Funky Divas

...More songs I can't get out of my head (R&B-wise)....

1) Beyonce: Irreplaceable
Pop's reigning Princess brings it (at least I think that's what the kids say)

2) Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam: Head to Toe
The quintessential stuck-like-glue-in-the-head pure pop song

3) Amii Stewart: Knock on Wood
Still going strong umpteen years later

4) TLC: Waterfalls
"Instantly memorable" - amg Guide

5) Pussycat Dolls: Don't Cha
This year's "Bootylicious." For good or for ill (illin?)

6) Aretha Franklin: Daydreaming
My 8th grade anthem. If you know anyone who does not love this song, please check for a pulse. It was either going to be this or, oh, ok, AND

7) Aretha Franklin: Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)
Gotta love the way she sings "WinDOH-pane!"

8) Whitney Houston: It's Not Right, But it's Okay
In my humble opinion, which also happens to coincide with scientific fact, her best song since, like, ever

9) En Vogue: My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
Not merely a song, it's also a philosophy

10) Doris Day: Que Sera, Sera
Old School!

Dark Clouds Bursting in a Perfect Sky

I've always loved rain, except for driving in or when it's leaking into one's household. I think because when I was a kid, I always wanted to stay in and finish my book, rather than go out and play with the other kids, and a rainy day was a perfect excuse to do just that. My fantasy has always been to sit by the fire, with the dog at my side, reading a good book. Meanwhile, I don't have a fireplace or a dog, and I barely read anymore, since I seem to spend most of my spare time trolling through my e-mail (more about that some other time). However, I am now reading a wonderful book, via e-mail, courtesy of Dailylit.com, which is sending me a page a day of Wilkie Collins' The Woman in White. And, at the rate I'm going I should be able to finish it in just under 10 months!
Rain

...Different Day

.....High stress day on many levels (and if anyone was on this blog today, would you kindly write and tell me so, as my site meter chose today to crash). But the last time I counted I still have 10 fingers and 10 toes, a roof over my head and am somewhat gainfully employed. So, what's to complain?
If anyone out there, like me, is stressed, I highly recommend a laugh-out-loud little book called "Hey! It's That Guy!," the Fametracker.com guide to character actors. From the foreword: "Because, in the end, the reason we love the H!ITG!s so very, very much is because all of us in the audience innately understand that if it were us up there, that's who we'd be, too. We can love the stars, but it's the people just behind them - and to the left - that we truly relate to. The teachers. The lawyers. The bartenders. The grating coworkers. The gossipy neighbors. The ice-blooded, possibly psychotic CIA agents who can kill you fifteen different ways with a bulldog clip and a Post-it. Okay, maybe not that last guy. But we could definitely be the teacher. Maybe even the grating coworker. That much we know for sure."

Day 3280 of my captivity....

...and no end in sight!







To whom it may concern:
My dreams of having an open field to chase the little mousies are being thwarted in this place. If someone would be kind enough to open the back door, I can make my escape!!
Sincerely yours,
Ally the Cat

Apple, unplugged

If you get the Sundance channel, there's a terrific show called Iconoclasts, in which two well-known creative types get together to schmooze and generally boost each other's esteem with mutual admiration. Some pairings work better than others. Last week it was Fiona Apple and Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino is always a riot (imitating Sam Fuller, "Harvey K'Tel (sic) isn't a star....he's a plaanet!!"), but Fiona Apple has this sort of shimmery star quality/neurotic sensibility that doesn't come along every day. Check out this clip from YouTube of her singing yet another of those songs that I can't get out of my head ("Extraordinary Machine"):
Fiona Apple Extraordinary Machine live VH1

The Doctor will see you now, whoever you are

It seems lately I am spending a lot of my time in Doctor's office's waiting rooms (and didn't T.S. Eliot say something to that effect?) After a while, the office personnel all start to look like this gal.
In any case, here are the top 10 ways my name is mispronounced:

1. Helen
2. Eileen
3. Elaine
4. Elayna
5. Helaine
6. Helena (Helayna)
7. Helena (Heleena)
8. Helena (Helen-uh)
9. Hey you!
10. Marcia

I think it's about forgiveness

If you haven't yet heard India.Arie's soulful rendition of Don Henley's The Heart of the Matter, you must stop whatever it is you're doing immediately (finally responding to that lawsuit/moving house/boarding a plane for Italy) and go out and buy a copy of her new CD, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life and Relationship. Or download it from the internet. Whatever.* I haven't felt this strongly about a song since Tanita Tikaram came out with Twist in my Sobriety, from her album Ancient Heart, back in the day. A couple of other songs that are similarly soul-stirring (for me, anyway) are Jol'Inkomo by Miriam Makeba (you can find it on the Transamerica soundtrack) and Skin Diver by Nona Hendryx from her album of the same name.
*Heart of the Matter

"Some writers take to drink, others take to audiences"

Above, a quote from the inimitable Gore Vidal, my favorite (barely) living legend. What I didn't do tonight: go see him at the 92nd street Y, for which I've held tickets for months. What I did do tonight: stayed home, sneezing and sniffling, while drinking Airborne, and watching ABC's version of Masterpiece Theatre, Grey's Anatomy. For more Gore, check out:
http://blog.92y.org/index.php/weblog/item/gore_vidal/

LadyBug Zoe

I thought you might like to see a picture of the cutest baby in the world (yes, I know there is some competition out there). Zoe lives in the D.C. area, and her interests include blogging, drinking a little milk, and standing up by herself. And a Happy Post Halloween Holiday to you, Miss Zoe-I-Wasn't-Born-Yesterday!!
Remember - Vote Early and Often!

Doin' Time in Saratoga

Greetings from that part of the state that's officially "up" (I'm guessing). Besides making a killing at the racetrack ($4.50, thank you WallStreet Slugger), and almost getting arrested (more about that later), I am here for a library conference. What I will tell you is that the last time I was here was before the Eddie Bauer/Chico's/Ann Tayloring of America, but there are still 4 or 5 stores left that practice cuteness for a living. So in between workshops, I spent some major bucks. Am staying at an unnamed hotel (ok, The Saratoga) where the housekeeping leaves something to be desired, however, the fact that the conference is right downstairs more than makes up for it. So -- we are driving to the racetrack last night, when we turned into what we thought was the racetrack, except that it looked closed, and there were no lights, and we were driving down a road that said "horses only." A cop drives up and says, "this is private property. you're under arrest." I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Then he got a look at us and I think he realized pretty quickly that some major drug deal was not about to go down (unless the drug in question was metamucil). The other big news is my cell phone decided to stop working for no known reason. And I invented a new word: scary + caregiver = scaregiver (kind of like what happens on Halloween). And whodathunkit? Jolly Rancher actually improved on their very high quality original recipe!
B-R-E-A-T-H-E....