Gotta Work On Posting More...(second attempt)

What a long, long few days I've had! Four days, five rehearsals, two concerts. Not too sure that we thought that one through very well... The good part is that both concerts came off remarkably well. With a minimum number of hassles. And a new appreciation for Shostakovich!

---

I've written a great deal over the years about my nieces, but not too much about my nephew. Now that he's the last kid, he's growing into his own. As a sophomore, he played a bit on the varsity football team, and he's been putting in a good deal of time on the varsity basketball team as a point guard. The state playoffs start up this weekend, and hopefully he'll get the chance to make some major contributions!

---

"The Godfather" is on AMC all this week. You can pretty much guess where my butt's going to be planted this week!

---

Mom asked me this afternoon if I'd watched the Oscars last night. HA! With "The Walking Dead" on??? Pfffttt...

---

Did anyone notice that February is almost over? How did that happen? Good thing there's an extra day this year so I can say I enjoyed it!

---

Good golly, my life has gotten boring.

---

And now...Pomplamoose covers the "Angry Birds" theme.

Gotta Work On Posting More...

You know that great feeling when you get an unexpected text from someone? It's so much better when it comes from an attractive 17 y.o.! (I'll let your minds wander for a bit...)

---

I'm not at all excited about the new word verification needed for Blogger pages now. One had to assume that, eventually, they'd run out of fake words to use, or even some unexpected real ones, but I had no idea they'd start using the double word captcha. Most of which are damned hard to read. For the love of all that is holy, change your accounts so that we don't have to go through that anymore!!! In 7 years of blogging, I've never used it, and have never needed to use it. Nope, not a fan at all.

---

Got to spend the weekend house sitting for my baby sister. Not so much sitting for the house, but for the pain-in-the-ass dog. It's a shih tzu. A goofy looking mutt. Hyperactive, to say the least. He and I had a couple of "Come To Jesus" meetings, but overall, things weren't too bad. Watch the video to see what I had to put up with...

---

Busy week ahead of me for Symphony. Youth Concert for the 4th/5th graders in the area on Thursday, then a 4-hour turnaround for rehearsals for the weekend's concert. Two totally different set ups. Truth is...it's not going to be that bad. But I'll deny it if you repeat that!

---

And because it's Monday... Pomplamoose's version of "Mr. Sandman" is just as good the original!

Hope Cupid's Arrow Hits You In the Butt!

Since it's Valentine's Day tomorrow, I give you Pomplamoose ("If You Think You Need Some Lovin'") AND another version of "My Funny Valentine" by the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.

Superiority

I may go to hell for saying this, but I love watching those one-word shows on TLC and other cable channels. You know the ones...Hoarders, Infested!, Intervention, and the other similar ones (My Strange Addiction, Predator Raw, etc., etc.). Yes, there's a lot of sad things in the world, and in many of these cases, the victims have mental problems that cause these results (not to mention families), but I can't help to feel okay about my own life. Even feeling superior in many instances. Not the way to feel about your fellow man. However, the moms on Toddlers & Tiaras are a totally different story...

---

Speaking of messes, Whitney Houston died. Glorious voice, really screwed up life. While it's sad, I read a comment on a FB post that a friend linked to that had a more realistic point of view. One that I think I pretty much agree with:

How many more times does this have to happen? Making music is one of the most powerful, wonderful things a person can do, but it DOES NOT make them more important than a teacher, a cook, or plumber, or garbage man. Just because you sing back up vocals, or play the famous sax solo on a song, or mixed and produced a comeback album for a washed up star, or win an award on a tv show for singing (where the 2 out of 3 of the a judges are autotuned OR don’t sing) or sell 170 million records does not make you an idol or god or goddess. Your hard work and dedication mean you earn the reward for just that, your hard work and dedication to your art. Not the perception of your celebrity. The culture is backwards. NBC-BRAVO aired a tv show on the cracked up Whitney, and now they are covering the HORROR of her death. That poor woman was built up and taken down and her body was not prepared for it. No one is. Michael Jackson, Elvis, Luther Vandross, etc. Whether it’s drugs or alcohol or food, the indulgence comes from masking the pain and fear. Whitney appeared on Oprah due to Clive Davis’ string pulling comeback, and SHE WAS NOT READY. We all saw it. No one said anything. Including Oprah. God forbid we rock the boat, and get the person the help they need.
Last night I watched McCartney get feted for his songs, the thing that all of us are trying to be a part of, the songs, the content. Not the celebrity. He and the Beatles invented this music business and he seems pretty healthy. Why? Cause he doesn’t believe the bullshit. He just wants to make music. Stevie Wonder sang a 3 hour concert, in amazing voice. No one can touch his artistry, and he is humbled by the attention. Yet he is becoming the rare exception instead of the main influence.
It’s a false culture, and the TMZ/Kardashian/Lohan/media whore inmates are taking over the zoo. Does anyone’s life change by knowing who Demi Moore is coupled with?
Producers are making inferior music with protools and auto tune because the hottie who’s 16 is less of a risk, even though there’s not a NOTE of originality.
Watch how many Adele imitators come out this year.
Music is created to express and receive connection, not exchange for a mansion. Whatever $ people THINK the Beatles earned is a pittance compared to what their songs made people feel. For someone to say “I’m living large like an idol or a rockstar,” is a false goal. To have an equal experience as say, John Lennon, one would really have to give half their money away to charity or doctors without borders, or something! And that would be only the start, since the creator of Imagine had us actually imagining, and he lost his life for it.
Now, it seems we’re cracked and bloody like his Gandhi glasses, (another who btw who told us to be the change.)
I wish someone could have reached her. She deserved happiness more than adoration from strangers.
We have to change our thinking. What else is there for us if we don’t? We can only keep making music and let the sounds fall on the ears of those who can hear. Live our own beautiful lives, and give our adoration to those who deserve (our friends, our families, our children) instead of the culture/media.

---

Spent all day Saturday in symphony rehearsals. Which means my day gets started 3 hours earlier than anyone else, to pick up equipment, set it up, and then sit for 2 full rehearsals. Oh, yeah--another hour-plus to tear it down, return equipment and the truck. All in all, a full 12 hours. My knees are letting me know about their displeasure.

---

Valentine's Day is coming up. Not dreading it, but not anticipating it either. Hope you have some plans, one way or the other! And as I do every year..."My Funny Valentine". This time by Etta James...

Monday After XLVI

Well, I watched the big game, but I didn't enjoy it. Though the last three minutes were pretty good. Thought Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton had some nice harmonies, but their performance didn't do a thing for me. Kelly Clarkson didn't show me anything. And while Madonna's halftime was nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated, it seemed pretty flat as well. Granted, she's 53, but her dance moves just aren't there anymore. Perhaps that should be taken as a sign. On the other hand, she looks pretty good for an old lady! As for whoever it was that flipped off the camera...I missed it. As I'm sure that 75% of America did. I didn't even read about it until the media pounced all over it this morning. As for the game itself...eh. I keep on reading how it was a "classic" game. Sorry, I don't see it. A good game? Maybe. Happy with the outcome? Well, the lesser of two evils won, so I suppose I was. Now I get to avoid professional sports until August. Except for the Masters, of course!

---

Had a gig with the soul band on Saturday night. Everyone loved us, of course, and we had a good crowd through the entire evening. We played pretty well, though my chops were hurting the next day, and my face felt like it wanted to fall off. And my knees let me know all the next day (and beyond) how unhappy they were. It sucks to get old...

---

Here's a little bit of trivia for you... Growing up, my birthday day fell on Easter Sunday three different times. On my 22nd, 33rd, 44th bdays. I checked online, out of boredom, and found that it won't fall on Easter again until my 106th, 117th, 128th, 139th bdays! I'm fairly confident in saying I won't see any of those dates (or if I do, I won't know about it!).

---

It's Monday...it's time for Pomplamoose!