Was It Courage Or Was It Impulse?

/ Betsy Heimburger / 2 Comments

Last year, I said that I would write a post about Kenneth Branagh’s film Cinderella and I have not yet fulfilled that promise. The blog post I shared in my previous Cinderella post is so wonderful that I dug myself into a hole trying to top it.

If you haven’t already, you should definitely watch Cinderella. It’s a gorgeous spectacle, a lovely story, and will surprise you at how skillfully this well-known story is retold. When I went into the theater last year to watch this film for the first time, I expected to enjoy it based on the fact that Cinderella was my favorite Disney princess when I was younger. When I left the theater, my cheeks were tear-streaked and I felt a wonderful lightening of heart. I knew Kenneth Branagh was a good director, but after seeing this film, I am convinced I will like any film he has made or will make in the future. Not only was Branagh brilliant, but the costumes designed by Sandy Powell were beautiful, dreamy, creative, colorful, and a wonderful mixture of historical accuracy and artistic fairy-tale-story license. Patrick Doyle‘s music is a fairy tale in itself, fitting the film perfectly. His music nearly always sounds like it comes from a fairy-tale; his use of strings makes it magical. And then there’s Dante Ferretti, whose sets are exquisitely and expensively extravagant, detailed, and lush. This film is such a rich experience for the senses that it seems you can taste it.

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Wide Enough

/ Betsy Heimburger / 1 Comment

Several months ago, a friend told me to listen to the soundtrack of Hamilton, the musical that has gotten so very much acclaim recently. And so about a month and a half ago, I listened to it for the first time. Boy! did my life change that day! I thought I would just be listening to another good musical, and possibly falling in love with it – the story, the music, the lyrics – as I have done with other musicals like Into the Woods and Les Misérables. I was wrong. I am now rather obsessed with this musical. So obsessed that, for a couple of weeks, I listened to Hamilton and only Hamilton on constant repeat. I have never before felt so emotionally connected to our founding fathers, or felt so proud to be a United States citizen. Actually, there have been very few times in the past that I have been whole-heartedly proud of being from the United States. Sure, there are luxuries and privileges that come with being a citizen of this country, but there are so many things I have not liked about it. There are still things I do not like about the United States: our rampant consumerism; our disrespect for nature and wasteful use of resources (which thankfully is lessening in some places, but could still be improved upon); and our “bigger is better” motto when it comes to things like food servings, vehicles, and campaign budgets… Just to name a few.

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Black Before Spring

/ Betsy Heimburger / 2 Comments

You may have been wondering for the past few weeks why the images that are usually on my blog are black. You may not have noticed at all. Or you may not have visited since my last post. I do hope that last sentence is not the case, but if it is, that is quite all right too. Whether you noticed the black at the top of the page or not – whether you have visited or not – I am glad you are here now. Please keep visiting.

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Who is Essena O’Neill?

/ Betsy Heimburger / Leave a comment

I am so proud of Essena O’Neill. I did not know of her before, but after hearing from Joy the Baker of what she has done, I just want to yell from the rooftops, “GO GIRL!” If you do not know who this girl is (like I did not know until just yesterday), Essena O’Neill is a nineteen-year-old girl who became famous through her presence on social media. It seems that the main way she used social media in the past was through modeling and uploading photos of herself… Correct me if I’m wrong… She got sucked under by the drug of followers, likes, and worldwide social media approval. But as of only a few weeks ago, she has come up for air and sworn off social media by way of a new blog called “Lets Be Game Changers” (elimination of apostrophe her choice, certainly not mine).

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