25/9 – 1/10/23 Cake, Excess Deaths, A.I. Hitchens (on J.B Peterson) & The Goonies

Posted on October 2, 2023 by observationblogger — 13 Comments

Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.

This Poem is about Cake
Poem at Theodora Goss: Poems

If I didn’t care
what the world thought,
I would eat all the cake.

What cake?

I don’t know, any cake.
Every cake. All the cake ever.

But no, I mean what kind of cake
specifically?

Chocolate cake, made
of equal parts flour and cocoa, frosted
with chocolate ganache, as rich
as a miser. Or angel cake, held together
by whipped egg whites and prayer, topped
with glazed strawberries. Or maybe
lemon drizzle, just sour enough
for a summer afternoon in Virginia,
or one of those Viennese tortes
named after Hapsburg princes, with layers
of coffee cream and walnuts, studded
with history like a museum.
Or maybe even
wedding cake with piped icing roses,
like a moonlit garden. Or birthday cake,
or the cake we eat at funerals, mixed
from sad memories and pineapple chunks.
Or the cake my mother made
every Christmas.

I would eat it slowly,
slice by delicate slice, until I had eaten all of it.
And then I would start on the next one.

Isn’t that just a bit, I don’t know,
frivolous? You’d spend your entire life
eating cake.

Then let me start over again.
If I didn’t care what you think . . .

(The image is Strawberries and Cakes by John F. Francis.)

Excess Deaths Debate in Parliament
Video presentation by Dr John Campbell

A.I. Christopher Hitchens on Jordan Peterson
Audio presentation at Hallerd

“Excuse me Dr Peterson but i believe you have dropped your lobster”.

This video is an imagining of what Christopher Hitchens might say about Jordan Peterson. Everything is AI generated except for the photo. This video is a parody, using Christopher Hitchens’ recognized style for lighthearted pop culture commentary.

Reely Bernie Favs: The Goonies (1985)
Blog article at Reely Bernie

With the crisp coolness of fall in the air, I figured it was time to dig out my Goonies CD. (Not the amazing soundtrack with Cyndi Lauper, mind you, but the Dave Grusin film score.) Without a doubt, the “Fratelli Chase” scene is the most inspiring, uplifting film motif of my life. (You have heard it in many television commercials, I’m sure.) All my life, I have associated this disjunct, playful melody to the autumn season and a memory of me crossing the neighborhood creek with my best friend when we were kids. We would explore the places no one else would dare go, and this was the music that played in my head.

The Goonies celebrates 80s pop culture, embraces the energy and adventure of 13-year-old Oregonians, and captures the Spielbergian spirit of discovering the unknown. It was a babysitter standard and my coming-of-age companion.

news on the march the end
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Posted in Movies and TV, News, politics, Reading

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free (1967) – Nina Simone

Posted on September 30, 2023 by observationblogger — 11 Comments

Nina Simone. I used to cross paths with her in New York City in the Village Gate nightclub. She was an artist I definitely looked up to. She recorded some of my songs that she learned directly from me, sitting in a dressing room. She was an overwhelming artist, piano player and singer. Very strong woman, very outspoken and dynamite to see perform. That she was recording my songs validated everything that I was about. Nina was the kind of artist that I loved and admired.
– Bob Dylan (Musicares Person of the Year 2015 Award)

If there was ever a song which exuded the sound the album title conveyed, then surely it must go to today’s featured track – I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free by the late-great Nina Simone. This widely played version of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement anthem was recorded by Nina Simone in 1967 on her Silk & Soul album. Her voice brings forth such a poignant representation of the words in this song.
I Wish I Knew was written by American musician Billy Taylor. Taylor’s original was recorded in 1963, and released on his Right Here, Right Now! album.

I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
I wish I could say all the things that I should say
Say ’em loud, say ’em clear
For the whole round world to hear

I wish I could share all the love that’s in my heart
Remove all the bars that keep us apart
I wish you could know what it means to be me
Then you’d see and agree
That every man should be free

I wish I could give all I’m longing to give
I wish I could live like I’m longing to live
I wish I could do all the things that I can do
Though I’m way overdue, I’d be starting anew

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free is the second song to feature here from Nina Simone after her mesmerising Ain’t Got No, I Got Life (1968). My 2019 article doesn’t do that song the least bit of justice, but the one thing it does have going for it is Nick Cave’s account of Nina in two short videos. I consider both videos compulsory viewing for any contemporary music enthusiast.

The following was information was sourced from the 2nd Wikipedia article below:

Nina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop.

The sixth of eight children born into a poor family in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone initially aspired to be a concert pianist. With the help of a few supporters in her hometown, she enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York City. She then applied for a scholarship to study at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where, despite a well received audition, she was denied admission, which she attributed to racism. In 2003, just days before her death, the Institute awarded her an honorary degree.

References:
1. I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free – Nina Simone – Wikipedia
2. Nina Simone – Wikipedia

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Posted in Music

The Mission (1986) – Roland Joffé (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on September 29, 2023 by observationblogger — 20 Comments

My father had a penchant for classic cinema and as a boy he would introduce me to movies that mostly went over my head and coerced me to sleep (which perhaps was ‘his mission’ all along).
Citizen Kane, Casablanca, All The President’s Men (←most likely next week’s featured movie) and today’s featured film The Mission were four such movies. Regarding Kane, I normally made it to the snow scene: “what the kid needs is a good thrashing.” and Mrs. Kane responding, “That’s why he’s going to be brought up where you can’t get at him.” before drifting off. With age came maturity and a shrinking sleep window. I began to appreciate these movies and understood why he sat me down to watch them.

The Mission is shown regularly on the Film & Arts channel here. It is a British period drama film about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in 18th-century South America. It won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for seven Academy awards. The Mission presents Jeremy Irons and Liam Neeson in their formative acting phase before going onto bigger things (in the commercial and mainstream sense) as sole protagonists. Regarding Robert De Niro he was already well established and credentialled in Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. Interestingly, the director of those two movies and De Niro’s sidekick – Martin Scorsese went onto to do a film comparable to The Mission story and history of the Jesuits with his – The Silence (2016).

IMDB Storyline:

The film is set during the Jesuit Reductions, a program by which Jesuit missionaries set up missions independent of the Spanish state to teach Christianity to the natives. It tells the story of a Spanish Jesuit priest, Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons), who enters the South American jungle to build a mission and convert a community of Guaraní Indians to Christianity.

My favourite movie starring Jeremy Irons is the scantily recognised Waterland (1992) which featured here at ‘Friday’s Finest‘ in October 2019. The Mission is another where Irons is left to strut his stuff. To me, he is a bit like Anthony Hopkins in that regard. If he is well cast and switched on, there are few actors who can match him, but if he is miscast like I think DeNiro is here in The Mission then mediocrity can rear its ugly head. I saw some scenes from The Mission recently as I was doing house chores, and I couldn’t help but feel that DeNiro’s performance was wooden and out of place in this. I might need to see it again (in its entirety) to make a fairer assessment.

The following contains extracts from Wikipedia article below:

The Mission is based on events surrounding the Treaty of Madrid in 1750, in which Spain ceded part of Jesuit Paraguay to Portugal. A significant subtext is the impending suppression of the Jesuits, of which Father Gabriel is warned by the film’s narrator, Cardinal Altamirano, who was once himself a Jesuit. The film’s climax is the Guaraní War of 1754–1756, during which historical Guaraní defended their homes against Spanish-Portuguese forces implementing the Treaty of Madrid. For the film, a re-creation was made of one of the seven missions, São Miguel das Missões. The traditional range of the Guarani people is in what is now Paraguay between the Paraná River and lower Paraguay River, the Misiones Province of Argentina, southern Brazil once as far east as Rio de Janeiro, and parts of Uruguay and Bolivia.

Interesting Trivia from IMDB:

  • Robert De Niro was one of the few who did not became ill with amoebic dysentery.
  • Many of the people who played the natives were indigenous South Americans who spoke little English. They were given free reign to say whatever lines they wanted. According to popular rumor, they are cursing up a storm in a few scenes.
  • The film was released four years after its uncredited source book “The Lost Cities of Paraguay” by Father C. J. McNaspy was published. McNaspy also acted as a historical consultant to the film, which was loosely based on McNaspy’s work.

References:
1. The Mission – Wikipedia
2. The Mission – IMDB

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Posted in Movies and TV

Ode To My Family (1994) – The Cranberries

Posted on September 28, 2023 by observationblogger — 27 Comments

Ode To My Family is the third song to appear here from The Cranberries after their previous entry Linger. It is about singer’s Dolorus O’Riordan’s yearning for her simple life as a child after having achieved success. Her heavy Irish accent and change in the form of words to express a special meaning and sincerity makes for a compelling listening experience. Ode To My Family song was released on the album No Need to Argue (image inset) which I listened to a great deal in my early twenties. The album contains other stand – out songs including:

I Can’t Be With You
Zombie
Twenty One
Dreaming My Dreams
No Need to Argue

Ode To My Family was a hit in Oceania and several European countries, topping the charts in Iceland, and reaching number four in France, number five in Australia, and number eight in New Zealand.

[Verse 1]
Understand the things I say
Don’t turn away from me
Cause I’ve spent half my life out there
You wouldn’t disagree

[Pre-Chorus]
Do you see me, do you see?
Do you like me
Do you like me standing there?
Do you notice, do you know
Do you see me, do you see me?
Does anyone care?

[Chorus]
Unhappiness where’s when I was young
And we didn’t give a damn
Cause we were raised
To see life as fun and take it if we can
My mother, my mother
She’d hold me
She’d hold me when I was out there
My father, my father
He liked me, well he liked me
Does anyone care?

The following are excerpts from the Wikipedia references below:
No Need to Argue is the second studio album by Irish alternative rock band the Cranberries, released on 3 October 1994. It is the band’s best-selling album and has sold 17 million copies worldwide as of 2014. The album’s mood is darker and harsher than that on their debut record – Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? In some of the songs, the band decided to take on a rockier and heavier side, using distortion and increasing the volume.

Reference:
1. Ode to My Family – Wikipedia
2. No Need to Argue – Wikipedia

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Posted in Music

The AnkiDroid Collection (Part 42) – Venus, Writing Model & Amorphous

Posted on September 27, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

Ankidroid additions related to Science, History and Philosophy. More information about Anki can be found in this article.

Which Planet has a Longer Day than its Year?

Venus spins so slowly on its axis that one day on the planet lasts 243 earth days. Because it is closer to the sun than earth the planet has a 225-day year. It means on Venus you would see just two sunrises a year. For more information about Venus you can watch this fascinating documentary – Venus Death of a Planet.

Writing Model

Outline the 4-step writing model to change readers minds in a specific readership community.

  1. Open with a problem the readership care about.
  2. Reinforce how the problem causes instability in the readership community.
  3. Cost / benefit. Discuss how the problem imposes a cost on readers but reveal how there is a benefit to resolving it.
  4. Pose and argue the solution.

Amorphous (adj)

Amorphous: Without a clearly defined shape or form or lacking a clear structure or focus.

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Posted in Reading

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) (2017) – Elenyi (Hillsong United Cover)

Posted on September 26, 2023 by observationblogger — 6 Comments

As I drink my first Colombian rich black coffee this morning (5:20 am) I notice the blinds shine a hazy orange. I open them up and see a Vanilla sky. I put today’s featured track on and realize right now, that there are few better ways to get my day started. I feel blessed put simply.

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Oceans is the second song to feature here from Elenyi after their previous entry – Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Elenyi is a Mormon female singing group comprised of three talented teenage sisters (two of whom were born in Chile) – Seli, Desi, and Ari. They are bilingual and perform their music in both English and Spanish. A few years ago, a Venezuelan Mormon friend introduced me to Elenyi’s music, and I was floored by their angelic voices and harmony.

The original name of the group was “Shine,” but it was later changed to Elenyi. The name “Elenyi” is of Greek origin and means “sun ray.” On their official website, they state, “One of our main goals in singing is to be able to touch the lives of others for good. Music was made to help change the mood of people who might be having a bad day, or things just aren’t going right for them.”

You call me out upon the waters
The great unknown where feet may fail
And there I find You in the mystery
In oceans deep
My faith will stand

I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Your grace abounds in deepest waters
Your sovereign hand
Will be my guide
Where feet may fail and fear surrounds me
You’ve never failed and You won’t start now

And I will call upon Your name
Keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise
My soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours and You are mine

Oceans by Elenyi is a Hillsong cover. The Australian worship group Hillsong music has featured here a bunch since I’m a big admirer of their music. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) was released by Hillsong in 2013. In the United States, the song spent a record 61 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 1 Christian song of the 2010s decade. The song was certified quadruple platinum in the United States.

It was decided during the writing process that the theme of the song should be about stepping into the unknown and Peter having blind trust to walk on water. 

I hope you enjoy Oceans. Thanks for reading.

References:
1. Elenyi at Latter Day Saint Musicians
2. Elenyi Music – Official Website
3. Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

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Posted in Music

O Holy Night (2009) – David Hobson

Posted on September 25, 2023 by observationblogger — 3 Comments

‘O’….Listen to how good that letter sounds….’O’….just think about it will you? ‘O’ is even very circular in how it sounds. Guess what? O Holy Night is the first ‘O’ song to feature here in the ‘O’ mighty Music Library Project. Hurrah! I’m very excited. Also, at the time of writing this post about my favourite Christmas Carol, there remains only 93 days until the big man will be ‘HO HO HO-ing’ down the chimney to give my kids lots of cool things, except for a Play Station or XBox. What better way to celebrate the anticipation of such a miraculous occasion than listening to ‘O Holy Night‘?

[Verse 1]
O Holy night!The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior’s birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appears and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born
O night, O Holy night, O night divine!

I’m such a fan of this hymn/carol. It is the fourth time I have referred to it in my blog. But today is the first time I have dedicated a post to it, which it truly deserves. So here goes…. I can even tell you how two of my blogger friends, namely Max (PowerPop) and Bruce at (Weave a Web) might receive this song. Just a hunch…Max could say that his favourite Christmas Carol is Silent Night and Bruce could tell us that his favourite version of O Holy Night was sung by his mother who will remain nameless for the rest of his blogging days.

I once made a feeble attempt to present Hobson’s version on my blog which was titled: ‘Confirmed by Mother no Less, David Hobson is the Greatest Singer at Australian Christmas Carols‘. I’m not even going to ‘link’ it, because it doesn’t do it the least bit of justice, although my mother did declare Hobson’s dominance as a Carols’ singer, which is saying something. Three other versions I really like of O Holy Night are the following:

  • Aled Jones – legendary Welsh Christian singer provides a spectacular version of O Holy Night when he was a teenage (prodigy) chorister and as a fully – grown adult.
  • Patti Smith’s introspective version – Live at the Vatican! The violin instrumental is sublime. Bruce is a fan of this one if I remember correctly.
  • The Wiggles – This version could make the Carol traditionalist cry in their weetbix, but what the heck, we were kids once too. As said in ‘All the President’s Men‘ – ‘Run that Baby‘.

The origin of O Holy Night from Wikipedia:

“O Holy Night” (original title: Cantique de Noël) is a sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line “Minuit, Chrétien, c’est l’heure solennelle” (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that composer Adolphe Adam set to music in 1847. The English version (with small changes to the initial melody) is by John Sullivan Dwight. The carol reflects on the birth of Jesus as humanity’s redemption.

Australian tenor and composer David Hobson has lavished Australian households with his impeccable voice on Christmas eve in Melbourne for a long time now (such as that below). I agree with Mum that I haven’t heard his equal sing at Carols. He kills it. Class act. There are also versions of him singing The Holy City (Jerusalem) which astound me. What’s your favourite Christmas carol and performed by whom? Giddy-up!

References:
1. O Holy Night – Wikipedia
2. David Hobson (tenor) – Wikipedia

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Posted in Music

Husband & Wife ft. lyrics by Grace (2023) – Benjamin Grossman

Posted on September 24, 2023 by observationblogger — 2 Comments

This song is part of a collaboration with Grace (who showed me these incredible lyrics). It was really fun working on this project with her, which was a month in the making; and I’m lucky to call her a friend.

– Benjamin Grossman

A dear blogger friend Sharon at Writers Tidbits referred me to this song Husband & Wife by Benjamin Grossman. Benjamin has been kind enough to respond to my comments about this song on his blog. I’ll point you also to his Publications page which contains mostly prose poems. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Rosemont College. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Saint Joseph’s University, where he also earned a minor in philosophy and concentration in Theology.

Benjamin in his about page tells us a little bit more about himself:

  • I’m multiracial.
  • I have allergies to almost everything.
  • I suffer from chronic illness but won’t be defined by it
  • I believe the greatest minds are androgynous (Thank you, Samuel Coleridge and Virginia Woolf)
  • I’m a novice songwriter.
    ….and this is where Husband & Wife comes to us today.

[Verse 1]
Don’t really want to think about you
As much as I already do
Don’t really want to like you
Told myself all the reasons not to

[Pre-Chorus]
My mom already knew the day we first met
My best friend already placed a bet

[Chorus]
But if I can’t open up to you
I won’t need someone new
And if you can’t be on my team
My love will be your only dream
I could settle for me all my life
Could be my own husband and wife
I could settle for me all my life
Could be my own husband and wife

I’ve studied to be both a poet and novelist, a philosopher and theologian, a writer and scholar, and in the end, I can’t possibly ever separate any of these. If I had one word to describe myself, I might say: multifaceted. Hopefully you’ll leave this space with dreams in your head and stars in your eyes.

References:
1. Husband & Wife – Benjamin Grossman web site

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Nullarbor Song (2002) – Kasey Chambers

Posted on September 23, 2023 by observationblogger — 36 Comments

The Nullarbor Plain (Latin: nulla feminine of nullus, “no”, and arbor, “tree”) is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. At its widest point, it stretches about 1,100 kilometres (684 mi) from east to west across the border between South Australia and Western Australia. – Wikipedia

On the 13th of January 2023, my brother Jonathan wrote the following to me about his road trip across the Nullarbor Plain in Australia:

Well, I write to you from a little town in WA (Western Australia) called Norseman which is about 800Kms out of Perth. I just came from Border village which essentially is a ‘roadhouse’ with a small pub and accommodation (shacks) in SA. So, I can tick off the Nullarbor drive now which I can clearly say is no mean feat. I managed to download the Kasey Chambers song and listen to a couple of times on the cross. There is a line in the song which I can relate to which was reference to dingos. Earlier this morning as I was having a coffee and watching the sun rise I could hear a very strange crying noise which startled me at first until I realised it was a pack of dingoes howling – quite an incredible sound and I assume noting Kasey Chambers’ line is a common occurrence. 

Nullarbor Song is my Desert Island Kasey Chambers song. It is one of the first songs I learnt on guitar. It’s one of the only songs I learnt on guitar.

When the fire burns out here
It’s brighter than the city lights
Warmer than a heart of gold
And dingoes howl just to break the silence
The sun comes up just to break the cold
Last night I woke with the stars looking back at me
Swallowing the sky
I felt no anger, I felt no shame
I felt no reason to cry

If I’m not here in the morning
I’ll cry a river of tears
I’ll learn to live in a new town
But my heart is staying here

When it’s quiet out here a hundred miles away
You can hear the train on the line
The whistle blows just to break the silence
I wave just to break the time
I close my eyes, I think of runnin’ water
I think of runnin’ away
But the fire’s burned to ashes and it’s darker than before
But I can see as clear as day

If I’m not here in the morning
I’ll cry a river of tears
I’ll learn to live in a new town
But my heart is staying here
I’ll learn to live in a new town
But my heart is staying here

Kasey Chambers music has already featured here 6 times…. and expect more to come. Kasey Chambers (born 4 June 1976) is an Australian country singer-songwriter and musician born in Mount Gambier. From July 1976 the Chambers family travelled around the Nullarbor Plain, where the parents hunted foxes and rabbits for pelts during seven or eight months a year, spanning nine years.

In another Kasey song about the Nullarbor called Nullarbor (The Biggest Backyard), she sang:

When I was a little girl
I had the biggest backyard in the world
It went on for miles and miles, was wide as it was high
Down to the horizon, all the way up to the sky
And every now and then
I heard a vile tree cry my name
When I was a little girl
I had the biggest backyard in the world
Covered up with red dirt as far as I could see
I shared it with the railway and the Aborigines
Southwest of Adelaide

More information: At home with country superstar Kasey Chambers | 60 Minutes Australia

I’ll conclude this post with the rest of my brother’s message about his road-trip across the Nullabor Plain:

As I said the trip especially in a small car is quite a challenge and you have to have your situational awareness on high alert. I had a road train pull off the road around one KM in front and the dust it produced put me in complete brown out where I had a car in front of me and could not see for a few seconds. This morning I got smashed by a locus swarm. I now have 100’s of dead locus all over my radiator and front car which I will have to deal with once I get to Rockingham. The 1000s of Km across from Brissy to Perth for a huge amount had no phone reception which was quite worrying as a car fault could really put you in a bad situation. I did have plenty of water and food but when it is 40 degrees outside it doesn’t take much to get in a bad way. 

Below, I have presented Kasey performing Nullarbor Song live and as usual playing guitar beside her is her father, Bill Chambers. I hope you enjoy it.

References:
1. Kasey Chambers – Wikipedia

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Posted in Music

Little Miss Sunshine (2006) – Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Friday’s Finest)

Posted on September 22, 2023 by observationblogger — 8 Comments

What I admire most about Little Miss Sunshine is it pulls no punches. It flies in the face of modern day – ’emotionally correct’ Hollywood filmmaking. In some sense, the whole movie is a reflection of 7-year-old Olive Hoover’s outlook on life. She’s courageous and follows her passion of wanting to be a beauty queen despite the push – back from ‘society’ (the Super Ego), specifically her ‘suitability’ to contest; considering she doesn’t ‘seemingly’ possess or exude conventional beauty pageant traits.

As the movie unfolds; we witness how Olive’s drive and belief in herself challenges the adults around her; who all think (apart from the mother, wonderfully played by one of my favourite Australian actresses – Toni Collete) they are intelligent and have the formula on ‘life’. But in fact, compared to Olive – they are broken and teetering on the edge of their own precipices. Over time because of Olive’s courage, outlook and actions, the adults’ question and challenge their individual modus operandi and worldviews and their behaviours and perspectives on life change as a result. It’s kind of a form of indirect ‘Ontological Shock’.

IMDB Storyline:

More than anything, 7-year-old Olive Hoover wants to be a beauty queen. When she qualifies for the prestigious Little Miss Sunshine beauty contest, the entire family embarks on a long road trip from Albuquerque to California in their 1978 Volkswagen Station Wagon Type 2. However, the journey is anything but smooth. As Sheryl, Olive’s overworked mother, struggles to be the voice of reason, Richard, her unsuccessful husband, tries to promote his self-help program. To further complicate matters, Dwayne, Sheryl’s son from a previous marriage, has decided not to utter a word until he joins the Air Force Academy. At least, troubled Uncle Frank just tags along. And on the road to success, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. What has the future in store for Olive? Does she stand a chance of fulfilling her dream?

Anyone who hasn’t seen Little Miss Sunshine but wants a small taste of its approach and method, I have presented a clip below from the dinner scene. When I watched this scene again while preparing this article; what impressed me so much was its attention to detail, especially the mannerisms / nuances in each performance and the impact of uncomfortable pauses / silences. Check out how Greg Kinnear’s character receives Frank and consider the pause here: ‘Good…. (pause) to see you‘. Do you really think his character is happy to see Frank?
The choice of shots in editing are standouts here as well. For example, something so seemingly inconsequential like when Steve Carell’s character picks up the ‘McDonalds glass’. You don’t have to be told what he’s thinking – you know it as he is looking at it and pondering the ‘whole meaning – thing’. Silent reflection can be more impactful than words. This movie treats its characters and audience with a lot of respect and that can only be a good thing.

The following are excerpts from the Wikipedia reference below:
Little Miss Sunshine is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Little Miss Sunshine was a box office success, earning $101 million, and was praised mainly for the performances, direction, screenplay and humor. The film garnered four nominations at the 79th Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Michael Arndt and Alan Arkin won Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor, respectively.

References:
1. Little Miss Sunshine – Wikipedia
2. Little Miss Sunshine – IMDB

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Posted in Movies and TV

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