Since I began this journey of posting daily with romantic clips, I've noticed one downside. And that is that I cover up my posts so quickly that things get missed. So, this is a reminder that I posted the HERE'S TO YOU post yesterday. You can click HERE to go there when you finish with this one.
For those of you keeping up, Battle of the Bands is slated for tomorrow. Well, folks, that just doesn't work for me. Saturdays are not high traffic days and that post will get buried by my Love Is In The Air posts if I wait. So, I am cheating and posting the battle today. You can't say I'm not a rebel.
In keeping with the spirit of romance, I chose the song Always On My Mind for this battle. Before I share my feelings about this song, let's see what Wikipedia has to say...
Allmusic lists over 300 recorded releases of the song in versions by dozens of performers.[1]
While Brenda Lee's version had stalled at #45 on the country charts in
1972, other performers would reach the top 20 in the United States and
elsewhere with their own versions: Elvis Presley in 1972; John Wesley Ryles in 1979; Willie Nelson's Grammy Award winning version in 1982; Pet Shop Boys in 1987.
I had no idea that the song was recorded by so many people. Being a child of the 80s, the first time I heard it was when Willie Nelson sang it. And then I heard it again when the Pet Shop Boys recorded it. I loved what they call synthpop, which is what Wikipedia calls their music. I also liked the fact that the Pet Shop Boys version was so different from Willie's version. Isn't that what Battle of the Bands is all about? One song. Two bands. Totally different sound. I am going to tell you up front that I like BOTH versions.
Even though I am (almost) certain you've heard it before, let's start this battle with Willie.
versus the Pet Shop Boys with their synthpop sound
Now your job is to vote for your favorite in the comments. What did you like about each version? What did you not like? Who has the edge here? Tell me. I really want to know!!!! I will post the results for this battle on February 6.
Other battles will be taking place tomorrow (on the correct date), so be sure to visit them and cast your votes there!
It is Thursday and that means it
is HERE'S TO YOU day! All in all, the best day of the week here on YOUR
DAILY DOSE. Why? Because it's a celebration for YOU.
If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain. This
is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. The best (or worst)
part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage
for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head
at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all
is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com
and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of
footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell
you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the
crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol.
Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you
enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also,
this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take
the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad
footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I
dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you
haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something
that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your
personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble
watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side),
click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to
youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the
video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring
it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
There are many ways to insert romance into the story, be it your novel, a TV show, or a movie. Have you noticed that there aren't that many straight romances anywhere? I think it is because we like interesting characters, plot, and a little romance thrown in. Even romantic comedies (in film) are often as much about the comedy as the romance.
If you look back over the list of the TV shows and movies that I've featured in this Love Is In The Air hop-turned extended stay, you will notice that most of these, if you've seen them, have stuff going on other than romance. I am just picking on the romance for these clips. A romantic moment, if it is done well, warms your heart and makes you fall in love (even more) with these characters. It is my hope in doing this exercise that you can pick out why the scene is romantic even if YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN THE MOVIE OR TV SHOW. If the writing in the scene is really good, it WILL stand on its own. Isn't that the desire of every writer?
Now, let's get down to the romance!
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air (even though the hop
is over) and the following is a list of all the posts with links, so
that you can watch any of your favorites that you missed.
Back at the beginning of this thing I asked YOU to share what you think
are the most romantic moments on the big and small screen. I posted four
of them over the weekend. I will still post them if you share in the
comments!
Speaking of comments, some of your comments crack me up! Over the
weekend I ran all movies and several of you indicated you'd never seen
those TV shows. Hahahaha. I realize I must be more clear about what I am
posting, since I am doing both.
This is from a TV Show.
Veronica Mars was on for three seasons and the MC was... Veronica Mars. The first two seasons were golden in terms of how the show arced. Veronica was a teenage amateur P.I. So, the season started with a Big Case that didn't get solved until the final episode of the season, but each episode contributed something to that big finale. Additionally, each episode provided a much smaller case that was resolved in that episode. AND Veronica still went to high school, made friends, fought with friends, and even had a love interest. I don't remember high school being quite that busy. The third season didn't follow the format of the first two and the show was cancelled. Now, 10 years later, they are making a Veronica Mars Movie that will release in March 2014. The movie was completely funded on kickstarter by the fans. Yeah, it's Firefly meets Serenity with a kick.
It is my goal that even if you have NEVER seen this TV show that you can tell me why this minute is EXCELLENT.
Roll the footage, please:
There are so many aspects of this clip that make my heart sing. When Logan says, "You know who I am and you are constantly expecting me to change," I want to stand up and clap. Yep. That is true. And then when he asks, "Do you love me?" I feel the angst of his uncertainty. And that last line about Going Easier On Each Other nails it home. Can't we just do that, folks? Can't we just go a bit easier on each other????
***************
I read The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks shortly after it came out. It was recommended to me by a friend. This is what wikipedia says about this book:
The novel was Nicholas Sparks' first published novel, and the third written after The Passing and The Royal Murders,
which he did not publish. He wrote it over a period of six months in
1994. Literary agent Theresa Park discovered Sparks after picking the
book out of her agency's slush pile. Park offered to represent him. In October 1995, Park secured a $1 million advance for the book from the Time Warner Book Group, and the novel was published in October 1997. It was on The New York Times Best Seller list in its first week of release. The Notebook was a hardcover best seller for more than a year.[2]
In interviews, Sparks said he was inspired to write the novel by the
grandparents of his wife, who had been married for more than 60 years
when he met them. In The Notebook, he tried to express the long romantic love of that couple.
I remember that the preface or the dedication indicated that this was based on a true story. Approximately halfway through the book I started crying and I didn't stop until long after the book was done. That is the one and only time a book has affected me in this way. (I admit that I cry in ALL of his novels at some point, but not for HALF A BOOK.) If it hadn't been based on a true story, it MIGHT not have had that profound effect on me. I just don't know. It was many years later when The Movie came out. I only read the book once, because I wasn't sure I could take it again. Unlike so many book-movie adaptations, I really liked this one. Maybe because I didn't bawl throughout the film. But it still touched my heart in a very pleasant way. When Noah's character says, "It wasn't over. It still isn't over," my spirit wells up and lifts off.
Roll the footage, please:
How do you like your romance best - combined with comedy, suspense, mystery, drama? Or some other combination? Do you like to write it differently than watch it? What element from the Veronica Mars clip tugged at your heart? What was your favorite romantic moment in The Notebook?
Are you participating in the April A to Z Challenge this year? If so, have you chosen your theme? As soon as talk began to circulate about the Linky List going up, my mind churned with ideas, and I am zeroing in on mine! Deciding on the theme is the most difficult part of this enterprise. Well, maybe writing the posts ranks up there, too. And then when April hits visiting all the sites and making the comments AND writing posts. ::scratches head:: Okay, the whole thing is a Freakin' Challenge, hence the name.
If you haven't heard of the A to Z or signed up, follow THIS LINK for the details and the Linky List. The gist of this challenge is posting something every day in April, but Sunday. Last year was my first experience with A to Z. I learned a lot. For instance, having HALF of your posts written when April 1st arrives is NOT going to cut it. In mid-April my life flipped to chaos. Write them ALL before it starts. I also learned when the posts are written ahead of time that it's a lot of Fun. Why? Because it is all about reading new blogs and meeting new friends. Awesome. Amazing. Wonderful. When your posts aren't written it's none of those things. So, learn from me... do it (you'll thank yourself later), but make the posts short, and write them before it starts!
If you're wondering why I am not on the Linky List yet, well... I MUST commit to my theme before I sign up. It's just my way.
Now, let's get down to the romance!
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air (even though the hop
is over) and the following is a list of all the posts with links, so
that you can watch any of your favorites that you missed.
Back at the beginning of this thing I asked YOU to share what you think
are the most romantic moments on the big and small screen. I posted four
of them over the weekend. I will still post them if you share in the
comments!
Speaking of comments, some of your comments crack me up! Over the
weekend I ran all movies and several of you indicated you'd never seen
those TV shows. Hahahaha. I realize I must be more clear about what I am
posting, since I am doing both.
This is from a TV show.
I am going to confess right here that I love a prime-time soap. I grew up in the days when Dallas, Dynasty, Knot's Landing, and Falcon Crest all were riding the high in the TV ratings. So, it now won't come as any shock that I caved and watched Gossip Girl on the CW. As far as I was concerned, the only people worth watching on that show were Chuck (Ed Westwick) and Blair (Leighton Meester). I had a devil of a time choosing JUST ONE scene for Love Is In The Air.
When you love someone you APOLOGIZE.
Another bit of business for the record... I hate that quote from Love Story by Erich Segal: "Love means never having to say you're sorry." That is just Crap.
Roll the footage, please:
"I'm sorry for losing my temper the night when you told me Louie proposed to you.
I'm sorry for not waiting longer at The Empire State Building.
I'm sorry for treating you like property.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you loved you when I knew I did.
And, most of all, I'm sorry that I gave up on us, and you never did."
********
And now for the movie fans, here is a clip from a Movie.
We are on the apology roll, so this seems fitting.
Roll the footage, please:
That was a very early Heath Ledger movie called 10 Things I Hate About You.
"It's not every day you'll find a girl who'll flash someone to get you out of detention."
Are you participating in the A to Z Challenge? Have you chosen your theme? What aspect of the challenge do you find most difficult? Do you watch any prime-time soaps? Think Erich Segal was right about apologies? Like the clip from Gossip Girl? 10 Things I Hate About You?
You know what I hate most about Valentine's Day? Shopping for marked down Christmas stuff and not being able to find it because the retailers are already putting up Valentine's Day junk. So, retailers is the correct answer. Romance shouldn't be promoted. It can't be bought and sold. The truth is that it happens all year long. No one just gets romantic on February 14 out of the blue.
You know what I love? A fantastic romantic moment. I like them best when they happen in my own life, but since that seems to be non-existent at present... I will let you know when that changes... for now, I must content myself with romantic moments from my favorite movies and TV shows.
Did you participate in the Love Is In The Air bloghop? Read the entries? It took place last week and Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS
asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from
movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come
up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air (even though the hop is over) and the following is a list of all the posts with links, so that you can watch any of your favorites that you missed.
Back at the beginning of this thing I asked YOU to share what you think
are the most romantic moments on the big and small screen. I posted four of them over the weekend. I will still post them if you share in the comments!
Speaking of comments, some of your comments crack me up! Over the weekend I ran all movies and several of you indicated you'd never seen those TV shows. Hahahaha. I realize I must be more clear about what I am posting, since I am doing both.
This is from a TV show.
That show will actually come on tonight at 10:00pm Eastern Time on ABC. It's called Castle. It stars Nathan Fillian, whom some of you may remember from Firefly and Serenity, and Stana Katic. There is also an excellent supporting cast. I really like this show and even wrote a blog about it HERE way back when.
Roll the footage, please:
The witty repartee is one of the things that makes this show so much FUN to watch. It kinda reminds me of Moonlighting in some of the best ways.
Another one of the things that this show does (occasionally) that I just ADORE is give the nod to another wonderful, now-defunct show, called FIREFLY. You may have heard of it. They ended it with a movie at the box office called SERENITY.
Last week the show ended with this clip. Start it just before the 2:00 minute mark. The scene is cute even if you never watched Firefly. It's even better if you did.
Roll the footage, please:
As a YouTube junkie, I couldn't just leave it there. I searched YouTube for Firefly references on Castle. There were several compilations. There aren't any romantic moments, unless you still get swoony when you think about/watch Firefly. If you were a Firefly fan and are not watching Castle... this might inspire you! For the record, Cowboys In Space (at the end) is my favorite:)
I am still posting Love Is In The Air clips until Valentine's Day.
Yep. If you're new to this business, let me tell you how it all
started...
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS
asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from
movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come
up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
Back at the beginning of this thing I asked YOU to share what you think
are the most romantic moments on the big and small screen. Today, I am
going to share some of YOUR FAVORITES! Sit back and enjoy. Happy
Sunday everyone!!!!
Thank you, friends, for sharing YOUR favorites. If you haven't yet, but want to, just leave me a message in the comments with the details of your favorite romantic scene from the big or small screen.
Have you seen The Princess Bride? Serendipity? What did you think????
I am still posting Love Is In The Air clips until Valentine's Day.
Yep. If you're new to this business, let me tell you how it all
started...
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS
asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from
movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come
up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
Back at the beginning of this thing I asked YOU to share what you think are the most romantic moments on the big and small screen. Today, I am going to share some of YOUR FAVORITES! Sit back and enjoy. Happy Saturday everyone!!!!
For those of you who missed that 80s movie, it is a classic. When Harry Met Sally. It has everything. Humor. Friendship. The Sad. The Happy. And the Romantic. You get it all with this one! Thanks Robyn!!!
The Way We Were. I can only speak to my own experience with this movie. But it was sad sad sad. I watched it for the first time on HBO back when I was in junior high school. I think it was the first time I realized that loving someone wasn't always enough. These two loved each other like crazy but they lived in different worlds with different value systems and it was not going to work. Period. I remember crying so hard my nose went numb. Mind you, the movie finished right about dinner time. My mom kept saying to me, "Stop that crying. We are trying to eat here."
I kept saying, "But it's just so sad." Waaaah.
They she says, "Well, I told you it was going to be sad. You shouldn't have watched it."
My response: "But it was just so good."
Unfortunately, one of those dinners I'll never forget. And it was all true. It was one of the saddest things I'd ever seen. And it was just so good.
Thank you Julie!!!
Tune in tomorrow for more of your favorites! And if you have a favorite romantic scene that you haven't shared yet let me know in the comments!!!
Did you like When Harry Met Sally? The Way We Were?
I am still posting Love Is In The Air clips until Valentine's Day.
Yep. If you're new to this business, let me tell you how it all
started...
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS
asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from
movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come
up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
The first clip is from the now-defunct TV show Smallville. The beauty of this clip is that you can follow along easily even if you didn't watch the show.... unless you are one of the only people who is completely unfamiliar with the story of Superman and Lois Lane. In that case, this will be an eye-opener for you. Let me briefly set the scene. Intrepid reporter Lois Lane is convinced that the guy she is dating, Oliver Queen, is The Green Arrow (he is). She enlists the aid of Jimmy Olsen to help her with the set-up, so that Jimmy can get a photo of Olly as the Green Arrow. Nothing goes as she planned and what ensues is the "fun" of it. That segues into a scene with Clark, Lois, and Chloe. Chloe is fully aware of all of Clark's superpowers and enormously enjoys how this plays out... as do we.
Take it away Lois and Clark...
I laugh every time I watch that clip! I hope you enjoyed it, too.
Now, this clip is from one of my all-time favorite 80s movies. If you haven't watched Some Kind of Wonderful you are missing out! This is another John Hughes classic.
Roll the footage...
The clip cuts off before "the line" finishes. If you haven't seen the movie, or simply forgot, he says, "You look good wearing my future."
It is Thursday and that means it is HERE'S TO YOU day! All in all, the best day of the week here on YOUR DAILY DOSE. Why? Because it's a celebration for YOU.
If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain. This
is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. The best (or worst)
part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage
for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head
at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all
is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com
and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of
footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell
you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the
crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol.
Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you
enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also,
this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take
the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad
footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I
dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you
haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something
that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your
personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble
watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side),
click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to
youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the
video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring
it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
This post is late in arriving. I thought I'd read just a few blogs to see what was out there and now it's several hours later. You guys had a lot to say today.
Turns out that Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh is close to reaching 2,000 followers. Can you believe that? 2,000! I remember that I had 9 followers for the longest time when I started this blogging thing. And I nearly fainted when I topped 100. I can't imagine what 2,000 feels like. Of course, I also can't imagine responding to all of those comments, reading all of the blogs, and generally just DOING everything he does in the blog community. And that is why he is famous for having clones. How else could he possibly manage it???? If you're not following the guy who started the IWSG (a bloghop that posts the first Wednesday of every month) and one of the founders of the IWSG website, then check him out by clicking HERE. There will be prizes when he hits the 2,000 follower mark. You don't want to miss out on THAT.
I am still posting Love Is In The Air clips until Valentine's Day. Yep. If you're new to this business, let me tell you how it all started...
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS
asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from
movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come
up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
I was unsure of how to proceed today, but once I knew I was showcasing Alex, it all became clear.
Joss Whedon, in my humble opinion, is amazing. I loved all seven seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and all five of its spin-off, Angel. I will pretty much watch anything he puts on the big or small screen. (His current TV show is Marvel's Agents of SHIELD... just FYI.) Anyway, back to Buffy and Angel... my all-time favorite episode from both shows is called "I Will Remember You." It was a cross-over episode. That means that Buffy crossed into Angel after it spun off. So many of these scenes are about the hugging, kissing, or that I Love You moment. Sometimes, love is about sacrifice. Haul out your hankies...
Here is a snippet from that show...
Joss Whedon also created the spectacular show, Firefly. It ran on the Science Fiction cable channel for all of one season before the execs pulled the plug. What were they thinking???? Anyway, the fan outcry was so long and loud that Joss Whedon wrapped up that story on the big screen with the movie Serenity. Sometimes love means putting up a fight.
Today is the 21st and it is time for the results in the Battle of the Bands contest. The song was Hallelujah with Leonard Cohen vs. Jeff Buckley. I want to say up front that I REALLY LIKE both versions. Cohen's voice is gravelly and not the most pleasant on the ear, but this song is about how we reach the Hallelujah in our moments of despair, so I am okay with it. I also liked the alternate verses at the end of Cohen's original recording, though he mixes it up when he sings it live, so you never know which verses he'll use. Buckley's version is also raw in its own way. His voice is more appealing to the ear and the guitar work melts me. So, while I LIKE them both, I like Buckley's version more. My vote didn't change anything. Buckley won this one by a landslide. With my vote he has 15, Cohen has 3, and KD Lang got a write-in. The next Battle of the Bands happens on the 1st, so come back and vote. I am thinking it will be something more romantic given that Valentine's Day is approaching...
Now for the Coffee News. Remember last Thursday when I shared my coffee story and dedicated a coffee video to Michael di Gesu in the hopes of winning the pound of Authentic Colombian Coffee that he is so generously giving away? Well, I won!!!! Yep, you read that correctly. **fireworks going off*** So, I want to give this little gift to Michael to show him my appreciation:
Love Is Still In The Air....
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS asking for people to contribute their favorite romantic scenes from movies and TV. You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I now have so much footage that I will be posting every day
until Valentine's Day. Woohoo.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
The following clips are from the TV show The Gilmore Girls. That was the show that provided all of those coffee clips for Michael on his blog hop. These clips don't feature coffee, but they seemed to fall in line with the overall theme for today.
Here we go...
And one more featuring my other favorite Gilmore Girl...
Are you a Gilmore Girls fan? If so, what was your favorite romantic scene from the show? If not, are you thinking about it now????
What is your favorite romantic moment from the big or small screen?
It's a celebration of that little thing called love. Be it steamy or
sweet, puppy, kitty, teen, aggravating, first kiss or final goodbye, let
your scene tug at our heartstrings. Click HERE to find Mr. Linky and all of the other amazing participants!
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS as a reminder that the blog hop would begin today. Yeah, they are getting a jump on Valentine's Day. Charity
then asked for people to contribute their favorite Love Scenes from
Movies and TV so that she can post them the rest of the
week.
You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I now have so much footage that I think I could post something every day
until Valentine's Day. That thought was followed by, "Why not?" The
clips are short. They are fun to watch. Plus, it means I don't have to
come up with anything on my own for nearly a month. I'll still do the
HERE'S TO YOU post, of course. And I might deviate off the path if I
MUST write about something. Heck, I am such a rebel and rule-breaker
that I might write and post a short clip.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
You can let me know if you think this is a good or bad idea in the
comments. You can also post links to your favorite romantic clips.
Remember? YouTube junkie. I will actually watch them.
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS yesterday as a reminder that there will be a blog hop on Monday featuring
Love Stories. Yeah, they are getting a jump on Valentine's Day. Charity
then asked for people to contribute their favorite Love Scenes from
Movies and TV so that she can post them on her blog for the rest of the
week.
You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come up with this
sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you
read that right. Hours.
I now have so much footage that I think I could post something every day
until Valentine's Day. That thought was followed by, "Why not?" The
clips are short. They are fun to watch. Plus, it means I don't have to
come up with anything on my own for nearly a month. I'll still do the
HERE'S TO YOU post, of course. And I might deviate off the path if I
MUST write about something. Heck, I am such a rebel and rule-breaker
that I might write and post a short clip.
I am tagging all of these Love Is In The Air and you can go back to my January 18 post to watch any that you missed.
So, here we go...
That clip was from the short-lived show Roswell. The writers are wholly responsible for sinking that show. I wrote a post about that a while ago on my TV Blog, Junction Function. The only thing that remained consistently awesome with that show was the development of Michael and Maria, as individuals and a couple.
Since that one was short, let's take one more look at them before we go...
You can let me know if you think this is a good or bad idea in the
comments. You can also post links to your favorite romantic clips.
Remember? YouTube junkie. I will actually watch them.
Charity Bradford, one of the contributors to the blog Unicorn Bell, posted THIS today as a reminder that there will be a blog hop on Monday featuring Love Stories. Yeah, they are getting a jump on Valentine's Day. Charity then asked for people to contribute their favorite Love Scenes from Movies and TV so that she can post them on her blog for the rest of the week.
You simply shouldn't challenge a YouTube junkie to come up with this sort of stuff. I spent the next few HOURS looking for footage. Yes, you read that right. Hours. I also brewed another pot of coffee and my hands are shaking. I think I hit caffeine overload.
I now have so much footage that I think I could post something every day until Valentine's Day. That thought was followed by, "Why not?" The clips are short. They are fun to watch. Plus, it means I don't have to come up with anything on my own for nearly a month. I'll still do the HERE'S TO YOU post, of course. And I might deviate off the path if I MUST write about something. Heck, I am such a rebel and rule-breaker that I might write and post a short clip.
So, here we go...
You can let me know if you think this is a good or bad idea in the comments. You can also post links to your favorite romantic clips. Remember? YouTube junkie. I will actually watch them.
I posted my Battle of the Bands post on Wednesday (okay, late Tuesday for you sticklers) and wanted to give it plenty of space at the top of the heap before covering it up with something else. That meant delaying my HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post to... well, today. Friday. Remember all of that blah blah blah about it not really coming together (a creative way of saying that I lacked footage). Well, that all changed as soon as I typed it. I have dedications coming out the wazoo. Woohoo!
So, if you didn't vote in Battle of the Bands Click Here and go vote. I will post the winner of the battle on (or near) January 21.
Today is also the TELL ME WHEN blog hop. Stina Lindenblatt is publishing a novel with a storyline involving stalking. This hop invites anyone to share their own personal story, a story of someone they know, or really just anything that creates awareness for this serious issue. Click Here if you want to share or read contributions to this hop. I have read quite a few heart-wrenching stories by you. If you shared, thank you! I don't have a personal stalking story. I do have a dedication for Stina (see below). Sarah McLachlan wrote and sang a song called Possession way back when on her Fumbling Towards Ecstasy album. The song was about her experience with a fan (or fans) who stalked her by mail. I understand that she even used some of the (scary, crazy) things that they wrote in the lyrics. Really gives the song a whole new flavor when you know the history. Being stalked is terrifying.
Michael Di Gesu over at ...Michael Di Gesu...In Time is hosting a Coffee Blog Hop. Michael says this about the hop: So
all you have to do is post what you love most about coffee. Let's have a
good time and LAUGH over a steaming cup! The most hysterical entry will
win a pound of authentic Colombian coffee. It is not too late to join in the fun. Click Here if you want to participate or just want to read funny coffee stories.
Before I talk coffee, I want to talk Michael for just a moment. He is someone that I have "seen" in the blogosphere for a very long time. However, it wasn't until I read about his Coffee Hop that we came together. I gave him fair warning that I am a long commenter and it turns out he is, too. How awesome is that??? I love making new blog friends!!!!
Now, let's talk coffee. I actually have a coffee story (and I shared it already with Michael, but I also want to share it with YOU). My parents were
coffee addicts. For many years the coffee pot started brewing first
thing in the morning and they continued to refill it and drink until
bedtime. I really don't think they drank anything else!!! Then, they
decided it was time to cut back and even started mixing regular and
decaf to cut back on the caffeine. Plus, they stopped drinking all day
long. No more after dinner. That sort of thing. My younger
brother and I didn't like coffee. I was sure that the coffee gene simply
skipped us. In fact, we both said that we would NEVER DRINK COFFEE EVER. How many times has someone offered me coffee and my response was, "No thanks. None for me. I don't really like coffee." My mom was always first on the "Yes please" side of that equation. Well, my dad, too. As many of you know, my father passed several years ago (a coffee drinker until
he died) and my mom still drinks 4 cups every morning. She just bought a
Kuerig so that she can make a cup at a
time if she wants just one (or two) more. The unthinkable happened this Christmas. She convinced me to
try a cup of coffee with some mocha creamer in it. It was wonderful.
Except for the eating your words part, which went down rather bitterly, I
drank two cups that day. And have been drinking coffee ever since. It is
what I look forward to as soon as I open my eyes. It is how I convince
myself to get out of bed. I can have my coffee if I get up. It is
shameful really. I haven't told my brother yet. He still won't touch the stuff and I am afraid he might disown me. And that's my story.
Michael, I also have a coffee dedication for you (see below) that I think conveys how I FEEL about coffee. I hope you enjoy it!!! I'm crossing my fingers that you'll pick lil' ol' me as your coffee winner because I've never experienced Authentic Colombian Bean, but I really want to try more new things this year:)
Whew. Let's have a drumroll please! Ba da ba da ba da boom!!! It's HERE'S TO YOU day. Finally.
If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain. This
is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. The best (or worst)
part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage
for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head
at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all
is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com
and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of
footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell
you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the
crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol.
Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you
enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also,
this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take
the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad
footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I
dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you
haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something
that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your
personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble
watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side),
click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to
youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the
video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring
it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
If you are looking at the date and thinking "today is not the 15th," you are correct. The next Battle of the Bands post is SUPPOSED to fall on the 15th. However, that backs right up to Thursday and my HERE'S TO YOU post. Of course, that post might (emphasis on might) be delayed until Friday if I don't find that YouTube inspiration to correspond to your posts.
I am pretty psyched about my song for this battle. Sometimes I am excited before I start looking and then I deflate a bit. This time, the more I worked on this battle, the better I liked it. I am going to share some information that I found on Wikipedia, simply because I found it *fascinating.* And, I like to think, that if I find something Fascinating, one or two ore more of you will, too.
The song for this battle is Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Here are some of the juicy bits from Wikipedia:
Cohen wrote around 80 draft verses for "Hallelujah", with one writing
session at the Royalton Hotel in New York where he was reduced to
sitting on the floor in his underwear, banging his head on the floor.[8] His original version, as recorded on his Various Positions album, contains several biblical references, most notably evoking the stories of Samson and traitorous Delilah from the Book of Judges as well as the adulterous King David and Bathsheba:[9] "she cut your hair" and "you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you".[7]
Following his original 1984 studio-album version, Cohen performed the
past original song on his world tour in 1985, but live performances
during his 1988 and 1993 tours almost invariably contained a quite
different set of lyrics with only the last verse being common to the two versions.
Wowza. 80 draft verses that resulted in him sitting on the floor (in his underwear) banging his head on the floor. People, that is commitment. Leonard Cohen knew that there was magic in this song and was determined to find it. If you look up Cohen's version of this song on YouTube, you will find him singing it differently nearly every time. For the sake of this battle, we are going to go with the ORIGINAL RECORDING.
Let's listen to the original Leonard Cohen recording:
If you are more familiar with the covers off of Cale's cover, you are aware that Cohen's Original Recording includes verses others chose to leave out (and puts in verses this one leaves out). So, the essence of the song really changes with the change in lyrics.Well, that isn't the only thing that changes. But, let me get there....
Back to Wikipedia... Jeff Buckley, inspired by Cale's earlier cover, recorded one of the best-known[22] versions of "Hallelujah" for his only complete album, Grace, in 1994. Later, in 2007 it was released as single.
Buckley's version was not an instant hit, nor did Buckley live to see
the full measure of the reception his recording would ultimately have;
he died in 1997. The album on which it appeared did not go Gold
in the U.S. until 2002, nine years after its release. In fact, like
Cohen's original, the Buckley version was never released as a single,
and it first charted posthumously in 2006.
In 2004, Buckley's version was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[3] The same year Time
called Buckley's version "exquisitely sung," observing "Cohen murmured
the original like a dirge, but ... Buckley treated the ... song like a
tiny capsule of humanity, using his voice to careen between glory and
sadness, beauty and pain... It's one of the great songs."[23
In March of 2006, Buckley had his first national Top 10 bestseller
when "Hallelujah" was number seven in Norway. In 2007 it made the top 3
on the Swedish charts. In March 2008 it topped Billboard's Hot Digital Songs in the U.S. after a performance of the song by Jason Castro in the seventh season of American Idol.[26][27][28] The sudden resurgence of interest provided both Gold and Platinum status, the RIAA certifying the digital track on 22 April 2008.[29] It has sold 1,144,000 digital copies in the US as of May 2010.[30] It also hit number one in France in March 2008.
Notice that Buckley never lived to see the success of this song. He never read any of the positive reviews.
Here is his version of the song:
Aside from the lyric changes - which completely change the feel of the song - Buckley also changed the arrangement significantly. His interpretation of the vocals is vastly different from Cohen's, evoking a different feeling entirely.
In the end, I think music is all about feeling. Which one of these versions did you feel the most keenly in your soul? Why? Please share with me in the comments and vote for your favorite.
There are other Battles going on, so be sure to check them out (on Wednesday, that is). Remember... I am a day early here. To participate in those...
CBS premiered a new show this week: Intelligence. It premiered on Tuesday at 9:00 (after NCIS), but its regular time slot will be Mondays at 10:00.
Here is the trailer if you missed it (or didn't and are interested):
Let me start with the things that I like about this show. Josh Holloway (from Lost) is back on TV. That alone calls for an "oh boy" or "woot woot" or maybe just deep sighs. Ever since Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA is tracking your personal information via phone calls, emails, and such, unless you live in complete denial you now have confirmation that the government is spying on you. Television series (and movies) are merely keeping current with the times. Given that the NSA is so busy spying on us, is it outlandish to think that our government would do something like this? In my opinion, the show and its premise are completely realistic. If they could figure out HOW to do it, they most certainly WOULD. And they may have figured out how... if they had, it would be a Super Duper Top Secret Way Above Most Everyone's Clearance secret.
What else do I like? The big and little screen are the only places that I can believe for a short while that our government is still on the side of right. At least sometimes. Holloway's character, Gabriel, appears to be True Blue. He served three tours overseas fighting for this country. His wife worked for the CIA and was deeply undercover when her op went wrong and most evidence indicates she switched sides. Gabriel is determined to find her and the truth. He is determined to find the truth and doesn't just accept what appears to be true. And based on what you saw in the trailer (and the pilot), the Chinese are going to have their own upgraded version of Gabriel, so we can expect international intrigue. I fully expect this show to be Gabriel, using all of the tech in his head, to be focused on the bad guys. Isn't the world nice when there are White Hats and Black Hats?
What I don't like... Even though I would like to suspend my disbelief and accept that our government would only put this tech in a person for the purest of purposes, I have this problem. Ever since Edward Snowden leaked that the NSA is tracking your personal
information via phone calls, emails, and such, unless you live in
complete denial you now have confirmation that the government is spying
on you. So, this show is an In Your Face Reminder that our government, if it doesn't already have this technology, is most likely working Fast and Furious to get it. And, as we all know, real life and TV rarely show much resemblance to one another. So, I very much doubt that we will see this show use the tech the way that our actual government would if they had it.
So, my question is this... are shows like this one designed to make us complacent about the idea of the government putting tech in people's heads? Will it be easier to roll out this information after this show has paved the way? Is the government using TV to make the things that they do go down easier? Are they trying to convince The People that they really are wearing a White Hat when they read our emails, listen to our phone calls, and track our movements?
Hello friends. It is THURSDAY! Drum roll please....
That means it is HERE'S TO YOU day:)
Before we get into this post, I want to tell you a short story. Sometime between last Thursday and today, someone wrote a blog referencing writing heroes and villains. That gave me an idea for today. I went to YouTube and found the video, but I didn't write down who was getting the dedication. (Note: A similar thing happened when I took off a week. I came back and there was this video in my Saved Videos and I had no idea who it belonged to.) I tried throwing it out there to see if someone would claim it. Nope. It didn't happen. However, I am going to try it again. If this one is YOURS, tell me in the comments. From here on out, I am writing this stuff down. Apparently, my brain is melting.
If you don't know what this HERE'S TO YOU stuff is about, let me explain. This
is a weekly event landing typically on Thursdays. The best (or worst)
part is that I am not going to explain why I chose "whatever" footage
for each of you. If, you watch your footage and are scratching your head
at the end, well that means I didn't do a very good job. However, all
is not lost. You can email me at rarichards68@gmail.com
and ask me what I was thinking when I chose that particular piece of
footage off of youtube and connected it to you. And then I will tell
you. Then I will start sending up prayers that I haven't offended the
crap out of whoever is on the receiving end of that email....lol.
Because, honestly, I will tell you right now... I admire all of you
enormously so I really hope that doesn't happen.
Also,
this is not an exclusive venture by any means. I hope that you will take
the time to watch ALL of the footage because I don't pick bad
footage:-) I also hope that you might check out the blog of the person I
dedicated the footage to because they are pretty darn awesome. If you
haven't figured this out yet... I pick the footage based on something
that you've written or something that I've gleaned from your
personality. Think on that for a while... If you are having trouble
watching the entire video (meaning it is being cut off on one side),
click on it a couple of times and it will take you straight over to
youtube. If you click on the four squares at the bottom corner of the
video, it will enlarge it to fill your screen. The escape key will bring
it back to normal size. The back arrow will bring you back to my page.
This is another post for the monthly IWSG created by Ninja Captain Alex J. Cavanaugh. You can Click Here to join the Linky List so that you can participate. His awesome co-hosts today areBob Milne,River Fairchild,Julie Dao, and Sarah Foster! Please be sure to thank them for their time and effort to make all IWSG members feel welcome.
North America is in a deep freeze. At least, most of North America. Here in Florida it is cold *by Florida standards* but "deep freeze" is overstating the situation. The last few days people were encouraged to Stay Home in many states. This is a writer's delight. Stay home? Really? I can get all sorts of work done on my WIP...
So, did you? Get work done on your WIP, that is?
Or were you distracted by a less than clean house? The Christmas decorations that still haven't been put away? Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? PinInterest? Getting caught up on taped movies or TV shows on the DVR? Did you have kids that were also home and bored with cabin fever?
Let's face it... distraction is everywhere. If you are writing a lot, distraction is necessary. But if you're not writing a lot... what can you eliminate so that the time can be spent writing? If you are anything like me, you can fill up an entire day easily without writing a lick. That means creating time and space for writing is crucial if you actually intend to do any. And that means something that used to be part of your daily routine must go.
What have you eliminated for your writing? Do you have writing penciled in on your calendar? Do you prefer morning, afternoon, or evening? Are you one of those amazing people who works on your WIP eight or more hours a day? I am curious to hear what you do that works!
For those of you who participated in the most recent installment of Battle of the Bands, the song was The Prayer of St. Francis. All Angels vs. Sarah McLachlan. I was hoping that the vote would be more evenly split, but that was not the case. All Angels only got 2 votes, while Sarah got 11 votes. Not that it matters, but my vote was also for Sarah... just making the landslide bigger. Come back on January 15 for the next Battle and vote for your favorite!
