Article Writing Jobs ~ Movies, Music and Books: That's My Entertainment! (UPDATE)

Unfortunately, this writing site shut down.  

The content was republished and the links below are updated or go to the archived web copies of my articles.  

Apologies for the inconvenience.

I enjoy writing and sharing my entertainment articles around the web.  Several articles have been published at Article Writing Jobs.  Here's the links.  Enjoy!

My Top 5 Picks for Contemporary Female Violinists  ✔ 

Five (5)British Mystery TV Series Worth Watching (and Re-watching)   ✔  

NewlywedMoms Should Read Romance Novels   ✔  

Four (4) Recommended Authors of Books Written for Young Adults   ✔  

Music Appreciation: The Harmony of Human Voices   ✔  

Life of Pi - Actor Suraj Sharma   ✔  

My 3 Favorite Cary Grant Movies   ✔  

Come WithMe on My Star Trek Adventures   ✔  

An Invitation to Come With Me on My Star Trek Adventures

Welcome! Please come with me and boldly go where I (and millions of other Star Trek fans) have already gone and will happily go again! ☺

Gene Rodenberry’s Star Trek series really made a name for itself and earned the reputation that allowed for all of the other ST spinoffs. Any program that wants to carry on the Star Trek tradition should be worthy. It’s 2020+ and my Star Trek lust is not being satiated. I viewed a few episodes in three different series that have the name Star Trek in the title and … in my humble opinion … they don’t live up to the name. Hey! It’s an opinion. Feel free to disagree. We all have our peculiar tastes when it comes to entertainment.

First, let’s recap the Star Trek series being used as my basis for comparison.  (Let's also thank online streaming services like Netflix for allowing fans to binge watch these memorable TV shows.) 

Star Trek: The Original Series

The TV show aired back in the 60s (1966-69) and was considered groundbreaking because of its diverse cast, which included an African-America female high ranking officer, Lieutenant Uhura; and a Vulcan first officer, second only to the captain of the USS Enterprise, the logical and the incomparable Mr. Spock. Imagine. Before man had a mission to go where he had never boldly gone before, Vulcans had already boldly come to us. An advanced civilization had to come and give us ignorant humans a helping hand with our exploration efforts. It’s interesting. Considering that during our space explorations we found that there were so many other “sentient beings” in the universe, one may wonder why the Vulcans chose to ally with the humans and landed in the United States of America for their First Contact. That question is answered in another Star Trek series called Star Trek: Enterprise, which did not air until 2001 after several other ST spinoffs happened in between.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

The show ran from the late 80s into the early 90s (1987-1994). It will always be remembered for Captain Jean Luc Picard, he was very commanding and very wise; the android named Data, he was incredibly smart and very handy to have around; and an extremely scary enemy called … The Borg! Hey! Why fight them? “Resistance is futile”. So what! We fought them anyway!

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

This series aired throughout the 90s (1993-99) and quite frankly, I liked the episodes where they were in the holo suites more than the episodes where they were facing off with a real enemy, The Dominion. The most memorable characters were Captain Benjamin Sisko and Odo, the changeling. (Image: Deep Space Nine Station.)

Star Trek: Voyager

This series began in 1995 and ended in 2001. Can you believe it? They got stranded in outer space, in the wrong quadrant, and the entire series was about them trying to find their way back home and get home before they were too old for their relatives to still recognize them. So get this! A 24th-century state of the art starship with no GPS to give them directions when they’re lost. It’s believable. Sometimes we humans are very creative and inventive but in the process of building things, we overlook an obvious and critically important feature. Who was the scariest enemy? The Vidians. These beings were suffering from a disease so they went everywhere stealing organs from everybody else. They didn’t ask for organ donors. They just took what they needed. What must it feel like to have your lungs disappear? One second you’re breathing. The next second? NO AIR!! Who is the most memorable character in this series? Seven of Nine. She was a Borg drone, who was captured by The Borg when she was a child. By the time she was found by the crew of The Voyager, she was a young woman. Captain Janeway was determined to give her back her life so that she could live as a human again. She succeeded. Out of all of the characters in all of the Star Trek series, I am never going to forget Seven of Nine.

Star Trek: Enterprise

This series is the prequel. Star Trek: The Original Series began without ever explaining how the United Federation of Planets began. It ran from 2001 and 2005 and honestly, nothing about the show was memorable. But it did explain how and why it was decided that we should boldly go where no man had ever gone before. Even if we do cross paths with sentient beings who think they are a superior race or just don’t really like us very much and want to fight a war. If you think about it, it’s really not that much different from living on planet earth.

So now it’s the 21st century and here’s where I am in my Star Trek adventures.

Star Trek: Picard

I watched only one episode because it was offered free of charge for the curious who might be willing to pay to watch the entire series. It was OK. To be honest, since it bore the name “Picard”, I had higher expectations. I’m content to wait until I can binge watch all of the episodes for free at some later date when its novelty has word off.

Star Trek: Discovery

I watched some episodes and I have several complaints.

• Number 1: The lighting is awful! For many scenes, it seems so dark.
• Number 2: The Klingons wear way too much make-up!
• Number 3: The special effects are serious overkill.

This series was launched in 2017. By this time, the original Star Trek series was 50 years old.

Star Trek Continues

I was searching for streaming apps and stumbled across this series. You will recall that the mission was supposed to last for 5 years, only the show was canceled after 3 seasons. Somebody decided that since the original Star Trek series was cut short and fans were terribly disappointed, they would continue the old show only … with new actors playing the old parts for Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones, Scotty, etc.

• Number 1: The replacements have no strong screen presence at all! They are like cheap imitations or really bad counterfeits of the original cast. My opinion.
• Number 2: If the first episode is an indicator, it’s a good series to watch if you want to compare it with your imagination. Surely you must have wondered what the Star Trek series would have been like had they actually completed the 5-year mission. I am not that impressed, however, in all fairness, the creators of this series get an A++ for their honorable intentions.

♦ All I can say is… once upon a time … there was an awesome TV show called Star Trek that set the standard for all the other science fiction space exploration television series that would come after.

Original Source

#StarTrekDay

been boldly going for 55 years 💛
— happy #StarTrekDay ! 💫 pic.twitter.com/eg2OkLpx8s

— star trek gifs (@tosgifs) September 8, 2021

Music Appreciation: The Harmony of Human Voices

“Songs are thoughts, sung out with the breath when people are moved by great forces and ordinary speech no longer suffices.” – Orpingalik, Inuit poet and Shaman

Don’t you just love this quote? Do you like music? Do you like singing? Do you especially love to listen to a chorus of human voices? Have you ever heard of a non-profit organization called Growing The Voices: Festival 500? If not, when you finish reading this article you will know just enough to stimulate your appetite so that you’ll want to find out more. 

This organization was founded in 1997, and its International Choral Festival is a biennial event; a non-competitive celebration. They celebrate the harmony of human voices. The eighth Festival was held in July 2011. This was the year I discovered them. Sadly, because of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there are no festivals scheduled. But let’s discuss some of their past events.

Bobby McFerrin* was a guest artist and conductor in one of these festivals. He has described his experience as “I bathed in joy.” regarding his participation in 2003.

Can you believe it?! Bobby McFerrin is (in my humble opinion) one of the most gifted and talented singers and musicians that ever walked on planet Earth. I am so sorry that I missed his live performance. It was held in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada; North America’s oldest city. I searched out this location to gather some general information. Newfoundland and Labrador is a Canadian Atlantic province. St. John’s is the primary municipality of the St. John’s Metropolitan Area and the largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Not that I could have attended the festival anyway. It’s too far away from my home in Austin, Texas and I no longer travel; except virtually.

Even though I missed that performance, I am happy to have discovered this non-profit organization. They keep their official website and social media pages updated. My finding was accidental. I was scanning Facebook activity saw the words “The Choir Project”. Two of my daughters have always been active in their school choirs so I was curious to know more. This Project was based in Naples, Florida, U.S.A. and they stated that their mission was “to build community chorally.” When I perused the various posts on their page, the links led me to the Festival 500 and information about all the wonderful groups that had performed. I watched the uploaded videos and the best word to describe the various choral events is “phenomenal”. Below is a sampling of the awesome communities of choruses. Each of these organizations either has its own official website and/or social media presence if you want greater detail about them.

• ‎Rajaton, six Finnish singers, sang Finnish “classics”, including “Butterfly”, and some new pieces. They are one of the world’s leading Acappella ensembles.
• The Hamilton Children’s Choir also performed. This organization has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the foremost children’s choral programs. They provide vocal instruction and musical training to children between the ages of four and eighteen.
• The Kokopelli Choirs, based in Edmonton, Canada, sang with Quintessential Vocal Ensemble, St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and The Wits Choir, Johannesburg, South Africa.

♪ The Kokopelli Choir Association is an Edmonton-based family of choirs with a goal of encouraging young singers to develop their talents and pursue their musical dreams. They combine traditional choral music with an unconventional presentation.

♪ The Quintessential Vocal Ensemble, known especially for its Acappella repertoire of many styles and periods.

♪ The Wits Choir: The exact quotation, extracted from their Facebook page states: “The Wits Choir is unlike any choir you have ever experienced: vibrant, young, and colourful!”

Based on listening to the videos posted by The Choir Project, all of these groups who performed at the Festival 500 are “unlike any choir you’ve ever experienced”. Like I said … phenomenal!

One final comment which is worth an honorable mention: One of the concerts presented by The Choir Project was called “Voices of Courage”. It was a dedication to those who lost their lives in the attacks on September 11, 2001 in the USA. This really struck a note with me.

**A Few Bio Notes About Bobby McFerrin:

Bobby McFerrin was born on March 11, 1950, in New York City, USA, and comes from a family of musicians.

He won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Record of the Year, and "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" for his hit song “Don't Worry, Be Happy” (1988). But I still say the song and video “Baby” should be just as well known. #MyOpinion

McFerrin studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York where he developed and honed his unique vocal technique, an impressive vocal range and he can create complex melodies and harmonies using only his voice. His voice can mimic instruments. His music is categorized as jazz, classical, world music, and contemporary pop. He has gained recognition for his interpretation of classical pieces and as a jazz innovator. Additionally, McFerrin conducts workshops and masterclasses on improvisation, vocal techniques, and the power of music. His impact on the world of music is truly remarkable.

Bio Notes Source

My original content was previously published at Article Writing Jobs (articlewritingjobs.com).

Best 3 Cary Grant Movies Ever!

One of my favorite leading male actors when I was growing up was Cary Grant (1904 – 1986). Why did I like him? He reminded me of my father. No he didn’t look like my dad at all. But he dressed like my father. Always neat, well groomed, and very dapper! Grant was much like my father in that the suits he wore fit him perfectly. He was always well-dressed, even when his clothing was supposed to be “casual”, i.e. not a suit and necktie.

Admirers or fans have described Cary Grant as “debonaire”, “sophisticated” and “funny”! But before being described that way, when he was an unknown, he must have had enough confidence in himself to believe that he would be a “survivor”. Born and raised in Bristol, England, he did not have a very happy home life as a child. He was expelled from school at the age of 14, and so he had to go to work and fend for himself. His mother had been committed to a mental hospital and he and his father did not have much of a relationship. He went to work in a theater in his hometown. That introduced him to the world of entertainment and that put him on the path to Hollywood stardom.

He came to America at the age of 16. He was traveling with a group of entertainers from England. His first stop in the USA? New York City. When the people he came with went back home, he decided to stay in New York. When he grew into manhood he was quite a dashing figure. His handsomeness was attention-grabbing! Yet he did not get his first Hollywood acting contract until he was age 27; using the name Cary Grant.

He established himself as a comedic actor. His humor was really clean too! You don’t mind watching all of his movies, where he played comedy roles, with young children around. It was said that he only accepted roles that he thought portrayed him as a good moral character. He wanted anybody including children to be able to watch him on screen. That was the public image he always wanted to maintain and he did. The movies he starred in for the first half of his career were wholesome clean comedy. But when he teamed up with the great director Alfred Hitchcock, he proved that he could also play dramatic roles quite convincingly. Whether comedy or drama, he maintained that image of being a decent and upstanding gentleman.

Grant became an American citizen in 1942 and the naturalization process allowed him to legally change his name from Archibald Alexander Leach to “Cary Grant”. He made 70+ films over three (3) decades (1930s – 1960s), but it was easy for me to narrow down my 3 favorite films (listed below) because, in addition to being a huge Cary Grant fan during my youth, I was also a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan. Hitchcock is known as the “Master of Suspense”; and his films and his television show were extremely popular back in my day. One may wonder however since comedy was not really Hitchcock’s specialty, why he would even approach a comedic actor to star in his films. But isn’t the answer obvious? Cary Grant made a very attractive leading man and if you paired him with an equally attractive leading lady, how could your movie not be a hit? Of course, I don’t know if that was in Mr. Hitchcock’s mind, but that’s what I would have been my thinking.

1. Notorious (1946), leading lady, Ingrid Bergman
2. To Catch a Thief (1955), leading lady, Grace Kelly
3. North by Northwest (1959), leading lady, Eva Marie Saint

All of the women chosen to star in the films with Mr. Grant were just as popular as he was; and onscreen they made the perfect pair.

Notorious (1946), leading lady, Ingrid Bergman

This movie is a Hitchcock classic that will not disappoint anyone who loves old movies about espionage. Most of the action in this film takes place in Brazil, but the opening scene is Miami, Florida, the city where I was born and raised. For that reason only, the movie instantly captured my attention. Ingrid Bergman plays the daughter of a man who was convicted as a Nazi spy. She is as American as apple pie and there is no reason why she should be punished for the sins of her father. Cary Grant works for the United States government as an agent and he persuades Ingrid Bergman to accept an assignment because it is her patriotic duty. They caught her father and convicted him but they need to catch another bad guy. Grant and Bergman fall in love almost immediately and that makes her carrying out the assignment “complicated”.

To Catch a Thief (1955), leading lady, Grace Kelly

Cary Grant was a professional thief and he was a very good one known as “The Cat”. But he retired to the quiet life of a bachelor in a gorgeous villa where he grew beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, there is a copycat cat going around committing burglaries and stealing people’s jewels. Naturally, he becomes the prime suspect. He needs to catch the real thief to prove his innocence. While trying to find the victims, i.e. jewelry owners, that the copycat thief is likely to rob, he meets Grace Kelly, the daughter of one of the victims, and falls in love. She helps him catch the thief and she steals his heart as well.

North by Northwest (1959), leading lady, Eva Marie Saint

I have often heard people say that everybody in the world has a “twin”. I don’t really know if that it’s true, but in my own life experience, I have had people mistake me for being someone else. The person’s name was Julie. I never met her but people have approached me or waved at me from a distance calling out the name Julie. That’s not my name! Nevertheless being mistaken for someone else didn’t really disrupt or interrupt my life. In this movie, Cary Grant is mistaken for someone else and his life is turned upside down! There’s a lot of spying going and one of the spies is a woman. No worries. She’s one of the good guys. He’s no experienced secret agent but he decides to help her accomplish her mission. The two most memorable scenes in this movie? The one where the couple is on Mount Rushmore and the scene where Grant is running, and trying to avoid being run over by an airplane!

♦ These are my top 3 picks for favorite Cary Grant movies. My favorite leading lady was Ingrid Bergman. Agree or Disagree.

Original Soucre

In remembrance of Cary Grant, who passed #otd November 29, 1986 pic.twitter.com/jiAzvLUR6u

— 𝙉𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙜𝙞𝙖. (@Dear_Lonely1) November 29, 2022

Action Adventure Film ~ Life of Pi: Spotlight on Suraj Sharma

If you enjoy books adapted to film, then you will probably enjoy the film “Life of Pi”. It was based on a book by the same name and was released in 2012. Now it is streaming online at various sites.

For me, part of enjoying a film is knowing some of the “behind the scenes” entertainment history and trivia; especially, information about the casting decisions. For example:

• Who decided to choose an unknown Indian teenager and cast him in the starring role?

Wouldn’t you like to know? Well here’s the scoop.

Ang Lee chose Suraj Sharma, an unknown teenage Indian actor to portray Pi Patel, in the film adaptation of the novel, “Life of Pi”.

■  Suraj Sharma played the character Pi as a young boy. The late Irraf Kahn (1967-2020), a well-known Indian actor, was cast in the role of the adult Pi.

When one hears the name “Ang Lee”, the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” almost immediately comes to mind. But most people know that Ang Lee is an award-winning contemporary filmmaker who has garnered international recognition, with an impressive filmography resume. Ang Lee is a Taiwanese-American director, producer, writer and more, with over 60 film titles to his credit. So it’s understandable that there was a flurry of buzz and excitement when his fans learned that he would direct “Life of Pi”.

As briefly mentioned, Ang Lee’s film project, “Life of Pi”, is based on a best selling novel by the same name written by Yann Martel. The Man Booker Prize is considered the world’s most important literary award. Each year, it endorses the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book. Yann Martel’s book won this award in 2002. Life of Pi has a simple storyline. Pi Patel, a teenage boy, survives a shipwreck and is left on a small boat with a tiger.

Perhaps the part about the tiger makes it a little less simple. Conveniently, Pi happens to possess a comprehensive detailed knowledge of animal behavior and an ardent love of stories, which are all the life skills he needs to survive, and he does. Until he kissed thr shores, he lives at sea for 227 days with a big Bengal Tiger.

With this fantasy adventure, Canadian author Yann Martel proved his worth as a master story teller; and Ang Lee proved he had the ability to capture this vivid and thought-provoking tale on film.

For Ang Lee to take notice is extremely high praise for anyone’s written work. Yann Martel was no doubt humbled, honored and ecstatic that the brilliant Ang Lee brought his novel to the screen.

For Ang Lee to cast you – an unknown, a newcomer – to play the leading part in his film adaptation of an award-winning novel – is surely a dream come true for any aspiring actor. Particularly an actor, with no acting experience.
Suraj Sharma was 17 years old, an Indian actor and student from New Delhi, who beat out more than 3,000 challengers.

After a worldwide casting search for the “perfect Pi”, Suraj Sharma was selected to play the role of the teenaged Pi, the zookeeper’s son. How did he do it? How did Suraj Sharma manage to catch the eye of Ang Lee? According to Mr. Lee, it was his eyes. Mr. Lee was quoted as having said: Sharma has a natural talent to convey emotions through his eyes.

Apart from expressive eyes, what does Suraj Sharma have? Below are a few biographical facts about Suraj Sharma:

The name “Suraj” is Hindi meaning “sun”. His surname is a common name for many Hindu Indians. Suraj Sharma’s parents are both mathematicians in Delhi.

Before being chosen to play the lead role in “Life of Pi”, he was just your average teenager, a Class XII humanities student of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, who enjoyed playing practical jokes.

He dumped his first girlfriend (according to his girlfriend) after making all kinds of promises to include her in his rise to stardom, fame, and fortune.

For the audition, Suraj Sharma read out the ‘Survival Manual’ from Chapter 58 of the book. A little background info: In Chapter 58 of the novel by Yann Martel, the Manual is included with the lifeboat supplies. Even though Pi is beginning to despair because it appears his situation is hopeless, he nevertheless determines that practical advice contained in the book is what he will need to keep himself alive, i.e. to survive. Therefore, he must read it.

And read it, he did! Not just with his lips but with his eyes, winning the approval of Ang Lee and his casting crew.

· Suraj is very photogenic. Pi had to be a teenaged boy of “medium complexion”, a “fairly well-developed physique”, say between 5’6” and 6’ tall. He had to not only act the part of Pi, but look the part as well.

· When the news broke about Ang Lee’s selection of Suraj Sharma for the leading role in “Life of Pi”, it was reported by the BBC, Washington Times, The Times of India, Bollywood Hungama News Network, TamilWire Forum, and the EuroInvestor (U.K.), to name just a few of the publications.Suraj Sharma made his acting debut in the company of veteran actors Gerard Depardieu (the Frenchman-Chef), Adil Hussain (Pi’s father), Irrfan Khan* (the elderly or adult Pi), and Tabu (Pi’s mother). In addition, Tobey Maguire (of Spider-Man fame) played a small role as a journalist who interviews the adult Pi (Irrfan Khan) about his experience.

The movie “Life of Pi” was successful at the box office as well as the award shows. Sharma’s performance received many positive reviews. In fact, he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award (British Academy of Film and Television Arts).

Suraj Sharma has continued his acting career playing parts in both Indian and American movies and television shows. His latest endeavor is a TV series called “Little America” which was released January 2020.

Have you watched “Life of Pi”?

Have you followed Suraj Sharma’s acting career?

* In Memory Of:  Irrfan Khan (1967 - 2020)

NOTE: This is my original content previously published at Article Writing Jobs (articlewritingjobs.com)