Bach and Ballet

So I'm scrolling through Facebook and come across a post from the New York City Ballet. Lo and Behold, I read this:

"If someone told you that seeing a certain piece of art, listening to a particular piece of music, or watching a specific ballet would transform your life and alter your vision of the world, you would definitely make sure you saw, listened or watched, right? Well here's your chance. Jerome Robbins' The Goldberg Variations."

This mini-documentary about how Bach's Goldberg Variations are performed as ballet is inspiring. I'm a huge fan of Bach and of ballet, so watching the melding of the two together is a double portion of beauty, art and joy!

Creating Promotion Videos

My latest projects:

I've been creating videos for my friend Monica, a freelance writer, who interviews local artists and business owners for her blog. My first video featured Monica herself and I just finished a video for a local Cheyenne business, Iron Sharpens Iron, which creates metalwork art from re-purposed metal.

Here's a link to that video:

Here is a link to Monica's video promoting her freelance writing business:

I've really enjoyed making these videos. I'm trying to learn more creative ways to do them in the future. Perhaps mixing it up with various locations and adding different video effects. These videos were shot at Monica's home.

I'm also creating inspirational videos for church that feature beautiful landscapes and music.

Another project in works is a web series I'd like to create and produce.

My biggest obstacle is wanting to update my video camera and editing software! Need money for these high-end purchases. Sigh.

Stay tuned!

San Francisco

I created a short video featuring the footage I shot in San Francisco last summer. Lucas and I were renting a place close to the beach and would walk along the shore every day. I included a lightning storm that I shot from my front porch. It wasn't raining, just lightning flashes and wind.

Carol of the Bells - The Piano Guys

So I'm scrolling through Facebook and come across The Piano Guys post and a link to this beautiful performance video. Carol of the Bells and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen are two of my favorite carols. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

God bless us! Eveyone!

The Christmas season is here! What would Christmas be like without Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol"? I read the book every year and I'm always blessed to read about Scrooge given a second chance in life. I'm all about second chances. The novella was published on December 19, 1843 and was met with "instant success and critical acclaim." Hear! Hear!

I also enjoy watching the different film versions of this classic story. I wonder what Charles Dickens would think if he knew that his tale of Ebenezer Scrooge would become a Christmas tradition for millions around the world and be adapted into plays, musicals and films. I think he might surprised and perhaps celebrate with a "Christmas bowl of smoking bishop."

So without further adieu, I would like to share my favorite "A Christmas Carol" films:

The Patrick Stewart version is my all-time favorite. The cinematography is superb and beautifully captures the time and place of the story. Stewart's "Scrooge" is perfectly gruff throughout, which makes his transformation so dramatic. Director: David Hugh Jones (1999).

Disney's version of the story is truly magical. The animation and computer effects take us to places that a live-action film could never do. Director: Robert Zemeckis (2009).

George C. Scott's Scrooge is a large, forbidding Scrooge. I can't seem to get the idea of "Patton" out of my head. I expect Scrooge to command a division of tanks to attack in his war against Christmas. Director: Clive Donner (1984).

I finally got around to seeing this version this year. It's delightful and is now one of my favorites. Alastair Sim's Scrooge transformation is joyous to watch. He skips and  dances for joy! My favorite scene. Director: Brian Desmond Hurst (1951).

I also saw this one this year for the first time. Reginald  Owen plays Scrooge in this 1931 black-and-white film. Sound had only been in films for a couple of years, so the acting was bit exaggerated in places. The characters come through, however, and I still cry when Scrooge awakes on Christmas Day with a new lease on life! Director: Edwin L. Marin (1938). 

Who doesn't love the Muppets? Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and the gang are wonderful! And Michael Caine is a perfect Scrooge for this musical version. Director: Brian Henson (1992).

What are your favorite Christmas films? 

The Family Man

It's a little early to think about Christmas movies since it's not even Thanksgiving yet, but the Hallmark Channel has been having a Christmas movie marathon for the last two weeks with no end in sight. And, yes, I am beginning to thaw to the idea of Christmas in mid-November.

That said, I want to talk about one of my favorite Christmas movies: The Family Man (2000), starring Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni. 

Nicolas is Jack Campbell, a self-centered, money-hungry, Wall Street tycoon, who finds out what his life would have been like if he'd chosen "love." An angel (Don Cheadle) gives him a glimpse of his life in an alternate universe if he had married the love of his life (Tea Leoni). To Jack's dismay, he discovers that he would be a "family man," with a wife, two kids and a dog. Goodbye, Wall Street. He now works at his father-in-law's tire store in New Jersey. 

When all is said and done, Jack finds true love and gets his priorities in order. Merry Christmas!

Excellent performances by Nicolas and Tea, as well as the delightful Jeremy Piven as Jack's best friend and Don Cheadle as the angel who gets the ball rolling. The cuteness factor is evident with Makenzie Vega as Jack's daughter, Annie. She's the only one who knows that Jack is not her real dad. 

I love this scene:

ANNIE: Do you like kids?

JACK: On a case-by-case basis.

ANNIE: Do you know how to make chocolate milk?

JACK: I think I could figure it out.

ANNIE: Promise you won't kidnap me and my brother and plant stuff in our brains?

JACK: Sure.

ANNIE: Welcome to earth.

I enjoy magical stories like The Family Man. Something supernatural happens to get your attention and, ironically, brings you back to "reality." 

Walkin' the Line with my Johnny Cash Git-Tar!

Last week I trekked on down to Stroud, Oklahoma to visit my guitar-playin' dad. We like to play Johnny Cash tunes, so for inspiration, we watched Joaquin Phoenix in "Walk the Line."

As you may know by now, Joaquin actually sang the songs in the movie. Johnny plays the guitar high on his chest and makes these awkward movements. Joaquin had the moves!

I liked how Reese Witherspoon (as June Carter) described Johnny Cash's voice:

"Steady like a train, sharp like a razor." Yep, that about sums it up.

I have a brand new candy apple red Fender guitar I got for my birthday back in April and I brought it with me to Oklahoma to show it off to my dad. He grabbed his guitar and I grabbed mine and we proceeded to make music. He's good at picking melody and I'm good at playing chords.

We played and sang Folsom Prison Blues, Jackson, Ring of Fire, Walk the Line, Your Cheating Heart, Hey Good Lookin', Oh Lonesome Me, Tennessee Waltz, In the Jailhouse Now, King of the Road. We also rocked with Elvis and the Beatles.

Our next gig will be in May when Dad comes to Wyoming. In the meantime we will be practicing, getting ready for the next jam session.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

It's that time of year when the Great Pumpkin makes his appearance in the pumpkin patch that is most sincere to give out treats to all the good little boys and girls!

I grew up watching this delightful cartoon on TV back in the day. It first aired in 1966 when I was 9 years old. Yes, I was the target audience! Good Grief!

Every year after that, "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" would be on our Halloween must-do list. I'm so happy that the tradition continues today. I grew up watching the show, my kids grew up watching it, and just last weekend I watched it with my 9-year-old granddaughter!

For those who have been not seen the show, here is brief synopsis:

Linus writes a letter to the Great Pumpkin, looking forward to his
arrival on Halloween night. Of course, his older sister, Lucy,
thinks he's crazy. She doesn't believe in the Great Pumpkin.
But Linus's faith is strong. Nothing will deter him.

The gang get their costumes ready for trick or treating.
Charlie Brown has trouble with the scissors. 

Lucy: A person should always choose a costume
which is in direct contrast to her own personality.

Lucy leads the gang trick or treating
 and has to ask for an extra piece of candy for her
"blockhead brother" who is waiting for Great Pumpkin.

Meanwhile, Linus has settled into the most sincere pumpkin patch
he can find and waits expectantly for the
Great Pumpkin to appear at midnight.

Snoopy has his own problems. As the World War I flying ace,
Snoopy is ready to battle Red Baron. 

The gang goes trick or treating and get all kinds of goodies.
Except for Charlie Brown. All he gets is a bag of rocks.

After trick or treating, the gang has a Halloween party.
Everyone is having a good time except Lucy.
She is too bossy for her own good.

Snoopy continues his mission to destroy the Red Barron.

Linus encourages Sally to join him in greeting the Great Pumpkin.
Her love for Linus wins out and she spends Halloween night
in the pumpkin patch. Linus and Sally see the
Great Pumpkin rise out of the pumpkin patch. Or maybe not.  

At the Halloween party, Lucy bobs for apples
 and accidentally touches DOG LIPS! 

The Great Pumpkin didn't show up and Sally is angry with Linus.
She missed out on tricks or treats, the Halloween party
and all the fun. She demands RESTITUTION!

In the end, Linus is not deterred. His faith is stronger than ever.
He believes that next year the Great Pumpkin will show up for sure! 

Fangirl

Me and Ernest Cline. Just so happens we wear the same glasses!

I'm a "Fangirl" of Ernest Cline!

I attended the Laramie County Community College Literary Connection this weekend here in Cheyenne and got my picture taken with Ernest Cline, screenwriter of the movie "Fanboys" (2009) and author of the New York Times Best-Selling book "Ready Player One."

Ernest told us about the amazing adventure of how his first screenplay, "Fanboys," came to be optioned by Hollywood and made into a film. And how Kevin Spacey wanted to Executive Produce the movie and got the ball rolling with George Lucas, giving permission to film at Skywalker Ranch. The rest is history.

Ernest learned that when Hollywood buys your script, the screenwriter has no say in the final product. He said in Hollywood the screenwriter is not the low man on the totem pole -- the screenwriter is the part of the totem pole that is stuck in the ground.

He decided that his next story would not be a screenplay, but a novel. This would ensure that if it were made into a film (with all the cooks in the kitchen messing with his masterpiece), the original story would remain intact.

Little did he know that this novel, "Ready Player One," would become a best seller and a bidding war for film rights would take place, with Ernest writing the screenplay. WOW!

I bought his book and he signed it for me! My first book signed by the author!

Ernest signed my book: "To Luana, Live long and prosper!"

Ernest's book: Ready Player One

My Most Memorable Film Score? "The Firm" by Dave Grusin

I will never forget the first time I saw The Firm and heard Dave Grusin's amazing score.

I saw the movie at a small cinema in Cushing, Oklahoma when it was released in 1993. All I knew about the film at the time was that it starred Tom Cruise and was a suspense thriller.

Jumpin' Catfish! The film grabbed me at the opening credits. Captivating blues and jazz solo piano against a backdrop of rowing crews at Harvard. The opening credits sequence featured scenes of Boston where Mitch McDeere, a recent grad from Harvard Law, interviews for jobs with the nation's most prestigious law firms.

I like movie openings that start the story and give background to what is about to happen.

This was John Grisham's first best-selling novel, and the first adapted for film. His first novel, A Time to Kill, did not become a best-seller until after The Firm made it big. Then the publishers decided Grisham might be a pretty good writer after all so they went back and published the first novel. I'd never heard of Grisham before this movie, and since then I've read all his novels. He remains one of my favorite authors.

The music in this movie becomes a character. Set in Memphis, the music is blues and jazz at it's finest. Best tunes for me include, The Firm theme, Memphis Stomp, Ray's Blues and Mud Island Chase.

The Firm Theme

Memphis Stomp

Ray's Blues

Mud Island Chase