"Landslide" inspires

Here's an article about a gay man who found inspiration, and later a connection with his coming out, in the Stevie Nicks-penned "Landslide".

Hauntingly familiar: Stevie Nicks is following me
Mark Ambrose Harris

If there is anything that makes my staunch atheism bend, it's music. There are artists whose bodies of work have inspired me, and there are songs that are the sonic equivalent of guardian angels. I'm referring to the tunes that follow us through life, that show up right when we need to hear them, and that don't whither with the passing of time. Personally, I place "Landslide" in this category...

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11/27

One awkward family holiday down, one to go.

I hear Angelina Jolie doesn't like Obama and thinks he is a socialist. Boo hoo, Angie. Maybe you should run for president. And what's so wrong with socialism, again? Celebrities with hoity-toity political stances just annoy me. Other Americans feel the same as you do about our leader(s), you just have the ability for people to hear your opinion whereas most of us don't.

Some day people will listen to my opinions. Some day I will change the world.

It's coming....

I am older than Lady Gaga. I feel like a failure as a human being.

As the season is approaching (blah), I have decided to make a list of what I deem to be the ultimate Christmas songs. My holiday season is not complete without these songs, and I really do mean that. I can't listen to Christmas music until I get into the "spirit", but I also do not truly get into the Christmas spirit without these songs. These are in no particular order, by the way.

* "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Judy Garland
* "White Christmas" - Bing Crosby
* "Silent Night" - Stevie Nicks
* "Carol of the Bells" - choral version
* "Merry Christmas Darling" - The Carpenters
* Bette Midler's entire "Cool Yule" album
* "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" - Judy Garland and Bing Crosby
* "Christmas Don't Be Late" - The Chipmunks (Yes, seriously.)

It also helps to watch White Christmas. I would have put the song "Snow" from that movie on my list, but that song is not available ANYWHERE. And I do mean anywhere, because I have looked. Naturally, that song has been recorded, but you cannot find the version from the movie. Apparently when they originally released the soundtrack for White Christmas, they recorded it WITHOUT Rosemary Clooney and with Peggy Lee instead. Don't get me wrong. I like Peggy Lee. But she is not Rosemary Clooney. How hard is it to pull the audio from a print of White Christmas and release it on disc?

This is the week that will not end. Yes it goes on and on my friends...

I. Am. So. Tired.

This week will not end. Seriously. I am so tired. This is my first day of not working both jobs this week, and I am ready for the weekend. I'm really enjoying this extra money, but it sucks that Kroger doesn't put out their schedule until Friday. It's Thursday, and I won't know until 10 pm tomorrow whether or not I work Sunday night. This is dumb.

Twitter is quite possibly the greatest invention of all time. Today, Michelle Branch retweeted a question I asked her. I love celebrity/human interaction. And no, celebrities are not human.

Buffalo Wild Wings tonight. Anybody wanna join?

Visions of Showgirls

I didn't get up until 2:30 today. Go me.

Do you ever look at someone's face so much that one day you think you know every pore, every line, every curve, and then the next you don't think you'll ever remember what they look like again? I'm like that with Bette Midler. I have studied that woman's face more often and more intently than anyone else's. Lately when I see pictures of her, it's like I don't even know who she is. I've seen her face so many times that looking at it, it becomes distorted, misshapen, unfamiliar. But now I'm back to her face being burned in my memory, restored and new. I had an amazing dream about Bette last night.

As you may have noticed from my last post, I'm pretty upset about her Vegas show not being extended. I was hoping that in the two years she was there, I was going to be able to make it out there to see her. I saved magazine and newspaper articles regarding the show, just so I could have plenty of material to make a Vegas scrapbook after my visit. However, as they tend to do, things just kept coming up financially that made me unable to save. Now, I did spend quite a bit of money going to see Fleetwood Mac this summer, but I was able to see them twice and take my Dad for the amount of money it would have cost me to see Bette once in Vegas. Plus I thought Bette would be in Vegas longer, so I was confident that I had time to save up. But now things are worse than they've ever been for me financially and she's leaving Vegas in two and a half months.

Anyway, back to the dream. I've had all this Vegas stuff on my mind, so last night I dreamed about it, or should I say this morning, technically. The dream was based on the fact that I wanted to go to Vegas but couldn't, so I needed to let Bette know how much I wanted to see her. I'm not really sure why I needed to tell her, but I did. She was doing some sort of promotional thing concerning the end of her Vegas run, and I just so happened to be in the vicinity. I decided I had to get there. I raced through this really elaborate building that was like part train station, part department store. The place was huge. After encountering all kinds of other things along the way, I finally got to the place where Bette was filming her promo. It must have been for some talk show or something. I managed to get down where she was and there was a producer or someone talking to her. I had two people with me. I think it was my mom and sister. Anyway, we just casually walked past where Bette was while this guy was talking. And I mean, we're six, seven feet from her chair. She acknowledged us walking past, and even called me by name. (Don't ask me how that happened.) As soon as we passed her, I decided this was my chance to say something to her. I apologized for interrupting and introduced myself. I told her how upset I was that she wasn't extending her Vegas show because it had been a dream of mine for some time to see her perform live and how I was afraid I was never going to get the chance now. I don't remember what she said to me or what I said after that, but I remember there were tears in my eyes because I was so thrilled to be talking to her. Then she embraced me, and I have never felt so happy and loved in all my life. And I do mean my real life, not my dream life. She held me for a long time, and I was crying from happiness, then I thanked her for speaking with me and told her that I wouldn't bother her any longer, and I walked away.

I don't know why this dream has affected me so deeply, but I felt like I connected with Bette, that I was a person and not just another nameless fan. The whole thing really made me feel at ease about not seeing Bette in Vegas, because it felt like a sign to me that everything is going to be okay and that my time will come someday. I know this all probably sounds really odd, but that was the best dream I have had in a very long time. Weird, like most of mine have been lately with my odd sleep patterns, but wonderful.

I'm off to update my iPod now.

The dream is dead.

Bette's last Vegas show has officially been announced as January 31, 2010. It is completely impossible for me to attend now. Needless to say, I am heartbroken. My greatest fear is that she won't do live shows after this. Apparently she is/will be working on an album, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

Things are going okay, kind of hectic, and my social life is practically nonexistent. I did just sell a CD on Amazon today, which is a nice little bonus finanically. Not much, but a little.

Lately I've really been wishing our country had some sort of federally controlled recycling program. I feel that a lot of people aren't educated on how to properly prepare items for recycling, and what would really be great is if we had a program for delivery of food to food pantries. Grocery stores and restaurants throw away massive amounts of food on a daily basis, and it's just ridiculous that there's not some way that that food can be picked up and distributed locally. This would not only benefit people in especially lower-income communities, but it would keep these businesses from having to have their trash picked up so often (which they get charged for, I'm pretty sure). How is this situation not a win-win? Of course, some communities probably have something like this set up, but it should be a country-wide thing. If I had any business sense at all, I suppose I could try to start setting up a program like this. Maybe I can someday make the right connections and know the right people to get something like this started, but in the meantime, this is being posted on my blog as of now, so don't steal my idea bitches!

I was given a bootleg CD of the Fleetwood Mac Nashville show that I went to, and I am pretty sure that I can hear myself and my dad in the recording. How awesome is that!?

Oh, and Melissa Peterman made my week. Blonde forever!

I remember the thunder, talking 'bout the fire in your eyes.

I tried to cockblock somebody tonight. I won't deny it. Whatever. She was too good for him.

Halloween is probably my favorite holiday. It gives everyone a chance to pretend they're something they're not, and/or to dress totally outrageously. I went as a cold bitch this year, or so I was told. I actually didn't have a costume, which is the first time in...well, possibly the first time ever. I just couldn't afford a costume and didn't feel like dressing like a slut, although I did think about it. No, instead I went in the same clothes I wore to work. Tomorrow I suppose I'll have to uphold my usual Halloween tradition of watching Hocus Pocus since my work/party-going didn't give me time to do so today.

This evening I realized I have three things that make life worth living. One thing is something personal that I have to keep to myself, but the other two things are Bette Midler and Stevie Nicks. I am sad and alone and it is pathetic.

Tomorrow is my first official day at Kroger, so I'm sure I will be especially tired at DFS on Monday. I will be so glad to not be completely broke all the time.