Sunday, July 31, 2011

Song of the Day - Party Rock Anthem - LMFAO


Party rockers in the house tonight
Everybody just have a good time...


This one's been at the top of iTunes' charts for quite some time and I figured I'd finally share it with you. It's a fun song with lots of great dance beats! Enjoy and Happy Sunday!


Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock) - Sorry for Party Rocking (Deluxe Version)


Saturday, July 30, 2011

July 29th, 2011 - A Unexpected Good Time


You ever have one of those days where it turns out completely different than what you expected? Well, that was me yesterday and though I expected to have a good time, what I didn’t expect was the type of good time that I had.

A Barbecue in Brentwood

When I went to Circus the other night, my newest buddy Ozzie/Ruby invited me to his house for a barbecue on Friday. In the past I probably wouldn’t even have thought about it (I can be way shy when it comes to being in the company of people I don’t know), but I was actually looking forward to it. I asked my pal Laura Kim to go with me, but she cancelled on me in the morning and so I went by myself not knowing what to expect…well, judging from the popularity of Ms. Diamond, I did expect to meet a lot of new people.

Surprise, Surprise

As is my way, I got to Ozzie’s at 2:30, so as not to be the first one there, and I was surprised to see no cars in front of the house. I double checked the address he gave me and knew I was in the right place so I went on to the front door from where I could hear dance music blasting.

“Hey, come on in!” Ozzie seemed a little disappointed and maybe a little disheveled from cleaning. He had been cleaning and wasn’t totally ready for his company, none of whom had shown up yet.

I went inside and we shot the breeze as Ozzie cleaned the bathroom, defrosted the ground beef, fixed the burgers and whatnot. He’s a very easy person to talk to and before you knew it it was like 5 p.m. Still, no one had shown up.

“It’s all my fault,” Ozzie was like, “whatever!” He had originally scheduled his ‘cue’ for Thursday, and invited a lot of people, but when he changed it he hadn’t told everybody, so… Anyway, at least we knew his friend Jeremy was on his way from Brooklyn, so there would be at least three of us.

A Life

Without divulging too much information out of respect to Mr. Ozzie’s privacy, I will say he’s had quite the life to this point. He shared a lot of his story…spirituality and confusion….marriage……more confusion...long term relationship with a guy afterwards, and so on. During our conversation he mentioned a night at Circus that had been very special to him. It was on a night called “Spirit Day,” and it was all about bullying, especially LGBT bullying. Anyway, he let me watch it as he went to get Jeremy from the train station.
The video moved me. Ozzie began as Ruby, and as he told his own poignant personal story of growing up different, he transformed himself back to Ozzie, and it was truly touching. I’m posting it here for you to see.



I like Ozzie’s way of looking at things…I haven’t known too many drag queens too well, one or two maybe, and so I can’t imagine how much more they have to deal with than the ordinary gay person. From the way he puts it, drag queens even get it from those in the gay community (tsk tsk!). But, to him, Ruby’s just a character, like in a movie or a play, and deep inside he’s simply Ozzie. Now ain’t that the truth Ruth!

And then there were three...

Finally Ozzie showed up with his friend Jeremy, who I met at Cherry Grove last Saturday. Jeremy’s cool, too, and it ended up just being the three of us for the rest of the night. That was okay, though. Jeremy is really into dance music, like me, and I got to listen to lots of good stuff (for which I will now be broke after my next trip to iTunes, thank you very much Mr. J!), and Ozzie, well, I told him and it’s true that he’s the kind of person I feel like I’ve known a very long time even though I’ve known him barely a month. It was a great time with two great guys!

After what I thought would be a couple of hours spent at Ozzie’s barbecue, I ended up leaving around 11:30. Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess. Now I’ve got two new friends to add to my circle, and I look forward to getting to know them better and sharing some more good times together. Thanks Ozzie!

Okay, he might kill me for this, but here's a Cam Wow pic I took of Ozzie last night, hehe:



N is for Plenty of Great Songs

Happy Saturday everyone! Well, we're up to the letter "N" in our quest to finally get through this long overdue Z to A Blogger's Challenge, and like I've done with other letters before, the letter "N" has quite a few noteworthy musical connotations for me...



N is for Naughty Girls (Need Love, Too)

Before Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Kim Kardashian there was Samantha Fox. Samantha Fox was a British poster model back in the 80's who turned to music with the help of Full Force (famous for working with Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam). It's funny, my brother and I loved her for very different reasons....he always had her on his wall and I always had her in my CD player, lol. Samantha had several club and pop hits, and this was one her biggest.


Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) - Greatest Hits




N is for Nu Nu

"What's a Nu Nu?," you ask. Well it's a very catchy, doo woppy song from an artist called Lidel Townsell from back in 1992. Some of you may remember it....it's very catchy and one of those types of songs you'll be singing for hours after you listen too it. Check it out:


Nu Nu - Ultimate House Megamix




N is for Neutron Dance

"Someone stole my brand new Chevrolet
and the rent is due I've got no place to stay"


That's my favorite line from this one! The Pointer Sisters used to be hella cool back in the day, and this one was one of their biggest hits, from the movie "Beverly Hills Cop," with Eddie Murphy. Nothing but fun!!!!


Neutron Dance (From




N is for Never

Since this post is for so many songs and my musical tastes have always been across the board, I wanted to share one here that's rockin'. Heart is comprised of the Wilson sisters, beautiful voiced Annie and guitarist Nancy. They had several great songs back in the 70's and 80's and this one is hands down my all time favorite!


Heart - Never by EMI_Music
Never - Heart




N is for Nobody's Supposed to Be Here

Love, love, love this one. This was THE dance anthem back in 1998, and it still fills dance floors whenever it's played. Awesome dance song!


Dance Vault Mixes - Nobody's Supposed to Be Here: Deborah Cox - Deborah Cox




N is for No Reason to Cry

The last "N" song of the day is a freestyle song by one of the princesses of the genre, Ms. Judy (pronounced "Hoodi") Torres. A new friend of mine, Jeremy, who I found out has great taste in music, and I were talking about freestyle yesterday and he told me that he met Judy one time. Joe and I used to love her and this song.... It is sooooo freestyle! Unfortunately there weren't too many vids to choose from with this one, and this one getes cut off a little at the end, but it's a live performance that's slammin'.


Judy Torres: The Greatest Hits - Judy Torres


Well, I could go on and on with more "N" songs: N is also for No Frills Love, Not Myself Tonight, Nothing Really Matters, None of Your Business, No Woman, No Cry and so many more. In the meantime, I hope you've enjoyed the "N" songs I've shared here. I know I did. Have a great day!

Song of the Day - Motivation - Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne


Kelly Rowland is HOT! Her new album, "Here I Am," came out earlier this week and from the sounds of it maybe this'll be the one to push her to the top as a solo artist, finally! I heard the whole CD for the first time last night and there's plenty of good stuff on it, including this hot one featuring Lil Wayne. Check it out:


Here I Am - Kelly Rowland


Friday, July 29, 2011

Song of the Day - Bulletproof - La Roux


Happy Friday everyone! Since MTV is going to be celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend, I've got the 80's on my mind and this group and song definitely has an 80's sound! I guess I'll always be a little nostalgic about that decade...it was a great time and I'm proud to have been in my prime during that decade. Of course I'll be posting some good, old-fashioned 80's stuff in the coming days, but I figured this would be a good segue.
SO enjoy LaRoux's "Bulletproof":


Bulletproof (Tiborg Remix) - The Gold - EP


Thursday, July 28, 2011

July 28th - Circus Wednesday, Splash Thursday and too much else...

Today is Thursday, almost the end of another summer week and we just keep rolling along fast. It hasn’t taken me long to fall into the stay-up-late/wake-up-late mode, I’ll say. I think the earliest I’ve gone to sleep this week has been around 2:30 AM, and that was early. The only thing I don’t like about it is that I’m missing my mornings, because that’s when I usually get a lot of writing done. Now, by the time I write and post my “Song of the Day,” I’m lucky if it’s noon, and then it’s either keep writing (which I need to do) or get stuff done. It’s a daily struggle, lol.



Circus Wednesdays

A few weeks ago I mentioned this guy I met that night I went to Alfie’s Bar in Patchogue. His name is Ozzie and we became friends of Facebook soon after we had met. I actually mentioned this a little this morning, but Ozzie is also a drag performer known as Ruby Diamond and he’s the weekly hostess at Circus Wednesdays, which I’d never been to. I promised Ozzie I’d be there, dressed in pink (they were having a “Pink Party”), and I was.

I have to say I was really impressed with the place. All of these years I’ve passed it by and never gone in, I never would have guessed it was so nice. The décor, the atmosphere, the bartenders…all stellar, and the crowd had quite a few familiar faces, too, though like many Long Island bars, the clientele is pretty clickish. Jay Antonio, the guy who runs the place is an awesome guy...he came over and introduced himself, bought me a shot, and I could tell that he's really intoo his clientele and they all like him a lot, too! Of course, being Ruby’s guest got me in with the cool crowd, and I have to say I really enjoyed myself. Thanks Ruby…I think I may just become a regular on Wednesdays.

Splash Thursdays

Oy, I’m starting to think that maybe I’m going out too much! Well, last night wasn’t expected, and I did stay later than I thought I would have, but at least I slept late and I’ll be okay for going to Splash tonight. This will be the second week I’m actually going with somebody. Yes, through all the craziness of my week, I forgot to mention that last week I met my buddy Laura Kim and her friend Michael at Splash. It was totally unplanned and totally a blast (except when the dancer who was dancing on the bar above me knocked my drink over three, count em’, three times!).


A cool Cam Wow double shot of the show at Splash last Thursday


Me and LK

Anyway, tonight I am going to Splash with my friend Paul, who actually asked me earlier in the week if I’d be going tonight. Since I went last week, I wouldn’t ordinarily be going, but I kind of turn him down a lot, so I said okay. We’ll see how it goes…I’ve spoken of Paul before, and we’ve had both good and bad times together there, but now I think things will be okay. I've come to like him more the more I get to know him and I think we have a good understanding of one another. He and I are definitely in a better place than before, for sure!

Uninspired Plans

I’ve got more tentative plans all the way through Monday, and none of them are etched in stone. A couple of them, with guys, are making me a little apprehensive. I tell ya, I just don’t know about guys anymore. I’m starting to feel like no one out there is really worth it. It seems every experience I have with a guy always ends up in a negative way…either I’m not really interested, or there’s that one thing that makes it seem like it’s not worth even trying, and then of course there are the ones who like me, but the feelings are not mutual. I'm getting a lot of those lately!

As I said, two of my tentative plans are with potential guys, and I hold no real excitement for either. Not the guys, necessarily, just the situations….I dunno, I’m starting to believe that I’ll just know the right one when he comes along and that I should never expect anything from any encounter with anybody. I guess in that way my experience with "him" taught me a couple of good, but hard lessons.

He was the first person since Joe that I knew…I don’t know how, but I just knew I wanted to “hang” with for awhile. It’s inexplicable really, but it wasn’t attraction or sex or what he did specifically or anything like that. I guess it was just the connection that we had at the time that made me not want to think about anyone else.

Then of course, there’s what happened in the end. When it ended the first time, I was completely shocked, and then after the second time… I guess the rejection was a little dose of reality that hardened me a little, and it’s going to be a long time before I trust in a relationship with anyone.

So these two experiences, I guess, have shown me their value in the lessons they’ve taught me. For now I feel as if I’m just going through motions with guys. I’m just playing it day by day and we’ll see where the weekend and the rest of the summer take me… In the meantime, I just know that when the right one does come along, if he does, again I'll just know it, but hopefully next time the feeling will be mutual, so I've got to be very aware.

Doctor, doctor

My good buddies are happy to know that after months, okay years, of bugging me, and months after I stated on this very blog that I would start taking care of things, health-wise, I finally made two appointments with doctors I’ve really needed to see for a long time. I had my first one yesterday, and now I have to go for a colonoscopy, ugh! Just what I was afraid of, but…my next appointment is on Tuesday and that one I’m kind of looking forward to. I will keep you posted.

So that’s my story for the past and the next few days, for the most part. Hopefully I’ll get back soon enough so that I won’t have so much to say and keep you reading so long, but I do appreciate the page views! Have a great evening!

Here's a photo I found on the Internet the other day that I thought was cool...



Song of the Day - I'm Beautiful (remix) - Bette Midler


Today's "Song of the Day" just came to me last night in the parking lot of a bar, lol. I was talking with my new pal Ozzie, I mean Ruby, and I don't know, the song just popped into my head. It's not one of Bette Midler's most well-known songs, but it was out when I was deejaying a lot and at least I liked it and played it often.

"That's it baby when ya got it flaunt it..."

The original version is pretty good....typical Bette, but the remix version, which I'm posting here, mixes the music track from Armand Ven Helden's "Music Sounds Better With You" and works really well. So if you don't know it, give it a try, and if you do, have another listen. And be sure to check out the words below...this song has a great message:

I'M BEAUTIFUL DAMMIT!!!!

Have a great day beautiful ones....


I'm Beautiful - Bathhouse Betty



I'm Beautiful

"This is the Divine Miss M
and I'm here to share with you some rare
and stimulating insight into my cosmic fabulosity.
It's really very simple. I smiply believe with all my heart:"

I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!
I'm beautiful, so beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!

"Go away, little girl," they used to say.
"Hey, you're too fat, baby, you can't play."
"Hold on, miss thing, what you trying to do?
You know you're too wack to be in our school."

Too wack, too smart, too fast, too fine,
too loud, too tough, too too divine.
I said you don't belong. You don't belong.
Too loud, too big, too much to bear,
too bold, too brash, too prone to swear.
I heard that song for much too long.

Ain't this my sun? Ain't this my moon?
Ain't this my world to be who I choose?
Ain't this my song? Ain't this my movie?
Ain't this my world? I know I can do it.

I'm not too short, I'm not too tall,
I'm not too big, I'm not too small.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
I'm not too white, I'm not too black,
I'm not too this, I'm not too that.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!

I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, dammit!

It's time to call it what it is. Don't play the naming game.
Become what you were born to be and be it unashamed.
"Go away, little boy," I can hear them say,
"Everybody on the block says they think you're gay.
Hold on, my friend, do you think we're blind?
Take a look at yourself. You're not our kind."

Too black, too white, too short, too tall,
too big, too green, too red, too small.
I said you don't belong. You don't belong.
Too black, too white, too short, too tall,
too blue, too green, too red, too small.
I heard that song for much to long.

Ain't this my sun? Ain't this my moon?
Ain't this my world to be who I choose?
Ain't this my song? Ain't this my movie?
Ain't this my world? I know I can do it.

People always ask me,
"Miss M, how did you get so far
on so little?" Shut up!
Well, I woke up one morning,
flossed my teeth and decided,
"Damn, I'm fierce!" You look good!
You can be just like me! A goddess? Yeah!
Don't just pussy foot around and sit on your assets.
Unleash your ferocity upon an unsuspecting world.
Rise up and repeat after me: "I'm beautiful!"

I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful!
Can you say that?
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful!
I don't hear you!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful!
Louder!
I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful, I'm beautiful!
Hey!

That's it, baby, when you got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!

Aaaaaah!
Ain't this my sun? My sun! Ain't this my moon? My moon!
Ain't this my world to be who I choose?
Ain't this our song? Ain't this our song?
Ain't this our movie? Ain't this our movie?
Ain't this our world to be who we choose?

I'm not too short, I'm not too tall,
I'm not too big, I'm not too small.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
I'm not too white, I'm not too black,
I'm not too this, I'm not too that.
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
Ooh, don't lemme start lovin' myself!
I'm beautiful, dammit!



Wednesday, July 27, 2011

O is for Oh Sheila

Just yesterday my friend and coworker Wendy were talking about my blog and the Z to A Challenge came up. "Oh my God, I've got to finish that!" In the busy-ness that has been the last month since school ended I had forgotten all about it. Well, though it really should have been over by the end of May, here it is July 27th and I'm only on the letter "O." I did say back then that no matter how long it takes me I would get it done and now that it's back on my mind, hopefully I will get it done soon! If you want to check out past posts on this particular challenge, which is all dedicated to music, check out the "Z to A Blogger's Challenge" label below and to the right.



"Oh Sheila" is a #1 R&B song from 1985 sung by a group called Ready for the World. The song has that quick, drum background remniscent of the Minneapolis sound that was so popular back thenn and I played it out on my CD player. Though I rarely take a listen to it anymore, I still love it when I do. Btw, there whole albumm was great, too! Do you remember "Oh Sheila?"


Oh Sheila - Ready for the World


Song of the Day - Land of the Living - Kristine W


Okay, so I have never been the type of guy to dress in women's clothes or anything like that, but if I was ever going to be a drag queen, THIS is the song I would perform! Though the video is not exactly the same as the original recording (there's more diva talk at the beginning in the original, which I like!), it's as close as it gets to the original. I love the part when the talking ends and the bassy dance track begins. Fabulous dance song!


Kristine W


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Song of the Day - You're Wondering Now - A Final Tribute to Amy


Today is the day that Amy Winehouse is being laid to rest and I wanted to do one last song as a tribute to the fallen talent. I searched through a few performances of this song and there was one titled, "LAST SONG SHE EVER PERFORMED - Amy Winehouse You're Wondering Now" that disturbed me too much to share. Although she did perform one day last week as a guest spot in a show, this clip was from the last concert she had ever done on her own in Belgrade on the 18th of June, yet in the video she hardly does any of the singing. Though she doesn't seem too trashed, to me she looked out of it and that's why I didn't post it here, but you can take a look here if you like.

The song is from Amy's first album, "Frank," and it's very ska and very short, but I thought it was appropriate enough to use its lyrics to begin my tribute piece for her. If you take a look at the words, you can see just how fitting this song is for her sad ending. For one last time I'd like to say rest in peace Amy. You will be missed!

You're Wondering Now

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end
You're wondering how, you will pay, for the way you did behave

Curtain has fallen, now you're on your own
I won't return, forever you will wait

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end

Curtain has fallen, now you're on your own
I won't return, forever you will wait

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end
You're wondering how, you will pay, for the way you did behave

You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end
You're wondering now, what to do, now you know this is the end






Monday, July 25, 2011

Song of the Day - Finally - Ce Ce Peniston


Good morning! Today's a new week and it's time for something new. "Janet Jackson Week" on John's World is now over and we move on to our regular daily selections. I hope you enjoyed the Janet songs that were chosen for the honors last week. To me they're all special songs. Despite what that commenter last week might think, I do hope she comes back one day in a big way.

Today's song is one I had completely forgotten about. In fact, when I looked for it in my iTunes, I discovered that I never even downloaded it there, which is hard to believe. I was doing a semi-humorous piece yesterday on music for gay weddings (check it out here) and I thought the song would make a perfect opening song for one.

CeCe Peniston's "Finally" was her one hit wonder, even though she put out two albums in the early 1990's which were both full of great music. "Finally" is one of those songs where the lyrics are just fun to sing along to throughout both the verses and the chorus. It was featured in a scene from "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and I thought about posting that video here as well, but it was a little grainy. Anyway, I hope this one brings back some happy memories. It does for me. Enjoy!



Finally - 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of CeCe Peniston


Here's a picture from the scene in "Priscilla" where the girls perform "Finally."



July 24-25, 2011 - Amy, Amy, Amy; Busy-Lazy Weekend; Studio 54 Party; Kenny

It’s late Sunday night, or early Monday morning, depending on which way you look at it. I’m tired and I’ve been laboring all weekend on writing, though it hasn’t been as fruitful as I would have liked (I told you about the Amy Winehouse fiasco yesterday!), but there are a few things I wanted to talk about before I get overwhelmed with too much to write about, so here I go…

Amy, Amy, Amy

I do not intend to beat a dead horse with the Amy Winehouse story (excuse the pun!). Regardless of being a writer and wanting to get the story out yesterday in a big way, I am still a big fan whose really sorry for her loss and I don’t want to make anyone sick of her because Lord knows there will be enough out there in the coming weeks that’ll do the trick.

Through yesterday’s fiasco, I still wanted to do a piece on her, one that of course talked about her music and my connection to it. I call the piece “Amy’s Legacy,” because that’s just what her music is, of course, her legacy. If you like Amy’s music, but may not even know it all, take a look at it by clicking the picture below. I put links to the songs I talk about so you can listen for yourself at see what a talent she really was.


I'm placing the audio here for you to listen to of a song called "Amy, Amy, Amy" that I simply love. It's very jazzy and very sexy and of course since it's got her name three times in the title, it's probably the one song of hers that I've had in my head the most this weekend. Enjoy...


Amy Amy Amy - Frank


A Busy/Lazy Kind of Weekend

I think I’d be in real trouble if I ever became a writer full time. With the Amy Winehouse story happening in the middle of the day yesterday, I had to drop and then revisit articles that I was already working on. I really should have been finished, but when I’m home, in front of my pc, with no specific place to be, I tend to lose my discipline and waste a lot of time. It’s definitely becoming a problem because I’m neglecting a lot of other things I should be doing in the name of writing, which I’m not doing as much as I should….whew, that was a mouthful!

Anyway, a few months ago I declared that I was becoming organized, but just like my attempts to quit smoking, I haven’t been doing too good. Well tomorrow’s Monday and Monday is always a great day to start something new, right? So let’s just see where the wind takes us, lol…

Studio 54 at the Grove

Last night Cherry’s was having a “Studio 54 Disco Party.” I wasn’t thrilled about it, but it turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be. I still found myself dancing to the Jacksons “Dancing Machine” (She’s a dance, dance, dance, dance , dancing machine, whatcha get down, whatcha get down…), Kool and the Gang, and Yvonne Elliman’s awesome “If I Can’t Have You.” Of course there were some downsides, like Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana” and Leo Sayer’s “You Make Me Feel Like Dancing,” which I absolutely hate. Disco group Musique was there performing their funky, sexy, “In the Bush,” which was alright. Let’s just say I’m glad it was only one night. Now I think they should do an
80’s night. Now THAT would be cool!

An anticlimactic reunion with an old acquaintance

I should not have been the only one going to the Grove last night. Someone of significance was going to be there and my friend Blanchie should have been there too, but unfortunately he had tickets to a show so I went by myself to see a person from our past, Kenny.

Back in the late 80’s, I used to hang out at the clubs with Blanche a lot, that is, until I met first Marco and then Joe. As I settled in to relationship status, Blanche found a new best friend, Kenny, with whom he would become very close. Kenny and I hung out together here and there, but he and I were never really close at all. I guess maybe there was a jealousy kind of thing going on…I really don’t remember.

Anywho, back in 87 or 88, Blanche and Kenny had a falling out and haven’t spoken since. Naturally since I was never direct friends with Kenny, it was the last time I ever saw him either, until now. In comes Alfonse and Billy, a former-couple-but-now-best-friends duo who we all kinda sorta knew from back then. I’d seen the two of them here and there since I’ve been single again, and on Memorial Day Weekend, Blanche spoke to them. They’re still good friends with Kenny, who now lives in Miami.

To make a long story even longer, Kenny has been up for a visit and the three of them rented a place at the Grove for the weekend. It would have been the perfect night for the two old friends to reunite even if for a night of reminiscing and catching up. Instead I was the one to get to see Kenny. All I can say is that time really does work magic, as whatever negative feelings I had for the guy back in the day were no longer there. I’m not saying I wanted to make all nicey-nicey with him, but it was actually cool seeing him for the ten minutes that I did. Besides, Kenny’s gained a few (he was always very thin), so… (He smiles!)

Wrap It Up John, Wrap It Up

Okay, so now it's definitely Monday morning as I've been writing this for more than an hour. I've got more to tell, but I'll save that for next time. I need to sleep! As always, thank you so much for reading and we'll see you tomorrow (or today? LOL)!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Janet Jackson Week Song of the Day - Got 'til It's Gone, featuring Joni Mitchell & Q-Tip


For our last Janet Week Song of the Day, I chose "Got 'til It's Gone." This was the lead single off of her "Velvet Rope" album and I love it cause it's sultry, smooth and sexy all at the same time. It's perfect for getting a groove on...kind of in the same vein as "That's the Way Love Goes," only different. Oh, and can't forget Joni Mitchell, whose music inspired this one and is sampled in it. Props! Oh, and Janet's hair, lol, that funky hairdo...


Got 'Til It's Gone - The Velvet Rope


Saturday, July 23, 2011

Rest in Peace Amy!


What a crazy day today! As you’ve probably heard by now, British singer Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment in London earlier today. Such a sad, but unsurprising ending to another promising career cut short by drugs and alcohol.

I first heard the news via Twitter and immediately began writing a story on it. It was one of the fastest pieces I’d ever written, about ten to fifteen minutes, and I quickly submitted it to Gather. For the next hour I waited for them to review it and was finally greeted with a rejection, saying that a story had already been published on the news. One of those frustrating things as a writer…this was the first time I had such quick access to a story and still I was beaten to the punch. Ah, well, at least I can share what I want about it here. The rejection doesn’t really have any bearing on the story anyway.

Of course, I first discovered Amy Winehouse right about when everyone else did, when “Rehab” was all over the radio. I bought “Back to Black” and fell in love with virtually every song. I even got my mom to like her by playing the album over and over in the car on the way to Atlantic City several times.

As time went on and Amy’s troubles were keeping her from putting out new stuff, I went on to iTunes in search of some old Amy stuff, as I was yearning for something new from the singer (as were all of her fans). I did find some stuff she had done before “Back to Black” and a couple of those songs turned out to be my favorites, most notably “Valerie” and “Amy, Amy, Amy.”

So be on the lookout for another piece or two on the singer. She meant that much to me and I am moved to share more. In the meantime, my heart goes out to her troubled soul and I hope that she is now in a better place, entertaining the angels. Rest in peace Amy! You will be missed!

Here’s an appropriate Amy Winehouse song to mark today’s sad occasion:


Back to Black - Amy Winehouse


Janet Jackson Week Song of the Day - Runaway


Today's Janet song was especially recorded for her first Greatest Hits album, "Design of a Decade," and it's a pleasant, melodic, and relaxing kind of songs. The tune peaked at #3 in 1995 and the video for it got a lot of airplay on what was then still Music Television, or MTV. The vid shows Janet taking a Tinkerbell-like trip around the world and she looks especially beautiful in it, with a cool piece of jewelry connecting from her nose to her ear. Very exotic! Check out "Runaway":


Janet Jackson - Runaway by hushhush112
Runaway - Number Ones



Friday, July 22, 2011

Janet Jackson Week Song of the Day - Miss You Much


Today's Janet Jackson song is a pure dance track from her "Rhythm Nation 1814" CD, which came out in 1989. The album was the follow-up to hugely successful breakthrough album "Control," and this was the first of four #1 songs to come off of that album (followed by "Escapade," "Black Cat," and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"), which had a staggering seven songs to hit the top five.

The video, like several from songs off of the album, was shot in black and white and featured the kind of dance sequences made popular by Janet's elder brother, Michael. So check out the video for today's Janet "Song of the Day," "Miss You Much":


Rhythm Nation 1814 - Janet Jackson


Thursday, July 21, 2011

Janet Jackson Week Song of the Day - Nasty Boys


This was one of my favorites from Janet's breakthrough 1986 album, "Control." She was just a young thing back then (weren't we all?), and although she'd made albums before it, she never really hit the big time until this one. The album contained some great and memorable songs, such as "What Have You Done For Me Lately," "When I Think of You," "The Pleasure Principle," the title track, and lots more. The songs were all done in the vein of the Prince-inspired "Minneapolis Sound" that was so hot during the mid to late eighties.

For those of you who may not know, check out then choreographer and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul in the video as one of Janet's buds. Weird, huh?


Control - Janet Jackson


Wednesday, July 20, 2011

July 20, 2011 - A Ziggy Kind of Day

Good morning and Happy Hump Day! Summer is in full swing (and so are the high temperatures!) and I have yet to make it to the beach! I’ve had a frustrating couple of days since the weekend and hopefully I’ll put an end to it with this post and starting a brand new day…



Ziggy

Every once in awhile I like to refer to myself as the real-life Ziggy. You remember Ziggy, the sad, yet lovable cartoon character who’s constantly finding himself in unfortunate situations in his daily life…kind of like a born loser. Well for the past couple of days I’ve definitely had some Ziggy moments, where no matter what I decided to do, it was the wrong thing, and it seemed that nothing went my way.

iPhone Blues

It all started on Sunday when I went to Best Buy to get a new phone. My old iPhone curiously started behaving very badly during this, the last month of my contract and I’ve been wanting to get the new one. So I signed on the dotted line and walked out with my new iPhone 4. I was excited…that is, until Monday.

Sometime Monday afternoon I was playing with one of my newest apps, Cam Wow (check out an article I wrote on it here), when suddenly the phone blacked out. I thought that maybe it was the app, and I restarted it again only to have it happen several times over the next 24 hours, finally dying altogether at around 9AM yesterday. I needed to go back to Best Buy! And so my Ziggy Tuesday began…



Bad timing all the way through

My agenda yesterday was simple. I had two errands to do, or three now with the visit to Best Buy, and they had to be done in the morning. I was going to get my stuff done and then head on out to the beach in the afternoon, the time I like to go. Simple enough, right? Well, not for John on a Ziggy day.

Did you ever have one of those days where just every single little choice you make is the wrong one? Mine started when I forgot my receipt and box for the iPhone and didn’t realize it until I was about 20 miles from home. Deep breaths!

I just did what I had to do and went back home to fetch them and then go to Best Buy. By the time I did that it was noon and I was feeling a little peckish. There’s a really good pizza joint near Best Buy called Zeno’s and I figured I’d get a slice because otherwise I’d probably have to wait an hour or so before I could eat.

I popped on over to Zeno’s and grabbed a quick slice. I was in there less than ten minutes. That was the first of my timing mistakes as I walked into the cell phone area of the store seconds behind two other people who just happened to both need new phones and were both very curious shoppers. Needless to say, I stood there for almost an hour and fifteen minutes until they were both done, and to kick it off I just missed the salesperson I wanted to help me. (He was cute and he did seem to know a lot more than the other rep!)

So a mere two and a half hours later I walked out of Best Buy, at least with a new and working phone. They told me that this was the first defective iPhone they’ve ever gotten back. You see, I told ya: Ziggy!

A quick and easy trip to Staples…Not! A Ziggy day continues…

After Best Buy I had one more stop to make, and that was to pick up a new calendar/planner for the upcoming year. I always get the same one, from Staples, and it begins in July so I wanted to start using the new one right away. I had seen the one I wanted a couple of weeks ago, so all I needed to do was run in, pick it up, and be on my way. Easy, right?

Of course, in accordance with my Ziggy day, the entire store had been rearranged in the two weeks since I’d been there and I could not find the planners. I finally had to enlist the help of a rep who even had some trouble locating them in the store’s new configuration. I’d only wasted about ten minutes to that point…not too bad.

As happens on Ziggy days such as this, I always seem to pick the wrong line to get on. When I approached the register area, there was one register open, with one customer being taken care of and the other waiting behind her. I stood in back of the second customer. Within seconds, another cashier opened another register and called the woman over. I stayed where I was. As I waited, the cashier in front of me was being very chatty with his customer, a little too chatty if you ask me. He was asking her about the health of her pc, if she’d like to make a donation to charity, and explaining the benefits of a Staples Rewards card…it was a never-ending sales pitch.

In the meantime, two other people got behind the woman who’d been called over to the other register and even the two of them, who came way after me, got to leave way before me. In all, I stood there a good ten to fifteen minutes…as the next in line…before I finally moved to the other register. That second cashier didn’t even call me over. She could sense I was seething and was very quick and quiet with my transaction. It was a frustrating ending to a frustrating morning…ur day!

I got home about 3:30 PM after leaving my house at 8:30 AM. What should have taken two hours in all ended up taking seven, and of course there were a myriad of other Ziggy moments that elongated what was supposed to be my simple day. I never made it to the beach, and my next chance to go isn’t going to be until Friday, when I’m sure something else will happen. Another summer day wasted! Today I’m stuck at home because I’m finally getting my dishwasher fixed and they’re not coming until between 2 and 5 in the afternoon, so it continues. Grrrrr!!!!

So maybe you’ll see me here again sometime today. I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and hopefully I’ll be productive. In the meantime, along with the theme of this week’s Janet Jackson “Songs of the Day” and my Ziggy day, here’s a Janet and Michael Jackson video that perfectly describes my day yesterday. Enjoy!



Scream - Michael and Janet Jackson


Scream - History: Past, Present and Future, Book 1