Monthly Archives: January 2013

There was a time we killed the King…

The song, Suddenly, from Les Miserables (2012) is up for an Academy Award. Some have claimed it is the only song which was added to the movie, and all the other songs in the movie were in the stage play.

However, my favorite new song from the movie is Gavroche’s. Technically, maybe it’s ‘just’ a new verse inserted into an old song, Look Down. But what a wonderful verse it is!

There was a time we killed the King;
We tried to change the world too fast.
Now we have got another King;
He is no better than the last.
This is the land that fought for liberty –
Now when we fight we fight for bread!
Here is the thing about equality –
Everyone’s equal when they’re dead.
Take your place!
Take your chance!
Vive la France! Vive la France!

I should write a lengthy review of the movie. However, for now I will give a short one:

Loved it.

Both thumbs up, along with the other 8 fingers, for a double high five.

Everything they added to the musical made the movie closer to the novel; everything they subtracted from the musical made for a better movie. The casting was excellent. The singing wasn’t stage musical quality, but the acting was great. It’s a movie, not a stage musical. Those who go expecting a Boadway musical movie in the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein tradition will be disappointed. However, those who originally went to the stage play expecting Rodgers and Hammerstein were also disappointed. Rodgers and Hammerstein are dead. (They have been dead for over 30 years. It’s time to move on, don’t you think?)

Not Offended

I long ago learned to take greetings and gifts in the spirit they were intended. There is absolutely no reason to be offended by something someone says or does for you, if their intent is good.

For the past several years I have participated in the annual “Secret Holiday Pal” gift exchange at work. An obvious, but appreciated, generic for “Secret Santa.” I enjoy giving (and receiving) gifts as much as the next guy or gal.

The way it works here is that there are two weeks of gift exchange. One is supposed to spend approximately $5 the first week, $5 the second week, and $10 on a final gift to be exchanged at a party on the final day. I am usually on an airplane headed south on the final day, but I leave the final gift for my holiday pal with someone else to present at the party, and discover what my secret pal left me upon my return.

So I returned to work today and saw my final gift.

There was a greeting card attached with a handwritten message:

“Another year of great blessing because of Christ Jesus awesome love.”

[I was a bit offended by the lack of an apostrophe after ‘Jesus’.]

While I believe the signer of the card has been working here for as long as I have, we don’t have direct business contact with one another. I have no reason to believe she knows I’m Jewish. I have no reason to be offended. (If I thought she did know, I would be offended, because her intent would be a clear one of proselytization.)

She also gave me

I have absolutely no reason to be offended by these!