Rave: Tyler Perry

I rented two movies this weekend, one was a Meet the Browns, a Tyler Perry film, and the other was Smart People. I enjoyed both, because they were the sort of movie I like, about people and relationships and familes. I was really struck by the differences in the two side-by-side, though; Meet the Browns was about a woman living in the Chicago projects who is trying to support a family (when she suddenly finds out about another side of her family), while Smart People is about a college professor trying to become more human and less academic machine after the death of his wife. A lot of movies I watch are more like the second movie, about kids of professors and doctors and whatnot trying to discover their true selves and break their narcissistic habits. That can be really compelling, but it was refreshing to watch a (well-made) movie about people who are dealing with more immediate problems - Angela Bassett's character's family has to figure out how to get food and money to turn their lights back on. The characters were really flawed (and sometimes over-the top for laugh) - Bassett's character had three kids from three husbands, her uncle was effeminate and none-too-bright, her cousin was a drama queen, but they are portrayed with a great deal of compassion, and even though they are a little ridiculous, they also have dignity. They reminded me a lot more of the people I know.

signs of the apocalypse

I was in a bad mood yesterday, and made up this blog post in my head. I feel much more upbeat today, but I thought I'd share.

It's rained for four days since my breakup. The weather here in Iowa has near-plague proportions - I've lived through floods, tornadoes, blizzards, and had lightning hit next to my apartment building.

Bring on the fucking locusts.

wake up

Notice to twenty and thirty-somethings:
Turn off the 80's music. Stop watching teenagers make out on the CW. Stop moaning that your life hasn't turned out the way you expected it to - when does anything, EVER turn out the way you expect it to? You're in the fucking prime of your life.
Go out and live.

to date, or not to date?

Is it nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of single life or to brave the dull abyss of heartaches and breakups? God, I forget my Shakespeare.

I feel the beginning of the end of my new relationship. Don't most people's relationships get longer as they get older? Mine get shorter. I think it's because I'm starting to know what I want. The main problem with this one is that he's so...logical, and I'm so...not.

The problem is that boys like to do fun things! Bowling and concerts and trendy bars, oh my! Oh well. If you're not in love, you gotta move on.