Saturday, February 11, 2012

From One Girl in a Tight Place to Another

Really feeling my tight place today and I'm not sure what to do about it.  Thinking about the following this evening.

1.  My laptop computer of four years is on its last legs. The dude at the Genius Bar confirmed this today. The thought of all four of us here sharing one computer makes me nervous given that it's also our "TV" and "radio."  Has anyone ordered a used computer on Ebay? How'd that work out for you?
2.  Today was almost completely lackluster.  I worked for most of the day--multi-tasking while there.  I did have a brisk bike ride home.

3.  My bike had a new wheel put on it yesterday.  The bike boys sternly advised that I oil my chain.  And then later that day, some annoying middle-aged biker man pointed out bolt that had to be replaced.  I must remember to oil my chain.

4.  I got caught up on all email from students.

5.  And while this doesn't exactly fit in with the trivial musings above, I was shocked (but perhaps not surprised given the gossip I know of her life) to learn about the death of Whitney Houston.  I hadn't been following her that closely and I was never a fan.  Perhaps if I had been 10/15 years younger than Whitney, I dunno . . . . But as her contemporary, I never related to her musical aesthetic.  She wasn't really ever singing to me.   However, at the same time, I appreciated the enormous impact she had on pop music and culture. I can't help but think that, like Michael, she kicked down racial barriers, and I could openly acknowledge her out-sized talent, her beauty and charisma.  She was one of the handful of great American divas.  And the world needs divas--more than ever, doesn't it?  Her biggest hit (below) was penned by another out-sized American diva, Dolly Parton.  Near the end Whitney, from what had been put in circulation, really seemed to be a girl in a tight place.

So because of that, I'm going to do this. In tribute, here's Whitney eight years ago:

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1 comment:

  1. Re: Laptops, Ing and I are both operating on netbooks (cheap and tiny) which can be supplemented with an external hard drive and cd drive, if that's your thing. I'd recommend. There are a few draw-backs, and I can't speak to their lifespan, but they're tiny and cute, and super cheap.

    Re: Whitney, the public mourning for celebs thing never really made sense to me. Isn't the point of celebrity that it allows one to live on for-not-quite-ever-but-a-lot-longer-than-mortals? I do love Whitney, though, mostly for her performance in Cinderella, which I think was her biggest contribution to the psyches of my generation.

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