Streams

Wrapped up my "intense" two day workweek! (Just happened that I'd have two days between the Rochester trip and Indie Memphis. Though my movie schedule this time didn't end up being so Friday-intensive as in the past, still nice to have a day off.) Then in the afternoon I finished reading Happy Days by Samuel Beckett which was quite good. At night, Mary Beth and I started in on the Indie Memphis movie watching. We didn't go to the opening ceremony but we were able to start making use of our streaming tickets and watched several movies, hooking 'em up on the big tv. We started with Bluff City Chinese and that was good (it's a documentary about exactly what it says it's about, the history of Chinese immigrants in Memphis). It had Sharon in it for a little bit. I wasn't expecting to see her in it, but I guess it's fun when there's someone you know in a movie, even for a little bit! Next we watched Our Movement Starts Here, a documentary about the history of Warren County, NC and the protests that started the environmental justice movement. I thought it was really well done. Next we watched It Was All a Dream, a documentary of archival footage by dream hampton with vhs interviews (or even just hanging out really) with a lot of the famous hip hop artists from 93 to 95 (likes of Notorious B.I.G., Method Man, Snoop Dog, etc.). There was a bit of the complicated feminist concerns coming out of it. It mostly takes the form of a rambling and reflective meditation. There is some voice over but not a whole lot. Mostly just a stream of snippets of old conversations or whatever. It was good. A lot of that era of mainstream hip hop isn't really my favorite, but I thought the movie was well made with some nice intimate snapshots or whatever. Last we watched was The Magic of LOC, a "documentary" (I guess) about LeMoyne–Owen College (the historically black college in Memphis). There were bits about its history, which I enjoyed, but overall it was just a big commercial or promotional/recruiting video. Anyway, now I'm off today and later will be seeing some Indie Memphis movies in some theaters!