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I Thought I Lost You

Paisano November 19th, 2008


I was all set to take the kids to see the upcoming Disney movie “BOLT” anyway, but seeing this clip with Myley Cyrus and none other than John Travolta singing a song called “I Thought I Lost You” has me looking forward to seeing it too. I’d like to hear the full song whenever it’s available too.

For those of you too young to know, but Travolta sang before in a movie called GREASE some 30 years ago (GULP!) in 1978. He sang the classics, “Sandy”, “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightning” (replete with vulgar lyrics too harsh to share online). He also had a solo hit called “Let Her In”.

Here’s a sample of the wonderful song from “BOLT”

Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop

Paisano November 17th, 2008


Landon Pigg’s “Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop” was one of my favorite songs last year. I first saw it in one of those diamond commercials and thought it was a wonderful piece of music. Hearing the full version only made me love the song more. Here are both renditions of the hauntingly lovely song. The full video (Embed code disabled grrrr!!!)

Here’s the TV commercial that introduced Landon and the song to most of the world last holiday season

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the paths that your eyes wander down
I want to come too 

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you

No one understands me quite like you do
Through all of the shadowy corners of me 

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew 

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew 

I think that possibly
Maybe I'm falling for you
Yes
There's a chance that I've fallen quite hard over you

I've seen the waters that make your eyes shine
Now I'm shining too 

Because
Oh
Because I've fallen quite hard over you

If I didn't know you I'd rather not know
If I couldn't have you I'd rather be alone

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew 

I never knew just what it was about this old coffee shop I love so much
All of the while I never knew

All of the while
All of the while it was you
You
You
You

Late Bloomers

Paisano November 15th, 2008



We all know people that were late bloomgers in life. Maybe you’re one of them? You know, those geeky, awkward types in their youth that eventually blossomed into glorious adulthood. This video from Phil Vassar called CARLENE covers this topic well. It’s about this nerdy girl in school that no one paid any attention to but eventually became a beauty that everyone wants to know now. It’s not always about appearances either. Sometimes we’re ultra shy as teens or even in college then we break out and become amazing for some reason. Some people take more time to mature and find themselves. Don’t make the mistake of labeling people and discarding them too soon. Some people don’t hit their stride till even later in life. We’re all works in progress.

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If I Were a Boy

Paisano November 6th, 2008


I finally got around to listening to Beyonce’s new song, “If I were a Boy” and watched the music video after hearing several people talk about Beyonce. So off I went to check it out and I was blown away. What a great song and video. I can’t say too much about the video without giving it away. Just see for yourself. You’ll need to experience it a few times to appreciate it.

I love the whole idea of trying to put yourself in your lover’s position to see how they feel. Men have always tried to solve the mystery of women. Getting in touch with our feminine side is only a good thing. I think this song is great cause it also addresses the opposite concept. It would benefit ladies too if they would try to put themselves in their man’s shoes for a moment. It’s all about perspective and experience.

Here are the lyrics

If I were a boy
Even just for a day
Id roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted and go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
Id kick with who I wanted
And I’d never get confonted for it
Cause theyd stick up for me.
[Chorus]
If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear Id be a better man.
Id listen to her
Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
Cause hes taken you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
[ Find more Lyrics at www.mp3lyrics.org/Mj4o ]
If I were a boy
I would just turn off my phone
Tell everyone it’s broken
So they think that I was sleeping alone
Id put myself first
And make the rules as I go
Cause I know that shed be faithful
Waitin for me to come home
[Chorus]
Its a little too late for you to come back
Say it’s just a mistake
Think Id forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong
But youre just a boy
You dont understand (Yeah you dont understand)
How it feels to love a girl
Someday you wish you were a better man
You dont listen to her
You dont care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
Cause youve taken her for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
But youre just a boy
Beyoncé - If I Were A Boy - ( Official Music Video )

Presidential History

Paisano November 5th, 2008


Here’s a new collage of presidents including a new face, Barrack Obama. This is an important achievement in many respects, especially for children so grow up seeing this map of Presidents at school and even at home on things like place maps. This result gives credence to the old saying that anyone can become President of the United States of America. While that’s not exactly true, a candidates race will no longer be an issue or roadblock to the White House. What’s next? Let’s try to get a female face on that wall of faces. :)

presidents_small

 

I really like this Electorial College section on the US government site. Here’s a listing of every Electorial College result from every Presidential election from 1789 to 2004. Notice just how close some of the races were! I never new Thomas Jefferson lost his first time running and actually tied the year he did win (which was broken by the house 10-4). Lots of great information about our history here.

Funny, I always made History classes my nap time in school but now I love it! I realize now that in order to understand where you are and how to get where you want to go in the future you need to learn about the past and how you got where you are today.

Dreams and Nightmares

Paisano November 5th, 2008


So Obama has become our first African American President. While many Americans are still upset about this result, not because of his skin color but because of his politics, every one of us needs to realize that we’re all in this together. A house divided cannot stand. No matter who you voted for, you need to continue to support our country and respect the process, however wrong you think it is.

Despite your political persuasion, you must admit that this is a groundbreaking and historical event. Consider all that we’ve been through as a country regarding race relations through the years and still today. We’ve endured nightmares going all the way back to the times of slavery. We’ve suffered massive bloodshed with brothers killing brothers in a civil war in order to abolish slavery. Then we made slow progress with incredible visionaries like Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. Both would be over-joyed with today’s monumental achievement. Let’s hope we all will be in four years.

Here’s the full “I have a dream” speech from 45 years ago by MLK.

Change

Paisano November 4th, 2008


In honor of the big change that will take place tomorrow on Election Day 2008, here are a bunch of songs about Change or with the word Change in the title. I’ll add more with time so check back from time to time.

Breathe

Paisano November 2nd, 2008


I became transfixed with Anna Nalik’s “Breathe (2 AM)” song for the first time during a Grey’s Anatomy episode (one of my fave TV shows its first two seasons anyway). The voice and the lyrics just hypnotized me. I quickly found out who it was and enjoyed the full song and then music video.

My favorite passages of the song are regarding the writing process and how naked the writer feels as we share ourselves to the crowd. She captures the feeling so well. It’s so true too. Once we capture our thoughts and emotions with words and share them with the world they are no longer our’s and people will use our words any way they want to which is wonderful.

 

BREATHE (2 AM)

2 AM and she calls me ’cause I’m still awake,
can you help me unravel my latest mistake,
I don’t love him, winter just wasn’t my season
Yeah we walk through the doors, so accusing their eyes
Like they have any right at all to criticize,
hypocrites, you’re all here for the very same reason
‘Cause you can’t jump the track,we’re like cars on a cable
and life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button girl,
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe, just breathe,
Woah breathe, just breathe
May he turn 21 on the base at Fort Bliss
Just today he sat down to the flask in his fist,

Ain’t been sober, since maybe October of last year.
Here in town you can tell he’s been down for a while,
But my God it’s so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him, maybe I’ll just sing about it.
Cause you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable,
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table.
No one can find the rewind button boys,
So cradle your head in your hands,

And breathe, just breathe,
Woah breathe, just breathe
There’s a light at each end of this tunnel, you shout
‘Cause you’re just as far in as you’ll ever be out
These mistakes you’ve made, you’ll just make them again
If you only try turning around.

2 AM and I’m still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, its no longer
inside of me, threatening the life it belongs to
And i feel like I’m naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you’ll use them, however you want to
But you can’t jump the track, we’re like cars on a cable,
And life’s like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button now
Sing it if you understand.
and breathe, just breathe
woah breathe, just breathe,
oh breathe, just breathe.
oh breathe,just breathe

Twilight Zone

Paisano October 31st, 2008


My favorite TV show of all-time is Rod Serling’s classic “Twilight Zone” which aired from 1959 to 1964. The show and its creator, host and writer for most of the episodes, Mr. Serling himself won several Emmy awards for his work on the show. Many of the stories have stood the test of time and will last forever.

Sure, some of the stories were whacky and out there but most of them were well-written stories with memorable plot twists, especially at the end (the Twilight Zone trademark). There were always wonderful metaphors and allegories sprinkled throughout the stories.

Here are some of my favorite stories off the top of my head:

  • Walking Distance: A stressed out buiness man somehow manages to go back in time to his old neighborhood and childhood. The scene where he meets his dad is unforgettable.
  • Kick the Can: One of the best ever! An old man tries to make everyone remember how it feels to be young again!
  • Time Enough At Last: A bookworm survives the nuclear war and can finally find the time to read all the books he wants until another tragedy occurs.
  • A Stop at Willoughby: Businessman dreams about living in a paradise called Willoughby that he dreams about during his long commute to work.
  • The Changing of the Guard: A professor regrets that he wasted his entire life teaching boys nothing worthwhile only to be visited by many of his students (ghosts!) and realizes his life meant more than he thought. It smacks of Goodbye Mr. Chips and It’s a Wonderful Life and even “Dead Poet’s Society”! What a trio!
  • The Trade-ins: An old man who’s very ill and his wife decide to get younger bodies but can only afford one body so the old man gets it since he’s sick. The problem is that now his wife is still an old woman.
  • Eye of the Beholder: A woman has extreme cosmetic surgery because she’s hideous and wants to fit into society.
  • Number Twelve Looks Just Like You: In the future, people can choose how they will look. One woman rebels against this conformity and wants to remain her own flawed self.
  • Night of the Meek: Art Carney plays a drunk that wishes he could be Santa for one Christmas.
  • Nothing in the Dark: An old woman is afraid to die and becomes a shut-in. Death comes knocking in a surprising manner.
  • To Serve Man: Aliens come to Earth and everyone loves them except one scientist who has suspicions.

 

Those are just a few of my favorite episodes that same to mind without any research. I’m sure there are many more that I can’t recall right now. They are all wonderful little movies to me with big life lessons. I love Rod Serling and consider him a genius. Sadly, he died very young at the age of 50 in 1972 from a heart attack. He was famous for being a chain smoker and known to enjoy a drink of two. It wasn’t a surprise that he suffered heart problems at such a young age (50) and died during heart surgery.

Still, he’s left us an incredible body of work. Not just the work on the zone but also all of the award winning plays he wrote for live television in what they call the Golden Age of television. Also, he worked on the script for “Planet of the Apes” including one of the most memorable cinematic endings ever when Charleston Heston sees the Statue of Liberty. Pure Rod Serling and a Twilight Zone moment indeed.

Here are FIVE episodes in their entirety. “Walking Distance” and “A Stop at Willoughby” are extra special because they were written by Rod Serling and believed to be very personal to him. They were about men getting older and feeling the stress and pressure of their careers and dream of a simpler more peaceful time and existence. Rod was feeling the same pressure thanks to the intense grind of his career.

“The Changing of the Guard” is also considered important because it was another one written by Serling and supposedly echoed his own doubts about whether or not his life’s work (his writing) really meant anything to anyone just like the professor in the story wonders if his work meant anything. I truly wish Serling knew how timeless and important his work was. I hope he knew deep down. I feel solace from the fact that he did enjoy massive success in his lifetime with many awards and praise for his writing.

“Walking Distance” (My favorite)

“A Stop at Willoughby”

“The Changing of the Guard”

“Kick the Can”

“Time Enough At Last”

Birmingham

Paisano October 30th, 2008


If the video doesn’t play right then go to YouTube here
Here’s a live performance of Birmingham which is amazing
Amanda Marshall’s “Birmingham” is a powerful and important song. First, the song is a beautiful showcase of Amanda’s incredible voice and immense talents. The music is also a tremendous pleasure to experience. Then all of a sudden, the lyrics and the message of the song starts to get to you as the story unfolds like a great movie and sucks you in. By the end, you’re pulling for the woman and her child in the song to make it out of their horrific situation.
I know this isn’t a happy topic but it’s something that continues to happen each and every day and every night. What breaks the heart is that this abuse is happening to sweet and innocent people that we know. It’s happening right now to your next door neighbor and God forbid their child too. It’s happening to that family you sit next to at church every Sunday! Why don’t these people say something? No one really knows why. Unfortunately, too many of these people never cry for help, instead they just cry in silence. Sometimes the only way it ends is in tragedy. It just isn’t fair.

Anyway, my hope in sharing this song and message is a long shot I know but I’m praying that it might actually help someone, perhaps even you! If this helps one person get out of their destructive and dangerous situation then I’ll be happy. If it helps them save a child as well then I’ll be very happy and relieved. Maybe you can feel inspired to help someone you know that’s caught in this abusive relationship. You’ll regret it if you don’t at least try to help them get out or get help.

Life’s too short to live in fear and pain. Here are the words to this glorious song of hope and love.

Virgil Spencer’s got a ninteen-inch Hitachi
And many demons lingering
Friday night he pulled a gun to change the channel
Something that he picked up from the King
His wife remembers well the man she knew
Seems the dreams she had have all turned black and blue
She’s wasted years
No time for tears
‘Cause there’s another chance and a someday soon
Shining like the Alabama moon
She’s looking for her promised land
Out beyond the lights of Birmingham
It’s three a.m. and Virgil’s passed out on the sofa
A fifth of Jim Beam on the floor
She’s packed a bag she slips the keys out of his pocket
She’s careful not to slam the door
And as she drives she rubs her rosary
She’s never been so all alone she’s never felt so free
She’s got miles to go
Blind faith and hope
‘Cause there’s another chance and a someday soon
Shining like the Alabama moon
She’s looking for her promised land
Out beyond the lights of Birmingham
As the rain falls down upon the interstate
Any doubts she had are all but washed away
One long look back
At Birmingham
‘Cause there’s another chance and a someday soon
Shining like the Alabama moon
She’s looking for her promised land
Out beyond the lights of Birmingham

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