Tag Archives: favorite

Favorite Series: Life

This will be the last post in the Favorite Series. I will get back to sharing just three things, and get back to connecting ideas on a deeper level because in this post I am going to share three favorite things about life… 

Blue Sky with clouds and purple flowers in the forefront.

I am going to share the deep abstract element first. One of my favorite things about life is a blue sky with clouds. Let me explain. A blue sky with clouds gives me a sense of living. Whether I am walking, playing outside with kids, or driving to get a coffee, when the sky is that dark edged blue and peppered with clouds, especially big puffy ones that almost seem 3D, I feel a sense of being here. The starkness of the sky reminds me that I am on this Earth and have this moment to be me. To live this life the best I can because, like the clouds, life is in constant motion. A day may be filled with joy or heartbreak, but it is my day to live. 

Other skies, like a starry night, have different vibes for me and I enjoy being under their charm. But give me a blue sky with clouds because it fills my soul.

Learning is my favorite aspect of life. I know, this shouldn’t surprise anyone who has read a few of my blog posts. Life is always providing opportunities to learn, to connect ideas, or to give us a chance to become better than we were. We can learn from books (a definite favorite of mine), from people (maybe the most powerful) and from what happens in our daily life (if we pay attention).

But learning is a choice. Even though I find it hard to believe, not everyone cares to learn. Many people are happy with where they are and don’t seek out ways to learn… I can’t do that, because I believe that who we are as a person is the direct effect of what we learn. And who we are is how we live.

Connected to learning is creativity (which is also who we are). My third favorite aspect of life is creativity. I like to draw. I like to make videos. I like to dance. I like to come up with games to play with my children (we have a pool game called Shark. It’s kind of an underwater tag game). And if you follow my blog, even though I don’t have a regular schedule, you know I love to write. 

During a deep discussion a few years ago with my seniors I said that life is simply who you are and what you do with your time. 

I still believe this. I am a writer, who loves to learn, and get lost gazing at a blue sky with puffy clouds. What a life!

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Favorite Series: Albums

Because of last month’s challenge, I decided to share with you three favorite albums. So, this ended up being a challenge because I have rediscovered the beauty of listening to a full album. Add the factor of soundtracks and compilations. Add that I have hundreds of CDs, yes I still buy them… and I have some that are not on Spotify or other streaming services. By no means is this a top 10 kind of list. These are just three of my favorite albums.

Blind to Reason by Grayson Hugh, is an album I listen to a lot, even after 35 years. The album was released in 1988. I might have been one of the few teenagers to have bought the CD back in 1988, but I loved the song “Talk It Over” when I first heard it. Even now the album leaves me feeling good about life.

She by Harry Connick Jr. is a musical trip. There are songs that make you smile while you bob your head, while others challenge your mind and spirit. “Honestly Now (Safety is Just Danger … Out of Place)” is one of my favorite songs from the album.

Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy is a masterpiece of an album. I know fans will argue with me about this, but the themes of the songs and the musical production of this album hits on every song. I have a hard time just listening to the album straight through because I will hit repeat on songs like “Brothers Gonna Work It Out” and “Welcome to the Terrordome”. 

This post was so hard to write. There are so many great albums. I shared 3 from my physical collection that numbers close to 700 CDs (I won’t talk about the cassettes). Let me know if you own or listen to these albums in the comment section.

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Favorite Series: Movies

Funny how life connects. For a Twitter challenge today, it asked what is your favorite movie. I used one of my favorite songs in another challenge based on music. So this must be the perfect time for this series. Today is movies, so here are three of my favorite movies (4 if you see the tweet I mentioned before).

One of my favorite horror movies is Oculus. Mirrors have a long history as a literary element. Mirrors are passageways. Used as a metaphor for truth. This move is centered on a mirror, and it is scary!

A documentary that always hits me is Louder Than a Bomb. I know, for those readers who know me this doesn’t surprise you. But if you have to see this movie to understand. This movie reveals how poetry helps people, teens in this case, make sense of the world. 

A cult classic of mine is The Warriors. Yes, the 1979 gang movie. It is such a great film. I won’t go into my teacher mode and break down the idea of community, identity, and friendship this movie reveals. We can chat about that after you’ve watched it.

Leave a comment if you enjoy these movies.

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Favorite Series: Books

This is the first post in my Favorite Series, where I will share a few of my favorite things in different areas. Today I will share a few of my favorite books. 

The Night Watch Series by Sergei Lukyanenko is an amazing story of what it means to be good or evil. There are “Others” among us, The Light Others and the Dark Others, who both have ‘Watches’ that keep a balance between the sides. Sounds simple, but the depth of philosophy around what makes an Other light or dark is challenging. Also, Lukyanenko’s writing style keeps you turning the page because each book has a twist to it, a mystery to solve. I cried at the end of the last book the first time I read it.

One of my favorite graphic novels is Tetris: The Games People Play. If you spent hours playing Tetris on your Game Boy the history of the game will fascinate you. 

When I can, I get books from library book sales or giveaways. I found a gem of poetry a few years ago, De Mayor of Harlem: The Poetry of David Henderson. Now, David Henderson didn’t take the place of Langston Hughes as my favorite poet, but David’s poetry reads like jazz, too. Filled with poems that shine like a city at night. I know the book may be hard to find but it is worth it.

I’ll keep this post to three of my favorite books (actually 8 books). If you have read any of these, or do read them, let me know what you thought about them.

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