Big Sole Blog (BSB)

Over the weekend I watched Martin Scorsese's documentary Public Speaking on HBO. It's about author and magazine writer Fran Lebowitz, and I highly recommend it. She's smart (no duh!) and funny. Oh, wait. Maybe I mean "witty." I especially appreciated her commentary on race, gender, America's current disdain for intellectuals, and how much she procrastinates. Of interest to people down here,

The 17-year-old pictured here is Pauline Deese. Both the Times Picayune and WWL TV report that Miss Deese is one of four teens, ages 14-17, charged with allegedly beating to death a 78-year-old woman in Norco, La. St. Charles Parish authorities have not yet released the names of the other suspects.News sources say that the teens allegedly convinced Mary N. Mulé Arico that they needed to use her

I'm with my dad and my adult children today. Helped a bit with cooking, but my daughter and son have the ball. I want to enjoy the day and not worry about tomorrow. I want to live and breathe gratitude, and that requires living in the moment.

I heard the news about North Korea shelling Yeonpyeong Island on Tuesday, but I didn't have time to think much about it then. Now, reviewing the news, including how American officials "scramble to limit hostilities," I'm having trouble convincing myself that American citizens (many of whom didn't know the Republicans won back the House during our own midterm elections) even care about the

Advice, ladies. If your current lover/spouse or your ex tells you that he always thinks of you when he hears Van Hunt's "Highlights," run to the nearest exit.

Some people find seeing how Oprah's audience goes crazy when she gives things away to be incredibly sad, demoralizing even, an illustration of America's decadence and zombie-like consumerism. While I think we need to not be so materialistic, I also say, "Lighten up. It's festival season." And so, I find these clips of her crowd going wild to be hilarious. She had medics standing by in case

I just discovered film critic Scott Mendelson's blog, Mendelson's Memos, and this bit of information about a crash in box office sales for the second week of Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls. Mendelson writes:Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls completely collapsed in weekend two, tumbling 66% (a record second-weekend drop for Tyler Perry) for just $6.7 million. Alas, the film apparently didn't expand

I am most definitely not a Pollyanna, always seeing the best in everything, but neither do I see the worst. I consider myself to be a realist who sometimes battles an inner pessimist. However, I think in order to maintain sanity that if you're going to be pessimistic about your prospects, then at least ground your pessimism in reality. So, when I read an article at TheRoot.com today by Helena

I saw the video embedded below on TV talk show host Lisa Durden's Facebook page. A black postal worker filmed a white customer (with her permission in in 2009 he says), who, after signing for a letter, demanded that he take it back. Hugston Jean, 47 then, tried to explain to the woman that it was against USPS policy to take the letter back the person signed for it. She would have to take the

I am surprised that Bristol Palin's beaten Brandy, who I thought was quite good even on the first show of this season's Dancing With the Stars. However, I've only seen DWTS that one time this year. (I prefer So You Think You Can Dance) Nevertheless, I can't escape DWTS news. Everywhere I turn, it seems, I'm hearing about possible Tea Party influence on Bristol Palin getting this far. Really, who

My dog started whining early, a lab. He's outside these days but he used to be an inside dog, and even though he seems to like being outside, he's got this habit of barking and whining whenever the kitchen light goes on in the morning. Sort of saying, I think, "Hey, you people. I want in!"Anyway, to drown out the barking, I grabbed my mp3 player. I accidentally clicked the wrong song, and Eric

Somewhat related, did you see how Oprah hugged real-life African Princess Akosua Busia recently? Do you even know who that is?Let the pomp and circumstance begin. As CBS and many other news outlets, such as CNN, have reported, Prince William and Kate Middleton are engaged:It's official. Perhaps the most widely rumored wedding in recent times, and certainly one of the longest rumored, is going to

I've been thinking about collecting different explanations of the difference between literary fiction or "high literature" and popular fiction and posting them to this blog as a reference. (Yes, I'm taking a class right now.) While looking up the concept of "thinning" in fiction, I came across a blog post at Barnes and Noble by Mark Brendle. While reviewing the work of Richard Russo, Brendle also

A friend sent this to me, the "Fuck It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way." I wish I could adopt it because I honestly believe that sometimes no matter what you do, you can't change the outcome of a bad thing. The old way to say this would be "Let go and let God."

The video below is from the New Orleans Times Picayune and is an update of the Henry Glover trial. Today, according to reports, "Defense attorney admits New Orleans police officer burned Henry Glover's body, but says it wasn't a crime." Read more at NOLA.com. Henry Glover trial video update: opening arguments

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos coverage of woman on Wheel of Fortune who solved long puzzle with only one letter. People have accused the woman of being a witch or cheating. I don't think she did because it's possible. Years ago I used to watch Wheel and remember solving a puzzle with no letters. The answer was "Einstein's Theory of Relativity." I looked at the blank spots and that was the phrase that

After seeing For Colored Girls and writing a review for BlogHer, I so needed this Funny or Die spoof with Wayne Brady of that Tyler Perry movie. Sometimes we have to laugh. This is the film based on "For Stuffed Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When Sesame Street Was Enuf." Below the spoof, I have the real trailer so you can compare the two.Great lines:"Ever since I realized there was something

My review of For Colored Girls, Tyler Perry's film adaptation of poet/playwright Ntozake Shange's iconic choreopoem, is now live at BlogHer.com. Read it please. In the interview I did not comment the film's soundtrack, but I bought it yesterday and give it thumbs up. Here is "Four Women," Nina Simone's classic song. In this movie's version of the song, Laura Izibor's and Ledisi's voices join

My review of For Colored Girls is now live at BlogHer.com, "Tyler Perry Finger Paints Over Shange's For Colored Girls"I'm listening to Joss Stone, who strikes me as an old soul--"What Were We Thinking" (video below). Ugh. What a mood I'm in! I blame it on seeing Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls Friday night and old baggage I wrote about under "Prose Poem for the Living Dead." I am supposed to be

Prose Poem for the Living DeadBy Nordette N. AdamsIf you had written your name all over my body and sang to me the passion you claim in that song, then love may not have seeped away leaving cracked earth beneath us. If you had opened the spirit flesh of your heart like you claim you opened and had remained so--as unfurled as the lotus--then would I be here writing bitter syllables about a zombie?

And MSNBC says Keith Olbermann's out! At least temporarily. The network is concerned about his financial contributions to some Democratic candidates, and so they've suspended the anchor/pundit for a while without pay, report multiple news sources.Are less conservative mainstream media outlets feeling heat with the big GOP/Tea Party win at the polls this week or just trying to distinguish

BlogHer.com, a women's blogging website, with help from OperationBeautiful.com, is running a series about owning your own beauty that features stories and pictures from ordinary women. That's a praise-worthy project. If I were younger, I'd ask to participate because I, like many other women, struggle with self and body image baggage, but who wants to hear about an older woman's emotional

CNN's Anderson Cooper debunks the rumor about President Barack Obama taking a $200 million per day trip to Asia. Michelle Bachmann is one of the people spreading it. The ding bat! But it's gaining traction because we have too many people in this country who believe whatever they read online or hear a politician or pundit saying and they don't check facts. Rush Limbaugh and others are saying this

From Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Book III, written in the 1700s. Gulliver is speaking of the science-obsessed Laputians, the people on the flying island called Laputa. These people are under continual disquietudes, never enjoying a minutes peace of mind; and their disturbances proceed from causes which very little affect the rest of mortals. Their apprehensions arise from several

I'm just getting around to looking at these Rally to Restore Sanity videos now. Some estimates about attendance say there were as many as 250,000 people there. If you'd like to read the transcript of Jon Stewart's closing message to the crowd, try this link. What do you think? And here's the comedy portion with Stephen Colbert, restoring sanity and/or fear. But it's satire, and so there's a