Hot Songs- Saturday 9

Saturday 9: LIttle Red Corvette
(recommended by Smellyann)

No link this week. Prince apparently is very strict about copyright infringement.


1) The subject of this song is frankly sexual. Do you blush easily? Not much any more, it takes a lot to make this old lady blush.  I found a link at Metacafe Here and I do remember the song....I usually miss the sexual references in music. I just listen to the tune.

2) Prince is his real name (Prince Rogers, to be exact). Growing up, his relatives called him "Skipper." Do you have any nicknames within your family? KatyDid.

3) Prince says he's "obsessed" with Mozart and reads whatever he can find about the composer. What's the last book you read? I just finished Messenger by Lois Lowrey. It is book 3 of The Giver Quartet. Kwizgiver has a good post about The Giver this week. I have seen a trailer for the movie and I think it must be based on the quartet as I had seen scenes that I did not recognize from the book.  I wonder if liberties were taken, probably!

4) Between Prince and The Beach Boys, the Corvette is a much sung-about car. Tell us about your vehicle.  I drive a 2004 Cadillac CTS and I love it!  Mr BC is currently restoring a 1961 TR-3A it will be cool and has other British sports cars that have been restored.  It should look like this when it is done.

5) In the 1980s, when Prince was popular, MTV could turn a song into a hit. In 2014, how do you hear new music? On the Today Show summer concert series, today it was Fallout Boy and I did recognize some of their music.  I have found some good music that I would ordinarily not hear.

6) In 1982, when "Little Red Corvette" ruled the airwaves, Braniff Airways shocked the travel industry and threw passengers into chaos by declaring bankruptcy. When did you last fly? Did your trip go smoothly?  It is not as much fun to fly anymore.  The last trip I made was in March when I was out in CA visiting the Grandsons. I had to make 2 layovers in order to fly in and out of Santa Barbara....that makes a long day.  This was the first time they lost my luggage.  It showed up the next day. 

7) 1982 is also the year Disney opened Epcot. Have you ever been to a Disney park?  Been to Disney Land more times that I can count.  I went the first year they opened in 1955 and the last time I went was in 2011 for my Grandson's first visit.  I was raised in SoCal.  I have never been to any other of the other parks, and don't think I will at this point.  Both of the boys have been now.  Back in the day....you never got enough of these....

8) 1982 is the year Cheers premiered. The sitcom was set in a bar where "everybody knows your name." Tell us about your favorite local bar or restaurant. When we lived in CA we use to have a favorite called Honolulu Harrys. It has been bought out and is still a luau themed restaurant but not the same.  When ever we asked where do you want to go it was always.... Honolulu Harrys.

9) The 1980s were considered a highpoint in professional tennis, with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe dominating the sport. Do you play tennis? We lived in an apartment in Cincinnati many years that had a tennis court and I took lessons, but didn't care for it enough to keep it up.  I never had anyone to play with. 

The Fast Dozen-Sunday Stealing

1. What is the last book that you passed on to someone else to read? I read a Kindle so I can only pass books to Mr BC. I passed along  Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog. It was a great book about a fantastic dog and about dogs in general. You will laugh, you will cry.

2. The one song you secretly or not so secretly want to sing at karaoke? Probably something by Abba, I know the words to most already.

3. If you had to pick a new name for yourself, what would it be? Suzanne! My dad didn't like it and mom did.  I was disappointed when I heard the story.  I like the name.

4. What do you wish your administrator or boss would notice? I don't have one anymore....but I did like it when they would recognize good work, which they did often.

  
5. What is your biggest pet peeve? Bad grammar.... It will only get worse with social networking. 

6. What holds you back in pursuing your biggest dream? Probably money.  I don't have a lot of big dreams, but one would be, to spend what time I have left traveling and learning.

7. Why do you think you are a lovable person? I try to be a caring, helpful person.  I would say I lean toward self-sacrificing too much. I hope that is seen more as lovable and less like...... being walked all over.

8. If every day had an extra hour in it, what would you do with it? I would use it to cook a wonderful dinner.  Dinner sneaks up on me too easily.

9. The last song you turned up in your car or house was? See question 2, I would have wanted to sing along.

10. What is a secret talent you may have? My secret hidden talents? Hmmm.  I did find out when DD1 got married, that I had the makings for a floral designer. Keeping the expenses down she wanted us to do the flowers.So the  night before the wedding, found Mr BC and I making the table centerpieces.  We got lots of compliments.

11. Your favorite thing to do outside when it's not too cold out in the winter? Walk the dogs...It is a little thing but they love it so much. They get so excited. We have been house bound for quite a few weeks.  The weather will be better so we will do it every day next week.

12. How do you respond if someone asks you an inappropriate or nosy question? "Why would you want to know that?" It really works if you say it right.

http://sundaystealing.blogspot.com/

Book Review: A Three Dog Life

Amazon.com

June of Bye Bye Pie Hosted a Book Club Review of Abigail Thomas, Three Dog Night.  Here are my thoughts on this remarkable little book

Abigail Thomas has written powerfully and lovingly of her happy marriage turned upside down by her husband’s unfortunate accident in NYC. After her husband Rich is hit by a car and brain injured, this memoir chronicles her life with a man who has real no memories of the past and lives shattered in the today.

She tells of the first days when no one though he would survive, of the short time that she brought him home and he broke down into rages, and of the guilt she felt when she had to put him in a facility that deals with traumatic brain injuries.

Not only was Rich’s life drastically changed, so did Abigail’s. She writes poetically of the random thoughts her husband would relate when they were together. She speaks sadly of the times that she and Rich sit together quietly in the hospital and he would not remember who she was, then he would in the next moment say something very profound.

The Three Dog Life, also tells of the three dogs she surrounds herself with during this trying time. How they came into her life and how they helped her cope with her new reality.

I loved the poetry and beauty of this little book. Thomas is a wonderful writer. She opens to us the tragedy and joy of the new relationship she builds with Rich and of the three dogs that enhance her new life.

Evelina, History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World

I recently completed a group read over at The Duchess of Devonshire's Gossip Guide of Evelina, it is a novel written by English author Frances Burney and first published in 1778. My stalking of Jane Austen this year has sent me to all things 18th Century, and the Gossip Guide.
I was aware from my reading of Jane Austen's memoirs and biographies that Fanny Burney had some influence on JA. It was subscribed to, by her family and her books are referred to in her letters. I wrote a little about the relationship here.
Evelina was written in the form of letters primarily to her foster father, the Reverend, Mr Villars but also to other characters in the book.  She was an orphan of dubious heritage, raised lovingly and sheltered by Mr Villars.When she is seventeen, he is convinced by Lady Howard to let her visit her at Howard Grove.  That visit ultimately leads her on a journey to London and the seaside near Bristol, growth and romance.  This is a sentimental example of early romanticism, definitely not a bodice-ripper. Her adventures lead her ultimately to that happy ending. 
This is not Jane Austen, While a good writer, Burney was limited in her characterizations by the viewpoint of the letters of Evelina.  You are looking at life through the eyes and sensibilities of a seventeen year old. You also have to look at this book as historical satire. Many of the absurd characters and situations were somewhat overblown and seemed contrived. Evelina is embarrassed by Captain Mirvan and Madam Duval.  Her new found relatives are social-climbing boors. and the hero Lord Orville bears little resemblance to Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth, except in Evelina's eyes.
The story is compelling and by book two, I was hooked.  I tried to stay to the timeline of the group read, but found myself reading ahead to see what happens next.  There are several plot twists, a young man who tries to commit suicide, a seeming uncaring birth father, a repugnant French grandmother, and may other cads, fops and ne'er-do-wells. It is not a hard read, especially if you are familiar with literature of the time period. Gossip Guide has a review of an audio version you can down load here.
I liked the book, and plan to read more of Fanny Burney.