Haters, Stop Hating on Bruno Mars

I'll be the first to admit that I'm late to the Bruno Mars party, but now that I'm here, I'm glad I joined. I watched his Apollo special over the holidays via On Demand (and again when it aired on CBS last Friday night) and really enjoyed it. That kid (I know he's in his 30's, but I'm still going with kid) is talented and deserves all the success and Grammy awards he can carry. During trying times like this, it's nice to have some music that isn't depressing or autotuned to hell and back. I wasn't crazy about Bruno's previous hit "Uptown Funk." In fact, I really didn't care for it all. But the stuff on his 24K Magic album is great. The title track has the groove that makes me want to move. Bruno is an entertainer and that's something that's clearly lacking in a lot of performers today. He puts on a show and the haters need to fall back. While Bruno is out there grinding, the haters are hating. As he would say himself, "Why you mad? Fix your face." Seriously. Those who can do. Those who can't hate. Play on, player!

Skeleton Crew

I went to see the play Skeleton Crew last night at the Northlight Theatre and largely enjoyed it. The play focuses on factory workers in Detroit who are facing unemployment because their factory is slated to close at the end of the year. The play was written by Detroiter Dominique Morrisseau and I commend her for writing about black factory workers in the Motor City. If you're from Detroit, as I am, you know that the auto industry was, for many years, the main economic thread for the city. Most people were connected somehow with the auto industry either directly or indirectly and, if they didn't, they certainly knew someone who did. My own father was an auto worker, so the play really hit home with me. A central theme in the play dealt with people whose lives are tied to their jobs. So many of us depend on our jobs for a lot and fear of losing that job can cause all kinds of stress. But when a corporate decision is made to eliminate jobs and/or close a workplace, there's not much the workers can do about it. The corporate overlords will do what they want and we'll just have to live with the consequences.

Slippery When Wet

My drive in to work this morning started out normally and then descended into chaos. Icy roads in the southern part of the Chicagoland area caused major accidents and I soon found myself stuck on the freeway. A normal one hour commute took nearly two this morning. I saw the aftermath of many multi-vehicle accidents involving cars and semis. What a mess. I'm glad that the roads had been salted and the police were out in force by the time I made it to the accident area. Had I known the roads were going to be like that, I would have worked from home. I heard about accidents on the news before I left work, but I didn't hear about any the part of the freeway that I take to work, so I figured I'd be okay. I figured wrong.

First Wave and Open for Business

I've been blogging a lot about the music I've been hearing via Sirius and, as much as I love the First Wave station, I feel like they play too much music by The Pretenders and Elvis Costello, neither of whom I'd consider to be New Wave artists. The only song I've ever really liked by The Pretenders is "Middle of the Road" and, as for Costello, I don't care for his music at all. His voice did nothing for me in the 80's and does nothing for me now. He's one of the artists I can't wait to change the station from. It's not that he's a terrible singer or anything, but his music just doesn't work for me. I don't understand how he has the following that he does but, clearly, someone likes him.

In other non-music-related news, our government will, apparently, be open for business as usual again tomorrow. I really feel like the shutdown was a mistake on the part of the Democrats. Shutting down the government to get a deal for DACA kids just seemed like a losing proposition when proposed. A lot of people who may hate Donny T. do agree with him when it comes to immigration-related matters. My main issue was the hold-up of the CHIP program that provides health insurance for low-income kids. These kids need health insurance and their fate shouldn't hang in the balance waiting for an immigration overhaul that may never come to pass. How long has the government been arguing about immigration? For many, many years and I fully doubt a bi-partisan solution is coming from the current crop of congress members and senators. I remember when people went into politics because they wanted to help their communities. Now I feel like the majority of politicians are in it for themselves. They don't care about their constituents. And now any sane person who would truly like to go into politics for the right reasons is discouraged because of all of the infighting and harassment (both online and in person).

Phantom Thread

I saw Phantom Thread with my sister over the weekend and enjoyed it. I was surprised at how funny it was in some parts. I wasn't expecting that. Paul Thomas Anderson's mind goes in some weird directions. I joked to my sister that the alternate title for the movie should have been It's Mushroom Time! (You'll get that if you see the movie. No spoilers!)

On this snowy MLK holiday, I'm enjoying having time off from my day job to do some cleaning, reading, and writing. Even though I'm from Michigan, I'm not big on traveling through the snow. It's days like today when I wish I lived somewhere warm.

Dumb Donny Strikes Again

Clutch the pearls, Dumb Donny has caught another case of diarrhea of the mouth. What amazes me is that the folks filling the cable news airwaves seemed shocked (shocked, I tell you!) by Donny T's recent comments on immigration. Donny has been exhibiting racist behavior against black since he and his father were sued for housing discrimination in the 1970's, so no one should be shocked by his comments this week about immigrants from black and brown countries. The thing that should be shocking is his blatant call for more immigrants (i.e. white) from countries like Norway. As I heard a professor say on NPR, there's no law against being racist, but when your racism interferes with government policy, then you're got a problem. If Donny's racist views are going to give preference to immigrants from European countries based on race, then there's a problem and that's what people should be concerned about. I heard Congressional Rep Luis Gutierrez on MSNBC say that "the varnish is off!" in response to Donny's shithole comments this week. Dude, the varnish was never on! Donny is the same loudmouth bigot today that he's always been. Rather than being outraged over Donny's latest tweets or ridiculous statements, how about working to throw this bum out of office. How about working to shut his bullshit policies down. How about that?

And one more thing. Every Negro who stood behind Donny during his Martin Luther King, Jr. photo op yesterday ought to be ashamed of him/herself. Seriously. Dr. King is probably turning in his grave.

Billy Idol

I keep hearing Billy Idol songs on the Sirius 1st Wave station and each time one comes on, I find myself turning from the station. I used to be a Billy Idol fan. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I enjoyed Idol's music. My sister and I may have had some of his albums. But now I find his music no bueno. Flesh for Fantasy, White Wedding, Rebel Yell....they're all kind of awful to me now. Normally, if I liked someone in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, I still like them now, but this isn't the case with Mr. Idol. (The same goes for Counting Crows and I blogged about them a few weeks ago. Mr. Jones? Ugh.) I don't know why I'm not feeling Idol anymore. It's not personal. I have no idea what he's been up to since the hits stopped coming. I assume he's still alive. I just don't like his music anymore. Oh well. Sorry, Billy.

The Madness of Donny T.

I purchased Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury for my Kindle Friday night and started reading it Saturday morning. I'm on Chapter 7 now. So far, my only complaint is that it's too Bannon-centric. Other than that, it's an interesting read. I'm not expecting to find out anything I didn't already know about Donny T., but reading a detailed analysis of the chaos we live with on a daily basis is a sobering reminder that a nut job is running the country. I have no sympathy for any people who chose to align themselves with Donny T. The whole administration is a den of vipers. They can all cannibalize each other for all I care. No one should be surprised by the so-called revelations in the book. Our POTUS can't/won't read, can't/won't listen, and lives in a delusional state surrounded by flunkies who tell him what he wants to hear. It's funny to me to hear Donny and his minions come out so hard against a book that they claim is filled with lies and how he even sicced his legal team on the writer and publisher to try and shut the book down. If the book was such a fraud, why fight so hard against it? Also, someone should tell Donny that we live in the United States, not Iran. We have freedom of speech here, even if it's speech you don't like. All of his tweets and tantrums have done nothing but give Wolff more book sales. Donny's probably mad he won't be getting a cut of the proceeds.

This Is Not "Breaking News"

I've complained about the 24-hour news channels before, and I'll complain again. When Donny T. sends off a tweet, this is not "breaking news" that requires the red bar and alert notices like you'd get when a real emergency situation happens. I'm so tired of these cable channels just filling time dissecting every stupid tweet Donny or his minions shit out on a daily basis. Enough already. Surely there's some real news going on around the world. I hate even blogging about Donny and I vowed not to get myself worked into a froth this year over his ridiculousness. However, after reading an excerpt from Michael Wolff's new book Fire and Fury that's scheduled to come out next week, I found myself drawn back into Donny's mess. The excerpt I read was fascinating and I believe pretty much everything I read. Donny didn't really want to be POTUS? I believe that and I've said it before. His run was a publicity stunt. Donny having questionable reading and comprehension skills? I totally believe that. Look at what he tweets and listen to how he speaks and it's easy to see that he's a few cans shy of a six-pack. The misspelled words, the rambling, the sheer incoherence. And Donny's constant need for public affirmation, mainly from his rich and powerful friends like Ailes and Murdoch is pathetic. I'm debating whether to buy and read the book when it comes out next week. I admit, the excerpt certainly had me hooked.

Happy New Year!

Well, 2018 is finally here. I'm hopeful it won't suck like 2017 did. Keep hope alive! I spent most of the holiday weekend feeling sick from a cold so I wasn't able to get out and about and truly enjoy my few days off from work. Still, I was glad I had a few days off to recuperate. I tried watching some of CNN's New Year's Eve coverage last night and had to turn the channel. I was never a big fan of Kathy Griffin, but she and Cooper were a lot better than Cohen and Cooper. Those two guys need to call it a day already. I think they've milked the AC2 thing as much as they can. Go back to your day jobs, guys.

Happy New Year!