Da Goddess

Just thought I’d share this link with you: Gallagher’s Notes From San Francisco…with the full track “Rue the Day” for your listening pleasure. Go forth and listen. It’s too good to pass up!

I’ve never been a fan of hers. Never. I’d run to turn off the radio if she came on.

Now, we’re in the same town. She’s touting a show that’s including “lullabies and baby photos” and just her and a 38-piece orchestra.

C.D. is back in Vegas!

And while I’ve never been a fan, I have a newfound respect for her as a human being.

A couple friends told me of something magnificent she did when they were youngsters touring with her. She extended kindnesses well beyond what you’d imagine normal for a superstar to do…bringing one of them a cake and singing him happy birthday, dinners together, applauding their successes as opening act…all things that mostly never happens in the pop world. But she went out of her way to make four boys feel important and welcomed in her world, all because she remembered how it was when she first started out and was treated poorly. She vowed it would never be that way for any supporting act on one of her tours.

That puts her in a whole new light for me. I may never go see her perform, but I will certainly give her props for being so amazingly cool to people who are now rather special to me.

As a lover of music and also of kind people, this news made me happy…happy enough to blog about it.

Nice to be on my deathbed and Amazon at the same time.

The cough is getting deeper, my temp is all over the place, and there are moments when I really wish I were being hauled out to the desert for a shot to the head and a shallow grave.

The good news is that I’m on Amazon. Or rather, one of my photos is lingering there.

album cover.

Here’s the original.

Kind of cool to see where something started and where it ended up, isn’t it? Different eyes see things you might not be able to envision and that’s why it’s good to have someone else doing design work if you’re getting nowhere, which I was as I was too invested in my images to clearly see what the label wanted. It was great to see what happened once I let go. I’m actually really happy that this reflects both the tone of the album and what the record company was aiming for. And I’m proud to have had the opportunity to work with such amazing people.

Took me an hour to post this. Coughing. Ice pick to the skull sort of headache. It’s been one of those “you take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have…” kind of days.

At some point, I may get through emails again. I may also turn into Christina Hendricks. Yeah, neither is bloody likely at this rate.

Anyhow, there are the highs and lows of my day. How about you?

By the way? The album is freakin’ incredible! It’s his best work thus far.

My doctor’s visit went exceedingly well. For me, that is. We aren’t scheduling the next epi just yet, as he wants to see how long this lasts. He did, however, get very upset when he discovered which patch had been used on me after my trigger points last week. There is now a BIG BOLD NOTE on the front of my chart and he made sure everyone knew that no NSAIDs were to ever be brought anyone near me. He also announced to the entire office that the patch was never to be used on anyone again (especially me). It was a huge, loud moment. Also, he’s going to argue with the insurance company that it’s worth us doing the upper back epi even though it didn’t work pre-operatively all those years ago. The fact that the lower back epi did work POST-OPERATIVELY…well, that’s a good sign and it’s worth exploring using the same treatment to provide me with effective relief. So he’ll fight them as much as necessary to get me the treatment that I need. I like this office.

The real joy of the visit always comes with the waiting room adventures. I tend to update my facebook account frequently whilst I’m waiting and this was a particularly interesting day. Figured I’d copy and paste the whole thing over here for you to enjoy, too.

scenes from the waiting room:

Scene 1: “yo BITCH, who yo mothah fuckah?” some woman’s ringtone…full volume.

said woman’s companion has been going on for a good 20mins on how he just wants a decent bitch he can kick it with. and then the two are having separate LOUD convos on their phones

would it be foolish of me to suggest 1) going to silent… mode for ringtione? and 2) taking their calls outside?

scene 2: civil war cap with awesome civil war beard.

scene 3: everyone near loud rude couple in back becoming increasingly disgruntled over something. attitudes are contagious. me? I have a phone and fb.

scene 4: today my name is “John” (usually they call me “Jo ANN”)

scene 5: one cute tween sitting in waiting room is becoming super uncomfortable with the conversation at the back of the room. her mom isn’t exactly pleased with the language used. since I’m now back with the nurse, I narc’d. no need for anyone to endure that behavior…anywhere

scene 6: rude couple ejected and they were not happy. had a choice to turn down their volume, go outside, or leave…they got mean so decision made for them. they’re standing outside yelling now. by my car. no good deed goes unpunished

scene 7: the miracles

miracle #1 – doc happy with progress and my level of pain relief. he’s going to fight ins. co. to let him inject my neck, too.

miracle #2 – doc ran out of room and announced to evryone that the flector patch is a no-no…especially for me. and he scrawled big note on front of my chart

miracle #3 – rude couple apologizes

And there you have it.

Only thing I really need to make it all perfect is a personal masseur at my beck and call, a personal trainer to help me work my core, and a good bed. I’ll take any one of the three, any combination of the three, and I’ll even take all three. Please note these as they appear as items #1-3 on my early birthday list.

Tonight, I went to dinner with long time blog friend Sapper Mike, who is in town for a couple days. BBQ for dinner. Lots of talking (sorry…I can’t seem to shut up sometimes) after dinner. And tomorrow we’ll attempt to see the horses if the weather isn’t horrible. After that, he has kindly consented to be my escort when it’s time to check out some “Soul with a capital ‘S'”:

Someone…SOMEONE…in the Pacific Northwest…SOMEONE gave me tickets for Christmas. SOMEONE who happens to have a blog and who comments here. Uh huh. I’m not mentioning any names. HE knows who HE is. He’s a very generous soul and he’s been wonderfully kind to me. Plus, we have great conversations. Anyhow, someone know what he did and I will be forever grateful.

Before I forget, if anyone is interested in very VERY inexpensive CDs from a great music collection, I know someone who is selling many of those CDs on eBay. it out.

I’m such a brat, aren’t I?

Expected — from phenomenal pianist Henry Gray:

I had the distinct honor of meeting Henry Gray in 2009, hearing him play, and him at work. Lovely man.

Unexpected:

I’m so sad that I only got to visit the Liberace Museum once for a cabaret showcase right when I moved to the Vegas. If you’re amenable to it, they are taking donations to help preserve the collection and find it a permanent home. It’s worth it. Sincerely, to see the shoes and the costumes and the piano and everything else…this is a sight to behold.

And one of my favorites — the Queen of Boogie Woogie, Ms. Sue Palmer! Special guest, Steve Lucky (of Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums, who I also enjoy):

My son is visiting this week, so I told him to pick a couple videos. Here are his choices.

First up, Golden Earring – cuz you can never get enough dramatic spy music videos and cheesy 80s dancing. All at the same time.

And Billy Idol. Because nothing says cheesy 80s dancing better than cheesy dancing zombies!

Of course, it wouldn’t be an adequate Two-fer Tuesday without a bonus or two. How about some cheesy 80s dancing with older Brits from the Kinks?

Perhaps a little cheesy 80s stop animation dancing from Men At Work is in order, too. *Now with extra random old lady appearance!*

Ah, I do believe I’ve taught him well. He’s even growing a cheesy teen mustache just so he can fit in around here. I’m truly very proud. Honest. Now if only I could get him to stop growing so tall!

(File this one under, “Whoops! Mommy can’t read a calendar”…had it scheduled for tomorrow. Now…we are off to explore.)

I don’t care what your mama says
Christmas time is near
I don’t care what your daddy says
Christmas is full of cheer
All I know is that Santa’s sleigh
Is makin its way to the U.S.A.

May all your holiday wishes come true!

And of course, my favorite of all times.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to my friend who does sound at my favorite venue, here’s a shot of me doin’ my thang last week.

Here’s a little nod to someone…they know who they are. And they know why.

And c’mon, you think I’d post Tower of Power without including this one?

Don’t get too crazy out there with all the crowds and the temptation to spend a ton of money. Just chill a bit and enjoy family.

Tommy Bolin, one of the greatest guitarists ever, died 34 years ago today. He had overdosed on heroin. He was only 25.

Most people don’t know this, but Tommy Bolin is the reason I love guitar so much. I think the first album I ever appropriated from my sister was Teaser (okay, first serious album, because I don’t count the Monkees or Bobby Sherman albums as “serious albums”). It was Bolin who led me to discover other great guitarists and pretty much paved the way for my lifelong obsession with music.

Can you imagine what else Bolin might have accomplished if he’d lived longer? I mean, 25 is…you’re still just discovering yourself at 25! He was amazing! And yet there was still so much he’d yet to see and do.

Tommy Bolin. Yeah.