Easing Back Into This...

HAPPY WEDNESDAY, EVERYONE!
And welcome back to 'LOTRWA'! I know - it's been a long time since anything substantial has been placed here on the blog. But we are gearing up to pack the van and head out of here on the East Coast leg of our tour...so I figured I should start gearing up to get back in the swing of blog-things. We leave out on tour Friday morning, January 13th, at the Kennedy Center! And we are headed for Connecticut. And from there, we zoom back and forth, up and down, and all around the East Coast! We will PROBABLY be coming to a town near you (IF...naturally...you are ON the East Coast).

And now, for some bits of HOUSE CLEANING:

1. IF you are looking for our tour schedule for the East Coast (or for the entire 2005-2006 tour), please just click HERE and you will be taken to it. Enjoy! See you somewhere soon!

2. I need to give a HUGE shout out here to my friend, BRETT SCHWALBACH! Brett is a systems engineer at Washington Speakers Bureau, where I used to work. (And I looked through everything I have and could NOT find a picture of Brett to PROPERLY thank him!) Anyway - I have been having some computer problems the past month or so - and I took it in to Brett on Friday of last week and he got it ALL fixed for me! I mean, he got some AMAZING things taken care of....taught me a few things I needed to know....and got me all set for 5 more months of BLOGGING for all of you! SO - please, PLEASE either go to the WSB website and find Brett's email address and send him a THANK YOU for taking care of this - OR just place a comment on here and thank him, and I will make sure he gets all of your thanks! He fixed it for me - but really, in the end, it goes back to ALL of you who are able to read the blog because of Brett!
THANKS BRETT!

3. Il Divo, pretty much my favorite...um...4-guy classical and yet pop international group (ummmm...no clue how to REALLY describe them) has a new album coming out...called ANCORA. It looks like some new stuff and some old stuff...all rolled into one. AND - they will be in DC on February 3rd. Can someone go and record it for me? Thanks!

4. My friend, Josh Campbell, who is currently sailing on a ship in the Mexican Riveria, singing his heart out 2 shows a day or something like that, asked me to compile a list of my top movies of 2005. Because it has become a fun thing to share, I would now like to offer up my list of MY Top 15 Movies of 2005 (in no particular order...) If you don't agree, start your own blog and put up your own films. Any questions, let me know....

MATT'S TOP 15 FILMS OF 2005
CRASH just watch the movie and i hope you'll understand why.
THE CHORUS one of the most charming French movies I've ever seen. A TRUE delight.
DEAR FRANKIE the first film of 2005 to really 'mess me up' - which means I couldn't stop crying afterwards.
MAD HOT BALLROOM this is what a GOOD documentary is all about. Fun. Uplifting. Maybe even enchanting.
THE FAMILY STONE this movie was the LAST film of 2005 to really 'mess me up'. Bad love stories - amazing FAMILY story.
BATMAN BEGINS simply the best Batman movie EVER.
CINDERELLA MAN just great.
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS evidently, a year for me and documentaries. another one that i loved.
MR. & MRS. SMITH NOT at all what I was expecting...I didn't even think I'd like it...and I loved it.
PROOF a great adaptation, and some AMAZING performances.
IN HER SHOES I mean, Toni Collette...but more than that. I loved the RELATIONSHIPS in this movie.
CHICKEN LITTLE whimsical, fun, hysterical...AND Joan Cusack. Everything I want computer animation to be.
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE i don't care what people said, the film was beautiful and the story/performaces were grand.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA i loved this book - and i wanted to love the film..and i DID! Proves that Rob Marshall can REALLY direct.
MUNICH not only an amazing film...but i'm going to be cheesy and say it's an IMPORTANT one, as well.

5. Just for fun, I made him a list of the WORST 15 movies of 2005. Same rules apply.

Elektra; Son Of The Mask; Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Dangerous; Fever Pitch; The Longest Yard; War Of The Worlds; Dark Waters; Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalow; Red Eye; A History Of Violence; Just Like Heaven; The Weather Man; Derailed; RENT; Madagascar

6. I'm addicted to a strange new website/game/THING. It's at the site for My Heritage, an on line family history-type thing. (Click on the words MY HERITAGE above and it will take you to the starting point.) Basically, you enter a picture of YOU and it scans your face in the picture and tells you what celebrities you look like...sort of. Somehow, it scans your face and says you respresent Mr. X by ____%. And it can be men or women - it looks at the shape of your face in the picture and how it compares to the pictures they have of celebrities in their system. AND DO NOT WORRY - this isn't that stupid thing where a monkey pops out and screams at you. To prove it, I have added some of my results below...for your perusal....and entertainment! Since you all have some free time, I'm sure, check it out and let me know below who YOU resemble and what percent! It's FUN!

So here is the picture of myself that I used.

So on this picture, my highest likeness was a woman - Kirsten Dunst. 57%. (She actually shows up on a few of my pics...different pics of her, too. Weird.)

Soccer Great DAVID BECKHAM! 54%! (he ALSO shows up a few times...which means I am much hotter than I thought....)

Michael J. Fox anyone? 42% - kind of sketchy likeness-territory.

Lucille Ball? 41%. (Also tells me I might be FUNNIER than I originally thought, as well.)

What do you MEAN who is that? It's Spanish Formula One Racecar driver, Fernando Alonso. And we resemble each other 40%.

AND FINALLY....

King Gustav V. King of Sweden? Another 40%! (This thing MUST be right - I'm SWEDISH!)

So check it out - changing up your pictures, with different angles and what not, also changes up your percentarges and your list. HOURS of fun, people! I actually can't stop! And if I have pictures of many of YOU, I have already played around with yours, as well. But do it yourself.

7. And finally, a quick recap of Christmas with the Anderson Clan in Boise Idaho! What a time we had! Highlights were definitely: THE KIDS; Sister-in-law Christy's CHEESECAKE POPS; watching my niece, Samanta, play basketball; Christmas Eve and DDR; movies movies movies; hanging out with Natalie; tracking Santa on NORAD with the kids; lots of food; sleeping in; Korean food; visits to Old Chicago; and just KICKIN' IT for about 2 weeks! (ON - and if you were wondering...the trip home had NO delays, NO bumps, NO travel vouchers!) SO - enjoy a photo collection of our holidays!

A Collection of Anderson Fun at Christmas 2005!

WELCOME BACK, EVERYONE!

G