Beautiful

Mark and I went and saw a $1 movie today (Tropic Thunder it was over-the-top, but fun!). We walked into the theater and there were about 5 people in the theater. I typically don’t make a habit of sitting so close to people if the theater is so empty, but what appeared to be a father and his 15-year old daughter were sitting right about the very spot in the center that I would have picked. So we sat in the row behind them over to their right.

And as I was scooting in, the girl turned around and said: “Excuse me ma’am.” I thought I hit her head or something, so I was preparing to say “sorry” or some equivalent. I replied simply: “Uh, yeah?” And softly and sweetly, she said: “You are beautiful.”

I nearly dropped my drink, turned and looked at Mark. And uttered back: “Wow…. Thank you!” I was in sweats, no makeup and messy hair, and a teenaged girl told me I was beautiful. I was stunned. So I giggled a bit. She engaged me further as if polling for my reaction by saying: “Are you laughing because I said that?” Mark chimed in and said: “She will be laughing off and on for a week because you said that.”

I told her she totally made my day to be given such a compliment by such a beautiful girl as her. She then started into what seems to be our (read: most females’) mantra after receiving such a gift of a compliment: “Oh my hair is such a mess, and I…..” but then she kinda trailed the mantra off and simply replied: “Thank you.”

I was amazed by this exchange. That kind of compliment isn’t something I hear often even when I feel like I look absolutely smashing. And I don’t think that girl had any sort of ulterior motive — I couldn’t imagine what it would be if she did have one — she just made my day. And I am truly grateful for that.

Mark and Kelly at the DPA

Funny Dreams

Mark woke up and said he had a dream last night that I just had to share. He said that we bought a talking hutch, but we didn’t know it talked until we got it home. And when it talked it sounded like Roseanne Barr. He said he found himself more worried that it wouldn’t talk to him than worrying it wouldn’t shut up.

That had us rolling in laughter before we got out of bed.

Mine not as good was about a party that I went to where we were all waiting to go to a KISS concert though I knew it wasn’t a concert for the real KISS but for a tribute band. My friends Chip and Marti were there though I didn’t know why since Stephen was my only friend I knew who liked KISS. I told everyone I was there since my brother, Rob, couldn’t be there. (Rob liked KISS when we were growing up, though I don’t think he likes them anymore.)

Yeah, see mine wasn’t as good as Mark’s. Though when he saw that I was writing about this, he said: “Oh, don’t write about that.” “Why?” I asked. “Because it is silly,” he said. And I hope you agree with me that THAT is the point!

A Clever Assessment of Me

I love little personality tests. And this one was just unique enough to share on my blog. I would say it is pretty correct except for one little thing. I will see if you can figure out what that one little thing is.

The Brilliance of Turner Classic Movies

Watching the comedic brilliance of Charlie Chaplin today. Courtesy of Turner Classic Movies. I am glad to dress up my blog with TCM.com’s creativity.

[clearspring_widget title=”TCM Photo Booth Widget” wid=”488e3b631c4bb065″ pid=”489470278f5be877″ width=”300″ height=”375″ domain=”widgets.clearspring.com”]

Apparently, this will change everyday to feature the actor that TCM is focusing on for that day.

Who is your favorite classic actor? And what moment completely captures why you like them so?

Ah — Those were the days!

LOOK at these photos I just scanned in!

I miss these b/w photo booths. Anyone know where any are now? They would totally have the black and white ones — the color ones make everyone and anyone look Horrible!!

So here is Chris and I AFTER dancing our butts off at the B-52s concert Dec. 13, 1989. Yes, my hair stayed up ALL night except for one little piece that Chris had to keep spraying back into place at the very top. He had a tiny bottle of hairspray in his Purse. Jenny did my hair with a styrofoam cone and 4.5 bottles of AquaNet (sorry for that one Ozone hole I am responsible for over Denton).

Kelly and Chris after the B-52s concert on Dec. 13, 1989

Riding down to the Bronco Bowl (RIP!) I had to sit with my head laying sideways on the back seat because my hair wouldn’t fit in the car otherwise. Chris and Chip (not pictured here unfortunately) were dressed in the craziest ’60s minidresses with TONS of makeup and cropped hairstyles.

As we were walking to our seats, some guy said: “You’re a Goddess and don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise.” (See how long I hang on to a great praise like that — almost TWENTY years!)

I wanted to RUN after him! If I had of caught him, I am sure I would be a divorced mom dealing with a gay ex-husband!! Thank GOD I didn’t run after him!! tee hee

Chris & Chip? Have anything to add?

Like stepping back in time….

I absolutely adored The Red Leather Diary!! Lily Koppel takes you with her right into the dumpster where she finds the steamer trunks with the flapper dresses, coats, telegrams and photos that surround a small red leather diary from the 1930s.

You then follow along on the journey of the young Florence as if you are her favorite pair of glasses that she would never be without as her deepest thoughts and desires are revealed day in and day out for 5 years.

Lily’s style transcends the written word in a picturesque way that aid as you visualize Florence’s journey through the streets of an exciting NYC. And I LOVED the addition of photos throughout the book, which continually validate Lily’s words.

What a dream to have been Lily — finding all these items AND finding a teenage Florence as a 90 year-old woman. This is the stuff of the best films come true to life. I hope they make a film together. It would be exquisite; I have no doubt.

Pick this up to journey back to a seemingly simpler way of life. And pick up your own diary and start recording your own thoughts and desires!!

BRAVO Lily and Florence!!!! Being the curious snoop that I am, I would LOVE to see the full manuscript of the diary exactly as Florence wrote it. Now That would be a fun and different way to read a book!!

“What would an old friend tell a new friend about you?”

Oh now THIS is a cool question. I have already had an old friend do this very thing…. Calvin Phelps, a friend of mine from our freshmen year in high school 1982, wrote a very cool blog about me at his blog: Sea-Fell

“Kelly J. Kitchens is one of the most gregarious people I have ever met. I have never seen her angry at another human being. I know she has to have her down days (like when she had the leak and it ruined all of her office, or the tumor, or the other MAJOR things), but she seems to always see the light through the tunnel. She is blessed to have met her soulmate Mark and to have a career of her choosing. When we were in high school, she was on yearbook where she, believe it or not, made up quotes and attributed them to me. Mostly things about David Sylvan & Japan or The Thompson Twins or other bands she loved. Point is, even then she was finding a way to promote her favorites in print. As a publicist, she has passion for the people and projects she takes on.”

I stopped making up quotes when I went to college to be a journalist. I like to think of myself as a former journalist who brings respectability, honesty and integrity to a sometimes questionable field like Public Relations.

IndieClub Gong Show — Sunday, June 22

Here is the latest of what I am working on. It will be a blast!! Come out and join us! See some Fabulous, some crappy (literally, too), and some on the fence films that you will help decide if they should play on at the DFW IndieClub Gong Show:

IndieClub.com presents the Third (sort of) Annual Gong Show

Sunday, June 22, 2008
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Studio Movie Grill-Dallas
11170 N Central Expressway at Royal Lane (NE corner)

The IndieClub Gong Show is a short-film showcase contest.

Featuring:
Emcee:
Mary Jo Pehl (MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000)

Celebrity Judges:

• Gini Mascorro (KERA’s new Art&Seek)
• Jack E. Jett (“QUEER EDGE”)
• Drew Waters (MAD MONEY, “INSPECTOR MOM”)
• Winston Edmondson (“Innovation@Work!” radio show)

Each film receives one minute of free play then the judges (with the audience’s help, of course) must decide the film’s fate. Play on through or GONG it!

DJ Modchap will provide interim music and keep the show lively as 18 films are screened!

Four cash prizes will be awarded at the end of the evening:

• 1st Place – $1,000
• 2nd Place – $500
• 3rd Place – $250
• Audience’s Choice – $500

Tickets may be purchased online at IndieClubGongShow.com or at the door. General admission is $10.00

Studio Movie Grill has a full dinner menu as well as adult beverages to enjoy during the show.

List of films in alphabetical order:
A/S/L
Airport
BBC Viral Videos
Bloom
Button Pusher
Drip Tease
Las Gafas
Gandhi At The Bat
Giant
Going Out In Style
Lamie De Zoe
Little Snaps of Horror
A Little Strange
The Outhouse
Pop Up Killer
The Proposal
Sir Francis Drake: The Queen’s Pirate
Stoyanova Incident

Special Thanks to our 2008 IndieClub sponsors:
Post Asylum, AFI Dallas, Westlake Entertainment, IFC, Duplium, DPA, Mentis Group, TM Television, and Elegant and Graceful

An amazing song!

This song by Cornelius called “Typerite Lesson” is so fabulous. It sounds like a 1950s typewriter lesson record mixed with a modern lounge background track, but it is even more poignant than that. You have to hear it.

Also, notice the scratches in the record –> cool, huh?? You know, I miss that sound actually. And I remember David, Patrick and Chip working so hard to take the scratches out of their recordings of vinyl records back in the ’80s. Ah, nostalgic sounds you don’t hear any more — You know what other sounds I miss? The whoosh of turning the dial on a rotary phone. Funny, huh? What sounds do you miss?

Typerite Lesson – Cornelius

“Which of your ancestors would you most like to meet?”

This is the perfect card for me to pull up on the Memorial Day weekend. There was a man on my Dad’s side of the family who sounds fabulously fascinating.

My Dad’s family has lived in Georgia and Alabama since the late 1600s. We always joked that he was the smart one who made it to Texas! His cousin, Judy, finished the Kitchens’ genealogy in the mid-1980s. But she has since passed away, and no one can seem to find their copy, I may have to amend this entry when I find out more truth.

But here is what I know I remember for our last Kitchens’ family reunion in 1989:

In 1672, my ancestor, John Elder was a stow-away  on a ship headed for the New World. When he got here he was put in indentured servitude for 7 years to pay back his passage from England. When he accrued so much debt from his indentured service, he was thrown down to Georgia (as it was the debtors colony at the time). He then became what was the equivalent of Georgia’s first governor (though he was probably not called that at the time).

All of that takes quite a bit of spunk! Because he HAD to of known what he was in for being a stow-away. But what a remarkable life, huh??

Another person I would have liked to have met on my Mom’s side was Dwight D Eisenhower. Somehow he is related on my mom’s Mom’s side. Pretty cool, huh?!