Rest In Peace, DJ Rix

Bob and I became friends about 10 years ago on AOL.  Together we would rile up the right wingers in chat rooms and bask in our success at bringing stupidity front and center.  We were a tag team and had many years of fun on AOL.

In 2005, I decided to start a blog.  Bob had one and I figured, hey, if Bob can do it, so can I.  My blog was extremely political, while Bob’s blog was more diverse.  I remember when he got angry after my very first post on my very first blog got accolades from a prominent political blog, and I was featured front and center. 

Bob was a mentor to me in the world of blogs.  We never met, but we talked from time to time on the telephone.  He knew me at my core, and we shared a world surrounded by depression and anxiety.  He was there for me when I was suicidal.  He was there for me when I was hospitalized.  He was there for me when I was in pain.  He was there during my cancer treatment.  We were bonded in a way only he and I could understand and enjoy.

He called me on May 4 ... I missed the call.  He never answered when I kept calling him back.

I miss him so much.  I will never forget him.  I hope he stays near me.  I have so many friends in the next world (smiling) ... they will take care of him.  I will pray that my family embraces him and helps on his new journey.  At least the depression will be gone.  And the anxiety. 

I love you Bob. 

A Loud Voice In Music Silenced - RIP Eydie Gorme

Showing my age, and also revealing that in addition to being a "hipster" music-wise growing up, I was a fan of old school music.  I LOVED Eydie Gorme and her husband, Steve Lawrence.  Their sound was unique, and I used to pride myself on being able to tell the difference between the sound of Steve Lawrence, Jack Jones and Vic Damone!

Eydie had a big hit in the 1960's called "Blame It On The Bossa Nova," while Steve had huge hits with "Go Away Little Girl," and "Party Doll."

But I enjoyed them the most as perennial guests on the Johnny Carson show!





RIP ...

The Consumate Comic Genius - Jonathan Winters, RIP

I loved, LOVED, Jonathan Winters, since I was a young kid.  He was on a lot of television programs in the 1950's and 1960's and his humor was unique.   Here is a bit he did, improv, using a simple pen and pencil set.  Note:  You can see where Robin Williams got his inspiration.



RIP.

Annette ... Annette ... Annette

What can someone say about her?  She was a Mouseketeer star (she had big boobs), she was a 1960's icon (she had big boobs), and she was Mr. Disney's favorite (she had big boobs).

I watched the Mickey Mouse Club as a kid. I am not sure how many of us did NOT watch.



Those of us lucky enough back in the day to have our "ears" know what I mean.

I have a boatload of songs by Annette.  Enjoy!

Pineapple Princess



Tall Paul



Beach Party Tonight



First Name Initial



Ma, He's Making Eyes At Me



Blame It On The Bossa Nova



Dream Boy



I'll Never Change Him



The Monkey's Uncle (with the Beach Boys)




Damn ... I miss her, seriously.

RIP Donald Byrd

The influential jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd died on Monday at the age of 80, his nephew has said.

Alex Bugnon, a jazz pianist, reported his uncle's death on Thursday, though it has yet to be confirmed.

Bugnon wrote on his own Facebook page: "Donald passed away Monday in Delaware, where he lived. His funeral will be held in Detroit sometime next week. I have no more patience for this unnecessary shroud of secrecy placed over his death by certain members of his immediate family. "

Confirmed or not, the jazz radio station here reported it and played his music all day.

 

RIP Patty Andrews

Maxine, Patty and Laverne ...

Truth be told, I always wanted to be Patty.  See these pictures of me for Halloween over the years.

I actually bought a regulation Army outfit for women circa 1940's from a movie costume warehouse, which I wore year after year, pretending I was Patty Andrews.  Sigh.

Here are a few songs made popular by the Andrews Sisters.



Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy




 Accentuate The Positive (with Bing Crosby)




Bei Mir Bist Du Shoen



Rum & Coca Cola (ok, so I am having my rum and coke, bite me!)





Rhumboogie



Six Jerks In A Jeep

Too Soon ...Aaron Swartz

I can't say I was on the forefront of Aaron Swartz' connection to internet freedom.  I do know, NOW, what he was.

Can you say, "government bullying" that results in "death by suicide?"

There is really no other explanation.  And just to say, this is not the only time our government's prosecution techniques resulted in a premature death by suicide. 

At 14, Mr. Swartz helped create RSS, the nearly ubiquitous tool that allows users to subscribe to online information. He later became an Internet folk hero, pushing to make many Web files free and open to the public. But in July 2011, he was indicted on federal charges of gaining illegal access to JSTOR, a subscription-only service for distributing scientific and literary journals, and downloading 4.8 million articles and documents, nearly the entire library.

Charges in the case, including wire fraud and computer fraud, were pending at the time of Mr. Swartz’s death, carrying potential penalties of up to 35 years in prison and $1 million in fines. 

"California Gold" ... Going To Miss You, Huell

I watched Huell Howser's California Gold series religiously.  I used to try to figure out which areas he highlighted, I knew about.  Most of the time, I found myself on the short end of the stick.  Still, there were a lot of places he showcased that I could seriously say I knew of that way back when.

In 20 years of traversing the state for his program "California Gold," Huell Howser took his viewers to the Mojave Desert to learn the story of the world's tallest and oldest Joshua tree, to the Eastside of L.A. to explore the history of mariachi and to the small Kern County town of Wasco to see and smell acres and acres of rosebushes.

 I can't believe this precious soul is gone at age 67.  That's seven years for me ... damn.

Two Souls Lost This Week

We lost two special people this week.

Ravi Shankar



Jenni Rivera

The Day Lennon Died

32 years ago ...

RIP Dave Brubeck

We Three Kings - Dave Brubeck

Larry Hagman RIP

Wow, I thought JR would live forever.

Although I was not watching the new show, I was a HUGE fan of DALLAS back in the day.  I don't know about you, but I sure wanted to know "who shot JR?"

RIP.

RIP Robin Gibb

And the "walk" that made it famous!

Donna Summer, Queen of Disco, RIP

I was a big wig in the disco era. My family (three cousins) and I were at every gay bar and disco lounge between the Valley and Los Angeles. We WERE the dancers that everyone liked to copy ... trust me on that.

Check out the outfits! First off, I made these. I had my own clothing line back then, and the pant suit with the embroidering. I did all the bead work by hand. And check out the shoes! We were wearing those platforms well before the youngins of today have been wearing them!!!!!

One of my first dance contests I ever entered in that era, was with a guy and we danced to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.” The practices were hard, and our ending was especially difficult, because I was in a position where the guy was holding my arms and then I dropped to the ground and he had to catch me at my hands, and I would shoot up one of my legs and it had to coincide with the last note of the song. I got dropped on my head so many times, it hurt a lot!!!!

But, eventually, we got the last move down, and on to the competition, which was in Century City (for those of you familiar with Los Angeles area). Although, we both at the time, were living in San Diego area. In fact, I met my then dance partner based on the fact that he would often go to clubs in Los Angeles, and “our” (my family) style of dancing was unique and when people found out he lived in San Diego area, they said, find (insert my real name) at one of the discos because you will definitely know her by that distinct style of dance. And that is seriously how I met him. He came up to me when I was at a club with my then boyfriend (who still lives in Hawai’i after we both moved there in the late 1970's) and he approached me and said ... “are you (again insert my real name)?” and I was like, “yeah, how did you know that.” And then he mentioned that people in Los Angeles had told him he could find me by my dancing style.

We didn’t win that particular dance contest, but it was just the first of many that we entered (and won some). I have already mentioned in earlier posts that I even won a dance contest with my youngest boy cousin, while living in San Diego. I drove up to L.A., drove back to S.D. to the club, danced, won, took the money, drove back to L.A. to drop him home, and drove back to S.D. Whew!!!!!

Anyway, Donna Summer was THE QUEEN of disco, no doubt about it. In fact, I was surprised that she even reprised the “McArthur Park” song that Richard Harris had made famous with his pseudo talk version!

I know I am 60, and shit, witnessing my peers drop dead this year is not making me happy.

Last Dance (pay attention to the last notes of the song, and imagine me being dropped to the ground, LOL)



Yeah, I had to hit the drop on that last note!

Dim All The Lights



RIP Donna. You will always be the Disco Queen.

RIP MCA

Another sad loss. Gonna Fight For MY Right To Party.



Brass Monkey.

Junior Seau, RIP 5/2/12

“

He wasn't just a football player, he was so much more. He was loved by everyone in our family, our organization and throughout the NFL. This is just such a tragic loss. One of the worst things I could ever imagine. My prayers go out to Junior's family. It's heartbreaking.

” --Chargers president Dean Spanos

I am at a loss for words on this. Junior Seau was one of my favorite players of all time, but more so because he was a Charger, and being a fan since 1979 ...

I did find it interesting to read that Junior's death is the ninth eighth death of the only Charger team to play in the Super Bowl.

I just can't figure out if it really was suicide. The man was eternally happy and up. He had his foundation, he loved the San Diego area, and was truly loved by the fans and the locals. He was also not concussion prone in his career, so I feel we can rule that out.

Sad day for all of us that love football, the Chargers and Junior. RIP, bro.

Thomas Kinkade Dies - Age 54

I have to admit I am an unabashed fan of Thomas Kinkade. Although I do not own a single painting of his, I have downloaded probably as many as twenty to thirty desktop themes using his many wonderful paintings.

I know that many in the art world have feelings about him from mild dislike to serious despising, mostly based on his mass marketing of his art work. I say "eh" to that. He does what he does to make money, but that does not make his work less unique.

Art from the self-described "painter of light" adorns many living rooms in America. It emphasizes simple pleasures and warm, positive images of idyllic cottages, lighthouses and colorful gardens.

"My mission as an artist is to capture those special moments in life adorned with beauty and light," Kinkade said in a message on his website. "I work to create images that project a serene simplicity that can be appreciated and enjoyed by everyone. That's what I mean by sharing the light."

He was only 54. I turn 60 next Monday. No more new and wonderful paintings from him.

RIP, Mr. Kinkade, and brighten up heaven a little on this Easter/Passover weekend.

There's A Disco Inferno In Heaven, RIP, Jimmy Ellis

Jimmy Ellis, who belted out the dance anthem "Disco Inferno" in the 1970s for the Trammps, died Thursday in South Carolina, the funeral home handling arrangements said.

He was 74.

First off, disco WAS my thing. Regardless of my dance training and background, I came of age, dance wise, during the disco era. I have probably been to every famous disco with the exception of Studio 54 in New York, during my disco days. I entered disco dance contests, won quite a few and even won one stupid small contest that my younger cousin, Gary, danced with me. I was living in North County, San Diego, and drove to Los Angeles to pick Gary up, then drove back to North County where the small contest was (which we won), then drove him back to Los Angeles, and then came back home!

Actually, during the years in the early to mid-70's that I lived in the North County San Diego area, I was constantly driving up to L.A. for dance classes three or more times a week. I did not find any dance studios in the San Diego area that cut the mustard compared to who I was studying under in L.A.

But, far and away, one of THE most popular disco songs to dance to (and which was one of the songs that I have had in my walk work out, whether on the treadmill or actually walking) was "Disco Inferno" by the Trammps.

RIP, Jimmy Ellis.

"Hey, Hey, We're The Monkees" RIP Davy

Well, I was definitely a Monkees fan. It was very weird that one of my neighbor's looked just like Mike Nesmith (he even wore a knit cap). I don't remember what night they were on, but we (my sister and I) would go next door to the neighbors' house (they were a very young couple, so they like the show as well) and watch the show each week. I was in what was then called junior high, probably 8th or 9th grade, and I do believe that my first crush was on Davy Jones (I really didn't have any crushes on any of the Beatles at that time).

Years later, Davy actually recorded one of the songs that my family owned the publishing rights to (but for the life of me, I cannot remember the name). It was on the B side of one of his hits as an individual artist (maybe Rainy Jane, but not sure).

Daydream Believer


He was 66, died in his sleep of an apparent massive heart attack after tending to his horses.

RIP.

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The Funeral Of Whitney

I admit that I was stuck on pause all day yesterday after spending approximately three hours watching the funeral of Whitney Houston in the morning (it started at 9 a.m. PST). There was great, great singing by Pastor Marvin and the rest of the Winan family (Ronald, Carvin and Michael, CeCe and BeBe), Alecia Keys, Stevie Wonder, etc. There was a great tribute by Kevin Costner and anecdotes about the movie he made with Whitney (The Bodyguard - which interestingly enough, I had never seen, but since it was on rotation on television yesterday, I actually watched it for the first time), and a whole host of other tributes from Clive Davis to Ricky Minor (her music director, responsible for the famous half-time national anthem song sung by Ms. Houston). I cried like a pathetic baby all through the funeral, and on/off for most of the day. I was useless.

The only version I could find.