Becky's Greatest Hits Vol. II

I really enjoyed this book even though I wanted it to be more dishy.  Yeah, I guess I'm just catty like that. (C'mon, Linda....say something snarky about Kris K....you know you wanna!)  It's hard not to love Linda Thompson as she seems like a genuinely sweet and loving woman....a real Southern girl!  The upsetting part of this book was realizing that Elvis was more than a little controlling of young Linda in their relationship.  I also had the strong feeling that Linda was not always truly loved and adored by the men in her life the way she should have been.  Her respect and abiding love for every relationship she discusses is admirable, even if she does come across as a bit of a pushover at times.  I never really dig a woman or man that's only famous for who they've coupled with because that alone doesn't always make a person interesting (see Pattie Boyd).  But this isn't the case for Linda Thompson.  She seems to be a woman wh...

This must be one of the sweetest little indie films I've ran across in a while.  Being that I've had a little experience with what it's like to find the old high school sweetheart years later, there is a reality and truth to this film that will speak immediately to some.  I know the world is full of Jims and Amandas.  I know it.  But I also know that there are few of us who really ever have the kind of true love and intimacy with another living soul.  Don't think for a second that all married couples or even long-term partners have it.  Not all of them do.  This movie is sad and heartbreaking and beautiful and simple.  I was glad my kid was tucked in bed and my husband was out for the evening so I could cry my little fool head off alone.  It was the purest cry I've had since I was 17.  I feel pretty sure. 

If you were a child of the 70's and 80's like me, you grew up listening to the music of Dan Fogelberg.  It was everywhere.  This dude was pretty much the patron saint of heartbreak and romance.  But probably one of his saddest songs is one that gets trotted out for the holidays every year, the 1981 classic, Same Old Lang Syne .  Now this song is melancholy.  It's schmaltzy.  And it's not even really about Christmas, but the last lines of it do manage to get me every time: "Just for a moment I was back at school And felt that old familiar pain And, as I turned to make my way back home The snow turned into rain...." So good on you and rest in peace, Dan Fogelberg.  I think you knew what you were doing with that whole singer/songwriter thang. 

I'll tell you why women don't tell...... Because even though there are laws, you still feel like you'll lose your job. And if you lose your job, how will you pay your bills? And if you can't pay your bills, who will you turn to for help? I'll tell you why women don't tell..... Because what if no one believes you? Then you're the woman who makes up stories. You're the woman who stirs up trouble. You're the woman who wrecked the morale. I'll tell you why women don't tell..... Because somehow he will make you feel like it's your fault. And the blame will somehow be yours. For the skirt you wore, the smile you offered. And that one time you laughed because you didn't know what else to do. I'll tell you why women don't tell...... Because you're not sure who or anyone will be on your side. You've seen women cluck their tongues at other women your whole life. And men look the other way and pr...

As I fall more and more in love with the novels of Anne Tyler , I realize how little young Becky would have really learned from them.  But 40-something year-old Becky?  She appreciates them a good bit.  Besides, the realistic characters in each novel, there's something so warm and comforting about each one.  It's like wrapping up with a warm blanket against a cold world.  This particular novel really got me thinking about how people might view me as I pondered on the character of Maggie.  Am I ever that clumsy?  Silly?  Adled?  I asked my husband for one adjective to describe me and he said "delightful".  This leads me to believe he has learned something from his 5 years of marriage to me.  I feel like Ms. Tyler would approve.  I also love how this book feels so nostalgic and old-fashioned with its talk of road maps and singing at weddings and funerals and elderly folks born in the late 1800's.  1988 doesn't seem that fa...

I can't tell you how either of these movies end because I didn't finish them.  (See post title.)  But I have a strong feeling that one ends in triumph and the other in despair.  I will tell you that the Jake the Snake doc is eerily close to the poignant film The Wrestler from nearly 10 years back.  You might feel better if you just stream it instead. 

Okay, so first off I will admit that this guy had a shitty childhood.  But next I have to tell you right quick that this book is not nearly the fun romp through the 80's I expected.  I thought....yeah.....a book about the great 80's teen flicks of John Hughes.....that will be cute.....probably some angst.....maybe bring up some bad memories, but overall it will be fun.  Not so much.  This book is a major downer.  If you're an aging Gen Xer whose life has turned out okay, you can look at this book with some wry humor and feel good about surviving your teen years.  You will roll your eyes a bit at this guy's inability to turn lose his bad feelings of his childhood classmates.  If you are barely hanging on and have a gripe against the world, the book will become your new Catcher in the Rye.  Which is probably exactly what the author was hoping for.  Again, I must insist that this guy's childhood was terrible: parental abuse, homelessnes...

"She said, where'd you wanna go? How much you wanna risk? I'm not looking for somebody With some superhuman gifts Some superhero Some fairytale bliss Just something I can turn to Somebody I can miss I want something just like this....."

Since we're smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, can I put my two cents in on how us humans ought to interact with others?  Some of y'all need reminding it seems.  I'll use the emotion characters from Inside Out as a guide since many of ya'll seem to operate on an, uh, childlike level. Anger: keep it in check. First off, as a person who both delivers and partakes of Customer Service on the phone on a regular basis, can I offer some advice?  Raising your voice, complaining, interrupting and arguing are in no way the ideal way to provide customer service.  I once read many years ago that it helps to smile while you're talking on the phone, and I'll admit I use that advice quite a bit.  Every now and then I'll have a particularly aggravated customer that I can't talk off the ledge.  It's rare but it happens.  I take down the information and end the call as politely as I can.  There's no reason everyone can't do that....

Click here for services for AIDS patients in North Carolina. Click here for various sources of information for AIDS patients , caregivers , statistics and more in the U.S. Your local county health department continues to be a good resource for testing, treatment and education on the AIDS/HIV virus.

This book of stories, like all of the work of Jeffrey Eugenides , makes me wish I could be a better writer.  It's hard to pick a favorite, but of the stories how many different paths could we take?  A confused college student verging on starvation in Thailand?  A man obsessed with his clavichord?  A woman obsessed with artificial insemination?  No matter the character, the place or the time, Eugenides takes you there.  And with so much humility and respect. And sometimes darkness.  (It has to be mentioned.  I wouldn't really call this collection "light-hearted".)  Although as much as I love his work, if my life were ever written as a novel I don't think I'd want it to be by Eugenides.  I'm afraid of what his eyes would see.

What I feel, I can't say But my love is there for you, any time of day But if it's not love that you need Then I'll try my best to make everything succeed. Tell me, what is my life without your love Tell me, who am I without you, by my side? (I still remember George every year on the day he left our world. What a soul, what a talent we all had the privilege to hear.)

Y'all kids go ahead.  I'll be home in my jammies with a coffee cup and a book.  I don't need anybody to tell me what things are worth. I already know.

I know everyone has probably already completed the binge, but I discovered last week that I may not be able to complete the second season of Stranger Things.  I guess I'm just too precious for some things.  And it kinda breaks my heart too because I friggin love those kids!  It's a great show......creative......well-written.....wonderfully acted.......but it's just too upsetting to watch what these kids go through.  And from episode to episode, I can't decide which kid breaks my heart more.  That and the slimy vines wrapping around people and climbing through Will.  And also, on the Buzzfeed's "Which Stranger Things Kid Are You?" of course I got Will.  Maybe I'm just identifying too closely this season.  I'll just hear about it later like I have with GoT and WD.  Missing those never hurt me much either. 

In the movie, La Bamba , a biopic about the life of the late Ritchie Valens , Lou Diamond Phillips plays the young singer trying to break into the music business.  Ritchie struggled through an impoverished childhood with a single mother and a delinquent older brother.  As his new manager, Bob Keane, takes him through the paces of finding his place in the daunting music business, he explains that to really make it he needs to go out on his own and leave his band mates behind.  Ritchie: What about my band? Bob: To be honest, Ritchie, I can't use any of them.  Is that a problem? Ritchie: Yeah, they're my buddies. Bob: You're gonna have to ask yourself what's more important.  Your friends?  Or your music. Ritchie: My family. If ever anyone gives you shit about your "establishment" job or how many hours you work or how you gave it up for "the man" you can feel free to share this.  Your reasons may not look like much to othe...

So I've never been in denial about loving nice girls singing nice songs. Taylor Swift . Whitney Houston. Adele. Carole King.  I even like the rebellious girls singing good songs like P!nk, Pat Benetar, Gwen Stefani and The Indigo Girls .  I've never been into women that were too aggressive or naughty.  Hey, they can do what they like.....it's just not my bag. So maybe that's why I dig this new song by Kelly Clarkson.  To me it's a song for us grown women.  She's not threatening to hurt you (other than the "break then you buy it" line).  She's not into games and foolishness.  She won't key your car or send you thong pics.  She won't flirt with your best friend or stay out all night to test you.  She ain't even into the 50 Shades. She just wants to love you.  Love you so soft, even. Here's the thing.  Kelly won American Idol when she was a baby of 20.  She's a 35 year-old woman now with a husband and small chi...

To continue my late to the party love affair with Anne Tyler , slowed down a few weeks ago to read this gem and was once again grateful for a gracious author that begs us all to slow down!  This book really makes you stop and think about aging, about chances, about life passing you by.  Come to think of it, most all of Anne Tyler's books make you think of that!  It sounds like a downer, but it's really not.  There's something soothing and warm about Tyler's characters and how their dilemmas don't really feel like dilemmas but are still so relatable.  Every one of her books feels like it was written in a simpler time to me, even though that time is now.  I don't know how she does it, but I feel like I owe Barnaby and Anne a big thanks for this one!

Don't you hate it when peeps are always trying to tell you what you should like?  I think I am finally done with trying to figure out what others find "good".  And believe me, I give most all of them a try before I tap out!  But here's a list of all manner of media and art that I should give a crap about but just don't!  What's on your list? Movies: Any of The Hangover movies.  I'm not dude enough, I guess. Any of the Austin Powers movies.  See above. The new It movie based on the Stephen King novel. Not happening. "Torture porn" movies.  You people just need to see a therapist and stop keeping up the pretense of normal.  The overrun of horror movies on all streaming services this time of year.  Why would I want to be more scared than usual? Books: A Confederacy of Dunces : I know it's Pulitizer-prize winning, but I guess I just don't get it.  Such a downer too.  And nobody wants to hear ...

And don't say some bs like"I don't like liver and onions". It's not the same.  Not nearly.

It's interesting to read a book like this today since it was written in the 1960's, set in the 1950's and discussing subjects just as taboo today as they were then: mental illness, depression and suicide.  I'd like to think we've made some strides.  At least electro-shock therapy and lobotomies aren't as common anymore.  At least women have more control over their own bodies and decisions......or do we? Probably the best thing about this book is the slow and almost normal decline the character makes into her mental unraveling.  It makes a lot more sense when you hear loved ones say after a family member commits suicide that they "seemed normal" or were "somewhat happy".  To me, Esther didn't really seem unhappy at all.  A better description might be depressed or confused.  These quotes from the book sum it up best for me: "I wanted to tell her that if only something were wrong with my body it would be fine, I would ...

Always one to congratulate myself on small victories, I watched a 13 year-old horror movie with my husband that I knew the spoilers for.  High-five me!  Seriously, this is a very suspenseful and intriguing movie with that typical M. Night Shyamalan twist at the end.  To call it "horror" might be all wrong, but I was definitely skert!  There are a lot of metaphors for our time in it and powerful relationships for sure, but for realz, it's just a good scary movie!  Rock on, October!

In continuing with trying to see all the films of my acting god, Daniel Day-Lewis , I had to check out this film which earned him his first Oscar and proved to everyone what real "method acting" was when he refused to break character, stayed in his wheelchair at all times and was spoon-fed by the film crew.  This film celebrates the life of Christy Brown , a man born in Ireland in 1932 with cerebral palsy and paralysis who became renowned for his work as a painter and writer who worked only using the toes of his left foot.  This is another film which made me grateful for the times I live in with a special needs child.  It also made me grateful that I have a husband that respects modern birth control.....hooooweeee.