Bebel Gilberto (and Other Stuff)

I saw Brazilian singer Bebel Gilberto in concert a few weeks ago and the show was great. (See the picture below from the show.)  I saw her a few years ago and she was great then too. As a huge fan of Brazilian music, I enjoy seeing live performances and just listening to music from singers like Bebel, Djavan, Maria Rita, and Ivan Lins. I highly recommend checking these performers out if you're into that kind of music (or even if you aren't and want to try something new). The music is very soothing and I could use some de-stressing in my life right now. 

In other news, I do have a new publication coming out later this year called Not Sweet Enough. More on that later when I have a release date and more info. My writing has been slow and I really need to get back on the horse and do better about chruning stuff out sooner. My German classes have ended for the summer. Ja! I largely enjoyed the classes, but they just went on too long and my teacher was nice but her way of teaching didn't really work for me. I'll try to keep up on my own through the materials I have and videos on YouTube. I'd still really like to go travel to Germany next year and I'll try to make that happen.

To Live and Die in LA

I read director William Friedkin died today and I guess that's why I heard Wang Chung's "To Live and Die in LA" on Sirius today. Friedkin directed the movie that theme song came from and hearing the song today made me think about the movie. I saw To Live and Die in LA when I was a teenager. My father, during one of his divorced dad weekends took me, my sister, and one of my cousins to the movies. We were supposed to see Rocky 4, but it was sold out so we ended up seeing To Live and Die in LA. To this day, this is one of the best movies I've ever seen. So sleazy and so good. The homoerotic dynamic between William Petersen and Willem Dafoe's characters was so interesting. I wasn't sure if they were going to fight each other or end up in bed together, but I was down for it all. This is the kind of movie that would never get made today. Counterfeiters, strippers, experimental dance troups, dirty cops. What worked in the 1980s wouldn't work today. At least I've got the DVD!