I Can't Get 'A Time For Us' Out Of My Head!

Today, I was doing my volunteer work for Garden Grove's Meals on Wheels program and upon walking into the Senior Center to drop off my empty cooler, I was surprised to hear music I had not heard in years.  Every Monday a pianist comes to play a wide variety of slow, atmospheric tunes - like something you'd hear in the background at Nieman Marcus - but never in the three years I've been delivering meals on Monday's have I heard the pianist play 'A Time For Us'.  Well, I just stopped walking and stood to wait for him to finish as if I had just happened into a concert at the Hollywood Bowl.

Before this morning, I cannot remember the last time I heard Nino Rota's romantically devastating theme for the 1968 film version of Romeo and Juliet, a brilliant film that I've seen many times; the first being in my 7th grade English class.  The best days at school were always the days we watched movies in class but when the movies were actually enjoyable, it was the cherry.  I remember being just as enthralled with the score as I was with the film.  In fact, I had become so obsessed in my search for this piece of music, it took me weeks to eventually find it on a 1968 Billboard compilation CD.  (You have to think back before the internet, if you're old enough, to a time when it took more effort than just flipping open your laptop or pushing the Safari App button on your iPad to find information).  Of course, it would have helped if I knew what the title of the score was called or who the composer was rather than just approaching music store employees with Bauhaus t-shirts, saying, "You know, that theme from Romeo and Juliet".

Anyway, here it is with some clips from the 1968 film Romeo and Juliet (in my opinion, the best film version):

Of course, I must also give a little background about the Milan-born Italian composer Nino Rota, who I believe was the catalyst to my obsession for film scores beyond John Williams.  Nino was also notable for the films scores of Federico Fellini and Luchino Visconti.  He also composed the music for the first two films of Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather trilogy, receiving the Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Godfather Part II (1974).

Grazie mille, signor Rota.

Obsessor's Creed: A Game

I am a casual gamer, but as much as I obsess over some games, I'm surprised this is only my second gaming post since this blog's inception, and although I've only played one version from the Assassin's Creed series of five games, I know I will enjoy the other's when I get around to them.

My infatuation began over two years ago when I attended E3. Ubisoft was promoting the third installment for a future release date of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The big push was that you were able to compete against other players who were also AI assassins.

The basic premise: Be an assassin, plan your attacks, strike without mercy, then either blend in to make your getaway or fight to escape. And depending on which game you're playing, you are an assassin in either: Jerusalem, 1191AD (The Third Crusade), Italy, 1490AD (The Italian Renaissance) or the upcoming The American Colonies, 1775AD (The American Revolution).

It was the fact that you got to play an assassin from the past - with limiting weapons and defined skills - that initially intrigued me about this series. As the assassin, you are sent on vengeful missions across town, traveling over rooftops and climbing structures, or on ground, blending in with the locals or hiring thieves and courtesans to distract guards to reach your target. It is the perfect blend of action pack excitement, puzzle solving, and stealth techniques, which are not usually combined so well in other games. Not to mention that the maps and graphics are just freaking gorgeous. I have only played Assassin's Creed II, which takes place in 1490AD Italy. All the cities you visit (including Florence and Venice) are historically mapped and recreated. Not to mention that many of your targets were actual people during that time period and you can learn about their real life exploits in the game, if you so choose (fun for history buffs). In fact, the final "boss" is the currently popular Pope Alexander VI, Rodrigo Borgia, because of the Showtime TV Series, The Borgias. Although not an obsession, I do enjoy the series (Season 2 being 10x better than Season 1), and apparently the next title in the Assassin's Creed series: Brotherhood, picks up right where Part II left off and introduces Lucrezia Borgia and her brother, Cesare, whom were suspected of having an incestuous relationship. Here's a review of Assassin's Creed II, which goes into far, far more detail:



Every title thus far, with the exception of Assassin's Creed III (because it will not be released until October 2012) has received excellent reviews by both critics and gamers. I'm not recommending plopping down $500 for a gaming system to play these games; however, if you do own a systme that supports this series, I highly recommend doing what I did and test if you like Assassin's Creed by starting with Part II (maybe even Part I). Being a couple of years old now, they're bargain-bin cheap. I hope this series continues on for a while, maybe even going into the future, as long as Ubisoft continues to produce the series without rushing. At one new title a year, I can see them getting sloppy. By the way, if I had any voice about where they should go next, it would be America, 1870 (The Old West).

For anyone who's interested, here's the demo of Assassin's Creed III, the American Revolution years, I waited over an hour in line to see at E3 this year, now available immediately on YouTube . Although it looks good, minus the senseless killing of a deer which bothers me, I think I will probably like Italy better:

It's Not Just For Waking Up



COFFEE... it is mystical and magical.  It is my fuel, it is what I run on (well, not run).  But this is an obsession which, I admit, I tend to take for granted.  Perhaps it is because my craving is satisfied every morning within five minutes of waking up, thereby, having no build up.  It usually goes something like this... I wake up in the morning, I have my first cup of coffee.  Any anxiety or impulse is usually satisfied within the first five minutes of my day... usually.  However, if I'm not greeted by Cup o' Joe (and this is where the mysticism and magic come in) then the sky turns black as night and a storm of hellfire erupts, awakening a grumpy and not-fun-to-be-around Michael from his dead-like sleep; but WITH coffee, it's blue skies and butterflies.

Actually, I think I need to rewind a bit because, although an addictive obsession, that is not why I love my Java.  We have more of what I would consider, a relationship.  I appreciate Java for all he is and all he can be.  Whether he feels like being cappuccino that day or mocha, even if he wants to be an americano, I still love him, as long as he's creamed and sugared.  And I am not bias.  I do not care what color he is or if he comes from Colombia, Africa or Hawaii.  Love is in the eye of the beholder and I be holding my cup of coffee any chance I get.

But I know I am not alone with my coffee-loving obsession. In fact, I consider myself a novice compared to other coffee folk I've met along the way, and I have met a few having worked in the coffee industry for a brief time which included a coffeehouse tour of Italy.  We (Americans I mean) only like coffee compared to the Italians.  They LOVE coffee.  To them, it is an art, a fine wine, a part of life that does not just get them through the day, but they drink coffee as a 'part' of their day.  And even though I have been re-Americanized from my coffee tour experience throughout Italy, I still do take time, every now and then, to really appreciate the delicacies of coffee, thereby honoring this sensational beverage with its own post.

So for all you coffee drinkers out there, when you have a moment to take the time and really appreciate the hot drink that's you think is just meant to get you through the day, I highly suggest you do.  Of course, don't appreciate a cup of Folgers or Yuban, but a cup o' Joe that was made by a skilled barista or even your own hands if it was made with love.

By the way, the picture posted is one I took during the coffee tour.  Ciao!