Libraries

I’m happy for her an all, but notably sad for myself. I gasped when I saw this on the News. Love her, holding it in for her Netflix stuff. 

BREAKING: Leslie Jones will not be returning for SNL’s 45th season

Movies and Films

There are movies on here that are brilliant, movies on here that are “kids movies”, movies that are horrible and movies that I loved but left out. A lot of these I continue to enjoy and will enjoy over and over again, and some I could never see again and maybe movies referenced that I never even finished. But all for one reason or another have significance—think recent This is US scene of Randall’s school speech. 

These are the films that impact me or stick with me ro make me feel at home and the ones that make me dig down and think are at the same level as the ones that just comfort me. Separately, these are films that match the point or duty of acting, films and stories--to learn something, big or small, important or mediocre, about someone else

StepMom

Today is the third Women’s March and with a weekend of protests and discussions looking at the complexity of the issues in the United States, certain films handle them well. As it is the Women’s March, that deals with the complexity of all issues related to those marginalized, a movie that brilliantly strokes the complications of life, is Stepmom.

I don’t know how well-known this film is for sure, but I don’t believe it is. Stepmom ranks as a great film about women and life not because of the large issues of life and death and new family, but the smaller, nuanced issues that blanket the film. Susan Sarandon’s character and Julia Roberts’ both represent women at opposite ends of the spectrum in the bigger understandings of how they act and their priorities but also in how they react, how they communicate, how they think things out and how they adapt. The film reminds viewers that there is a spectrum to people and our relationships with one another. Men and women, parents, children and grandchildren.

PS-- Thou, Julia Roberts’ line about how she's afraid the daughter will want her mother with her on her wedding day is fucking ridiculous, if she’s nothing thinking about her mother, she’s psychotic. 

Meishu, Leider, Ledare

Today, many in the US celebrate a world of chocolate, candies and fantasy. While books tells us the stories of ourselves, our community, those we don’t know and those we will never meet the public spaces we can enjoy these stories, explore and grow. But while many of these stories are true and these public spaces not all in libraries, many of the libraries would be empty if existing at all if not for...authors. 

November 1st is National Author Day, Gracia!

Dwight Shrute

Dwight's Best Moment: Season Three, Episode Twenty-One: Women’s Appreciation How he instantly runs out to catch who flashed Phyllis.

Dwight's Worst Moment: Season Five, Episode Two: Weight Loss When he drives, and abandons, Phyllis in 'a bad part of town' so she'll lose more weight.

Dwight's Best Line: Season Five, Episode When Jim attacks Dwight's decorating capabilities and specifically to the colors of the balloons being brown and grey balloons and he responds:

"They match the carpet."

Dwight's Most Memorable Moment: Season Six, Episode Nine: Double Date

After he spends the whole day trying to get everyone in the office to 'owe him one' but Andy keeps best him he gets frustrated and explains in the interview how he could've grown poison mushrooms that would be barely an inch high by now, but he puts it as a big deal because in reality they don't grow that much, because they're mushrooms.

The Gift of Fear

Not all books can be comforting, not all books are make-believe, not all books are heart-racing suspenseful; Gavin De Becker’s The Gift of Fear is all three. Gavin De Becker, the author, shares with us the stories of his clients who were raped by strangers, celebrities stalked by ‘regular people’, obsessed coworkers and more. He dissects them to show them, and us, where and when we should trust our gut and how it really isn’t our gut, but our logical mind setting off warning flags that society has told us to ignore.

I’m reminded of an SVU episode wherein thinking she’s just being racist, a young white girl allows a big black guy into her apartment to help her unload her groceries—she didn’t need the help, and she wasn’t being racist, there was something about him that she knew was off but told herself she should ignore it and then got raped. There are people who are racist, this book nor I ignore that, but just as women have been taught to smile, we have all been taught to be kind and understanding—even when we shouldn’t be. Sometimes it doesn’t matter much, but sometimes it means the end of our lives. He reminds us, me, of the phrase “look at someone’s actions, not at someone’s words”—he reminds us that people choose to be nice, charming—it doesn’t mean they are. He gives a list and more descriptions about Pre-Incident Indicators: methods used by those trying to get something from you that they are used to people ignoring:

Trying to make you two a team

Making you feel sympathy

Locking you down and trying to force a connection

Making a situation where you feel it’d be rude to not speak to THIS COMPLETE STRANGER

Trying to get you into your debt

Trying to make a deal with you, when really they could just leave

Refusing to hear the word no

People say this book could save your life, no. It reminds you that you already have the power to save and fight for your life, you just have to recondition yourself to listen to yourself and trust what someone is showing you. The aspects of this book being real and harrowing are obvious, the issues of comforting is how it allows us to trust ourselves again. This book isn’t just for young women, mothers, or the elderly. I’ve shared this book with managers, coworkers, friends and more. Share this book, read it’s tales and learn how you can survive. It’s awful, but as we know have work-place shootings as part of our fire safety, and the access the internet provides others with our personal details, this book is only becoming more important

Lack of Trust and it is the Police who are to blame

Growing up, I would come home from school and watch ALL the Law and Orders. Still do today. I didn’t hear much about how cops were pigs and corrupt—I heard a few stories but mostly kids and teenagers hating the police because they wanted to be against the government more than anything actually have happened to them

With the murder of Trayvon Martin I was very confused. It’s a kid, in a hoodie. 95% of my life I a kid in a hoodie, so…what’s going on here. Then I moved, spent less time with my parents and under strict supervision and would see and have interactions with police.

I’d see them texting while driving, the wrong way down a road.

I’d see them run through the red light without or without the siren on, or just turn it on so others would get out of the way. Both panic-inducing, confusing, disrupting and disturbing as that is a really, loud noise.

I’ve seen them brush off issues that they felt were beneath them to deal with and experienced them lying to me and my lack of understanding and believing and trusting them being held against me. Obviously I was the one who was lying, because at the time I didn’t know my rights. 

(ACLU, thank you for your efforts to make this and other protections in this and other interactions known: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/stopped-by-police#ive-been-pulled-over-by-the-police) 

The distrust of the police is not media brainwashing; it is the complete trust and authority given to police that comes from the all the television shows that at this point are pure propaganda. The police’s values are supposed to be about compassion, respect and professionalism but in my experience their main priority is not their life or even their paycheck but whatever they want when they want it. My experiences are small, but it is the lack of accountability with the most minor of offences that allow larger acts to go unreported—becoming part of the norm.

Police officers choose to serve their communities and they need to prove they are serving all of their community with police officers only being approved if they pass racial bias exams, and police communities are focused on reform with the guidelines set by Campaign Zero and other organizations and reporting systems based on integrity. (https://www.joincampaignzero.org/reports)

Combat, Cure & Craft

Some of the most prosperous and advanced countries have the comfort and ability to create and provide access to libraries. But with education and knowledge having the ability to create and improve communities, even in times of despair there are still those who promote the beauty of books

The National Library of South Africa (Cape Town, South Africa)

Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Alexandria, Egypt)

Syria’s Secret Library (Damascus, Syria)

“I dedicate this to all the Indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories, we are the original storytellers and we can make it here, as well.” 

Congratulations, Taika Waititi, on a historic win at the Oscars. Thanks for another beautiful film.