Homegirl Quel (kel) in Austin

Fitzgerald Still Giving Me Life

This afternoon I saw the preview for The Great Gatsby. My son witnessed my excitement and watched me text my sister. Running, he followed me in to my bookshelf to find my copy of the Fitzgerald classic with all the underlined sections and circled words with the definitions scribbled beside them. On page 46 of the paperback is where I learned that "bona-fide" means genuine. Feeding off my excitement, my son asked if he could read it too. He is five. I explained to him how I first read this book in high school and fell in love with the story. How I often refer to Gatsby in conversations and think of the character more often than that. Gatsby's life and especially his end is so tragic. He essentially dies in the pursuit of wealth that he never truly enjoyed, to impress and a woman who would never truly be his. I didn't say all that to my son though. I explained to him how it feels to read a book and to see it in your head so clearly that when you see it with your eyes, like I did on the Gatsby preview, you know it instantly. I looked up from where I was standing in the kitchen and knew those images were Gatsby before I even knew what the trailer was for. My son was so excited that he asked me if there was a movie for How to Eat Fried Worms . We're reading my old copy from childhood now. After a quick IMBD search on my iPhone, I answered yes. He said, "I cannot WAIT to SEE IT!"

Questions:

1. How much do I love that I'm passing on my enthusiasm for reading on to my son?
2. How much do I love that Leonardo DiCaprio is Jay Gatsby?
3. How much do I love that Jay Z is producing the soundtrack?
4. Does Jay Z see any similarities between himself and Mr. Gatsby? Rags to some-would-say-shadily gained new-riches? Lavish parties? King of New York? Entertaining the people and whatnot? 
5. Am I the only one who even cares about the irony of him being involved with the project?
6. How much do I love that Beyonce and Andree 3000 have collaborated again and the new song is on this movie soundtrack?
7. How much do I love that Baz Lurhman is the director?

Answers to all of the above:

1. smh

I haven't been this excited about a beautiful book to film since Memoirs of a Geisha.

I heart the movies.

Don ≠ God.

Recently, I posted a book review for Don Tate's  children's book, "It Jes Happened". I loaned it to a friend to see if she wanted to share it with her son. She hadn't talked to him yet about slavery, and wanted to be sure the book was appropriate for her boy. They both love it. So we were talking about the book over (a very noisy) phone. And this jes happened... 

Her: *sounding surprised and concerned* My son is really into Don. 

Me: Really? That's interesting. Zack started asking about God and spiritual things from a very young age. I like to encourage him to explore and think about the questions, so that when he's older, hopefully he will remain inquisitive about spiritual things and come to his beliefs purely, rather than just digesting what is spoon-fed to him. You, know? I think...blah blah blah...and also...blah blah blah...a funny thing happened...blah blah blah... and so on.

Her: Um. I think you misunderstood me. I said he's really into Don, not God.

Me: *laughs hysterically* Well, Don is a great artist. 

When I thought I heard her say "god", and even when I began pontificating, I was trying to recall if Bill Traylor had mentioned talking to God in the book or something, because there was no reason I could think of why she would throw that into our conversation about this book. I assumed he must have, and I must have forgotten. Welp. Y'all know what they say about making assumptions. The funny thing is, I rarely discuss spirituality. I must have really wanted to talk about it today. 

Oy.

Book Review: It Jes' Happened When Bill Traylor Started To Draw

Bill Traylor is an ex-slave who, after growing up on a plantation and working alongside sharecropping parents, found himself homeless. In his 80's, he began to draw his memories of growing up on a plantation and his life along the way. He ended up with a massive collection of drawings on scraps of paper, cardboard boxes--anything he could get his hands on to draw. Ultimately the right person took notice of Traylor's work and facilitied Traylor's position among America's most important artists.

My first time learning about him was when my good e-buddy, fellow Austinite and local artist, Don Tate announced that he was publishing his first book as an author instead of an award-winning illustrator. I figured the art in the book would be that of Bill Traylor, but the brilliant R. Gregory Christie had that honor. I am so grateful for this book and the impression it has made on my four year old son. Zack was fascinated that Bill Traylor was a real person. After reading this book, Zack wanted to read even more books about "real people that are dead but were alive in books". So now my four year old is looking for the chilcren's biographies when we visit the bookstore--just in time for Black History month! How cool is that?! The realness of the book is even more special to Zack since he shook Don's hand at the Texas Book Festival last year and got his copy of the book signed.

My son is no artist, but after our first two reads of 'It Jes Happened', which occurred one immediately after the other, my son announced that he would "draw all the pictures from the memories I saved up deep inside myself", as was said repeatedly about Bill Traylor in the book.

This book is a gem. The author is a hero. We are excited to see what he writes next. Learn more about this book and the author here. 

Check out the book trailer: 

Wordless Wednesday: For 2.5 Hours After School

HomegirlBlog on Instagram

Wordless Wednesday...with words. My Baby Can Read!

Zack just turned four last month, which totally throws off my life plan of having a three-year-old reader, but I am thrilled that he is actually reading now! I've been relentless from the beginning with pointing out words and letters everywhere and reading to him throughout everyday, not just at bedtime. I resisted the urge to order My Baby Can Read, because I knew wanted a child who could truly comprehend what he was reading. It's happening!

I highly recommend Bob Books--sold everywhere, especially if your kiddo has phonics down.

Even if they don't have phonics yet, each book introduces one to three letter sounds and repeats primarily those sounds throughout each book. In subsequent books where new letter sounds are introduced, the old ones show up--so each book builds on the one before. Bob has a Phonics series too.

My son was reading these books within days of receiving them. 

I was all...

And...

He was in his room sleeping and I was sleeping in mine yesterday afternoon. He came in and woke me up talmbout he want to read his Bob Books. I hit record on the iPhone...right after an interrupted nap...so pardon my sharpness. lol 

Happy Reading Y'all! 

Wordless Wednesday: My Son, The Dinosaur

 

Sam-I-Am Is My Homeboy

Green Eggs and Ham is one of my three year old's favorite bedtime reads at the moment. He picks it about three or four nights a week. Each time, I oblige him...even though the book is like a million pages long. It's amazing how many times I can re-read the longet books and re-watch Disney movies without getting too tired of it. I do not necessarily love it, but he enjoys every time like it's the first time, and I do my best to not be a buzz-kill. 

My son is a picky eater. It's a general toddler pickyness born from a limited diet due to food allergies and texture aversion. When I spotted Green Eggs and Ham on the shelf at my favorite kid's resale store, Kid to Kid, I remembered how persistent Sam-I-Am was in wearing down that fuzzy man until he tried those eggs. Figured I could learn some things from Sam...and learn I did. 

A few days ago my son ate half of a chicken thigh, which we celebrated, as we do anytime he actually swallows anything he's had to chew first. I knew I was one step closer to sending him to school with a non-pureed lunch. So I offered him some stewed potatoes. This is how it all went down:

Fashion Friday: Wear a book. Look Awesome! Do good.

In the age of the iPad, who knows what fate lies ahead for the actual paper book cover. I happen to love actual paper books and enjoy the occasional audio book, but draw the line at e-books. I prefer the reading process that includes turning pages and using bookmarks, underlining notables and quotables and housing read books on shelves. I, however, am just one person. Perhaps a day will come when paper books go the way of the cassette tape and become obsolete, rendering actual book covers useless and of no nostalgic significance to future readers. It could happen. If or when that day comes (or now, just to be awesome), we cover lovers can proudly wear the cover of our favorite piece of great literature right on their chests...and...put paper books in the hands of fellow page-turners!

Out of Print is an awesome little company on a mission. Buy one of their comfy tee shirts featuring your favorite book cover from their collection and a book will be donated to a community in need through their partnership with Books For Africa. How cool is that?!

Children and Jazz

I ran across a link today on Facebook and thought I'd share it with you guys...

In honor of Jazz (and Poetry) Appreciation Month, author, Regina Walker, offers some awesome ways to introduce Jazz to the little people in your life through children's books and music in her blog posts this month. Follow her posts in her "Jazz-oetry" series HERE.

One of the books she mentions, This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt, is a book that was given to my 2-year old son before he even got here. We started reading it to him right away and we've never read the book to him straight. Instead, we sing the book to him to the tune of "This Old Man" and after two years he STILL absolutely loves it! He picks it from his bookshelf and we have to sing it to him at least once every single night.

Fashion Friday: Follow The Model

Why do I want to read Miss J's book? Because he's awesome?! I remember being so excited to get to see him in motion on America's Next Top Model. I've been over the show for a few years now, so haven't seen him in a minute. LOVE Miss J.

I promise you I have never been more intrigued by a single person in the fashion industry more than by Miss J. I think he's awesome, but have always wondered how man who doesn't quite fit into the conventional standard of beauty, managed to establish himself as a runway expert and, like, fixture in the high fashion model industry. I've seen the walk, as many of you have, and I GET why he's the go-to guy to ready new models for the runway...the man, the legs, fierceness on the catwalk. But I want to know what made Miss J, Miss J, so I'm really looking forward to reading this one. 

Supposedly it reads like a biography and a how-to. Here's an awesome quote from the book:

“There’s no getting around it - the church is the reason I am who I am today. I thank Jesus I ended up a man with a killer stride that has the power to burn footprints into a runway.”

Can.not.wait.to.read.it.

Title: Follow the Model: Miss J's Guide to Unleashing Presence, Poise, and Power by J. Alexander

Sneak peek inside and available on Amazon.com.

Book Preview: 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton

Book reviews, I've done for years upon years. But book previews.This is a first for HomeGirl. I was contacted by the folks over at Unbridled Books, who had enjoyed reading some of my posts and asked me to tell you guys about the newest release from Masha Hamilton, called 31 Hours. I haven't read the book yet, but what I've seen and read about it so far was enough for me to share it with you guys sight unseen. Of course it's on my reading list, so a review is inevitable.

31 Hours is story told by 21 year-old Jonas. He's struggling with extreme religious beliefs and political motivations that leave him teetering on the edge of mass murder and suicide. His mother tries to reach her son physically and psychologically in time to prevent the the death of her son and possibly hundreds of others. She only has 31 hours to do it. The book was released on September 8th, appropriately, just days before the anniversary of 9/11. Here's the video preview (Can you believe it?! Books have video previews too!):

Masha Hamilton also started a project called The Afghan Women's Writing Project, which, according to the website is aimed at allowing Afghan women to have a direct voice in the world, not filtered through male relatives or members of the media. Here's a video of Marsha talking about her inspiration for the project:

Empowering women, especially women who face cultural barriers that systematically take their power and their voices away, is always a good look. Go Masha!

Visit awwproject.wordpress.com for more information.

Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood

I hugged this book when I finished reading it. I do that sometimes. I'm a book hugger. Consequently, so is my toddler--hugs his favorite books all the time. Anyway, Black Girl in Paris, had been on my to-read list for years upon years, when I found it, used, on the clearance shelf at Half Price books for $1. I wrote about what I found inside it >>HERE<<--one more thing that made finally reading this book that much more special.

It reads like a memoir. Eden, is a young American girl, who loved books and writing and always knew she wanted to go to Paris, like her idols had, to become a writer. She knew that she was meant to go there and meet James Baldwin and be changed forever, but she had no idea how it would happen, nor what the specific change would be. She was a dreamer. After graduating from college in the 80's, she buys a ticket to Paris. While in Paris, she meets some pretty colorful characters who touch her in many ways, literally and figuratively. When the author describes sexual encounters with men and women Eden meets, she does so in a way that is so poetic and sensual that even the most disturbing encounters don't seem disturbing at all. These encounters are important in telling Eden's story, but this book is NOT about the sex. It's about having a dream and single-mindedly pursuing that dream (unavoidable cliché alert) against all odds.  There where so many reasons why Eden should have never gone to Paris,and times when she should have gone back home, but she was so determined to (another unavoidable cliché alert) achieve her dream that she suffered through some pretty tough times to realize them. The stories of some of the people Eden met ended sadly, but her ending...also her beginning...is uplifting.

So uplifting in fact that it inspired me to do something very French: a bath. In the novel, there is a Turkish bath house, but we don't have those here--and frankly, even if we did, I would stay very-very far away from them. Still, all the talk of steam and heat and relaxation and nudity made me want to participate in my own hot bath soaking action. And what better way to make it feel French, than by adding Rose Bath Powder by L'Occtaine to the bath? What's the point of taking a bath anyway if you're not going to indulge? I digress.

I've never been to Europe, but I would like to. I don't have dreams of going anyplace and walking in anybody's footsteps for inspiration to take my own steps. But, like Eden, I do have dreams. Childhood dreams. And after reading her story, I'm inspired to pursue them with more passion.

Found Things

I bought this book, Black Girl in Paris, at Half Price Books (for $1! Score!) a couple of days ago. Yesterday, when I flipped through it, I found a bookmark from a specialty used and out-of-print book resale store in Maine and the postcard pictured above. The front of the postcard is all pink and red and Hello Kitty. I can't figure out the relationship between "Lovest" and "Shannie"-maybe sisters or husband and wife or lovers? There's no address or stamp or anything, so Shannie must have left it for Lovest to find at just the right moment. So sweet! I heart buying previously owned things. In case you can't read the photo, it says:

"Lovest, Have a stellar meeting. You are my star--Brilliant, Dreamy, [drawing of a star],Lasting, Hot! [drawing of a heart] Lovest you, [signed]Shannie"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

I've read this book to my 16 month old son since he was weeks old. It was a gift from my sister. It's been wonderful to watch him fall in love with it. I posted this pic of him handing me the book and asking me to "reat! reat!" in my Daily Photo album back when he was 11 months old. After we had read it for the third or fourth time this morning, he hugged it. My baby hugged a book. It made my heart smile.

It occurred to me how educational The Very Hungry Caterpillar is after had I read through it the first time. It covers a little of everything, science (it follows the morph cycle of caterpillar into butterfly), health and nutrition (it covers healthy food choices, the importance of food for growth and the consequences of overeating), math and sequencing, colors, basic vocabulary--this book is packed with lots of little lessons and has such an exciting ending for little ones. When the caterpillar turns into a butterfly at the end, Zack insists on holding the book and flapping it closed and open to make the butterfly flutter.

And the artwork. Eric Carle's illustrations (in this book and all the others) could not be any more perfect for children...and adults. I resist the urge to frame his pieces and hang them in Zack's play area because if I do, it will become Eric Carle land--which wouldn't be a bad thing, but I want to keep Zack's exposure to art eclectic (but that's another post). I have this book in Spanish too, because it's also a wonderful primer for early Spanish vocabulary building.

This is one of those old classics that I'm positive my great great grandchildren will still be reading. Nothing like the classics. 

Please,Baby,Please by Spike Lee and Tonya Lewis Lee

I haven't done book reviews in forever. I've been so busy being a stay-at-home mom lately and haven't been able to jump back in the reading saddle just yet. Since kid's books are the only ones I'm able to read from cover to cover these days, I've decided to share some of Zack's (my toddler) and my favorites with you.

I wasn't even thinking about having kids when this book was published, but when I read about it in Essence magazine, it was instantly on the list of books I knew I wanted to get for my little one whenever he or she arrived. It's beautifully illustrated and functions just as well as a look and find book for little ones who enjoy this book before the age of two. Zack is 15 months old and has absolutely loved this book for months now.  When he was about 10 months old, he'd actually crawl over to his bookshelf, find this book saying, "peas, peas, peas", pull it out and hand it to me saying, "Reat! Reat!"  He still does it...walking now instead of crawling. It's the cutest thing ever.

In this book, readers follow a mom with her spirited little toddler throughout a typical day (waking up in the wee hours to play, messy eating, playtime, bathtime and bedtime),as mom pleads with the tot to go to sleep, eat, share, etc., her directions ending with cute variations of the phrase,  "please, baby, please." Zack's favorite part of the book is the end. The last page is mom's answer to the child's question, "Kiss me goodnight?" I really enjoy sharing this book, and that last page with my baby. As if I need any other reason to kiss his cheek. 

It's specified for ages 2-5, but the images in this book are way too sweet not to share with your baby as soon as his eyes can focus.

Tagged Again! What's Your Trifecta?

What’s your trifecta? What is your favorite movie, book and cd/album? You can only name one for each and share a little about your choices.

So Browngirl Speaks tagged me.  It was SO hard to pick just one favorite, but I managed. I had bonus picks, but exercised restraint and deleted them from the post--playin' by the rules..

Movie: Love Jones
Everything about this film makes it my all time favorite--the cast, the characters, the relationships, the city, the soundtrack...everything. Best thing about it was that for once, a major film featuring all brown people told a story of  us outside the hood. No stereotypes, just black folks being, working, socializing, livin' life. Every time I watch it (I own the DVD), it takes me right back to 1997 (when the film came out) , to my college days when I met my man and my dearest friends. So many one-liners from the film are still part of our regular conversations like, "well damn" and "there it is".  No film has become a part of me like this one. There hasn't been a black love story told like it since--on film (somebody please buy the rights to The Accidental Diva, and feel free to cast Nia Long and Larenze Tate as the leads-Thanks).  One highlight of this film is when Darius Lovehall (Larenze Tate)  performs a poem for Nina Mosely (Nia Long) called A Blues for Nina. Check it...

Warning. This clip is rated R so kids ask your mom before you click 'play'.

CD/ Album: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Oh, Lauryn. I listen to this album all the time  remembering when. She gave us her best on this album, then life did something to her and she hasn't been the same. It's a shame, because she's an amazing singer and her lyrical skills when she raps are unmatched by any other female artist I've heard. This album is that fire, y'all. I can't say I have a fave track; the whole album is hot. But I do love this one in particular called "Nothing Even Matters" ft. D'Angelo. It's a love song. If you've ever been in love or just mad infatuated, you will feel this song. Check it...

Book: Their Eyes Were Watching God
I've written about this one before. Here's what I said:

After last time read back in 2005...

" This was my third of fourth time reading this book. When I heard O was doing a movie version of it, I had to read it again to refresh. I was kind of surprised they left out the skin-tone issues...maybe 'cause Tea Cake's character in the movie wasn't dark-skinned like he was in the book. I don't think you can read this one too many times. Each time the experience is different, especially if you read it at different stages in your life like I have...young teen, older teen, newly married woman, etc. It's such a rich work of fiction."

I think it might be time for another read since I'm good and married now. :)

Browngirl's trifecta theme was relationships, and based on my picks, looks like relationships is my theme too. 

Bungalow 2 by Danielle Steel

It was ok I guess. The heroine was boring and annoying and the storyline was very predictable. I know Danielle Steel has sold like a crazymillion copies of a huge number of novels in her career, but this one wasn't special at all. I was attracted to the synopsis on the jacket--full time mom/acclaimed writer who gets a once in a lifetime opportunity to write an Oscar-winning movie script as soon as all her kids are in or off to college. The read was a letdown.

The first half of the novel was drawn out and redundant--5 chapters could have been 2. Steel said in a million different ways that the heroine was a perfect wife and mother, perfectly juggling caring for her perfect children and her perfect husband and her perfect writing career. Predictably her perfect husband cheats on her (with her best friend) while she's on set for 9 months in LA and then there are a handful of lovers for her in Hollywood then finally a soul mate. I was bored. At one point I thought the novel was going to get good and actually stayed up reading into the wee hours to experience it, but it was flat.

It feels good to be reading again, and I guess I got my $6.99 worth, but I'm pretty sure this is a first and last for me and Danielle Steel novels. Her novels-turned-tv movies are a whole other thing. I remember looking forward to her Sunday night movies and mini-series when those were in during the late eighties/early nineties before reality shows took over. Even today, I'll put some time in on Lifetime TV to watch her novels come to life. The novels themselves (purely based on this experience), not a fan.

Nigerian Films

I was introduced to Nigerian films during my college days in Memphis. My then boyfriend, now husband, who is from the West Indies, as well as some other friends of ours from African countries  loved to watch videos of Nigerian comedies and dramas. I'd watch the comedies along with everybody else but at the time, as an American with little experience communicating with people from other countries, I had trouble understanding the accents--those of my husband, his friends, and the Nigerian actors.  That didn't stop me from laughing on cue with everybody else though. I got use to them after a while and eventually stopped faking amusement and came to actually enjoy the comedies.

Little-known fact: Nigeria's film industry, also known as Nollywood, is the third largest film industry in the world. We all know how hard Hollywood struggles to sell African-American films to wide audiences. While there are plenty of quality independent films featuring black actors out there, they're not widely viewed and aren't raking in the big bucks. Nollywood produces films across all movie genres that employ thousands of African actors in a $250 million industry with audiences largely throughout Africa, Canada and the UK...and maybe soon in the U.S.

I got an email last week about a new photobook by award-winning filmmaker Cybel Martin that documents her trip along with other filmmakers and NYU alumni to Lagos, Nigeria to conduct workshops at the African Film Academy. You can read about the trip and others involved <<here>>. The photobook is only currently  available through blurb.com. There's a cool preview of the first 15 pages over there--check it out <<here>>.

This story is also posted on my other blog at  HoneyMag.com.

Self Storage by Gayle Brandeis

Self Storage by Gayle Brandeis. Her agent sent this book to me a few months ago. I read this over two days while my son napped. For two days, I was watching the clock, just waiting for him to go to sleep so I could read. I was a bit disappointed with the ending only because I wanted to know what happened next, which is of course a good thing, but I really wanted at least another chapter. Flan is a little horny--wanting to kiss everything that breathed--but it's part of what makes the novel so good. She is married with kids, but lonely and looking for human connections in a totally non-sexual, yet slightly sexual ways.  It's strange, but makes sense for the character. A Walt Whitman poem is like her bible and the story is peppered with lines of Whitman prose. In Self Storage there are probably more interesting characters than I've ever seen in one novel. The Afghan woman in a burka is the most intriguing, especially since she has to deal with her impossibly American neighbors in the days after 9/11. I throughly enjoyed this novel. What has stayed with me is Flan's quest to find the thing in life that makes her say "yes" inside. It's inspirational.

Reading! For real this time...

Today I read 27 pages of a non-children's book! I have figured out how to get reading done during the daytime. My son isn't a big napper and only sleeps a few minutes at a time if I leave him to nap alone, but if I'm in the bed with him he'll stay asleep for an hour or two. So instead of rushing to try to get something constructive done in the house while he sleeps alone for 20 or 30 minutes, I stayed in bed with him, read a bit and got a good nap in myself. I'm reading Self Storage by Gayle Brandies and am looking forward to picking up where I left off tomorrow. I bet I can get some Internet time in during nap time too.