Film: Caribbean Film Corner (Portobello Film Festival)

I first attended this yearly festival in 2009 and throughly enjoyed the evening. I am a great lover of filmmaking and all that it entails. It is such a fascinating and amazing tool for information and entertainment. Particularly in the last few years I have had a thirst for Caribbean films and documentaries. With Bollywood and Nollywood generating hundreds of reels per year, I yearn to see the Caribbean doing the same and producing quality productions that audiences will embrace. Well the Caribbean Film Corner is an excellent way to see both full length and short films, documentaries and animation created by people in the Caribbean diaspora. And the most amazing thing is that it is FREE!

So please check out the website http://www.caribbeanfilmcorner.com and their  Facebook page and come to one of the programmes from the 14th to 17th Sept 2011. I promise it is worth a visit!

Music: Friendly Fires

I loved the lineup at the Jools Holland taping last night. Beverly Knight, Donovan, Yuck, Nathaniel Rateliff, James Vincent McMorrow and Friendly Fires. A real mix that introduced (and reintroduced)  me to some talented msuicians . I have read about the St Albans dance influenced indie band Friendly Fires but had never listened to their music until a few hours ago. Their energy and eclectic sound were contagious and this song “Show Me Lights” from their new album Pala had us rocking in the audience. It was amazing live but the album version captures the same energy.

Film: Attack the Block

Note to self: Never judge a film by its poster or silly name. Always check the trailer before deciding -

Life: Me. Now.

 

1. Talk about playing with my emotions. They say Mad Men is coming back for a fifth season, giving me a burst of happiness, them they cut off my legs with a few buts. Like: not until March 2012, possibly no involvement from creator, shorter episodes and the loss of one or two main characters… like Joan. What?! Listen as a fan who has been anticipating seeing how this show ends I would rather they just leave it at 4 seasons than give us disastrous final one. Why AMC? Why?!

2.Soca performer Bunji Garlin cut off his locks. The world did not end and he looks hotter than hot. Dare I say younger? And his barber is an artist. Look at that fade and his beard? Loving it.

3. I have been getting a little too excited over the glimpses of sunshine in London. It has been short and sweet and making me fiend for Spring time. But its time to exhale and calm down a bit. Today and tomorrow’s predicted rain has brought me back to reality. I live in London.

4. Tweeted and Facebooked my encounter with Idris Elba on Sunday and finally had to admit that I am a groupie. Five seconds after I had squealed, ran around in a complete circle and watched his fine being make a hasty retreat, I was on my phone tweeting away. I should have stayed calm, gave him that dazzling smile and asked sweetly for a picture but alas I am just not that refined. Pure fandom took over. Maybe I will have more control next time? I live in hope

5. So I am officially in search of 3.o. My second car has gone to scrap heap heaven and London tube maps and TFL have become my constant companions, again. Its amazing where you can go with car in ten minutes that takes triple the time with public transport. Irritating but a prime example of when life gives you lemons, its time to make lemonade.

6. Settling back into life after a few ‘grenades’ went off around me and in the process learning some valuable lessons about life. I used to say that nothing surprises me anymore. Well you will never, ever hear me say those four words again.

7. Which? has once again solidified my love for them. Yesterday they launched a super complaint against debit and credit card charges. Funny enough in Feb when I was looking for flights to Paris is when I experienced first hand these ridiculous card charges. For one ticket there is a different charge depending on which card you use. What made me laugh was the fact the visa electron cards are now the one which incurs the least expense. Why is it funny? I remember when I had that debit card years ago that it was not accepted by anyone, especially online. Now its the card of choice. Hilarious! Thank goodness for consumer watchdogs.

8. Libya. As I tweeted the night of the first air raid, no 100 page document, impassioned speech by leaders or defiant denials will convince me that this not just about securing this country’s oil supply. The West just wants to make sure they are on side with whoever is in charge. Oil is the sole reason they have put up with Colonel Gaddafi for the last few decades anyway. And President Obama here is one more thing to add to the list for the upcoming election fight. I am pretty much ignoring the Libya stories now. Japan still needs our help.

9. Men are from Mars and women live on the gorgeous planet of Venus – my take on the famous saying and one that I now believe in 200%. It actually helps to start from this point and just see every conversation, act, moment you have with the opposite sex in this way. This is what every single relationship self-help book is about. So save your money and just accept the fact that men and women just see life in opposing fashions. Some how, in some deep biological, spiritual manner some of us manage to fall in love and make it work despite all the differences. That is a beautiful thing to see. Whether or not I will ever get there is still in limbo.

 10. I have become that person who starts a book and never finishes it. I’ve become that writer who wants to write but never actually composes the first line. I am letting the very things that make me …me, that deep, creative, word- obsessed part of me be sucked up but the rigors of adulthood. Yes I have more do but I need to find that time however hard it might be. That is the girl who started this blog. I am on a mission to find her become that person again

11. One of my favorite columnists Lucy Mangan (from the amazing Stylist magazine) does a good job of summing up my conclusions on writing and relationships – http://www.stylist.co.uk/people/article/1096/%22all-romantic-notions-are-based-on-lies  Please check out this great free style mag.

12. Officially I have agreed to disagree with everyone on the topic of Chris Brown. For the record I like a lot of his songs. I did before the Rhianna abuse tragedy and I have afterwards. I am also a person who likes to forgive and give people a second chance – we are after all just humans. But I am adamant about the fact that I do not think he has truly dealt with his anger issues or genuinely dealt with what he did. He like so many other people have made excuses as to why he beat her up. From the day it happened he has been carrying on like normal (jet skiing, holidaying, etc) and just doing the minimum of what the court ordered and saying his PR wrote for him. Yes Rhianna aided this by going back to him for a while and acting like the ‘incident’ was just a glitch. I am in the camp that even if she was the demon/man tempter/wicked woman people paint her as he had no right to punch and bite and beat her up then run away. I feel sorry for them both as they have come from homes where this behaviour was the norm and really need therapy to not keep repeating their parents mistakes. His album Fame is no. 1 and his talent is being praised but I beleive that the GMA incident proves my belief that Chris and the people around him have not dealt with his anger and its source. Remember you heard me say, this is not the last time he is going the strike out and one day his actions will have even worst recuperations. This is the praise of fame and the same ‘ole’ tale for child stars like the Lohans and the Miley Cypruses and the Chris Browns, they just do what they have to stay on top but don’t get the real help and guidance that they need.

‘Luther’ is chuffed

I had to post this cute video of an excited Idris Elba. He filmed it on the set of season 2 of Luther. I wonder if this nomination will lead him to make different choices about roles? Luther was very much heavy drama and he got to be a London boy again. Let’s see what the future holds and see you on Monday Driis

London Boulevard

It has Colin Farrell, Ray Winstone, gangsters and London itself. All enough to wet my appetite. Is it enough for yours? In UK Cinemas now…

Sherlock

It is hard to resist Sherlock Holmes. The allure has always been his suave, cocky nature and the intricate mysteries he is called unravel. And the dynamic between him and Dr Watson makes them a cohesive ying to yang.

I have loved many of the screen incarnations (hence the photo montage) from the black and white Hound of the Baskervilles to Young Sherlock Holmes to Robert Downey Jr’s brillaint 2009 portrayal. Now the new BBC adaptation has me excited for Sunday nights. When I saw the trailer  my first thought was:

“It better not be the the great great grandson of Sherlock Holmes because that is just lazy.”

So imagine my delight when his name is said and there is no recognition from strangers or corny questions like “Are you related to the famous…” Yes!

He is truly a modern day sleuth. The first episode brilliantly introduces Dr Watson into the picture and gives us a lovely mystery to solve (though I must confess I solved one little part before the man himself). I am a sucker for the screen graphics that show us his thoughts and text messages and basically how his mind ticks. The rapport is easy and natural between Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. Benedict is weird, wonderful and mysterious all in a modern way.

If I say any more I may well give away the whole episode. So go on to iPlayer and give it a chance. There are only three episodes (boo!). My fingers are crossed that there will be more.

BBC1 Sundays

Street Cleaners and I – the future?

Today on my walk to college the pattern continued.

He saw me walking down the hill. I saw him from the corner of my eye and took a deep sigh. These things are predictable now.

“Hello!”

Yes he was talking to me.

I kept me eyes straight ahead humming along to Maxwell.

“Oiii you!”

Seriously. His voice was echoing in the empty street. He was busy sweeping up the autumn leaves into his wheelie bin.

I upped the pace.

Street cleaners like me.

It seems that I have a type. In this case I am not referring to the men I like but instead the men who like me.

I don’t walk into a room and get male heads snapping in chorus. Never have. But I can guarantee if he is off centre and socially unstable that young man would be the one trying to catch my eye.

I became aware of my appeal to these types many years ago. Mad people like to talk to me. They stare at me as I walk by. They insist on forming conversation. Insanity finds me attractive.

Laugh if you wish. Accuse me of exaggeration. I accept that you are not in my shoes so simply have no access to the file of experiences I have had.

There is an infamous story given to single women in the church. You may have heard it. The single woman who prayed for a husband and the the one armed man (some versions he has one leg, a missing eye…you get the picture) who kept trying to talk to her. She prayed and begged the lord to not make him her husband. Conclusion of the story, she marries the one arm/leg/eye man. He was the one.

That story is not funny to me. But it plays on my mind. Should I give the street cleaners/unstable suitors a chance?

I am not overwhelmed with offers so should I not accept the ones I get? A friend once told me that I am the kind of woman men do not approach because they see that I am serious person, that they can not play games with me. Compliment? I am round and dark and can look quite serious. The reason sane brothers don’t approach me?

On the other hand they may see something kind in me, approachable. I pray it’s that and not something unstable underneath it all.

So the eternal thinker, yes me, is pondering her appeal and re-evaluating who I am attracted to. Maybe time to add a few more types to my already long list.

Sometimes you have really have no choice but to laugh at it all.

Things that make me think hmmmm.

• “All those who cry at weddings say I.” If that survey was done I would have to stand up, raise my hand and say ‘I’ at the top of my voice. It’s an involuntary act that usually occurs around the point when the bride walks down the aisle. I alternate between grinning inanely at the bride and staring at the groom All the while tears start to escape. Its’ a beautiful moment watching them smile at each other, their eyes transfixed. The exchanging of the vows and the groom ‘My wife and I’ speech also cause the same reaction. Tell me a decade ago that a wedding would evoke such emotions and I would have laughed. It made no sense to me then. But now I know that it is touching to witness people you know make that commitment to each other. Its 90% happy tears with 10% longing mixed in. I don’t know if I will ever be that bride gliding down the aisle.
• Only in America can a plan for health care reform cause such turmoil. Yes I am simplifying all the intricacies of this bill but its basic premise is better coverage for those who currently can not afford it. I guess ignorance is indeed bliss as people like myself who exist in a system that offers ‘free’ health care can wax poetic about its merit. My American counterparts have no such experience and some are instead reacting with fear and annoyance. I think the ever amusing Sarah Palin sums up the hysteria best with this statement:

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s ‘death panel’….”

Death panel???? Let the madness continue.

• Spent a lovely evening with one of my best friends from High school. She is exactly the same person despite the more than ten years we have not seen each other. It was fun reminiscing and laughing at all the memories we share. We are the same teen girls wrapped up in thirty year old bodies. It a strange thing this growing older lark. Your mind feels eighteen but your body and age says differently. We look like our mind’s eye thank goodness. And though I often question my maturity I am beginning to accept the beauty of being young at heart.
• I still rather watch TV on my laptop than on the box itself. My television must feel quite rejected. I’m currently watching ‘True Blood’ (Me watching a vampire series, shocks me too!) and ‘Entourage’. Waiting patiently for ‘Gossip Girl’. Starting ‘Mad Men’ from season one. And still have to buy season 5 of ‘The Wire’.
• There are five books sitting in my bedroom unread. This is fact that is akin to the world coming to an end. Me of old would never have allowed a pile of unread literature to pile up in my vicinity. There are even a few unread magazines in my rack. I haven’t listened to an audio book in months. Seriously this fit of madness HAS TO END. The week I have allotted to end the backlog is 31st Aug to 4th Sept. No work or studying till the next week. I can do it. I mean I used to read a book in a day every week! Time to get back to my book- worm incarnation.
• Why does the sun wake me up every morning but an hour later its grey skies and chilly weather? Welcome to the classic English summer. Fifteen plus years on and I still can not stand it.
• I love 2.0 but he is costing me a bundle. Conclusion – sometimes the things you love the most end of costing you the most!
• Apart from reading, writing, travelling and movies I have found a new favorite thing. Stage managing! Random I know but it is fun making sure everything runs smoothly. I even loved running back and forth like a mad woman. It is fun discovering new skills.
• A friend suggested becoming a ‘yes woman’. Basically saying yes to all requests no matter how out of my box they might be. I think I will take up the challenge. It may make me more spontaneous and challenge my numerous fears. Let’s see what happens!
• Who really attacked that couple in Tobago? My instincts tell me that it’s not the man they arrested. I think that the international pressure to find a culprit lead to this man’s ‘confession’. This is not the first brutal crime to occur in beautiful Tobago. The fact that this couple is still alive is a miracle as others have not been so lucky. It saddens me that the evil of this world has seeped into tranquil Tobago. And this will not be the last time unfortunately.

Falling for a retro kid.

I see him at the bus stop. High top fade, Urkel glasses, high top trainers and clothes from way back. He is fly. Makes me think of Theo Huxtable and Kid and Play and those guys in Princes Town who did their best to emulate that hair. I love it. It is a superficial attraction yes. His style makes me heart beat accelerate. Without it would I have noticed him?

I was strolling through NoHo in Manhattan about two years ago when I saw a group of teenagers chillaxing outside a store. Some dressed in 40s gear but most rocking the style of the late 80s, early 90s. A time when they were probably not even a twinkle in their parents’ eyes. It made me smile. Over the top and attracting a lot of attention but I admired them. If you’re going to do it you might as well go full blast. Embrace the era in every way. I was slightly envious of their quirky, nerdy styles. I wish I had the confidence to handle the reactions and be brave enough to be different.

It is probably why I like him so. Watching him bob his head to his Ipod music and casually wait for the bus every day. Me in my safe clothes stealing looks at him at every chance. I love the colours and the energy and memories it brings back (‘House Party’ anyone?). I have dreams of being a Retro Kid. I am already a black nerd and proud of it. Why not look the part? Then maybe one day my bus stop crush will be stealing looks at my gams instead.