Sunday, June 16, 2013

Father's Day odds & ends

  • It's Father's Day... not quite as much hyped as Voldemort Day, a month earlier, but still an "ouch" moment for dh & his kindred bereaved dads.
  • We visited Kate at the cemetery yesterday, and then went to FIL's last night.
  • Given his choice of how to spend the day, dh & I went to see "Man of Steel," the new Superman movie. I thought the violence & destruction went on (& on... & on... & on...) way, way too long. On the bright side, however, Henry Cavill fills out the suit quite nicely. ; ) (Even dh thought so, lol.)
  • It is, in part, a story about adoption & a boy's search for identity & belonging -- and it was this aspect of the movie that probably touched me the most.  Sent as a baby by his doomed parents from a dying planet, Kal-El crash-lands in the field of a Kansas farm couple, who raise him. When Dad (Kevin Costner) fiercely tells young Kal-El/Clark, "You ARE my son," I got tears in my eyes.  
  • Last year at about this time, I was in the throes of rediscovering one of the power pop bands I'd loved as a teenager, The Raspberries. Right now, I'm having fun rediscovering yet another band from the soundtrack of my childhood, the Rascals. At the behest of their biggest fan, Steve van Zandt (of Bruce Springsteen's band & The Sopranos TV show), the four original band members recently reunited on Broadway for a combination concert/multimedia production called "Once Upon a Dream." It's coming to Toronto in August for 10 shows, & I got tickets this week for me & dh. : )   From the reviews I've read, the music ("Groovin," "Good Loving,""How Can I Be Sure," People Got to Be Free," etc. etc.) still holds up (& these guys are pushing 70). 
  • Why the Rascals? As I've mentioned before, "The Best of Herman's Hermits Vol. 2" was the first album I ever owned -- a present for my 6th birthday. Not too far behind, however, my sister & I received "Groovin" by the Young Rascals (as they were called then) as a gift, either from my grandparents (!) or (perhaps more likely) my uncle. I know the well-worn album is still somewhere in the depths of my parents' basement;  until I can dig it out again, I've been listening to the audio tracks that some kind soul uploaded to YouTube, as well as exploring other songs and video performances -- and having a blast doing so. ; )  Even though I haven't heard some of the songs in at least 30 years, I find I can still sing along. There truly is no music like the stuff you grew up with, is there?
  • I will leave you with one of my favourite songs from the album (as sung on what seems to be the Ed Sullivan Show):  


2 comments:

  1. Funny thing is that only this year I realized the barrage of messages in the internet about Father's Day. I don't think I realized it last year - not to this extent anyway. But actually Father's Day in Finland is celebrated in November and last year we just went to visit FIL to celebrate it, but since FIL has passed away, no more Father's Day celebration, I suppose...

    Haven't seen the new Superman movie...and yeah, the music that I grew up with stays with me even until today and I've already compiled a list in my youtube playlist filled with the songs I grew up with. :-) Always feel nostalgic whenever I listen to them, like I'm transported back to those days. :-)

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  2. That line in the "Man of Steel" trailer had me in tears too.

    I remember hearing some songs from the Rascals while growing up, but haven't had much of a chance to explore them. Thanks for the tip!

    Hoping the time with Kate was filled with peace. Thinking of you both.

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