Censored or Uncensored?

Continuing the 4,000 Questions series: "Daily Journal: would you write censored or uncensored if you knew future generations would read it?"

The answer is, somewhere in the middle, which, I know, would make some people say I fall on the side of censoring. The thing is, I don't believe anybody would write something completely uncensored if he or she knew it were going to be read by other people -- even if we're talking about future generations. Some might be willing to spill everything regarding the way they feel about certain topics or people, but few of us know the depths of our own depravity. And even if we know it, that same depravity tends to make us go easier on ourselves, and that is a form of censorship. Besides, I don't think anything is gained from tearing other people down.

I have a friend who loves golf. He takes his little nephew to the driving range sometimes and he teaches him how to hold a golf club, how to swing one, etc. My friend has been keeping a journal of each of their outings over the years and he plans to give it to him some day. Can you imagine how that is going to make his nephew feel? He's going to know his uncle loved him enough to jot down the events of every outing he took with his uncle when he was young. He certainly won't feel cheated due to the fact that his uncle didn't mention any frustrations he might have felt at the time about how disinterested his nephew appeared on one particular outing or how rude somebody in the pro shop may have been. Those things probably won't even cross my friend's nephew's mind as he reads the entries.

When we are fortunate enough to get the opportunity to read somebody's journal from a previous generation, there is an assumed level of censorship going in. But that doesn't make the reading any less interesting or relevant.

Favorite Soundtracks, Part 2

Rocky: Original Motion Picture Score

If you are a 40-something year old guy, you probably gulped raw eggs from a cup when you were young, went jogging in gray sweats and dreamed about getting your shot at the heavy weight championship of the world. And the background music came from the first Rocky movie soundtrack.

From the heart pumping opening tune, "Gonna Fly Now," to the reflective "Philadelphia Morning," to the inspiring "Going the Distance," this soundtrack does a number on your emotions.

"First Date" will transport you back in time. "Take You Back" will make you want to hang out with a few friends and do a little barber shop quartet as you contemplate taking back a lost love. And "The Final Bell" might just be the theme song in your head as you complete a goal you never thought possible. In fact, this entire soundtrack makes you believe you can accomplish things you might not ordinarily.

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Serendipity (Music from the Miramax Motion Picture) 

I've written a ton of posts about this movie. When I did a series of my favorite movies, it ranked number 7. It's probably higher than that now. The soundtrack is pretty good too.

I like to play it from start to finish when I go on road trips, especially when I'm contemplating the possibility of a relationship. Songs like "Waiting in Vain," "When You Know" and "January Rain" set the perfect contemplating mood. 

The only thing that bums me out about this soundtrack is that some of the songs from the movie are missing. A die hard fan who refers to himself as Wesley108 at Amazon.com provides a complete list of all 21 songs from the movie in the review section (scroll down a ways), including a number of Christmas songs as well as "Sarah Smile" and "Black Eyed Dog."

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So, what are some of your favorite soundtracks (TV or movie) and why?

Favorite Soundtracks, Part 1

Continuing the 4,000 Questions series: "What move soundtracks do you own?" I'm going to expand the question to include television program soundtracks as well.

The Heights "Music from the Television Show"

People probably know the hit song from this series better than the series itself. "How Do You Talk To An Angel?" by Jamie Walters was on the soundtrack and it went to number one. TV Guide says the song "stayed on the charts longer than 'The Heights' stayed on the air," which isn't actually true (it was number one for two weeks in November 1992), but their point was valid.

The Heights debut on Fox in 1992 and it only lasted 12 episodes. As I've said before, I'm a series killer. If I like it, it probably won't last long. But I'm not sure why this one never made it. It was about a group of young people in a band and they helped each other through various trials.

The soundtrack has some killer tunes on it, in addition to Walters' hit. "The Man You Used to Be (A Song for Dad)" by Shawn Thompson is a keeper. So is "Children of the Night" by Walters.

You know how sometimes you can remember an event based on the song that was playing on the radio at the time? Well, I can remember waking up after surgery to fix my broken nose in the recovery room and hearing "How Do You Talk To An Angel?" on the radio in the room. I wouldn't remember a think about those moments if it hadn't been for that song.

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Notting Hill

This is my third favorite movie of all time. The soundtrack also introduced me to or acquainted me with some great songs -- songs like "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?" by Al Green, "She" by Elvis Costello, "When You Say Nothing At All" by Ronan Keating, and two versions of "Ain't No Sunshine," one by Bill Withers and the other by "Lighthouse Family."

The lyrics from "When You Say Nothing At All" move me in the same fashion that a line from a book called A Window Across The River by Brian Morton. First the lyrics:

It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart
Without saying a word you can light up the dark
Try as I may I could never explain
What I hear when you don’t say a thing

Now for the line from the book: “I recognized your silence. It’s different from anybody else’s.”

Silence speaks volumes and it's not always negative.

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Rock Star

This one is a guilty pleasure. The movie is about a rock singer who dares to chase his dream, and after achieving it against all odds, finds out it's not what he really wants.

The dream he chases puts him in front of the microphone for a group called Steel Dragon. Several real life musicians make up the fictitious group and several of their songs are on the soundtrack, including a song called "Stand Up," which sort of becomes the group's anthem.

One of my sisters, who lives in St Louis, went to see this movie at the theater with her husband when it came out in 2001. They both know about my long hair, rock n' roll days, and they knew this movie would probably resonate with me -- at least the me who used to live the lifestyle, in moderation of course.

So, when I would go visit them in St. Louis, my brother-in-law sometimes greets me by singing, "Stand up and shout! Stand up and let it out!" in his best impersonation of Mark Wahlberg, who played the singer in the movie, and it always cracks me up.

Howard the Duck

Continuing the 4,000 Questions series: "What movie did you like that everybody else hated?" 

That's an easy one to answer: Howard the Duck. I have no idea why this movie bombed at the box office or why people make fun of it, but I love it! I saw it again on cable a few months ago and cracked up as Howard delivered these classic lines:

"That's it, No more Mr. Nice Duck."

"Desperate ducks commit desperate acts."

"No one laughs at a master of Quack Fu!"

"Of all the alleys in the world I could have fallen into that night, why did it have to be yours?"

"I know why you need the toolbox -- you've got a screw loose."

And my favorite line:

"What is the name of this place?" Howard asks Beverly.

"Oh, Cleveland."

"Cleve-Land. Perfectly weird name for this planet."

Every time I hear Cleveland, I hear it as Cleve-Land.

My friends make fun of me for liking this movie. Critics hated it. I think even Lea Thompson is embarrassed by it. But I love it.

You want to see the trailer, don't you? Go on ...

The Last Three Books

Continuing with the 4,000 Questions series: What were the last three books you bought?

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates. Set in the 1950s, a young married couple with two children and a starter home lives "on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is about to crumble."

I really wanted to see this movie when it came out, but never got around to it. I think I'll read the book before watching it on DVD. Most of us, to varying degrees, live on the assumption, or least the hope, that greatness is just around the corner. I certainly do.

Greatness looks different for each of us though. For me, it would be marriage, a nice quiet home life spent with the woman I love and a writing career that brings in enough income.

Up in the Air by Walter Kirn. Ryan Bingham has one goal in life -- to reach the one million frequent-flyer miles club. He's a career transition counselor, which is just a fancy title for someone who is hired to fire people for companies that don't want to be involved in the dirty work.

I saw this movie on New Year's Eve. Portions of it were filmed here in Omaha, which was neat to see. George Clooney plays the part of Bingham and he is quite convincing in the role. Bingham loves the routines of the road and he loves the fact that his job keeps him absent from family events. Why deal with the headaches? He eventually figures out the reason.

As an introverted person, my tendency is to prefer to disengage. I've had to work hard over the years to avoid this. So, I'll be interested to read this book. I imagine I'll see more of myself in Bingham than I care to.

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. The story is told through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old girl named Susie Salmon, who was murdered. She is able to see life on earth continue without her. She can hear what people say about her disappearance, she can see her killer as he tries to cover his tracks and she can see the way her family grieves her death.

I wanted to read this novel when it first came quite a few years ago, but since it isn't my type of book, I never got around to it. This book seems pretty heavy and, generally speaking, I'm not into mysteries or books about crime -- probably because they are so heavy on plot. I prefer character-driven fiction. But this book seems to be both.

Deep inside, we want to believe that heaven exists and that our loved ones who are there are watching events as they occur hear on earth. I'm a Christian, and as such, I have no doubt about the existence of heaven. And I know from the Bible that on occasion -- including the great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) -- people are allowed to see what is going on here. So, I'm intrigued by this book.

There you have it. Those are the three latest books I've added to my to-be read pile. How about you?

More posts in the 4,000 Questions series:

• Storing Books You've Read 
• Newspaper Reading 
• Changing Interests
  

Storing Books You've Read

“What do you do with books you have already read?” –from 4,000 Questions by Barbara Ann Kipfer

This is a real problem for me. I know some people give them away so others can enjoy them. I don’t do that, for a number of reasons.

First, I underline passages that move me. Second, I make personal notes next to other passages—notes I really don’t want other people reading. They aren’t earth-shattering as much as they are personal. Third, I often refer back to books I’ve already read when I’m writing a book or an article, so I need to hang on to them. Oh, and sometimes I re-read books. I’m really thinking about diving back in to the Mitford Series by Jan Karon.

If I had all the time in the world, I’d go through books when I finished reading them and enter the marked passages into a database. That way the nuggets would always be at my fingertips when I’m writing and I wouldn’t have to worry about finding each book from which I want to quote. Realistically though, that’s probably never going to happen.

Consequently, my real problem with knowing what to do with books I’ve already read is figuring out how to store them in such a fashion as to be able to find them when I need them.

A few years ago, I went through my entire library and assigned books to designated bookshelves, including a shelf of books I’d already read. But then my collection outgrew my shelves and it became a free for all. Now, I have books stacked everywhere and in no particular order. Well, that’s not entirely true. Some semblance of order exists from my previous organizational effort, but not enough.

I’m thinking this needs to be a Saturday afternoon project in the near future.

Newspaper Reading

Continuing in the 4,000 Questions series: In which order do you read the newspaper sections?

This question is intriguing because just watching the way a person reads the newspaper can be telling. Some start with a particular section because of their interests. Some start at the front and work their way back because of their personality type. Some only read certain portions of the paper because the news in those sections is all they care about. And some start from the back and work their way forward—I talked to a guy recently who does that.

I am definitely the type who starts from the front and works his way through each section in order until I’m finished. I don’t read the Sunday newspaper often, but when I do, for some reason, it usually arrives out of order. Before I can even start, I have to rearrange the sections into their proper order.

Obviously, I like order. But I find it difficult to live orderly in many other areas of my life because so many necessary tasks pop up throughout the day that are unplanned. Sometimes a situation forces me to read Section D when I’m still trying to make my way through Section A. What typically happens is, I read Section D and then forget where I was in Section A. Even when I remember where I was, I’ve lost focus by the time I return.

I’m better at this than I used to be, but I’m still not where I’d like to be. I’m interested in hearing from you. What order you do you read the newspaper in and what can you conclude from it regarding the way you live your life?

Changing Interests

I picked up a copy of 4,000 Questions for Getting to Know Anyone and Everyone, by Barbara Ann Kipfer tonight. Several months ago, I saw a blogger who was using the book as blog prompts and thought it was a great idea. Wish I could give the blogger credit, but I can’t remember for sure which blogger it was. Sorry about that.

I’ll jump around in the book as I use it to blog. For this post, I’ll answer the following question(s):

List ten things you like to do for fun. Were they on your list five years ago?

1. Read
2. Watch the Kansas City Royals play
3. Watch NASCAR
4. Watch the Pittsburgh Steelers play
5. Go to movies
6. Meet friends for coffee in a coffee shop
7. Dine with family and/or friends
8. Write in my moleskine/piccadilly notebook
9. Watch tennis
10. Go to concerts

Were they on your list five years ago?

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. No
4. Yes
5. Yes
6. Yes
7. Yes
8. No
9. Yes
10. Yes