I Am Celine Dion: A Review

I watched “I Am Celine Dion” the other night.

We’re all familiar with Celine.  You would have had to have been born yesterday, and I mean, YESTERDAY to not be familiar with her work.

If you turned on any popular radio station from, oh I don’t know, 1990 to the early 2000’s you would have heard her music.

She was everywhere.  Nine of her songs reached No.1, none bigger than the song from the movie “Titanic”, “My Heart Will Go On”.

The documentary rightly documents her songs and successful career, but the purpose of the project is to reveal just what she’s been going through over the last few years. 

The singer has been diagnosed with “Stiff Person Syndrome”, I know, I’d never heard of it either until this this.  Possibly one of the reasons is because it affects approximately 1 in 1 million people.  It wasn’t lost on me as I was watching, about the same odds as someone having her talent.

It’s at this point that I feel I need to say this.  Doing what I have done for my career, being a disc jockey means that I have played thousands of songs, hundreds of times, including hers. In doing that, I disembody the artist.  I care about the record, when do the vocals begin, how does it end? The documentary opened my eyes to just how good of an entertainer she was on stage.  I never questioned the talent, the magnificent voice.  I didn’t know that she had the stage presence shown in the documentary.  She was wonderful. Much of the documentary is what you would expect the sadness of someone with that much talent and ability being cut down in her prime.  And there’s a fair amount of that, and she is a very sympathetic person.  You really do feel bad that this is what she’s going through.

But then, near the end of the documentary, and I think purposefully done by the team that created this, you witness her go through one of her episodes.  Some what to call it a seizure, her sports medicine expert calls it a spasm.  Apparently, when her brain is overstimulated, the spasms can come on.  In the documentary it began simply as a spasm in her foot, which then takes over her entire body.  To say it was uncomfortable to watch is a huge understatement.  I don’t know if you like her music or not, to watch a human being having to go through that is something that will stick with you for a long time.  Have you ever had a cramp or a “charlie horse”?  Just imagine your entire body cramping up.  I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.  She agreed to continue filming for what reason I’m unsure.  I know the exposure will help those suffering from this dreaded disease, but it is, again, 1 in a million.

I do recommend that you watch, if for no other reason than to count your lucky stars, that you don’t suffer from this disease.

I do think differently about her after watching.  I have a deeper appreciation for her talent and a deeper appreciation for her as a human being, trying to go to battle each day with this foe.

I Am Celine Dion is available on Amazon Prime

I’ve been an Amazon Prime member for a few years now. And I’m still learning about the benefits and perks. For $14.99 per month or $139 per year, members can get free shipping on all orders. Subscribers join for the benefit of fast and free delivery on millions of items.

You may even be familiar with some of its other such as access to Prime Day deals and Prime Video. But other perks come with the membership that fly under the radar. What are the other benefits of a Prime membership?

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Streaming on Prime Video has been a game changer for me. I became a fan of shows like The Boys and Fallout through the platform. You can watch those, and a ton of other shows and movies, on your computer or the go with the Prime Video app, and download select titles to your iPhone, iPad, or Android device. My favorite thing to do is download movies or tv shows on the app before a flight and watch while I’m in the air.

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While those are some of my personal favorites, more benefits often get missed by members. Take a look at some of the other benefits that come with an Amazon Prime membership below.

Amazon is a great place to stock up on groceries and other essentials without having to leave the house. As a Prime member, you could also be saving some money the next time you want to order in for dinner. I didn't know that you can get a Grubhub+ subscription free for a year with your Amazon Prime membership. With this perk, delivery fees are waived on orders over $12, and service fees will be lower overall. If you're curious about how it works, take a look here.

Did you know that Prime members get photo and video storage as part of their membership? I found on by watching a video on social media. Amazon Prime members get unlimited full-resolution photo storage and five gigabytes of video storage with their subscription. This is a handy perk too. When using other storage platforms, you often run into the issue of having to pay for additional storage. I happen to take a lot of pictures so, this is a bonus.

If you have expecting parents in your life, let them know about this one. Prime members can snag a baby registry box. Select members can get a free welcome box when they create a baby registry for more than 10 unique items and make $10 worth of purchases. Make sure to read the fine print. Shipping and tax don't count toward the amount, and neither do gift card purchases.

Prime membership already offers a direct way to save on your purchases by providing free shipping. The subscription also has free two-day shipping available on eligible items. But one perk that's often missed is cash back with a co-branded Visa credit card. The Prime Visa card is a fee-free card. Members earn 5 percent cash back on Amazon, Whole Foods, Amazon Grocery, and Chase Travel; 2 percent back on gas, restaurants, and commuting costs and 1 percent everywhere else. Cardholders can often get 6 percent cash back if they opt for slower shipping and 10 percent on select sale items. Some users will also receive an Amazon gift card worth up to $100 when they enroll.

Gaming anyone? Access to Prime Gaming is just another one of the perks that comes with your membership. Just by being a Prime member, you can get your hands on exclusive in-game loot and free monthly PC games.It also includes a free monthly Twitch subscription that you can use to support your favorite streamers. I'm not much of a gamer but now, I want to look into this a bit more.