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A Chance of Success

8 grudnia 2009r. (wtorek)
w godz. 8.50 – 10.30 (2. i 3. lekcja)
w sali kinowej

odbędzie się szkolny konkurs
SZANSA NA SUKCES
z udziałem legendarnej grupy

ABBA

1. W konkursie mogą brać udział uczniowie wszystkich klas ZS nr 2.
2. Uczestnicy zaśpiewają:

Mamma Mia!	zobacz video
Dancing Queen	zobacz video
Money, Money, Money	zobacz video
I Have A Dream	zobacz video
The Winner Takes It All	zobacz video
Knowing Me, Knowing You	zobacz video
Chiquitita	zobacz video
Take A Chance On Me	zobacz video
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme	zobacz video
S.O.S.	zobacz video
Waterloo	zobacz video
Honey, Honey	zobacz video
Tutaj znajdziesz teksty piosenek

3. Informacji udzielają i przyjmują zgłoszenia nauczyciele j. angielskiego:

Ryszard Oślizło (106 B)
Katarzyna Śnieg (107 B)

4. Termin przyjmowania zgłoszeń upływa 3 grudnia 2009r.
5. Czekają atrakcyjne nagrody książkowe ufundowane przez naszych sponsorów!

NIE PRZEGAP OKAZJI!

So I know we decided to call this a celebration and despite The Annie Lennox Collection, riding high in the charts, we should also be feeling sorry for hits albums because apparently it’s a dying formula. The advent of mp3 downloads making back catalogues available song-by-song has led to a veritable pick n’ mix attitude to slowly take over and before long, hits records will be banished to musical no-man’s land along with the Zavvi in Piccadilly Circus, CD singles and audiophiles.

But my up-until-recent vendetta against these best-ofs hasn’t been without reason. For one, I consider myself a mild completist; the long-standing arch nemeses of the hits album that’s already wallowing in no-man’s land. So when you already own everything the artists of your affection have released, a cheeky compilation album with one new track is just a nuisance. The whiz kid marketing strategist who started that behaviour is on my hit-list.

Then there are those too quick to release their greatest hits, like throw-away reality stars who ‘write’ autobiographies when they’re not even past their quarter-life crisis.

There are so many factors to a bad greatest hits albums that I thought I would compile a list [did I mention my penchant for lists?] of the worst offenders: the infuriating, the unnecessary and the unworthy can all be found below.

D’Angelo: The Best So Far

“Hey guys, D here. James River will be out soon, I promise. But in the meantime buy this compilation of the measly two albums I’ve managed to release within the last 16 years…oh and I threw in a few random songs so you wouldn’t get too mad at me for this bullshit.”

Call it what you like D, this ‘best so far’ is dick-teasing crap. If I have to record your third album myself…

ABBA: Gold

Yes, ABBA are entitled to a hits compilation considering the ridiculous amount of popular tunes they have. But when there are so many ABBA collections, albeit under different guises, that you could build a small city out of them then I object. Imagining that city gives me the shivers. It would be like a never-ending hen party in polyester flares.

The Boomtown Rats: The Best Of

Who are these dudes kidding? I’m pretty sure they only released one song; six albums must be a figment of Geldof’s imagination. So apparently ‘Rat Trap’ also went to number one but even if it did, there is no excuse for the amount of Boomtown Rats’ hit compilations that this Best Of is just one example of.

Spin Doctors: The Best Of

If you’re consistently showing up on one hit wonder collections, you’re probably not entitled to a Best Of.  And it’s not even like the Spin Doctors were this really great band that we should’ve discovered more of. ‘She Used to Be Mine’ or ‘Cleopatra’s Cat’ aren’t bad but they’re not ‘Two Princes’, so we’re inclined not to care.

Fugees: Greatest Hits

If this album is in your collection, you are not only lazy but also the biggest false economist on the block. The Fugees only released two albums, and a quick gander on Amazon has informed me that you can buy both of them for less than this farcical compilation. This is one of the sickest hip hop outfits from the 90s, go the extra mile.

Shakespear’s Sister: The Best Of

Three albums, only one that produced anything hit-worthy and yet they still feel the need to compile. Maybe life is too precious to waste it figuring out what could be considered Shakespear’s best, or not?. We could’ve donated the time to worthy causes like ending world poverty or curing cancer. Because if anyone is still hampering to hear ‘Stay’ they can buy Hormonally Yours and then regret it afterwards.

New Kids on the Block: Greatest Hits

For the cover alone, this album gets full marks: the music notation cardigan, the pseudo-quiffs and stonewashed jeans; just brilliant. But re-re-re-releases are like that boy who cried wolf; one day we just won’t listen anymore.

Creed: Greatest Hits

Let’s just be bold: Creed are pretty awful. The affectations of Scott Stapp’s singing voice and the sameness of all their music make for pretty dire listening. And there’s only a handful of bands that can get away with the amount of sickly, power guitar solos that Creed sneak in at every opportunity. Didn’t Poison even copyright that shit?

Vanilla Ice: The Best Of

The theme seems to be that if you know you’re not worthy of having a greatest hits album you call it a Best Of. Don’t be fooled by this, I know it makes you feel like you’re missing out on some of Vanilla’s bests, like really he was a genius with hidden hip hop classics. But, trust me, you’re not.

Blue: Best Of

Their biggest hit is a bad cover of another song and their three albums were all released over three consecutive years, so we’re pretty sure they were not in it for the art. But so as to not scapegoat Blue when so many countless pop acts are guilty of this quick release crime, here are a few other offenders: Jason Donovan, Hilary Duff, Five and Atomic Kitten.

[Originally published in PUB.lication: The Greatest Hits Issue]

"Recovering? Who said I was recovering?"

I was just watching some sessions from 2004’s Emerging Theological Conversation that I attended at All Souls PCA Church in Decatur with Jasmin and Seth in the fall of 2004 – some five years ago. Walter Brueggemann was the presenting scholar, and Brian McLaren, Tim Keel, Troy Bronsink and others were hosting the dialogues with him (Yes, ladies, there were lots of dudes on stage back in 2004…we got better). It was the first time I’d met Troy; the second time I’d met Chris Seay I believe, and the third time I’d met Brian – I got up the courage to approach Brian afterward and ask him if he needed any editorial feedback, and to my delight & surprise I got to informally work on The Last Word and the Word After That. Good times.

Grrr. Why won't Google Videos format in WordPress?

Soo, yeah. It was at this conference that Brueggemann presented his 19 Theses:

1.     Everybody lives by a script. The script may be implicit or explicit. It may be recognized or unrecognized, but everybody has a script.

2.     We get scripted. All of us get scripted through the process of nurture and formation and socialization, and it happens to us without our knowing it.

3.      The dominant scripting in our society is a script of technological, therapeutic, consumer militarism that socializes us all, liberal and conservative.

4.     That script (technological, therapeutic, consumer militarism) enacted through advertising and propaganda and ideology, especially on the liturgies of television, promises to make us safe and to make us happy.

5.     That script has failed. That script of military consumerism cannot make us safe and it cannot make us happy. We may be the unhappiest society in the world.

6.     Health for our society depends upon disengagement from and relinquishment of that script of military consumerism. This is a disengagement and relinquishment that we mostly resist and about which we are profoundly ambiguous.

7.     It is the task of ministry to de-script that script among us. That is, too enable persons to relinquish a world that no longer exists and indeed never did exist.

8.     The task of descripting, relinquishment and disengagement is accomplished by a steady, patient, intentional articulation of an alternative script that we say can make us happy and make us safe.

9.     The alternative script is rooted in the Bible and is enacted through the tradition of the Church. It is an offer of a counter-narrative, counter to the script of technological, therapeutic, consumer militarism.

10.  That alternative script has as its most distinctive feature, its key character – the God of the Bible whom we name as Father, Son, and Spirit.

11.  That script is not monolithic, one dimensional or seamless. It is ragged and disjunctive and incoherent. Partly it is ragged and disjunctive and incoherent because it has been crafted over time by many committees. But it is also ragged and disjunctive and incoherent because the key character is illusive and irascible in freedom and in sovereignty and in hiddenness, and, I’m embarrassed to say, in violence – [a] huge problem for us.

12.  The ragged, disjunctive, and incoherent quality of the counter-script to which we testify cannot be smoothed or made seamless. [I think the writer of Psalm 119 would probably like too try, to make it seamless]. Because when we do that the script gets flattened and domesticated. [This is my polemic against systematic theology]. The script gets flattened and domesticated and it becomes a weak echo of the dominant script of technological, consumer militarism. Whereas the dominant script of technological, consumer militarism is all about certitude, privilege, and entitlement this counter-script is not about certitude, privilege, and entitlement. Thus care must betaken to let this script be what it is, which entails letting God be God’s irascible self.

13.  The ragged, disjunctive character of the counter-script to which we testify invites its adherents to quarrel among themselves – liberals and conservatives – in ways that detract from the main claims of the script and so too debilitate the focus of the script.

14.  The entry point into the counter-script is baptism. Whereby we say in the old liturgies, “do you renounce the dominant script?”

15.  The nurture, formation, and socialization into the counter-script with this illusive, irascible character is the work of ministry. We do that work of nurture, formation, and socialization by the practices of preaching, liturgy, education, social action, spirituality, and neighboring of all kinds.

16.  Most of us are ambiguous about the script; those with whom we minister and I dare say, those of us who minister. Most of us are not at the deepest places wanting to choose between the dominant script and the counter-script. Most of us in the deep places are vacillating and mumbling in ambivalence.

17.  This ambivalence between scripts is precisely the primary venue for the Spirit. So that ministry is to name and enhance the ambivalence that liberals and conservatives have in common that puts people in crisis and consequently that invokes resistance and hostility.

18.  Ministry is to manage that ambivalence that is equally present among liberals and conservatives in generative faithful ways in order to permit relinquishment of [the] old script and embrace of the new script.

19.  The work of ministry is crucial and pivotal and indispensable in our society precisely because there is no one [see if that’s an overstatement]; there is no one except the church and the synagogue to name and evoke the ambivalence and too manage a way through it. I think often; I see the mundane day-to-day stuff ministers have to do and I think, my God, what would happen if you took all the ministers out. The role of ministry then is as urgent as it is wondrous and difficult.

It’s interesting that what disturbs us sometimes the first time we hear it ends up comforting us the next time we hear it. More explosively than his challenging theses, it was at this conference that Brueggemann posits that  “God is a recovering practitioner of violence.” As Geoff Holsclaw summarizes – “By this he means that God used to think violence was a good idea, but then gave up on it. However, like all addicts, He has relapses. Of which the cross is either the final deliverance, or another relapse.” Of course this is potentially disconcerting, as we don’t like to imagine the repentance of God – and yet, this is precisely what is suggested in Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (thanks, Jack Miles!). Incarnation inaugurates a genuine new-ness in God’s new covenant with humanity & cosmos. As Geoff continues, “Concerning faith and knowledge, Brueggemann says: “We all have a craving for certitude, but the gospel is all about fidelity.” By this he means that certitude is an epistemological category while fidelity is a relational one. And the way of the Cross is to depart from our certitude, to die to our answers/desires/scripts.”

Part of the ‘inner reflex’ is Centering Prayer is letting go. For 20 minutes twice a day, it’s a continuous letting go of thoughts and emotions that well up inside – kind of like a fisherman catching fish but not to eat – just for fun. He’s sitting in a boat (the mind) and his pole rests in the water (the field of consciousness). Little fish (thoughts, ideas, emotions) come up and nibble on the line (ordinary awareness) – the fisherman doesn’t shoot the fish with a revolver or cut the line. Instead, he pulls the little fish up, but doesn’t keep them in the boat – it’s catch & release.

Catch and release, catch and release, gently, graciously – because you recognize that even the lake is situated in a much larger ecosystem (God). You can let go because the earth is abundant; you will be fed. Centering Prayer is a journey of trust in God, even on the unconscious level, where all kind of mis-trustful thoughts bubble up to the surface. The life centered in surrender to & trust in God is a life of profound peace and productivity – and our Scriptures attest, in a myriad of ways, that such trust (faith) ‘pleases God.’ But when we’re faced with the disturbing truths that Brueggemann elucidates – God’s irascibility for instance – what do we do?

There are two ways to do handle this. One is the way of definitive, forceful – almost violent – denial that there is (or has ever been) anything troubling in God’s character or actions. It’s the route of trusting God via suppression.

But there is another route – more painful, more adult, more complex – but I think it can still end in deeply-rooted, childlike trust. It’s a path that I’ve learned from many guides over the years, including Bruggie Baby (sorry for the familiarity, but it’s really hard typing his name over and over again), Meister Eckhart, the Jewish scholar Richard Elliot Friedman in The Hidden Face of God, Jack Miles in his Christ: A Crisis in the Life of God, ‘deeper life’ missionary and teacher Norman Grubb, and the process theologians that Tripp Fuller is getting me to read (like his professor Philip Clayton of Transforming Theology) or listen to & he and Chad Crawford’s uber-awesome podcast Homebrewed Christianity – all refined in the daily, simple crucible (quite actually) of centering prayer as taught by Contemplative Outreach and particularly Cynthia Bourgeault. (Did you read that paragraph, Ken Silva? It was practically tailor-written for you, LOL. If you don’t write about me, Discernmentalist Mafia will!)

And this is the path: As Grubb proposes a radically panentheistic reading of Holy Writ, there is only One Person in the Universe. (Y’know, like “I Am the Lord your God, there is no Other?”) Creation unfolds inside of God. And within this unfolding, it moves from gross to subtle to causal (sorry, had to throw a little Integral theory in here) – meaning that God once walked around and acted, anthropomorphically, as a human being. Gradually across the narrative shape of the Hebrew Bible, God began to withdraw God’s conscious presence in this way – “I will hide My face from them, and see what their fate may be.” God goes from walking around earth to appearing via angelic intermediaries; to public miracles, to dreams and visions and prophets, to private subjective experiences to interpretations written out in a Book. In Ruth and Esther, God is scarcely mentioned at all. (God then repeats this process again in Jesus – but the same progression from overt to subtle takes place on the pages of the New Testament and in Church history) We could lament this move as somehow connected to God punishing us; withheld manifest presence as a result of our sin or some such thing. On the other hand, what if we as a human race are growing up, maturing, and therefore God appears to us in more mature ways? In this way, God is very actively involved in our history as a parent, but then gives us space to get older – not becoming more distant, but in fact closer than our very breath. God’s presence moves from the obvious to the sublime. (Which would explain, to me, why Monotheistic Western religion – in the form of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – starts out very concrete-operational in its orientation and almost inevitably moves to the mystical. The majority adherents might not make that leap, but it undeniably does seem like a leap forward.)

Now, here’s the same thought from another trajectory: God influences us, that we’ve always known; but what if we – the sum total of we, human and non-human life alike – influence God? If we’re bound up in him, marked off in God before our conception, our learning and growing is God’s learning and growing – what if? I don’t mean to rehash the entire Open Theism vs. Calvinism debate of the 1990s here, but I think that it’s possible to simultaneously hold that God is good, wise, and powerful while also affirming the ability of God to learn and (even) change God’s mind – we see so many examples of this in the narrative of Scripture, that it seems fool-hardy to deny this in order to preserve our cherished Greco-Roman structured systematic theologies.

So, today, in a secular age, we affirm that God is true and real, but we wrestle with what this means. We stake our lives on the goodness of God, but we recognize that ‘goodness’ might be different today, as it truly seems to be if you’re looking at Covenantal unfolding in Scripture. This just seems developmentally true: If you’re someone who, like me, is committed to peace and justice work today but grew up watching the 700 Club approvingly as a kid, you’ve experienced the dissonance that God, just possibly, has experienced: What made perfect sense in the 1980s seems cruel and inhuman today. And this is precisely what Abraham and Moses are recorded as having argued to YHWH some 4,000+ years ago: “Don’t wipe out this-or-that people, LORD; it’s bad PR. It does not magnify the glory of Your Name; it does not add to the praise of Your reputation.” Sometimes, YHWH did what he was going to do anyway; sometimes, he listened and changed course.

What does this have to do with our lives today? Is this a wildly unstable theology of God? Is such a changeable God not worthy of worship? I don’t know about that. I think that, if the evangelical mantra is true, and we can indeed have ‘a personal relationship with G-D,’ then this relationship is a genuine one with real give-and-take, real learning on both sides. I think that I can be an orthodox Trinitarian Christian with a high Christology, and still hold that the Universe is one important aspect of the unfolding of God – and that we are the co-unfolding of God within God. And that we recognize this unfolding, and respond to it, and even initiate its furtherance of it, on a deep, nourishing level when we learn to trust the God Who Is – as opposed to the fantasy God whom we fondly wish Would Be. This path is more difficult – but this is real trust.

Watch or listen to the complete 2004 Emergent Theological Conversation with Walter B. here.

[This can be sung to the ABBA tune: Lay all your love on me. If we are to survive in the Valley, we need to place our faith in the One whose salvation is sure.

C136 SV50    Sept 2009]

I was embittered before we met
In everything I saw there was potential threat
And I was angry, frustrated too:
I had no clue of love at all till I met you.

Now everything is new
And now it’s all true:
That all I’ve learned
‘s been overturned
Because of you.

Won’t drift storm-tossed on the ocean:
Plot my course straight for you.
[I will give you my devotion
Place all my faith in you.]

You called to me though I tried to hide;
You took me from the hell of selfish willful pride;
I can praise because you came to me
When I was staggering along so very desperately.

Now everything is new
And now it’s all true:
That all I’ve learned
‘s been overturned
Because of you.

Won’t drift storm-tossed on the ocean:
Plot my course straight for you.
I will give you my devotion:
Place all my faith in you.

My life I’ve now placed in your hands,
Will try do everything according to your love’s demands
You have my soul now; you have my heart.
Your grace has given me courage and a clean new start.

Now everything is new
And now it’s all true:
That all I’ve learned
‘s been overturned
Because of you.

Won’t drift storm-tossed on the ocean:
Plot my course straight for you;
I will give you my devotion:
Place all my faith in you.

Won’t drift storm-tossed on the ocean:
Plot my course straight for you.
I will give you my devotion:
Place all my faith in you.

2Co 5:17  Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.

Ps 23:4 Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; because you are with me.

2Co 1:10  From such terrible dangers of death he saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in him that he will save us again.

Pokaż na co Cię stać!

POĆWICZ JUŻ TERAZ – Kliknij w mikrofon

A Chance of Success

8 grudnia 2009r. (wtorek)
w godz. 8.50 – 10.30 (2. i 3. lekcja)
w sali kinowej

odbędzie się szkolny konkurs
SZANSA NA SUKCES
z udziałem legendarnej grupy

ABBA

1. W konkursie mogą brać udział uczniowie wszystkich klas ZS nr 2.
2. Uczestnicy zaśpiewają:

Mamma Mia!	zobacz video
Dancing Queen	zobacz video
Money, Money, Money	zobacz video
I Have A Dream	zobacz video
The Winner Takes It All	zobacz video
Knowing Me, Knowing You	zobacz video
Chiquitita	zobacz video
Take A Chance On Me	zobacz video
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme	zobacz video
S.O.S.	zobacz video
Waterloo	zobacz video
Honey, Honey	zobacz video
Tutaj znajdziesz teksty piosenek

3. Informacji udzielają i przyjmują zgłoszenia nauczyciele j. angielskiego:

Ryszard Oślizło (106 B)
Katarzyna Śnieg (107 B)

4. Termin przyjmowania zgłoszeń upływa 3 grudnia 2009r.
5. Czekają atrakcyjne nagrody książkowe ufundowane przez naszych sponsorów!

NIE PRZEGAP OKAZJI!

Var och såg Monsters of Folk i går i Filadelfiakyrkan. Stockholms samlade rockgossar slöt upp för att se vad som tydligen betraktas som Flavour of the Week. Är övertygad om att de här grabbarna inte kommer att hålla, inte i det här formatet i alla fall.

Men vad vet man?

På den tiden man hörde till Stockholms progg-gossar och läste Musikens Makt så var vi övertygade om att Abba var ett kommersiellt kräkmedel och att Hoola Bandoolas sånger skulle sjungas för evigt, uppe från Cheops pyramid.

Konserten igår var hursom en besvikelse. Dåligt ljud med en bullrig bas och en bullrande baskagge, förstörde vad som kunde ha blivit något.

Sen kan grabbarna skala bort rockambitionerna och i stället koncentrera sig på det akustiska och deras fantastiska röster. Det skulle räcka långt.

Bäst var i alla Will Johnson och hans “Just to know what you´ve been dreaming“.

Sorry, Harry.

Before I get to the business at hand, yes I did get Lady Gaga tickets, and yes they are in the 8th row. Moving on… Sweden is the greatest country on Earth. Why? Because I said so. And I have facts to back me up. Sweden’s economy is like totally ballin’. It ranks first on the Democracy Index of some magazine (I don’t know, I just copy what Wikipedia tells me). Sweden hasn’t been to war since 1814, so I think it’s pretty clear that they would win the ”Nicest Person” Senior Superlative in the countries of the world yearbook. One of Sweden’s recent political movements is the sports movement. Details about the sport movement are unclear, but I’m assuming its slogan is something like “Screw politics! Let’s all go play and watch sports”. Which is something I can get behind. All of these things are great, but there are three things that really make Sweden the coolest country ever.

1. ABBA

ABBA is like the coolest band of all time (ummm….hello? Just look at that picture). Their catchy pop tunes and crazy outfits made them the Lady Gagas of the 1970’s. Their music was so good it was made into a musical, Mamma Mia!, about a young woman who is about to get married and is searching for her real father. And then they (and by they, I mean the gods of great things) made it into a movie starring Meryl Streep. And if Meryl Streep is involved then you know the source material must be choice. Plus, “Take a Chance on Me” might be the most perfect song ever written.

2. Alexander Skarsgard

Loyal Lady Business readers will remember Alexander as our Hump Day Hottie a few weeks ago. I think I said it pretty well there, but I just wanted to add that he is really, really, ridiculously good-looking.

3. Ikea

I love to shop. But I really love to shop at Ikea. Even when I’m not really looking for anything specific. Ikea is great because they have totally cute furniture and stuff, and everything is really cheap. Which fits into my poor, recent college grad budget. Also, they let you carry around a piece of paper to write everything you want down. I always end up writing at least $3,000 dollars worth of stuff down and am forced to scale back. A lot. And it hurts every time I am forced to cut something. The closest Ikea to me is two hours away, but I am optimistic that the amazing Swedes will build one in my hometown soon.

I’m in an ABBA kind of mood today.

ABBA is hugely, hugely popular and there are a lot of covers of their songs out there.  So rather than spend too much time on history and trivia, let’s just have music, music, music.  Whee!!

Metal maestro, Yngwie Malmsteen’s version of “Gimme Gimme Gimme”

’90s alternative brooders, The Lemonheads crooning out “Knowing Me Knowing You”

World pop stars,  Kylie and Dannii (who knew Kylie had a sister?) Minogue showing us that “The Winner Takes It All.”

L.A. funk rockers, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “S.O.S.” live

Scottish indie pop band, Camera Obscura doing a tender version of  “Super Trouper”

A country-western version of “Waterloo” by some band called Nashville Train.  (I swear, this is all I found.  What a weird feeling.  It’s like they’re not really real unless they’ve got a wikipedia article or myspace page.)  I know this technically violates the covers album rule, but it was odd enough to merit inclusion.

English Oi! band, the Restarts doing “Does Your Mother Know?”

Fellow Swedes, Therion doing a symphonic metal version of  “Summer Night City”

Schlock mistress (and our psychic friend), Dionne Warwick doing “Thank You for the Music”

And bringing it all home, international rock gods U2 doing the fabulous “Dancing Queen” with Benny and Bjorn themselves.

Like peanut butter and chocolate, that one.

Together: set back in 1975, it documents the make ups and break ups of a crowded hippy commune in Stockholm – doesn’t sound great but this is one of the best drama films out there, easily. Other than a few zooms there are no fancy tricks to this film, leaving everything to come from the characters; vegetarians, homosexuals, hippies, confused teenagers and alcoholics under one roof – it’s basically a scrip-writer’s wet dream. There are no main roles, just an ensemble of credible characters that you can relate to – from the uneasy teen to the textbook socialist – which makes the story very absorbing. There’s some nice subtle and awkward comedy hidden there too. It may be a tad slow for some but has one of the best endings that I can remember. All in, it’s a simple feel good tale about the ups and downs of living with people. This is was only Moodysson’s 2nd film, and between this, Fucking Amal and Lilja-4-ever he definitely started his career with a bang. We’re better together.

Score: 8/10

Hey everyone,

I’m really sorry that I haven’t been updating the website the last past couple of days.  I’ve been really sick lately and haven’t been able to access the computer durning that time I will be posting up all the news that you have missed along with the new news which may take a while.  Along with more updates it is Frida Lyngstad’s birthday from ABBA so everyone wish her a happy happy birthday.  Frida happens to be one of my idols and rolemodel she is such a great person so happy birthday Friday and many many more.

Ok, so here it is, my music loves and hates! This was an idea I had when I was avoiding my other, more politically correct (boring) class assessed blog, and I am way too musically opinionated to keep the swearing at a minimum, you are all going to recieve a healthy bitch slap of music critique from yours truly.

So, this week (and every week for that matter) I am loving Queens of the Stone Age! They have awesome guitar solos, lyrics that don’t make a lot of sense and a ginger lead singer. What more could you ask for? I recommend their latest album, Era Vulgaris, for some decent tunage. My favourite track is 3’s and 7’s, very cool. Their older stuff is good too. Songs for the Deaf and Lullabies to Paralyze are brilliant albums, have a listen to Little Sister and Go with the Flow.

I HATE ABBA. I do, honest to god. They’re not fun camp, or awesome camp like Queen. They just irritate me beyond anything else. I want to break things whenever I hear such horrendous classics as Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Voulez Vouz, which I’m pretty sure was the opposite effect they were going for. And Mamma Mia was the worst thing that ever happened to me. Nobody in that film could act, never mind sing, and the story line made me want to eat my own hand. All it did was bring ABBA back. So yeah, thanks for that.

Something said in the comments has been on my mind lately. I was told that I’m the most famous thing to come out of my town. Now, this town has a population of 1500 so I think just moving out of the town makes you famous, but anyway,,,I got to thinking that they really should have expected it. After all, I was pretty much a child prodigy when it came to the performing arts.

Let’s go over my fame related history in the town, shall we?

My first brush with notoriety came when my brothers,  two neighbours, and I ended up in the local paper for finding a snapping turtle by a pond. I got a taste of media-related attention and I was hooked – at the tender age of five.

My second experience came within the year. Like any self-respecting Canadian kid, I started ice-skating lessons. At the end of the winter session all the parents come out and see what we’d learned. There we were, all in costumes (I was a pig…with coke bottle glasses…so pathetic even Charlotte would have turned her eight legged-back on me) and ready to display our skating ‘talents’. Since I was the tallest one in the group I got to lead the pack. Well, once I got out on the ice and the adoration from the spectators made it’s way through to my hamhocks I got giddy. So giddy that I forgot to lead our group back off the ice. 10 minutes later (seemingly years, says my mom now), our teacher, after repeated attempts to wave me in, had to physically come out and retrieve us.

It was too late, though…my young mind had now made the connection; stage = captive audience.

Next were the jazz dancing lessons. Oh, the costumes, the moves, the SEQUINS!! Nothing more beautiful to a young girl than shiny sequins on mini-skirts and frilly bodices. I specifically remember the recital where I had a cat fight on stage with another pint-sized dancer about what the steps were supposed to be. I still maintain that she was doing them wrong but think the snickering from the audience made it worth it. Even bad press is good press, right? I should have sent her a Thank You card.

At seven I attended my first town Talent Show held at the local grade school. There was a band playing and I ran up to the steps beside the stage and shook my little money-maker for all to see. Thus a seed had been planted and I decided that the next year I’d be ONSTAGE. I spent the next 358 days obsessing about it. A week before the big event I started to think about what I was going to perform. DANCE! and, and, and, GYMNASTICS!,,,,TOGETHER!! So, I picked out my tunes (ABBA, naturally) and started to practice in our backyard. I was tumbling. I was shaking. I was rocking. I was rolling. I was READY!! The night of my much anticipated performance my stomach was awash in nerve spasms, but that didn’t slow me down. I heard my name called and stepped up to the stage. Handing over my taped music (taped, as in a cassette – you know,, a cassette?? Oy, if you don’t know what that is JFGI…I’m not taking responsibility for educating the youth of the world in media history) I assumed my position in the middle of the stage…the music started annnnnnd I promptly forgot my routine. In a panic I just flailed my arms, did some cartwheels and threw in an extra forward roll…or five. It turned out great, though, because my routine was only intended to be fourteen seconds long. As I took my bow in front of the stunned crowd I was a bit confused when I overheard the MC say “Susie..um, was that it??”  To me, it was a triumph akin to Alexander the Great taking Persia.

However, every great empire must eventually fall and fall I did. Hard. At some point in my youth my parents decided to add piano playing to my long list of accomplishments (apparently, it wasn’t enough to be able to pat my head while concurrently rubbing my tummy). The Kiwanis Club hosted yearly competitions for kids who played instruments. I spent a lot of time with my beloved piano instructor (she scared the shit out of me half the time) getting ready for the event. I was to memorize and play a  piece by Mozart. We were not allowed to read the music while we played. Not that it mattered because I only ever played by ear anyway – a fact that was proven to the entirety of the recital hall when, halfway through, I forgot the rest of the piece and had to start from the beginning…..7 times over. The sheet music was finally offered in pity. Fifteen attempts later I finish the piece . Good thing too because I could see that the audience was at the beginning stages of becoming uncomfortable – or catatonic…I can’t exactly remember which. Can you believe they didn’t even give me a ribbon for Best Effort??

I began to suspect that what I needed was more constant exposure so, when my friend told me about how much fun she was having singing in her church’s youth choir, I knew I’d found the answer. Every Wednesday after school we had practice and every Sunday the choir master, who lived up the street from me, would drive me to church where I excitedly donned my robes with the members of the Senior choir always careful not to snag a hook on the sea of panty-hosed legs around me  (I had learned from experience to never piss off a Church lady by snagging her hose before show-time. Yikes!). I know, I know, I can hear you all screaming, “But, but, you’re a godless heathen!!” Yes, I am – but at the time all I cared about was the fact that they paid us to sing His praise in cookies. Heathens like cookies – it’s a perk of going to the dark side.  Anyway, I failed Sunday School and eventually gave it all up.

But, the fire was burning inside me…one day I’d make it out of that little town and find fame and glory.

Or, it could just be that I’ve totally misread my friend’s comment and what she really meant that I was famous for being such a comedy of errors in my youth that the townspeople only missed me for the comic relief my pathetic attempts provided.

Yeah…that must be it.

The ABBA Show

The cast of ABBAsolutely fABBAulous all agree on one thing, “ABBA”s music is fun, the costumes are wacky, they are not something you wear around town, but are ideal to take everybody back to the great musical era of the 70`s. The performance covers all the great ABBA songs: Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Mamma Mia, I Do I DO I DO, Ring Ring, Rock Me, the list goes on and on. In total 30 Musical Memories are performed at each show. You will also get to witness Agnetha and Frida`s greatest costumes.Showtime Australia presents the best of ABBA live – all the musical memories, costumes, flares, boots and disco balls! Relive the magic that was the `70`s and `80s with best loved renditions of Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Fernando, Mamma Mia, I Do I Do I Do and so many more. ABBAsolutely fABBAulous has been all around the world averaging 200 shows a year for the past 17 years! So, grab your platforms and sequins and let this fun, fast-paced and hugely interactive tribute stage show take you back to a time when glitz and ABBA ruled! Showtime Australia presents the best of ABBA live – all the musical memories, costumes, flares, boots and disco balls! Relive the magic that was the `70s and `80s with best loved renditions of Dancing Queen, Waterloo, Fernando, Mamma Mia, I Do I Do I Do and so many more.

 ”Celor nascuti la inceputul anilor 60-70:

- Vedem acum, in anul 2009, cum casa parintilor nostri este de 50 de ori mai scumpa decat atunci cand au cumparat-o si realizam ca noi o sa platim pentru casele noastre in jur de 50 de ani;

- Nu avem amintiri despre primii pasi pe luna, nici despre razboaie sangeroase, dar avem cultura generala, pentru ca asta insemna ceva o data;

- Suntem ultima generatie care a jucat “Ascunselea”, “Castel”, “Ratele si vanatorii”, “Tara, tara! Vrem ostasi!”, “Prinsea”, “Sticluta cu otrava”, “Pac Pac”, “Hotii si vardistii”, ultimii care au strigat “Un doi trei la perete stai”;

- Suntem ultimii care au folosit telefoanele cu fise, dar primii care am facut petreceri video (inchiriam un video si stateam sa ne uitam la filme 2 zile inchisi in casa);

- Primii care am vazut desene animate color, primii care am renuntat la casete audio si benzi mangnetice si le-am inlocuit cu CD-uri;

- Noi am  purtat jeansi elastici, pantaloni evazati, geci de blugi de la turci, iar cine avea firme gen „Lee” sau „Puma” era deja lider de gasca;

 - Noi nu am dat examene de Capacitate, nu am dat teste grile la admitere;

-  Noi am fost ultimii “Soimi ai Patriei” si ultimii “Pioneri”;

-  La gradinita am invatat poezii in romaneste, nu in engleza…Si am cantat „MULTI ANI TRAIASCA” nu „HAPPY BIRTHDAY” la aniversari;

-  Am sorbit din ochi „Sclava Isaura”, „Beverly Hills”,  „Melrose Place” , „Twin Peaks”, „Dallas” .. si cine zice ca nu s-a uitat  ori minte ori nu avea inca televizor;

-  Reclamele de pe posturile straine ne innebuneau, si abia  asteptam sa vina si la noi inghetata „Magnum”, sau pustile alea absolut superbe cu apa.Intre timp, ne consolam cu Tango cu vanilie si ciocolata si clasicele bidoane umplute cu apa de la robinet, care turnate in cap ne provocau pneumonii. Si uite un motiv bun sa nu mergem la scoala!  ;

 - Noi am ascultat si Metallica si Ace of Base si DJ Bobo si  Michael Jackson, si Backstreet Boys si Take That, si inca  nu auzisem de manele, singurele melodii de joc fiind horele la chefuri, la care nimeni nu stia pasii, dar toti dansam! ;

 -  Dar spre deosebire de copiii din ziua de azi, am auzit atat de Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Abba si de Queen, cat si de  noile nume gen 50 Cent si Britney Spears;

- Am citit  ”Licurici”, “Pif”, „Ciresarii” si am baut Cico, Brifcor si Zmeurata si ni s-a parut ceva extraordinar cand au aparut primele sucuri “de la TEC” fara sa ne fie teama ca “au prea multe E-uri”, iar la scoala beam  toata clasa dintr-o sticla de suc fara teama de virusi;

-  Noi am baut prima Coca-Cola la sticla si am descoperit  internetul;

-  Noi nu ne dadeam bip-uri, ne fluieram sa iesim afara, noi nu aveam dolby surround system, taceam toti ca sa  auzim actiunea filmului, nu aveam Nintendo sau Playstation  ci jocuri tetris de care ne plictiseam la o luna dupa ce le  cumparam si le uitam pe dulap, pline de praf;

-  Abia asteptam la chefuri sa jucam “Fantanita”, sau “Flori, fete sau baieti”, sau “Adevar sau Provocare”, sau orice ne dadea un pretext sa “pupam pe gura” pe cine “iubeam”…;

-  Noi suntem cei care inca au mai “cerut prietenia”, care inca roseam la cuvantul “sex”, care dadeam cu banul care sa intre in  farmacie sa cumpere prezervative, pe care apoi sa le umplem  cu apa sa le aruncam in capul colegilor, care am completat mii de oracole, sperand ca persoana iubita va citi acolo unde scrie “De cine iti place?” ca ne place  de el/ea;

-  Este uimitor ca inca mai suntem in viata, pentru ca  noi am mers cu bicicleta fara casca, genunchiere si  cotiere, nu am avut scaune speciale in masini, nu am aruncat la gunoi bomboanele care ne cadeau din greseala pe jos, nu am avut pastile cu capac special sa nu fie desfacute de  copii, nu ne-am spalat pe maini dupa ce ne-am jucat cu toti cainii si toate pisicile din cartier, nu am tinut cont de cate lipide si glucide mancam, parintii nostri nu au “child proof the house”, ne-au trimis sa cumparam bere si vin de la  alimentara, si cate un pachet de tigari de la tutungerie;

-  Noi am auzit cum s-a tras la Revolutie, noi am fost martorii a trei schimbari de bancnote si monede, noi am ras la bancuri cu Bula, noi am fost primii care au auzit-o pe Andreea Esca la Pro TV, noi suntem cei care mai tinem minte  emisiunea “Feriti-va de magarus!”;

-  Suntem o generatie de invingatori, de visatori, de “first-timers” …
 - Daca citesti si ai cazut macar un pic pe ganduri, esti de-al nostru !”

Quelle che dovevano essere una manciata di nuove canzoni da inserire nel repack del suo album d’esordio, si sono trasformate in un nuovo progetto, intitolato THE FAME MONSTER, dove Lady GaGa esplora il lato più dark della fama e della sua personalità.

E’ una scelta giusta rivendicare autonomia per questi 8 brani perchè rappresentano una crescita ed un’evoluzione nel sound della giovane popostar ed hanno tutti un altissimo potenziale da mega hit. Nessuna traccia esclusa.

Il fedele collaboratore RedOne firma con lei quattro canzoni: il primo singolo Bad Romance (che apre l’EP e di cui vi ho parlato QUI) replica fedelmente la formula delle sue hits (specialmente Poker Face) in un trionfo di suoni elettronici tutti da ballare, un testo sexy che si concede passaggi in francese e un ritornello squisitamente pop che si lascia cantare già dal primo ascolto. Alejandro, invece, è un latin pop travolgente che mixa gli Abba, La Isla Bonita di Madonna e (concedetemelo!) Pedro di Raffaella Carrà: il risultato è un gioiellino camp che farà la gioia dei dancefloor gay da qui all’eternità. L’arrangiamento è semplicemente perfetto ed il suone del violino che svetta fra i sintetizzatori regala un tocco di magia al tutto. Monster si apre con la dichiarazione “Don’t call me GaGa” e si diverte a giocare fra vocoder ossessivi e riferimenti sessuali di gender ambigui: basta la frase “We might’ve fucked not really sure, don’t quite recall, But something tells me that I’ve seen him, yeah” per farne uno dei migliori brani di puttan pop in circolazione. L’ultima track che vede coinvolto RedOne, So Happy I Could Die, spinge i confini ancora più in là, cantando di fantasie sessuali lesbo e  lunghe session notturne di measturbazione. La base electro fa il resto: sexy, irresistibile.

Spechless è, invece, la prima vera ballad di Lady GaGa e la vede collaborare con Ron Fair: non immaginatevi qualcosa di troppo patinato o stucchevole. L’approccio è estremamente scarno, voce e pianoforte in prima piano, un sapore british che rieccheggia i Beatles. Il testo è intimo e, nella sua semplicità, sincero da far male: “I’ll never write a song, Won’t even sing along , I’ll never love again, So speechless ,You left me speechless, so speechless“, canta la popstar regalandoci una delle sue migliori interpretazioni.

E’ poi la volta di altre due uptempo da applauso: Dance In The Dark, il brano migliore dell’album, prodotto con Fernando Garibay, proietta il sound spaziale della pop star verso orizzonti ancora più innovativi ed estremi, con un ritornello pop indimenticabile ed un rap (quasi una nuova versione di quello di Madonna in Vogue) che cita una serie di icone pop: da Marilyn a Diana, passando per Gesù e Kubrick. Telephone, invece, è prodotta da Darkchild e vede la partecipazione di Beyoncè: in altre parole, vi sfido a stare fermi mentre l’ascoltate.

Chiude l’ep la collaborazione con Teddy Riley, che in Teeth regala alla nostra GaGa un’atmosfera da New Orleans con un sound a metà fra il jazz da cabaret, il funk e il soul. La performance vocale, qui, è semplicemente divina.

Cos’altro aggiungere in questo trionfo di aggettivi sensazionalistici e dichiarazioni d’amore incondizionato? The Fame Monster è la conferma di un grande talento. Una star di razza che avrebbe fatto la gioia perfino di Andy Warhol e che, ora ne siamo certi, continuerà a spingere costantemente oltre i suoi confini artistici. Chi altro, in questo momento, potrebbe vantare una release, a strettissimo giro di boa dall’album d’esordio, così perfetta? Questo è POP cari signori e Lady Gaga la star 2.0 per eccellenza.

Tracklist: Bad Romance – Alejandro – Monster – Speechless – Dance in the Dark – Telephone (featuring Beyoncé)  – So Happy I Could Die – Teeth

Website: http://www.ladygaga.com

Funny how events can trigger strange memories!

Seeing the Buzzcocks at the weekend sent the neurons into a decidedly wicked spin ending up at YouTube and this song:

Which then sent me down an even stranger path … a mashup of Abba and Pete Shelley!

igår orkade jag jobba igen och sedan bar det av till F för myspys med tacopaj, sallad, sanning eller konsekvens och Singstar m.m. Många knasiga skratt senare upptäckte vi att klockan var rätt mycket och både J och E var rejält trötta. SÅ då bar det av hem. Tack för en fantastisk kväll kära vänner. PUSS.

Jag lyckades bli Singstar för första gången med låten; Thank you for the music – Abba, fantastiskt!

Nu har sångsuget ökat rejält igen!

Skulle gärna vilja starta upp en kvartett eller liten sånggrupp med en bas, en tenor, en alt och jag som sopran. Det skulle dessutom behövas någon som har lust att vara vår ackompanjatör och kapellmästare då jag inte kan varken spela piano eller arrangera musik. Genren då – mest gospelmusik förstås. Tänk om ni fanns därute. OM ni gör det kontakta mig genom min mejl här på bloggen. ETT stort plus är ju om ni kan tänka er att öva en gång/v till en början så får vi se vart det leder sedan. Är du sugen på detta så hör av dig snarast!

God is good!

Happy birthday Anni-Frid “Frida” Lyngstad.

Sorry I’m so late with my post. My on time record must be up there with Auspost now!

A quick update.

Monday my platelets were 45 so I had Octagam – really fast and felt pretty ordinary that night.

Tuesday they were 90 – so I restarted Clexane injections for my DVT/blood clot – 40mgs. And had my second dose of Octagam but at a much more palatable rate.

Friday platelets were 183 so am now having Clexane 80mgs daily (courtesy of an injection into my stomach by Mum) and go back again on Monday.

I have to be even more carefully monitored now so that they can treat my clot. My platelets have to be high enough that the risk of a bleed from the Clexane is minimised.

I had a fabulous cannula on Tuesday – in fact I had two:

The Cannula Queen strikes again!

We decided going to the toilet might be a tad tricky with this cannula (especially with the styrofoam cup taped on for protection).

So…

Eeny meeny miney mo

I got another cannula in my left hand.

And there I was one in each hand and my blood pressure being monitored…

Tied up - how they keep me still in HACU

They do make me laugh – a lot – in HACU. Really great people doing a fabulous job.

Baby, we were Bjorn to Run. ...Get it?

Any show that features sparkly, silver, platform, knee-high boots, 70’s jumpsuits, and a man named Bjorn is something that I want to be a part of.  Believe me, you would too!  Granted I walked in the door an ABBA fan, but I promise not everyone there was a Swedish pop music aficionado… I’m pretty sure the guy a few rows in front of me was forced at gunpoint by his girlfriend to buy tickets… but that being said, even HE was on his feet by the end of the first act!  So now…without further ado…

The Top 5 Greatest Moments of ABBA Mania!

5) The audience dancing in the aisles.  There are very few theatrical events where I have actually been encouraged to get out of my seat and sing and dance along with the performers.  Usually theatres HATE when you do that!  Especially the Broadway houses (trust me…I know…)

4) The finger dance.  Just what IS the finger dance, you ask?  Point both your index fingers up in the air.  Raise your right index finger.  Lower is as you raise your left index finger.  Reverse.  Repeat.  The audience was instructed to do this with the performers— I can’t explain it, but there is something SO cool about doing the same choreography as the performers… even if it is something as deceptively simple as the finger dance.

3) The terrible ABBA puns you make with friends at intermission (if you put enough ABBA fans in one room it’s bound to happen.)  Examples: “I ABBAsolutely love this!”  “This is FABBAlous!”  “I Fernandon’t ever want to leave!” (Okay, that last one’s a stretch, but you get the picture.)  *Challenge: What is YOUR best ABBA pun?

2) ABBA-maniacs.  I thought wearing my 70s jumpsuit would be over the top, but let me tell you there are some serious ABBA fans out there.  You will know them by their platform knee-high boots, blonde wigs, and sequins.  They are super nice, very fun, and I’m pretty sure always smiling and dancing (at least from what I’ve seen.)

1) My favorite moment of the night: one of the singers begins a stirring rendition of the “The Winner Takes it All”.  The last song had been upbeat so people were still a bit riled up and chatty when the volume was brought down for this slow song.  Apparently someone towards the front was still whispering because an avid ABBA fan let out a huge, angry “SHHHHH!” which, no lie, I heard all the way in row X.  ABBA fans are serious about their music!