Author Anne Rice passed away over the weekend at the age of eighty. Rice, born Howard Allen Frances O’Brien, sold more than 100 million copies of her books and made the world safe for sexy vampires (no Lestat and Louis = no Edward Cullen, no Angel, no Eric Northman).
Michael Nesmith has died at the age of seventy-eight. At a later time, I’ll delve more into my childhood love of The Monkees and Nesmith specifically; for now I’m struggling to find the right words.
Nesmith (with guitar) with his Monkees bandmatesNesmith toured with The Monkees one last time in 2020
That wink at the end is *chef’s kiss*
Not much makes me happier than a holiday-themed baking competition, and Peacock’s Baking It is a recent pleasure. The show is hosted by Andy Samberg and the divine Maya Rudolph, who randomly break into song and generally act like the wonderful goofballs that they are. The judges are a panel of grandmas who drink dirty martinis while the competitors finish their bakes. Baking It is a god damn delight and I highly recommend it.
Speaking of Andy Samberg, today is the fifteenth anniversary of the release of “Dick in a Box”!
On this day in 1969, the Jackson 5 madetheir first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. Michael, at age eleven the youngest member of the group, stole the show on his way to becoming the undisputed King of Pop.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered on this day in 2015. The film – which earned more than two billion dollars globally – introduced us to a new generation of heroes, including Rey and Finn, while satisfying the Gen-X nostalgia machine with old favorites like Leia, Han and Chewy.
Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Finn (John Boyega) with BB-8Han Solo (Harrison Ford) with Chewbacca
Time Out by The Dave Brubeck Quartet was released on this day in 1959. Featuring the smash hit “Take Five” (the biggest selling jazz single of all time), Time Out made it to #2 on the Billboard album chart and became the first jazz album to sell a million copies.
Dave Brubeck’s Take Five is one of the coolest tunes to be written in 5/4 time. Such a classic! Nesmith was a wonderful songwriter and I always liked him on the Monkees. I was 7 when the original Star Wars came out. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw Force Awakens….but I thought it was a good mix of old and new.
Peanut Butter and Julie 
Great blog with so many great things….
Dave Brubeck’s Take Five is one of the coolest tunes to be written in 5/4 time. Such a classic! Nesmith was a wonderful songwriter and I always liked him on the Monkees. I was 7 when the original Star Wars came out. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw Force Awakens….but I thought it was a good mix of old and new.
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Ah, a fellow Gen-Xer! I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog!
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