come on baby...

shake your tail feather...




watch it until the end. he gets better and better...

i love Ray Charles, too.

American Triangle...

this afternoon friends and i are attending a production of The Laramie Project by Moisés Kaufman. it is being performed this weekend at Dominican University Performing Arts Center in River Forest, Illinois. it is a powerful piece of work. i've seen it before and there is also a film version.

The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the murder of [Matthew] Shepard. The play draws on hundreds of interviews conducted by the theatre company with inhabitants of the town, company members' own journal entries and published news reports. It is divided into three acts, and eight actors portray more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes. It was later adapted into a film of the same name.

if you are familiar with the history of the play and if you have been keeping up with the news for the last couple of weeks, you will know that it has been consistently targeted by Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church with hateful and unchristian taunts and protests at a lot of performances. Phelps and his daughter were barred from entering England last week and prevented from leading a protest at Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke, Hampshire. though England has free speech laws, it also has laws that forbid inciting violence with hate speech.

from the timesonline.com article -

"Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behaviour by inciting hatred against a number of communities.

"The Government has made it clear it opposes extremism in all its forms.

"We will continue to stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country.

in the United States we allow all groups to use their free speech right no matter how inciteful or hate-filled it is. that is a debate for another time.

a little over a month ago Dominican University discovered via the Westboro website [i will not provide a link] that the group is planning a protest the hour before today's performance. the latest communication i had from one of the manager's is that the daughter is scheduled to be part of the protest.

students at the University found out about the protest and have organized a counter-protest. they have, with great humility and conscience, decided to make it a silent counter-protest. it is the right thing to do. [IMHO]

below is a video of the song American Triangle that Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote about the murder of Matthew Shepard. the piece is powerful in itself. this version was put together with scenes from the film version of The Laramie Project. you will see some of the scenes that include the Phelps' group. the man playing Phelps eerily looks like the original. the signs they carry are exact replicas of the ones the group always carry.

besides productions of the play, for quite some time now Phelps and his crew have been doing these protests at the funerals of servicemembers killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq - with the exact same signs! one of the saddest things about the protesters is that they have always included their children, some as young as 5 or 6. the children use the same language as the adults.

i am going to post about what happens either when i get home this evening or tomorrow. i will also try to provide some photos, if possible. the University and the River Forest Police Department have prepared for this. they have set aside two areas - one for the students and one for them. i know all will go well. i will help, if need be. i may have to pull all of the Vietnam War protest techniques and experiences out of the back of my head. somehow i think it's going to be like riding a bicycle - once you've learned, you never forget.

and i did learn from some of the best...

please watch the video below. i have also included the lyric afterward.

and, please, send your good thoughts, feelings, prayers, vibes, novenas, or whatever your belief is to support the students of Dominican University.

American Triangle

Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin


Seen him playing in his backyard
Young boy just starting out
So much history in this landscape
So much confusion, so much doubt

Been there drinking on that front porch
Angry kids, mean and dumb
Looks like a painting, that blue skyline
God hates fags where we come from

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

See two coyotes run down a deer
Hate what we don't understand
You pioneers give us your children
But it's your blood that stains their hands

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

Somewhere that road forks up ahead
To ignorance and innocence
Three lives drift on different winds
Two lives ruined, one life spent

"Western skies" don't make it right
"Home of the brave" don't make no sense
I've seen a scarecrow wrapped in wire
Left to die on a high ridge fence
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold, cold wind
It's a cold wind blowing, Wyoming

the sisters of mercy...

The Sisters of Mercy
written & sung by
Leonard Cohen
visual from the movie
McCabe & Mrs. Miller


The Sisters of Mercy
Oh the sisters of mercy, they are not departed or gone.
They were waiting for me when I thought that I just can't go on.
And they brought me their comfort and later they brought me this song.
Oh I hope you run into them, you who've been travelling so long.

Yes you who must leave everything that you cannot control.
It begins with your family, but soon it comes around to your soul.
Well I've been where you're hanging, I think I can see how you're pinned:
When you're not feeling holy, your loneliness says that you've sinned.

Well they lay down beside me, I made my confession to them.
They touched both my eyes and I touched the dew on their hem.
If your life is a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn
they will bind you with love that is graceful and green as a stem.

When I left they were sleeping, I hope you run into them soon.
Don't turn on the lights, you can read their address by the moon.
And you won't make me jealous if I hear that they sweetened your night:
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right,
We weren't lovers like that and besides it would still be all right.


i was first introduced to this song by the Judy Collins version many years ago. it's a haunting melody and lyric. in the version above, played and sung by Leonard Cohen, if you listen carefully, you will hear riffs from what i consider his consummate song - Suzanne. here's a really interesting video that i found of the song

i will go with you...

Donna Summer - I Will Go With You

Stranded alone on a sea of emotion
You found me
Your love was a light
In the darkness that shone
So profoundly
Say that you’ll stay
Do not be afraid, afraid
You, you’re my breath
The air I breathe
You are my imagination
Su le finesse
Song of my heart
Secrets I’m not afraid to whisper

Con te partiro
I’ll go where you lead me
Wherever you are
(forever and ever we’ll stay)
In love together
I will go with you
I’ll go where you lead me
Forever true
(forever and ever we’ll stay)
In love together

Stranded alone on a sea of emotion
You found me
It’s you who first found me
Come here, come here
Put your arms around me,
Come here
It’s you who surrounds me
Come here, come here
Come here
Come here
You, you’re my breath
The air I breathe
You are my imagination
Su le finesse
Song of my heart
Secrets I’m not afraid to whisper

I will go with you
I’ll go where you lead me
Forever true
(forever and ever we’ll stay)
In love together
Con te partiro
I’ll go where you lead me
Wherever you are
(forever and ever we’ll stay)
In love together
I will go with you
I’ll go where you lead me
Forever true
(forever and ever we’ll stay)
In love together

Con te partiro
I’ll go where you lead me,
Wherever you are
I will go with you
I’ll go where you lead me
Forever true
In my...
Heart!


this video could have been great without the pretty dancers doing a lot of stupid moves. i love this version of the song the best...

hey folks here's the story 'bout minnie the moocher...

she was a lowdown hoochie coocher
she was the roughest toughest frail
but minnie had a heart as big as a whale

think that mtv & music videos are an invention of the 80's? think again. they've been around since al jolson!

if you like old cartoons and great blues, you'll love this one. especially if you adore betty boop...


Online Videos by Veoh.com

love the word hoochie coocher. it's still a favorite and oft used word in the black culture. i hear it all the time at work...

oh what a world...

we live in.



great song. it's also one of those that gets stuck in your head.

every day is halloween if you really think about it. people just don't wear outrageous costumes all the time. they hide their fabulousness behind a shroud of secrecy.

Why am I always on a plane or a fast train

Oh what a world my parents gave me

Always

Travelin' but not in love



Still I think I'm doin' fine

Wouldn't it be a lovely headline

Life is

Beautiful on a New York Times

memories that never leave you...

pete and i had gone to grammar school together but weren't actually friends. we went to different high schools. he chose a catholic school and me my first foray into a public high school. we hooked up again in college and became friends. april was the catalyst for this happening. they were dating, eventually became engaged and married. later, they divorced. we've lost touch as happens in the journey of life.

sitting on the back porch of the rectory at the newman center in college one evening, pete and i were studying. april was strumming on her guitar and humming. it was just a typical thing for the three of us to do. we were inseparable for a long period of time. father mcginn, the pastor of the newman center, was a brilliant man, a cartesian scholar, but had problems with the simple things in life. he was down to earth and caring and he loved to hear april sing.

on this evening he came in after dinner and, ahem, a couple of his favorite manhattans, heard april on her guitar and got instantly excited. "

april, april. play that song i really like. you know the one. both sides at the same time...

we couldn't hold it in. we were always laughing at and with this dear, dear man. he ignored us because he knew we loved him. april always knew what he was talking about. she played it for him all the time. he even let her play it at mass, i believe.

if you aren't familiar with the song, it's actually joni mitchell's both sides now. great song with lots of meanings and an explanation of what it's all about.

judy collins' version is my favorite. pay attention to the sound coming out of that twelve-string guitar. she's magic. enjoy...



my thanks to nicole belle over at crooksandliars.com for bringing this back into my life...

if the doors of perception...

were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through' narrow chinks of his cavern."
William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
by way of Aldous Huxley's book, The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hell.

jim morrison could quote from Huxley's book chapter and verse. i first fell in love with jim morrison's words in high school. the music only enhanced his words for me. light my fire was an anomaly in my mind. it was a pop song that everyone was dancing to. noone listened to the words.

We tripped the wall, we scaled the graveyard
Ancient shapes were all around us.
The wet dew felt fresh beside the fog.

the illusion is vast. the words tripped off his tungue. the sexual overtones were blatant. the meaning was couched in acid.

jim morrison's other poetry was more important in my mind. they were probably my intitial foray into existentialism before i ever knew what the word meant.

in trying to decide the door's song that would be my favorite, i can't. my least favorite, of course, is light my fire. i would be hard pressed to decide between alabama song, by kurt weill, and the end which was actually the beginning for me. they are so opposite of each other.

but, i have to give you a different door's song - riders on the storm. why? it would be the thing to do considering the incongruity of jim morrison...

i would be remiss...

if i didn't post this as the second entry of this new blog, given that the title of my main weblog is no matter what. the lyrics have special meaning and, if you were ever treated badly, bullied or felt like an outsider, this song addresses what it's like to be different and that it doesn't matter. be who you are...



the lyric

No matter what they tell US
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach US
What we believe is true

No matter what they call us
However they attack
No matter where they take us
We'll find our own way back

I can't deny what I believe
I can't be what I'm not (I know I'm not)
I know I'll love, forever (I know)
I know no matter what

If only tears were laughter
If only night was day
If only prayers were answered (hear my prayers)
Then we would hear God say

No matter what they tell US
No matter what they do
No matter what they teach US
What we believe is true

And I will keep you safe and strong
And shelter from the storm (no matter where)
No matter where it's barren (a dream)
A dream is being born

No matter who they follow
No matter where they lead
No matter how they judge us
I'll be everyone you need

No matter if the sun don't shine (the sun don't shine)
Or if the skies are blue (skies are blue)
No matter what the ending (my life)
My life began with you

I can't deny what I believe (what I believe)
I can't be what I'm not (I know I'm not)
I know this love's forever
That's all that matters now, no matter what

the video above is from a live performance honoring Sir Andrew Lloyd Weber, who wrote the song. the program was for his 50th birthday, i believe. you can find the original video on youtube.com. it's visually stunning, but i like the simplicity of the one above. not to mention the icandy. oops...

this is my all-time favorite song. why? i view it as totally existential. it makes no sense and it makes great sense. it's memorable. it's hummable. it reminds me of my first great love, all be it unrequited.

music is probably the most important thing in our lives, at least in mine. i wake each morning with a song playing in my head. i connect it to things that happen, people i meet, and events that happen. a song will bring back a memory - good or bad. i connect music to every part of my life.