I Went to Wakanda...You Should Also

My niece, nephew, cousin, & I went to see Black Panther. It was a birthday gift for my niece & nephew, who have birthdays in the first two months of the year. No one had a frown on their face when we left. Why Not?

Because the movie is Very Good. Well since I was asked, let me give you my non-spoiler thoughts. And of course the pattern will be a hat tip to my favorite movie reviewer, Andre, the Black Nerd. I am giving you the Good, the Bad, and the Diva.

The Good:

This section could go on forever, but I will try to condense it to my favorite parts. Wakanda is a beautiful place. I loved how modern & colorful it is portrayed. Even the traditionalists had a modern look. Nothing was "left behind" and ancient. And the people of Wakanda weren't just worker bees & random background sidekicks. There is a couple who have a nice "B storyline" within the movie. I could watch a little movie short about them before the next Marvel movie. There is so much messaging in this movie. If you don't find at least 3 lessons to take away, don't discuss this movie with me. I took away 5 messeges. But the best part for me was how strong every woman in the movie was. The Dora Milaje could teach some classes about loyalty & instincts. Shuri is smart as a whip. I hope she gets more usage in the MCU. Her intellect needs be to seen. And even the female tribe leaders stood out. They weren't just cute, petty old ladies.

They showed they had legit concerns & questions about the handling on Wakanda. Then there is T'Challa, himself. I liked how we saw how vulnerable he could be. More than just a "ruling" king. I will admit after seeing his father's death in Captain American: Civil War, I was concerned to see if Black Panther's coronation would parellel the comic. Well, it did the comic justice. But against the comic book, I did love that we didn't have to be in Harlem. I almost thought Harlem was going to end up Mecca for most of Marvel black characters. Oh and there is one line I love, "Hey Auntie"! It was shady & hilarious and I agreed.

The Bad:
Oh, I'm versed in the Hudlin & Priest runs of the Black Panther comic. So, one of my bad parts stems from that. I get that the storyline of Nakia couldn't be the same as the comic.

I still wished we had a glimmer of her comic personality. Comic Nakia is the same loyal but with a little more vigor. Nakia was more subdued than I wanted her to be. Ok, let's talk death scenes. They are uneven. I felt for only two deaths in the movie. It was the first death seen & second to the last(not that one, the one during the big battle) death seen. The second to last death, made me say, "You Son of a B-" in the theater. But one was very anit-climactic. The reveal of the death was better. The rest are death scenes you kinda expect. Smoother death scenes could have been seen.

The Diva:
I don't have a lot of Diva moments from this movie, but I am still Excited to share them. Again women were handling life the best in this movie. But Shuri was my favorite. She was openly living life as a young lady nerd working in STEM field of Wakanda. She wasn't a dowdy & awkward stereotype.

Also, I am training with every piece of hair I own to protect me at all cost. LoL I'll need them in Wakanda. I also will be making a trip to Burlington to buy several coats & jackets. I have plans to become Mrs M'baku. I saw Winston Duke, who plays M'baku the leader of the Jabari tride on the purple carpet at the Black Panther premiere and I instantly added him to the Eye Candy list. He's Handsome, 6'5", and Thick. And who's idea that had him sitting on the Jabari throne in the "Come & Get It" stance? The thirst in me thanks you. Yep, Diva keeps a crush on somebody.

Black Panther is a very good movie. I plan to see it as often as possible & buy the physical & digital copies, so I can go to Wakanda as often as I like. It is that good!!! And as soon as Southwest Airlines opens travel space for trips to that nice land, I'm getting me a ticket. Then I can get a true glow-up. LoL

As Always Talking to You In Adult Terms

A Roller Coaster Ride with This Week’s News (Don't Mind My Emotions)

I have been happily excited, sympathetically angry, and intensely sad this week. I don't know about you guys but my emotions need a break from all forms of news (pop culture, local, national, & international). I refused to turn my TV on this morning to get dress, just in case something else set me off.

Ok 1st a little personal good news!!! God Loves Me!!! It is July and the weather today was close to my approved weather range (Low of 65, High of 75).

I know soon I will be back wishing for an ice water IV but it was so nice today.

Let’s keep prayers and positive energy towards the families of the victims of MH17, witnesses to the calamity and all involved in investigating this tragedy. Yesterday my mood was drab and this was sinking it even further. Plane crashes are so horrible. A missile hit this one and that is worse. As I heard reports of people seeing bodies fall found the sky, I laid my head down to cry. The dead were from at least 10 countries with the majority, 189, Dutch. Some of the victims on board were prominent HIV/AIDS researchers and officials traveling to Melbourne, Australia, for the 20th International AIDS conference starting this weekend. The HIV/AIDS, the conference will go ahead as planned and will include opportunities to reflect and remember those that were lost.

Oh but this was not the only news story dealing with death that shook my emotions. Ok I will go on record and say I do not understand the high butt price tags on funerals. I have considered (still thinking) put in my files to be cremated when I travel from this world to the next. Well thanks to the Johnson Family Mortuary in Fort Worth, TX, I need my loved ones to be on alert in making sure whatever services are provided for my remains are carried out properly. 8 decaying bodies (2 being still born babies) left in their care for cremation. Five of the eight have been identified. These bodies was found by the landlord of the building that houses the mortuary. The property owner said he told the brothers to vacate the building two weeks prior because they were in arrears with the rent. He found the decomposing bodies Tuesday, but no workers. One body was a woman that had been there since April. One woman thought she had her mother’s remains only to be contacted that her mother was still at the funeral home. I get angry when I hear updates on this case. My heart breaks for the families. Operators of the Johnson Family Mortuary have been arrested and charged for several counts of abuse of corpse. Abuse of a corpse is a Class A misdemeanor. It’s punishable by up to a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. Please let justice be served, please.

Okay let’s talk about some good news of the week. Okay Thor finally ticked his daddy off enough for someone else to be worthy to lift the hammer, Mjölnir. Thor will now be a woman. Her name and face will be revealed, this fall. Also, Sam Wilson a*k*a The Falcon will become Captain America. The 6^th Captain America had the Super-Soldier Serum drained from his system as part of an attack by the Iron Nail and become his natural age. Steve Rogers will be elderly. Falcon will take on the job in October and will serve as the full-time Captain America for the foreseeable future. While there have been other replacements for Rogers before, Wilson will be the first Black American to appear as the title lead in the monthly Captain America comic. So, you know the bigoted and “must stay the same” Fan Boys (some Girls) and movie-only Fans (who don’t know the real history) are upset. I am happy!!!

Let’s talk Thor. Number 1: That day had to come. These reason for this whole adventure was because Odin thought Thor needed humility. Thor is a privileged brat that need a few lessons  Also the fact, he has disobeyed daddy a few times. Just his coming & staying put in Asgard is an issue. Like many parents, Odin gets tired and has to show Thor some tough love. Number 2: The inscription of Mjölnir reads: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."  Whosoever is the first word of importance. He is a word like some of the uses of man in the Bible. It is representative of mankind not gender. So why can a woman be worthy if she is the whosoever. The power is in the hammer. If a woman is creditable to obey Odin’s commands and accept the responsibilities, she can be Thor. 

Okay Captain American is easier. Where on the vial (maybe vials) of Super Strength serum, that has been in put several bodies, says it was for one race of people only? I’ll wait. As I wait for that racist dribble, let me say it again. I am excited. Time for some change.

I can't wait for Anthony Mackie (a member of Team Eye Candy) to wear the Captain America uniform in the movies, one day. *swoon*Oh gay comic book fans, watch and learn because when they make Batman (Only said his name because of a retweet quote on Twitter. Not my original idea) homosexual, the narrow minded are coming. Sad part is it is fiction. None of it is true. I didn’t know fake stories were limited to rules, too. That is a weird concept to even think about.

Some of best news other than God Loves Me, All the Time, this week is Weird Al Yankovic has a new album. If you ask me the best musical geniuses of music will probably be Prince at number 1 and Weird Al somewhere in the top 5. I love Weird Al Yankovic’s music. The topics he uses to parody pop hits are brilliant and hilarious. His latest, "Mandatory Fun" is playing in my ears as I type this post. Weird Al released a video of  five of his new songs on several pop culture websites such as, Nerdist and Funny or Die every day this week. My favorite is “Word Crimes”. That is the video at the beginning of the post.  As a hypocritical word Nazi (I will admit. I have grammar issue too. This post is probably full of them. But there are people in this world that need to be shaken silly for the stuff they type and say), this song is a refreshing belly laugh. Glad to see a famous person see it also. It think his parody make the vile song it is patterned after almost tolerable. He also has a polka medley of some of most popular songs in the recent past like “Call Me Maybe”, “Wrecking Ball”, and “Timber”. It is cute. Good to hear Weird Al Yankovic is back with some music. Music needs satire and he great at that.

So maybe next week, I'll be able not to be so sensitive to the news. I guess this week makes me seem not as impassive as I want to be. LoL Whatever, you guys know I wear my heart on my sleeve. That’s where it belongs.

Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms