Tuesday, May 27, 2008

top 3

warning- this post requires replies and comments.

here is the inspiration-
i was driving along to indiana a few weeks back for work and didn't have my ipod (the rental didn't have an input- tragedy, i know). so i was relegated to listening to the radio for the whole trip. once the detroit sports radio station was out of range, i opted for the scan button. as i determined if a song was or was not worth my time, i thought about the songs i never like or listen to and the songs i love or cannot pass up if i hear them. also, as i stopped on a few songs, i realized i would have been embarrassed to stop on them had anyone else been in the car. so, it made me want to write a blog and see what some of your entries on the following top 3 lists would be. (i included movies because i like them and my sister and i have talked before about movies you watch whenever they are on tv no matter how many times you have seen them.) feel free to reply with any or all of your entries.

SONGS I DESPISE
(i would never stop on these songs unless it was to mock them or if i had a person in the car whom i wanted to torture)

1. anything sung by rod stewart
he is terrible and sounds like he swallowed glass. forever young particularly makes me want to puke and ironically makes me want to be old, so that i could be closer to death and have less of a chance of hearing that song anymore.

2. i want to live like animals (or the animal song) by savage garden
i don't even think i have to justify this one. listen to the song. i can't explain how, but i am pretty sure it is the cause of people choosing to be vegetarians and vegans.

3. summer girls by lfo
new kids on the block had a bunch of hits, chinese food makes me sick, and i think it's fly when girls stop by for the summer, the summer. note to the lyricist- please just have one coherent thought. just one- is that too much to ask?

4. simply having a wonderful christmas time by paul mccartney

i had to include this one. it makes me want to ram q-tips into my ears. paul mccartney should be removed from the beatles somehow for providing the musical equivalent of pooping in a box, wrapping it and placing it under a christmas tree.

SONGS I LOVE
(i would never change the dial if these songs came on)

1. california love by dr. dre and tupac (moment of silence please)

i don't know what it is about this song, but i have to listen to it when it comes on. maybe it is that inner thug coming out of me from my days on the mean streets of ashtabula. or maybe i relate with being out on bail, fresh out of jail- california dreaming.

2. elvira by the oak ridge boys

i used to love this when i was a little kid and would dance around in my diapers whenever it came on. i guess some traditions never die. (not saying i wear diapers and dance around my house to this song now *nervous chuckle*)

3. tie- anything sung by christina aguilera, lauryn hill or kelly clarkson

i am just melted into a little puddle of goo when i hear an awesome female voice, and these three can sing in a way that would make paint fall off of walls. three particular songs would be beautiful by c.a., ex-factor by l.h., and the live version of beautiful disaster by k.c. (by the way, kelly, if you read this, i am ready to marry you whenever you want.)


GUILTY PLEASURE SONGS
(i would not start out a blind date by saying i liked these songs)

1. one word, two syllables- boybands

i pretty much know every word to every n'sync song, most nkotb songs, and several backstreet boys songs. you can even throw in stuff like bbmak, 98 degrees, all4one and color me badd. i even created a genre on my itunes called boy bands so i don't have to weed through all that normal manly music guys listen to to find it. (related topic- i also love justin timberlake's solo stuff and listen to it all the time.)

2. the one that you love by air supply

in my defense- i am a high tenor. it helps me exercise my vocals. although crying as i scream it at the top of my lungs as i normally do doesn't help me sing much better.

3. careless whisper by wham

this is one of my favorite songs ever. what can i say, i am just a sucker for george michaels and... that other guy in wham.

HONORABLE MENTION
(i like music so much that it was hard to limit to 3 so i had to at least give these songs a shout out)

1. what might have been by little texas
2. one last cry by brian mcknight
3. true by ryan cabrera
4. fly me to the moon by frank sinatra
5. mozart's requiem
6. worlds apart by jars of clay
7. she's got a way by billy joel
8. the freshmen by the verve pipe
9. inside out by eve 6
10. under the bridge by the red hot chili peppers

MOVIES I DESPISE
(i will not watch these movies unless i have no choice)

1. any star trek movie

i don't get into sci-fi. if you do, more power to you, but it is not my cup of tea.

2. superman returns

this movie had cheesy dialogue. it was way too obvious with its messianic parallel. i was sad to see one of my favorite actors, kevin spacey, be a part of such a disaster.

3. pearl harbor

leave it to american film to take a story about one of the most intriguing events in american history and focus on a fictitious love story. it was everything the makers of saving private ryan strived to avoid.


MOVIES I LOVE
(i could watch them over and over again and still enjoy them)

1. dumb and dumber

classic slapstick comedy mixed with some very witty writing and great comedic timing. i laugh every single time i watch this movie without exception.

2. seven

pretty graphic content, but excellent thought-provoking dialogue concerning sin, religion and tolerance in american culture.

3. forrest gump

i don't know what it is, but i cannot get enough of this movie. the story, as unbelievable as it is, just draws me in every time. also, it makes me cry every time i see it, which leads into the next category...

MOVIES THAT MAKE ME CRY EVERY TIME I WATCH THEM

1. dead poet's society

when the guys all find out about neil and todd (ethan hawk's character) just loses it, i can't help but cry.

2. mrs. doubtfire

ok, i know this seems stupid, but i have good reason. i am sure he would deny this if confronted, but this is the first movie i remember watching with my dad and seeing him cry. we went to the theatre and when robin williams is giving that speech in court about not losing his kids, my dad started to cry a little. every time i see that film now, i cry at that part.

3. patch adams

again, this is kind of a corny movie, but when patch is reading the rest of the love poem to corinne, i lose it. also, the scene on the edge of the cliff where patch is talking to God doesn't make me cry, but it is very emotional. you know, maybe i need to quit watching robin williams movies and i won't cry as much, cause i cry during good will hunting every time too. (it's not your fault, it's not your fault)

HONORABLE MENTION
(i would for sure recommend that you watch these if you have not already)

1. gladiator
2. stranger than fiction
3. crash
4. american history x
5. what about bob
6. the usual suspects
7. ray
8. waiting for guffman (or any movie with that cast)
9. gangs of new york (and there will be blood- daniel day lewis is awesome in both)
10. wayne's world

ok, that's all for now. i hope to hear some of your favorite music and movies, too!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

i stand... somewhat impressed

i don't recall all the peripheral details, but i remember the moment itself like it just happened. i know i was with my parents in the car. i believe we were on the way to visit my sister in michigan. if i have to guess, i would say i was about 12 years old. as we drove, we came to an area close to an airport. high above, a plane soared. my mother turned from the front seat to tell me to look up and see the plane. and here is the moment i remember so well- unbeknownst to her, i rolled my eyes and said 'i see it mom,' but in reality i had made no attempt whatsoever to look at the plane. i mean, come on. i was 12 years old. i had seen tons of planes in my day. that was only cool and exciting to little kids.

i think about that day all the time. no exaggeration- i really do think about it every time i hear or see a plane. in fact it just happened yesterday when i was driving by the columbus airport and saw a plane fly overhead. i think about it because that is the precise moment i lost my sense of amazement for modern technology. in fact, nothing amazes me anymore unless i really allow myself to think about it long and hard. even though i cannot explain how a plane flies, it is just commonplace now. no need to get all worked up over it, right? thousands of them take off and land every day. despite the fact that i cannot even begin to give a scientific description of how we are able to record sound onto a tape, or video into a camcorder, i view it as simple. technology adapts and changes so quickly, it seems like nothing that could be invented would really knock me off my feet at this point. the childlike sense of wonder is gone. but yesterday, when i saw that plane, i let myself drift into thought. i considered how awe inspiring it truly is to see an object that large fly through the air. i thought about how awesome it is that God has given man the intelligence to engineer, pilot and build these machines. i let my mind go back to the days before that trip, when i was a young boy and the world was filled with incredible inventions and discoveries for me to experience. it was very freeing to feel that again.

there is a song i love called 'i stand amazed.' it goes like this-

i stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene
and wonder how He could love me- a sinner condemned, unclean

He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own
He bore the burden to calvary and suffered and died alone

how marvelous! how wonderful and my song shall ever be!
how marvelous! how wonderful is my Savior's love for me!

i could write for a long time about this, but i will keep it short for now. i think i had, until recently, stopped thinking of grace as all that amazing. i didn't stand amazed anymore. God's mercies are new to me every morning. His grace is extended to me over and over again, so i sat in the back seat rolling my eyes, thinking "oh here comes forgiveness again..." i think the frequency of that gift being given made it less impressive to me. even though i could not explain why or how God had forgiven me, it became standard and even mundane. recently, i had an experience that opened my eyes to just how wonderful it is to be forgiven and redeemed by God. my simple prayer is that i never go back to the days of feeling like forgiveness and grace are anything less than awesome and inconceivable.