Heart Of Glass

 

"Where words leave off, music begins."

~Heine

I'm tired, but music gives me life. This is music from my era. Say what you want about music from the 1980's but to we who grew up in that time, it's sweet relief. I guess all generations say that. But the emotion is as timeless as the music!

Expect to see more videos, as we navigate the times we find ourselves in!

Pop A Wheelie

 

 

“Sometimes it's easier to gain traction

 once you slow the spinning wheels.” 

~Curtis Tyrone Jones 

 

Meet my new wheels. Her name is Phoebe, named after the cute little bird, that happens to be one of my absolute favorite birds to watch! Don't worry, I'm okay, but my knees aren't! As I have explained on X and Threads, I put my knees through too much in my younger days. I was told I would regret high heels, but to tell you the truth, I don't. They made my legs and ankles look terrific. They gave me height. But by the time I reached my mid 30's I knew it was time to put the flats on and enjoy not having swollen feet. I continued to do a fair amount of walking, and some like biking, you know, around town, but the damage was done, and that damage continued right up until last week, when it was suggested that I needed to use the chair, if I was going to go to remote places to do my birding, or consider moving on to a new hobby. Well, that wasn't going to happen! So, my cute little red Mini Cooper is still my main set of wheels, but you can call my new wheelchair that sporty little convertible that my daring husband pushes me around in on the weekends when we go birding. I am a very lucky woman!

 

And I have a wonderful husband!

 

Black Phoebe

 Baby photo

September 2021

#2 Michael Jackson - Thriller (Official 4K Video)

 

   

“It's as much fun to scare as to be scared.”

~Vincent Price 

 

Lordy I loved being a young adult in the 1980's. I was 20 when Thriller was released in 1982. I loved it! Of course I did, it blended two of my favorite things, music and spooky stuff! And who didn't run straight to MTV in their spare time. Oh my, looking back it was all kinda simple, but oh my, we sure had fun!

ENJOY!

Thriller

By Michael Jackson

 

 It's close to midnight and something evil's lurkin' in the dark
Under the moonlight you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes,
You're paralyzed

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one's gonna save you from the beast about to strike
You know it's thriller, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
Yeah
Ooh

You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl
But all the while you hear a creature creepin' up behind
You're outta time

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain't no second chance against the thing with the forty eyes, girl
Thriller, ooh, thriller night
You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight

Night creatures call
And the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There's no escaping the jaws of the alien this time (they're open wide)
This is the end of your life, ooh

They're out to get you, there's demons closing in on every side (ooh)
They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night I'll save you from the terror on the screen,
I'll make you see

That this is thriller, thriller night
'Cause I can thrill you more than any ghoul could ever dare try
Thriller, ooh, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, chiller
Thriller here tonight

'Cause this is thriller, thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghoul could ever dare try
Thriller, ooh, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller (ow)

I'm gonna thrill you tonight

[Vincent Price:]
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'all's neighborhood
(I'm gonna thrill you tonight)
And whomsoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse's shell

[Michael Jackson:]
I'm gonna thrill you tonight...

Thriller, ooh, babe (Thriller)
I'm gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller night)
Thriller, oh, darling (Oh, baby)
I'm gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller)
Ooh, babe (Thriller night)
I'm gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller)
Oh, darling (Oh, baby)
Thriller night, babe (Thriller night, babe)
Ooh

[Vincent Price:]
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
(Thriller night, thriller)
And grisly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
(I'm gonna thrill you tonight)
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

 

Watching And Waiting

 

"And so the problem remained; lots of people were mean and most were miserable, even the ones with digital watches."

~Douglas Adams

 Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy

 

I don't especially like digital watches. I learned to tell time on a good old fashioned analog clock, and by the way, the very same classroom also contained an abacus! Shrug. I don't know, I suppose all things digital was cool enough when I first noticed they existed, but they seemed like cheating on time somehow. Same numbers. Same time. Shrug. But somehow they just never clicked with me. Even my ultra fashionable Swatch watch from the 1980's was an analog, god I wish I could find it, it's only worth like a gazillion dollars now. Go figure, you never know what will increase in value do you? Too bad time itself doesn't get more valuable as you grow older. It just ticks away, and one day you realize that it has caught up with you and perhaps, in fact, has gone past you. I guess watching time, doesn't necessarily mean one understands it's implications.

The first watch I ever bought myself.

Mervyns 1983

My favorite watch to wear for "malling".

Macy's 1984

I have a sizeable collection, but these are my favorites.

~Carly

 

But First, A Word From Our Sponsor

 

 

 

"Time was passing like a hand waving from a train I wanted to be on. I hope you never have to think about anything as much as I think about you."

 

~Johnathon Safran Foer

 

A while back, I had the idea of sharing some of my favorite movies from the 1970's and 80's that I had happily found available on Youtube. Then for whatever reason, I promptly dismissed doing so. I am not sure why I drifted from the idea, because I had recently enjoyed bringing a fairly good horror movie to my blog, that had been produced especially for ABC in the early 70's. When Michael Calls, still gives me chills 50 years later. It had ALL the elements of a good horror movie. Damsel in distress. A ghost (maybe). Eerily effective music. And, of course, it was set in autumn, right around Halloween. Oh my, I was in bliss watching it as a child, and I loved that every time it crossed my mind thereafter, I had to sleep with the light on. I exaggerate, but only a little. Who wouldn't enjoy sharing that on their blog, or anywhere else?

 

But fast forward to the here and now. The movie I am sharing this time around, Compromising Positions, isn't horror, rather it's a nifty whodunit from the 1980's, based on a the book, of the same name, by Susan Isaacs, who just happens to be one of my favorite authors. It stars, Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia, and the supporting cast lead by, Judith Ivey and Anne De Salvo, is top notch! If you haven't seen it, give it a watch, it's one of those movies that really should be on DVD by now, but for whatever reason, remains in the backroom of the great Blockbuster in the sky. And that's a real shame. But first, enjoy a word from our sponsor, Swanson TV Dinners, which I was probably eating the night I watched this cool little mystery on VHS. VHS and tv dinners. Of course it was the 80's!     

 

~Me

Stockton, Ca

August 31st, 2021

 

 

 

Monday, Monday... Can't Trust That Day

"Sometimes souls don't need words to communicate. They  speak with each other through signs, symbols, deep feelings and poetry!"

 ~Avijeet Das

And old fashioned forms of communication from the 1980's.

Cool isn't it? Alan and I went on a ride to San Francisco last Saturday, and we spotted this pair of gems at the Vista Point, on the Marin County side, of the Golden Gate. It really made me laugh because, frankly, I hadn't seen a phone like this in ages! Isn't it something? I'll be looking for more of them when vacation starts in October. I have been missing the 70's and 80's very much, especially the last few years, so spotting these made for a nice surprise. I had no idea they were still a thing!  When I saw them, there was something so wonderfully nostalgic in that moment, that I kinda felt for a minute like I was back home. You know? Back when life didn't move so damn fast, and things stayed the same, until you were ready to say, "okay... I'm ready, lets go." Believe it or not, there was such a day. I remember it. Don't laugh. I do. I think it was a Monday. There problem is, that by the time that last Monday that made sense occurred, it was followed by the next Monday that changed everything. Like the song says, Monday, Monday... can't trust that day." I wonder if 1980 would have been on the other end, if I had answered it?

 

A Late Summer Twilight By The Pacific Ocean

"The pacific is my home ocean; I knew it first, grew up on it;s shore, collected marine animals along the coast.

 I know its moods, it's color, its nature."

~John Steinbeck

Travels With Charley: In Search Of America 

Saturday was a lot of fun! I wasn't sure at first I would be going because the my orange monster cat Dylan gave one of his early morning meowing concerts... LOUDLY! He is the most beautiful cat I have ever seen, orange like a coastal sunset, but he is also bossy, quirky and one of the great pet loves of my life. A curse, and a blessing all rolled up into nine pounds of fur!

Anyway, we left Stockton at about 1:00 PM, and made a couple stops in the East Bay, before heading to Half Moon Bay, and then to Pigeon Point Lighthouse and coastal overlook, which is about 30 minutes north of Santa Cruz. I did some shots of the lighthouse, but the lighting wasn't great so I am planning to revisit next month while we are on vacation.

It was a good day. I was in pain, so I didn't do as much with the camera as I would have liked, but Alan and I did a lot of talking, and a lot of laughing, and listened to a LOT of 80's music! We pretty much sang all day! God, we are old ones now, and eyeing retirement in a few years, and I am sure when that day comes, there will be a lot more photography, and music, and dancing around in my granny panties at the ocean. Well, probably not that last one!

The best part of Saturday was the complete lack of political obsessing by me. I didn't check my phone to see if there were missiles on their way from North Korea. No fretting about the last or even the next stupid thing he might be planning or doing, nope, the day was all about the music, the creativity, and the pure fragrant smells of being by the Pacific Ocean!

Where do the days and the years go?

Wasn't the 1980's like 15 minutes ago?

Mood: Happy

~Me :)

 

 

Weekend Assignment #292: The Oldest Thing

From For Ellipsis

"There's one advantage in being 102... no peer pressure."

-Dennis Wolfberg

Weekend Assignment #292: What's the oldest thing in your house or apartment?

Extra Credit: Is there anything from your childhood that you've managed to hang onto all these years?

-Karen, of the blog, Outpost Mavarin.

The oldest thing in our little cottage, just happens to be Alan! LOL. He is 7 months older then I am, and therefore the oldest "thing" in our apartment. :) If we are talking about day to day possessions, I don't think I have anything that constitutes and actual antique...yet. I do have two portraits in a lovely Victorian style that hang over our bed, but alas, I don't have a photo of them, at least not on this computer. I bought them back in the mid 80's, when Victorian pieces were all the rage. I love them so much that I believe they are the one thing I would grab if the house were burning down around me. :)

Extra Credit: Yep, now that I think about it, the oldest of my personal possessions is a stuffed turtle named Timmy. My brother brought him back to me when he came home on leave from Vietnam. I think it was in 1966 or 67. I don't have a photo of Timmy, and I don't display him anymore. He is safely packed away in my storage room, keeping some of my other "old friends" (stuffed animals) company. :)

-Carly

Hair... Like A Virgin... Combed For The Very First Time

"Long hair minimizes the need for barbers; socks can be done without; one leather jacket solves the coat problem for many years; suspenders are superfluous."

-Albert Einstein

Ok, what the heck is going on? For the last month or so, I have been seeing BIG 80's hair everywhere I have been. Not on everybody of course, but here and there for sure. Enough so I have noticed. It's so weird. It's like I died, and suddenly I am existing in an alternate New Wave higher, or maybe lower, existence. LOL. Or could it be... fret... that I am finally old enough, that the New Wave style has finally come back into vogue? In either case, this 40-something lady will have no part of it. Nope. I did the Madonna hair, the Stevie Nicks hair. In the 90's I had "The Rachel" look, but now, in 2008, I have "The Carly"... and it just feels nice to have my own style. :)

So tell me, what of this phenomenon? Have you been seeing big hair everywhere also? Is it coming back into style? Inquiring minds want to know!

-OndineMonet

Stand By

"Game shows are designed to make us feel better about the random, useless facts that are all we have left of our education."

-Unknown

I have had a certain tune stuck in my head for about 20 years or so. Not the whole tune mind you, just one line from the chorus of the song. "I get scared inside, when you stand by." I could remember a part of the tune, but I couldn't quite remember the whole song. YIKES! Over the years, whenever something would jar my memory just a certain way, I would think of that song. I remember it was played on TOP 40 radio stations, which is what the radio, in the office where I worked at the time, was set to. Every hour, for my 8 1/2 hour work days, that song would play twice.

This went on for about a month or so, and then I never remember hearing the song played again... not in the last 20 years. It was annoyingly haunting at the time, and on occasion since then, so I kind of wondered about it through the years. Every time I asked friends, and co-workers if they remembered the song, they would look at me like I had 9 heads. Had I hallucinated it? Did it ever really exist? Well, just a few minutes ago, I decided to give Google one last chance, and put the lyrics, as best as I could remember them, into the search bar, and EUREKA! I found out not just the name of the artist, Roman Holliday, but the lyrics as well! You can view them here, if you so desire.

Don't you just love trivia, especially trivia that haunts you? Deep curisoities like, where the eyes are on a slug, or where Millie Vanilli is today? LOL. I don't know, I guess I am just a big fan of games like Trivial Pursuit, but I like looking up useless facts on the Internet. Shrug. It's probably some kind of 21st century sickness, but I love learning new, offbeat things. :) Like the following...

1. Charlie Chaplin once won third prize in a Charles Chaplin look alike contest.

2. The Guinness Book of Records, holds the record, for being the most often stolen from public libraries.

3. The hundred billionth crayon made by Crayola was Periwinkle Blue.

4. Howdy Doody has exactly 48 freckles on his face.

5. The starfish is one of the only animals that can turn it's stomach inside out.

6. A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why?

7. Ralph Kramden made $62.00 per week.

8. 315 entries in Webster's 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

9. A housefly hums in the middle octave, key of F.

10. A cat's urine glows under a black light.

11. Dolphins sleep with one eye open.

12. The average chocolate bar has 8 insect legs in it.

13. A cockroach can live 8 days without it's head, before it starves to death.

14. A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue.

15. A woodpeckers tongue is long enough to wrap it around his head 2 times.

There, see, I learned 15 new things today. I am 15 new facts smarter. My brain now hurts, or is it my brain hurts now? Hmmmmmmm... Maybe someday I will try out for a game show, like Who Wants To be A Millionaire? If I did, would you be my phone a friend? And if so, what would your expert category be? Come on, tell me, you know you want to! And oh by the way, the name of the song that haunted me was, "Stand By." :)

-OndineMonet