"I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want"

Paraphrasing Spice Girls - didn't even know that's who the lyrics came from, just know the tune was running over and over through my head as I ponder the latest advancement in the field of cosmetics. Battery powered mascara. Really.

Of COURSE I bought some, how could I not? I am a geek at heart, and now they've gone and increased the efficiency of my mascara wand and pumped up the power. I loved it when they put a battery in between me and a good book and called it an e-reader. And we all know where else we gals like batteries!

How do they come up with these things? Seriously, who sits around the r&d lab and thinks..........hmmm....a little bitty battery powered motor on the end of a mascara wand......get it to turn 360 degrees.....

I'll keep you posted, I can't wait to get out of bed in the morning and try it for myself!

What will be next? I'm still waiting on the fantasy the Jetson's gave me as a little girl, a conveyor belt process from bed to fully dressed, face powdered and all!

Elvis 75

By chance I discovered today is the 75th anniversary of Elvis Presley's birthday. It's funny, not too long ago I would have known this was coming and it wouldn't have surprised me. We change as we age, sometimes for better, sometimes not so much. I was an Elvis fan, I still am, but at a lot of levels lower on the fan-o-meter than I once was. I'm just so glad I stumbled on it on the day, and didn't read about it in the press after the event.

I'm sitting here in the intimacy of my living room watching Elvis concerts on the big screen. Turner Classic Movie channel has shown Elvis on Tour, and is now showing Elvis That's the Way It Is. The first is from 72 concert tour, and is the bit more shaggier, heftier Elvis. The second is from 1970, and opening night in Vegas. This is prime Elvis, the best of the best. About 35 years old, sideburns just right, hair gorgeous, belly flat, hips in prime shape. Not quite so much "flair" on the costumes! More intimate setting, he's being quite friendly with the audience, and I'm appreciating all the asides he tosses off. Lots of rehearsal footage at the start, with cool Elvis in fashionably nice attire.

Watching this inspired me to get out some thoughts, and what better place to do it than this blog? I loved this Elvis, he still has the power to thrill me even through the tv screen and over all the decades. This guy had charisma to the nth degree.

And I suspicioned it, discovered tonight it's true-Elvis wore guy-liner! My younger daughter didn't believe me, so we had to rewind the DVR to demonstrate the tell-tale smudging under the eyes after a particularly long hot sweaty concert event. And yes, Adam Lambert really does look like the '72 era Elvis, scarily so.

Is there anything better than Elvis on a stage in Vegas with a drink in hand and singing One Night With You? Seriously? (Ok, maybe Bon Jovi in my living room singing Want to Make a Memory! seeing as how that fantasy is still possible.)

This has been a fabulous evening, I've taken so many trips down memory lane. The 70s were a time when fashion for the most part really sucked. I saw things on ladies in the audience I forgot that I, too, wore; such as velvet chokers and soft hair ribbons out of some kind of fuzzy material. And the Teeth! Oh my heavens the teeth of all that appeared on camera were generally of the "haven't been to a dentist in my life" variety. I was a rural girl in the 70s, so I don't know what folks in the big cities did, but we didn't go to the dentist. Ever. Luckily for me, I had excellent genes and my teeth were pretty darn good. My first visit was well after my 21st birthday.

My daughter couldn't understand why the 72 Elvis wore such outlandish costumes. Rock people didn't do that, she said. What fun we had educating her on the other famous rock musicians she knows that did, indeed do that and much more. Bowie, the Beatles, and let's not forget the latter part of the decade spawned Kiss!

And costumes took us all to a discussion on cleaning on the tour, wondering how they kept them clean. We speculated that they did a lot of 1 hour drycleaning, but what was it like for the cleaner who got Elvis's full rhinestone studded jumpsuit? Knowing he needs it back to wear again? Somebody's got to have some fabulous stories out there.

As usual, all discussions on Elvis eventually lead to his early death at 42. We researched it on the iPhone, to find out if his doctors were pursued for negligence similar to Michael Jackson's doctors or not. I didn't think so, as the 70s was a very different time from our litigious 21st century. I was wrong, his doctors were pursued, one barred from practicing for 3 months(!) Information (not verified) on the internet indicated Elvis had 10,000 doses of medication prescribed to him by ONE doctor in the first 8 months of 1977. Ain't that something? Let's do some quick math here, 8 months times 30 days in a month is a total of 240 days. 10,000 doses divided by 240 days is FORTY-ONE doses of a prescription drug EACH day. Let's say that was delivered morning, noon, and night to get an idea of how many potential pills that is and we could guestimate 14 pills in a handfull. Ain't that something? I"m sure they were more spread out over the day than that, and who knows how "doses" translates into delivery method anyways. We can clearly tell it's much more than an elephant probably needs, much less one middle age overweight man. Poor King.

Still, he's a part of my youth, and a part of my culture, and I'm glad that I did get to witness his performances, albeit none in person. Can't wait for the blu-ray, that should really be an awesome concert experience! Hopefully they have great masters in the vault, ready to be re-done.