Theater or NetFlix? THAT is the question!

Being a guy who derives a certain degree of enjoyment out of watching movies ,while being a guy who's pockets are not stuffed with cash, while being a father of five with not a whole lot of time, while also living thirty minutes from the nearest decent size theatre has forced me to develop a method, philosophy, or strategy dare I call it such to determining what movies to view in the theater and which to simply add to the NetFlix line up. I thought I would share it with the general public since it seems to be working pretty well for me. I should probably preface this by saying, as many of you surely already know, I have excellent taste when it comes to movies which is certainly the best tool to have in any such strategy. First I familiarize myself with the choices that are available for the upcoming movie season...I suggest buying the Entertainment Weekly Movie Guide for Fall and Summer. I then watch as many trailers as possible online. Yahoo Movies seems to work well as does You Tube. Before watching any movies I consult the critics. Now I am not saying let some stuffy critic who takes movies way to serious make your decisions for y0u but see what the critics are saying. I would recommend using http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ to do this. From here it simple. If the critics give the movie greater than a 40% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes then decide for yourself whether or not spend the cash on a $8 ticket. If it is above 85% and it is a movie you are interested in you should probably go see it. If the fresh rating is between 20% and 40% and you still are interested in watching it..save it for the Netflix line up....if the rating is below 20% don't waste your time or money. This seems to work for me..but as I mentioned earlier...I also have great taste in movies. Discuss amongst yourselves...

Music According to Gilly's Son

A recent blog post by my brother in law, a recent cd sent to me by my father, and the fact that Father's Day is just around the corner has music and my dad on my mind. Several weeks ago my brother in law Derrick had a post on his blog about pop songs. I am still a little angry with him over the whole thing as it kept me up until about 2:00 am trying to think about some of my favorite pop songs. It even lasted into the next day. I just knew that if I thought a little longer I would remember that one song that I had completely forgotten about that was in fact the perfect pop song. He had created a list at the above site of all of the songs people had named as great pop songs. This got me thinking about a recent cd that my father had put together for me that had some of his favorite music or at least artists on it. I think I was suppose to recognize a lot of the songs. While I think I did recognize most if not all of them....the one thing that stood out about it was that none of the songs on it were really the songs I would associate with growing up with my dad. This got me thinking about the songs I would choose to pull together that most reminded me of my father or held a special place in my childhood memories. So this is an attempt to do that for posterity's sake. I have fond memories of driving in the car with my father. I specifically remember driving around in an old gold Buick that we owned with music playing in the car. My dad always liked to sing and dance in the car ( as best he could) while driving. My dad was actually a great dancer in his day in fact he even won a few dance competitions with his rug cutting. He was always clapping his hands, snapping his fingers, and doing what ever else he could get away with while still keeping the car on the road. I also have memories of driving in a big silver van with two captains chairs in the front and some groovy carpet and a bed in back. Above the bed in each corner was an equally groovy lamp. We would lay in the back while on the way to places like Lampson Falls listening to Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits. My dad also liked to sing. I recall him not being that bad of a singer..I am not saying he was great or even good..but not bad. He would sing in this falsetto voice that I just recently realized may be a contributing factor in my appreciation for the fellas who can hit the high notes. Some of my favorite songs or male singers are artists who are known for their ability to hit those kind of notes. My dad had a lot of soul and rhythm as you will be able to tell when you listen to a number of songs on this list. He really enjoyed listening to Motown and R&B. I remember him telling me a story about a trip he took into New York City to see a concert. As I recall it was at the Apollo in Harlem, or a place like it, and he was one of if not the only white guy in the joint. Which today may not seem like such a big deal but probably was a little different experience at the time or at least I picture it that way. Most of the songs I have selected are the most memorable for me..but a few are just there because they remind me of my dad. Leonard Cohen would be a good example of the latter. I can't say I have fond memories of his music..but I remember it and associate it with my father. I would highly suggest when you have the time you listen to The Essential Leanard Cohen though..I was just listening to some of his music trying to find one I remember and I have to say he is fantastic. I also do not recall if my father liked the Eddie Rabbit song..but it reminds me of him because I remember him always loving a good stormy rainy night. Some of the other songs are not the first song I would have chosen by a particular artist but I think we have all heard Celebration by Kool and the Gang and Heard It Through the Grape Vine by Marvin Gay enough times so I chose other songs from them that I liked a lot. So take a listen and if I can think of any more that stand out...I will add them later.

Click here to listen: http://www.box.net/shared/x2hbxifc4g

I Love a Rainy Night -Eddie Rabbitt
Black Water -The Doobie Brothers
I Can Dream About You -Dan Hartman
Get Down on It -Kool & The Gang
I Can't Help Myself -Four Tops
Got to Give It Up -Marvin Gaye
Smoky Mountain Rain -Ronnie Milsap
Everybody Knows -Leonard Cohen
Papa Was a Rollin' Stone -The Temptations
Let's Groove -Earth, Wind & Fire
Cat's In the Cradle -Harry Chapin
Sweet Caroline-Neil Diamond