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Website of the Week
Another great movie from the BBC.
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last modified Jul 8, 2008 at 22:33
Computer geeks everywhere are going to have to find a new subject to argue about. You really have to admire the genius of Microsoft: If you can't beat it, sell it.
Introducing . . .
After going to that site, please click here.
One of the greatest musical advances in my life occurred when I was exposed to this unbelievable singer/songwriter. Her influence weighed very heavily upon my venture into songwriting and continues to exert itself upon my songwriting today.
If someone were to ask me which album to buy first, I would hesitate greatly but could not in good conscience say any of her work in the last five years or so. You see, I would want you to meet the Nanci that I met, not the Nanci that she has become. She has become increasingly political, liberal, and bitter about life, and it manifests itself in her songwriting of late.
This is really sad. If you knew the old Nanci, you would understand. So, I would say, listen to her older stuff and, if you have to, the new stuff (but with caution).
Here is a ranking of my favorite albums of hers. She is a real treasure. Enjoy!
1. Last of the True Believers
2. Once in a Very Blue Moon
3. Storms
4. Little Love Affairs
5. Lone Star State of Mind
6. One Fair Summer Evening
7. Late Night Grande Hotel
8. Flyer
9. Other Voices Other Rooms
10. Poet in My Window
(for another fan's opinion, click here)
One other thing: When I had the opportunity to play open mic at the Bluebird, there were photographs on the wall of great singer/songwriters that have come and gone to the Bluebird. Nanci's picture was among them and it was one of the greatest honors for me.
To assuage my conscience, I will let you in on some of my top-secret guilty pleasures.
Pop Music
*sure, we make fun of them, but they've "got the groove"
1. Sugar Ray
2. Madonna
3. Britney Spears
4. Smashmouth
5. Prince
Movies
*these are the movies that you wouldn't want to watch with your mom (but maybe your pastor :^)
1. Moulin Rouge
2. Dazed and Confused
3. Eyes Wide Shut
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Trainspotting
Books
*these are guilty because, well, who really reads the books based on movies?
1. Back to the Future
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Power of One (movie based on book)
Candies at the Quickie Mart
1. Chewable Sweetarts
2. Butterrum Lifesavers
3. 100 Grand
4. Sunflower seeds
It seems that a Florida State University student, Miss Becky Lynn Gritzke, got a little naughty at Mardi Gras last year and got caught on videotape. Now she is suing the makers of the "Girls Gone Wild" video series for videotaping her act and distributing it with the intent (and no doubt result) of a profit.
She claims that they "invaded her privacy and used her image without permission." I think of the newspaper analogy in the video maker's defense. That is, if a newspaper takes a picture of someone in a public place then they are within their legal rights to publish it with the intent of making a profit (e.g., tabloids). This argument will probably prove effective for the video maker.
This does not make what they did right, but it is legal. We all must realize that there are very REAL consequences to our sin and sometimes, we just have to endure them.
There is a strange silence in the Christian community at large when it comes to the topic of birth control. Kathleen and I recently read the chapter on birth control in Douglas Wilson's Reforming Marriage. We were refreshed by his candor and humility in attacking such a taboo subject.
It is very interesting how much of an influence the world has had on the Christian mindset in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Douglas Wilson notes this, and asks in regard to having children, what motives have influenced our decision-making. He speaks to those who do not believe in birth control and exhorts them saying that while making babies is the easy part, training little ones in righteousness to be covenant keepers is the vital responsibility of parents who are so blessed with children. Also, he tells husbands to encourage their wives with the hope that their work will bear good fruit. He also suggests that husbands do things such as give the wife a day off each week, take her out regularly, etc.
Wilson also addresses couples on the other extreme: ones who are putting off having children or not having them at all. If their motives are self-centered, i.e. desiring to keep a certain lifestyle, possessing wealth, etc. then he suggests that they are doing wrong in not having children. If the motives are God-centered, then he says that they are not doing wrong.
Do you think that the church should take a stand on this issue? Do you feel convicted one way or the other on the issue?
This weekend, I had the opportunity to watch the highly-touted Moulin Rouge. At first, I must admit, that I did not realize that it was a musical (though not in the traditional sense). In fact, I was really surprised that it was so lascivious in its lewdness. Also, there was the impression of being thrown into a kaleidoscope of motion and music.
Oh great, I thought, another poor movie selection. However, and I do not know if this is a good thing, but the movie started to grow on me the more I watched of it. For one thing, I could not believe how good Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman's voices were. Also, I am a sucker for a good story, so I was hooked.
It really turned out to be a great love story, but I won't give away anything (just in case you haven't seen it.) Warning: Watch at your own risk. It does contain a whole lot of lewd dancing, innuendo, and scantily clad females.
Jonah Goldberg, one of the original bloggers, has an interesting article in NRO concerning the "merits" of blogging. He seems to think that blogging can be a little egocentric and nitpicky. I liked the article on blogging discussed by Scott the other day, too.
Why do you blog? What do you think the overall merits of blogging are? It can be quite time-consuming and exhausting to come up with frequent posts. Quite frankly, I get worn out looking at Scott's blog everyday. I am still undecided as to the direction that I want to take my blog: should I keep it multiple-subject oriented or should I focus on a particular format? I have trouble just sticking with a single font color, much less a certain topical theme.
I couldn't resist putting up another poem or two to demonstrate the verbal and mental acuity of Sifl and Olly.
Checketh thy coat at the door
oh rose of silken ways
Moveth into thy light and furl thy tongue a raspberry
At a' boy danny, at a boy danny, come on danny,
you can do it danny...come on, homerun, danny!
you got it danny, next one danny... only two strikes danny
this one's you danny. swing danny, you can do it danny...
you suck danny.
checketh thy coat at the door of time.
darkness.
silence....mystery.
-- olly
And one more. . .
You're always hearing something
Until silence interrupts it
Like dinosaur burps
-- sifl
Here is a poem by Chester, of Sifl and Olly:
"Alone"
Sometimes, when I'm alone,
I think about Ketchup,
Because I know that the truth is that
Its just sitting there in a bottle, by itself.
I'm pretty sure it's red.
Sometimes when I'm with Ketchup,
I think about being alone,
In a bottle.
Standing next to the mustard all day.
Deep stuff, man. It's like this dude Chester has a mirror into my soul. Yeah.
Yes, I, Joseph Hogue, honestly think that this is one of the funniest cartoons in the world. Kathleen and I will randomly interject spongeboberisms into our conversations throughout the day. My little girls just love it when I do impressions of them, too. Check out some of the cast of characters (with sound) here or just view the description of each castmember.
Since every blogger seems to be discussing what movies they watched over the holidays, let me run down my list.
The Swan Princess
Hey, this may seem boring, but it is actually pretty funny with a great soundtrack. Plus, having your children watch it over a hundred times creates a strong familiarity, which for some, produces intimacy, and for others, contempt. The best character is the turtle, Speedy, who has Steven Wright as his voice.
Cats and Dogs
I do not really know how this movie goes past about ten to fifteen minutes. That is about the time that my girls lose interest and start hitting and fighting with each other. The computer animation making the animals talk loses its specialness after about three minutes. What I do like about the movie is that the dogs are the good guys and the cats are their evil foes. The leader of the evil cats looks strangely similar to Mr. Evil's cat. Coincidence?
The Million Dollar Hotel
What is up with Hollywood's fascination with crazy people? From One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to Girl, Interrupted, it seems that Hollywood likes to blare the theme that the sane people of the world are insane and that the insane are insightful gurus into the human mind. Anyway, I am about four-fifths of the way through this one. I was watching it New Year's Eve/New Year's Day and my wife asked me, "Is this how you really want to start the new year?" Good point, so I delayed watching the rest.
The Lord of the Rings
Okay, I know that I hyped this one up on this blog, but it deserved every bit of the hype. The movie was well-done with breathtaking scenes of great battles, beautiful landscapes, and massive architecture. The battles scenes were unbelievable. When talking with my family about the movie, I think that everyone was most impressed with Legolas, the elf. I plan on seeing it at least once more.
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