Finding the right balance between humor and appropriateness is a challenge in morning radio, especially when driving my fifteen-year-old daughter to school. I really enjoy listening to Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, but sometimes their conversation gets too graphic. So the other day I quickly changed it to my other regular morning show, Tom Joyner Morning Show and happened on a conversation about African-American programming in television. The commentator suggested African-Americans support the shows that are out rather than complaining about Hollywood’s limited representation of minorities. He used Alicia Keys’s directorial debut in the Lifetime movie Five as an example. The movie is an anthology of five short films directed by five different women: Demi Moore, Jennifer Aniston, Alicia Keys, Penelope Spheeris, Patty Jenkins, and Jeanne Tripplehorn. Each film chronicles the impact of breast cancer.
I don’t watch a lot of television, so I hadn’t heard about the movie prior to the spot on the radio. Nothing against Lifetime (well maybe a little), but I stopped watching their movies a long time ago. I found them too melodramatic. But I wanted to see Alicia Keys as well as Demi Moore and Jennifer Aniston in the role of director, so I watched it. I was also intrigued by the idea of an anthology of five short films. Well, let me tell you. The movie was amazing. I came away from it resolved to do two things: schedule a mammogram (I haven’t had one in two years) and get more active in the cause. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch Five online. I highly recommend it!!!
What I find most interesting about this experience is that if the commentator hadn’t shared his thoughts, I would have missed the movie. He promoted the film as a way to support Alicia Keys and her work. As writers, we have to promote other writers by sharing their work in our area of influence. Generally speaking, people are more willing to try something when someone they trust recommends it.
Though it may sound self-serving, I think this is particularly true in the blogging world. There is so many out there that it’s hard to sift through them all. I find myself much more likely to read a blog if a friend or a blogger I like recommends it. This has long been true with books. There are several things I would have never picked up if they hadn’t been recommended to me. So in the spirit of promoting fellow writers here are a few things that I recommend you check out:
Witty Word is a blog written by Christi McGuire. I happened on it one day when I was looking for examples of writing blogs. She writes about her faith by sharing tidbits from her everyday life. I enjoy her passion for grammar (She’s an editor). And I’m particularly fond of her Wordless Weekend. Those pictures are sometimes just the break I need on a busy Saturday.
Helensadornmentblog is a blog written by a friend of mine, Helen Kemp. Helen is an artist who works with fused glass and lampwork glass. Her blog has beautiful pictures of her work as well as a description of her technique. Helen also writes post where she breaks down craft projects and scores them from 1 (you need Martha Stewart and her staff) to 5 (great fun). If I were more crafty, I would have tried a few of them myself.
I also want to recommend Home For Christmas written by my friend Deborah Grace Staley. Debbie writes the Angel Ridge Southern romance series, set in a small town in Tennessee. She won the Holt Medallion for Excellence in Mainstream Romance. It is currently available on Kindle as a free download.
These are just a few of the writers that I respect and admire. I will be sharing others. Leave a comment promoting writers, artist and films you admire so that I can add to my list.
Until next time.
