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Twice Bitten by La La Land, Love & Regret
Forget the singing, the dancing, the sets, the terrific, catchy music, and the fantasy of La La Land. What remains at the core of this award-winning film is character development and a love story that viewers are intentionally swept into from the opening scene of this boy-meets-girl movie romp that harkens back to old-time musical storytelling. If you haven’t seen the film yet, first of all, shame on you, and second of all, stop reading here, because I’m going to dissect the guts of the plot and meaning as opposed to an overall review. I honestly don’t want to spoil it for you, so if you haven’t watched it, close…
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Don’t Put Limitations on Yourself: Inspiration to Achieve the Goals You Set for Yourself
* Writer and director James Cameron (Titantic, Avatar, and the Terminator) says it best at the end of his Ted Talk on Ted.com: Don’t put limitations on yourself; other people will do that for you. I typically show this Ted Talk to my university feature writing students each fall after they read a piece about the iconic director. We discuss the profile article, the writing style, the use of feature techniques, and then we talk about James Cameron—as he is portrayed in the article. You see, when you read an article about someone, it’s from that one person’s perspective. And sometimes, he or she doesn’t get all the details, facts,…
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In The Words of Maya Angelou, “Don’t Bring Negative To My Door.”
I’ve always been a cheerleader. In 7th grade I made the squad, and then again in high school I made it, and I cheered throughout my years in school. When I was done there, I cheered with the band at Towson University for the Tigers, and then did it again for the Orioles as a front office employee. Now, as a grown, middle-aged woman who works as an educator, I cheer for my students. Cheerleaders want others to do well for themselves. We have hope inside of us, and wish the best for others. You may be wondering what’s charged me up tonight. It’s a long story, and one I’d…
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LL Cool J, Goals & Awards
I would by lying if I said I didn’t want to place in the National Indie Excellence Awards contest for authors. This morning’s butterflies told me so; I had received an email the day before letting me know the winners and finalists would be announced today. I have a bit of a competitive spirit about me and was hopeful that Beneath the Mimosa Tree would receive a positive reception from the judges. It did. I am a finalist for romance. The winner in the category is Bonnie Trachtenberg, a lovely lady I met in Miami in November when we accepted our medals at the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. I am…
