Maria Maggenti

So, yesterday I got the new issue of Domino magazine, and there is an article showing Maria Maggenti's house. A bunch of beautiful pictures, along with very minimal text. But the article says that Ms. Maggenti wrote and directed both "The Incredible Adventure of 2 Girls In Love" and "Puccini For Beginners." So I figure, Hmmm, this woman probably plays for our team, especially since the article did not mention a partner of any sex.

Tonight I did a little online research on her and found that yes, she is a bisexual woman who is very active in the film community as far as getting financing for independent films, securing benefits for film artists, and promoting women in film-making. She also has a history in AIDS activism, back when the disease was newly discovered.

All that, combined with the gorgeous handmade painting she made of Gloria Steinem, and I am very impressed. How did I not know of her before? Well, regardless, I will certainly be keeping an eye out for anything new from this lady.

Here she is giving Domino a tour of her pretty California house:
http://www.dominomag.com/howtos/advice/video/2009/02/maria_maggenti

Check her out on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2oX27y8dTI&feature=related


And be sure to rent or buy "Puccini For Beginners"! It's really cute!

Movie: The Women

Last weekend, my gf, my friend and I watched "The Women." I had Netflixed it based on the recommendation of my boss. What little I had heard about the movie when it came out, as far as I could recall, hadn't been very positive. Actually, I was just reading right now that The Women Film Critics Circle named the movie in their Top 10 Hall of Shame for 2008. Oops.

Oh, well! I liked it! For a few reasons: it was based on a play that was written by a woman in the 1930's. It was re-written by a woman, Diane English, who also directed it along with a mostly female cast. Annette Benning was fantastic. Cloris Leachman was adorable. Jada Pinkett Smith made a very good lez. Bette Midler had a cameo and was both cute and kind of freaky.

Yes, the central story was about a husband's infidelity and that was boring to me. Debra Messing's make-up looked really awful most of the time. And something is seriously wrong with Meg Ryan's face. She looks like a Muppet. My gf admitted that Meg was one of her first crushes, and she was definitely turned off by how she looks now. Bummer!

But whatever. Don't put too much importance on it, it's just a movie! In an entertainment environment that loves Ben Stiller and Judd Apatow, at least for a couple hours we can watch a film that was made by women, starring only women, and see some pretty sweet moments about love between women.

New Year, New Soundtrack!

Happy New Year!

I've made my first new playlist of 2009. It was about time! I don't think I'd made one since September, and that's much too long. ;) Here it is!

1) Rocky Took A Lover - Bell X1
2) Lights Out - Santogold
3) Magic - Ladyhawke
4) Jump In The Pool - Friendly Fires
5) Lay Your Head Down - Keren Ann
6) Being Here - The Stills
7) Ghosts - Ladytron
8) Spaceman - The Killers
9) LES Artistes - Santogold
10) Electric Feel - MGMT
11) Cheap and Cheerful - The Kills
12) Anything, Anything - Dramarama
13) Don't Cry - Asia
14) Pressure Suit - Aqualung
15) She's Not Around - The Chevelles
16) Wish I - Jem
17) Red Sea - Asobi Seksu
18) Sweet Jane - Mott the Hoople

Of course, I've got my new favorite Santogold songs on there, as well as a handful of other songs I've been hearing lately on 89.3 the Current. A couple throw-back songs, per usual-- Asia, and Dramarama, who I only know a bit about. But they have Edie Sedgwick on a couple of their album covers and in their song "What Are We Gonna Do" they sing about April 21st (which is my birthday), so that's a good start! Then a few more songs I've liked for a year or two but never had on a playlist. And lastly another throw-back by Mott the Hoople, a great cover of the Velvet Underground.