5 On Friday - Let The Rivers Run

The 5 On Friday meme was invented by Travis. The basic "rules/no rules' are shown below. Be sure to sign in on the Trav's Thoughts page so we can all share your music.


1. Grab the banner, make your post title Five on Friday, and be sure to link back here.

2. Go to Playlist.com to make your Set of five songs. You may choose a particular theme to share with us, or post random tunes if that's your vibe for the day. You can simply post the Set, or you can add a little summary about what you are sharing.

2a. Don't feel restricted by the tracks listed on Playlist.com. And don't be discouraged if the Embed code won't work. You're welcome to use any type of media to share your Sets.

3. Be sure to sign Mr Linky so everyone can visit your Set.

4. No tags, but feel free to invite your friends to play along if they need a post topic on a Friday.

Go forth and enjoy music!
 
There is going to be a busy three days, so this will go up early for the weekend.

This week was my birthday.  As such I am a Piscean which means I never want to be far from free running water:  Oceans, Waterfalls, little streams, gutters in the rain and even showers and bathtubs, I love the sound of running water.  This week you get my favorite form of water ... free flowing rivers.

 
First up the second song I ever thought of as "my favorite".  The first was "Far Away Places" and the second Shenandoah about the wide Missouri.  Somewhere between five and seven I got the idea of leaving home, and a river was the best way to get from here to there.
 
 


Shenandoah - The Robert Shaw Chorale

First heard the next song in the movie "Working Girl", then this video came out with its views of the Hudson and New York City.  New York equates to theater.  This immediately became a river that must be seen in person.



Let The River Run - Carly Simon

While living in DC, one of the Broadway musicals I was fortunate enough to see during its tryouts was "Big River" written by Roger Miller.  It isn't one of my favorites, but it has two wonderful river songs:  Muddy Water and the lovely River In The Rain.  I've seen the Mississippi and somewhere there is River Boat suite waiting.



River In The Rain - Roger Miller (Written for broadway show:  Big River)

The next is a sad song about a truly fun river.  The Kern flows down from the Sierra with white water rafting at the top and lazy fun summer floating through the San Joaquin below.  It is one I have floated many times or swung into from a tire on the edge of my uncles raisin ranch.  On one float I slipped over the side of a raft and swam in the Kern and got a surprise.  At the height of summer the air may be over a hundred, but the deeper sections of the Kern are still cold with the snow melt and the current can be very swift.  Don't get in unless you are a strong swimmer.  It took me a half hour to swim back against the current to catch my raft. .... didn't do that again.



Kern River - Merle Haggard

You know there must be a bit of history.  Disney inaccurate version of course, but who cares when there is a good song:  Pocahontas with just why rivers are so very very special to gypsy like creatures born under water signs who truly love all the rivers running.



Just Around The River Bend - From Pocahontas Sung by Judy Kuhn

Portents

Let's see. There may be some omens here. A love for the open road, movies, and music.  Then there is the absolute hatred for shoes that always had my mother saying, "Put your shoes on Lucy, you're in the city now".

1967	The Beatles complete vocal and instrumental overdubs for Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, a song that will ultimately appear on their Sergeant Pepper album, at EMI Studios in London. (photo credit: Capitol Records)

1944 U.S.A. Academy Awards 

2nd March, 1944: The Academy Awards are presented as part of a televised variety show with Jack Benny as master of ceremonies for the event.   Casablanca got an Oscar and my parents got me.

1933 U.S.A. King Kong 

2nd March, 1933 : The Original King Kong movie has its world premiere in New York 


U.S. 
1925 U.S.A. Formal Highway Numbering System 

2nd March, 1925: It was on this day that the first formal highway system was implemented. This is the time when state and federal highway officials had officially established a highway numbering system. This was done in order to maintain order on the highway, this was Following a period when each state created it's own style road signs The new sign featured the shield shaped highway number markers . 

The Cunning Accomplice

The Pisces / Monkey

Pisces

UNDERSTANDING DIFFIDENCE
PERCEPTION LACK OF WILL
CREATIVITY FEARFULNESS
COMPATIBILITY SMUGNESS
AWARENESS RAGE
SPIRITUALITY INDECISION

“I believe”
Water, Jupiter/Neptune, Mutable

Monkey

IMPROVISATION DECEIT
CUNNING RUSE
STABILITY LOQUACITY
SELF-INVOLVEMENT LEADERSHIP
WIT SILLINESS
OPPORTUNISM ZEAL

“I plan”

Positive Metal, Yin



Got this interpretation from Suzanne White in case anyone wants one of their own. If you have to get older, being silly at regular intervals makes it easier. Now if there is a Taurus Dragon out there ...

The merry monkey finds a new, more elegant external image under the influence of unrestrained Pisces. The Monkey is normally levelheaded. His job in the Chinese Zodiac is to solve problems, big and small. Monkeys are born with common sense. Monkeys are natural leaders but not power seekers. They have cunning and stability. A rare combination. Pisces lends spiritual grace and beauty to the nimble and spirited Monkey. The result is a handsome person whose reputation for charm precedes him or her everywhere. This person is also very kind and charitable and giving. Their love life? Madness. Passion. Drama. Thing is, this character is too damned good-looking and dashing not to be pursued by fanatical fans everywhere he or she goes. Result? Long, stormy love affairs and epic marriages of the angry plate throwing variety. Having such a beautiful, appealing mate is bound to cause his partner pain and create jealousies. How does this person make love? Often.

Good Compatibilities - Taurus Dragon...

Famous Pisces/Monkeys: 

Rex Harrison, Ted Kennedy, Liz Taylor, John Updike, Chelsea Clinton, Michel Legrand,
Piet Mondriaan, Tony Randall.

Happy Birthday

Farmers Market

An old friend is having a birthday this week and even the Los Angeles Times article above celebrated the event. The Farmers Market in Los Angeles is turning 75 this week. I had just turned four when my aunt and uncle took me there for the first time as a birthday present. The signal lights still had flags that popped up and down with the red and green lights and gave me a chance to say, "Yellow means hurry up and stop". The Red Car trolley line still ran with its tracks down the middle of road. The first Freeway was only three years old and was still little used compare to major thoroughfares such as Wilshire Boulevard and Sepulveda were the main overland routes. Angels Flight was still more than 20 years from its decades long closure.

So why does this one little outing still stand out more than sixty years after the fact. I would be taken many places to see many things in a topsy turvy childhood, but this one trip stands out. I'm sure I liked the now famous clock tower above, but it was the Howdy Doody puppets from a very new TV show in the doll store window that really stood out. I didn't particularly like dolls, but those puppets really made an impression. As we headed into the courtyard and the white tables and chairs to sit for lunch, my newly acquired reading abilities got to show off in public for the first time, "We can't sit here. This table is reserved." By this time the aunt and uncle were used to me reading everything that looked like print because they had been living with it for a year, but the surrounding people looked more than a little bemused.

My two favorite places from that first outing are still there. The candy maker with a window so that you could watch the wonderful fillings rolled over marble covered with melted chocolate and each candy given its signature swirl to indicate the filling within. The other bit of insanity since I didn't understand the joke, was watching a decorator create one of the famous "Pink Elephant" cakes with elephants all over hanging from the bottle of champagne, burrowing into the cake with their fat bottoms sticking out, passing out over the edge. I loved those elephants.

The day was topped off by a visit to the many stands holding all sorts of fresh produce, much of it brought in from the San Fernando Valley that was still all farm land. My aunt who was a phenomenal cook bought cherries for the wonderful pie that would appear the next day.

If you have never been to the quirky, delightful Farmers Market in Los Angeles, do make the attempt as despite many changes it is still going strong and there is sure to be something you will want to eat or buy.

Above the Dragon

For your horoscope in the 2009 Year of the Ox, go here and click on the year of your birth here.
-----------------------------------

In June of 1961 I graduated from high school and started at Mount San Antonio College in September. About a month after starting, my aunt needed the car for the day and I was stuck in the student center at noon with no classes and no bus until four. There was only one thing to do. I stood on a table and yelled, "Who wants to drive me home?" A good looking young man yelled back, "I will". That is how fate intervenes and two people dispense with the next ten years of their lives.

We married in August of 1962 and moved to northern California. As the Year of the Rabbit approached in early February of the following year, I was eight months along into doing what rabbits do best. (As Nancy Reagan once said, "Go ahead and count!") So what is the most sensible thing to do ... why head for the steep hills of San Francisco, Chinatown, and the Chinese New Year's parade.

Now I am just barely 5'4" while my former husband was 6'2". This left me down in the middle of a huge jostling crowd unable to see a darn thing. Fortunately, San Francisco has a lot of old buildings and old buildings have decorative ledges which presented a solution as long as I was willing to make a fool of myself. The husband and another cooperative gentleman lifted me up to put my rear on the ledge with the expectant bulge to the front while they stood below me with my legs over their shoulders as if they were the edge of an easy chair.

There I perched very obviously about to explode at a moment's notice atop my gentlemanly bearers watching the dragon dance his way into a year of good fortune. Which just might explain why two weeks later the littlest bunny that was supposed to arrive on my nineteenth birthday on March 2 put in his appearance on February 21. That year's biggest hit song was on the radio when he was brought in to me for the first time:



Christopher Alan will be 46 tomorrow. Happy Birthday Honey.

THE SIGN OF THE RABBIT

Rabbits are private individuals, a bit introverted and withdrawn. People born into this sign would rather work behind-the-scenes instead of being the center of attention in any situation. Do not misunderstand…the Rabbit is not a recluse. In fact, he is a reasonably friendly individual who enjoys the company of a group of good friends whether at a business dinner or a holiday party. Rabbits just like to be a part of the gang as opposed to the leader of it.

Rabbits, like their animal counterparts, are quite calm people who do not exhibit aggressive behavior and will avoid confrontation at all costs. When angry about something, a Rabbit will approach it calmly and considerately, hardly ever raising his voice or becoming visibly annoyed. Because of their serenity, Rabbits seem to miss things, whether they are confrontational in nature or not. However, the Rabbit is quite keen and pays close attention to the situations developing around him. He is intelligent and quick and can talk himself in or out of most situations with no problem.

The Chinese Rabbit is one of the most stylish creatures of the Chinese Animal Signs and finds interest in different cultures. He is classy and sophisticated, and can be found adorning one of the latest fashion magazine cover looks. Rabbits also like artistic ventures, such as painting and music and are generally quite present in these worlds. They love to express themselves, which is evident when joining them at home for a function or a cup of coffee.

PISCEAN RABBIT

The Piscean Rabbit is quite a complex person. He is creative and will work best in relaxed, peaceful situations where his creativity can be explored and put to good measure.

Happy Birthday MO!!!!!!

This should be enough cake for everyone. Dive In and don't forget to stop by and say Happy Birthday to our Marvelous Mo now that he has reached the age of enlightenment.

And just for MO ... Lots and lots of Pie

Want Act II

As most of you know, I'm slightly crazy about musical theater. Mo had us do the word "Want" for Monday. Well what I wanted for the birthday was a new window card for the wall. These are the posters used to advertise a broadway show, and one of the best places where you can find them (as well as motion pictures) is Triton Gallery. If you like posters, it is a great place to find just about everything. They also have a fine art section where you can go dreaming as well. For a birthday two years ago, the best son in the whole wide world got me Barnum for my birthday. This year the best son in the whole wide world got me The Boy From Oz.


The Boy From Oz is the Tony Award winning musical is a biography of Peter Allen using the music he wrote to tell the story.



Peter Allen as Peter Allen singing "I Go To Rio". The night I went to see him in Los Angeles for his revue "Up In One", he did the number fairly plain only throwing on multi colored carnival sleeves and wielding a mean pair of maracas.

Now I have to start working on the best son in the whole wide world and the best daughter in the whole wide world for a trip to see the place that Peter Allen made everyone homesick to see: I Still Call Australia Home

Where's The Miller's Son?

I can no longer sing "When I'm Sixty-Four" with the Beatles, but at least Paul got here before me. Today, I have arrived at the 32nd anniversary of my 32nd birthday.

Fortunately, if I stay away from mirrors, the lady below is still very much alive and doing well. Life may be what happens while you are making plans, but there is a great deal of joy in the meanwhile.

I shall marry the miller's son,
Pin my hat on a nice piece of property.
Friday nights, for a bit of fun,
We'll go dancing.
Meanwhile...

It's a wink and a wiggle and a giggle in the grass
And I'll trip the
light fandango,
A pinch and a diddle in the middle of what passes by.
It's a very short road
From the pinch and the punch
To the paunch
and the pouch
And the pension.
It's a very short road
To the ten
thousandth lunch
And the belch and the grouch
And the sigh.
In the
meanwhile,
There are mouths to be kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And a lot in between
In the meanwhile.
And a girl ought to celebrate
what passes by.

Or I shall marry the businessman,
Five fat babies
and lots of security.
Friday nights, if we think we can,
We'll go
dancing.
Meanwhile...

It's a push and a fumble and a tumble in the
sheets
And I'll foot the highland fancy,
A dip in the butter and a
flutter with what meets my eye.
It's a very short fetch
From the push
and the whoop
To the squint and the stoop
And the mumble.
It's not
much of a stretch
To the cribs and the croup
And the bosoms that droop
And go dry.
In the meanwhile,
There are mouths to be kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And there's many a tryst
And there's many a
bed
To be sampled and seen
In the meanwhile.
And a girl has to
celebrate what passes by.

Or I shall marry the Prince of Wales,
Pearls and servants and dressing for festivals.
Friday nights, with him
all in tails,
We'll have dancing.
Meanwhile...

It's a rip in the
bustle and a rustle in the hay
And I'll pitch the quick fantastic,
With
flings of confetti and my petticoats away up high.
It's a very short way
From the fling that's for fun
To the thigh pressing un-
Der the
table.
It's a very short day
Till you're stuck with just one
Or it
has to be done
On the sly.
In the meanwhile,
There are mouths to be
kissed
Before mouths to be fed,
And there's many a tryst
And there's
many a bed,
There's a lot I'll have missed
But I'll not have been dead
When I die!
And a person should celebrate everything
Passing by.

And I shall marry the miller's son...

Morgepalooza

For those of you who drop in on my blog, you know that I do a meme every week called "Manic Monday". The wonderful human being who invented this fun bit of inspiration is Mo of I'ts A Blog Eat Blog World

Today is Mo's birthday an event when he does something very very special called Morgepalooza. If you just want a good reason to smile today, pay him a visit. This man has a crowd of friends and regular readers for one reason: He is probably one of the sweetest human beings on the face of the earth. Even when feeling a bit down and cranky for himself, he still spreads joy and laughter to everyone else, and deserves all of the praise and good wishes he gets.