Re: Oscars So White

One thing bothering me about this discussion is that it seems to focus solely on the lack of nominations for black actors and directors. What about the dearth of nominations for Asians? For Latinos¹?

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Would The Martian have been just as good if Chiwetel Ejiofor was in the lead role? Or Irrfan Khan? Or Jessica Chastain? I haven't seen the movie, but I imagine so.

This is one of the aspects of film diversity we're talking about, one of the aspects which frustrates. Revered for their creativity, film producers generally seem to lack the imagination to have a universal experience/inspiration/whatever presented by someone other than a white man.

It's as annoying as a screaming toddler on an airplane².

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I'm not clear on how boycotting the Oscars will affect the pocketbooks of the producers who perpetuate the problem. Because that's what we want to affect, right? The money?

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Remember when you saw your first black NFL quarterback or head coach? And you might have rooted for that team because it was so rare to see either? Now we don't even blink.

That's where we're trying to get to, and not just for black artists. A place where there are so many works to choose from it would be impossible to avoid nominating non-whites in any acting category. (Or several women in the director category – but that's another branch of the Oscar diversity ire.)

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I wasn't surprised by the nominations, or the backlash. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the articles were written in November, waiting to be published.

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And then I remembered Chris Rock was hosting.

1. Yes, I know Iñarritu was nominated, but two nominations (director, best film) does not an abundance make.

2. No shade intended to the parents of toddlers. I'd still prefer the screech of a toddler being denied an indulgence than the whine of a child who has never been told "no". I got your back, parents.

The Wiz Live! - A Review

I liked it. I enjoyed the music, the characters, the messages. Being familiar with the movie, I was most concerned about the Scarecrow (who can compare to Michael Jackson?), but Elijah Kelley did the part proud. I want to see this live on stage – it looks like a lot of fun.

Understand The Wiz is not based on the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, but on L. Frank Baum's novel. Thus, like the book, none of the witches are green and the shoes are silver. It is, as it ever will be, a story about a girl finding her way home.

One issue I had with this production was that there seemed to be a lot of close ups. Too much like T.V. and not enough like Theater, for my taste.

Here are some of my real time observations – they may be a little spoilery if you haven't seen the show, so proceed with caution:

--Toto ain't got nothing on Nanny [the dog in last year's Peter Pan Live!]

--"What had happened was…" is one of my favorite expressions of all time.

--I shouldn't be surprised that David Alan Grier can sing, but I am.

--Love that snarl! Love the costume! Love David Alan Grier!

--Okay, so in the movie, were the accordion things that terrified me as a child supposed to be shape shifters?

--I really really really don't like Halo (mandarin orange) commercials.

--You're excited for The Wiz so you're quoting The Wizard of Oz? Oh, SNL.

--Are they voguing?

--That Rihanna commercial? Nope.

--"Ain't nobody givin' us nothin'"

--I love you Mary J. , but that cackle was a little weird.

--I do like the Walmart commercial with the boy picking out a gift for his (soon to be) step sister.

--Yay! Taraji, Mary J., and Kerry are back! Listening to salsa! Marc Anthony, if I'm not mistaken. Which I probably am.

--"That's right - Nothing wrong with being a woman" Love it!

--"The places you wind up when you don't look where you're going" Preach!

--There is something about Glinda the Good being dark skinned and proclaimed beautiful. So wonderful.

--I shouldn't be surprised that Uzo Aduba can sing, but I am.

Misc.

Auto-correct doesn't like you so much as it likes to laugh at you.

We already know there are fewer Oscar buzz films with people of color in key roles than there were last year. So when the nominations come around, let's not complain. A simple shrug, a roll of the eyes, at most a Well, what did you expect? Of course they dug in. Hollywood's not liberal at all, you know.

Then back to work. We've got stereotypes and stigmas to destroy. Bring me my 50+ year old female action heroes.

If the horrific atrocities perpetrated by law enforcement (as captured via cell phone and body cam), are not representative of every police officer,

Then why would every Syrian refugee seeking to escape the bombs of Assad and the terror of ISIS be representative of ISIS-sponsored terrorism?

Are you sure you believe All Lives Matter?

It wasn’t until Season 2, Episode 3 of The Librarians that I realized the character Ezekiel Jones is British, not Australian. Unless he's really Australian. In which case, never mind.

If armbands or ID cards for Muslims are enacted, best believe actions segregating and identifying others will follow. Given this recent rhetoric, Trump sounds like the Hitler of my high school text book. First Muslims, then who?

Sikhs, naturally, because everyone's afraid of turbans. Buddhists so as not to anger China. Catholics, to reinforce the notion of a sectarian society. Remember when Trump made fun of Ben Carson's religion? Could certain branches of the Protestant tree be included? Latter-Day-Saints, definitely, and 7^th Day Adventists, for sure. Perhaps Southern Baptists, just because, and Pentecostals, because they're too loud anyway.

And after the IDs? Are back to redlining neighborhoods and forcing people to live in specified areas? And after that?

You know the McDonald's commercial with Mike Ditka & Jerry Rice? Why isn't Ditka wearing Bears gear and Rice wearing Niners gear? Ditka in Packers gear does not look right. At All.

Was it this bad after 9/11? The rush to political punditry? Or did the absence of Twitter (and my failure to regularly check my Friendster account) allow me to grieve and process in peace?

Peach Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients:

3 large peaches, sliced
6 oz of blueberries
1/2 cup of butter, cubed & cold
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of oatmeal

Process:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine peaches & blueberries. If you must, you can add a bit of sugar, maybe no more than a 1/4 cup. Set aside.

Put the brown sugar, flour, and oatmeal into a bowl, mix together.

Add the cubed, cold butter.

Use a pastry cutter to combine the butter with the dry ingredients (Or use your hands, like I did).

Gently spread the oatmeal mixture over the fruit.

Bake for ~30 minutes, or until the top is crunchy and to your liking.

Salad Dressing Hack

I watch The Kitchen on Food Network, where I saw this recipe for Goat Cheese and Blackberry Vinagrette.

It looked to be more work than I am willing to put in for a salad (after all, I just started eating salad sort of regularly), so I hacked it:

1 tablespoon of crumbled goat cheese + 2 tablespoons of lite raspberry vinagrette = dressing for a few baby spinach leaves.

A few notes:

• I've only made this once, but I will likely do it again before the end of the week
• I didn't use a whisk because I didn’t want to wash it (lazy alert)
• I didn't leave the goat cheese in very crumbly, but instead mashed it a bit as I whipped with a spoon
• According to the bottle, 2 tablespoons is a 1 serving of salad dressing

All in all, it was yummers.

Jurassic World: A Review

Jurassic World shows us what we have learned since the failures of Jurassic Park. John Hammond's dream has come to life, and is plagued with all of the promise and problems of a live animal theme park. There are people who respect the dinosaurs (Chris Pratt), people who learn to (Bryce Dallas Howard), and people who don't (Vincent D'Onofrio).

It's a competent sequel to Jurassic Park, referencing and recognizing the source in many ways, including the presence of BD Wong.

Yes, it is irritating that Bryce Dallas Howard's character runs around in heels. I kept wishing the screenwriters would have Romancing the Stone'd the shoes (i.e, lopped off the heels with a machete). Others have illuminated issues with this character; suffice to say, the franchise needs another Dr. Ellie Sattler.

And the relationship between the leads is a little bit cheesy. When they kiss, it's hard not to say What? Really? Now?

Jurassic World has earned its PG-13 rating with mostly bloodless violence and the maximum allowable number of specific cuss words. I'd say its kid-appropriateness is a little higher than Iron Man 3.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. The more I think about it, the more eager I am for a Jurassic Marathon: Jurassic Park followed by Jurassic World. The makings of a lovely lazy Sunday afternoon. I might even pay money to see it as a double feature in a movie theater. 

A Trip to the Beach

I took a route through the Santa Monica Mountains, putting along in fourth gear, winding through several short tunnels,

past a winery,

It's Livermore South! Or Sonoma County...
(Malibu Rocky Oaks Estate Vineyards)

to the PCH. Pacific Coast Highway. Northbound, to the Zuma Beach exit, which took me down and around and under the highway to the ocean.

The day was overcast, beautifully complementing the grey blue green of the ocean.

There were teenagers/young adults playing volleyball in their bikinis, families with tents and blankets reposing on the sand, surfers, wet suits zipped, strolling to the water.

As I walked to what would be my resting spot, a flock of kids* in black swimsuits swarmed into the water. I was nearing the main life guard station, where men in that familiar BayWatch red stood observing and commenting among themselves. The kids in black swam to a buoy and back to shore, picking up their knees in a high goose step as they waded through the surf. Lifeguard Trainees, perhaps?

I settled in, unpacking my chair, putting water in the cup holder, perching my reading glasses on my nose.

It was cold.

Out came the beach towel to do duty as a blanket; up went the hood of my hoodie; into the sand I dug my toes. Now I was ready.

Like a Boss...who left her bifocals at home

I finished reading The Little White Bird (the first novel where Peter Pan appears), as kids played in the surf and surfers tried to catch waves (Unfortunately, surfing conditions were terrible.) A young man from one of the groups camped nearby went out to where the waves were cresting, boogie board in hand (the boogie board/body surfing conditions seemed excellent**).

A helicopter, which had flown by earlier, made another pass. And another. And another, getting closer not only to the shore, but to those of us sitting there.

Hello!

 Yep. My spot to relax was in front of the Sheriff Department's helipad.

The kids in black once again swarmed to the water, this time with bright yellow buoys.

And flippers. They goose-stepped into the surf, flippers in hand, slung their buoys over their shoulders and dived into the ocean.

As they came ashore, two (or was it three?) peeled off from the group and headed towards my stretch of beach. One stood on the shore and held his buoy in the air, like a signal. The other(s) went back into the water. I realized they were surrounding the young man who had gone out with his boogie board. All were able to swim safely back to shore, though the young man's board was no longer tethered to his wrist. It was several feet away, being pushed and pulled as the tide came in.

Those were no trainees.

I won't be getting rescued from the water by any handsome, well-cut lifeguards   ever. Because that water is cold.

Though still overcast, the air began to warm. I pulled my toes from beneath the sand; the sand itself was comfortable and cozy. My nose had become accustomed to the salty ocean scent, my ears to the rhythm of the waves.

I think I know where I might spend the 4^th of July.

*These would be teenage/young adult kids, not elementary age or toddlers. Though some did look like they could've been in 8^th grade.

**I know little to nothing about boogie or body boarding. Or surfing for that matter. But the waves seemed just big enough to be thrilling with those short boards, but far too small to stand up and ride on a surf board.