Meat Lover's Pizza
What more do I need to say?
What I read, write, watch, listen to or do between hot cups of the good stuff.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Five Star Songs #2
John Mellencamp has been a favorite musician of mine since the 80s.
I like a lot of his stuff, but Cherry Bomb, from 1987, is my favorite.
Always brings me back to '87 when I hear it.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Five Star Songs #1
Trying to get things moving here once again, so here is a new feature:
Five Star Songs
Simply, now and then I will feature songs I really love.
To kick things off, here is "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World"
by Israel "IZ" Ka'ano'i Kamakawiwo'ole, from 1993.
Just beautiful.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
A Last Life to Live
After over 43 years of daily shows, it all comes down to one hour.
Today marks the final episode of ABC's "One Life to Live".
This show was always the "back up" show, when I was growing up. "General Hospital" was the big deal at my house, between my sister, my younger brother (for awhile, anyway) and myself. "One Life to Live" was the one we caught if we had time. Usually, it had started before we got home, so it was just a half hour, at most. But I still watched and got hooked, for a good number of years.
I stopped watching years ago and only last summer did I start up again, watching with my family. We are all kinda hooked on it, and if the show had been as good (and as cheezy-fun) as it has been lately, I bet it wouldn't be facing its demise today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Viki Lord Buchanan, played by actress Erica Slezak for 40 years,
had a speech on the show yesterday:
“The fans are so loyal, so passionate, so invested in their stories. I always ask how they started watching Fraternity Row. Some of them were stay at home mothers, taking a break before their children came home from school. Others were college students, with free time between classes. Many of them inherited a love of the show from their parents or their grandparents, who were long time fans themselves.
I remember the first time I tuned into Fraternity Row. I was hooked instantly. I needed to know what would happen next to these fascinating people. Would the hero and the heroine find their way back to true love? Would the villains get their comeuppance? Or would their crimes go unpunished? Would loving families overcome their obstacles? Or would their troubles prove too difficult to surmount?
Ultimately, that’s what soap opera is about: families. Close families, rival families. Even families that are unexpected, or the ones we choose for ourselves. And when a show is lucky enough to be on the air as long as Fraternity Row has been on, these families become extensions of our own. The audience might be upset when a favorite actor leaves, but they’re always willing to welcome a new one. Even when that new cast member is quite different from the one being replaced.
After all, this is a place where people come back from the dead, go off to grade school in the morning and come home from high school in the afternoon. Because for every new face, every new couple, every new family, there are long familiar faces. Some who have grown up before our very eyes. And a few more we hope to watch grow up. We know them so well. They’ve become our friends. We yearn for their happiness, especially when it’s hard won. We laugh as they laugh, cry as they cry and we can’t imagine doing without them. And when things are at their very worst on the show, that’s when we seem to enjoy them the most.
There’s just one thing we have to do to keep them in our lives: tune in tomorrow.”
Victoria Lord, on the ending of One Life To Live’s fictional soap opera Fraternity Row.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, thanks for all the hours of entertainment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Viki Lord Buchanan, played by actress Erica Slezak for 40 years,
had a speech on the show yesterday:
“The fans are so loyal, so passionate, so invested in their stories. I always ask how they started watching Fraternity Row. Some of them were stay at home mothers, taking a break before their children came home from school. Others were college students, with free time between classes. Many of them inherited a love of the show from their parents or their grandparents, who were long time fans themselves.
I remember the first time I tuned into Fraternity Row. I was hooked instantly. I needed to know what would happen next to these fascinating people. Would the hero and the heroine find their way back to true love? Would the villains get their comeuppance? Or would their crimes go unpunished? Would loving families overcome their obstacles? Or would their troubles prove too difficult to surmount?
Ultimately, that’s what soap opera is about: families. Close families, rival families. Even families that are unexpected, or the ones we choose for ourselves. And when a show is lucky enough to be on the air as long as Fraternity Row has been on, these families become extensions of our own. The audience might be upset when a favorite actor leaves, but they’re always willing to welcome a new one. Even when that new cast member is quite different from the one being replaced.
After all, this is a place where people come back from the dead, go off to grade school in the morning and come home from high school in the afternoon. Because for every new face, every new couple, every new family, there are long familiar faces. Some who have grown up before our very eyes. And a few more we hope to watch grow up. We know them so well. They’ve become our friends. We yearn for their happiness, especially when it’s hard won. We laugh as they laugh, cry as they cry and we can’t imagine doing without them. And when things are at their very worst on the show, that’s when we seem to enjoy them the most.
There’s just one thing we have to do to keep them in our lives: tune in tomorrow.”
Victoria Lord, on the ending of One Life To Live’s fictional soap opera Fraternity Row.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So, thanks for all the hours of entertainment.
You will be missed, no matter what ABC-TV thinks.
Here is the "One Life to Live" song, as sung by Kristen Alderson,
who played Starr on the show.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Music, New to Me
I like all kinds of music, and love the second-hand iPod
I bought from my daughter when she upgraded herself to an iPod Touch.
For most of the year, I have a blend of music I like,
consisting of 80s pop/rock, country, oldies, indies
and just whatever I stumble across that I find I enjoy.
Also have quite a few TV show themes
and a load of Halloween/horror tunes, too!
At Christmastime, however, I switch over to holiday music.
Between CDs I have bought or traded for (thanks, Swap-A-CD!)
and free and legal music online (thanks, generous musicians!),
I have a Christmastime music folder that has 1,628 holiday songs - and growing!
Yes, you read that right.
What can I say? I like Christmas music!
This Christmas, in addition to the new music I have found online
from artists who post free tunes hoping to gain more fans,
my lovely wife gifted me with some holiday CDs:
James Taylor
at Christmas
From 2006, this is a reissue of his limited edition
Hallmark CD from a couple years earlier.
He has a great voice and the arrangements are definitely James Taylor-esque,
so I like it. His duet with Natalie Cole on Baby, It's Cold Outside is great.
Wonderful CD, as expected. Mellow and relaxing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
elf
Music from the Major Motion Picture
This is the 2003 soundtrack for the Will Ferrell film of the same name.
The CD is pretty much a traditional Christmas album, with a few surprises.
The Zooey Deschanel/Leon Redbone version of Baby, It's Cold Outside is fun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New this year is A Very She & Him Christmas,
featuring the always fun Zooey Deschanel and her musical partner M. Ward.
Fun, a definite indie-sounding album, and Zooey has a fun, easy voice to listen to.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also new this year is Christmas, by Michael Buble.
This one hit the top of the charts, not surprisingly.
His voice is always great and from the liner notes,
he says he modeled this CD after the classics he listened to growing up,
like Bing Crosby's Christmas album.
I love it, his voice is great as always and the fresh sounding
yet respectful to their origins.
Awesome CD for Christmas music lovers!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As for non-Christmas music, I was also gifted with Dolly Parton's latest CD, Better Day.
Was concerned this was going to be an "off" album, but I was worried for nothing.
Dolly is spot-on her game here, as usual.
Songs are great and her voice is beautiful, as always.
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Finally, my brother and his wife gave me Cyndi Lauper's At Last, from 2003.
I have had this on my Amazon with list since 2004,
it was the oldest item on the list and now I finally have it!
It is a collection of Lauper's covers of jazz standards.
She has such a great voice and it is interesting to hear her take on these songs.
Going to need a few listens to truly appreciate this one.
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So, that's what's new for me, music-wise.
I could try to cover all the new music from the online musicians,
but I really didn't keep track.
Maybe this Christmastime I will post the new music as I come across it,
so anyone who wants it can get it as well.
Give the musicians some more notice, as well,
which is always a good thing for those trying to get noticed.
Thanks for the gifts & Happy 2012!
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