Writing and Reading

You’re asking who this radiant girl is, where she’s from, how did she learn to sing so well, who’s that silent dude in the back playing guitar–all kinds of questions. And what a beautiful song! Beautiful words! Poetry. Sheer poetry.

It’s what I call a gem. A secret talent of the world. An undiscovered princess. Her name is Jennifer Chung. And she has apparently more beautiful pieces written and performed right on YouTube.

I love discovery. I love that people share their gifts with the world even without a Hollywood “status”. Check out her web site. It’s the real deal. She’s a true artist. In every sense of the word. She even has a Facebook, a MySpace, a blog. She’s a genuine article of pure talent, pure gift, pure passion for her gift.

And of course, thanks to networks like YouTube and the many others out there, those with these gifts–be it writing, music, dancing, anything, anything involving beauty of the arts–they can enrich the world without the paparazzi chasing them down or snapping way too many photos. They can remain these untainted, untouched gems, these gentle, sweet wonders we can appreciate so much. They inspire us. They nurture us. They feed our imaginations.

They help us to remember the real dream, the dream I always mention here: love your gift. Not just use it. Love it.

Regardless of what you think–whether it’s his religion, his height, his choice of women, what have you–Tom Cruise, in his career, has had some pretty sweet scenes with very strong dialogue. I personally liked Tom Cruise from the very beginning–”Risky Business”, seriously, that subway scene (God bless Rebecca de Mornay), “Top Gun”. He has done more than simply be a heartthrob, though. Dear Lord, the man was nominated for “Best Supporting Actor” once already. He does know how to act. He unfortunately doesn’t get many parts that showcase a ‘character’. He rather gets parts that simply fill a ‘role’ or a ‘niche’–especially involving action or science fiction (”Mission Impossible”, “War of the Worlds”, “Minority Report” etc etc.).

But he has had a few films that really made him shine from a character standpoint. Dialogue radiated beauty, whimsy, comedy, intensity. His facial expressions were golden. You could mute the TV, turning the film into a silent feature, and still follow him just by his emotion.

So here’s a collection, in my opinion, of some of his best work. Him alone. Forget the quality of the film or whatnot. I’m simply talking about the actor himself. This one’s for you, Maverick.

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“Jerry Maguire”

“A Few Good Men”

“Magnolia”