a vestige of thought...
Monday, January 21, 2008
War and Peace
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr Day. That means we get the day off. Woot. In honor of this great peace-loving American, Sam and Heather figured what better way to celebrate than to spend all afternoon watching war movies? So late last week they drove to Nicholasville and rented three movies, which we are currently in the process of watching. I, being the blood and gore lover that I am, have been watching from my bed with a pillow nearby.
Our first film was Empire of the Sun. This Steven Spielberg movie from 1987 tells the story of a British boy living in China during WWII who gets separated from his parents and spends four years in a Japanese POW camp. It features a 13-year-old Christian Bale and (briefly) Ben Stiller in his early 20s. I liked this one because I didn't need my pillow. Favorite quote: "Help me, I'm British!"
Next we watched Rescue Dawn. A much more recent movie, it stars an older Christian Bale as well as Steve Zahn (whom I can never seem to get used to in serious roles). This movie was... weird. It was about an American pilot during the Vietnam War who got shot down over Laos and then had to survive for several months before he was rescued. Highlights include someone catching a snake and raw and lots of hacking through the jungle with a machete while it was raining. It was, however, based on a true story. Also, I find it ironic that while Christian Bale tends to play very American characters (Batman, Jack in Newsies, Laurie in Little Women) he was, in fact, born in Wales.
The last movie that Heather and Sam watched was Das Boot. The whole thing was in German which meant that--unlike the other movies--I couldn't do something else and listen without really watching. I fell asleep in the first 20 minutes or so and woke up about half an hour later to realize that I had no idea what was going on. So I left and played a very intense game of Canasta with Tiffany and Heidi (two girls who live down the hall from me). Apparently I didn't miss much. Heather just reenacted the whole thing (most hilariously) in about three minutes (as opposed to the three and a half hours that the movie lasted).
The end.
Our first film was Empire of the Sun. This Steven Spielberg movie from 1987 tells the story of a British boy living in China during WWII who gets separated from his parents and spends four years in a Japanese POW camp. It features a 13-year-old Christian Bale and (briefly) Ben Stiller in his early 20s. I liked this one because I didn't need my pillow. Favorite quote: "Help me, I'm British!"
Next we watched Rescue Dawn. A much more recent movie, it stars an older Christian Bale as well as Steve Zahn (whom I can never seem to get used to in serious roles). This movie was... weird. It was about an American pilot during the Vietnam War who got shot down over Laos and then had to survive for several months before he was rescued. Highlights include someone catching a snake and raw and lots of hacking through the jungle with a machete while it was raining. It was, however, based on a true story. Also, I find it ironic that while Christian Bale tends to play very American characters (Batman, Jack in Newsies, Laurie in Little Women) he was, in fact, born in Wales.
The last movie that Heather and Sam watched was Das Boot. The whole thing was in German which meant that--unlike the other movies--I couldn't do something else and listen without really watching. I fell asleep in the first 20 minutes or so and woke up about half an hour later to realize that I had no idea what was going on. So I left and played a very intense game of Canasta with Tiffany and Heidi (two girls who live down the hall from me). Apparently I didn't miss much. Heather just reenacted the whole thing (most hilariously) in about three minutes (as opposed to the three and a half hours that the movie lasted).
The end.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Christy's Top 25, revisited
I did this a couple of times a year or two ago, but I figure that the top 25 most played songs on my iTunes has probably changed somewhat since then, so here we go. I always find this interesting, because the results are not always what I would predict.
1. I'm Not That Girl, from Wicked- Part of this is the fact that I once let my Wicked soundtrack play over and over again for an entire day. The fact that it's my most played song, though, depresses me a bit.
2. How Deep the Father's Love For Us, Sarah Sadler- the Unashamed class hymn, which actually has been played the same number of times as I'm Not That Girl.
3. O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, Chris Rice- an old hymn that is now one of my favorites
4. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), Chris Tomlin- one of my very favorite old-made-new hymns
5. Come Awake, David Crowder Band- a great worship song and reminder of my life in Christ; I was introduced to this song during one of my first weeks at Asbury.
6. Popular, from Wicked, another remnant of my day-long Wicked marathon. Plus, this song is just fun and Kristen Chenoweth is incredibly talented.
7. Come Thou Fountain of Every Blessing, Chris Rice- a recording of my all-time favorite hymn (and my vote for class hymn), which is more commonly known simply as Come Thou Fount.
8. All I Ask of You, from Phantom of the Opera- from the first CD I ever purchased on iTunes
9. Come and Listen, David Crowder Band- another of my David Crowder favorites
10. Ordinary Miracle, Sarah Mclachlan- this plays during the credits of the new Charlotte's Web. I liked it, so I bought it. Apparently I listen to it a lot.
11. Give Me Jesus, Fernando Ortega- a very soothing song, and a great reminder of what is really important in this life.
12. Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus, from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- I love the score from this movie, and this is one of my favorite tracks. I also can't wait for Prince Caspain to come out next May. :)
13. Naked as We Came, Iron and Wine- kind of a depressing song, really, but it's pretty. I listen to it often when I'm falling asleep.
14. The Father's Song, Matt Redman- This song had huge significance for me at one church camp I went to in middle school. To be honest I don't exactly remember why it was significant, but I still love the song and I bought it pretty shortly after I discovered iTunes.
15. To Be Alone With You, Sufjan Stevens- my youth pastor used to play this one during meditative times at the end of youth group sometimes. It was one I listened to long before I became a Sufjan fan and heard anything he has done.
16. Learn To Be Lonely, from Phantom of the Opera- this one, like I'm Not That Girl, probably testify to the sorts of things I listen to when I fall into occasional moodiness caused by my singleness.
17. Fix You, Coldplay- I'm not exactly sure why this one has been played so much. I like it, but it doesn't have any particular significance.
18. Kingdom Come, Coldplay- Another one I just like. I guess I never skip over Coldplay.
19. The Word Spreads, from Charlotte's Web- This one is on my study playlist of instrumental music. ITunes must like it, because I never really pay attention to what is playing when I have that playlist on.
20. Day by Day, Eric Hauck- One I like for the same reasons as Give Me Jesus
21. Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap- Thanks to my roomie for introducing me to this one. One person's voice electronically modified to a bunch of fantastic harmonies. Cool.
22. Mai, Josh Groban- Oh Josh. None of his songs require any explanation. I'm surprised there are not more of them on this list.
23. Johnny has Gone for a Soldier, Mark O'Connor, et al- This has a nice fiddle part and I listened to it a lot when I was trying to teach myself to play it.
24. 7th Child of the 7th Child, some Celtic CD I got from Target- Another one on my study playist.
25. Epilogue: Farewell, the same Celtic CD from Target that I have on my study list.
And a few up-and-coming favorites:
~Sanctus, Libera- Latin, children's choir... need I say more?
~Raise it Up, from August Rush- a kind of gospel-sounding song, but surprisingly one of my favorites from the August Rush soundtrack (although you can't really go wrong with anything there)
Just for fun, here were the results last time I made such a list.
1. I'm Not That Girl, from Wicked- Part of this is the fact that I once let my Wicked soundtrack play over and over again for an entire day. The fact that it's my most played song, though, depresses me a bit.
2. How Deep the Father's Love For Us, Sarah Sadler- the Unashamed class hymn, which actually has been played the same number of times as I'm Not That Girl.
3. O Love That Will Not Let Me Go, Chris Rice- an old hymn that is now one of my favorites
4. Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), Chris Tomlin- one of my very favorite old-made-new hymns
5. Come Awake, David Crowder Band- a great worship song and reminder of my life in Christ; I was introduced to this song during one of my first weeks at Asbury.
6. Popular, from Wicked, another remnant of my day-long Wicked marathon. Plus, this song is just fun and Kristen Chenoweth is incredibly talented.
7. Come Thou Fountain of Every Blessing, Chris Rice- a recording of my all-time favorite hymn (and my vote for class hymn), which is more commonly known simply as Come Thou Fount.
8. All I Ask of You, from Phantom of the Opera- from the first CD I ever purchased on iTunes
9. Come and Listen, David Crowder Band- another of my David Crowder favorites
10. Ordinary Miracle, Sarah Mclachlan- this plays during the credits of the new Charlotte's Web. I liked it, so I bought it. Apparently I listen to it a lot.
11. Give Me Jesus, Fernando Ortega- a very soothing song, and a great reminder of what is really important in this life.
12. Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus, from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe- I love the score from this movie, and this is one of my favorite tracks. I also can't wait for Prince Caspain to come out next May. :)
13. Naked as We Came, Iron and Wine- kind of a depressing song, really, but it's pretty. I listen to it often when I'm falling asleep.
14. The Father's Song, Matt Redman- This song had huge significance for me at one church camp I went to in middle school. To be honest I don't exactly remember why it was significant, but I still love the song and I bought it pretty shortly after I discovered iTunes.
15. To Be Alone With You, Sufjan Stevens- my youth pastor used to play this one during meditative times at the end of youth group sometimes. It was one I listened to long before I became a Sufjan fan and heard anything he has done.
16. Learn To Be Lonely, from Phantom of the Opera- this one, like I'm Not That Girl, probably testify to the sorts of things I listen to when I fall into occasional moodiness caused by my singleness.
17. Fix You, Coldplay- I'm not exactly sure why this one has been played so much. I like it, but it doesn't have any particular significance.
18. Kingdom Come, Coldplay- Another one I just like. I guess I never skip over Coldplay.
19. The Word Spreads, from Charlotte's Web- This one is on my study playlist of instrumental music. ITunes must like it, because I never really pay attention to what is playing when I have that playlist on.
20. Day by Day, Eric Hauck- One I like for the same reasons as Give Me Jesus
21. Hide and Seek, Imogen Heap- Thanks to my roomie for introducing me to this one. One person's voice electronically modified to a bunch of fantastic harmonies. Cool.
22. Mai, Josh Groban- Oh Josh. None of his songs require any explanation. I'm surprised there are not more of them on this list.
23. Johnny has Gone for a Soldier, Mark O'Connor, et al- This has a nice fiddle part and I listened to it a lot when I was trying to teach myself to play it.
24. 7th Child of the 7th Child, some Celtic CD I got from Target- Another one on my study playist.
25. Epilogue: Farewell, the same Celtic CD from Target that I have on my study list.
And a few up-and-coming favorites:
~Sanctus, Libera- Latin, children's choir... need I say more?
~Raise it Up, from August Rush- a kind of gospel-sounding song, but surprisingly one of my favorites from the August Rush soundtrack (although you can't really go wrong with anything there)
Just for fun, here were the results last time I made such a list.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
So This Is The New Year
It seems to be a common thing to bemoan New Year's Eve on one's blog as a dumb holiday. There was a time when I love New Year's Eve. Sure, I appreciated the irony of the holiday: we stay up until midnight so that we can watch a big shiny ball slide down a pole? Who came up with that anyway? I used to get together with all my friends and we would spend the evening watching TV, playing games, eating food and doing whatever else we felt like. That was fun. This year nearly all of my high school friends were out of town and I am hours and hours away (in traveling distance and time zones) from all of my college friends, so I stayed up with my dad and my sister to watch Pixar movies and see the ball drop. It was fun, but rather anticlimactic. Ah well.
However, New Year's Day--at least this year--has been quite enjoyable. I have the day off work, so I woke up at about 9:45 (that's the first time I've slept in all break) and have spent the rest of the day watching either the Rose Parade or some college bowl game or another. I sat on the couch with my dad, watching Michigan play Florida (which was a much better game than Illinois vs USC is so far), researching NFL history, drinking tea, and enjoying the lovely snow which has decided to fall on Cincinnati this first day of 2008. It's not Colorado snow or anything, but it's more than I've seen in a long time.
I plan to spend the rest of the evening in pretty much the same way, trying not to think about the eight hours at Chick-Fil-A that await me tomorrow. I suppose I'm grateful in a way that I have to work, because I doubt I would enjoy this sitting around half as much if it's all I had to do all break.
Happy New Year!
However, New Year's Day--at least this year--has been quite enjoyable. I have the day off work, so I woke up at about 9:45 (that's the first time I've slept in all break) and have spent the rest of the day watching either the Rose Parade or some college bowl game or another. I sat on the couch with my dad, watching Michigan play Florida (which was a much better game than Illinois vs USC is so far), researching NFL history, drinking tea, and enjoying the lovely snow which has decided to fall on Cincinnati this first day of 2008. It's not Colorado snow or anything, but it's more than I've seen in a long time.
I plan to spend the rest of the evening in pretty much the same way, trying not to think about the eight hours at Chick-Fil-A that await me tomorrow. I suppose I'm grateful in a way that I have to work, because I doubt I would enjoy this sitting around half as much if it's all I had to do all break.
Happy New Year!
