'Toon Tuesday

The Lola Shuffle - The " ZOMG* What a Sucky Week" Edition"

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*ZOMG

Since my real life isn't stressful enough (yes, I know the stress is mostly in my own head - don't judge me!) I have embarked on a Second Life. And this week, within this second life, I have managed to find myself in two completely separate dramas - one of which I'm on the periphery, but the second one, oh I'm smack dab in the middle of that one.

It's ridiculous. I think that's why it's bothering me more than it should - I'm annoyed at myself for doing something stupid and not knowing better. I'm not trying to be mysterious, I promise, it's just that I don't want to mix the "two lives" - that would totally push me over the already precipitous edge.

I'll write more about Second Life at some point. Most of the time it's a lot of fun, but like real life, sometimes things get complicated.

So, Lola...do your magic...shuffle me up a good dose of whoopazz...or cheer me up - you decide.

1. Stir It Up - Bob Marley - Oy vey the irony!
2. Baby Can I Hold You - Tracy Chapman
3. Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds - The Beatles
4. Over My Head - Fleetwood Mac
5. Forever Young - Joan Baez
6. Saoco - Celeste Mendoza
7. Glory Days - Bruce Springsteen
8. It Doesn't Matter Anymore - Buddy Holly
9. Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain - Willie Nelson
10. Check On It - Beyonce and Slim Thug

Have a great weekend in whichever life you find yourself.

The Pandora Shuffle - The "Rest in Peace Mary Travers" Edition

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Mary Travers of Peter, Paul and Mary died this week. An iconic figure in American music, specifically the folk music movement of the 60s, her beautiful voice served as a clarion to inspire so much of the awareness and eventual change that decade provided.

Today, rather than a Lola shuffle, I'm using Pandora to provide music that is *genetically* related to the music of Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as songs performed by them. I created a Peter, Paul and Mary "station" and I'm going to list the first ten songs it plays.

1. Sloop John B - Kingston Trio
2. The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
3. Fly Away - John Denver
4. All My Loving - The Beatles
5. Shower the People - James Taylor
6. Day is Done - Peter, Paul and Mary
7. Flowers Never Bend With the Rain - Paul Simon
8. Monday, Monday - The Mamas and the Papas
9. Wild World - Cat Stevens
10. If I Had a Hammer - Peter, Paul and Mary (A perfect song with which to end, in it Mary's voice is particularly strong and clear!)

"If I had a song, I'd sing it in the morning, I'd sing it in the
evening all over this land. I'd sing out danger, I'd sing out a warning,
I'd sing about love between my brothers and my sisters all over this
land."

That's exactly what Mary , along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey did for so many years and in so many songs.

There's a new angel's voice in heaven this week and an angel's voice is always needed - in heaven and on earth. It's been a rough week for me and for people about whom I care very much. Listening to these songs, most of them quiet, gentle and inspiring, has helped.

Have a great weekend!

'Toon Tuesday on Wednesday!

Patrick Swayze

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Patrick Swayze has died. Like Farrah, we all knew it was coming and like Farrah, death was a welcome relief from a terrible disease. There are several parallels with Farrah Fawcett's death earlier this year. Both enjoyed (endured?) enormous fame - but arguably more so for being beautiful than for being talented actors, both were diagnosed with types of cancer which are virtual death sentences, both outlived expectations, and both left my generation with vivid memories.

We all watched as, despite defying the odds and living almost two years after being diagnosed, the strong, handsome Swayze deteriorated into a man who looked decades older than his 57 years. In my mind's eye, however, he'll always look like Johnny Castle from "Dirty Dancing" (above) or Sam Wheat from "Ghost".

I smile as I write this because it takes me back to a Saturday night in 1987 - I was 24 years old - and for some reason all the girls from my group of friends were dateless, so we all got together for dinner and to see "Dirty Dancing". I remember sitting there and watching Swayze - who I was aware of from previous movies but who hadn't really registered with me - oh my God he was beautiful! Like, painful beautiful. And the dancing, his body, the music, all of it right there on the huge screen. We all followed the sweet and simple rich girl falls for boy from the wrong side of the tracks story, we thrilled to the dancing and swooned to the love scenes.

One love scene in particular - the one where Baby goes to a shirtless Johnny's cabin and they wind up making love. Remember? We don't really see anything other than him taking her shirt off to reveal a chaste white bra and then running his fingers along her body as they dance. To this day, I find that to be one of the sexiest movie scenes I've ever seen. Nothing graphic, just sensual and romantic and...sigh. And then the ending, his redemption in her father's eyes, their triumphant final dance where Baby finally gets the lift right! At some level we knew they probably wouldn't go on to get married, but they - and we - will always have that summer in the Catskills.

As we left the movie, one of my friends, usually very straight-laced and conservative, looking quite flushed cried out..."Ay! I need a Slurpee!" We all did...

And a couple of years later "Ghost" - plot-wise a better movie than "Dirty Dancing" - with equally memorable scenes by two ridiculously beautiful people - Swayze and Demi Moore. I mean really...who cries better than Demi Moore in "Ghost" with that lone tear streaming down her perfect cheek? And remember the pottery scene - again, incredibly sensual and we really see nothing? And then of course the final kiss where Swayze is all glowy.

From all reports Swayze was a kind, decent man. Loyal to his wife to whom he was married for 34 years - nary a scandal about him, despite being People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 1991. So I guess the last line Sam says to his wife Molly in "Ghost" just as his spirit is set free to go to heaven truly applies to the actor who so memorably portrayed him:

"It's amazing, Molly. The love inside, you take it with you."

I hope he in fact takes his love with him as he joins the constellation of bright stars who have left us this year.

Rest in peace Patrick Swayze, thank you for giving so many of us "the time of our lives"...

The Lola Shuffle - The "Make Up for Last Week" Edition

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I'm sorry I missed last week's shuffle...I was busy and time got away from me. So today, Lola will shuffle up 20 songs to make up for the missed randomness.

Of course today is 9/11. Everything that has to be said has been said and then some. When I woke up this morning I found myself thinking about how I felt that day. Upon finding out there was initial disbelief and confusion. Then when they hit the Pentagon and we found out about the third plane there was panic. When I got home and started watching the endless coverage, I think I somehow skipped anger and went straight to deep, dull sadness.

That's what I feel today - sad for the victims, for the families of those we lost, for the country we used to be and will probably never be again, and for the subsequent victims - those who have died in the wars and their families. So much violence, tragedy and senseless loss.

So today I say a prayer for all those who were saddened to a degree that would seem unbearable. And today I gave my husband an extra kiss and a bigger hug when he dropped me off at work, because you just never know...

OK Lola...let's make up for lost time...

1. Dead and Gone - T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake (Wow - that was totally random!)
2. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
3. Wake Up Alone - Amy Winehouse
4. 'Round Here - Counting Crows
5. Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby? - Dinah Washington
6. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles
7. Ugly - Jon Bon Jovi
8. Jungle Love - Steve Miller Band
9. Cry! Cry! Cry! - Johnny Cash
10. Botch-A-Me - Rosemary Clooney
11. I Shot the Sheriff - Eric Clapton
12. The Dirty Boogie - Brian Setzer Orchestra
13. Come Away With Me - Norah Jones
14. Everywhere - Fleetwood Mac
15. Seven Bridges Road - The Eagles
16. Luck Be a Lady - Frank Sinatra
17. City of New Orleans - Willie Nelson
18. Anyone Else But You - Michael Cera & Ellen Paige ("Juno " soundtrack)
19. Someone Saved My Life Tonight - Elton John
20. New World Man - Rush

Have a safe and happy weekend!

'Toon Tuesday

Six Years Ago Today

I miss you Papi.

'Toon Tuesday