Pink: Truth About Love Tour

 Pink is a tiny dynamo with a great voice, a ton of energy, and a lot of material to present. I've been wanting to see her and Ray heard my hints (honey, I don't care how much it costs. I want to see Pink). He had to go scalper and this covered 2013/2014 birthday/Christmas, etc., but it was worth it.

 Great seats for The Truth About Love Tour.  Full house and the place was rocking. When she began by bouncing from a bungee cord and singing "Raise Your Glass", we knew this was going to be a crazy night. Lights, videos, dancers, and Pink bouncing everywhere. Wow!  Ray was not as up on her music, but he was impressed.  I loved the song "Try". Like the video, it was Pink with one male dancer. The song and dance were steamy. I also enjoyed her songs with the acoustic guitar player - "Who Knew?" is poignant.

"Blow Me One Last Kiss" was a winner. And with "So What" she was singing and flying all over the arena. She swooped down so low, I thought we could graze her hands. The whole Pink crew looked like they were having a blast. Pink chatted at times, smiled a lot, and sang her heart out.

We left pumped up and enthusiastic. Thanks, Ray for our Saturday night date to see Pink.

Epic NaNo Fail

Epic NaNo Fail.  I have written a page or two and I hated my characters, hated my alleged plot, and I question if I am a fiction novel writer.  So - I confess to failure. But my month of November has been fun. Lovely fall stroll at the arboretum.  See, I'm distracting you with pretty pictures

 And I caught up with a friend for lunch at the Kimbell Art Museum. Saw great art and also walked to the Amon Carter Museum for awesome photography exhibits.  And yes, I've been to movies, I've downloaded Netflix, and I've been reading a good book - "The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

I did write a poem to submit to Baseball Bard (have not been rejected yet). And I submitted Christmas material to Trinity Writers' Workshop for their annual childrens giveaway book.  (Charity, folks, charity!!)

So - I sorta began a NaNo but was never truly vested in the enterprise. I admit failure and I'm okay with it.

Are you distracted by the pretty pictures?  ...............yeah, me too.

Movie Madness: 12 Years a Slave

Solomon Northup wrote his book "12 Years a Slave" in 1853. Wow. Here was a black man in Saratoga, NY - free, educated, cultured (violinist), and happy with a wife and two kids. Life was great until he was lured by two men to go on tour with his violin and he ended up in Washington DC (south of the Mason Dixon line). Oops. After a night of wining and dining, he awakened shackled, alone, and without papers.

The film "12 Years a Slave" chronicles Northup's journey to hell and back. Chiwetel Eijofor needs to work on his Oscar speech now. His performance is spot on and often without dialogue. Just the puzzlement and despair on his face, and then his determination to survive is breathtaking. His first enslavement is with a "kind" plantation owner played by Benedict Cumberbatch. However, the overseer (Paul Dano) is petty, mean, and evil. Northup and Dano come to blows and the result is not pretty. Ultimately, the owner sells Northup to another. Then he's moved to another and here's where the going gets tough. Michael Fassbender's plantation owner is nutso evil. He flaunts his affair with a slave girl, Patsy, in front of his wife. She, in turn, manipulates Northup.

Mid-1800s was not a pretty episode in American history, and this film does not approach it lightly. The beatings, degradation, and slave life is depicted brutally honestly. It's not an easy film to watch, and yet it is absolutely intensely well done. Eijofor is one of those actors you've seen in lots of things - television and movies. Now he has leaped into the forefront of Oscar watch with this role of a lifetime. Brad Pitt, who is a producer on this film, is a hero also. As a white man who abhors slavery, he's Northup's connection to friends up North and his final passage to freedom. I'm not giving away a huge plot line - the man lived to write his book, but the twelve years he lost to happiness is horrific. This is not a popcorn movie. It is just great filmmaking and storytelling.

Are you Divergent? Read the book to find out.

I announce the next Hunger Games. Read Veronica Roth's trilogy - Divergent, Insurgent, and Allegiant. I have only read the first one and I'm hooked. Whoa. This is a futuristic, dystopic Young Adult series that can pull in adults too. Really good writing, well formed characters, and a very creative plot equals fun.

Beatris has never really felt like her clan family -Abnegation. She is a tad selfish and she yearns to break free. Well, she has her chance to change her life. Turning age sixteen allows her to pick from all worlds - Amity, Candor, Erudite, Dauntless, and Abnegation. She takes the test which involves a drug serum and hallucinogenic situations. She tests as a Divergent - meaning she's not conclusive and ultimately could be trouble. She needs to keep her results quiet, but she does choose the Dauntless family and becomes Tris. Her brother Caleb chooses Erudite. Thus both kids reject their selfless lifestyle.

As Tris, our heroine learns to jump onto and off trains, fight, kickass, leap from buildings into a net that she does not know is there, and altogether becomes daring. And yet, some selflessness is still instilled in her, and she questions her planet. What is the whole plan? The leader Eric is brutal, but the "co-leader" Four becomes a love interest. Tris is naive and yet learning. Her friends Christine, Al, and Will - everyone is working to find themselves, score points to earn their Dauntless title, and not become factionless (i.e. homeless).

Well, Tris, as a Divergent, is able to manipulate scenarios plus she's freakin' brave. Her scores are topnotch even though there are suspicions about her. Slowly, she gathers information and chats with her brother. The Erudites are planning a full out war over Abnegation's government and they plan to use Dauntless as the fighters.

The pace quickens and the battle is crazy. Fortunately, Tris is able to see her mother, father, and family. The results prove shocking and you, the reader, are hooked for the next book - Insurgent. Trust me - read this series now before the first movie in March 2014. Books > film

Movie Review Madness: Captain Phillips

Captain Phillips is based on a true story that was even more brutal than the film depicts. All I know is, I was on the edge of my seat and holding my breath at the end. Even knowing the outcome, I was truly vested in these people and feared for lives. As Rich Phillips, Tom Hanks, is an appealing all-American hero - quiet, stalwart, dedicated, and practical - a competent Yankee seafarer. He reassures his wife as he leaves - yes the world has changed and sailing around the Cape Horn of Africa is dangerous. However, that's his job and he's going to achieve the goal of getting the Maersk Alabama from Point A to Point B, even though he sails past the coast of Somalia.

Meanwhile, Somali desperado/fishermen are told they need to get back out on the water and earn some money. The lead Somali - Barkhad Abdi -(nicknamed Skinny) is not a trained actor, but his fierce charisma holds the screen. Sure enough, they are tech savvy and their gear plots the course of the Alabama. They approach quickly, circumvent the water hose blasts, and manage to get aboard. Captain Phillips had feared for this very incident. He had his crew doing practice drills, and then had to announce, "This is real world. Hide in the engine room." It became an outwit, outplay, outlive the terrorists real-life game.

Ultimately, the Somalis take Phillips as hostage in the small life boat. As they pilot it toward their port, a bigger brinksmanship occurs. US Naval power and Navy Seal expertise work to defuse the situation. Skinny seeks dominance over the situation. He truly believes he will get ransom money, survive, and his goal is to go live in America. Captain Phillips has faith in the Navy, and he quietly tries to create tension amongst the pirates. This earns him some beatings. The movie does not go overly political and yet there are some lines showing the level of desperation involved in Somali life for these young men.

Director Paul Greengrass excels at directing the actors and action. He ratchets tension - we feel the lack of air in the lifeboat, the thirst building, fear, and lack of control. Captain Phillips is a great modern seafaring adventure that demonstrates America's reach and power. It's also about men and a will to win and live. Climb aboard, mate, and prepare for an ocean of entertainment.

Fort Worth Treats

A glorious Saturday in Fort Worth's Cultural District. Here is a sneak peak at the new Renzo Piano Pavillion. It sits opposite the Louis Kahn designed Kimbell Art Museum.  The Pavilion will house the library, auditorium, education rooms, and has underground parking. It is understated and yet elegant, and adds to the Kimbell campus. I'm looking forward to taking a tour.

 Meanwhile, at the Kimbell, there is a huge exhibit called The Age of Picasso and Matisse courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago. The show features not only Picasso and Matisse but other radicals in their day - Brancusi, Duchamp, Kandinsky, plus Dali and Miro.  Cubism and Surrealism are not my favorites, but I can appreciate the history and influence in these master works.

 Over at the Amon Carter, this Color! exhibit on American Photography is really worthwhile. At the time, serious photographers sneered at the advent of color. However, in viewing the growth and experimentation, one can see how "color can simultaneously describe objects and stand apart from these objects as pure hue." (Amon Carter program).

One final small but fascinating exhibit is Hotel Texas: Art Exhibit for President and Mrs.JFK.  The Kennedy's spent the night in Fort Worth prior to the eventful day in Dallas fifty years ago. For their stay, sixteen famous works of art were used to decorate Suite 850 of the Hotel Texas. Thirteen of these works are now on display at the Amon Carter. Apparently Mrs. Kennedy was quite "amazed by the beauty of the works, and truly appreciated the effort." The keynote piece was Thomas Eakins "Swimming".

The Fort Worth Cultural District is a treat on a lovely fall day.

NaNo Nutso

Friday, November 1, 2013 and I am crazy, nuts, insane. Yep - I am going to attempt a National Novel Writing Month novel.  Fifty thousand words in thirty days. Oh, it's possible. I've done it before, but then abandoned that work. By the end of November, I hated my characters, my plot, and my writing. I did not participate last year.

However, I've published non-fiction, flash fiction, and poetry. Somewhere, there is a novel inside of me. Surely I can develop a character arc that is remotely interesting to read. Okay - I think I'm already behind on my word count.

I'll keep you posted on my progress and maybe even upload some of the bizarre crap my fingers type. This could be amusing.

Gotta go NaNo now.