writing – *the gratitude-a-thon

gratitudeathon day 3012: I’m back! and so is the red carpet

March 3, 2025March 3, 2025Uncategorized3 Comments

Hey, member me? It’s been a minute, and for that, I apologise, but here I am and we’re back on the carpet for all the hot takes and fashion faux pas.

You’re wearing THAT? The Worst:

Yasmin Finney, A Feather in Your Cap, er, Face.

How many peacocks were killed to make this face-framing disaster? The dress has a cool shape, but everybody on the carpet was probably like, “GOD, I hope I’m not sitting behind her.”

“Wicked Director going through the contract with Ariana Grande: “And you will have to dress like Glinda for two years.”

I love her. I love her commitment to the part, which she’d longed for and dreamed about since she saw the show when she was an embryo. But this dress, a cross between Mother Ginger in The Nutcracker who houses a trillion kids who scamper out from under in the first act, and a toilet paper roll doll is horrendible. Follow the yellow brick road home and change and I’d rejoicfy.

Wicked Director going through the contract with Cynthia Erivo: “And you’ll dress like an evil bitch, even though your character (spoiler alert) is truly the good one, for two years.”

She’s been bringing it to the carpet at every award show this year. Dazzling displays of bad assery, one dress after another, but damn, this is just sartorially evil. Who knew when the song said “Something bad is happening in Oz,” that they were talking about this dress. Side note: the nails. As my sister said last night, “How do you, uh, wipe your ass with nails like that?” How do you do ANYTHING?

Timothy Chala MAY have worn the worst suit ever.

Again, he’s a fucking Brando in the making, a truly savant-ish, superior, comes-along-only-once-in-a-very-little-while guy, but a butter yellow (and yes, I’m aware it’s the color of the moment), leather suit, with BLACK SHOES, no less? And a girlfriend who looked like she was an extra in Anora (a Kardashian, WHICH PUZZLES ME), No, nope, I gave at the office.

Daryl Hannah does not make a splash.

I appreciate that she didn’t want to be a glambot, but also, if you’re going to go so casual, at least make it work. The concept is good, but proportions are off, the hair should have been up. It’s not a presenter-at-the-Oscars-worthy look.

Goldie get-some-glasses and CHANGE YOUR HAIR Hahn

I get it, she wore the color of her name–ugh. This dress didn’t flatter, although in this picture she looks a lot better than she did on the screen. as a 79 year old, with a 79 year old’s skin, maybe wear some sheer fabric to cover up the bits that aren’t 25 anymore, maybe wear your funky specs out on the stage so you can read, which is why you’re there. Maybe change your fucking hair for once in your life.

Mirror, mirror on the wall, please break so I can make Halle a dress for the Oscar Ball.

I love her head, her head looks gorg, but this dress is a mosaic of every mirror that’s ever been broken since 1864.

Storm Ried as Batgirl goes to the prom.

Just in case, she was called away to a super hero event, she was ready to fly away.

An extra from Anora shows up on golden (yellow) boy Timothy Chalamet’s arm.

With a gazillion dollars at your disposal, the girlfriend of a superstar, stylists falling at your feet, your big sis, a contemporary model with exceptional taste and you choose stripper fashion? (WITH ALL DUE RESPECT TO STRIPPERS EVERYWHERE WHO WOULD OBVIOUSLY HAVE BETTER TASTE), Kylie Kardashian looked like she could have been Chalamet’s escort, or his slutty mom. He’s so fresh faced, and she’s so, ugh, Kardashian.

And the style stars, the ones who actually had mirrors, (that were not on Halle’s dress.)

Da’Vine WHAT A FUCKING Joy Randolph.

From the flattering hair, to the shape, jewelery, and shoes, this woman looked elegant, stunning and I’m just gonna say it, PERFECT. For a woman who is not a size 2, I thought she set the carpet on fire with this classic, but modern look that she should wear every day for the rest of her life.

Sing it, sister, this was one of my favorite dresses EVER.

Ok, this was an exception to the rule that she must always dress like Elphaba–this jaw-dropping white dress with flowers and tulle (do I have to remind you how I want to MARRY tulle and have little tulle babies?) made me scream and swoon. It’s a dress that’s made up of every single thing I love. and it’s in my ALL TIME FAVORITE DRESSES IN THE ENTIRETY OF THE WORLD category.

Zoe Saldonit

I am a little in love with the top of this dress–that modern, but feminine netting–swooooooooon. But the bottom leaves me ambivalent. I don’t love the bubbled layers, but without, it might have just been too simple. And the bubble thing is on-trend, so get it, and yet, something doesn’t work quite right for me, even though I totally wouldn’t shut up about how much I loved it during the entire show….! The necklace is off. it’s the wrong piece. I would have done no necklace and long earrings. She looked fresh faced and lovely overall, and it was great to see how happy she was when she won.

Felicity Jones-ing for this dress.

The fabric and cut-outs made this conservative dress a winner winner chicken dinner. Consider this dress without the bow and it’s super mod, but with, it’s classic with a twist. That subtle hair, jewelery and makeup won me over.

Michele Yeoh. If she wasn’t an actress, she could be a stylist.

Does she ever get it wrong? Does she ever choose ugly? Does she ever miss? That would be a no, a no, and yup, a no. A 2025 color, a shape that flatters, a simplicity that wins, and a necklace I want.

Wadja think? Give me your style stars and absolute NOs.

gratitude-a-thon day 1031: that light at the end of the tunnel–turns out it’s the truth

April 26, 2017April 26, 2017Uncategorized1 Comment

Here is the thing. Truth.

I saw an Instagram post by awesomeness herself, Elizabeth Gilbert announcing that she’d be teaching one section of a course that Martha Beck was having. I thought for approximately two point nine seconds before deciding to take it. After all, what did I have to lose? Why not see what an online course was like? What else am I doing on Tuesdays from 1-2:30 that I can’t do on Wednesdays from 1-2:30?

Well. Well, well, well. What a fucking thing. The course is offered in three sections. The first being called “Truth.” Now, I am a pretty truthful, warts-here-for-your-viewing- pleasure-tell-it-like-it-is kind of girl, but what I learned from this five week dive, is that the more truthful you are, the better your writing will connect to someone.

Jungle-Path-2-1600x1200-wide-wallpapers.net — There are a whole bunch of ways to get to the truth. Ways I didn’t even know about.

It’s not like I haven’t experienced this right here on this blog. It’s not like when I teach advertising students, I don’t teach them about “the compelling emotional truth” and how that’s what you gotta have in an ad to make people connect. It’s not like I haven’t been doing this my whole life (Jesus, someone help me throw out those whiney, but truthful journals stashed upstairs in the third floor closet).

BUT, see Martha has secrets. I mean, they’re not like secrets she won’t tell. And she did, and this woman is brilliant, and skilled and experienced at driving a big-ass four wheel SUV through your pretense. She forced our hands to grab big chunks of our deepest selves. With “I never thought of it that way” examples that had me all like, “HOLY FUCKING SHIT,” and homework that was like having a few therapy sessions, she showed me new ways to get to the truth. This was the money shot for me–that there are like a bajillion avenues, blocked roads and tiny little paths that can lead you to find the real stuff that lives inside your most guarded areas, and if you can uncover those, and put them to paper (or computer screen), you’ve got something BIG, something that other people will read because it WILL BE TALKING TO THEM. Because they have all those protected places too, so they’ll understand. IT’S THE LANGUAGE OF TRUTH. And t’s like any language–you have to study it to learn it, you have to practice, and it takes real time to become fluent.

So, did I know all this before the class, yes. I knew the truth was the thing. I did. I knew that. BUT THIS IDEA THAT THERE ARE MANY WAY TO GET TO THE TRUTH, WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO THE TRUTHIER TRUTH, THAT’S WHAT I LEARNED.

OHqbcMG — No, no, no. Enter. The Do Not Enter places are exactly where a whole bunch of the real truth is hiding.

Also, I learned that people are amazingly resilient. And that many of them signed up for this course! An online community is an extraordinary thing. The kind of love that’s shown to people is palpable. I really can’t believe the tenderness you can feel for someone you have never met in person, and who only lives in Facebook photos and words. There is only one word for it and that is lovely.

Tomorrow is the Elizabeth Gilbert class, which is the whole reason I signed up for this class to start with. But she couldn’t be better than what I’ve experienced in these last four classes. All hail Martha Beck and all the LightWriters. Gratitude, guys. This was a big bowl of pasta with garlic, olive oil and a generous heaping of parmesan, bread and butter on the side, for me. In other words, heaven.

gratitude-a-thon day 1022: be the truth

March 30, 2017March 30, 2017UncategorizedLeave a Comment

Unknown

I used to take short story classes all the time. Mostly before I had kids, but a few afterward, too. But I haven’t taken a class in a long time. Until this week. I began an online writing class with Martha Beck, of Expecting Adam and Oprah fame. It’s about getting to your truth. And while I think I’m always down there in the trenches of the real shit, you can probably mine for the gold down in that area of the world forever. So I am.

truth_sign

What’s interesting is that this blog has mostly been about the truth, until last year. Last year, my daughter had a difficult time after her knee surgery, which unexpectedly ripped her from soccer, which she’d played since she was five. It was a very emotional period for us all and although I was experiencing her deep pain and suffering with her, I was also having my own reaction, my own experience of the situation. Normally, I can write that, share that, and it frees me. But since this wasn’t mine to talk about, I didn’t. And I have realized it made me stop writing so much because I couldn’t be truthful. I don’t like painting pretty pictures with words if they’re fake. I can smell fake and so can you.

So, I am hoping that this class, called Be the Truth will help me get back to, well, the truth. Oh, and I’m cooking up a new blog I think could be really interesting and cool, so I hope it will help me in developing that, too. Stay tuned. Here’s to the real, real.