Whitney Houston Dies

Sitting here at work and just heard that Whitney Houston died today.    It's not really a shock only because of the life style she lived.      But it's sad all the same.   She is the same age as I am.   Or I am the same age she is ... either way you look at it.   She seems to young to have died.

Maybe I'm morbid but I had to look up other famous types born in 1963.   Some people I knew other people surprized me somewhat.
Johnny Depp
Brad Pitt
Nicolette Sheridan
James Denton
Vanessa Williams
Quentin Tarantino
Elisabeth Shue
Helen Hunt
Lisa Kudrow
Mike Myers
Jennifer Beals
Greg Kinnear
John Stamos
Phoebe Cates
Benjamin Bratt
Tatum O'Neal
Edie Falco
Seal
Dave Foley
Conan O'Brien
Michael Jordan
Coolio
Lisa Rinna
Kathy Ireland
Lars Ulrich
James Hetfield
George Michael
Julian Lennon

Movie Afternoon

Today was Superbowl Sunday and today was also the day that Shevaughn and I planned to see the movie "The Iron Lady" at Chinook Centre.    Pat was going to come along with us but in the end she was offered an overnight shift so she stayed home to get some sleep to prepare for it.

I thought the movie was good but it wasn't what I had expected.   Meryl Streep was wonderful and really did a great job but the movie overall seemed a little sad.   It focused on her mental state after her husband passed away and that's too bad.    She accomplished so much it's a shame that's what they chose to focus on.

But I'm glad I saw it.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Last Wednesday night we went to see the Trans Siberian Orchestra. When I initially bought the tickets I was disappointed thinking I had waited too long and that the seats weren't going to be very good. But what a surprise ... the seats were really good for viewing the whole stage and light show, etc. I was relieved about that. I don't know why I always worry so much about what Jonathan's reaction is going to be ... but it worked out very well.

The concert itself was good. I don't think it was as good as the year before because they played a different arrangement. And it's not that the arrangement has to be the same every year ... that would get a little stale. They performed the same Christmas story but the arrangement of the songs was different and I thought a little shorter. I can't think of what they missed off hand, but something was missing.

I had found out a month or so ago that the band was booked in both Providence, Rhode Island and Calgary on the same dates. I was really quite ticked off about that. So ticked off that for the first time in my life I wrote the company an email and posed the question that I wondered how they could be in two cities (and countries) at the same time. They wrote back the next day saying they have two show bands, each with recording members in the band, to be able to bring the show to as many people as they could during the busy Christmas season. I was heartbroken. Who would see other bands knowing that only half of the original band would be there because half of them were playing another show? Was it that way last year too? Was I just blissfully ignorant? I seriously didn't know what to think. But to be honest I did stop playing their CD in my car ... I was that heartbroken.

I went into the concert hoping for the best. I didn't tell my son, Jacob, about the email because I didn't want him to go into it with any preconceived ideas of what the show is going to be. Jonathan knew because he saw the email and was surprised that I had even made the inquiry. And I did tell my daughter Jillian because she didn't see it last year when she was in London, England and I was nervous that it wouldn't be the same. Last year, when we talked to her on the phone I was gushing about how wonderful it was and that we would take her next year if they came. I was worried that the trans-continental hype would have just set her up for disappointment. And she's 19 years old ... I had to level with the music critic in her ... in case it didn't live up to my hype.

For the three of us that saw it last year, we believe they did a good job. The lights were different than last year and we liked last year's light show better. The arrangement of the music was different too. Last year the Christmas half of the concert was a wonderfully warm and heart touching. The story flowed and I was drawn in ... loving every minute of it. This year, in the middle of the Christmas story they did the guitar dueling thing (breaking off into a Led Zeppelin riff). There was a definite disconnect there and it really took away from the overall Christmas story experience. That was too bad.

The second part of the concert was good. Part of it was a little dragging but some parts really shined and were 100% enjoyable. The new male violin player was crazy good. The song in which he was featured was quite a high point in the second half. The point I thought could have easily been kept out was the "Ice Queen" portion of the program. Thank God it seemed shorter this year ... but this year they also had some cheesy Animae graphic flashing on the screens as she belted out her slightly off-time (singing) noises. We all agreed enough is enough ... move on.

It was mentioned that they would finally be touring in the spring after 11 or so years of touring. Hmmm ... I'm a big fan, but I don't know if I will go. Maybe I will. Maybe I won't. I suppose the positive thing about a spring tour is that the band will be possibly all together this time.

To sum up the evening. It was overall enjoyable evening even with the disconnected and uninspired story. I wish my daughter would have been able to see it with us last year. Then she would have understood how blown away we all were with the live performance. I sense that it will be a hard sell to get anyone to go back with me next year. And for that reason alone, I'm disappointed.

But the long haired guys in their tux's looked great! I had to end this on a bit of a high note.