Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Six Reasons Why This is so Awesome
1. I overcame a 43 year-long prejudice against watching the movie 'Head', which this is from. When I was 8 years old I heard my beloved Monkees were in some yucky movie where they were all....weird..and I wanted nothing to do with it. At 51 I finally realized that a 1968 movie directed by Jack Nicholson featuring the members of The Monkees had to be pretty interesting. But I still had a moment of 'But it's that scary, yucky movie...' before ordering it from Netflix.
Of course I ended up liking it. But I wouldn't have in 1968.
2.Davy Jones was not 'my Monkee', but his charisma in this clip blows me away. If you are a woman between around mid 40s and late 50s you understand what it means to have had 'your' Monkee. My Monkee, just for the record, was Peter. As an adult I competely support that choice. My Beatle was Ringo. There are obvious similarities.
3.This is visually stunning. I love the cutaway shots, the costume changes from black and white to white and black, the editing, and the non-gratuitous strobe sequences.
4. Hello, that's Toni Basil dancing with Davy Jones. Seriously. A young, beautiful Toni Basil without that dreadful 'Hey Mickey' makeup spackled on her face.
5. Ok, yeah, there's Frank Zappa at the end, Frank Zappa with a cow, whatever, which some would say is the best part. I'm not a big Frank Zappa fan. For some reason, he reminds me of Yoko Ono, except I think Yoko Ono is more earnest (discuss). I do kind of like the snarky commentary though, and he's a vision in a suit. What a presence.
6. Although this is a cheesed up version, it's a poignant song written by Harry Nilsson. The lyrics to 'Daddy's Song' are worth reading.
Of course I ended up liking it. But I wouldn't have in 1968.
2.Davy Jones was not 'my Monkee', but his charisma in this clip blows me away. If you are a woman between around mid 40s and late 50s you understand what it means to have had 'your' Monkee. My Monkee, just for the record, was Peter. As an adult I competely support that choice. My Beatle was Ringo. There are obvious similarities.
3.This is visually stunning. I love the cutaway shots, the costume changes from black and white to white and black, the editing, and the non-gratuitous strobe sequences.
4. Hello, that's Toni Basil dancing with Davy Jones. Seriously. A young, beautiful Toni Basil without that dreadful 'Hey Mickey' makeup spackled on her face.
5. Ok, yeah, there's Frank Zappa at the end, Frank Zappa with a cow, whatever, which some would say is the best part. I'm not a big Frank Zappa fan. For some reason, he reminds me of Yoko Ono, except I think Yoko Ono is more earnest (discuss). I do kind of like the snarky commentary though, and he's a vision in a suit. What a presence.
6. Although this is a cheesed up version, it's a poignant song written by Harry Nilsson. The lyrics to 'Daddy's Song' are worth reading.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Fyrir hvað sem ástæða
The title is Icelandic for "For whatever reason". I'm now fluent in Icelandic! Isn't that exciting?
Just kidding. I ran the phrase through Google translate. Icelandic is basically Old Norse. It's what the vikings spoke. It's hard, ok?
For whatever reason, these are among my favorites of the photos I took in Iceland.
I've gotten a good response to this one. I like how I composed it. It's from inside a church that I should know the name of.
I love Scandinavian style decorating. Simple, pops of color, no bad motel art...
Classic Icelandic colors
Bus ride from Mjodd to whatever the name of the village is Vidar lives in. Unbelievable, lunar scenery but somehow more lush in its whiteness. There were streams here and there, and dogs happily bounding in front of their owners. It was the closest thing for heaven (for me) that I'd ever seen.
What's not to like about this?
Just kidding. I ran the phrase through Google translate. Icelandic is basically Old Norse. It's what the vikings spoke. It's hard, ok?
For whatever reason, these are among my favorites of the photos I took in Iceland.
I've gotten a good response to this one. I like how I composed it. It's from inside a church that I should know the name of.
I love Scandinavian style decorating. Simple, pops of color, no bad motel art...
Classic Icelandic colors
Bus ride from Mjodd to whatever the name of the village is Vidar lives in. Unbelievable, lunar scenery but somehow more lush in its whiteness. There were streams here and there, and dogs happily bounding in front of their owners. It was the closest thing for heaven (for me) that I'd ever seen.
What's not to like about this?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Iceland
-I have this excuse for the hastily-filmed videos below: It was really cold. I got some good photos though and will post them soon.
I love Iceland even more after visiting it a second time. I think it is officially my favorite place on earth.
I love Iceland even more after visiting it a second time. I think it is officially my favorite place on earth.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Connection
Brandy is 11 years old and doing well. I bought her this bone recently: you put treats in it and she has to figure out how to get them out. She loves it. She is a beautiful soul. I'll readily admit I love her more than Annabelle. I can't wait until I can have a dog of my own again (for the record, I adopted Brandy in March of 2001. My parents have had her for the past five years).
My Parents
My parents are awesome. I'm showing them off.
They took these photos somewhere in British Columbia. I think the bears were friendly.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Twiceland
I'm going back to Iceland in March. I found a stupidly cheap airfare and hotel package. Leaving Iceland last year was like losing a great book I was in the middle of. I can't wait to pick up where I left off.
Last year I continued on to Copenhagen, which was highly unnecessary. This trip will not involve seeing a certain cruel Swedish man (who is even more cruel because he's not even really cruel- he just doesn't like me).
I'm watching figure skating right now. In the pair skating, the woman just picked up the man and carried him around the ice. Awesome. You go girl.
Last year I continued on to Copenhagen, which was highly unnecessary. This trip will not involve seeing a certain cruel Swedish man (who is even more cruel because he's not even really cruel- he just doesn't like me).
I'm watching figure skating right now. In the pair skating, the woman just picked up the man and carried him around the ice. Awesome. You go girl.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Star Spangled Blather
Let's get this out of the way first: Christina Aguilera looked like a goth version of Donatella Versace. Sort of a less orange, sleeve-wearing Donatella. I'm not a conservative (um, am I?), a traditionalist, or a flag waver. But...if you're been selected for a great ritual that unifies millions of people, show a little respect. Don't look like a flesh-eating zombie (that black, black dress and that red, red mouth. Scary). Our national anthem has meaning to the players. Some of them appeared deeply sentimental; like they were going to cry during it, and it's not just because you, Christina Aguilera, screwed up entire sentences. Whole sentences omitted and / or combined. "What's so proudly we watched..."
No, we didn't.
No, we didn't.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Michael Been
In 1983 I heard the song The Walls Came Down by The Call and thought it was absolutely perfect. Granted, my idea of absolutely perfect, such as Gary Beacom skating to Leonard Cohen's I'm your Man (Youtube it), can be a bit quirky. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who bought a cassette tape of Modern Romans within hours of first hearing The Call.
I saw The Call somewhere around '97. After the show, I confided to my guy friend that I had a huge crush on Michael Been. How could I not? He was so very talented and passionate. It's the latter that gets me every time. Technical proficiency is a means to a end. Passion is a life force. The Walls Came Down in concert was elemental, like the roar of the ocean or a bonfire.
At the end of one song Been mused "I'll be doing this until I die." I doubt that was some Wayne Newton-esque thing he said at every show. More likely he was caught up in his passion (there's that word again) for his life's work.
Let the Day Begin is the other Call song that got radio play. If that's all you know of The Call, please check out this site http://the-call-band.com/home/home.html.
As you may have guessed, this post is a tribute. I found out today that Michael Been died of a heart attack in August at the age of 60. Sad, yes, but the man got his work here on earth completed, and what wonderful work it was.
Thank you Michael Been and The Call for music that's been spiritually important to me since the days of cassette tapes.
I saw The Call somewhere around '97. After the show, I confided to my guy friend that I had a huge crush on Michael Been. How could I not? He was so very talented and passionate. It's the latter that gets me every time. Technical proficiency is a means to a end. Passion is a life force. The Walls Came Down in concert was elemental, like the roar of the ocean or a bonfire.
At the end of one song Been mused "I'll be doing this until I die." I doubt that was some Wayne Newton-esque thing he said at every show. More likely he was caught up in his passion (there's that word again) for his life's work.
Let the Day Begin is the other Call song that got radio play. If that's all you know of The Call, please check out this site http://the-call-band.com/home/home.html.
As you may have guessed, this post is a tribute. I found out today that Michael Been died of a heart attack in August at the age of 60. Sad, yes, but the man got his work here on earth completed, and what wonderful work it was.
Thank you Michael Been and The Call for music that's been spiritually important to me since the days of cassette tapes.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
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