Duran Duran

Do not underestimate the power this band has to draw a crowd. Big crowds. As in, fill-Wembley-Stadium-for-5-nights-big crowds.

So there I was reading up on them on Wikipedia. I went there to look up some petty little detail or another regarding their last album Red Carpet Massacre. Well I got more than I bargained for - hence the blog post.

I went and signed up for the member mailing list. And when I save up the money I'm going to buy an annual membership. Yeah, they're that good.

Ever since I profiled them here for National Duran Duran Appreciation Day I got such an education on their music that I simply wasn't expecting. I knew I liked The Reflex from back in the day; I knew that was a good, timeless song. I knew some of their other hits from that era were not my favorites. But then, I hadn't listened to them since their release either (yes, I'm that old, what of it!). So I settled in for a few hours of researching their music in order to write the blog post ... and I really haven't quit listening since! It has been an absolute pleasure rediscovering the hits I grew up with, as well as hearing some of the later stuff that I missed the first time around ("Ordinary World"; "Come Undone"; "What Happens Tomorrow"). Their song-writing, lyric-writing, vocals, the whole package, fits my music tastes exactly.

I really just went to Duran Duran's website to poke around and see if there was any chance they might still be touring the U.S. of A. the remainder of this year, because the Wikipedia article seemed to end right about now. I was THRILLED to see they are, in fact, still recording what will become their 13th album - and by all accounts, there is great anticipation surrounding this one! A tour shall accompany the release of this album sometime next year.

So. I've got a mission. And that mission is to attend a Duran Duran concert in my lifetime. Whatever other missions I said I had before, well, they're playing second fiddle now!

Patriot Day - 9/11 Ponderings and Looking Forward

Just today I met a tremendous fellow who writes about his experiences suffering with PTSD, which he got as a result of putting his ass in the line of fire in Iraq so that my ass can enjoy pursuing my cozy life here at home, out of the line of fire: Sgt. Patrick McNally, U.S. Army Retired. He found me on Blip.fm - he seemed to enjoy my music tastes, so I looked up his profile where he has his blog linked to.

I went to go read his blog. Boy did I get a lesson in PTSD from his writings. We've all heard how miserable it is for many of the soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Hospital; Sgt. McNally details his experience there, and how unhappy it made him and other soldiers (to say the least). It was a terrible experience; it continues to be a terrible experience for him now. He talks about the high rate of suicide there, and at the hospital he was medivac-ed to in Germany directly from combat in the war. His blog is better than any report you'll hear on the evening news because, well, he was there. You get the experience firsthand.

Is it hard to read? Yes, but imagine how much harder it is for him - he's the one that has to live with the reality.

Today, I ask you dear readers to go spend some time reading what Sgt. McNally has to say, and maybe say 'thank you' to him today for all he did, and all he's suffering with now. As a blogger, I can tell you receiving comments from people just makes my day. Feedback is the elixir of a blogger's life. If nothing else, leave him a comment saying 'Thank You'.

Where do we go from here? I believe if we use 9/11 to not only look back and remember, but also to re-evaluate so that we can move forward, perhaps that's how we can make things better for Sgt. McNally and other soldiers like him.

Postscript: I know the sight of George W. Bush's face upsets many of my readers; it is my hope you'll look past your emotional reaction to focus on the other man in the picture, Sgt. McNally. It was the best picture of him I could find on his blog.

Sad day

I cancelled my WoW account. I am very unhappy about this. Although I am loving Jade Dynasty I have a LOT invested in WoW. And now it's going to be who knows how long before I can play again.

It's probably just as well, because I really wasn't playing. And I've only invested a month this time.

Still.

Phooey. I hope you're happy.

I ♥ Jade Dynasty

I am really enjoying this game. I've discovered the forums too, where there are some very good, very comprehensive beginner guides to be found.

More than anything, I'm enjoying having some time off. I started a blog post over the weekend that I never got around to posting, but it was mainly a bitch session about how overworked and apathetic I was feeling. So you didn't miss anything there.

So this free time, such as it is, is pretty great right now. Next up - World of Warcraft. Must level warlock on World of Warcraft!

---

Oh yeah, speaking of which ... over the weekend we aired a story about a young man who committed a horrible crime and used World of Warcraft to do it. 21-year-old Trevor Lucas met a boy on WoW and asked him to send nude pictures of himself. When the boy refused Lucas showed up at the boy's house who lives in Wisconsin (Lucas lives in Massachusetts) and threatened his mom.

Let me say right now this is NOT typical behavior you encounter in World of Warcraft! I've been playing the game for 4 1/2 years - my husband and I have met many, many people from the north to the south, from east to west, and everywhere in-between. We have met people who are great, annoying, liars, cheaters, socially distant, social butterflies, you name it ... no doubt there are unscrupulous types out there. The gold spammers and account hackers are about the worst we've encountered. Players run the gamut - there are white collar professionals, moms and dads, college, high school, and grade school students, whole entire families playing World of Warcraft.

But at no time have we ever encountered men like Trevor Lucas. Shame on him for giving World of Warcraft the kind of bad name it truly doesn't deserve. The story we aired is below (although not in our format):



Dear reader, keep in mind, this type of thing has been going on since instant messaging was invented. Hell, since the internet was invented. It's obvious the mom was involved in her son's life and on-task when the stranger showed up at her door, and good for her. The mom is more indicative of the type of people you meet on World of Warcraft than Trevor Lucas is.

Remembering the Abolition of the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, and Rudolph Valentino

International Day For The Remembrance of The Slave Trade & Its Abolition
On the night of August 22, 1791 in Santo Domingo (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) an uprising started a revolution, and that revolution helped paved the way to the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) designated today, August 23, as a day to remember a time when there was a way of life that no human being should ever endure, but also to promote tolerance and human rights.

Nowadays we are being asked to focus on our modern-day form of slavery: human trafficking. Human trafficking is going on right here in Florida. We have reported on trafficking rings getting busted up in Collier County for example, but it also happens elsewhere in the state. It's not unique to this area either nor is it confined here. Human trafficking is a bustling business, so to say slavery is 'dead' is inaccurate.

Remember that nobody has the right to take away another human being's freedom and rights by coercion, not for any reason, but especially not for exploitation. Slavery the way it happened in the transatlantic trade routes 200 years ago may be a tragic memory now, but slavery still exists, from the human trafficking taking advantage of non-English speakers from all over the world who are desperate to leave the extremely poor conditions of their homeland, to the spouse living with abuse inside a home with no witnesses. No type of slavery is acceptable, and it will take all of us working together to bring it all to an end.

---

Valentino Day
Rudolph Valentino scorched the big screen at the genesis of the movie industry's golden age, the silent era. Known as the "Latin lover" his sex appeal reached far and wide: women swooned for him causing men to emulate his style. He is best known for his work in The Sheik and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

On this date in 1926, Rudolph Valentino died of complications from appendicitis and gastric ulcers. And when I say complications I do mean complications. I could hardly believe my eyes - the following is from the Wikipedia on Valentino:

On August 15, 1926, Valentino collapsed at the Hotel Ambassador in New York City, New York. He was hospitalized at the Polyclinic in New York and an examination showed him to be suffering from appendicitis and gastric ulcers which required an immediate operation. The operation was a success but Valentino's condition had become so aggravated by then that peritonitis set in and spread throughout his body. On August 18 his doctors gave an optimistic prognosis for Valentino and told the media that unless Valentino's condition changed for the worse there was no need for updates.^[68] However, on August 21 he was stricken with a severe pleuritis relapse that developed rapidly in his left lung due to the actor's weakened condition.^[68] The doctors realized that he was going to die, but decided to withhold the prognosis from the actor who believed that his condition would pass. During the early hours of August 23, Valentino was briefly conscious and chatted with his doctors about his future. He fell back into a coma and died a few hours later, at the age of 31.

I prefer to focus on the man's work and his Leo DiCaprio-like handsome looks. In fact, I wonder why DiCaprio hasn't portrayed him in a movie about his tragically short life yet? That's who I'd pick, and not just for the looks either.

---

And this concludes my NaBloPoMo challenge. Today is the 30th day I have posted to this blog, and I am just barely making the cut waiting until well after 10pm eastern time!

But I made it. Pardon me while I go break my arm patting myself on the back...