Saturday, July 07, 2007
7/7/07
A fortuitous day, numbers-wise, seven being considered so lucky and all, although I'm not quite sure why. I do know that there were lots of weddings planned for today. I figured it was so that couples could easily remember their wedding day. That's the only reason I'd ever plan a wedding for this day anyway.
It was also Live Earth day. We've been half-watching the concert most of the day, really concentrating when someone interesting to us comes on. It doesn't seem to have much of the flavor of other cause concerts, perhaps because they're not raising any money, but I think it goes deeper than that. Maybe people are burned out by all these mass concerts and they just don't have the effect they once had. Not too many fire-and-brimstone preachers among the performers either. In my opinion, the only one who captured the essence of the cause was Melissa Etheridge. When that woman spoke, I really wanted to do something.
Al Gore came on directly after Melissa and quickly ran down the Live Earth pledge. I'm not holding out any hope that Kanye West is going to live up to that pledge. Something about that Gold Digger song might just be affecting my judgment, though.
Madonna performed in London, looking quite matronly in her black dress with all the British school children singing with her dressed in their school uniforms. During her performance of Ray of Light, she played the electric guitar in an uncomfortable fashion. It's obvious that she hasn't had that much practice with the instrument, although her action in the matter is understandable. From what I've heard, she likes to have total control over her performances and is a stickler for perfection. She has a personality that will insist that she try the guitar.
We saw Duran Duran this morning, playing from London. Very good form, that group. They played a couple of oldies - from my day oldies - Planet Earth and Girls on Film. I was surprised to see Simon LeBon chewing gum. In fact, there were a few other singers that were also chewing gum. Does this help keep the mouth moist?
Kelly Clarkson did a great set. She seems so natural and down-to-earth, as did her back-up singers. Solid performance.
Two great little surprises were Blue Man Group, with their funny earth-is-an-airplane-on-a-collision-course video, and Nanatuk, the group of scientists on Antarctica who got together to play specifically for Live Earth. They did a great job, although we wondered if they pre-taped their session. There were no cords leading from their instruments to any power source that we could see. They played outside, so doing a non-plugged-in version is understandable (unless they buried their cords under the snow?).
The band I was waiting for was Dave Matthews Band. They played One Sweet World, Don't Drink the Water (one of my personal favorites) and Too Much. Quite fitting, actually. We were all a little worried about Dave's voice on Don't Drink the Water, at the point where he does this scream-yell. My daughter said, "Get that man a cough drop." That, or a piece of gum. Really, it was that serious. I'm not sure how any of these singers get up night after night to perform without getting permanent laryngitis. I do three school tours in a row at work and I'm frogging up like mad. I have every confidence that the Dave Matthews Band, along with Melissa Etheridge, will live up to the Live Earth pledge, as they are already doing so to a great extent. Dave even said something along the lines of hoping that everyone would walk home from the concert. Nice touch.
It remains to be seen how all this shakes out. But, hey, it's 7/7/07. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?
Correction (7/8/07): Well, then . . . it seems I've spelled the Antarctic group's name wrong. According to a Reuters article, it's Nunatak. Whoops. Sorry.
It was also Live Earth day. We've been half-watching the concert most of the day, really concentrating when someone interesting to us comes on. It doesn't seem to have much of the flavor of other cause concerts, perhaps because they're not raising any money, but I think it goes deeper than that. Maybe people are burned out by all these mass concerts and they just don't have the effect they once had. Not too many fire-and-brimstone preachers among the performers either. In my opinion, the only one who captured the essence of the cause was Melissa Etheridge. When that woman spoke, I really wanted to do something.
Al Gore came on directly after Melissa and quickly ran down the Live Earth pledge. I'm not holding out any hope that Kanye West is going to live up to that pledge. Something about that Gold Digger song might just be affecting my judgment, though.
Madonna performed in London, looking quite matronly in her black dress with all the British school children singing with her dressed in their school uniforms. During her performance of Ray of Light, she played the electric guitar in an uncomfortable fashion. It's obvious that she hasn't had that much practice with the instrument, although her action in the matter is understandable. From what I've heard, she likes to have total control over her performances and is a stickler for perfection. She has a personality that will insist that she try the guitar.
We saw Duran Duran this morning, playing from London. Very good form, that group. They played a couple of oldies - from my day oldies - Planet Earth and Girls on Film. I was surprised to see Simon LeBon chewing gum. In fact, there were a few other singers that were also chewing gum. Does this help keep the mouth moist?
Kelly Clarkson did a great set. She seems so natural and down-to-earth, as did her back-up singers. Solid performance.
Two great little surprises were Blue Man Group, with their funny earth-is-an-airplane-on-a-collision-course video, and Nanatuk, the group of scientists on Antarctica who got together to play specifically for Live Earth. They did a great job, although we wondered if they pre-taped their session. There were no cords leading from their instruments to any power source that we could see. They played outside, so doing a non-plugged-in version is understandable (unless they buried their cords under the snow?).
The band I was waiting for was Dave Matthews Band. They played One Sweet World, Don't Drink the Water (one of my personal favorites) and Too Much. Quite fitting, actually. We were all a little worried about Dave's voice on Don't Drink the Water, at the point where he does this scream-yell. My daughter said, "Get that man a cough drop." That, or a piece of gum. Really, it was that serious. I'm not sure how any of these singers get up night after night to perform without getting permanent laryngitis. I do three school tours in a row at work and I'm frogging up like mad. I have every confidence that the Dave Matthews Band, along with Melissa Etheridge, will live up to the Live Earth pledge, as they are already doing so to a great extent. Dave even said something along the lines of hoping that everyone would walk home from the concert. Nice touch.
It remains to be seen how all this shakes out. But, hey, it's 7/7/07. That's gotta count for something, doesn't it?
Correction (7/8/07): Well, then . . . it seems I've spelled the Antarctic group's name wrong. According to a Reuters article, it's Nunatak. Whoops. Sorry.
Labels: al gore, blue man group, dave matthews band, duran duran, global warming, guitar, kanye west, kelly clarkson, live earth, luck, madonna, melissa etheridge, music, nunatak, wedding
Monday, November 13, 2006
Clothing & Famous People
When it comes to clothing, have you ever noticed that famous people fall into two camps? There's the camp of famous people who wear a uniform - the same sort of thing every day so much so that they get known for a particular look. Neil Gaiman with his all-black is in this camp, as was Steve Irwin, the Croc Hunter. The other camp is composed of famous people who NEVER wear the same thing twice. Oprah, Gwen Stefani, Madonna wouldn't be caught dead in the same outfit two days in a row or in the same week. They have closets so big they could clothe every person in Rhode Island for a month.
I'm not famous which is probably why I fall into neither camp. I have only so many clothes, none of which classifies as a uniform, and, by God, they're getting worn again and again, week to week, until they're so threadbare that I have to use them as rags or throw them away. Some (most!) of my dresses have been hanging in my closet for over a decade. Fashionista, I'm not. Clint & Stacy (Staci?) of What Not to Wear would have a field day with me. Tough cookies.
I'm not famous which is probably why I fall into neither camp. I have only so many clothes, none of which classifies as a uniform, and, by God, they're getting worn again and again, week to week, until they're so threadbare that I have to use them as rags or throw them away. Some (most!) of my dresses have been hanging in my closet for over a decade. Fashionista, I'm not. Clint & Stacy (Staci?) of What Not to Wear would have a field day with me. Tough cookies.
Labels: clothing, fame, gwen stefani, madonna, neil gaiman, oprah, steve irwin, uniform
Monday, September 25, 2006
FtTP - Ultravox + Madonna
Ultravox was one of my favorite bands in high school. I've also been quite fond of Madonna through her various incarnations. (It's fun to see what she'll come up with next.) However, I never would've thought to put the two together. Thankfully, someone else did. I was searching for Ultravox on YouTube yesterday and found this dandy video: Madonna vs. Ultravox-Love in Vienna. It's a fascinating splice of Madonna's Substitute for Love and Ultravox's Vienna. It was posted by the avatar Avestan. I can only assume that Avestan is the one with the creative mash-up skills. Very cool.
Labels: frankensteining the talent pool, FtTP, madonna, ultravox, youtube
Thursday, September 14, 2006
Life of the Mind, Life of the Body
Most of us have heard of the phrase "life of the mind," usually used as a positive reference to someone who leads a life with lots of mental work. I love mental work and do a ton of it. However, if I do too much in one sitting, my head starts feeling doppy. When I look up from my mental work or step away from it, I feel as though I'm living in a half-dimension. My vision is blurry. I've been away and it's hard to come back to the real world.
But, oh! That real world is so critical to the mental world. I've found that it's just as important to live a life of the body as well as a life of the mind. Now, some might think the phrase "life of the body" seems akin to living a life of the flesh, as though I'm promoting prostitution or something. Regardless of your thoughts on THAT topic, we don't tend to give a lot of credence to our physical selves until they fall into a disease state. Then we realize how critical our physical selves are to our mental selves. In fact, too much mental work, which I've been indulging in lately, tends to make my physical self ill. It's as though my body is screaming for attention. And it is. Rest, outright snoozing and engaging in physical labor all make me feel better and recharge my creative energies.
When I behaving sanely, I always intersperse my writing time (major mental work) with something physical. It feels a little crazy to admit this, but I like to take dance breaks. Sometimes I even warm up for writing by dancing first. It gets the wiggles out and settles my mind.
Songs I use to warm up:
Queen: Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy & A Kind of Magic
Michael Buble: Fever
Ultravox: Vienna
ABBA: Take your pick of songs
Belly: All of these are from the album Star -Feed the Tree & Slow Dog & Gepetto (This last one will really get your blood moving)
Once in a while I'll throw in some Gwen Stefani or Madonna.
Now, if people could see my dancing, they'd probably laugh at me. Tough cookies. As long as I do it alone, what's the problem? It's just me and God and God doesn't care how I look.
But, oh! That real world is so critical to the mental world. I've found that it's just as important to live a life of the body as well as a life of the mind. Now, some might think the phrase "life of the body" seems akin to living a life of the flesh, as though I'm promoting prostitution or something. Regardless of your thoughts on THAT topic, we don't tend to give a lot of credence to our physical selves until they fall into a disease state. Then we realize how critical our physical selves are to our mental selves. In fact, too much mental work, which I've been indulging in lately, tends to make my physical self ill. It's as though my body is screaming for attention. And it is. Rest, outright snoozing and engaging in physical labor all make me feel better and recharge my creative energies.
When I behaving sanely, I always intersperse my writing time (major mental work) with something physical. It feels a little crazy to admit this, but I like to take dance breaks. Sometimes I even warm up for writing by dancing first. It gets the wiggles out and settles my mind.
Songs I use to warm up:
Queen: Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy & A Kind of Magic
Michael Buble: Fever
Ultravox: Vienna
ABBA: Take your pick of songs
Belly: All of these are from the album Star -Feed the Tree & Slow Dog & Gepetto (This last one will really get your blood moving)
Once in a while I'll throw in some Gwen Stefani or Madonna.
Now, if people could see my dancing, they'd probably laugh at me. Tough cookies. As long as I do it alone, what's the problem? It's just me and God and God doesn't care how I look.
Labels: body, dancing, god, gwen stefani, madonna, michael buble, mind, music, physical, ultravox, writing
