scraps & lagniappe

typewriter love

Thought I'd show y'all my iPhone wallpaper.

beach bound

The Falers are headed to the beach for the weekend.  I'm sure this trip will make for a good blog post next week.  Let's hope I don't get harpooned while reading on the beach.

it's about damn time

Next I'd like an apology from MC Hammer and all 80's hair bands.  And Right Said Fred, whoever sang "Barbie Girl," and the Rico Suave guy.

80's Sunday Rewind: Simply Red edition

This has been a Simply Red kind of weekend for me.  Shut up. 

There are only a few bands that get me like Mick Hucknall's band.  And it has nothing to do him copying my red haired-blue eyed thing I've been working all my life (anybody from back in the day remember when I was Mick for Halloween in 1987?  Yeah, that was me).  I'm talking about some blue-eyed soul, though.  Few bands did that better than Simply Red in the 80's.  Now the band's just Mick and that's fine with me. 

Simply Red debuted in 1985 with the superfantastic album, Picture Book, and released the great "Money's Too Tight (to Mention)" -- a song about tough financial times (hmm, strangely familiar, no?) with the line "we talkin' 'bout Reaganomics."  Now, does it get better than that?  If I could make a list of phrases for be included in a song, "Reaganomics" would definitely be on that list (along with "after school special," but that's a blog for a different day).  I used their title "Holding Back the Years" (their first US #1 single) as a title for a short story once, as I do love using song titles in my writing.  The other videos I'm including today are a fan's vid of  "Heaven," also from Picture Book, which is a lovely song about a bar; the song that never fails to make me tear up, Cole Porter's "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye" from 87's Men and Women and the cover of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me by Now" from 89's A New Flame.  If you're a fan, Simply Red has a nice You Tube channel with heaps of high quality vids, lots of concert footage and more.  It was nice to find high quality stuff for today's post, it's usually such a chore.  When you go to the channel, check out "Infidelity," "For Your Babies," and "Stars."  Enjoy.

EDIT:  shut up.  I found an 80's leftover.  1992's "Your Mirror," which I listened to relentlessly while going through a particularly hard time.  Here is the video, a live version, and the lyrics -- because it's right on, baby.

"Your Mirror"

I've got to stand up for myself
This society don't care about nobody else
I've got to be strong
Even if I know that this feeling is wrong
I've got to not care
Even if I know that this world is meant to
Share

Wait a minute. This is wrong
Even the birds still sing their faithful song
And your beauty lies within you
Look in the mirror baby
Look in the mirror baby

What you gonna do when your friends have
Gone away
And deserted you
You'll have to be strong
24 hours can seem so long
You're taught to not care
And then not realise this world is meant to
Share

Wait a minute. It's wrong
Even the birds still sing their faithful song
And your beauty lies within you
Look in the mirror baby
Look in the mirror baby

We've got to stand up for ourselves
Even if a leader so cold wants to glory himself
We've got to be strong
Even if our reasons seem wrong
We've got to not care
Even if the world that we know may not even
Be here

Hold it! It's wrong
Even the birds still sing their faithful song
And your beauty lies within you
Look in the mirror baby
Look in the mirror baby

is that a rhetorical question?

What am I on meds for?  I'll take a case. 

state of the blog address

Hello reader friends, it's time for what I'd like to call the inaugural State of the Blog Address (yes, it's formal, because I like to keep it classy, that's just how I roll).

Here at the Kerry Blog we take things halfway seriously, thus the State of the Blog Address.  And by we, I mean me and my other personalities.  I'd like to tell y'all about some goings on behind the scenes of the blog just in case you find yourself on the interwebs one day, dial up the blog and think you've landed somewhere else.  Typepad has switched me to the new platform and I simply adore the new  fantastic dashboard, making it easier to post, save, edit, and tag posts.  If you've thought about starting a blog, you can't go wrong with Typepad.  They've also introduced new fun templates, so what's not to love?   But because I'm not the stock-template type, the old blog is getting a makeover, which I alluded to a while back.  That's right, we're taking it up a notch with a blog makeover.  Don't worry, the content will remain irreverent and jocose as always, just with a few cute embellishments.

I thought you might enjoy some stats as part of this address. 

As usual, I'm up late writing.  I took a screen shot of the stat page to show you the recent visitor map which reflects where people are visiting the blog from midnight 'til 12:30 am.  I'm not the only one up late or early for those of you in Europe, India, China, and Australia. 

 

So, that's 30 minutes of blog time.  I'm always interested in what brings visitors to the blog, so I checked recent keyword activity and here are the results:

 You can click the image to enlarge it, if you'd like.  These are the most recent search terms, so props to good friend, AB, for being the latest search query.  I'd like to know what the people who are Googling "dd real boobs" and "bbw pin-ups" think when they land on this blog.  I can only hope they have a sense of humor, because I don't think they found exactly what they were looking for.  My favorite search on this list is "weird inverted triangle body shape women" because I can't imagine for the life of me what the hell they were looking for.  A week or so ago, the leading search terms on the blog were "bbw pin-ups," "red head bbw pin up," and "pin up situations."  Picture my face when I saw dozens of searches for those topics.  Now picture the face of the guy who Googled and got my post with Hilda the first illustrated plus-sized pin-up (and my hero).  And just because I love Hilda, here's one of my favorites.

This is the closest I'll get to being a pin-up girl, since artist Duane Bryers obviously had psychic visions of me when he created Hilda back in 1957.  Seriously, those are my legs and skinny ankles, and even one of my expressions.  Please.  This is image is borrowed from toilgirls.com, a site by a modern plus-sized pin-up artist and fellow Hilda fan. 

That's the scoop on the blog right now.  I'm thrilled to have so many readers who come back day after day for my ramblings.  I do have to tell you, it's funny, since the comments weren't working for ages and bunches of you have joined Facebook and message me to say you liked a post, the comments have dwindled, but I know you're still reading, so all is well.  That's a nice run-on sentence for a late night! 

Check back for the cuteness of the new blog design and until next time, stay classy. 

what would hemingway do?

The Pottery Barn catalog came yesterday.  Usually I flip through the catalog and toss it, but not today. 

Someone at PB has read my mind.  As I've written about before here on the blog, I'm a sucker for typewriters.  I love everything about old typewriters -- the ding one makes when the carriage returns, the sound of hitting keys, and smack of the letter striking the page.  I love the way typewriters look, the anti-tech of the machine.  I love that my favorite old authors were discriminating typists and that my man Hemingway would only write on a Royal. 

I have to think he would approve of my next purchase.

Those are six beautiful canvases, aren't they?  

Writers are a weird breed, as I've said on occasion.  We have little superstitions, write only with certain pens, are fond of particular notebooks, specific times of day to write, but that's not all.  Weird things about writing creep into everyday life.  Like these canvases.  I haven't made up my mind as to where to hang them.  Common sense says the scrap office, but these are so special they may hang in the living room on the wall I still haven't figured out what to do with after four years in this house.  I'm fairly certain they will be hanging on that wall soon. 

I'm working on a post for later tonight, but right now I'm going to check Ebay for that elusive  Olivetti Valentine.

if I had a nickel...

In case you need reading glasses, the text is "Most men ask 'Is she pretty?' not "Is she clever?'"

I think I've just realized why those blind dates never worked out back in the day. 

80's Sunday Rewind: Joe Jackson edition

This evening I had to look over my past 80's Sunday Rewind posts to check if I had featured Joe Jackson and was quite surprised to see I had missed him.  Of course, this is an abomination on many fronts.  Jackson is simply fantastic.  If you haven't heard him you're missing out.  Jackson ranks up there with early Elvis Costello and like Costello, is still recording and touring.  So, I thought I'd show you my three favorite Joe Jackson songs, "Steppin' Out," "Is She Really Going Out With Him," and "You Can't Get What You Want (Till You Know What You Want)."

open letter to Lady Gaga

Dear Lady Gaga,

For the love of Jim Henson, stop.  Just stop. 

I didn't say anything when you appeared in my mailbox on the cover of Rolling Stone wearing bubbles.   

I didn't say anything when you forgot to wear clothes under the blazer because you thought the flesh-colored unitard would suffice.

But not this time.  Madam, this will not stand. 

(yes, the video is in German, no I don't know what they're saying)

You cannot go around wearing an outfit made of Kermit the frogs.  It's just wrong.  It's unAmerican.  Plus, Miss Piggy is not going to be after your skinny ass.  And I wouldn't be surprised if PETA comes after you too.  Now, go and put some damn clothes on.

Love,

Kerry