ROSE ROYCE Love Don't Live Here Anymore

Original...circa 1976

Love Don't Live Here Anymore-Madonna

Circa...1984

The Life of a Writer

So I know some of you have noticed I've been MIA for the past week or more. I have been covering the CineVegas film festival here in Valley. It was my first year to attend and I wanted to soak up as much of the atmosphere as humanly possible. I'm posting some of the pictures today because people have asked me about them. I will talk more about the events and post more pictures in a later post.

The Premiere of "The Rocker" actor Rainn Wilson

on Thursday, June 12

Actor Bill Pullman and Robin Leech at the Premiere of "Your Name Here"

Friday, June 13

Me and Rosario Dawson right after the premiere of "Explicit Ills", photo taken by Shamar Moore.
Saturday, June 21

Me and Shamar Moore in the Palms Casino.

about 5 minutes later...

Me and Elvis Mitchell just before the premiere of "The Great Buck Howard" Saturday, June 21

A view of The Palazzo Resort from the party at the pool on the 3rd floor.

The entrance of the closing night party, model Ms. Kimberly in a 9 ft tall Champagne glass.

The contortionist in the bubble at the Palazzo Resort.

Happy Father's Day!

Silver or Gold, which is which?

There are two versions of a great song below, who do you think did it better?

I first heard this song years and years ago. I loved it, from the first cord. It to me, says how hard it is to let go of the one you loved the most, yet not be bitter.

I didn't personally care for India's version when I first heard it but it's growing on me. I think I still prefer Don's version, maybe because of his voice, which I love.

Or, it could just be that a man saying those words--just means something more.

You almost expect a woman to be able to come to these conclusions but to hear a man say:

I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old, true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck, and the struggles we went through
And how I lost me and you lost you
What are those voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more?
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined...people filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age?
The trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition
Cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us doesn't keep me warm
I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I'd figured out
I have to learn again
I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
But everything changes and my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down and hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carryin' that anger, it'll eat you up inside
I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter
But my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore
I've been tryin' to get down to the heart of the matter
Because the flesh will get weak and the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me

Don Henley - Heart of the Matter

The original....Circa 1980's I think :)

Sex And The City Soundtrack - The Heart Of The Matter

India Arie's Version.....2008

You are free, you just don't know it yet.

Anyone remember the saying:

'Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part'?

My old hair dresser back in the day used to have that sign hanging in her basement shop. She was very strict on late appointments and frequent call offs.That was a long, long time ago but I sincerely believe that those words still ring true today. So where are you going with this, you may ask.

This year, marks my tenth year out of high school. It truly doesn't feel like it's been that long. Some days, I still feel very much like a child, albeit, a child with a hell of a lot of bills and 3 children herself. I watch Degrassi and Instant Star and can totally relate to some of the story lines. The point is I don't feel like ten years has gone by since I walked the halls to French class or to Ms. Battle's college writing classes. I'm kind of getting off subject a bit..Sorry.

So, I heard through the grapevine that a group of girls (that hung out together in high school) appointed themselves as head of the reunion committee. They didn't invite anyone with experience or the know how to join the aforementioned committee. Surprise, surprise.

Planing a party of this size takes months and months of organized planing. It takes experience and dedication but most of all it takes someone who can think outside of their own small world. The people who tried to put on my class reunion obviously had none of those things.

When you wait until November to send out an email blast stating that we need to send in a deposit for the reunion, even though you haven't given us any information on the when and the where, that constitutes a problem.

When you send out these emails with everyone of the addresses showing--instead of sending it bcc, that to me is problem. Everybody may not want everyone else to have their email information. It's just a professional courtesy.

I'm not sure if these girls are living in the same world that I am but gas is $4.17 here, and the price of plane tickets and car rentals are though the roof. In other words we a living in a recession, and people don't have hundreds of dollars to spend just to go to a high school reunion.

Communication is key, you can't accomplish anything when person 'A' thinks person 'B' is doing something and person 'C' thought they were supposed to do it, but in actuality 'D' did it because her heard from 'B' that 'C' didn't know how to do it. Confused? Yeah me too. That's all I saw in this short lived attempt to put together an over the top extravaganza.

By the time an itinerary did come out, they scheduled something for Friday night in one city, a cruise Saturday night in another and then close it up with another event on Sunday. All fine and dandy if you still live in the area, or have family in the area. I don't. so that means on top of buying plane tickets and event tickets I would have had to rent a car and get a hotel room. Plus, remember I have three kids...where are they going to go? A babysitter, or on the trip with us? I added up the total amount I would have had to spend and let's just say it was over a thousand dollars! I could go to Cancun or Disneyland and spend less then that.

There are plenty of alternatives I could have suggested. Like, have a BBQ at one of the hundreds of lakes in the area. Rent a VFW hall and have a cabaret type of event. Or, just have done one of the events originally planned. If the purpose of a reunion is to see everyone and catch up on old times, then all that extra wasn't necessary in the first place. I find it quite comical that one of the more affluent high schools near my Alma mater is doing a simple picnic, charging $10 or so per person. A school where I personally know that some of the graduates are doctors and lawyers and engineers.....Now, I'm not saying my class doesn't have any of those but...

To be honest, even if I still lived in the area I probably wouldn't go to the reunion. I've kept in touch with all my friends from high school. Everyone I care about--what their doing, how they are or what's going on their world...I can pick up the phone and just call. They know where I am, what I'm up to etc...because they are my friends. What's funny is none of them had planned to attend the reunion either.

So, the other day I hear through the grapevine that the reunion is cancelled. Due to lack class support....humm

Another quote comes to mind "Champagne plans on a Boone's Farm budget."

And now it begins...I will suduce you, with ink

One Segment I thought I would try is "Who did it best?" I will post two songs weekly and you tell me which is better....in your opinion.

I usually have a problem with remakes or covers but sometimes--sometimes, someone else comes along and does what the original artist just couldn't do.

The first post is below, The Queen Latifah-vs-The Rev. Al Green.

I will say this is one of my favorites of all time. Simply Beautiful.

Queen Latifah (Feat. Al Green) - Simply Beautiful

The Cover.....2005

Simply Beautiful - Al Green

The Original....circa 1972

Ch ch changes..

Change #1 for NWMC will be my post titles. They have always been derived from song titles. Most people didn't even notice so I don't think it will be a big deal. I am deciding between using actual lyrics or quotes from books off my bookshelf. I think it may even be kind of fun if someone can guess where I got the title from.

Change#2 I will have a few regular posts every week. Not sure how many but just stay tuned

Change #3 Will be the color scheme. Feel free to comment on my choices....I will probably go through a few before I find the one.

I'm sure there will be more to come but that's it for now. Please leave an opinion anytime on any post.

Don't Make Me Over

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do with this blog. What I want the format to be. Technically, I've been blogging since 2006 but I didn't touch it for almost a year, so I don't much count that. I didn't start it to be seen by others. However, over the course of the past year more and more visitors have stopped by, some have even stuck around. So I figure maybe it's time for a spring cleaning or an Extreme Blogger Makeover-web edition.

Sometimes I'll look at other blogs and get blogger envy at how smooth and fresh their layout looks. I admire how some are so consistent with their posts. It's nice when I go to Don's blog on Saturday and I know he's doing old school music wars. It's something I said I wanted to do--have regularly scheduled subjects on the same days every week, but as we all know I am the procrastination queen.

I've been asked by various people what's my blog about? I usually don't have a concise answer. It's sort of a hodgepodge I guess.

I don't talk about politics much, even though I am a active voter and have been since I turned 18. I could tell you how I feel about the candidates and all their shenanigans or how I think if you don't vote then you suck, but, it's not where my heart is, at least not today.

I also don't blog about beauty products. I don't think anyone cares what kind of soap I use or moisturizer. Not because I'm not interested in looking hot, I have-somewhat against my will-stopped paying much attention to how I look. I still bathe and comb my hair mind you....but there isn't any effort behind it. So sad.

I also don't really talk about writing or the process of writing I should say. I love writing but don't feel as though I have any authoritative knowledge on the subject to strictly talk about it. Not yet anyway.

I've seen plenty of "Mom Blogs" where women do nothing but gush over how cute their kids are and talk about what hilarious antidote that occurred during dinner. My kids are damn cute and some pretty funny stuff comes pouring out of their sweet little mouths too, but, you'll just have to take my word for it.

I kind of like the fact that I'm not confined to a single subject and I think I will keep it that way. That way I have the freedom to one day tell you that my youngest daughter started walking this past week. Or, that I love Avon thermafirm moisturizing cream. Or even, that I think Obama rocks and I can't wait to vote for him in November.

So maybe I won't do a extreme makeover just a mini dinner and a movie type of restyle. I'll try a few things out and see what works.

Suggestions always welcomed.