Thank you so very very much from the bottom of my heart for providing so much of the soundtrack of my life.
You will truly be missed.
And on your final resting day, I wish you peace and love eternal.
- S.
- Mood:
sad - Music:Harry Connick, Jr. - Honestly Now (Safety's just Danger...Out of Place) | Powered by Last.fm
So it seems I've finally reached the point of blogger's constipation. I have so much to say that nothing wants to come out, so here I sit. (There's an image.)
I would say that the ramped up frenzy of last year's election has left me with a sense of quiet. Now instead of comsuming mass amounts of CNN, MSNBC, and all the other newsy junk food, I have to face myself again....coming back to the same uncertainties that I managed to stave off for a period of time. That mirror gazing can be a bitch sometimes, but it's necessary I suppose.
Some other quick updates: So far I'm weathering the financial crisis OK, but I don't know how much longer the folks around me are going to be able to hold out. No less than 6 of my close family members have been out of work since last year, and I don't see things picking up any time soon. I'm wondering if I'm going to have to take in a few of them. We shall see.
I saw The Watchmen last week and really enjoyed the film. As a non-reader of graphic novels, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read and familiarize myself with the story prior to attending the movie, else I would have been very confused at times. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good rendering of a novel that had to be difficult to translate to film. I did find the music at times to be totally incongruous with what was happening onscreen, awesome soundtrack notwithstanding. (Thanks T-Rex. =)
My book challenge isn't going so well this year, probably because I seem to have less time to read and am tired all the time. I've also cut back on my TV viewing, so at the present time I have no idea what the latest hap is on Heroes, Supernatural, Psyche, or Ugly Betty. And I'm really not all that concerned.
If you wanna know where your flist has gone, they are all on FaceBook..or at least it seems that way. ::whistles innocently::
Grammar geek note: Last week I was accused of being a "gerund hater." :: Snort :: It's true, when proofing reviews, I tend to remove -ing verbs and replace them with straight present tense. But of all the things to be called...
A word to the stupid parents: Not to go all Bill Cosby on your ass, but if you name your child after a mixed drink or an alcoholic beverage, you
And last, to finish out a pretty pointless post, how about a good old awesomely awesome 80s video. Timeless, poptastic, goodness:
"Think about it, there must be higher love....without it, life is wasted time..."
- Mood: bored
- Music:"Higher Love" - Steve Winwood
Don Johnson is looking for a heartbeat y'all. Didya check out his superb facial acting skillz in the video?
Whoo chile!
So since she hit me with that slice of hot mess, I thought I'd return the favor to you dear flist and encourage you to respond in kind.
Post a cheesy video in the comments and we will rock and sway in a corner praying that mercy is granted to the evil-doers responsible for unleashing these products into the world.
Come on people, hit me with your best shot!
And because I can be absolutely evil myself at times, here's one for the road!
Yeah, I know....I'm climbing into my handbasket as I type.
- Mood: bored
It cracks me up how you can take 2 mediocre singers (at best) and throw them together in a video and have it be totally full of win simply because both said singers are sexy and confident as hell.
This video would be funny as hell if you replaced Adam Levine and Rihanna with someone say like...oh I don't know...Jack Black and Macy Gray.
Could you imagine Macy rolling around on that bed or prancing around in that Playboy bunny getup?
Comedy.Gold.
- Mood: exhausted
'"The Need to Be"
To forfill the need to be
Who am I in this world is all I ask
I can't pretend to be something I'm not
And I won't wear a mask
You've touched my face with love in your eyes
But will you touch my heart?
With the understanding that it takes to realize
I just can't play a part
There's the need to be true to myself
and make my own mistakes
And not to lean too hard on someone else
No matter what it takes
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
I'm not fool enough to ever think
That I could be the master of my fate
But it's up to me to choose my roads in life
Rocky may well be the ones I take
There's the need to be something more than
Just a reflection of a man
I can't survive in someone's shadow
I need my own spot to stand
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
So if you're sure it's love
Just be sure it's love
For this thing called me
'Cause I am what I am and
I have the need to be
- Music:"The Need to Be" - Gladys Knight and the Pips
To compensate for my lack of blog inspiration I thought it would be cool to blog my favorite things, sans the Oprah Winfrey yells of "You get a car, you get a car, and YOU GET A CAR!!" After all, though I may temporarily be deficient in my passion for lj-ing, I still gotta live, right? And I can't deny that LJ sustains me.
So to ease my antsy spirit and to appease my compulsive need to list things, I present to you some of my favorite things:
Now tell me my dear friends..what are some of your favorite things?
- Mood: sleepy
- Music:"My Favorite Things" - John Coltrane
Prince is set to have a hip replacement.
The 49-years-old singer will reportedly undergo surgery to remove and replace his hip with a titanium joint. A source told Britain's News of the World newspaper, "For months Prince, who always puts on the most energetic shows, has been complaining of pain every time he moves.
"He is totally crushed because he knows he will never be the same again."
Source
I can't get over this. I mean, this is PRINCE! What's next? Jon Bon Jovi doing informercials for Colonial Penn Life Insurance? Madonna decking herself out in her own signature line of Medi-Alert bracelets?
QUICK! Sting has fallen and HE CAN'T GET UP!! Get the medical mobility scooter catalog, STAT!!!
Just...cot dammit!
Whhhhyeeee!!!!?
::sigh::
It's not easy watching the once young and sexy grow old. I'm not handling this well at all.
ETA: Now I have this irresistible urge to go rent "Purple Rain."
Great flick. WORST. ACTING. EVAH.
- Mood: crushed
"You Are My Sonia"
ETA: Okay, so somehow the entire bottom half of my post just disappeared. Dunno wassup with that, but piss on LJ for depriving the world of my genius! :-/
- Mood:
pleased - Music:"Walk Away from Love" - David Ruffin
Leave her alone they said
Separated by fools
Who don't know what love is yet
It's clear from the opening lines that this song can go someplace creepy way fast.
Recorded in 1980, "Into the Night" has the distinction of making the Billboard Top 20 twice...once in 1980 and again in 1989. Most of you are probably too young to remember this song when it was a "radio hit." I myself only really know it as an adult contemporary standard and until recently never really paid much attention to the lyrics, which is a shame because the emotion of the song is compelling.
I found this fan video on youtube for "Into the Night." It is appropriately 80s inspired and I can totally see it as the "official" video for the song.
ETA: Thanks for the recs! The iPod is stocked with all kinds of new goodies.
- Mood: mellow
- Music:"Into the Night" - Benny Mardones
The Time!
The Grammys!
::Passed out from Squee::
(To be updated as the show goes on)
Is it just me, or does nothing underscore spiritual messages in song like a black choir?
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Cyndi Lauper = MUCH MUCH LOVE!!
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I never would have thunk we'd still be seeing Jason Bateman outside of the 80's sitcom universe.
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I love Kanye's quirky ass.
God bless him!
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Keely Smith/Kid Rock/Dave Koz
equals
Most awkward Grammy Moment EVER!!
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Oh shit!! Herbie "effing" Hancock FTW!!!!!
YES!!! (AND YES WE CAN!!)
Don't burn the place down Kanye!!
- Mood: excited
awake
It was hotter than hell in that theater, but what a great show. Lisette opened for him and I'd like to say she was great...but I didn't get there early enough to check her out. Oh well. Did I mention that Lenny was WONDERFUL??!
The Set (in no particular order)
Bring it On
Love Revolution
I'll Be Waiting
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Fly Away
Again
Mr. Cab Driver
American Woman
Always on the Run
Let Love Rule
Lady
Where Are We Runnin'?
Dig In
Stillness of Heart
Great sound. Lenny was very enthusiastic and very complimentary to Detroit and its musical legacy. He was clearly driving his security detail batty as he often reached into the audience and at one point just hopped down off the stage and into the crowd. Schweet.
What he didn't perform:
( So many tears we've cried... )
Apparently, Lenny has this thing on his MySpace page where you can log on 24 hours before the tour hits your town and find out where you can get a limited number of tix set aside for his fans. I get the impression if you manage to figure out the secret location, you get super close to the stage and you also get to meet him after the show. If I had known I'd have been all over that.
Other things of note:
- This was my sister-in-law's very first "rock" concert. Ha...newbie!
- Lenny took us all to church during "Let Love Rule." When he asked that everyone hold hands I thought the guy next to me would die of repulsion...then afterward he acted as if he didn't want to let go of my hand. Weird.
- After the spiritual coming together of "Let Love Rule," my goofy-ass brother quipped "...and the Bi-Racial children shall heal the world!!! BARACK 2008!!!!" BWAHAAA HAAAAAAA!! (The stupid...my brother...he haz it.)
- Why did I start thinking about my son's biracialness after that statement?
- There was a lot of Aqua-Net sustained 80's hair. Faaaaaaaailure!!!!
:-)
- Mood: exhausted
- Music:"Again" - Lenny Kravitz
::phone rings::
Me: "Hello?"
Mom: "Do I have a big mouth?"
Me: ...
Mom: "I mean do I always let the cat out of the bag?"
Me: "Uhh....yeah."
Mom: "Awww, man!"
Long story short, office gossip came back to bite her in the backside. That's one of the dangers of working with your spouse. That and the fact that neither one of you seem to be able to keep your mouths shut around your office cohorts. It really sux when tension is already running high as a result of job insecurity.
Poor Mom. She just can't help herself. But in her defense, she didn't act alone.
So for all you big mouths this jam's for you! Something else you can run and go tell your crew!
- Mood: slightly amused
- Music:"Big Mouth" - Whodini
Needless to say, post holiday sluggishness has left me feeling kind pudgy. I'm avoiding the scale like its coated in Anthrax and I'm thanking the sweet Lord above that all my clothes seem to still fit....for now. I won't even get into how bad my eating choices have been over the past few months. Time to do something before things spiral out of control.
So this evening I purchased:
Awww yeah!
This shoe works with an iPod nano. You put a sensor into the shoe and it measures distance, pace, time elapsed and calories burned. The data is transmitted to a receiver on the iPod nano for real-time audio feedback.
The only-est sucky part is that the software only works with iPod nano, and I have a regular big-daddy iPod.
Me thinks I'll be hitting eBay and the treadmill very, very soon.
Either way, my ass is getting back on that treadmill.
Lately, I've an overwhelming need to run...
and run...
and run......
- Mood: motivated
- Music:"Angel" - Aerosmith
'Cause I'm not one to back down from a challenge!
1. Open your Winamp/iTunes.
2. Put the shuffle-mode on. Hit play.
3. Find a picture of the first 20 artists. If the same artist comes again, skip.
4. Have your flist guess who the artists are.
*Note - I cheated just a smidge because I couldn't find pictures for Richard Darbyshire and Tavares, which is just as well because I doubt if I myself would be able to identify them by their photos. I also did 21 artists, 'cause I'mma rebel like that.
( ETA the answers! )
Meme ganked from
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
malicat
- Mood:
accomplished - Music:"Respect Yourself" - The Staples Singers
Why do women on TV and in the movies hardly ever carry a purse? Sometimes when I'm walking around town or in a store and feeling slightly less than totally fabulous, often times it's because I'm lugging the
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Why are you supposed to wash raw meat before you cook it, but you don't have to wash ground meat? Every time I ask someone this they look at me like I'm nuts or something.
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What's the difference between lemon juice and lemon extract? I'm pretty sure I know the difference and I could easily look it up, but I want to know what you all think.
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I was thinking the other day that Bobby and Whitney probably had some of the same conversations that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have:
Marc/Whitney - "Honey, you're a pretty decent entertainer, but you can't sing for shit."
Bobby/Jennifer - "Whut???????"
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Am I the ONLY one on the planet who thinks that Carson Daly looks JUST LIKE Jimmy Neutron?
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- Mood: calm
Here is a list of the first ten songs shuffled on my iPod:
"It's Not Too Beautiful" - The Beta Band, Another Late Night
"What I Am" - Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, Shooting Rubber Bands at the Stars
"Happy" - Brandy, Never Say Never
"Si Tu No Estas" - DLG, Dark Latin Groove
"My Old School" - Steely Dan, A Decade of Steely Dan
"Blue Mood" - Swing Out Sister, It's Better to Travel
"Everything I Have Is Yours" - Kevin Mahogany, My Romance
"What Kind of Fool" - Barbara Streisand, Greatest Hits and More
"No Hay Nada Que Perder" - Jon Secada, Amor
"I Wonder Where You Are Tonight" - Rose Royce, Greatest Hits
"There'll Be a Jubilee" - Dinah Washington, In the Land of Hi-Fi
"Until You Come Back to Me" - Aretha Franklin, 30 Greatest Hits (Disc 2)
What shuffles on your .mp3 player?
- Music:"Tell Me on a Sunday" - Bernadette Peters
That happened to me yesterday while listening to the radio. A local DJ kinda does his own version of "Behind the Music" and everyday he features an artist (usually R&B/Soul) and tells their story. Yesterday was Michael Jackson day.
Well, -eff what you heard. Michael Jackson was and will always be the man. He's weirder than a duck on a skateboard, but he defined a musical era and back in the '80s he showed the world what it really meant to be a "superstar."
As expected, the DJ started off in Gary, Indiana. We get some interesting tidbits about MJ growing up and how he came to loathe his appearance so. (I guess no one ever told him that kids/people can be cruel.) He gets to the solo stuff. A few classics were played from the "Off the Wall" album (THE definitive Michael Jackson record and anyone with a hint of a clue knows it.) Then we got to the enormously successful "Thriller" album and the song "P.Y.T."
Of all the songs on that album, I've always regarded PYT (Pretty Young Thing) as probably the most innocent song on the album. "Billie Jean" had an adult subject matter. "Wanna Be Startin' Something" was MJ's way of calling out suckas and telling them to just "bring it!" "The Girl Is Mine" was about a love triangle. But PYT was light, sweet, and innocent...until today when I really HEARD these lyrics for the first time:
Where did you come from lady
And ooh won't you take me there
Right away won;t you baby
Tenderoni you've got to be
Spark my nature
Sugar fly with me
Don't you know now
Is the perfect time
We can make it right
Hit the city lights
Then tonight ease the lovin' pain
Let me take you to the max
(Chorus)
Nothing can stop this burnin'
Desire to be with you
Gotta get to you baby
Won't you come, it's emergency
Cool my fire yearnin'
Honey come set me free
Don't you know now is the perfect time
We can dim the lights
Just to make it right
In the night
Hit the lovin' spot
I'll give you all that I've got
(Chorus)
::head spins::
Did Michael Jackson just spend the better part of that song first talking about his erection (spark my nature), and then relieving his "blue ball" situation (ease the lovin' pain) by sexing up his girl and then promising to give her an orgasm (let me take you to the (cli)max)???
Then he further drives his point home (excuse the pun) at the end of the second verse by craftily crooning about hitting the g-spot and tapping that ass until he's completely spent?
WHAT??!!!
I never knew Mike had it in him. I can't believe our parents let us get away with singing that song (but I'm glad we did :-). It just all kind of hit me today in a blast of awareness and it caught me off guard a little. The gloved one wasn't as innocent as we all took him to be, and while I'm kinda glad I feel, well, sorta...tricked but in a good way...if that makes any sense.
Now I feel like I need to go back and really listen to all of the albums of my childhood. I need to find out what else I've been misinterpreting over the years.
Weird.
ETA: This song takes on a downright creepy tone when you consider the fact that Janet and LaToya are the "PYTs" singing backup on the track.
::shudder::
- Mood: sleepy
Damn Britney, could you have at least TRIED to act like you wanted to be there? And if you must perform in swimwear, try a one piece next time. Thank you. Gimme Less indeed.
Sarah Silverman...I still can't decide if she's funny or offensive. I'm leaning towards the latter.
I really liked Alicia Keys' performance. The only thing that would have made it better is if George Michael himself had joined her for a duet of "Freedom." I don't care what anyone says, I still love him.
Chris Brown....yeah..just Damn. You kick ass.
Rihanna, girl you cute, but you need a voice transplant.
I loved Nelly Furtado's look. I may try to pull off some version of the tam/beret look this fall.
Shia Lebeouf has grown up to be a nice looking young man. He'll still always be that kid from "Even Stevens" though. That said, I think he has one of the coolest names in show business for a guy.
That Southern Comfort party looked to be bananas. That's the first time in a long time that I've seen something on television and totally wished I was there. Speaking of which...
Timbaland was looking awfully beefy. Must be part of that "rappers gettin' buff for hip hop" movement. It's funny to see a dude all puffed up like that, but still have a big ole' butt. Tee.
And I think Justin Timberlake is due for a black girlfriend if only temporarily. I'm just saying.
::nominates self::
Kanye West vs. 50 Cent? Nope sorry. Not buying into it. Do not want. (Though I hope KW does outsell $mall change.)
Jamie Foxx, sit down, shut up. Thank you.
I thought Beyonce was going to have a wardrobe malfunction, but thank goodness the sticky tape held. I swear that neckline was a breath away from showing her nipple.
Puffy looked jealous as hell that he wasn't up there performing during the show's finale. I don't know why, but I found that kinda amusing.
Finally, I can't believe that Kid Rock and Tommy Lee are still fighting over skank-ass Pamela Anderson. I mean srsly? WTF?
...but i hope Kid Rock kicked his ass, 'cause for whatever reason, we so love him in the D.
:-P
- Mood: exhausted
Today is the "New Edition" story, and I'm in seventh heaven.
New Edition was my absolute favoritest group growing up. What you 'NSYNC and BSB fans know about that? Before Jodeci/Silk/Shai/Troop and all those other R & B boy bands, there was Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph, and Johnny.
And to think that Murray Wright HS booed Johnny off the stage in '88. SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
Bobby was a'ight, but that was a happy day for me the day I found out that Johnny had joined the group. I'd pay to hear him sing the menu at McDonald's. Love his voice (when he's not ovedoing the preachy thing).
I saw them perform in '88 and again in '97. The concert in '97 could possibly have been the worse concert I have ever attended. The animosity in the group was so obvious and you could tell they didn't even want to be on stage with each other. It was an uncomfortable thing to watch unfold and I really kinda felt sorry for them. I was certain that would be the last of that group, but somehow they are still together for the most part albeit alternately with/without Bobby.
Earlier this year when I tried to get NE tickets, I was soooo shut down. I couldn't believe that no one had tickets less than $75! It was so crazy and here I was feeling a little silly for still loving them so much. Apparently I'm not the only one.
Oh well, I know there are some pretty screwy personalities in that group and they have had their issues but they will always be a part of my wonder years. I can't wait for part 2 of their story tomorrow morning.
New Edition will always have a place in my heart.
- Mood:
nostalgic - Music:"You're Not My Kind of Girl" - New Edition
