I'm still here.

As I wrote the title of this post, it (unintentionally) summed up what I've been going through, creatively, for quite some time. I wrote I'm still here, meaning that I haven't forgotten about this blog. I'm still around, alive and kicking. 

But, creatively, I've been at a standstill. Some writers pooh-pooh the notion of writer's block, and even I'm not sure if that's what I've been experiencing. I'd set aside the time to write and spend that time staring at a blank screen, crying. 

This past October I went to a writer's retreat in hopes that something would shake loose, but it didn't turn out that way. I had a wonderful time connecting with other writers, and enjoyed the atmosphere, scenery, and food, but when it came to writing time, I spent it in frustration and tears. 

Image from storyblocks.com

So, as I wrote the title, I realized that's how I felt each time I tried to write: I'm still here... in a writing drought.  

But now, I'm here... writing again! I feel almost giddy over it, like finding an oasis in the desert! I hope to stay here awhile.

Have you experienced creative droughts? 

A helpful website for movie-goers, book-readers, and more.

Have you ever been watching a movie when suddenly a scene you weren't expecting caused anxiety or triggered a strong emotional reaction? For instance, my mom tangled with a humongous rattlesnake while in her youth, and from then on if she saw an image of a snake-- even a harmless garter snake--she freaked out!

Well, I recently came across a helpful website that gives people the "heads up" for frightening, disturbing, phobic, traumatic elements that might cause distress. It's titled Does The Dog Die (doesthedogdie.com).

The website  contains "emotional spoilers for movies, tv, books and more." This site is crowd-sourced, and they track 80+ categories of potentially upsetting scenes. You can either look up a specific title and find a list of possible triggers, or you can look up a category, such as "Are there snakes?" and it lists the titles of shows, video games, books that have snakes, along with a brief description... for instance... yes, there are snakes, but seen in a distance.

On the site, you can specify the type of media you want to search... books, movies, magazines and more... even podcasts and comic books. And you can filter by "yes" or "no". For example, my mom could have looked for "Are there snakes?" and selected "movies" and specified "no" to search for movies that did not have snakes.

Here are a few samples of categories for the site:

• cheating
• someone uses drugs
• heads get squashed
• an animal dies
• flashing lights or images
• someone says "I'll kill myself"
• someone is sexually assaulted
• there's gun violence
• someone is buried alive
• there are clowns

Check it out. There are oodles of categories and if you don't see the particular trigger scenes or topics that concern you, you can request that they add it.

Does The Dog Die (doesthedogdie.com)

Kisses for Valentine's Day

Monday: Dialogue, Lines, or Quotes

I shared these lines of dialogue several years ago, but in honor of Valentine's Day, and special movie moments of kissing, here they are again...

Gone With the Wind (1939)...

RHETT BUTLER (Clark Gable)

No, I don't think I will kiss you. Although you need kissing badly. That's what' wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.

Casablanca (1942)...

ILSA (Ingrid Bergman)

Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time.

The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996)...

ROSE MORGAN (Barbra Streisand)

When my date takes me home and kisses me good night, if I don't hear the philharmonic in my head, I dump him.

 

The Princess Bride (1987)...

THE GRANDSON (Fred Savage)

They're kissing again. Do we have to read the kissing parts?

(And then, later on...)

GRANDPA (Peter Falk)

And as they reached for each other...

(stops reading)

THE GRANDSON

What? What?

GRANDPA

Ah, it's kissing again. You don't want to hear that.

THE GRANDSON

I don't mind so much.

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)...

YOUNG MELANIE (Dakota Fanning)

Why would you want to marry me for, anyhow?

YOUNG JAKE (Thomas Curtis)

So I can kiss you anytime I want.

The Simpsons Movie (2007)...

MARGE (Julie Kavner, voice)

Mmmm, best kiss of my life.

HOMER (Dan Castellaneta, voice)

Best kiss of your life, so far.

Take 44: Not That Funny

Tuesday: My "take" on a film. 

Not That Funny (2012)

A simple story of how far a serious man will go for love.

Available on Amazon Prime and described as: A love story about a woman who "just wants someone who makes her laugh" and a man who is not that funny.

I found the film refreshing. When I reflected on it later, I realized it didn't pack a punch, it didn't have a wow-factor, it wasn't fast-paced, it wasn't a knee-slapper... so what did it have going for it? A clean story about a decent, kind, man falling in love. It's that simple. And that beautiful.

I loved the message (as the trailer states): "Sometimes we need to stop trying... and just be ourselves."

Watch the trailer here.

Notes on content:

• No sex or nudity.
• No profanity.
• A brief scene of someone getting punched in the jaw.