Tag Archives: Terrence Howard

Yes, Holy Week be Upon Us!

March 30, 2015 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yay. My favorite week of the year, even though “favorite” might not be the best word for describing a crucifixion, let alone the crucifixion of someone so widely missed as, well, you know who…

This is the week that I am more “in” church than “out” of church. I love the solemnity of it, the beauty of it, the pathos of it — and the questions that I ask myself all week long: “How much of this stuff is actually true???!!” Who the heck knows, right? As a minister, I’m supposed to tow the party line & buy it all, but I know it won’t surprise you to know that I question every single solitary thing. But I still love it….

I love it SO MUCH, in fact, that, yes, I am back in school, completing the next phase of my ministry degree. I know I said I was done, but it turned out — I was wrong! I don’t need all this education to be a mionister (that’s Olde French for “minister”), but I still crave that Masters in Divinity, so I am sticking with school, for now. We’ll see how I can manage that once I move back to New York, but for now, I am back in school and loving it.

And also on Spring Break! Yay. Just in time to be at church constantly. So.

Wow, the re-writes of the original stage musical I am working on with that actress in New York City– it is going spectacularly well!! Yes, after several months of pulling teeth, pulling hair — I don’t know; what else can we pull out in frustration? Whatever it was, we pulled it and we are almost done with the revisions of Act One and I still think the show is incredible, gang. It already won one award — these revisions are being done on a grant from the Canadian Arts Council. The play won the actress/writer the Best New African-Canadian Playwright award — something like that. So the lovely world of Canada is paying my wages and will pay my airfare to NYC soon, to work in person with the actress and the music director, and everyone else. (I know, I keep saying I will be going to NYC soon to work on this, and it keeps getting postponed, but, naturally, now that I am back in school, the trip is imminent again!) But I am a big fan of Canada now. Yay! Honestly, what’s not to love??

Okay. Since it has been over a month since you last heard from me: Yes, I was glued to every single solitary episode of Empire! Wow, how addicting! I love Terrence Howard, which was the main reason I tuned in the very first night, but then I was hooked on the indescribably un–Christian immorality of every single character!! Too fun, wasn’t it, gang? Luckily, the first season is over now — making room in my world for the final season of my beloved Mad Men. (I’m hoping they will soon release some sort of gorgeous Boxed DVD set that I can purchase and display prominently, next to the icons of Christ…)

The other thing I waste way too much time on is Miranda Sings. This is why I had to go back to school, gang. It gives me something to do with my magnificent brain besides binge-watch endless 5-minute episodes of Miranda Sings, laughing myself silly. She is just too funny. (I don’t know if I can pick an absolute favorite episode, I have so many, but the one where she gives singing lessons to Pentatonix is right up there, along with the What’s In My Pants Challenge.)

On that lofty note, though, I do want to wish everyone a very blessed Holy Week. Even if you aren’t a big Christ-follower yourself, there is a whole lot about human nature that we can learn from this week. Mainly, that when Christ entered Jerusalem on Sunday, he was already a dead man walking; the same crowds that cheered him on Sunday, had him nailed to a cross by Friday morning… Funny, how the more things change in 2000 years, the more they stay exactly the same, right? Something to ponder, anyway — how the “crowd” will turn on you on a dime.

Okay!! Now that the roof guy has finished patching the enormous hole in my roof and gone home, I’m gonna get my taxes together here. I have a nice little pile of official-looking junk on my desk that I have to make sense out of before I dump it onto someone else’s desk! Yay! (The buck never stops here, folks. Whenever I see one coming, I scoot quickly away!!)

I hope you are gearing up for a fantastic spring. Things simply could not be better over here — I hope it’s likewise wherever you are! Thanks for visiting, gang. See ya!

Spring chickens -- hey, they look a lot like YOU!! — Spring chickens — hey, they look a lot like YOU!!

What a welcome surprise!!

October 27, 2014 marilyn jaye lewis Leave a comment

Yes, by that, I mean that I basically have the whole day off. I only have about 75 minutes’ worth of work to do (meaning work I do to get paid), and then the rest of the day is MINE!!

And best yet, I cleaned the whole house yesterday, did all the laundry on Saturday, and so I have no chores I need to do, either. Plus, I don’t have anymore homework due for school until Wednesday.

So. Methinks today will be all about doing my own writing, taking a walk (it’s a gorgeous day here again), playing with the cats, baking something autumnally aromatic; just stuff that I love doing.

Speaking quickly of cats… I have to report that those Brewer’s yeast tablets I began giving all of them earlier this summer have given them really gorgeous coats. They shed less and their colors really pop. The tabbies’ coats look particularly incredible — the black and tan are all marble-y and have such a bright sheen. And the ginger cats are super ginger-y. When I took Bunny to the vet a couple weeks ago, the vet said, “She’s either really good at cleaning herself or you’re doing a great grooming job.” (I do try to comb her once a day, but I think it’s more those Brewer’s yeast tablets, to be honest. I didn’t say that to the vet, though. I let Bunny get all the credit.) Here’s a shot of Lucie, who is notoriously difficult to get a photo of — more proof that today is just an incredible day, gang!

Lucie in her shiny coat! — Lucie just moments ago, in her shiny coat! Although it doesn’t look particularly shiny in this photo! I am just thrilled I got her on film, finally. She is super camera shy.

On the writing front: I am halfway done with a new outline for the TV pilot. I should complete it today. (The plot remains essentially the same, it’s just being told from a different character’s perspective and that shift of POV really made the story come alive emotionally.)

As far as baking goes: So far this fall, I’ve baked oatmeal raisin bars, two pumpkin pies, a squash cake with chocolate chips & pecans that was to die for!! (I baked an acorn squash and pureed it, seasoning it and using it like you would a pumpkin. ) If I bake something today, it might be cranberry-nut bread. Not sure yet, though.

Here I am, baking up a storm! I appear to be baking a cocoanut still in its shell. A delicacy the world over. Not sure who the little girl is -- she just wandered in. — Here I am, baking up a storm! I appear to be baking a coconut still in its shell. A delicacy the world over. Not sure who the little girl is — she just wandered in. But I let her stay because she clearly adored me. Plus, she washed the dishes.

All righty, gang! I gotta scoot and do that 75 minutes of work! Thanks for visiting! Oh — forgot to mention that I went to see St. Vincent over the weekend and really liked it a lot. Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, and Naomi Watts are all splendid, along with a great little newcomer, Jaeden Lieberher. Terrence Howard also has a nice role as the reluctant goon. The film was beautiful, funny, poignant, uplifting. Here’s the trailer.