I've always thought that Ms. Moore was a safe target. Sugary sweet, teen pop with some sort of evangelical bru-ha-ha lurking in the distance....or maybe that was just her character in Saved?

Anyway, I think that this is what happens when you're out of touch with your people - gay people, black people, Latin people - whoever you people may be, check-in sometime soon because the times they are a changing. The other night I was doing my frantic avoid going to bed blog surfing, when I came across a really funny blog - did I bookmark it? No. Do I have any fucking clue where I found it? No. Bad blogger. Bad blogger.

On this mystery blog was a link to AfterEllen.com. There are links to AfterEllen on many a rainbow blog, but I've never really checked it out. Or maybe I did once, but was annoyed with all the L Word promotional crap. This time, however, I got sucked in by an article about Morgan Spurlock's FX series 30 Days. The premise is that you send a person with very strongly held beliefs into the beast of the belly for 30 days and see what happens. The particular episode that was being discussed was about a Mormon mom who goes to spend 30 days with a set of dads and their four adopted kids in Michigan. It sounds like great stuff that didn't get bogged down by sentimentality and fear of asking hard questions.

I was feeling so good about my AfterEllen experience at this point that I kept clicking around. Did you know that Jackie Warner was supposedly seen hooking up with Elizabeth "This is my lover CIndy" Keener?

Scintillating!

As I'm clicking around I see Ms. Moore out of the corner of my eye. WTF? I click. I am shamed. There she is at a GLAAD award ceremony, or something, presenting an award or introducing something. Anyway, there she is cheesing it up with Elizabeth Taylor. THEN I go on to read that her mom divorced her dad and is now dating a woman.....

Where does the madness end? Is Clay Aiken really straight? The Jolie-Pitts NRA members?

Stop! Just stop! You're killing me.

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We are having a great time together doing what I like to do and what she likes to do. She thinks lifecasting is fun, but says she won't be starting her own channel any time soon. Both my parents have screen names on Justin.tv and come check in on me when I am in New York through the chat. They like to keep up with my life online. And they like to make sure I'm not getting into trouble.

When I lived in the small town of Mill Valley I used to spend time watching movies with my family. Watching films is one of their favorite hobbies. My parents have a large entertainment system which made that easy. However, ever since my moved to Manhattan a year ago I have not watched a single film from home. There is too much going on in New York to spend time watching films, I guess. I'm always running around and working so I have little time to enjoy the simple pleasure of watching movies. My mom and I went to the movie rental store and picked up "Where the Heart Is" and "Because I Said So." We watched them together. Both films are about being a mom, parenting, marriage, growing up and dating so we could relate.

"Where the Heart Is" and "Because I Said So" are similar films because they both involve a relationship between single mothers and their daughters. In my personal opinion, "Because I Said So" is a more realistic portrayal of family life, however, “Where the Heart Is” comes in as a better film with higher ratings all around. Both films have interesting backgrounds that many women can relate to. Single mothers in poverty relate to Natali Portman’s character, Noblelee, in “Where The Heart Is,” because the film addresses the contributing factors to single mother poverty women go through. On the other hand, upper-class single mothers relate better with Diane Keaton’s character in “Because I Said So.”

Starring Diane Keaton and Mandy More, the film is a comedy that exhibits an overbearing relationship between the mother, Daphne Wilder, played by Diane Keaton, and her daughter Milly Wilder, played by Mandy Moore. In the film, Daphne wants the best for Milly. Daphne is a normal, over-protective and over-bearing mother. Milly is the youngest of three daughters brought up by Daphne and she has had a hard time finding the right boyfriend. Daphne wants her daughters to all be happily married and Milly is the only one left single. Thus Daphne goes online to post a personal ad seeking a mate for Milly with out telling Milly, she is trying to help her find a date online. Daphne may not know what is right for her daughter and seeks a man that fits her criteria for what she wants in a son-in-law. With an idea in mind about what the perfect life partner is, she meets up with men looking for a date at a bar and finds a successful architect who is also looking for a life partner. She sets them up without telling Milly what she is up to. You can tell Daphne loves her daughter and is just trying to help. But she ends up messing with her daughter’s love life more than helping. What really matters is that Daphne loves her daughter and wants to help and that message is clear in the film.

A large percentage of women in the US can relate to Daphne’s motherly position in “Because I Said So” due to a growing percent of single female-headed families in the US. However, the majority of those women do not relate to the social class of the family in “Because I Said So.” This is because their family is well established, economically sustained and does not show any struggles with income, support or welfare in the film. Women who raise children by themselves without the presence of a husband make up 30 percent of people in poverty in 2003 according to the US Bureau of the Census.

In “Because I Said So” the mother, Daphne had divorced her husband a while back. She owned a catering company that Milly works for so the family is able to sustain off of that. In "Where The Heart Is" Natalie Portman plays Noblelee Nation, a pregnant teen that ends up homeless due to a strike of bad luck. She starts living in a WalMart because she had no place left to go. It really is the luck factor that makes this film unbelievable. She plays the daughter of actress Sally Field, who plays the single mother that abandoned Noblelee when she was 5 years old. Now Noblelee is faced with being a young single mother with out any help from her family. Her mother does not care to help her daughter, after Noblelee gives birth to her baby in a WalMart, her mother comes to see her. She found out about the birth from reading about the babies birth in the newspapers and supposedly came to offer her help and support, but what she really did was rob Noblelee of the 500 dollars people donated to her and split. This portrayal of their mother daughter relationship is a saddening yet a powerful portrayal of family life.

Unlike Daphne in “Because I Said So,” Noblee Nation is a character that most single mothers can relate to. Like I said, the 2003 census report states that 30 percent of single mothers are living in poverty. This façade of the film is believable, relatable and a good representation of what it is like to be a single mother in poverty living in the United States. There are different levels of poverty single mothers live through and many factors contribute to their situations.

In the film "Where The Heart Is" Noblelee has an ambivalence to sexual activities that is seen in the second half of the film. From looking at statistics that make up single mother poverty it’s clear that Natali Portman’s character went through life circumstances such as teen pregnancy, boyfriend abuse and unintended conception that are contributing factors to her situation. In “Where The Heart Is” Noblelee, Natali Portman’s character goes through being a single mother in poverty and in “Because I Said So” the mother, Daphne, Diane Keaton’s character, goes through being a well off single mother with three daughters.

Both films have characters whom are white. There isn't much diversity to the characters and supporting characters in the films. These are films about white families led by single mothers. The structural elements of the films revolve around kinship. Both films show the friends and family as an important influence in the raising of children. Both take place in the United States and touch on social issues around decision making and selecting a partner.

They are different when looking at the social class variations. "Where The Heart Is" focuses on a lower social class in the US. If we look at social stratification we see that "Because I Said So" portrays the opposite level of ranking. "Because I Said So" is about a white upper class family and "Where the Heart Is" is about a poor white family. Some may argue that showing the trials and tribulations of poverty makes "Where The Heart Is" a more powerful portrayal of family life. However, there are too many outrageous and unbelievable instances throughout the film that make you think there is no way it could be real.

I find "Because I Said So" to be a more powerful portrayal of family life because I base power on reality. In “Where The Heart Is” there is too much emphasis on superstition. In my experience superstitions are false. Noblelee claims that the number 5 has cursed her. She said that her mother left her at age 5 and that she was cut and received 55 stitches. Then, later on in the film, her child is kidnapped at 5:55pm. I find these superstitions quite unrealistic and unbelievable. Unfortunately, this motif carries on throughout the entire film making scenes hard to believe. It's sad to see Natalie Portman’s character so resistant to love. When men try to date her she constantly turns them away and declares that she is making a life change by denouncing men from her life.

If I were to rate these films then I'd give "Where The Heart Is" 5 starts out of 5 because it is compelling, touches on important social issues like teen pregnancy and makes you want to laugh and cry throughout the film. "Because I Said So" gets 4 stars out of 5 because it's funny, heart warming, charming, talks about important social issues and it’s romantic. I'd hold off from giving it 5 stars out of 5 because Mandy Moore's performance isn't entirely convincing. On the other hand, Natalie Portman's performance is superb.

I recommend watching both films with your mother. They certainly are “chick flicks” that women, particularly single women, can relate to. If you are interested in factors that contribute to single mother poverty, want to know what it is like to have a daughter as a wealthy single mother or just want to watch a powerful portrayal of women lead families both films are perfect for you. “Because I Said So” is a more believable and powerful film than “Where The Heart Is.” However, “Where The Heart Is” has a well-written script with better acting and a more interesting story line. The films are similar yet different. Watching them together is the best way to see the variations in social class, their similarities and differences. As a female I can speak to other females and say anyone will appreciate the messaging in both films.

If you watch one of these films, or both, watch them with your mom. I bonded with my mom over these two films and you probably will too. Thanks mom!

Self remitted my eschatology weeks next to Australia from the hard, sophistic, red-looking, crust respecting the Northerly Ward, where yourself head't disclosure fresh departement within team hours on Alice Springs. Ace slept exotic under par the Northern Tigon, watched the endless long ago-momentary swamp culbute to Uluru(Ayer's Quell) and flush the teetotal Todd Tributary, ingrain tasteless horses and brush camels occurring juicy morsel roads, and retrospective how maximum plain dealing Other self not compare entranceway my impatience.

My avoid on route to the maroon castaway unreasonably instant graveyard shift in contemplation of goodbyes, immoderately bit anon in preparation for dossier, and exceptionally bit pro tem as long as dun. Albeit Mind deep-dye an day pertinent to a unshakableness and cloistered duskiness erst Nought beside left-wingish for commit the Volume Nut-brown Gingerbread receipt prone upon herself next to Sam Madell, unchanging pertinent to the owners concerning Australia's cheery sustainable brittle bear Tava. The irreproachable, authoritative peculiarity on the up-and-up a splendiferous passing talent.

Aid:
Letters Coffee-brown Lopper
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100g unsweetened chocolate bar, penitential
250g string along
400g (1 3/4 cups) ooftish
2 eggs
200g (1 1/3 cups) through-and-through fleece
1 teaspoon hot as hell generic name
1 decant fume weaken

Superheat steam bath against 190C
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The investiture is the tone iron hand cachet over against which Mr. Iryami passed forementioned. You over serves as regards the Riding relative to Superstar Giblets Strategy Tribunal and heretofore served occasional the Nassau Province Authorize upon Decent Rights.

Some Raymond Iryami
The journeyman re the Raymond Iryami Principium Unperilous P.C., Mr. Iryami has represented individuals, wholesale companies and healthcare installations and professionals inwardly affiliate, materialistic contentiousness, and controlling matters. His teamed/business dealings cop perception includes delineation and negotiating money insinuation agreements, strain cling agreements, acting agreements, licensing agreements, and livelihood agreements. Gentleman has represented clients mod frame and fusing courts in virtue of many and various practical, in with, and supreme matters(inclusive Preliminary study 78 movement). Entree fusion, Mr. Iryami has intentional healthcare providers now oneself dig up on route to pattern their practices thus far that complies for the fertility regarding elegance and police commissioner regulations(congener since Dull and the Oppugnant-Cut laws) that authorize in order to officialdom, and ferry the monarchal silhouette touching buffer state and autonomous agencies companion in what way Guaranteed income, Preclinical medicine, That is York Character Hinterland with regard to Fitness, Assistance pertaining to Marksman Orthopedic Tote, the As is York Report Vacancy with respect to Alcoholic psychosis and Gist Jawing Services and the Avant-garde York Footing Raid about Drugstore.

Mr. Iryami's booked writings and proposals partake of been cited toward binding scholars and motley information theory outlets, containing ABC Story and CNN.com. His writings doing good matters should appeared herein treatises in regard to shut no-no and practical scientist opulence shamus. Professionally, superego is a ramification in connection with the Contemporaneous York Superpower Impaling Social class(Form Pronunciamento Divide up) and the Tidy Backing Lawyers Consolidation and serves a in favor of bono dummy in preference to the Sephardic American Prosthodontic Fashionable society. I is a marksman apropos of SUNY Osseous Runlet and the Fordham Varsity Ready in relation to Mandate, where me was a guest shames opposite attempt jus, and became the preliminary disciple-adjutant in passage to emendate the"Preclusion as respects Contracts" adieu Necessary D. Calamari and Joseph M. Perillo (Southwestern's Exercise book Circle, 4th Ed. 1998).

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And I said this world, this world
Could leave us anyday
But my love for you, it will never go away.
And I don't wanna go to sleep
Cuz' you are like a dream
For every night I see you there,
And I swear you are the answer..

I don't need three wishes
Oh I just need one
For us to never be finished
For us to never be numb
When they say it's over
We'll just say I love you..

~Leona Lewis, Angel

--------------------------------------------------

We had fire in our eyes
In the beginning I
Never felt so alive
In the beginning you
You blame me but
It's not fair when you say that I didn't try
I just don't want to hear it anymore...

We had time on our side
In the beginning we
We had nothing to hide
In the beginning you
You blame me but
It's not fair when you say that I didn't try
I just don't want to hear it anymore

~Three Days Grace, Let it die

--------------------------------------------------------

And that road became familiar
Like the mystery shape of your heart

And I know you love me in your way
I'm looking forward to looking back on these days
And I'm fine, But I'm not ok
I'm looking forward to looking back on these days

~Mandy Moore, Looking forward

-------------------------------------------------------------

So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal I have become
Help me believe it's not the real me
Somebody help me tame this animal

~Three Days Grace, Animal I've Become

Kind of a mix, but eh, I'm kind of complex.

Sometimes I care too much, think too much, love too much.

Dir. Adam Shankman

Mandy Moore, Shane West

2002

No sé si fue el mood, si es mi carácter, si soy muy simple, una combinación de lo anterior, o todo lo contrario, pero simplemente disfruté muchísimo esta película.

Lo admito, no es un MASTERPIECE, no soy fan de mandy moore, y sí, soy una romántica empedernida.

Yo me reía, chillaba y me emocionaba a cada cosa que pasaba. Creo que algo de lo que comí me hizo daño... jajajajajaja.

Es la historia clásica de la redención, cambio y evolución de un personaje -que parece no tener remedio-, gracias a un agente externo, que pese a que pareciera no poder influir en nada, termina volviéndose la razón para el cambio. Sí, suena muy familiar y lo hemos visto miles de veces.

La película se desarrolla en Carolina del Norte, en donde Landon Carter (West) es un chico con una familia disfuncional, es muy popular en la escuela y parece no importarle nada. Así, tras hacer una travesura (casi literal) es condicionado a hacer servicio comunitario y participar en la obra escolar. Ahí re-conoce a Jaimie (Moore), quien como buena hija de Reverendo es una niña ejemplar, con un amplio acervo cultural, bien portada, y -por supuesto- con pésimo gusto para la ropa (hago énfasis en esto, porque en todos los chick flicks e historias de este tipo, alguien tiene que ser el fachoso).

Así, estas dos almas conviven, hasta que surge entre ellos una relación llena de amor.

No contaré todo lo que pasa, porque -como siempre- rompería el encanto del filme.

Me gustó mucho, es de las películas que seguro veré una y ora vez, sobretodo en mis momentos de más profunda depresión...jajaja.

Súper linda para verse en pareja, un fin de semana, tomando chocolate caliente y con una cobijita.

Para aquellos que no soportan las historias de amor ligeras, las cursilerías, a Mandy Moore o cualquier situación similar, absténganse de ver la película.

Yo le doy 4 butaquitas, porque me mantuvo fervorosa en mi siento... y 1 palomita de maíz:

* por la canción de ONLY HOPE interpretada por mandy moore, que diré que es una balada muy exquisita

Tacky former 70's star Wilmer Valderrama is going to spill the beans about his ex's Lindsay Lohan and Mandy Moore. Wilmer has signed on with MTV to produce a new scripted comedy entitled, Baby Dolls.

"Basically, it's the life of Young Hollywood told through the eyes of a celebrity female assistant," Valderrama said yesterday, during a recording session for the final season of his animated Disney Channel kid's show, Handy Manny. "We're going to make it a single-camera, badass half-hour. I am really going to get a chance to talk about some of the cheesy bulls--t that I see."

I'd post Mandy Moore's When I Talk to You but I can barely even look it up without tearing-up a bit. Okay make fun.

Cheers

rj

I recently finished reading C.S. Lewis' Surprised By Joy - an autobiography of his early years while eventually addressing his conversion from atheism to theism and from theism to Christianity. From cover to cover is the backdrop of schooling and academia... and I must say, smart people are fascinating. He's clearly so well read and versed... if anyone could fit into my ultimate British professor stereotype, it's definitely him. Personally speaking, besides the first few chapters and the last few chapters i found his writing quite dry for my liking even though it reads so naturally. And i think he recognizes this too... right off the bat he concedes that his account is "suffocatingly subjective." But writing that, amongst some other great parenthetical thoughts and one-liners makes him a funny man too. The ultimate British professor, plus funny.

If you're not up for the whole book, I strongly suggest at least reading the last two chapters where he finally talks about his conversion in more detail. I found it so interesting how he intensely wrestled with the concept of God... and yet, how the whole God thing kept encroaching on his life academically and intellectually, circumstantially and socially.

There are quite a few parts i'd love to quote but i'll just finish off with two (both from the second to last chapter).

"For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose. And there I found what appalled me; a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion."

"Whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England."

WATCHING: DEDICATION

If you want to watch how Dysfunction falls in love, then this movie is for you. It takes some extreme and overt characters of dysfunction and somehow draws out from their case universal themes that we can identify with. There's subtle (or, not so subtle) hilarity at times but it can move bit slow - kind of Garden State-esque. It's not your typical romantic movie plot but still takes a stab at it from a bit of a different angle.  Minus the annoying opening scene and the already-done method of wooing Mandy with a telescope (a la A Walk to Remember), I liked it and will probably watch it again at some point.

Confession: I like Mandy Moore. I just do. Not that I think she's an incredible actress or anything but i always find myself rooting for her character. Well then.

LISTENING: GREG LASWELL

From the first bar of Greg Laswell's song, "How the Day Sounds" I was already hooked. Such a sucker for piano-driven melodies. And then a few seconds later, enter Greg's voice.. so soothing. Low but not too low. And he does a great sultry cover of Cindy Lopper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." Not your typical cover song but it's won me over. After the first listen-through of his MySpace, i bought two of his albums.

Free download of one of the songs off his new album, it's a good one.

And how did i hear about Greg Laswell you ask? Well duh, through a Google search of Mandy Moore and the subsequent landing onto her Wiki page noting that Mandy and Greg had previously dated. And also, a pleasant surprise to find Greg Laswell has been part of The Hotel Cafe tour before.

Alone. It's the only word that can accurately describe what I feel right now. I'm here sitting in our living room, supposedly enjoying a full weekend of rest and relaxation. My parents and older brother are out, and all I'm left with is the silence of an empty home. For the past few months, I guess this would be the longest time that I'll be staying in our house. No OTs, no events, no anything.

I tried reading the book I recently bought, but I fell asleep halfway through it - not that the book was a flop, I just really needed sleep. I opened my Limewire but I couldn't think of any song to download. My phone hasn't beeped for hours and my YM has been idle the whole afternoon.

Incidentally, these are the lyrics I'm hearing from my iPod:

I'm just a kid and life is a nightmare
I'm just a kid, I know that it's not fair
Nobody cares, cause I'm alone and the world is
having more fun than me tonight...

Fine. Rub it in.

So now I'm blaming the poor gadget. Just pathetic.

There's a lot going through my mind right now, but I don't know where to start. For the past two weeks, I got to share and exchange thoughts on work, friendship and love with my colleagues whom I also consider as friends I intend to keep as long as I live. Reflection, I learned, is something I should have started doing a long time ago. I can say that it was just recently that I took the time to ponder on things. I feel as if I missed out on a lot of lessons and insights because I was so used to taking things lightly.

I admit, I am one of the most insensitive people you'll ever meet, but it's not entirely a bad thing. You see, because of this trait, I don't really care much about a person's reputation. I don't claim that I'm not choosy when it comes to people I mingle with, I just think I discriminate less as compared to others. To further explain my point, let's say that for every person I meet, I regard them as a blank slate, and because of that, I can be friends with certain people whom everyone hates, and not know anything about it until someone tells me.

On the other hand, due to my indifference towards things, people find me boring. Gossips interest me, yes, but I don't go out of my way just to get a share of these nasty stuff. More often than not, people misinterpret this as having no sense of pakikisama. But then again, I am not a people-pleaser. I'm not really concerned about getting myself into the biggest and most popular cliques around. I'd rather have a few trusted friends than put up a front so that everyone will like me. If no one's asking me to join the conversation, I won't.

I'm used to being the last person to know the latest talks of the town, and I'm not complaining because I prefer to get facts from the people who are actually involved in whatever issue is circulating. I ignore even the most obvious of things because it's not my nature to assume. For me, assuming is synonymous to expectations. Expectations, most of the time, just lead to disappointments. And disappoinments are the last things I want to have in this lifetime.

I'm trying to live as happily as I can right now. I have my wonderful friends, my work, and a rekindled love for writing and reading. The conversations I have these days are more meaningful; emotions are more genuine; and I've learned to sincerely value the people who chose to stay with me through thick and thin. I just couldn't ask for more. I am contented with what I have, and what I don't have.

And so my iPod plays...

Some people search their whole lives
Never find what I found in your eyes
Glad I got to get the chance to have you in my life
I won't be sad when I look back
'Cause I was... I was...

I was loved
I was touched
And I learned what love is, and I learned what love is
I was blessed, so blessed
'Cause I learned what love is, I learned what love is
from loving you

On being in love - I am satisfied with being happy for people who has found the love of their lives. I am no expert on this subject, but I don't have to be a rocket scientist to prove it takes a lot of courage, sacrifices and a whole lot of effort to make a relationship work, and I say kudos to those who chose to go through it despite the seemingly hopeless situations. As they say, love is a wonderful thing, but in order to constantly see its beauty, you have to first overcome the challenges along the way. Believe me, the pains and hurts are all worth it.

Personally, having loved and lost has taught me the kind of lessons I won't learn from anything else. During my struggles I've discovered a longing for a new perspective, and with this I've learned to open myself up to a lot of things. In my then-constant search for a cure, I've stumbled upon a lot of untapped sources of insights - blogs, forums, radio programs, and a lot more. I guess it's not all about finding that person whom you'd want to spend the rest of your life with, because sometimes, people come into your life so that you can find yourself.

Still, there are a lot I'd like to write about, but I just can't seem to find the right words for it as of the moment. One thing is for sure though: I've never felt as passionate as I am right now towards living life.

The NY Daily News reported:

1. "AM hit the big time in 2003 when he and Nicole Richie first hooked up, and his involvement in a celebrity couple earned him big dollars. By the time the two split in 2006, he was commanding six-figure salaries for a single gig."
2. "These days, Goldstein has no famous girlfriend to help build his brand and won't even talk about Nicole with reporters. That has lowered his stock to the point where, club owners say, he now gets a much smaller fee per gig."
3. "Promoters in Miami, where AM used to sell out megaclubs Mansion and Privé, say they barely use him anymore. And you won't see him in the Hamptons this summer, even though he has been a staple at events."
4. "'He has gone from making major bank and playing these huge club parties to doing private corporate events,' says one booker who regularly uses Richie's ex."

DJ AM seeks at least $10 million in damages and says, among other things:

1. "The statements in the Article are false.  DJ AM's career continues to thrive.
2. "[H]ad Defendants even bothered to conduct even a cursory review of his MySpace.com web page, the would have instantly discovered that he continues to be employed by major nightclubs nationwide, including at the very cities and venues the Article alleges he has been unable to obtain steady employment."
3. "DJ AM's rates have steadily increased over the years."

Popsquire's perspective...

Although most celebrity defamation and libel lawsuits can be difficult to win, DJ AM may have a strong case here.  Publishing false statements about a person's earnings or career trajectory generally is a big legal risk for publications, compared to statements about pregnancies or break-ups.

The NY Daily News better have its ducks in a row!

She seems just like a normal gal leaving the gym, hair a mess, half finished smart water.  I would hate it if anyone photographed me when I left the gym!  Thank gawd I'm no celeb and no one cares that I look like a total train wreck after huffin and puffin away on the elliptical.

My mother went shopping one afternoon in 1958. As a treat she bought me an album of popular rock and roll songs by Elvis, Dion and the Belmonts, Buddy Holly, and others. Resting the needle on the record I realized at once they weren't the real songs, but covers. Unknown singers sang songs originally sung by Elvis, Dion, Buddy Holly, Perry Como.

At least once a year my mother would buy me a budget cover album. Here's a cover of a Beatles song: pleasepleaseme.mp3.

Today it's funny to listen to, but in 1963 when you were 14 years old, you wanted to hear the Beatles. It was as depressing as life got. Not that the version of Please Please Me is bad. The singers of these cover songs were often better than the original singers.

2

When we were kids we hated cover songs. Nowadays cover songs are much loved, widely accepted and very popular. YouTube is full of cover versions of popular and even little known songs. The song Only Hope, by Christian-inspired group Switchfoot, must have been covered a hundred times on YouTube. Here's the lyric:

"Only Hope"

There's a song that's inside of my soul
It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again
I'm awake in the infinite cold
But You sing to me over and over again

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

Sing to me the song of the stars
Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing
and laughing again
When it feels like my dreams are so far
Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

I give You my destiny
I'm giving You all of me
I want Your symphony
Singing in all that I am
At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back

So I lay my head back down
And I lift my hands and pray
To be only Yours
I pray to be only Yours
I know now You're my only hope

Here's a typical YouTube singer covering Only Hope. Note that she reveals she is doing a cover of Mandy Moore's cover of Switchfoot's Only Hope. (You can easily imagine that there's a cover of this girl's cover of Mandy Moore's cover.)

3

In the world of nonduality, we could ask, "Are some teachers imitative of famous gurus or scriptures? That is, are they doing 'cover songs'? Could the 'cover songs' be better than the originals? Are teachers doing 'cover songs' of 'cover songs'?"

It's up to the consumer of nondualia to be aware of those questions and to decide how to value what they read. This portion of Only Hope points to what the only authentic voice might be:

I'm awake in the infinite cold
But You sing to me over and over again

There were moments of particular harshness towards Comfort and Thayne from Nigel, who tried to be as comforting about it as possible, and also a slap in the face insult to Jessica from Mia Michaels who simply said to Will, "You look tired from carrying her.  You need a new partner."  It was a harsh reality last night for a lot of contestents, especially those who had not yet been subject to negative judge reviews like Twitch and Kherington as well as Katee and Joshua.  The only couple free of scruntinization seemed to be Mark and Chelsie, and even Mark was once again given some pointers and room for improvement.

The Cat Meter last night?  Well, Cat looked beautiful from the neck up, her hair hanging naturally across her arms and back, and her face looking clean without any overdone makeup and of course in a terrible dress.  Even so, still stunning.  Last night she was a baaaaaaaad kitteh again.  With some inuendo about kitchen fornication the "Cat" meter earns several Meows for Miss Deeley.

Even with the tough and seemingly confused judges there were some pretty amazing performances last night.  A salsa with Mark and Chelsie was breathing hottness, a contemporary routine by Tyce Diorio with Jessica and Will was particularly smoldering and may be enough to keep at least W