Those Joyful and Cloudless 80s

Today was the last day of what is universally recognized as the best month of the year, July. Here in Smallville it was a bright sunny day, a perfect marker for the middle of summer.

In celebration of this the supreme season of the year and another perfect but final day of July, won’t you join me in remembering an extra awesome summer song from those joyful and cloudless 80s. It was the biggest solo hit for the not quite as famous as Belinda Carlisle but most talented member of the Go-Go’s, Jane Wiedlin. I hope you remember it. It’s a really fun and sunny song; especially recommended for those top-down, windows-open, hand-surfing-the-wind drives on joyful and cloudless summer days.

Rush Hour by Jane Wiedlin



P.S. Can also be used to brighten, by at least three shades guaranteed, dull and dreary days as well.

Nines and Eights

Today while driving I was listening to music from my iPod which was connected to my car stereo. I had it set to “shuffle” so the songs play randomly and I never know which of the 744 songs currently living inside my nano™ will start up next. The display on the stereo keeps a count of the number of songs which have played since being set to shuffle. Track number 98 was just ending so the display next showed “Track 99” and then the song title was to come up. The word track disappeared but “99” was still being displayed. At first I thought something was wrong and wondered why the title wasn’t coming up. As the softly starting song gradually got louder I finally recognized it and figured out that there was nothing wrong with the display because track 99 was indeed 99. I wonder what the odds of that happening were. Probably about 744 to 1 actually, but somehow they seem much lower than that even, don’t you think?

For you young’ens who ain’t never heard the song and think Toto only makes toilets maybe you could go to the YouTube and check it out. Actually never mind, here it is. Yes, it’s those “Africa” dudes again but that is just coincidence, or maybe it isn’t… Hmmmmm…



Shortly after that happened I noticed my odometer was soon to blow through 88,888 kms… Okay okay, so it was really 188,888 but still another rare aligning of numbers right? Did you know that the number 8 is considered a lucky number in China?

So anyway, that was my excitement for the day. I can’t believe I’m even going to post this!

Someone once said,

“I would stay asleep my whole life if I could dream myself into a company of players.”

After seeing two different plays on two consecutive nights down at the local theatre I can definitely identify with that statement.

Thanks to some cool people who shall remain nameless (their initials are KJAMBD) I was lucky enough to come into two tickets to the local playhouse. And um… since all of my girlfriends are always so busy I ended up going solo…twice, and that’s all we’re going to say about that.

The first night I saw The Ark. Yes, that ark. I went to it first because one of my old friend’s daughter is in it. Sydnee Ralph is her name and just let me say she is brilliant! She has an awesome singing voice and quite a natural knack for acting as well. In fact, all of the actors are genuinely talented and the show is full of great singing and lots of comedy too. Noah’s wife even came into the audience and cut off a piece of my arm for food. (Hey I’ll do anything I can to help out.)

Tonight I went to another play in which liquid precipitation features prominently, Singing in the Rain. Yes it’s the very same story as the Gene Kelly movie. Besides the title song there were a few others that I recognized but just never knew where they originated. The dancing, although of course not at the Gene Kelly level, was impressive and significantly better than I was expecting. Overall another great and seriously funny show but maybe more for grownups than The Ark is.

The main point of this post though, is not meant to be a review of the plays so much as it is about the theatre itself. There is just something about a live performance by real people on a stage that a movie can never match. No matter how great the film there is always a distance and lack of intimacy that movies can never escape. Even with perfect visuals and sound and spectacular effects a movie always lies flat on the screen and when it’s over the screen is instantly blank and we realize that none of the characters who grabbed our hearts, made us laugh and made us care for them was ever really there.

The actors in a play however, are completely real and alive. Even in small town productions like the ones I was lucky enough to see there is an unmistakeable connection between the players and their audience that you can almost taste. Although they may be strangers when the curtain rises they become our friends by the time it falls. They allow us in, to witness the fruits of their talents and long hours of rehearsals and in return we show them our appreciation with our laughter and applause. Sure, in reality it is unlikely that we will ever see them again but for a few minutes we both occupy the same little world and we love them for building it for us.

Maybe the fact that my girlfriends are always busy and my going solo contributes to the connection I feel with the live actors on a stage. I suspect and hope though, that it’s not just me.

Someone once sang, “Players only love you when they’re playing.” Yeah, that’s probably true but I feel just a little more alive for those few minutes that they do.

Admittedly the high from the play is inevitably followed by a corresponding and shockingly immediate crash as I walk out into the night and fumble for my car keys. That’s okay though, it was so worth it.

Thanks for the tickets KJAMBD. I hope to go to more real shows from now on.

HP and the Half-Blood Prince

I had planned to see it eventually but thanks to some heads up advance tickets purchasing done by the Quintons and their inviting me to use an extra one, I was able to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in a sold out theatre on only its second day of release. Thanks to Dennis, Leisel, TJ, Megan, Steve, Taylie and Spencer for letting me join you.

As it has a running time of 2 hours and 33 minutes it was easy to forgo the $12 popcorn and drink combo and just enjoy the movie knowing I wouldn’t be distracted by the need to “go” during the latter part and also that, for the rest of the night, I wouldn’t have that mildly nauseating and greasy on the inside feeling you get from consuming way too much popcorn topped with a silly amount of melted yellow chemical sludge. Now on to the movie…

The familiar main title in all its jagged glory opens the show as usual but the surprising absence of the even more familiar mood setting theme music was disappointing to say the least. I suppose it may have been a sign that this was going to be a departure from the traditional HP movie formula and it definitely was that, but in a good way this time.

In real estate they say the three most important things are location, location and location. Well for me in movies it’s all about story, story and story. This Potter movie is all about story. It may not be the exact story contained in the book but it is a good one and it’s told with purpose and passion, without stopping along the way to apologize for omitting this particular bit or that inconsequential character. Instead of trying to include tiny fragments of every bit of the book, as they have often done in the past, this time it seems they recognized the important elements and concentrated their efforts on the central story leaving many familiar faces with little more than cameos this time around. Sure it was unfortunate not to have more time with some of them but if the end result is a deeper much more meaty and involving tale then I’m all for it.

If I may now mention a few specifics, I’ll start with Daniel, Emma and Rupert. They of course play Harry, Hermione and Ron. These three have been together for so long now that it’s quite obvious they are genuinely comfortable working together. Although I must admit I had always hoped that it would be Harry and Hermione who would end up together, as their special bond is shown to and felt by us in this movie much more than in any of the previous ones. Daniel and Bonnie Wright (Ginny) unfortunately have about as much chemistry as a liberal arts major. Emma and Rupert on the other hand have fairly good chemistry and although they go through a rough patch Ron and Hermione are back together by the end and their reconciliation is quite sweet.

I had read that there was a lot of snogging (apparently it’s what they call kissing over there) in this movie but I was relieved to find much less than I had feared and that there is no real need to nickname this Harry Potter movie as “Hogwarts 90210” at all.

One more pleasant surprise was the amount of humour in HP 6. It is by far the most funny of all the films thus far. It’s not that they went out of their way trying to make a comedy at all. It doesn’t feel forced or fake, but they have done a great job including some good laughs along the way.

Quidditch is back for a brief but spectacular appearance. Although it has been good in the past it seems that this time they found someone who really understands the physics of motion and athletics to choreograph the flying and the play so it looks more realistic than ever.

This is also the creepiest and scariest of the films so far. There was one spot (obvious to anyone who has read the book and even to many who haven't) in particular where several of the girlies in the packed theatre let out some professional grade screams.

A couple of minor characters stood out to me and I must mention them.

Helena Bonham Carter makes an early appearance, as Bellatrix of course, and a couple more later on and I must say I wish she was on the good guy’s team. She absolutely steals every scene she is in and I find it nearly impossible to take my eyes off her. She has so much charisma and she is obviously one of the best actors in the film.

Evanna Lynch (Luna) is her usual quirky little self. She is no Alice Cullen but she is just a tiny bit the same type of character. A bit strange from afar but quite lovely once you get to know her.

Above all, this is Harry and professor Dumbledore’s story and they tell it well. For the first time I found myself not missing Richard Harris so much and it was spectacular to witness the full fury of Dumbledore’s legendary magical power used in anger to save Harry.

I will admit that the large gap of time from when I read the book until seeing the movie tonight may have something to do with my lack of disappointment due to bits of the book gone missing. Having said that, I must say that this HP movie is my favourite of them all and by quite a large margin. A somewhat concentrated and great story is well told. I was more involved, I cared more, I laughed more, I got more stuff in my eye, I was more afraid, I was sadder and I was happier. It's just a great ride. I think I'm ready to go again.

8 out of 10.

P.S. Just one more thing I intended but forgot to mention. To top it all off it was so nice to walk outside into the 9:30 twilight™ and find it still warmer than inside with a muggy but very pleasant humidity that reminded me of places on this planet humans were actually meant to inhabit… Like Hawaii or basically anywhere between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

Memories of Japan courtesy of Africa by way of Slovenia

I think/hope most of you are familiar with Toto’s song Africa. It was released in 1982 and became a number one hit early in 1983. This was just after I got to Japan on my mission.

It was of course a huge culture shock being in such a completely foreign land so anything familiar that reminded us of home was appreciated immensely. We were not allowed to listen to music on our own but that doesn’t mean that we never heard any. Music was often playing in many public places and much of the time it was western music (as in pop music from the English speaking world, not country/western.) As it was just becoming the number one hit worldwide “Africa” was one of the songs we heard most often. In fact one particular day in Japan is always brought back to me when I hear this song. The area we were serving in was having their stake “undokai” or sports day. Basically a track and field day/picnic type of affair. We were allowed to dress in our casual clothes and participate in the whole thing.

One of the members brought his portable music player (CDs were just barely coming out then so it would still have been what they called a “rajicase” or radio/cassette player.) The only song I still remember hearing that day was Africa and whenever I hear it now I remember that sports day in Sakai, Japan.

Completely by chance I came across this cool version of the song on the YouTube. It is an a cappella version done by a Slovenian choir. It starts off with a very cool rain/thunder storm. I have also included the original version by Toto just for comparison in case you need to refresh your memory.

(listening through headphones highly recommended)

One afterthought if I may, I think it would be coolest if you listened with your eyes closed, from the beginning through the rain/storm part up until they start singing. Then open your eyes and restart it so you can see just how they made it rain and thunder.