Aunt Catherine Can't Get the Zebra Out of Her Head

Sure, the video is all kinds of 80's ridiculous. Mannequins that cry blue tears in a darkened room (who hasn't done that?) and an overly made-up rocker chick dressed in (get ready for it....) a zebra-striped cat suit and sporting lots of permed hair (Aunt Catherine had similar hair once upon a time, but that's another story).

The real story here is Randy Jackson's searing vocals as he is exasperated and driven to distraction over a failing relationship. He wails to his love "my head's on the floor forevermore...you've driven me mad...tell me what you want!" Although the video chick is draped all over him like a cheap suit, it's apparent in the lyrics that he longs for her to open up to him and the potential loss of the relationship is far too much for him to bear.

When you give the song a listen...turn it up...and I do mean TURN IT UP...not a note of these vocals is to be missed. (Frankly, it's a wonder that I haven't blown out the speakers in my car.) Better still, don't even watch the video. The cheese factor far outweighs the brilliance of the song and can be a distraction (unless you need a good laugh).

For more information on Randy Jackson and Zebra, go to these websites: http://www.randyjackson.com/ and http://www.thedoor.com/.



Zebra. "Tell Me What You Want." Zebra. 1983. You Tube. Web. 16 August 2010.

Aunt Catherine's Daughter - The "Real" Writer in the Family

While old Aunt Catherine loves to sit and spin tales about life changes, dabbling in physics, and her devotion to "celestial elven sprites," the real talent in the family is her daughter, Lynn. Lynn's combined love of poetry and the writings of Edgar Allan Poe are superbly blended in her recently published work, The Muse:

I sat with Poe,
On a red Victorian style couch
Sinking into the heavily used cushion
In a dark room,
With tall, wood-paneled walls,
And a gray stone fireplace--
The orange flames,
Leaping and screaming in their space.

And we sat,
In silence,
Waiting.
Afraid to get too comfortable
In fear that the moment would pass.

He put his cold, cryptic fingers
On my bare shoulder.
Bony, brittle, tight-skinned,
Fingers that had given flight to the Raven,
Committed the Murders in the Rue Morge.
They had no pulse,
But they made me aware of mine,
And finally,
I took a breath.

I turned to him;
His eyes were bright and black.
My face drew nearer to his,
As if some magnetic force,
Were pulling my eyes to explore,
The secrets of his.
And he whispered:
“The arm that you feel around you,
When you think you’re sleeping alone,
That’s me.”

And as that last word floated from his thin,
Blue lips,
A quick breeze came through the room,
Sending a chill through my body,
Making each hair stand up,
And upon it’s exit,
It stole Poe,
Then the fire.

And I was left,
Sinking into the couch,
In a room with tall wood-paneled walls,
Where I could see nothing,
With those words,
Left burning in my mind
Leaping and screaming like flames.

Haunting. Chilling. Brilliant. After all, she is my daughter.

Albanese, Lynn. "The Muse." 69 Flavors of Paranoia. haRMFul Productions, LLC. Web. 15 August 2010.

Aunt Catherine Ponders the Furor Over the Mosque to be Built in NYC

There has been an enormous amount of press coverage lately regarding the building of a Mosque near Ground Zero in New York City. One can easily step back and see both sides clearly. There are those who equate the tragedies of September 11 solely with Muslim beliefs and then there are those who abide by the Framer's vision for our country and will stand up for religious freedom for all who seek it.

When looking at things from an outside perspective and having an understanding of the passions felt by all involved, The Buddha Song by Jon Anderson continues to flow through my mind.

On my end, this is not an endorsement for either camp, but simply an invitation to see things on a larger scale.

Jon's preamble is charming as is the music that follows:


You are the light
You are the love
This is your time
This is your time
I wanna thank you Buddha for being my teacher
I wanna thank you Jesus for bringing this love
I wanna thank Mohammed for being the prophet
And singing Hare Krishna from heaven above

The Buddha Song. By Jon Anderson. Bilston, England. 03 July 2009. Performance.

Aunt Catherine Sips a Chai Latte at Her Favorite Starbucks

What is about the Starbucks atmosphere that is so conducive to tapping away at the keyboard of your laptop? Sure, the given is the caffeine burst from my favorite drink has awakened my usually fuzzy brain from its half-catatonic state. Yet, there's has to be more to it than that. One could easily sit at home and drink their coffee or tea and catch up on work, write a few chapters of that great novel that's been floating around in their head, or just answer a few emails.

However, nothing gives me more pleasure when writing or working than to sit at a table (hopefully near the window), get cozy, nurse a chai latte for an hour or two, and get down to it. For some reason, thoughts flow freely amid the smells of ground coffee, the softly played music, and the chatter of those around me. The only other time I get this kind of urge to write is first thing in morning. Freshly awakened, snuggled under the covers, letting ideas come to life. It must be some sight, though. Not wearing my contact lenses, I'm sitting there, hair mussed, with reading glasses sitting atop of regular glasses. A barely awake alien who is given to wild flights of fancy. But, the alien digresses.....the original idea of this post was to muse about Starbucks and now that I've given it some thought, it seems to me that the perfect solution is comfy beds in Starbucks.....dual eyewear optional. Who cares to join me?

Aunt Catherine and The Two Ronnies

Raising children, keeping a house, stirring the sauce, and trying to beat those thieving rat-bastard scientists over in Switzerland to being the first to smash and decipher sub-atomic particles can be exhausting and stressful.

What? You think they have the world's only Large Hadron Collider? Pooh. How do you think I reigned in the physics of quantum theory? (You did read the second post in this blog, right?)

Anyway, when the day gets too long and too stressful nothing makes me laugh so hard as watching clips from The Two Ronnies that ran on the BBC from 1971 to 1987.

The video below is a classic example of Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett's biting wit in "Your Nuts My Lord:"


Even though you know it's coming, the line, "Your nuts, my lord," is delivered so perfectly by Ronnie Barker that it makes you laugh each and every time. "Cheeky swine."


Barker, Ronnie, and Ronnie Corbett. "The Two Ronnies." The Two Ronnies. BBC, London. Television.

Robin Williams with Visual Aids - Aunt Catherine's Review of Professor Rossetti's Mass Communications Class

Imagine if you will, one of Robin Williams brilliantly manic rants being delivered via a rapid succession of video clips. While the flow may appear random at first, the underlying current of connected ideas quickly becomes crystal clear as concepts are introduced and strung together with a smooth blend of classic and cutting-edge moments throughout media history.

This will be your experience in Professor Rossetti's Mass Communications class. He will teach you, inspire you, and entertain you all in one manic intersecting pace, but he will never bore you. The only glitch encountered is his (and the students') frustration with the sometimes faulty audio/visual equipment supplied in the classroom. Take note, UCC IT Department.

My passion is writing and the sharing of my thoughts and feelings with others, especially those closest to me. Last year, in Communications Theory 100, I learned to blog for the first time. However, I felt something was missing and longed to share more information to the readers in modes other than just the written word and a random picture or two. Professor Rossetti took the time to explain to us all the applications available to writers on blogger.com. And, inspired by his impressive collection of videos, I took this blog to the next level by adding links and embedded videos to better convey my ideas. Thank you to Professor Rossetti and I hope he continues to teach this class, even though he will begin a new career as a high school math teacher this fall. Lucky students.

Aunt Catherine Loves Jon Anderson

What is it about this elven sprite that has held old Aunt Catherine's unwavering devotion for over 30 years? Is it his angelic voice? His ethereal lyrics? His professed love of life and spirituality? Yes to all of the above. (Pun most definitely intended.)

Jon Anderson was drawn to music at a very early age and formed Little John's Skiffle Group when he was just 10 years old. He played the washboard, which was a far cry from his now trademark harp. From 1963 to 1967, he shared lead vocals with his brother, Tony, in The Warriors and they had a hit in England with Don't Make Me Blue. Jon then joined Mable Greer's Toy Shop, and eventually went on to form Yes with bandmate, Chris Squire, in 1968. The rest is prog rock history.

In attempting to explain the beauty, complexity, and the overall wealth of talent that totals the Yes experience, mere words fail. Only a showcasing of one of their most hauntingly beautiful pieces performed live can give the reader the full impact. I would also suggest reading the "comments section" on You Tube to understand how deeply Yes music affects its fans. One poster says, "Can you get closer to God than this?" Another comments, "This isn't music, it's magic." Agreed.

The video below was filmed in Amsterdam in 2002. The piece is Soon, which is actually the epilogue to The Gates of Delirium on the 1974 album of the same name. Gates is a 22-minute prog masterpiece that was inspired by Tolstoy's War and Peace. Soon comes in at the end of an epic battle as the sun (often Anderson's spiritual centerpiece) rises and a holy man surveys the battlefield from on high, bringing messages of hope and peace. Enjoy.

"Soon, oh soon the light, ours to shed for all time, ours the right."


Anderson, Jon. Jon Anderson Online. Notes From the Edge. 12 March 2010. Web. 12 August 2010.

Soon. By Yes. Perf. Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe and Alan White. Amsterdam. 2002. Performance.

Aunt Catherine Ponders Reviews of the President on The View for Mass Communications 101

On Saturday, May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang "Happy Birthday" to then president, John F. Kennedy, in such a sultry manner that it was amazing that the microphone itself didn't melt under the steam. Yet, in those days, one could hardly imagine Walter Cronkite discussing the underlying connotations of the event on the CBS Evening News. And, as we give a nod to the late, great Walter Cronkite, would he have ever given today's vapid, quasi-celebrities a moment of his precious airtime?

Whether that question was meant to represent Lindsay Lohan (whose off-screen antics far surpass any achievements on-screen) or Snooki (all antics, all the time), both of these women came up during a casual conversation with President Obama during his appearance on The View.

CBS News.com covered the president's interview in their Celebrity Circuit section, which mentioned Mr. Obama's views on his daughters, what was currently on his I-Pod, and his knowledge of the vast wasteland of pop culture when the ladies of The View quizzed him about Lindsay Lohan, Snooki, and Mel Gibson. Ever the gentlemen, "he sidestepped a question about Mel Gibson's latest troubles ("I haven't seen a Mel Gibson film in a while") (Dershowitz)," then claimed ignorance of Snooki's existence, and made quick work of commenting on La Lohan, according to Celebrity Circuit. The article went on to cover his dealing with his daughters as they transition from little girls to teenagers, and the rapid graying of his hair since he took office. A fluffy article to be sure, but entertaining and somewhat informative.

In stark contrast, we have The Huffington Post's garbage (too strong a word?) that focused primarily on the president being "flustered" by questions regarding the unholy pop trio mentioned above. More low-brow slop to accelerate the propulsion of our youth into a real- life Idiocracy. Bleh.

Did I mention that President Obama recently celebrated his 47th birthday? Happy Birthday, Mr. President!


Derschowitz, Jessica. "'The View': Obama Talks About His iPod, Lindsay Lohan, and His Daughters." CBS News Entertainment. CBSNews.com. 29 July 2010. Web. 31 July 2010.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President. ManonMaru. You Tube. Video. Web. 05 August 2010.

Idiocracy. Dir. Mike Judge. Perf. Luke Wilson, Maya Rudolph, and Dave Herman. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. 2007. Film.

"President Obama on 'The View' : Flustered By Mel Gibson and Snooki Questions." The Huffington Post. Huffington Post.com Inc. 29 July 2010. Web. 31 July 2010.

Aunt Catherine Tries to "Move On."

You've read my "lament" in the previous blog below and you may be wondering how Old Aunt Catherine has managed to live long enough to post a blog, let alone understand what it even is. Well, Aunt Catherine didn't spend all of her time stirring the sauce. As the children grew, and I found myself with more and more spare time, I learned the secrets of quantum mechanics and eventually decided to rebuild my broken life in the year 2010. (Take that, Stephen Hawking.) My thinking is: If I fail, it's only two short years to 2012.

As I sat at the kitchen table with my sister, Theresa, she began to tell me that I should "move on." Everyone was offering nearly identical advice: "move on, move on, move on." "Get a fresh start." "You'll feel better in a new location."

Really? Even with the laws of quantum physics at my disposal, how does one forget? Time and space are irrelevant when your memories still haunt you. You may be able to temporarily fill the days with new adventures to soothe your broken heart, but how does one delete the thoughts that wake us in the middle of the night? Those thoughts which man (or woman) has no control over. The memories of children running down the hall at 5 a.m. on Christmas mornings, of family beach vacations, of gatherings of friends in the home you no longer live in, and the stabbing pain of your precious pet going to his rest. No matter what you do in the present or future, the past will wake you in the night. The real trick is to find a way to turn that intense pain into pleasant memories rather than the hollow ring of knowing that you will never experience them again. Does a mastery over time and space help? No.

No matter what you do, no matter what you learn, the moments that make memories continue to be fleeting. Any advice, Mr. Hawking?

Aunt Catherine's Lament

In 1955, Marty won four Oscars. In one particularly moving scene, Marty's Aunt Catherine, while visiting with her sister (Marty's mother), reflects on her life after her husband is gone and her children have grown:
"So I'm an old garbage bag put in the street, huh?... These are the worst years, I tell you. It's going to happen to you. I'm afraid to look in a mirror. I'm afraid I'm gonna see an old lady with white hair, just like the old ladies in the park with little bundles and black shawls waiting for the coffin. I'm fifty-six years old. And what am I gonna do with myself? I've got strength in my hands. I want to clean. I want to cook. I want to make dinner for my children. Am I an old dog to lay near the fire till my eyes close? These are terrible years, Theresa, terrible years... It's gonna happen to you. It's gonna happen to you! What are you gonna do if Marty gets married? Huh? What are you gonna cook? Where's all the children playing in all the rooms? Where's the noise? It's a curse to be a widow, a curse! What are you gonna do if Marty gets married? What are you gonna do?"

Marty. Dir. Delbert Mann. Perf. Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, and Augusta Ciolli. Hecht-Lancaster Productions, 1955. Film.