Skip to main content

Whitney, Paul and I

    Hey, everyone. It's a very cold night, here in the mountains. Earlier in the evening I was reading Google News and noticed that Whitney Houston had died. I went to the closet where I keep my videos, meticulously arranged. (This is to tease my wife, who fusses about the mess)
    I have an old VHS tape of The Bodyguard with Whitney and Kevin Costner. If you haven't seen this one, you should check it out. Whitney does a good job as an actress. At the end she sings one of my favorite songs, called I Will Always Love You. She absolutely dominates the song, bending each word to her will. Her voice is so rich and deep! Wow! Good stuff. At the risk of losing my guy card, I must admit that I usually shed a tear or two at this point in the show.
    I hadn't planned on a movie review, but as long as I'm here...
     Whitney Houston plays a Diva rock star who needs a bodyguard. She wants to hire the best in the business, which is Costner. Actually, her manager wants to hire a bodyguard; she doesn't want one. After Costner pulls her out of a couple of jams, she begins to like him. She comes to more than like him. Is the person making threats against her someone she knows? A stranger with a record? Maybe someone in her entourage? This is an interesting look into the part of being a celebrity which is no fun at all. I'd rate this as 4 or 5 stars out of 5. The ending song, with the accompanying scenes, is one of the all time movie greats. Whitney Houston is...was, a beautiful woman and a huge talent.
    As I mentioned last night, I went to I-Tunes and watched a free video of Paul McCartney's concert. It was done in black and white. That, for those of you born at any time in the last several decades, was a system in which television and movies managed to suck the colors out of all things in life and replace it with no color. The songs were from the generation that came to adulthood prior to Paul's and mine. Several of them were songs that I hadn't heard in years but started singing along with immediately. Like, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself A Letter. When I hear songs like this, I think of my mom watching Bob Hope movies and singing along with songs that were similar. This was the generation that was digging the sounds of Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett. Truth to tell, if you want to hear Beatle music, this concert is not for you. I enjoyed it, however, and I had some thoughts about the musicians. The lady playing piano was skilled and meticulous. My own poor skills would prohibit me from playing in her presence. I did think about the boldness it would take to play in front of McCartney, a legend as a musician, singer, writer etc. I thought about musicians who play in an orchestra and have to play a few notes at just the right time. If they mess up, it effects 30 or 40 other peoples' work and may impact a number of peoples' jobs, money and the end product. A lot of pressure. It's like you say, "Hey, let's take something we love and take all the fun out of it by being a professional". That is, however, a comment from an outsider who really knows nothing about that business. It is a business that can chew people up and spit them out, I hear.
   On a bit of a melancholy night, I lift a glass to Paul McCartney, who at 69 is still with us, and Whitney Houston, who at 48, is not.
   From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.

Comments

  1. I too have the same video this was the first movie me and my boyfriend( now husband) that we watched together... This movie is very near and dear to my heart..

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shadowgun: Crushing The Driller On Level 4

      Hey, everyone. Let's talk about the game called Shadowgun, the I-Pad game with which I have a love-hate relationship. Most of you who made it past the evil Cyber Lobster are doubtless locked in a death struggle with the Driller at the end of level 4. At this point you have been in the cave for a long time. The Driller breaks through the rock wall and chases you through the tunnel as you try to shoot out the green lights which slows the Driller down. If you are slick enough to shoot out all the lights and emerge from the cave, a rolling door crashes on the Driller and crushes his aggravating carcass. I have tried and failed to beat the Driller at least 250 times. I hate the Driller to the heights and depths my soul can reach. I hate it like a plague. I hate it with intensity of feeling. I hate it like a rich man hates taxes. Excuse me, I got carried away.       We had a big dinner here at the green retreat and my friend Trevor was ...

Batman Lives In Washington, DC

    Hey, everyone. I just read an interesting article on Washington Post.Com by Mike Rosenwald. It was titled Who Is the Route 29 Batman? This is a true story about a guy that the cops pulled over. The guy was driving a black Lamborghini with Batman plates. There were yellow Batman symbols on the doors. They had a video from the police car that showed him being pulled over. He was wearing a Bat-suit which he said cost him $5000. His gig is that he visits sick children in area hospitals and hands out Bat-Toys and Bat-books to cheer the kids up.     His name is Lenny B. Robinson and he says that the 'B' stands for Batman. He is perfectly sane and is just a good dude trying to make a difference. He is a self-made millionaire and is currently having a duplicate of the Batmobile custom-made at a cost of $250,000.    It was a hoot, watching the cops having their pictures made with the Bat Guy. Someone asked him where Robin was and he said that the boy won...

A Postscript

    Hey. I just tried the update for Shadowgun on my old I-Pad. The graphics are even better than ever, if you can believe that. The rolling feature is a nice defensive weapon during battles. It is activated by a small button next to the fire button. It was kinda cool. On my old Padster, I was on the level where you kill the Cyberlobster for the first time. I certainly settled his hash a lot faster this time. I hid behind a shield and popped up and down, blasting the yellow ball that signifies his AI controls. I must say that, at least on the I-Pad 1, there is a bit of crashing, in spots, with this update. I am sure they will fix this quickly. I haven't played the new levels because my I-Pad 2 is charging and you can't play the new section, called The Leftover Expansion Pack , until you have finished the game. Very cool that they didn't charge for this update. Class.     I am looking forward to Shadowgun 2. From the lair of the Cyberlobster, this is CE Wi...