Thursday Thirteen

Today, I'm simply going down my Facebook feed and respond to posts that are there, except I'm doing it here. I generally do not react to things on Facebook as it is problematic and I don't like to argue. But sometimes I need to get this stuff off my chest.

1. First up, a headline that religious organizations received $7.3 billion in the loans/funding money the federal legislature handed out back when the pandemic struck. My take? They don't pay taxes, they shouldn't be receiving tax-money hand outs. I have always thought churches should be taxed, and my stance on that has not changed.

2. Next, a story from one of my local stations that says the Secretary of Education "slams" school districts  that plan limited openings, rejecting part-time openings of school districts. My district is one of those that has, at least for the moment, planned a limited opening. My take? I think each district should decide how it wants to handle things depending on the circumstances and the numbers of viral load, etc., which means the planning may have to change mid-semester if the viral overload quickly shoots up. I see this as a public health crisis, not a minor inconvenience that is causing someone to cry over an election. I prefer live children to dead ones, and with the cases here locally skewing downward in age, with those 11-20 suddenly being the ones who have coronavirus, it makes sense to try to keep physical distance efforts at a maximum, not a minimum.

3. A friend has posted a tweet from #45. He indicates South Dakota has a border with California and misuses the word "there." (It should be "their border.") My take? Well, the man is no stable genius. If you have to say you are one, you probably aren't. (Do they not have spelling and grammar check on Twitter? I don't use it so I don't know.) He also congratulates people for not wearing masks. Is he trying to kill us all? *Update: I have since learned this tweet was false and #45 did not actually tweet this.*

4. A quote from a friend about moving forward in small steps. Good advice. Sometimes that is what it takes to get through a day. Take it second by second if you have to. Sometimes I do. Actually, most days I do.

5. Another quote from a friend: "Many years ago, Golda Meir, the former Israeli Prime Minister, once quoted the following:  "One cannot and must not try to erase the past merely because it does not fit the future".  No truer words were ever spoken! God Bless America!"  My take? I presume this is about the removal of Confederate statues and changing the names of buildings to remove Confederate legacy. I say it's about time. The south lost and should have gotten over it about 155 years ago. Removing names does not remove history. We have history books, museums, and family stories galore to keep the "legacy" alive if someone must. Also, why can't God bless the whole world?

6. A fellow blogger and Facebook friends writes: "On alleged bounties, White House targets leakers, not Russia - Two weeks after Americans learned about Russia allegedly putting bounties on the heads of American troops, the White House is taking action. Team #45, however, isn't targeting Russia; it's targeting leakers . . . confronted with allegations that Moscow put bounties on the heads of American troops, the White House is eager, not to punish Russia, but to punish U.S. officials who helped expose the controversy. nbc" - My take? Sounds like something this administration would do. Talk about gaslighting and deflecting. Sheesh.

7. A friend posted "Lowes donated $25 million to help minority businesses reopen. Home Depot donated $7 million to Trump. Go to Lowes." Hmm. My take? I looked it up. Lowes did make that donation. However, the Home Depot donation was years ago, and while Home Depot gives more to Republicans than Democrats, it makes contributions to both parties. I still generally go to Lowes, though. I like it better. So this is slightly misleading.

8. A post about the bubonic plague returning. My take? It's never left. There have always been cases of it hither and yon. I've read about it recurring for years. This year is no different. It just feels like it because of all the other shit that's happening around us.

9. A post from a friend who says she isn't risking her life to go anywhere - except to vote if she must, and she'll wear a hazmat suit if she has to. My take? Good for her. We should all be able to vote by mail if we want to. We receive our driver's licenses and other government-issued items by mail, I don't see why we can't vote by mail. I trust my voter registrar and those who work for them - I know them personally. Distrust in others seems inbred in some people, though. Those folks would call Jesus Christ a liar if he stood right in front of them, brown skin and all. The military votes by mail. If they can do it, I don't see why the rest of us can't.

10. A headline post that says "The White House is hoping Americans will "grow numb" to the Covid-19 Death Toll."  My take? I am keeping score. I will not grow numb to the numbers. I am watching the numbers rise in my little county and I am pretty sure that until they start dropping again, I will not have a haircut, go to the dentist, or leave home without a mask. I think the government officials are guilty of mass murder, frankly, for their total bungling of this. And yes, that includes #45, his adult family members (since they are all "working" for the people at his command or whatever, I have never seen so much nepotism in all of my life), and the vice president.

11. A post about how all the flights in a certain airline are haunted. My take? This is hilarious and probably the best thing I've read so far today.

12. A story from the New York Times about the Supreme Court allowing employers to "opt out" of paying for birth control. My take: I wonder if they can "opt out" of paying for Viagra? I personally see it as part of women's health care and it should be available and paid for with health insurance. After all, no woman asked to be born a woman and it's not our fault we're the ones who carry the babies. Yet men sure love to penalize us for that. Dickheads.

13. A story about a comet that's visible on the low horizon in the early morning hours. My take? Yay comets!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 664th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I am so late doing a Thursday 13 today, I almost missed it.

2. Let me explain: the heat pump went out last night just before we went to bed. It was hot.

3. Only the heat pump man could help. He called with a quick fix that my husband implemented.

4. And that worked, but for only about half the night.

5. The heat and humidity in the bedroom was rising around 4:30 a.m., when I got up.

6. How my husband continued to sleep, I do not know. But he did. He even snored.

7. Early to bed, early to rise - makes an old woman tired, to no one's surprise.

8. Took a shower early, a cool one, so I would be dressed and not in my nightgown. I didn't know when help might arrive.

9. Right on schedule, just before 7 a.m., the phone rang and it was Cundiff Heating to the rescue!

10. Understandably, I was elated because we are looking at 95+ degree temperatures today, and high humidity.

11. Man, when that truck rolled into the driveway, I could feel the relief. Still hot, but relieved.

12. Pleased with the results as the cold air began to slide into the house, I slipped the workman a $20 and told him to buy himself an ice cold drink later in the heat of the day.

13. And that's why my Thursday 13 makes no sense, because I didn't sleep well, I was up too early, and my thinker isn't thinking due to overheating last night.

Yeah, I'm a little princess who needs a good night's sleep.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 663rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

The other day I accidentally purchased an "essential birth chart reading" from Tarot.com. I have some "karma coins" in an account there that someone gave me as present about ten years ago. I seldom visit the site. Sometimes I do a tarot reading on Solstice if I think about it, but mostly I get emails from them to an account I don't check often. The "karma coins" have hung around for ages, so this has been a gift that's been languishing for quite some time.

I was clearing out the barely used email account and ran across a Tarot.com notice for "your essential birth chart reading." A while back someone had commented to me that they were Gemini with Pluto rising or something like that. I wasn't sure what that meant, so that was in the back of my mind when I clicked on the ad. Then it said, "reveal the meaning" and I clicked on that, but I didn't realize I was using the "karma coins" until I saw the balance drop.

Oops.

Anyway, I have no idea what a lot of this means because I don't study astrology. I read my horoscope, say, yeah, that might be good advice, and move on. I know I'm Gemini (and that fits in general). This thing I purchased is 30 pages long.

From the chart, apparently I am Gemini with Aries Ascendant. The Moon is in Sagittarius. I don't have any idea what that means.

But let's see what in here might apply.

1. Fire is strong and Water is weak. This has to do with elements. "You prize personal independence and autonomy so much that you're apt to downplay your needs for closeness and caring. . . you hide your feelings of sadness and inadequacy.  . . . Striving to be (and often believing yourself to be) emotional self-sufficient limits your ability to be truly intimate with others and to get the nurturing you need."  Ok. I'll go along with that.

2. Fire is strong and Sun is in an Air Sign. "Your need to participate socially, to communicate and relate to other people is quite strong."  I'll go along with that one, too.

Apparently Fire is strong in my birth chart. Funny, I always thought I was more earthy and other people have said so, too.

3. Ascendant in Aries and Sun in Gemini. "Even though you come across as headstrong and independent, you are not a loner. . . . you are really a very social and gregarious creature at heart. Communication is very important to you . . . be careful not to let your fast-paced life cause to become high-strung and nervous."  Yikes. Where's my Valium?

4. Sun in Gemini. "Your mind is bright, alert, curious, flexible, playful and always eager for new experiences - and your attention span is often quite brief. You grasp ideas quickly and once your initial curiosity has been satisfied, you want to go on to something else. You crave frequent change, variety, meeting new situations and people. " Yes, I will agree with that one. That is why being a reporter was a good fit for me. It involved constant change.

5. "You have a multitude of interests and are loathe to limit yourself by concentrating on just one. You are easily distracted by all of the other fascinating possibilities." Yes, that's me, too.

6. "You live in your head a great deal - reading, observing, thinking, spinning ideas around - and you need mental stimulation every bit as much as you need food and drink. . . . You have a creative mind and often live by your wits."  Yes, that's me, too.

7. "You enjoy using and playing with words and have a real flair for getting your ideas across in a clever, interesting, articulate manner. Writing or speaking are areas you have talent for."  Well, not so much the speaking part. But the writing, definitely.

8. Sun in the 2nd House. "Ownership gives you a sense of security, and you have a strong attachment to your possessions. You also have a natural instinct or understanding of economics, finance, trade, and appraising the value of merchandise."  Now see, I don't think this is me at all. I don't plan to be buried with my guitar or anything.

9. Sun Sextile Jupiter (what does that mean?). "Your life is apt to be blessed with more than your share of helpful friends, fortuitous connections and doors opening to you at just the right time."  I am not sure about that one, either. Maybe I look at doors wrong.

10. Sun aspects both Jupiter and Saturn.  "You also have a heavier side which keeps your optimism from becoming ungrounded or overblown."  I am a terrible pessimist. Is that what this sentence means?

11. Sun Trine Saturn. "Realistic and practical, you set goals for yourself that are modest enough for you to actually achieve. You are able to tackle long, difficult projects and see them through, for you possess self-discipline."  Yeah, right. That's why I don't have a novel written, because I'm so full of self-discipline. And why I'm overweight, because I'm so self-disciplined. The first sentence I agree with, but not the last.

12. Sun Square Pluto.  "You are intensely willful, zealous, and fanatical, though often you hide the intensity of your feelings and your personal motives and desires. You have an infatuation with power (!) and an almost compulsive desire for personal recognition, the desire to be "somebody." You tend to worship heroes who have powerful person magnetism and charisma, and often seek to emulate them. (Does Wonder Woman fall in that category?) You also have both a fear of, an an intense fascination with, death and the hidden, secret dark side of life."  Wow. Sun square Pluto is big deal stuff. I don't think I'm infatuated with power, though. The other things I will have to think about.

13. Sun Quincunx Neptune (what does that mean?). "You tend to be very impressionable and psychically open, and as a youngster, you could have been dominated by more forceful personalities. Afraid of confrontation, you may have become passive, identified yourself as a helpless victim, or tried to gain your desires in underhanded ways."  Geez. That sounds terrible.  "Your hypersensitivity to your environment is apt to be a challenge for you in other ways as well. Pollutants, ugliness, or dissonance in any form is apt to affect you more than most people." That sentence I agree with. I'm having a difficult time right now from many areas outside of my control - the political arena, the pollutant increase (thank you #45), and I'm having more migraines from the weather pattern changes.

So. This seems to require study. Of course that does not encompass the whole 30 pages of this document. That was just one part. Looks like I will have to do some studying up to understand it better.

What about you? What do you know about your birth chart or sun sign or whatever?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 662nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

The other day while I was listening to Virginia Governor Ralph Northam talk about making June 19 a paid holiday and the removal of Confederate statues, he noted that what we revere and have around us shows what we value.

This made me look around my office and my home. What do I value? And how many of us bother to consider what we value, and why? I think many people do not question what they value - or even know they value something.

Absence of something could also indicate values. For example, I do not, to my knowledge, have a Confederate flag in my home. However, my great-great grandfather was a Confederate soldier. I honor his history simply by knowing it. I don't need a symbol of a lost cause to indicate anything else.

If you're interested in things like morals and values, and would like to do a little self-study, check out yourmorals.org, which has a lot of interesting tests to take that help you evaluate yourself and how you feel about things. 

But just looking around, let's see what I might value:

1. Books. I am surrounded by them here in my office.

2. Education. Books add to this, of course, but there are also three college diplomas hanging on my wall.

3. Music. I have two guitars, a harmonica, an ocarina, and loads of CDs in this one room.

4. History. I have many books of history, mostly local history, so I value the history of my area and my ancestors.

5. Strong women figures. I have a Supergirl poster and a Wonder Woman figure, along with a Charlie's Angel's action figure, in my office. I think there are few more on a lower shelf that I can't see at the moment because there's a guitar in the way.

6. Time. There are three clocks on the wall of my office.

7. Family. I have pictures of my nephews and niece in here.

8. Friends. While I do not have photos of my friends in here, I have many items they have given me that remind me of them.

9. The world. I think that may be symbolized by an old out-of-date globe that I insist on keeping in here.

10. Art. I have a fake Van Gogh painting in my office, along with some of my own photos. Plus I have several cameras.

11. Connectedness. This might be symbolized by the phones and the computer.

12. Money. I keep all the books so all the stuff to do with the farm and my husband's construction business are in my office.

13. Imagination. I have a photo of Gandolf the White in here, along with the aforementioned superheroines, and many of my books are fantasy books. I think it is safe to say I value imagination.

What about you? If you look around your room, what does it say you value?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 660th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen #660

1. I spend a few minutes every morning trying to forgive #45 for not being the person I feel I need in charge in Washington, DC. It is a difficult exercise made even more difficult by the fact that the man cannot leave well enough alone and just shut up. Forgiving is not forgetting.

2. Trying to forgive someone you don't even know simply for existing (which is basically what I am doing, I guess), can be a bit crazy-making.

3. Forgiveness is a multi-step process and it can take a long time. For example, if someone abused you badly, it might be difficult to forgive them.

4. The process is really about yourself, though. The fact that I can't stand #45 doesn't bother him. It bothers me.

5. So first, I have to acknowledge what it is about the person or incident that bothers me. In this case, it would be that the leader of the country is a bully, an ingrate, unbalanced, a bigot, a racist, a dictator-wannabe, loud, and uncouth. Among other things.

6. Then I have to clarify why these personality traits or foibles or whatever one wants to call them bothers me. In my case, #45 reminds me a lot of someone I knew when I was younger. I also simply find him distasteful and stupid (in a smart sort of way) and I have trouble with those qualities in people.

7. I have to own my distress over his actions . . . and then let them go. While his actions have affected me personally - we've lost money because of his trade wars, for example, because the prices of cattle are lower than they were even during the Great Recession - I have to acknowledge that this is how things are and accept that we will have to make do with less through no fault of my own.

8. Another thing one must do when practicing forgiveness is give up the expectation of change. Susan Collins voted not to impeach because she thought #45 had learned his lesson. He didn't learn a thing. So I have no expectations from this man except that the basement will become deeper and things will become worse. There is no bottom with this type of personality.

9.  Another thing one must do is not take it personally. He didn't intend for me to lose money with his trade wars, right? Right? Although those distribution of funds from the least to those who already have too much was a slick trick with that so-called "tax cut" and these latest coronavirus "relief" packages.

10. When I read about the latest event/tweet/rally insanity, I have to try to find a way to cope. This should be a positive way of doing it. Sometimes I call a friend and and say, "Did you see what that ##$@#%@# did today?" That may not be so positive although it does help. Better, though, to watch without judgment and see what lasting impact the actions have. Some things are simply stupid beyond belief but have little impact upon me. Things like deregulations of pollution controls, for example, will impact me (and everybody else, really) because I have asthma. Having the cement plant down the road roiling its dusty smoke out across the valley is not good for my health. So these types of activities will require additional thought and I will have to find ways to circumvent them. Maybe I will have to purchase another air purifier, but that will make my electricity bill go up. 

11. So then I have to try to forgive the impact upon myself, like the lost money and additional costs, that I can attribute to the person I'm trying to forgive for existing and not being the person I feel I need right now. Like I said, it's an ongoing affair.

12. The next thing I do is wish this person peace of mind. He seems very infantile and very insecure. The way he sits in meetings with his arms wrapped around himself indicts such insecurities and lack of openness of self and mind that it is kind of sad. I hope he finds some way to fix himself, although I strongly suspect he isn't interested in that. That's me being judgmental, though, so I shouldn't think that. Maybe he falls asleep at night reading self-help books.

13. Lastly, when I've had all I can take, I step away. I am trying very hard here to do something quite difficult, and it very tiring. Sometimes I simply have to take a break.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 660th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

I'm still collecting pandemic memes. I think they are insightful commentary on the wit of humanity and a good way to show the times we are living in. I collected these before the latest round of protests about the inhumane treatment of a man by a police officer. Previously, people were protesting because they wanted to open the country up and not wear a mask. The first round of protestors carried guns to state capitols, threatened governors, and weren't arrested. The second round of protestors took to the streets, and some looters and others who want to take advantage of the atmosphere showed up to cause havoc. As a result, the second round of protestors have been met with the military police and the jackboots. It might also have something to do with the fact that the first round of protestors were mostly white and the second round of protestors have been black and white. That would be too obvious though, wouldn't it?

Been a lot of protesting going on, anyway. But as a reminder, here are 13 memes that took place earlier during the continuing Covid-45 crisis.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 658th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

1. I went out this morning. I saw many people without face masks.

2. I also saw many people with face masks. Virginia tomorrow will make wearing a mask mandatory.

3. It is hard to tell who someone is when they have a face mask on. I mistook a person for someone else because from the profile she looked like a friend.

4. Trying to stay six feet away from people in a store is next to impossible, and the store workers make it the most difficult because they are always stocking. How are you supposed to go down the aisle when they aren't moving?

5. When we checked out, I thought the bill was a bit high but prices on things have increased and I also thought maybe my husband had sneaked something into the cart (he's been known to do that). But when I came home and looked at the receipt, I realized I'd been double charged for three different items, amounting to about $30. One of us will have to go back to the store tomorrow and talk to someone in customer service.

6. Also while we were out, we saw a weird looking plane. It looked like a huge drone. We weren't sure what type of plane it was.

7. My internet connection and landline telephone has been going in and out during the rain. I feel sure there is water getting in the line somewhere, but that will be a difficult thing for the telephone company to fix. I expect I will be calling them a lot during rain showers until this is resolved.

8. The store had empty shelves. Not just in toilet paper, but in cleaning goods, in crafts, and in many other items. Apparently we don't need new clothes during a pandemic - there were plenty of clothes in that area, except for the socks I wanted, of course. 

9. This tells me that something's not right. All is not well in the world when the store shelves are empty. 

10. In fact, the world feels sick when I leave my home. A feeling of weariness overcomes me and I am ready to curl into a ball or hide under the bed.

11. During the course of our visit to another store, I inadvertently stepped in front of a man, coming too close. He immediately moved away and my husband chided me for not paying attention. Rightfully so. I needed the reminder.

12. At this other store, the men were wearing masks and the women weren't. It was the other away around at the first store. Weird.

13. I have physically felt better this spring than I have in a long time. I think wearing a mask will become part of my routine when I am out. But I also think maybe the best place for me is here, at my home, where I've mostly stayed since the middle of March.


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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

Today, a list of female singers who have influenced me in some way. They're not in any order of preference.


1. Pat Benatar - I first heard her songs when I was in high school. She was among the first women to "rock out" and gave me hope for doing so myself (although I went in another direction). Patricia Mae Giraldo, known professionally as Pat Benatar, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and four-time Grammy Award winner. She has two multi-platinum albums, five platinum albums, three gold albums, and 15 Billboard Top 40 singles, including the Top 10 hits "Hit Me with Your Best Shot", "Love Is a Battlefield", "We Belong", and "Invincible". She was nominated for a 2020 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.



2. Joan Jett - I had just finished high school when I first heard Joan Jett singing "I love rock and roll" and doing it with joy and a growl. Joan Marie Jett is an American rock singer, songwriter, composer, musician, record producer and occasional actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and performing with the Runaways, which recorded and released the hit song "Cherry Bomb". The Blackhearts' version of the song "I Love Rock 'n Roll" was number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in 1982. Jett's other notable hit songs include "Bad Reputation", "Crimson and Clover", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", "Light of Day", "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Dirty Deeds".




3. Dolly Parton - The queen of country music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I watched her on the Porter Wagoner show. My parents listened mostly to country music when I was younger, so I know most of her early hits. (Once I could change the dial, unless a song of hers, such as "9 to 5" went to the Adult Top 40 charts as well as country, I rarely heard her.) I have a lot of admiration for Dolly Parton now, aside from the plastic surgery and botox stuff which I do not like. Still, she's got a good heart and has been quite the influence on younger musicians. Dolly Rebecca Parton is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s, her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records.




4. Chrissy Hynde - I am not sure when I first heard The Pretenders, Hynde's band, but I noticed her more in the 1990s than when I was younger. She can rock a guitar. Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She is a founding member and the guitarist, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, as well as its only constant member.




5. Sheryl Crow - I first became aware of Crow with her hit, "All I Wanna Do" and then followed her career for a while in the 1990s. I have several of her albums but as she turned more toward country, I stopped listening to her new work. I listen to her first four albums all the time, though. Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, country, jazz, and blues. She has released ten studio albums, four compilations, two live albums, and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. Her most popular songs include "All I Wanna Do", "Strong Enough", "If It Makes You Happy", "Everyday Is a Winding Road", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "My Favorite Mistake", "Picture" and "Soak Up the Sun". She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide. Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.




6. Melissa Etheridge - I became aware of Etheridge about the same time as I did Sheryl Crow. Etheridge is more rock, although some of her ballads and slow songs are incredibly beautiful. She's also quite a musician and guitar player. Melissa Lou Etheridge is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Her self-titled debut album Melissa Etheridge was released in 1988 and became an underground success. The album peaked at No. 22 on the Billboard 200, and its lead single, "Bring Me Some Water", garnered Etheridge her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female. In 1993, Etheridge won her first Grammy award for her single "Ain't It Heavy" from her third album, Never Enough. Later that year, she released what would become her mainstream breakthrough album, Yes I Am. Its tracks "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window" both reached the top 30 in the United States, and the latter earned Etheridge her second Grammy award. Yes I Am peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200, and spent 138 weeks on the chart, earning a RIAA certification of 6× Platinum, her largest to date.




7. Celine Dion - Everyone likes to make fun of Dion, and I have never understood why. I seem to lack the "make fun of" gene. I like her music, especially her work in the 1990s. She has a beautiful voice. I thought the theme from the Titanic movie that she did was lovely. Céline Marie Claudette Dion CC OQ is a Canadian singer. She is renowned for her powerful, technically skilled vocals, and remains the best-selling Canadian artist and one of the best-selling artists of all time with record sales of 200 million copies worldwide. Born into a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, she emerged as a teen star in her homeland with a series of French-language albums during the 1980s. She first gained international recognition by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, where she represented Switzerland. After learning to speak English, she signed on to Epic Records in the United States. In 1990, Dion released her debut English-language album, Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.




8. Stevie Nicks - What can I say about the wonderful, witchy Stevie Nicks? She rocked it as the lead singer in Fleetwood Mac and she is still rocking it. I was aware of Fleetwood Mac when I was in middle school, I think. I remember hearing a song with Christie McVie singing instead of Stevie and not believing it was Fleetwood Mac. The last CD I bought was a Stevie Nicks solo album. Stephanie Lynn Nicks is an American singer and songwriter. Nicks is best known for her work as a songwriter and vocalist with Fleetwood Mac, and her chart-topping solo career. She is known for her distinctive voice, mystical stage persona and poetic, symbolic lyrics. Her work both as a member of Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist has produced over forty top 50 hits and sold over 140 million records, making her one of the best-selling music acts of all time with Fleetwood Mac.




9. Linda Ronstadt - I saw Ronstadt in person when she toured in the late 1980s. It was a great concert. She certainly had a set of pipes on her and I was sad when I learned she has Parkinson's and can't sing anymore. Linda Maria Ronstadt is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, and Latin. She has earned 10 Grammy Awards, three American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music awards, an Emmy Award, and an ALMA Award, and many of her albums have been certified gold, platinum or multiplatinum in the United States and internationally. She has also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Golden Globe award. She was awarded the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Latin Recording Academy in 2011 and also awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award by The Recording Academy in 2016. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2014. On July 28, 2014, she was awarded the National Medal of Arts and Humanities. In 2019, she received a star jointly with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their work as the group Trio. Linda Ronstadt was among the five Honorees who received the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements, at the annual event on December 8, 2019, in Washington, D.C., at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.




10. Anne Murray - I know, you're wondering why she's stuck in here, aren't you? Because she has a beautiful voice and I love her sound quality. Morna Anne Murray CC ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country, and adult contemporary music whose albums have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her 40-year career. Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts, and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, "Snowbird". She is often cited as one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win "Album of the Year" at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album A Little Good News.




11. Aretha Franklin - I don't know that any list of female singers and musicians could leave out the Queen of Soul. I was in my 20s before I realized how important and influential she was. Aretha Louise Franklin was an American singer, songwriter, actress, pianist, and civil rights activist. Franklin began her career as a child singing gospel at New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, Michigan, where her father C. L. Franklin was a minister. At the age of 18, she embarked on a secular-music career as a recording artist for Columbia Records. While Franklin's career did not immediately flourish, she found acclaim and commercial success after signing with Atlantic Records in 1966. Hit songs such as "I Never Loved a Man", "Respect", A Natural Woman", "Chain of Fools", "Think", and "I Say a Little Prayer" propelled her past her musical peers. By the end of the 1960s, Aretha Franklin had come to be known as the "Queen of Soul".




12. Ann & Nancy Wilson (Heart) - It took me a while to appreciate Heart, but after some study I have come to the conclusion that Nancy Wilson is one of the best female guitar players in the world and Ann is probably one of the best singers. Of course they are aging so that may not be true as the younger women move onto the stage, but they can rock out. Heart is an American rock band formed in 1970 in Seattle, Washington by Steve Fossen, Roger Fisher, David Belzer, and Jeff Johnson. It evolved from an existing band, White Heart. Since 1973 the vocalists for Heart have been sisters Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson.




13. Cyndi Lauper - Lauper is another singer who has grown on me as I have aged, mostly for her activism and common sense. Her songs in the 1980s did not stick with me then, but as I have learned more about her, I find I admire her for constantly moving forward. Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album She's So Unusual was the first debut album by a female artist to achieve four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100—"Girls Just Want to Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop", and "All Through the Night"—and earned Lauper the Best New Artist award at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985. Her success continued with the soundtrack for the motion picture The Goonies and her second record True Colors. This album included the number one single "True Colors" and "Change of Heart", which peaked at number three.





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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

I don't understand the issue with masks. All the restaurants and stores here say, "shirt and shoes" required and people don't pitch a fit. I don't see people marching around with their removable penises (aka guns) in front of stores because they have to have on a shirt and sandals.

This is weirding me out. I am hearing stories of people in my own community being accosted by people who want to spit on them. If someone spits on me, I'm having them arrested for assault and I suggest anyone who is spat upon do the same.

Sheesh. The world we live in. Totally nuts.

We have tons and tons of laws. Most of them we obey without even thinking about it because, you know, we live in a society where other people matter. Or we used to. I'm not so sure about that anymore.

Anyway, here are 13 laws we all live by and I don't even have to look them up.

1. We stop the car at red lights so the traffic in the other lanes can go. We take turns!

2. We stop at stop signs and even have an arrangement that we all learn in driving school (the person on the right goes first) so we don't all turn into each other and have a collision.

3. Women have to wear something to cover their breasts and pubic area. Men just have to cover their pubic areas, because apparently men are unable to control themselves when they see a naked breast or something, I don't know. But anyway, I don't see people running around with guns saying "I want to be naked when it 25 degrees outside!" Or if they are, someone locks them away.

4. I have to sign for Sudafed at the drugstore counter and show my driver's license.

5. You have to be over a certain age to buy liquor.

6. You can't join the Armed Forces until you're a certain age.

7. You can't work (legally) until you're a certain age. That is why we don't have 8-year-olds flipping hamburgers at McDonald's. Are there people out there who want 8-year-olds to be flipping hamburgers? I would hope not, but I bet there are.

8. We use the blinkers on our car so people know not to slam into the back of the vehicle when we're making a turn.

9. We have brake lights on the car! And they have to work or else you get rear-ended.

10. You can't conceal a gun and carry it on your person without a permit except in certain circumstances. I mean, I guess you can, but if you get caught, you're doing something illegal.

11. You can't carry certain kinds of knives on you, like a switchblade or a machete or something. You want to go walking around with a machete? (That's Virginia Code 18.2-308, which also pertains to #10 there. I did look up the actual Code.)

12. You have to have insurance on your vehicle or pay a fee if you don't.

13. I can't purchase many, many types of medication without a doctor's prescription.

The Virginia Code is thousands of pages long. Who knows how many federal laws there are on the books - probably millions. All of these are laws that we are to follow for the good of society. Wearing a mask in public is for the good of society. It is not about you. It's about the kid with asthma, the older man with a heart condition, the young child born with diabetes. It's about your mamma, your papa, your sister and your kid.

It is high time people wake up and realize that they are not the only ones in the world. You live with a billion others. And guess what. You're not #1. Nobody is.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 657th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen #655

More Pandemic memes:

 

 

I understand the desire to reopen the country. I don't understand the problem with wearing a mask. You can't go into a store without a shirt and shoes. So why can't people simply wear masks to protect everyone else from whatever germs they may be carrying. If a store can keep others from seeing sorry hairy beer bellies or ugly heels then why is it so bad if they stop people from spewing spit and germs every time they open their mouths? How is saying "shirt and shoes required" any different from saying, "mask required"?


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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 655th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Thursday Thirteen

1. Yesterday, I went out. We rose at 6 a.m. and were at Kroger by 7 a.m. No toilet paper. Very little meat. We grabbed what we could on our shopping list and on my mother-in-law's list and left as quickly as possible.

2. I went because my husband has no idea where things are. I do. I could move us in and out much more quickly, and did so.

3. The Brambleton Avenue Hardware store has toilet paper. It is on the far side of the city, and they are charging $1 for a "commercial roll," which I suppose is the stuff you use at the grocery store that is not soft, and they are charging $1.89 a roll for Angel Soft. I think that is price gouging, personally, but I am not in retail.

4. Our adventure Wednesday was better than the one 10 days ago. It's too bad a head of lettuce won't hold up longer, but if you want fresh food you have to go to store. Unless I want to live on Vienna Sausages, soup, and Spam, I don't really see a way around going out from time to time.

5. I wore a surgical mask. My husband wore an N95 mask. I have trouble breathing through the N95 masks because of my asthma and I felt like that contributed to my overwhelming feelings of terror when we were last out. The surgical mask was better but also I felt more vulnerable. I couldn't help thinking about the Hero's Journey I posted the other week while I was in the store. It made me smile behind my mask. We all can be heroes, I guess.

6. I have been listening to Melissa Etheridge's free concerts from home every evening at 6 p.m. est. It has been a real joy to watch her play, to see someone who is a little older than me still getting it done, still playing and enjoying rock and roll. Yesterday she played two Rolling Stones songs and did a good job. Last night, she did an hour-long concert for free, with camera people and all. She played her hits. I was a bit disappointed in the camera work and I suspect she was too, because I'm sure she is hoping for a DVD release or something. Perhaps they were able to reshoot some of the things that were blurry or another camera angle that wasn't blurry will be edited in. But good on her for giving it a go.

7. We have supported local restaurants with curb-side pick up. It doesn't feel dangerous. So far so good.

8. I may ultimately end up doing the click it and pick it up thing with the grocery store. After all, if they aren't going to have meat and the veggies they do have look so tired you don't want to purchase them, then that would work for canned goods, etc. A loaf of bread is a loaf of bread, after all.

9. Interestingly, while I am enjoying the Melissa Etheridge concerts, and I have several of her albums and I listen to them, the songs I listen to the most are by Sheryl Crow, from her earlier albums. They are my background when I am writing or editing. Sheryl Crow and Melissa Etheridge competed against each other for Grammies back in the early 1990s. They are both 58 years old and have had cancer. I admire them both. Melissa is more rock, Sheryl is a little mellower. Apparently I write better to mellow.

10. Sometimes if I want real flourish, I write to the Lord of the Rings movie scores. I would like to learn to play some of those on the guitar, like this guy. He uses something called "drop D" tuning, which non-musicians will be clueless about, but basically it means you tune the guitar differently from standard tuning.




11. We have not yet received our stimulus money. Even dead people have received their stimulus checks before us. I'm not sure what they will do with it, since they're dead.

12. It rained 2" last night. I slept well. My newly retired husband is home too much because of the bad weather, though. He really needs a hobby. One that takes him out of the house. For hours at a time. I love him, but I miss my space.

13. I am listening to children's stories on my iPhone. They are soothing. We need soothing during these trying times. What soothes you?

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 653rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.