Put A Little Love In Your Heart

I've never really been in love before. I've never felt its pleasures or pains or deep devotion. But, when I hear the beautiful, tragic lyrics of the song "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" By Al Green, I feel like I have. I remember the first time I heard it. My grandmother was having her weekly card game and I, the little adult that I was, wanted to hang with the older crowd. So, I quietly sat on the floor near them, observing and trying to remain inconspicuous. I watched my grandfather get up and change the record. And there it was, my introduction to Al Green. Through all the noise of the gathering, I heard nothing else but the music. That was my summer that year. Laying on the floor, listening to my Grandfather's records and feeling like I finally understood Love. Motown, and golden oldies expressed nothing but the absolute epitome of the word. Even as a preteen, I had a flare for the dramatic, haha. Sometimes it feels like I learned the way I want Love to be from movies and the way Love really is from music.

Fast foward years and years later and here I am in Brooklyn, still sitting on the floor and listening to records.When I heard the amazing Al Green would be playing in NYC, I didn't hesitate to give him and Ticketmaster my hard earned money. Usually when a show comes around that I wanna see, I prowl  around and try to recruit lucky individuals to share the show experience with me. For some reason, this time, I didn't really mind getting one ticket. This was something for me. Do you have a Concert Bucket List? Ya know, people you wanna see perform before you go to that great Ice Cream parlor in the sky? Well, I do, and I wasn't going to miss the chance to see one of my list patrons. Carpe Diem and all that :). Honestly, you know how the show turned out. IT WAS AMAZEBALLS! Absolutely incredible.


The opening act was a cool and funky cat by the name of Charles Bradley. Haha, I honestly don't know how to express the sheer joy this man brought to the audience. He was a combination of James Brown, Randy Watson from "Coming To America" and Prince (back in his "Get Off" days). I couldn't even record a performance because I was so caught up in the crazy.

 The fun starts at about 2:45...

After Charles Bradley brought the house down, it was time for the one and only Rev. Al Green. It was like watching a Disney character come to life. I couldn't believe he was real. He came out, just a smooth as can be and started handing out roses to women in the audience. Then the music started and it was just me, my glass of wine and the lyrics. It amazed me how many different types of people loved Al. It was probably the most diverse group of people I have seen at one show. And we were all there for the same reason, to hear our favorite songs from the voice of the man who was partially responsible for the baby boom of 1972. His voice is so classic and commanding and he sounded better live than coming out through my speakers. I enjoyed every second of it. I wish there was more that I can say about it but, if you are a fan, you know I didn't nothing but spend 2 straight hours in a groove induced haze. My videos kind of sucked so... unfortunately, uploading them would be pointless. But, just so you get my drift.....

I enjoyed all this music while sitting behind a woman who told me this was her 2nd Al Green concert. Her first was in 1974. Wow. I wonder if I will be like that with Muse. Old and gray and still pumping my fist in the air to "Unnatural Selection". Hmmm.....

Pudge Watch 2012

Hi mom, I'm a vegan. Can you hear the laughter? I did. Yes, I am still eating mostly vegan. Its been interesting. Not as hard as I thought yet, not as easy as it was in the beginning. I think my body went from "Ok, she's just doing this for a small period of time", to realizing "Holy bananas, she means to make this a lifestyle change". Its starting to become harder and my body really wants to resist. I've of course backslid a couple of times. But, to be honest, I really don't feel all that bad. Going from eating meat and dairy and hardcore junk food everyday of your life to eating a little meat or dairy every couple weeks or so is a pretty awesome accomplishment. No one said this would be easy. That's what I keep telling myself when I want to bang my head against the wall. My weight is being really stubborn right now. Although the scale tells me I have lost weight, my image in the mirror still says "Hi! My name is round tummy, and I'm not going anywhere". Patience. I have to have patience. I feel the change in me. The visual just has to catch up. I have to say my 2nd biggest support system has been coming from the blogs on Tumblr. When you see someone who was once 300lbs now wearing a bikini and doing Insanity, it motivates you. Reading the things that those people went through, I know that I'm not alone. They get it. One of them is even a vegan and she puts up awesome recipes. It reassures me. It's possible to do this. Patience. 

Oh well kids, I just really wanted to share my concert going experience with everyone. Fall is ready to began and thus starts Harvest season or so a good friend told me. There are a lot of really amazing things in the works for me. I can feel them flowing through my motivation to workout, I can feel them coming out of my fingers when I write a script, I can feel the energy of it when I meditate. I'm really interested to see what kind of creative changes will happen in the next few month.  I'll keep ya posted, as always. Until next time. ....

Top 5 Favorite Movie/TV Scenes Featuring An Al Green Song

1). Notting Hill - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart

         Hugh Grant's character finds his lady love with her boyfriend (which he didn't know she had). And then he has to see her everywhere because she's a mega famous Actress. Le Sigh. 

2).  Munich - Let's Stay Together

        Ugggg! I can't find this scene to post. It's my favorite scene in Munich. Two enemies stuck in a safe house listening to the radio. They both go back and forth, changing the station because one doesn't like what the other one picks, blah blah. The both get in each others face, nose to nose. Finally, before tensions mount, Daniel Craig stumbles on a station playing  "Lets Stay Together". The both eye each other, smile and turn away from each other walking in opposite directions, back to their corners. They found comman ground in the Green. Classic.

3). On The Line - I'm So Tired Of Being Alone

      A member of Nsync on a train, singing Al Green. Of course I adored this scene.

4). Sex And The City - Can't Get Next To You

       I love this song and I loved this episode. A nice, lovely gentleman persuades Carrie to cut a rug. Sassy.

 Awesomeness starts at 6:40

5). Love And Basketball - Love and Happiness

       Ok, so the opening isn't exactly a giant scene but, when those first few chords of "Love and Happiness" start and you see that New Line Cinema logo, you just get excited. Plus that song sums up the movie perfectly.

Love Always, 

   The girl who is ending this blog because "New Girl" is on.