"It's Complicated" -- a plausible romantic comedy for aging baby boomers

My spouse and I (we married three years ago at mid life -- a detail important to this review) trudged out in the snow and ice on Christmas Day to see "It's Complicated," a romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. And guess what, my fellow over-50 people, it works! It's plausible! It's hilarious! The characters are sexy in a way that fits for their age; they reveal their aging bodies in a way that is charming, self aware, and not at their expense (a chubby Baldwin, sagging eyelids on Streep). They make poor dating/sex decisions and get their hopes dashed and feelings hurt as a result, just like older people who are dating do. (Yes, some things never change. What is it about sex and romance that can make us lose our minds, whether we are 25 or 55?)

Even though the characters all had a lot more money than me, were heterosexual, their adult kids were well adjusted (actually a little too well adjusted), and everyone was white, I knew their story. As someone who got divorced, dated throughout her forties, and married in her 50s, I could envision myself in the story. "It's Complicated" is not some misguided fantasy about what's possible at mid-life and beyond; it's a very funny comedy about what -- indeed -- is possible.

The audience included mostly aging baby boomers like me, but there was a decent showing of under thirties, too. I wanted to ask them what they thought. Did they imagine their parents as they watched the movie? Was it plausible to them? My twenty-something kids have a hard time wrapping their arms around the fact that I still like to go out and dance, fall in love, have and like sex, and that it's not gross or over the hill -- it's simply living!

Rachel Maddow on "debunking a cure for homosexuality"

This is Rachel Maddow at her fiercest, finest! On her Dec. 8 show she discusses the terrifying bill in Uganda that would make homosexuality punishable by life in prison, and rips apart Richard Cohen and his claim that he can cure homosexuals. She draws a direct link between the Ugandan bill and the anti-gay hate mongering by Cohen and others. Watch!

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Great Blend of Watercolors playlists

I have had the honor to be asked twice to guest deejay on the amazing Dee Henry Williams' radio show, A Great Blend of Watercolors, on KFAI radio, 90.3 f.m., a treasure of a community radio station in Minneapolis. Getting to do this is very cool for three reasons:

• Being a radio deejay is a life-long fantasy of mine.
• Being asked to be on this long-standing program of "music of the diaspora" is an honor.
• Dee and I are family, connected through my granddaughter.

So I've made two play lists for the show. Check them out!

Great Blend of Watercolors #1
1. Up Above My Head (I Hear Music In the Air), Ruthie Foster
2. For the Love of you, Isley Brothers
3. Sexual Healing, Max A Million
4. Funkin' for Jamaica, Tom Browne
5. Boogie Oogie Oogie (Single Version 2), A Taste of Honey
6. I Don't Know, Ruth Brown
7. God Bless the Child, Jill Scott
8. When We Get By, D'Angelo
9. Where Are We Going?, Marvin Gaye
10. Save Room, John Legend
11. I Wanna Thank Ya, Angie Stone & Snoop Dogg
12. The Rain, Jill Scott & Will Smith
13. It's Your Thing [Extended Remix], Jackson 5

Great Blend of Watercolors #2
1.Try, The Sounds Of Blackness
2. A Song for Mama, Boyz II Men
3. Ocean of Tears (Mama), Ruthie Foster
4. A Woman In Love, Joan Armatrading
5. Soul Food, Leela James
6. Testify!, Nedra Johnson
7. I Idolize You, Lizz Wright
8. Hard Times No One Knows, Ray Charles
9. You Really Got a Hold On Me, Gaye Adegbalola
10. Bone 2 Pic (Wit U), Angie Stone
11. Always In My Head, India.Arie
12. Love Like This, Faith Evans
13. The Sweetest Thing, The Refugee Camp All-Stars
14. Walking Away, Craig David
15. Raining Revolution, Arrested Development
16. Po' Folks, Nappy Roots
17. Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys), Jay-Z

Dory is my new hero but I can't remember why

Quick, before I forget...

My brain is slowly disintegrating, especially my memory. A good friend calls it CRS or "Can't Remember Shit." If you are with me on this, no need to explain the details. If you aren't there yet, really you don't want to know... but it's coming your way, some day -- one of the many gifts of aging.

But something special happened today. I was having a typical CRS moment at a staff meeting, stumbling through trying to remember the name of a staff member (not in attendance thankfully -- that happens, too), and his department, both which I should know well.

Then suddenly, in mid brain scramble, like an angel of mercy, Dory popped into my head and smiled sympathetically at me. (Dory, in case you've forgotten, is the plucky memory-disabled fish played by Ellen Degeneres in Finding Nemo).

So I stopped trying to remember anything, laughed and told the group, "Forgive me, my memory is shot. I'm just like Dora!" While, almost. I forget, but maybe. Wait! Now I remember! Dora is that little short kid I've written about in this blog before. Dory is my new hero for mid-life.

I think.

Letter to President Obama on Afghanistan

I don't typically write letters to the President. I know (from working in an elected official's office myself) that such a letter is screened by some 20-something aide, then cataloged and perhaps sent a stock response. But I felt compelled to send the following email letter yesterday, on the afternoon before the speech explaining to the public the "justification" for escalating the war in Afghanistan. Somewhere in my heart I thought if enough energy is sent to Obama, he would access his heart and change his mind.

December 1, 2009

President Obama,

I fiercely supported your campaign for president and believe you are the best president for our country and our world.

I believe in your brilliance and compassion and your political savvy. I believe in your vision for change. I believe you are a change maker.

You inherited a huge mess and are trying to make your way through some unbelievable burdens not of your doing. I think you are steering us toward a better tomorrow on almost every front.

That said, I feel compelled to write to say I do not support your decision to increase troops in Afghanistan. I say that having family members who are in harm's way, right now, serving there. I know there is a belief that more troops will make them safer and will make the outcome of the war better. I disagree. They will be safer if they come home. We can address issues of instability in that region without this escalation. If anyone can figure out how, I believe it can be you.

President Obama, we need our energy, our dollars, and our hearts focused on the crisis at home. We need better health care, better public education, more affordable housing, more jobs.

Please, listen to your heart, which I believe is the heart of a peacemaker, not a war maker.

I know you have weighed your options carefully, but do not go down in history as the person responsible for escalating this conflict.

Rather, I urge you to be the leader who stands in line with Ghandi, and with Martin Luther King Jr., and insists that change is possible through peaceful action.

Sincerely, and with respect,

Ann Freeman

I am also honored and humbled to be asked to post this letter on the blog for the Fellowship of Reconciliation.