Bitchy Queen!

I just stumbled across this old interview with Donna Summer, probably from the '80s.  I had never heard of this interviewer, JACOB DAHLIN.  He's some European guy.  Excuse me, he WAS some European guy.  He's deceased.  Suffice it to say that I thought the man was dreadful to her.  Just dreadful.  God rest his soul.  And hers.  

The Way They Were

Some creative soul put this video together and boy oh boy am I glad to see it.  And hear it!  If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times:  Donna Summer could SING!!!!!!!!!!  Goodness gracious!!!!

Happy Memorial Day

This has been a quiet and slow day for me.  I've worked out at the park and played around online.  What's new, right?  I'm gonna shower, eat, then practice for my audition tomorrow for the retooling of an old, game show.  Whatever!  Just let me get booked on the darn thing and make some moolah!!!!  Papa Cam needs a GLORIOUSLY PHENOMENAL, life change!!!!

You'll Still Be The One

"There will be another song for me.
And I will sing it.
There will be another dream for me.
Someone will bring it.
I will drink the wine while it is warm.
And never let you catch me looking at the sun.
And after all the loves of my life,
After all the loves of my life,
You'll still be the one."

Excerpted lyrics from, MacArthur Park.

Superstar In The Making

MYKAL KILGORE is a supertar-in-training!  If he keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground, this young man's voice is gonna take him places!  I love singers.  Always have.  Always will.  And when I hear him sing, I just smile somethin' silly.  His vocal range is, in a word, RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!  I look forward to seeing what his future has in store.  He's goin' places.  Mark my words!

 

Way Back When

Since I have Jennifer Holliday on my mind, I may as well keep listening to the woman sing her face off.  I wonder if, from time to time, she watches these same, old videos on YouTube.  I can't get enough of 'em, 'cause...

I like the way she makes me feel!!!!!!!!!!!!

American Dreamgirl Idol

Last night was the finale of American Idol.  Some guy won, but the ONLY thing I recall about the night was the duet between one of my all-time faves, JENNIFER HOLLIDAY and the Idol contestant, Jessica Sanchez.  WOW!  All I can say is, WOW!  The DRAMA of it all!!!  Jennifer is in her 50s but boy oh boy has she STILL got it!!!!!!  

A True Life Saver

The invention of YouTube has truly been nothing short of a life saver for me!  I mean, there's no longer a need to call a repairmen for anything if you simply go to YouTube and watch a bona fide repairman fix whatever it is you need fixing.  I just did it and can proudly say I have now replaced my broken toilet lever!  With my own hands!!  Haaa!  Yep, little ol' me who has never really repaired much of anything (not including friendships and romances).

As far as I'm concerned, YouTube knows no equal!!!!!!!

All In One

Since November 2011 one of my friends has been waiting to be paid for a terrific commercial in which he was the star.  His agent told him that the agency's legal team is investigating the matter and might sue to get the funds.  Well, today, my friend got the notion to simply call the commercial's production company himself.  He was NOT expecting what he discovered:  a woman at the company told him that the check had been mailed to his agency within two weeks of his work date.  AND...that the check was cashed by his AGENT!!  Whoa!!!!  Come again!  Yep, the same agent who has told him the check never arrived is the SAME agent who CASHED the check two weeks after the commercial was filmed!  What a scumbag!!!!  My friend is driving over to the SAG-AFTRA offices first thing tomorrow morning and telling them everything he knows because his agency is SAG franchised.  

If I've said it once, I've said a million times, the ONLY person on this planet we can ever truly know is OURSELVES!  I hope and pray that the agent is confronted with his thievery and receives some kind of legal punishment.  Karma will do what it does, I'm sure.  And when it does, I hope my friend gets his money.   

T.G.I.M.

Haaaaaaaaaa!!!  :-)

The Lights Have Dimmed

Today is a sobering day for those of us who love DONNA SUMMER.  The legendary songstress who defined disco in its heyday died earlier today.  I'll always remember being a teenager and falling madly in love with the woman.  To me, her voice was second to none.  And she was GORRRRRGEOUS!!  My bedroom wall was home to hundreds of images of Farrah Fawcett-Majors, Jaclyn Smith, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and DONNA SUMMER!  It was the cover image of her Bad Girls album that floored me.  I thought she looked PHENOMENALLY gorgeous on that cover!

Donna's dance numbers brought her the most fame and fortune but her slow songs were incredible to me, too, because they illustrated how terrific her voice was.  My all-time favorite tune of hers is, FORGIVE ME.  It was a track on her Cats Without Claws album.  The song's message was incredible, but the sound of her voice truly made the song iconic for me.  I distinctly recall playing the song during a performance I created for the entire, sophomore class while I was a student at Wabash College.  I have it on a loop right now as I type.  The song's meaning is as relevant today as it was when I first heard it in 1984.

LaDONNA ADRIAN GAINES, you may have taken your last breath, but your sensational music lives on so that your death will not be the world's LAST DANCE!

Staring At The Stars

Last night I went to the taping of Dancing With The Stars.  I took my friend, Stephen, with me since he enjoys the show as much as I do.  Anyway, we sat in the first balcony, first row.  The seats were just fine for me.  Well, their location was just fine.  The actual seats were sooo close together that I don't see how anyone even slightly overweight could fit into them comfortably.  'Cause lean folks like me sure couldn't!!!

Stephen and I had a blast.  Turns out he was even visible on camera when he went home and watched the show on television.  Good for him!!  Would I go back if I was offered tickets again?  Well...only if I didn't have anything else to do.  It's one of those situations where once you've seen it live, you don't really mind watching it on television from that point forward.

Mama, Mama!!!

My Mama :-)

Although my mother, MISS JUANITA, isn't physically here for me to celebrate on this special day, she's with me SPIRITUALLY!!!!!!  So...HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, Mama!!!!!

Bullied To Nausea

Last night I checked out the much talked about documentary, BULLY.  The subject matter is depressing, but I think the onslaught of teenage suicide as a result of excessive bullying makes the topic mandatory, dinner conversation!  One of the kids featured in the film makes you want to reach into the screen and hug him.  Or, at the very least, beat the crap out of the kids who bully him.  

I knew going in to the film that it was something I'd want to see.  However, what I didn't know---what nobody had told me---is that the camerawork in the film is WRETCHED!!!  I mean, the camera is either wobbly or out of focus or BOTH!  And, for me, that spells INSTANT headache and NAUSEA.  Throughout the film, I found myself closing my eyes and simply listening to dialogue, because I had NO intention of running to the restroom to barf!  Ugh!  I hate unsteady camera work!  It's not artsy to me!  It's NAUSEATING!!!!

I recommend the film if crappy camerawork doesn't make you want to toss your cookies.  If it does, though, I'd say SKIP it!  But make up your own mind, of course.  I don't wanna be accused of bullying you into anything!!!!!!   

Lien Back, Lien Back

I had a gut-wrenching phone conversation with a friend earlier this evening.  I could hear desperation and despair in every syllable she spoke.  It's interesting how the I.R.S. can do that to a person.  She's being audited and it's killing her.  And I honestly mean, killing her!  There's already a lien against her house.  And only God knows what else she hasn't told me.  I hope & pray she deals with this catastrophe head on and handles it as truthfully as possible.  Telling the truth is the ONLY way she'll effectively get that I.R.S. monkey off her back!

God bless her.   

Cozy & Intimate

I know we live in a world where people think bigger is better.  Well, I'm not one of those people.  When it comes to at-home, television watching, I think the perfect room in which to do it should be quaint and cozy.  A sectional couch and a flat screen television (of which I have neither at the moment) are the only items necessary.  Okay, throw in a dvd player, too!!!  Anyway, I've looked online to find my idea of the perfect, tv room and, by George, I think I've got 'em!  Yes, I enjoy the room pictured above.  But the room below would make me even happier!!!  You talk about cozy!!!!!

Can I Get A Replay?

Facebook IS good for something!  It's good for introducing new music!!  One of my FB friends posted this video to his page and now, I can hardly go a day without listening to it!!  The artist is a pretty, young thing named, ELLE VARNER.  I might have to surf YouTube to hear her perform it live!!!  And, yes, Ms. Varner, you may have a refill.  And I'm gonna have one, too, by listening to the song again in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... --- P.S.  The actor in the video is, JEANTIQUE ORIOL.

Listen Up, Young Lady

One of my former, cater-waiter colleagues has yet again found herself placed on a catering company's Do Not Call list.  To my knowledge, this is the second or third company to tell her, "Don't call us, and we won't call you."  Truth be told, she's an incredibly hard worker and damn good at the cater-waiter thing.  However, her personality is very strong and very hard to stomach for too many folks.  In my humble opinion, one of the joys of cater-waitering is that the Captain and/or Party Supervisor is solely held responsible for the success of a party.  Meaning:  cater-waiters don't have to do a friggin' thing until they're told to do so.  This former colleague of mine, however, doesn't operate that way.  On her own accord, she assumes responsibility for everything at a party.  And that has annoyed the heck out of the vast majority of employees at many or all of the catering companies she's worked for.  It's been brought to my attention that she's now living back at home with her elderly mother because she can't afford to live alone any longer.  She has also reached out for assistance to stop her car from being repossessed.  I heard today that it was eventually taken, but she might have been able to get it back.

This friend has been on antidrepressant medication before.  Heck, she might still be.  My advice to her would simply be what I'm sure I've told her at some point in the past:  just show up at a party and do what you're told.  Period.  She's not curing AIDS or cancer or any other life-threatening ailment.  She's making coffee and serving food!  Geez!  I wish her the best.  Honestly, I do.  'Cause she's an incredible worker.  I just hope & pray she isn't thinking the world is out to get her.  I hope she sits somewhere in silence---alone---and accepts full responsibility for her role in her current situation.  Years ago, while working a catering gig with her, I made one of the most flippant and intentionally hurtful comments to her that I've ever made.  She was on my case about not being able to open a bottle of champagne quietly.  When I was tired of her jibing, I rudely said, "I'm glad you're really good at this, 'cause this is the end of the line for you."  Well, The Universe has gotten the last laugh on me for making that comment.  'Cause she's been canned from any number of catering companies, and I'm STILL earning the bulk of my yearly income from catering.  Today, though, I must admit, I opened at least two bottles of champagne and I heard the cork pop every, single time!!!  Damn her!!!  :-)

As Simple As That

Sometimes you know certain things, but you just aren't 100% sure how to implement what you know.  I'm feelin' stuck in one of those times.  But I'll break free.  Eventually.  I don't doubt it for a second.

Darnell "Dynasty" Young

Darnell "Dynasty" Young

I just read an article about a gay, young man in Indianapolis, Darnell "Dynasty" Young, who might be expelled from his high school for defending himself with a stun gun against bullies.  Turns out he has been subjected to all sorts of bullying at the school: rocks thrown at him, being spit on, called names, etc.  No, I don't condone bringing any kind of weapon to school to physically confront anyone, but, at what point, is enough enough?  Of course, my hope is that the school's administrators and his mom work out something that all parties find acceptable.  NOBODY deserves to be taunted and teased simply because they look, walk, talk or dress differently than you do!  NOBODY!

 I have to admit, though, after watching the video of him performing in his school's talent show, along with three females as his background dancers, he showed EVERYBODY that he has more energy and commitment to his talent than ALL those young ladies---COMBINED!!!!  Geez!  Take a look at his story and watch his talent show performance below!  God bless him!!!!!

That's What She Said

These grandmothers are HILARIOUS!!!!!!  Oh, how I hope KIM KARDASHIAN sees this!!!  Haaaaaaaaaaaaa!

All I've Got

The future is mine to see.  Què sera, sera.

Man's Best(est) Friend

What a gorgeous, gorgeous creature.  I want a friend like him.  Wow!!!!!!!