Well, I would prefer to hear how YOU explain it, tapu.

MODERATION

Tapu,

We're placing you on time-out for a month with the hope that this will give you some time to think about how you can contribute to the community in a positive way. The mod/admin team deems your post to be racist, incredibly insensitive, and not appropriate "humor."

Jennifer

I still cant believe she's gone. My friends and I all stunned.

i never got what was funny.

Whatever. Racist. i am glad that action was taken.

It wasn't funny. Unless you're a racist.

Calling someone racist is serious business. It was way too soon to be saying such a thing and I get what she was saying even if it was in bad taste and it wasn't funny but I don't think she is racist by a long shot. She's been dealt with now maybe let it rest in peace.

Baiting people like this is not funny.

Ebon, I agree with you that calling someone a racist is serious business. In the few exchanges I have had with Tapu via rep comments and/or posts, I did not think she was in anyway being offensive toward me in a racist way. I do think all of us can hold racist, homophobic, misogynist ideas, thoughts and actions. Sometimes we are unaware of our stuff because it is subtle or we had never been called on it, yet.

I think Tapu's post was in poor taste and I think Tapu is intelligent enough that at some point she may get it. I also think I did "get it" about the Syrian people being murdered today. Their life is not worthless and yes many of us are very aware of such things.

Sad as it may seem, the Syrian people, their history and astrocities are not imbedded in our conciousness yet, like our pop culture celebrities, and yes they can be our heros too.

I didn't misunderstand what Tapu said. I got her humor all too well, and I don't say anything lightly. She thought she was "turning the tables" so to speak.

People are free to disagree with me or anyone else as to what is racist or not, but I certainly don't throw the term racist around lightly.

Bully, Ive always respected you and what you post. I UNDERSTAND what you are saying. I get it. But the problem lies in how people "hear" things. What one person might have heard as a joke, offensive or not, another may not have "heard" that same joke. "Jokes" take many forms, but sometimes it is not a joke to someone else. It is just plain hurtful. We cannot always sidestep responsibility by saying, "fuck you it was a joke. Deal with it". People get hurt and get offended whether it was meant to hurt or not. This is just my take on it.

gives me goosebumps
 

I remember watching Houston sing the Star Spangled Banner sitting on my sofa by myself and tears pouring down my face. Part of this was just the sheer depth of her voice and its power- and the timing after 9/11 and (a friend worked in Tower 1 and lost friends & co-workers- family of mine live in NYC). I was also struck by her wearing the red, white & blue running suit, not because it was those colors, but it really seemed to represent more everyday people in some way. Also, I thought about how her forceful rendition transcended a lot of how so many African Americans can certainly not always feel that our national anthem represents their true experience in this country (or Native Americans- all POC). But she seemed to draw us so close that day as a people hurting as one. Not to mention that it is perhaps the most difficult song for even the very best vocalists to sing and she not only nailed it vocally, but finally (for me, anyway) made it feel like it belonged to us all on a level that felt so much more open. Chilling in more ways than I ever knew. Brought feelings about national pride that actually felt
OK to me for once.

Something else I have been thinking about is her singing "I Will Always Love You"- her signature and written by (and sung by) Dolly Parton. Parton has said that even though she wrote it, it belongs to Whitney Houston.

She sure did. She did not have much time to put that together and I thought she nailed it.

Considering how much domestic abuse Whitney was subjected to, over and over again. I thought Chris Brown need not have been there. That was disrespectful to Whitney, I thought. Again, my opinion. I didn't give it much thought until he showed up a second time. One less appearance may not have made me think this. If Jennifer Hudson could bring something so wonderful to the show, certainly someone else could have filled a Chris Brown slot. His singing wasn't all that.

Still can't believe it, but not surprised by hearing it. I was working in Newark, her hometown, when I heard of her passing. I didn't believe it until I passed by the church she used to sing in as a child. I saw a line of people putting candles and flowers by the gate. On the radio, Whitney sang her heart out during a celebration of her life. Still can't understand it.... Finally, Whitney is at peace.

R.I.P. Whitney, I will always love you , I grew up on your music . I just wish that media would stop dissecting your life and stopped mulching from your death . You were the icon and you stand by your man no matter what . It's disgusting to me a comments on the Internet about you by people faceless behind a monitor . We all have our demons , but we are not public figures . Love you and I am wishing your daughter and family a privacy . God bless .

Tonight 9pm EST
 

http://www.oprah.com/own/Oprah-Remem...ey-Houston?own


Oprah's 2010 interview with Whitney aired on OWN

Ooops, sorry, it is tomorrow night.

RIP Whitney Houston.

Anyone watching the live stream of her funeral?

http://omg.yahoo.com/whitney-houston-funeral/

A change of heart...
 

One thing that attracts me to an artist and to their music is their authenticity. Tell me a story, make me believe that this is your truth to some degree.

I've not paid much attention to Whitney in my life and in an attempt to overcome judgement (specifically the glorified life of an addict), I sat and watched her videos (music and interviews). Here is what stood out for me.

She loves to sing.
She loves the camera.
She has one hell of a voice.
She has passion and it shows.
She cares deeply.
She loves God.
She lives to move people through music.
She has touched a lot of lives.
She, like all of us, suffers from the human condition.

A person's life should be celebrated despite their mistakes. Imagine the burden of having a gift so beautiful it moves people to tears, instills pride and empowers people...this is the gift Whitney and so many others have given. We should all just be grateful :)

So...on that note :) I invite you to watch this one...it's now one of my favorites.

i really don't think there is another voice as powerful/beautiful ... as whitney's. i've thought about this, and i just don't think anyone else compares. oprah said that when she hears whitney's voice, ... it's like hearing god.

her voice was/is an inspiration. her voice lifts you up. i get lost, ... in that space of inspiration.

i watched her funeral service. i know that made her rejoice. the service was powerful, beautiful, and inspirational, ... just like whitney. amen.

As well known as a resident boo hoo femme , I watched entire service and cry , cry and cry . I personally think was beautiful . I am disgusted , by the fact how people post on Internet such rude, mean and ugly comments on the day of Whitney funeral service . It's disgusting ! Who we are to judge ? There are a many people with addictions just not in a public eye . This it's what is wrong with today society . People are mean , non empathetic and there for themselves . Sad !

She inspired me
 

I am often drawn to romanticize bravery. I don't know why, nor does it matter if I ever find out why. I have deep respect for war journalists and photographers. I have even deeper respect for Marie Colvin.

Marie Colvin was truly one of a kind. She had bravery I could only dream about. I am truly sorry to hear of her passing. I truly am. To all the brave warriors and the people who bring us "truth" no matter how ugly, I give you my heart.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17136037

Davy Jones dies at 66
 

Former Red Sox lefty Mel Parnell dies at 89
 

Mel Parnell, the left-handed pitcher who spent his entire 10-year career with the Boston Red Sox and faced some of the best hitters of the 1940s and early 1950s, has died. He was 89.

Mel Parnell was masterful at Fenway Park even though he pitched in front of the Green Monster, a home run hitter’s dream at only 310 feet down the left field line. Parnell had a career record of 123-75, but he was 70-30 at Fenway.

He still holds the club record for left-handed pitchers in games started, innings and victories. Parnell’s victories rank second in team history, behind Cy Young and Roger Clemens, who each had 192 victories.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...6pLid%3D145374


Ruby Garrett, Butte, Montana's last madam died.

BUTTE, Mont. -- Ruby Garrett ran the last brothel standing in this mining town's once-lively red-light district with a reputation for kindness toward her girls, but the grandmotherly figure was also a husband-shooting, tax-evading madam who once said that prostitution should be considered a commodity.

The first time Garrett went to prison, it was for shooting her husband five times in the middle of a card game in 1959. She killed him, she said, because he had abused her repeatedly.

She went to prison again in 1982 for failing to report her earnings. While she was investigated, the sheriff padlocked the doors of the Dumas Hotel in late 1981, marking the end of the brothel that had catered to the miners in the Montana boomtown since 1890.

Butte's last madam died Saturday at Crest Nursing Home at the age of 94, the Duggan-Dolan Mortuary confirmed Tuesday. The cause of her death was not immediately known.

Garrett, also known as Lee Arrigoni, told the Montana Standard in 1991 that prostitution should be considered a commodity instead of being morally wrong.

"If you don't think it's morally wrong, then it's kind of fun," she told the Butte newspaper.

The ex-madam, then in her mid-70s, even had advice for the next generation of women: "These little chippies who will do it for a burger and a beer, I say they might as well sell it."

People who knew Garrett in her later years remembered a kind person who looked out for the women who worked at the Dumas. Ellen Crain, director of the Butte-Silver Bow Archives, said Garrett was a savvy businesswoman who felt strongly about treating the women well and took pride in keeping the brothel clean and orderly.

"She was truly one of the last living legends in Butte, from the end of Butte's famed red light district," said Chris Fisk, a Butte High School history teacher who met Garrett two years ago.

Former Sheriff Bob Butorovich, who shut down the brothel, said prostitution became a fact of life in Butte with so many young, single miners. He said Garrett never held a grudge against him for closing down her establishment.

"She was a wonderful old gal," he said. "Part of Butte history is gone."

She lived in the little town of Divide, south of Butte, and her friends and neighbors were protective of her. The day before she began her six-month prison term in 1982, they threw her a party at the Melrose Bar.

Les Baldwin, one of those who turned out to bid her farewell, told an Associated Press reporter at the party: "I think it's a crime that a fine woman like this is sent to prison. I've done more things wrong than this woman."

Garrett was acquitted of a first-degree murder charge for shooting common-law husband Andy Arrigoni but served nine months for the shooting on a manslaughter conviction. Garrett had said that he beat her, and Crain said she was a domestic-violence victim.

"She was beaten so bad that day that when she walked in that Board of Trade to shoot him, they couldn't recognize her," Crain said.

Garrett pleaded guilty in 1982 to failing to failing to pay $51,670 in federal taxes from 1975 to 1978. She received a six-month sentence and was fined $10,000, which she said she paid with a loan from a friend.

Garrett had refused to sell the Dumas unless it could be used as a brothel, news reports said at the time. It's now a tourist attraction in Uptown Butte.

Garrett made no apologies for what she did, but she told the Montana Standard that she would have made some different decisions if she could do it over again. She was raised a Catholic, sang in the church choir and prayed regularly, she said.

"I don't think I would have become a nun or a Sister, but I would have done some things different," Garrett told the newspaper.

Services were pending with Duggan-Dolan Mortuary.

Bagel pioneer Murray Lender dies at 81 in Florida
 

Reuters - Murray Lender, who made a traditionally Jewish food a staple of American cuisine and built a frozen bagel empire, died on Wednesday in Miami Beach, Florida, after a 10-week illness. He was 81.

He became the face of Lender's Bagels in the 1970s and 1980s when he appeared on television advertisements encouraging people unfamiliar with bagels to try them.

"It's not so easy telling people that after all those years of eating toast for breakfast, now there's something better," Lender said in one ad from the 1980s. "But it's not so hard either."

Lender's father immigrated from Poland to the United States in 1927 and opened a bakery in New Haven, Connecticut, where he made bagels, a doughnut shaped bread that is boiled and then baked. Lender and his siblings took over the family bakery in the 1960s and built the bagel line into a national brand. "He took this idea of a bagel, which in the 1960s was primarily a product eaten by Jews in the greater New York area, and he envisioned this product becoming available to everyone in the country," Marvin Lender, his brother and business partner, said in a telephone interview.

"The way we did that was through the vehicle of frozen foods. Because of his marketing and sales prowess we took every penny we had and directed it toward advertising." The Lenders grew the company from seven employees in 1963 to 700 in 1984, when they sold it to Kraft Foods. Kraft retained Lender as a spokesman for two years after it purchased the company. Lender's Bagels was later sold to cereal-maker Kellogg Company, which in turn sold the company to Pinnacle Foods Group, based in Peoria, Illinois. Later in life, he and his brother spent two years running a bagel restaurant company in Israel, where bagels are not widely eaten, Marvin Lender said.

Adrienne Rich
 

From Twenty-One Love Poems

V.

This apartment full of books could crack open
to the thick jaws, the bulging eyes
of monsters, easily: Once open the books, you have to face
the underside of everything you’ve loved—
the rack and pincers held in readiness, the gag
even the best voices have to mumble through,
the silence burying unwanted children—
women, deviants, witnesses—in desert sand.
Kenneth tells me he’s been arranging his books
so he can look at Blake and Kafka while he types;
yes; and we still have to reckon with Swift
loathing the woman’s flesh while praising her mind,
Goethe’s dread of the Mothers, Claudel vilifying Gide,
and the ghosts—their hands, clasped for centuries—
of artists dying in childbirth, wise-women charred at the stake,
centuries of books unwritten piled behind these shelves;
and we still have to stare into the absence
of men who would not, women who could not, speak
to our life—this still unexcavated hole
called civilization, this act of translation, this half-world.

Bluegrass great Earl Scruggs dead at 88
 

(CNN) -- Earl Scruggs, who as a child developed the distinctive picking style that forever changed banjo playing, and whose association with Lester Flatt cemented bluegrass music's place in popular culture, died Wednesday of natural causes at a Nashville hospital, his son Gary Scruggs said. He was 88.

For many of a certain age, Scruggs' banjo was part of the soundtrack of an era on "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" -- the theme song from the CBS sitcom "The Beverly Hillbillies," which aired on CBS from 1962 to 1971 and for decades afterward in syndication.

But much more than that, he was the originator of the three-finger picking style that brought the banjo to the fore in a supercharged new genre, and he was an indispensable member of the small cadre of musical greats who created bluegrass music.

Scruggs was born in 1924 to a musically gifted family in rural Cleveland County, North Carolina, according to his official biography. His father, a farmer and a bookkeeper, played the fiddle and banjo, his mother was an organist and his older siblings played guitar and banjo, as well.

Young Earl's exceptional gifts were apparent early on. He started playing the banjo at age 4 and he started developing his famed three-finger banjo style at the age of 10.

"The banjo was, for all practical purposes, 'reborn' as a musical instrument," the biography on his official website declares, "due to the talent and prominence Earl Scruggs gave to the instrument."

In 1945, Scruggs met Flatt when he joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, for whom Flatt was the guitarist and lead vocalist. Along with the group's mandolin-playing namesake were fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts (alias: Cedric Rainwater).

In an article on the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's website, bluegrass historian Neil V. Rosenberg described Scruggs' style as "a 'roll' executed with the thumb and two fingers of his right hand" that essentially made the banjo "a lead instrument like a fiddle or a guitar, particularly on faster pieces and instrumentals. This novel sound attracted considerable attention to their Grand Ole Opry performances, road shows, and Columbia recordings."

Scruggs and Flatt left Monroe in 1948 to form the Foggy Mountain Boys, according to the Country Music Hall of Fame website. Along with guitarist/vocalists Jim Eanes and Mac Wiseman, fiddler Jim Shumate and Blue Grass Boys alum Rainwater, the group played on WCYB in Bristol, Tennessee, and recorded for the Mercury label.

The Foggy Mountain Boys' roster changed over the years, but Flatt & Scruggs became the constants, the signature sound of the group on radio programs, notably those sponsored by Martha White Flour, and as regulars at the Grand Ole Opry. They became syndicated TV stars in in the Southeast in the late 1950s and early '60s, and they hit the country charts with the gospel tune "Cabin on the Hill."

But it was during an appearance at a Hollywood folk club that brought them into contact with the producer of "The Beverly Hillbillies" and led to "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." It was their only single to climb to No.1 on the country charts.

The 1967 film "Bonnie and Clyde" featured their 1949 instrumental "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," with its distinctive Scruggs-style banjo solo perhaps the most ubiquitous of bluegrass sounds

Damn. i'll miss him. That Three Pickers concert he did with Doc Watson and Ricky Skaggs was something.