Gingersnap

With April being National Poetry Month, Parish picked a convenient time to come to The Neon Movies. An astounding, vibrant piece of finely weaved storytelling and thoughtfully spoken artistry, this independent film centers on Brooklyn high school teen, Alike (pronounced ah-lik-e) an exceptionally good student and aspiring poet from a hard working middle class family. In her underground world, the shy girl hangs out with bold, outspoken, Laura, who has already proudly come out and lives with her sister. Alike, however, is much too afraid of such honesty and chooses to entrap herself with dual identities- switching from hood gear to chic fashion, she is trying to do right by parents, Arthur and Audrey, but it's her little sister, Sharonda that begins suspecting the truth first. Filled with hilarity, wit, and compassion, viewers follow Alike’s course of adolescence as she tries unsuccessfully talking to women, tests out her first strap on with Laurie’s aide, writes poetr...

The Yellow Trolley Chronicles Set in fictional Montgomery, Ohio, The Good Girl is about shy artist, dreamer, library aide, devout church goer, and avid bus rider, Josephine Huffman, a young, African American woman destined to go places. With low self esteem, a horrible upbringing, and addictive thirst for living vicariously in romance novels, her world takes a downward spin just as she’s on the brink of discovering her true worth and enjoying a sweet, blossoming companionship with Mick, a trolley bus driver who sees something special in her. The Bad Seed has Josephine taking art to places she always dreamed of. Finally attending art school in a new city and learning refreshing aspects about her beloved subject, she finds herself torn and isolated from peers and faculty while struggling to find creative identity. With studies not being difficult enough, commitment to an abusive, tumultuous relationship has her tasting darker sides of life, but a fiercely determined heart...

The second part of the ongoing REACH artist series at Sinclair Community College, James Pate's "Attack" charcoal drawing series is an exploration of the tempestuous beauty, alluring grace, and ferocious power in the African American female body. Opposing oppression and weakness, she is bold, brazen, and bare, her nude, voluptuous body a towering strength in every kinetically activated composition. A stunning companion to Linda Stein's "Fluidity of Gender: Sculpture" exhibit, Pate's sensuously captivating world of sleek, crisp lines and elegantly etched value structures showcase a woman clad not in clothing, but the fiery cloak of awareness in every fiber of her skin, telling the viewer that she needs no hero, no rescuer of the detrimental reality and terrifying peril. On the verge of being attacked and pursued by targeting minute airplanes, she pays the metaphorically crafted danger no mind, averting her gaze away, seeming disinterested, nonchalant, or ...

(Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority Trolley Circa 1996) As a kid, I loved riding the yellow bus. No. Not the school bus. The Dayton RTA trolley. Is it was always an adventure, especially around the holidays when Santa sat in the back seat handing out candy canes to eager children. Those days are long past. As well as the original trolley design. People frown heavily on public transportation- saying that it’s the poor man’s ride and that things are better efficient with a car! While there are pros and cons of every way of transport, I will always enjoy a good bus ride. With new environmentally friendly buses (they have trolley hybrids now!) and a cost effective way of saving money, buses, trains, and subways are certainly wonderful way to travel. Sometimes they can be late. At times very early. But I truly love buses and appreciate the people driving them. I especially enjoy long journeys and going the distance on buses I’ve never boarded. That of which I can do more of since recei...

I finally disclosed details about Library. On my friend's bus, we discussed this venture. Kind and very supportive, he was very passionate in his belief that with friends, prospective business partners, word of mouth, and generated buzz that this may very well succeed. One of a kind and uniquely original, this place could bridge different folks together and be resourceful yet fun to several generations of individuals. Library is one of many ventures in a series of planned objectives for me and I'm quite hesitant about it. The gist of it is still not completely sorted out yet, but for one thing, Library is only the tentative title. Not even sure it should be called that. However, I'm desperate to have its interior designed like a library- featuring stacks of shelves, books sorted by categories, little crook and cranny areas where people can hide and read books. Sort of like I used to when I worked at the library so long ago. Not trying to say that everyone's just like ...