The King of Pop is Dead

I was in the car running errands when I first heard that Michael Jackson had been taken to the hospital. They didn’t think he was breathing when paramedics got to him. Later, still in the car, they announced that he was dead. I was a little surprised, but then again, not totally.

I’ve always felt kind of sorry for Michael Jackson. It seems obvious that besides all the fame, he had his share of demons. I would guess that a really crappy, abuse filled childhood contributed to his problems. Jackson’s musical legacy is undeniable. He was truly, a genius in his field. His four decades of work were creative, and innovative. The “Thriller” era was my personal favorite.

But while his professional life flourished, his personal life was quite a different story: sketchy at best, and a real freakshow at worst. The details of his life, in fact EVERY detail of his life, has been playing non-stop on television and radio for what seems like an eternity. The obsession with celebrity in this country is totally amazing to me - and not in a good way. I am struggling to hold myself in check on this post so as not to be disrespectful - so I will simply say, OK – enough already. The funeral, or tribute is over, and we have examined every possible nook and cranny of his life, and his house, and his kids, and his glove, and his music, over and over again. So can we all PLEASE – PLEASE get back to our lives?

Yes – Michael Jackson was truly the King of Pop. Yes – he was a brilliant musician, creator, and performer. Let’s pay our respects and move on. Please!

Catch Up

First of all – an update on the iPhone – since I know you’re all DYING to find out what happened!! Basically nothing. NO-THING! The speaker is shot, and so you can’t hear the phone ring. It’s pretty effing inconvenient, ya know? I mean, the basic job of a phone (besides all the fancy – shmancy things that it does) is to RING!!! Since I paid 4 big ones for it less than a couple of years ago, I was none too thrilled to find out that all I could do was buy a new one. So I’ve just been “living with it”. I check my messages often, and return calls, but it’s just not cool. Apple – I expected more from you. However, that being said, now that the NEW G3S phones have come out, I must admit – I’m tempted. I can get one for (only) 2 big ones!!! It’s faster, more powerful, has a lot more memory, and a better battery than the one I have now. You know, it really blows my mind when I think about how far phones have come. When I got my first cell phone many years ago, it was a GI-NORMOUS thing that resembled a shoebox cut in half lengthwise. It was HUGE and didn’t do much as I recall. I’m sure I still have it in a drawer somewhere! Ugh! And now, I can pretty much carry my computer and my stereo, and my address book, and the Internet around in my pocket. Cool! Now if it would just RING!! But I digress.

Sorry for the rant, but that’s actually pretty much why I have this blog. So I CAN rant. So get used to it people. It’s what I do. I bitch, and whine, and moan and groan, and occasionally have something good to say. It’s my alter-ego site, and I love the fact that it’s here. OK, rant over. I think.


Now, has it REALLY been almost 2 months since I posted anything? OMG, that IS ridiculous!! I blame facebook for it, (although I’m just grasping at straws). My attempts to get organized have failed pretty much miserably, along with my attempts to lose weight. However, I might be coming around. You see, bad knees run in my family. My grandpa had bad knees. My dad had bad knees, and my brother has bad knees. I’ve had arthritis in my right knee since I was it my 20’s. It’s my “bad knee”. However, a couple of days ago when I got up I realized that my “good" knee felt swollen and just plain crappy. Couldn’t bend it very well, or squat down (noooooooooo) or do several things that I’m used to doing. I guess my age, and my weight and my “bad knee” genes are catching up to me. OK God – I give. You’ve been TRYING to tell me in SO many ways that I need to lose weight. I might have to take you seriously now. I am terrified of growing old and being too decrepit to do the things I want to do. I give. So next week I am biting the bullet (yet again) and going on a weight loss plan. If I could lose the 50 pounds that I’ve been talking about losing for the last 30 years, it would be SO fabulous!!!! Can I do it? Can I actually stick to a plan for more than 20 minutes? We’ll see. It’s such a head game. I need to learn to play the game. Wish me luck!!

OMG!

My iPhone – that I totally have been in love with since the first day I got it – is betraying me. Well, not completely.

I can use the phone and all that, but the ringer has stopped working, as well as the speaker. Now the speaker I can probably live without, but the ringer? I mean, it’s a really integral part of the phone. Right? I mean, we all need for our phone to ring. Right? iPhone – how could you DO this to me? After I’ve told EVERYONE I know what a wonderful piece you are – since the day I got you!!!! I mean - I sing your praises as far as my voice will carry. Everyone around me knows that I absolutely LOVE my iPhone!!!! That nothing can compare!

I have an appointment at the Apple store tomorrow, but I'm nervous. I’m really, really hoping that they can fix whatever the problem is right then and there. I mean, I can’t be without my phone. . . I can’t. . . be without my phone . . . I can’t. . . I can’t . . . I can’t . . . breath. . . paper bag. . . does someone have a paper bag . . .I can. . . breath into?

Please Apple guy (or gal) don’t take my iPhone away. Not today. Not EVER!!! I really don’t want to have to buy another. But I will.

Facebook?

A couple of weeks ago I had decided to do a post on Facebook, but just hadn’t gotten around to it yet. It was going to be all about how I just don’t get it.


I joined due to “peer pressure”. I looked at several pages, and I DO find the layout confusing, and kind of helter-skelter. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. It leaves me unsettled, trying to wade through all the “stuff”.

I also feel that the whole thing is very junior-high-ish. Do you want to be my friend? And why would I want to poke someone. What does that mean? It sounds dirty if you ask me.

Anyway, since I joined, I have had a friend that I worked with about 30 years ago contact me, and I’ve been able to look up several others that I haven’t seen in about as many years. It’s really pretty cool, being able to look up people that you’ve lost track of. Even if I don’t “get” all the blips and blurbs and pokes, I now have a way to reconnect with folks that I long ago lost track of. And that really is cool!

13 Million Hits

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few days, and haven’t seen the unbelievable clip of Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent, you MUST take 7 minutes out of your life. There are no words to describe the great lesson to be learned here. Beautiful!!!

A Little About Me

OK - so here's the deal. What's up with all the craziness in the world today? It's making me totally nuts!!!! Not every day - but some days. And on those days I want to be able to get crap off my chest. Fair enough? You can do it too, if you want.

So like I said before, I'm just your basic shmoe. Although I usually think I'm kind of liberal, some of the nutty things going on in this world make me totally turn into a ballistic-wack-job-conservative. I consider myself a "tree-hugger" and proud of it. (I've often wondered how that label got a negative connotation attached to it.) What would this world be like without trees? But I digress.

I chose the "yin-yang" symbol instead of my picture, because I think it totally sums up the world. There's the good vs. the bad, the dark vs. the light. I think we're all made up of both, and it is a delicate balance indeed, that determines which side we fall on. And on any given day, the side we fall on could change.

Geez, this is sounding kind of gruesome!! Sorry! Anyway - that's who I am and what I'm about, and I bet you can just hardly stand it - waiting to see what brilliant thing I will write about next? No? OK - whatever!