Sometimes, we struggle to find the answers in ourselves so we turn to other sources of wisdom, like the words of another writer, philosopher or artist of a different medium. If we’re having a tough time, we might turn to an inspiring, positive force for words to keep chugging along. If we are trying to understand something that seems incomprehensible, they might offer a bit of clarity. I hope these words make you stop and think a moment and carve out more meaning in your day, too. As always, thanks for reading. ~ Chris K. “If somebody hurts you, it’s okay to cry a river. Just remember to build a bridge and get over it.” — singer-songwriter Taylor Swift #wisewords (photo source, unknown) ...
read moreThis is my last Thursday thoughts blog of 2019, so I thought I would use it to share my creative projects for the new year. I recently blogged that every year for well over a decade now I have selected a few annual creative adventures to embark upon and was seeking ideas for the new year. Some of these daily projects have stayed with me for many years, such as my #dailypics photo-a-day challenge that runs on my Instagram page. I believe I first tried this personal creative challenge back in 2010 and then took a break for a few years. This next year’s #dailypics theme will be much looser than the 2019 #artinspired theme which could be really tough to satisfy at times. Since one of this year’s key words to represent the year will be “carefree,” I’m going to make sure my self-imposed creative assignments capture some of that carefree nature by being less rigid and more open to interpretation. Look for my first 2020 #dailypics post next Wednesday, January 1! This year, I proved that I put myself to the test, I can squeeze in some kind of post on my blog every single day of the year, so as long as I make it through next Tuesday, I will have finally achieved this for the first time ever. Sigh. Cool. I don’t believe I’m going to put myself through that kind of pressure next year. I hope to continue blogging a lot but I won’t be doing regular features like #MovieMondays and #ThursdayThoughts. Instead, again embracing the looser carefree approach, I am going to blog about movies I feel deserve a blog about them because they are oh so good or oh so disappointing — whenever I feel like you must know about it, you’ll see a #MovieViews blog entry in the new year but nope, not every Monday. And I will continue to blog about topics that I feel like addressing but on any day of the week, not just Thursday, so you might see a #TuesdayThoughts or #FridayThoughts blog entry come through, not any particular set schedule though. I believe that whenever you embark on something creative, it should continue to be fun and encourage self-expression but not cause added stress due to a hectic schedule or feel like a chore. So far, the only thing I’ve actually revealed that is definite is that not much is going to be definite or scheduled in the new year except a much looser-themed version of #dailypics. What the hell am I doing with this blog in 2020 after all, huh? Lol Well, next year I have a milestone birthday. I turn the Big 5-0. Because of that I decided that for my birthday year, I am going to expand a previously tried concept “Five to Try” that I introduced many years ago. Five to Try was a creative challenge that I tackled each month: my mission was always the same, to try five new things that month. It didn’t have to be anything complex. It could mean a new restaurant, a new TV show, a new place to visit, a new dish, or recipe that I had not made before. One month it meant new cocktails that I have never tried,...
read moreYou can follow me online at Instagram for my #dailypics, on Facebook for quips, observations and pop culture commentary and on Twitter for a little bit of everything including micropoetry and Thoughts from the Twitterverse like this below. As always, thanks for reading! — Chris K. Her heart ached for simpler times when holidays were less about overdoing gifts and more about laughing and engaging. The realization that this holiday was in her grasp and she could guide it as she desired gave her pause and the biggest of smiles. #twitterverse #happyholidays (photo by C. Kuhn) ...
read moreSometimes, we struggle to find the answers in ourselves so we turn to other sources of wisdom, like the words of another writer, philosopher or artist of a different medium. If we’re having a tough time, we might turn to an inspiring, positive force for words to keep chugging along. If we are trying to understand something that seems incomprehensible, they might offer a bit of clarity. I hope these words make you stop and think a moment and carve out more meaning in your day, too. As always, thanks for reading. ~ Chris K. “Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead.” — Oscar Wilde #wisewords (photo source, unknown) ...
read moreWhat can I say? When I had an opportunity to watch a movie for fun the other day as I was wrapping up my Christmas card prep, I knew I wanted something uplifting, hopeful, and entertaining. I went right to an old DVD in the collection that I had not seen in a while, and that is this week’s lone movie viewing that I will be reviewing today for my #MovieMondays blog, and yes, you are right – the calendar does say Tuesday but it’s the holidays. Humor me, won’t ya? If you haven’t seen this week’s reviewed film, then I am going to encourage you to check it out. But I’m getting ahead of myself a little. Please check out this late but earnestly presented blog. And as always, thanks for reading. ~ Chris K. FILMS VIEWED WEEK OF 12/16/2019 – 12/22/2019 *click on photo to enlarge 110. The American President Comedy, Drama, Romance (1995) Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Michael J. Fox, Martin Sheen, Richard Dreyfuss The news from Washington DC hasn’t been the most uplifting these days. It is easy to become jaded and pessimistic about leadership and politics. So while I was finishing up my Christmas cards, I decided more than watching LOVE ACTUALLY (2003) for the 13th or 14th time (probably), I would opt for something to make me feel more hopeful and still give me that romantic comedy feeling that makes my heart tingle. Michael Douglas plays a widowed president who crosses paths with enthusiastic lobbyist Annette Bening and finds her intriguing beyond the words and ideas she conveys. (Of course, who wouldn’t?) Bening is at her most radiant, so who wouldn’t fall for this smart, gorgeous lady in a New York minute? Mr. Douglas is not too shabby either, capturing an almost Cary Grant-like charm I haven’t felt from him in other roles, even if I have always adored him since his days on “The Streets of San Francisco.” The cast is up to the usual standards of a Rob Reiner-directed film and Aaron Sorkin-penned movie or TV show. Everyone is perfectly placed in this story about the complications of trying to explore a new relationship under the spotlight and scrutiny of your always present staff — oh, and the American public, too. (One of my personal favorite scenes is watching the frustration build as the Prez finds ordering flowers for your gal isn’t quite so easy as you might expect.) Reiner has become one of my all-time favorite directors, and I absolutely adore the pairing of Douglas-Bening who have a wonderful chemistry onscreen. It’s not a flawless script (there may be a few twists and turns that seem a bit ‘aww, come on’ but with Sorkin, that’s a given we just forgive for every other delight he bestows upon us). If you are in need of a sweet, simple President-meets-Lobbyist-and-falls-in-love tale, this is a gem. I can’t understand for the life of me how it rated less than a 7 on IMDB.com. I know that it can be tough to score super high on that site but that did surprise me. Look for the various future “West Wing” alumni to grace the screen in major and minor roles, clearly in preparation for the Jed Bartlet administration....
read moreYou can follow me online at Instagram for my #dailypics, on Facebook for quips, observations and pop culture commentary and on Twitter for a little bit of everything including micropoetry and Thoughts from the Twitterverse like this below. As always, thanks for reading! — Chris K. We get something meaningful from everyone we choose to keep close to us in our life. If you are there beside me, know this. Nestle close and know you are loved… for who you are, for what you bring and for allowing me to be there with you. Happy holidays, friends. #twitterverse (art source, unknown) ...
read moreSometimes, we struggle to find the answers in ourselves so we turn to other sources of wisdom, like the words of another writer, philosopher or artist of a different medium. If we’re having a tough time, we might turn to an inspiring, positive force for words to keep chugging along. If we are trying to understand something that seems incomprehensible, they might offer a bit of clarity. I hope these words make you stop and think a moment and carve out more meaning in your day, too. As always, thanks for reading. ~ Chris K. “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” — French fashion designer and business woman Coco Chanel #wisewords (art source, unknown) ...
read moreYou can follow me online at Instagram for my #dailypics, on Facebook for quips, observations and pop culture commentary and on Twitter for a little bit of everything including micropoetry and Thoughts from the Twitterverse like this below. As always, thanks for reading! — Chris K. Never apologize for who you aren’t or can never be. It took me 49 years to figure out that one. I still forget from time to time. Own who you are and the decisions you made that brought you to now. That is all that matters. #twitterverse (ART: “The Evening Ahead” by Steve Henderson) stevehendersonfineart.com ...
read moreThis blog is all about being truthful so I will admit that when I started thinking about my topic for this week’s #ThursdayThoughts, I realized I didn’t have one. There’s so much I could talk about, yes, the impeachment yesterday, the holidays, all of those emotions that hit at this time of year as you get ready to wrap up one year and start another. Those are all completely valid and deserving topics worthy of discussion, but ultimately it was watching a TV show finale while finishing up my Christmas cards in the wee hours of the morning that gave me my idea for this week’s blog. Thank you to “The Masked Singer” and no, I won’t be including any spoilers in here. I don’t play that way, you know that. I started thinking about all of the things that the celebrities on the show who are eventually unmasked have said about their experience and why they loved doing the the show so much. In fact, there was a very memorable confession from the winner (again, don’t worry, I won’t reveal which character or who they really were). The winner got emotional as he/she expressed how much they appreciated being able to hide behind the mask and be judged solely by their talent and not by their appearance or other things people perceive about them, true or not, or their previous work. And I thought about all of us and the masks that we wear every day. There’s a lot of people out here who profess to be authentic but none of us are truly ourselves, not really. The only place that we are unabashedly real in the privacy of our own home. Only the person or people behind that closed door knows the real story, and the only thing the rest of us can do is speculate. So as we walk through life going to our jobs, taking part in hobbies networking and catching up with friends and family who we might normally confide in, we don’t usually take off our masks off completely because we may be afraid of what the people on the other side of it may think of that person — Will it be impress? Will it live up to expectations? Will it be enough to keep them in our life? There are few people for whom we will shed our mask completely and it really is a shame that we cannot be more comfortable and secure in ourselves to be exactly who we are all the time in whatever company we keep. Life is short. Some of us have learned that a lot this year, losing people important to us and we may find ourselves wishing we had done more, said more to that person while they were on this Earth. Just think if we used that time being more of who we really are, imagine how much more meaningful our relationships could be, what chickenshit fears and worries we would let roll of our backs and how much more focused we could be on what was most important of all, our work at hand, whatever it is. All if we were willing to exist without our masks in place. I have a job for you today. Okay it’s like...
read moreYou can follow me online at Instagram for my #dailypics, on Facebook for quips, observations and pop culture commentary and on Twitter for a little bit of everything including micropoetry and Thoughts from the Twitterverse like this below. As always, thanks for reading! — Chris K. The most beautiful part about dreaming of any kind? We get to have ANYTHING we want. Anything. Hmm… #twitterverse (Art Source, unknown) ...
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