Current time of day: Night Owl status, 10:30 pm
The biopic interpretation “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” based on the life and career of "The Voice," Whitney Houston was everything! I went to see it the day after Christmas with some family and we thoroughly enjoy it.
It gave us gorgeous film aesthetics, beautiful dupe costumes and grand set design all around a mini concert of Whitney's most loved music and performances.
The leading actress, Naomi Ackie hit all the lip synced notes, lbvs and the supporting cast really helped highlight how Nippy’s (Whitney’s nickname) most personal relationships lifted her up during her rise to stardom and how they contributed to her downfall of addiction, hope for recovery and ultimately accidental drug related death.
Her closest relationship storylines were developed in a light that gave us a more complete depiction of who and how they influenced Whitney's choices, unlike in the Lifetime biopic interpretation "Whitney" which headlined her toxic relationship with singer Bobby Brown. This storyline included her relationship to music noting her musical knowledge, her process for choosing the music she sang and how her gifted voice was also a factor in her drug abuse.
Whitney, like many of us, dealt with feelings of inadequacy that I saw a her having a sort of negative relationship with her voice and its abilities. In a later scene where Clive Davis, her record executive, expresses concern for Whitney’s well being so much as causing him meddle in the personal life of his artist by trying to convince her to go to rehab, she says something along the line of “to sing with the Gods, you need a ladder” as if her natural born gifted voice wasn't already so high up with the gods that she was truly untouchable. She thought the drugs gave her talent a boost, which it was doing the opposite and everyone could see it but her.
I really enjoyed the way the film wove together Whitney's personal life at the making of each hit, how she made the music and how the it made her. The sequences of reenacted music videos, concerts and rehearsals really was the icing on the cake of a biography picture for me! It gave moments of joy in between the hardships of having to change her appearance and the nature of her relationships to gain a following to being taken advantage of by family for solely for money.
"The Voice’s" real cataloged recordings were used, which I thought would make it difficult to lip sync over realistically but Naomi Ackie really got dressed and pulled for this role! She made it look as effortlessly as the greatest to ever do it, Ms. Whitney Houston herself! She brought such an amazing impersonation of Whitney's energy both off and on-stage. I say if you want to see this film, don't listen to the critics and go see and feel it for yourself.
Ranting & Raving Rating: 5 Stars!
Washing what seems like a galore of greasy bowls, measuring cups and utensils after whipping a batch of shea butter is literally the least fun part of the process and yet seeing the space once it’s all clean is one the most rewarding parts.
Still, tho, where is the genie in the bottle to magically wish clean the oily pile of craft dishes when you need it? Or a good clean up crew to come through?!
To say a shop assistant would be nice is an understatement and a goal at the same damn time!
Signed sadly,
Dirty Dishes Diana
]]>The other day I post on my Instagram page (@mah.shees.shea) that I didn't know which part of our Botanical Body Butter crafting process was more tedious-- infusing the herbal oils or cleaning the product jars and bottles?
The more I think about it,... click to read on.
]]>The more I think about it, it's definitely cleaning the jars! This has been a crucial step in the process for me-- I'm intentional about my sh*t! Product containers come from large dusty warehouses and go through a chain of others by way the shipping process before they even make it to my studio for products.
Working with amber glass, every container is hand washed in hot soapy water and heat sanitized. Doesn't that feel good to know? I think it should. That's integrity. That's a reflection of good intentions. And as the saying goes, "Cleanliness is Godliness."
Signing off with a clean conscience,
MaShe
p.s. Relaunch OTW 11/11 💜
]]>How is your skin handling the seasonal transition? It's that time of year to switch up your skin care routine--so I'm back with the butters! You know I can only stay gone for so long 😉.
I've been very busy preparing ingredients, packing materials and collecting some new goodies for the relaunch-- which will be very soon! I don't want to disclose a specific date, yet, because I'm a Mother of two young children, a spouse and involved in some community projects. Plus, fall and winter are seasons of rest and hibernation, we should all slow down and get with that program, right!
In the meantime, subscribe to the email list and follow @mah.shees.shea on instagram!
Signing off with much gratitude for ALL the love and support over the years.
Xoxo,
MaShe
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