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ARCHIVED POSTS

  • June 14, 2017

    LYRICS, POETRY AND PROSE XII

    A place to share some words of beauty, inspiration, and fun. This week we are offering three songs about love and men written and performed by three talented women. Click on the name of the piece to get a video or more information.

    I don’t know why you came along
    At such a perfect time
    But if I let you hang around
    I’m bound to lose my mind
    ‘Cause your hands may be strong
    But the feeling’s all wrong
    Your heart is as black as night

    Your Heart Is as Black as Night Singer and writer: Melody Gardot

    Well, something’s in the air
    Burning hot and sweet
    There’s a man over there
    Sittin’ in the street
    I’m over here
    With a rusted forty-four
    Sittin’ on the steps
    Of your back door
    It’s one of those days

    One of Those Days Singer and writer: Eilen Jewell

    Cause he’s my big, bad, handsome man
    He’s got me in the palm of his hand
    He’s the Devil Divine, I’m so glad that he’s mine
    ‘Cause he’s my big, bad, handsome man

    Big Bad Handsome Man Singer and writer: Ilemda May

  • June 5, 2017

    What Happens Next Will Amaze You! Or Not…

    JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT IT WAS SAFE

    As a rule, sequels are never as good as originals.

    The original Jaws (1975) about a great white shark killing and eating local town folk in the seaside town of Amity Island and the police chief’s successful effort to kill it was both a financial and creative success.

    Jaws II (1978) in which another great white shark comes to town to renew the killing spree so popular in the original film was a much lesser film, but still much better than what was to follow.

    Jaws 3-D (1983) was a silly film in which a baby white shark infiltrates a new Sea World park in Florida and apparently begins killing water skiers and other park workers.  The baby is captured, but it is soon discovered that the baby shark’s momma is also loose in the park and is the real killer. The shark is finally killed with the help of some friendly dolphins and a hand grenade.

    Then, just when people began to think it was safe to go back to the movies, along came Jaws, the Revenge (1987) an even sillier film in which the shark returns to Amityville and kills the police chief’s son. The police chief has by this time died of a heart attack brought on by his fear of sharks. After the death of her son, the distraught widow moves in with her other son, a marine biologist who lives with his wife in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the shark follows her there.  This makes the police chief’s widow so nutty, she is convinced that the white shark community is seeking retribution for all the sharks destroyed by her family. She goes out on a final mission to put a stop to it and with the help of some locals finally kills the last vengeful great white. Or did she? Only time and Hollywood know the answer to that one.

    Remember Rocky (1976). A great feel-good flick.  Rocky II (1979) was less so. Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), and Rocky Balboa (2006) left us reeling from the dribble overdose.

    I won’t even get into the later super hero films. Grown men and women running around in capes fighting crime just seem too silly to consider at my advanced age.

    There are some exceptions that prove the “bad sequel” rule. The Godfather Part II – both a prequel and a sequel – was much better than either The Godfather or The Godfather Part III. It routinely comes up on the “Best Movie of All Time” list. And it should. But Coppola should have stopped when the stopping was good.  The Godfather III – not so good. And, of course, there’s the Star Wars franchise, which is a category onto itself – a mixture of mega-hit prequels and sequels with a multi-generational fan base.

    But for the most part, sequels suck.

    Even so, Hollywood thrives on the assumption that if you can squeeze another dime out of a story, you’d better do it. As a fan, I believe it’s best to leave well enough alone. There is no sequel to Gone with the Wind, Casablanca, or Apocalypse Now, nor should there be. Scarlet and Rhett are never going to fall back in love; the noble Ilsa is never going to leave her husband and get back together with saloon-owner Rick, and I really don’t want to see Captain Benjamin L. Willard go back to the states, check in at the VA with PTSD, get rehab and return to battle.

    There really is a time to just let it go.

    Which brings me to the wonderful seven-episode HBO mini-series Big Little Lies that concluded earlier this year. I don’t want to spoil it for anybody who hasn’t seen it, but it’s a black comedy about five women who spend the entire series fighting with each other, only to finally put aside their differences and reach a happy ending.

    Now there’s talk of a sequel. There’s no doubt the sequel would make money, that people would tune in to see what happens next, but this is where imagination comes in. Let us viewers decide for ourselves what happens next.

    I have to agree with Joanna Robinson, writing for Vanity Fair, who says:

    “While the desire to get the band back together is understandable, it’s tricky to conceive of a plot that would rival Season 1’s. Will there be another murder? Is Monterey the new Cabot Cove? Or will these five women grapple with lower-key issues the second time around? It’s hard to imagine that Big Little Lies could go more dramatic—and it’s equally hard to picture fans of the first season’s twisty reveals being satisfied with a tamer second installment.”

    The thing about a good story is that is has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And what happens after the end is never going to live up to what came before.

    George Lee Cunningham

    Do you have a dissenting opinion or any opinion at all on the subject? Contact me at george@georgeleecunningham.com and let me know. Meanwhile, you can always subscribe and get an email reminder of blog postings. Your name will not be shared and you may cancel at any time.

  • LYRICS, POETRY AND PROSE XI

    A place to share some words of beauty, inspiration, and fun. This week we are offering some beautiful duets with country legend Willie Nelson singing about life and love with some ladies of song, including Cheryl Crowe, Nora Jones, Shania Twain, and Dyan Cannon. Sometimes you get two talents together and the result will bring tears to your eyes. Click on the name of the piece to get a video or more information.

    Dealing card games with the old man in the Club Car
    Penny a point – ain’t no one keeping score
    Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
    Feel the wheels rumbling ‘neath the floor
    And the sons of Pullman Porters, and the sons of Engineers
    Ride their father’s magic carpets made of steel
    And, mothers with their babes asleep rocking to the gentle beat
    And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

    City of New Orleans Singers: Willie Nelson & Cheryl Crowe; Writer: Steve Goodman

    Oh, it’s cryin’ time again, you’re gonna leave me
    I can see that faraway look in your eyes
    I can tell by the way you hold me darlin’ Oooh
    That it won’t be long before it’s cryin’ time

    Crying Time Singers Willie Nelson & Nora Jones; Writer: Buck Owens

    Love is like a dyin’ ember
    Only memories remain
    Through the ages I’ll remember
    Blue eyes cryin’ in the rain

    Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain Singers: Willie Nelson & Shania Twain Writer: Fred Rose

    I have seen the morning burning golden on the mountain in the skies
    Aching with the feeling of the freedom of an eagle as she flies
    Turning on the world, the way you smiled upon my soul as I lay dying
    Healing as the colors in the sunshine and the shadows of your eyes

    Loving You was Easier Than Anything I’ll Ever Do Again Willie Nelson & Dyan Cannon; Writer: Kris Kristofferson

  • May 29, 2017

    Here’s to the Fallen Warriors

    REMEMBERING THOSE WHO SERVED

    Today is Memorial Day. Like most Americans, I plan to take it easy, eat some ribs, hang out with the family, and enjoy the day. And although I won’t be going to any ceremonies or laying flowers on graves or listening to patriotic speeches, I will pay my private respects to those who died in defense of our country.

    I was watching a military channel documentary last week, recounting the naval battles that raged in the Solomon Islands in 1942, as the Japanese desperately tried to regain control of Guadalcanal and the airstrip secured there by U.S. Marines. Using graphics and historic footage, the program showed a day-by-day account of the battles in which thousands of sailors and marines were killed. The stakes were high and the fighting was intense.

    Interspersed in the account were interviews with survivors of the event – all old men at the time of the filming, many of them undoubtedly have passed by now. These World War II veterans were recounting what it was like when they were  young, waiting for the attack they knew was coming, manning their guns, or working below decks to make sure all the ship’s systems were operational during the battle.

    You could see these old men get animated when they described the battle scene with guns roaring, airplanes attacking, bullets ripping across decks, and ships blowing up. And then, at some point in the narrative they would stop – 60 plus years later – and struggle to compose themselves. You’d see their eyes grow misty, and their lips tremble as they tried to continue. Then they would talk quietly about their friends who died, comrades in arms who were blown apart or set afire or who bled out on the hot steel deck of a battle ship or an aircraft carrier or a destroyer.

    That kind of sacrifice from the villages of Lexington and Concord to the hilly farmland of Gettysburg to the beaches at Normandy, to the hills of Korea, to the jungles of Vietnam, to the deserts of Afghanistan is what Americans have always done to defend their country’s interests. The ones that survive often return wounded both physically and mentally. Often, but not always, they also return with a strong sense of pride and ownership in the country that they defended.

    Today we salute the ones who did not return, the ones who fell in the service of their country. So when you fire up the barbeque and break open the ice chest with the soda and the beer to celebrate the holiday with your family, give those fallen heroes a thought.

    What you’re doing – enjoying life in a free society – is exactly what they died for.

    – George Lee Cunningham

    Do you have a dissenting opinion or any opinion at all on the subject? Contact me at george@georgeleecunningham.com and let me know. Meanwhile, you can always subscribe and get an email reminder of blog postings. Your name will not be shared and you may cancel at any time.

  • LYRICS, POETRY AND PROSE X

    A place to share some words of beauty, inspiration, and fun. This week we are offering unrequited love songs – and is there anything sadder than when you love him or her and he or she don’t love you back? We’ve all been there at some point in our lives, and it hurts. And that’s why we love sad I-love –you-but-you-don’t-love-me songs so much. So grab a hanky and listen up. Click on the name of the piece to get a video or more information.

    For I never knew the art of making love,
    Though my heart aches with love for you.
    Afraid and shy, I let my chance go by.
    A chance that you might love me too.
    You give your hand to me,
    And then you say, “Goodbye.”
    I watched you walk away,
    Beside the lucky guy
    Oh, you’ll never ever know
    The one who loved you so.
    Well, you don’t know me

    You Give Your Hand to Me Singers: Ray Charles & Diana Krall, Writers: Eddy Arnold & Cindy Walker

    He stopped loving her today
    They placed a wreath upon his door
    And soon they’ll carry him away
    He stopped loving her today

    He Stopped Loving Her Today Singer: George Jones, Writers: Bobby Braddock & Curly Putman

    I know you don’t love me
    But still I burn for you
    I know you don’t love me
    This flame will die, it’s true
    My soul barred completely
    Don’t seem enough for you
    I know you don’t love me
    But the message can’t get through

    But You Don’t Love Me  Singer: Caro Emerald Writers: Vince Degiorgio, David Schreurs, Vincent Paul Degiorgio, Caroline Leeuw van Der