I’m going to be talking about the movie, “Precious” in this post. I want to warn you ahead of time, because I don’t want to spoil anyone. I don’t know major plot points. I only know about what is shown in the trailer. If you don’t want any movie clues at all, then please stop reading now. Come on back tomorrow and I will be talking about something absolutely un-spoilery.

I am a fan of Mariah Carey. It seems to me that people either love Maiah Carey or they hate her. I think she’s talented, beautiful, an individual.

I read that she’s in a movie, “Precious,”that was well-received at Cannes. The piece I read talked about how she’s not Mariah-like in the role. That she is “dowdy.”

Whatever, she still looks beautiful to me.

I watched the movie trailer and it made me cry. Not just a few tears. I mean cry-cry. At one point the title character is saying that no one loves her and she is in agony. I can remember feeling like that before and it’s horrible to feel that low. Just soul-sucking agony. I can remember feeling absolutely unlovable. Nobody should ever feel that way.

I’m afraid to watch the whole movie. It looks incredible and honestly I feel my point of view has changed just from watching the trailer, so I should see it, but it’s hard to watch that sort of raw pain. Some actors make a scene all too real. They have the ability to transport a person. The star of this movie, Gabourey Sidibe, she has that gift.

The movie is about a young woman and her relationships. I had not heard of it before today and I wanted you readers to be aware of it, to watch for it.

Image credit: SXC.hu

Trailer from YouTube

Has anyone seen Two Girls One Finger?

I can’t help but reflect that I used to be so cool and sophisticated when I was a teen/young adult.

Two Girls One Finger is apparently so disgusting that the new thing is to get people, mostly girls, to watch it on video so they can tape their response.

I saw one girl actually vomit.

From what the reactions say I think they eat vomit and craps in each others’ mouths. I’m thinking it’s some kind of really F’d up porn or super extreme truth or dare. I could be wrong, but that’s the impression I got.

I’m feeling so old and conservative based on my emotional response to the popularity of such sick and wrong things. I used to be so liberal before the world got so depraved.

I’m scared to watch it. I don’t want to pollute my brain. I already have some images in my brain that I’d rather not have ever had put there.

Anyone seen it? Can you tell me whether I’m right?

This is an apt description of the body image issues women face. I worry about my daughter, but I also know the devastating effect this type of media onslaught has on the grown women I know. We reduce women to things. Are you a pretty thing or an ugly thing?

Guess what? We’re not things. We’re people. We think, we feel, we nurture the young and care for the sick. We are women and to allow the entire marketing industry to turn us into things has to stop somehow. Why do you think men think it’s okay to use us up? Because they see the same images that turn us into too large or too small or really pretty or not pretty enough objects. You don’t have to respect an object.

If you’re a woman who feels too fat or thinks she has too big a nose, ask yourself why. Is it because you really are or because you’re told a million times a day that a size 10 isn’t pretty? Is it because every billboard, magazine or television show talks about the size and the shape of your breasts? And then we offer our perfectly normal valuable selves to Dr. Frankenstein to reconstruct on Dr. 90210?

Has it occurred to anyone else that just maybe who we are isn’t the problem, it’s the message we allow them to sell us that is the problem? I think it’s time we stop buying it.

More on this at Queen of Violets and So Sioux Me.

Let’s talk about where we are in this country when it comes to talent and culture, shall we?

Movies created on cell phones and produced on You Tube? Music created from software packages? Sports figures who take steroids so they can break a legendary player’s home run record? Architecture that is less than 30 years old being blown up and replaced?

The answer? In my mind, the new talent in our society will come from computer programmers because everything else has gone to hell in a hand-basket.

I don’t watch American Idol…never have. But when I heard everyone yammering about Blake Lewis from last night’s installment, I had to find out if he’s got the goods.

I’m afraid I have to agree with Simon, who bellowed: “It sounded like a cruise ship karaoke performance!”, after listening to Blake’s version of Diana Ross’ — “You Keep Me Hanging On”.

Oh wait, wasn’t it Simon who predicted that Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson wouldn’t amount to very much? An Oscar, Simon!

Which makes me believe that in order to get any enjoyment from this schlocky franchise (don’t cry Paula)…you, the viewer, have to pick your own fav.

Mine? Lakisha Jones. Although, if she wins, she will go down in TV history as the last reigning American Idol champ, as the show will be cancelled…I HOPE.

I know, way to kill the whole New Year’s Eve party buzz, right?

New York Times style writer Bog Morris has perfectly captured exactly how I feel about the world right now.

If it isn’t 2007 in your neck of the world at the moment, do check out Morris’ hilarious list of what OTHER people might start thinking about in the new year.

I would add…celebrities think about shopping for some Hanes…and tv chefs get some manners and stop chewing with your mouth full on camera…it’s not appetizing looking, it’s gross.

p.s. Mr. Morris’ thoughts about blogging are just harsh. :).

Happy New Year To All.