Why You Still Gotta Be So Mean?

Say what you will (and some of you will) I like Taylor Swift.  She has a specific target audience that she plays to - and she does it well.  She's a marketing machine and has a great sense of what her fan base wants and how to sell it to them.  She writes song about breakups for teenyboppers.   She's not writing for the 30 somethings of the world.  Teenage girl songs.  Hello...target audience -- the ones with the most disposable income.

So now she releases this song 'Shake It Off" (27 million+ - yup, 27 million - views on You Tube).   It's about how people are going to do what they're going to do - players are gonna play, haters are gonna hate.  She says she has this music in her head that she has to write and sing, and she makes up her 'moves' as she goes along.  You know, moves like moving from country to pop.

She's not a teenage girl anymore, and that shows.  She's certainly grown up - both physically and talentwise.  And she sings this song and dances (and okay, she twerks....badly!) and talks about how not everyone does everything well.  And even if you don't think she sings and dances well, it's 'in' her and she going to do it.  She showcases both fabulously talented people, and people who are, well, not so talented.  Not everyone does everything well and she includes herself in this.  Saying that we only see the best of what she does.  The things she doesn't do well are cut out of the videos.  She's saying she's not perfect, we only see what they want us to see - and she's right.

You go girl!!  

I think you do it well.  I think you have talent, and heart, and a real gift for seeing the reality of life.  People are mean (you wrote that too, right?) and jealous and will always try to tear you down.  Listen to the music of your heart.  It hasn't steered you wrong yet.

Haters gonna hate.  Let them.  Your parents obviously raised you well and taught you that what is in your heart is stronger than the barbs thrown at you.  Sticks and stones baby.  Believe it.  Shake it off and follow your heart.

Be Happy Where You Are in Life

Don't be content to stay there, always strive to be better, but be happy with wherever you are.

Words of wisdom from Kenny Rogers Mom - and boy is she spot on.  He shared that today among the many stories he told.  He grew up in the projects, but had no idea they were poor.  They were happy, and everyone he knew had holes in the knees of their jeans too, so he didn't feel any different from anyone else.  Until he went to school and found out not everyone lived that way.  The 'rich kids' made fun of him.  

That wasn't really what shaped his life, it was his love of singing that drove him to be a performer.  He went to a Ray Charles concert with his sister when he was a young teenager - he said not only did everyone applaud every song he sang, but they clapped for everything he said.  And he thought that kind of adoration from the fans was what he wanted.

He's never done drugs, never drank alcohol.  He's lived a clean, sober, fulfilling life.  And he still does.  At 75 years old he has twin boys who are 10.  He hopes to live long enough to instill his mothers' wisdom into his boys.  He is charming, well-spoken and loves the audience.

I would have loved to hear him sing today, but he didn't do that.  It was still great to sit and listen to the stories.  From the Bobby Doyle Three, to the New Christy Minstrels, to The First Edition - which then changed to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition - to his many solo and duet records, he's got some great stories.  

He is truly a gentleman and a performer and I count myself among the fortunate to have been able to see him today.

Happy Birthday Nan!!

I know I'm a day early, but we were pretty excited about Nan's birthday gift this year.  Take a look....

I recently had all of our home movies transferred to DVD and found a couple hours worth of video from the bogs.  This was A LOT of fun to make and even funner to watch.  Hope you all enjoy!

Walking The Walk

What a great experience yesterday.  Jim and I 

walked with a couple hundred other kindred spirits to support cancer survivors.

Survivorville was held at the Opryland Hotel and the walk was on the grounds of the hotel.  We walked around on the surface roads all around the hotel, following the trail of little orange cones - and the people in front of us.

There were women, men and children of all ages.  Cancer knows no socioeconomic boundaries and neither does support.  There was lots of storytelling, lots of laughter and many, many smiles.  It wasn't exactly one of those ultra-competitive races.  We feel like we've already won!! 

There were winners

After we finished, we had to go inside the convention center to get the goodie bags.  We cold have gone inside and taken the  escalator, but instead we chose the stairs

because this is how we really felt.  (And by the way, this song was performed by a band named Survivor.  Quite appropriate!!)

We got medals for finishing the walk!  They have the Survivorville symbol - the cancer ribbon with all the colors.

It was such an uplifting, inspirational time.  Thanks to all of you for your love and support!!

Dwight Yoakam

We had tickets to see Dwight Yoakam last night at The Woods at Fontanel, an outdoor venue.  He's one of those performers that we have wanted to see, but hadn't yet had the chance.  We decided to get seats instead of 'lawn' - which turned out to be a good choice given the rainy day we had.  We were about 10 rows back from stage - here is our view of the stage from the seats - not zoomed in, this is it

We sat through a couple hours of a chilly (yes, I do think 65 degrees - in Tennessee -- in July is chilly!) misty rain, two less-than-stellar opening acts (more about them in another post) and lots of people watching.  And then the stage was set......

and out came Dwight Yoakam

We were treated to some great, classic Dwight Yoakam music and moves.
Like this

and this

and this

Clearly, that's how he's able to fit into these jeans......

It was a great show.  He played a wide variety of music - from his first album to his latest, and everything in between.  

He told us at the beginning that he would play until 'curfew', which they do have there as it's in a fairly residential neighborhood.  And he did.  He didn't even pause between some of the songs - he has a crew member whose job is to bring out his guitar when he needs to change, and they do a quick swap and the music keeps playing.

He is a singer / songwriter / entertainer.  Obviously loves what he does, and he does it well.  He came back on stage for a encore - which was Suspicious Minds - and made his exit, stage right, with music, a smile and a wave.

If you've had enough Dwight, feel free to skip the next video.  If you want to stick around and here A Thousand Miles From Nowhere, enjoy.  I did!!

The Robins Have Almost Outgrown the Nest!

An update on our babies.  Since, Wednesday, they have grown -- a lot!!

I don't think think it will be too long until they are fighting for space and pushing each other out of the nest.

Robins in Their Nest

Right outside of our kitchen, on the top of the drainpipe elbow, is a nest.  Every year the robins use it and we get to see the babies before they fly off.

I took these still pictures on Sunday.  There are three babies in the nest and they're still really small.  Their eyes were closed and their necks were very weak - it was obviously challenging for them to keep their heads held up!  You can easily see two of them, the third one is in the back on the left.

They were obviously hungry and when they heard me they hoped it was Mama bringing some food.  Sorry babies!!

I did manage to get some video of Mama feeding them on Tuesday night.  In the first section, you can see the babies really well.  Mama came with some food, but then got spooked by something and flew off before feeding them.  The second part of the movie shows her feeding them.  Their mouths open wide, wide, wide to get some food!  The babies will eat worms, insects and berries.  She was feeding worms this time.

Apparently it's not uncommon for them to build a nest in a sheltered area.  They don't generally use bird houses, but do like some shelter.  They've been there for years, and come back every year, so they must like that it's protected from both the weather and the predators.  

I just saw her fly up into the nest tonight, so I know they're still there.