Thank You, Danse Macabre!

 

All writers receive rejections and get discouraged, so I’m no different when the rejections start coming back.  My attempts with poetry started in 2008 to test the waters for talent and see if I could follow in my great grandfathers footsteps- Baltrus Sidiskis, a published poet.  (I was going to post one of his poems, but it’s in Lithuanian and I wouldn’t be able to capture the essence of it.)  Towards the end of last year I began submitting my poems to literary magazines. 

After plenty of rejections, Danse Macabre, found something in my poetry and published a few in their February “Kismet” issue.  For personal reasons, it’s poetic to have my debut poems in an edition meaning fate and fortune. Furthermore, a very sweet friend of mine emailed me to let me know “La fortuna di poesia” means “Luck Poetry” in Italian.  The magazine will also be publishing another one of my poems in their April issue.  I am very excited about my poetry getting out there and want to thank Danse Macabre for giving me the opportunity to be a published poet.

Also, a thanks goes out to my long distance buddy, Aunty Bug for posting about my poetry.  Much appreciated friend, but I have to add that not only did we meet in DC & Chicago, but Michigan too.  We just might conquer all the states by retirement.
Have a great Sunday everyone! 

Genevieve

On another note, I did a Google search for B. Sidiskis and found an article write up from 1926 about my grandmother, Genevieve Sidiskis (Gettling) Giedraitis.  Now that’s a name!  This is one beauty about the internet.  It’s wonderful to be able to find an article about my grandmother from 80-years ago.  At the time of this article, my grandmother was 16-years old.

“Vilnis, Feb. 5, 19:^6. sisters* These girls appear to possess great musical talent and are endowed v;ith excellent stage personalities. They should be encouraged to continue their musical training.

One of the outstanding artists on the program was Genevieve Sidiskis, famous Lithuanian soprano. She pleased the audience immensely with her lovely voice. Miss Sidiskis is developing into a great star.
The Brighton Park chorus, of the Children»s Little Society of the Blossom of Hope, sang a number of songs. A group of girls from”

A Magnificent Stroke of Talent!

Norman Rockwell was an artist of extraordinary measure who captured the essence of American life. His illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post, amongst other magazines gave a depiction of true American spirit, and planted smiles on faces as they viewed paintings of everyday life. Through things people could relate to, experienced, war, and politics, Mr. Rockwell drew every detail and applied strokes of color for all of us to appreciate.

Granted, he retired from the Saturday Evening Post before I was born, but my childhood still experienced his emotional paintings. He not only painted for himself, but the people too. The American people were his inspiration and audience.

One of my bucket list items is to visit the Norman Rockwell Museum, and to buy one of his paintings when I buy a house. My heart melts when I see one of his paintings feeling a sense of home and family values. Maybe it's the safety and contentment I love about them.

Some of my favorites:

“Girl at the Mirror,” because it truly depicts how women view and critique themselves. How we find the flaws that tend to make us overlook the beauty.

“High Dive,” because it’s cute and illustrates the fear I have for sharing my writing. “Alone for Christmas” for personal reasons.

“Santa,” because Christmas is my favorite holiday.

“Sunset,’ because I remember this one from childhood.

“Homecoming G.I.,” because it depicts so much from a mother being overjoyed, to a woman who waited for this day, and how life went on yet waited for the soldier.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Rockwell! Thank you for sharing your talent with the world and that the emotional connection still breathes within us.

What are your feelings towards Norman Rockwell’s paintings and do you have a favorite? Which one, and why?

Movie Night!

I haven’t been much into watching movies these days. Movies used to be exciting to me, especially the oldies, but like reading I have a hard time getting into the mode of either one. Maybe it’s my immersion with writing that I find it hard to relax and just enjoy a movie. Nowadays, when I watch one, I become critical of the characters, or plot, something I never considered years ago.

Since I feel I need to expand my love of the arts, I joined Netflix thinking what a great idea to watch a movie on demand every now and then. So I’m scanning the different movies, and I come across a Sundance Film, Sunshine Cleaning. The past three years, I seem to enjoy Foreign, Independent and Sundance Films more than mainstream.

Sunshine Cleaning is about a single mother and her slacker sister, played by Emily Blunt getting into the business of cleaning up crime scenes, murders, suicides, by removing the stains of the incident. The mother, played by Amy Adams wants to move her quirky, intelligent son into a private school. In order to do so, she needs to make quick cash. As the sisters work together, they begin to appreciate one another and in the end understand how the other feels so many years ago after the loss of their mother.

The subject matter is strange, but I did like Sunshine Cleaning. I feel they could have focused more on the relationship with the sisters to build it up better. Other than that, I found it to be humorous and touching as each character tries to find their way in life. I give the movie 3-1/2 out of 5 film reels.

Any good movies you've watched recently?