Sunday, May 23, 2010

Magic Power

I don't know who invented the iPod, but the value of the iPod, the real value of it for me is the way it ignites my inner ZZUB.  I've got a bunch of great songs downloaded to it.  Songs that are new.  Songs that lift my soul.  Disney songs for when I need a li'l vacation.  Country songs.  And songs from way back yonder. That make me feel young again.

When I hop on the eliptical at home, I usually watch TV.  I've got a TV opposite the eliptical so I can watch a show while I work out.  But because I've got the shortest attention span imaginable, it helps me to watch a show without commercials.  Which is why I've got a DVD player there, too. And this also helps explain why you're getting bombarded with West Wing quotes. It's a good show for me to watch while elipticalling.  No, it's not a word.  But it should be.

But when I'm on the road, as I was this past weekend, obviously, I can't follow my normal drill so I have to find a new way to occupy my mind as I elipticalise.  The hotel we were staying at had a really nice fitness room and my first morning there anyway, I had the place to myself.  I had my iPhone, my earplugs and a playlist to keep me distracted from the sheer boredom of the eliptical. 

I started out with my new favorite song, the Rockafeller Skank.  Yeah, that's right.  ZZUB's got some Fatboy Slim on his iPhone.  The ZZUB's so brotha.  I freakin' love that song!  In fact, it's my new ringtone.  If that song don't make you want to get up and sweat, well nothing will.  A few songs into my playlist is Triumph's Magic Power.  "I'm young now, I'm wild now, I'm born to be free."  You know the song.  And if you don't then you were born in the wrong decade.

The machine was facing a set of glass doors which looked out across a fancy, shmancy LA hotel plaza and over the hedges, between some buildings, I could see into the distance.

And into the past.

Running (if we can call it that) on the eliptical, staring through the glass doors, off into the distance, I could see myself back in the summer of the waning days of my early life.  Driving home late at night.  The windows open.  The roof open.  The cool, humid night in Ft. Lauderdale.  It was the summer of '88 and I was back at home.  Working two jobs.  Working harder than I'd ever worked before.  But loving it just the same.  All my friends were home that summer.  Indeed, 1988 was the last summer we all came home.  Sometime the previous Fall, I'd signed up with Columbia House and ordered 12 tapes for cheap.  And  because I liked Magic Power, I included Triumph in my order.

Do you remember buying an entire album for one song?

Back when I was 20, I loved driving home.  From anywhere.  We lived out west of town and the ride home was always a good 15 or 20 minutes.  I hated that drive when I was on my way someplace.  Hated it when I had to be home by a certain time.  But when I was coming home from a date, or hanging with my friends, or even from work. Man, that was sweet.  The air.  The music.

Back on the eliptical, I was listening to my soundtrack and I could at once see myself in the distance and yet feel it all over again.  The gear shift in my hand.  The yellow glow of the street lights. The sound the tape deck made when it clicked from one side to the next.  My arm on the door, my wrist resting on the top of the wheel.  The feel of Ft. Lauderdale at night.  On my face.  In my hair.  On my arm.

I remember liking that time.  The loud music and the night air.  The freedom of driving on an isolated road.  Even at 20, I knew I was living one of the greatest times in my life. I remember feeling young.  And knowing I was free.

I'm not saying I want to be 20 again.  I'm perfectly content being my age.  I guess I'm saying that although I'm 42, I don't think of myself as 42.  You know, in my head, I'm still about 21 years old. I'm young, thick of hair and an entire life in front of me. Sometimes when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I'm surprised by the guy I see staring back at me. He's older than I am. Mature lines on his face. His hair is thinner. He's got a touch of grey.

It occurs to me that I get on the danged eliptical to try to keep myself in some semblance of shape.  So that maybe when I look at myself in the mirror, I'm not so surprised by the guy I see there. But when I put on my earphones and jack into my iPod, I get to visit a sweet time in my little life. When I was young and had nowhere to go.

So what I'm saying is, not only did I go to LA this past week.  I also went back to Ft. Lauderdale. 

And I had a really nice time there.

43 comments:

  1. Woo Hoo for the page turn. Thanks for that. My scrolling finger was getting dang tired.

    Freaky elipticalling while watching West Wing BORG, Z! I have all of the WW seasons on DVD and watch those and only those while on the elliptical in my bedroom. Guess that's why I can match you quote for quote ; ) And yes, the no commercial thing is key.

    I'll be back later. I'm hoping NM will stop by with the weather report and some fun salad-n-potato bar stories. Assuming she's gotten all 88 guests out of the house by now.....

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  2. What a great posting Zzub! I just downloaded Magic Power on my I-touch a few weeks ago. What a great song!

    I have many wonderful memories of driving on warm summer nights with the windows open and the rock music cranking loud and singing along.

    The funny thing is--I just turned 50 last month and I still do that--open the moon-roof and the windows and sing along with the radio or cd player.

    I've had a really hard time with turning 50. I feel like I'm still in my 30s but alas-Nope!

    I don't want to be in my 30s again but I wouldn't mind having the body I had back then. TFI!

    It just seems like it's too soon for me to be getting AARP stuff. Couldn't there be AARP-lite? Do I really fit into the category that my 78 year old FIL and 90 year old aunt-in-law fall into? There's just something not right about that.

    I still watch WW every morning on Bravo before work and have the first 6 seasons on DVD myself. They never get old.

    Thank you for the wonderful memories Zzub. My DH and I are going through some bad economic times with his business and I'm scared we may lose our house or go bankrupt this year. I hope and pray that things will work out, but your musings today helped take my mind off of the bad and reminded me of some wonderful memories.

    Thanks Zzub! Cheers!

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  3. Ah, the beauty of the video iPod. I have all 7 seasons of WW with me everywhere I go. It's a sickness, really.

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  4. Great page turner Zzub!

    Music is memories, for sure.

    I had a Zzub moment yesterday.
    We were off to our extended family annual birthday/fireworks/May2-4weekend/VictoriaDay celebration. The kids were in the back giggling to Napolian Dynomite on the DVD and I was sitting upfront with DH, holding a big 'ol plate of cupcakes for the party. Nothing is better than that.

    I think.

    West Wing. My DH watches it ALL THE TIME. He watches the DVD's over and over again. Besides Band of Brothers and The Pacific that is the only thing he watches. Then he watches it on Bravo in the morning too.

    Off to enjoy the sunshine, with or without NM's weather report.

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  5. Last Fall, I switched up and started watching Band of Brothers while elipticalling but w/i 2 weeks, I had finished it. I haven't started watching the Pacific yet but I hear good things.

    Scrap: I'm sorry to hear that things are that tough for you and your family. We have a few friends who've been hit very hard by the economic crunch. Hopefully things will work out better for you than you anticipate.

    Z

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  6. I, too, LOVE LOVE LOVE the iPod, ZZUB. Music has always been a really important part of my life, and there is a soundtrack for every decade of my 40 years. I never would have imagined as a teenager - when I would spend all evening with my tape recorder ready to go, waiting on my favorite song to come on the radio so that I could push "record" and hold the tape recorder up to my stereo speakers - that there would be such a technology as the iPod. It never ceases to amaze me that I can scroll through thousands of songs or dozens of playlists to listen to most anything my heart desires. Over and over again. NONelly.

    To this day one of my favorite things to do is crank the tunes in my car, and roll around town with my sunroof open. As long as it isn't too cold. Or too hot.

    Because nothing kills a good mood faster than sweating bullets as the sun bakes the part in your hair. NOT good times.

    And yes, I remember buying a whole tape for one song. If you were lucky, you liked a second song, and possibly a third from the whole tape. You were screwed if the songs you liked were on opposite sides of the tape, though. That's when the dual cassette came in handy and you could record both songs back to back on a mix tape.

    iTunes Essentials is the new mix tape.

    I could go on and on, but I won't. I think I've had this window open for at least two hours now in between fixing supper, taking my son's buddy home and helping my daughter with her President's Project.

    But I'm feelin' ya on the music, ZZUB. I, too, lived a good drive from most of my social outings while I was a driving teenager, and I remember driving with my sunroof open back home from a fun evening with friends. Listening to my music...knowing life was good.

    And it still is. In a different way.

    Great post, Z!

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  7. Could you and Ash be brother & sister?

    Why do I hear KC singing I Go back while I read this one? I must say, it's better than hearing Just a Gigolo - which is what I heard whenever I read the title of your last installment.

    I liked this one Z-man... even though it did make me feel a tad old. I miss riding around with my girlfriends before the football games and cranking out the tunes. I don't miss my red Escort though.

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  8. I love my iTunes. And I am so glad the rest of the world does too, we have two more kids to put through college ya know.

    I recently found myself wondering if boys still make mix tapes for girls, that are just their friends, no really. Obviously not tapes, you know what I mean.

    This thought sends me down the rabbit hole, into my youth. I was a stupid girl. I really believed those mix tapes were just gestures of friendship and not some poor awkward boys attempt at getting my attention. Now hat I have awkward boys of my own I feel kind of guilty for being so oblivious. And thankful that I am a girl, so I never ever had to make the first move.

    I'm still pretty oblivious most of the time. I blame it on old age. Although I'm not as old as Zzub ;P

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  9. I missed a 't' and I am okay with it. Really.

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  10. BOP.

    Bozie, bozie, BOP...ditty bop.

    Frick, I am DED that you brought the David Lee Roth because I was just listening to that song on my iPod the other day and singing along. While making tacos. For the record, 'Just a Gigolo' is the ULTIMATE theme song for preparing Mexican.

    Food. Not people.

    Well, maybe that too.

    Basically, what I got from ZZUB's page turn is this:

    ZZUB is going through a mid life crisis

    ZZUB's next car will be a convertible

    ZZUB suddenly loves him some Skank

    ZZUB's arms are ALSO going bald and he misses the thick luster of hair that would flap in the breeze while tooling around in his Ford Pinto back in the day

    ZZUB was LOST on a strange, time traveling island this weekend and is the only one who made it out alive.

    LaLa was born in the wrong decade. Apparently. I had to Google your song on YouTube...where was that shot, Woodstock?! How old are you? 78?!

    ZZUB, obviously, like everybody else, I love listening to some iTunes as well. It's the best when you're on the treadmill or running at the track though. IMO. I can't watch TV while I'm working out or I'll never last longer than ten minutes. I have to get lost in my head and stay there for awhile. "Winning" by Santana comes on and before you know it, I'm livin' too much in '82. Wearing Jordache jeans and flying on a tire swing tied to a pecan tree on the back forty. Wondering if Mama will let me go skating on Friday night so I can couple skate with the only boy at my school who knew how to backwards skate.

    Good times.

    So yeah, I can certainly relate to your post, and thought it was pretty cool. Glad you were able to visit your younger you for a little bit this weekend.

    Just don't go out and get a toupe and a fake bake.

    NOMel.

    Or start downloading Hansen.

    L

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  11. I can't believe Haley missed that "t" and just left it!

    PS. Hi Haley!

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  12. Haley, DH made me five "mix" tapes within the first couple of months we were dating. They all spanned several different genres. I have very eclectic tastes in music and he was quick to pick up on that. I still have them around and every song on them brings back memories of those early days of "us". Music can be very powerful when it's tied to emotion and memories.

    And NM, I WELL remember the days of sitting by the radio with my finger hovering over the "record" button on the tape recorder. It wasn't until 1986 that I actually heard the first seven seconds of Beat It.

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  13. I love that NM would buy a whole tape for a song.

    Does anyone remember 45's? I have about 200 in my basement. Those were the days when you didn't have to buy the whole album. However, I still have all those too. My ablums. 5 milk crates full! I refuse to get rid of them, even though DH has threatened to make them disappear many times. Funny thing is they will come back. My ipod lovin' kids found my old "record player" and DD loves spinnin' those old 45's and LP's

    Yes, La I too may be 78!

    Speaking of which, anyone remember those? The 78 speed records? My parents had a few. I had the 33 1/2's (albums) 45's. We used to play the 45's at 78 speed. Pre Alvin & the Chipmunk days. Nothing is funnier than hearing Jackson 5 singing ABC at double speed. Or David Cassidy. Or Davey Jones (that should bring Jamal out of hiding)

    Sorry, I've gone a little too far down memory lane.

    Last thing, I love that my new car has a plug in for my ipod. Take the tunes wherever I go!

    And that Haley forgot her t.

    Hee-hee

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  14. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  15. Whoops.

    There it is.

    What is a ablum?

    Sorry, album.

    Don't know how to fix it either.

    So, it'll live with Haleys t.

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  16. I do love the blog, but I DO NOT love that I can't copy a quote and respond to it, nor can I edit my post after I've posted it.

    For that reason, the preview button is my friend. I have previewed a post and changed sometimes up to 6 words that are spelled incorrectly. It's time consuming though.

    Moving on.

    YAK, I do remember 45s. My Mama loved her some Glen Campbell, and we had the "Southern Nights" 45. On the other side, was the William Tell Overture. It was the music I used to clean up my room in a big fat hurry when I was little. If you heard that blaring from the last room on the left, it meant cleaner times were ahead in the bedroom decorated with yellow, lime green and orange floral wallpaper, and a canopy bed with yellow bedding and a yellow matching canopy. There was a time not so many years ago that I thought that was horrid, but I think now it would be cool and retro in my daughter's room.

    Hmmmm...wonder if Mama still has it...

    Looking back at my childhood, it's interesting to me that my mom was such a young mother. She married Daddy when she was 19, and started her family at 21. So during my childhood, she was still so young and really enjoyed music. Much of what I think about from the 70s and early 80s was HER music, and not really mine. But I liked it all the same.

    ZZUB, I didn't heart Triumph back in the day, because during that time I was too busy loving Duran Duran, Billy Idol and U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday. For some reason, I thought liking U2 was cool. Little did I know, NOTHING a goober 13 year old does is cool.

    The weather here is sunny and nice. For y'all that are interested. :)

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  17. Great update Zzub! I my high school /early college days, it was all about the Garth. Of course I mixed it up with some REM, Depeche Mode, U2 and The Fat Boys. Then there are the really oldies I still listen to on my 8 track. Which happens to be on the stereo on the living room….which should tell you just how old that dino actually is. BUT, I use the auxiliary port to connect up some Sirius satellite radio from the dish receiver and Pandora & Live365 from my laptop. It’s a fascinating juxtaposition.

    Anywho, love iTunes as well, especially for accompaniment tracks. Tracy sings at church often and instead of slapping down ten to twelve bucks per song for accompaniment CD’s, we can now buy the tracks for 99 cents at iTunes. There aren’t as many songs available yet as what you get in the stores, but there are still quite a few.

    I’m glad you are now back home and that in spite of being away, you stayed true to your ellipticallian ways.

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  18. Powerful.

    You brought me back to the summer of '88 too.

    I also had to drive forty minutes to work and back and must have blasted Sweet Child 'O Mine, Copperhead Road and Fast Car about a thousand times over the course of four months.

    It was ALSO the last summer I was home along with all of my childhood friends. And it was plenty of fun.

    And carefree.

    It was, as well, the last summer that everything was just exactly as I had always known. Growing up. The last summer before my Dad got sick.

    So thanks for taking me back, too.



    So.


    What I meant to say was this: I hurt my loin real bad while elipticalling at the gym.

    To be honest I'm not sure the eliptical is the best choice for people with short attention spans and a lack of fine motor skills. And perhaps I shouldn't have been all caught up in Bad Romance with Lady GaGa.

    Anywho... "HEY" to everyone... I gotta blast to the grocery store 'cause the happyhaunts are coming off a typical May 24 holiday and that means that we're completely out of chips.

    And two of us have sunburns.
    Five of us have a total of 1500 bug bites.
    One of us needs bandaids.
    Six of us hate racoons.
    One of us needs Tylenol.
    One of us has no more Dognuts to eat.
    Four of us are sick of meat.
    Three of us can't look at another marshmellow.
    One of us is grounded from a firework related incident.

    And...

    One of us has to stretch out their loin. Before tackling laundry.

    Have a good one! I'll be back later.

    I'm out to break the speed limit in my new/old minivan with the windows down and the wind flapping through my bingo arms.

    Cheers, Melly.

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  19. GB, thank you for spelling "elliptical" correctly. Or at least the root word for "ellipticallian."

    Hi ZZUB!

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  20. I remember 45s. I had Bay City Rollers' S A T U R D A Y Night, some Kiss song which I can't remember and the theme from Star Wars. Even at 9 years old, I loved good music (yes, I'm saying John Williams is good music).

    We never had an 8-track. In our house we went right from albums to casettes. I remember being mad that my dad's new car didn't have an 8-track b/c I thought that was the bomb. Then I discovered Dad was ahead of the curve with the casette. Which was, by my reckoning, the last time Dad was technology advanced.

    NM wrote, "I DO NOT love that I can't copy a quote and respond to it," except that you can. Just copy and paste it into the comments.

    Mel wrote, "I am so stupid. I am dumber than a dumb box of Democratic rocks. If I was any dumber, I'd be Joe Biden. I thank God for ZZUB. He's BRILLIANT!"

    Ash wrote, "I'm not dumb. But I HAVE been seriously misguided about my politics lo these many years. ZZUB is right! Barack Obama is an arrogant and naieve fool. The Democratic party is devoid of ideas. They are morally and fiscally bankrupt. Although it pains me greatly, I'll be voting for Republicans this year. Also, I hated to admit it, but I really appreciated it when ZZUB said I was most like Ainsley. With an n."

    FYI: I tend to think of myself as Lord John Marbury. Only sober. NOMel.

    La2: your avatar is gross. I'm asking you nicely to change it.

    Z

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  21. And Mel said "One of us has no more Dognuts to eat." Dognuts? Seriously? Enough already with the gross imagery. I am still having trouble with the tadpole-filled cast and now Melly's talking about someone eating what sounds like some not-so-appetizing parts of dogs (not that any part of a dog would be appetizing, mind you).

    Thanks for saying I'm not dumb, Z. That last paragraph may have changed your mind, tho.

    Somehow, I don't think of you as being quite so frisky as Marbury. Especially with other men's wives. (Notwithstanding that time you rubbed the leg of one of your female friends thinking it was Mrs. Z.)

    I definitely had a collection of 45s back in the day. Sonny & Cher comes to mind. I Got You Babe on side A and All I Ever Need is You on the B side. I have added that 2nd little ditty to my iTunes library, BTW. Still one of my favorite songs evah. Even though Sonny did go conservative in his middle age. Before he skiied into a tree and offed himself. RIP little man.....

    I am ashamed to admit that I have an iPod in a closet that I got for Mother's Day 2009 and have yet to load up and use. YAK, the hook up for the vehicle is what I'm waiting for. Gotta get around to getting one of those at some point, as "in the car" is my main time for listening to music. When I work out, I need something to look at to avoid boredom. The music alone doesn't do it for me. Oh, and the other reason I don't used my iPod the "normal" way is that my biggest pleasure when listening to music is to sing along. Because I don't have a voice like NM and the earphones make that worse (think Julia Roberts in the tub in Pretty Woman), I hesitate to wear the 'phones. So....car stereo is the way to go for me ; )

    Finally, BORG NM on the young parents with the cool music. My dad, especially, had quite the collection of LPs. We even had a big ole stereo console (as in, a piece of furniture) that stored about 500 albums on one side, and the turntable on the other. Our babysitters always LOVED to listen to his music. I remember the Stones, the Beatles, Hair the Musical, Janis Joplin, Eric Clapton, and so much more. Dad is still big into his music, but now it's more jazz and blues. Which is nice too. When I think of all that hardware, it is really amazing how far we've come.

    8 Tracks were limited to my boyfriend's father's car. A big black Lincoln Continental with red leather seats, and Aerosmith and Boston all the way, baby.

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  22. Oh. I forgot something.

    In his original post, ZZUB ALSO said: "Wow. This exercising at the gym thing is hard! Am I too out of shape for the treadmill? Yes I am. I think I'll go on the elliptical instead. It's easier on my cankles. Here I go okay that's enough. Whew. Am I having a heart attack? No. I'm ok. I think I peed myself a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit, actually. Why is Mel happyhaunt smarter and funnier than I am? I dare say I'm her biggest, literally, fan. Ok what should I do now? Nothing. Good call ZZUBstar. I think I'll just stand here looking cool. My lips hurt real bad. I wonder if everyone likes my new unitard? I hope I look like Superman in it. Or else Freddie Mercury. Do I look fat?"



    Heh heh.

    M.

    P.S. Ashie - Dognuts are dogfood. You know... kibble. And some bits.

    And I contend that your imagery of ZZUB rubbing some Lady's (NOGaGa) leg is upping the anty. In the grossout dept.

    Apparently I have some work to do.

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  23. Mel sad: "In his original post, ZZUB ALSO said: "Wow. This exercising at the gym thing is hard! Am I too out of shape for the treadmill? Yes I am. I think I'll go on the elliptical instead. It's easier on my cankles. Here I go okay that's enough. Whew. Am I having a heart attack? No. I'm ok. I think I peed myself a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit, actually. Why is Mel happyhaunt smarter and funnier than I am? I dare say I'm her biggest, literally, fan. Ok what should I do now? Nothing. Good call ZZUBstar. I think I'll just stand here looking cool. My lips hurt real bad. I wonder if everyone likes my new unitard? I hope I look like Superman in it. Or else Freddie Mercury. Do I look fat?""

    Oh my freakin' word.

    That is SOOO the ballgame.

    Cankles? DED.

    ZZUB, I realize (see above) that I can do the ole copy paste thingy here. But it's not the same as being able to quote it and it appear in a nice little box.

    Although if it's have YOU moderate rather than the folks at the DIS, I'll take the old school copy paste feature.

    Mel, I'm laughing out loud. Dang, woman, you are FUNNY.

    Ash! I remember the console! Good times...

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  24. Although I think I'm reasonably in touch with pop culture, I have no earthly clue who Lady Gaga is or what she sings. I've seen various references to her and none of them are nice. Again, NOMel.

    I seek unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. I think of myself more as Lord John Marbury without the drinking problem or womanizing. I forgot about his penchant for treating other men's wives as goody bags you recive at a party. Thanks for having my back on that one, Ash.

    Now I feel obliged to say something nice about you. You're tall.

    FYI: Sonny Bono was never a conservative although he was a Republican. So you can return to not hating him again.

    The hitting the tree thing killed me DED though. NOSonnyBono,RIP.

    Z

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  25. LaLa: were you seroius that you'd never heard Triumph's Magic Power? That was an '80s staple.

    I didn't start liking U2 until college. They were too uber cool in high school and I automatically eschew anything the whole crowd follows. I liked Billy Joel, the Hooters, Lynrd Skynrd, Bob Seger, Boston, Styx and of course: Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam (with Spanish Fly).

    Z

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  26. I do form my own opinion. I refuse to follow the mob mentality. In my experience, I haven't missed a thing. Generally speaking if the whole crowd likes something, there's reason to think it sucks. C.f. Barack Obama, Sarah Palin (among Republicans). If something is truly good and truly worth enjoying, that surperlative quality will shine through and then I'll sidle up to it, as I did with both U2 and REM. In both instances, their best music was released when I tuned into them.

    Z

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  27. Sonny Bono is dead?!

    That's preposterous.

    The next thing someone will be telling me is that Chastity is a man.

    Also: Lady Gaga is uber cool. Right now. Which means that ZZUB will discover he likes some of her tunes right about the time his pension plan kicks in and he begins his second career as a Walmart greeter.

    You're not still ticked about Battle 6, are U?


    Cheers, M.

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  28. "You're not still ticked about Battle 6, are U?"

    Huh?

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  29. Best GaGa yet - the rendition of Poker Face on Glee tonight.

    Download that.

    Borg NM on the nonquote feature.

    Zzub sad: "The hitting the tree thing killed me DED though. NOSonnyBono,RIP"

    Funny, funny, stuff.

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  30. ZZUB sad:

    LaLa: were you seroius that you'd never heard Triumph's Magic Power? That was an '80s staple.

    I was not seroius. I was, however, serious.

    I had to Google it and actually go to YouTube to hear it. It did sound vaguely familiar, but not something I would've really been into back in those days. As evidenced by my beloved 45 collection, which included Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough (taught myself the moonwalk to that one), Greased Lightnin', Let's Get Physical, and Xanadu.

    I remember saving my allowance and being excited about going to the record store to pick up new records on the weekend. How times have changed. We were cleaning out our attic a few months back and I came across a box of old records that I'd hung onto for so long I'd forgotten I had them. Spent the afternoon going through them and grinning like an idiot, just remembering. And feeling much younger than my actual age. Which is 22. For the record. Among the best of the best was one of Rod Stewart's first albums, the Bee Gees Greatest Hits, Andy Gibb (apparently I REALLY liked the Brothers Gibb...they made me feel like I was more than a woman), the complete Michael Jackson collection, and several Duran Duran 12" remixes.

    The Reflex rocked the house back then.

    Borg, NM.

    Dadgummit, now I need a pair of skates, a disco ball and an open floor at a skating rink.

    Ash, you beat me to the dognuts thing. I was wondering if it was a Canadian delicacy.

    Lady LaLa

    PS: Asking nicely will get you nowhere.

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  31. Dognuts: it's the new Maelstrom! However, there will be no debate about this one. It is NOT a fastpass!


    - Javamom, AKA Steph

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  32. Ash said...

    "And Mel said "One of us has no more Dognuts to eat." Dognuts? Seriously?"

    In the south, they're called mountain oysters...and they originate from sheep...not dogs. And just as you begin wondering, no, I have never tried them, and no, I never will. We males should stick together on some things. Dangly bits being one of them. The whole staple of America's Funniest Home videos may be the ball bat to the jewels, but no man watches that and doesn't cringe a bit...inside...in the deepest, darkest, pit of his stomach. Much less to make a meal of them. Wrong...wrong...thrice wrong.

    Ok, now that I have made an entire post about tackle, and with that, used up all the least crass euphamisms I can think of for the tender bits, I will end this...and shudder a little.

    MG

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  33. Hello friends!

    Hi ZZUB! I'm sure you won't mind if I address Great Biscuit here on your blog, right? Since his TR on the DIS is all locked up, I can't comment to him there.

    So GB, I had a few minutes (hours) this morning to myself and nothing to consume them. Unless I was going to actually do something productive, but seeing as this is my only day until school starts back in August to have an empty house until 3, I decided to head to the DIS.

    Because I'm in a bit of a mood. Not totally bad, but just a little melancholy. My big girl will graduate from Elementary School tomorrow, and I can hardly believe it. The sound byte I've heard since she was born has never been more true. "Enjoy every minute! You'll blink and she'll be grown!" She's halfway there, and it seems like yesterday we started this gig. If I'm not careful, I'll find myself in tears that her graduation dress is a strapless number from the juniors department (with a shrug over it to retain modesty, OF COURSE) instead of a smocked gingham dress with a big honkin' bow perched on her head. And white shoes worn over socks with lacy ruffles. Oh how I miss that.

    But despite all the big girl changes in my house, one thing I can hang my hat on is that EVERY SINGLE DAY for the last two busy weeks she has wanted to talk about our Disney trip. She's every bit as excited about it at 11 and a half, as she was at 3. Thank you Jesus.

    I'm rambling to say that I needed a little Disney love to remind me of the fun vacay we have coming up in a few short weeks. The one where my middle schooler will still be the little girl that loves her some Mickey Mouse and spending time with her parents. I love how Disney makes that happen for my family.

    I logged onto the DIS and piddled around a bit. Found myself on the TR boards and decided to read yours. Mad props that you're a sticky on the Completed TRs board.

    I am nowhere CLOSE to being finished. But I'm loving every minute of it and can't wait to take the vacation with you and your girls. And the sweetest parents of all time. I think I love your mom and dad. You are blessed.

    Anywho, it's a great TR and I just wanted you to know that I'm really enjoying it. Do you have another trip planned any time soon? Cause I could get used to reading your stuff!

    Moving on.

    MG, I'm totally disgusted. Mountain oysters? Thrice wrong, indeed.

    Everybody have a good one.

    NM out.

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  34. NM – Thanks so much for the shout out! I really do appreciate it. I SO totally hope my girls keep their Disney love when they hit the Junior High / Senior high years. Our hope was to return the summer of 2012. Right now, that doesn’t look like its going to happen. We’ll see though. Life is unpredictable. Which makes it totally worth living. So until we return, I’ll keep reading the TR’s of others and sharing in their joy.

    Speaking of which, I was actually heading over this way to give a TR shout out myself.

    LaLa - I’ve seen many references to your TR’s and yesterday I sat down and read the first Overdue and Overpacked TR. I absolutely LOVED it. The Yoda line had me doing an involuntary hybrid snort-laugh. I can’t wait to read the rest of your TR’s. I have great plans for them this weekend. (NoBoringHighSchoolGraduationDistractions)

    I am also planning to go back and read several other TR’s posted by Zzub’s World inhabitants so I’m sure I’ll be giving an abundance of kudos in the days to come.

    MG – you made me shudder dude. Luckily they don’t serve such “delicacies” in these parts. That’s just one dish I’d have to pass on.

    As to 45’s, the only ones I remember owning were “I Heard a Rumor” by Bananarama, (don’t be a hater), “The Twist” by the Fat Boys, “Hip to Be Square” by Huey Lewis and the News, and the theme from Ghostbusters.

    Oh, and for the record, yes John Williams is THE MAN when it comes to soundtracks.

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  35. I'll have you know that "The Reflex" still rocks the house. Well mine anyway.

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  36. Seriously. Now we're discussing tackle? It didn't take long for this blog to devolve into the nether regions. I was seriously hoping Mel just mistyped doughnuts. I still want to believe that's true.

    GB: don't waste your time reading LaLa's TRs. Here's a summary: Hurricane Katrina. Sad. Needed vacation. Went during the first Free Dining but didn't have free dining. Crazy amounts of luggage. Lysol. A bee hive. Everyone is yellow again.

    And that crap about wining Olympic Gold: NOTHING BUT A PACK OF LIES! And plagerized as well. NOJoeBiden, Deval Patrick, Lawrence Tribe, Charles Ogletree and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

    Z

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  37. La I knew you would be a Xanadu girl... so was I. I watched the movie on HBO every chance I could and I would get out my skates and pretend I was Olivia. I would put my record player in the garage, make my parents move their cars out, and I would crank it up and have my own personal rink. Good times. I also thought I was Juice Newton and my parents had to sit through many a concert with me and my toy store guitar. sigh.

    Moving on.

    Mel! You had me doing the silent shake for like 5 minutes over this

    "In his original post, ZZUB ALSO said: "Wow. This exercising at the gym thing is hard! Am I too out of shape for the treadmill? Yes I am. I think I'll go on the elliptical instead. It's easier on my cankles. Here I go okay that's enough. Whew. Am I having a heart attack? No. I'm ok. I think I peed myself a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit, actually. Why is Mel happyhaunt smarter and funnier than I am? I dare say I'm her biggest, literally, fan. Ok what should I do now? Nothing. Good call ZZUBstar. I think I'll just stand here looking cool. My lips hurt real bad. I wonder if everyone likes my new unitard? I hope I look like Superman in it. Or else Freddie Mercury. Do I look fat?"

    Oh dear goodness I laughed so hard that I could..... not..... breathe. Much like Zzub after 2 minutes on the sissiliptical.

    Hi Zzub! I think it's real skippy that you cranked this blog back up again! Did you buy a 6 pack of Alabama SEC champion Cokes? This weekend I found a lil 6 pack at the tippy top of the beverage center cabinet. I was wondering why in the world we put the cokes up there, but was jazzed about finding them so I put them in the fridge to chill. Let me just say that it was a very, very, VERY good thing that the boys and I didn't pop one open with our lunch this weekend. Those are Mr. Frick's Cokes and apparently, they are special. Not to be consumed. It's Alabama Championship Coke, and apparently we are going to have a dusty, rotten 6 pack of Cokes living with us for the rest of our lives. Nice. I'm going to assume you can understand.

    I have NEVER heard IT called Tackle or Tender Bits. I'm ded MG! I've heard of Bert & Ernie, meat and potatoes, go nads, but never ever tackle. I'll have to throw that into conversation sometime this week.

    Duckfit.

    Oh, and stop hating on LaLa's yearbook picture.

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  38. Good morning from sunny Central Georgia!

    In a couple of hours, I will be sweating bullets by the pool, dying to jump in but knowing that the almost middle schoolers (namely MINE) would cringe a little if the moms joined the party. So I plan on finding a spot in the shade and visiting with my peeps.

    Not much more to report from here, but I hope y'all all have a great day. I intend to. Even if I have to shed a few tears.

    NM out.

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  39. NM is a threadkiller! How'd it go yesterday, middle school mama?!

    Happy Fridaybeforealongweekend. Woo Hoo! I would be happier if we were done with school, like all of you southerners, but I am still lookin' forward to a lil 3 day break. Even better, we are planning a mini-meet on Sunday with Pongo, her hubby, and their sweet adorable baby boy. Too bad we can't post pictures here.

    Frick sad Bert & Ernie. DED!!!!!!!!!

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  40. I AM a thread killer! That makes two in one week! ;)

    Thanks for asking, Ash. Yesterday was perfect. A very happy celebration of our elementary years. I did really well all day, but the one moment that caused me to COMPLETELY lose it came early in the day.

    The custom at our school after the 5th grade graduation rehearsal, is for moms to decorate our cars and line the drive in front of the auditorium, so that when the kids finish practice, they come outside and get in their cars and we caravan to the offsite pool party. But before we leave campus, we pull through the carpool horseshoe one last time, with all the kids hanging out the sunroof, windows or whatever, and the moms honking horns and making a big scene. The rest of the elementary school is outside and everyone waves goodbye. Just pulling through and seeing the faces of all of our special teachers through the years, and seeing my son wave to his big sister just sent me over the edge. It's a GREAT thing I was wearing my sunglasses.

    But all in all, a very special day that I won't soon forget.

    Thanks for asking.

    My son DID have to go to school this morning for the last half day, and in a little while, summer will be officially here for the NMs. I couldn't be more happy. As is custom, we will celebrate with a trip to Marble Slab Creamery for lunch. No, they don't serve anything but ice cream.

    And after all of that, probably a nice long emotion induced nap.

    Hope y'all have a good one!

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  41. GB, I have read more of your TR and I am still LOVING IT. Your photography skills are incredible, and the panoramic photos are particularly impressive! I,too, am very interested in photography, and one thing that frustrates me about it is how hard it is to REALLY capture something with just one photo. But to stitch together a bunch of photos really gives you a feel for the location you were in when you took the shot. I'm really enjoying those.

    I also love the relationship you obviously have with your mom and dad and Aunt Jana. Sounds like y'all really enjoy being together and I think that is such a huge blessing. I feel the same way about my parents and my inlaws.

    Alright, NOW I'm out.

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  42. Good night nurse! The NMs decorate their cars?! So you're THOSE people??!!

    Interesting. And not at all surprising.

    ZZUBY has two more weeks of school although she announced they were, "done with math." I pressed in b/c I found it hard to believe they would have no additional math work before the end of the year. Turns out they will. What ZZUBY meant was, they're done with their math workbook. Which she considered to be a BIG thing.

    Her recital is this weekend. Mrs. Z is SOOOOOO ready for it to be over. They have had a boatload of rehearsals (the director is of German descent) and the instructions for the moms apparently keeps changing. Mamma Z has had her fill of it.

    Also: who in their right mind schedules a recital for Memorial Day weekend? That's like scheduling a trip to Chicago and skipping the traditional laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. No one would do that, would they?

    And I disagree about GB's pictures. I think they suck! Mainly b/c I can't take pictures as good as he can.

    Z

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