Jackie and the Rains of Castamere

Isn't it great, when two things that you both love, but seemingly have nothing to do with each other, come together and the outcome is perfect. Don't you love it? Like, say, the great singing voice of the wonderful, talented, innocent Jackie Evancho, and something that comes from the great, dirty-sex-and-intrigues-filled TV series "Game of Thrones"?

The red lion of House Reyne confronts the golden lion of House Lannister. This image represents the events that the song "The Rains of Castamere" is about.

Happy Birthdays

It won't be all birthday posts as I hopefully continue this, but today is the birthday of not one, not two but at least four prominent people that I absolutely want to take the opportunity to mention, congratulate and write down some thoughts about.

Usually, it's ladies first, but today I'll go gents first, if only because it allows me to save the best for the last spot IMHO. I could also apply a saying we have in Germany, "Alter vor Schönheit", which translates to "age before beauty".

Here we go:

Dennis Quaid (60)

Sixty is a big birthday for sure. It also means he has a big career behind him, and hopefully also some ahead of him. But I won't discuss his whole filmography now, nor will I say anything about his marriage to Meg Ryan in the 90's, or remind anyone how it ended... I won't even state which of his performances is the best. I will only say for which role I will always remember him most, and I may be alone here. This clip is the closest I could find in a rather short time to my favorite quote from the 1989 movie "Great Balls of Fire":

By the way, Dennis Quaid was 35 when he played that role, but Jerry Lee Lewis is actually "only" 21 throughout most of the movie, as that is the age he was when he married Myra. Not that this makes it okay...

In Memoriam Kurt Cobain 5.4.1994-5.4.2014

20 years ago today, Kurt Cobain died from a self-inflicted gunshot (all conspiracy theories aside) at the age of 27. I should have been a fan back in the day, but unlike my peers I actually didn't even know Nirvana. I was a strange kid. I made up for that in my early twenties, when me and a friend got T-shirts made quoting him with "I hate myself and I want to die". Also stupid. Anyway, to honor Kurt Cobain's legacy on this special day, here is a clip of Nirvana performing one of my favorite songs by them for MTV: