Film

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publicity photo from The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Classic Films

There are films that are “classic” in that they become classics: over time they collect a following and become representative of a time period or a piece of culture (‘cult’ classics). There are also films that were made during Hollywood’s early heyday that, because of the unique cinematic history that was being made during those years, are ‘classics’.

Most of my favorite films come from the second ‘classic’ connotation: I really Really REALLY like Old Hollywood. Give me Cary Grant, William Powell, Katharine Hepburn, Myrna Loy; give me black and white film reels, plots that actually contain storylines, dialog that requires good listening skills, and humor that is not based in meanness. These are the kinds of movies that appeal to me.

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Energy

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Energizer Bunny image sourced from Wikipedia

What energizes you?

Have you ever consciously stopped to think about where you draw your energy from?

Many of us, I think — just like the battery bunny — are prone to keep going… and going… and going…

Sometimes for too long or until we are too worn out to function.

But whether we are conscientious about maintaining our energy levels or we just go and go until we’re drained, one thing applies to us all: we have to recharge.

So my question for you today is: How do you recharge your battery?

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Discipline

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header photo via Unsplash!

Discipline

When people hear the word ‘discipline’, the go-to interpretation of the word seems to often be ‘punishment’.

However, the kind of discipline that appeals to me is self-discipline.

As in: if I am disciplined about enacting my intentions, I will reach my goal.

Personal History

I don’t talk a lot about my family of origin on this blog — and there are good reasons for that; to say they got a lot of things wrong (and continue to get things wrong) is an understatement — but one of the things I learned growing up in the environment I did, was: if you want something, you have to work for it.

I applied this rule to great effect in my early teens. Entering high school, I knew that the only way I was going to get anywhere in life was if I first got an education. And if I was going to be able to go to college, I was going to have to work my tail off to {a} get accepted, and {b} get scholarships to pay for it.

And so, at the age of 14, I created a 4-year plan for Getting The Hell Out. Starting with: take the toughest classes possible and pass them with the highest grade you possibly can.

I stuck to that plan.

It worked.

When I got into college, I created another plan — one I was disciplined about — and when I graduated (with honors, thankyouverymuch), I was on to the next.

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Character

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blank clay character with red question mark from Pixabay
image via Pixabay

Characters

Being an avid reader, I’ve had strong feelings toward and about various fictional characters throughout my lifetime. Some I’ve loathed (Parker Pyne was not one of Agatha Christie’s finer creations), some I’ve had conflicted feelings about (Travis McGee is not a Bad Guy but sometimes he’s not a very good guy, Matthew Scudder skates the ambiguous edges that divide morality and justice), others I’ve mostly liked despite their obvious flaws (Hercule Poirot, Adam Dalgliesh, Jo March, Georgiana Rannoch), and a few — a very tiny few — I have absolutely delighted in.

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