Last Dance For Donna Summer
Well, folks, another star has gone off to that big cabaret in the sky. This week, we say goodbye to Miss Disco herself, Donna Summer (Gosh! It seems that, with this year, there's more stars in Heaven than in the studios!). She was the biggest star in Disco, back in the day. My parents, uncles, aunts, and teachers all knew her well, as I did through my parent's vinyl albums.
My parents have very fond memories of the 1970s, since they were the age I am now back then. Even though there was no cable or Internet, and TVs and phones were big, clunky things, times were simpler then, mainly because everyone still had the opportunity to have a job and own a home, and college was in reach for many more than it is now. And the music was better, even though a vast majority of it was campy, but good campy. That's what disco was. Good, campy fun. I know this because I've been to many a '70's revival party myself. Disco was something everyone could be a part of: rich, poor, black, white, male, female, straight, gay. Hmmm. Maybe that's the reason why many never liked it, because it treated everyone equally. Disco was a classless genre, and how long did it last? Five years? And how long has punk and rap has been around? Yeah. Over thirty to thirty-five years. I guess the class (and caste) system really do run things in this country.
Speaking of rap, before I rap this blog up for another week, I'd also like to say goodbye to Beastie boy Adam Yauch, whose group did something in the 1980's that was very important to the music industry: they help make rap more mainstream and available to this nation, and to the rest of the world. So, to Donna Summer and Adam Yauch, and the many others who have gone to the great beyond, hail and farewell.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
A Feast Fit For Your Queen
Hello, hello--hello!
Well, today is Mother's Day. Time to celebrate that one person in everyone's life who gives so much, and wishes she received as much in return. Sometimes she does, other times... well, we can safely say that's she's thankful for what she does get in return. After all, there wouldn't even be countries on this planet if the founding fathers didn't have a founding mother beside them to help take care of it. Think of that, gentlemen.
Many moms will be going out to eat tonight, but, with the economy being what it is, a lot of us will be fixing Mother's Day dinners at home, like my father, brother, and I will be doing. The 99 Cents Only Stores makes gathering your ingredients easy and more affordable, and you can get the main course on sale at your local mainstream supermarket. 99 Cents Only also makes it easy to get all the stuff you need to make your special one a most perfect Mother's Day basket filled with many great gifts as well, because nothing says "I love you" more than a nice, and affordable, gift and meal.
I, myself, decided on a simple and affordable meal for my dear old mom, chicken and dumplings. I got the chicken broth, canned mixed vegetables, spices, canned buttermilk biscuits to use as the dumplings, and a 12-pack of Wyler's soft drink mix at the 99 Cents Only Store, and got the cut-up chicken pieces that were recently on sale at our local Kroger subsidiary, Food For Less. We plan to put together everything after we've gotten home from church today, and mix up some Berry flavored Wyler's with a bottle of apple juice and some lemon-lime Shasta, also gotten at 99 Cents Only. Talking about doing dinner on a dime! Well, whether you're eating out or eating in tonight, here's hoping that your Mother's Day is a special day.
Well, that's all the time we have for today. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
A Not-So-Funny April Fool's Joke
Hello, hello--hello!
Well, I'm sure you all were missing my blog over the past six weeks. Well, let me tell you. On Palm Sunday, The Day of the Fools, no doubt, my computer went dead. Gone. Kaput. Even though it was April Fool's Day, I didn't find that funny at all. It started the usual way. I was doing my normal daily work on the computer, when the screen went dark, and the "blue screen" appeared. So, I did what I normally do when a blue screen appeared: I turned off my computer and turned it back on. That normally worked when I did it before. But that Sunday, things were different. When the computer came back on, Windows took up to 5 minutes, and still, I couldn't get into Windows, so I turned the computer off and turned it on again. Still, I couldn't get into Windows. So I turned it off and turned it on again. This time, when it tried to enter Windows, the computer turned itself off and restarted, then when it tried to enter Windows, it turned itself off and restarted. And so on, and so on, and so on. Over and over and over again. Finally, when I turned it off and on again, the screen announced at the bottom left hand side that it was experiencing a disk drive error. And that was it. And, of course you know, I was ticked off. That was the day I did my weekly blog.
It took me almost six weeks to get a new computer because, first, my friends and family all took a look at it, and they all said that, because of its age (approximately 10 years), it was time for it to konk out anyway, and it would be better to go on and invest in a brand new computer than to spend anything having this one fixed (which was also what the technician at Office Depot said when I took it to have it fixed). And second, of course, it took all this time shopping around for a sweet deal. I finally (thank Jesus!) got an Acer desktop for $299 at Office Depot. It's all hooked up and, now, I'm back in business. And, not to worry, my friends, I managed to keep my blog up these past five weeks by writing it every Sunday on notebook paper, so none of you really missed anything.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
What Have We Learned In 20 Years? (4/29/2012)
Hello, hello--hello!
Well, it's hard to believe, but it's been 20 years today that the 2nd LA riots happened. The first one happened 27 years earlier, and apparently, no one has learned that lesson in 27 years. Sadder still, seems no one has learned any valuable lessons in the 20 years that has passed.
Valuable in the sense, as to the real reason why riots such as these that happened, in Los Angeles, happened in the first place. first of all, we have a big, jackass problem with class in this country, which no one wants to speak about, because a person's social class is something that can be changed, while a person's skin color can't, and, let's face facts, people: no one wants to change a person's social class because that takes too much of our time and, more important, money (and we all know how much money we want to spend making the poor's lives better, don't we? Winky, winky, nudgy, nudgy!). After the '65 riots, the factories in and around Los Angeles County started hiring more people from the inner city, which made it possible for many of them to leave the inner city and move to the more affluent suburbs such as Inglewood, Gardena, and, my hometown, Hawthorne. It was good, while it lasted, but then, these factories started closing and moving out of state, starting around the time Generation X started graduating from high school and community college, and tuition at the 4-year universities started rising, which made it impossible for working class kids to even go to these universities. So, around the early 90's, you start having the same social ills that plagued L.A.in the '60s: poverty, crime, juvenile delinquency. So, like I said, no one had learned any valuable lessons: such as, opportunity to a better life leads to a better society.
So what to do? Well, for starters, do what I have always said: If no one gives you an opportunity, make your own. Go to community college, learn a trade, and start your own business. The sooner you learn self reliance, the better your world and the world around you will be.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
The Two Pied Pipers (4/20/12)
And yet, we gather here today to honor another fallen legend--American Bandstand's own, Dick Clark, roughly two months after the death of Soul Train's Don Cornelius (gee, it's beginning to look like 2012 is going to be known as "The Year of the Legend," for very somber reasons).
You know, many people might not know this, but there are very many similarities between Dick Clark and Don Cornelius. I'm not kidding you! There are! First of all, check out the initials: D.C. Stand for both Dick
Clark and Don Cornelius. They were both host of TV dance shows, both aired on Saturdays, both produced their dance shows, both their names appeared at the end of their shows( Dick Clark Productions and Don Cornelius Productions), the theme songs of both shows have been recorded by famous people (Barry Manilow for Bandstand and The Sound of Philadelphia for Soul Train), and both have been on the top of the charts and have since become classics, and, finally (and this is the most important part), both were influential in bringing all the races and classes of not only this country, but the rest of the world, together, through the most common thread of all: pop music. Dick Clark's American Bandstand introduced African American R&B music to the rest of the country, and Don Cornelius' Soul Train introduced R&B and, later, hip hop and rap, not only to the rest of the country, but the rest of the world as well.
I've really never had any idea how pop music (my personal choice and calling) had really influenced this world until I'd done some personal research on both American Bandstand and Soul Train. It's really had a tremendous effect on everything, and everybody. Everything we've thought, and bought, and even learned, was brought about in some way through pop music, and we have both Deck Clark and Don Cornelius to thank for that.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
A Lifestyle That's Not For Everyone (4/15/2012)
So, Easter has come and gone, Spring Break is over, and it's time to get back to work, and school, which, I'm sure, most of you are just ready to go back to (probably not!). And, if you're not, I'm sure you had a wonderful time on your holiday, just as I did.
I've been watching a lot of the media lately, because of the Spring Break and all, and I'm just appalled at all the insensitivity and uncivil behavior That I have seen (and that was just on the news!), and I have come to the sad conclusion that, really, seriously, there is just not enough love in this world, and I've also come to the equally sad conclusion that a lot of people who profess to be Christian, really aren't. Now, I know that this particular opinion of mine is really going to tick a lot of people off, because, of course, we all would love to think of ourselves as followers of Christ (which is a very different thing than being a "Christian," many people may not know), and who can really blame them. It isn't easy being a true follower of Christ. Really, this lifestyle is not for everybody. If Christ Himself were here today, He would tell you that. As a matter of fact, If you've ever read the Gospel, He does tell you that. He tells you it's not for you if you're rich and you don't want to share what you got with the poor (in that whole analogy about the camel going through the eye of the needle), He tells you it's not for you if you do charity and religious stuff in public, for public adoration, and He definitely tells you it's not for you if you have a less than caring attitude toward the least of your brethren, which, in modern times, translates into, "the social outcast." So, if you don't like people of another race, culture, or religion, if you don't want to share what you got with the poor, and if you strongly believe that "God hates outcasts," then this lifestyle may not be for you. but if you don't mind people who are different, if you are willing to share, and if you're willing to be kind to others, no matter who they are, then welcome aboard. We're glad to have you.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
Don't Be Bullied By Jackasses (4/6/2012)
I'm writing this blog a little early because Sunday is Easter, and I'd like to get a little ahead of myself because of the holiday, and all, you know. With all the going to church and the party, and the big dinner, there'll be no time for blogging.
And now, a few words about a very controversial movie. Yes, you know what I'm talking about: Bully. The movie, not the jackass who's making your life (or your child's life) miserable at school. And I say "jackass" because that's the only term I have for people like that, that can be printed in a family blog. The term that they really are, can, sadly, only be heard in an "R" rated movie, which, unfortunately, what this movie initially got (it was since edited to get its rightfully deserved "PG-13" rating). A lot of people, myself included, thought that this movie should have gotten a "PG-13" so that many teenagers could see this movie and see how ugly bulling can really be, so that they won't take part in it, but, alas, it is that very ugliness (in the form of the "F" word being said 7 times) that got it its "R" rating. The ironic thing that, many times, a very ugly thing known as violence somehow manage to make it into many "PG-13" movies (like The Hunger Games, for one). And, speaking of bulling, a lot of you might not think that popular people do get teased, and yet, we do. An awful lot. For example, I do get teased. Yeah, that's right! I get teased because of my red hair. I get teased because of my Irish heritage. I even get teased because I'm an African American who loves the Beatles (this I get mainly from Rolling Stones fans of all races and cultures!). But the truth of this matter concerning my personal ribbing is, it really doesn't matter. I'm proud of my red hair (so much so that I dye it myself every two months). I'm proud of my Irish heritage. And I will love the Beatles 'till the day I die! So put that in your hookah pipe and smoke it, you jackasses! See, it doesn't matter what people think of you. What you think of yourself is all that matters.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
Only Fools Do Drugs (4/1/2012)
Well, today is a very special day. It's the Day of the Fools, which means all sorts of weird, freaky things are bound to happen today. And not only is today All Fools's Day, it's also Palm Sunday, and you know what that means: Yes! Next Sunday is Easter! And I bet many of you just can't wait to tear into all those chocolate bunnies and chocolate eggs and jelly beans and all kinds of delectable treats. And I'm sure you all also can hardly wait to show off your finest Easter garb as well.
So, Whitney Houston autopsy report was recently released, and the news came that many of us were disheartened to hear, although, for many of us, it wasn't unexpected: she died of drowning, quite possibly caused by a heart episode, but cocaine, as well as a number of other drugs, including prescription drugs, were in her body. Now, I'm not saying that she died of an overdose, but the drugs were there, folks. Any time she wasn't doing the 'caine, and aggravating those heart problems, and she'd be alive today. It's as simple as that. I'm sure you all remember what your parents and grandparents and teachers and ministers and counselors all told you about the dangers of drugs (and the prescription drugs are just as bad), and I'm sure you've heard about all of the wonderful and talented people who are no longer with us thanks to drugs, and the same applies to the ordinary folk as well. Turns out everyone out there giving the good advice was right on target. Let what happened to Whitney, and to Amy, and to Michael, and to all the rest, be a lesson to one and all: don't do drugs. And I don't care if you want to fit in with the "in" crowd, or because you're board, or because you're depressed, or because you want to try something new. Just don't do drugs. Your heart will thank you.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
Try A Little Tolerance
Hello, everybody!
Well, it's a (rare) rainy day in Southern California, and as I watch the tiny droplets of water fall on the grateful vegetation outside my window, I wonder when are we ever going to be a nation that is, truly, one under God.
I'm sure you all must have heard about what's going on in Florida right about now, about how an innocent African American teen was hunted and gunned down by a neighborhood watch organizer who is part white and part Latino. This has shocked, and outraged, the entire nation, and maybe the entire world, since such news travels fast, thanks to the Internet, especially due to the fact that the shooter has not been arrested as of late. But the thing that upsets many people, especially those around my age, is that things such as this are still happening here, in America, in 2012! Not 1912, not even 1952, but 2012! We couldn't believe that, the fact that our President is African American notwithstanding, there are places in this country where racism is so prevalent that things like this are still allowed to happen, and yet they do.
And since they do, we all must, really, seriously, people, look deep into our own selves and ask ourselves, how can we make this place we all call home, planet Earth, a better place. We thought we all had the answers back in the late 60's, when everyone was getting on the peace and love and harmony bandwagon, but, back then, many people were on drugs strong enough to make someone butt ugly look like a Hollywood matinee idol, so, of course, that didn't last very long. What we need to do today, when everyone is more straight and sane, is try and practice tolerance, to try and be more accepting of everyone else, no matter who they are. Sure, it will be hard, but I know we all can do it.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue
From Leprecauns To Rabbits
Hello, hello--hello!
Well, we've just got through celebrating St. Patrick' Day yesterday, and I'm sure everyone had a magnificent feast of corned beef, cabbage--and green-colored 7up. My family, for one, had a barbecue, which was almost dampered by a brief rainfall early yesterday morning, but luckily, the luck of the Irish was with us, and everything slacked up by early afternoon, and we were able to barbecue our brisket out in the backyard. We served it with Cole slaw, sourdough bread, potato salad, and two liters of the aforementioned green 7up, a real SoCal St. Paddy's Day feast.
Now that we've celebrated one holiday, we all anticipating the arrival of another. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint: when you go into any retail store, what's the first thing you notice? Stuffed bunnies, chocolate eggs, jelly beans, and baskets stuffed with all these goodies? That's right! Easter's on the way! Boy, doesn't time go by fast?! It seems as if it was yesterday that we were seeing teddy bears, gingerbread men, peppermint candy, and pre-stuffed Christmas stockings in the stores, and we were all busy buying turkey and canned yams for the holiday feast. Now, we're all buying ham, crunch cake, and plenty of eggs for dying. And some of us are even cutting back on treats so that we can fit into our Easter finest on Easter Sunday.
I'm sure many of you young people have a lot of plans for the upcoming Spring Break. I, for one, just plan to chill out in front of the computer screen (lately, I find myself spending a lot of time watching You Tube, rather than the living room tube), but for now, I plan on having a Sunday afternoon snack of leftover barbecue brisket and fried cabbage. The two great tastes really do taste great together.
Well, that's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, be well, stay well, and remember to help the disaster survivors!
Sincerely,
Marley Sue