When I was first given the opportunity to present at Pecha Kucha last month, I was really excited. As I've mentioned before, I love Random Acts and what they stand for. I wanted more people to know about them. I wanted people to understand what an impact this organization has had on my life. And then the shooting in Orlando happened. And a number of seemingly-innocent traffic stops turned deadly. And of course, it's an election year, so there's plenty of negativity going around there. I … [Read more...] about My Birthday Wish: Day Two
Ramblings and Reviews
My Birthday Wish: An Introduction
Welcome back to my oft-neglected blog! Seems like writing is becoming less of a passion and more of a hobby lately. And that's okay! I just have to trust that there will be time for me to return to writing for longer stretches of time, sometime in the hopefully-not-too-distant future. But today, I wanted to write about my birthday wish. If you follow me on social media at all, you'll notice that over the past year I've become enamored with the organization Random Acts. Founded by actor … [Read more...] about My Birthday Wish: An Introduction
As Promised, My SPOILER-FREE Review of The Force Awakens
You know the phrase, "if only I'd known then what I know now"? When I watched the first Star Wars movie back in the '70s while I was a kid, I had no idea how big of a deal it would become. Nobody did. To know that the Star Wars saga has had a profound impact on popular culture for almost forty years is absolutely mind-boggling. I can honestly say that watching The Force Awakens is like rediscovering A New Hope all over again. That treasured line you've loved hearing in movies past? You'll hear … [Read more...] about As Promised, My SPOILER-FREE Review of The Force Awakens
A Tiny Little (Spoiler-Free!) PSA Regarding A Certain Movie Coming Soon
Yesterday was the big Hollywood premiere of a little movie called Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Tomorrow night, my family and I will be partaking of the Big Deal at its first local showing, in IMAX 3D. My husband, fanboy that he is, bought our family tickets approximately five minutes after they were available for purchase. Occasionally, friends and family members tell me that they have made choices about whether or not to see a particular movie based on a review I've written. A surprisingly … [Read more...] about A Tiny Little (Spoiler-Free!) PSA Regarding A Certain Movie Coming Soon
The Story Continues
https://youtu.be/sGbxmsDFVnE I deliberately waited until today to post about the newest Star Wars trailer, mostly because I figured I was just getting caught up in the tidal wave of nostalgia that everyone else is flailing in. (Well, that, and it's kind of fun to watch my husband completely fanboy over this!) So I watched it again today, and you know what? It's even BETTER the next day. Kind of like Thanksgiving leftovers. Why is this trailer so great? Let me count the reasons: 1) I will … [Read more...] about The Story Continues
More Magic from Pens to Lens
I'm taking a slight break from work craziness and back-to-school preparations to share with you the latest developments in local cinema. For those of you who don't know, we have a very rich local filmmaking community here in central Illinois (I know you're surprised!). These talented people give of their time every year to take five-page scripts written by kids and turn them into legit films. In three short years, this labor of love has become a full-fledged, red carpet gala event, housed in the … [Read more...] about More Magic from Pens to Lens