Quickies 11

Yep, these quickies are all movie reviews. Guess I’ve been in a writing and reading slump lately. It’s a cycle and things will come back around.

1. Irrational Man. This is a strange 2015 film written and directed by Woody Allen (ugh I know… him again). It stars Joaquin Phoenix as Abe, a depressed philosophy professor, Emma Stone as Jill, a student who crushes on him, and Parker Posey as Rita, a married chemistry professor who wants Abe to save her from her boring life. Nothing makes Abe feel fulfilled lately until he considers murdering a judge, which (Abe believes) will help someone the judge is about to rule against unfairly and also give Abe a purpose. He wants to take action instead of merely analyzing concepts. Abe convinces himself it’s the right thing to do, plans it, does it, and feels excited by life again. Unfortunately for Abe, both Jill and Rita suspect him and things deteriorate from there. I liked this film more than I thought I would, especially because I couldn’t stand Emma in La La Land. But she was great here!

2. Throw Momma From The Train. I really wanted to like this 1987 black comedy directed by Danny DeVito and starring Danny and Billy Crystal. Billy is one of my favorite actor/comics. But I mostly didn’t laugh during the film because the scenes with Danny’s mother were just gross and stupid. Billy’s writer’s block angst scenes were pretty enjoyable. But overall I’d give this flick a big meh.

3. This Means War. This is a 2012 romcom starring the adorable Reese Witherspoon and the absolutely yummy Chris Pine. Oh, Tom Hardy was in it too as Chris’ rival for Reese. The plot was completely preposterous and the scenes were ridiculous, but it was pretty funny and cute overall. Did I mention that yummy Chris Pine starred? OK then.

4. Thanks For Sharing. This is another 2012 film and it’s also very weird. It’s about an AA type group except for sex addicts, and no it is not a pretext for 2 hours of pr0n. It’s actually very interesting to learn how this condition affects and ruins people’s lives. Honestly, I too didn’t believe it was a “real” addiction until I watched this film, not that it’s a documentary or anything. We watch the characters fight their demons in their own ways and learn to turn to each other for support. We watch one man (Mark Ruffalo) fall in love with a woman outside the group (Gwyneth Paltrow), who has serious issues of her own, but doesn’t want to deal with an addict. We watch another man (Josh Gad), get fired from his job as a doctor because he can’t quit filming women. We see a woman (Alecia Moore aka Pink) who is completely miserable after meaningless sex but can’t seem to stop engaging in it. And then there’s the group leader (Tim Robbins), in long-term recovery, who seems to have it all together, but his home life is a tragic mess. I highly recommend this movie.

~*~

Image from Pixabay.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Give Me Your Tomorrow

So many songs and sayings tell you to “live for today” in one way or another, but isn’t love an implicit promise of tomorrow? Today is simply the downpayment on your relationship house, which by its nature contains rooms full of tomorrows. If you’re focused only on today’s pleasures, you’re playing in an empty field and will run away when it starts to rain because there’s no structure to shelter you. The flowers you pluck from the field of today will die in your hands, leaving you with nothing. Yet ironically tomorrow never does actually arrive, does it?

I chose “If I Were A Carpenter,” written by Tim Hardin in 1967 and covered by many artists, most notably Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, to further describe this concept. Their 1970 version placed at No. 2 on the country music chart.

Save your love through loneliness
Save your love through sorrow
I gave you my onlyness
Give me your tomorrow

~*~

Image from Lovethispic.

Dimensions [repost]

Maybe what they call madness
Is simply another dimension.
They are trapped in conventions,
Familiar and mundane,
Obsessed with their labels:
“Abnormal” and “insane.”
Madness? Or access
To worlds made of words?
Time has no meaning
Where dreams come to play,
Twirling around, upside down,
Bending into birds
And flying away.

~*~

Image source Pixabay.

Poetry form: free verse.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Distant Glimmer [repost]

Under a bruised sky,
Love has passed me by.
Golden days
Streak my mind’s eye,
And I lock them away,
A distant glimmer
Lost in memory’s haze.
No need for the tease
Of hope on replay,
The false shimmer,
Illusion’s trapeze.
I’ll revel in the dark
With the burned out stars.

~*~

Written for Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo.

Image from Sue Vincent (RIP).

Poetry form: free verse.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

12 Bloggerz ~ July

Happy long weekend to me! Let’s celebrate with 12 bloggerz from Rory…

1. On a scale of 1 – 10 – where 1 is low and 10 is high how happy are you with everything in your life at this moment?

I’m a solid 7, not ecstatic, but definitely a couple notches happier than the middling meh.

2. Why do you do what you do the way that you do it?
Interpret as you so wish.

Because that’s the way I like it (uh huh, uh huh).

3. How do you embrace difference?

I don’t. But I don’t care either, as long as it doesn’t affect me. You do you, boo.

4. What is one of the most significant ways that your readership influences you, your blog and your writing?

I am motivated by the camaraderie surrounding responses to prompts and seeing the different interpretations to both questions and concepts/images.

5. How would you feel if everything you didn’t believe in today turned out to be true – which of your new disbeliefs now truths would affect you the most profoundly? But also answer this question from the opposite spectrum as in –How would you feel if everything you believed in today turned out to be false – would this affect you and if so which falsehood that you hold now true would affect you the most profoundly?

I’m not that attached to my beliefs, so like whatever, man. I think this sets me apart from the mainstream because others seem bound to their belief systems, most of which are separate from their active lives, if that makes sense. FOREX, people argue to the death over political ideas on the internet, which accomplishes absolutely nothing, but they feel it’s sooo important to spill their angry words into the void. I just shrug at most of this vast outpouring of emotional vomit. Some can’t even fathom the possibility that their beliefs could be imperfect. Me? Maybe I am wrong about not believing in God/souls/afterlife… so what? I wouldn’t be able to undo my mistakes in any case, and for the last several years I’ve been trying to be a good/better person, mostly as traditionally defined, though I fall short as do we all. However that all adds up at the end on the big abacus in the sky, so be it. From the other way around, what if my beliefs in true things are all false? That would be worse and affect me more profoundly because my truths are few and deep: I love my children (and grands) and they love me. This is the only belief I have that is “carved in stone.”

6. How often do you cross your fingers or say touch wood or good luck to people or do you not believe in that sort of thing?

I say good luck when it’s appropriate. It doesn’t mean I suddenly believe in the supernatural; it’s just a shorthand of saying hey I care about you and hope you have a happy outcome at your doctor’s appointment or exam or interview or whatever thing.

7. Do you think that our childhoods impact our lives as adults – what are your views?

I think our childhoods (parents, environment, resources, etc.) have profoundly affected each and every one of us, and there is no way to separate the person we are today from what happened to us yesterday.

8. There is no truth to horoscopes – yes or no and why to either?

Of course not, but astrology can still be fun to play with from time to time. I like to use it as an excuse ~ hey, I’m a Taurus, so naturally I prefer to hibernate in my cozy abode than go out anywhere.

9. Does it really matter if we are environmentally-conscious – l mean is it that important – if not why not and if yes, why??

It matters on a large scale, but an individual selfish act probably makes no difference, which is the mindset of most people who could do more, including me. It’s also a luxury of the wealthier to decide that spending more money to be environmentally conscious is a priority (not that they do necessarily), whereas poor people simply have to get by every day and don’t have the resources (financial or otherwise) to deal with this issue. Eventually though, Mother Nature will do as she will to deal with the havoc that humans have caused.

10. Do you find it easy or hard to relax and what relaxes you the most?

It’s pretty easy for me these days. I usually read or play games on my phone until whatever anxiety has passed by.

11. How well or badly do you respond to being ‘shocked’ or ‘surprised’?

Badly, usually. I need plans and routines.

12. How do you feel about the term “I am a lucky/unlucky person” as in – do you think that there is some truth to it or is it all nonsense?

I think there’s some truth in it, but in a way that makes actual, material sense. People who generally think things through and engage in sensible behaviors will tend to have better “luck” than impulsive lunatics. Yes, of course, we all know of “that one guy” who took a ridiculous chance and won, but most will lose. Remember, the house always wins, on average. You can think of the house as Mother Nature or simply mathematical odds. You are probably not that special, sorry (and neither am I).

~*~

Image from Cliparts.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Last June Share

So weird to realize that half of 2021 will be over in a few days! Life is sure whizzing by like a roller coaster, and speaking of that, Melanie has some new questions for us…

What do you think of the idea of the ‘greater good’ principle?

Mostly meh. As John said, who decides? My favorite is when the PTB tell us little people to inconvenience ourselves for “the common good,” but then they still travel by private plane and lavishly water their lush gardens. Some dopey billionaires are now racing to be the first in space travel… how many resources will that use up? But I’m supposed to take only a 3-minute shower. Eff that!

Do you enjoy riding a roller coaster or other amusement park type ride?

No, I hate them all because of my chronic owies and also they’re terribly unsafe. Every year, there are serious accidents from theme park rides, and the parks go to great lengths to cover that up, but sometimes the news sneaks through.

Which musical instrument is the most annoying to you personally?

I like them all unless they’re blazingly loud. I don’t mind the ones others hate, such as bagpipes or accordions… long as the volume is reasonable.

Would you rather have a vivid imagination or a photographic memory if you had to choose just one?

I had an moderately accurate eidetic memory when I was young ~ it’s how I smashed every test that required memorization. All I had to do was recall the page of the book or notes the text was written on and I could “see” the answer. I still have a good memory for names and numbers, but it’s not what it was and I miss that. Since I already have a vivid imagination, I’ll take my eidetic (photographic) memory back please.

Feel free to share fun plans for this season that you might have.   Especially now that many places are lifting restrictions and travel is a bit easier.

I recently rejoined Meetup, attended a fun lunch, and have several more events scheduled. These aren’t board game related groups like I belonged to in the past, but simply conversation and noms. I’ll be traveling to San Diego by train in a few weeks with a group for the day, and I’m really looking forward to that!

~*~

Image from Melanie.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

No Name Kitty [repost]

[Please note that I wrote this in 2016 and I have since moved.]

There was a kitty who lived in our parking lot. A nice neighbor, Christine, provided food, water, and shelter for him. He had a cozy bed and a covered bed too. I kept a bag of treats in my car and gave him a handful a few times a week. Sometimes he disappeared for a few days, but just when I thought he was gone for good, the next morning I’d see him snoozing under a car as I left for work.

He wasn’t a pretty cat ~ small and sturdy, black and white, but mostly dirty. I often said, “Hi kitty, you need a baff!” He wasn’t amused, nor did he ever come close enough to be touched. And he didn’t meow; I’ve read that ferals don’t. Meowing is something that tame cats learn to do to get attention from people. (Gatsby is a champion meower.) But he did know me and would stare at me sometimes as if to say, ahem, you haven’t given me any treats in a few days… whassup with that?

Last night there was a note on the main door: Christine had called animal control that morning to have the kitty put down. He had been attacked by a raccoon in the night and was severely injured. She asked us to please close the trash bin lids to discourage the raccoons from coming around since other cats prowl around the back of our apartment complex. I didn’t even know we had raccoons! Sometimes I hear horrid shrieky noises in the middle of the night, but I just assume that’s people having sex.

Poor kitty. I cried for him. I imagined him trying to defend the parking lot from a herd of vicious raccoons. They’re so huge and nasty! What was he even thinking? He should have just stayed under a car. And now I’m worried about the 2-3 little black cats back there ~ how could they possibly deal with raccoons? I hope they have sense enough to run away. I also know that people are simply not going to close the trash bin lids when they get full. That’s just how people are. We probably need another bin anyway, since the two we have get overstuffed.

I don’t know how old no name kitty was or what kind of life he had overall. But for the 3+ years I’ve lived here, I suppose he’s had it pretty good for an outside cat, until now. The lifespan for an outside cat is only 4 years. Nature is cruel and savage, always has been. Cats, eagles, snakes, raccoons… I’ve seen/read a lot about nature last few days. Can’t get these images out of my head now. Only the thinnest of walls separates us from savagery at any moment.

Thank you for patrolling our parking lot, no name kitty. RIP.

~*~

Image source unknown.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Layers [repost]

I never baked you a lasagna,
Never prepared noodles and cheese,
Meat and sauce just to please you.
I didn’t fill my small apartment
With the smells of an Italian
Jewish grandmother’s kitchen.
I thought you were joking,
But you were not, when you said
You wanted those layers,
Deep, rich, and bubbling;
When I falsely assumed
We should spend time in bed
Under tiers of covers,
Limbs intertwined,
Breath comingling,
Your mouth hot on mine.
That all was fine,
But you wanted more proof
That I cared about you–
You had spent money on me,
And I had given nothing in return.
You felt burned–
Where was a steaming casserole
Full of pasta and beef,
Arranged with sausage and cheese,
All underneath that luscious canopy
Of melted mozzarella?
These would have been the levels
Of deliciousness to cement
My honorable intentions.
But instead I appeared
Like every other superficial wench,
Out to finagle fleeting fragments
Of base bodily bliss.
Yet there is so much more
To human existence
Than that initial layer
Of physical desire;
That first kiss on the beach fire;
That want to dance naked in the moonlight madness;
That can’t go a day without your touch sadness;
That need your voice in the night lustcraze;
That lost in the smell of you dreamdaze…
If only
I had
Made
The
Damn
Lasagna.

~*~

Poetry form: free verse.
Image from Pixabay.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Sssssestina [repost]

I am Shesha, coiled in space,
And I have a thousand heads;
I float on the sea of Vishnu bliss.
When everything comes to an end,
I will be all that remains
To begin the world over again.

In the Aztec, I am worshipped again,
Given my own calendar space.
I am etched in crumbling remains;
I dominate fragile human heads
And hold up buildings end to end,
While lords dance to me in bliss.

Charmers use me in their bliss,
Playing their flutes again and again,
As children gather at market’s end.
Unwinding in my basket space,
I sway to the motion of their heads;
Oblivious to music I remain.

A healer’s symbol I remain;
Now researched for medicinal bliss.
My shape adorns the logo head.
And I’m respected in church again–
Some, out of the mainstream space,
Who have faith enough to face the end.

Yet it’s the same in the end:
The garden mythos that remains
To overwhelm the public space,
The Bible story, Heaven’s bliss;
Most will name me evil yet again,
But they choose not to use their heads.

Some see the diamond in my head,
The symmetrical patterns end to end–
They value the beauty in me again.
I am part of the ancient remains
And exist in my own plane of bliss,
A differently scaled dimensional space.

My multiple heads, all-knowing, remain
Alert to the coming end, hooded in bliss,
Ecstatic to begin again and reinvent space.

~*~

Poetry form: sestina.
Image credit ~ Christopher Gillette.
Written for Sestina @ d’Verse.
Discovered via Mists of Indigo @ Tao-Talk.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.

Freedom’s Just Another Word…

… for nothing left to lose. Or so goes the song “Me and Bobby McGee.”

This week, one of Melanie’s Share Your World questions is “Do you feel free? Why or why not?”

I’ve been thinking about this for a day, and I have to answer yes… and no. Like many Americans, I often think of freedom as mainly freedom of movement, as in “the open road.” I could get in my car right now and drive anywhere I please in the USA, which is large enough to keep me going for a long time. That is, assuming I can afford $4.00/gallon gas. Freedom takes money, or else you’ll soon find yourself living in a box under the bridge. Maybe that’s true freedom ~ no job, no rent, no obligations. No one is going to invite a stinky box-dweller to game night, so you are also free of friends.

The more I ponder the concept of freedom, the more I believe that it’s just an illusion. There are a ton of laws we must follow in order to stay free from being arrested. There are loads of bills we must pay, whether we work or not. If someone else pays your bills, you are likely obligated to them in other ways, such as having to cook dinner and/or give blowjobs. Yes, I know some will say they love doing those things. Do they really or are they brainwashed?

If you’re a parent of young children, you are not free because you have tons of responsibilities. If you have old disabled parents, you probably feel the duty to help care for them. Once you get a pet, you are bound to ensure its well-being. The list goes on. Personally, I feel freer now than in the past because I am single, my children are grown, my parents are dead, and I can do what I want. Except… I have to work every day, pay my bills, and feed the cat.

Interesting question!

~*~

Image from Pexels.

©️2021 Paula Light and Light Motifs II. No unauthorized use permitted. Please check out Paula’s books for sale on Amazon. Thank you.