In Memoriam - Peter Yates

                                    Director Pete Yates passed away on January 9 at the age if 81 Years Old.
                                    He directed such films as Bullitt, For Pete's Sake, The Dresser, the 1963 Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday and one of my all time favorite movies, Breaking Away.
                                    He was nominated twice at the Academy Awards for his direction. In 1980 for Breaking Away and again in 1984 for The Dresser
                                    Rest in Peace

In Memoriam - Gerry Rafferty

            Scottish rocker Gerry Rafferty passed away today at the age of 63.
            He is best known for his solo hits, Baker Street and Right Down the Line from his City to City album, and the classic Stuck in the Middle, which he recorded with Stealers Wheel.
            My favorite song by him remains the Mark Knopfler penned The Way it Always Starts from the soundtrack of Local Hero. 
            Rest in Peace.

In Memoriam - Pete Postlethwaite

         One of the greatest character actors around has passed away at the age of 64.
         Pete Postlethwaite appeared in many prominent films including Amistad, The Usual Suspects, The Lost World:Jurassic Park, The Last of the Mohicans and In the Name of the Father, for which he received an Academy Award nomination as best Supporting Actor. Most recently he had important cameos in both The Town and Inception.

         However, it is his performance as Danny, the conductor of the Grimley brass band in Brassed Off, that will forever be my favorite performance by Mr. Postlethwaite. His perfomance was so perfect, without being overdone or showy, that you could easily forgive the character for being so out of touch to his surroundings and the crumbling lives of the local coal miners, who make up the band, and also of the town itself. Of course, Danny takes a stand when the miners plight hits his own family, but you always understand why he is so impassioned that the band should soldier on through the worst of circumstances.
        His performance was excellent, as was the movie.
        Rest In Peace.
     


Image courtesy of http://www.cinema.com/

Artists/Groups I want to see

              These are the artists I hope to see one day, in no particular order. I did not include groups which are no longer together.

                    Simon & Garfunkel
                    Alison Krauss
                    Prince
                    Tony Bennett
                    Loretta Lynn
                    Aretha Franklin
                    Cliff Richard
                    The Killers
                    George Strait
                    The Who
                    Badly Drawn Boy
                    Arcade Fire
                    Wilco
                    Liza Minnelli
                    Barbra Streisand
                    Brian Setzer
                    Eros Ramazzotti
                    Robbie Williams
                    Eric Clapton
                    Randy Newman

                    
                  
                   
                  

The Day After Christmas

          This is what happened the day after Christmas. There is a road there somewhere.