Missed That One Completely

Back in the late 1990s and early 2000s, all sorts of music passed me by. I guess I was too busy with other stuff, and apart from new songs by old favorites (Clapton, Santana etc.), I was oblivious. Ordinarily, the kids’ music (my kids, that is) would have kept me informed, so to speak, but as I recall, they were listening to music which didn’t touch me — Limp Bizkit, Matchbox 20, Weezer, Shakira and all the teen-pop stuff — and I won’t even go into “club” music.

Well, maybe I should have listened to club music a little, because I completely missed someone called Anastacia — and that’s a Bad Thing.

Whoa. Talk about a seductive, and wonderful, mezzo-soprano: I’m Outta Love and Left Outside Alone (both of which I only encountered for the first time this past week) are astonishing. And as for Sick And Tired… phew.

Okay, let me get the obvious out of the way. The musical format of Anastacia’s music still leaves me untouched — in fact, I think it sucks — but good grief… that voice. It reminds me of a slightly edgier Tina Turner — and how does one get edgier than Tina?

Nor was she an overnight sensation, either: she’d really paid her dues.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Ms. Anastacia was as sexy as hell, too, not to mention gorgeous.

Of course, those were earlier pics of her, taken in her 30s. It’s been well over a decade since she “arrived” — she should have been discovered nearly ten years before then — and age has taken its toll on her, somewhat (not to mention Crohn’s Disease and breast cancer); but hell, even an older and plumper Anastacia can still turn heads, at age 50:

…and if anything, like a fine Scotch single malt her voice has got better with age. My only quibble is her music, which still sucks. I wish she’d become a torch singer, taking on the old jazz nightclub classics. She would be sensational.

And damn, I wish she hadn’t lost the glasses.

Religious Twofer

This is one of those years when I get to wish my Christian and Jewish Readers well over their respective holidays, in a single post.

Happy Easter and Chag Pesach Sameach to you all, from this most tolerant atheist.

May you all see many, many more.

5 Worst Excuses For Being Late For School

In order of implausibility:

  • “My little sister hid my backpack.”
  • “The dog wouldn’t move away from lying in front of my dad’s car.”
  • “It was the Russians.”
  • “I had a panic attack because Donald Trump is President.”

…and the absolute worst reason for being late for school:

  • “My gym teacher just wouldn’t let me get out of bed this morning.”

Your suggestions in Comments.

When The Impossible Becomes Everyday

We are constantly being told by the Left that we need to adopt the stricter gun laws of other countries — the U.K. and Australia spring to mind — because their gunshot violence rates are so much lower than ours Over Here.

And yet

Two men in their 20s are taken to hospital after being shot outside Mile End Tube station as London’s crime epidemic continues

and this:

Mother of a student shot and stabbed to death on a night out says she is “completely heartbroken”. His death is one of eight murders in London in a week and has sparked warnings that the capital could see a record number of killings in 2018.

Technically, of course, with handgun ownership almost completely banned in the U.K., this kind of thing should never, ever happen. Technically, Britain’s gunshot violence rate involving handguns should equal zero — but of course, it doesn’t.

And if we take the spate of acid-tossing incidents in Britain — where young thugs simply use sulphuric- or hydrochloric acid as their weapon of choice, the violent crime rate is absolutely staggering. (Yeah, having acid thrown in your face is so much better than being threatened with a gun.)

But when confronted with these facts, the Left just shrugs because as with all things Lefty, the intent is what’s important; the outcome is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if people die or are horribly disfigured as long as the principle (of public disarmament) is laudable.

I wonder just how many of these British criminals would be so brazen if there was a good chance they’d be shot dead by lawfully-armed citizens… oh hell, we all know the answer to that. It’s only the Left who would be wailing about “pitched gun battles” and “Wild West shoot-outs” (when in fact, the violent crime rate in America’s Wild West days — where almost every man carried a gun — was considerably lower than today’s).

Which reminds me: it’s almost time to head off to the range.

Quote Of The Day

From Glenn Reynolds:

“Anti-gun groups have lots of money, lots of organization, and lots and lots of media help. What they don’t have is lots of supporters. “

…a.k.a. voters, which is what drives them crazy when they do all their “Ban this! and ban that!” screaming and nothing happens.