A song that always stops me in my tracks...

There are certain songs that the moment I hear them, I stop what I'm doing (unless I'm driving) to listen and, of course, sing along. (And depending on the song, and where I am at the time, maybe dance, but no one needs that visual in their head.)

One of these songs is the mesmerizing The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice. It's a simple, spare, yet powerful song that I can literally listen to over and over and over again. Rice's voice, and the backup vocals by Lisa Hannigan, are melodic and haunting.

The song was featured in the movie Closer, which starred Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman, and I guess because of that movie, the song tends to make me feel a little melancholy, but ultimately hopeful and uplifted.

What are the songs that stop you in your tracks? Enjoy watching and listening to one of mine. (Apologies in advance for the commercial preceding the video...)

If being moved moves you to help...

While finding stories for my biweekly newsletter today, I came upon a story which moved me to tears.

Mike Masse's 11-month-old son, Noah, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last month. To raise money for Noah's treatment, and provide support necessary for his family to stay financially solvent as they focus on Noah's care and comfort, Mike recorded a cover version of The Beatles' Let It Be. The song is designed as a "charity single" of sorts; anyone who contributes to Masse's fundraiser for Noah will receive a free download of the song.

I don't know Mike Masse, and I know that sadly, cancer affects an enormous number of people every day, and far too many children. If Noah's story, and/or his father's efforts to help him, move you, contribute. Or just listen to the song, and share your prayers of hope for Noah and his family.



As I thought I about Noah and the Masse family, I remembered another family dealing with cancer.

I've written before about Patti Digh, author, speaker, consultant, poet, and hero, who writes the 37days blog, as well as several tremendously inspiring books, including the amazing Four Word Self Help. I've long considered Patti Digh one of my heroes, because of how she encourages people to think, to act, to reach for their dreams, and most of all, to inspire.

Patti's husband, John Ptak, an incredibly intelligent and astute writer, teacher, and person in his own right, was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer. Patti and John have two daughters, Emma and Tess. John needs expensive surgery to treat his cancer, and he is uninsured.

Because Patti and John have touched so many people's lives, friends in their hometown of Asheville and all across the world have banded together to launch a campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds needed for the surgery. And as this campaign has picked up steam, their friends have launched adjunct programs, like bake sales, t-shirt sales, and other initiatives to raise additional funds.

Again, I've been so overwhelmed by the generosity of Patti and John's friends, as well as total strangers, and the enormous gratitude they have shown toward those who have given, prayed, shared their story, and simply sent messages of encouragement. You may not know Patti, John, Emma, or Tess, but if you feel so moved by their story, see how you can contribute, even if it is simply a prayer.



In the play A Streetcar Named Desire, one of Blanche DuBois' most famous lines is, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Mike Masse, as well as Patti and John, have been benefiting from the kindness of strangers. And I hope this kindness pays them in ways they never imagined.

Book Review: "The Dead Do Not Improve" by Jay Caspian Kang

Jay Caspian Kang's The Dead Do Not Improve is a trippy, kaleidoscopic adventure through San Francisco, with a misanthropic wanna-be writer as its protagonist, and surfing cops, advanced creative writing students possibly with murderous intentions, infamous street protestors, and others along for the ride. It is part murder mystery, part love story, part commentary on our fame- and internet-obsessed society, and part, well, I'm not sure.

Phillip Kim is a disaffected wanna-be writer who scams his way through his job at an internet support site for men going through tough break-ups. One night, his odd neighbor, aging hippie Dolores Stone (whom he refers to as "The Baby Molester") is killed when she is shot through the window of her apartment. Phillip, who was sleeping during the murder, only finds out about it the next day when Googling himself, and discovers that Dolores was a far more complex person than he even knew. Somehow, Phillip becomes a suspect in Dolores' death (and a subsequent murder) and also a target in an elaborate scheme. He's being pursued by surfing hippie cop Siddhartha "Keanu" Finch (who has more than enough problems of his own) and his partner, Jim Kim, who both run into their own obstacles along the way. And while all of this is happening, Phillip finds himself falling in love.

If the description of this book sounds disjointed and confusing, it's because it doesn't quite follow a linear literary pattern. Jay Caspian Kang has created a vivid cast of complex characters, most of whom aren't what you think they are at first glance, and he takes all of them on a roller coaster ride of an adventure. This book is a little like something by David Foster Wallace (minus the footnotes) with even a little Dave Eggers thrown in for good measure. And while the multiple narrators, pop culture references, surfing lingo, and meditations on ethnic stereotypes may derail the story from time to time, there are flashes of brilliance in this story. There's so much going on at the same time, I found myself utterly confused, but I know that when the book ended, I felt like I had read something completely unexpected.

In case you've not yet gotten it out of your head...

Much like Carly Rae Jepsen's Call Me Maybe, Gotye's Somebody That I Used to Know has received an inordinate amount of YouTube cover and tribute videos, from established singers, aspiring musicians, and others looking to express their creativity and appreciation of the song. (Heck, Darren Criss and Matthew Bomer even sang it on Glee!)

Proving what a great sport he is, Gotye put together a mashup of numerous interpretations of the song. It's actually pretty cool...and of course, you won't be able to get the song out of your head. Again. (Which is far better than the song currently stuck in my head, so you're welcome.)

True love...and chicken...

Saw this on the web and couldn't resist. What's better than two companions truly meant for each other, enjoying a beautiful day and some yummy chicken?

I love this picture.

Movie Review: "The Bourne Legacy"

There's always a concern when a popular movie franchise continues without its original star, especially when the director who shepherded at least several of the films decides not to return as well. While you hope that the new actor(s) won't try to be a carbon copy of the previous one(s), will they be able to bring the same type of mood, the same attitude, the same chemistry, the same charisma?

Within the first few minutes of The Bourne Legacy, which opens with Jeremy Renner training in subzero Alaskan tundra, I felt pretty confident that the fourth movie in the series was in good hands. Renner plays Aaron Cross, one of six warriors chemically altered for physical and intellectual superiority by the U.S. Defense Department in an operation called Outcome, inspired by Jason Bourne and their Treadstone program. But like Bourne before him, Cross is more than a man-as-machine—there is an emotional intensity, almost a vulnerability, lurking just beneath his surface.

When word threatens to leak to the public about Outcome, Treadstone, and other shadowy programs, the government agents who oversaw these programs (led by a razor-sharp Edward Norton) endeavor to destroy the six superagents. As you probably guessed, Cross (in a deviously intelligent bit of thinking) survives, and in need of the medicines that have kept him from regressing back to his "old" self, he tracks down Dr. Marta Shearing (Rachel Weisz, proving she's more than a cerebral actress), the chemist who monitored his progress and helped keep him at the top of his game. Shearing is in some trouble of her own, finding herself an unwitting pawn in the government's efforts to destroy the Outcome program.

What I've loved about the Bourne movies to date is that they've taken actors whom you wouldn't immediately peg as action heroes—first Matt Damon, now Jeremy Renner—but they bring not only excellent physicality to their roles but an amazing intensity and depth. Renner is at his best when he projects an outer sense of steely calm, but you know that his mind is working furiously. In this movie, Cross isn't fueled by revenge, hurt, or a need for power; he's simply trying to survive any way he can.

Director Tony Gilroy, who wrote the screenplay for all four Bourne movies, brings a great balance of action (there are some pretty terrific chase and fight scenes throughout the movie) and introspection to the film, something his previous movies (Michael Clayton and Duplicity) only hinted at. The extent to which the intelligence community has eyes all over the world is a little frightening (and you wonder how much of it is true), but I liked that none of the villains in this movie were overblown or stereotypical. And it's good to see some old friends from the previous movies—Joan Allen, David Strathairn, and Albert Finney—albeit in small roles.

I'm totally game for a fifth movie in the series. Maybe Matt Damon and Jeremy Renner?

Watch the trailer.

Movie Review: "Beasts of the Southern Wild"

Although my taste in books and movies tends to be all over the place, I'm a fairly straightforward person. While I appreciate some symbolism, and don't need everything literally spelled out for me by a skywriter, I am not a fan of allegory. I do not like to watch a movie and wonder (without any obvious conclusion) whether what I am seeing is actually happening, if it's a dream, or if it symbolizes something completely different.

This, of course, spells out the issue I had with Beasts of the Southern Wild, a beautifully acted, visually arresting movie that confused the heck out of me.

Six-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis, an absolute marvel) lives with her father, Wink, in a rundown Delta community called The Bathtub. (Her mother abandoned them when she was an infant.) The Bathtub is a somewhat magical place, where although extremely poor, the residents "celebrate more holidays than anywhere else in the world," often with fireworks and a great deal of alcohol. Wink practices a lot of tough love with Hushpuppy, as he tries to encourage her independence but isn't enamored of her sass. Hushpuppy has learned that the world around her is changing—temperatures are rising, the ice caps are melting, and in her mind, prehistoric creatures called aurochs (which look like larger wildebeests) are being unleashed once again. But as Wink grows sicker and sicker (from an undefined illness), he wants to be sure she can take care of herself.

When a storm of Katrina-esque proportions leaves The Bathtub submerged underwater and destroys their ramshackle home, the remaining residents celebrate their survival in their usual way—drunken revelry, eating as much as possible, and reminiscing. But after several weeks underwater, they take dramatic action to rid their area of all of the water.

And it was at this point that I felt the film started to lose its way. The government evacuates The Bathtub, Wink gets sicker, and Hushpuppy somehow goes on a search to find her mother, and I'm not sure whether she actually does. But along the way, she realizes how much courage she has, and how much she is loved and loves her community. (That's a simple description so as not to spoil what happens, plus there are a lot of visuals of the aurochs thundering over the delta.)

Wallis gave a sensational performance that didn't feel forced, overacted, or fake in any way. (Some have already put her on the short list for an Oscar nomination.) Other than film newcomer Dwight Henry, who played Wink, many of the characters were fairly one-dimensional, and didn't stand out much. (Quite often I couldn't understand what they were saying either.)

This is a movie with a lot of heart that made me think. But sadly, it also made me wonder quite a bit just what was real and what wasn't. So if you see the movie, let me know so we can discuss it!

Watch the trailer.