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Mea Culpa by Tyler Perry is a Beautiful Disaster

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Mea Culpa Mea Culpa, produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry, is making quite a splash on social media. Released on Netflix the film stars Kelly Rowland and Mea Harper, Trevante Rhodes as Zyair Malloy, RonReaco Lee as Jimmy, and Nick Sagar as Ray. The story follows Mea, a defense attorney, who takes on a high-profile murder case in the defense of Zyair. A couple of things to get out of the way. Nick Sagar looked so familiar to me, then I realized he was in the Princess Switch. However, his being the love interest in the Princess Switch movies with Vanessa Hudgens would have been the farthest thought from my mind because the characters were so different. But yet, he is one and the same; good job on him. If you haven’t watched the Princess Switch movies on Netflix, you should but only if you enjoy cute, corny Lifetime Christmas movies. There’s three of them and they are sickeningly corny and cute. Secondly, this whole review is going to be spoiler-filled so if you think you are go
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Madame Web Weaved a Disaster

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Madame Web A few weekends ago there were quite a number of people at the theaters. My daughter and I have been going to the movies at least once a month for some time now and we are usually one of few in attendance. Most of the time we have the entire movie theater to ourselves, even on the opening night of a popular new movie. However, this weekend the theater was unusually busy. It almost reminded me of prepandemic movie days. Interestingly, I knew that the people were not there to see Madame Web. I asked the attendant and she said most people were there to see the new Bob Marley movie, although the reviews that I have been reading and hearing about are not that great for that film either.  We went to see Madame Web. Sigh … I don’t know where to begin. Okay, so, it wasn’t terrible like the 13% on Rotten Tomatoes suggests. It was not very good either but it wasn’t terrible.  Madame Web stars Dakota Johnson as the main character, Sydnye Sweeney as Julian Carpenter, Celeste O’Conner as
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Seven Steps to Your Personal Pivot

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On Sunday, after having a long day filled with the things we do to move through life, I finally had the time to sit and write. I promised myself that in 2024, I would write like my life depended on it. I would write like it was going out of style. I would write like a person possessed. Of course, I haven’t been able to do that, but still I am working towards that promise. So, after everything was sorta done- it’s sorta because I still have a load of laundry in the washer waiting for the load of laundry in the dryer to be folded.  Listen to the podcast here A pivot is change in strategy without change in vision - Eric Rise Nevertheless, I looked at the time and marked out a couple of hours to write, to breathe a breath of fresh air because that’s what writing is to me sometimes. I sat at my computer to write but then, I got distracted by something that I felt needed to be done. Something that if not done would impede my writing from reaching more people. So obviously, in my mind, it mad
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Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis Part I: The Transformation

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Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis Part I: The Transformation Finding Me by Viola Davis was published back in April of 2022. It is so rich and full of life lessons that I have to review in two parts. The book is phenomenal or maybe, I found Viola Davis to be phenomenal either way Find Me: A Memoir was a treat. I do not know why it took me so long to read it. That is a lie. I don’t usually read autobiographies. I only recently, a few years ago, started reading nonfiction books regularly to begin with. So, my inclination is not to run out and grab a memoir when it is released. I have listened to a couple in the last few years though and look forward to listening to more.  I am somewhat elated that I decided to explore Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis though. It challenged my ideas of forgiveness and acceptance and personal growth and how one deals with their trauma. Her life was not an easy one, particularly in her younger years. Hers is a rags-to-riches story that she tells so eloqu
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The Book of Clarence

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The Book of Clarence Movie Review Listen to the podcast version here or scroll below I was not ready for The Book of Clarence. I was not sure what to expect because I did not get much from the previews besides Clarence being a fake Jesus. I was compelled to see it because one, of all the beautiful melanin, and two, the cast is absolutely a phenomenal ensemble of actors. I expected it to be a full-on comedy watch. Although it has comedic elements, The Book of Clarence was so much more than that. Christians, reasonable ones anyway, you will not be offended, and atheists, this is probably not your thing.  Not knowing what I was getting into tempered my expectations, which left me open to anything. I expected the acting to be top-notch, and it absolutely was. LaKeith Stanfield was a delight to watch. He stars as the lead, Clarence, who does not believe, for one second, that Jesus is the Messiah. The Book of Clarence is about a regular guy who wants to be more and do more for his family. I
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Allow Yourself to Just Be

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Allow Yourself to Just Be You can also listen to the podcast by scrolling all the way down or on Apple , Podbean , Spotify , iHeart Radio , or Amazon Music . I love birthdays. I did not always celebrate mine especially if it fell on a work day. I usually went to work and treated it like any other day. In the last few years, I started to take the day off and treat myself to a me-day even if I did not plan anything special with anyone else. There are times when I go all out for my birthday but, most of the time, it presents a moment to reflect. Mine in particular follows behind the new year closely, so reflecting on what is to come is a natural phenomenon for me. This year being that it fell on a Sunday, I just wanted to be. I was fine with staying in bed all day and allowing myself the grace to do nothing without a care or worry about everything that was being left undone.  Allowing yourself to just be, giving yourself the grace to ignore all the things that clutter your mind and your
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Five ways to keep your New Year’s Resolutions

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Five ways to keep your New Year’s Resolutions Happy New Year 2024 There was a time when New Year's resolutions were an absolute must. Then I realized that I did not stick with them by the second or third month with such regularity that it made zero sense I made them at all. After that, I did not make any for many many years. Why wait for the new year to make a change and fail and reset and do it all over again? We can do this year-round, at any given time. We should assess our life’s goals and path regularly and reset if necessary. There is nothing special about a new year, right? Years later I am back to making New Year’s resolutions again even if I know there is a pretty big chance that I may not stick to them because having traveled around the sun many times over, I realized a new year is a wonderful thing and a wonderful, sometimes painful but always real, moment to be in community with the rest of the world and reflect and change.  Resolutions New Year New me, again despite wh
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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes Listen to the Podcast version Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes is still holding strong at the box office after its third week out. My daughter and I went to the theaters to see it on opening night and it felt strange. It was not us going to the movies that felt strange but the fact that we practically had the theater all to ourselves. Did people really give up on the theater experience or is this a sign of the financial times?  I think this is another area where it is taking a while to rebound from the COVID lockdown effect. Maybe, it will never recover and people are more comfortable staying at home and watching from the comforts of their couch. Regardless, we were out there, and my daughter and I still enjoy going to the movies for a movie night. Although, I will admit, that we were elated we did not have to share the theater with a whole mess of people.  Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Songbirds and Snakes was
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