'Happy Birthday Jesus'

Do you know that I forgot the most precious vid that I discovered, last year, for this Christmas?! I don't know how that happened (especially since the song is about the very Reason for the Season! ;-) but...sure hope you enjoy this little one! :-D

MercyMe - Beautiful

This is such a...beautiful song from a...beautiful artist and band. And...here are the lyrics which are - you know - 'Beautiful'...for beautiful YOU! :-D Hope you enjoy! (and the vid is very beautiful in HD, too! :-D

Mary Did You Know - Mark Lowery

The first time I ever heard this song, I was moved to tears at just thinking about the Sacrifice made...for ALL of us; both in the Birth, as depicted in a scene from a movie in this well-made vid, as well as the Death of Jesus. It's definitely something to ponder as we are upon the Season that came to be from this very account.

MercyMe - Joseph's Lullaby

This is a song that my most favorite band, MercyMe, wrote...from Joseph's perspective. There's a clip of Bart talking about the song but the quality was quite disappointing.

At any rate, quite a thing to think about. I hope you enjoy.

Charlie Brown Christmas

It seems that the other vid I got, from Yahoo, was messing up my columns. :-( I tried to change them but something wasn't working so...will go w/this lesser quality vid. I was quite surprised to see it as this is broadcast on public t.v. across the Nation. I had no idea that Linus even knew what the "real" meaning of Christmas is! HAPPY to know that, though! :-D

The Eagles-Please Come Home for Christmas

I've always loved the Eagles (Don Henley!!) and love the melody of this song. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Eartha Kitt with Friends Santa Baby

I've always thought this was a funny song. First time I see this vid. Her "attire" was pretty risque for back then.

toy packaging

(working my way back to Christmas songs! lol!) I heard this song, recently; cracked me up. With vid it's even funnier! :-D

Mariah Carey "All I want for Christmas is you"

One of the greatest singers of all time, IMHO, is Mariah Carey. Yes she's a 'Diva,' but she deserves whatever she has gotten so far in her life as I have not seen a female artist work as long and hard as this beautiful lady has since she first wowed us w/her high notes and powerful voice, 20 years ago! Like Barbra Streisand, Mariah is the ultimate perfectionist. Nothing gets done "half-assed" w/this artist and that's why I love her so much! No, I don't care for hip hop but she's got some amazing songs in between all that attention-getting hip hop that she has thrown in her work, over the years.

Mariah, now 40 (already! Ugh!), is putting her body through the ultimate test: she is expecting...TWINS!! I hope you enjoy this great song!

Merry Christmas Darling - Karen Carpenter

Here's a song I heard the other day that I think is really nice. Hope you enjoy.

højt fra træets grønne top.avi

Growing up, this is what we did: dance around a Christmas tree w/real candles lit on it, singing Danish Christmas songs. And...Christmas was celebrated on the 24th.

Julie Barnhill - 'Christmas Memories'

I heard this on my way to town, tonight, and had a good chuckle at the first part.

And...towards the end is a great radio theater program that they put together. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

I think this is an AMAZING idea! Being able to sing in a public forum like this: AWESOME!

We used to go and find a church that was playing Handel's Messiah and sing through it with complete strangers. It's a pretty cool experience! Try it, some time!

'The Christmas Story' (read by Mark Hull of 'Casting Crowns')

The wonderful Christmas Story, ready by Mark Hull of 'Casting Crowns' who is also a Youth Pastor when he's not traveling around the country w/his awesome band. Hope you enjoy.

Merry Christmas, Everyone! :-)

Casting Crowns - I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day Live

Casting Crowns is one of my most favorite bands. Love Mark Hall's voice. Love this song. Hope you enjoy.

JJ Heller - What Love Really Means (Official Music Video)

Something offered to us all. All we have to do is choose to accept. :-)

(So beautiful to see a Husband/Wife team. COOL!)

K-LOVE - JJ Heller "Wake Up The World" LIVE

I love this song and I hope you enjoy. Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Silver Bells - Steven Curtis Chapman - All I Really Want For Christmas

LOVE the melody of this song. Hope you enjoy. :-D

The Nativity and 'Breath of Heaven' - Amy Grant

I wanted to find a song that begins this journey that is taken at Christmas; something reflective. I believe that this is a good one. The anguish of a Mother in waiting and the ominous task ahead. I hope you enjoy.

THE PRAYER with Lyrics_Celine Dion & Andrea Bocelli

I was driving along, today, listening to my favorite radio station, www.KLOVE.com, when all of a sudden, this beautiful song (oddly enough, embedding wasn't available.) came on. It's one that just tugs at the heartstrings, it's so moving.

I watched a PBS concert special of Andre Bocelli, doing an outdoor concert, in Italy, once. It was the most beautiful music I had ever heard and the shots of the sun setting and just the whole setting was so magical, I wished that Andre had even an inkling how beautiful it was. But...I also think that he was quite enjoying the evening, himself; he was singing with a beautiful young woman whom he seemed quite enchanted with; and...with good reason, too: she had the voice of an angel. So...even though Andre couldn't enjoy seeing his surroundings, it was wonderful to see him so thoroughly enjoying his accompaniment. :-D

I hope you enjoy this beautiful song. :-)

'Airplane' - A Tribute to Leslie Nielsen

Leslie Nielsen passed away, last Sunday, and I wanted to pay homage to the "funny man" who gave us 'Airplane' and many other silly flicks! All I remember, regarding 'Airplane' are two lines:
(repeated before, during and after the landing attempt)

"I just wanna tell you both, good luck. We're all counting on you." (LMAO at that!) and I also remember being SHOCKED at the unexpected and highly inappropriate (keep in mind, this was in 1980 and I was but a "mere" teenager!! And...I guess I had not seen that comment coming!) comment from the little girl: [when offered cream for her coffee] "No thank you, I take it black…like my men." LOL!!

Anyway, I can't seem to find any other movie that I have seen with him in it, since, but think that I will re-watch 'Airplane' soon! I need a GOOD laugh and LOVE HILARIOUS play on words! :-)

Thank you, Mr. Nielsen, for having been a "bright spot" in ALL of our lives! :-D

'The Last Station'

I was reading an article with Helen Mirren commenting on how Hollywood is "Sexist and Ageist." I couldn't agree MORE and even eluded to this fact, in this post (dang, how time FLIES!!)! Helen is such a beautiful-looking woman, I HOPE that her bringing this issue out into the open, that producers will be more inclined to include these beautiful actors, in future flicks. Thank you, Helen, for speaking out about an issue that Corporate America has yet to address but seems to be getting away with, as well...up until this point, anyway! :-0

This film looks WONDERFUL! My kind of movie: something of substance rather than ALL the UNNECESSARY "shoot-'em-up" and GORE that MOST people seem to relish in! What makes it even more interesting is that it is biographical so...someone's life is being shared in order to teach us something about them, perhaps even learning about them, for the first time, drawn in by the actors who play them. I look very much forward to seeing this and will write more after having done so. The trailer certainly makes it look intriguing. :-) Anyone having seen it, PLEASE COMMENT. I would love to have your, um, "take" on it! ;-) Thanks!

It's a Date!

So...it looks like Prince William and his lovely fiance, Kate Middleton, will be getting married at the GORGEOUS 'Westminster Abbey,'
April 29th, 2011!

Check out the pics of this SPECTACULAR place! Some INCREDIBLE numbers here, as well: they expect 1 BILLION peeps to be watching this wedding (NO PRESSURE!) AND the wedding, itself, is estimated to cost around $40 MILLION!!!!!!!

Anybody remember this little tidbit of trivia: Elton John singing 'Goodbye England's Rose.' ('Candle in the Wind') for William's mom, Princess Diana, in 1997, in this very sanctuary.

Interestingly enough, William's parents were married
July 29th, 1981... (notice the SAME DATE of the month! And...3 months shy of an exact 30 years later!)

And...these two most definitely did NOT rush into this commitment; they've been together for a WHOPPING 8 YEARS!!!!!!! And DANG aren't they going to have some ADORABLE children! They make a very beautiful couple! I hope they continue to have a wonderful life, together! Personally, I think I would FAINT at the beginning of the walk down that INTIMIDATING aisle thinking about ALL the EYES that are on me! YIKES!!!!!

'Burlesque'

Alright...where to start: It was great to see Cher, again...as always! I LOVE that "ole" gal! Such a sweetheart! :-) As always, she did a great job playing her part. She was only in the opening number but it was nice to see her get in a nice get-up even if it was for just a, uh, brief, (get it?! ;-) period! :-)

I'm going to point out a starlet that I'm not quite sure why she wasn't given a bigger role in this movie. She was the chick w/the attitude, always worrying about the threat of 'Ali,' (Christina Aguilera), and that was Kristen Bell. Kristen had one main scene in the entire flick (who had quite the outfit on!) and several small bits thereafter. Can I just say this: I was very disappointed w/the role that Kristen got. It, basically, sucked because I have seen her do a ton better in her other movies! :-(

It was interesting to see just how much of the movie was centered around Christina Aguilera who is already a household name(? or not...) but...I guess that's what happens when you can write 4 songs to the movie! And, yes...Christina was AMAZING no doubt about it! She's got a voice that gives you goose bumps as she begins to amp up!

Here's a sample from the beginning of the movie and, yeah...it's pretty much a one-woman show from there on, except for a few butt shots of the rest of the Burlesque cast, here and there!

Cher also performs one song as a rehearsal piece in a very dim-lit blue-hued floodlight titled, 'You Haven't Seen the Last of Me' that made me HOPE that wasn't going to be fortuitous of some freak accident as happened to Bono years earlier 'cuz I actually went to see Cher only to discover that she is practically side-lined in this movie so that Christina could clear her [already famous] lungs! So...Cher, you did GREAT but...Sweetheart, I want to see MORE of you! You're a Legend that is too young and beloved to be moth-balled, already! :-(

Two of the men that caught my attention were (one of my favorites) Eric Dane (whoo! That smile!) of (also my favorite! lol!)'Grey's Anatomy' who I always enjoy watching/listening to on the show; and...Cam Gigandet who I had not heard of, before. Between these two men and those eyes and smiles...(sigh)

I have often enjoyed seeing Stanley Tucci and found him to be a great fit for this movie as well.

I really enjoyed Christina's performances but would have enjoyed having seen more talent from others as well.

The Amazing Cuttlefish

Something that I have always been fascinated by: Marine Biology and, in particular, all the beautiful and complex inhabitants of the ocean. In this case, the cuttlefish...who no one can yet figure out how it does this amazing thing that it does with it's magical hiding technique using camouflage.



Fascinating, huh?! :-)

Ever tasted cuttlefish? The Asian community marinades and dries it into an addictive and tasty snack treat. Try it, when you get the chance. I think that you'd like it. It's an excellent source of protein, too. :-)

'Letters to Juliet'

From the beautiful scenery of the Italian locations to the beautiful cast, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for several reasons: 1) being the 'Hope[less]/ful Romantic' that I am, I actually believe in the premise of this movie; 2) many times, I will go to a movie, in large part, to see the locations. I'm not sure if I will ever get a chance to actually go to Italy but have often dreamed of going so...I always enjoy the opportunity to see movies that feature this beautiful country; 3) I had not seen a movie with Amanda Seyfried, yet, so was curious to see the movie for that reason, as well.

Oh, my! my!my! the "lookers" in this cast! Where to begin! Vanessa Redgrave was so beautiful! I would absolutely LOVE to see MORE (and support!) the gracefully aging community of actresses and actors of yesteryear! Why are they "moth-balled" so early in their career?! It's a travesty!!

My heart nearly stopped when Christopher Egan entered the room!! I wouldn't mind being able to jump into a pool of blue eyes like his! :-P He reminded me of a younger (blonder) Matt Damon. For the record, I think I'd STILL pick Matt (sorry, Christopher! It's the age thing! ;-) but...he was definitely "easy on the eyes" as they say! :-D

I thought I had seen the best of the "pretty boys," when Christopher walked in but...when they came upon Daniel Baldock, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven! lol! ;-P "Where has he been hiding all these year?!" I wondered, and..."why aren't there MORE that look similar to him?!" I thought! Anyway...I'll be keeping my eyes on him, in the future! :-)

So...as if the beautiful rolling hills, that they drove through and filmed, weren't enough, out of the blue rides in one of the most handsome "aged" men that I can ever remember seeing...that being 'Lorenzo' star Franco Nero (oddly, he isn't listed on imDb's casting! Weird!). Wow! Be STILL my heart! lol! They sure don't seem to make 'em like that, anymore, either! :-P

So, then...if you're interested in watching a movie that is just...sweet, go watch it. If you're a 'Hopeless Romantic,' like me, I'm almost certain that you'll LOVE it! If you happen to enjoy beautiful scenery and actors, you won't be disappointed! And...if you have someone whom you are trying to tell how much you love them, take them to this. Unless they have a really "thick skull," they'll "get it;" and, hopefully, not chew your head off for letting them know how much you care about them! :-(

And...there are several very good life "lessons" to be learned from this movie, too. I hope that you'll watch it; I warmly recommend it! :-)

Oh and...there's a heartwarming tidbit about this movie that just made me "swoon," when I discovered it. I'll let anyone who asks me, first, in on it! (wouldn't want to distract from the movie! All I can say is...that the life lessons shared in this movie were actually "played out" in real life! Nothing can be more romantic than that! :-)