Don't Dream It, Be It

My second celebrity death post in a row. I don't think I've done that since George Michael / Carrie Fisher back so long ago. 

Tim Curry's death was unexpectedly expected. He did a an NYT Magazine article a few months back. Which indicated he wasn't well, though if they specifically said from what, I don't remember. But well enough to do a feature interview. 

I didn't know Curry's oeuvre well.  Sure, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Clue. Or a few episodes of Roseanne. That's about it for me. 

His imdb will tell you he probably made a more than decent living with voice acting in cartoons or video games. The list goes on forever. 

Almost three years ago I wrote about Rocky Horror for a My Music Monday piece. 

Curry, whether good or bad for his career, playing Frank N. Furter was a career defining moment. I imagine some casting directors couldn't see past his Furter character. He played it so fucking well. Everything was over the top yet at the same time it wasn't. It was a balancing act I'm guessing only he could truly pull off. 

His character was outrageous and sympathetic at the same time. You rooted for him. 

In that post I give a brief notice on my affection for Sweet Transvestite. 

His performance of this song is just perfect. The vocal, sure. But every single movement. Every inflection. Every camera angle. Every raised eyebrow. ....and ever decaping, (it's a word!.......now.)

THIS is the performance that drew me into the movie. For me, there was no way they could do better than this. They still can't. 

Song by: the cast of the Rocky Horror Picture Show

When We're Gone, Long Gone

Ugh. 

I gotta write about Dolly Parton. 

The 'ugh' isn't because I don't like Dolly, it is the circumstances under which one must write. Death. 

I had zero against Dolly. That said, other than the two Trio albums, I owned nothing by Dolly. 

If she's done more than two movies, I don't know about it.  Yeah 9 to 5 was fun(ny).  Straight Talk I saw on a plane - avec audio - and I was exceptionally high at the time. And it co-starred James Woods. So........she gets 0 point for that one. 

But the world - or at least the US - is a worse place without her. 

I dare you to find a an interview where she wasn't so upbeat you could barely stand it sometimes. She seemingly never begrudged the things that brought her PR or get bugged by a question that so much other talent just has ooze out of their bodies. 

She seemed kind to and about everyone ever when disagreeing with them. I'm not sure that is a style that can be learned, just cultivated to a sharper degree. And she had it down. 

Unlike her - the "it sucks to be famous crowd" also didn't donate money to find a workable Covid vaccine. My first three Moderna vaccines were in part due to her. 

Her literacy / Imagination Library book programs are phenomenal. If you don't know about them - read about them. 

Ohio has a license plate template for that. I actually took a pic of a real on in a crowded parking lot months ago and can't find it. What were the chances the car owner would be walking up at the same time? But he was cool with it - and said his daughter participated in the program. 

Let's face it: there is no Patsy Cline Park or Loretta Lynn Land.  Dolly was one of a kind. Period.

With no immediate family (well, brothers and sisters there are, I'm sure), I hope her estate planning will continue that community growth of literacy and good works. 

She was an anomaly in certain ways.  Growing up poor and uneducated in Tennessee. Everything her starting fan base was. She championed literacy. A Covid vaccine. LGBTQ ally. Everything that initial fan base is against. 

Yes, I'm generalizing, but not by much. 

For me, Dolly will be missed more as a human being than an artist. Her legacy will last due to her causes and commitment. 

Song by: Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt & Emmylou Harris

Loser

I pretty much don't care about the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

I'm very sure you do not. 

But Travis Kelce does, and by association, his bride-to-be. 

I'll assume Jason Kelce does too, and I'd rather be seeing his pic here - no offense to Trav. 

Minor spoiler alert:  The Cavs lost the semi-final round four games to ZERO. 

It was painfully bad. Yes, I'd flip through to see how they're doing because you know someone at work is gonna say something and I don't want to look like a total rube!  Or feel like. I might already look like one. 

One game they lost a 22 point lead (!!!) and this last game they lost by 37 points!  Ouch. 

Trav and Tay Tay were at least at game 3, possibly 4, but I'm not sure. 

I think you all know Travis and Jason grew up a few streets away from where we currently live, and their podcast is named after the Heights in which we live. 

It would have been nice to have a Lebron-less Cavs victory, but that won't be this year....still they got close, though every play-off game was painful. And at least Travis is still a hometown boy when it comes to root-root-root (ing) for the home team. And it was a shame that they didn't win. 

I'll give it to the 11 people around them - not one were actively gawking at least when this image was taken. I'm not sure Taylor cares a bit about what's going on. Much like me. 

Song by: Grateful Dead

Rocket

Damn, Katy Perry is being trolled hard for taking Jeff Bezos' pocket rocket into space. 

It's hard to feel happy these days, but it made me smile. Inside. Where it counts. 

The entire farce of an "all woman crew". 

CREW???   FUCK YOU. 

I'm guessing none of the women have any knowledge of physics or probably how to drive a car. I don't mean because they're women, but they are women of financial means who probably are driven around as opposed to doing it themselves. 

And when your flight has you reciting the tracklist to your upcoming album - again, FUCK YOU - it was absolutely nothing more than a publicity stunt. The way the music industry works though, that might be the only time one hears the names of her songs. 

....and kissing the ground when you get back???  Suck. My. Dick. 

Part of me thought Bezos had his fiancé go up hoping the thing would explode and he could get out of the wedding. But then I thought, unlike this first marriage, I'm positive he's got an ironclad prenup this go-round. 

There is a lot of semi-valid chatter going on about the faux-feminism going on with this stunt.....all the marionette strings of an oligarch. And that chatter is coming from as many men as women. 

And it's fucking Blue Origin. A company that has done nothing but stunt launches that barely hit the stratosphere. I'm no fan of Musk, but SpaceX has done a bit more. FFS, use the money to fund hospitals, teachers, feed and house the poor. 

Men and their fragile egos. And now these women with theirs. 

Song by: Def Leppard

Ship of Fools

It was an off day. Meaning, I was off. I felt off. 

I was off. 

I dodged news. I dodged emails and texts when I could. There is a certain group of friends who are exempt from my anti-social behaviour. Everyone else? They'll hear from me when they hear from me. 

We had a double "celebrity" death two days ago:  Eric Carmen (from the Raspberries and solo work) and Karl Wallinger (from the Waterboys).

Carmen was a Cleveland boy. And while it didn't say where he died, he did relocate back here a few years back. Oh, how scandalous it was to have "Go All the Way" on a K-Tel album. Even I knew at a young age that was like kissing or something. 

While one of my sisters had his first solo disk and played it far too often (according to me!), I knew the music but was never a fan. Less so when Celine Dion decided to cover "All By Myself". I mean, good for Eric - because you know that was a bunch of coins. But ick - the cultural stigma for the rest of us. The scordeling. 

I did, however, like the Waterboys. I'd say they had a number of songs - and they did - but few most people might know. The assumed biggest (I did zero research on this) is what I"m featuring below, "Ship of Fools". 

Save me from tomorrow........indeed. 

Baby Let's Play House

"Au Revoir Pee Wee", Sinone would say in his Big Adventure movie. 

It is now "adieu". 

What a week it has been. I've been playing Sinéad a lot since last week. 

But I loved Pee Wee - and Paul Rubens. Saw all of his Playhouse and his first movie is still superb. And he was a good henchmen in the original Buffy, the Vampire Slayer movie. 

.....and he still has the best Christmas show around.  Ever. Hands down. 

I can't say why Pee Wee spoke to me. Maybe he's just the kid in us men who never grew up. I've always said, we, as a gender, never grow up intellectually after 12. Maybe Pee Wee just personified that.

I lived up to it as well.  I have a decent collection of Playhouse collectibles: Randy, Pteri, Magic Screen, a Billy Bologna doll, a Chairy, a talking Pee Wee doll and yes, a live sized Pee Wee - which I've now had for at least....let's see......33 years? 

It took way longer than expected for Ruben / Herman to live down his Sarasota porn theater wank fest. 

Over the years - even here - I would tell the story of seeing his arrest on the news and seeing the theater.  Years before - but not too too many - I was in that very theater as well.  At the tender age of 16. 

My family vacationed about two miles from there. Other kids I'd see yearly who did the same were with me. I remember there being four of us. I don't remember who drove. I don't remember paying. Clearly we weren't 18 and yet clearly no one stopped us. 

I remember the "film" being about King Midas. I remember years later finding the lead in the straight movie being John Leslie, who at the time I thought was handsome.  ....and yes, his pecker did turn to gold when he fucked some chick. 

I do remember none of the four of us masturbating in the seats, or even aware that it happened there. 

It was a story I could never tell my family, as I'm sure over the years knew of the theater's existence. But Mr. Herman knew. 

A decade or so later, my still current friends and I would watch Pee Wee's Playhouse every Saturday morning. And we would base holiday parties around his xmas special. When it finally came to DVD (yes, I had a pirated VHS copy), I purchased a copy for all my friends. 

I won't lie. I tried watching his last Pee Wee movie a few years back. I couldn't make it through. Nostalgia only goes so far, I suppose. But it didn't lessen my love for his character. 

He will be missed, but he will live on. He was a brilliant visionary when it came to his character and how to portray him. 

Au revoir, Mr. Rubens. 

Song by: Rachel Sweet

Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe

I'm just sayin', if Gloria doesn't want him, and he needs a place to lay low for a bit, Joe Manganiello can hang here, with us me, should he like. 

Oddly, I can count three things I've seen him in: the first Spiderman (for about 38 seconds); Scrubs (for about 17 seconds) and multiple episodes of How I Met Your Mother. 

After those roles, he became a bit too buff. He was always (or most always) nicely built, but when you get to the stills I saw of Magic Mike, a baby oiled 8-pack isn't attractive to me. 

I think I read he was in True Blood, but I never saw a second of that show. No interest. Even with a probably partially nekkid Joe. 

He shore is purdy. I don't know if Joe is a deep thinker, but I am pretty sure it's not his brains I'm after. 

If those crazy kids can't make it 7 years, I'm tellin' ya. They must be bad in bed (or at least one of them), because with other flaws, you'd overlook them to for a chance at............that. 

Oh now, I'm objectifying a fellow man!

eh.........he'll live. 

Song by: Ella Fitzgerald

Wasted on the Way

I'd say, "you didn't see that one coming........", but you totally could. 

....and then I realized the man was 81. 

Maybe the actual surprise was you should have seen it coming, since David Crosby was an octogenarian.  The bigger surprise is that drug addiction didn't do him in much earlier. 

Or that someone didn't murdered him. 

Crosby, for all his talent, was not well liked. Eventually. He seemed to alienate and / or piss off just about everyone he's ever known or called a bandmate or friend. 

Stills, Nash and Young haven't spoken to him, probably in years. Joni Mitchell is not a fan. Melissa Ethridge's ex (but then current) partner used him as a sperm donor. Twice. 

I mean, any addiction study will tell you that familial relationships are the number one cause of passing on addiction. So, it only made sense to choose a heroin addict as your baby-daddy. And Ethridge wonders why one of those kids killed himself. 

For all his accolades, I know Crosby only through his harmonies. If he sang lead on any CSN or CSNY (or Byrds) song, I don't know it. Maybe "Wooden Ships"? And probably "Almost Cut My Hair".  Granted, harmonies are much more difficult to pull off than most melodies, so total props for that. 

Three of four years ago, we saw a documentary on him, which I have to say was fascinating. It must be streaming somewhere. I'd recommend seeing it. 

Crosby's death is just a reminder of the passing of time - his and ours. 

This death comes in threes thing seems to be wrong. It seems there have been a lot of deaths in 2023 - and we aren't even three full weeks in. I guess they can be lumped to multiple groups of three. 

Song by: Crosby Stills & Nash

Missing

Oh no - Julian Sands is missing. 

I fell in "love" with him back in 1985 (?) when first seeing Room with a View at the Paris theatre in New York City. 

Technically, this would be my second independent film. It would take months for it to reach Columbus, where I forced others to go see it with me. They didn't enjoy Edwardian behaviour or period pieces. 

No doubt they've seen everything Downton and loved loved loved it. 

Anyhooo......Sands went hiking in Southern California and hasn't been seen since.  Poor chap. 

Flash floods? Mudslides?  Mountain Lions? 

Or is he just holed up at a friend's house drinking Little Kings and eating Pringles, and forgot about the time?  I mean, we've all been there................am I right? 

Julian never looked as good as he did in E.M. Forester adaptations. And I think he was robbed (I tellz ya!) when not getting the title role in Maurice.  I mean, I don't even know if he was up for it, but if you had read the book, he seemed to fit perfectly for it. 

After that, it was mostly character acting, which was fine and pays the bills.  But look how dreamy he was.  Of course, Helena Bonham-Carter shined in Room with a View too. It is still a great movie. Bet you don't even remember that Dame Judi Dench is in it. She's a national treasure. Not our nation, but still.........

I hope it's just a badly twisted ankle and no cell service that is causing his inability to get home. So far drones and dogs have not been able to locate him. 

Honestly, I had nothing provide today, but when one can use an image like the one above, well......sometimes you just craft the words around that. 

Song by: Everything but the Girl

Don't Be Cruel

I really have nothing to say about Lisa Marie Presley. I'm not sure there is anything to say. 

I can't say "I saw this coming" like you might have with Whitney Houston's kid. But I can't say I'm surprised. 

You might have noticed that Mike and I skipped the Golden Globe contest this year (maybe last too?) so I had not vested interest in watching it to see how bad I might lose. 

Due to that, I didn't see Lisa Marie get interviewed, but it sounds like she didn't look good. 

What few things I've read, not one has mentioned her years in Scientology. Or her leaving it behind. 

I had read she married Michael Jackson to get him to join - as they are always looking for high profile / $$$ folks. And when that didn't / couldn't happen, they divorced. Clearly no idea if that's true. Or care. 

The above if my friend Jon and myself at Graceland-adjacent. This is the closest we got to Lisa Marie. We went on an excursion to Memphis - on a whim - and probably didn't have the $6 to tour the jet. We used it all on our first La Quinta experience.   .....and drinks at bars. And one Chinese restaurant that, and I quote, "looks a little pricey". 

I can count on one finger how many songs of Lisa Marie's I've heard. She only had three albums and I had to laugh and laugh and laugh at American Songwriter magazine's social media stupidity:

10 ????  And honestly, define 'top'.  My, weren't they being earnest........and kind. 

710 thought she couldn't make it as a singer being compared to her father. Actually, I think it would have worked in her favour. There could never ever ever truly be a comparison or the ability to live up to Elvis! If anything it would have been a free ride. 

People are questioning, 'who has cardiac arrest at 54?'. 

Ummm.....Women.  Primarily women. Women who are treated dismissively by their physicians when it comes to chest pain and heart attack symptoms. It's why heart disease kills so many women.  ....and at a younger age. 

Fortunately, all three of her disks are charted on iTunes now. Unfortunately, all of Jeff Beck's reside in much higher ranking. The girl cannot catch a break.   

Song by: Elvis Presley

I Will

I was sad to hear about Leslie Jordan's passing yesterday. 

Inarguably (IMHO), he was the only consistently funny thing about Will & Grace. 

Yeah yeah, most of them had their moments here and there, but consistently......it was him. Honestly, it's the reason they had so many guest stars traipse through that landmine of a show - the four regulars, especially the title characters were the - pun firmly intended - straight men. 

I'm not 100% sure Jordan was acting, as the number of things I have seen him in - and his IMBD credits are quite extensive - he's been a version of his Beverly Leslie character.  Maybe that was just him, and that was fine. 

He's been in other series - dating back to when apparently John Ritter and Billy Bob Thornton were on tv together. I'm now quite sure when that happened.....or why.....but it did.  He's also in some new show I've  never seen with Blossom / Amy Farrah Fowler / Jeopardy host. 

....and most importantly, he was on Pee Wee's Playhouse. 

Jordan was doing some pandemic videos - I think on Instagram. They were funny and on-point, so those will be missed. 

Of course, my big hope is that this will not get the WIll & Grace back together anytime soon. 

Song by: the Beatles

Don't Let Me Die in Florida

I am stealing the blog image from Rebecca. 

Her accompanying remark was perfect too:  "Jesus Xst CNN, we are 10 days in". 

My argument was: maybe we could have, and should have, more "celebrity" deaths less than two weeks in. 

I have never seen a thing Bob Sagat had - well, had - done. Well, allegedly he was the voiceover for How I Met Your Mother, but since I had never really seen him in anything, I couldn't tell you his voice matched who I thought the guy was. 

So, technically, I did hear him for nine years. 

The weird obsession over his death. Daily a different article - not just in CNN but our local stupid-ass newspaper - talks about his death and speculates on how. 

How invested in this guy are we?  From a brief perusal of one or two articles, it doesn't seem liked he died in an extraordinary way - like say, Jon Benet, Son of My Sister Sam or Jeffrey Epstein. 

Honestly, don't we each die a little anytime we are in a hotel room in Orlando? 

Song by: Patty Griffin

Let Me Entertain You

It seems it is possible to separate a man from his art.  Such is the case with Stephen Sondheim. 

Oddly, it was sad to hear the news of his passing, but you know, he was in his 90s. 

Personally, I think it was the soon to be released Steven Spielberg's version of West Side Story that probably did him in. It's Spielberg, so there are probably aliens in it.........Anita and Maria being the illegal ones!   .....but there are probably some outer space ones too. 

While I can't imaging having a hit right out of the gate, like West Side Story, being your first real work....how does one top that? 

In my head, one doesn't. And didn't. 

If you've read me for any length of time, you'll know I'm no fan of Sondheim's work that isn't West Side Story - and let's face it, half of that was Leonard Bernstein's. 

Save West Side Story and Gypsy, most of his work was past my parent's musical collection. Oh yes, I can comment on Broadway musicals at large and 710 will make fun of me for knowing them all, yet still refusing to go see (most) of them. It might be nature, but trust me, nurture is in there. One doesn't know the scores to scores of Lerner & Lowe or  Rodgers & Hammerstein, et al, and get off the exit ramp to Heterosexualville.   ....at least not unscathed. 

And yet, I have seen two Broadway productions of his works:  Assassins and a Little Night Music. And I saw the film Into the Wood.  All left me undazzled and quite bored.  The big draw of the night at Assassins was peeing next to Jeff Goldblum. That certainly left more of an impression than Neil Patrick Harris' singing.   ...or the music and lyrics. 

Still, I have also seen a few PBS specials on Sondheim. He is (well....was) an incredibly interesting man. Well spoken, educated, articulate and somewhat charismatic. But his work didn't do a thing for me. 

I mean........like.....almost at all. 

Still, there are no real talents like him currently.  Whomever wrote Diana: the Musical?  Prom?   Probably super-duper horrid and definitely horrid, respectively. 

So, I liked the man, but not his work. And I can say this in his favour, at least he wasn't Andrew Lloyd Webber. 

Song by: Jules Styne & Stephen Sondheim

Welcome to the Club

I have never seen a Harold & Kumar's Fabulous Adventure movie. Ok - I know that is mixing up H&K with Bill & Ted, but you get the idea.  

I have, however, been to White Castle. Allegedly.  Honestly, should it have happened at all, I was by myself after the bars closed..............and I was drunk.  Or high.  Or both.  But if you've never seen me there...and had a camera, you can't prove a thing. 

Sliders and onion chips at 03:00.....and drunk......or high..........and alone......seemed to be the only acceptable to eat at White Castle. And by 'eat at White Castle' I mean, drive through and eat and get ill in the privacy of your own apartment. 

It hardly seemed worthwhile to see a movie about two drunk.....or high...guys trying to find this place. I've lived it. Allegedly.  I don't need to pay to see that on the big screen. It's like living my secret shame (or one of them!) and having to see it larger than life. Allegedly. 

That said, while I didn't know Kal Penn from seeing him in those movies, he's in just about everything else....as just about Mr. Everyman. Well, Mr. Southeast Asian Everyman.  Actually - maybe just the first. He fits so well into most everything I've seen him in, his ethnicity almost never (if ever) plays into the role itself. 

He seems likable. He is at least for one other man. .....his fiancé.  Yes, Penn is into Pen15. Or Penises. Maybe just one. 

Good for him. 

I don't begrudge him not telling the world. People come around - and out - in their own time and way. He claims he worked out his sexuality later in life, and you know, better late than never. But he's been with his beau for 11 years. 

....and apparently they do dude things together. Sports things. Or perhaps they're just sitting stage-side at Spring Awakenings. It's hard to say. 

It does rub me a little the way he came out in his book - for his book? - that he's now out promoting. 

I have zero idea what the book is actually about, but I suppose you have to have a hook to bring them in, but since you just told me what said hook was, the chances of me buying it vs the new Suzanne Somers at 75 tome is 50/50 at best. 

I hope he is some kind of role model for other Southeast Asian gay kids who need or want to come out. I mean, save comedian Alex Mapa, I'm not sure there is another visible one.  Well, the guy who played Typhoon on Parks & Rec. Seriously, just YouTube clips of Typhoon, hilarious!  I mean over 4 episodes he's in it for about 83 seconds. 

But yay for Kal. Welcome to the club. The toaster-oven is on its way. 

Song by: Eva Cassidy

Half Mast

Norm Macdonald was ok and all, but this seems a bit much. 

That's it.  That's all I got. 

Song by: Empire of the Sun

Lucille

 Oh no, Lucille I has passed. Poor Jessica Walters. Poor us. 

 It is a shame of course, but I'm not sure I would have guess she was 80.  

If you have not seen Arrested Development - and it is a show that is an acquired taste, and you really have to watch for content. There are no pauses for laughs, no laugh tracks and jokes / storylines that come back from episodes or seasons later or before. 

And while everyone on the show was integral, Walters really made the show. Her Lucille (I) was caustic and hilarious. 

FYI. Lucille II, was her next door, vertigo-impaired neighbor played perfectly by, believe it or not, Liza Minelli. I've only seen Liza in like three things  (though I'm not sure she's been in much more - and yes, the Sex in the City movie does count..........and yet it doesn't), but is the best thing she has ever been in. 

Here are some of the clips with Walter from Arrested Development. 

I personally like the Banana one, the Jimmy Kimmel one and the SeaWard (read: C-word) one. 

  

Song by: B.B. King

Diana

I had a post planned - well, in my head - for today, but things change. 

James Bond's only wife is dead. 

That's right, Diana Rigg died. 

And with her, a part of my childhood. 

For those who don't know, Rigg played the woman Bond married in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It didn't end well for her. 

Actually, it didn't end well for George Lazenby, as it was his only take as Bond. That and Rigg hated him and ate garlic and onions between each take. 

I've never seen Game of Thrones, so I can't tell you how she was........or who she played. While I adored her, it was not enough to endure 117 years of that show. 

Me? I was a fan of the Avengers.

Let me rephrase: I was a fan of the three years which she was on the Avengers, playing Mrs. Emma Peel. 

That show was just slightly ahead of my time, but I caught it in reruns when I was still a lad. It was seemingly a farvourite of my mother, so it was something we'd watch together. We bonded over that, as much as one eight year old and his mother could.  I won't lie and say I got all (or any) of the nuance, but I thought Rigg was the bee's knees. 

I mean, I adored John Steed too (and loved love loved when Patrick Macnee played Sir Denis Eton-Hogg in This is Spinal Tap), but loved the chemistry those two had. 

Mrs. Peel was adorable yet tough and cunning and she the height of everything that two plus decades later, Austin Powers would base so many things around.  I loved her. Even at that young an age. 

Now, I'm not saying Diana Rigg turned me gay, I'm just saying, if you cannot be with and spend eternity with Emma Peel, why even bother with other women? 

Song by: Paul Anka

Just Be Good to Me

Since I cannot (yet) bring myself to address that three ringed circus we have going on in DC, I figured I could at least rake Ellen DeGeneres over the coals.

She and Shrub were seen at some sportsball event together.  People went apeshit. And then Ellen had to go and and lesbiansplain it to us:

"I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different, and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different."

Oh Ellen, so am I.  There are times I'm a bit frustrated with my Facebook friends. Some of them are deeply in the red - and I don't mean in the profit and loss area, unless you consider they can be morally bankrupt for supporting BLOTUS. 

The difference is, those friends didn't start a war knowingly based on false information, just to get us into a war. And one where 4,000+ US troops died as did 65,000 (!!!!) Afghanis. This goes against moral bankruptcy, it is - and should have been - a war crime.

With BLOTUS in office, I totally get it's easy to think that Bush wasn't that bad. It's tough to remember what a vile piece of shit he was - and I'm sure still is.

I'm with Ellen in the spirit that we are all different and can, and should, understand and discuss that of which we might not agree, but let's face it, there are degrees.  I would almost bet $47 kerjillion dollars, she would not have sat in a skybox watching a Buffalo Bills game with OJ Simpson by her side - and he only killed two people.   .......that we know of!

I'm sorry Ellen, but trying to gloss over this with feel-good-love stuff doesn't cut it this time. It's not boycott material, per se, it nothing else, because I've never actually seen anything but clips of your shows.  It's is a reason to banish your stupid-ass game show.

You can't dance your way out of this one.



Song by: S.O.S. Band

In 3's

Well, it's been a week for celebrity deaths, no?

"They" say, they go in threes, and so it goes.

I was never much of an Eddie Money fan. Sure, "Shakin'" had pre-Apollonia Apollonia. And if I never hear "Two Tickets to Paradise" again, I think I'd survive. I didn't mind "Take Me Home Tonight", oddly enough.

Also oddly enough, I saw Money in concert back in 1978 {ugh, I can't believe I just typed that}. He opened for.............the Cars.  If Bob Welch, who was also on the bill, wasn't already dead, I'd tell him to "look out".  Todd Rundgren might want to take that advice though.

The Cars - in certain doses - I liked much more than Money, though even for my teen ears, they were awfully loud  Sure, MTV kind of made me hate them for a while, as they played "Magic" and "You Might Think" far far far too often.  Even their lesser known disks would usually have a decent hit on them. Maybe more.

I probably liked Ben Orr's vocals more than Ric Osasek, but he never quite got half the exposure, but had arguably vocals for some of their better songs:  "Moving in Stereo", "Drive", "Just What I Needed" and "Bye Bye Love", and my personal fave, "All Mixed Up".

But the death of the week is someone I've probably listened to more than either of these two artists. Cokie Roberts passing just sucks. For decades, every Monday morning at 06:20, she'd have her piece on NPR's Morning Edition, usually touching on the Sunday morning political shows and what things were said - and more importantly, what things weren't.

And OMFG, I hate to even say his faux-name at this point, but BLOTUS on Roberts, "she never treated me nicely" comment is just, well, uncalled for.

Admittedly, he never met her, so honestly, why is he commenting on her death at all, and better (?) yet, how did it become about him? 

Yes, I know - with him, it's all about him......24 / 7 / 365.  But fuck dude - just StFU.  Just once. Just for like 25 minutes.  But if you wanted to know why she might not have treated you nice, maybe look at what you just said about a dead woman you never even met.



Song by: Beastie Boys

Morph

After 30+ years, I fear my relationship with my longtime friends is nearing an end.

They barely reacted to the below clip I sent their way - and when / if they reacted at all, it was far far too late after sending it, and I still had to prompt.

Apparently they have matured past me, or my sense of humour is far surpassing what they can process. I'm hoping for the latter.  Swifty was right (as always). A hater's gonna hate hate hate hate hate.

Seriously though:  this is kind of mesmerizing and yet still very fucked up.  Steve Buscemi's face CGI'd over Jennifer Lawrence's.

It's like that car wreck you happen witness on the highway. You shouldn't look, yet just cannot look away. Whomever pulled this off did it flawlessly. Maybe too much so.

....and you must hit 'play' and with sound.




....and for good measure, I put the original footage side by side.






 Song by: twenty one pilots