Watched.
My family was gone this weekend so I had some quality time alone.
I did a solid binge of Veep and almost done with S2 now. It’s funny as hell but Friday I turned it off and turned on MSNBC and what even is the difference? I guess the fake inept government is funnier than the real inept government. Sometimes. So I got into Rick and Morty againagainagainagain.
Guava Island (2019) – So a photo of a shirtless Donald Glover alongside Rihanna popped up on the internet some time last summer and I knew whatever they were going to be doing together is something I was going to consume. Turns out it’s Guava Island, a short film (55 mins) currently on Amazon Prime. Donald showed it after his set at Coachella on Friday??? I opted for the 4K version but it didn’t matter it’s not in 4K and Rihanna is beautiful in any definition. Anyway the movie is listed as a thriller but at best it is a dramatic music video. It is not bad but if you don’t like Donald Glover this won’t change your mind and this blog has been a fan of Donald Glover since inception so I enjoyed it. There’s not enough Rihanna. Not enough Leticia Wright. But it did make the “This Is America” (video) make more sense. I feel the three songs Donald put out last summer with absolutely NO ALBUM afterwards were because this movie was the concept and they just put the songs up instead.
You’re Killing Me, Susana (2016) – This had been on my Movies to Watch list for a year or so. I saw the trailer…a while ago but it’s On Demand on HBO and it stars the beautiful Gael Garcia Bernal and the even more beautiful Verónica Echegui. Eligio (Bernal) is a philandering aspiring actor and avid drinker whos wife Susana (Echegui) up and leaves him in the middle of the night. Then he has to go to Iowa to find her. It’s mostly in Spanish and just a dramatic love story and yay for Indie movies. While I enjoyed it, neither of these movies are movies I would make anyone sit down and watch.
Little (2019) – Addy wanted to see this movie since we saw the first trailer. The plot is every body swapping movie you’ve ever seen (BIG, Freaky Friday (both iterations), 13 Going on 30) except it’s black girls. Not every black movie needs to be a defining point for the generation and this was just a regular movie but I’m glad we have every black movie that was ever made and we need to be able to make all the good and bad and regular ass black movies that we can.
Listened.
Norah Jones – Begin Again – Okay so this is more Norah Jones. It’s not even a full album, just a collection of singles. 4 out of 9 have already been released throughout the past year and committed to my memory. I’m not mad at all.
Anderson .Paak – Ventura – .Paak put out Oxnard in November. It’s good and still in my heavy rotation. But a few weeks ago on IG he said a new new album was coming out. And then he released King James and Make It Better (feat. Smokey Robinson…WHAT?!). And it they were jammas. Then the whole album came out and omg I’m so mad I haven’t gotten tickets to see him yet. I’m scared to look at the prices now. A reviewer called it “hip hop soul” but that’s…R&B??? This is more a sequel to Malibu than Oxnard was. It’s mellow and not as explicit (but still explicit). Hot take favorite hit is Reachin’ 2 Much (feat. Lalah Hathaway…WHAT!!?!?!?!?).
This week’s episode of WITHPod with Mariame Kaba (@prisonculture) was very very good.
Also Nicole Byer was on Conan Needs a Friend and my faves keep joining forces and it pleases me so.
Read.
I devoured the short story collection All The Names They Used For God by Anjali Sachdeva. It’s a lot of magical realism and somehow the actual term was new to me even though it’s really all I’ve ever loved. The slightly askew. Magic but still regular life. I mean I wrote a short on it not too long ago (remember when I used to write sometimes). It’s all Roald Dahl ever did. Anyway the collection was amazing and I took a lot of notes and they’re still sitting with me and I think about the stories often which is saying a lot considering how much stuff I consume in a week.
Bought.
I bought a “ol janitor ass” mop and bucket (Brownlee’s words, not mine) and it decreased my cursing while mopping by a whopping 67%. Unheard of.
Followed.
Refinery29 is a feministy site and they have a whole new Instagram for millennial black women, @R29Unbothered, and it’s delightful. I saw this video they posted that’s part of their #blacklove series. (While typing this I realize the site has a whole Unbothered section for articles as well (link) ).
mag·ic re·al·ism noun
- a literary or artistic genre in which realistic narrative and naturalistic technique are combined with surreal elements of dream or fantasy.
America is a concept. Anywhere where in order to make yourself rich, you have to make someone else richer is America.
– Deni (Donald Glover), Guava Island (2019)
So, I saw All the Names… and I’m wondering if I would prefer it as a real book, not kindle. Thoughts?
Also, my mom has and loves that mop lol
a paperback maybe??? i loved it and highlighted a few lines but for this one i don’t think the format makes a difference.