Top Three Hans Zimmer Film Scores

Dear Blog Readers,
I am in need of your input and assistance for an article I am writing about Hans Zimmer.  Don't know who he is?  Well, if you've seen any of the films listed in the poll to your left, you should.  And if by some bizarre reason you haven't seen any of those movies, you are bound to have seen one of his other works - I mean, the guy composed 130 films, you had to have seen one of them!

But anyhow, I'm writing an article about his music and I wanted to focus on three of his film scores (because I can't talk about or listen to 130 of them.) The ones I listed are the ones that I have heard all or at least pieces of and therefore they would be the easiest for me to write about.  However, if there is a film score (by Hans Zimmer) that I have NOT listed and you think should be on there, click the "other" button and then leave me a comment with the title and why you like the score.  The top three will get the most coverage in my article for the October Ink and Fairydust.

Thanks for helping me out and vote soon!  Procrastinator that I am, I have only less than one week to write...
The poll will be open all this week, but I'll probably take the top three by Wednesday/Thursday, unless on Friday something drastically changes.

Thanks Again!

The Shadow of the Bear

I've wanted to do reviews on The Fairy Tale Novels for a while, but I always felt that there wasn't a point 'cause most of my readers already know about the books.  But I decided recently that not necessarily all of my followers know about the books, I enjoy reading reviews about books I've read so maybe other people will too and it shall be book review writing practice.  So here it goes the first review...

Once upon a time in New York City, there was a little house that stood in the midst of the forest of houses, streetlights, high rises and skyscrapers.   In the little house lived a widow named Jean Brier and her two daughters, Blanche and Rose.

Blanche: Hello.

Rose: Hey there!  I'm Rose and this is my older sister Blanche. Oh wait... the review author already introduced us.  Sorry.  Continue!

Thank you.

Now their lives were rather dull and ordinary, they went to their -

Rose: Hey, we are not dull and ordinary!  How can life be dull and ordinary when there is so much to it!

I meant more in the sense that you didn't have any friends and spent your time at school or at home.

Rose: Oh.  Well I wouldn't consider no friends as having a dull life!  But yeah, you have a point... but then we met Bear!

I was just about to say that.

Their lives where NOT dull and ordinary, they merely did not have any friends until one wintry night when their mother was late in returning...

Rose: Blanche, this person talks so funny!

Blanche: ROSE!

Alright fine Miss Rose.  Since you don't seem to like my style of writing, you write the review!

Rose: Oh sure!  Wait - review?

Blanche: Of "The Shadow of the Bear", the book we're in?

Rose: HOLLY CANDLES SISTER!  WE'RE IN A BOOK????

Blanche: Yes...

Rose: COOL!  Hey, review writer ... um... you there?  Drat, she left.  Okay, well, like the girl said, we didn't really have any friends until one night when my mom was coming home late she almost got hit by this car and she fell and dropped all the grocheries.  That's when we met Bear.  

Blanche:  Bear had dragged mother out of the way of the car and then helped her bring in the groceries to our house.  It had been really cold that day, and Bear didn't have very good shoes on, so Mom made him come in so she could check for frostbite.

Rose: Mom's a nurse so she knows all about that stuff.  So there he was... a mysterious stranger in our living room with a bewildered face and dreadlocks.

Blanche: The dreadlocks were bewildered?

Rose: No, his face was and he had dreadlocks.  I thought him quite nice, especially after he quoted "The Ballad of the White Horse".  Ah, poetry!


Blanche: I didn't trust him though.  You see, at Saint Catharine, the school Rose and I went to, some of the kids did drugs and I was sure I had seen him hanging out with them.  I found out later that I was right - Bear did hang out with them, but not for the reasons I thought he did.


Rose: No indeed.  He was a prince in disguise, hunting down an evil dwarf and we unsuspecting maidens were soon caught up in a whirl of events beyond our control that came to a climax when - 


Blanche: Rose, you can't tell them what happens.  This is a book review, not the book itself.


Rose: Oh of course.  So if you want to find out what happens, read "The Shadow of the Bear" by Regina Doman.  Blanche, what comes in next in a book review?


Blanche: Usually the reviewer talks about what they enjoyed the most or what potential readers will enjoy, what knowledge and insight they can gain from the main characters...


Rose: Awkward. Umm... much can be learned from my lovely, vibrant personality and uh...

Alright, I'll help you out with this part.

One of the great things about The Shadow of the Bear is it's universal appeal.  It's written with a very Catholic perspective, but I have Protestant friends who love it as much as I do.  The main characters are two girls and the book is from their perspective, but guys enjoy it as well.  It is written for teen readers, but my mom and grandma have read all the books.  There is something for everyone here.  Romance. Adventure.  Mystery.  Faith.
If you are looking for a exciting new book to read, I highly recommend "The Shadow of the Bear".

Blanche: And keep your eye out for updates on the movie too! http://theshadowofthebear.blogspot.com/

Rose: NOW THERE'S A MOVIE!?!?!  Catch me Blanche, I think I'm going to faint!

August Rush

Watching films can have various effects on a person. Some make us laugh, others make us cry. Some get us fired up and ready to go out and take on the world; still others make us feel angry and frustrated. And then there are the films that give us the chills and fill us with wonder and awe. ‘August Rush’ is one of those films.
In a home for boys, located in the state of New York, lives a young boy who wants nothing more than to find his parents. He has no proof that this will happen, he has never met his parents, he doesn’t even know what their names are, but he knows that they will find each other someday. When the other boys at the home ridicule him for his hope, when kind social workers express their doubt, Evan Taylor keeps on believing that the music he hears in the world around him will lead him home someday.
Eleven years and fifteen days earlier, the music led his parents together. A concert cellist with a glittering career ahead of her and a determined father at her back and an Irish singer/songwriter with a rock band that he tours with his brothers. They are brought together by chance one night, a night that changes their lives. After that one night together, his parents never saw each other again and they nearly give up on the music that plays in their hearts.
It’s that music that prompts their son to run away from the boy’s home and draws him to the busy streets of New York. He follows the music he hears in the street noises and clamor of the city to an abandoned theater where children without parents and with musical abilities live under the watchful eye of ‘Wizard’, a man who knows what music is. It’s there that Evan has his first opportunity to express the music that lives and breathes inside of him, earning him a place among the rest of the children who play on the sidewalks and in the parks of New York for donations.
Wizard sees Evan’s potential for greatness and decides to do whatever he can to get Evan in the public where people can here him. Evan, now called August Rush, looks forward to this new adventure with excitement, until he realizes that while Wizard does want people to hear his talent, he wants the money it will bring more… and he doesn’t want August to ever find his parents. And that is one dream that August will never give up.
There are a few elements in the story that require a suspension of disbelief, but they don’t detract from the story. After all, doesn’t music often ask us to suspend our disbelief and for even just a moment believe that we can fly, become heroes, that all is right with the world and we haven’t a trouble or care in the world?
‘August Rush’ celebrates the beauty of music, tells a story of hope and determination and begs us to believe that family ties can never really be broken and will bring us together again if we let them. With a beautiful story and a powerful, breathtaking score, it reminds us that the music is all around us, all you have to do is listen.

July Ink and Fairydust!

Open publication - Free publishing - More america

The July Issue of Ink and Fairydust has arrived - this time featuring Freedom.  Check it out if you have not done so already, and please take a look at our website www.inkandfairydust.com

I write under the pen name of Rose Dominick.  =)

ReginaCon - Day 2

ReginaCon Day

And here is the events of the second day of ReginaCon, also known as The Fairy Tale Novel Get-Together or The Fairy Tale Novel Fan Gathering. ReginaCon is much shorter.

These would be pictures from day 2, because I'm afraid I have no pictures from Day 1 - at least not at Regina's house.  Day 1 was mostly spent in touring Manassas Battlefield and Arlington Cemetery with my grandparents, who provided our transportation to Virginia.  The Battlefield - sight of the first major battle of the war and a second battle just prior to Antietam - was quite lovely and rather different than Shiloh and Gettysburg.  I knew something was different, but I couldn't figure it out at first.  Then I noticed - no monuments.  Well, there was one that was erected by the soldiers who fought at First Manassas, but the usual monuments and markers for all the regiments who fought and died on this piece of ground were absent.  Also the only statue in sight was a large and impressive sculpture of General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  It was simpler, but no less profound.

Arlington Cemetery was just - amazing.  There are soooo many grave sights there, it's just so sobering.  I had the good fortune to witness the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unkowns... was that beautiful.  The extreme precision and detail and respect that goes into it is just awesome.  For me though, the highlight of my visit was Arlington House.  To think that General Robert E. Lee lived there, walked on the exact same ground that I walked on... I know he was at Gettysburg, and I went there to... but on a battlefield you can't be sure exactly where everyone was because it is so big.  But there... to know that I was on the same ground as a man whom I admire so greatly - it was a very powerful experience for me.

And then of course there was arriving at Regina's house.  No one heard us drive up, so we were able to walk in on them all eating dinner and see their surprised and (hopefully) delighted faces.  I was thrilled to finally meet my dear brother and sister, Paul and Elena, and meet Laura who is an amazing girl.  Lanta showed up a little later and knocked me over.  I was very happy to see her too, and meet Dayandnight and Miss Eliza Bennet.  We talked for a bit and then after the sun had set we all went swimming in the pond, dubbing ourselves "The Midnight Swimmers".  Three more people arrived and joined us as well.

Now to the day that I have pictures for.  (I do have pictures of Manassas and Arlington, if you want to see them later.)

After praying the Rosary, we all packed into the cars and drove down the road to pick blueberries.  'Twas very hot, but there were clouds for some of the time, so it wasn't that bad.  We picked lots of blueberries, some of which Paul kept throwing at me *frowns at Paul*.  I did hit him a few times though!  David found a lonely pair of little girl's sunglasses at the end of one of the rows, and we adopted them.

We finished picking and drove back, during which I had a lovely conversation with Regina, and found that five more girls had arrived!  Greetings and introductions were exchanged and made and then after lunch we listened to Regina talk on "Evangelizing the Imagination and How to Create Evil Characters if you are a Devout Christian".  What a wonderful and helpful talk! 

The rest of the afternoon was free time and some of us went shopping for more food while the rest watched "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (1982).  That was an awesome movie!!!!  Made for TV, so a little long... but was it good!

The day's events concluded with a talent show during which yours truely performed "Upside Down" (a recent forum adventure) along with Kathleen, Yaviel and some of our friends who where there.  The talent show finished with a lovely theatrical reading of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by the Shirefield Players.

And that concludes the events of Day 2!  Hannah, I hope that was enough detail.  ;) Day 3 coming soon.