“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.” — David Ogden Stiers
During the past week, I’ve seen three films, Love Is Strange, This Is Where I Leave You, and The Skeleton Twins. What do a story about gay partners who marry after 40 years together and then lose their income and home, a family sitting Shiva after the death of their father and husband, and twins estranged for ten years who reunite after one of them attempts suicide, all have in common? What is the familiar theme? Quite simply, like David Ogden Stiers quote it’s family and, “…no one gets left behind or forgotten.” Continue reading
Note: This is seventh in a series of imaginary conversations with my next girlfriend.
Dear Next Girlfriend,
You’ve been on my mind again. Over the Labor Day weekend and the following work week, I took my annual staycation. It’s time off of work during my favorite time of year. Those summer days right before fall and the beginning of the school year. I plan coffee dates or brunch with friends, wander in an art museum and linger in a library, check off things from my “to do only if I want to list,” see a movie matinee or two, write, nap, cook, and practice spontaneity. It is a time for reflection and restoration, and it’s a reminder I’m single. Continue reading
“Impermanence is one of the essential doctrines or three marks of existence in Buddhism. The term expresses the Buddhist notion that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is transient, or in a constant state of flux.” ― Source: Wikipedia
“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.” ― Alan Wilson Watts
Though the weather is summer-like with hot, humid days and buggy nights, autumn awaits around the corner as the sun rises later and sets sooner each day. Children return to school, and families reset their routines. It is a wistful, introspective time of year for me, a time to reflect on my life, to look back at where I’ve been and to what’s ahead. I often make new commitments and sometimes let go of others. Fall is always a time of change, both externally and internally. Continue reading
For his love of movies— for his love of life itself
“It would not be a stretch to say that Mr. Ebert was the best-known film reviewer of his generation, and one of the most trusted. The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw.” —New York Times, obit Continue reading
A Filmgoer’s Guide to Summer’s Romantic Comedies
Summertime is here and as expressed in the song from the opera, Porgy and Bess, by George Gershwin with lyrics by DuBose Heyward, “Summertime, and the livin is easy.” For me as a filmgoer, summertime means afternoon matinees in darkened, air-conditioned movie theaters watching romantic comedies and three Kleenex movies. Some movie fans, especially the young and male, prefer action blockbusters that transport them from the reality of their daily grind, and takes them on a fantasy vacation. Romantic comedies, which are often disparagingly referred to as “chick flicks,” feel more like going to a summer festival or fair and enjoying all the carnival confections. Continue reading