Writings by Diane

From the moment I heard the song " Where is the Love ?", it became my instant favorite. I was immediately drawn to the different styles of singing--Robert Flack's  smokey vocals paired well with Donny Hathaway's smooth baritone. Throughout the years, I have never grown tired of this song. The singers' voices had a bouncy and cascading quality to them. The instruments play effortlessly in perfect time with a steady, airy beat. I often wondered why this particular song changes my demeanor--I cannot be in a bad mood whenever I hear it! Though the song is about a love triangle, an entirely different association is in my mind. A childhood memory is conjured up: when I was a little girl, we would go to a grocery store when we lived in California. After the shopping was done, we would walk to the side of the building. There was a wind tunnel that was created by the way the neighboring building was positioned. As I put this song as the soundtrack to this memory, it fit...

A few days ago, as I listened to my Pandora's Comedy channel a routine by Robin Williams was aired. I smile sadly as I hear his manic and rapid fire delivery. In my opinion,  his ideas were bursting at the seams and he was always in a race to deliver his funny but true insights. I remember watching him first on Mork and Mindy and somehow my young mind knew the small screen couldn't contain this whirlwind of a comedian. I count many of his movies as favorites and fascinated by his range--he could be expectantly funny as in Mrs. Doubtfire and The Birdcage , then change the tone to serious at whiplash speed such as with Insomnia and The Final Cut . One of his movies that stuck with me is What Dreams May Come . It was not a box office hit, maybe due to its somber subject of death--after all 3 of the main characters die in rapid succession. However, I realized that the Afterlife is what the story is all about. How can you possibly arrive at the main plot without a smattering ...