Monday, November 27, 2017

Open Letter to @greysonchance

Dear Greyson

I bought your EP from amazon.  I really like it.  I think "Fear" is the most beautiful song. 

Part of the chorus of "Fear" includes the "f" word. I hate the "F" word. 

Now I have a brain worm with the "f" word in my brain.

AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!

I know you're a teen. I know you want to be rebellious and cool. I know you want to feel like you don't have to abide by grownup rules.  I know.

But you hooked me when you were little and cute, and I'm still curious and I'm still listening -- and yes I'm an old fuddy-duddy.  And probably you would prefer to have young, beautiful fans.

BUT could you create a sanitized version of this song?

PLEEEEEASE?

Yours,

Arrow

Friday, November 24, 2017

How can they say she doesn't look like him?

No copyright infringement intended here.  This is for discussion purposes on a topic of great public interest.

This blog is in response to the people who keep alleging that Paris Jackson is not the biological child of Michael Jackson.

This subject is really bothering me. I don't know why I would continue to attempt to inject myself into the minds of narrow minded people who don't know that most African Americans are 25% white and most whites Americans are 8% black.  This is due to the raping of slaves by slave holders.

So mixed race children can have all sorts of unpredictable shades.

When I look at the two of them, juxtaposed, to me they look like twins.  You have to look past the racial features at the shape of the faces: jaw, eyebrows, forehead, smile.


Ok, this word is now considered pejorative, but if you search on images for "octoroon" you get stuff like this.  In the bad old days of Jim Crow, there were a lot of people who looked white who would nevertheless have to be segregated.








check out these photos of Quincy Jones and his daughters





Or this image of Diana Ross and her grandchildren


People don't seem to understand what mixed raced children look like.  People don't understand that MJ was mixed race.  His dad was light skinned with light eyes.  His mom was part Cherokee.  His mom didn't have typical African hair.  His kids had the apparent races of their mothers, because he actually lacked race, despite a youthful racial appearance.

Here's a blog about mixed race children on Pinterest

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/404690716500350489

Addenda from discussion on FB

Someone asked me about her blue eyes and recessive genes.  I responded that MJ's father was mostly white, having the light colored brown/hazel eyes of a white man, rather than the dark brown/black eyes of a black man






Also Prince has the very dark brown eyes of a black person 


And also has vitiligo, like his dad


Addendum 3/19/18:

I think when you actually see Paris talking, and watch her face moving, see e.g. https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/975663166486016000
then you can see more easily that her skin is darker.

Some people have made the absurd statement that she has some kind of strange eye condition that makes her eyes look so startling

http://www.thisisinsider.com/paris-jackson-eye-condition-blue-explainer-2017-8

The appearance of her eyes is due to her skin being slightly darker than might be expected in other blue eyed people.


*********

pix comparing MJ & Paris   
I hope the people who originated these won't mind my reposting them, as I feel we're supporting each other in contesting these ridiculous stories about Prince and Paris being the children of white men, like the dermatologist or an actor.  I'm glad that I'm not the only one noticing how similar Paris's face is to MJ's face -- ignoring color, the hair and the nose









After some googling I found some images on what seems to be Debbie Rowe's FB account.  This purports to be a photo of Prince with Samuel Jackson, his great grandfather.


If I understand correctly, this is picture of Debbie Rowe's parents with MJ & Prince.  The resemblance between Debbie Rowe's dad and Prince is strong.



Some people don't seem to understand that not everyone looks like their father,  Some people look like their Mom's relatives.

Research article about mixed genetics of Americans.  This article says that African Americans are generally 73% African https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4289685/


Instagram video of blond kid who is half back



It's really hard to tell a person's skin tone from a studio photo.  Natural light is better.  Here are a couple of photos in natural light of MJ as a teen.





He really wasn't all that dark.  And, in the swim photo, you can see that his tanned shoulder was darker than his chest

This is a natural light photo of an African teen in Africa.  He's much darker than MJ



---------------
Another comparison photo
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Monday, November 13, 2017

addenda #UpCloseandPersonal with @joshgroban

This is an addendum to http://straightarrow372.blogspot.com/2017/11/upcloseandpersonal-w-joshgroban-2nd-day.html

Normally, with my blog, I feel free to just edit stuff, when I have more thoughts or change my mind.  It occurs to me though that people who have already read the prior blogs might not go back and read the changes, so maybe it would be better to put more thoughts in a separate blog.

I'm thinking about all the people who had such a good time at this event, when I was more neutral.

I'm thinking that the fact that I'm a teetotaller might have had an influence on this.  Perhaps everyone else was pleasantly buzzed.  I didn't notice anyone drunk, but they were drinking.  I'm thinking of the words of one of Josh's songs from Comet "I feel a pleasant warmth in my body, a sentimental attachment to my fellow man."  Perhaps everyone else was feeling that.

Also, I should say that the corridors included a gallery of very nice Josh photos from his new book, enlarged and lit up.  I did get to do some networking there, which was nice -- also they had popcorn, while we were waiting for dinner -- so being made to wait in the corridors when they were fixing up the room for dinner wasn't an unmitigated evil.

I'm thinking, in retrospect, that I should have made more effort to be seated with the people I knew from the Josh Groban fan club. I definitely knew some people there.  In fact there were quite a few of us who knew each other and some of them were seated together, but I didn't make seating requests.  I just made a request not to get the foods that I'm allergic/sensitive to, so I got seated at the allergy table, which was nice, but possibly not as nice as sitting with the people I knew.

This was definitely an event where networking with other Grobies was a big deal -- not so much that we would really see Josh all that much.  Our seeing him was pretty limited: the book signing and the concert.

Also I guess the fact that my cancer has recurred and this was supposed to be my last big fling before surgery and chemo put a lot of expectations on the thing that couldn't really be fulfilled.  Also, as I mentioned before, I had these big blisters on my feet and they were hurting, and we had to stand a lot.

So, obviously, a lot of people were thrilled about this event.  Still I heard others complaining of some of the things that I complained of in my prior blog, so I know that I was not alone.

I would say that my favorite part was the media review on Friday night.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

#UpCloseandPersonal w/ @joshgroban 2nd day


I'm sort of processing this weekend slowly. 

addenda to this blog
blog about first day

About the concert
When I first heard "Dust and Ashes," I was horrified by that gargly sound that Josh was taught to make while singing that. I feared it would damage his voice. I know he worried about that also and was told that it wouldn't hurt him. 

I've come to really love the soundtrack of Comet, though. I've listened to it many times. 

I tweeted him recently asking if he would be willing to go back to singing the way he used to, but he didn't reply. I thought that's what I wanted. 

Last night he did go back to singing those quiet songs that he used to sing. His voice was great, the band was great. The music was all that style that I thought I wanted to hear, but I felt restless. 

Of course, I've always preferred his more experimental numbers, like "Now or Never" and "Voce", so I wasn't necessarily hoping for just this mix, but I also loved his Broadway performance. Here's the set list from Up Close and Personal https://twitter.com/skysong263/status/929615269135355904

He said also that he needs a break from the Pierre character, because he felt that he was taking that depressed alcoholic home with him, to his detriment. 

Yet, yet... I guess I can't go back. They say that, that you can never really go back.

Of course, in this case, the band was stripped down. It was Tariqh and Mark and a string quartet (NB only one woman), so it wasn't his full orchestra sound: no percussion, less bass. I like percussion, though I feel Josh often overdoes the bass, so possibly if this were with a larger orchestra I would have felt differently, but I'm not sure. 

Now about the venue

First up: The McKittrick Hotel is not a hotel. Confusing. They have shows there. 

Second: the number seven subway, which stops quite near that site, was not running, so right off my schedule was off, well that and all the last minute phone calls I got trying to go out the door. I live in the suburbs, btw. 

So I took the subway to seventh and 23rd. When I got there, I checked the online bus time app and learned that all the M23 buses were eastbound with the nearest one at eighth ave, heading east. I decided to go by Michael's, which is near there, to by a frame. They were having some kind of sale with a really intimidating line that looked about at least a half hour long, so I left and by that time the bus was closer and I got there about 6:15, when we were supposed to get there by 5:45. This was after the weirdness the night before when the train home was detoured due to bridge demolition. 

So I wasn't in the best mood when I arrived. Plus I had blisters on my feet leftover from a long walk in bad shoes Thursday. 

The venue was on the second floor. 

The space was very dark throughout. The main approach corridor had an uneven spot that was a tripping hazard. Early on they had someone stationed there to warn us. Later on there wasn't anyone, so I did trip there, but did not fall. The extreme darkness was an issue for at least one elderly fan who couldn't see in the dark. Does Josh realize that older people lose night vision?

We sat on chairs with bent oak backs. This type of chair tends to be sturdy, but uncomfortable. The chairs were crowded very close together.

The place was dimly lit with hanging light globes that changed colors. There was some kind of fog machine. Once upon a time, a crowded bar like space would have always been smokey. Now no one wants smoke, but they still want the look. I find that odd 

The layout of the seats was slightly different from the way it looked on the online seating chart. There was a pole between me and the place where Josh was supposed to stand. They had pre-researched this problem and proactively offered to move me, but I didn't like the place they chose, so I stayed in the original seat. I was able to move to see him around the pole. He also went to the piano, which was unobstructed. The organizer there said he was at the piano more than they were told he would be. 

I went to the bathroom during Caruso, which I wouldn't have done if I had realized how short the concert was. They had said that the concert was from seven to nine, like the typical Josh concert: two hours. I was upset that it was so short after we spent so much money. 

The organizer told me that the money was to be able to get closer to Josh in a small venue. Of course I was spoiled because I was front row center at the Allen Room and this time I wasn't as close. The sound was good, at least.

They did the whole bit about bagging cell phones again. I wasn't planning to record this concert, but I realized I could have perfectly well brought a second recording device and done it, if I had wanted to, but it seemed fairly futile at this concert, because he's performed most of these songs so many times before. 

Apparently, they had to cut the concert short if we were to have dinner at 9, because they were using the same room for dinner as the concert. Therefore we had to go out and stand in crowded, narrow passages outside the room, so they could rearrange. 

This is where things really got insulting, as if I weren't already insulted by being made to stand out in the cold the night before, or being chilled even inside, because they left the doors to the venue open while slowly security checking everyone. I've been to any number of continuing legal education courses that included presentations and lunch. In all of those situations, they either had us listen to the presentation while sitting at tables that were suitable for lunch OR they had lunch in a separate room. The idea that we would pay $1400 and then have the concert cut short and be made to stand around in narrow, crowded corridors, because they wouldn't spring for a proper facility is just outrageous. If I pay $1400, I expect to be pampered. 

The entire weekend had a crowded cattle like feeling about it. I had had these vague fantasies that we might actually get to talk to Josh, given that the event was called "up close and personal," but not really. He was mostly elsewhere.

Well I got to speak to him briefly, when he signed my copy of his book. I found out, to my disappointment, that he hadn't noticed my #QuixoticQuest. I'm going to start saying that with a hashtag in the future. I've blogged about my #QuixoticQuest extensively, copying him, and I thought -- back when he had less followers -- that he actually read some of those blogs. Maybe he just forgot, or doesn't recognize me in person. Sigh. In case the reader hadn't noticed the #QuixoticQuest, here's the explanatory blog http://skysong263.blogspot.com/2015/05/trying-to-organize-information-about-my.html?m=1

I suppose I might have said more to him, though I'm not very assertive. Some people would have dragged it out more. He was very formal in the way he addressed me. There was an opportunity to shout out questions during the concert. I had submitted written questions the night before, after consulting my blog of unanswered questions http://straightarrow372.blogspot.com/2016/02/questions-for-joshgroban.html but those questions didn't get answered, alas.



 About Josh

Josh's hair was shorter than I've ever seen it. He said he was going to shave his beard soon also, because he's going to be playing a cop named Frank Caruso in a Netflix series soon. He said this just before singing Caruso, remarking on the synchronicity between the names. 

I was reminded of how very thin he looks in person. He doesn't look so thin on camera, because cameras flatten images, which makes people look fatter. He reminds me of a physics professor I used to have in college, with this beard. Somehow he seems to look nerdier with age. We always knew he was a nerd, but having him look so much like my physics professor now is remarkable to me. 

I've been talking voice lessons again recently. I was very conscious of his vocal technique, which sounds to me to be exactly what my teacher is trying to get me to do, but which I haven't quite figured out yet. Of course, he's been much more serious about voice lessons and for a lot more years than I have. 

I'm still kicking myself about the media review Friday, wishing I had given the first song a higher grade, and fearing that somehow that will throw Josh off in his decision making. 



Some tweets with pix:



Saturday, November 11, 2017

Up Close and Personal First Day

 I haven't had time to write this up properly, so I'm just doing a bullet  list. Hopefully more later

Features:
  • check in at a separate location, presumably to conceal the location of the wine tasting event five blocks away
  • Welcome basket, including snacks and souvenir glasses
  • Open bar. They did have a few things other than Josh's wine
  • Hors d'oeuvres buffet with small plates, pretty well stocked with a variety of healthy foods and later dessert 
  • Station for reviewing merchandise from the @joshgroban.com store, with forms and pens, where you could grade the merchandise and comment on it, also a box for depositing reviews 
  • table where you could meet the lady who owns the vineyard where Josh's wine is made, and she would pour wine for you. Her vineyard did not burn though
  • Station with pens, forms and box, for asking Josh questions
  • Some tables and chairs, but not enough for all
  • Coat check
  • Security at entrance
  • Restroom and small theater in basement
  • Side door with elevator where Josh came in briefly to meet us
  • photo session with Josh in theater in basement
  • Surprise media review in theater after photo session with really tight security
  • They actually called my home when I hadn't checked in by 5:30 due to last minute crises

inconvenient aspects
  • hard for people with disabilities to get from check-in to venue
  • No special basket for me even though I had clearly indicated food sensitivities 
  • Basket large and hard to transport if you weren't staying in the hotel
  • Long wait outside of venue in extreme cold before they opened the doors and then for security and bag check 
  • The door to the venue was open during extensive security process making the place freezing
  • long wait for food. Given that we paid so much money, they should have had larger plates and let us make a dinner out of it
  • There was a long wait during second security to get to the surprise media review, someone fainted 
  • During the media review, I got a pen late, which distracted me and I think I rated the first song lower than I really felt about it
  • Strange commute home. Got out late. Took the 12:20 train from GCT. They were demolishing the Tappan Zee Bridge that night, so they didn't want to run the train under it, so they had us take a bus for part of the trip, but I got home o.k. 


Media review program

  • animated music video with Josh and Tony Bennett singing a Christmas carol 
  • Five unreleased new songs for us to review and comment on: a power ballad, a soft pop/rock, a classical, a soft jazz, and a folk. I think Josh wanted to figure out which types we liked best. 
  • A live action music video with Josh and a children's choir singing a different Christmas carol 
  • MC was Tariqh 
  • There was a disembodied voice that Tariqh said was like the voice of Oz or God, but I'm assuming that was Josh disguising his voice. Perhaps he felt we would be more honest if he wasn't there. Perhaps he felt vulnerable exposing his little babies to review, Tariqh said he hadn't heard them before either
  • Really intense security to prevent recording of unreleased material. No purses. Cell phones in locked pouches. Men's pockets, however, were not checked the way women's purses were. 

This is more for me, so I'll remember. I hope I'll get to something more narrative. I did have a lot of nice conversations with Grobies

Link to tweet with short video  https://twitter.com/skysong263/status/929421577648857090

Addenda 11/20/17

OK I think I can reveal now that one of the videos that we heard during the media review program was this one.  I think they did some video filtering on it since the time we saw 


I must say, seeing this a second time, which I didn't notice the first time, that that little blond boy looks pretty miserable.