I'm In A New York State Of Mind
I usually am anyway, but after last night's Republican debate, even more so.
Republicans Debate Tonight
Who's watching?
R.I.P. Alan Rickman
1946-2016
Happy Birthday, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
"Getting older [is my secret to body confidence]," she says "It's like, 'Yeah, this is who I am, fuck off,' as opposed to, 'This is who I am, I'm sorry.' You know, there's something about getting older and owning who you are that is a good thing."
And with age comes changes, although Louis-Dreyfus doesn't seem to mind. The actress, who calls herself "curvy," has a motto when it comes to cellulite: "I try to push the worry down and pull the Spanx up!"
Happy Birthday, John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was born on this day in 1856.
His 1906 painting "Madame X" is one I always look forward to seeing when I visit the Boston Museum Of Fine Arts.
It was quite scandalous in its day.
Angie
Angela Bowie was married to David Bowie from 1970-1980.
2016: Officially Here Now
NEWS FLASH
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve, New Years Day, Twelve Days Of Christmas, 2015: all gone now.
2016 is officially here. Deal with it.
Ground Control To Major Tom
Although we were contemporaries, and shared many of the same musical roots, I was never particularly affected by David Bowie's music, even though I understand the major impact he had within the rock and roll universe, and within the culture at large.
But I have been quite moved today at how deeply his death yesterday at 69 has affected so many of my friends.
So in order to show respect in my own way, I'm sending out this portion of David's "Space Oddity" to Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, ahead of next Saturday's NFL Divisional Playoff game against Kansas City:
Ground Control to Major Tom
Ground Control to Major Tom
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
Ground Control to Major Tom (Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Six)
Commencing countdown, engines on (Five, Four, Three)
Check ignition and may God's love be with you (Two, One, Liftoff)
This is Ground Control to Major Tom
You've really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
I wish for TB12 a better outcome than Major Tom experienced.
And RIP, David Bowie.
What's Old Is New Again
Lately, I've been looking back at media coverage of previous Presidential elections, and I recently came across an article by Eleanor Roosevelt about the standards that should be applied when we elect a Preseident, in the August 1960 issue of Esquire Magazine.
While the article was interesting in the context of the choice faced by the American electorate that Fall, between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy, the magazine's cover photo really caught my attention.
This was 1960, nearly sixty years ago, but the woman in the photo looks like she might have been photographed in 2016 - no Sixties hairdo, or wardrobe. The photo was from an article in the magazine about Hong Kong, and how different it was from the Hong Kong portrayed in the very popular Hollywood film that was running at the time - "The World Of Suzie Wong".
The President On Gun Rights
I found it encouraging that at last night's televised "Gun Town Hall" President Obama re-affirmed Americans' right to buy guns, and even said his wife, Michelle Obama, turned to him while the two drove through Iowa during the 2008 campaign and said that if she lived in a farm house with a sheriff's office far away, "I'd want to have a shotgun or a rifle to make sure I was protected and my family was protected."
"And she's absolutely right," he said.
It is certainly an interesting image to conjure with.
Rest In Peace, Natalie Cole.
Unforgettable.
Peyton Manning: PSI Or HGH?
You decide.
PSI or HGH?
"HGH, You Taste So Good!"
Watch as the NFL and their media lackeys circle the wagons around Peyton Manning. At least he's not accused of deflating footballs.
