Bigger than Chruch and I Still Got to Sing

This year on Christmas Eve me and three of my siblings ventured out to Longwood Gardens instead of attending church services, and I have to say, the vastness of the outdoors, the artistic splendor of the displays, the quiet reflection of the snow, and the exhilaration of the cold, made the whole experience very holy and very festive!

I'm so glad we decided to change things up.  At times we even separated and ventured down a path or two alone allowing for some tranquility and then through the magic of cell phones, would meet back up.  My favorite part of attending church on Christmas Eve is singing. My mediocre voice miraculously becomes pleasing when singing hymns and carols.  And such was the case at Longwood Gardens where we were invited into the Conservatory to sing along with their historic organ and organist.

Best of all, I got some really good nighttime shots on my camera.

Here's a link to the complete album on facebook

10 Best Films I (Tinsel & Tine) Saw in 2011

Cross-over post - at the time of posting this list, I had wanted to keep my commentary of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and bartering for skiwear at the top of Tinsel & Tine, so I posted my year-end 10 Best Films of 2011 here on my musing's site.

By this time last year, I was in accordance with the rest of the film community and was excited by such films as The Fighter, The King's Speech, Black Swan and Toy Story 3.  This season, there's really nothing that stellar.  Although admittedly, I've yet to see Ides of March and probably will never see War Horse.

So Here's it is - the order is a combination of enjoyment and craft:

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2. Martha Marcy May Marlene
3. X-Men:First Class
4. The Help
5. Limitless
6. Shame
7. Circumstance
8. Toast
9. Kinyarwanda
10. Win Win

Although my list may be somewhat eclectic, these were the films that immediately came to mind when I sat down to do a top 10 list for T & T.  Each of the above films has a combination of seamless storytelling and characters that just struck a chord within me.

Runners up were: MoneyBall, I Will Follow, Contagion and Midnight in Paris.