Chapter 292: Something's Coming

So, today was a pretty boring day. I mean, it wasn't bad or anything, it was just kind of boring. As I mentioned in last night/this morning's post, my Mom stayed home from work today because she wasn't feeling well. She has been saying for the past few days that she felt like she was getting sick, so it only makes sense that she eventually did. So, since we were both home for the day we decided to make it a movie day. I felt really bad for my Mom because she was clearly not feeling well and I wanted to make her feel as comfortable as possible. So, we spent the day just lying around not doing anything but watching movies and talking and such. So, I decided to start the day by watching this DVD that we've had forever but I had never watched: "West Side Story." "West Side Story" is my grandma Carmen's favorite movie of all-time, so I have always been curious about seeing it. I mean, I'd seen it before but this was like 10 years ago, at least, and only the one time. I watched it with my Grandma Carmen, in fact. Anyway, any time I hear about "West Side Story" I think of my Grandma Carmen. After watching it today, I could easily see why she felt such a connection to this film. My Grandma Carmen was born in East L.A., to parents who had both migrated to this country from other places, much like Maria and Bernardo and all the Sharks. The racism and the struggles that these characters went through are very similar to some of what my grandma went through growing up. In fact, my Mom had told me a story about my grandma that absolutely breaks my heart. You see, when my grandma Carmen was just a little girl starting school she spoke Spanish much better than she could speak English. So, when she went to school she would speak both languages sometimes and her teacher discouraged her from speaking Spanish because she was in this country, so my grandma refused to speak spanish from that point on. To this day, she won't speak it. It's awful that she had to give up her first language because of some racist schoolteacher. It is awful. I hate the fact that people neglect to realize the fact that the things they say to children can really stick with them and inform the rest of their lives. I can't even begin to imagine what it must have been like back in those days for my grandma and great grandma and such, being a Mexican/Japanese family in this country back before people made any effort to even pretend to be sensitive or civil to those who are differemt from them. It must have been awful.

Anyway, "West Side Story" was truly an incredible film. For those who don't know, "West Side Story" is basically a modern re-telling of "Romeo & Juliet," set in 1950s New York City. Instead of feuding families, like the Montagues and Capulets, it is dealing with dueling street gangs the Jets & the Sharks. What's most interesting, though, is the fact that this isn't just about street gangs, it is very much about racial issues. You see, the Jets are a bunch of working class white kids, while the Sharks are all Puerto Ricans, which New York City had a pretty large influx of migrating in at that time. It is crazy to see the type of racist things that could be said on film back in those days. It's fucked up. I mean, I guess they could still be said but it would create an insane controversy if anybody did it now. Anyway, the biggest thing you have to talk about when discussing this film, of course, is the music. The soundtrack to "West Side Story" is chock full of classics, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. In fact, from what I understand, "West Side Story" was Stephen Sondheim's first major project... Boy, is that the beginning of an insane body of work or what? Anyway, I was surprised to find that a lot of songs that I already knew from various other sources were from this show - including "I Feel Pretty," and, my favorite, "Something's Coming." As soon as I heard Tony start singing "Something's Coming," I kind of freaked out because it was exactly what I needed to hear right now - it is exactly how I feel. "Could it be? Yes, it could. Something's coming, something good." It's so true. I feel exactly like this song describes right now - something IS coming for me. Something amazing. Listening to that song gets me really excited for it, too! Of course, the rest of the music is brilliant, as well, like "Maria," "Somewhere" and probably the most popular over the years, "Tonight." It is a long movie, for sure, but it is AMAZING. Besides, it's not as long as "Gone With The Wind" or anything, and it is a lot more entertaining all the way through!

After that, my Mom and I decided to order a pay-per-view movie from DirecTV, which we had never done. After a little confusion on how to do that, we finally figured it out and sat down to watch "The Last Song." "The Last Song" is the most recent Nicholas Sparks adaptation, although it was actually done a little differently than most Nicholas Sparks films. Nicholas Sparks was actually approached to write a story specifically for Miley Cyrus, who starred in the film, and so he wrote a screenplay. Then, once he had finished the screenplay, he went ahead and wrote a book to go along with it. So, technically, this isn't actually an adaptation at all but his book, "The Last Song," is an adaptation of the film. Either way, though, it worked out so that Miley Cyrus starred in a Nicholas Sparks story. Miley Cyrus is one of my favorite artists out there and Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite authors, so put the two together and I am interested. I was not let down, either. "The Last Song" was actually a brilliant film and Miley Cyrus acted her ass off in this movie. It is the story of a rebellious teenage girl who is sent to live with her estranged father for the summer. She is an accomplished pianist who quit playing when her mother and father divorced, basically to spite her father. Through reluctantly spending this summer at her father's home in Tybee Island, Georgia, she rediscovers her love for music, for her father and falls in love for the first time. It is a beautiful story and, in true Nicholas Sparks fashion, somebody had to die in the end and I had to bawl my eyes out. I don't want to tell too much about the plot and spoil it for anybody but I will say that it is beautiful and I highly recommend seeing it. In the grand scheme of Nicholas Sparks films, it is not quite as good as "A Walk To Remember," but slightly better than "The Notebook," but I guess you can't really take my opinion on this because I know that most people liked "The Notebook" better than "A Walk To Remember," and I absolutely did not. "A Walk To Remember" is still one of my favorite books of all-time and the film ALMOST did it justice. Like I said, though, I definitely recommend checking out "The Last Song." Don't be put off by the fact that Miley Cyrus is the star - it is brilliant.

After that, we sat back and watched one of my favorite films of all-time, "Josie & The Pussycats." I know what you're thinking, "WHAT? That movie is fucking cheesy!" I agree with you, it is pretty damn cheesy, but if you look past that you will find a fucking solid story with really great, cheesy music and a really strong message to spread. For those who haven't seen it, "Josie & The Pussycats," based on the classic "Archie Comics" addendum and cartoon from the 70s, is the story of a small-town band made up of three girls, called Josie & The Pussycats. In the film version, Josie & The Pussycats are discovered by a record label who are secretly using the music they release to spread subliminal messages to the youth of the nation, telling them what products to buy, what to wear, what to believe, etc. It is done in a very fun, over-the-top, cheesy way but the message of it all is one that definitely needs to be heard by the youth of America and around the world. It is too bad that the film wasn't more popular. It was also the last time you saw either Tara Reid or Rachel Leigh Cook do anything that was actually any good. It's a shame, too, because Rachel Leigh Cook was a very talented girl and Tara Reid... well, was Tara Reid. It also makes me want to listen to the soundtrack again real bad. This soundtrack has been on my iPod for years and every now and then I will whip it out and listen to it. I think I may do that tonight, actually. It is actually really impressive to know that all of the music for this film, both by Josie & The Pussycats and the fake boyband in the film, DuJour, was written by Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and all of the vocals for Josie were done by Kay Hanley of the band Letters To Cleo. Those are pretty impressive credentials. The music was actually really good, too. It was very cleverly written, fun pop/rock music. I love it.

Anyway, after that I took a shower and then sat down to write this blog. Like I said, it was a pretty boring day. I'm ready to go to bed. I'm feeling pretty tired and, for some strange reason, am looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. I feel like I am much more productive, creatively, when I am at work and get a lot more done/make a lot more advancements with my art. So, I am looking forward to doing that tomorrow. As far as the rest of work, I am far less excited. Plus, oddly, I feel kind of odd having spent the entire day in the house. I know that is silly, considering there have been many days when I have spent the entire day in the house, or even the entire weekend. I think it is probably because my Mom was here all day, too. Normally, when we are both home for the day, like on the weekends and such, we go out and do stuff. So, having her home with me must have made me feel a little restless, like we should have been out doing something. She was sick, though. Hopefully she will feel better tomorrow. For now, though, it is time for me to go to bed and dream of whatever it is that is coming my way. I am keeping my fingers crossed that whatever it is reminds me of James Dean. We'll see. Goodnight.