Some favorite NYC moments:
Talking to a homeless guy everyday outside my hotel - he was pretty cool. I talked to a few homeless people, and a lot of natives in Central Park. I explored almost every square foot of that - there was little else to do on Sunday.
Visiting Ellis Island - I was not expecting to be moved, or that it would be so interesting, but it has some great displays, and I learned a lot about historical immigration patterns while I having fun there.
Within two hours of arriving I went to look for the temple - which doubles as a church meeting house - and on my way there I was taking in the sights which were interesting. It is the neighborhood where "You've Got Mail" was filmed, so it is a nice area, but the people are still...colorful. Anyway, as I was walking along about a quarter mile from the temple, I saw a young woman who looked very wholesome and I thought, "Well, I suppose there are all types everywhere". She came up to the same stoplight I was at dragging her rolling luggage behind her. Then she turned to me and asked if I knew where the Mormon temple was. She was from Utah, and I was the first person she talked to after arriving. What are the odds of that?
I hopped off the bus tour down at the southern end of the city and walked most of the way back to the upper west side, which was a lot to explore, but I enjoyed it very much. I finally got tired after several miles and took the subway (very easy to navigate with) to Times Square, because I had not seen it at night and I wanted to see the huge displays. Upon arriving I noticed that the police were setting up barriers and weren't saying what they were for, so I decided to hang around to wait and see. I talked to a couple of teachers from the mid-west and told them my little miracle of finding my glasses (another time, dear readers), and we had a nice testimony as well as a discussion of the city. I helped them plan out the rest of their trip because I knew where everything was by then. Anyway, pretty soon a band started to set up on the platform above the entrance to the Hard Rock Cafe, and it turns out it was Ozzy Osbourne. I could of thrown a rock and hit him - "missed opportunity" some of you are probably thinking. Anyway, I listened until they played Crazy Train and a few other songs and left.
I also loved Grand Central Station - I have a poster in my office and it was as cool as the poster, and had a great atmosphere. By the way, if you want to see a good prank done there, here is a cool site for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo
It is the same link that is on my Facebook site if any of you ever go there. I'll tell the rest of the NYC story later.
Music:
Lately I have been really into Neal Morse. He is a progressive rocker (along the lines of Kansas, Yes, and early Genesis) who was the lead singer/songwriter and multi-instrumental genius behind the band Spock's Beard. Anyway, he left the band a few years ago to do Christian music, and some of it is quite amazing, although a lot of it is still progressive rock. My favorite disc is called simply "?", and it is a theme album about the tabernacle in the wilderness, of all things. It is quite amazing.
This first link is actually a live performance of a Spock's Beard song called June, which I think is amazing. If you don't like live music, there is a video accompanied by the studio version right beside it at the linked site:
http://www.last.fm/music/Spock%27s+Beard/+videos/+1-P9NLFpzh9d4
This last one is my favorite - although it is not progressive, like most of the rest of the "One" album that it comes from. It is called Cradle to the Grave. It is a song written with a verse for man and a verse for God, then their two parts mesh together. You can find it here. There are a few other songs as well, although some of you might be shocked by the distorted opening of Solid as the Sun.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=285998991
You can see the lyrics here if you want.
http://www.seeklyrics.com/lyrics/Neal-Morse/Cradle-To-The-Grave.html
That's all for now kids, other than to note that we are still having a good time with all the runts, at least when the boys are not making our lives miserable by tormenting Michelle. For her part, she gives us all a trial when her emotions heat up, but overall we are having a great time with our fun children this summer.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Monday, July 7, 2008
Music and Movies Part I, etc.
Hello Everyone. We are having a good if busy summer. I thought I would take a minute to comment on a movie or two and some music you might like. Before I get to that though, I have to tell you about some silliness. Last night at scripture study, we were reviewing the teaching of searching for the one lost sheep and leaving the 99. As part of the teachings about that, I mentioned that the scribes/pharisees and priests sometimes thought they were above repentance, and asked if anyone was actually above that. All three of our children raised their hands at the same time. So much for the lesson. I was hoping that at least Michelle was just asking a question, but no, she was also claiming the state of perfection. Sigh. My kids...we did laugh pretty hard about all of them doing it at the same time though. : )
Movies: We recently went to see Prince Caspian (Narnia 2.0) as a family, and it got mixed reviews. I thought it was alright, but a little light on plot. Cameron (who has read the book about 10 times) hated it because it was too far off the mark. The rest of the family liked it reasonably well. Cameron and I preferred Martian Child, because of just the right amount of wacky weirdness (like John and Joan Cusack are perfect for), and very heart-warming moments. It was flawed by one or two formulaic elements you could see coming a mile away, but it was a good film, and I liked some moments A LOT. In case you don't know about it, it has to do with widower writer trying to get his life together and how he looks into adopting a little boy (who has a few problems, one of which is that he thinks he is from Mars). At the risk of sharing a lot of the charming parts of the film and thereby diminishing the impact of it, here is the link to the trailer. If you get interested enough to see it, you might stop watching to keep some great fresh moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo--9mYFpVM
Music: I got a great steal at our local music store, and am listening to The Thorns right now. They are sort of a supergroup made up of Matthew Sweet (100% Fun - my favorite disc of his), Shawn Mullins (Soul's Core and Beneath the Velvet Sun), and the sort of folky Pete Droge (http://www.myspace.com/petedroge). The one I have has the original disc (which has electric and acoustic songs), as well as an acoustic only session with them doing all their songs with just an acoustic guitar or two, a bass, and occasional drums. It is great. If you want to hear their music, you can find it at: http://www.myspace.com/thethornsmusic
My favorite song on their player at that site is "No Blue Sky". They are little like Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Another band that resurfaced at the Quist house is an old favorite "Toad the Wet Sprocket". They are my favorite 90s band, and Brandon has just found them, causing a bit of a resurgence. They were pool fodder at our pool exercise/fun time this morning. In Light Syrup is an odd collection of their weird stuff that never made it on a regular album, but it may be their best album. The song "Good Intentions" on this page is from that album.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=69945434
The song Walk on the Water was a hit for them as well, although it is not one of my favorites. It is one of Jamie's favorites. The other songs on the page are not very indicative of their best music. My favorite albums other than In Light Syrup are Dulcinea and Coil. Check them out at your local library! : )
For those of you who don't remember Shawn Mullins, here is a link to a video of his biggest hit, "Lullaby": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sQIX1NTkcQ
This is a link to an acoustic version of Lullaby (live) where he tells a bit of the story behind the song. The sound quality is not the best, but it is interesting, and you can see how he plays it (open G).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgyA-6Br1HA&feature=related
Movies: We recently went to see Prince Caspian (Narnia 2.0) as a family, and it got mixed reviews. I thought it was alright, but a little light on plot. Cameron (who has read the book about 10 times) hated it because it was too far off the mark. The rest of the family liked it reasonably well. Cameron and I preferred Martian Child, because of just the right amount of wacky weirdness (like John and Joan Cusack are perfect for), and very heart-warming moments. It was flawed by one or two formulaic elements you could see coming a mile away, but it was a good film, and I liked some moments A LOT. In case you don't know about it, it has to do with widower writer trying to get his life together and how he looks into adopting a little boy (who has a few problems, one of which is that he thinks he is from Mars). At the risk of sharing a lot of the charming parts of the film and thereby diminishing the impact of it, here is the link to the trailer. If you get interested enough to see it, you might stop watching to keep some great fresh moments:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo--9mYFpVM
Music: I got a great steal at our local music store, and am listening to The Thorns right now. They are sort of a supergroup made up of Matthew Sweet (100% Fun - my favorite disc of his), Shawn Mullins (Soul's Core and Beneath the Velvet Sun), and the sort of folky Pete Droge (http://www.myspace.com/petedroge). The one I have has the original disc (which has electric and acoustic songs), as well as an acoustic only session with them doing all their songs with just an acoustic guitar or two, a bass, and occasional drums. It is great. If you want to hear their music, you can find it at: http://www.myspace.com/thethornsmusic
My favorite song on their player at that site is "No Blue Sky". They are little like Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Another band that resurfaced at the Quist house is an old favorite "Toad the Wet Sprocket". They are my favorite 90s band, and Brandon has just found them, causing a bit of a resurgence. They were pool fodder at our pool exercise/fun time this morning. In Light Syrup is an odd collection of their weird stuff that never made it on a regular album, but it may be their best album. The song "Good Intentions" on this page is from that album.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=69945434
The song Walk on the Water was a hit for them as well, although it is not one of my favorites. It is one of Jamie's favorites. The other songs on the page are not very indicative of their best music. My favorite albums other than In Light Syrup are Dulcinea and Coil. Check them out at your local library! : )
For those of you who don't remember Shawn Mullins, here is a link to a video of his biggest hit, "Lullaby": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sQIX1NTkcQ
This is a link to an acoustic version of Lullaby (live) where he tells a bit of the story behind the song. The sound quality is not the best, but it is interesting, and you can see how he plays it (open G).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgyA-6Br1HA&feature=related
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