Devine Ramblings
You know. Stuff by Elizabeth....
We are at the following movies: T is Tim and E is me!
Unfortunately, you can no longer buy vouchers which were $5 each. Now, you can only buy tickets which are $10 each. If you plan on attending 3 or 4 movies, I would strongly recommend becoming a DIFF member for $40. You will get 4 vouchers and then invites for you and a plus 1 over the coming year to movie screenings that are members only. You can then take those 4 vouchers and trade them in for true tickets.
Also, popular movies will get bought up this weekend which means you may not be able to buy a ticket, so if you are certain of attending something, go ahead and buy your ticket now or make your friend with a pass promise to bring you with them. (You will need to borrow a pass for yourself as well.)
You can browse film descriptions at www.dallasfilm.org or youtube the trailers.
Fri., 4/13
E- The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best- 7:30- Magnolia (I bet this one will be busy.)
Sat., 4/14
T- Cinema Six- 2:15- Magnolia
T- The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best- 4:15- Magnolia
E&T- Tormented- 10:30
Sun., 4/15:
E- Satellite of Love- 12:30pm- Magnolia
E&T- Kid Thing- 3:30- Angelika
E&T- Bindlestiffs- 7:00- Angelika
E&T- Qwerty- 9:30- Angelika
Mon., 4/16 (No Deanna :-( )
E- The Imposter- 4:30- Angelika
T- America’s Parking Lot- 5- Angelika
Tues., 4/17 (No Deanna :-( )
E&T- Extraterrestrial- 10:15pm- Angelika
Wed., 4/18
E&T- LUV- 7:00- Magnolia
Thurs., 4/19:
E- Girl Model 5:15- Angelika
E- Teddy Bear- 7:00- Angelika
Others worth considering which I don’t have tickets for: Intouchables; Faith, Love and Whiskey; Save the Date; Vito; I Wish; My Way; Elena; Heleno
The movies Liberal Arts, True Companion, Comic Con, Compliance and Bringing up Bobby will be very good and very full, but will be released later in theaters.
The Elizabeth Devine Film Festival Guide. This is fun for me. So take it all with a grain of salt.
If you can afford or are lucky enough to be given a pass, then life is easy, breezy for you. At the very minimum, do your due diligence and look at the movies, selecting the ones of most interest to you and paying enough attention to get the most in according to yours and the fest’s schedule. You will be able to arrive about 15-20 minutes before a movie, walk right in an find your seat before the suckers like me. I have listed my schedule below, but I will be the first to admit, my choices are based more on what interests me, what I know I like, my schedule and not my familiarity with certain actors, producers or directors.
I’m a touch hard core about the Dallas film festival and will list my reasons why below. However, I know that a more “normal” person will pick a few movies they find interesting and make an effort to come out for them. I will also list what you must consider as you decide what movies you would like to see and assure you get in.
Why I love the DIFF:
*I can go to work and still be a very active participant and viewer of movies that will not likely be seen anywhere else.
*I don’t have to pay a fortune and will still get into nearly every movie I want to see.
*Film festivals are a crap shoot, but even the sucky movies are made better with the frequent interviews with the producer, actors and/or directors after the viewing.
*The people who go to these festivals are damn cool. They’re just cool people. I find myself feeling very chatty with those I end up sitting next to, and I believe its partially because I’m so happy and partially because they’re people you want to talk to.
What you need to know:
If you have a pass- Skip stuff about vouchers, tickets and rush line, you lucky bastard.
*Vouchers- A voucher is just a thing you trade in for a ticket. It’s cool, but as soon as you know what movie you want to see, trade it in. Vouchers don’t mean a heck of a lot until you have a true ticket in your hand. You can also get bonus ones if the movie messes up or you give blood or something…I mean, that’s what I’ve heard. Wouldn’t know from experience or anything. What will happen is that the good movies will have people who say, “Yes, I’m going”, will plan ahead, and will trade their vouchers in for tickets. If you also want to go to that movie and only have a voucher when the schedule reads “rush line” (which will inevitably happen), you are the last to be picked. You may or may not get in. Still worth a shot, but who wants that anxiety?
*Tickets- A ticket means you will stand in line to get into a movie. You will likely get in, after all the pass bastards find their seats, but you should do your due diligence to at least get to the first half to first quarter of the line. I would say a good 45 minutes is a good general plan for a busy movie. 20-30 minutes for an average one. But more time to talk to interesting people in line!
*Rush line- When you see this on the schedule, this means that all of the tickets for that movie have been given out. If you have a voucher, you will be 3rd tier to actually get admission. The people with passes will go in, then those with tickets and, if there’s room, those with vouchers will get in. It is still possible, but you may not get in, or you may get in and have to sit on the front row. If you see this on the schedule, you will not be able to trade your voucher in for a true ticket. Those have already been given out.
*Going alone.- Don’t be afraid to go alone. Some of the best seats are singles, cause no one wants to sit next to anybody else, so you get to be the one who calls that weird limbo awkward seat right next to the reserved actor’s chair.
*Premier Series- The movies within the Premier Series are the ones that are VERY likely to be picked up and may be more difficult to get into. If you find that there is another movie that you are interested in that is viewing at the same time, pick the lesser movie. You will almost definitely have a chance to see the “premier” movies later on Netflix or in the theater. I know this is true of “Comic-Con, Episode IV”, “Compliance” and “True Companion” and likely “Liberal Arts”.
*Centerpiece Viewings- So far, only one has been named, “My Way” from Korea. The director is the Steven Spielberg of Korea and it is the most expensive Korean film to date. I bet there will be quite a bit of pomp and circumstance at this movie. Lots of fun viewing and interviews following. Already has a rush line. There are two more that are TBA.
Things to consider when making your schedule:
Caveat: I know most people’s schedules will be a couple of films. If that is your case, just skip this part. Don’t judge me.
*If you want to see two movies back-to-back, consider the fact that there are sometimes interviews after the movies that can last 20-30 minutes after the movie is over. You don’t have to stay but may want to.
*The movies are viewed both at the Angelica and Magnolia. Give yourself time for travel and possibly waiting in line.
*Look at the length of your film. Some documentaries are barely over an hour.
*Almost everything is shown twice. Pick the movies that are priorities and consider all your scheduling choices.
My schedule:
I will be getting tickets soon for many of the movies listed below. This is my ideal schedule if I did have a pass and the ability to physically watch that many movies. If you have TWO passes and wanna take me out, let me know. I won’t get a ticket and will walk in with you like a boss. If you are lowly as I, and want to join me or Tim, it would be a good idea to order your tickets online at www.dallasfilm.org and let me know you’ll be joining me and/or Tim in line. WE LOVE COMPANY!!!
*M= Magnolia, *A= Angelika, *Tim= The husband is seeing this. I can neither endorse or curse it. Some are an issue of scheduling.
Thurs., 12th- Opening Night- Movie is TBA. It will be quite the party at the Texas Theater.
Fri., 13th- Cinema 6- 4:30-M; Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best- 7:30- M, Tim-The Pact-12am- A
Sat., 14th- Tim- Cinema 6-2:15-M; Tim- Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best- 4:15- M; Bringing up Bobby-8- M; Tim-Tormented- 10:30- M; Save the Date- 10:30-A
Sun., 15th- Brooklyn Castle- 12:15- A or Satellite of Love-12:30- M; Kid Thing- 3:30- A; Bindlestiffs- 7:00- A; Queritas- 9:30-A
Mon., 16th- Imposter- 4:30-A; Tim- America’s Parking Lot- 5:00- A
Tues., 17th- Extraterrestrial- 10pm- A
Wed., 18th- ?Invisible War-4-A; LUV- 7- A; Compliance- 10:15-M;
Thurs., 19th- Girl Model- 5:15-A; Teddy Bear- 7- A; Comic Con- 10pm- M
Fri., 20th- Liberal Arts- 7- A or Alps- 7:30-A or Elena-7:15- A; I Wish- 10:15- A
Sat., 21st- Tim- No Ashes No Phoenix- 5:30-A; Intouchables- 10:15-A
Sun., 22nd- Darling Companion-3- A; Tim- Revisionaries- 5:30- A
Others of Interest: Vito
You can look at the movie descriptions by browsing the films at www.dallasfilm.org. Most also have trailers on YouTube.
I hope you’ll come play!
In working with a child during a counseling session I had to explain that in order for people to be good parents, they have to grow up, and that, for some people, even though their body grows up, other parts don’t. Parts of their mind or emotions don’t grow all the way up and so they can’t be the parents they need to be.
The child responded by saying they would wait for them to grow but that by the time they were grown enough, they will have missed out on so much. The child said “they won’t even know me.”
All I could say was that the child was right and that it was very sad.
We talked about the other adults in this child’s life who could be there but no one can truly take the place of the ones who should be there.
They don’t know what they’re missing, but this child does.
When I was little, my dad bartered and we were given charity from others, making it possible for me to go to private school. I went to school in Rockwall, and the kids I went to school with were rich, at least in comparison to us. I would walk in the doors of the school and my head would literally drop. I didn’t look people in the eyes. I did not feel like I belonged there, not just because I saw their homes at parties, but because of their shoes, purses, haircuts, cars. In my home, we didn’t have air conditioning, other than window units, until I was 12. Our family television had a screen that was black and white and probably 6x6 inches. We had an infestation problem. We were on food stamps. I shit you not when I say me and my friends played in the abandoned house across the street. (It was magical!) It wasn’t that I felt “less than” directly because my parents made significantly less than other kids’ parents but because there were so many moments when we couldn’t relate to each other, when I said the wrong thing or looked the wrong way and didn’t even understand what had happened.
My parents were awful with money. My dad just hoped for too much to pan out with too little to offer, and my mother used common sense but had no mind for increasing what she had. There was no confusion about the fact that we were poor. I came across my parents W2 from when I was in high school a year or so ago. I have no idea how they made it.
I learned not to ask for much because I knew it pained my parents to tell me no and, eventually, I stopped wanting much too. That, I think contributed to the idea for me that money wasn’t important, that those who cared too much for it lacked depth and perspective. I felt that if I could do a job and live a life that was meaningful, the money wouldn’t be important. I had learned how to live with so little that I didn’t see the need in making “things” important.
So I chose to be a counselor and marry a teacher. As I’ve matured, I’ve come in contact with quite a few “comfortable” people and realized that it isn’t about the “things” as I thought. It’s about the security that comes with knowing, if push came to shove, I could afford the safer neighborhood, the better doctor, the nicer college for my kids. I literally have no clue how to make that happen.
I started to comfort myself by saying that those who make so much work all the time, don’t have balance or time with family, but I’m realizing that is a little bit of bull shit. I work a full time job and have a private practice and worked harder than I am now to get here. Tim has three jobs. Fact is, our field’s aren’t compensated like corporations or large organizations can compensate. I will never make corporate money, unless I give up my career or become something that hardly resembles the work I do now (Dr. Phil). And I grapple with what kind of life I ultimately want to have. I LOVE my work. I get a serious thrill out of counseling, but it has its limitations. The more clients you see, the more administrative and overhead responsibilities you have, and there is a limit to how many you can see because your quality will start to deteriorate. There are other things that can add income, but there is a very clear ceiling to that.
There’s a (horribly paraphrased) parable in the Bible about these guys who are given a small amount of money from their master and asked to care for it. The guy who uses his ingenuity to multiply it gets, like the Kingdom of Heaven or something, and the guys who save it or put it into some kind of secure savings account get shamed for being retarded. I remember being a kid and thinking, “How did he do that?!” I still don’t know, and I’m kind of smart.
My parents had an unbelievable work ethic, but hard work alone just isn’t enough. You must KNOW something about how to make money and know enough about its value to pursue it. All I learned was to work VERY hard, but for all that hard work, I will maintain status quo. All that hard work didn’t change my parents’ condition. I could use some guidance.
Nearly everything I’ve learned in life, I learned from other people. I mean, that’s true of just about everything, but there is one topic that seems to nearly always be off the table. You DO NOT DISCUSS YOUR FINANCES WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
People don’t tell you how much they make or what they paid for things, unless you’re super close, and, even then, you can’t push it. I find that one person tells me they will be making “obscene” money which, if I had to guess, would just be average for Mr. So&So’s expectations of a salary. The person who claims they are “comfortable” is living extravagantly compared to Ms. Hippie Lifestyle.
So, when is enough, enough?
There was research that found, after folks’ needs are comfortably met, around $60k or so, their happiness is about the same as the super rich. Maybe. But I’m doubtful. There is a peace in knowing all things are provided for and that, when overwhelmed, you can recruit help, good help. Sure, money can corrupt, but does it have to?
As I attempt to decipher financial tips from others’ elusive facts regarding their finances, I realize more and more, nothing is as it seems. When I consider my salary and see others who have the same, they seem to be capable of more financially. And I wonder, what am I spending my money on? What am I missing? But then I remember the monthly student loan payments that would pay for a Mercedes and cut myself a little slack. Those who make, I’m guessing, 5 times as much as me have credit card debt? Why? Nothing is as it seems and so I’m left even more confused.
So, what is the magic number that allows us to rest easy, live a little but not steal us from the life we are working so hard to finance? Hard work isn’t enough. You’ve got to know something too, and I am simply lacking some details. And, more than anything, I think I am grappling with the fact that to continue doing what I love and what I believe I’m good at, I will never be able to achieve the sort of lifestyle that allows me to pay for my kids’ college. I, mean, as far as I know anyway. My parents loved me well but didn’t teach me crap about money.
What I do know? If you are in a place where you, by your own definition, are financially secure, take a moment to be grateful. I will as well, but for other reasons.
It was coming time to shower and head out to meet some colleagues of mine. I had been to parties the last two evenings and had meticulously straight- ironed my hair. It was epic. People commented on how skinny I was, falling victim to the the simple illusion caused by straight hair lengthening out any rounded face.
As it was again now time to groom myself, I was in no mood to take my naturally curly hair and apply heat to every last inch of it. In fact, who was society to have conditioned me and everyone else into thinking that smooth hair was superior?! I thought of my “Counseling the Culturally Diverse” class in grad school where Dr. Durodoye referenced Malcolm X and his drastic attempts to straighten his hair in order to fit into mainstream (at the time) America. Of course, I cannot liken myself to his plight, but the sentiment rang true. There was a time where the cool thing was to have permed, curly hair. Now I must beat each wave into submission? Who are these movers and shakers of society that tell my I must be polished?! Who are these people in power who determine beauty, how I spend my time and who are among the aesthetically pleasing?!
And so, I let my hair go curly. It took 10 minutes to do my hair and I was feeling sassy. You see, big, curly hair makes you feel fierce and lively, free-spirited and limitless. Yes, Yes I was indeed a big personality, one to liven up any room.
I walked into the tiny, Thai restaurant with my big hair and everyone was shocked and amazed at my glorious curls. As the evening goes on, I imagine myself looking something like I really do and something like the carefree models who walk among nature, laughing and casually winking incessantly…
You cannot contain me. My jokes are hilarious. I have lived a full life and every story I tell leaves you on the edge of your seat. I am WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR!!!!
I curse myself for only wearing studs in my ears. Hair like this, a personality like this, is fitting for diamonds and dangles. Make my jewelry as big as ME!
The wind only causes my curls to bounce. Any humidity makes my curls tighter. My plumage thrives in the moisture caught by each strand! I am lively, ambitious, flowing skirts and unbridled. You wish you were as fascinating as I, but, alas, your hair is straight. COMMONER! Oh, how you wish your genetics had some feature that manifested all of the fascination and wonder of your being as my full head of curly, gorgeous hair!
After leaving said friends rolling on the floor with my eccentricities and humor, I dismiss myself, for their sake of course, only to find, to my horror, that my bouncy curls have grown in size, fluffing to the point where each end of my hair meets at the top of my head, as if the tips are attempting a curly mohawk of its own accord. It is as if I am a woman who has never touched my hair with any attempt at taming it, living on the side of the road, asking for handouts at truck stops, a woman who has ne’er seen brush nor product, who’s only grown victim to the forces of nature, of wind and water.
And I remember that I am the woman who spent the day at WalMart and the tire shop. I am the woman who clearly has more to learn about hair products. And I remember why I blow dry and straight iron and curl.
My curly hair was but placebo. My flowing skirt, upon bathroom mirror review, is a simple corduroy jacket. My lively stories were infused with fake confidence. Alas, society, I will play your game, but, oh my, did I shine. For thirty minutes of non-humidity effected curly hair, I was a god.
It’s the simple things.
Beetlejuice
I was at some kind of community, outdoor event, just strolling by. I stopped and noticed that everyone had been watching the movie “Up”, and in my dream the plot of the movie did not include the passing of an old man’s sweet companion in the first few minutes. Rather, the movie was a tribute to this animated couple who had been together all their lives. At the end of the movie, everyone released balloons as a way to celebrate love or companionship or just all of those things that are hard to find in this life and warm your heart when you do. About that time, I see this old couple, standing together, staring up at the floating balloons. They are pointing out the beauty of the moment. I smile as I look at them and look up to see their balloons, strings intertwined, floating towards heaven, and as I watch, I hear the elderly woman say, “It is fucking hot out here, George.”
