Peace, love and understanding, Music, Humor, nutrition, Plants, Health, Earth, Food, Space Travel, anything that gets my mind off of the 'big picture'!
Jim Lovell so I could ask him, 'how the heck were you raised so that you have complete and utter faith in science and in your fellow man?' (!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Truly, I can't help but to wonder and be amazed. (Jim Lovell was the Captain of the Apollo 13 mission that was 'forced' into journeying around the dark side of the moon, remember?)I did actually hear him speak once but I'd LOVE to sit and chat wih him for a little while!
<[By the way, my MOST FAVORITE thing in the whole wide world is that I can now listen to my very favorite music in my car! It's SOOOOO NICE!>]OK, here goes...regarding my 'MUSIC' section...there are too many favorites to mention but here goes.....Alessandra Celleti for one (Hi there!)I suppose Al Green must be my all-time favorite male vocalist. (Tho Jeffrey Osborne sure is moving up there fast. What a sexy, romantic man/singer he is [whew!]}.That would probably mean that Mavis Staples (Staple Singers) and Miriam Makeeba (South African - 'Lion Sleeps Tonite', etc) would be my all-time favorite female vocalists.EXCEPT that Emmylou Harris was my very favorite female vocalist in the whole world for several decades cuz' her harmonies are SO PRETTY and her voice is SOOO angelic and beautiful and she so long sang every little nuance and passion of my poor weary little heart. Her material is SO SPIRITED and wonderful. No wonder she's Johnny Cash's favorite country singer. A heavenly gift from Birmingham, Alabama. I am humbly, powerfully grateful.HOW DID I EVER LEAVE OUT BOB WILLS AND HIS FINE TEXAS SWING BAND??? Another favorite for DECADES!Doesn't Maria Muldaur have the coolest collection of songs ever?Roger Miller, Waylon Jennings (THE most wonderful version of 'Amanda'), Cat Stevens (aka Yusuf Islam), Debussy, Mozart (of course), Dolly Parton, Chopin, Eric Sati, Rolling Stones (after 30 + years, I think I'm finally getting bored with them - well, okay, not Keith Richards...never Keith Richards), Nena ('99 Luftballons'), Don Henley (greatest rock lyricist who ever lived), James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Cole Porter (do you have to be on drugs to write that well???), Vassar Clements, Zepplin, The Harp Consort (Spanish Dances of the 16th century - no wonder Spain ruled the world!)Annie Lenox (how can she have such a pretty voice and be so damned spooky?? Whoever thought she'd do such a vibe-shakingly WONDERFUL song like 'Right By My Side'?), Enrique Iglesias (hey, breathing is musical!), Cyndi Lauper...etc, etc, etc...(check my list!)[Wait a minute, what about all those musicians that you deeply love who either don't have a myspace page or just don't reply when you send a message......like Jeannie C. Riley ('Harper Valley PTA'), Bobbi Gentri ("...and mama said to me, 'child, what happened to your appetite? Why I been cookin' all mornin' and you haven't touched a single bite...there's 5 more acres in the lower 40, I got to plow...' And mama said it was a shame about Billy Jo anyhow. Seems like nothin' ever comes to no good up on Chatah Ridge. And now Billy Jo Macalister jumped off the Tallehasee Bridge..." [what is the name of that song that won't leave my head!?? Oh yes, 'Ode to Billy Jo'], Sarah Vaughan, Doc Watson, Stevie Wonder, David Bromberg.......any music that is FILLED with joy. I like joy.
'War Games','Boiler Room'. I can't tell you why but I LOVE this movie but I do. The very first (only?) place I ever saw where rap music was absolutely PERFECT. (And the movie was perfect for the music, too!)'The Right Stuff' (Tom Wolfe began his novel, 'One could never imagine a day when people would ask, 'Now which one was he?'. It's true! Those early space missions were SO EXCITING. (I think I was eight. But I'll never forget how awesome they were. I LOVE this movie and every dang thing about it.)'Time Machine' (the old one - I always wanted to have a wall of clocks like Rod Serling),'The Day the Earth Stood Still', a beautiful story of romance and intellectual courage. 'Apollo 13','Sound of Music','Ponnette'
Wayne Bradey is too funny for words. Is he ever coming back to TV??? PLEEEEASEI don't watch too much tv but I do see some daytime court tv shows when I have to take a rest here and there (health reasons). Judge Hatchett uses her position in extraordinary ways. It must be fun to be her.
"Mad Cowboy" by Howard Lyman, 5th generation cattle rancher who won't eat meat. Learn more about e-coli than you ever wanted to know."Afternoon of the Rising Sun; the Battle of Leyte Gulf" by Kenneth L. Friedman. The author, a retired businessman wanted to make the history of World War II, 'come alive' for a younger generation. He sure succeeds. Along those lines, "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors; The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour" by James D. Hornfischer. This was one of the battles within that larger Leyte Gulf battle mentioned in the last book. If you ever want to feel good about the military and the values that this country holds PASSIONATELY dear, these books will do it. (Plus it's a really cool story of cleverness, daring, bravery and freedom.)My latest interest in the world of controversial subject matter: "Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic; the environmental triumph of high-yield farming" I'm sure (I hope) I will find this fascinating and enlightening, at least."How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life" by John Fahey. How could I not read this? I will soon, I hope.I read lots and lots of books on health and dramatic cures.Anything by Gavin DeBecker ("The Gift of Fear").He's made a fine career for himself by his uncanny ability to assess and predict danger (anyone/anything). I wish EVERYONE would read him! America would be a much safer - place. (I'd work for him if I could!)"A Girl's Gotta Do What a Girl's Gotta Do". It must be tough for a cute, petite woman to be married to a professional football player. But now I really do know how to break a man's nose and how to incapacitate someone who's bigger than me. Unlike the author, I don't think I'll be seeking to use these skills anytime soon but I guess it's nice to know how. (hope I never have to find out!) (lol)*******I don't read too much fiction (probably just short stories). In some circles, that's actually considered a learning disability; I find that amusing.I just think real life is SO fascinating. I decided not to worry whether or not I read fiction anymore after I read the 'Kitchen God's Wife' by Amy Tan. It was SO MISERABLE.Misery is everywhere around us. You don't have to look far (especially with the internet). I couldn't stop thinking, "You're making this up. Why couldn't you make up something that might actually make the reader feel GOOD???"I think a lot of fiction must be written for people whose lives are pretty comfortable but very boring. And who need something to motivate them to care about something. I find it very easy to care about things. It would probably be good for me to care a little bit LESS about some things.There's a saying carved into the marble of the local library, "Some people say that life is the thing, but I prefer reading". I think I must be in that first group of people. I prefer living!From the endless non-fiction collection:'Unstoppable Global Warming; Every 1500 Years' by Fred Singer. (His ideas are presently under attack but it's nice to read something that proposes that global warming is actually a GOOD thing (for people and plants and animals)! A natural cycle of the earth and the sun or something that we could/should do something about? Just keeping my eyes open and taking action for things that are environmentally friendly when an opportunity pops up.As for me, I am just as concerned about SEA WALLS as I am about global warming. I worry that our destruction of beaches and the building of more and more oceanfront property is changing the ocean currents - and not in a good way. I suspect this might have more to do with the radical weather we are seeing than all the other reasons that people give. I guess insurance costs will take care of this.Quite interesting that North Carolina has a law against building any permanent structure within a certain distance of the waterfront. Yeah, North Carolina!In general, I like to listen to voices that are not readily heard. I suppose that makes me a contrarian sometimes. Usually when everyone appears to be jumping on a bandwagon somewhere. I'm inclined to double-check the fact list.I suppose at heart I am first a journalist. My 'inner siren' starts to wail when someone's trying to feed me BS.*********'Slaves in the Family' by Edward Ball. (great, great, great grandson of one of the premier Plantation owners of Charleston).Ball traces his family roots back to England and then sets out to trace the history and present whereabouts of the decendants of the slaves his family once owned.FASCINATINGWhat a courageous man to make this all public. Very cool guy. (He's written a slew of other books on the same topic - real neat),You might find it interesting to know that, in England, dog-fighting was abolished at just about the same time as slavery was ended.See? Non-fiction is FASCINATING.***********'When the Body Says No; Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection' by Gabor Mate; FASCINATING. Helpful.'Inner City Miracle' by Mathis and Walker (autobiography of 'Judge Mathis' What a wonderful story. What an extraordinary life. A lot to say about love and faith and perserverance);*************'Scattered - How ADD Originates and What You Can Do About It' by Gabor Mate [a lot of this book is online for free at scatteredminds.com Mate's 3 kids were all diagnosed with ADD which led to his discovery of his own adult ADD. He knows an awful lot about this subject and he explains it so well. HELPFUL];'Too Hot Tamales' by Miliken and Feniger (I actually went to school with one of these authors);'Moving Violations; War Zones, Wheelchairs and Declarations of Independance' by John Hockenberry. This man is an extraordinary writer. Every chapter in this book could stand completely on its own. Paraplegic from a car accident at 19, he writes lovingly about occasional haphazard beaurocratic struggles (self-injurious but funny) that disabled people often face. He tells of his career, from his work on the radio for NPR in Oregon to his current position as ABC corresponent to the Middle East (where, at a local protest, someone pushes his wheelchair across the hot desert sand while chanting, 'Death to America!')An inspiring and often laughable tear-jerker.Inspiringly beautiful. His whole life is a beautiful gift to anyone who reads or learns or hears or knows about it.I can't say enough about him.
I think Bruce Dumont has to be first on the list for the moment. With his 'don't worry 'bout a thing' voice, like a lawn mower salesman or hardware store owner, I think Bruce can handle ANYTHING. When we're under nuclear attack (hopefully not) I WANT BRUCE DUMONT ON THE TELEPHONE!!! I really do love this very special man, the voice of reason and sanity. (WLS radio, Sunday afternoons).MATTHEW GRACE, I hope, tho he sure is one CYNICAL sob. (Smart but really, really, really cynical).I don't know if this qualifies in the hero department. But I deeply admire astronauts' wives. What strong, courageous women they are. I can't imagine anything harder.Oh wait! Aunt Bee is a heroine. I'd really like to be her one day. (Too late, isn't it??)If I could be anybody in the world, I'd be John Cougar Mellencamp's back-up singer. [Oops, I mean I would've been. Time keeps moving, doesn't it?]God, she sounds good.Oh yeah. One other minor detail I forgot. I'm not black.Dang!