Throwback Thursday - tossing it WAY back

 

I still get off on the occasional Throwback Thursday post to Facebook. I know the trend has faded quite a bit from its original hey day 4-5 years back in favor of new trends and lists. But being that I have always been a photo fanatic, I enjoy it as a time to go through years of pics and bring some of those personal "classics" into the digital age.

Some are meant to shame; usually myself. Others are a keepsake of a special moment. Some are meant to jolt a friend back as a conversation piece. I am never embarrassed to post something that is either unflattering or bordering on inappropriate... But we all have those 1 or 2 pictures that are our worst nightmare. The ones that we hope never surface from a yearbook or holiday card.

Somehow the Mind Circle has stumbled onto a few of these. I would have to assume that the scorned parties were not asked if they would choose to submit these garish images into cyber space. And yet - here they are. "You've never looked - Worse!"



 

http://themindcircle.com/people-share-their-most-embarrassing-childhood-photos/

Backstreet Boys Blow It!

I am quite sure that I posted a parody video a few years back by One Direction on Dancing with the Stars where their vocals were dubbed; in horrible fashion. Apparently this is a new form of  "shattery" called Shredding. An actual video clip is taken from a noted public performance and then someone dubs atrociously bad vocals on top of it.

These artists, and I call them that, are better at lip syncing than most of the singers themselves. By watching, you can't believe that the sound is not actually coming out of the vocal cords and into the microphone. They are absolutely hilarious. There are entire stations on YouTube devoted to this craze. Since today is a rainy, dreary day with a bit of time to kill - I have gone into the vortex of the web and this is what I've come up with again.

So without further adieu, here are the Backstreet Boys performing "live" on Oprah.

And if that wasn't good enough; how about the original studio recording of We Are the World? OUCH!

Summer of Love

As summer comes to a close, a short reflection on both the glorious season and a look to the past. I am a bit inspired from my sister's Woodstock party she threw this month to celebrate.

1967! San Francisco. Although I was alive - I was far too disconnected from the radical flower children to really understand the world they were striving to live in. Our family was much more akin to the Mitch Miller Gang and Peter Paul & Mary. I was aware of the "folk" aspect, but had no idea about the hallucinogenic drugs and hippie culture that existed. I was however drawn to the fashion. The fringe vests, choker chains and suede Chelsea boots - mainly from the images I would see on television. They certainly weren't in our JC Penney catalogs.

Even the pop music I would listen to, went completely above my head. Groups like Santana, CCR, the Lovin' Spoonful, Jefferson Airplane or vocalists like Melanie, Janis Joplin or Joe Cocker were all there. But I am guessing I missed any insinuations of unrest or rebellion. I thought Goldie Hawn was sexy on Laugh In and only now understand just how cutting edge the show really was in defiance against the ruling classes. Kent State was just a short drive away, but to me it was just a story on television.

Even now, the images still conjure up joy and peace instead of a revolution. Hippies inspired a coolness to me not an aversion. And I wanted to be one of the cool ones. Time marches forward always.

For the Love of Animals

Everyone loves a dog, or their cat, or a fuzzy koala bear. I can't imagine my home without a dog at hand. And most of them came to me as a shelter animal; some critter that had fallen into the wrong hands and ended up in a pen with sad eyes. They are all broken in some way. Poor Riff was just too much of a handful for a family and needed some good coaching & structure. Waylon is an unknown, but I'm pretty sure that he was a hurricane or storm victim from Oklahoma and went wayward from a good home and never found his way back. He just wants a safe space to share.

This entry is a video feature via 60SecondDocs. The photographer is Alex from Australia and her calling is to showcase disabled animals. Damaged ones who still have an incredible sense of dignity and charm that translates into photos. They are misfits in the animal kingdom who might be blind, missing a leg or have scars from humans themselves. Like any good photographer she finds character in each and you can see a joy and a resilience in their eyes.

Slip of the Tongue

I would never call myself a linguist. Although, I do have a large vocabulary and took pride in winning the Spelling Bee in both 7th & 8th grades. But as I get older, I think my span of the English language shows itself in my letter writing and certainly my blogging. I also dabble a bit with my own cabaret lyrics as well as writing what I hope to be good script for my cabaret sets. Crossword puzzles can eat up hours of my time on a rainy day like today.

So when I stumble across an interesting feature on #Words, it piques my interest for sure. Especially when you bring politics into the mix! The Broadway force that is #Hamilton is a great arena where the two can clash with fireworks. Via a great story on the Mind Circle, it lists 30 "lost" words in the English language compiled by York University. With typical British "cheek" they also bounce off the tongue easily which makes them all the more fun to insert into conversations. All the words have something to do with corruption. Some favorites:

Coney–catch, b, v: To swindle, cheat; to trick, dupe, deceive

Quacksalver, n: A person who dishonestly claims knowledge of or skill in medicine; a pedlar of false cures

Peacockize, v.: To behave like a peacock; esp. to pose or strut ostentatiously

Merry-go-sorry, n. A mixture of joy and sorrow

Ear-rent, n. The figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk

Be sure to check out the article link so you can see the entire plethora of definitions. Use one in a sentence soon! 

30 Lost Words 

For Real?

A good dose of humor is often needed in these turbulent times. I found some prime examples of bad architecture and poor planning as a photo series. They are all compiled by Mind Circle. And must be seen to be believed. Take a look at the entire link as each one seems to get more convoluted than the previous. What the Hell were they thinking?

Mind Circle: Design Fails 

Adult Education

I have always been an inquisitive learner. I excelled in school and sort of conquered in college with 2 degrees and a Minor in 4 years! I just finished a mini MBA in my "elder" years. But in my daily life I am also constantly seeking new methods, uncovering new facts and exploring new fields. Continuing Education for the long haul.

I have never been the bookish type who learns from reading. I would rather DO and intuit by trail & error. I was surprised to stumble onto a suggested website via Facebook this week. How did I ever miss this in the first place? But a new virtual learning center called Masterclass.com. If you aren't familiar with the term - a Masterclass is a studio audience with a seasoned pro; or a Master in the field. There is an contingent of artists who are watching while a small handful of bold students are asked to come "on stage" and demonstrate where they are critiqued by the professional and given suggestions to improve upon said performance. It requires an open mind to be subjected to such scrutiny in front of peers. But it is also immediate for the entire class to learn valuable tools in real time.

So this concept of an on-line masterclass is brilliant in that you get many of the same lessons, without having to put yourself in the spotlight for feedback that can be intimidating. But most impressive are the credentials of the on line masters. These are not B-leaguers from Dancing with the Stars. They are true masters of their craft. Names like Ron Howard in film direction. Helen Mirren in Stage Acting. Hans Zimmer in Film Composition. Herbie Hancock in Jazz. The roster goes on and on into everything from Tennis to Chess. And what is even more impressive, is that they are not just a single session. Each topic has been broken down into a Program that packs lesson plans and plots out each step of development. For instance: Annie Liebowitz offers up a 15 class session on photography that goes from Portrait Photography to Working with Light to Influences. At $90, each class breaks down to around $7/ per. What a great bargain. Even better is to pay up $180 for unlimited access across the board. I may have to splurge on this!

Masterclass.com