The Frequent Howler

iPod Essentials #73: "Don't Talk to Me About Love"--Altered Images

2009-07-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, how terrible life without You Tube would be. No videos, no memories. "Don't Talk" is a bubbly 80's pop song, perfect for this July 4. Altered Images was a Scottish New Wave band. I believe they have broken up. Clare Grogan was the great lead singer. Even though her voice was thin, it's perfect for this tune about love gone wrong.

iPod Essentials #72: "I Am Love"--Jackson 5

2009-06-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

For this week's Essential, I'm going to pick a great Jackson 5 song that was never popular for some strange reason: "I Am Love." Michael sings background on this, Jermaine does. The song begins, slow, sexy, mellow, and then turns into wild disco by the end. It's a surprising song because of the disco. Maybe it was too different for Jackson fans. Hopefully, it will be rediscovered.

Icons

2009-06-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, part of my childhood and early adult years died, along with the passing of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson.

So CHARLIE'S ANGELS was a T&A show, but to this twelve year old, they were strong, sexy, and independent. I proudly wore a pink CHARLIE'S ANGELS t-shirt until the decal wore off. With beauty and wit, Farrah Fawcett as Jill Munroe always got her man, just by simply pointing a gun at him and telling him, "Freeze, turkey!"

Farrah Fawcett made mistakes, as we all do since we were are human. Yet she fought her battle with that horrible disease cancer in public, not to glorify herself, but to shed realistic light onto it. There's nothing glamourous about it. In her death, perhaps she will save lives.

Michael Jackson--I used to watch the JACKSON 5 cartoon on Saturday mornings. Michael was a cool kid, full of adventure and song. The THRILLER CD--who didn't own it? Watching MJ dance and sing. A few Jackson and Michael Jackson songs are on my iPod; videos on You Tube now make me sad, especially "I'll Be There." How could someone so brilliantly meant for pop music self-destructed in the ways he did? He was human, and all humans have their breaking points. MJ, it seems, had too many and a few demons always in his mind.

Mourn our icons today. Remember that they always human, neither perfect nor infallible.

iPod Essentials #71: "Hot Fun in the Summertime"--Sly & the Family Stone

2009-06-19T08:53:00.000-07:00

In honor of BURN NOTICE, which I am becoming addicted to, this tune is a wonderful companion piece. The TV show offers so many scenes of lovely, tropical, sexy Miami--how can you not think of summertime.

The Sly Stone tune is also sexy and a bit bluesy. Perfect for Michael Weston's latest predicament.

The CCWC

2009-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

The first Calfornia Crime Writers Conference was held at the Pasadena Hilton last weekend. This conference was a joint production with Mystery Writers of America, So Cal chapter and Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles. Those who participated launched a fabulous conference, FULL of practical information on writing mysteries and selling them. The agents and authors, such as Laurie King and Robert Crais, were approachable and helpful. (Also, they were fun to sit in the bar with!)

Because of everyone's effort, I am so proud to be affiliated with both organizations. And hey, my new finished mystery is currently with one agent who attended!

Writing, by nature, is a private affair, but attending conferences is so important to developing craft and marketing work. I can't wait for the 2011 CCWC!

iPod Essentials #71: "The Show Must Go on"--Three Dog Night

2009-05-23T08:26:00.000-07:00

What a summertime classic from a classic pop band. The song reminds me a a roller coaster because of it's circusy, big top opening. It's a love song about a couple facing some challenges in their relationship: "on a high wire...High Wire." But they overcome their conflicts and get back to being in the circus of their existance.

Okay, this song was released in 1974, a far simpler time than today. However, the message remains the same: love and work can conquer the world.

Entitlement

2009-05-23T08:09:00.000-07:00

Why do people believe they are entitled to a better grade, better service, a Super Sized meal? All because they feel they work hard, pay money, and in some cases I've encountered during travels abroad, are Americans.

Since I just finished grades at one school, I'm hearing the familiar strains of "I've worked hard. I deserve an A or a B." In academia, it doesn't go that way. Too many students want good grades without effort, just like they got in high school. In short, they are spoiled, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Teachers A through G. Newsflash: the real world seldom goes your way, Students, especially when you don't work hard or improve your skills or have others work for you. The sooner you understand this fact, the better student and person you will become.

This new generation I'm teaching is so full of entitlement issues it scares me. California is very screwed up right now due to budget cuts, fiscal mismanagement, and an incompetent government. What will happen to this state and this country if the generation feels they are entitled to coast along in their lives?

iPod Essentials #70: "Space Oddity"--David Bowie

2009-05-16T08:29:00.000-07:00

Whenever I'm troubled, the first song on my iPod or on my Bose system at home or in the SUV on the road is "Space Oddity." I've been listening to it a lot this week. (My week: money troubles, didn't get hired at the same ______ community college that turned me down for a job last year, even though I was a finalist--go figure that one, and the new sudden growth on the face of my beloved dog, Magic.)

"Space Oddity" was a very unique song for 1969 telling the tale of Major Tom, a figure through much of Bowie's early works. Is Major Tom an astronaut, drug addict, or soldier? That remains to be seen. A depressing song, it reminds me that the universe creates problems that no one will ever understand.

iPod Essentials #69: "The Boys of Summer"--Don Henley

2009-05-09T08:32:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, summer is arriving in a few weeks, so I always this of this song of innocence lost. Henley's voice and lyrics sell this song. The video is in black and white and is effective in conveying this "loss." iTunes and Henley should think about selling it; I'd buy it for the memories of a simpler time.

Last Weekend's Conference

2009-04-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

I was in Pasadena, CA, last weekend for an ESL-teaching conference. It was much better than the one I attended in Sacramento last year. That conference dealt with too much political theater. I like sessions that tell me what works in the classroom, why it works, and how to do it. I got a lot of that, indeed.

I also won in the raffle--four things, including a DVD set of MRS. DOUBTFIRE and a DVD teaching tool for it in the classroom and a nice book on grammar from Cambridge UP. It's good to be a winner.

A good conference motivates its participants, and when I returned to the classroom on Monday, I felt tired but energized to teach my beginning ESL class about the past tense.

iPod Essentials #68: "Digging Your Scene"--The Blow Monkeys

2009-04-25T09:43:00.000-07:00

Another 80's gem from a one-hit wonder. The pop song is catchy and brings back many memories of the semester between my last year in college and before I returned to school for my master's degree. I felt a void, but a hopeful one. And hope is something we all need during these troubled times.

My New Laptop

2009-04-11T08:23:00.000-07:00

First, I will never call laptops "notebooks." It's a silly name for them. Laptop, the term stays.

I spent some of my tax refund on a new laptop since my old one was starting to act strangly, freezing and corrupting files.

It's a nice Dell Inspiron 1545, complete with webcam, Photoshop, Premiere Elements, and lots of memory. Yesterday I had wireless service installed at my house, and boy, I should have done it years ago. I can take my laptop all over the house and still have Internet service. Instead of my computer chair, I can sit on the couch and surf or e-mail as much as I want.

Ahhh, technology. Now, if I could get a computer that cleans houses...

iPod Essentials #67: "The Ghost in You"--Psychedelic Furs

2009-04-11T08:16:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still on an 80's kick. The times were simpler than they are now. I maintain that this song deals with gaining personal strength, something we all need. Richard Butler's vocals haunt the song and give it depth to its synthesized beat.

I remember hearing this tune for the first time while doing an aerobics videos. It got me through the challenging workout; I visualized myself in the future, feeling strong and confident.

"Ashes to Ashes"--BBC America's Great New Show

2009-04-05T09:13:00.000-07:00

If you are a crime drama and nostalgia fan, you have to be watching this show! It features a modern-day female British detective who is shot and transported back to July 1981. As she struggles to stay alive and return to her life and her daughter, she works cases and fights an attraction to her sexist chief-inspector boss. Alex is a tough but strong and sympathetic character.

And if you're an 80's nostalgia buff, like I am, then you will love the attitude, fashions, and music featured throughout the show. The music operates as a Greek chorus and works very well. In fact, I've downloaded a few forgetten gems to my iPod.

P.S. There's an endearing creepy clown. Nice homage to the great Bowie video of the same name.

iPod Essentials #66: "Ashes to Ashes"--David Bowie

2009-04-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

In honor of the great BBC America show of the same name. (Love that clown!)

One thing about early Bowie music (pre-1982, before he went commercial), it was spacey and out there and experimental. He sung freely about confusion, alienation, and to some, drug use. Check out You Tube for the some of his great videos.

In Praise of Jon Stewart

2009-03-14T09:09:00.000-07:00

Hopefully, you saw Stewart emerge as a serious journalist on Thursday night's episode of THE DAILY SHOW. He aggressively pursued Jim Cramer of CNBC fame for not doing enough to draw attention to the financial crisis in this country, for not being alert enough to catch it before it erupted into a nonstop lava flow of loss.

Too many people don't take Stewart seriously because his show is on Comedy Central. It's a shame. Even though we laugh as he pokes fun of current events, he makes his audience aware that the world has dire problems we must be deal with.

iPod Essentials #65: 'Money for Nothing"--Dire Straits

2009-03-14T08:58:00.000-07:00

So Octomom and brood are getting a new house in La Habra, paid for by Grandpa. How can Grandpa afford this $559K house? Through his countless media appearances, worrying about the mental state of his daughter. Mind you, he and his wife are $23,000 behind in their current mortgage.

The whole thing disgusts me. "Money for nothing."

True, Mark Knopler of Dire Straits wrote this catchy pop song as a bit of irony. Most musicians work hard for their financial survival. But what have the Sulemans ever done other than pimp out their family problems on DR. PHIL for a buck?

As the middle class becomes extinct in this country, it's hard not to become bitter toward people like them. "Money for nothing."

In Praise of Hulu.com

2009-03-07T07:58:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't know, Hulu.com airs repeats of new and not-so-new TV shows. I even watched two episodes of my belated favorite soap, ANOTHER WORLD. Commercials are brief and unintrusive. I just hope Hulu remains free and online for years to come.

iPod Essentials #64: "Up-up and Away"--The 5th Dimension

2009-03-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Ahhhhh, a breath of late 60's air. When the world wasn't as busy and complex and troubled as it is now. Pleasing pop perfection with its intricate harmonies and instrumentals.

I'd like to take a balloon ride over the African plain in Kenya. That's on my bucket list. Imagine what you could see a few hundred feet in the air.

What's Wrong With California?

2009-02-21T08:47:00.000-08:00

Simply put, Ahnold S. and too many of our political leaders in this state. Beginning this year, the Golden State will be taxed to death: state income tax, vehicle licensing fee, sales tax. All because of incompetence, excessive borrowing, and poor leadership. Sometimes I wonder why I even vote. Things won't change. I hope someone will prove me wrong one day.

iPod Essentials #63: "Take Five"--Dave Brubeck Group

2009-02-21T08:46:00.001-08:00

Ahhh, the horn of relaxation. In these fearful and stressful times, we often forget to take care of ourselves, to take time to decompress. This classic jazz song reminds us to do just that.

Pimpin' out the Octies

2009-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

In a continuation of last week's blog, Nadya Suleman, the mother of the octuplets, has decided to give media interviews. She's even hired a publicist and possibly will write a book based on her experience. According to the LOS ANGELES TIMES, documents show that Suleman was depressed and in physical pain when she first began her breeding mission. I hope no one will want to read about her experiences.

Will Pampers give her free diapers for five years? Will Gerber donate a lifetime supply of baby food? Will TLC offer her her own reality TV show? Her irresponsibility and irrational mental state should not be rewarded.

Suleman claims she will be able to afford to care for her brood of fourteen once she completes her education. She plans to become a therapist (ironically). Is she aware that becoming a therapist in California takes an extensive internship, along with passing a difficult exam? With fourteen kids, how can she study for her classes or pay for them?

Oh, that's right...Mom and Dad can help out.

Better yet, she can wait by the phone for it to ring.

iPod Essentials #62: "Cry"--Godley & Creme

2009-02-07T08:14:00.000-08:00

Not a popular song back in the day (the 80's), but the video is innovative. It shows people crying, and then one sobbing person morphs into the next, all in glorious black and white. I believe Demi Moore was one of the celebrities featured, though Average Joes were also weeping. The video really makes the song.

iPod Essentials #62: "Land of 1000 Dances"--Wilson Picket

2009-01-31T09:07:00.000-08:00

What a dance song. It never fails to get me ponying around the house while I clean it. Because of its fast tempo, it is likely a hard song to sing, but Picket did it beautifully. The world needs more great tunes that honor dancing.

Too Much Baby Love?

2009-01-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

I might be in the minority, but the woman in Bellflower, CA, who recently gave birth to octuplets, really has no place on the good news scale. She already has six other children. Her mother claims this woman only sought fertility treatments because she wanted "just one more." She "loves being a mom."

This woman should enfuriate us all. Is she stable? She already has six kids. Why does she feel the need for the seventh? She's divorced and is allegedly a grad student. How in the hell is she going to support fourteen children? Her parents are likely in their sixties. Will she be leaching off them until they die? No, she'll likely try to milk that already-broke state of California for governmental assistance. She'll depend on the kindness of strangers and volunteers for help.

The world already has nearly seven trillion people, according to The World Population's website. We don't need anymore! Overpopulation is contributing to global warming, overbuilding, disease, and starvation.

If she wanted children, this woman could have adopted a few children, as long as she held a decent job. Why did she choose to create yet more lives?

The fertility clinic that allowed her to have this procedure should also be held accountable for this travesty. If this were a woman, with a well-paying job, who wanted to be a mom, just once, then that's one thing. This woman is a human hamster who really needs psychological help quickly before this happens again.