TV Shows

I have been excited to use this winter break to catch up on shows. The show that blew me away was RAMY. I am a bit late to the party seeing that season one of this show aired April 19th, 2019. I eased into the show with no expectations.

I identify most with Ramy’s struggle to be a true to his faith and still wanting to indulge in everything! Low key Ramy is a POS (piece of shit) because he repeatedly makes terrible decisions and hurts others. The language in the show is wild.

Several groups are represented in this series, first generation Egyptians, African-American Muslims, disabled persons, White males and veterans. Pressures represented in the series include societal, religious, martial, and sexual. Issues represented; double standards, porn, incest, racism.

My favorite character in the show is Sheikh Malik played by Mahershala Ali. The first time I heard him pray I had to investigate why the prayer rolled so eloquently off his tongue. The results include an article I found. The article is of the interview by Ramy Youssef (show creator) of Mr.Ali. Click the picture to learn more. Now it all makes sense. The power of authenticity!

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TV Movie Reviews

The ratings below reflect how good the movie is for the genre it’s in. I am using a scale of 1-5. Five (5) representing excellence, three (3) okay and one (1) trash. The category legend is as follows:

(S) Superhero

(L) Love or Comedy

(ST) Story/Biopic

(A) Action/Thriller or Mystery

Soul (ST) : Rating 4 - Soul reminded me of Onward specifically because it was a movie that address aspects of death that was marketed to children. On a broader spectrum one could say Coco was made with Latino children in mind; Onward targeted Caucasian children and Soul targeted African American children.

The best things about Soul are the visual explanation for how personality is created, how the living become lost, who is accountable for all souls and the duality of life and the spiritual world.

The design of the characters and the music was enjoyable. The conversation and verbiage of the African American female characters were believable. The supporting character being a soul forced me to think about my own soul and the quality of my life. The title of the movie “Soul” is a clever pun from a marketing aspect.

For me the great debate/ controversy in the film revolve around the opportunities and chances we have in life. My son said aloud during the movie that he wanted to cry. In my opinion the movie should have ended right there to make the message more impactful. One could argue that is not the Disney way. I say, we already jumped out the window so let’s go all the way.

Jingle Jangle (ST) : Rating 4.7 - Jingle Jangle was magical and fun. I’m never tired of seeing Phylicia Rashad on screen. She feels like a relative at this point. I loved Journey’s (main character) hair style and clothing. Forest Witaker delivered as expected for the role of Jeronicas. The real entertainment came from Ms.Johnston played by Lisa Phillip. Boy did she have the hots for Jeronicas.

The musical numbers were well coordinated; this movie gave me Broadway’s 1998 Ragtime vibes. A movie I would watch with kids annually.

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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (ST) : Rating 4.2 - The acting in the movie is good. That fat suit and bad make up Viola Davis had to wear was something else. The goal was to depict that Ma was hot and uncomfortable and they did that.

My least favorite thing about the movie were the portions where the setting didn’t change. I have a hard time watching movies where the setting doesn’t change. I know it was based off the 1984 play and I could feel that. I didn’t like that. There is also a lot of messaging in the movie. Directly towards the black community. One must be prepared for that.

I most enjoyed Ma Rainey’s fuck you attitude and her total understanding of how to yield music producers to her will. I also had affinity for Levee’s (Chadwick Boseman) confidence in himself and his talent. Lastly, if there is a standing record for the most times the N word is used, they may have a broken it in this film.

Gifting Food: Tips and Tricks

I give baskets and well packaged gifts but this year was my first time sharing a dish as a gift. I just love presentation I think it makes gifts more exciting.

Transparent containers are more intising

Colored foil can be used to show different types of food. Silver foil for chocolate chip almond cookies. Gold foil for peanut butter chocolate chip walnut cookies.