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