Landslide a la Glee & Gwyneth

Only caught part of tonight's Glee but something tells me I'd love their cover of Joan Jett's "Do You Wanna Touch Me" too. "Kiss" by Prince was terrific as a tango and I loved "Landslide." Of course, I've always loved the song and there's not much to dislike if the cover is true and this one was.

"Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks caught wind of Paltrow’s cover, and she has a few words on her rendition and the impact of ‘Glee’ in general. “They did a great job,” Nicks says of the ‘Landslide’ performance. “Gwyneth sang it beautifully. Whether Natalie’s [Maines] singing it, or Gwyneth is singing it, or I’m singing it — everybody who has done it is very loyal to the original version and they don’t want to touch it — they don’t want to change it.”

Nicks continues, “I hope that seeing this song for those little 15, 16, 17-year-old kids that are watching this, they’ll go ‘Well, where did this song come from?’ Then this will go back from Gwyneth to ‘Glee,’ back to the Dixie Chicks … back to Fleetwood Mac. Then the music stays alive, and these great songs from the past that would otherwise be — unless you happen to be a big Stevie Nicks fan and come see me in concert — these songs are going to fade,” she says.
The songstress adds that ‘Glee’ plays an integral part in how music progresses, and that it holds a special place in her heart. “Everybody should show some interest in this show because this is important for where music goes in general,” she says."

Taken from this article. (If you are craving some Stevie, I posted about her last summer here.
)


I took my love and I took it down
Climbed a mountain and turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Till the landslide brought it down

Oh, mirror in the sky - What is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
I don't know, I don't know

Well, I've been afraid of changin'
Because I've built my life around you
But time makes you bolder, even children get older
And I'm getting older, too

So, take my love, take it down
Climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
The landslide will bring it down

------
Yep, this song speaks to me. Sigh. Love it.
-C

Winter Woes.

My dependable road guide.

I am so over this weather--this winter. I was starting to believe we'd seen the last of the winter yuck and then I hit the highway for my trek across the state. Good lord.

Despite the fact that it was clear and snowing only very minimally, I-94 was a freakin' mess. It started out pretty well for 20 miles or so and then suddenly the fun was done. Top speeds for the next few hours were around 50 mph and mostly I was driving around 40. I am never too worried on slippery roads, especially in the daylight with good visibility. What does worry me is other drivers. There had to be at least six different accident clusters along the way. Near Fargo the true crazy drivers kicked it into high gear and as I was driving 35 I swear people were whipping by me at 60. I am fond of the high speeds too, and am not unwilling to pass others when it's warranted, but I can ASSURE you that no one should have been driving faster than 40. I now understand the 100 car pile-up near Fargo a few months ago. So winter, I think we are ready for you to go.

On a positive note, two signs of spring were sighted by Facebook friends this weekend.
1. The north-end Dairy Queen is now open.
2. Daffodils

I think I'd like to celebrate with a peanut buster parfait and a sweet little bouquet of flowers -- maybe if I buy into the hope, the weather will follow.

Don't be attached to outcomes.

Show up.

Pay attention.

Tell the truth.

Don't be attached to outcomes.

--Hal Pepinsky's view of restorative justice via ELouise.

My pal, Emma's recent posts have been dedicated to restorative justice and some of her soul seeking. In the midst of what is clearly murky in her life, I see real peace and joy. So, Emma, thank you for that. Of all the ways to walk this world, I find that your path has been profoundly inspirational to me. You take the next step. You give it your all. You go when it's time, you stay when it feels right. You embrace the experiences you are given and you are open.

There's a bravery in stepping out and making choices when nothing is certain. When one suffers from control issues and type A personality like I do, the most terrifying thing is to not have every duck lined up, quacking with precision. An elaborate flow chart that anticipates even the worst of scenarios. So what happens when someone lights the flow chart on fire and then shoots the ducks? Well, it forces people like me to be brave.

I made only a couple new year's resolutions this year:
1. Take my vitamins daily.
2. Go easy on myself.

Number two on the list is more difficult by far to accomplish and I HATE to take pills. I need to stop giving in to the demon of paralyzing perfection that says I "ought to be" doing, saying, thinking, weighing, eating, exercising, creating, writing, reading... I just need to let me be... who I am in the moment. I think this quote stolen out of context seems to really sum it up.

"Show up.
Pay attention.
Tell the truth.
Don't be attached to outcomes."

In the present. One day at a time. Accepting what is.
For me this resonates with Taoist parable I have long loved, "The Farmer's Luck"

There once was a farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day, his horse had run away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "Maybe," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it two other wild horses. "Such good luck!" the neighbors exclaimed. "Maybe," replied the farmer.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown off, and broke his leg. Again the neighbors came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune."Such bad luck," they said. "Maybe," answered the farmer.

The day after that, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army to fight in a war. Seeing that the young man's leg was broken, they passed him by. "Such good luck!" cried the neighbors. "Maybe," said the farmer.

Things are looking up. Maybe.

Embroidery Meets Nature

Check out the full post here.

V-Day

NPR has some amusing valentines!

More than a Western.

I saw True Grit about a week ago as part of my Oscar prep and Coen brothers love affair. I'd been led to believe it was mind-blowingly good. and while I did enjoy the film, it didn't rock my world. I'd never read the book or seen the John Wayne film, but I don't care all that much for John Wayne, so I suspect that's not a problem. The Coen brothers picture has that elusive element that seems to be stamped on their films. Quirky in a more subtle way than Wes Anderson, perhaps (whose work I also adore). There's just "something" there in the cinematography, the costumes, the characterization (hard to say how much was Coen and how much was the novel or the early film).

I enjoyed the acting immensely and felt that the actors had rich characters to work with. I particularly liked Mattie Ross, but who wouldn't? Obviously, her assessment of Rooster Cogburn-- that he had 'true grit'-- applied more to her than any character. That fact was fairly evident right from the start by her willingness to spend the night at the undertakers in the presence of three dead bodies. I always love Jeff Bridges and I am starting to get the feeling that he's playing the same role again and again. Good thing, I love me a scraggly, foul-mouthed, drunken curmudgeon.

I just discovered an article in Slate (via Brooke V) that points to some mythological connections between True Grit and Indo-European mythology. I love Norse mythology and even "lightly" teach it to students, so I always enjoy seeing the references show up in pop culture. Even though the Coen brothers deny any knowledge of the old stories, it's still pretty dang cool. Be warned, the article is loaded with spoilers.

Mercy.

I realize this is a bit of a lazy post. I can't help it. I've had music on my mind and today that's all I have to say.

On the Way to the Oscars...

This article explains the rationale behind the expansion of the "best picture" nominees category and the origins of the Academy Awards overall.



"The Academy was concerned that the majors were concerned. No one expected any of the majors to take their marbles and go home, but still… The majors spent millions on Oscar campaigns every year, and big studio glamour was very much what made the Oscars The Oscars!!! If, at some point, the Big Guys began to figure all they were doing was putting out a lot of effort – and money – to support what had become, in effect, a publicity platform for a bunch of beret-wearing, pony-tailed, artsy-fartsy competitors… Well, really; what would be the point?"

Let’s look at the just-announced nominees for this year’s Best Picture field:

Black Swan (indie)

The Fighter (indie)

Inception (major)

The Kids Are All Right (indie)

The King’s Speech (indie)

127 Hours (indie)

The Social Network (major)

Toy Story 3 (Pixar – you call it)

True Grit (major)

Winter’s Bone (indie)

Check out the full article for the full analysis. Good stuff.

The Academy Award Nominees

So, I'm not sure why I feel compelled to post the nominees for each of these award shows and try to watch the films each year, but some habits are hard to break. I've seen a few more films in the past couple weeks so I'll mark them off (with red type) as I get them watched. I've already decided that Colin Firth deserves the Oscar for his performance in The King's Speech and maybe Geoffrey Rush, too. Well done!

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
127 Hours
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter's Bone

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Annette Bening (The Kids are All Right)
Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole)
Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
Natalie Portman (Black Swan)
Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine)

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Javier Bardem (Biutiful)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King's Speech)
James Franco (127 Hours)
Jeff Bridges (True Grit)

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale (The Fighter)
John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)
Jeremy Renner (The Town)
Mark Ruffalo (The Kids are All Right)
Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech)

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams (The Fighter)
Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech)
Melissa Leo (The Fighter)
Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit)
Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

Best Documentary Short Subject
Killing in the Name
Poster Girl
Strangers No More
Sun Come Up
The Warriors of Qiugang

Best Short Film (Animated)
Day & Night Teddy Newton
The Gruffalo Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
Let's Pollute Geefwee Boedoe
The Lost Thing Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary) Bastien Dubois

Best Short Film (Live Action)
The Confession Tanel Toom
The Crush Michael Creagh
God of Love Luke Matheny
Na Wewe Ivan Goldschmidt
Wish 143 Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite

Achievement in Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Inception
The King's Speech
True Grit

Achievement in Cinematography
Black Swan (Matthew Libatique)
Inception (Wally Pfister)
The King's Speech (Danny Cohen)
The Social Network (Jeff Cronenweth)
True Grit (Roger Deakins)

Achievement in Costume Design
Alice in Wonderland (Colleen Atwood)
I Am Love (Antonella Cannarozzi)
The King's Speech (Jenny Beaven)
The Tempest (Sandy Powell)
True Grit (Mary Zophres)

Achievement in Directing
Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan)
David O. Russell (The Fighter)
Tom Hooper (The King's Speech)
David Fincher (The Social Network)
Joel and Ethan Coen (True Grit)

Best Documentary Feature
Exit through the Gift Shop Banksy, director (Paranoid Pictures)
Gasland Josh Fox, director (Gasland Productions, LLC)
Inside Job Charles Ferguson, director (Representational Pictures)
Restrepo Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger, directors (Outpost Films)
Waste Land Lucy Walker, director (Almega Projects)

Achievement in Makeup
Barney's Version
The Way Back
The Wolfman

Achievement in Film Editing
Black Swan (Andrew Weisblum)
The Fighter (Pamela Martin)
The King's Speech (Tariq Anwar)
127 Hours (Jon Harris)
The Social Network (Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall)

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Biutiful (Mexico)
Dogtooth (Greece)
In a Better World (Denmark)
Incendies (Canada)
Hors la Loi (Algeria)

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
How to Train Your Dragon (John Powell)
Inception (Hans Zimmer)
The King's Speech (Alexandre Desplat)
127 Hours (A.R. Rahman)
The Social Network (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross)

Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
"Coming Home" from Country Strong Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
"I See the Light" from Tangled Music and Lyric by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
"If I Rise" from 127 Hours Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
"We Belong Together" from Toy Story 3 Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Achievement in Sound Editing
Inception
Toy Story 3
TRON: Legacy
True Grit
Unstoppable

Achievement in Sound Mixing
Inception
The King's Speech
Salt
The Social Network
True Grit

Achievement in Visual Effects
Alice in Wonderland
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Hereafter
Inception
Iron Man 2

Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours (Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle)
The Social Network (Aaron Sorkin)
Toy Story 3 (Michael Arndt, story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich)
True Grit (Joel Coen and Ethan Coen)
Winter's Bone (Debra Granik and Anne Rossellini)

Original Screenplay
Another Year (Mike Leigh)
The Fighter (Paul Attanasio, Lewis Colich, Eric Johnson, Scott Silverand Paul Tamasy)
Inception (Christopher Nolan)
The Kids are All Right (Stuart Blumberg and Lisa Cholodenko)
The King's Speech (David Seidler)

Selling my Body to Science -- a reflection in poetry

Plasma

My blood spools,
spinning like the dizzy maker
on my childhood playground and
if I think too hard
or stare too long at this whirring machine,
literally playing with my life's blood,
I get the same motionless feeling.
And I start to slump a little to the left
afraid
to embrace that weightless feeling when
as a child I'd hold on like Superman
with my legs spindling out behind me.

And my mouth is a copper penny
as my platelets return.
Welcome home, my own red sea.
I pray I won't feel the shiver
of my vein collapsing
as the cuff's chokehold tightens on my arm.

I require
a bit of gauze--a game I play with myself
to pretend there is no 16 gauge needle
thrust into my vein like a ball point pen,
something to squeeze,
my brain immersed in book,
and a blanket, thick to work its warmth
when the saline slams through the tube,
reverse motion washing the coagulant-rich crimson back to shore,
a glacial melt spilling in my veins.

--Carmyn Juntunen


This is a draft... this is only a draft... (that's meant to sound like those TV warning signals. tee hee. )

Two Song Tuesday -- Sam Cooke

This past weekend, my pal Janet got me thinking about Sam Cooke and some favorites from my youth. Yep. That's right. MY youth, you know, in the early 80s. While kids today are gaga for Justin Bieber, I was a few decades behind my classmates stuck in the 60s. I spent much of my preteen angst wallowing in Lesley Gore melodrama and a whole host of K-Tel "electrifying hits" of the 60s and the like. I had a favorite Righteous Brothers album that featured both of these Sam Cooke songs and well, like another of his songs say, they "send me."

The Art of Self-Editing

This is almost painful to watch. Come on, kids, life is about taking risks. It's bittersweet. So dear. So awkward. So unlike reality, in that we're privy to both minds at once in this video. If we only had a God's eye view, it would be so much easier. Of course, at 2 am... with the help of a little alcohol the filter seems a bit less intrusive. :)

On Pins and Needles...

Knitting, for me, is at a bit of a standstill. I am a one trick pony. Washcloths. Sigh. I really need to branch out but for the "sport" to be relaxing it needs to involve a low level of risk and thought. So, for now, I'm just happily knitting some washcloths with the potential for legwarmers, cowl scarves, and sweaters on the horizon.

In the meantime, I am picking up some needles of a different sort. Embroidery. I started in 2008 and didn't make it past the sampler, but I just got a fresh burst of motivation and so I'll see if I can complete this latest project before I show it off. Let's just say if this proves successful, there may be no stopping me. :)

You Tube is a Terrific Time Waster and other things I've learned from my students...

I ran across this video quite by accident but I just love it. So much so, that I felt the need to embed it here for your viewing pleasure. I just love that little kiddo who is so young and singing sooooo earnestly. They seem like they are having such a good time. I love it.





PS It's come to my attention that sometimes when these posts show up on my Facebook page that the formatting or the videos don't transfer there... if you are reading me on Facebook, click through to the original post. I think it's worth it! :)

Music that Matters to Me --a Reprise

A few years ago I wrote a handful of posts about my favorite music -- one of those posts was on Dwight Yoakam. Well, he's been on my mind again lately--ever since last summer when I heard a terrific little acoustic album a friend played for me, though it's not as if Dwight's ever too far from my mind. In fact, since I last paid tribute to Dwight my collection has grown to eight albums. My last post focused just on one album--his 2004 Greatest Hits album, and so this time I'd like to just celebrate a few new faves.

If I could put into words the feeling --the physical, mental, spiritual, all-consuming rush -- some songs give me then maybe I could do the music justice. Instead I'm sure I'll just sound freakin' crazy to say that some times I have a warmth that spreads over me, a general good will to all, a blissed-out feeling that some only feel after sex or possibly after injecting some heroin. Yeah, some music does that.

Well, here are a few songs that fall under the love of Dwight category which lately have me closing my eyes, leaning back and letting the music wash over me.

Buenos Noches From a Lonely Room (She Wore Red Dresses)
Now this one almost doesn't need words... the opening bars just about kill me. But the whole dang song is great--one of those grim story songs that seems almost wrong to love as much as I do. "She wore red dresses and told such sweet lies..." The version I am loving is the one found here.

Two Doors Down
This one is ridiculously sad and so, so, good.
Jukebox full of sad songs + barmaid who serves 'em real strong + heartache + unending memory +bar stool that knows my name + endless waiting + bottle + pay phone that never rings ... I think you get the picture. It's slow suicide in a song bathed in drink, wallowing in self pity. Man, that's how I like my country music!

The Wild Ride
This one is from my first Dwight album, This Time (1993). Wild Ride is a little more rockin' but something about it feels a little sexy and well, wild.

"I looked up, there she stood,
I said 'If you didn't look so great, I'd say you look good.'
Oh, she took her hand, ran it up my thigh
and said, 'Cowboy, you ready for the wild ride?'"

I Sang Dixie
I think this song epitomizes Dwight. Also I do like it when he references California in his songs. I'm weird. I know.

The Back of Your Hand
Not sure why I like this as much as I do. I guess everyone wants to believe someone out there knows him or her like "the back of your hand." This one is a sort of a gentle song and for what it's worth, it makes me smile.

"Take a guess where I stand
pick a number one or two
Take a look at the back of your hand
just like you know it you know me too"