GTD - Get Things Done

So I've been merrily working on my to do list. It changes w/frequency, as it should. Here's what I've gotten done in the recent past:

• package and mail packages and letters
• return items to the store for a refund
• wash clothes
• apply for jobs (don't ask)
• grade a student's project
• pick up dry cleaning
• pick up altered jeans
• complete an in class assignment for students
• begin working on the CleveEvents list
• call ComCast re: establishing a wireless network
• review answering machine messages and return calls
• pay bills online
  

They are just little errands, but these things add up.

But I'd like to introduce you to the Getting Things Done (GTD) system. It's not something that I employ, but I'm doing my research and considering implementing this into my daily planning.

How'd the GTD info get on my radar? Listening to a segment on NPR's "All Things Considered".

The Cleveland International Film Festival is Coming ...

There are some pretty good flicks nominated for Oscars this year. I can't say that I've seen any of them, but here are the ones that are on my list; I need to see these at some point:

"There Will Be Blood"
"No Cry for Old Men"
"Michael Clayton"

Meanwhile, the Cleveland International Film Festival is sneaking up on me. Two and a half weeks of big screen bliss. The schedule is already posted on their webbie. Though it does not seem as if tix are on sale just yet. I've been trying to comb through the sked and cross reference my daily sked to see how much I can fit in this year. Last year I did nothing - that was a first. Just could not sync up the skeds.

A Proper Send Off, please ...

I've been an viewer of the CW's "Girlfriends" since it began. In recent years, I have wanted to pitch the show from my viewing list because it lost its moxie, but since it is damn near the only show w/people who look like me, I've tended to give it a chance on Monday evenings @ 9 p.m. (though I must admit, the show's competition at that time is minimal).

I've liked the way the show humorously (and too oft times, dramatically) deals w/a variety of issues and situations. The ensemble cast complimented one another nicely. Loved William's character with so many snide quips; and his latest mate/girlfriend/wife, Monica. When Monica first arrived on the show she was 'in-your-face' feisty! Loved that. She's simmered down lately and I don't much like it.

Speaking of liking something ... my point w/this post is to inform you that the show is over. The last episode aired on Monday, February 11 @ 9:30 p.m. How about that? Learning that a show's season finale aired after the show aired ... Yeah, CW announced later in the week that the Monday episode was the last one.

Folks are not happy. Count me amongst them. A proper send off is in order. So let's get on the horn and let the CW know that the show deserves at least an adequate series finale. You know, an episode that could include a reunion between Joan and Toni ...!? Hello. I have been watching and waiting and hoping that the sassy Toni Childs would return and then return the show to it's proper place on my TV viewing list - near the top.

So check out this webbie - Sheila Goss' blog - the info is there on contacting the CW.

Post Grammy's

I've mentioned before how much I like awards season. I like to see the winners accept their award - and I am always hopeful that they speak from the heart and not from some folded up piece of paper.

Well, the Grammy Awards came and went, but not w/out a few incidents:

• Aretha Franklin is peeved w/Beyonce because Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as "The Queen"
• I got a kick out of this. Especially when I read on Bossip that Beyonce's father said that Beyonce did not say "The Queen of Soul" or whatever ...

• Natalie Cole publicly stating that she did not think that Amy Winehouse should have won any awards (Winehouse won five of six nominations). Cole was referring to Winehouse's battle w/drug and alcohol addiction. It's unfortunate that Cole has her Grammy already along w/having had some of the same issues that Winehouse is dealing with; furthermore, I am glad the Winehouse did win - the awards are for her music and not the struggles in her life.

• Oh, and can someone tell Kanye West to 'get off of himself!' I like his music, but his arrogance is indigestible.

Can't wait to see the Oscars and see how that pans out. What will they do when Ruby Dee wins and she wants to talk forever ... ?

BOOK REVIEW "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

"Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I liked this book because the storyline was so unlike other books that I have read. It was a fictional story of the war in Biafra. I don't know if it was my ignorance or not, but at first I thought that the war component was made up. But the Biafran War was real and the images described in the book frequently bought tears to my eyes.

But the story's focus is on a small cast of characters, their lives and how their lives change dramatically in wartime.

Without giving away too much, the romance between the two main characters was portrayed so lovingly when things were going well, but the tense times were also realistic - the human factor is just that no matter what country you live in.

There were some unanswered questions mainly in reference to 'who really slept w/who'. And like in real life, I have not real reason for wanting to know; just curious.

The book was long; I felt like it could have been edited a bit to reduce the page count, but it was a good read. Toward the end, I was really anxious to complete the book so I slugged through it at a pretty good clip.

"Half of a Yellow Sun" New York Times Book Review

Next up for the Literary Sistas Reading Group is "Upstate: A Novel" by Kalisha Buckhanon.