Heidi McCrary's Blog, page 5
February 1, 2021
RADIUM GIRLS
60 Second Movie Review – RADIUM GIRLS
For those of you who remember analog watches, you’ll recall how many glowed in the dark. I would camp out in the closet of my bedroom, watching the soft glow of my watch, staring in wonderment at the neon light—dreaming of acquiring a jar of the paint so that I could add it to my clothes and radiate in the dark like a shimmering fashion model. As I grew older, my time-piece eventually became digital, and I gave little thought to my glowing memories of my watch that glistened in the dark.
Radium Girls – a movie that premiered on Netflix this past December is a movie based on the true story of a group of young ladies working in a factory in the 1920s, painting radium onto the faces of watches. Told the substance was harmless, they licked the brushes with each stroke in order to give the brushes a fine tip. Off-hours, they also added the glowing paint to their fingernails and faces, believing what they had been told by factory management, that radium was healthy.
A powerful story that shines a light on a true-life event, and the women who fought to reveal the deadly effects of radium. Radium Girls is a must-watch.
January 10, 2021
Well, the woman in the foreground is interesting…
Long before I was born, the barn we played in was originally the Alamo Valley Creamery, owned by our grandparents, and the largest employer in Alamo in 1897. There are very few photos of the creamery, however, with a simple Google search, we happened upon this… A painting by Post-Modernist artist, Richard Allen George (Illinois/Ohio 1935-1990).
This original work depicts The Alamo Valley Creamery. In the foreground, a shapely nude woman in stiletto heels can be seen feeding chickens from a bucket while coverall clad dairy farmers look on in the distance. The work is rendered in a palette of muted neons and is signed in lower right. The artwork sold for $1,910.00.
January 2, 2021
Is Anyone Listening?
Recent posts on my Facebook newsfeed…
FB Friend 1: Have you noticed that Facebook has totally taken control of comments they don’t agree with? I think it’s high time to boycott!!
FB Friend 2: I’m one of the many that will be deleting my FB account. Catch up with me on MEWE, it’s very much like FB, very easy to learn!
There were more similar posts on my newsfeed, but this gives you a snapshot of the volatile temperature currently permeating throughout Facebook and other mass-social media platforms in recent weeks.
If America is seen as the melting pot of immigrants from across the world, our personal newsfeeds on Facebook can be viewed as the mirror of our individual neighborhoods—our own little virtual world, complete with former classmates, third cousins, professional associates, and the uncle who you pray you won’t have to sit next to at the next family gathering. But unlike assigned seating at wedding receptions, we can customize our interaction with our Facebook Friends with options like who sees our posts and the ever-faithful Unfollow option.
While many will attribute the vastness of Facebook as its downside, its size can (and should) also be applauded for what is right about a social media platform that doesn’t cater to any one belief. But this thought process is not currently being shared by those landing on the far-right of the political spectrum.
FB Friend 3: Going to Parler. Tired of the BS big FB brother restricting what I want to say.
FB Friend 4: The thing that bothers me about Facebook is that it is censoring the conservative voices.
But is there a difference between censorship and performing as a watchdog over conspiracy theories and what the conservatives themselves have penned as Fake News? While the world’s largest social media platform is now traded publicly, it is still a private company with a hands-on CEO who does not have to operate on the same standards as public institutions.
So as my newsfeed slowly shrinks from a wide spectrum of political voices to a more friendly common-voice, I mourn the loss of hearing from ALL SIDES. While these voices do not echo my own views, I believe it is important to hear opinions that differ from my own. And as my conservative friends move their battles to other social media platforms that support and encourage their principles, they are also fed a daily diet of sameness. It is bad for our country and dangerous for our future.
As temperatures cool as a result of time and distance away from the last general election, we must not think that the anger has simmered down—we just aren’t hearing it anymore. While we may all have a voice today, no one seems to be listening.
Heidi McCrary is a writer and a regular contributor to Moxie Magazine. Her novel, Chasing North Star is available now at Kazoo Books, This is a Bookstore, and online wherever books are sold. Follow Heidi at facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor
November 19, 2020
Was There an Upside to 2020?
To say the least, 2020 has been a rollercoaster that seems to be traveling in only one direction…down. It might be easy to simply wish this year away, and hope that on January 1, 2021, we all wake up from what we can collectively call, “a year that sucked.”
But as I walked through my neighborhood this past autumn, a family pedaled past me, and the young boy laughed at his sister who was proudly riding a bike just recently void of training wheels. As I passed a house, I pick up a tomato from a table set in the front yard. On the small stand, read a sign, Please take one. An elderly gentleman waved to me from his front porch as I continued my walk.
Good or bad, this year has changed us all. While I don’t pretend it hasn’t come without serious consequences, it also came with a positive wave that we cannot ignore. We’re strong, and we will rebound from a global event that has knocked us off our feet. As I set down my rose-colored glasses, I can still see the upside to 2020.
This is the year families rediscovered their local golf course, introducing their children to an outdoor activity that had been on the decline in recent years. This is the year neighbors reconnected, setting up chairs on the front porch and actually sitting in those chairs.This is the year we elected our country’s first female Vice President.This is the year many people found time to pick up a book again, and discovered the delightfully quirky Schitt’s Creek or enjoyed binge-watching all seven seasons of The West Wing on Netflix. This is the year many women found their roots—literally. And decided to celebrate their natural grey.Perhaps, as we look back, we can say, “I lived through 2020 and I’m a better person for it.” Here’s to 2021. Let’s all hope it’s a little less… surprising.
Heidi McCrary is a writer and a regular contributor to Moxie Magazine. Her debut novel, Chasing North Star is now available at Kazoo Books, This is a Bookstore, and Schuler Books. And online wherever books are sold.
Follow Heidi at heidimccrary.net and facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor
November 2, 2020
I AM WOMAN
After watching Judy, the movie about Judy Garland’s rise and fall in Hollywood, it seemed only natural that I follow it up with I am Woman, now airing on Netflix, and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey. She portrays Australian pop singer, Helen Reddy as she rises to pop stardom while accidentally creating the anthem for the woman’s movement in the 70’s. The movie spans from 1966 as she struggles to start up a singing career, to 1989 as she and thousands of women march in Washington D.C. in the pursuit of women’s rights and the ERA.
The singing is as powerful as the message in I am Woman —reminding us of the many hits that climbed the charts during her long career. Instead of leaving the usual link to the movie preview, I’m going to leave you with the original invincible woman, singing “I am Woman” – a song that is as relevant today as it was then.
October 4, 2020
:60 Movie Review – JUDY
Based on the life of Judy Garland, the movie Judy, stars Renée Zellweger in the title role, and follows Garland’s later years as she attempts to jumpstart a stalled career by taking advantage of her still-adoring fans in London, England.
Zellweger chews through each scene with all the subtlety of a 1940’s screen-diva… and it works. She disappears into her character, allowing us to lose ourselves as we watch the last hurrah of Judy Garland’s life in the limelight. We’re also treated to several flashbacks of Garland in her younger years, giving us a glimpse into the hardship she experienced growing up under the microscope of Hollywood, which had little regard for children. Judy is a beautiful, sad story, and one that will have you watching The Wizard of Oz in a new harsh light.
Side note: that’s actually Zellweger singing most of the tunes, garnering her an Oscar win for Best Actress. Judy is available now as part of Amazon Prime subscription.
By Heidi McCrary.
Follow McCrary on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor
August 28, 2020
Download Taylor Swift’s new song for FREE!
The following post appeared on my Facebook feed the other day, posted by an author who unabashedly leans left on the political spectrum… “Do you want to read The Room Where it Happened by John Bolton? Here it is in its entirety. Just don’t buy it and help to line Bolton’s pockets.” This post contained a PDF attachment of the digital version of the book in its entirety. In the spirit of enforcing copyright laws, Facebook quickly removed the PDF attachment, leaving anyone who clicked on her post, with a message that the contents had been removed.
While I understand the frustrations of this person, who feels that Bolton has no right to profit from his book due to his refusal to share this information during the Presidential Impeachment trial, I am perplexed with a writer championing the idea of giving away the intellectual property of an artist… even a politician.
The issue of the unpaid artist is not a problem only with writers. This conundrum involves musicians, graphic designers, painters, photographers, and anyone providing a service that can easily be shared digitally. How often have we shared a photo that we retrieved from the World Wide Web, with little thought of where the source originated, and with even less regard to how this artist is losing profit from each click of the Download button.
“I can’t afford to pay you, but you will receive so much publicity by donating your (Insert craft here),” is a phrase often echoed by well-meaning people who think they are providing an opportunity, when in fact, they are simply perpetuating the belief that artists should be sharing their craft for free, and that the next person is the one who should be paying for their services.
This challenge for all artists is only getting worse, with the Internet providing so many avenues for the pirating of digital copies of art. While we may justify our actions by telling ourselves that the person we are stealing from is rich and will never miss our lack of contribution for their product, the truth is, it is harder today for the writer/artist/musician to profit from their craft due to the pirating of property that is done without thought or consequences. Why do we think it is OK to download the Taylor Swift song we lifted off of a questionable website? Perhaps, because we can. And is Taylor Swift really going to hurt from the one swipe of a song?
The answer is, Yes. The pirating of property from writers/artists/musicians is theft. It’s time we acknowledge this, and time to step up and pay for their services. As I embark on the publication of my first novel, I hope that literary enthusiasts will not share my property just because they may think that, “It’s just one copy.”
Here’s a thought… Let’s think twice before hitting the Download button on the Internet when given the opportunity to receive the beauty of art for free. The writer/artist/musician deserves our respect, and just as importantly, our payment for their services.
Heidi McCrary is a writer and a regular contributor to Moxie Magazine. Look for her debut novel, Chasing North Star September 29, 2020. Follow Heidi at heidimccrary.net and facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor
August 8, 2020
60 Second Book Review – ME BEFORE YOU
Published in 2012, I finally got around to reading the romance novel, ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes. It’s a good thing my friend placed the book directly in my hands, because the genre, Romance Novel doesn’t set off any MUST READ flags for me.
The premise isn’t complicated – and is a straightforward “Girl meets boy in wheelchair” story. While the road, ME BEFORE YOU travels down doesn’t contain many twists and turns, it does provide an ending that avoids clichés and an eye-rolling happily ever after. Instead, it lays bare what is most important for human kindness, and the difficult task of being selfless.
ME BEFORE YOU – An entertaining and thought-provoking read. Oh…and a romance.
Heidi McCrary is a writer and a regular contributor to Women’s LifeStyle. Look for her debut novel, Chasing North Star in September 2020. Follow Heidi at https://www.facebook.com/HeidiMcCraryAuthor
