Only 34 More Days of Pre-Spring

In case you were wondering...

Pre-Spring ends February 28

 and

Early Spring starts March 1!

In the meantime, here's some sunshine I imported, just for you.

Dancing Down the Freeway of Life (movie review)

Although I love California, I'm not a big fan of Los Angeles. La La Land, the new musical fantasy movie, reveals both the car-clogged side I'm familiar with and a surreal fantasy perspective that lives in the dreams of aspiring artists.

The opening song and dance on the freeway shows the duality of the city and the duality of one's view of life. Most of those people stuck in traffic are on their way to dull jobs such as Mia's (Emma Stone) barista one, but dream of doing something creative; in her case, acting in movies. She meets Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), an aspiring jazz musician reduced to playing Jingle Bells on the restaurant's piano.

La La Land is visually stunning. The director shows Los Angeles in her best possible light, all twinkling lights seen from hilltops, a lonely pier at sunset, or a conveniently empty planetarium. We hardly ever see the traffic and highways and road rage. We do see the rejection and frustration, the conflict between selling out and being true to your ideals.

Most of the songs are forgettable, except for "City of Stars" and the haunting "Audition," which made me cry, much to my husband's surprise. He found La La Land "two hours of nothing." He felt there was no plot.

Maybe you have to be a creative person in order to get this movie. Although it has delightful songs and dances, it isn't as fluffy as it seems. It really made me think.

Is life a daily grind where talent is ignored or rejected over and over?

Or is it a freewheeling dance down the freeway?

Thoughts from Guinan on a Snowy Day

"We will prevail. As long as there's a small pocket of humanity who still believes, we will prevail."
-- Guinan, Star Trek: The Next Generation



Brrr! It's soooo cold out there. For the second day in a row, there's an extreme cold temperature warning. At least the sun makes it look pretty.

Warmest wishes for the holiday season
 and a Happy New Year!

 

"Don't delay. Send yours in right away."

"Love's in Need of Love Today"
by Stevie Wonder

from Songs in the Key of Life, 1976

Kelp! Beatle Fun on Twitter

Yesterday on Twitter there was a hashtag,

#BeatlesForFoodies ,

which was an invitation to change the title of a Beatles song

to make it more inviting for foodies.

Here are some of my contributions:


Rubber Sole

Kelp!

Honey Dew

Grill

Glass Onion Rings

Martha My Deer  (or Martha My Venison)

All My Oven

I've Just Seen A Plaice

I'll Follow the Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Wordless Wednesday - Niagara-on-the-Lake

On the way home from Corning, we stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake to browse...

...and to have dinner at Queen's Landing, with a view of the Niagara River.

Interesting Article on Hybrid Authors - Toronto Star

"Hybrid writers get the best of both worlds" by Mike Doherty, Toronto Star

I enjoyed this article about authors who are successful using both traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Published on Saturday August 13, 2016.

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2016/08/06/hybrid-writers-get-the-best-of-both-worlds.html