For any of you who’ve read any of my stories about my Aunt Vi, you would know what a loving, kind aunt she was. She rescued me from babysitting hell in 1979 by moving out to Long Island to take care of us while mom worked and over the years she cooked us plenty of dinners. Aunt Vi had lots of specialties: chicken cacciatore, eggplant parmigiana, pizza rustica, all Italian favorites. One of the things Aunt Vi made, which she actually gave me the recipe for was something she called zucchini bake.

Z is for Zucchini Bake

It’s pretty rare that I share a recipe here, but this was published on the old Associated Content back in 2007 and I’m going to republish it here as it was written:
I made my Aunt Vi’s zucchini bake for a luncheon at work one day and it went over big. Some people at the luncheon thought it was a frittata. Others believed it was a quiche. I'd say it's somewhere in between. Nonetheless it makes a delicious addition to any main course meal, or even an 'anytime' snack. It can be enjoyed heated up, at room temperature, or even cold right out of the fridge. I guess you could say it's versatile.

Ingredients:
4 Zucchini chopped or grated
1 Cup Grated Cheese
Cup Vegetable Oil/Crisco
1 Small Onion Chopped or grated (*grating adds lots of extra flavor!)
Salt/Black Pepper
Parsley Flakes or Fresh Parsley, chopped
Garlic Powder
1 Cup of Bisquick (or just plain flour!)
4 Eggs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees
Chop or grate (*) the zucchini into small pieces
Mix in Bisquick
Beat 4 eggs, then add the following:
-Oil
-Grated Cheese
-Onion
-Salt and Pepper
-Parsley
-Garlic Powder
Mix well!
Spray baking pan with cooking spray
Place mixture into pan
Let bake until golden brown on top
Takes about 45-60 minutes
When serving, cut the bake into small squares

Enjoy!

So if you like zucchini, or just about anything like this, give it a try today. It’s pretty versatile and oh so delicious!

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Boy am I tired! This has been the longest, dreariest week I can remember in a long, long time. It has been raining for what seems like forever, and as I said the other day in my W is for Weather post, your mood can be affected by the weather around you, and so…



Breaking down

Lately it seems like everything around me is breaking down. First it was the dishwasher, then the vacuum, and now the dehumidifier. I’ve got a broken window in my basement and I’m trying to be calm about all of it, but it’s not easy. If I end up leaving my house in the near future, and end up doing it as a short sale, then whatever money I spend will just be for naught, like money down the drain. Grrrrr!!!!!

So close and yet so far

School is winding down very quickly and this time of the year is especially draining for most teachers. In the grand wisdom of the New York State Education Department, we teachers are no longer required to teach as of about late April on. Why, you may ask. Well, the operative word here is “testing.” These poor kids and us poor teachers are taking and administering all sorts of test after test after test, and that’s not even counting the final exams in the middle of June. There’s no time to teach, only do what you can to prepare for and have the kids take the tests. Again, grrrr!!!!!

A-Z and Z-A Bloggers Challenge

Well, I’m almost at the end of the A-Z Challenge…just one letter to go: “Z.” The only thing is, I’m having trouble thinking of a topic for the letter and since I’ve got to delve right back into the Z-A Challenge, I’ve got to think of two! Any suggestions?

So much to do, so little time

I think that what’s making me even more tired is that I’ve definitely bit off more than I can chew, especially with writing. I love writing for all the sites that I write for, but I can’t seem to get stuff out often enough, at least effectively. I love writing for this blog, for it gives me an outlet to write anything and everything I want, but even lately I haven’t had the time to update it like I want to. I don’t exactly know the answer, but hopefully once school is done, I can focus more and be more efficient.

I’ve stopped publishing Pop Music News Weekly on Y!CN, though I would like to keep it going here somehow. I especially would like to cover the iTunes and Billboard Charts of the week because I find them interesting. We’ll see…

In the meantime, I’ve been neglecting my house in favor of writing lately. I wish I could afford a maid, but that’s just not possible, lol. I don’t know how to fix all of these things I have to do, and between the weather and that, I guess I’m feeling a little crappy (and that’s not even mentioning my allergies!).

On the lighter side…



Word on Twitter Tuesday was that Madonna was headed to Chicago to do a spot on Oprah’s big finale. The reports were confirmed later, but that’s not what excited me. Supposedly during the show, she announced that she is indeed, finally, working on a new album. I think that this is the longest time she’s ever gone between albums and now I’m officially excited. I’m needing new Madonna!



Saturday night marks the season finale of Saturday Night Live, as well. The guest host will be Justin Timberlake and the musical guest is Lady Gaga. Justin’s been on before and he’s been hilarious every time and Gaga…well Gaga. It’s gonna be a cool show so set your DVR’s.

I think I’ve done enough babbling for one night. Here’s a special wish from Terence Trent Darby and me for Mother Nature. Ciao!





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Xenophobia – the hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture

Phobias in general are irrational fears. There are all sorts of phobias, and they often get confused or coupled with hatred. Just like animals, people lash out and go on the offensive when they’re afraid of something and we see it all the time with phobias. From my corner of the world, I’m especially sensitive to homophobia, which is the root of most hate crimes against gays.

Xenophobia, I believe, is fairly common amongst people. We inherently tend to stick with our own crowd, so to speak, in most situations. Given this great big “melting pot” of ours, it’s no wonder we’ve had a long history of not getting along. As an ESL teacher, I am as sensitive to xenophobia as I am to homophobia because I see it all the time. The hatred coupled with the fear of foreigners is everywhere and it’s not a good thing.

If you ask a person who obviously has a dislike for foreign people, especially Hispanics, they’ll tell you that it’s because of their legal status. Well I have some students that are legal and some that are not, but I treat them all the same. The whole legal issue is a convoluted one anyway, and besides, who’s to say how our ancestors got here in the first place? There was a time when all you had to do was get a boat ticket over here, be healthy and know someone. Welcome to America!

So, aside from the legal issues surrounding the foreigners who come to live here these days, and maybe the language barriers, there’s really no reason to fear them. In many ways, they’re very similar to us, with families, friends, hopes and dreams, etc. So if you feel you might be a sufferer of xenophobia, try and be aware of it…and the next time you see someone from another country, give em’ a smile, or even say hello. You never know, you might just make a new friend!

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It’s Monday afternoon and the first day of a long, rainy week. Whatever happened to “April showers bring May flowers?” I mean, we had a pretty wet month of April and so now aren’t we supposed to be enjoying some May weather, beautiful and sunshiny, with lots of flowers? Well, the flowers are out, but the sun really hasn’t been around too much since last Friday and from the looks of things we won’t be seeing it again until maybe Saturday or Sunday. I guess I’ll be doing a lot of writing this week…



W is for Weather

Weather permeates our lives at all times without us ever really realizing it. From severe weather to frigid winters, rainy days and heat waves, the weather that’s going on around us affects what we do, how we feel, and how we act. Here in New York, the four seasons of the yearly cycle of weather give us the best and worst of what weather has to offer:

Lazy, hazy days of summer

A cooling breeze blowing off of the ocean over a white sandy beach



Ominous skies warning the arrival of an afternoon thunderstorm

Crisp, refreshing autumn air

Freezing cold temperatures and dreary skies

Inches upon inches of snow, oftentimes keeping in plain sight for weeks upon cheerless weeks

Crocuses and daffodils emerging from a long winter’s sleep



Rainy days and Mondays

Reawakening of the spirit upon the return of spring



I’m sure that many of you can relate to these scenarios of the four seasons and the weather events they produce. With each of them come associations with which we can all identify, feelings and sensations related to each of these circumstances. Weather can make us happy and it can make us sad. It can awaken within us all that is the glory of Mother Nature and it can hunker us in towards a long, melancholy state. But of course, this isn’t all there is to be said about weather.

Weather can be fascinating …and deadly!

Part of the wonder of weather is the sheer force with which it can sometimes strike. I’m lucky enough not to live in an area that’s affect too often by tornados, which to me is one of the most fascinating weather occurrences on Earth. These dark funnels that reach down to the ground from the sky instill a sense of beauty, fascination and terror to those lucky, or unlucky, enough to experience one. I sometimes wish for the opportunity to witness the majestic power of this force, but I think I’m better off just seeing them from afar.



Another fascinating and deadly weather phenomenon is lightning. Like tornados, lightning can be an absolutely magnificent thing to behold, but with the frightening potential for danger. I remember my ex Joe always being fascinated with lightning. Whenever a thunderstorm would approach, he’d make his way out to the front stoop or the back deck to catch a better glimpse, while I stayed as close to the inner part of the house as possible. Lightning terrifies me, yet I can’t deny its allure. I’ve spent many a summer’s day in Florida, where enormous streaks of lightning permeate the sky almost every day, and the experiences are ones I’ll always remember for both the beauty and the fright it would often bring.



Of course, another deadly, yet fascinating weather event is the notorious hurricane. Here on Long Island we are affected by them every once in a blue moon and there are two I remember distinctly. Hurricane Belle was the first hurricane I ever experienced back in 1976. It struck in the late night hours and it was absolutely petrifying. Within minutes of the first howling winds, electricity was lost and we were left in complete darkness with only the horrifyingly scary noises that the wind brought.



Nine years later, Long Island was hit with another hurricane called Gloria. Gloria was expected to be much worse than it was and it turned out to be somewhat of a dud, though it did cause considerable damage and of course, power outages. The eye of the storm came right over the island and it was eerie, getting sunny and beautiful for about twenty minutes as it passed over us, paving the way for the second half of the storm. This one struck during the daytime hours, so to me it wasn’t as terrifying as Belle.

Of course, what would a blog post be from me without music? This one’s an oldie, but goodie from late Long Islander Laura Branigan. It had already been a hit, but gained somewhat of a resurgence in the days approaching the onslaught of this storm. It was and still is a great song!





I’m sure we all have weather stories to tell. Weather is all around us and I think we often take for granted the power it has over our lives as well as our psyches. I’ve been mentioning lately that my mindset has been in a good place lately and I think it has a lot to do with the spring weather. Though I do enjoy the warmer months, I don’t think I could ever live in a place that’s beautiful all the time. To me, trudging through the cold, bleary days of winter only works to make you feel that much better when spring comes.

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I've been trying hard to think of a "V" topic to discuss and I came up with a few ideas, but then I was listening to Madonna and...

'Vogue' was THE song back in the day, and it was recorded at a time when Mo was at the very top of her game. Vogueing was a dance that was popular around gay clubs during the late 80's and it involved many of the movements you see in the video.

The 'Vogue" video is awesome! It was shot in black and white and the production on the piece is absolutely stellar, as is the very cool choreography. The song is infectuous and hit the top spot on Billboard's Hot 100 Charts. But this video is not all there is to say, I mean see, of 'Vogue.'

The year it was out, Madonna and her troupe performed the song live at the MTV Music Awards. They were dressed in French Provincial costumes and they put a whole new spin on the tune. The choreography was very different and just as excellent. I added a video of that one, too below, so check it out! So, "what are you looking at?'..."


"Strike a Pose"

Now, where were we? Ah yes, "don't just stand there, let's get to it, strike a pose there's nothing to it. Vogue!"


Madonna - Vogue by zocomoro





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Ugly is in the eye of the beholder. I know, I know, the real saying has the word ‘beauty’ in it, but doesn’t the same go for ugly? About two years ago my students and I were doing some research on animals and I found a blog that I’ve come to love. It’s called “Ugly Overload” and it’s dedicated to…you guessed it: ugly animals. Since this A-Z Bloggers Challenge has led me to find topics I wouldn’t ordinarily write about, getting to the letter “U” made me think of this.

U is for Ugly

As I said, ugly is in the eye of the beholder just the same as beauty, and even though this blog chronicles what it calls “ugly” animals, I don’t think they’re all ugly. In fact, some of them are downright cute! Just take a look at this cutie, a small primate called a tarsier.



These guys live in the islands of the Asian Pacific and they’re best known for their great big, bulging eyes and their spindly fingers. Cute, no? Well if you don’t think the tarsier was cute, then take a look at this baby aardvark. This little cutie was named the most “ugdorable” animal of the day a couple of Mondays back.



Here’s a creature that sure looks like it’s from another planet. I’d characterize this one as more freaky than ugly. It’s an insect called a Friday Beetle and the stick-like body is nothing compared to that alien face!



Okay now, here’s one I do think was born with some ugly genes, poor thing. This Snub-nosed Monkey has a face only a mother could love.



This last one is another one of the site’s “ugdorable” winners. It’s called an ‘aye aye’ and it’s related to the much cuter lemur. This poor little guy was born in the Philadelphia Zoo and his name is Smeagol.



So, whether or not you think any of these creatures are truly ‘ugly’ is totally up to you, the beholder of the photos. Either way, “Ugly Overload” is a fascinating web blog with tons and tons of interesting photos of all kinds of creatures and it’s very educational as well. My students and I visit there every once in awhile, check out the latest uglies, and always learn something new together. I highly recommend you make a visit!

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Here’s a topic for the letter “T” that’s quite unusual. It’s just a question really, but I’ve never heard it asked before and yet it’s something I’ve always wondered about. Since this challenge has brought me to topics I wouldn’t ordinarily discuss, I figured this is the perfect place to bring it up.

T is for Time Zones

Okay, so here’s the situation: the world is made up of time zones, according to longitude. Every 15 degrees, I believe, is an hour’s difference in time. The mainland United States is made up of four of them: Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific. Now I’m absolutely sure that there must be many people both in the US and around the world that live close to the lines that separates the time zones and so I’ve often wondered what it must be like.

Imagine living in one time zone and working in another. Or visiting places like movie theaters, nightclubs or concert halls where events are run at certain times. What about having friends or relatives across time zone lines? I would imagine it can be quite confusing or at least a pain in the neck in many circumstances. I know it’s bad enough when we change the clocks twice a year for Daylight Savings Time, so I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to live in such a situation each and every day.

I’m really surprised I’ve never heard it talked about anywhere before, as a human interest news item or something. If you or anyone you know has had or is living this experience, I’d love to hear from you, along with any tidbits you could throw out there. I’m just wondering…

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Happy Tuesday everyone! The weather is certainly getting nicer around these parts, sunny skies and warm temperatures. No matter what’s going on in your life or how you’re feeling, this kind of weather certainly helps you to see things a little brighter. One of the reasons I like living here in the north is the change of seasons. I think that when the weather slowly turns from cold and dreary to warm and sunny, you just appreciate it more!

Today we continue on with our A-Z Challenge. The other folks are long on their way back already, but it’s no matter. I enjoy coming up with random topics such as these to talk about, and so I’ll get there in my own time. Today we’re on the letter “S.” There are so many words beginning with “S” that at first it was hard to come up with an “S” topic to discuss, but I just finished penning my latest ”Keys to Life” piece, Key to Life #8: Expect Bliss and it gave me my idea for today’s topic:



S is for Smile

Now I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’ve been told many times in my life that I have a great smile. I’m not so sure about that, but I know why people say it. I think smiles are contagious and they’re easy ways to spread joy to the people you interact with on a daily basis, whether you know them or not. Smiles come naturally for me and they’re always genuine, so I guess that’s why people like it when I do.



The piece I wrote today is all about putting a positive spin on your attitude, which is not always such an easy thing to do. Life can be pretty harsh sometimes and it’s not always easy to think positive thoughts, but it is something that’s worthy to strive for all the time. One way to add to your positive outlook is to smile. Smiling is a simple thing to do and when you get a smile back it just makes you feel good inside.



Imagine if there were more smiles in the world. Wouldn’t that be nice? I mean, I’ve run into my fair share of scowlers who never seem to crack a smile and all they do is bring me down. I mean, my life isn’t always the greatest, but why do I need to show it to everybody around me? Whenever I leave my house I try and forget my troubles, live in the moment, and smile whenever I interact with people.


My smiliest picture!

I think this is a perfect companion piece to the latest key to life. If you expect bliss, you’ll smile more, and maybe if you smile more, you just might get some sunshine and warmth coming right back at ya. So what are you waiting for, just smile!

Here’s an oldie from a singer named Vitamin C:

“Put a smile on your face, and make the world better!”





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Randazzo…I know what you’re thinking, what is a Randazzo? Well it’s my mom’s maiden name, the name I’d always dreamed of changing Myers to since I was a kid. You see, with a name like Myers, people have always asked me if I was German or Jewish, and I’m neither of those. I’m Italian, from both sides of my family and in this country where we’re all identified by our heritage I always wanted people to know that.

You see the name Myers came about when my dad was brought over here from Italy, where he was born. When the Allies, more specifically the Americans, occupied his city, Trieste, towards the end of WWII, my grandmother met a soldier named Norman Myers. He married my grandmother and brought her and my dad to the United States to live, and sometime after that he adopted my father, giving him his last name.

Not being an Italian name is not the only reason I always wanted to change Myers to Randazzo. Norman eventually abandoned my grandmother and my dad, and I never even met the guy who gave me my last name. Besides, my relationship with my father growing up was never really good, and I never knew his mother’s maiden name anyway (neither did he!). My mom only had one brother and my dad really had no family to speak of, so most of my cousins were Randazzos and I wanted to be like them.

The name Randazzo was taken from a small town in Sicily where my maternal grandfather’s family was from. That was a common thing back then, taking surnames from places of origin. I’ve been to Italy, but have yet to get to Sicily (my next trip, for sure!), and of course when I go I’ll visit Randazzo.

Now I am in my forties and my outlook has changed from what it was back then. I’ve been a Myers too long and that’s how people know me, anyway. Yeah, people still ask me how I can be Italian with a name like Myers, but I just shrug it off and say, “whaddyagonnado?” I look Italian and I guess that’s all I need. Besides, ever since the last few years of my father’s life I looked at him in a different light. He’s the Myers that gave me my name, and I have five siblings, a sister-in-law, two nephews and a mom who share it. So yeah, I think I’ll just stick with Myers!

The town of Randazzo is located on the northern slopes of the famous volcano, Mt. Aetna, in northeastern Sicily.





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There are all kinds of queens in this world. There’s Queen Elizabeth and the Queen of Hearts, the Queen Mary and the borough of Queens, but the word ‘queen’ is also a part of Gayspeak and it’s a word that’s used a lot. In technical terms, the word ‘queen’ refers to the type of gay man who exhibits effeminate qualities, the stereotypical characteristic most associated with gay men, but using the term in that sense is mostly for gay men.

Q is for Queen….Drag Queen, that is!

When the general public hears the word ‘queen’ associated with a gay man, they most likely associate it with what is more specifically known as a ‘drag queen.’ Drag queens are an indelible part of gay society. They are the ones who enjoy impersonating the female role and many of them do it up with gusto. Some of them simply make forays out in public in full drag attire while others like to let it all out on the stage, entertaining the masses with their unique brand of entertainment.



Drag queens have been around for as long as I can remember, and they weren’t/aren’t always for entertaining gay people either. In the movie “Torch Song Trilogy,” the lead actor played by Harvey Fierstein, played “Virginia Ham,” a female impersonator at a drag club which catered to the general public.

There’s so much I can say about drag queens, and maybe I’ll get to it all one day, but for now I’d like to share just two things about drag queens from my own experiences: something I love and something, or someone, I remember.

Drag Queen Names

One of the funnest things about drag queens is their names. More often than not I always get a chuckle when one of them is announced upon their performance. There are all sorts of names these performers use as aliases, and some of my favorites are the ones that play on words, such as Arnold Beckhoff’s (Harvey Fierstein’s character) in Torch Song Trilogy. In addition to “Virginia Ham,” he shares some of his past handles with the audience, amusing and titillating titles like “Fonda Boys,” “Bang, Bang La Desh,” “Clare Voyant,” and my personal favorite “Anita Mann.”



There’s a blog called “Tilly Screams” that published its “Canonical List of Drag Queen Names” back in 2008 and some of them are a hoot:

There’s Agnes of Gosh, Carlotta Stolengoods, Dolly Llama, Eva Destruction, Formica Dinette, Gena Lola Golden Gate Bridgeda, Ginger Vitus, Gusty Winds, Hedda Lettuce, Juan Nightstand, Marsha Dimes, Miss Diagnosed, Polly Esther, Rachel Discrimination, Tallulah Bunkbed, Tequila Mockingbird, and Tess Tosterone, to name a few.

A special drag queen I once knew

In my days I’ve had the pleasure (and sometimes displeasure!) of seeing drag shows. My good buddy Blanche and I used to frequent a bar called Crystals back in the day that had a drag show every Sunday night. There was this one performer, Madeline Keith, who was also a bartender on Saturday nights. Keith (his real name) was a tall, handsome guy, American Indian by heritage and sweet as can be. He kind of had a thing for me, but I have to admit his Sunday night musings were not my thing and so I just kept things between us on a friendly level.

Anyway, Madeline Keith was the host and headliner each week at Crystals Sunday night drag show. He did this bit every now and again that was simply hysterical! He’d come out in a housedress, with his hair up in a kerchief and curlers and a box of Life cereal in his hands. Shirley Bassey’s “This is My Life” would be playing and Keith would be lip syncing in perfect precision to the words.

She’d sit at a small table that was set up on the stage and proceed to begin making her breakfast, all the while the speed of the song would be getting faster, and his movements would get faster. This continued in classic comedic fashion working its way to a frenzied finish as Bassey began to sound like Minnie Mouse and the Life cereal flew out of the box and all over the place as Keith emphasized the words with flailing expressive arms, all done in perfect sync to the music.


The real Shirley Bassey singing 'This is My Life,' at normal speed!




As people do at a good drag show, many in the appreciative audience came up to the stage to reward the performer with bills, and Keith always got good tips for that one, even from me, but that’s not the only time I would give her a big tip. There was another time I can remember when Madeline Keith did a little something special, and he did it just for me. I remember it vividly because it was the night I was outed to my parents.

Madeline Keith often performed Patti LaBelle tunes, and there was a song by the diva that I had always liked called, ‘Love, Need and Want You.’ I once asked him if he knew it and he told me that he didn’t, but one Saturday night at the club he told me to be sure to be there the following week because he had learned the song and would be doing it just for me. I was excited!



At the time I had been seeing Kevin, who I’ve spoken of before. Kevin lived in Queens (lol) and I had been spending weekends at his house, unbeknownst to my mom and dad. One particular weekend, the same weekend Keith was performing my song, my little brother had been snooping around my bedroom and found some, ahem, magazines under my bed. Now I won’t divulge the nature of these magazines, but I will say that seeing them in my room hidden beneath my bed would give the finder the notion that I was indeed gay.

Being the typical little brother that he was, he went straight (pardon the pun) to my mom and shared with her what he’d found. Lo and behold I came home early from Kevin’s to get ready to watch Keith perform and bam!, mom asked me if I was gay. Now I won’t rehash that whole story again except to say that about two hours after my teary-eyed discussion with mom, I was at Crystals sitting at a table near the stage with my friend Blanche as Madeline Keith played my song. At that moment I was as happy as I’d ever been. My parents knew where I was for the very first time since I’d been going out and Keith was playing a song just for me!

When the song had finished, I grabbed a ten dollar bill out of my pocket and walked on to the stage, placing the tip in the place where drag queens usually get their tips, lol. Keith smiled at me, he was as beautiful as a woman as he was handsome as a man, and gave me a smile, a big kiss, and a loving hug. It wasn’t long after that that Crystals closed and Keith disappeared from the scene. I haven’t seen him or her since then, but I’ll always remember!





Some queens from NYC's 2010 Pride Parade




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Well life’s been a little crazy around here these past few days and I haven’t had much to time to write. Sunday was the 1st of May and the first day of the all new Z-A Bloggers Challenge…and I’m still on the letter “P” on my way towards “Z” in the other direction. It doesn’t matter though, anyway. I will get there and back eventually. “P” has been a hard one for me for some reason, but here goes...

P is for Pink

No, no, I’m not talking about the color, though I do like pink. Of course I’m talking about singer/songwriter extraordinaire, the one, the only Pink!

She's a little bit rock, a little R&B, a little punk, and a whole lotta everything else. I first heard Pink way back in her beginnings with the defiant, tough gal tune, “There You Go.” I didn’t know much about her at the time…who did? All I knew was that I liked the song and from the video I thought she was odd.

Next for me came “M!ssundazstood,” which I touched upon lightly in a recent “Song of the Day” post, so I won’t go there again, only to say it was the beginning of a beautiful singer-fan relationship. After that CD came the singer’s 2006 “I’m Not Dead.” I have to admit, it took me a long time to get into this one. I didn’t even make the purchase until after it was out for awhile. The only thing I knew (and loved!) was the song, or at least the video for the song “Stupid Girls.” It’s a classic humorous jab at those famous rich bitches we all love to hate. Check it out:





It wasn’t until after I bought her most recent studio album, ‘Funhouse,’ that I really delved back into ‘I’m Not Dead.’ Though the albums before and after were much better in my opinion, there are a few choice cuts on this one, especially her well-written Bush-themed collaboration with the Indigo Girls called ‘Dear Mr. President’:





But of course, ‘Funhouse’ was where I really got to love this magnificently talented singer and songwriter. The album was written as a way of the singer coping with her breakup with long time boyfriend and later husband Carey Hart (the two have since reconciled and are expecting their first baby). The songwriting on this album is stellar, from the defiant ‘So What’ to the raw and powerful ‘Sober’ among many others. This album placed Pink as one of the tops on my list of favorite musical artists and I can’t wait until her next one, whenever that may come.



In the meantime, last fall the singer put out her first greatest hits collection called ‘Pink: Greatest Hits So Far’ and with it came three new songs, two of which hit the top ten. ‘Raise Your Glass’ is an up tempo and uplifting ‘cheers’ to the good things in life and ‘F**kin Perfect’ is a tender song that speaks to the self-esteem issues that plague many poorly raised children. The songs’ success reflects the star’s talents and continued staying power. P is for Pink, indeed!

Here’s ‘Sober,’ one of my personal favorites. Enjoy!





For past pieces I've written on Pink, look for the 'Pink' label to the right or check these out:

Pink's 'Funhouse'

Pink at Madison Square Garden

Pink's Top Ten Songs


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