Why, Why Manti?

Auto tune of the day: Get it here.

Paper Man, by Disney (The Red Balloon + Mad Men)

Very sweet animated short ~ beautifully done: Watch --

Life In Cartoon Motion, MIKA 2007

This almost entirely overlooked treasure from 2007 has to be one of the best discoveries of my last year.  

An almost entirely glam (pop) rock album which has already been out for years now, featuring a kid with the pipes and songwriting skills to blow anyone's socks off.

Mika, sounds uncannily JUST like Freddy Mercury, with perhaps just a little bit of George Michael thrown in. This kid is talented.

Why haven't I ever heard about him before?   (Where are the rock promoters?)

Check out Life In Cartoon Motion 2007.  It is an amazing album.

Don't think anyone can sound as fantastic as Freddy Mercury?  Well, Mika does.  

Check out a few videos of some of his best work from Life in Cartoon Motion.

Trust me, though these are just some silly videos I grabbed off the internet so you could hear him now, but his entire album is fantastic.  Very Glee meets…Freddy Mercury…meets…I don't know, but your kids will love it, and so will you.

Check it out:

HAPPY ENDING

ERASE

his very happy stuff:

GRACE KELLY

LOLLIPOP

To think I popped it into my car's CD player simply to have something to listen to with the kids.  Ha!  I was the one who ended up falling in love it with the most.  I  think LICM may be up there with some of the coolest discoveries of this year.

I guess it's appropriate I found this in January, as it marks something of new year for me, and not just because it's a Chinese New Year, either, amongst other milestones.  But, because it's my birthday, too.

So, I consider finding this album now something of a birthday present from the cosmos.  

Is is Pop?  Yep.

Glam rock?  Yep.

Did I expect to fall in love with ANY of it?  -- Nope.

Not at all.

Surprise!  I did.

A dear friend with told me I'd love this and would do well to listen to the entire album with the sound up and the windows down.

I didn't think so at the time, but they were right:  

So, thanks to the cosmos and most of all thanks to my dear friend who knows me so well.

A, B, C, D --- Cookie Monster! (A 100% Feel Good moment)

And now, Flash Back Monday: One of the cutest moments ever to come from Sesame Street's Kermit and the little girl who pranks him with her alphabet singing.

Watch --
BUT FIRST: ANNA LILY SAID I HAVE TO GIVE HER CREDIT FOR FINDING THIS FOR ME TODAY! THANKS AL! XO

"Mama," by Guillermo del Toro, is nothing short of amazing.

Juliet and I went to see this tonight -- and both give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.

Mama is our favorite kind of horror story: The ghost story.

Haunting, sad, scary, moving and never quite what one expects.

A story as moving as it is unnerving, but one that engaged our imagination and heart from beginning to end.

Note, the two child actors in this film deserve oscars for their work. And the this film proves that it is still The Year of The Woman in film for 2012/2013.

I should also note that this film is another unintentional commentary on the problem of having too many guns in our midst. Especially guns in the hands of the emotionally overwhelmed and unstable. Something which is going to be even more of an issue in our post Sandy Hook world. Interesting that this film and the trailers of so many other films we saw tonight were all connected to the issue of tragedy at the hands of gun related violence. A sorry commentary on our times, I fear.
But, right now I'm still processing the astonishing imagery and visual beauty of this dark tale.

-- I can't begin to state how much I did I love this story for so many reasons: The original story, the wonderfully emotionally demonstrative children, the unique unfolding of the narrative…So much to love about it, even though it was certainly easy to watch, or anything I'd take my younger daughter to. For a few years...but for my older daughter and I, the film both touched our hearts and scared us in just the right kind of ways -- for a scary film.

Mama is unique story-telling well-done. But, my older daughter, the elder sister of my younger one, Anna Lily, found the ending rather sob-worthy. But, you'll have to see it, to know why.

Needless to say we both had to come home and hug her right away afterwards.

W. H. Auden, never spoken more beautifully than here.

Watched this film for the 7th time with my girls who were watching it for the first time.

But we all cried at the same time, here.

Watch:

Youth by Daughter:

Daughter (London based band, formerly solo work of Elena Tonra) performs 'Youth' exclusively for The Amazing Sessions 

Aimee Mann singing Freeway from her album, @#%&*! Smilers

Aimee Mann singing about my current "Home Town Buffet:" The Big OC, a place she clearly has great affection for. -- Not that I'd ever fault Mann for her dead pan, deadly accurate observations about this funny old world. Gotta hand it to her, she gets it just right so very often.

And now? -- I'm off to drive on one of these things…Enjoy.


You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
The road to Orange County leaves an awful lot of leeway
Where everyone's a doctor or a specialist in retail
They'll sell you all the speed you want if you can take the blackmail

You know it
I know it
Why don't you
Just show it?
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway

You got a lot of money, but you cannot keep your bills paid
The sacrifice is worth it just to hang around the arcade
You found yourself a prophet, but you left him on the boardwalk
Another chocolate Easter bunny, hollowed out by your talk

You know it
I know it
Why don't you
Just show it?
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway

And everything I do is wrong
But at least I'm hanging on

You got a lot of money, but you can't afford
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money, but you
Can't afford
You got a lot of money, but you
Can't afford


From her album, @#%&*! Smilers
(Note: "@#%&*! Smilers" is pronounced Fucking Smilers)



BLOG POST UPDATE:  JUST GOT THIS ALBUM FROM MY LOVING HUSBAND FOR MY BIRTHDAY AND I LOVE IT!!!

Jonsi: Beautiful sounds from Reykjavík, Iceland

This find's from Sigur Rós.

They're an an ambient/post-rock band from Reykjavík, Iceland: The fellow on lead vocals is Jonsi who did the soundtrack to We Bought a Zoo
(Great soundtrack.)




[English Translation:]

You tried everything
Yes, a thousand times
Experienced enough
Been through enough
But it was you who let everything
Into my heart
and it was you who once again
Awoke my spirit

I parted, you parted

You stir up
Emotions
In a blender
Everything in disarray
But it was you who was always
There for me
and it was you who never judged
My true friend

I parted, you parted
[hopelandic]

You sail on rivers
With an old oar
Leaking badly
You swim to shore
Pushed the waves away
But to no avail
You float on the sea
Sleep on the surface
Light through the fog

[hopelandic]

Richard Blanco's beautiful poem "One Today"

"One Today"
-- by Richard Blanco

One sun rose on us today, kindled over our shores,
peeking over the Smokies, greeting the faces
of the Great Lakes, spreading a simple truth
across the Great Plains, then charging across the Rockies.
One light, waking up rooftops, under each one, a story
told by our silent gestures moving behind windows.

My face, your face, millions of faces in morning’s mirrors,
each one yawning to life, crescendoing into our day:
pencil-yellow school buses, the rhythm of traffic lights,
fruit stands: apples, limes, and oranges arrayed like rainbows
begging our praise. Silver trucks heavy with oil or paper
-- bricks or milk, teeming over highways alongside us,
on our way to clean tables, read ledgers, or save lives
-- to teach geometry, or ring up groceries as my mother did
for twenty years, so I could write this poem.

All of us as vital as the one light we move through,
the same light on blackboards with lessons for the day:
equations to solve, history to question, or atoms imagined,
the “I have a dream” we keep dreaming,
or the impossible vocabulary of sorrow that won’t explain
the empty desks of twenty children marked absent
today, and forever. Many prayers, but one light
breathing color into stained glass windows,
life into the faces of bronze statues, warmth
onto the steps of our museums and park benches
as mothers watch children slide into the day.

One ground. Our ground, rooting us to every stalk
of corn, every head of wheat sown by sweat
and hands, hands gleaning coal or planting windmills
in deserts and hilltops that keep us warm, hands
digging trenches, routing pipes and cables, hands
as worn as my father’s cutting sugarcane
so my brother and I could have books and shoes.

The dust of farms and deserts, cities and plains
mingled by one wind -- our breath. Breathe. Hear it
through the day’s gorgeous din of honking cabs,
buses launching down avenues, the symphony
of footsteps, guitars, and screeching subways,
the unexpected song bird on your clothes line.

Hear: squeaky playground swings, trains whistling,
or whispers across cafe tables, Hear: the doors we open
for each other all day, saying: hello, shalom,
buon giorno, howdy, namaste, or buenos días
in the language my mother taught me -- in every language
spoken into one wind carrying our lives
without prejudice, as these words break from my lips.

One sky: since the Appalachians and Sierras claimed
their majesty, and the Mississippi and Colorado worked
their way to the sea. Thank the work of our hands:
weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report
for the boss on time, stitching another wound
or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait,
or the last floor on the Freedom Tower
jutting into a sky that yields to our resilience.

One sky, toward which we sometimes lift our eyes
tired from work: some days guessing at the weather
of our lives, some days giving thanks for a love
that loves you back, sometimes praising a mother
who knew how to give, or forgiving a father
who couldn’t give what you wanted.

We head home: through the gloss of rain or weight
of snow, or the plum blush of dusk, but always -- home,
always under one sky, our sky. And always one moon
like a silent drum tapping on every rooftop
and every window, of one country -- all of us --
facing the stars
hope -- a new constellation
waiting for us to map it,
waiting for us to name it -- together

President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address from The White House on Vimeo.

He did it.

We did it.

Two term President Barack Obama.
It sure wasn't as easy as one would think getting what was clearly the best guy for the job elected once again, but, somehow against all odds, we did it. Against all odds and in spite of all the haters, today he was sworn in.

And I'm very proud of being able to witness that in my lifetime.

USA Flu map based on social media reports of flu from Nov. to now

I thought this was kind of cool. This map isn't based on anything particularly scientific, it's simply based on people moaning to Facebook they have the flu. (In other words, the map is based on social reported flu tracking.)

Sad Tom Stoppard Overlooked in Oscar Nominations

Anna Karenina should have been nominated for best adaptation or best screenplay…At the very least.

Other than not digging up Vivien Leigh for the part of Anna, it was a perfectly cast film.

And the dramatic device used to economically trim a brilliant, perfectly written novel of such scope into a 90 minute film narrative, such as seen in this year's film Anna Karenina, was entirely overlooked this year.

Not cool.   I loved this film for it captured some of what Tolstoy intended us to know.  NOT ALL OF IT, but some of it, and for that I am so grateful.

A beautiful film:  Even if it was overlooked by the Academy this year.

Vivien Leigh:  The best casting of Anna Karenina, in the history of film, to date.  
Tolstoy would have approved.



Link to a blogger who shares my P.O.V.

   "Everything else is just noise at this point – but I wanted to give Tom Stoppard some kudos for his tight Anna Karenina script. Even though I’m sure it was Joe Wright’s inspired choice to set the film in a theatre instead of the Russian countryside, that wouldn’t have been possible without Stoppard’s immaculately clipped version of the lofty story. He made all the right choices in what needed to stay and what needed to go."

Flu Map 2013: National and State Flu Levels and Free Vaccine Finder

Christmas week:  I got sick with "something."

Felt like flu, but no fever, no flu test.  Still not 100% from that three weeks later. Don't know if I had "the" flu or not, but it wasn't easy to bounce back from at all.  That was no "cold."

Last weekend: Two kids: Two confirmed cases of flu.  Temps of 101-103 for 3/4 days.  Rapid chest congestion within hours. Extreme lethargy. Bad chest cough and cold for a week now.  Two kids: No school for one week and counting.

No doubt about it:  Flu season is here with a bang and you should protect yourself now.

Check out the facts and get your shot.  It has a 60% success rate of protecting you.  Which is better than not.  Do you really want this thing?  Get yours.  Costco was selling theirs for $16, but I've put in links to national info about flu tracking, flu vaccine tracking and how to get a free flu shot below.

Good luck!

CLICK HERE FOR UP-TO-DATE (Google Trending) FLU MAP





click on link here to SEE FLU NEAR YOU

click on link here to  FIND A FLU SHOT NEAR YOU

How to Get a Free Flu Shot: 

Every season it can seem as if the flu virus gets worse. Having a flu shot can prevent the influenza virus from taking hold of your system, putting you out of commission for weeks at a time. Sometimes though, you might not have the money needed to receive the flu shot and prevent yourself from getting sick. There are ways to get the flu vaccine for free, you just have to know where and how to get it.

Instructions

1  Use your Medicare card. People who are receiving Medicare such as the elderly and disabled can get the flu vaccine for free at most clinics and doctor’s offices by just making an appointment and presenting their Medicare card. Walk-in clinics will also usually have the flu vaccine where you don’t have to make an appointment. The health department is another place where Medicare patients can receive a free flu shot.

2  Utilize your student status. College students can receive free flu vaccines at a college health fair annually. You must present your student ID and be sure to get there early because there are usually limited supplies on hand.

3  Check with your employer. Larger companies and even some small businesses can get a discount on flu vaccines and sometimes offer them at no cost to their employees. Giving their employees free flu shots helps ensure that they will have fewer employees out of work due to illness caused by influenza. It’s a cost-effective way to help you and their business at the same time.

4  Be a member of the military. Military personnel can receive a no-cost flu shot at the infirmary or at a military designated area set up specifically for flu shot vaccinations. Be sure to check on the times and dates.

5  Call your local health clinic. Some health clinics in certain cities will offer the flu shot for free for usually one day only or on certain dates. Be sure to get there early on the day that they offer the vaccine.

Why do kids always get things quicker than grown-ups?

The silver-lining to being house-bound for about three weeks with my daughters, is that we three have had quite a bit of time to really and truly get to know each other lately.

We've had time to share laughs, thermometers, kleenex, and occasionally daytime television together along with our ever evolving varieties of colds and flu.  Type A, to be exact.

What was extra fascinating was that for the first time since having children I no longer found we had to indulge anyone their share of the Disney Channel -- nope, what everyone's channel of choice was, amazingly CNN.  Even when I found it to be too much news overkill for kids to see.  But, they were interested in this world which they will soon inherit.

Then tonight, as Piers Morgan was talking about guns, my older child said her two biggest surprises (from famous faces) in 2012 was how much she ended up respecting and admiring Chris Christie and Piers Morgan.  She said she never expected that to happen.

What she said (or croaked) was "They're blunt.  Blunt about what's right.  I respect that."

What's taking our leaders and government so long to want this, too?

Rare photo collection of film icons from the golden days of Hollywood

I have to give a shout out to a my new favorite Facebook Group called Decaying Hollywood Mansions where I found these rare photos of some iconic Hollywood talent and beauty.

Check these out these rare photos below:

Fred Astaire using his svelte to tame cats

    

Greta Garbo.  Glorious and make-free.

   

 James Dean in his hometown with his first cousin

Dean and cousin in hometown shooting hoops in barn.

James Dean's timeless iconic beauty

Rock Hudson and James Dean messing about
on film set of Giant, 

James Dean pretending to punch Rock Hudson in his man junk.

I'm guessing this photo never 
made it into Look Magazine at the  time.

Marlon Brando lost in a book.

Or showing us he is.

Jimmy Stewart in some very disco-y ice skating attire.

Very Glee, I must say!

Must have been some great outtakes in this film.

Anyone know the title?

Robert Mitchum.  Gorgous and 100% guy.

Revealing look at Jane and Henry Fonda

Note the father/daughter body language.

Elizabeth Taylor looking particularly beautiful and real.
There's something fragile in this photo.

  

Aerial photo of early Disneyland:

Orange County still filled with green fields.

Audrey Hepburn always a lady.

Truman Capote.  Amazing writer: 
A poet even with non-fiction.  

So talented and gorgeous. Well, for a while he was.

    

(Naughty) Shirley Temple in politically incorrect film.
Somebody leave a comment below as to what film this was from.

    

Natalie Wood letting her personality shine through.

A young, baby-faced Orson Welles

Garbo:  Sans artifice, or pretense:  Lovely and open and real

    

Satchmo and Dietrich: Must've been quite a party.
If this is also from a film, someone tell me the title.

Veronica Lake:  Never more beautiful and voluptuous
than she is in this photo: Iconic beauty of Film Noir.

    Veronica Lake in her later years, visiting LA.
Spent her later years in Vermont where, sadly, she lost a battle with alcoholism.

Wonder what her thoughts were while back in Hollywood, here.
I hope she had good people in her life.

Marlene Dietrich: "The Song of Songs."
*Look how real that statue looks. Bizarre.

Mia Farrow.  This "waif" dated many industry heavy hitters:

Woody Allen, Andre Previn, Frank Sinatra.

   

Jacqueline Bisset:  Classic example of film beauty
for a newer Hollywood of the 70's and 80's

   

Charlotte Rampling, another screen beauty

from Georgie Girl to this day.  A film beauty and a survivor.  

    

Elizabeth Montgomery: Brave actress: Both on screen and off

   

 Vivien Leigh: May be the ultimate classic film beauty and talent.
Tragically lost her battle with depression and alcohol.
Married to Lawrence Olivier.  Which could not have helped, either.

 Publicity still for Bell Book and Candle
The haunting film beauty, Kim Novak with a much older Jimmy Stewart

Jean Harlow capturing the attention of the boys.
As usual.

    

Gable and Harlow.  Acting?  Hmm.  Have to wonder.
This embrace looks more like method acting, to me.
Steamy.

Tippi Hedren getting a light from a talented crow on set of The Birds

Apparently, Hitchcock tortured her with real birds on the set.
Nice of him, no?

Jane Fonda and Alain Delon: Youth and beauty in France

 

Carole Lombard, Cary Grant, 
Marlene Dietrich, and Richard Barthelmess.
at Carol Lombard’s famous party she threw
on the Venice pier in June 1935.
Apparently, it made Hollywood history books:
She was MY kind of girl.

Rare Hollywood photos featuring the iconic beauty of Fred Astaire, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Rock Hudson, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Farbo, Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Jane Fonda, Henry Fonda, Elizabeth Taylor, aerial shot of early Disneyland in a green Orange County, Ca., Audrey Hepburn, Truman Capote, Shirley Temple, Natalie Wood, Orson Welles, Veronica Lake, Mia Farrow, Jacqueline Bisset, Charlotte Rampling, Elizabeth Montgomery, Vivien Keigh, Kim Novak, Jean Harlow, Tippi Hedren, The Birds, Alain Delon, Cary Grant, Carole Lombard…and more...