Choose Your Life's Path

 

Sigh. Life. Choices

If one looked outward at their life, they would scream, cry, laugh, cringe or smile. One could even view it as...a book!

Choices make such heavy and small meanings on our journey, and all are stepping stones, I believe, that we place ourselves. When I was younger, I loved buying the "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, where, at the end of each chapter, you're given a choice on what to do next in the story. It will present a page number to turn to, and you can see if you made the right choice (ending in death or caught) or the wrong choice (having a happy ending). You can always flip back to the previous spot where you made your choice and start over.

Sometimes, we can do that in life. Start over. All the time, we're given choices on what we should do. However, at all times, we must keep the spirit to fight for our happiness. The key to doing that is to make a plan. There's a time and place to allow fate to take control, and there's a time and place for you, yourself, to plan and take control. Things always work with a plan, a reasonable and investigated plan.  A plan you've researched, studied, received outside opinions or mentoring on--a plan of value. That is what makes a life's plan successful.

I've had this "Choose Your Own Adventure" idea and actually wrote and finished the first draft. I'll share a sneak peek later. In the meantime, make sure ya'll make those valued choices out there, and plant those stepping stones one spot at a time...towards happiness.

I know I am! ☺

Until Next Time!

I have to be frank. When I heard about Disney making The Princess and the Frog, and selecting the main character to be African American, I was apprehensive. There was so many things that could go wrong.  There was so many things that could happen to not allow this Princess to be accepted in the long list of Disney Princesses.

And so the year 2009 came, and I went to the theaters to see this version of the Disney's African American Princess.

And I came out of the theater... Very Disappointed.

I am a fan of the fantasy element, the magic, the Happily Ever After, the True Love and True Kiss. It's what makes Disney... well... magical.  But this film.... This film tried to make things, forgive the urban or slang usage.. "keeping it real".

I'm sorry. I don't like "real" when it comes to magic and for the impossible to becoming possible. I wanted the same Princess that I read about in the Frog Prince tales, with a twist, like all the other Princesses.

But Disney's choice for this story made it much too singular, and thus making it not as globally accepted as it should have been.  I mean... New Orleans? Come on. Not everyone is familiar with the culture, nor is everyone universally into that type of unique sounding music. Personally, there is just a few zydeco music I would listen to. As for the Jazz, there are quite a lot of universally accepted Jazz out there, accept for the Jazz in this film. I mean, who hasn't heard of Funny Valentine's breathy and sexy song? But the Jazz choices for this film? It made the story too isolated to one place, and selected to just one type of people. At least, that was the way it was presented.

Let's look at a different way of presentation....

There was Moana that represented the Pacific Islanders, Lilo and Stitch for Hawaii, and Mulan for China, Pocahontas for Native Americans, Jasmin from Aladdin for India, and not to mention The Lion King for Africa, though not with a lead female character, yet still in the cultural mix. And ALL of these films were universally accepted.

All of these films where presented in a way that held a story and music that could be accepted by a large population of people and yet Tiana....felt... isolated.

I haven't heard a single song from The Princess and the Frog that was played over-and-over again like those other cultural Disney movies I just listed above. I mean the other films had songs that became popular hits! In The Princess and the Frog, every song was almost forgettable. Its songs were missing that true heart of music. The kind that sinks into the human soul like, A Whole New World, Colors of the Wind, Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride, and Reflection.

And I know Disney knows the magical formula to reach the hearts of people through music. It just wasn't conjured up for the The Princess and the Frog,

But what was REALLY disappointing about this Disney film, was that Tiana was not a REAL PRINCESS!!!! Nor was her Prince (Prince Naveen) of the same cultural background, but just thrown in to represent "brown". Tiana does become a princess through marriage, like Cinderella and Belle, but Prince Naveen, initially, is looking for a "princess," but not of royal lineage, to kiss him and change him back from frog to human. A Princess of Mardi Gras? This was about a parade, a grand city party! Not a land and people. Not a Princess of bloodline, but one who was voted in for a moment in time.

I'm assuming this decision to have to "keep things real" is why the Frog Princess wasn't provided a real princess title.  I figure this reasoning was so that the low income can easily and readily identify with her. But for me, we already have Cinderella and Belle stories for that.

The Princess and the Frog could have been done with magic, and a real Princess title, along with a plot twist in the story to make the heroine a strong woman, who matches her man of choice, be it prince or otherwise. The original Frog Princess was spoiled, and we could have started with that. A Princess who had everything, took it for granted, looses everything (dirt poor), and then had to work her way back to the top, with obstacles thrown in her way. Then, after overcoming these trials and tribulations, only then would she become a deserving Princess, who has learned to share her golden ball.

Like Once Upon A Time's version in Season 7.

I am SO GLAD, this show came to correct, and make a better story, for Tiana than the animated version.  We will now have a Princess (played by Mekia Cox) who will earn our respect, who starts a path seeking help from others, until then finding the strength inside herself to become her own hero. Not to mention, she also doesn't spend most of her time being a frog, but actually helps a frog (one who is being blackmailed by the use of his imprisoned True Love), who was the one needing saving, to become a stronger person.
And...and...and... and...and... She Is Actually A REAL PRINCESS!!!!

A Princess who's very large dreams are crushed, but then are stitched back together, and slowly becomes a reality--with hard work and the strong support of loving friends.This is the type of story that every little girl can relate to, and learn from, to become the "Princess" in her own life. And THAT'S how you "keep it real".

Thank You SO MUCH, Once Upon A Time!!!!!!

I write this blog because things are now right in this world, and I can now enjoy an African descent Princess of Disney.

So, now Disney, can we have a African Disney Prince? No? Yes? Or perhaps I'm asking for too much. Heh. Heh.  I just may have to settle for The Black Panther (Shuri), with her intelligent, whimsical, bad-ass! Yibambe!

Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Everywhere I see

I think I've mentioned this before, but I SO love this age of TV. There's fantasy and magic all OVER the place. There's so much going on, I can't keep up with them all.

• Once Upon A Time
• Sleepy Hollow
• Tomorrow People
• Grimm
• Almost Human
• Being Human
• Under the Dome
• Haven
• Dracula
• American Horror Story
• Game of Thrones
• True Blood

And those are just a few that I watch. There are more that I don't keep up with like The Vampire Diaries or Supernatural, but there's just so much to choose from, I'm just giddy with the choices!!

It makes one wonder: Why the Slew of Speculative Shows?

What's even more interesting, adults watch them--those brought up with Star Wars and Star Trek under our wings. Yet there are those who "just don't get it," who can't identify with why these shows have so much appeal....

I believe that these TV shows are the same as the stories that have always been told. They've been collected by Wilhelm Grimm and Jacob Grimm, by Andrew Lang, told by Hans Christian Andersen, by Jean de La Fontaine, by Charles Perrault, and told in Aesop's Fables. These are fantastic tales that pull us to them and provide a way to tell a story of basic human life. While for others, it's just entertainment, for some of us, it's much, much more. For some of us, the way the morals are presented, help support and strengthen us in our daily decisions.  With a magical touch, we learn to be better people.

So, let it continue, these fairy tales, until the end of time. For some, it's our only hope.

Until Next Time!

Is There A Soul In There...?!

Because I'm into the weird and strange; and anybody who's into vampires, werewolves, fairies, mermaids, and all those inhuman monsters, can find something about them attractive, tantalizing, or just simply AWESOME!

Am I the only one who got turned on by an ape in Planets of the Apes (2001)?
Huh? Yes? It's just me?  ... Oh.

BUT I LOVED GENERAL THADE!! 

Yeah, I thought that chimpanzee was just TOO SEXY! Or maybe because he was played by Tim Roth, and I found that little guy just SEXY!! Especially in that TV series Lie To Me.

And why am I talking about sexy monkey's?

Love works like that. You don't see anything ugly, wrong, disturbing, bad, or amiss with the object of your affection. And if that sounds strange or untrue to you, try seeing it in the point-of-view of a Beauty and the Beast, a favorite fairy tale of all time. And then there's the Princess and the Frog.

Nothing is too ugly, new, big or small, for the eyes of the beholder.

We can get hopelessly devoted to unordinary things, which makes a person want to sing!.


I think it's what's inside that counts...inside of ourselves that defines the outside.

It's what we view inside ourselves is what we project unto the object of our love and thus we are seeing with an "inner-eye" that makes us blind to what's on the outside.

Sometimes I think we blind that "inner-eye" so that we can't see what's exactly in front of us. Sometimes it is not blinded and we can see what really IS in front of us....and that's a good thing.

"Is there a soul in there?" General Thad questioned, while prying open a Human's mouth.

I would like to name it "soul" or a "holy spirit", when we actually SEE what's inside ourselves.

Either way, who we are in the inside, makes us who were are; and it also creates what, and who, surrounds our lives.

Keep that Lil'l Light burning...!!!!

Oz Broke My Heart!

Oz the Great and Powerful (2012) film was definitely an eye opener for a broken heart.

For those who haven't seen it yet, please don't read this post because it would just give away the movie for you. Thus, I'll put that special word so that you can see.

Spoilers!!!!

Soooo.... anyone want to sing Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker song with me?

Your love has set my soul on fire, burnin' out of control
You taught me the ways of desire, now it's takin' its toll
You're the right kind of sinner, to release my inner fantasy
The invincible winner, and you know that you were born to be

You're a heartbreaker
Dream maker, love taker....

Yep, that's what Oz was. A heart breaker. And what did he say about making those women fall in love with him and using them and breaking their hearts? Yep. She'll get over me..just like the others.

Heartless! A Heart of Stone Coldness.

But there's a lesson to be learned from watching this film. One should not give you heart away so quickly. And also that old saying: Beware Of Those Bearing Gifts!

I know that everyone wants to believe, so strongly, about love and how it comes like a Cupid's Arrow, and "love at first sight" does exist, and Charming is there to sweep us off our feet; but there are also those predators that use those hopeful hearts as well.

Oz was not only cute and charming, he gave his "grandmother's music box" to every female he wanted to shag. He even gave them job opportunities and a lovely dance.

These women meant nothing to Oz and he shrugged off any thoughts of actually hurting them as if it was their own faults for falling for such smoke and mirrors.

Yet...even HE had his heart filled with someone, but could not give it to her because he knew he would only cause her misery. Auntie Em chose the right man, though she truly loved that carnival magician.

Then, that undeserving thing happens. That heartbreaker actually PICKS someone. And that lingering question always come about with those who so love that heartbreaker. Why did SHE get him? What did SHE do that I didn't? Why did he pick HER!?

That famous, notorious, question... and no one seems to know that answer except the heartbreaker, who doesn't give much of answer when he's asked.  

What is certain is that a road must be followed and things must take place. For he must have his heart warmed, first by someone loyal (a bellhop monkey), then by someone in need (very delicate china doll), and then face himself and his trespasses (the evil witch). When this road is completed, then, SHE appears. 

For SHE just happens to be The One. And only SHE, who already knew what kind of man he was, who could see him for who he actually is, could he love. For SHE was never broken by him.

SHE was simply fated to be with him.

Simply put.

Sometimes we can't have the man we love because we just aren't made up to be his. 

But we are made up to be another's.

Until Next Time!

Welcome to Tirna Magique!!

Got a novella up and ready for those hungry for a romantic short. It's a magical 150-page novel, thus it's called a novella because of it's short length. Filled with all the things I like about fantasy: dragons, dwarves, mermaids, and fairies, I quite enjoyed writing this heartfelt story.

Here's a summary of what this story entails:

With the Earth becoming uninhabitable, Humans are being evacuated. Thanks to the Gapie race who offered their homes to all willing Humans, life can continue on, but mostly in darkness. Transition to this new world, which only has four hours of sunlight, would take over twenty years. Earth is now in year twelve.

Only Alesa knows the true reason for the Gapie's "helping-hand", and she has plans of her own. But first, she must get her girlfriends to trust her, and that took a few years to do. Now, she would implement her plans and take her friends on an adventure that would change their lives, and their hearts, forever. 

So, there you have it! Just wanted to share that another romantica element has been added to my bookshelf store to engorge.

Check out Tirna Magique at the local online eBook of your choice (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.) for less than a DOLLAR!


Until Next Time!

The Hobbit... My Two Cents of My Preciousss!!

"If precious asks, and it doesn't answer, we eats it, my preciousss."

So, I watched the  2hr 46min‎ film, The Hobbit, the first weekend it was out. I was shocked that the theater wasn't filled to the rim with people--there was only about 15 people. My sister said there was a total of 4 people in her theater.  This surprised me because The Lord Of The Rings were so popular  What happened and why didn't any one want to see this movie?

Well, what I didn't know was that the film would only contain the first 6 Chapters. I hadn't done my research on it, and the title didn't state anything about Part 1 of 3 (and it does have 3 parts, which I learned later), though there was a subtitle of some of the chapters of the book that came up while viewing the movie. More epic films? Not that it was yet another movie divided up over three years was much of a problem for me, because what was covered in this movie, and how it ended, was a great, satisfying ending for me.

What I found out was that I do understand why some might find this movie boring, and I'm glad something happened that made me see this film in a different light. 

I had decided to prove to someone the WHY I had never read The Hobbit stories. I remember it going on and on and on and on and on and hardly ever getting to the action, the beef, of the story, and it kept explaining this and that and the other on what every species of character was being presented in the book. It was bloated.  So, I found the first few pages online (Like over here or here or here) and began reading it out loud. It proved my point on how it kept going on and on and on and on; and for books during that time, people had time to sit and enjoy reading every-single-descriptive-word-of-a-very-very-long-story and taking the time to be entertained in a world with so much detail and humor.

Readying those first few pages again...I'm SO glad I did that!

For the first few screens of The Hobbit (2012) was almost basically word-for-word from the few pages of the book that I read! The singing, the conversations, almost everything I read was verbatim! And because of that, I quite enjoyed the movie because it mentally set me up that I would be seeing a book-on-film, and I didn't have to read, and undergo, every word to get into the story.

My sister had wondered, "Heck! Was this a movie or a musical!" So, the singing portion confused her on what type of film it was supposed to be, and I explained that it was following the book...exactly. There was a lot of prose in the novel and that was also placed in film, which would really confuse those who didn't read those pages, and because I pridefully wanted to "show-off" on the WHY I never read the book, while watching the film after ready the few pages that I had read, it made me quite enjoy it even more... I enjoyed it!!

So, for those of you who are still on the fence of seeing The Hobbit, or those waiting for Netflix like I do sometimes for films, I suggest just reading a few pages first and you'll see what I mean. It will place you in the mindset of a novel and have you understand what the film was aiming at and why it was produced the way that it was.

It's all in the frame of mind.

(Oh! And before I end this post...I just LOVE Gollum, my precioussss!!!!" He was the highlight of the movie!!)

Until Next Time!