The Flip Side

Shakira

Oh sure, we love her singing and her dancing.  But we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, what you do to help others with what you’ve been given is most important.

From BBC News:

A charitable foundation set up by Colombian pop star Shakira has donated $40 million (£19.6 million) to help victims of natural disasters.

The money will go towards repairing damage caused by an earthquake in Peru and a hurricane in Nicaragua .

A further $5 million (£2.46 million) will be spent on health and education in four Latin American countries.

Her foundation, Latin America in Solidarity Action, was set up with fellow Colombian and Nobel Prize laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez, in a bid to combat the deaths of children.

Shakira also fronts a charity to help children who are victims of violence.

That pretty much says it all.  I love passing along the generous deeds of generous people.

In the light of George Clooney & Sarah Larson’s recent motorcycle crash and because today I read an article by “Sandy” at Mental Floss about celebs in motorcycle accidents I thought I would share their stories.  While I realize that it is a morbid topic, I couldn’t help but marvel at the recoveries of some of these people.  In fact, there were a few I hadn’t even known had been in accidents.  So while you’re reading and gasping at the horrific details, be sure to note how some of these brave people have gone on and done wonderful things.  As always, I like to focus on the positive and though I’m chickenshit, myself, when it comes to riding a beast as pictured above, I would love to have the courage to do so.  I’m strictly a “hang onto to the driver for dear life” kind of girl.  I’m thrilled to hear that George and Sarah are just fine.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/8265#more-8265

It would seem that this blog is being formatted against my will.  Odd paragraphs and formatting cannot be helped, but I apologize unreservedly for any distress this may cause.

Tommy Lee Jones

You may think of him as some backwater cowboy wannabee (you’d be a fool) but Tommy Lee Jones is the real deal.  He is actually a rancher when not making movies.  And lest you think him a bumpkin…well, hold on there little hoss.  This man graduated cum laude with a degree in English from Harvard.  Yes, that Harvard.  So why so many “western” type parts.  Well, he looks “western” doesn’t he.  That may be due to the fact that he’s actually got some Cherokee blood running in his veins (though he’s mostly Welsh).  Or, that may be due to the fact that he’s just a really good actor.  He’s won an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe among others.  This former roomie of Al Gore has also bought the movie rights to Cormac McCarthy’s controversial novel “Blood Meridian”.  The film takes place in the west, of course.  This book, however, is no “oater”.  This is a violent, bloody, disturbing nightmare of a book which has been considered “unfilmable” to date.  Read the synopsis here:   http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/works/bloodmeridian.htm.  I would love to see this as a film and if anyone has the intelligence and fortitude to make it happen, it’s Tommy Lee Jones. He’s currently working on “In The Electric Mist” in which a detective in the deep south is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers.  Sounds creepy.

On a lighter note, I find him to have a great sense of humor.  He has said of himself “I do not have a sense of humor of any recognizable sort”.  He lies. He’s been know to ad lib lines in his films and this one sounds a lot like MIB’s “We at the FBI do not have a sense of humor that we’re aware of”.  I’m betting that was an original TLJ line.

As for acts of kindness, I know that he has played polo in support of charities in the past and I think a low-key guy like him probably does far more than the press will ever be able to report.  Tommy Lee Jones is a real American cowboy, a real American gentleman, and a real American treasure.

Loreena McKennitt

So it rained last night and that’s my cue to put on a Loreena McKennitt CD.  Her ethereal vocal work is just perfect for those rainy day moods.  Her music is unique and profound, but there’s a reason for that.  It would seem that she actually researches her albums.  She will travel to locales featured in her music and research the concepts that she is working on.  She uses a lot of literary references and really puts a lot of thought into it all.  Personally, I just like the songs.  They have an airy romantic feel that really succeeds in transporting you from the mundane.  Sadly, Ms. McKennitt rarely gets the credit she deserves.  Perhaps her music could be featured more in film where I think it could really add to the right scenes.

Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix in “We Own the Night”

Last night I was watching “Reaper” which was surprisingly good though I should have known with Kevin Smith directing.  However, in one of the ad blocks, I saw a trailer for a movie called “We Own the Night”.  This is the first time I’d even heard about the film, but I sat up and took notice when I saw Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, Eva Mendes, and Robert Duvall were all in this.  This is a great cast and I’m shocked that I hadn’t heard about this before now.  Sounds like it’s going to be a really good movie and well worth checking out.

Renee Zellweger

I found this interesting tidbit all over the net today (which is as it should be). 

Renee Zellweger found a makeup artist admiring a pair of Manolo Blahniks during her lunch break.  After her lunch break, she found that Renee had bought those Manolos for her.  Now, shoes won’t solve the world’s problems, but I will always applaud random acts of kindness because they multiply.  And if Renee could make one person happy that day, more power to her.  Here’s to RAKs and one beautiful actress.

Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders

While out surfing the net today I came across an article which said that French & Saunders have a new show called “A Bucket ‘O French & Saunders”.  Fortunately I was able to find a clip on youtube http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yt6OjnazjZs.  This is a take-off of “America’s Next Top Model” and it’s a scream (just what you’d expect from this team).  French & Saunders never, and I mean never, get old.  Their comedy is always great and I will watch whatever they do til death do us part.

The Clientele

I heard a song called “Bookstore Cassanova” on Yahoo Launch today by The Clientele and liked it so much I had to go digging here:  http://www.amazon.com/God-Save-Clientele/dp/B000OMD4GG/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-6515964-6784427?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1190658768&sr=1-1 to see what the rest of the album sounded like.  As it turns out, The Clientele have a retro British pop sound that I haven’t heard since The Moody Blues (a band that I’ve loved for ages).  Listen to the entire song on youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aTNTwTeJTI.  I particularly like the keyboard work of Mel Draisey and the lead vocal work of Alisdair MacLean.  This is a smooth sound and it’s real easy on the ears.  Have a listen and see what you think.

Oh to have a nicer photo of these people…

Every time I see the video for “Paralyzer” by Finger Eleven I can’t take my eyes off of the dancers.  They are incredible.  I think I’m loving the combination of great dancing (particularly by the two lead dancers), the costuming, the set, the choreography, and the fact that the choreography works so nicely with the song.  The two lead dancers are really nice to look at as well, but that’s neither here nor there.  I’ve been trying to find out who these two wonderful dancers are but so far no luck.  If anyone knows, please “speak up”.  I’d like to see what else they’ve been doing.  You can catch the video here:  http://music.aol.com/popeater/2007/08/13/video-of-the-day-finger-elevens-paralyzer/