Christmas and The Interview

Hello my dears,

It is a new year! A whole year to fill with blog posts, or at least the whole year full of opportunity to fill it with posts. ... I digress... per the norm.

I hope all of your holidays were enjoyable; mine actually were. This Christmas was one of the best I've ever had. Usually I spend my holidays lost between wanting to love and loathe them. The holidays usually are just a reminder to me of how "un-picture-perfect" my life has always been. The holidays always just pointed out to me just how different I have celebrated them compared to others.

And looking at them now, I see that has been my ingratitude for all that I have.

I have never spent a Thanksgiving or Christmas without food. I have never gone without presents.

Maybe I have had some weird family moments, but honestly, who hasn't?

Maybe I didn't grow up with Santa Claus, or Rudolph, or magic......

But that's o.k.

Because I did grow up with love. And I am grateful for that. Love is everything. Truly it is. I wish love for you all.

I meant to get on here and talk to you about this recent debacle over the movie The Interview, and per the norm got distracted talking about something corny.

Well, I finally watched The Interview in its' entirety. I must say, it had some funny moments. It definitely had some stupid moments. It is just another Seth Rogen, James Franco comedy/drame/bromance movie. I read some people thought this movie actually shed a positive light on Kim Jong un, but I think those people probably fell asleep about an hour and twenty minutes into the movie right before Mr. un showed his true colors... Because [SPOILER ALERT] YES, they portrayed him as an evil dictator in the end.
And I couldn't help but also feel as if Seth Rogen and James Franco were trying to make their own personal statement about the news media and propaganda and giving the people "what they want."

That all being said. I can see how this film is controversial- but I do believe in freedom of speech. And this is just a movie. If people are going to begin saying we should not publicate movies like this, I have to ask why they still allow the book Mein Kampf to be published? That book is voiced by one of the most evil men in history, Adolf Hiltler. We still publish his book, but we debate whether to release a satire comedy, because it is controversial?......I think priorities need to be set. Seriously.

Now...  from a movie goers perspective, this movie was funny, slow at times... I thought the Lord of the Rings comparisons were very dry and only saved by the over eccentric acting of James Franco and the sincere acting of Seth Rogen. [SPOILER ALERT] The Lord of the Rings humor finally did come together somewhat at the end when Seth Rogen loses his fingers at the end like Frodo.... But if Seth was Samwise.. Then shouldn't have James lost his fingers... not Seth?.... lol just saying.....  Anyway....

It was weird, controversial (see how I keep using that politically correct word there) and comical and stupid... and just a movie. I would not recommend this for everyone. If you want to support the "freedom of speech" I would suggest renting it off youtube etc. It is not for children. It is not a "family" movie. It does have graphic violence. But if you enjoy Seth Rogen and/or James Franco, you will probably get some entertainment out of watching this. I did.

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I hope you all have a beautiful rest of you weekend. I am going to try to.. and I plan to watch something less controversial, something more light hearted... like the Muppets or something.

much love my dears,

Read Riding Hood

Elf

Well, my dears, it is the same day, only later. It feels like just a minute ago I was getting up early, watching Warm Bodies and heading off to work. And now I am getting myself tucked into bed, getting ready to get to bed and wake up early again. (oooo and fun fact about Warm Bodies: I didn't know that Jonathan Levine is dating Jennifer Lawrence… that's kinda cool=)  And what am I doing?… Watching a movie..=)

We are having a cold front here in Texas, and going outside tonight, the air smells like "snow…" It won't snow (at least I don't think it will) however, it smells like what it smells like in Colorado right before it snows. I'm sure there is a scientific reason for it, but I only know it as, "smells like snow."

I used to watch so many newer and recent movies, and/or just more variety of movies. I was all over the board, trying everything it seemed. But anymore, I am much more picky and I stick to favorites. I venture out of my comfort zone when I start to feel the stagnant waters of boredom pooling too close for comfort, but that isn't too often. I ventured out to try Elf a few days ago, a Christmas movie with Will Ferrell. It is gloriously cheesy, stupid, and gooberish and full of christmas tinsel, What is Not to Love? I mean Will Ferrell smiles cheesy/creepy smiles and says, "smiling is his favorite…" AND he makes spaghetti and pours maple syrup on it… and then m&m's… then chocolate pop tarts… and then mashes it all up and stuffs it in his mouth because elves focus on the four main food groups, "candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup…" That's ridiculous. The whole thing is ridiculous, but it's great ridiculous. And it's about finding what's important in your life, and singing out loud (not just lip syncing…) And that's all I have to say. I also have been working on not giving plots of movies away, because I probably am ruining them for people, but *sigh* we'll see… 

Anyhoo…. I hope you all have a beautiful and safe evening, stay warm if you are dealing with a cold front like me, and I will talk to you soon as the holidays roll in. Sweet dreams all

sincerely,
Read Riding Hood

Scrooged

Good evening my lovelies, another beautiful day. Today is Veteran's Day, and I wanted to make sure and thank all of you veteran's for you service. If it wasn't for you all, I would not enjoy the freedom to have this wonderful blog platform and every free day of my life.

I have things I want to say today, but I get lost in how to say them, I guess.  I partly blog as a form of therapy, I feel better talking about things, and I like to flatter myself and think that maybe it gives help/hope to at least one other person, and that makes it all worth it.

Ya know, about a year ago, I needed "help." Like… "professional" help… not like I was psycho, but like, I had depression, and I needed to reach out and get help. And unfortunately,  instead of taking care of myself, I let it go until I was such a mess, I made a mess around myself as well. And luckily I had people to help me, but there were things that other people couldn't help me with either; example: taking those steps to help myself. I had people get me to the hospital, but then upon leaving the hospital, I had to find a way home. I learned some valuable lessons, including the lesson, that others can "help" me get better, but  I Myself have to put in the work, no one else. No one can be responsible for my health and well being except myself. And just the other day I learned that in life I will find people like family and people I love that  we will be "responsible to" but the only one we are responsible "for" is our own personal self. This is a fairly new concept for me, but it makes sense, and in as much as it feels like a lonely place of taking on responsibility, there is freedom. Because in taking responsibility for myself, I cannot put the blame on anyone or anything for my unhappiness and at the end of the day I can decide my happiness.

And on that note, I decided I needed to go out of the comfort bubble I have created for myself and begin to do some spontaneous things like I used to. That's all I used to do, was spontaneous stuff, so much so, that the important things I would bypass on my search for the constant different next thing. Well, the last three years, and this last year especially have been no small learning curve on my road to finding a happy medium between spontaneity and punctual routine-age-ness.. (yes, I just created a word there….)

so… What was my spontaneity this week?… Deciding to finally splurge on a $12.99 blu-ray of an eighties hit I've always wanted to see, but just never took the chance on it: Scrooged. Starring Bill Murray, it is a Total 80's Film. I am now old enough to appreciate cheesy costumes, eighties humor, and some strange story lines; and this Christmas Carol adaptation happily satisfied my craving for something different. The cute but spirited Christmas present fairy smacks Scrooge's cheek and tells him,  "Oh, sometimes the truth is painful…..but it's made your cheeks all rosy and your eyes bright as stars.." Life is like that a lot….. And at the end Scrooge has a monologue where he says,  "It's not too late on Christmas eve to have fun..You can call people that you haven't seen….It can happen everyday, you just gotta want that feeling! And if you like it and you want it, you'll get greedy for it! You'll want it every day of your life, and it can happen to you! I believe in it now! I believe it's gonna happen to me now! I'm ready for it! It's great! It's a good feeling! It's really better than I've felt in a long time…"  And when he says it can be something for everyday, I love that. Happiness is achievable, everyday… And if there is love, there is hope……..

And now there is a needy eleven year calling for my attention…=} So, I will let you all go, and have a beautiful evening.

Love,

Read Riding Hood