Amy Warren, LMHC / WQ Mag Columnist's Page

The mark of a stellar chef is when you notice that his name no longer leave its mark on a restaurant menu. That’s what happened on a visit to Michael’s on East when I noticed James Plocharsky was no longer named as Pastry Chef. After years of enjoying Plocharsky’s desserts, creations that were worth a…

The excitement of the Sarasota Open continued throughout the weekend.  In Saturday’s semi-final match between James Blake (11^th seed) and Ryan Sweeting (1^st seed), crowds were on the edge of their seats throughout the match that ended with a recurring tie-breaker. In the neck-in-neck match, Blake ousted Sweeting 17/15.

Saturday was also a good day for Alex Bogomolov (USA). Immediately after winning his semi-final match against Dancevic, Bogomolov and…

Photo 2010 Sarasota Open by WQmag.com

Once again, world class tennis returns to Sarasota with the Sarasota Open, a USTA/ATP professional tournament. Qualifying rounds will be played April 23rd through April 25th when the main draw begins. The main draw…

Photo by K.Conner WQmag.com

With 10.45 hours of each day influenced by media, females are influenced by stereotypes and hypersexualization. Fewer than one in three characters in movies with speaking parts are female. G-rated films depict females in  provocative attire,…

Photo by K.Conner Wqmag.com

After ten days of non-stop action, the Sarasota Film Festival came to a screeching halt. As life returns to normal, there is a quiet void for those of us who voraciously partook of the festival and it seems as if an important part of…

Sarasota Film Festival's Cinema Tropicale Celebration at the Sarasota Yacht Club was quite the celebration, giving  filmmakers a perfect introduction to our beautiful community. Film-lovers enjoyed spectacular views and food while mingling and dancing the night away. Now this event was the kind of party for which the Sarasota Film Festival is known! The parties continue this weekend with Friday's Night Under a Thousand Stars -  Beach Edition at the Ritz-Carlton Member Beach Club and…

Re-visit local history with Thursday’s screening of “Through the Tunnel.”  The film tells the story of the Lincoln High Trojans, the football team of the former Manatee County School for African American students prior to desegregation in 1969. When the young men of Lincoln High were integrated into Manatee High to form a single, powerhouse program, head Coach Eddie Shannon was their guide, leading his team beyond the ignominy thrust upon the team by the challenges of…

I remember the early years of the film festival when seats were empty and directors solicited people to fill the theatre for their film. But times have changed.  These days, virtually every theatre is filled to capacity. The full theatres mean good news for more than just the filmmakers. Popular demand is resulting in additional screenings being added for some of the sold-out films. So if there is a “sold out” film you’d like to see or a film just doesn’t meet your schedule, check again.…

Narrative Feature Competition: Kinyarwanda

“Kinyarwanda” gets my vote as one of the top contenders in Sarasota Film Festival’s narrative feature competition. Inspired by true stories, “Kinyarwanda” entwines six different stories within one film, giving a face to those affected by the…

War is hard, and sometimes coming home is even harder. K. Lorrel Manning’s film, “Happy New Year,” is the fictionalized story of Sgt. Cole Lewis, a marine who returns from Iraq paralyzed. Without available beds in the Veteran’s Hospital, Lewis is assigned to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wing of…

If you’ve ever thought that anything “green” is environmentally friendly, think again. Laura Israel’s documentary “Windfall” tackles the subject of wind energy from the personal viewpoints of residents affected by it. The prospect of leasing land to developers for the erection of wind turbines, an…

Documentary Feature Competition:  Better This World

sarasota film festival

Justice and injustice, loyalty and disloyalty, power and the abuse of power, manipulation, right and wrong, ethics and integrity…these…

 Documentary Feature Competition: Fake It So Real

As a teenager in love for the first time, I surprised myself and everyone around me by thoroughly enjoying a date to a professional wrestling match…you know, the kind with gross…

Photo by Kim Conner Wqmag.com

At Wednesday’s Kick-off Party for the Sarasota Film Festival, Tom Hall predicted that Christopher Plummer will receive a best supporting actor nomination for his performance in this year’s closing night film “Beginners.”  If last…

Make your next salon service count as a donation to the American Cancer Society. This year’s Relay for Life kicks off with a Style-a-Thon at Inspirations Salon on Sunday, March 27^th and Monday, March 28^th. Payments for any hair service during the Style-a-Thon will be donated to the American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event, Relay for Life on April 9^th and 10^th. You can receive a hair cut, color or even the frizz-relieving Keratin…

Especially in the beginning of relationship, fantasy plays a big part. We meet someone, there’s chemistry, and within our head, we often imagine the person to be all we hope him or her to be. We begin to act as if he or she is that person. When that happens, we are engaging in fantasy. Before we know it, we can become embroiled in a relationship with someone we don’t truly know in spite of the long, heartfelt conversations and spark-firing chemistry experienced in the beginning. It is…

The Sarasota Film Festival, which takes place April 7-17^th, 2011, is proud to announce that writer/director Mike Mills’ Beginners, a Focus Features release, has been selected as the Closing Night Film of the 13^th Annual Festival, to screen on Sunday, April 17^th. In addition, Beginners star Christopher Plummer will be in attendance at the Festival to receive…

When I received an invitation to Royal Tea, I just couldn’t resist the opportunity to get dressed up and steal a couple of hours away from the office to…

Pursed lips, silence, slammed cabinets or doors, and emotional and physical distancing are a few examples of how some people in relationship convey negative feelings, such as anger and hurt.  In other words, many people convey their negative feelings in a passive-aggressive manner rather than directly…and it is not in the least bit helpful to the relationship.

It is your responsibility to speak openly and honestly about any negative feelings you have towards your partner. It…