Photo from our school’s annual musical, which was “Sugar” in 1975.  Belinda Petrin is my birth name.

Tru here.  I already started my listing of favorite songs in 2015, but need to further follow up on George Huba’s suggestions given at https://hubaisms.com/2015/08/05/some-things-you-might-do-before-you-have-cognitivedecline-mindmap/

Suspect all persons who are at-risk for dementia of any type would be wise to make a notebook of Favorites.  Personally, I need to compile other favorites … and why; songs, films, crafts, locations, flowers, foods, transportation, forms of exercise, etc.  Including my own list as an example

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FILM: Suspenseful music, violence, flashbacks, sub-plots, and multiple characters make it difficult for me to enjoy movies and shows, unless I have seen them many times. So on my cognitively highest-connecting days I will be adventurous and try new movies and shows, in order to get a larger listing of options for lower-functioning days when I need a repeat performance in order to enjoy watching TV. On my worst days, I enjoy scenery with music (not words), or the webcam at Monterey Bay Aquarium. http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals-and-experiences/live-web-cams/open-sea-cam .  i am also interested in the SaltBoxTV programming at https://www.saltboxtv.com/ .

In the past I have very much enjoyed dramas like Schindler’s List and The Postman. However, I suspect that I could no longer leave the movie playing.  I would need to turn it off or leave the room.
Even two years ago, I was able to enjoy the movie series with character Jack Ryan, based on Tom Clancy’s novels. In past few months, the violence and suspenseful music in some of them has become prohibitive. I need to turn them off before finishing. This is becoming true with more and more of my favorites, and I am turning to Disney children’s shows like “The Aristocats” and Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book” as alternatives. I remember putting together an acrobatic routine to songs from the Aristocats, when I was a little girl.  With my theatre combat classes as reference, love the choreography in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series.  I think they are terrifically funny, LOL.  I have also discovered that I rarely enjoy movies that are categorized as “comedy”.  They just do not seem funny anymore.  So what DO I like, in order to build a movie library that I can enjoy in days that need to be slow days?

As some folks know, before I became a theatre major during my 30s, I was lead in our school’s annual musical during my senior year, “Sugar” (based on Marilyn Monroe’s “Some Like it Hot”) so that is probably top on my list.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgjzHp4TVtk

My ideal role has always been “My Fair Lady” (made famous with Audrey Hepburn) . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYMSvyqHHwA .  I had script … and that script was memorized LOL .
Other musicals which myself or our family participated in (such as Oklahoma) also need to go on the list

Even before my great-grandmother introduced me to Louis L’Amour books at 6^th grade, I have loved western movies, but obviously especially those taken from books of L’Amour, such as “The Sacketts“.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqRzW3VoSIc

Likewise, my husband’s favorite author is Edgar Rice Burroughs, so we were in theatre for opening night, and I regularly enjoy the 2012 movie “John Carter” of Mars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXBZ2YZiXXE

I am definitely a fan of original Star Trek, with my favorite episode “All Our Yesterdays” (#23 from Season 3). I also very much enjoy the recent Star Trek movies, so would like to invest in copy of each.

I terrifically enjoy music and ballet or ballroom dance, so anything combining them both is a special treat, like Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Nutcracker and Swan Lake. Or I like anything with Fred Astaire, but especially “Daddy Long Legs” (read it in probably 4^th grade). Most any musical with dancing or a “crooner” will be enjoyed, but especially Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”, and I also like the choreography in digital musical, “Polar Express” (with all the railroad references from my childhood when Daddy took me to work with him several nights a year, spending time with the “hoghead” in the engine and controlling the throttle). Love most of the cartoon musicals.  “The Phantom Tollbooth” was introduced by my toddler’s pediatrician while we lived in Vicenza Italy, and of course “Fantasia” must be added to the list along with “An American Tail”, which combines my love of animals, musicals and family history.

… so … you get the idea. Document your favorites, but I think it very important to include WHY they are your favorites; what significance does this film have with your history and person ?

What movies could you put in a movie library?  Because the day will come when we do not even realize we watched the show yesterday; it will be brand-new AGAIN !!

SONGS: In 2015 started listing of songs and their significance in my life at https://truthfulkindness.com/2015/08/25/music-is-connection-dementia-symptoms/

* Admin issues: SHARE dementia awareness thru buttons below. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of comments, but please filter your comments with truthful loving kindness to all concerned. If interested in receiving notice of future blog postings, subscriptions are available through a “follow” button in the upper left corner (MS Explorer) or lower right (Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Chrome). If there is an advertisement below, I have no control over what is shown. My own full legal name is Truthful Loving Kindness. My current diagnosis is Mild Cognitive Impairment, but my neurologist said I am in a unique position for helping because I have “one foot in each door”. Copyright 2017-01/17.  Tags are dementia, favorite, movie, television.

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