In case you’re wondering about the point of all this, I got this idea from a vendor I work with. He does a blog every Friday with five short shorts about things on his mind every week. I haven’t been blogging in awhile so why not see where this might go. I’m only writing three points cause I’m hoping for consistency so shorter is better. Also I’d like to keep it light and brief sports fans. If you know me you can guess how long my keeping it light and short will last. Enjoy!
TouchPoint 1.
One of my writing goals is not to marginalize my sense of humor in my writing. I don’t want to appear flaky but laughter and finding the facetious in everyday life is important to me. It keeps me upbeat in what is, even on good days, a bit of a shit show.
I’m really fond of finding humor in places where it isn’t expected like crime dramas. And that brings me to what I stumbled on last night. A bizarre little film called Cold Pursuit. Out in 2019, this movie is relatively new but I don’t believe it was widely seen. Right before release an unfortunate interview was given by its star Liam Neeson where he told a story of how a friend of his was raped by a Black man which caused him to go out trolling with a weapon hoping to find any old Black guy to tune up in place of his friend’s attacker. Labelled a racist, instead of a stupid racist, Liam was cancelled for a while. Culturally cancelled, that is. I’d always liked Liam before that interview. Something about that lumbering brogue of a man had always come across as sincere — especially as an actor. I also felt sorry for him. The tragic and unexpected death of his wife, actress Natasha Richardson, seemed to change him into a movie making machine. He was often called on to be violent in his roles and he always seem more than capable of the job. He also always seemed protective of the women he played opposite, except notably when he played a cameo as a bad guy in Widows opposite Viola Davis. But I digress. I used to watch Liam Neeson movies before that interview but I stopped and therefore missed Cold Pursuit when it came out. Sad, really. After seeing it I’m sorry I didn’t sooner because it’s a good flick and worth the 90+minutes. Excellent quirky and ironic writing plus exceptionally cool setting and cast, made it a stand out. An unabashed macabre revenge story, it is violent. Not always graphically, in fact, the film makes a point of not always giving you the blood and guts. Instead it often offers a promise of violence. Suspense-fully so. Once or twice, I found myself leaving the room briefly just because I thought I knew what was coming better than (or as well as) the characters and I couldn’t bear to watch it pan out. I was usually surprised at how much it didn’t go the way I expected. The most unexpected thing about the film is how funny it is. I mean I laughed out loud several times and it always surprised me given the grimness of the subject. After seeing the film, I now understand why Liam would tell that revealing story about himself while talking about this particular movie. Revenge isn’t always sweet at all. Many times it’s just foolish and embarrassing.
PS — Some of my other favorite and unexpectedly funny crime dramas films: Blood Simple, Love and Action in Chicago, Lucky Slevin,True Romance, and almost anything with Bruce Willis. There are probably more that you can name, so please do in the comments. I may have seen it but there’s a chance I haven’t and want to. Also something new and worthy in this category of fun crime drama that’s a streaming episodic isThe Flight Attendant on HBO.
TouchPoint 2.
I’m not a nail polish kind of girl by and large. But on my birthday vacay last month Ms. Z and I got long, LONG overdue mani/pedis. Maaaan, my feet were so happy with me. Rather than going for the same color on my uppers and lowers I went for a stark contrast. I liked it so much that I might do what I usually do when I like something. Keep doing it for the foreseeable future. For my fingernails I did a nude cream color but not just any nude. A nude as close to a pale brownish version of my own skin tone as I could find. For my toes, I went with Meghan Markle Black. Weirdly the combo seems to go with most things but I’ll let you know if I still feel that way during the summer months. Ms. Z even liked it and since she is my worse critic when it comes to fashion, I’m assuming if it works for her it will work for anybody. Orly the vegan nail polish brand has two particular colors in these nudes I’m loving, unfortunately called ‘Prince Charming’ and ‘Country Club’. If you can get past the names give them a try. They also have cool monthly birthstone colors which make good gifts.
TouchPoint 3.
Speaking of gifts, I know millennials and the post-millennial alphabet generations are supposedly so disdainful of the world these days they’re not interested in getting married or having babies. However, that would not be the case in my immediate friend group. For the record, I know a lot more people who have decided to use this dystopian era where even going to the supermarket is risking your life, as a time to go for the more uplifting expedient approach by saying life is short, so we better go for broke while we can. Consequently I’ve been doing a lot of shopping lately for soon to be mamas and brides/grooms to be. Registries are WONDERFULLY helpful in this regard, so if you can, don’t be cavalier about getting gifts. Please help a friend or relative out by doing the darn registry. Having said that I occasionally like to break trends. It’s almost never on the registry but I love giving books to babies cause I remember how much Ms. Z loved it when I read to her as a infant. Board books are best for this activity because they make good teething utensils as well as entertainment. Another book I like to give new parents is Baby Massage The Calming Power of Touch by Dr. Alan Heath and Nicki Bainbridge. Ms. Z starting sleeping through the night at six weeks old and I do not attribute it to my Zen parenting or singing skills. Trust and believe, there’s nothing better to calm and bond with a baby then learning how to soothe by touch. If you can find some organic grapeseed or almond oil send it too. The parents will thank you! Meanwhile I have to figure out a good book for the newly married. Any suggestions?
That’s all for now friends. Have a positive and memorable week.
Lily Java 