Politics, pop culture and entertainment news of interest to the LGBTQ community
I’m listening, again, to one of my very favorite songs of all time.
The simplicity of the guitar-driven track and the slow, deliberate tempo create the perfect soundscape with which to tell the poignant story of “John Doe No. 24.” Continue reading “Saturday Slow Down: Mary Chapin Carpenter ‘John Doe No.24’”
Making my way these days – COVID, writing, life – Billy Joel’s “Summer Highland Falls” (from his 1976 album Turnstiles) recently bubbled up in my psyche.
I have a real estate listing here in Las Vegas where the market is insanely hot for Sellers, but the flip-side to that is Buyers are having a tough, tough time getting offers accepted with so much competition.
In a wider view, I’m reminded of life’s highs and lows, seeing the other sides — of arguments, positions, perspectives…
“They say that these are not the best of times,” Billy got that right. And amid the pandemic, we find “there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own.”
Watching the political landscape, my spirit resonates with the sentiment, “So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise, and realize that nothing’s ever changed…”
And taking in the constantly roiling race relations across the country, I can hear the insight in Billy’s 1976 prose offering, “And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives with our respective similarities, it’s either sadness or euphoria…”
Billy has said in interviews it’s one of his favorite songs he ever wrote. Mine too.
The song began with the chords, but he developed the rolling piano figure to express the manic-ness he often feels.
Humanity in three minutes.
They say that these are not the best of times
But they’re the only times I’ve ever known
And I believe there is a time for meditation
In cathedrals of our own
Now I have seen that sad surrender in my lover’s eyes
And I can only stand apart and sympathize
For we are always what our situations hand us
It’s either sadness or euphoria
So we’ll argue and we’ll compromise
And realize that nothing’s ever changed
For all our mutual experience
Our separate conclusions are the same
Now we are forced to recognize our inhumanity
Our reason coexists with our insanity
But we choose between reality and madness
It’s either sadness or euphoria
How thoughtlessly we dissipate our energies
Perhaps we don’t fulfill each other’s fantasies
And as we stand upon the ledges of our lives
With our respective similarities
It’s either sadness or euphoria
My hubby Michael just sent this to me. I had to laugh out loud because this is SOOOOO me in the mornings.
I generally wake up pretty early (around 5am), quietly get my coffee, crawl back into bed, and check out the news landscape in silence 🙂
I don’t know who created it, but happy to give credit if I find out.
I’m catching up on a lot of chores around the house and wanted to share this serene Sunday moment.
Because you really want to see a man give water to a baby squirrel. The squirrel is so calm and trusting.
Take a second and just breathe with this.
Because you want to see a man give water to a baby squirrel. pic.twitter.com/D1TgFYI7DT
— Danny Deraney (@DannyDeraney) March 18, 2021
Happy Valentine’s Day!
I originally posted this ten years ago, in 2011, the first year of The Randy Report.
Hot hubby Michael and I have been together for more than 26 years now.
More wine…
With today being Valentine’s Day, obviously, my mind wanders to MY Valentine, Michael. That’s him, up above.
It’s hard to believe that we’ve been together 26 Valentine’s Days. Before we met, it looked like V Day was always going to be something to sing sad songs about.
Music is such a part of my life that I relate it to everything.
When people ask about the day Michael and I met, I explain that it was exactly as Oscar Hammerstein II wrote: “Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger; you may see a stranger across a crowded room; and somehow you know, you know even then, that somewhere you’ll see him again and again.”
I know, it sounds oh so cheesy, but it was that black and white. It’s just the best way to explain how I knew. There are days I can’t believe he’s in love with me. Still.
Not that we have this flawless romance.
On days we disagree, I simply remind him I’m his favorite 🙂
Interestingly, when we got married, we didn’t really have a song for the day because we were just so amazed that we were given the right to get married.
Probably the only big event in my life that doesn’t relate to a song. Just Michael.
It goes without saying that all day long today I’ll be playing various iterations of “My Funny Valentine.” It’s such a great tune, and so many awesome artists have brought it to life.
Barbra Streisand’s version is still my favorite. A bit of drama in the beginning, and then that thrilling climax.
And then there’s Ella Fitzgerald’s version – sublime.
I recommend you get all of them, sit back and enjoy.
I think I relate Valentine’s Day and romance to music because music has rhythm, hills & valleys and texture; a lot like time-tested love does.
A lot like Michael and I do.
Michael is my valentine; he’s the music that makes me dance. I hope you all dance the way we do. (that’s a euphemism, kids…)
I encourage everyone to pour a glass of wine, light some candles, turn out the lights, listen to some great music and enjoy.
Whether alone or with your honey, it’s a good day to remember to love someone. Someone else, or even if that someone is yourself. That might even be the best place to start.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.
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| Me and Vanessa Williams |
So, life is funny, sometimes.
As I arrived in Barcelona yesterday, I was reminded of this happy coincidence when I was here last year.
In August 2018, while traveling on the Atlantis cruise from Rome to Barcelona, I got word that award-winning actress/singer/dancer Vanessa Williams would be the surprise guest star on the cruise ship.
Longtime readers know I have been friends with the multi-hyphenate super-star since we were both freshman music theater majors at Syracuse University in the early 1980s.
We quickly traded emails excited at the prospect of seeing each other live, in person.
What happened was the bestest catch-up you can imagine as V and I, with my hubby Michael, spent just the most delicious hours laughing and smiling off the French coast near Nice, on the Atlantis cruise.
We explored Mallorca together, and I even joined her onstage during her concert (more about that later).
My apologies for the light posting today, as I was adjusting to the jetlag. But walking around Barcelona this afternoon, it was fun to remember the really wonderful company I got to keep just a year ago.
A dear friend of mine shared this today on Facebook, and wow, every single word resonated for me.
Small decisions can lead us to unexpected places. Small decisions can result in huge life choices.
But we can make the decision to undo those events; to choose to change direction.
I know this sounds like a bad Sunday morning cable ad, but its a truth worth repeating.
In my 20s, I fell in love with someone I cared for deeply. But the relationship was not healthy.
Even though we ended things after two years, the effects lingered in my life and behavior for years and years.
But, all these things are thoughts, and you can change a thought by changing your mind.
We are never “over the finish line” until we are over that final finish line.
Gay, straight, black, white, however you identify – the world will treat you as you treat yourself. Set your own best example.
I wrote this in two minutes because the video below spoke to me so hard.
Watch the video below.
Happy Saturday!
Loved the quick trip on Atlantis Cruise with Olivia: awesome few days aboard the Harmony of the Seas, but those were some long travel days there and back.
Since we joined cruise after initial departure, we had to be first off in Ft Lauderdale for immigration reasons. That meant a 5:30am call to disembark.
That gave me an 8-hour layover in Fort Lauderdale. Thanks to my buddy Chad for the chat and nap space before getting on to my 8-hour fly time home to Las Vegas.
It was sweet that one of my fellow Atlantis cruisers approached me at the airport to say he’d seen me on the ship and thought I was handsome but was too shy to say so.
He found his courage at my gate and I was really touched. Nice guy who lives in London and just wanted to finally say ‘hi.’ That was a cool postscript to the adventure.
And meeting Randy Report reader Devon on the ship was a highlight as well 🙂
Enjoying some chill time in my favorite space in the world. Bruno the wonder dog keeps wandering over to see if I have any food (nope), but I’m happy to have his company.
Hope everyone has a great weekend. #morewine #dogsrule #exhale
Ok, so it’s possible I may have done a bit of sleep-walking last night.
I woke up to find this in my refrigerator.
Now, where did the milk go…?
