Tag: Titanic

What’s the Score?

Among the televised game shows I remember watching as a kid was one called Name That Tune.  The version I watched wasn’t the original but it was the most successful, running from 1974-1981.  Contestants competed for cash prizes by guessing the name of a song from a sound bite performed by the live band.  The appeal of Name That Tune was the ability to play the game yourself while you watched (like you can with Jeopardy).  But there was one genre of music Name That Tune didn’t tap into very often: film scores.

Here’s my question of the day.  Name the last movie you saw where you also remember the music that accompanied the film.  Titanic?  Okay, but I’m not talking about soundtracks made up of popular songs you’d hear on Spotify (sorry, Celine) but rather instrumental scores where the music is tied to particular scenes of the story.  Here, listen to the following sound bite and see if you can name the movie.  Bonus points if you can picture the scene where the music was played. (scroll to the bottom for the answer)

Maybe your brain doesn’t associate movies with music the way mine does, but to demonstrate this acuity it took me no time at all to come up with a dozen of my favorite film scores; instrumentals so memorable I instantly recall the movie.  Some, like the one I teased above, won Academy Awards (for “Best Original Score”).  Others on my list weren’t even nominated… but maybe should have been.

Speaking of Academy Award winners, perhaps examples will help you “hear that tune”.  The Best Original Score in 1965 was for The Sound of Music, primarily original songs with lyrics but several instrumental turns as well.  The winner in 1973 was for The Sting, in which Scott Joplin’s ragtime piano tunes played the major role.  The winner in 1975 was for Jaws, and I wonder who can’t hear that threatening theme whenever they picture a man-eating shark.  The 1977 winner?  Star Wars, scored by John Williams, who created the music for dozens of blockbuster films. 1990? Dances With Wolves by John Barry, another giant of the world of film scores. The list goes on and on.

As for my own list of favorites you’ll have to be a little more patient.  I’ll include them – one at a time – as I give updates on the construction of my LEGO Neuschwanstein Castle over the next several months.  If you’re wondering what movie soundtracks and a German castle have in common, I refer back to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang of course, with scenes filmed at Neuschwanstein.  The story is a vivid childhood memory start to finish but so is the music.  Trust me, for the number of times I’ve seen the film I can “name that scene” for just about every piece of the score.

LEGO Neuschwanstein Castle – Update #1 (read about the start of this project in Fit for a (Fairy Tale) King)

23 bags of pieces + 3 “orphans”

You’d think the construction of a castle would begin with the cornerstone.  With the LEGO model you’d be wrong.  We’re moving mountains instead.  King Ludwig already had the Bavarian Alps at his disposal but we have build them from scratch before they’re crowned with his creation.  Good thing this structure isn’t full-size or I’d be renting some serious earthmoving equipment!

LEGO “Alps”

With Bags 1 and 2 (of 23 bags of pieces) we got our hands dirty piling up dirt, rock, and other rather undefined landscape to create a mountaintop.  Well, one-third of a mountaintop or so.  If the next few bags represent the other two-thirds I’m not gonna an exciting update for you next week. At least the pieces snapped together smoothly.  As with all LEGO models I’ve built, there were moments where I thought LEGO left out a piece, and other moments where I backed up a step or two to correct the construction.  One change I’ve noticed from previous models: LEGO puts the tiniest pieces into paper “baglets”, which I’m not a fan of.  Those little bags aren’t transparent, so you don’t always know when a piece gets stuck way down in the corner.

“Baglet” of the tiniest pieces

The model’s instruction manual – which henceforth shall be called the “tome of construction” – includes a few teasers about the real castle.  Neuschwanstein has secret passageways!  It also has “ingenious” inventions of its time, like modern toilets, central heating, and an electric call system for all of the servants who never spent a moment inside the walls.  If any of these details are worth seeing before I “close in” the castle, you can bet I’ll be snapping a few photos for your viewing pleasure.  Until next week!

Accompanying soundtrack: Mary Poppins .  Did the magical nanny really make my list of favorite film scores?  No she didn’t (not even for a spoonful of sugar), but I couldn’t find Chitty Chitty Bang Bang isn’t on Spotify and had Dick Van Dyke songs on the brain so… I went with Bert the chimney sweep instead.

Running build time: 44 minutes.  Leftover pieces: 4.  

“Name the movie” audio answer: Chariots of Fire (during the scene where several runners clad in white jog barefoot on the beach).

Some content sourced from, IMDb.com, “the Internet Movie Database”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.

Once in a Red Moon

I try to keep my blog topics timely, inspired by the come-hither headlines of my news feed, shouting, Click me! or No, click ME!  But it’s not often – once in a blue moon, in fact – where I talk about what happened last week and what happens next week inside of the same topic. The calendar positions us perfectly today to do just that. So let’s talk rubies.

My first introduction to the four “precious gems” was probably when I started going to the movies.  Diamonds Are Forever was as much about the title jewels as it was about James Bond.  Romancing the Stone – the first movie my wife and I ever saw together – was a swashbuckling pursuit of a giant emerald in South America.  The “Heart of the Ocean” pendant from Titanic was the biggest sapphire I’d ever seen (until someone reminded me it was actually a blue diamond).  And rubies, of course, became something magical through Dorothy’s red slippers in The Wizard of Oz.

The “Star of Fura” ruby

Last week, the largest ruby ever mined – 55.22 carats – came to the auction block at Sotheby’s.  For a cool $35 million it could’ve been yours.  Named the Estrela de Fura – Portuguese for the Mozambique mine where it was discovered – the “Star of Fura” was twice as big in its native form a year ago, then cut down and polished to the glistening red rock you see here.

Rubies aren’t made to be broken but world records are, and this one was shattered.  The previous largest ruby, known as  The Sunrise, was “only” half as big (25.59 carats).  To me, The Sunrise looks about as big as a red M&M.  The Estrela de Fura looks like a strawberry.  The most expensive strawberry in the world, that is.

Green?  Make that red!

If rubies are your thing, keep an eye on Mozambique.  Ruby mining is relatively new to this country in the south of Africa, with the first significant discovery of the gems made in 2009.  Less than fifteen years later we have the record-setting Estrela de Fura.  Surely an even bigger ruby can’t be far behind.

Moving on.  This week begins the month of July (and the second half of 2023) which means we have several reasons to see red.  America’s Independence Day includes a lot of red, whether the flag or the fireworks.  Sunbathers will see the color on their skin more often than they’d care to.  Strawberries are ripe and in abundance.  The month’s zodiac sign is cancer (the crab) and crabs are often red.  And July’s birthstone is, of course, the ruby.

Now’s a good time for some ruby trivia, the fun facts you most likely don’t already know.  The first one is my favorite for your next social gathering:

  1. Rubies are actually sapphires by definition (all mined from  the same crystalline form of aluminum oxide known as “corundum”).  In other words, rubies are simply rarer, red-colored sapphires.
    Don’t touch!
  2. Rubies have symbolized power and protection throughout human history, as with decorated warriors in battle (or slippered Dorothy in the Land of Oz).
    “The Hope”
  3. You’ve heard of the (blue) Hope Diamond but how about the (red) Hope Ruby?  The Hope is 32 carats, cradled in a ring and highlighted with just a few diamonds.  Same name, yes, but different gem, color, and setting.
  4. The most desirable (read: costly) rubies have a hint of blue in them, which contributes to the rich deep color known as “pigeon’s blood” red.
  5. A 10-carat ruby is typically more expensive than a comparably sized diamond.  Why?  Supply (and demand).  You just don’t find as many large rubies as you do diamonds.
Red sapphires, aka “rubies”

So there you have it: everything you need to know about rubies just in time for the month we celebrate them.  I’d be remiss (translation: “in trouble”) if I didn’t mention my wife’s birthday, which is next week as well.  Yes, her birthstone is the ruby, and “darn it all” I had the perfect gift idea if I’d only known about last week’s Estrela de Fura auction sooner.  These opportunities come along but once in a red moon.  Sorry honey, I need to be a little more on the ball.  Guess I’ll hang onto our $35M for next year’s birthday present.

Some content sourced from the CNN.com article, “Largest ruby ever to come to auction sells…”, and Wikipedia, “the free encyclopedia”.