The Problem With Assumption? | Black and Married With Kids.com – A Positive Image of Marriage and Family
29 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Love, Marriage, Relationships, Reposts Tags: advice, love, marriage, relationships
Old Friends, New Prospects
27 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Entertainment, Ramblings Tags: All My Children, daytime drama, Hulu, HuluPlus, iTunes, One Life To Live, Prospect Park, soap opera
Two years ago ABC broke my heart.
I spent a great deal of my life, between my grandmothers and even my father, immersing myself into the lives of the denizens of Pine Valley and Llanview, Pennsylvania. The fictional homes of All My Children and One Life To Live were about to be no more, as someone in management decided to take these decades-old fan mainstays off the air. The fans–myself included–railed back loudly. A savior in the guise of Prospect Park gathered up the rights for the two shows after their final airings and, amidst almost as much drama as the shows themselves offer, manage to find an online platform to relaunch. And so, on Monday, April 26, the fans’ prayers have been answered, and our TV families are back in the mix. Anyone with access to Hulu.com, HuluPlus or iTunes can once again tangle with the Lords, Mannings, Martins, Chandlers, Hubbards and the venerable Erica Kane.
And this ecstatic viewer can finally watch the finales that have been holed up on her TiVo. To a new era with old friends!
Related posts:
Carolyn Hinsey, TAINTED DREAMS: Welcome back, AMC and OLTL!
Mark Brennan Rosenberg, How ABC’s Loss is Prospect Park’s Gain
Variety, Inside the Online Revival of ‘All My Children,’ ‘One Life to Live’
Vassar’s Powerhouse Theater Season Announced – NYTimes.com
26 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Entertainment, Reposts Tags: Alexander Hamilton, Broadway, Broadway theatre, Lin-Manuel Miranda, musical, musical theater
The last paragraph is all that matters…..
4 Ways to Spring Clean Your Marriage | Black and Married With Kids.com – A Positive Image of Marriage and Family
22 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Love, Marriage, Relationships, Reposts Tags: advice, love, marriage, relationships
What Is It About Marriage That Keeps Us Coming Back? | Thought Catalog
15 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Love, Marriage, Relationships, Reposts Tags: advice, love, marriage, relationships
Little Known Black History Fact: Jules Lion
11 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Reposts Tags: Black History
Just because I can…and because I never shy away from sharing new-to-me Black History….
Jules Lion was a free black photographer from France that entered New Orleans around the late 1830’s. Although he started as a lithographer, he introduced a special type of portrait that was new to the United States called Daguerrean photography. This was the first type of photography in the country before more advanced exposures were created. Because this was a new picture-taking process from overseas, some believe Lion’s work gave birth to photography in the United States, especially among blacks. He was one of the first blacks to be known as a Daguerrean photographer, which spread to other budding black photographers quickly (like James Presley Ball) and throughout the country.
Lion’s story in New Orleans began in the late 1830’s as a lithographer, but around 1837, he was driven back to France for a year with the declining economy to sharpen his photography skills under the method of Louis Jacques…
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Relationship Resolutions – Dating Tips and Resolutions for Better Relationships – ELLE
08 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Love, Marriage, Relationships, Reposts Tags: advice, love, marriage, relationships
The Balcony Is Closed: Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert and My Love Affair with Them and the Movies
05 Apr 2013 1 Comment
in Entertainment, Nostalgia Tags: film, Gener Siskel, legacy, memorial, movie critic, movies, Roger Ebert
Yesterday afternoon my Twitter feed was flooded with news of Roger Ebert’s passing. Not five minutes before I read those headlines I saw a link from his blog about his “Leave of Presence,” where he outlined his plans to step back from his incredibly heavy schedule reviewing movies and restructuring and revamping his own website and interests. Even in the face of declining health, Mr. Ebert was planning to move forward full throttle.
I remember as a young child watching selected programs on public television; one of those programs came on much later than my bedtime allowed, but I somehow managed to sneak in front of a TV to watch. It was a movie review program with two seemingly astute and knowledgeable critics giving their spirited opinions about recent theatrical releases. Yep, I was a 12 year old egghead watching Sneak Previews. Much like many who follow Mr. Ebert and his TV partner Gene Siskel through each incarnation of their show (At The Movies, Siskel & Ebert At The Movies, Siskel & Ebert AND The Movies, etc.), most of my viewing experience was guided by their simple “thumbs up/thumbs down” approval ratings system. Admittedly, the “stars” rating did come into play, but movie executives and marketers lived and died for the “two thumbs up” badge of honor. Of course, there were certain opinions of theirs I didn’t necessarily agree with (and movies I saw anyway despite their panning), but I would always listen to their viewpoints and consider them carefully as I watched or avoided a given film. (No offense intended to Richard Roeper, Siskel’s TV successor and Ebert’s seemingly heir-apparent, but this was the dynamic duo I grew up with and swore by for many years….so this is a huge loss for me.)
My favorite Roger Ebert memory, however, came from his appearance during the NAACP Image Awards. I wish I remembered what year it was and that I saved the recording, but this cemented his cool points with me. Comedian Steve Harvey was hosting a tribute section for the Isley Brothers and picking people from the audience “at random” to play a game of Name That Isley Tune. Harvey called upon Mr. Ebert, who stood ready and eager to participate. As the music played he seemed to think about his answer, then leaned toward his companion, a beautiful Black woman, for confirmation of the correct answer. After giving his answer Harvey asked Mr. Ebert if the lovely lady was his date. Puffing out his chest, Mr. Ebert proudly stated, “That’s my wife.” Quickly recovering from his brief surprise, Harvey gave Mrs. Chaz Ebert a quick once-over, looked at Mr. Ebert and said, “Two thumbs up.” The response garnered both Harvey and Ebert a thunderous round of applause.
I was saddened to hear about cancer diagnoses for both Mr. Siskel and Mr. Ebert; we lost Mr. Siskel in 1999 due to surgical complications from a brain tumor, and later hearing about Mr. Ebert’s battle with thyroid cancer was equal parts painful and inspiring to watch. We all sat dreading this day but dwelling in hope from all of the blog posts and reviews and exciting projects Mr. Ebert kept up. I imagine that enough groundwork and structure was set in place for everything to continue forward as planned, it’s just going to be markedly sadder because of this huge loss to the entertainment community.
Mr. Ebert’s last line in his last published blog was, “I’ll see you at the movies.” I look forward to it, sir. Until then, and for the last time, the balcony is closed.
Related articles:
Leave of Presence – Roger Ebert: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html
Ebert and Siskel: Partners shared unique relationship: http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-ebert-siskel-20130404,0,7261935.story
Roger Ebert’s Journal–Remembering Gene: http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/02/i_remember_gene.html
Roger Ebert Reunites With Gene Siskel to Review Heaven – Hypervocal.com: http://hypervocal.com/news/2013/roger-ebert-obit/
Roger Ebert – words away: http://davidmzs.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/roger-ebert/
Roger Ebert, RIP – Whatever: http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/04/04/roger-ebert-rip/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
The Terrific Twos
04 Apr 2013 Leave a comment
in Miscellaneous, Nostalgia, Ramblings Tags: anniversary, blog, blogging, milestone, resolutions
ter·rif·ic [tuh-rif-ik]
adjective1.extraordinarily great or intense: terrific speed.
2.extremely good; wonderful: a terrific vacation.
3. causing terror; terrifying.
So apparently I’m two years and two days into this blogging thing….
It’s been a terrific ride, by ALL of those definitions: I’ve had some intense and wonderful moments and it’s largely been a lot of fun. Mainly, this whole thing is still terrifying as all get-out.
I’m still trying to find my rhythm with this one but I think I’ve got a good plan in place. I’m trying to keep up the Marriage Minded Mondays and keep them pretty well balanced, I still have a few Trash Prompts in the pocket to publish, there are two really substantive interviews I’ve been stalled on finishing (once I give myself a swift kick and publish them, you’re gonna love them–they’re really good and quite informative), and I’m sure there’s some fodder out there for a new series of Dumbass Diaries. Not to mention I know for a fact there’s a 10th season of So You Think You Can Dance coming up, so…yeah, this two year old is picking up steam.
Now my other blog, Practicing Christian, needs some intensive care. I don’t know how other people with more than one blog manage to balance things….I had such ambitious plans for the beginning of the year, and have only managed a few reposts. I’ve done the background research on setting things up but I can’t figure out how to best set up a self-sustaining plan. I dislike the red-headed stepchild treatment myself, so I’m feeling mad guilt about neglecting my other “baby.” Something I still have to work on, I guess.
Still finding my legs and my voice like any other two-year-old, but with practice I think I can go from wobbly knees to a full sprint. Thanks for hanging with me on the journey–let’s see what new kind of trouble we can get into. 😉