Lady Gaga or Elton John?

Sometimes I just have to shake my head at some Facebook posts. A young friend of mine, the son of a h.s. classmate, had a post the other day: "Who is this Lady Gaga and why are so many people offended by her?"

I knew it was a loaded question, as the friend is a very talented singer who happens to be gay. (I say I know he knew who she was because she's been very vocal in her support of the LGBT - hope I did the abbreviation correctly community.) She's also commented that she considers herself to be bi-sexual. I replied that I had nothing against her, just that I thought her schtick was more about being outrageous than her talent. I mentioned Elton John as someone who was once considered outrageous for his dress (and enormous glasses!), but that his talent was so great that it overshadowed his costumes.

(I started to use Liberace as another example, but thought the gay references might be misconstrued, that I was using only gay performers to make my point. My young friend - and regular readers of this blog - know I don't have a problem with gay people. Well, except for lesbians and that's because that narrows the already narrow field - for me - of available women. -wink-)

I also thought of using - but didn't - the rock group KISS as an example of musical talent who relied upon a gimmick instead of talent. I like some KISS tunes, but never liked them well enough to purchase them.  Tell the truth; when you think of Gene Simmons, do you consider him one of the greatest bass guitar players of all-time, one of the greatest singers, or does the first thing that comes to mind is his 7-in. tongue?

Back to the Facebook post: Well, I had several people, including the friend, say they thought Lady Gaga was as talented, if not more so than Elton John. I don't normally get offended if someone doesn't like who/what I like, only if they put ME down for my preferences. Still, it was hard for me to not say "Are you out of your rabid-ass mind?"

Sure, tastes in anything, be it food, music or hobbies, are subjective and if YOU like Lady Gaga, that's fine w/ me. I gave my honest opinion about her...well, tempered a bit, because I really don't much care for her music, but there's no way that she's better than EJ and I simply can't understand that opinion. Granted, my opinion is influenced by being an Elton John fan for 40+ years, growing up with his music and owning much of it, from 8-tracks to records to mp3's. Elton John did ALL kinds of music, from rock to pop to ballads as well as wrote songs for musicals. Off the top of my head, I could name at least a half-dozen movies that used his tunes, not to mention countless TV shows. Of course, he also re-wrote one of his most famous songs "Candle in the Wind" for the funeral of Lady Diana, making it another gold record in the process.

Elton John and Bernie Taupin are, IMHO, one of the best song-writing duos of all-time, up there with Lennon/McCartney, Rodgers /Hammerstein or Burt Bacharach / Hal David. It's not just MY opinion either; Google it to see what other people think. I'm not saying a consensus of opinion is correct, only that it lends some validity to my own opinion.

When Lady Gaga has been around for nearly 50 years and has sold a QUARTER BILLION records, then we can discuss who is the better musical talent. I'll be long cold in my grave and turned to dust before Elton John is forgotten. In fact, I would bet that Elton John's music will still be being played when Lady Gaga is but a footnote in musical history.

What next? Justin Bieber is better than Elvis? Good Grief.

copacetic

copacetic \koh-puh-SET-ik\ adjective, verb;

1. Very satisfactory; fine.

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I usually (try to) make some semi-funny comment on the words I choose for these posts, but I couldn't think of anything this time. The "funny" thing about this word is how it used to be used all the time. "How are ya doin'?" "Copacetic, man, copacetic." It was in vogue when I was in college and for a few years after. Maybe it fell out of use because things really weren't so copacetic.

Shhhh! Take This Quiz!

Says I'm full of "wonder and curiosity". I've been told I'm full of it, but not that.

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You Are an Imaginative Thinker

You are a nonlinear thinker, and you're even surprised by the places your mind takes you. You love to get lost in a story, whether it's your own or not. You love fantasy. You are a positive and uplifting person. You inspire others to be better. You are full of wonder and curiosity. You feel a strong connection to the world.

The Library Test

Blogthings: We're Not Shrinks, But We Play Them On the Internet

The Skunk is on the Porch

I repeat: the skunk is on the porch.

Sounds like a coded radio message used prior to the D-Day landings, huh?

A few days ago I wrote about a skunk hanging around and I've since changed the outside cat's feeding procedure. I don't leave any food out for her, just enough to eat in one sitting and I pick up the foam plate after she's done. It's probably not as much food as she'd like, but I think it's more than enough to keep her alive and if she doesn't like it, she's more than welcome to go somewhere else.

I opened up the door earlier tonight to see if the Beej was ready to come in and eat something and a large bushy tail was just a foot in front of the door. As I reached down to give it a yank, I saw the female cat standing on the edge of the porch. Yup, was the skunk and I'm glad I didn't give the tail a yank. It was on the porch again later, and is currently out there as I type. I don't know what I'm gonna do about it; I have a small animal trap I used to capture the possums last summer, and I'm sure I could catch the skunk, too, but what would I do after I caught it? I *think* I could throw an old blanket over the trap to protect me from getting sprayed or to calm the animal while I picked up the cage to put in the back of my truck, but how the hell would I get the door open after going somewhere to release it?

It's that stay cat's fault, so to keep from having to put food out that will attract the skunk, she'll have to go. I hate to think of taking her to the pound, but I don't know of any other thing to do - no one is going to want a stray cat that's not been fixed or had its shots, but OTOH, if I take her to the pound, there's a near 100% chance of her getting...well, you know. I think maybe I might just have to shoot the skunk.

Maybe I could trap the skunk, then call animal control. They'd see that cat, then trap it too, or worse yet, see the Beej w/out a tag (he keeps losing them) and want to trap him, too. Like I said, looks like I'll have to shoot the skunk. Damn.

And I Thought it Was Worthless

I've checked this blog's "worth" several other times in the past, but found this new website that evaluates a site's worth: How Much is My Website Worth?

As much as I enjoy my blog - even though I'm not so good about keeping it updated - I'd sure as hell sell it for that.  I'd sell just about anything I got for 800 bucks ...except for the Beej.

The Long, Lucky Weekend

My weekend didn't start out so lucky; I deleted several off of my Facebook friends list because they had never liked anything I had posted or commented on one of my comments to their posts. I "like" a lot of my FB friend's posts if only to show them I read it and I don't know why others can't do that too. (my best online friends do it - you know who you are and I appreciate it and love you)

I then had a comment from someone I thought I had a fairly good rapport; she was a fairly recent FB friend and had left a cryptic comment saying she would comment, but that I wouldn't understand. It annoyed me because she really didn't know me. I don't mind people disagreeing with me so much, but to go to the trouble of posting and not let her opinion to be known AND letting me know she had an opinion, but that I wouldn't understand? That's OK, she's off my friends list now. Petty, I know, but I'd rather spend the time reading through "real" friends posts than someone who posts the equivalent of "I know something you don't know!" isn't worth the bother.

I was at the grocery store Saturday and as I was leaving, I stopped at the lottery machine to get a Powerball ticket. The jackpot was fairly high, the only time I play that particular game. I dug in my billfold for a couple of dollars, intending to get the multiplier option which can increase any "lesser" prize one might win, but also doubles the cost of the ticket. I was distracted for a second, looked up then without looking plugged what I thought was the first of the two dollar bills I would need to purchase the lotto ticket.

Oh no! I had put in a ten dollar bill instead! Frantically, I tried to pull it back out as the machine was sucking it into the tray, but couldn't. At first, I thought I would get a store employee to open up the machine and get my ten bucks back, but there weren't any around. Sure as shootin', if I left the machine someone else would come along and use up my $10 credit.

So, I thought I'd just use the money for my lottery ticket and get the rest in scratch-offs. I got a five dollar ticket, something I never, ever purchase, a couple of $2 tickets and a single, using up the entire ten bucks. (forgetting my lotto ticket I was intending to purchase)

I got out to my pickup and started scratching. Nothing at all on the five dollar ticket, but got five dollars on one two dollar ticket and two dollars on the other. I started scratching the one dollar ticket and found I had won on every single play on it, $20 worth! With the others, that made a total of $27 for a "profit" of 17 bucks.

I then realized I hadn't purchased my Powerball ticket, so I went to a nearby convenience store and used the two dollar ticket for a quick pick. To make a long story a little shorter, I only had the powerball in the drawing, but with the multiplier (x5)it meant I won $15! So, my ten dollar mistake turned into a nearly doubling of my money!

Then, earlier Sunday, I had an email from an address I didn't recognize. It was informing me that I had won a copy of The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, considered by many to be the bible of ice cream making. I had forgotten I had entered the contest on one of the many recipe sites I subscribe to in my reader. I generally don't enter those but sure am glad I entered that one!

Thanks to the long holiday weekend, I've still got one more day and hope I am as lucky as I was the last two!

Have a good holiday everyone!