Posted on 03/25/2008 5:58:52 AM PDT by silent_jonny
I’ve only read a teeny bit of it for that reason. I want to read Night, but I can’t bring myself to yet.
I don’t know how I got through Man’s Search for Meaning. I mainly listened at work, so I think that helped. But I had to shut it off when he was talking about the love of his wife sustaining him and later finding out she was dead.
There is a book called, “Left To Tell” by a woman who survived the Rwandan genocide. She was in a bathroom that was about 6x6 with 6 other women for 3 months. It’s an amazing book, but equally difficult to get through.
Here is a link to her website: http://www.immaculee.com/ and on the bottom is a short clip from a 60 Minutes piece on her.
Rope is a very interesting, intense film. It was also one of the earliest films to make it clear (without being obvious or heavy-handed) that two of the three protagonists, the two murderers, were gay. The signs are subtle, and would be missed by many in the more naive audiences of 1948. Hitchcock makes those two characters thoroughly despicable.
The thing that made this film noteworthy was that Alfred Hitchcock did some ground-breaking technical experimentation in the way he shot that film. He wanted to shoot the film continuously all in one shot, but since the sides of the film reels of the time couldn't accommodate that, he used several eight-minute continuous shots. He then used highly inventive film editing to make it appear as though the whole movie was shot in one continuous take. He also used inventive lighting effects to make it appear as though the audience could see the natural progression of daylight from morning, to afternoon, late afternoon, sunset, evening and night.
But don't watch the movie just for the technical achievements. The acting is excellent and it's a good suspense story with a touch of the macabre as a dinner party is held on top of a chest in which the murders have stuffed their victim. It's also brilliant how the character played by James Stewart gradually unravels what happened to the missing dinner guest.
Hi RK. I don't know what it is, but am not surprised that Jimmy Stewart films dominate.
No, I haven't, but I just got a new library card today, so will see if they have a copy there.
I’m off to bed! ‘Nite all!
Fourth child on the way for Josh Gracin
The Gracin clan is expanding again, Josh Gracin announced Thursday. The country star and American Idol alum revealed that wife Ann Marie is pregnant with their fourth child, but did not announce a due date. Sharing that "we're all excited about the new addition," Josh, 27, said that siblings Briana Marie, 6, Landon Joshua, 2 ½, and Gabriella Ann, 19 months, "can't wait to meet their new brother or sister."
I hope his wife has some help though, that's a lot of very young children to take care of while pregnant.
Hope things are going well for you. :)
Swearing chef prompts tighter #*@%& rules
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080619/od_nm/swearing_dc_2
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Foul-mouthed British chef Gordon Ramsay prompted Australia’s parliament Thursday to push for tighter rules to protect viewers from swearing on television.
Ramsay’s programs are ratings winners on free-to-air television in Australia, but prompted outrage earlier this year when one episode featured the volatile chef using a four-letter expletive more than 80 times in 40 minutes.
The Catholic church called for his shows to be scrapped or shown at a later time, and now an inquiry by the Senate, Australia’s upper house, has urged better warnings on programs and new ways for television stations to deal with complaints.
“People were offended by the way Ramsay directed his language toward restaurant staff in an abusive and aggressive manner,” inquiry chairwoman Anne McEwen told parliament, saying submissions expressed concern about his swearing and attitudes.
- end snip, more at link
'Idol' winner Cook reaps 940,000 downloads Thursday, May 29, 2008 E-Mail Print Share: NEW YORK — David Cook's "American Idol" win is already paying dividends on the music charts. The 25-year-old singer raked in 942,000 digital downloads in just a week, according to figures released Thursday by Nielsen SoundScan. The numbers are from the week ending Sunday. Runner-up on the Fox show, David Archuleta, amassed 323,000 downloads in the same period. The next closest "Idol" contender was Jason Castro, with 64,000 downloads. Cook, from Blue Springs, Mo., last week defeated the 17-year-old Archuleta of Murray, Utah, by a margin of 12 million votes out of the record 97.5 million cast by viewers. He wasn't the only one whose downloads jumped markedly. George Michael, Carrie Underwood and ZZ Top all saw huge increases in downloads after making guest appearances on the show. Cook plans to release an album this fall. ___
On the Net: Mario Lopez People's Hottest Bachelor; David Cook Also Makes the Cut Wednesday, June 18, 2008 E-Mail Respond Print Share: AP May 21: David Cook performs during the opening act of the season finale of American Idol in Los Angeles. May 21: David Cook performs during the opening act of the season finale of American Idol in Los Angeles. NEW YORK — He didn't come in first place this time, but "American Idol" winner David Cook is on People magazine's list of the hottest bachelors. The rocker, 25, told People that he is not as confident off-stage as he is performing. "Looking a pretty woman in the eye and convincing her I'm worth taking a chance on takes a specific brand of guts, and it's not the kind I have," he said. Click here for photos of some of the bachelors. Former "Saved by the Bell" star Mario Lopez, 34, took the top honor as hottest bachelor ... but he says he wasn't always this hot. "I looked like a sumo wrestler," Lopez said of his appearance as a baby. "My mom had to pull the fat folds apart when she bathed me!" Other bachelors featured on the list include tennis player James Blake, Britney Spears' older brother Bryan, "Gossip Girls" stars Penn Badgely, Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, "Hills" stars Brody Jenner and Frankie Delgado, Poison rocker Bret Michaels, actors Gerard Butler and Terrence Howard and "Saturday Night Live" comedian Andy Samberg. ________
David Cook dating Kimberly Caldwell: After winning American Idol, David Cook asked former AI contestant Kimberly Caldwell out on a date... on live TV! Kimberly, of course, said yes and the two have been happily dating ever since. The couple were seen on a romantic dinner date in Hollywood. _____________
The Brooke Wbite thing is really an extension of a 10 year old boy’s campaign to help raise funds.
Help American Idol Finalist Brooke White Save The World
The campaign was in part inspired by a ten year old from Illinois named Ryan Skarnulis. During his birthday party, Ryan helped raise almost $1,000 for bed nets for Africa. The “Save the World Summer” expands on this idea by suggesting kids use summertime activities to raise money for charity. As a bonus, the kid who raises the most bed nets for Malaria No More will receive two tickets to next year’s American Idol finale.
Why David Cook’s Win Is Good for ‘American Idol’ by Donna Reynolds -- 05/27/2008
American Idol is over for another season, but the media is still buzzing over the season finale. It seems that every journalist and blogger in the known universe has weighed in on the outcome of the over-hyped David vs. David showdown, and Donna has decided it’s time for her to put together some thoughts on the issue.
Let me start out by saying that I was completely satisfied not only with the outcome of the competition, but also by the Idol finale itself. Other than the ridiculous plug for Mike Myers’ upcoming movie and the totally irrelevant performance by the Jonas Brothers, the producers wisely put the focus on the Idols and gave viewers some tasty moments to savor. I particularly loved Jason Castro’s performance of “Hallelujah” and David Cook’s jam with ZZ Top. It was certainly better than last season’s finale, which wandered so far adrift it nearly got lost.
While I expected David Cook to win, I was stunned by his margin of victory. I was also surprised that these numbers were released during the show. I don’t recall this happening since the Ruben/Clay finale. I couldn’t help feeling just a little bit embarrassed for David Archuleta, who was ultimately so severely trounced.
As for Cook’s victory, I think the broad smile on Simon Cowell’s face as the Davids’ victory celebration ensued was very revealing. I imagine Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller were also breathing sighs of relief as they watched, realizing exactly what this win could mean for the future of the show. The bottom line is that Idol desperately needs a successful winner in order to remain at the top of the ratings heap. Another year with so-so album sales from the ultimate victor would further damage the show’s credibility, and result in a continued decline in the ratings and ultimately decreased ad revenues. In my opinion, David Cook has the potential to be the most successful Idol winner to date.
Now that got your attention, didn’t it? What about Carrie and Kelly, you ask. My answer to that… Daughtry. Sure, these comparisons are getting old, and David Cook’s style is totally different from Daughtry’s. Even Cook seems to bristle at the comparison. But the reality is, rock sells, and David Cook’s brand of indie-inspired melodies with solid, meaningful lyrics is what’s hot right now. Cook’s sound is a nice mix of pop and rock that could well appeal to fans from both sides of the musical fence. Given the right material and some creative license, I’m convinced David Cook can produce an album that will rival Kelly Clarkson’s Breakaway in terms of chart success.
The trick for any Idol winner is to create a debut album that will appeal not only to his or her fans on the show, but also to music fans in general. The album must include tracks that will ensure radio airplay and chart placement along with some more introspective pieces. It cannot stray too far from the public’s perception of the Idol as an artist, but must not be a total whitewash. It’s truly a delicate balance, but certainly not impossible.
Carrie Underwood’s success can be attributed to several factors. She trusted her producers and took risks with track selection. She included her coronation single, “Inside Your Heaven,” to appease Idol fans, but also included some edgier material – who would have imagined Carrie singing a song like “Before He Cheats”? The album was marketed as country, but had enough of a pop flavor to cross genres. The results – over six million copies sold, and after 131 weeks, the album is still on the Billboard 200 (#88 this week).
On the flip side, Taylor Hicks’ debut missed the mark on several levels. Not all of this was Taylor’s fault or even the fault of the production team – his musical style, while entertaining on the show, was not easily pigeonholed into any one particular genre. The record’s producers tried to homogenize his sound in an attempt to appeal to a broader base, but this antagonized Taylor’s fans who had expected something totally different. It was a lose-lose situation all around, and certainly an embarrassment for the show. While Idol continues to embrace all the other previous winners, Taylor seems to have been sent into Idol exile.
David Cook is not your run-of-the-mill Idol winner. He’s well aware of the challenges he faces and has said that although the show is a great platform from which to launch a career, it’s a crapshoot from here on in. All he wants to do is to produce a solid album that will be reflective of his musical roots and personal style. Of course, most of the former winners have said pretty much the same thing. No one wants to totally sell out, after all. The difference between David Cook and someone like Taylor Hicks, for instance, is that Cook has the benefit of hindsight. I don’t think Taylor picked the right battles to fight, and Cook will be the beneficiary of this hard lesson.
A newly hatched Idol winner quickly learns that he or she is going to have to compromise. It’s a give-and-take situation. No brand-new artist is going to get his or her way on every track, and fighting too hard antagonizes the powers that be and earns one the reputation of being difficult. Being cooperative and trusting the judgment of those responsible for creating the tone of one’s debut album can pay off in spades, as it has for Carrie Underwood. The trick is to find a balance.
David Cook is fortunate in that he can learn from previous winners’ missteps. He knows who he is as an artist, but seems flexible enough to know which battles to pick. I chuckled over his “I’m going to Disney World” declaration, for example, and recognized that his days as a shill for all things Idol had truly begun. But why fight the small stuff? Play the game, and you won’t get played!
All of this is pure speculation, of course. The record business really is a crapshoot, and today’s hot thing can quickly become tomorrow’s bargain-bin castoff. Still, based on what I’ve heard of pre-Idol David Cook’s music, I really believe he’s going to be very, very successful. And his success will certainly bring viewers back to American Idol, the ultimate win-win for all concerned.
It isn’t really fair to compare certain idols or their music/albums. A lot will depend on just why type of music Cook puts on his CD. He did some songs that I and others I know did NOT care for and those songs were HIS choices, which doesn’t bode well for me to buy his CD if its full of songs like he ‘chose’ on idol.
Carrie has done well because Country sells and she is good.
AI bad mouthed Hicks from the moment he won and if given the opportunity, they continue to do so. Its hard to have strong sales when your ‘supposed’ backers are stabbing you in the back. On the flip side AI has gone out of its way to plug Sparks who is mediocre at best and keep putting her with big names to try and boost her sales. I think had they done even half that much promoting of Hicks his sales would have been higher.
There are plenty of stations that now play a wide variety of music and could easily have played Hicks’ music, but we didn’t hear much of it. I suspect that just as AI or its powers can ‘bribe’ dj’s and stations to play certain songs or artists, that they can also do the reverse and bribe them to NOT giver certain songs and artists airplay.
And last but not least, I am sick and tired of reading about AI’s declining viewership being blamed on the various season’s winners lack of sales. If they would only open their eyes and really look at their numbers once they injected the beg a thon, I think they would find the reason for their declining numbers. They had a strong showing for the finale. Their numbers were strong, then declined, then rose agaon, so it must be something that happens mid season, gee what could that be? THE BEG A THON! jmo
I know AI would have loved to have him do good to keep the brand name up but if the artist doesn't want to play ball then there is not much they can do to help said artist. Plus AI and 19 came through for Kelly and Carrie so it is not that they wanted Taylor to fail. They played ball and did well, Hicks went his own way and his Cd suffered for it. Being a new is not the time to play the "no one undetrstands me card". After you established yourself then go and put out the record that will difine you as an artist. In the beginning the name of the game is get Airplay. So write songs and work with people that do that.
Bull! AI bad mouthed him right from the start, long before his CD was out and they allowed other idols from his season to put out there CD’s before his, which was and is out of the norm. Normally the winner releases theirs first, but not that year for some reason and his CD wasn’t late either.
As with most music, what appeals to one person may not appeal to another. That’s why there are different genres of music. :)
I listen to alot of geners of music and that Cd didn’t fit into any of them. :)
Two years after Hicks won and Cowel STILL bad mouthing Hicks. Cowell obviously figured he'd make his money off Daughtry so he could ruin Hicks' chances, by bad mouthing him right out of the gate and on up to 2 years later...... :)
And that is the great thing about AI is that a performer gets to show off their talent each night to every record label out there. It is like sending out a thousand demos at once. Even if they don't win but have shown that they can bring it then they got a better chance to get a record deal. At the same time the axiom "Your only as good as your last record." holds true. If you don't bring it and somebody else has put something out at the same-time as your's is released and thier's is a better product than what you have produced then you have already lost the air-wave war.
Hopefully Taylor will get it together and produce a good album this time around.
One more reason I LOVE Gordon Ramsay
I like several of the songs on his last album. He appeals to a smaller niche of people. So do gospel performers or reggae, but it doesn’t mean they are ‘bad’, and while I may not be into gospel or reggae, I don’t feel a need to bad mouth their albums and or work.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.