FAITH

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

When I read this quote, I can clearly imagine walking down a set of stairs and God putting the steps in place as I walk. This is exactly what happens when we operate our lives in faith. Believing that there is a plan to all things and that ultimately your control is minimal to none gives you a greater understanding that God did not create us to fear. We are created out of greatness and should behave accordingly. Great people stand bold! Therefor, I charge any person who reads this to stand bold in faith. For it is our faith that pleases God.

Don Cheadle ~ The finest

I commend Don Cheadle, my favorite actor, for his role in Brooklyn's Finest. A gritty New York cop film that wasn't pumped up out of proportion although the cast was phenomenal. Cheadle who has given us many great performances...Crash, Traffic, Devil in a Blue, Talk to Me, Traitor, Hotel Rwanda, Oceans 11,12 &13 to name a few was magnificent as under an undercover narcotic detective who had grown fond of drug dealer (Wesley Snipes) who saved his life (not explored in the film). I was initially turned off by this movie simply because the subject matter has been used over and over again but to my amazement the film did not feel old. It didn't feel new and fresh either, more like visiting with good friends. Well worth the 4 bucks I paid for it at the salon last Saturday. I plan to buy the real copy as well!

Lesbianage

My best friend and I will turn 40 soon. As women approaching middle age often do, during one of our tea times (the times we visit and catch up, usually over a cup of tea), we were making comparisons of our coming of age with those who came of age sometime later. While discussing some of the things we used to do back in the 80's, she commented that many of her husband's friends' wives giggle about how they experimented with girls in college. Her husband is 5 years her junior. She expressed that while we were consumed with getting money from guys who had a lot of it, girls later down the line was consumed with sexual exploration with the same sex. Her colorful comment was "we may have been sack-chasers or what ever you want to call it but at least we weren't involved in all the lesbianage that they were". I laughed so hard! What a clever term! I am not homophobic at all. It was just something funny that I had never heard before.

How Do You Rate Movies?

I have received so much backlash over stating that Why Did I Get Married, Too? was an overrated display of minimal talent. In wake of this unsettling discord, I had to re-evaluate how I rate movies. Maybe I'm just too hard on them. Anyhow, these are some of the things I look for in a movie. #1 A Story Line - The movie has to tell me a story. It has to have a beginning and an ending and some good stuff in between. It just has to make sense. #2 Believable Dialogue - The exchange between the characters have to come off as real talk. The delivery and the situation need to coincide with the story. #3 Cinematography - The movie should look good.

I give extra points for things like relatability, costumes and music. But those things add they don't take away.

I watched the above mentioned in its entirety. I didn't even get up for popcorn or an alchoholic beverage (like I could have seeing that I was viewing at Emagine that afternoon) so if I missed what was going on with those couples, it must have been because I stopped paying attention. And with good reason. WHAT WAS THE POINT? They get together for this couples retreat to accomplish what? I absolutely love Jill Scott, so she gets a B- on the strength of my love for her music. I like Janet Jackson too but her performance warrants a D. I couldn't believe anything about her character, right down to the way she smokes a cigarette. She was a better actress during her Good Times days. Everyone else was fair except for Malik Yoba he was actually good and look what happened to him.

Tyler Perry Films are entertaining but extremely predictable. I don't choose to watch a movie because it contains an all black cast. And I think a lot of people judge his movies favorably because of that factor.

Here are some of my favorites; some black, some not.

Kill Bill -Paid In Full- The Patsy Cline Story- Fried Green Tomatoes- Ellen Brockovich- Malcom X- Carrie- Sixth Sense- Pulp Fiction- Traffic- Poltergeist- Beloved-Baby Boy

Loving You

As you grow more into your very own person and I witness who you are, while catching a glimpse of who you may become, pride doesn't express the elation that I feel. How could it be that such miracles have been entrusted to me? If you ever wonder how I am able to do what I do, find your reflection. A mother's love knows no bounderies.