The Anatomy of "The Friendship"

This is a drawing I made after talking to my BFF / Actual Sister this morning.  As a fellow sailor-lady,  she really gets it when I start talking nautical (I think...).  I relate boat parts / practices to real-life situations a lot, I find it fun even though most of my land lubber friends have no clue what I mean.  The drawing is way too small here, but if you simply click, it will become large enough for you to view the fine details of "The Anatomy of The Friendship Vessel".  Here's a handy legend to help you follow my philosophy of this wonderful concept (moving clockwise from the top left) :

A.) MAST : The mast is the friend that keeps the boat working. They are the center of the vessel and the strongest member of "The Friendship". They hold all the power of wind and lines, control the sails, and ultimately are the strength and durability of the vessel. The one downside is, they get struck by lightning first. 

B.) JIB SAIL : The Jib is secondary to the Main but is still one of the most integral friend's on the boat. They push the vessel when there is little to no wind and have a larger square footage then the Main, making them careful pals of safety. Although you don't always need a Jib, you should always have one. They are easy to control and are adjustable to your needs. The Jib helps you stay on course tightly and in a straight line. 

C.) LIFE LINES : On a seaworthy vessel you must use life lines. Life lines aren't a part of the sailing process, but they are the pals that catch you when you're slipping on the decks. They completely incase The Friendship and ensure you that you will not be victim to a "man-overboard" scenario. Sometimes life lines aren't reliable and can snag and break, which means you really must take care of them, too, or else you could be overboard in an instant!

D.) WING KEEL : The Keel is completely under-rated because you cannot see it while aboard The Friendship. But - you can feel it's power under sail or at bay.  The keel is the heaviest and most stable component of The Friendship, keeping you balanced and weighted even under the biggest squalls and whitecaps. The Keel is the most reliable pal on The Friendship. 

E.) RUDDER : Like the Keel, the Rudder is also underwater. You control the Rudder with the Tiller or Wheel, but it moves in the opposite direction from how you steer.  This pal keeps you going in the right direction and works toward the direction of your chosen course. Without the rudder, The Friendship cannot be managed at all.  The one downside for this pal is: they can be completely impossible to harness in storms and very heavy winds. 

F.) WENCHES : Although Wenches seem like pains in the ass most of the time, they are important in helping the Jib sail on The Friendship. They aren't very reliable under extreme pressure and can lock-up, cause your lines to break, and even cause some of your most able crew to lose fingers or arms if they get caught in a snag. Youch! Treat your wench pals with care, they can harm you faster than a lightning bolt in a storm. 

G.) BOOM : The Boom has it's name for a reason. It is the pal that stabilizes the Main sail, and moves with it. It really has no mind of it's own at all, and stays underneath the Main all of the time. The Boom can be hard to move around, because it is bulky and takes up a lot of headroom when you are trying to stand up tall on The Friendship. The namesake : When weather and wind become unpredictable, Boom can move from starboard to port so fast it may knock you in the head. Here, you would be left semi-unconscious wondering why the hell your Boom would hurt you so much. Or even worse, throw you overboard!

H.) MAIN SAIL : The Main Sail is the primary pal on The Friendship. Reliable, easy to maneuver, and classic, it provides the basic element of power for your vessel. The Main is your comfort, your "main" partner,  your best friend.  The Main is always used for smooth sailing, and can be reefed (made smaller) depending on conditions. The Main is the pal that fits just right, is simple, and the easiest element of The Friendship to get along with. 

There you go, 

Let's go sailing?

xxxooo

Current Obsession - Jean Seberg!

The later bio quote is from the place where you learn all about movies, IMDB. Probably my "most visited internet site". LOVE IT!

Or as I like to say, "films". Well, now we have both. But back in the day there was a certain distinction between art films and entertainment business movies. The "both" is hard to discern in this current Hollywood blockbuster-era that we are stuck in. But sometimes, late at night, on IFC you can still find "films", current ones at that. Or get you can get your butt signed up with Netflix or Blockbuster and you can find anything your little heart desires. Ahh, the power of escapism via moving pictures. Pure bliss!

It just so happens that my birthday (eh, birthdays are weird for me because I always feel older than I actually am, but that's a whole other blog...) anyway, back on track...on my "special day" there was a 24 hour run of Jean Seberg films on TCM. Even though Ted Turner owns most of the universe and I can't really stand that (except for the fact that he donated a ba-million-ga-gillian bucks to the UN, stating that "one man should not have as much money as him",) I am somewhat proud of his older-films/movies-all-the-time channel. This was a monumental event for ACTUAL GOLD, considering it was the first time Jean Seberg's movies had been featured on TV. 

I wonder...a connection? Her sailor style meshed perfectly with faux-French sensibilities. The chain smoking. The half-smile. And of course, her signature shorter than short hair-do. HAIRSPIRATION ALERT!!! I love her. I love "Breathtless" most of all, but "Lillith" comes in second. 

"Educated at Iowa University, this blonde actress landed the title role in Otto Preminger's Saint Joan (1957) after a much-publicized contest involving some 18,000 hopefuls. The failure of that film and the only moderate success of her next, Bonjour tristesse (1958), combined to stall Seberg's career, until her role in Jean-Luc Godard's landmark feature, À bout de souffle (1960), brought her renewed international attention. Seberg gave a memorable performance as a schizophrenic in the title role of Robert Rossen's Lilith (1964) and was directed by husbandsFrançois Moreuil, in La récréation (1961), and Romain Gary, in Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (1968).

Later in her life Seberg became involved in anti-war politics and was the target of an undercover campaign by the FBI to discredit her because of her association with several members of the Black Panther party. She was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a Paris suburb in 1979."

Actually Doing It

So, what does it take to make a lady happy 'round these parts?  Not much, actually. This week A LOT of FUN has happened and will continue to (keeping fingers crossed!!!) with the nation's B-day being right around the bend. That's right, 4th of July in the south = pink lemonade, cheap bear, BBQ, and beach blanket bingo ( I WISH!!!).  More specifically...

1. Friday eve performance / friendship 'date' to see "Speed the Plow" at the Red Barn Theater. My pal Isabel is the female lead and she is sooo talented! The show will run through mid-July and you should TOTALLY go see it. I can't wait! I will have to write a more 'structured review' to encourage more folks to go. It's pricey, but for Wilmington it's remarkable that it is even here!

(note: A friendship 'date' isn't a normal 'date'. It's waaaay better. You just go out with a BFF INSTEAD of a potential love interest. SO MUCH FUN! No anxieties over "what you should or shouldn't do", no worries over your eyeliner being smudged from humidity, and NO HEELS. Whooot!)

2. Saturday afternoon/eve 5-9pm : CUCALORUS Membership Drive / FUN-raiser / Submission Fest at Jengo's Playhouse!!! 

The parties at Jengo's are ALWAYS the bee's knees. Mr. Dan Brawley and his go-gettin' team of film enthusiasts have planned a grande Uncle-Sam's Day! With good foods, fun folks, and all sorts of fun activities, it's sure to be a SMASH. I'll be there with my mighty sewing machine and with YOUR help WE are gonna "re-make, re-do, and re-create" the American Flag! COOL, huh?!!!?? I'm super super super excited! Then at dark, there will be a bike parade to downtown to catch the fireworks firing off the Battleship. HELL YES! 

SO, go out! HAVE FUN!!! Meet new friends! Support the Arts in our community! What could be more important than art? duh!

love u, mean it - 

xoxoxo