Upside Down Cats

I need an energetic push to get me through to the end of the week..

Let's try this lively selection from my Life Is Good Songs list...



I feel much better now...was it good for you, too?

I'm just about sick to death of the Christmas music I've been hearing since September, anyway!

This is the next-to-last day of NaBloPoMo! I'm almost finished with my month of posts on the topic of things for which I am thankful. When I originally made my list of 30+ things for which I am thankful to blog about, today's was one of the first I committed to writing. Since I'm choosing my topics - for the most part - at random from that list, I've been looking for daily inspiration as to which one to choose. I've been waiting, and waiting, and waiting...I'd nearly given up on this one altogether!

I'm happy to say, however, that the inspiration arrived last night, from the unlikely source of Law and Order: Criminal Intent... It was just a snippet of a song, but it was exactly the example for which I'd been waiting!

I wanted to include a clip illustrating precisely what I mean when I say I am thankful for soulful saxophone!

Continue reading "There's Nothing Better Than Good Sax" »

In the interest of keeping the world apprised of the most depressing songs ever performed, I have added a couple more to my list:

6. Life's Been Good (Despite its title, not one of my Life Is Good Songs)

7. Dust in the Wind

Since I do want to get the day off to a good start, however, I'm also sharing a clip of one of the funky, fabulous songs from my opposite list, Life Is Good Songs.

Enjoy this example of feel-good music...Pick Up the Pieces, by Average White Band.

“Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.” - E. Y. (Yip) Harburg, lyricist of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’

Recently I was reading Malvina Reynolds' daughter, Nancy Schimmel's blog, Writing Malvina and I discovered this quote. It struck me as the perfect answer to a question Scott and I often ponder and discuss, "Are song lyrics poetry? Can they stand alone and convey the same meaning as they do when accompanied by their music?"

Our consensus was (usually) that although lyrics often can stand up to analysis in much the same way as a poem, there is some indefinable difference between the two.

I think this quote colorfully illustrates why, as far as a song is concerned, in order to convey the entire experience, the words and music are inseparable.

My Bitchin' Broad for today is Malvina Reynolds. I first heard of Malvina when I looked up information about the theme song from the television show Weeds, titled "Little Boxes," which, it turns out, she wrote and performed. Click the arrow below to hear her perform the song.



What a stroke of serendipity that was for me! Not only did I quench my thirst for obscure television trivia, but I was introduced to a truly inspirational woman! Sometimes my tedious curiosity pays off...It is my pleasure to share with you why Malvina Reynolds meets (and exceeds) my definition of a Bitchin' Broad ...

Continue reading "Bitchin' Broads - Malvina Reynolds" »

There are songs that just get me...something about the melody or the beat...Some are irrefutably great songs, and some may slide into the "guilty pleasure" category, but they get my head a-swayin, my feet a-tappin' or my hips a-swingin' every time I hear them...

Consider this the antithesis to my Songs That Make Ya Wanna...Slit Your Wrists category. These songs touch my soul! I will start the list now, but it is just the first of many...

Continue reading "Life Is Good Songs (Vol. 1)" »

Recently I wrote about how we love to go to concerts...well, specifically I wrote about Allman Brothers concerts. I have had sublime experiences at concerts...and some nightmarish ones. It is never the performance...they never disappoint. So, what factors could possibly vary from show to show that can make or break my enjoyment? Hmmmmmm...

Continue reading "I Wanted To Kick Him In The Crotch Every Time!" »

Last Wednesday night we went to another Allman Brothers Band concert. Scott and I have been going to see these guys perform for 14 years...They rock! We have honestly lost count of the number of times we have seen them in concert, but we're pretty sure it is right around fifty - no kidding! In March each year the band does an extended run of concerts (like 13 over the course of 3 weeks!) at the Beacon Theater in New York City, and from 2001 to 2006 we were lucky enough to attend from four to six shows each year. They add up quickly when you "gorge" like that! We've seen them twice at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado (aka Heaven on Earth) and in various venues here in the Chicago area. Why, you may ask, would anyone want to see the same band perform over and over and over...Well, hopefully by the time you have read what I have to say you will understand...

Continue reading "Why Fifty Times Is Not Enough" »

Today I would like to introduce another of our cats. Desdemona - Desi for short - joined the family six years ago this month. There is no amazing story of how she came to our home like Beemer, and no touching story like the arrival of Penny and Abbey, but with a face like that, who needs stinkin' fanfare...?

It was a day in the middle of August. My daycare children were playing in the back yard while I prepared lunch. A seven year old girl ran up to the back door and told me, "Gina, there's a cat in your yard!" I went out immediately to shoo away what I assumed was a stray because I didn't want the children in contact with a potentially diseased or dangerous cat. To my surprise - and delight - it was the precious little gray ball o' fluff pictured above. She had just strolled into the yard and by way of introduction walked directly up to me and gave me the "bump and slide" greeting against my leg. Well, apparently an aura surrounds me that lets cats know I am powerless to resist their feline wiles...

"It's funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do, isn't it?"
- Eleanor H. Porter (1868 - 1920), Pollyanna, 1912

I picked her up and whispered, "If you want to be our kitty, you have to be the one who will let me hold you like a baby." I flipped her over on her back in my arms (she weighed no more than two pounds) and petted her belly...she immediately agreed to the arrangement, so signifying with a purr that was bigger than herself!

Continue reading "It's Not Like Desi Arnaz..." »

Here is - hopefully - the first of many installments of "Bitchin' Broads," a collection of writing about some extraordinary women I have discovered.

Occasionally I come across a quote or a snippet of information about a person, and I become intrigued. With my curiosity piqued, the quest to learn more begins...As I grow into my maturity, I seek to fill in these holes in my knowledge, hopefully creating a more well-rounded, interesting me. In the words of my first subject: "The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity." - Dorothy Parker, (attributed). So, since - according to Ms Parker - I am incurable, I shall pursue my 'disease' in search for an understanding of this most fascinating woman.

Continue reading "Bitchin' Broads - Dorothy Parker" »