I was reminded of my first wife last night
Normally I go out of my way to avoid reminders of either of my ex-wives, or any of the womem with whom I had serious relationships during my past. But last night I got a reminder of my first wife, Mary Anne, and I didn't mind it. It was a song.
"Lost in Love" is a song by the duo Air Supply. It is also the song that my first wife used to make a long-distance dedication to me, on Kasey Kasem's American Top 40, while we were thousands of miles apart. Since I didn't listen to the program unless I happened to be in my car when it came on, she also taped the portion of the broadcast where her dedication was played and then sent me the cassette tape. I was touched. Whatever problems we had later, at that moment this was a pure act of love and devotion.
So when I heard it last night and immediately associated it with her, it made me realize that while certain songs make me thing of moments in movies where they were prominently used; there are moments in our lives that we recall vividly because a particular song played before, during or after that moment. Or had some other significance.
Kenny Loggins did a somewhat obscure song titled "The House at Pooh Corner." I met my second wife because she called to request that song when I was doing an overnight shift at the FM station and we were playing a lot of requests. We talked all night and the rest is history. Now she's married to someone else, she has a kid with that former friend of mine, but the song is still a happy memory. Plus as I continue to try to stop expending negative energy on the past, I'm no longer anywhere near as angry as I was.
Every time I heard "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band, I don't think of it being used in a film. I think about couples skating at the roller rink in Miami where a girl I was dating loved to couples skate to this song. She'd practically squeal with delight if I would turn around and skate backwards in front of her, so we could hold both hands and kind of 'dance' on wheels. In those days I probably skated better than I walked, given how many hours I spent in roller rinks.
Are there life events or people who you immediately think of when you hear a particular song?
* * *
I'm supposed to go play trivia with my friends tonight. It means a free meal, since we have money left on the prize "tab" we won at this location in a contest. It also means a lot of driving. I had a long discussion yesterday about learning to live within my limits. I'm not feeling great this morning and I think I should just stay home. I could change me mind if I feel a lot better later, but odds are very good I'll be staying home tonight.
* * *
On the other hand, mornings like this make me miss the news biz. There are several breaking stories going on at this moment around Los Angeles and I'm following on my favorite local morning news, and via the tweets of that newscast's reporters and producers.
* * *
Alex Cobb is a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is recovering from a concussion caused by being hit in the lead by a line drive. He's now advocating that pitchers should have the option of wearing a helmet. It's a good idea.
The main reason that batters must wear a helmet at the plate stems from a tragedy in 1920. Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch and died 12 hours later. A pitcher with an excellent fastball can throw it at speeds approaching 98 mph. A few individuals can throw even faster. But a well-hit baseball is travelling at 110 mph or more as it leaves the bat.
The mound is roughly 60 feet from home plate. Given a line drive travelling at 110 mph, that ball will reach the pitcher's mound in less than four-tenths of one second. You have to have really good reaction time to catch a ball like that. Alex Cobb could have been killed.
I'm not saying mandate that all pitchers must wear helmets. Give them the option. If someone chooses to go to the mound without a helmet, so be it. They're accepting the responsibility.
* * *
I'm tired of the "there is voter fraud" versus "no, fraud is minimal but voter suppression is running rampant" argument. What do the following nations have in common? Spain, Greece, France, Malta, Belguim and Italy. There is a requirement to show ID to vote. Then again, they all issue national identity cards, which ensures everyone has an ID with which to prove who they are at the polls.
Ireland, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, India, Germany and others all mandate voters show ID, although some of them send out a "personal polling notification" form prior to an election which takes the place of ID.
We could talk about indelible inking of fingers but is that how we want to go?
What I would like to see is a system where we ensure there is no fraud, and at the same time ensure there is no voter suppression. We need a system where not just the ID itself is free, but all documentation required to get the ID is also free. Counties who charge for birth certificates might have to eat the expenses of issuing them for people who certify they are requesting the certificate solely for the purpose of voting.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1741, Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Hungary.
On this date in 1788, Virginia becomes the 10th state to ratify the Constitution.
On this date in 1876, Lt. Colonel George Custer and his troops are massacred at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
On this date in 1910, Congress passed the Mann Act.
On this date in 1940, France surrendered to Germany (what took so long?)
On this date in 1947, The Diary of Anne Frank is published.
On this date in 1950, North Korea invades South Korea, beginning the Korean War.
On this date in 1960, two cryptographers who worked for the National Security Agency went on vacation to Mexico and then defected to the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1996, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. military personnel.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Henry "Hap" H. Arnold (father of the U.S. Air Force, founder of what became the Rand Corporation)
George Abbott
George Orwell
Sam Francis
Dorothy Gilman
Sidney Lumet
June Lockhart
James Meredith
Harold Melvin (if you didn't know him by now you will never never know him)
Willis Reed (shatterer of Lakers' dreams in NBA finals)
Carly Simon
Jimmie Walker (he has an "official" app...another app I won't be downloading)
David Paich (I'm a big fan)
Sonia Sotomayor
Anthony Bourdain
Rickey Gervais
Greg Raymer (hey, "FossilMan" won the WSOP and made final table following year. Tough to do)
Dikembe Motumbo
Linda Cardellini
Busy Phillips
Today's movie quotes come from "Legally Blonde". You may or may not have known that it was Linda Cardellini who portrayed "Chutney", the step-daughter of "Brooke Taylor", the woman on trial for murdering her husband, who ends up hiring Reese Witherspoon's "Elle Woods" to defend her:
Margot: Here, you're gonna need this.
Elle: Your scrunchie?
Margot: My LUCKY scrunchie. It helped me pass Spanish.
Serena: You passed Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lap dance after the final.
Margot: Yeah... Luckily!
#2
Elle: Chutney, why is it Tracy Marcinco's curls were ruined when she got hosed down?
Chutney Windham: Because they got wet.
Elle: Exactly. Because isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the immonium thygocolate?
Chutney Windham: Yes.
Elle: And wouldn't somebody who had, say, 30 perms before in their life be well aware of this rule, and if in fact you weren't washing your hair as I suspect you weren't because your curls are still intact, wouldn't you have heard the gunshot, and if in fact you had heard the gunshot Brooke Windham wouldn't have had time to hide the gun before you got downstairs. Which means you would have had to found Brooke Windham with a gun in her hand to make your story plausible, isn't that right?
Chutney Windham: She's my age! Did she tell you that? How would you feel if your father married someone who was your age?
Elle: You, however, Chutney had time to hide the gun after you shot your father.
Chutney Windham: [Chutney is in tears] I didn't mean to shoot him!
[points at Brooke]
Chutney Windham: I thought it was YOU walking through the door!
[Courtroom audience gasps]
Elle: Oh my God.
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford: Oh my God.
Brooke: Oh my God.
#3
Elle's Mother: Honey, you were First Runner-Up at the "Miss Hawaiian Tropics" contest. Why are you going to throw that all away?
Elle: Going to Harvard is the only way I'm going to get the love of my life back.
Elle's Father: Oh, sweetheart, you don't need law school. Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things.
#4
Vivian: Nice outfit.
Elle: Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.
#5
Elle: I don't need back-ups. I'm going to Harvard.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: Well then, you'll need excellent recommendations from your professors.
Elle: Okay.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: And a heck of an admissions essay.
Elle: Right.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: And at least a 175 on your LSATs.
Elle: I once had to judge a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi. Trust me, I can handle anything.
"Lost in Love" is a song by the duo Air Supply. It is also the song that my first wife used to make a long-distance dedication to me, on Kasey Kasem's American Top 40, while we were thousands of miles apart. Since I didn't listen to the program unless I happened to be in my car when it came on, she also taped the portion of the broadcast where her dedication was played and then sent me the cassette tape. I was touched. Whatever problems we had later, at that moment this was a pure act of love and devotion.
So when I heard it last night and immediately associated it with her, it made me realize that while certain songs make me thing of moments in movies where they were prominently used; there are moments in our lives that we recall vividly because a particular song played before, during or after that moment. Or had some other significance.
Kenny Loggins did a somewhat obscure song titled "The House at Pooh Corner." I met my second wife because she called to request that song when I was doing an overnight shift at the FM station and we were playing a lot of requests. We talked all night and the rest is history. Now she's married to someone else, she has a kid with that former friend of mine, but the song is still a happy memory. Plus as I continue to try to stop expending negative energy on the past, I'm no longer anywhere near as angry as I was.
Every time I heard "Reminiscing" by the Little River Band, I don't think of it being used in a film. I think about couples skating at the roller rink in Miami where a girl I was dating loved to couples skate to this song. She'd practically squeal with delight if I would turn around and skate backwards in front of her, so we could hold both hands and kind of 'dance' on wheels. In those days I probably skated better than I walked, given how many hours I spent in roller rinks.
Are there life events or people who you immediately think of when you hear a particular song?
* * *
I'm supposed to go play trivia with my friends tonight. It means a free meal, since we have money left on the prize "tab" we won at this location in a contest. It also means a lot of driving. I had a long discussion yesterday about learning to live within my limits. I'm not feeling great this morning and I think I should just stay home. I could change me mind if I feel a lot better later, but odds are very good I'll be staying home tonight.
* * *
On the other hand, mornings like this make me miss the news biz. There are several breaking stories going on at this moment around Los Angeles and I'm following on my favorite local morning news, and via the tweets of that newscast's reporters and producers.
* * *
Alex Cobb is a pitcher for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is recovering from a concussion caused by being hit in the lead by a line drive. He's now advocating that pitchers should have the option of wearing a helmet. It's a good idea.
The main reason that batters must wear a helmet at the plate stems from a tragedy in 1920. Ray Chapman was hit in the head by a pitch and died 12 hours later. A pitcher with an excellent fastball can throw it at speeds approaching 98 mph. A few individuals can throw even faster. But a well-hit baseball is travelling at 110 mph or more as it leaves the bat.
The mound is roughly 60 feet from home plate. Given a line drive travelling at 110 mph, that ball will reach the pitcher's mound in less than four-tenths of one second. You have to have really good reaction time to catch a ball like that. Alex Cobb could have been killed.
I'm not saying mandate that all pitchers must wear helmets. Give them the option. If someone chooses to go to the mound without a helmet, so be it. They're accepting the responsibility.
* * *
I'm tired of the "there is voter fraud" versus "no, fraud is minimal but voter suppression is running rampant" argument. What do the following nations have in common? Spain, Greece, France, Malta, Belguim and Italy. There is a requirement to show ID to vote. Then again, they all issue national identity cards, which ensures everyone has an ID with which to prove who they are at the polls.
Ireland, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, India, Germany and others all mandate voters show ID, although some of them send out a "personal polling notification" form prior to an election which takes the place of ID.
We could talk about indelible inking of fingers but is that how we want to go?
What I would like to see is a system where we ensure there is no fraud, and at the same time ensure there is no voter suppression. We need a system where not just the ID itself is free, but all documentation required to get the ID is also free. Counties who charge for birth certificates might have to eat the expenses of issuing them for people who certify they are requesting the certificate solely for the purpose of voting.
* * *
This Date in History:
On this date in 1741, Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Hungary.
On this date in 1788, Virginia becomes the 10th state to ratify the Constitution.
On this date in 1876, Lt. Colonel George Custer and his troops are massacred at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
On this date in 1910, Congress passed the Mann Act.
On this date in 1940, France surrendered to Germany (what took so long?)
On this date in 1947, The Diary of Anne Frank is published.
On this date in 1950, North Korea invades South Korea, beginning the Korean War.
On this date in 1960, two cryptographers who worked for the National Security Agency went on vacation to Mexico and then defected to the Soviet Union.
On this date in 1996, the Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. military personnel.
Famous Folk Born On This Date:
Henry "Hap" H. Arnold (father of the U.S. Air Force, founder of what became the Rand Corporation)
George Abbott
George Orwell
Sam Francis
Dorothy Gilman
Sidney Lumet
June Lockhart
James Meredith
Harold Melvin (if you didn't know him by now you will never never know him)
Willis Reed (shatterer of Lakers' dreams in NBA finals)
Carly Simon
Jimmie Walker (he has an "official" app...another app I won't be downloading)
David Paich (I'm a big fan)
Sonia Sotomayor
Anthony Bourdain
Rickey Gervais
Greg Raymer (hey, "FossilMan" won the WSOP and made final table following year. Tough to do)
Dikembe Motumbo
Linda Cardellini
Busy Phillips
Today's movie quotes come from "Legally Blonde". You may or may not have known that it was Linda Cardellini who portrayed "Chutney", the step-daughter of "Brooke Taylor", the woman on trial for murdering her husband, who ends up hiring Reese Witherspoon's "Elle Woods" to defend her:
Margot: Here, you're gonna need this.
Elle: Your scrunchie?
Margot: My LUCKY scrunchie. It helped me pass Spanish.
Serena: You passed Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lap dance after the final.
Margot: Yeah... Luckily!
#2
Elle: Chutney, why is it Tracy Marcinco's curls were ruined when she got hosed down?
Chutney Windham: Because they got wet.
Elle: Exactly. Because isn't the first cardinal rule of perm maintenance that you're forbidden to wet your hair for at least 24 hours after getting a perm at the risk of deactivating the immonium thygocolate?
Chutney Windham: Yes.
Elle: And wouldn't somebody who had, say, 30 perms before in their life be well aware of this rule, and if in fact you weren't washing your hair as I suspect you weren't because your curls are still intact, wouldn't you have heard the gunshot, and if in fact you had heard the gunshot Brooke Windham wouldn't have had time to hide the gun before you got downstairs. Which means you would have had to found Brooke Windham with a gun in her hand to make your story plausible, isn't that right?
Chutney Windham: She's my age! Did she tell you that? How would you feel if your father married someone who was your age?
Elle: You, however, Chutney had time to hide the gun after you shot your father.
Chutney Windham: [Chutney is in tears] I didn't mean to shoot him!
[points at Brooke]
Chutney Windham: I thought it was YOU walking through the door!
[Courtroom audience gasps]
Elle: Oh my God.
The Honorable Marina R. Bickford: Oh my God.
Brooke: Oh my God.
#3
Elle's Mother: Honey, you were First Runner-Up at the "Miss Hawaiian Tropics" contest. Why are you going to throw that all away?
Elle: Going to Harvard is the only way I'm going to get the love of my life back.
Elle's Father: Oh, sweetheart, you don't need law school. Law school is for people who are boring and ugly and serious. And you, button, are none of those things.
#4
Vivian: Nice outfit.
Elle: Oh, I like your outfit too, except when I dress up as a frigid bitch, I try not to look so constipated.
#5
Elle: I don't need back-ups. I'm going to Harvard.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: Well then, you'll need excellent recommendations from your professors.
Elle: Okay.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: And a heck of an admissions essay.
Elle: Right.
C.U.L.A. Advisor: And at least a 175 on your LSATs.
Elle: I once had to judge a tighty-whitey contest for Lambda Kappa Pi. Trust me, I can handle anything.
posted by me at 9:44 AM
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