I am so happy you returned to All Things Fulfilling today. Perhaps you are like me, not quite ready yet to step into the third season.
Today’s multi-media look back at summer is brought to you through a video from Carl’s Old Record Club. Their You Tube channel has a number of other videos that you will enjoy viewing. They are nicely produced – syncing music with images.
Aren’t we fortunate to be living in the digital age whereby we can easily share all types of media, such as independently published films, music and e-books with others?
Enjoy the creative entertainment of others frequently because it will enhance your own personal fulfillment!
The ability to relate and to connect… lies at the very heart of any creative use of the mind, no matter in what field or discipline. — George J. Seidel
Not being able to connect with other people can be painful especially for a teenager. When it’s relationships between numbers that turn you on rather than associations with people, finding fulfilling human interactions is difficult.
Such is the storyline behind A Brilliant Young Mind, a film soon to be released on September llth and this movie is getting great reviews.
We can never get a re-creation of community and heal our society without giving our citizens a sense of belonging.— Patch Adams
What makes a great community? As an outsider, I’ve noticed things the 2014 Winner of the Coolest Small Town in America, Berlin, Maryland has in common with Steamboat Springs, Colorado, the town I’ve called home for the past seven years.These elements are what, in my opinion, helps a community to thrive.
Cohesion between a strong Main Street Association and the local Council on the Arts
People who are forward-thinkers, not afraid of change but respect the past.
A strong volunteer base who want to contribute to building a town that others will envy.
Leaders who understand the history behind the community and what makes it unique.
Berlin, Maryland “Historically Charming & Artistically Alive & Eternally Young” has been the location site of two movies, which no doubt has helped bring notariety to the community. Runaway Bride with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere was filmed there in 1998 and contributed 27.5 million dollars to the local economy. In 2001 Berlin was transformed into a town at the turn of the century with dirt roads, period costumes and horses and carriages for the film Tuck Everlasting. Actors Sissy Spacek, Ben Kingsley and William Hurt starred in the fictional film.
Movie producers as well as the audiences were captivated by the Victorian town center, the tree-lined streets and historic homes and museums in this small town in “Chesapeake Country.”
Want to know more about what makes a great community? Read this article, and visit the Berlin, Maryland website. Also scroll back to the two previous day’s blogs to see more pictures. Every business in Berlin is worthy of mention on All Things Fulfilling. Due to lack of space, only a small number are featured. Each makes this community a fulfilling destination that reminds us of what it was like to live in charming small town America.
If you are a baby boomer, you’ll appreciate the lyrics of this 1972 song which you’ll probably remember from the crossroads of your life. Listen in as you scroll through these images!
Thanks to my twin sister Jan for the photo contributions to this blog. It was wonderful to have an early celebration of our birthday by painting the town together.
Join me tomorrow as I celebrate a special segment of local artists in the place I’ve resided for the past seven years. They make up in part what is unique about the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.
Real courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne
I doubt I would have ever become acquainted with the term “cowboy ethics” unless I had moved West. Sure, I believe and practice what it is about but I’d never attached such a term to it.
In fact, when I began this blog All Things Fulfilling, before I even knew what cowboy ethics were, I had decided I’d use all the principles associated with the term as I went about my mission of inspiring, informing and educating people about independent publishing. The fact that I found personal fulfillment in my writing was a bonus and a God-send.
In an interview on Living a Richer Life talk radio some months ago, the host, Earl Cobb, mentioned that many people say they are going to write a book but never accomplish their mission. “How is it that you were successful?” he asked. When I set out to prove to myself that I could publish a book independently as an inexperienced writer, I took to heart the inspirational words I’d heard someone say “I wanted it more than I was afraid of it.” I also changed my vocabulary from I was going to try to write a book to AM writing and publishing a book. I eliminated the word try out of my vocabulary completely. What a difference it made in the outcome and I even became an award-winning author, to boot!
If you want to accomplish your goals and if you can’t eliminate the word try completely, this video featuring Jim Owen of Cowboy Ethics points out another way of looking at the word TRY. You will find it interesting!
Last week in the blog post A Shepard’s Tea, I mentioned having a celebration after the New Year. Perhaps a Hoe Down might be more appropriate since I found fulfillment using Cowboy Ethics in Colorado. Want to learn more about the principles behind the term Cowboy Ethics, visit this website.
No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell. ~ Jewish Proverb
Are you ready for the 7th remake of National Lampoon’s 1983 movie Vacation? The release date is July 29, 2015. Besides Chevy Chase, Christina Applegate and Ed Helms also star in this comedy about a family who encounters many misadventures on while on their trip to Wally World and their white water rafting adventure. Scenes were filmed at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as in Atlanta, Georgia.
The father, Rusty Griswold, sets out to spend quality time with his wife and kids and recreate his own theme park vacations from his childhood but things get more complicated than that when it doesn’t go very well. The movie is in typical National Lampoon style that keep audiences in stitches.
The movie is rated R, so it is not fit for families with young children. To read more about the plot and to watch a trailer, visit this link. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1524930/.
Have a good weekend everyone. See you on All Things Fulfilling on Monday when we will be sharing about Art in the Park. The author of this blog is award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.
Movie-making is telling a story with the best technology at your disposal. ~ Tom Hanks
On this Film Friday, we will be looking at some of the best movies that have been adapted from memoirs.
According to an article written by Emily Temple on Flavorwire.com, it’s a delicate thing turning a memoir into a successful movie. Since film is another form of storytelling, you’d think it’d be easy but something is often lost in the translation when you move away from the first person prose of a narrative to a third person medium.
The following movies are some of the best memoir to movie adaptations. If you feel like watching a movie this weekend, perhaps watching a few of these films will give you a little insight into what a good memoir to movie adaptation looks like:
Some time ago on All Things Fulfilling, I wrote about the power of movies as art to heal. Today we will be focusing on changes in the filmmaking industry which may make movie going easier as our population ages.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Dreamworks Animation Chief gave a talk about a year ago at the Beverly Hills’ Milken Global Conference on the Entrepreneurial Leadership in the Corporate World panel. He spoke of his opinions of how the movie industry is going to change in coming years. With the ability of “the cloud” being able to hold a vast amount of content, the window for seeing movies at the theatre will become three weeks. The period of time when receipts are highest for even the biggest blockbuster.
What does all this mean? If you wish to see movies in the big screen, don’t delay. Their runs in the theatre will be much shorter. After that if you want to see a movie, you can pay to watch it on your computer, i-phone or in your home theatre. Depending on the size platform you are using to view the movie, the prices will vary. The larger your screen the higher the price. Interesting concept, and these changes have already begun to take place. Read the full article, it is interesting.
That is the latest development in the world of film and e-commerce has it’s advantages for seniors. If it is not possible to go to the movies there are now a variety of ways of to watch the latest films in the comfort of a living room. That’s all for this Film Friday.
On Sunday I will be posting a story on All Things Fulfilling as a tribute to my dad in honor of Fathers Day. See you then!
This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author, Sue Batton Leonard.
John Green’s novel Paper Towns ended up #5 on the New York Times Best Selling Books List and now this part mystery/part coming of age story will be coming to the big screen.
The story is about a young teenage boy who moves next door to a girl who he finds confusing and perplexing. When she disappears she leaves behind clues to her where-abouts. Quentin, her neighbor, and his friends are sent on chase to find her. Will finding her end up in some kind of a life altering event?
The story is written by the author of No Fault in the Stars and the cast of the movie includes Nat Wolff (Quentin), Cara Delevingne (Margo), Halston Sage (Lacey). “Paper Towns debuted at #5 on the New York Times bestseller list and won the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.
“Memoir isn’t the summary of a life; it’s a window into a life” ~ William Zinsser
It was a good turnout on Monday when I spoke with the Routt County Council on Aging about memoir writing. We discussed how to begin writing, ways to stir the memory pot and shorter forms of beginning to create a picture of one’s life.
During the Q & A period, at the end of my presentation, there were a number of very thoughtful questions asked.
One woman wanted to know whether you can start your life story in the here and now and work backwards. “Yes”, I told her, “lots of people do that.” In order to handle it well, it helps to have good developmental editing and perhaps a more skilled author. Flashbacks and the use of various scenes are helpful in writing backwards. We also discussed the importance of selecting only those significant life vignettes that have contributed to forming you as the person you are, rather than including an entire lifetime from beginning to end.
The same woman then followed up with another thoughtful question inquiring whether individual stories can be used as a memoir. I suggested she stitch the stories together with a common thread. Then I went on to mention the common themes that run throughout my award-winning memoir, Gift of a Lifetime: Finding Fulfilling Things in the Unexpected, a collection of short stories(anthology).
After the presentation was wrapped up a number of individuals mentioned they are currently working on or have dreams of writing children’s books or novels. Others wish to write their memoirs or tales about other family members. I hope they all actively pursue their writing interests because the good news is
“To write means more than putting pretty words on a page; the act of writing is to share part of your soul.”
Most writers would tell you the reason they write is because they have to. There is something fulfilling in it that is often difficult to explain.
Whether writing a fictional story, recording past experiences in the form of a memoir, sharing information and knowledge or creating poetry, there is something freeing and fulfilling in the process.
On this film Friday, I’d like to introduce our readers to a movie that was released back in 2007 called Freedom Writers: Our Story Our Words. The movie stars Hilary Swank as a high school teacher in California. It is about the power of journal writing to help students communicate their feelings and frustrations in their lives. The power of writing is transformative to the lives of many of these inner city students.
If you have not seen this movie, check this movie out! The Freedom Writers Foundation will also be of interest to educators.
See you back here on All Things Fulfilling on Monday! This blog is brought to you by the award-winning author Sue Batton Leonard.
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