Some of the fabulous, creative musicians who amaze and delight with their ability to continuously innovate via lyrics and melodies that are fresh and evocative...performers with substance and conviction...artists who both reveal more about who we are and who forge new horizons with their singular expressions, authors who transport and tranform us through their tales and/or insights...and new talent is emerging all around us!
Some Musician sites of note (many more to discover!):
http://www.gabrielaanders.com/
http://www.karlaanderson.com/
http://www.anjani-music.com/
http://www.edenatwood.com/
http://www.chetbaker.net/
http://www.patriciabarber.com/
http://www.susannabartilla.com/
http://www.tonybennett.net/
http://www.karlabonoff.com/
http://www.jacksonbrowne.com/
http://www.annhamptoncallaway.com/
http://www.mariahcarey.com/
http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/
http://www.loricarson.com/
http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid=5965
http://www.chiaracivello.com/
http://www.coldplay.com/
http://www.nataliecole.com/
http://www.harryconnickjr.com/
http://www.elviscostello.com/
http://www.crosbystillsnash.com/
http://www.davestruestory.com/
http://www.elianeelias.com/
http://www.enya.com/
http://www.michaelfranks.com/
http://www.kellyflint.com/
http://www.robertagambarini.com/
http://www.melodygardot.com/
http://www.artgarfunkel.com/
http://www.elizabethgeyer.com/
http://www.gloriaonline.com/
http://www.graceandjulian.com/
http://www.pattygriffin.com/welcome.php
http://www.seamaid.org/
http://www.jesseharrismusic.com/
http://www.rabbitsongs.com/
http://www.whitneyhouston.com/
http://www.theinnocencemission.com/
http://www.ironandwine.com/
http://www.janita.com/
http://www.norahjones.com/
http://www.juliajoseph.com/
http://www.staceykent.com/
http://www.caroleking.com/
http://www.dianakrall.com/
http://www.ellenlerner.com/
http://www.shelbylynne.com/
http://www.mariemacgillis.com/
http://www.rebeccamartin.com/
http://www.themarydream.com/
http://www.marybethmusic.com/music/
http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/
http://www.helenmerrill.com/
http://www.lynnmilesmusic.com/
http://www.janemonheitonline.com/
http://www.myspace.com/agirlcallededdy
http://www.markmurphy.com/
http://www.aaronneville.com/
http://www.olivianewton-john.com/
http://www.janeparker.co.uk/
http://www.gretchenpeters.com/
http://www.johnpizzarelli.com/
http://www.paulpottsmusic.net/
http://www.joshuaradin.com/
http://www.kennyrankin.com/
http://www.ronstadt-linda.com/
http://www.sade.com/
http://www.bozscaggs.com/
http://www.carlysimon.com/
http://www.mindysmith.net/
http://www.tessasouter.com/
http://www.janestclair.com/
http://www.sting.com/
http://www.tierneysutton.com/
http://www.swingoutsister.com/
http://www.jamestaylor.com/
http://www.shaniatwain.com/
http://www.michaeltomlinson.com/
http://www.towerofpower.com/2007/
http://www.cassandrawilson.com/
http://www.steviewonder.net/
http://www.carterwood.com/
http://www.hyperrust.org/
Music
From my collection, these are among my listening preferences:
Susan Ashton, Ambrosia, America, Gabriela Anders, Ernestine Anderson, Karla Anderson, Anjani, The Animals, The Association, Eden Atwood, Joan Baez, Anita Baker, Chet Baker, Patricia Barber, April Barrows, Susanna Bartilla, The Beatles, Margaret Becker, The Bee Gees, Tony Bennett, Stephen Bishop, Terence Blanchard, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Karla Bonoff, Toni Braxton, Bread, Scott Wesley Brown, Jackson Browne, The Byrds, Bobby Caldwell, Ann Hampton Callaway, Steve Camp, Michael Card, Mariah Carey, The Carpenters, Lori Carson, Eva Cassidy, Chad & Jeremy, Steven Curtis Chapman, Chicago, Chi-Lites, Fryderyk Chopin, Chiara Civello, Eric Clapton, Paul Clark, Patsy Cline, Coldplay, Nat King & Natalie Cole, Judy Collins, John Coltrane, Harry Connick Jr., Rita Coolidge, Elvis Costello, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jim Croce, Billy Crockett, Crosby Stills & Nash, The Dave Clark Five, Dave's True Story, Miles Davis, The Delfonics, John Denver, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Donovan, The Doors, Nick Drake, The Dramatics, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Eastmountainsouth, Eliane Elias, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Enya, Gloria Estefan, Mary Fahl, The Fifth Dimension, Ella Fitzgerald, Roberta Flack, Fleetwood Mac, Kelly Flint, Dan Fogelberg, Connie Francis, Michael Franks, The Friends Of Distinction, Roberta Gambarini, Melody Gardot, Art Garfunkel, Marvin Gaye, Sara Gazarek, Gerry & The Pacemakers, ELizabeth Geyer, A Girl Called Eddy, Amy Grant, The Grass Roots, Al Green, Keith Green, Patty Griffin, Grace Griffith, Josh Groban, The Guess Who, Hall & Oates, Glen Hansard, Jesse Harris, Joey Heatherton, Hem, Jimi Hendrix, Don Henley, Herman's Hermits, Benny Hester, Missy Higgins, Stevie Holland, The Hollies, Whitney Houston, Ida, The Innocence Mission, Marketa Irglova, Iron & Wine, Tommy James & The Shondells, Janita, Jay & The Americans, Billy Joel, Elton John, Norah Jones, Julia Joseph, Joshua Kadison, Phil Keaggy, Stacey Kent, Rebecca Kilgore, Carole King, Wayne Kirkpatrick, John Klemmer, Irene Kral, Diana Krall, kd lang, Led Zeppelin, Brenda Lee, Ellen Lerner, Little River Band, The Lovin' Spoonful, Shelby Lynne, Marie MacGillis, Malo, The Manhattans, Barry Manilow, The Marmalade, Rebecca Martin, The Mary Dream, Johnny Mathis, Mary Beth Maziarz, Paul McCartney, Sarah Mclachlan, Don McLean, Lynn Miles, The Steve Miller Band, Joni Mitchell, The Moments, Jane Monheit, The Moody Blues, Chante Moore, Van Morrison, Rich Mullins, Mark Murphy, Anne Murray, Aaron Neville, Olivia Newton-John, Harry Nilsson, Roy Orbison, The Originals, Orna, Out of the Grey, Parable, Twila Paris, Jane Parker Quartet, Peter & Gordon, Gretchen Peters, John Pizzarelli, Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Paul Potts, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, Rachel Rachel, Sergey Rachmaninov, Joshua Radin, Bonnie Raitt, Kenny Rankin, The Rascals, Lou Rawls, Chris Rice, Charlie Rich, Lionel Richie, Johnny Rivers, Linda Ronstadt, Arrica Rose & The Dots, Sade, Santana, Boz Scaggs, Seals & Crofts, Jon Secada, The Second Chapter of Acts, Bob Seger, Selena, Sierra, Simon & Garfunkel, Carly Simon, Frank & Nancy Sinatra, Skylark, Hurricane Smith, Mindy Smith, Phoebe Snow, Sonny & Cher, Tessa Souter, The Spinners, The Spiral Starecase, Jane St Clair, Steely Dan, Al Stewart, Sting, Johann Strauss, The Stylistics, Tierney Sutton (Band), Kelly Sweet, Swing Out Sister, James Taylor, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, The Temptations, B.J. Thomas, Three Dog Night, Michael Tomlinson, The Tower of Power, The Turtles, Shania Twain, Luther Vandross, Gino Vanelli, Billy Vera & The Beaters, Kristen Vigard, Wendy Waldman, Kate Walsh, Grover Washington Jr., Cassandra Wilson, Bill Withers, Stevie Wonder, Carter Wood, Neil Young, The Youngbloods, The Zombies
Soundtracks:
Autumn In New York, Bossa Nova, Bridges of Madison County, Dance With Me, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Good Will Hunting, Grace of My Heart, Hope Floats, Last Dance, Mambo Kings, Message In A Bottle, Next Stop Wonderland, Notting Hill, Passion of Mind, The Piano, Il Postino, Random Hearts, Sabrina, Shakespeare In Love, Somewhere In Time, Sweet November, When Harry Met Sally, Woman On Top.
Jesus Music Era Oldies On the Net!
http://www.jesusmusicoldies.com/
Movies I've collected:
The Accidental Tourist, Across The Universe, Aeon Flux, An Affair of Love, After The Sunset, Alex & Emma, American Graffiti, The American President, Angel Eyes, As Good As It Gets, At First Sight, Autumn in New York, Away From Her, The Bachelor, The Bank, A Beautiful Mind, Bed of Roses, Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Bella, Benny & Joon, Between Strangers, Beyond Borders, Beyond Suspicion, Bicentennial Man, Big, Bigger Than The Sky, Blast From the Past, The Bodyguard, The Book of Stars, Bossa Nova, Bounce, Breaking & Entering, Breezy, Bringing Down The House, The Brothers McMullen, Bruce Almighty, Camelot, Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Carolina, Cast Away, Catch & Release, Catch Me If You Can, Chain Reaction, Children of a Lesser God, Circle of Passion, Collateral, Commandments, Confidence, Conspiracy Theory, The Constant Gardener, Conversations With Women, A Couch in New York, Coyote Ugly, Crash, Cupid & Cate, Dance With Me, Dangerous Beauty, Dave, Déjà vu, Desire, Dirty Dancing, Don Juan DeMarco, Down with Love, Duets, Dummy, Dying Young, Eddie and the Cruisers, Elizabethtown, Enigma, Entrapment, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, Evening, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Failure To Launch, Family Man, Fearless, Feast of Love, 50 First Dates, Firefly, First Knight, First Love, Five Days To Midnight, Flight 93, Follow the Stars Home, For Love or Country, Forget Paris, Forrest Gump, The Fountain, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Frankie and Johnny, French Kiss, Frequency, Garden State, To Gillian On Her 32nd Birthday, The Girl In The Café, Godspell, Gone In 60 Seconds, Good Advice, A Good Year, Gotham, Grace of My Heart, Grand Canyon, Great Expectations, Green Card, Groundhog Day, The Guys, Half Moon Street, Happy Accidents, Harrison's Flowers, Havana, Hitch, The Holiday, Hope Floats, Housesitter, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, How To Lose Your Lover, I Could Never Be Your Woman, If Lucy Fell, Ignition, Il Postino, The Illusionist, I'm With Lucy, In Good Company, In Love and War, Incognito, Intersection, Intolerable Cruelty, The Invisible Circus, I.Q., The Island, It Had to Be You, It's a Wonderful Life, Jack & Sarah, January Man, The Japanese Story, Jazz Singer, Just Desserts, Just Like Heaven, Just One Night, Just Write, Kate & Leopold, Kettle of Fish, Kissing A Fool, L.A. Story, The Lake House, Last Dance, Last of the Dogmen, Last Kiss, Laws of Attraction, The Legend of 1900, Leo, Les Miserables, Lies and Whispers, Life as a House, Life or Something Like It, Living Out Loud, Looking For An Echo, Lost City, Lost Horizon, Love Actually, Love Affair, Love Letter, Love Letters, Love Life, Love Story, Lucky Seven, Made in Heaven, Maid in Manhattan, The Majestic, The Mambo Kings, Man About Town, Man Of The Year, Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School, The Mask of Zorro, Matchstick Men, The Matrix (Triology), Matters of the Heart, Maze, Meet Joe Black, Memento, Message in a Bottle, The Mirror Has Two Faces, Mission Impossible, Mr. Destiny, Mr. Holland's Opus, Mr. Jones, Mr. Wonderful, A Modern Affair, Moll Flanders, Molly, Mona Lisa Smile, Moonstruck, Mumford, Music & Lyrics, Music From Another Room, Music of the Heart, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, My Life, The Net, Next Stop Wonderland, Night and the Moment, Nine Months, No Reservations, Noel, The Notebook, Notting Hill, Of Love and Shadows, Off The Map, An Officer and a Gentleman, Oliver's Story, On the Beach, Once, Only Love, Only You, Overboard, A Painted Veil, Paperback Romance, Passion of Mind, Passionada, Pearl Harbor, Peggy Sue Got Married, The Perez Family, Phantom of the Opera, Pie In The Sky, The Pilot's Wife, Pipe Dream, The Playboys, Playing By Heart, Possession, The Postman, The Presidio, Pretty Woman, Proof, P.S., P.S. I Love You, The Pursuit Of Happyness, Raising Helen, Random Hearts, Regarding Henry, Return to Me, Rhapsody in Bloom, Romance & Rejection, Romeo & Juliet, Roxanne, The Runaway Bride, Running on Empty, Sabrina, Save the Last Dance, Savior, Schindler's List, The Secret Life of Words, See You in the Morning, Serendipity, Serenity, Seven Girlfriends, Shadows In The Sun, Shakespeare in Love, Shall We Dance, The Shape Of Things, She's the One, Shopgirl, Simone, Singles, Six Days/Seven Nights, The Sixties, The Sleeping Dictionary, Sleepless in Seattle, Sliding Doors, Smile, Snapshots, Solaris, Someone Like You, Something New, Something's Gotta Give, Somewhere in Time, The Sound of Music, Space Cowboys, Spanglish, Speechless, Stanley & Iris, A Star Is Born, Stay, Stealing Home, Step Up, Still Breathing, The Story of Us, Sunshine, Sweet Home Alabama, Sweet November, Swept From The Sea, Take The Lead, Tears in the Rain, Tears of the Sun, The Terminal, That Thing You Do, The Theory of Flight, The Thing Called Love, Things Behind the Sun, Things We Lost In The Fire, The Third Wheel, The Thomas Crown Affair, Til There Was You, Till Human Voices Wake Us, Time Changer, The Time Machine, Time Quest, Titanic, Tortilla Soup, The Triangle, Two Family House, Two Ninas, Two Weeks Notice, The Ultimate Gift, An Unfinished Life, Unhitched, Up Close & Personal, The Upside of Anger, Vanilla Sky, Waking the Dead, A Walk in the Clouds, Walk The Line, Washington Square, The Way We Were, Wedding Daze, The Wedding Dress, A Wedding for Bella, The Wedding Planner, What Dreams May Come, What Women Want, When a Man Loves a Woman, When Harry Met Sally..., While You Were Sleeping, The White Countess, Winds Of Terror, Woman on Top, You've Got Mail.
Television
I seldom watch the tube anymore (and have no access!). Guilty pleasures once included JAG, Joan of Arcadia, NCIS, Numbers, & Once and Again. And from TV Land days: The Wonder Years, Eight Is Enough, every episode of M*A*S*H (okay, Love, American Style and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In...!)
Books
I prefer fiction these days, but don't usually retain a copy unless I'm going to read it again. Here are titles from the bookcase (alpha by author, no author listed):
The Dominion, The Edge Of Eternity, The Will, Song Of Fire, The White Rose, A Perfect Day, Blues For Hannah, Lizzie's War, The Monk Downstairs, Redemption, Distant Memory, Properties Of Light, The Gazebo, The Broker, The Partner, The Street Lawyer, The Testament, Ghost Writer, Reading Between The Lines, A Much Younger Man, The Sense of Paper, Even Now, Man Walks Into A Room, The History Of Love, All The Names, Dream Thief, The Photograph, Silence & Shadows, Falling Bodies, Shade Of The Maple, The Pleasure Of My Company, Eventide, The Spoon River Anthology, The Summons, Dancing At The Harvet Moon, Second Time Around, Time Lottery, When The Last Leaf Falls, The Time Traveler's Wife, At The Scent Of Water, If I Gained The World, Bel Canto, Paradise Bay, The Last Valentine, Blessings, One True Thing, Anthem, Atlas Shrugged, The Living End, The Revisionist, Eden Close, The Last Time They Met, The Pilot's Wife, Where Or When, Directed Verdict, Irreparable Harm, A Walk To Remember, Dear John, Message In A Bottle, The Notebook, The Rescue, True Believer, Evidence Of Things Unseen, Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang, The Dark River, The Traveler, As It Is In Heaven, Four Letters Of Love, The Lake Dreams The Sky, The Parrot Trainer...
My non-fiction exposure has been largely confined to basic religious study materials: The Interlinear Greek English New Testament, The Cost Of Discipleship, The Greatest Story, How To Meet, The Highest Life, The Secret To The Christian Life, The Two Bablyons, Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Mere Christianity, When The Church Was Young, The Ragamuffin Gospel, The Signature of Jesus, The Long War Against God, Churches Without Walls, Peace Child, Word Pictures In The Greek New Testament (Robertson), The Open Church, Basic Theology (Ryrie), Dispensationalism Today, The Ryrie Study Bible, What You Should Know About Inerrancy, Genesis In Space and Time, The Church At The End of The 20th Century, True Spirituality, The Problem of Wineskins, The Complete Green Letters, Authentic Christianity, Abingdon's Strong's Concordance, Pagan Christianity, The Call To Conversion, The Radical Christian, Word Studies In The Greek New Testament (Wuest), Disappointment With God, Rumors Of Another World, The Jesus I Never Knew, What's So Amazing About Grace?
Heroes
Hmmm...outside of JC and the apostles, it's difficult to come up with a definitive list. Since there are truly incredible people all around us, each person I meet is fascinating and uniquely gifted, with much to offer if there is opportunity for an exchange. My friend, Colonel John Forquer USMC is certainly high on the list of people I know whom I respect and admire.
Favorite Quotes:
Life is not a rehearsal.
Life is what happens when you're making other plans.
Blessed are the flexible, they shall not be broken.
Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
It's easier to believe the bad stuff.
The soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears.
The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
I slept and dreamt that life was Joy.
I woke and saw that life was Duty.
I acted, and behold, Duty was Joy.
The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it.
We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight or any experience that reveals the human spirit.
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Truth is everything, I countered. Virtue is everything. Appearances are falling leaves, blowing in the wind, here for a moment, & gone forever. Truth & Character are what remain.
I have studied many times
The marble which was chiseled for me—
A boat with a furled sail at rest in a harbor.
In truth it pictures not my destination
But my life.
For love was offered me and I shrank from its
disillusionment;
Sorrow knocked at my door, but I was afraid;
Ambition called to me, but I dreaded the chances.
Yet all the while I hungered for meaning in my life.
And now I know that we must lift the sail
And catch the winds of destiny
Wherever they drive the boat.
To put meaning in one’s life may end in madness,
But life without meaning is the torture
Of restlessness and vague desire—
It is a boat longing for the sea and yet afraid.
Christian Reference Sources & Simplified Faith:
http://www.biblegateway.com;
http://www.geneedwards.com;
http://www.ptmin.org
Amateur Poetry/Writer Sites:
http://www.thepoetstree.com
http://www.poetrysoup.com
http://www.writerscafe/org/
Photographs by Folks I'm Privileged to Know:
http://www.edcornachio.com;
http://www.inablinkphotos.com
Local Area Artists:
http://www.bartrulon.com
http://www.nightskystudio.net