No Winners Here Yet Again

As much as I hate to admit it, I've been watching and reading about Donny T.'s latest Twitter feud, this time with Morning Joe hosts Joe and Mika. While the whole thing is pathetic and Donny really needs to man up and stop acting like a crying baby every time someone says something about him that he doesn't like, Joe and Mika are full of it also. They, along with many others in the media, helped to create the monster that is Donny T. They liked him until they didn't, so I have little sympathy for either of them. I catch some of Morning Joe before I go to work and I remember watching the hosts kiss Donny's behind and practically crawl up his snatch (yes, I'm saying he has a snatch) on a weekly basis. And now that they've had an apparent change of heart about the man they propped up during the election, I can't totally get on board with their outrage. When you dance with the devil, expect to have your feet stepped on. Again, there are no winners here. (By the way, are we winning yet? No? I didn't think so.)

Boz Scaggs/Michael McDonald

I went to see Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald in concert last night at Ravinia Park in Highland Park, IL last night and the show was good. I thought Boz did a better job than MM, but both guys put on a good show. Boz performed many of his hits (Jojo, Look What You've Done to Me, Lowdown) and some tunes I wasn't familiar with. (My only complaint was that he didn't perform Miss Sun, one of my favorite Boz Scaggs songs, but that's okay.) Michael McDonald did a lot of new stuff, some good, some just okay, and a few oldies also (Sweet Freedom, Minute by Minute, What a Fool Believes). His voice was not great on all of the tunes, particularly some of the oldies, but I commend him and Boz for getting out and touring at their age.

Ravinia is a great place to see an outside show (weather permitting) and the weather was great last night for the concert. Of the few shows I've seen there, I've been fortunate to have good weather while I sat on the lawn. My pictures from the show came out poorly, so I'm not posting any. I've posted a nice photo of the trees from the lawn instead.

Yesterday Once More

I'm the kind of person who has to listen to music during the day when I'm working or writing. Since I'm sick of a lot of the downloaded music I have on my phone and I've taken a needed break from Pandora, I've been listening to music on You Tube. There are a lot of good musical combinations created by You Tubers and I came across a few great 70s compilations that included some excellent songs from my past. Songs like "Yesterday Once More" by the Carpenters, "Knock Three Times" by Tony Orlando and Dawn, and "Love Is in the Air" by Tom Paul Jones are just a few of the oldies I recently came across via You Tube. A lot of people knock 1970s music or only see that decade as the decade of disco, but they dismiss a lot of really great music. Hearing Karen Carpenter singing "Every sha la la la" in the chorus of "Yesterday Once More" is so calming to me. It's a shame she died so early, but fortunately the music she and her brother Richard put into the universe lives on.

I went to a reading with author Colson Whitehead a few months ago and during his talk he mentioned Donna Summer's song "MacArthur Park" which resulted in a sing-a-long with the audience. I was pleasantly surprised to hear my fellow Evanstonians in attendance belting out the chorus. Clearly there are a lot of 70s music fans in and around Evanston and folks who, like myself, know the words to "MacArthur Park."

Step Gently

Like many other people, I have a stepmother and step-siblings. Often times when stepparents are mentioned, they're referred to negatively. The evil stepmother is a real and present thing. I consider myself thankful that my own stepmother isn't evil or vindictive and we get along fine. But it's worth noting that I was in my 20s when my father remarried and my mother and father had been divorced for quite a while, so I wasn't a child when my stepmother became my stepmother. I also never lived with my father and stepmother. I also didn't grow up with my stepbrothers and sisters. We were all adults and living in separate states when the marriage between our parents occurred. Now fast forward to the present and my stepmother and her kids have a long weekend vacation planned for later next month. I, personally, would have preferred to skip this family outing for a few reasons. First, I don't really know my step siblings nor do I have much of a relationship with them. We see each other rarely (again, we live in different states). I don't dislike them, but I'm not keen on spending my vacation time with them either. Second, my father married into my stepmother's family. I did not. Therefore, if someone should spend time with her family, it should be my father, not me. The onus is on HIM to establish and maintain a relationship with his stepchildren.

As someone with limited vacation time from her day job, I resent having to spend any of my vacation days going somewhere I don't want to go and/or doing something I don't want to do. However, had I declined to go on this "family" trip, I would have faced criticism from my father. So I decided it was better to just suck it up and go along to get along. Sometimes you have to step gently when dealing with stepparents and real parents alike.

Weezer (and Some Other Stuff)

I've been listening to Weezer lately (old Weezer, not the newer stuff). When Weezer was having hit records in the 90s, I wasn't really into them. They seemed like a white frat guy kind of band. "Dude, put on some the Sweater Song while I get the keg ready!" However, I've come to like and appreciate their music from the 90s and I'm certainly not a white frat guy. My stereotyping of the band wasn't fair and I, of all people, shouldn't be stereotyping anyone.

In other news, I've also been watching a lot of the Seth Meyers "A Closer Look" segments from his late night show via You Tube. He's great. I'm late coming to the Seth Meyers party, but now that I'm here, I'm ready to put on some Weezer and get the keg going. I've also been watching some clips from his shows that feature his family. They're quite funny also. Meyers, in my opinion, is really providing some good commentary on the current political situation in a non-annoying way. I can't even watch Colbert anymore and I used to be a huge fan. I just don't care for his late night show and his whole shtick. I had stopped watching The Colbert Report also before it went off the air because I'd just had enough, but I was willing to give his CBS show a chance. I've seen some funny clips, but overall it's no bueno. (Sorry, Stephen!)

And last, but not least, I've picked up another clown. (It's also a music box.)

Silencing the Noise

It's hard these days to get away from the constant drumbeat of bad news. Everything now is "breaking" news or something to drive the general public into a frenzy. Try as I might to tune this noise out, it's hard to do. I also find myself checking various websites throughout the day and watching the news (local and cable) to find out what Donny T. and the Funky Bunch have been up to. But I've got to work harder to break those bad habits. For every minute that I waste on Politico or MSNBC is a minute I could be using doing something constructive like writing, reading, or taking a freaking walk. Silencing the noise of the media can and needs to be done from time to time. I'm not advocating for a total media blackout, just a decrease in the amount of "breaking news" that's spoon fed to the public daily.

Finally Finished

I finally finished a short story I'd been working on for the forthcoming Colors of the Rainbow series from JMS Books. (More details to follow later on that.) I'm not normally a short story kind of person, but writing shorter pieces for the JMS series like Love Wins, etc., is helpful for me because they force me to write on a timeline and that's something I need right now.

In other news, why did I watch Sessions (aka Foghorn Leghorn) testify today? I kept waiting for him to claim he had the vapors and pass out. So fragile and so unable to recall recent events.  

CYAIP

Like, apparently, 20 million others, I watched the Comey testimony yesterday. Even though the testimony was largely made up of different people asking the same questions in slightly different ways, I still found it compelling. John McCain's final questioning session really took the cake. I wondered if the guy stroked out before or during his time because he was so incoherent. Maybe it's time for him to take a seat. But back to Comey. Whenever I read or hear people who question why he starting chronicling his meetings with Donny T., I have to assume these people are naive about the way the work world works. Anyone who has had a poor work relationship with a manager and/or coworker(s) needs to chronicle everything. This is called CYAIP: cover your ass in paper. Everything has to be documented when you're dealing with workplace drama. Trust me, I know. The whole thing may still come down to your word versus someone else's, but the more documentation you have to prove your case, the better off you'll be. It's just the smart thing to do.

Jungle Boogie

I was listening to Kool & the Gang's song "Jungle Boogie" this morning on the way to work. "Jungle Boogie" is such a great song but it's one that probably wouldn't see the light of day if it came out now. A song by and/or for black folks with "jungle" in the title is a song that wouldn't get any airplay nowadays. The same goes for The Time's "Jungle Love." Yeah...no. The climate is totally different now and songs like these would be criticized as racially insensitive. There's a line in the Steely Dan song "Babylon Sisters" that says, "Turn that jungle music down. Just until we're out of town." Does jungle music equal black music? I'll assume it does. Okay, but "Babylon Sisters" is still a great song. I remember when I worked years ago in Philadelphia and our head honcho made a comment about avoiding obscure medical disorders to cover in our the books we published because, I guess, there wasn't enough of an audience to care. But she didn't describe these rare disorders as rare disorders, she described them as being "out of the jungle." I remember giving her the side eye for that. (She was British, so maybe that had something to do with her use of this phrase. Then again, maybe not!) In my old age, I just can't get my panties in a bunch about every little thing. And I'll continue enjoying "Jungle Boogie."

Environmental Discrimination

As a former Michigander, I keep up with news from the mitten state. I read today about some Gennesse country jerk who blamed Flint's water crisis on black folks who don't pay their water bills. So, if you're behind on your water bill, that gives the government the right to poison your water? Huh? I read the Gennesse idiot handed in his resignation after his comments were made public and not a moment too soon either. Ugh. I guarantee you, if this same issue had come up in a community that wasn't (A) largely black and (B) largely poor, this wouldn't have happened. There wouldn't be contaminated water flowing through city pipes. You know it and I know it. When people are in poor minority communities, they're taken advantage of in relation to environmental issues. These communities don't have the power or the money to fight having waste treatment plants in their cities. Environmental discrimination is real.

No Winners Here

As I've watched the listened to the news throughout this week, I've come to the conclusion that I should probably cut down on my news watching and reading. Oy! Where to start? Is anyone really surprised by Donny T's rejection of the Paris climate accord? I'm not! By now, you'd think that people would understand Donny's mantra: US good, Europe bad! Moving on. As for the drama with Donny and Kathy Griffin, all I can say is there are no winners here. Did Kathy not think there would be blowback after her photo stunt? I'm in no way defending Donny T. who, as most people know, is incredibly thin-skinned, but Kathy went for HIM. He didn't come for HER until after she'd thrown down the gauntlet. And, clearly, she wasn't prepared for the criticism she faced. Either own it or apologize for it and move on from it. What's the expression? Don't come for me unless I call you? Take that advice next time, Griff. Don't call for Donny unless you're ready, willing, and able to deal with Donny and his minions. No winners here. And speaking of no winners, when is Hillary going to either accept responsibility for her own failed campaign or just go away and live quietly in Chappaqua? I'm tired of her excuses and blame game for not taking care of business during the last election. (I'm also tired of Donny T. bringing up the election. Again, no winners here.) It's over, it's done, we're living (or trying to live) with the ramifications.