The Movie roller coaster...on the up swing!

Frost/Nixon and Evening and In The Valley of Elah



We do Netflix. We like it. But the movies are like a roller coaster. The ones on our queue all seem good (based on previews), but this isn’t always the case. We have been going through some “2 0r 3” movie spurts. We will get 2 or 3 “bad” or “so-so” in a row. But then, we will get 2 or 3 great movies in a row.
The last 3 movies we watched were on the “delightful” hill of the roller coaster.
In The Valley of Elah – starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron.
Evening with Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson, Toni Collette and Claire Danes.
Frost/Nixon with Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.
The Tommy Lee Jones movie wasn’t as good as the other two, but it was worth the time.
Evening – we actually saw this twice. When I put it on the queue I didn’t realize we had seen it already, but I am glad we watched it twice. It was worth it.
This may go down in the “chick flick” category but probably not. A dying mother recounts her past love. Watch it for your self.
Frost/Nixon – this movie caused me to research. I love when a movie does that to me. I will also end up (who knows) spending money on amazon because of this movie. I was a kid when all of this went on. And even though I wrote a speech in college about how good of a President and man Richard Nixon was, I did not know this interview actually took place. Maybe my research was biased back then.
You can form your own opinion if I ever find the copy of the speech. It did work on the class. I persuaded them that he was indeed a good man and a good president. I would have loved to see Frost/Nixon on Broadway.
At least do yourself the favor and watch this movie.

Check out In The Valley of Elah on imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478134/

Check out Evening on imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0765447/

Check out Frost/Nixon on imdb.com http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870111/

Attacked!

I was cutting the yard today and went around the back where the Avocado tree is and I saw one on the ground. I didn't think too much about it because we have had about 6 fall so far this year. We still have at least 70 in the tree. Probably more.

Before I could turn around to grab the avocado on the ground I saw another one, then another one, then one more and so on and on and on, etc...you get the picture.

I was mad.......21 were on the ground. That is just the ones we could see. Most of them had bite marks or pecks on them.

Birds?

Squirrels?

I don't know, but this means WAR!!!!!!!!!!!

the Shedding Locust and the Hungry Lizard

On the same day, while sitting on the deck, we were treated to some awesome nature. A Locust trying to find a good spot to shed and a lizard eating something with wings took time out of their busy shedding and feasting to STRIKE A POSE.

note: I am looking for the empty locust shell but have yet to find it.

From Leslie to Sam...Phillips stays the constant

Music Monday (on a Sunday)

Did you ever hear of or listen to a young Christian music singer from the 80's named Leslie Phillips?
I listened to a lot of her music and enjoyed it. Especially her 1985 LP, Black and White in a Grey World. This album had the perfect mix of true spiritual tunes to melodic inquisitional hits. Songs moved me like "When the World is New", "Your Kindness" and the title song. Prior to that, she had 2 LPs that were pretty good too. After the 1985 album, Phillips recorded The Turning where she met her future husband T. Bone Burnett. I didn't keep up with Leslie Phillips much after the Black and White in a Grey World record.
One day in 1994, I heard a song by a female singer named Sam Phillips. The song was "I Need Love." I liked it straight away. I couldn't get the voice out of my head. That voice sounded so familiar. I would hear the song periodically on the radio but eventually I didn't really think about it anymore (the voice - I mean).
One day in early 2000, I was going through some old CD's and came across Recollection (a "best of" record by Leslie Phillips. I listened to a little of it and it hit me. Sam Phillips sounded a lot like Leslie. I did some research and yes, they are one in the same.
So I started digging a bit and looking to see why Leslie was Sam now and not Leslie. The song "I Need Love" sounded like it could be a Christan type song. It sounded 50/50. My research took me to a few different stories.
Leslie was tired of Myrrh (the Christian label) records trying to label her as a Christian Cyndi Lauper. she was not agreeing with of the road "the Church" was heading.
Who really knows, expect her.
One thing I know is, that regardless of Leslie or Sam, the music of the lady Phillips was, is and hopefully always will be great.
The music is the constant.
I enjoy breaking out the old Leslie tunes as well as the newer Sam songs.
You may have also seen her on one of the Die Hard movies. You may have also heard her doing some songs for and appearing on an episode of Gilmore Girls.
Check some out for yourself. I will tell you this, the song "I Need Love" is one of my favorites.
Here are some links for you to enjoy and get to know Leslie and Sam a little better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_and_White_in_a_Grey_World
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martinis_and_Bikinis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Phillips_(musician)
http://www.samphillipsmusic.com/

What Am I...

the quick version
What am I.....
reading: Elyon by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill (yes - still reading it - it is a great book, but I am reading other things as well)
Anabaptist Preaching - David B. Greiser and Michael A. King
The BIBLE - I am reading it from start to finish, but I am taking my time and actually thinking about what I am reading.

Sad about: The stupid Dodgers - lost 2 in a row since the All Star break

Watching: Frost/Nixon - pretty good so far. I had to do a persuasive speech in college and I chose to try and persuade the class that Richard Nixon was a good president. I actually persuaded many of them. I will try to dig up that speech...it is probably junk.

Listening to: too much to list

eating: Mexican cornbread and lots of it

Thinking about: too much to type

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Walter Cronkite: we really did lose the best news anchor ever.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obit_walter_cronkite

http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=cronkitewal

Wednesday Quote

"I don't want to get out of the bed" Wade Cortez

on a more serious note: Here is a cool quote from William Blake

"To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour." William Blake

When Every Song is Good

For me, when I come across a record where every song is good, I get keyed up. This occurrence does not happen every day, but it does happen. When I say all songs are good, I mean good. I don’t mean 4 or 5 or great, a few are good and the rest are so-so.
I mean all songs are REAL GOOD.
Thanks to Sirius Satellite radio (which I don’t have anymore – I had a free trial when we bought the car), I was “turned on” to a few bands I have never heard of.
Two of which had recent albums that rank in the above-mentioned category.
Joining the likes of 10,000 Maniacs’ In My Tribe from 1897; Matthew Sweet’s 1995 release 100% Fun; Cocoon Crash, the 1998 album by K’s Choice; and Third Eye Blind’s self titled 1997 record Third Eye Blind are two splendid 2008 records.
Coming To Terms by Carolina Liar and Only By The Night by Kings Of Leon are two of my favorite records of all time and they are new. I first heard “Show Me What I’m Looking For” by Carolina Liar and loved the song immediately. The song “Sex on Fire” by Kings of Leon (don’t worry – don’t let the title fool you into thinking it is a vulgar or bad song) sort of struck me the same way, but not as much.
I downloaded the 2 records plus Kings of Leon’s previous 3 releases on Rhapsody.
Coming To Terms instantaneously became one of my preferred records to listen to.
As much as I like “Show Me What I’m Looking For” (I actually quoted part of the lyrics in a message at church), I enjoy some of the other tunes on the record even more. “Done Stealin” and “When You Are Near” are top-notch tunes.
Only By The Night by Kings of Leon was also enjoyed immediately but not all of the songs hit me like the Carolina Liar record. It took me a few listens to the Kings of Leon record to realize “Man – all of these tunes are great as well.” I will say that the previous 3 Kings Of Leon records do not strike me the Only By The Night. They aren’t bad, but I think Kings of Leon (3 brothers and a cousin) hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 9th with this record.
You can feel free to check out these records for yourself. They might not be your taste and then again they might.
So, if you check them out, let me know what you think.
The question remains: Will any songs from the 2 records make Wade’s Top 100 of all time?
Will the albums themselves make Wade’s Top 100 Albums of all time?
Only time will tell.

http://www.carolinaliar.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Liar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_of_leon

http://www.kingsofleon.com/