like I rooted for Cheryl in the book.  I didn't understand or agree with all their choices.  But I got it. One thing I kept thinking about while watching this was the music.  Lots of Paul Simon.  I thought about my own mother and my memories I have of my childhood.  I thought about her now.  She taught me to love music much the same way I've taught my son.  I hope he'll remember his childhood fondly with a loving soundtrack just like I do of my own.  It's the big and small things that carry you along life's road.  The hurts get you somewhere but so do the joys.  Few pieces ex...

This is a real page-turner that I easily finished in less than 24 hours.  I didn't love it as much as Serena , but it is still a beautifully-written book that will keep you wanting to read more North Carolina authors.  There is a lot be gleaned from this but I think my biggest takeaway was the difference in how we all cope: with tragedy, with pain, with new beginnings, with aging, with the worst of things and the best.  There's no right or wrong answer in how we do it, it's just important that we DO.

        They are more than memorials.  They are real people.

Based on the award-winning play by Larry Kramer , this film follows the early AIDS crisis in New York and the upstart organization, Gay Men's Health Crisis , which luckily still exists to this day. Whereas And the Band Played On showed the early times of this disease from a medical/scientific perspective, the film shows the real lives of gay men living in that scary period of uncertainty. This movie is as informative as it is heartbreaking.  It reminds us of an ugly time that was not so long ago.  I wish the younger generation would see this movie and realize it's safer now, but it's not over.  It has never been over.

(Article was previously published in My City Magazine .) “I’m actually a pretty fiery individual.”   When asked if she was an angry person, that’s how Tiff Tantrum described herself. For a person who labels herself as the singer and “screamer” for a local Charlotte punk band called No Anger Control the quick assumption would be one of the angry female.   But after talking with Tantrum’s friends and fans and with Tantrum herself, that assumption would be quickly squelched.   “I focus on happiness and being positive now. I do still get angry, but I direct it all into my music now, so that when dealing with the individuals or situations that angered me......I can just smile and treat them the same as I would anybody else.   With love.” Fronted by Tantrum on vocals, Levi Erickson on guitar, Jason Damiano on bass and John Pppppp on drums No Anger Control is a punk rock band with a lot of buzz in the underground music scene of Charlotte playing at venues...

  I've probably posted this before.  It just makes me happy and never gets old.

I probably never would have been interested in this book if I had not heard of this blog some months ago.  I'm intrigued that people are intrigued enough to try to replicate life from another time.  And this book, which tracks the lives of the Victorian British of all classes, is pretty intriguing too.  The author covers all the bases by writing the sunrise to sundown lives of people during the time period including work, clothing, food, grooming and all manner of daily living.  I especially loved this quote describing why many people went to bed early in winter: "During winter, in particular, the cold and the dark encouraged people to burrow deep under their covers at the earliest opportunity".  I have been a winter-time Victorian all these years.....who knew?