Post challenge

Well, I made it, Dear Readers (okay...maybe a little late)!

Okay, I am VERY late with this post; between finishing A to Z and my Kickstarter getting funded, and then getting cast in a production of Curtains: the Musical, there has been little free time lately. I am working on changing that though. In the meantime here are some thoughts on this years Blogging A to Z.

First, I actually planned out my posts and having a theme and something planned for each day really helped. That helped, especially on days that I had little spare time. Books were my theme, I picked a book that corresponded with the days letter. There are plenty of books I have read, so I was able to blog about each book. Although something to consider is that as I read books I should take some noted, just in case I plan to use that book for a future A to Z challenge, or any future blog. It is a bit more work, but I think it might help me to focus on details of the book.

Second, when I decided to do NaPoWriMo-National Poetry Writing Month, which means writing a poem a day-as well, it gave my posts a bit more substance. I'm a poet by nature, so it only makes sense that I would write a poem about that days featured book. Even if I wasn't doing NaPoWriMo I think I would still write a poem about whatever topic I was writing about (book, movie, etc.), because that is what I do.

Third, I need to push myself a bit harder when I do these challenges, because I find that when I have something to strive for then I manage to achieve those goals. This means next year I will plan out my April, and outline each post. It feels like a lot of work, but I think I can make my posts more engaging and provocative.

Blogging from A to Z has always been a challenge that I love to return to, and I hope you have enjoyed this years posts. Happy Reading!

jeltovski at morguefile

Election 2016 Thoughts (Time to Move Forward)

It's time to get thoughts out of my head before I explode.

Election 2016, truthfully, not what I expected. I don't anyone expected this.

First off, this is the first election that I was scared about the outcome. i am not a fan of George W. Bush, but he was a cakewalk compared to what I think is going to be 4 interesting years. While there is always risk with elections, 2016  poked a bear named Trump, argued  ethics with Hillary, and tried to get Bernie Sanders into the white house. There were  a lot of things that were building up pressure, namely the working class and people wanting politicians to be transparent. We also wanted honesty. We wanted someone to hear our voices. We wanted change.

Change we got.

But, think about this, Dear Readers, maybe this is the kick in the ass we need to make the changes we all want and crave.

I fear Trump because he is a bully and a bigot who is more than willing sacrifice us, the American people to the highest bidder. He wants to exploit our fears. Let's not let him succeed. Let's help him to make this county a better place.

     *I am scared because I am a woman, and my reproductive rights are now going to be a trial. I also have many female friends that also  would be hurt by this.

     *I am bi-sexual/pansexual (meaning I love whom I love). I have lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, queer, and transgender friends that are actually afraid for their lives and livelihood. The LGBTQ community is one that I am part of and its marriage rights just newly won and are now in jeopardy, because some people believe marriage is between a man and woman, only. Bollocks, I say! This country isn't strictly Christian or Catholic or Muslim. Why should one group dictate what everyone does.

      *I am pagan, a witch. I do not go to church. I believe Jesus was an incredible teacher, but he would never claim half of the things about gay rights, woman's rights, and minorities that they are experiencing. I believe in the world around me and the universe (god) can teach us so much from science to philosophy.

These are things that make up Cindy, and these things could potentially change, taken away: Birth Control and Abortion, Freedom of Religion and Marriage Equality/Gay Rights. They  could all go up in a poof of smoke if we don't stand and fight.

If we stop, we die.

What I am suggestng, Dear Readers is that we, as a county, as a people, come together and fight to be heard. Speak out. Treat everyone equally, especially if we don't agree with them. We work together to build a county we call ALL be proud of.

In the mean time, I suggest to you all (as was suggested to me), that you get involved in your communities. So of you already do this, especially if you are into community theatre, fantastic. But now is the time go beyond that. Start volunteering at places you have never offered help. Be a friend. Read to children. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Knit blankets for the homeless. Give your day old bagel sto someone who is hungry. Let's help each other build a new world. I want my nieces (Alicia, Alexis, Wendy, and Daphne; and my nephew Brent) to have a world worth inheriting. Teach respect and honour.

Also, a point I need to make, its okay to feel sad, angry, betrayed, hurt, lost, or even joyous, but DON'T ever make someone feel less than a person for their choices. Also, don't think that because people act one way doesn't mean they don't deserve respect. Everyone handles stress in different ways. Crying is more than okay. Voicing your opinion is also more than okay, it is necessary. Never make a person feel less than their worth, and if you do say something, remember you can always apologize and meet someone halfway. Sometimes its hard for people to communicate, maybe you need to take that first step. It isn't easy, but I am now convinced that it is possible. If my mentor can come between a thug and a scared woman while at a convention (when he was sick), then I think we, as a people, can can together to help. I plan to do better, and be better.  I support my friends and family, but I also know that sometimes I need to step back and gather myself, take care of me.

I have done a lot of gathering this past year and I am finally loving myself, writing for myself, and starting to make my own dreams come true. Building my own mythology. Building something better, outside of myself. Pay it forward. Make good art! Spread the love!

Remember, "United we Stand, Divided we Fall!"

Also remember, I see you. I believe in you. I love you!!

Thank you for your time. Just a little something I needed to get off my chest.

 

RENT (the Movie): A Short Review

I have never seen a live production of RENT.

This is fact!

I remember in college, freshman year, when the halls of my dorm echoed with La Vie Boheme. I knew NOTHING about the show it was from, except that everyone was singing it.

This is also fact.

In 1999 or there about one of my bestest friends made me a mix tape that included this song about RENT. What?

More fact.

Sometime ago I purchased a CD of the show RENT, vowing I would at least listen to the music.

Truth, but I only listened to it once.

Okay, Dear Readers, you are probably asking yourself what is the point to this post. Plenty. See, I don't post anything on my blog that isn't about something I haven't encountered or experienced. If I haven't seen something I will tell you thusly and it will only be a brief passing statement on blog post X, Y, or Z. I will never string you along about anything, when I mention something, there is a propose. What I am trying to say is that after a decade or so, I have finally seen a version of RENT.

Now, I know you might be thinking does she mean the musical or the movie?

It was the movie. And before any of you jump up fretting about movie versus music, please see my review of Charlotte's Web (features the animated movie, the live action movie, the book, and the musical). I want you to know that I will watch a theatrical production (even if I have to buy a DVD of it first) of RENT in the future. Over the years I have heard a number of things about RENT the musical, RENT the movie, RENT this RENT that....so, yes I watched the movie. And no, I didn't hate it.

Believe me I knew next to nothing about the characters, maybe a vague description about who was who and knew about five of the songs well enough. And yet I enjoy watching the WHOLE movie.

While it does kind of throw you into the world of NYC struggling artists and their messy lives, you do feel like getting punched in the feels. In a good way of course. OH THE FEELS!!! The acting, from what I can see, was good. I felt vested in these characters while I watched. Musically, I could enjoy all the songs, even got context on some of the songs that I didn't know before.

Some have told me that maybe it wasn't like the musical, but for a movie it was entertaining, touching, had a lot of musical moments, and I was entertained. I have a question to you, Dear Readers, have you watched the movie or the musical? What do you prefer? Leave me some love below...

If you were to ask me, Dear Readers, I could have to say the Mark is my favourite character. I could understand him and sympathize his arc. But, musically, I loved Mimi and Roger's songs, Light My Candle and I Should Tell You. As a whole the story is touching and give a real feel to this mismatched set of characters and their lives.

It was weird to not hear the standard dialogue that is featured in the musical version of the song RENT. But I think that was a directorial choice.

Note: it was nice to see Rosario Dawson in a musical role.

Overall, it was a decent movie, even go so far as to say a touching movie. It makes me curious to see a live production of it in the future.

Reflections

What a month!

I mean, seriously, what a month!

I had a full list of topic to blog about and all set to get ahead. In fact I had two challenges to work on, A to Z and NaPoWriMo. I was excited about the possibilities. Oh, course those and the theatrical productions that I am currently involved in, and a increasingly busy work load at the Evil Day Job soon made the month of April a challenge.

At first it was a random assortment of topics, but then I thought about writing and authors and books.But there were a few letters that I got hung up on, like Q and K and X. Like in improv, when you play 60 second alphabet you usually use X is for Xylophone, Z for Zoinks, and K for Karl. The A to Z challenege was no different coming up with topics for the difficult letters. But I had something special for this past month. What I had was a fantastic support system that lend a hand to helping gather ideas. Q is for Quietly, N is for Neil Gaiman, Z is for Zombie Prom, but X is always something like Xanadu, which only a few seem to know was mentioned in a poem once and a REALLY cheesy roller disco musical with Olivia Newton-John and Gene Kelly.

Anyway....

So I wrote about books, authors, music, poetry, and I wrote poems. Sometimes I used the daily letter to lead me to a topic that I would use for the daily NaPoWriMo poem. My friend, Jesi was doing the same things, although she started out writing combining the two challenges. It was the best idea and I will most likely do the same thing next year (for the WHOLE month). Streamlining blog posts is definitely a  good thing, especially if you are going to have a busy month, also, pre-planning of list of topics couldn't hurt. I may have not used everything on my original list, but it was nice to have a list to work off of.

But there was something else, something magical that happened during A to Z and NaPoWriMo as well. In the middle of writing and tweeting with my fellow writing and poets, I found a trio of amazing people. These three, what I have dubbed the Poets Three (or the Four Musketeers as Jesi calls us), became my closest poetic confidants and patient audience. Sometimes I doubted myself and Jesi would say something sweet or talk about something that we both remember fondly from our youth, or Rod and Lizzi would burst into random silliness and then I was laughing. They would rally around me offering support; and I would rally around any of them about their poetry or anything that was on their minds.

See, I met Jesi and Rod during OctPoWriMo last year and Lizzi during this year's NaPoWriMo. They are my friends and to quote Gonzo the Great, they are "There's not a word yet for old friends who just met." From Texas to Canada to England to New York, thanks for find each other Aramis, Athos, D'Artagnen, from Porthos. And I hope we always stay ALL FOR ONE!! Okay, let's break out the tissues now!! :-)

A to Z Challenge taught me that within the vast world out there, filled with everything from Apricots to Zebras and that amazing and zany things can happen out there. I love you guys and thank you!!

Here come OcPoWriMo...and Dear Readers, I will see you on the other side!