Christmas music videos part 3

The best version ever of this song.

Need a little Christmas

Here is this year's Christmas Card and message:

Never have I needed a little Christmas throughout the year like this year.

For those of you that I don’t speak to regularly or that don’t check my facebook wall enough, you may not have heard about my divorce. It’s awkward to write about that in a snappy letter that mixes in Christmas Carol references about the happiest time of the year. I’ve never grown sadder than during the months just before and after. I had built quite a life with Alli, and losing all that felt like a long fall, hitting and scraping every evergreen bough on the way down.

Six months on, I am more grateful for the birth, life, and sacrifice of the Savior than I have ever been. His Love has power to help us overcome any trial and heal any wound. Little Christmases have been around all year, like little angels sitting on my shoulder. Some of those angels are my brothers and sisters. Among those I also include those that are no longer technically in-laws. If they all were lights, they’d make the brightest string I’ve ever seen.

I did some traveling this year, too. Went back to the old homestead in Foster City, California for the most rejuvenating visit, leaving troubles behind in the blue lagoons that wind through the city. I added four new ballpark candles in my window, seeing games in Philadelphia, Washington, and two in New York. I also went to the ballpark in Tokyo, where the Yomiuri Giants play. Baseball crowds in Japan are completely different than in the States, with raucous singing ringing through the rafters when every batter comes up.

And I’ve started dating. I may be rushing things, but no time to deck those halls again like now. That’s led to some other firsts, including a first trip to the Symphony, and also the Cowboy Poetry Festival. What an adventure life is.

And what a friend Jesus is. Just when we need a little singing, a little laughter, a little Christmas, His Love is there, right this very minute. So, while I’ve grown a little older (no leaner, unfortunately) and the weather’s grown a little colder, I feel warm and hopeful, knowing that around a corner here is waiting a little happy ever after.

Mission: Impossible review

Except for all the talking, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a great movie.



Under Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Ratatouille) direction, the action scenes are incredible. Impossible, too, but the whole movie is based on that, so who cares?  Who cares about dangling from the 134th floor of the world's tallest building swinging from a computer cable.  Who cares about head-on collisions and sprinting through sandstorms.  It's so much fun!

And nothing is funner than the chase and fight in a parking garage with shifting parking spaces--and another head-on collision.

But the talking and talking.  It's really too much.  And really boring.  Way too much explanation of what happened, what happened before that, and what's going to happen later, and why, and why Jeremy Renner is all mopey and scared.  I can't write fiction, good narratives, and certainly not screenplays, but I think it's cheap when we find out a character's feelings by him announcing, "This is how I'm feeling."

So, for all the action the movie is completely worth your ten bucks.  But on the other hand, during the sitting around and talking times, you can reflect on how much better Brad Bird's best action movie really is.  There's no wasted dialogue at all in The Incredibles.

Great Christmas music part 2

Great Christmas music videos, part 1

For the season, here is a great video to enjoy.  I'll have more fun and awesome songs celebrating the season each day.

 

Sherlock Holmes

I've never read a Sherlock Holmes book or story, but I've seen several movie versions.  I recommend Without a Clue, Young Sherlock Holmes, and the recent one that was a BBC series last year, which is now available to stream on Netflix.  I wouldn't recommend the Robert Downey, Jr. version of the movie from a few years back, but I just saw the sequel, and it's awesome.

And for all the Jason Bourne-ness that Sherlock takes on in the movie, the best part is the chess match, when you really see the mental game unfold in Sherlock's and Moriarty's heads.  And the best shot of the movie is Moriarty screaming--no sound, but a great visual.

Downey is fantastic, as he always is.  I normally think Guy Ritchie is a bit to affected as a director, but it didn't bother me here.  The story, pacing, and humor were all much better this time around.  And since it's the first movie since Moneyball that's worth seeing, you should go see it.

The Game of Things

I played a new game this weekend, called The Game of Things.  It was really fun, but I sucked at it.

It is kind of like Balderdash, but instead of writing down fake definitions to words, you write down what the card asks for ("Things that make me nervous.") and then try to guess who wrote what.

For "Things that make me scream" I wrote "That one part in Jurassic Park."  Well that's my problem, I'm a completely open book who likes to try and be funny.  So, everyone knew that I had written that one, and I was out of that round early.

There was a couple on a date.  The girl knew most of us, but the guy didn't, so he was at a real disadvantage.  The guy, Justin, came with Heather.  On "Things that make me nervous" somebody in the group wrote "kissing Heather."  It was a funny answer, but he blew it by cracking up as he wrote it.  We all laughed when he was writing, and then again when it was read out loud, because it was hilarious.  But he got out early that round.

I usually don't have much fun at games when I lose so badly, but this one was really fun, and I think I might buy it for myself for Christmas.