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Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke
Ain't That Good News by Sam Cooke
1964 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Sam Cooke’s voice on this song is just absolutely... It guts you, it's so emotional. It was written around the time of the civil rights movement, really addressing the struggle and trying to maintain hope throughout that struggle and to push through and to persevere. “""A Change Is Gonna Come"" is something that I sang years ago in this thing called The Zodiac Show in L.A. It was the first time that I was stepping out of the world of musical theatre, singing how I wanted to sing and dressing how I wanted to dress and expressing myself. “The song took on a slightly new meaning for me because I’d been struggling within the theatre world, believe it or not, for sort of being perceived as 'too gay' for a lot of these roles and the things that I was auditioning for. It became a bit frustrating and I thought “Well, fuck, I thought I was in theatre, all the weirdos are in theatre and we're supposed to support each other.” I didn't feel that sense of community as much as I wanted to. “I also ended up signing it on American Idol and it kind of came back around as a full circle thing. Funnily enough, I sang it in the finale and didn't win. Many would say “Oh, maybe that's because of how they perceived you to be.” It was this repeated concept for me, both times. “My interpretation of the song was my personal change, that things were going to get better and things were going to become different hopefully, and that I was going to not give up, and strive towards that. This song has that personal meaning to me."

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As well as the love of reading, I also seem to have passed on my love of history to the Mini Bookworm. He is 8 and I often find myself digging him out of a pile of "Horrible Histories" books just to tuck him in at night!

So when I saw the cover and concept of "A Day in the Life of a Caveman, a Queen and Everything Inbetween", requesting a spot on the book tour was a no brainer.
This GORGEOUS book takes the concept of the illustrations within HH books and totally runs with it. The comic book style really spoke to the mini bookworm and really kept him engaged for a long period of time. In fact, when I asked him if he had any negative points for this review he thought for a very long time before finally saying "it just wasn't long enough".
The topics are presented in one page snippets - it's not going to teach your kids all about one particular subject but, in my opinion, it is going to get them excited to learn more.
As a parent, I also really appreciated the progression of the topics into modern history. The civil rights page initiated a whole conversation about segregation and racism for example! Similarly, fossil fuels and global warming are factors that greatly affect our youngsters, but are presented in a really fun way.
Thank you to Mike Barfield and Jess Bradley for creating this wonderful book, and to Love Books Tours for giving the Mini Bookworm and I the opportunity to review it. As we live in the same county as Mike Barfield the Mini Bookworm did initially want to find him to be his friend, but apparently will settle for adding "A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You" to his Christmas list!
  
Ted 2 (2015)
Ted 2 (2015)
2015 | Comedy
The bear is back
The success of Ted was completely unexpected. I doubt even director Seth McFarlane knew just how popular it would go on to become.

From special DVD’s to limited edition cuddly (or not so cuddly) toys, Ted has become something of a phenomenon. A sequel was always going to be on the cards and after three years perfecting it, McFarlane returns with Ted 2. But is it as funny as its predecessor?

Ted 2 follows the titular bear as he embarks on a relationship with Tami-Lynn and continues his friendship with John, the ever-watchable Mark Wahlberg in another great performance.

Unfortunately for Ted, his rights have been challenged by the US government and he must fight to be recognised as a ‘person’, rather than just someone’s ‘property’.

What ensues is a film which whilst being as funny as its predecessor, manages to be somewhat disappointing with a serious shortage of plot. This becomes evident as McFarlane uses Family Guy-esque cut-scenes and incredibly long dance numbers.

The cast, on the whole, is fantastic. Amanda Seyfried takes over from Mila Kunis as John’s love interest and Ted’s lawyer, Samantha. As usual she is a joy to watch but her inexperience in the offensive comedy genre is evident – scenes of her taking drugs just don’t sit right.

Morgan Freeman is sorely underused as a civil rights attorney, though a quick reference to his silky-smooth voice is more than welcome. Giovanni Ribisi also makes a surprising return as Ted’s nemesis Donny.

An absolutely brilliant cameo from Liam Neeson is one of the highlights in a film packed with gags which generally hit the spot – but they’re certainly not for the feint-hearted.

Ted 2 is louder, more obnoxious and much more offensive than its predecessor with numerous scenes involving sperm banks and an endless supply of drug-related comedy.

Unfortunately, all these highs are brought crashing back down to Earth as the story continuously runs out of steam and picks up again. It’s such a shame that a film less than two hours long has such a plot problem.

Thankfully, the original Ted wasn’t a masterpiece and MacFarlane manages to shoot the film well with a real eye for the finer details. His love of movies is apparent with Star Wars references being used well.

Overall, Ted 2 is very close to the standard of its predecessor, despite the excess story-padding that occurs throughout the film. The comedic elements are cracking with Liam Neeson’s cameo being a laugh-out-loud moment – it’s worth a watch, but only if you’re a fan of the first.

https://moviemetropolis.net/2015/07/12/the-bear-is-back-ted-2-review/