John Lennon would have been 69 today... Happy Birthday, John! I wonder what he'd say about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize on his birthday... maybe, "Give Peace a Chance?"
Brilliant songbird - perhaps the greatest inspiration to me musically. I loved his and Yoko's idea of bagism and write about it in my own book, The Mystic Artist.
You'll truly enjoy One Day at a Time, a book which captures the mood and brilliance of John Lennon in the seventies.
The music world has been devoid of imagination and colour for many years now... that's my opinion. But Lady Gaga has burst on the scene with a fresh new talent that isn't just sparkles, makeup, bangles and a great figure... she's got soul and character.
Saturday night she performed her hit, "Paparazzi," on SNL - and more... she wowed us on her piano interlude; she radiated talent in her singing and performance art... she reminded me of an old friend I once knew... "Rita" who performed in my rock opera a million years ago... and Rita was amazingly fresh and BOLD. See the Lady here now.
I was a very small child when I first heard Peter, Paul & Mary... but their songs were always a big part of the soundtrack of my life. How could they not be? With the passing of Mary Travers today, I had to stop and remember how much I loved their songs... and remember the beauty of her voice, her gorgeous long blonde hair, those perfect harmonies... "Lemon Tree," "If I Had a Hammer," "Puff the Magic Dragon," "Blowin' in the Wind"... and such a wonderful lifetime of songs. RIP, Mary!
I didn't know Patrick Swayze, but he seemed to be a rare bird in the Hollywood scene - a sweet man whose ego didn't get the best of him (he was supposedly quoted as saying, "Good-looking people turn me off. Myself included") who fought to the end with the desire to stay focused on his craft, even refusing pain killing drugs. His smiling eyes always reflected something indescribable and I believe he chose to LIVE to the end rather than to spend his last days dying. And, amazingly, he was married to the same woman since 1975!
He's quoted as saying, "I have a great deal of faith in faith; if you believe something strongly enough, it becomes true for you. I would like to believe that my father is right here with me in this room and that he's my guardian angel, that there's life after death - because if there isn't, why are we here?"
We all loved 'Dirty Dancing,' but his most memorable role was arguably the character he played in 'Ghost,' - Sam Wheat - a man probably not unlike himself - a good man who found true love in life and after death. In the words of Sam to Molly: 'It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you.' He gave us a reason to believe in life after death. We love you, Patrick and you will be missed on earth!"Ditto!"
Jacques Tati films:
I just had to post this link so I wouldn't forget it. So much of our culture's technology is being outmoded. I've had this discussion with my mother many times recently because she still relies on cassette tapes for her business. The other day we went to Radio Shack to buy some tapes for her and they told her they were discontinuing them.
My demographic has been used as guinea pigs for all the technology and formats that have come and gone over the past 30 years... and I kind of resent it. I had a PC (remember THAT term) in the '80s when you could first buy one for home use and have made a living on my computer ever since. But switching from records to cassettes to CDs (I traded hundreds of my cassettes for just a handful of DVDs to Mr. Cheapo years ago) and DVDs and now this Blue-Ray format... Not to mention all the computers, various types of discs (remember "floppy"?), weird programs that drove us insane, DOS and all those keywords... It's a wonder I haven't been committed to a technology insane asylum!
Don't get me wrong... I'm grateful for technology. But it's been quite a rollercoaster ride, not to mention all the money that we spent. I still have my first digital camera and it looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. And just for the record... I REFUSE TO SWITCH TO BLUE-RAY!!! I'm keeping my DVDs! But we do have HD TVs now... and I never go anywhere without my digital camera. But I really do hate cell phones. If I didn't HAVE to have one, I'd toss it off a cliff!ADDENDUM: Well, here it is only Oct. 5, 2009 and already technology has proven my point... the link at the top is already expired!
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Pat Benatar and her husband and lead guitarist, Neil Giraldo, played the Capital One Theatre in Westbury, NY tonight to an enthusiastic, adoring crowd and standing ovations. Still in top form on their 30th wedding anniversary, Pat and Neil rocked the house with great old favourites such as "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Hell is For Children," and an encore of the timeless "Promises in the Dark." Her voice gorgeous as ever, looking simply adorable all dressed in black with leggings and high boots... she appeared to have discovered the fountain of youth; and "Spyder" Neil with his muscle shirt, tattoos and endless array of guitars... tossing guitar picks at the crowd were refreshing to hear after all these years. No pretentions... Pat still looking longingly at her husband as he wailed on his 13 guitars - some of the greatest rock and roll guitar riffs of all time... "We Live for Love," a highlight of the evening - illustrating one of the most successful rock and roll couples of all time. .jpg)
John Lennon would have been 69 today... Happy Birthday, John! I wonder what he'd say about Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize on his birthday... maybe, "Give Peace a Chance?"
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