Moved by Music

Do you remember when Grey's Anatomy did their musical episode about a year ago? I loved it. And the high point of the show was the featured vocals of Sara Ramirez who plays Callie Torres. She has performed on Broadway in Spamalot, and WOW did she ROCK it on this episode of Grey's. 


In this episode, Callie is on the brink of death after being in a terrible car accident. She was pregnant at the time, and her baby had to be delivered via emergency c-section, and the baby is also in critical condition. In this song, Callie's spirit is willing her body to live. I've seen this episode three times now, and I cry like a baby every time she sings this song. It's just so good.



It's not often that I am so moved by music, so I've been pondering why this song so speaks to me. I especially love these lyrics:

All of these lines across my face,
Tell you the story of who I am.
So many stories of where I've been,
And how I got to where I am.
But these stories don't mean anything,
If you've got no one to tell them to.
It's true. I was made for you.


The lyrics made me think about my husband so much, and what a blessing it is to have someone who walks through life with me, and who (God willing) will be with me for the great majority of my journey on earth. We spend a lot of time telling our life stories to one another, and of course we are also writing part of our story together. As I talked about it with Brian, he told me about a fabulous quote spoken by Susan Sarandon in the movie Dance with Me:

We need a witness to our lives. There's a billion people on the planet, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything. The good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things, all of it, all of the time, every day. You're saying 'Your life will not go unnoticed because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed because I will be your witness.

I'm so thankful to have a wonderful husband bearing witness to my life, as well as my family members, and some dear friends. We all need witnesses, because all of us matter.

Simply Breathtaking Talent!

In case you missed the Tony Awards on Sunday, Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison from GLEE performed with such panache and brilliance and apparent ease, it would simply be a crime for me not to share it here on my blog.

Lea Michele (who is very nearly Barbra Streisand II) performs one of my favorite Streisand songs, "Don't Rain on my Parade". Her performance brought me to tears and makes me thank God for allowing so much beauty in the world. Talent like hers is truly inspiring. Enjoy:

Don't Stop Believing: Glee

Have you seen the first two episodes of Glee yet? If not, let this trailer whet your appetite for what is quickly becoming my new favorite show on television! (You can catch it on Fox tonight.)

This show is amazing: quirky, campy and poignant all at once! So poignant, in fact, that the pilot episode made me all teary-eyed! What's not to love about a show that has amazing musical numbers, hilarious character actors, and a dreamy straight man playing the new director of the glee club?! This show is well-written, beautifully shot, and flawlessly acted. I was hooked by the first musical number, and I don't see myself missing a single episode of this show.

Sadly, "Christians" are portrayed as the hypocritical and arrogant antagonists in this show. I write it in quotations because these characters behave in a way that would offend most of the Christians I know. I realize that stereotypes exist for a reason, but it saddens me to see these stereotypes playing out for the next generation of Christian kids to have to overcome. (These characters are, after all, high school kids.) While the idea of a high school chastity club called the "Christ Crusaders" is certainly a hilarious one, I just can't totally embrace it with open arms, even though the show is a comedy. Certainly, we can all laugh at the idea that any high school would have a chastity club, but the virtue of chastity is a noble one, and it is treated with utter disregard and disrespect in this show. Yes, I know it's a comedy, but it's still a cheap shot.

That was an unexpected tangent, I know. Like I said, I love this show, but everything on television is broadcasting certain ideologies right into our homes, and if we don't stop and think about them, we tend to ingest them hook, line and sinker.

That being said, I will continue to watch the show. (See? Not all Christians boycott something just because it doesn't reflect their world view!) It's hard not to come running back for more of a show (and here's where the good ideology comes through) with the message that doing what you're passionate about in life matters--in your career, in your hobbies, in your after school activities.

I finished watching the pilot episode with the awesome reminder not to ever stop believing in the beauty of my dreams.

And not only do they talk about it on Glee, they SING about it, too!

The Bachelor: Somethin' Ain't Right

On Monday night, Hubs and I watched the season premier of The Bachelor. We're not huge fans of the show, but we watch it because our friend Lincee writes a rockin' blog recap of the show each week, and seeing the show makes reading her blog recap way more fun. Are we dedicated blog buddies, or what?

As is the scenario on the first episode of every season, the handsome bachelor stands at the entrance to a mansion as limousines full of hopeful, gorgeous women roll up to the curb of the mansion to meet the bachelor for the first time. Talk about your awkward moments. One of the women actually got out of the car, introduced herself to the bachelor, and said, "You're everything I'm looking for."

How in the world does she know that? She doesn't even know the guy! Unless personality doesn't matter and good looks is her only requirement, that statement was just silly.

Once each of the 25 bachelorettes has introduced herself, they all go inside for a party that involves too much alcohol and too much information. The party becomes a show-off talent show/freak show. On Monday night's season opener, some of the bachelorettes did the following to make an impression:

-dance for him
-show him her webbed toes
-change into a bikini and jump in the pool and then invited him to join her by saying "You should take your pants off."

At the end of the party, the bachelor has to eliminate ten bachelorettes right then and there. It was so sad to see the longing in the eyes of the women, hoping to be chosen. Some even cried when they weren't chosen.

Now, I understand that this is a reality TV show, and the awkwardness of the contrived situations can make for "good" TV, whatever that means. But there is something really twisted about the whole setup of the show that strips all the dignity and beauty out of dating. Instead of the knight in shining armor fighting to win the heart of the princess, this hoard of beauties desperately clamors to win the guy. He has no fighting to do whatsoever. Basically, he just gets to eliminate and whittle down the damsels until there is only one left that suits him.

Never mind that we already saw lots of preview footage of him smooching lots of different bachelorettes. How special is the "chosen" bachelorette going to feel when she sees that her not-so-chivalrous knight kissed his way around the competition before he settled on her?

I feel a little bit bad criticizing these people, as I'm sure they are lovely human beings. But they have chosen to put themselves on display in a public forum, so I think that gives me the right to publicly opine.

In a nutshell, the desire to be chosen is natural and good. Being chosen and then pursued by Hubs was a true delight! And I know he was just as delighted that out of all the matches in my eHarmony inbox, I chose HIM! This mutual sense of choosing is beautiful and good. I just think that the formula of The Bachelor strips away the dignity of the experience and then exploits the vulnerability of its participants for our entertainment. And honestly, half the time, I want to turn my head away from the TV and give those people their private moments. It just feels too voyeuristic. It seems, though, that our voyeurism is the only thing keeping this show alive. It's not like the concept of the show is successful in helping people find their soulmates. According to wikipedia, only two of the ten Bachelors are still with the women they chose. As for the spin-off The Bachelorette, the odds are bit better, with one of the three Bachelorettes still with her sweetheart (they married and now they are parents).

Everyday Driver

It is always very exciting here in L.A. when someone in the entertainment industry quits their dreaded day job to pursue what they are really meant to do. To most "sensible" people, this is a very bizarre phenomena, as they have no category for such a move whatsoever. We artsy types, however, give each other big hugs and shouts of congratulations--"You quit your job?!! That's FANTASTIC!"

I gave one such congratulatory shout to my friend Todd Deeken a few months ago when he left his day job to pursue his dream job. The amazing thing about Todd, though, is that he is already making his dream a reality ... reality television, that is!

He and his good friend Paul Schmucker have teamed up to take their act on the road...literally! They have combined their passions for entertainment and cars to create their very own show. It's called Everyday Driver, and it's awesome. Check out their website and watch the teaser for their pilot episode. Hopefully, we'll be seeing them on television very soon!

Go, Todd! (But not too fast!)

Thoughts from the very top o' the morning

Last night, I got together with a group of Texas friends that meets once every other week to discuss a book. I didn't read the chapter, but I was really in the mood be with people last night, so I went anyway. As it turns out, the hostess of the group was leaving to go out of town early this morning, so she was back in her bedroom packing during the group discussion. Since I didn't have anything to contribute to the discussion, I went back to her room and we had two hours of much-needed girl talk. My one major missing puzzle piece out here in LA is girl friends! So whenever I get the chance to connect with another woman and have a heart-to-heart, it is like water to my soul!

After the group finished their discussion of the book, several people stayed to watch American Idol and LOST on TiVO. I have to say that I was rather sad that Sanjaya was voted off Idol. He won me over with his quirky personality. I became so intrigued each week at his wonderful ablility to be himself. His voice may not have been the best one on the show (although it was still a good voice), but I couldn't resist his reinvented hairdos each week. Or his smile. Proof that accepting and being yourself is a powerful gift to the world. I much prefer an underdog with quirks to a polished "cool" with no depth to one's personality. His tears at the end of the show were beautiful.

Needless to say, I got home late last night, and fell into my comfy bed. I love my memory foam pillow! I awoke this morning with that wonderful feeling of restedness and continued to lay there for another half hour, drifting in and out of consciousness--and thinking that the wonderful sense of rest that I felt in my bed is the same way I feel in my relationship with eSuitor. Thank You, Lord, for the precious gifts You give! Thank You, also, for the rest and peace I find in You.

Have a great day, y'all!

Did you watch The Bachelor last night?

A new season of The Bachelor started last night. While the show itself makes me cringe, Lincee's fabulous blog The Bachelor Recaps is always good for a laugh!

Lincee started writing recaps of each episode of The Bachelor during its third season and would send them via e-mail to a handful of her closest friends and family. They thought the recaps were so funny that they would forward them to their friends. Last year, when Lincee had 1000 people on her e-mail list requesting her hilarious recaps, she decided to start a blog. Her blog has totally taken off, and is read by tens of thousands of fans every week.

Check it out!