1. It is so hard to relate the good works of Jim Jones's early years to what a shitshow Peoples Temple became.

2. The irony that a man who did not believe in God wanted to, and did, become a famous minister is not lost on me. I am sure there are thousands of them that preach just to get attention, power or push an agenda.

3. This is like watching a slow-moving train crash. I know what will happen and I cannot look away.

It's time for another nonfiction read, and after watching the People Magazine Investigates: Cults episode on Jonestown, I had to have this book. I also just finished 2 seasons and all the specials on Leah Remini's show on scientology so I'm on a cult binge anyway. This book has good reviews. Can't wait to learn more details about the largest mass suicide in modern history.

I laughed, and I grimaced, and I ran a gamut of other emotions, from surprise, to disbelief, to pain and sympathy.

I stated to follow a print while listening because at first I did not always catch what Fisher was saying. There was much pausing, and after a while I kept doing it because there are minute differences here and there.

This is a very interesting lady. What astounded me the most is her capacity to write her 19-year-old self, with all the embarrassment and self-doubt. It's powerful enough to make you uncomfortable by proxy.

Back then I was always looking ahead to who I wanted to be versus who I didn’t realize I already was, and the wished-for me was most likely based on who other people seemed to be and the desire to have the same effect on others that they had had on me.

She writes an almost nude picture of herself, the good, the bad, the WTF (and there were many, many instances where I went WTF), the petty, the shy, the self-aware, the painfully young. There is this sense of "I'm at the last part of the slide, and I have little fucks left to give" mixed with the "still want to be liked".

There is a lot about her relationship with the character, a lot mixed feelings that in the end, amount to mostly positive.

“You were my first crush.” I heard it so much I started asking who their second one was. We know what a first crush is to a teenager, but what does it mean to a five-year-old?
“But I thought you were mine! That I had found you—I was the only one who knew how beautiful you were—because you weren’t beautiful in that usual way women in film are, right?”
He realizes that I might take what he’s saying wrong. He doesn’t mean it that way. I reassure him, touch his arm; why not give him an anecdote? “I know what you mean, it’s fine. Go on.”
He checks my face to see if I mean it. I do. He continues, “So my friend, when I tell him about my crush, he goes, ‘Oh yeah, she’s awesome! I have a total crush on her, too. Everyone does.’ I got upset. I coulda punched him.”
“Why?”
“Because you were mine and I wanted to be the one who loved you. Me, maybe even help you . . .” He got embarrassed. “Anyway—I wanted to tell you.” He shrugs, then adds, “Thanks for my childhood,” and walks off. Wow, what a thing to be given credit for, to be thanked for! Because he didn’t mean his whole childhood—he meant the good bits. The parts he escaped to.

It was a weird and nostalgic ride.

If you can find a common language that runs from five to eighty-five, you’ve got yourself something, and Star Wars fans have something.

The Making of Dual Mania: "Filmmaking Chicago Style" is coming soon, baby! In fact, the literary work of nonfiction paying homage to the upcoming motion picture, Dual Mania, will drop on the same day as Reviews by Cat Ellington: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 2.

Stay tuned, baby!

Concerning the cover art for my brand new nonfiction book series, Reviews by Cat Ellington: The Complete Anthology, it had been my initial idea to feature a collection of watercolor flowers in the bibliography's cover art details. But unfortunately, those plans were forced to change as I was unable to secure the specific art effects that would have been required. 

Thankfully, there was a plan B. A plan B that I mused about for weeks. In the event that I was unable to obtain all of the supplies that I would need for the considerable series, then I would move forward with a set of preexisting artworks in their place. And that is exactly what I did, what I moved forward.

Rather than having an assemblage of watercolor flowers feature on the covers of the Reviews by Cat Ellington Complete Anthology series, Quill Pen Ink Publishing instead commissioned a watercolor graphic showcasing a pair of full lips in an array of bright, vivid colors on a painted black background. In point of fact, the full, painted lips are meant to reflect my very own. And this cover art theme, simple, yet eclectic, has been selected by Quill Pen Ink Publishing to solely represent its literary catalogue in the Reviews by Cat Ellington series.

During the time that I was fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years of age, I would read Jet magazine and Ebony magazine and fantasize about working for the late, great Eunice W. Johnson and assisting her with the Fashion Fair Cosmetics line. Naturally, it had been the lipstick collection that I wanted to oversee - mainly because I love lipstick to a fault. And I wanted to be the one with the sauce to render each shade its very own name. Incidentally, I also entertained the same fantasies where it pertained to the lipstick lines of both Posner and Flori Roberts. I had always thought out loud, 'Oh, I would love to be able to name some of these lipstick shades!' I always imagined what names I would have given all of those gorgeous shades had it been my job to do so. Because I was simply awed by the identities of some of my favorite brands, including Posner's "Get Down Brown," "Blast off Burgundy," "Monte Carlo Red," and "High Kickin' Wine." I was a giddy fool for Flori's "Cinnamon Coffee," "Jungle Fuschia," "Raspberry Sizzle," "Forever Red," and "Purple Flame," just to name a few. I have always believed, even to this very day, that it must be so much fun for the person who has the job of naming cosmetic lines. And that is why I have elected to live out my dream through the cover art for the Reviews by Cat Ellington Complete Anthology series.

For every volume in the ongoing analytical series, I have personally named the shades of each pair of painted lips that will feature on the cover art. For the first release, Reviews by Cat Ellington: The Complete Anthology, Vol. 1, I have named the shade "Sultry Cerise," due to its passionate intensity; and for Vol. 2, I have chosen to name its bluesy hue "Robin's Egg," in honor of my dearly beloved Tiffany & Co.

As was indicated earlier, the color-coded cover art for each individual volume in the entire anthological series of Reviews by Cat Ellington has been graced with its very own unique identity. And I am over the moon with excitement; for it is a dream come true.

My dear men and women, I do hope that you all will enjoy this series and have just as much fun with it as I am. Say, hey, who's the REAL queen of shade, huh? Huh?! (Laughs) Oh, I'm just jivin, I'm just jivin'. Say, hey, here's to ya!