Jack Frost nipping at your turkey

It's Nov. 22 and there's a dusting of snow on the ground this morning ... like, Holy unsually cold weather, Batman!

And to think last Saturday I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt because it was 70 outside.

I'm gonna be a good driver

I just heard this story and had to share it. File this one under kids-say-the-darndest-things ...

A co-worker related the following conversation he had with his 10-year-old son:

Son: "Dad, some day I'm going to be a good driver."
My Friend: "Oh yeah, how do you know that?"
Son: "Well, I did pretty good driving the golf cart the other day, right?"
My Friend: "Yeah, I guess you're right."
Son: "The only problem is the golf cart didn't have a prindle."
My Friend: "Um, a what?"
Son: "You know, a prindle ... the P-R-N-D-L thing in the middle of the front seat of the car."

Classic!

Top 10 Favorite Soundtracks

Here's the impetus for this list ... over the weekend I saw a band that friends of mine are in and they did a cover of "Son of a Preacher Man" which got me to thinking about Pulp Fiction and the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and how much I love that CD.

So I started poking around the ol' external hard drive onto which I've ripped our 1000+ CDs and we have a number of soundtracks. So here is a list of my faves (in no particular order, except the first one):

1. Pulp Fiction

This to me is the quintessential soundtrack. Every single song on this CD works and it's a brilliant collection. Whenever I listen to this disc, I immediately think about where in the move the music appears. Quentin Tarantino hit the mark on this soundtrack from the first to the last track. And the sound bites from the movie are perfect. "No man, they have the metric system in Europe, they wouldn't know what the f%#$ a Quarter Pounder is ..."


2. The Producers

My god, how much do I love this disc? Mel Brooks is a genius and he writes the most amazing music and lyrics for his projects. I can't tell you how many times I've listened to this CD and laughed like hell, especially when "Keep It Gay" is playing (best song in the show, IMO). "Shows should be more witty, shows should be more pretty, shows should be more ... what's the word?" "Gay?" "Exactly!" Whenever I listed to this disc, I can't skip around because every song is just that good.



3. The Fifth Element

This is one of those movies that not a lot of people have heard of but it's one of Bruce Willis' best, I think. It looks amazing, great story, lots of humor (Chris Tucker steals every scene he's in) and the music is amazing. The more times you see this movie, the more you appreciate the music because it's so ethereal and blends perfectly with the action on screen.



4. Austin Powers

An excellent movie because it was a fresh idea at the time and a great soundtrack from start to finish. "Incense and Peppermint", "Soul Bossa Nova" and "Mas Que Nada" are standouts. Now, if Myers would just not make another one of these movies, we'd all be better off. I really wish he'd stopped after the first because the franchise really tanked after this movie, but I digress ...



5. Jackie Brown

Much like Pulp Fiction, Tarantino hit another home run with this collection. Every song just...works. "Strawberry Letter 23" ... just amazing. And like Fiction, the disc is peppered with sound bites from the movie. Excellent. "The AK-47 ... when you've absolutely, positively got to kill every
motherf-er in the room, accept no substitutes!"





6. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Admittedly, not a great movie, but it's another great collection of music from the genius that is John Williams. "Duel of the Fates" just sent a shiver up my spine when I first heard it and then hearing it in the movie when Darth Maul appears just gave me chills again ... still does and for me, that's the sign of a great piece of music.





7. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Three words for you: Darth ... Vader's ... Theme. I actually have the vinyl version of this soundtrack and I remember the summer (1980) that this movie came out. I bought the album and must have listened to it dozens of times.







8. Monty Python's Spamalot

Python legend Eric Idle is at peak form on these tracks and shines once again as one of the comic geniuses behind the Python franchise. And the Broadway cast, including Tim Curry, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria, is just perfect. I actually saw this show before getting the soundtrack and remember thinking that I wanted to stop by a store on the way home from the show to get the CD. Remember, "What happens in Camelot stays in Camelot!"



9. A Charlie Brown Christmas

If there ever was an iconic Christmas album, that has to be it (or, at least one of them). One the things I liked most about the Peanuts TV specials was the music (even as a kid) and as an adult, I really appreciate the virtuosity of Vince Guaraldi. When the holidays roll around, this is one of the first Christmas CDs I'll listen to. "Skating", "Christmastime is Here" and "O Tannenbaum" are true standouts. Who can't listen to "Skating" and not picture Snoopy gliding along the ice? A classic soundtrack for a classic special.



10. The Song Remains the Same

One of the greatest live recordings from one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Yeah, the movie itself was a bit ... um, weird when the concert footage cuts to the dream sequence kinda of stuff (you get the sense that an altered state is probably helpful when viewing this film), but still, the film shows the band at it's height and the soundtrack just plain rocks. And not for nothing but I'll forever be jealous of my cousin Joe who got to see Led Zeppelin at Madison Square Garden.

Honorable mentions would include:

• Chicago - Yes, I'm a guy and yes, I liked this movie. Great soundtrack, too. Who woulda thunk Catherine Zeta-Jones could sing like that? Fave track, tho, is John C. Reilly singing "Mister Cellophane" ... heartbreaking.
  
• Pink Floyd's The Wall - Yes, the album came first but it's a concept album and the movie followed it virtually verbatim.
  
• The Breakfast Club - I defy anyone who grew up and was in high school in the 1980s to not know at least one line from this movie. "Don't you, forget about me ..."
  
• The Big Chill - Top to bottom, front to back, one classic song after another.
  
• Woodstock - 'Nuff said!
  

So, how are you?

Here's something new in Joey's arsenal of expressions ...

We were at a store today and the guy behind the counter said, "Hey buddy, how you doing?"

"Mine name is Joey," was the reply.

"Oh, hi Joey," the guy says. "So, how are you?"

"I'm Star Wars awesome," was Joey's answer.

Apparently he's used this expression at pre-school, too.

Does a bear trick-or-treat in the woods?!?

Joey originally wanted to be an ewok for Halloween, so Kell borrowed a bear costume and was going to fashion a red hood and we'd be good to go.

But, Mr. Davis decided being a bear was good enough and much to our pleasant surprise, he actually wore the costume and had a fabulous time going trick or treating. Two things stand out from that night:

At first Joey would say "Trick or Treat!" and then thank the person for the candy. But as the night wore on, he would just look at the bowl and say "CANDY!!" and then say thank you. To a person, people at the door thought this was hysterical and said it was the best thing they'd heard that night.

The other thing was we went to one house and a woman opened the door, from which you could see into the living room and that a Baby Einstein DVD was just starting. Joey saw this and walked right in and said, "Ooooo, you're watching Baby Einstein?!?" The woman laughed as I corralled him out of the house ... classic!

Fast forward to the day after Halloween and my sister-in-law and nephew came to the house for dinner. Joey decided to show them his bear costume and things got a little silly. For some reason, whenever Auntie Suzie shows up, a song of some type seems to ensue and the lyrics for this ditty go something like, "I've got my furry sausage casing on/And it's Capri-length!/And it's Capri-length!"



And yes, Joey's been regaling us with this song everyday since ...

Watching history unfold

I'm sitting here in my living room and just watched John McCain give his concession speech. Very graceful and classy.

Watching the TV and the scenes of people in Chicago gathering waiting for President-Elect(!) Obama to make his acceptance speech ... it's like watching New Year's Eve coverage ... hundreds of thousands (if not over a million) people cheering, hugging, crying. It's an amazing scene and I have to admit that I'm getting emotional because I never really thought I'd ever see in my lifetime an African-American president and I'm so glad I did.

Admittedly, I wish Obama had more experience as a Senator, but I think he's better for this country than McCain would have been. In my opinion, the last thing this country needed was another four years of Republican rule.

The National Anthem is now being sung and I have goosebumps ... always happens when I hear this song.

I really hope Obama can come through on many of the things he promised during the election ... he certainly has his work cut out for him. I know that no matter who was elected tonight, no one has a magic wand that's going to be make all of America's problems go away, but I really hope Obama is the person to at least get this country back on the right track. He has to be ... he just has to be because there are so many issues facing this nation and we have to turn a corner soon.

It's 11:43 p.m. EST but I'm so glad I stayed up to see this ... Obama's going to speaking soon ... I'll likely remember where I was at this moment for the rest of my life.

EDIT: Obama just finished speaking ... wow ... I wish I could succinctly put into words what I'm feeling. This is such an amazing moment in the history of this country and again, I hope he can do for this country what he has talked about.

Just an amazing speech ... an amazing day ... an amazing time for this country.