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Category: What This Really Says About Me (Page 15 of 15)

YouTube Overdose

EdgarbigheadYesterday was a hard day, a real hard day. I woke up from a night of crazy dreams, including one where I was stuck in a haunted house with The Edgar Winter Dog (pictured right). In the dream, the house kept shifting itself around so that my bedroom window, normally facing the backyard, was suddenly facing the street. What could that mean about my psychological state?

The past few weeks and days have been an endless stream of discouraging poetry project news which is making me feel pathetically sorry for myself. I’m suffocatingly behind on all of my projects and overbooked socially (Although I loved them, I can’t face anymore grind house festival movies). I needed some R&R time, some me time. Then my new iPod spontaneously broke itself. The last song it ever played was "Take Me Home." It wouldn’t surprise me if the thing went on Cher-strike. I didn’t even get a chance to upload the new John Waite song I had downloaded from iTunes, "Universal Soldier."  A great new song but very depressing! Hence, I was a muddled heap of inert despondency by mid-day.

So what did I do? I drowned my sorrows in Cher Scholar tasks. I posted two blog entries and uploaded the remaining Ask Cher Scholar Q&As from Zine 2 (including information on what to do with your 401(k) and how to increase your vocabulary).

After that I tried to peruse Cher clips on YouTube. The more I found the more I was finding. I found I couldn’t digest them all –  while watching one treasure, I would get distracted by another cool gem.

Which reminds me of a recurring dream I had as a young impressionable tween. I’d be in a used record store and I would find all these rare Sonny & Cher albums. Either I wouldn’t have any money or I’d lose the album among all the other records in the bins before making it to the cash register. This whole YouTube search felt like an flashback.

Maybe it’s technology that’s making me feel unhinged. While posting the Ask Cher Scholars, my version of MS Publisher had to be re-loaded. I went to a friend’s house for dinner and she couldn’t get her Tivo to work with her new HD TV. With my iPod suddenly becoming corrupted, I was feeling suddenly strangled by technology. And too much information.

YouTube is now a phenomenal source for getting rare video footage of your favorite things. And that’s where the some fabulous Cher magic really is – in the video clips. The Michael Dougles interview with the flowered headpiece…Cher is blooming herself. My Heart Belongs To Daddy is another great energetic early 80s performance I didn’t even know existed. Re-watching Cher call David Letterman an asshole, it’s all golden.

This all should have been an early evening of fun for me but I was too much in a funk about the too-much-ness I was facing. A kid in a candy store suddenly over-sugared. And still today, I feel too scattered to concentrate. And strangely powerless and small. But then if I give up into it…it feels kind of chaotically peaceful.

That’s it. I’m losing my mind.

Kansas City

Bbq So where in the hell have I been? I left for a weekend of Meet-The-Folks and came back to find two weeks worth of ASAP emails and ToDos! I was swamped and couldn’t catch my breath, as the fearless leader of the Barry Manilow fan club used to say.

I left sunny Southern California on Friday and arrived in Kansas City just as the blizzard did. What an interesting ride to our hotel in rush hour, slipping and sliding around the roads with the poor commuters, except we weren’t grouchy because we were on vacation.

While I was in town I met my significant roomie’s mother, sister, brothers, nieces and nephews (everyone was very welcoming and friendly; however, there’s a short story in there somewhere), had some delish BBQ (I’m a vegetarian; I dipped my fries), and the best milkshake I’ve ever had at Winsteads.

Another highlight of the trip was touring the Steamboat Arabia, a riverboat some treasure-hunting yokels dug up in the yard of a farmer. Yes, you heard me: a river boat sunk deep under some dude’s corn field. The boat hit a snag and sank in the 1800s; and then the river up and moved. No foolin. Definitely worth a trip to see.
    

Rusty Dennis, the FCC and Africa

People79 Whoa, Nelly! It’s 15 days since my last post! I feel terrible. I feel rusty already. No pun intended. Rusty Dennis, the woman Cher portrayed in Mask, died last week. We should all watch Mask in her honor. Rusty was one of Cher’s best performances. You can read my review is on Cher Scholar. I need to update it for the newest DVD release from last year. Interesting differences between the studio version and Peter Bogdanovich’s Director’s Cut. The new version has director’s commentary (a must for the truly obsessed), phenomenal background/deleted scenes (Cher singing even!) and Cher’s plug for the CCA. As a humble Cher scholar, I feel the need to have both versions on my shelf. The differences between the two raise pertinent questions for film-theory discussion, including “How does background music affect the tone of the film.” This issue spelled controversy when the film was released and is a valid study on soundtracking and attention to detail. I saw Peter Bogdanovich give a talk last year on the film. He spoke in his affected way about prefering natural background music. He said a lot of other things which will be included in an article for the next Cher zine. But hey, this paragraph should be about Rusty! She was a hard-living character and the story of her life is sad. Besides Rockey (Roy) Dennis, who died in his teens, she had another son who died too young. To her credit, her death was big news on the AP this week which means people remember her character and care about the movie. Read the AP news story.

Hard news to follow; but the reason I’ve been so remiss in posting is–I moved last week. I now live near the beach in Venice, California. I moved all of 15 or so blocks. Still, there’s been a lot of drama surrounding this move. For one, I moved in with my boyfriend. Last month, my parents asked me pointed questions about this like “will their be a bed in the spare bedroom?” Apparently, they weren’t thrilled about my living in sin (Trivia alert: Cher sang backup for Gene Simmons’ song "Living in Sin" in the late 70s). I heard about my parents’ feelings officially through their next door neighbor who emailed me. I told my mother I was 37 and too old to be pure.

Cher is too, apparently. Recently, the FCC said they would like to take Cher and Nicole Richie and wash their mouths out with soap. Okay…maybe that was my mother who said that. Turns out, way back during the Believe era when Cher was on The Billboard Music Awards in 2002 getting a lifetime achievement award, she said “F*#k ‘em!” The FCC has reversed an earlier ruling and decided the F-word is not an approved word for television, whether it’s used as an exclamation, noun or adjective. I don’t remember the F-word incident at all and I watched the show live from my apartment in Yonkers, New York, a dump of a place right off the Hudson river. But it doesn’t surprise me that Cher would pick her first primetime lifetime achievement award to swear like a sailor. She’s got a f*#king potty mouth, that one! I remember when I was nine years old and sick with the flu. My parents brought that People Magazine with the Vegas outfit on the cover to cheer me up. It was riddled with “swear-outs.” I was so disillusioned. I had probably just had my own mouth washed out with soap days earlier, but it didn’t matter. Cher wasn’t like me; she wouldn’t swear! She was a glamorous lady, above such gutter talk. It took me a few months to get over it; but then I decided, if those words were good enough for me and my mother (who said sh*t every time something broke), they were good enough for Cher.

Here are some excerpts from the article on the FCC ruling:

“Broadcasters have alleged that the FCC inconsistencies, combined with its more aggressive enforcement and Congress’ tenfold hike in maximum indecency fines, to $325,000 per violation, have chilled the industry…In 2003, the FCC’s staff concluded that the "F-word" was allowed as an adjective, rejecting complaints about U2 singer Bono’s use of the word in that way during the 2003 Golden Globes Awards telecast.”

Bono gets away with murder!

“But in March 2004 — amid public outcry after Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime telecast — the FCC reversed itself, ruling any variation of the "F-word" referred to sexual activity and was almost always indecent."

Damn it, but it all comes down to Janet Jackson’s boob! Read the entire article.

I’ve said sh*t and f*#k alot this week. For some reason my most recent move has come with its share of breakdowns. I’m not talking about my breakdowns of which there have been at least three. I’m talking about technology and apartment malfunctions. I broke my boyfriends shower head and his favorite ceramic soup ladle. All my remotes have inexplicably stopped working. For instance, to play a DVD, one must now turn on the stereo receiver first and set it to CD. Hang on because it never makes any more sense than this. Then, you have to turn on the VCR and put in a video cassette so the VCR will switch itself to VCR mode. Then you must turn the VCR channel to AUX and press play on the DVD player. It took me three days to figure it all out.

All that plus tons of job interviews, not to mention this is the busy social season. We’re also hosting a small Thanksgiving dinner this year for four. I’m swamped, I tell you, and I can’t catch my breath! I’ve had absolutely no time for Cher thoughts. And yet…they have accumulated in my head like uninvited little vagabonds.

It was just reported on BBC news that Cher plans to take an African trip to help Robert and Eleanor Wood buy land and build a school for some little Kenyans who have no food or pencils. It’s really great that Cher has been focusing so much time on charity work lately. The US holiday Veterans Day a week or so ago reminds us about her contribution to The Fallen Heroes Fund. The BBC article claims Cher told Robert Wood, “…when I start a project, I finish it.” She couldn’t have said that, I feel. Surely not. Or I’d have a Mame DVD directly in front of my two Mask DVDs on the shelf above my inexplicably complex DVD/stereo system at my new apartment.

   

Kiss and Make Up

Movieworld76april_1Okay. I feel bad about my last post. I’m sorry. I’ve been there, man. Once I told my family I was skipping vacation with them in order to camp out for tickets to a John Waite show. That obsessive moment is still part of family lore. However, my worst story took place when I was 13 or 14 years old. I freaked out when my Dad couldn’t get the VCR working to tape Cher on The Phil Donahue Show. The show was airing and not only was our VCR on the fritz, but so was the cable!I thought I was in the third circle of Hell. I had a bona fide conniption fit. My father calmly walked out of the room and refused to fix or repair anything for me for a year! I learned my lesson. Don’t freak out at the person trying to help you tape Cher on The Phil Donahue Show. Years later I saw a bootleg copy of the show. And believe me, finally watching it didn’t cause any revelations in my life; but I love collecting Cher stuff, there is no doubt. I am, myself, obsessed. I too am an introverted soul who has, in times past, found it easier to profess love for celebrities than for real people. Real people can be so nutty. The truth is if we knew them, celebrities would drive us nuts, too. Having the luxury of not knowing them makes it so much easier to love them.

And so the intervention I recommend is not a pill I wouldn’t swallow myself. For every thirty hours of celebrity obsession, do one hour of community service or one hour hour (at least) of self-education on world events if you can’t stand the thought of getting out there in the real world just yet. I wouldn’t give up my box of Cher magnets and I wouldn’t ask you to give up your worn-out six-inch single of “Wasn’t It Good.”

Friends?

What’s It All About….Alfie

Pic19490Something’s been nagging my craw the last two days: obsession with trivial things. Don’t say it! I know what you’re thinking. Let me just split hairs here for a minute. I’m specifically talking about people who freak out over trivial things due to their unchecked obsession. If you have an obsession, good for you. I’m not here to judge. Just don’t get your nylons in a snit over it is all I’m sayin’.

Who reminded me of this issue: 1) someone on the Cher Yahoo group who has been chronically upset about the Cher auction and 2) Yankee fans. The chronically upset Cher fan has been complaining about the inappropriateness of the Cher auction and poor Cher fans (as in Cher fans with no money not Cher fans with misfortunes such a living rooms never to be graced with the presence of a Cher end table). I like opinions. I’m all for opinions. It’s good to have an opinion and flex it. Especially on voting day. But this person is seriously upset, such as they say: beyond the pale. Her latest beef is over the high-priced hard cover auction catalog from Sotheby’s that has yet to arrive, days after the auction is over. Maybe Sotheby’s is waiting for Cher to sign them. We don’t really know. A frustrating delay—I agree. But this one’s really pissed off. Meanwhile, the recently departed Yankee player Cory Lidle (his private plane recently slammed into an Upper East Side Manhattan building) had to call into the New York Mike and the Mad Dog Radio radio program the day before his death to defend himself against comments such as this: “"Cory, tell me what other Yankee fan out there is getting to enjoy his Monday after you guys stunk the house out! Sorry pal, but people who make 20 million dollars a year to do a job don’t get to enjoy a day with their family when they didn’t do their job!" A day later, he’s dead.

Now why exactly couldn’t Mad Dog enjoy October 10, 2006? Because his neighborhood baseball team lost a season? A baseball team that wins pretty much every other freakin season? That’s what makes it impossible for him to function as a happy person?

Be careful when you’re a fan. Is this a life and death interest for you? Does this team or person actually improve your quality of life? Be honest. Does this team or person help you earn a living? Can your team or person influence or alter world events? Has this team or person directly helped you in some way that didn’t involve just being there for you? Did their “being there for you” at any time involve a ticket of admission or receipt from Tower Records? It’s very possible you may be taking the fan relationship too personally. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news. You’re obsessed. Unless you’re a fan of Bono (and it’s still questionable what influence he’ll have on the world all at the end of the day). Maybe a baseball player or an artist is some hero of yours, maybe they keep you from a daily descent into the blues. So be it. It’s not war and death. Short of war and death and your local Piggly Wiggly strike, calm down. Some of you are celebrity obsessed and your affliction is creepy. Go watch Animal Planet and talk yourself down! Or better yet, go read the news. No People Magazine or Sports Illustrated for a week for you!

People….People Who Need People…

Halloweendog I’ve only been blogging for a week and I’m already behind. There just so much to talk about: auction wrap-up, Cher-kid activity, my favorite Cher sites, goings on in forum chat, the Convention, Cher outfit watch. Today I planned to talk about some Cherities as I’d been razing Cher’s massive redecorating efforts and wanted to take a moment to discuss her more noble causes. But it’s week two and I’m already feeling overwhelmed and wishing Cher would take a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous moment to San Tropez so I can catch my breath.

This past weekend I took some time to answer initial feedback and response to the I Found Some Blog and it reminded me I should take a moment to discuss the unheralded but steadfast Cher fan community the auction had recently put me back in touch with.

At the auction preview, I spoke with impersonator Chad Michaels and fans Erika DeCiutiis (contributor to the first Cher Zine) and Javier Ozuna (who ran this year’s museum at the convention and spoke on the seminar panel). I also connected with fans on the yahoo group Cher—about Halloween costumes and controversy regarding the auction. See? I don’t even have time to talk about that! In a nutshell, many fans were defending Cher’s choice to auction off her discards;  but a few claimed she was making a fool of her fans and “laughing all the way to bank.” My note to fans who are still upset about not snagging an overpriced Cher shawl: Go visit Starwares.  Maybe due to all this bickering, no one seemed to be posting on their auction winnings. Maybe they were embarrassed, having spend too much on a pair of Raybans. I came out and brazenly asked, did anyone I know clinch anything?

A few did. One fan picked up a costume for 8k, another bought the child-sized Cher show jacket for a little over 1k. Eileen Bovee picked up a book with some Cher scrawl in it and the Pascal Morabito reversible watch (lot #426) for 3k. Another fan got a French gilt-metal picture frame (lot #742) for a steal at $650.

I also leaned that LA-based, kitschy slide-show archivist Charles Phoenix was at the auction doing a story for NPR. He mentioned the Hearst Castle connection as noted by Ape Culture during the preview. He also interviewed Bob Mackie himself and a representative from Comisar, a large archivist of TV memorabilia, who was willing to outbid fans for Bob Mackie dresses which Comisar called touchstones of the 70s, worth many thousands of dollars.

By last Friday I felt like I had been to a business conference and had passed out business cards like Willy Loman to familiar cohorts I run into once every few years. Through casual emails you do come to know more about fellow fans than just Cher stuff. It’s nice to find out what else is going on in other lives. How’s your husband? How’s work going? Thanks for including me in that mass mailing of dogs in Halloween outfits.

I’m just feeling my way through this blogging stuff but I think I’m learning what sets the medium apart from diary posts on a website. For some reason, blogging is a more seamless way of connecting with people. It’s like a website has this invisible wall separating the creator from the readers. Blogging is not just the sum of its cold facts and flat opinions…and it certainly has the power to rise above extensively self-absorbed diatribery. I’m surprised to find there’s something more social about it, possibly even something more human.

I’d Be a Superfan of Albert Goldbarth But There’s No Doll

I found some blog…to take away the heartache…to take away the loneliness I been feeling since you’ve been gone. Does it bother me that there’s a grammatical error in the above Cher song fragment? No it does not. But it should.
 
Welcome to my Cher blog. Your daily dose of Cher. I am a humble cher scholar and I’ve been yakking about Cher theories since I was five years old circa 1974. My parents had no interest in my quantitative analysis of Sonny & Cher show skits or in listening to my angst about the difficulties of assembling the S&C doll stage set. So here I am, blogging into the nethers of webspace hoping someone else will “get it.”

   

Soon I’ll be discussing books, conventions, fan clubs, websites, scandalous gossip, photos, toys, Withgeffen1_3 Cher history, Cher product, songs, movies, TV shows, the trials and tribulations of being a Cher fan and other unrelated stuff about me.

   

But why beige? This blog’s color palette was chosen from a very limited selection of Typepad color palettes for two reasons: #1-in honor of the lack of color in most of Cher’s houses and #2-in honor of the man who refurbished Cher’s career with a new TV show development deal and a record label contract after Sonny was making his big exodus from Cher’s career. Cher didn’t like this person’s limited wardrobe colors and told him so in this many words. Hence, the I Found Some Blog color palette is dedicated to David Geffen, a.k.a. Mr. Beige.

   

You can find out more about me and my credentials at: www.cherscholar.com or under the About Us link to the left.

 

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