saluting helen morgan

The Helen Morgan Story

Morgan begins her career as a Chicago carnival dancer and catches the eye of fast-talking, double-dealing Larry Maddux, whose promotion catapults her to fame as a Broadway performer in Show Boat and a headliner in her own nightclub. She anguishes over her romantic relationships with both him and Russell Wade, a wealthy, married attorney. When she realizes the caddish Maddux merely has been using her to support the upscale lifestyle he has come to enjoy, she turns to drink. She loses the bulk of her money to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Wall Street Crash of 1929, hits rock bottom, and is hospitalized in the alcoholic ward in Bellevue. Maddux has a change of heart and arranges a gala testimonial dinner, hosted by Walter Winchell and Florenz Ziegfeld, in her honor. The film's ending suggests this was Morgan's first step on the road to recovery, success, and happiness, which was not the case in real life.

dig

We All Have A Sickness
That Cleverly Attaches And Multiplies
No Matter How Hard We Try.
We All Have Something That Digs At Us,
At Least We Dig Each Other
So When Sickness Turns My Ego Up
I Know You'll Act As A Clever Medicine.
If I Turn Into Another
Dig Me Up From Under What Is Covering
The Better Part Of Me.
Sing This Song!

my holiday weekend is only half over and i am already overflowing with quiet awe. i have managed to do a good thing or two, and i spent (or should i say overspent) some money on things i have been coveting these last 6 months. this has brought me to a place of feeling pretty damn good.

i spent friday evening with my mother. we got her a blackberry and added her to my account. she will have one less monthly stipend and and have more minutes to gab with, and i really am spending no more either. we went to see julie and julia, as i had been saving that experience to have with her and she's been travelling. i am glad i did. no apologies here for digging chick flicks. i suppose it's genetic. but what was fascinating and enthralling was this presentation of yet another example (or 2) of persons following their hearts, taking chances, and finding themselves and redemption in the process. i cried, no surprises, as i love crying at films, and i didn't think that i was very cognisant of watching meryl streep "act" at all. i lost sight of the actress and was very much interested in the story. and the scenes in and around paris found me hungering for more.

now interestingly, the food, although definitely a character in the film, did not enchant me. perhaps i see enough in my paltry nights as a cater waiter on a regular basis. however the dinner parties i did find enchanting, as well as the scenes of "julie" blogging about her experiences. none-the-less, i enjoyed the film, enjoyed spending time with my mother, and remembering what it was to have passion about writing.

i am planning on shopping a bit more today. i am going to a brunch with sin. there is a guy from texas who is a mutual friend and i may try to meet him and say hello. and there is another person i would like to see. sadly, i have noticed a gland in my neck swollen and feel a runny nose, not to mention i woke up feeling like i'd gone through a thundercloud. but mega-dosing on algae should help with that somewhat. besides tomorrow i can kick back at home, putter around the house, and get well.

i also am looking to re-engage with therapy. i am a bit reticent about it no doubt, because there are a couple of issues that keep raising their ugly heads. but i don't want to leave these issues on the burner any longer. i do think they are somewhat primal, which may mean some challenges in the next few months. on my birthday, a co-worker told me that a few members of my team were feeling as if i were a "golden step-child". i was being allowed to do things that others on the team had were not allowed to do. simple enough i suppose, but it triggered something inside me that found me reacting as if i had been attacked. i am not sure if i am very sensitive to being "talked about" or if i felt that a trust had been breached. whatever it is, i am sure it was an over-reaction. this is a recurring theme in my life and i need to root it out. it causes me to let friendships and associations slip away. it causes me to leave jobs. it causes me to start a self-destruct pattern. yuk! i really don't want to dig any deeper right now.

but what are the alternatives?

today's sound choice is incubus with "dig"

find my way back home

"You dont love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not"
— Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper)

went to see "my sister's keeper" last evening. emotionally it was like a luxury weekend getaway-maybe a stay at a ritz carlton. it was rich with on-pointe performances from the main characters to the peripheral.

in case you haven't heard, this film (from the book by jody picoult) is the story of an american family with a daughter who has leukemia. in order to keep her healthy, they decide to genetically sire a sibling who will become a genetic match for blood donations, bone marrow and kidney transplants, and any other miscellaneous procedures requiring a donor match.

sounds like a perfect solution to an agonizing situation doesn't it? especially for the mother who won't take "no" for an answer when it comes to saving her daughter. but as this american family tale unfolds, it is revealed that the devil is definitely in the details when you are up against mother nature. this younger test tube sister does more than act like a deep freeze for her older sister's failing ecosystem.

the scenario certainly sounds like science fiction, and perhaps at one time it definitely was, however this is a modern reality. but the very tug of whether bioengineering a sibling/child is moral or humane or not is compelling, particularly when it is woven into a tapestry with the jewel tones of this film.

i'll stop with the description of the storyline here, because i think most will want to see the unfolding themselves. but my recurring thoughts were just how much water had already flowed under the bridge before i got there. and a good portion of the storytelling involves reliving some of those past moments herringboned into the present.

the performances are quietly surprising. cameron diaz and jason patric breathe life into the spirit of the parents that created the genetikid and provide the foundation for this house of stories. sofia vasilieva and abigail breslin play the two sisters and their relationship creates the actual bridge under which this family's story flows. not to be missed is alec baldwin as the attorney that the younger sibling hires to free her from the organ factory role she has inhabited most of her life. and joan cusack is the judge who brings a touch of personal baggage to the courtroom she presides over.

truthfully, i teared through most of the film. the frustration and tenacity of almost all the characters is something i encounter every single day in my work. usually, though, i will tear up once or twice in the entirity of a movie. nick cassavetes (director of "the notebook") has created an ambiance that lends itself to emotion. stellar job... stellar.

speaking of stellar, the youthful soundtrack left me wanting for more. today's sound choice is from that collection. here is priscilla ahn with "find my way back home"

soloist

I knew a man Bojangles and he’ll dance for you
in worn out shoes.
With silver hair, a ragged shirt and baggy pants,
he would do the old soft shoe.
He would jump so high - jump so high, and then lightly touch down.

He told me of a time he worked with, With the Minstrel shows,
travelling throughout the south,
Spoke with tears for fifteen years how his, how his dog and him
they would travel about
But his dog up and died. Part of him died, after twenty years he still grieves

took my mom to see the soloist yesterday and then for lunch in recognition of mother's day. it was actually quite lovely. sadly she has been diagnosed with a gluten allergy along with a few others. but hopefully she can learn to eat differently at this stage of the game. she has been diabetic for some time, but that really hasn't kept her from eating candy on a regular basis.

but the impetus for this post is the film. it was not really what i expected. for some reason i think i assumed that the creative genius character would have a second chance at fame and success and do exceedingly well. but now only part of what i thought is really true and i won't go into it here.

for me, the performances are stellar. downey is succinct as i am coming to think he almost always is. doesn't miss a beat. breathes life into his roles in ways that seem familiar and intimate. catherine keener is relaxed and in rhythm. and mr. foxx was not mr. foxx at all. instead he resonated mr. ayers for the length of the film.

however, the story that these performances wrap around is really what i felt i had for a main course at lunch. the truths that pitter patter across the screen wedged a a much wider crack in my heart. the scenes around skid row in la were stirring. not merely because that is where my 2 year california binge ended, but also because it brought to mind some villages i have seen depicted in national geographic.

the overwhelming and debilitating nature of some mental illness and substance abuse is anything but small. its power and force can break hearts, break minds, and break lives. and does every day. our modern culture has lost sight of how to deal with this in a practical manner. we have found it acceptable to have separate societies living side by side, not always in tandem. we step over people, step around them, drive by them, and look through them. i believe it is not what we actually wish to do, but more that we have no idea of what actually to do instead.

i, for one, thought this film brilliant. i found it thoughtful and provocative. and i felt it had respect and care for its subject.

today's sound choice was played in the background of the soloist, but not this particular version. since i am mad about robbie williams i couldn't resist his version of "mr. bojangles"

toss my salad

my friend mark and i saw this film on saturday. it's small, sweet, and quite understated. no big fanfare here. no amazing insights. yet, i found it sweet and endearing from a post-waters perspective.

and then there's the tossing a salad...

jai ho

roughly translated, jai ho (the a r rahman song from slumdog millionaire) means "may there be victory".

i just came from seeing "slumdog millionaire". i was more than pleasantly surprised at the game show vehicle and how effectively it was used. the indian/mumbai culture is one that is not very familiar to me and as the pastiche of idiosyncrasies of the filmmakers world became visible, i was repeatedly struck with little ahas around the similarities.

the film is rich with metaphors and also seems to carry a message that has familiarity. as the story follows a young boy and his friends in their hustle to survive in a mumbai ghetto, perhaps that message seems to be that if one remains true to their heart and acts accordingly, the riches of dreams coming true can follow. this theme seems to be very popular among filmmakers and film goers alike, and may speak to this films intention. but i believe, too, that the welcome reception it has been basking in is also due to the glimpse it provides us into a world to which we are not privvy.

i know that i enjoyed so many of the techniques the filmmaker used, i enjoyed the lighting, the pace, the editing, and the locations. the visual experience and the aural journey via the dialect and dialogue were captivating. and i was thankful for the subtle yet effective subtitles, for even though english was spoken, it was spoken with inflections in which i am not well-versed.

i went to the movies with a friend (he has become a friend these last couple of years). i am more than a bit surprised at some of the quiet revelations that happen during my own social interactions. i spend a good deal of time working with others, but don't spend much time being and doing with others, and there is an apparent difference in my behaviors. and so with the rest of my sunday, brunch with a very small group of guys from sin, watching football with my sponsor and another friend, and then the movie with my friend, i am left with no choice but to find conviction to walk the walk of my self proclaimed beliefs in my own life. i certainly am humbled (honestly more like fighting horror) by this look into my own behaviors. i have not discerned whether it is my own discomfort in being around others with no real task at hand other than enjoying their company which causes me to step on the caustic, bitchy button- (the easy button as it were) but that's what i do.

this paring back of another layer of the onion so-to-speak, would have caused me much tribulation before. it concerns me, yes, but it no longer will ruin my month. it indicates i have work to do, it reveals that i am in need, and it confirms that my life is out of balance, with not enough time to simply be. this is clearly a call for change as well as an opportunity to grow. more importantly, i am beginning to learn to see life through the filter of "may there be victory" - jai ho!!!

today's sound choice is "jai ho" by a r rahman. the vid clip contains the bollywood style dance sequence during the ending credits.

we are marshall

From ashes to glory,
We made up our mind,
To rebuild the program,
That was left behind,
Some said we should quit,
It could not be done,
We've proven them wrong,
With the games we have won,

Let's raise our voices up to Heaven,
So they can hear us say the words,
We Are Marshall, we are driven,
To overcome the loudest thunder ever heard ...

i have a tendency to watch a few films repeatedly because they always seem to be on cable. i guess i may be a creature of habit, or uninspired, or maybe i have just come to like the messages of these films.

one of these is certainly not the type of film that i would normally drift towards, however, upon repeated viewing, it's one that i have come to actually love. and i believe on some level it serves as a metaphor for much of my life and the lives of many, many people i know.

this film is "we are marshall". based on a true story, it tells of the 1970 marshall university football team which as obliterated by an airplane crash while on their way home from an away game. the town's football team, many of its children, and its big pastime were swiftly and without conscience lifted to a place where no visible trace remains.

the story begins when a few remaining key members of marshall's football club try to restart the now buried football program. so many hurdles to overcome. so many hard memories to walk beside. but so vital if life is ever to return to a semblance of normalcy.

matthew mcconaughey and matthew fox head the cast(easy on the eyes at worst) and the feel good qualities that the film reflects validate in ways my own journey and mirrors the trials of many people living with hiv as well as many folks who are in recovery ( i use these examples as these are the ones i know best). sometimes the most challenging tasks are moving forward and letting love in.

today's sound choice is ryan parker's "we are marshall"

striped pajamas

We were as twinned lambs that did frisk i' th' sun, And bleat the one at th' other. What we changed Was innocence for innocence; we knew not The doctrine of ill-doing, nor dreamed That any did..... William Shakespeare

my friend jim and i went to see "the boy in the striped pajamas" last evening. we originally were off to see "when pigs fly" at the theatre off broadway, but it was dark, so we quickly came up with an alternate plan.

the film is quite slow paced and unravels rather clumsily. the sets kept my interest, being one very traditional turn-of-last century house, and then one older home that had been modified to have some modern features. i am using modern here because i mean mid-century but that would include the 1940's. i believe the film was shot in hungary, which could explain some of the oddities.

none-the-less, there are some very tender exchanges of dialogue between 2 eight year old boys while they are sitting on the ground with a barbed wire fence between them. naturally they don't always appear to remember it is there. these scenes alone were worth watching on a large screen for me- those and the 2nd location used satisfied my interest.

but i also think the film highlighted one aspect of the holocaust that doesn't always come through. this would be the inner turmoil among so many families whose members didn't always see eye-to-eye on the issue of the treatment of the jews. party loyalty versus a sense of right and wrong were wrestling each other under the surface at thousands of junctures.

the ending is highly dramatic. the last shot panned is still with me. i don't mind that the holocaust is the vehicle for yet another story, because it is a wealth of examples of the human condition. we are not perfect, as much as we would like to think we have grown, our basic human instincts- crowd mentality, a desire to blame something or someone for our troubles, acting against our better judgement out of fear, considering our own comfort over that of others remain in tact.

i put a sample of the soundtrack by james horner in the sidebar. it's another fantastic score..

i'm off to a friends 50th b'day party tonight. i could use a laugh or two...

twinkies and milk

not much needed to say here. gus van sant gives us another offering. a re-telling of the harvey milk story, of the early days of gay rights in sf and america, and the ensuing court battle around harvey's murder by councilman dan white and his famous twinkie defense.starring sean penn and the handsome brolin boy. this is definitely a story depicting the early struggles for gay rights, and the dan white situation caused me to stop eating twinkies as well as question the equity of the judicial system. i boycotted twinkies actually, and then i realized how nutrition free they are, along with ding-dongs and ho-hos. but i loved hearing on the news about people like me fighting for what is rightfully theirs and not backing down. it empowered me.

now, of course, twinkies are kitsch and acceptable again on an entirely different level. kinda like spam, tang, nerds, and space food sticks.

i'm posting the film trailer today. for music, look to the sidebar. european pop hits posted in finetune. over 1900 songs on that playlist. you can play it for a month and hear new music....

hava happy sunday...

pitt stop

on the plane to dc, i saw a commercial for the new coen brothers' film called "burn after reading" and i chuckled out loud. but the reason i smiled so inside, was the clips of brad pitt. i have liked him for awhile now, and not just for the beauty he projected in "a river runs through it". i also loved him in "johnny suede", "12 monkeys", and "true romance". he had character parts in those films, and i think that might be what he does best. and it looked like he's having fun again..

the coens are notoriously clever and incredibly brilliant filmmakers, so no doubt it will be smart. frances mcdormand is naturally in there, and george clooney is joining them for yet another time. coen-nation first timers john malkovich and tilda swinton round out the follies. here's a lttle overview of the insanity.

anyway, i thought a lighter post was overdue...dc is beautiful as always. much muggier than denver. i found myself wising denver luck as i was shuttling outta town. this week is a very big deal for her. here are a coupla photos you might not see on the 7 o'clock news. peoples press collective

love ya, mean it!!!

As you can imagine, whatever film the Coen Brothers decided to make after the tour de force that was No Country for Old Men was going to get some attention. It is only natural, seeing as No Country only solidified for most of the world what many of us already know — those Coens know how to make a damn good movie.

Their next damn good movie is tentatively titled Burn After Reading. It stars John Malkovich as a malcontent former CIA agent who decides to write some national secrets into his memoirs. His wife, played by Tilda Swinton, decides to steal these secrets but mistakenly hands them over to two half-witted gym employees, played by Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand. When the two conspire to sell the information to pay for the latter’s plastic surgery, the CIA sends in another agent, played by George Clooney, to sort it all out to whatever end necessary. It is a concept that absolutely reeks of comedy, the devious kind of comedy that the Coens have been delivering for years. rest of article here

atonement

james mcavoy

it wss my mother's birthday yesterday and she wanted to go to lunch and a film. we went to a deli for sandwiches- she had egg salad and i had a reuben, and then we filed in to see "atonement". wow, that film really blew me away. truly, i loved it. the performances were solid. some of the scenes looked a bit staged to me, but the screenplay, especially the framework, left me breathless.

so much of what transpired to lead up the pivotal point in the film is actually quite beautiful to look at. and besides the dreamlike quality that some of the shots outside the mansion had, the pace was fairly natural. of course, the reasons for the dreamlike qualities get explained at the closing of the film.

i guess the unsettling aspect for me, and the most compelling and memorable, was how a spur of the moment selfish act by someone, more reactionary than calculated, can alter so many lives. and i was so taken with evoloution of sacrifice and secret sadness, as well as the perceived hardships of moving on.

the hero (james mcavoy) is beautiful, and portrays innocence, hard work, and the limitations of class with the ease of a principal dancer. and vanessa redgrave at the closing of the film seals the deal.

the story may not be relevant, it may not be important, but this drama honestly felt human to me. with the juxtaposition of secluded life on a private estate set against the boundary-free military hospitals and war torn countryside, the images and scenes were splashed with remarkable light and shadow. i had a memorable afternoon.

one added feature was the soundtrack for me. the addition of the sound of typewriter keys populated, punctuated, and permeated the score. below is a piece of music called "elegy for dunkirk" (sans the typewriter) that i also find moving. i really like the use of the chorus here.

and please believe me when i wish for you to "have a beautiful sunday"

plainview

my friend jim drove down from boulder last night and we saw the film "there will be blood". i must admit, it wasn't my first choice, but he had seen every other movie i picked so finally i said you can't ask me to pick because you've got so many limititions. you pick and i'll be happy to go. i really can't remember the last movie i went to a theatre to see.

it is a very slow piece. it's a rework of the upton sinclair story by the name of oil. the backdrop is unsettled california during post-gold-rush days. the storyline follows an self-professed oilman's journey from new mexico to california, as he lets his passion and instinct lead him to bigger successes in his line of work.

but his emotional life arcs in a different direction than his career. his drive and his calling slowly cut off his ability to interact successfully with other humans and he is left, in the late scenes of the film, wandering and lolligagging completely alone in his self built castle, bitter and isolated, almost inhuman.

the performances are completely compelling, especially that of daniel day lewis. he is almost unrecognizable and sprials more towards that direction as the story progresses. i was definitely aware that the film was dry, but i was also completely compelled by the imagery and the metaphors of digging of wells, of the accidents, the loss, and the death, involved in that digging as well as the sheer strength of religion and the drama of religious charismatics. flaming oil geysers and the communities and the new life that sprung up around those drilling sites create an underworld that is well-seasoned with eccentricities. for me, there is a total correllation to recovery, truth, 12-step culture and constructing a sober life. a life without faith and without doing for others, but spent in isolation and indulgence is hardly a life at all.

i almost think this movie should be seen in a theatre. i don't know if i would have had the patience to keep it running at home. it is slow paced, it is impartial, it is pragmatic in its approach. but in a theatre, surrounded by hundreds of others, i felt it to be a cultural experience that contained value that was more than worthwhile.

here is one review:

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The kind of film that is easily called great. I am not sure of its greatness. It was filmed in the same area of Texas used by "No Country for Old Men," and that is a great film, and a perfect one. But There Will Be Blood"is not perfect, and in its imperfections we may see its reach exceeding its grasp. Which is not a dishonorable thing.

read the remainder of review here

i found the soundtrack mesmerizing as well. jonny greenwood of "radiohead" has composed the heart of it. i will most likely download that, too. meantime, here is a cut from radiohead's latest release "rainbows".

supergay

image credit: dead robot
i really love the original caption with the photo- supergay and his sidekick bagpussy

well another saturday night in gotham and our 3 superheroes did what most big city do-gooders find themselves doing- staying in and chillin'. bryan is a guest at my house and marc is staying with lannie and we had enough superpowers to order in and get some rest. they both were so phenomenally gracious in helping with some last minute details and we were all pooped. at least i was.

bryan and i ordered pizza and watched "suberbad" another teen-coming-of-age farce that is newly out on video. it was so stupid and i loved it. the lead character "seth" gets hit by different cars a few times and it is so slapstick it made me belly laugh. and that is great medicine for me. it is sexist in ways, it is not pc, and i thoroughly enjoyed its nonsense.

if you need a good laugh with friends, nothing serious, just stoopid fun, this may be a good choice. i guess there's still a teenager locked inside me who likes to get out once in awhile. supergay is a term used in the film to describe seth's juvenile obsession with drawing penises. believe me, some of the drawings are outrageous.:p

i've included the dick drawing segment and i also wanna shout out about the soundtrack 'cuz it's an homage to 70's funk. i was a schoolboy when 70's funk was hot and i still dig it like a schoolboy.

obviously it's a fun weekend for me in denver.

i've got a secret

i love sundays. i go to my favorite meeting and get my spiritual fix for the week. i don't have to go to work and can spend a bit of time just being lazy. things like taking a nap and having a snack can easily be part of the game plan. or going to the mountains.

but my favorite thing of all is

extreme makeover: home edition

.

i am without a doubt a sucker for the formula of this show. i know every week what is going to happen. i know every week that i am being manipulated in some way. i know that every week a number of companies and corporations are getting advertisement in the name of "doing good". and i don't care. i eagerly get ready for the start time of the show on sundays, and i patiently sit through the softsell peddling and the overt advertisemnts, because part of me believes that someone's lives are getting better and that it is happening because someone is taking the time and putting the effort forth to help make that so.

i love to cry my 2 minutes of tears on a weekly basis. it makes me feel as if my weekend is complete. i sleep better and suppose i feel cleansed in some way. anyway i love to cry(for only a minute), and i love ty pennington, too. beautiful, crazy, and driven. but, shhhh- don't tell anyone. it's a secret. i really don't talk about this much. i just kinda quietly slip into my sunday evening behavior without even thinking about it.

the gay nineties

We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

san francisco 1996 or so. meth had not entered my life. but drinking heavily was no stranger. i lived in denver, but flew to the city once in awhile to hang out with some friends that made underground films. i ended up being in two. this one came about because louanne swore i looked like a 50's film star a la robert mitchum. imagine my surprise when i came across my performances on youtube.

these friends now live on the big island and i'm certain are still making films. they were pretty much finished with me as a direct result of my meth use. i don't blame them one iota. they are eccentric, midwestern, and creative. you can see bits of them whenever you wish on youtube. they call themselves "the illinore show". i think my favorites are "gold questions" and "wayne". they are ron and louanne. i met them in 1984 in chicago. they were part of a performance art ensemble called "the family plan". they were odd and used to do performances in the strangest of places in the strangest of ways. they had an open house at a gallery once where they baked bread in the shape of letters to spell a greeting and covered the floor with cabbages and onions. it was so avant.

my most striking memory is a collaboration they did at the dance hall the 2nd year we were open with several students from the art institute of chicago. It was named "blood beat digest". there were frankenstein like electrical machines set up in one room. there were deranged and creepy performances going on throughout the night. but the most vivid was in the bathroom up on the 3rd floor which was usually locked, there was a bathtub. louanne was in the tub which was filled with red liquid. her mouth was gagged and her hands and feet were bound and she was writhing to stay afloat in the tub of pseudo bloody water. playing in the background was a tape of a deep deep voice ( almost barry white-ish) repeating " you like it like this don't you bitch. you like this. you like this".

i still get creeped by the whole thing. that is one of the many reasons i absolutely love performance to this day. but this effort is not so daring. this particular effort also gave me the chance to understand that i'm no actor.

i ran.... iran so far away

image credit: jose manchado

i was blogstopping as is a custom on sunday and i came across an incredibly provocative short film posted by my cyberbud ron hudson. he manages the international carnival of positivities, but also keeps a blog of his own. i find that blog much quieter and thoughtful than i find mine, which is why i'm sure i like to visit. the film runs about 8 mins or a little less, and is worth the entire time it takes. it superbly demonstrates the difficulties around all the issues bubbling in the middle east as well as back here at home. at the same time it delivers this message with a quietly-holding-your-breath style that echoes the frustration around the myriad of issues around religious freedom and freedom of expression.


make sure to visit ron at 2sides2ron

sexy alexi

alexi murdoch

from wikipedia:

Alexi Murdoch (Born 27 December 1973) is a London-born, Scottish-bred, singer-songwriter. He went to the U.S. to study philosophy at Duke University.

His self-published EP, Four Songs, was released in 2002, becoming the all time No. 1 selling record in CD Baby history. [1] Murdoch's newest album, Time Without Consequence, was released on June 6, 2006.

One of Murdoch's most popular songs is "Orange Sky". In an interview, Murdoch said when he took the music to a record company that the recording executive popped the disc into his computer rather than a stereo and then proceeded to stare at the counter on the screen waiting to see how long it took to get to the refrain. The executive's reaction supposedly convinced Murdoch to take the indie route of releasing his music.[citation needed]

"Orange Sky" has been used in a number of television and movie productions, including The OC, House, Prison Break, "Ugly Betty", Ladder 49, and a trailer for the film Paradise Now. The same song was also featured in the movie Garden State, although it did not appear on the official soundtrack. More recently, the song was featured on a Season 1 episode of Dirty Sexy Money. Another song of the album, All My Days, was featured in a Season 4 episode of The OC. The song "Home" was featured on a Season 2 episode of Prison Break.

His song "Through The Dark" can be heard during the end credits of Gone Baby Gone.

some bits of wisdom

some things really are worth singing about...



and then there is the great bear loving clip posted at gay wisdom

gay top gun

i know this has been around, but it still makes me smile. the enthusiasm that q shows near the end shrieking "swordfight! swordfight! swordfight!" still makes me ooze with laughter.

just a short list of some of the more vague lines from the film:

Hey man we could of had him! Hey we could of had him man!

I was invaded!

Move your ass get up here! I'm engaged!

Woods been hit! Woods been hit, shit, Woods been hit!

Ok Wood I'm taking the lead

You up for this one Maverick?

No, no, no - there's two O's in Goose boys!

Okay Mav, lets turn and burn!

We're in his Jet Wash!

He's going vertical, then so am I!

Get your butts above the hard deck.

I'm not going to sit here and blow sunshine up your ass.

Bullshit ten minutes! This thing will be over in two minutes - get on it!

Hard deck my ass, we nailed that son of a bitch!

Splash that sucker, yeah!

'Goose whose butt did you kiss to get in here?'... 'The list is long but distinguished'

"You can be my wingman anytime".... "Bullshit, you can be mine"

I want somebody's butt, I want it now, I've had it!

once

i had a chance to see this film last weekend and i was enchanted indeed. it is a musical through and through. so all you queers that either confirm or deny that musical theater is a part of our genes, can once again validate your intuition. the music is a character in this story. and an important one, too. and the life circumstances and the relationship depicted here are at once trite and full of innuendo. a magical combination. i definitely felt my own humanity move closer after seeing this and it reconfirmed that indeed i am drawn towards artists and self expression addicts. and that is something i am completely joyful about and hopelessly grateful for.

here is a clip of the two main characters performing a song from the film live.



i have also added a trailer of the film in case you need a little more ( for the addict in you!.. lol)

trailer