I’ve made no secret of my love for Nikos Kazantzakis’ Zorba the Greek. It was my favorite book out of the seventy-five I read in 2011, and the movie based on the book is an undeniable classic. In the final scene, we see the spirited Zorba teaching his straight-laced boss a classic Greek dance.
Now it gets even better. You too can dance with Zorba the Greek, thanks to this awesome game. It is a Dance Dance Revolution style game, but with the 8-bit look of the classic Mario. For some reason I just can’t seem to beat Zorba…
My third book of the year was a Christmas gift from my brother Sam (an affectionate nickname for my sister-in-law Kim). Stephen Spignesi and Michael Lewis’s 100 Best Beatles Songs: A Passionate Fan’s Guideis exactly what it sounds like, a ranking of what the authors consider the 100 best Beatles songs. The authors offer background information, lyrical interpretation, trivia, and recording notes on each of the 100 songs. It is packed with information and photographs about the band and their music. My favorite part was the information included about promotional videos and scenes from the various Beatles films that feature some of these songs. I know The Beatles’ music like the back of my hand, but I have never seen the films. The videographic information inspired me to look up many of these classic scenes online. I especially like this clip of “If I Fell” from “Hard Day’s Night”:
This clip kills me. Ringo being cranky about the drums that “loom large in his legend” and John’s tongue-in-cheek balladeering to brighten his mood are hilarious.
The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. Period. If you don’t believe me, pick an album and listen all the way through. Even their earliest material is remarkable. I enjoy rankings like this because they inspire me to sit down and really listen to some of the songs I have overlooked. Every night this week I have put on a Beatles record (and I mean a record, way better than a CD) and just listened. The Fabs music is astounding, made even more so by the fact that they broke up before they were thirty. The Beatles owned the 60’s and redefined music forever. Not bad for a bunch of twenty-somethings.
It’s that time again– school starts tomorrow. I spent the past week sitting through in-service and frantically cleaning, organizing, and decorating my classroom. Needless to say, my reading pace has suffered. I am part of the way through two books, and hope to finish them soon. After a week or so things should settle down and my reading should get back on track. As I return to the jungle that is teaching high school (Speech and Debate this year instead of English), I offer you this video. It features a then-unknown Jim Carrey lip synching Guns’n’Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” in the movie “Dead Pool”. Enjoy!
1 Year, 100 Books 