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IronBatmanTerminator1000
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Dear Madonna, Hi, you once said that your song Express Yourself is about, "The ultimate thing behind the song is that if you don't express yourself, if you don't say what you want, then you're not going to get it. And in effect you are chained down by your inability to say what you feel or go after what you want." As a man, I will express myself, to you, of the feelings that I have, for you, since I was an 8-year-old boy, who dared, to dream, of finding true love, one day. What follows is a mixture, of paraphrasing, and direct quoting, from several, of your songs, in chronological order, which are Intro The Groove, Crazy For You, Open Your Heart, Express Yourself, Sooner Or Later, This Used To Be My Playground, and Paula Abdul's Rush, Rush. These seven songs express my love, for you, and wanting, to be, with you because I want, to protect you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days, a year. And I know you can dance, for inspiration, come on, [and] I'm waiting, [for you], to get into the groove, [with you], but I know that I have, to prove my love, for you, so I will get up, on my feet, and, to step the beat because I know that music is a revelation and it's a sweet sensation when I am dancing around you, if the rhythm between us is right, then, I hope this feeling never ends tonight. For, I can only feel this free when I'm dancing, with you because I know you are tired of dancing here all by yourself, and I will dance tonight, with you, to get to know you, in your special way because I can see the fire burning, in your eyes, so let the music set us free, hold my hand, and we move, in time, together As the music starts, we will make the most of the dark, two by two our bodies will become, as one, yet we are a world away, what I'm trying, to say, is that I'm crazy for you, hold me once, in your arms, and you'll know it's true, and it's all brand new, to me, and you will feel it, with me while I hold your hand, for I'm crazy, for you. I have tried hard, to control my heart, but I have decided, to walk over, to where you are, as I look, into your eyes, I know that no words are needed, to say that I'm crazy for you. For, my desire, for you, burns, inside of me, but I know that I will have, to work, much harder, than, to be, with you For, I opened my heart, to you; when I was a six year-old boy, I hold the key, and you hold the lock, I will give you love because I will turn the key, if you open your heart, to me. For, I know you believe in love, and I know that second best will never be enough, for you, so I will put my love, for you, to the test because I know that I got, to express myself, to you, so you will know that my feelings, for you, are real. For, I know you do not need diamond rings, or eighteen karat gold, or fancy cars that go very fast because I know that you want, to feel, like a queen, on the throne because you deserve the best, in life, so I will express my love, for you, right here and now and always. For, sooner or later, you will have, to decide, for, there is nowhere, to hide, for, it's time, so why waste it, in chatter, and let's us settle the matter because I will love like nothing you have ever known, I will love you and, love you when you are all alone. For, I used to have a playground, the place where I ran to, whenever I was, in need, to see her, the girl that I loved, with all my heart, when I was five years old, oh why did it have to end, and why do they always say don't look back and never ask why because life is short, to hold onto the past because before I know it, I'm feeling old, and my heart is breaking away, with each passing day, but my love for her will never go away, but I have to say goodbye, to yesterday. For, I have no regrets, about my never-ending love, for her, but I now wish that you, were, here, with me because you are not a memory, to me, and I wish you were standing, here with me. For, I love you, and here is my story, and the story goes that you give and you get love, so I will run, I will try, I will take this love of mine, for you, right to you, with all my heart, with all the joy, for I want, to see, to see you get free, with me. For, all I want, from you, is what you are and even you are right next, to me, you are still too far away if I'm not holding you, in my arms, for I need you, I want you, oh darling, I love you so. For, I do not know just how or why, but no one except for you and that girl that I loved when I was five years old has touched my heart, so deep, so deep, so deep inside. Madonna, I know that one man's love, for a woman does not amount, to a hill of beans, in this crazy world, but I do not care because I love you, and I will always love you. Here's looking, at you kid. Sincerely, Michael Rodriguez P.S. This same letter was mailed, to hers official fan club mailing address, on December 3, 2010. P.S.S. I mailed the same letter, along with another, to her manager, and friend, Mr. Guy Oseary's Untitled Entertainment mailing address, December 14, 2010. P.S.S.S. I twitted the accounts, of her manager and friend, Mr. Guy Oseary's, and the accounts of her friends, Mrs. Demi Kutcher, Mr. Ashton Kutcher, and I twitted the accounts, of one of her biggest admires, Katy Perry and her husband Russell Brand, with this message, "I was wondering if you could help me, in getting a message, to the love of my life, Maddona Ciccone, & I'm not gay." P.S.S.S.S I sent this same letter, in a message, to hers official Myspace Profile, on December 17, 2010. P.S.S.S.S.S I sent this same letter, a message, to hers official Youtube Profile, on December 17, 2010.
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Faith, Feminism and Abortion: An Individual’s Business, Period By Susan Jacoby First, I am not in the business of defining either feminists or the faithful. The second portion of this week’s question is particularly disturbing because it shows how successful the religious right has been at infiltrating its notion of abortion as an absolute evil into the larger culture. “Nor can we justifiably withhold this, on any ground save our conviction that [abortion] is wrong. If [abortion] is right, all words, acts, laws, and constitutions against it, are themselves wrong, and should be silenced, and swept away. If it is right, we cannot justly object to its nationality – its universality; if it is wrong, they cannot justly insist upon its [acceptance and its protection].” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. To ask whether one can be a person of faith and support abortion in “some” circumstances is to accept the premise that abortion is always bad. “All they ask, we could readily grant, if we thought [abortion] right; all we ask, they could as readily grant, if they thought it wrong. Their thinking it right, and our thinking it wrong, is the precise fact upon which depends the whole controversy.” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. Otherwise, why set up a dichotomy between “faith” and support for abortion in certain cases? “Let us be diverted by none of those sophistical contrivances wherewith we are so industriously plied and belabored – contrivances such as groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong, vain as the search for a man who should be neither a living man nor a dead man – such as a policy of “don’t care” on a question about which all true men do care.” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. The Arizona nun who was excommunicated for supporting a Catholic hospital’s decision to perform an abortion on a woman with primary pulmonary hypertension–a condition that makes pregnancy a serious threat to the mother’s life–must surely be a person whose faith would not allow her to sentence a woman to death in order to preserve, for who knows how long, the existence of the fetus. “Now, let me say as I move to my conclusion that we’ve got to give ourselves to this struggle until the end. Nothing would be more tragic than to stop at this point here and now. We’ve got to see it through. But either we go up together, or we go down together. Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness. One day a man came to Jesus, and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters of life. At points he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew and throw him off base…. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves. You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn’t stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But he got down with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, this was the great man, because he had the capacity to project the “I” into the “thou,” and to be concerned about his brother. Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn’t stop. At times we say they were busy going to a church meeting, an ecclesiastical gathering, and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn’t be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that “One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.” And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem — or down to Jericho, rather to organize a “Jericho Road Improvement Association.” That’s a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effect. But I’m going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It’s possible that those men were afraid. You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the “Bloody Pass.” And you know, it’s possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it’s possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the priest asked — the first question that the Levite asked was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” Martin Luther King Jr., I Have Been to the Mountaintop Speech, April 3, 1968. As for whether one can be a feminist and oppose abortion in all circumstances, the better question would be whether one can be a decent human being and oppose abortion in all circumstances. “ “Thinking it right, as they do, they are not to blame for desiring its full [acceptance], as being right; but, thinking it wrong, as we do, can we yield to them? Can we cast our votes with their view, and against our own? In view of our moral, social, and political responsibilities, can we do this?” If our sense of duty forbids this, then let us stand by our duty, fearlessly and effectively. Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. Do you believe that a 12-year-old should have to give birth to a baby conceived through rape? If our society would accept and helped, children conceived under such circumstances, instead, of clinging, to Victorian Social Morals, would this girl still have an abortion? Do you believe that a woman with cancer should be denied an abortion and forced to forgo chemotherapy because it would harm her fetus? This is a life and death decision between the mother and hopefully her spouse, about the most difficult decision that a couple can make. My only suggest is, for them, to think, of the idea, of dangerous unselfishness, when making this decision. Do you believe that a woman carrying a Tay-Sachs fetus, who will surely die in agony, probably by age three, should be forced to give birth and watch her child whither and die? It is not the writer choice or the reader choice, to decide, what this woman should do, with her child. Speaking, as a disable American, I would say that let the child live because the writer’s question, to me, is callous, towards a disable child, for which, I was one. Then the least of your problems is whether you can be considered a feminist. Irrelevant But, being a callous moral absolutist, you won’t see your views as problematic. “Reversing the divine rule, and calling, not the sinners, but the righteous to repentance.” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. As the not-so-Divine Sarah [put a link in here to explain the reference to Sarah Bernhardt, lots of them available] would surely say, “God must have his reasons.” Irrelevant The issue here is not the morality of abortion. As it happens, I agree with the religious right that abortion is a moral issue. I simply do not agree that one faction’s wickedly rigid definition of immorality should be translated into illegality. “What will convince them? This, and this only: cease to call [abortion] wrong, and join them in calling it right. And this must be done thoroughly – done in acts as well as in words. Silence will not be tolerated – we must place ourselves avowedly with them. [Roe v. Wade must be supported unconditionally and indefinitely], to suppress all declarations that [abortion] is wrong, whether made in politics, in presses, pulpits, or in private. The whole atmosphere must be disinfected from all taint of opposition to [abortion], before they will cease to believe that all their troubles proceed from us.” Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860. As for ex-governor Palin, what she means by “frontier feminist” is that she espouses a political philosophy, if one can dignify her pandering by calling it a philosophy, that opposes all of the laws and judicial decisions that have furthered equal rights for women in this country during the past forty years. Has women loss their citizenship rights under the 14th Amendment? Have they loss their right to vote under the 20th Amendment? She thinks that every woman should be forced to follow her example and carry a Down Syndrome fetus to term. Why would that be wrong? Why should a woman terminate a pregnancy because the child will be born, with a handicap? But she opposes government spending to support public programs, inadequate as they are, designed to help parents take care of children with disabilities. Palin opposition towards public programs, to aid, handicap children is irrelevant because it does not answer the above two questions? Of course, if you are making a fortune by spreading irrational hatred of government, you won’t need government help. Regardless, of Palin fueling, irrational hatred of government, to make money, is once again irrelevant, towards the two questions. Somehow, though, I suspect that Sister Sarah will swallow her anti-government bilge and sign on the dotted line when it comes time to apply for disability payments for her son at age 18. Why would matter if she applies for disability payments, for her son, at age 18 wouldn’t that be what parents, who have children, with Down Syndrome, would do, to help them? After all, the Lord helps those who help themselves–to everything they can get. What does that mean? In addition, this is an irrelevant statement, for her, to make, and it’s a vile attack, on her child, who has Down Syndrome. [Therefore], LET US HAVE FAITH THAT RIGHT MAKES MIGHT, AND IN THAT FAITH, LET US, TO THE END, DARE TO DO OUR DUTY AS WE UNDERSTAND IT. Abraham Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, February 27, 1860.
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Since I started the Fireworks and Teenage Dreams Blog Series, my research have led me, to examine my own personal history, as Geek kid, and, as a Geek Teenager, and all of this work has made me think of what I would called “Geek Love Songs.” Now, What are “Geek Love Songs?” They are love songs that both geeks guys and geek girls would listening, to and, to express our feelings, about someone we liked or had a crush on, but being geeks, most of us were either too shy, to tell the person, about our affections, for them, or the person was already, in a relationship, but, with these songs, we could hope, we could believe that someway and somehow, we could gather our courage, to tell that person how we felt for that person when the moment or was right. Therefore, I have complied 18 “Geek Love Songs” that spanned my entire life and I hope, in part, these songs also spanned our Geek Generation. The title, itself, is somewhat a geekish title because the word ode, is borrowed, from the Ode to Joy, “by German poet, playwright and historian Friedrich Schiller,” which gained massive popularity, when it was used, as somewhat, of a them song, in the first Die Hard movie. The ”Special and Exciting” part comes, from the title and the opening lyric, from the R & B group Ray Goodman & Brown song, Special Lady. So, in combining the words of Marvin Berry (Harry Waters Jr.), from Back to The Future, and Paul McCartney, from, one of his Back in the USA concerts, “This is for all your geek girls and geek guys lovers out there and tonight this for all those who ever loved a geek girl or a geek guy and, you know, who you are.” So true … Funny how it seems … Always in time, but never in line for dreams. Head over heels, when toe to toe, This is the sound of my soul. I bought a ticket to the world, But now I’ve come back again. Why do I find it hard to write the next line? When I want the truth to be said. With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue, Dissolve the nerves that have just begun. Listening to Marvin all night long. This is the sound of my soul. You must understand, That the touch of your hand, Makes my pulse react, That it’s only the thrill, Of boy meeting girl, Opposites attract. In my life there’s been heartache and pain, I don’t know if I can face it again, Can’t stop now, I’ve traveled so far, To change this lonely life, I wanna know what love is, I want you to show me. I’m gonna take a little time, A little time to look around me, I’ve got nowhere left to hide, It looks like love has finally found me. See the stone set in your eyes, See the thorn twist in your side, I wait for you, Sleight of hand and twist of fate, On a bed of nails she makes me wait, And I wait without you, With or without you, I can’t live with or without you. Just Kiss Me Baby, And Tell Me Twice, That You’re The One For Me, The Way You Make Me Feel. Don’t go for second best baby, Put your love to the test, You know, you know, you’ve got to, Make him express how he feels, And maybe then you’ll know your love is real. So if you want it right now, make him show you how, Express what he’s got, oh baby ready or not. Look into my eyes – you will see, What you mean to me, Search your heart – search your soul, And when you find me there you’ll search no more, Everything I do – I do it for you. [it's a] Tale as old as time, [its as] True as it can be, [its a] Song as old as rhyme. I hope life treats you kind, And I hope, you have all you’ve dreamed of, And I wish you joy, and happiness, But above all this, I wish you love, I will always love you. I can show you the world, Shining, shimmering, splendid, Tell me, princess, now when did, You last let your heart decide? I can open your eyes, Take you wonder by wonder, Over, sideways and under, On a magic carpet ride, A whole new world, A new fantastic point of view, No one to tell us no, Or where to go, Or say we’re only dreaming, A whole new world. Don’t you dare close your eyes, Hold your breath – it gets better, Every turn a surprise, With new horizons to pursue, Let me share this whole new world with you. I see the questions in your eyes, I know what’s weighing on your mind, You can be sure I know my part, Cause I stand beside you through the years, You’ll only cry those happy tears, And though I make mistakes, I’ll never break your heart. I’ll give you every thing I can, I’ll build your dreams with these two hands, We’ll hang some memories on the wall, And when (and when) just the two of us are there, You won’t have to ask if I still care, Cause as the time turns the page, My love won’t age at all. Close your eyes, make a wish, And blow out the candlelight, For tonight is just your night, We’re gonna celebrate, all thru the night, Pour the wine, light the fire, Girl your wish is my command, I submit to your demands, I’ll do anything, girl you need only ask. Girl relax, let’s go slow, I ain’t got nowhere to go, I’m just gonna concentrate on you. They read you Cinderella, You hoped it would come true, And one day a prince charming would come rescue you, You like romantic movies, And you never will forget, The way it felt when [spider-Man kissed Mary-Jane, for the first time], And all this time that you’ve been waiting, You don’t have to wait no more, I can love you like that. If you want tenderness, I’ve got tenderness, And I see through to the heart of you, If you want a man, Who will understand, You don’t have to look very far. We were as one, babe, For a moment in time, And it seemed everlasting, That you would always be mine, Now you wanna be free, So I’ll let you fly, ‘Cause I know in my heart, babe, Time can’t erase a feeling this strong (no no no no), No way, you’re never gonna shake me (oh), Ooh, darling, ’cause you’ll always be my baby. Oh, when you walk by every night, Talking sweet and looking fine, Darling, if you only knew. When I close my eyes, You come and you take me, So deep in my daydreams, But it’s just a sweet, sweet fantasy, baby. I’m in heaven, With my boyfriend, My lovely boyfriend, There’s no beginning, And there is no end. I am thinking of you, In my sleepless solitude tonight, If it’s wrong to love you, Then my heart just won’t let me be right, ‘Cause I’ve drowned in you, And I won’t pull through, Without you by my side. I’d give my all to have, Just one more night with you. I am thinking of you, Without any make-up on, You think I’m funny, When I tell the punch line wrong, I know you get me, So I let my walls come down. No regrets, just love, You and I, We’ll be young forever. My heart stops, When you look at me, Now baby I believe, This is real, So take a chance, And don’t ever look back, My heart stops, When you look at me, Now baby I believe, This is real, So take a chance, And don’t ever look back, You make me, Feel like, I’m living a Teenage Dream. To all my geek readers, out there, here are some questions, about this Ode to Special and Exciting Geek Girls and Geek Guys. First, What are the song titles, for all eighteen “Geek Love Songs,” in this ode? Second, what is the release date, for each song. Finally, after finding, the finding both the song titles and release dates, does any of these songs bring up memories or past feelings, for some geek girl or geek guy, you knew, growing up, who you wanted, to say or, to experience, everything that ode said, to that person?
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In her May 7 video, Blonde Girls Then and Now, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Ke$ha, the Nostalgia Chick (hereafter will be refer as NC), gave a commentary, about the reemergence of Blond Female Bubble-Gum Pop-Stars, such as, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, etc, and comparing them, to the Blond Female Bubble Gum Pop-Stars of late 1990s, which were Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson. She argues that the both eras of Blond Female Bubble-Gum Pop-Stars, from Britney to Lady Gaga, represents the triumph of image (For example, better PR Marketing and Wacky Outfits) over content (For example, actual music talent and signing ability). Additionally, she argues that this overbalance of image over content is a deciding factor, on why, a majority of music listeners, in general, tends, to dismiss and disregard pop music because it represents a cultural mind-set that they find objectionable because, in her view, the music of Blond Female Bubble-Gum Pop-Stars past and present, conveys a highly simplistic viewpoint, “on the priorities, of a teenage girl.” Therefore, the NC argument inspired me, to research, to determine, if her claim is true or not because I grew up listening, to the Motown Sound, R & B and Soul, which are, now, known, now, as, “Old School Music.” Old School Music was a vital part of the pop-music era, from the mid-sixties, to the mid-eighties. However, a paradigm shift happened, in pop-music, during the mid-eighties that would be the real baseline or starting point, of the rise Blond Female Bubble-Gum Pop-Stars. The shift began, with the launched of MTV, in 1981, then, reached the point of no return when Madonna gained pop-music/culture prominence, with the release, of her second album, Like a Virgin, in 1984. MTV and Madonna changed not only Pop-Music forever, but they also changed how female Pop-Music singers were promoted and marketed, to the now, MTV Generation. The MTV Generation era of Pop Music altered the model of promoting and marketing Female Pop-Music Singers, from no longer prioritizing content, which was the model, from the 1966 until 1984, which was the Baby Boomer Generation era of Pop-Music. The Baby Boomer Generation era of Pop-Music showed, more content than image, of Female Blond Pop-Music Stars (and Non-Blond Female Pop-Music Stars) because there was no 24-hour network dedicated, to playing, live or recorded music performances, on television. However, this generation produced the first Blond Female Pop-Music Star, who became known, as the Icon of Cool, Nancy Sinatra, who sang the classic hit, These Boots Are Made for Walkin,” which was released, in 1966. In fact, Madonna has stated that Sinatra, as a singer, and her signature song made such a strong impression, on her, that she said ‘”it (the song) summed up her own ‘take-charge attitude,’ [of her Pop-Music career].” However, Nancy Sinatra was not a skill dancer, nor were the other Blond and Non-Blond Female Pop-Music Singers, of that generation, such as, Cher, Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliot, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks, Debbie Harry (Blondie), were not skill dancers because, in that era, in which, most music performances, were performed, on variety or recorded live music shows, for example, American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show, meant that the priorities were, on pure singing ability, or talent, than, image. However, this model of promotion and marketing changed because pure singing talent was not enough anymore, with the arrival and later the dominance of MTV, as the primary source of distributing music, to teenagers, who saw a Pop-Music video first, more often, than, listening, to the Pop-Music, on the radio. Now, of course, the MTV dominance did not necessary mean the complete abandonment, of the Baby Boomer Generation era model of Pop-Music, until the release of Madonna’s Like a Virgin album. In the words, of author J. Randy Taraborrelli, who wrote a biography, about Madonna, wrote that “Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist’s magic moment; for Madonna, Like a Virgin was just such a defining moment.” However, Like a Virgin had many defining moments when it was release, in 1984, and the most defining moment of all is when Madonna performed the song, at the first MTV Music Awards (VMAs), at Radio Music City Hall, in New York City, during that same year. Madonna gave what is her career defining performance that transformed her, from mere Pop-Star to Pop Icon, literally, in a sense, over night. she wore a combination of a bustier/wedding gown; including, wearing, her trademark “Boy Toy” belt, and she danced very provocatively, on the stage, showing her lacy stockings and garter. From, my perspective, her performance marked the true end, of the Baby Boomer Generation era of Pop-Music, and the true beginning of the MTV Generation era of Pop-Music, which, in some way still continues, to this present day even though MTV is no longer a music video cable channel anymore, yet the network still set the tone, of Pop-Music, but it no longer has the dominance that it had, in the eighties and the nineties.* Nevertheless, September 14, 1984, the day after, Madonna’s performance the entire Pop-Music and Pop-Culture World would never be the same again. Madonna ushered in a new era of Pop Music, with Blond Female Pop-Stars taking prominence, over the this era, and many of them, during the next quarter century would try through various degrees of success , to match Madonna transformation, with only one who did manage, to achieve it not only once but twice, at the VMA s, but a few days, after that second performance both the Pop-Culture World and the Real World would never be the same again. Five years later, Madonna managed to strike lighting twice, with the release, of her fourth album, Like a Prayer. In many ways, the album completely outdid, Like a Virgin, in terms of its success and its backlash, from conservative critics and the Pepsi-Cola Corporation. Time Magazine declared that the album was one of 100 greatest albums, of all time. However, the most defining moment, of the album, upon its initial release was the backlash, from conservative critics, towards Madodona’s Like a Prayer music video that made Pepsi-Cola, one of the world’s two major soda corporations, to drop a Pepsi commercial that featured both Madonna and the song because of the video’s religious imagery. For me, the only true criticism that I have, about the video is the cross burning sequence because I will always equate that image, with the Ku Klux Klan, but the rest of the video religious imagery is an expression of free speech, which is protected, by the First Amendment of Constitution of the United States. When Madonna accepted the Viewer’s Choice Video, for Like a Prayer, at the 1989 VMAs, in Los Angeles, she, in her acceptance speech, summed up her view, about the entire controversy, by thanking the Pepsi-Cola corporation for “causing so much controversy,” in the first place. With that statement, Madonna demonstrated the dominating influence, of both herself and MTV that would reach their zenith, in coming decade, of the 1990s. Yet, two months later, an event happened, to me, which, in-retrospect, had a profound impact, on me, becoming a geek. On November 22, 1989, Back to the Future: Part II, was release, in theaters, and became third high-gross movie of the year behind only Indiana Jones and The Last Crusadeand Batman. Two or three days later, I saw the movie, along with my brothers, at our local theater. Even at that young age, the movie captured my imagination, and Christopher Lloyd’s performance, as Doc Emmett Brown, just absolutely amazed me and sowed the seeds of my geekness. The film has some of the best geek lines, from my point of view, of all time. I will only quote two passages, in this Blog post. First one is when Doc Brown explains, to Marty, about why he invented the time machine. He said, “Marty! I didn’t invent the time machine for financial gain. The intent here is to gain a clear perception of humanity. Where we’ve been, where we’re going. The pitfalls and the possibilities. The perils and the promise. Perhaps even an answer to that universal question, why?” For me, this passage means the drive, to ask questions, about anything, within the human experience and, within human history and, to attempt, to answer those types of questions, to gain knowledge, about us, as human beings, and how we live, our lives, in the world. Second passage is from, after, Doc and Marty rescued Jennifer, from Future Marty’s house, and they prepared, to go back, from the future. Doc said, “time-traveling is just too dangerous. Better that I devote myself to study the other great mystery of the universe: women!” I assert that the majority of us, as geeks, or at least, geek guys, do our best, to study this great mystery of the universe, with passionate intensity, and, with deep thought, in our lives. Therefore, I ask a question, to all geek guys and all geek girls, everywhere and anywhere, this question. What event, whatever it may be, a movie, a TV show, a book, a comic book, or video game that either sows the seeds of your geekness or made you realize that you are a geek? *I will write, about the decline of MTV dominance, in later, Blog posts, of this series.
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A two months ago, I heard, on the car radio, California Gurls, the lead single, from Katy Perry, third studio album, Teenage Dream, and I like it. However, I could not figure out, why I like it, nor could I find out why her singing voice kept playing, in my head. Even though the song is pure bubble-gum pop, I still wanted, to listen, to the song, over and over again because her singing voice, for some reason, sang, to the sound of my soul. No other female Pop-Music singer, throughout my 26 years, on this earth, has ever sang a song that reached the sound of my soul, with the the only two exceptions, of Maria Carey and Madonna. Therefore, when I got home, I went, on YouTube, type in, California Gurls, and I watched, the music video, on Miss Perry, official channel. Although the music video is very provocative, I thought the video imagery was just redoing, Fergie’s Fergalicious video, with the major difference is that Perry’s video is more, of “Candyland” while Fergie’s video is more, of “Chocolate Factory.” Yet, the video did not made me, to dismiss, Miss Perry’s singing voice, and I still wanted, to hear her singing voice again, so I decided, to conduct, some online research, to find out why her singing voice caught my attention and that led me, to also find out why she sounds different, from other modern female pop-star singers since the start of the 21st century. Therefore, I started, my online research, by reading, her biography, on her Wikipedia article, and I read that her singing background is Gospel Music because her parents were pastors, who taught her, to sing Gospel Songs, from her childhood, to her late teens. In fact, throughout her childhood and her teens, she only listened, to Gospel Music because her pastor mother would not allow her, to listen, to what her mother called, “secular music.” Using her Wikipedia article references source section, I confirmed these biographic details, in a 2008 Blender Magazine interview, of hers. Reading all this information, I found the answer, of why her singing voice sparked my interest is because her singing background and her baseline, in her music is Gospel music. However, my answer led, to me, ask a larger question, how and why a gospel singer, raised by two pastor parents, who released a gospel rock album, under her legal name Katy Hudson, at the age, of seventeen, went on, to become one of the biggest pop music sensation, in just the last two years, with hit songs, like, “Ur So Gay,” and “I Kissed a Girl?” In answering this larger question, led me, to a Nostalgia Chick video, about blonde girls pop singers, which including a brief commentary, about Katy Perry, which, then, led me, to conduct research, on the modern pop/rock music history, especially, on Blond and Non-Blond Rock/Pop female singers, from Nancy Sinatra, to Madonna, to Britney Spear, and, finally, to Lady GaGa. Researching the answer, for this question, has led me, to ask, an even larger question, about our Geek Generation. Our Geek Generation are those, including myself, who were born, from 1983, to the mid 1988, who grew up, in the 90s, and came of age, into adulthood, in decade, after, 9/11 is how us Geeks has handle that transition, in our Geek Culture and perhaps how we have handle it, in our lives, as Geek Men and Geek Women, who are living, in the 21st century?