I mentioned this beautiful composer on another thread, and wish I could upload here... it's on YouTube :
*Ludovico Einaudi / Devenire*
It's of the soul plane ?
TIME FOR A GOOD LAUGH!
I was watching a show on TV called "The story of Soaps". I'm a big soap opera fan and currently watch General Hospital, but used to love All my Children and One Life to Live. I started watching GH because my Aunt Mickey, who lived with us and helped raise me, used to do the ironing to her soaps. I actually remember watching the very first episode of All My Children back when I was 10 years old. I heard a funny story from Carol Burnett (she used to be on All my Children occasionally because she loved the show). I have always thought Carol was so funny, but even my husband got a big kick out of this story.
So Carol and her husband (back in June of 1974) went on vacation to Lake Como, Italy. Carol asked her friend to send her a telegram of the recap of the week's episodes every Friday. On Jun 7, 1974, Carol and her hubby were awoken by a knock on the door at 2:00am by the manager of the hotel! The manager was visibly shaken because he had a telegram for her that read: "Erica was kidnapped and left in a coma. Mark has slipped again and ran away from rehab - has not been found. Mona has to have exploratory surgery and it doesn't look good. Chuck has learned that Donna, who is carrying his baby was once a hooker. Donna's husband, Palmer is still in the dark. The woman posing as Brooke's mother is wanted by the police. Phoebe is back on the bottle. Hope you are having a great trip!" ... Well Carol started laughing so hard the manager thought she was really crying for obvious reasons and that she was perhaps hysterical and asked if she needed a valium!!! LOL. Her husband said "Oh for Lord sakes, that's her soap!". ? ? ? ?
?LOL
I had a writing professor in college who liked soap operas because he watched them mindlessly with his mother while he was being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma in the 1990s. He even wrote an award-winning essay about that experience and why soaps are important to him. Sadly, he passed away in 2017 from a cancer recurrence. But your post made me chuckle and reminded me of the way he wrote about the soothing outlandishness of soap storylines. Thank you.
HI Coyote, thank you for your words. I'm sorry your professor died from cancer :(
Soaps have been connecting people for years in a way that other shows didn't. Many times the daytime ones used them as a platform for bringing to light social issues, whether they be political or not. Example: Years ago, Susan Lucci's character, Erica, on All my Children was the first person on a soap to ever have an abortion. They also tackled same sex couples, Aids, womens rights, etc. They were not just about sex and romance. You felt like you KNEW these people (their characters) and connected with folks in a way a movie couldn't - because they were in your home 5 days per week. I still love them!
Hi all! I just wanted to share a beautiful performance that was put together by the college sophomore class of a friend of mine who is their music professor. Their song choices and beautiful voices brought tears to my eyes and give me hope for the next generation to guide us after this dark time. Hope you enjoy!
(P.S. I don't typically get "moved" by things like this...something about it touched me, though.)
@triciact the guys i used to work with, like in the early 90's, would watch All My Children on lunch break. I just remember when Janet (From Another Planet) was plotting to take over her prissy sister Natalie's life. Janet would deliciously imitate Natalie's smug, superior attitude. Then she kidnapped Natalie, and kept her in a pit. When Natalie complained that she was hungry and thirsty, Janet tossed her a loaf of Wonder Bread and a bottle of Perrier. Hehheh! I suddenly understood why people liked these shows.
I became hooked on soaps (All My Children) when I had an extended illness and was stuck at home when I was in my 20's. After I started working full time I lost interest in daytime soaps but got hooked on the evening soaps "Dallas" and "Dynasty." Now I enjoy watching reruns of the sitcom "Friends." Some of my favorite episodes are when the Friends' character Joey Tribbiani was cast as neurosurgeon Dr. Drake Romaray on "Days of our Lives." Dr. Drake was "killed off" by falling down an elevator shaft, being left in a potentially permanent coma with such serious brain damage that allegedly Drake himself was the only person who could have treated the damage. In a later season Dr. Drake was brought back to life with a brain transplant. The brain was transplanted from a character played by the actress Susan Sarandon.
I'm familiar with the ways soaps can be vehicles for social change. Have you heard about Brazil? Sociologists think the popularity of telenovelas there can account for a dramatic drop in the birthrate over the past five decades, which has been accompanied with the general empowerment of Brazilian women.
My family hosted an au pair from South Africa for a year when I was in the first grade who really enjoyed watching Days of Our Lives. I watched a portion of an episode once with her, and all I remember is that a married couple was driving across a bridge with their baby in the backseat. Mid-way, a bomb on the bridge detonated and the baby fell from the backseat into the water. I was only 6 or 7 years old, so that whole setup freaked me out...
This is a good video on coping in these times.
An open letter to those who give a damn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfWASyk3fnU&feature=youtu.be
Here Comes the Sun ... Richie Havens' cover of the Beatles' classic. I needed to see this tonight. It's healing for my heart. I love his version of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOotCVMFncE
If you have time, stick around and also watch Havens' performance of "Freedom" at Woodstock, which immediately follows.
I saw Richie Havens perform at Johns Hopkins University in 1972. Really incredible.