MTV Turns 25 This Week

Feeling old yet? Yep. Me too. I remember MTV in bits and spots...Mom and Dad wouldn't let us have cable..so I would go to my friend Amy's...and stare at the cool people in cool clothes, dancing in a cool way..and oh, there was music too. I remember seeing Tom Petty and thinking "he is the ugliest man alive!!" I mean there is a man for whom MTV really didn't do any favors. Mark Goodman (remember him? One of the first VJ's) says the Madonna-MTV relationship was very symbiotic...they both benefited immensely.. Same goes for Michael Jackson...as a child of the '80's I would DEFINATELY have to agree...MTV very heavily influenced the cool factor of both of those two iconic entertainers!

Do you realize thier average viewer today is 20? They don't even REMEMBER "Like a Virgin" or "Thriller" and they certianly don't know who the hell Mark Goodman is...and even more to the point...they don't even remember MTV. You know what I mean..the REAL MTV without "Real World" "Brittney and Kevin Chaos" (or whatever it was called)...they don't know why it was called MUSIC TELEVISION!! Do you realize that?!

THEN:
Music..videos
NOW:
Celebrity TV

THEN:
Micheal Jackson makes history in '83 by being first black musician on MTV
NOW:
TRY and find a music channel without a black guy. Go ahead..I dare you to try.

THEN:
"Like a Virgin" is a scandelous song title and video
NOW:
Oh, how we long for our innocence

THEN:
Mark Goodman = HOT
NOW
Damien (who knows his last name)=DORK.

THEN:
Blondie
NOW:
Pussy Cat Dolls

It all leads to this:
THEN:
MTV breaking entertainment and social ground
NOW:
Desperately trying to keep up with the "crazy kids" of today

Here's more of "then and now" for you, straight off the MTV site, music of then and now

"Betch'a wish your MTV was hot like me...Betcha wish your MTV was nasty like me...."

Today's Advice

Brainstorm.
Forget.
Laugh. Giggle.

Rules,
Schmools
Express....?!$@&*
Don't Not...

Today's wisdom: spend 45 seconds a day on the following site:

www.mrpicassohead.com

Here's my version of Taracasso (click link)

This is your special treat for visiting my blog today.
THANK YOU.

2006 Best Places to Live..and Love

Well, the words out...according to CNNMoney.com Scottsdale is #7 on the top places to live..taking into account such things as life-style and weather (notable in the article: 3 months of the year) and it certianly wasn't picked for its super affordable life-style (note the 300K fixer-upper in South Scottsdale)..but its "easy" to get a job here (almost 100% employment)...and, the night life is of course mentioned, as is the greenbelt. Not mentioned that is AWESOME about living here: The Mcdowell Mountians (I never knew what purple mountian majesty meant before I moved here)...Resorts (hey, the locals can enjoy too!) and great dining and shopping and of course, the proximity to things Phoenix: Camelback Mountain, Best Pizza in the Country (according to noted food critics) Pizzario Bianco and some fun-to-watch sports teams: Diamondbacks and Suns!

Also on the list: Shout Out to Fort Collins which is where Mia lives! Not mentioned in that article: proximity to AWESOME skiing and the Fat Tire Brewery!

Not at ALL on the list: Green Bay. Huh.

News of the Day

First, let me thank everyone for the overwhelming response to my last posting where I invited everyone to participate in an interesting ethical conundrum.

So I wanted to talk about the news of the day, as appears on CNN..and which I actually read. FIRST OF ALL: Where is Suri? I mean forget about Iraq, Korea and bombings in India. I mean where is Suri Cruise?! Why haven't we seen her? GAG! I did however watch the video...which goes into this long mysterious story about her birth certificate being filed 20 days after her birth and how signed it, BLAH BLAH BLAH. I mean there is no mystery...Tom Cruise is a freak and he still has his daughter wrapped in a cocoon - literally.

On to Futbol which I have never watched before-but since Jeff is a soccer fantatic (hey,not everyone can be interesting ALL the time) I watched (that is a loose term for napped) most of the final on Sunday. And for those of you who didn't see it...a famous French Soccer player (Zidane) HEADBUTTED an Italian player during the freaking final. Now all that chat is WHY? What did the Italian say to him to make him absolutely snap? The rumor has been that the Italian called him an Arab terrorist. The Italian player (Matterazi) today came out to say he DID insult Zidane, but he catagorically denies calling him a terrorist: "I'm not cultured and I don't even know what an Islamic terrorist is."

WHAT?! Clearly this guy does NOT read the CNN page.

Vote on Today's Ethical Dilemma

In this month's Chronical of Philanthropy, a feature article asked the question about what a major university should do with its unspent $1 Million donation. The donation was made with donated Enron stock long before the collapse of Enron. Since the Enron collapse, many people affiliated with the university have called for the return of the money. Obviously the article was published before yesterday's news of Kenneth Lay's passing.

A special note: DeLay himself, twice since his arrest, asked the university to redirect the funds; once to Katrina victims and once to pay for impending legal fees. Both times the university declined; contractually, it had every right to do so.

So today's ethical connundrum: Does the passing of Ken DeLay complicate the ethical issue faced by the University? What do YOU think the University should do?

Here's an article: Kenneth DeLay's Last Financial Fiasco
Here's another with an interesting suggestion: Other Uses For the Money

IF AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE RESPOND..I WILL POST MY THOUGHTS ON THE ISSUE (this is a promise, not a threat, smart alecks!)

Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Mindless Summer Chatter

Meet me in Summer 'o6 Avatar form...wishing for both a pool and cooler weather (in the form of Penguins) to escape this Arizona summer. I mean..it is SO damn hot here this year..June was the hottest in history-although we escaped breaking the hottest day on record (120 in June '90). I changed my hair slightly blonder for summer too..but the Avatar doesn't QUITE get it right.

I'm looking forward to a trip to Green Bay in a couple of weeks...to see family and get out of this weather. I think it feesl hotter because it was so gorgeous in Montreal..even though it rained all the time while I was there.

Hope its cool where you are!