Saturday 9 x 2

(Link in meme-roll)
Don't Talk to Strangers (1982)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When did you recently have a conversation with a complete stranger? What did you two discuss?

I've been having most of my IRL conversations this week with strangers. We mostly discuss Beast, him being the Center of Everyone's Current Attention at the moment.

2) In the video for this song, a woman is having a "hot" conversation on a corded, rotary dial phone in her bedroom. Do you have a landline? If so, do you have an extension in your bedroom?

I do have a landline still, with long-distance coverage. And there is an extension in the bedroom, which has a curly cord on it! No rotary dials in the house, more's the pity.

3) This week's artist, Rick Springfield, says he wrote this song when he was worried that his girlfriend (now his wife) would cheat on him when he was touring. Would you describe yourself as suspicious or trusting?

I'm far far far far more trusting than I should be. And yet wholly unsurprised by shitty behavior when it happens.

4) He became a daytime heartthrob as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. Do you think it would be cool to have a really attractive doctor? Or would it make you uncomfortable?

I have had a gorgeous doctor. I currently have a doctor who is just absolutely adorable (he used to be gorgeous and then he hit middle age). It makes going to the doctor fun, seriously. However, these were/are both generalists. It would be AWFUL having an attractive gynie. That's where I draw the line! lol

5) He's discussed how sad he was when, as a boy, he had to leave his dog Elvis behind when the family left Australia. While you were growing up, did your family often move?

My parents lived in the house my dad built in 1946/7 until 1994, a year after Sparky was born. Same house for all the kids in my family, same house for 47 years of their 53-year-marriage.

6) In 1982, when this song was popular, Italy won the World Cup. Do you ever watch soccer?

I do, but very occasionally. I love to listen to the commentary in either foreign languages or in "British" because it's quite a lot different from American sportscasts during which THEY NEVER STOP TALKING! I love occasional silence and focus in watching sports.

7) "Smiley," the first emoticon, was introduced in 1982. Do you use emoticons in your communication? Or do you avoid them?

I use them more than I should. I'm such a girl!

8) The Vietnam Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC, in 1982. Do you know any veterans of that conflict? If so, tell us about him or her.

One of my best friends' second husband was a pilot of a helo on the day Saigon evacuated. He's the least-obvious veteran I've ever known. He's also the only person I know well who was in Vietnam. A lot of my brother's classmates were drafted; he avoided it by going to college (and having bad eyesight). I have never asked how many people from his class died there. It might be worth asking.

9) Random Question: Your friends are throwing a birthday "roast" in your honor. Which one quality of yours are you sure will be singled out for laughs?

My OCD, detail-orientation will surely be raised.

Da Doo Ron Ron (1977)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song begins by stating that he met her on a Monday and his heart stood still. How did your past week start? It may be a lot to expect you to report that you met someone who made your heart stand still, but did anything noteworthy occur?

A lot of things have my heart super-active this week in various respects, but not because I met someone. "Noteworthy"? Yeah, a week ago last night, Beast was airlifted to a trauma hospital with severe head injuries from a fall sometime in the afternoon down the steps in our house. He is still not participating in what the rest of us agree is reality. I've spent at least 5 hours every day since then sitting in his hospital room.

2) While making hit records, Shaun Cassidy also starred as Joe Hardy on the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books have been popular with generations of American kids. Were you a fan?

Oh My God!! I read most of the books, and I watched that show obsessively for the first couple of years. I was In Love with Parker Stevenson, and I have the album this very song is on! Yes, the LP album, played over and over and over on my parents' stereo in the living room. If I had been aware of the sound eyeballs rolling in parental heads made, I'd have never heard a note of the record. But they let me listen.

3) Shaun went to Beverly Hills High School. Over the decades, BHHS has had many good football teams. Do you remember what sports your school excelled at?

Absolutely none that I'm aware of. We suuuuuucked at football, and I ignored all the other sports except wrestling, which I think we were ok in (you'd think I'd know--I was a regular volunteer at meets!). THE BAND however, was the best band in the metro area for years and years.

4) Shaun followed his older half-brother, David Cassidy, into TV/records/teen stardom. Do you have siblings? If yes, what career paths did they follow?

[Aside: David Cassidy was my very first heartthrob. I was, uh, 7? when I fell in love with him.] Marie managed and set up daycares and otherwise worked in childcare her whole career. Oh, she taught for a few years too. Ellen taught middle school and then temped and got her master's degree in business before she died. Jean taught--in Africa--and then got her master's degree in library science and worked in the equivalent of a high school library till she got too ill to work. Mind you, all three of my sisters HAD TO QUIT WORK when they had kids, although maybe it was less of a thing for Jean because she got at least a year of leave after a baby's birth before she had to go back. Socialized medicine dontcha know. The other two, though: women didn't work back then while pregnant or when they have a husband and kids. My brother, Del, was an airport firefighter for most of his career till he became management and then retired a few years ago. He currently works at Lowe's where he just follows directions and makes no decisions whatsoever at work. It sounds lovely.

5) His middle name is Paul, after his maternal grandfather. Tell us something about one of your grandparents.

They all had RIDICULOUS names! When we were looking for baby names for Sparky, it was horrific what our options were for family names. I mean we had to reuse Beast's first name--it's a family tradition--but had free rein on the middle name. Dear God the options! Clarence, Albert, Grover, and the French version of Adolf. Jeebus God!! All we needed was Ernie and Oscar and we'd've had a TV show!

6) Shaun's mother, actress Shirley Jones, reports that he was more than 3 weeks late and born by Cesarean. Have you heard family legends about your arrival into the world?

I was a week late. Mom drank a whole bottle of cod liver oil (or was it castor oil?) so I'd just finally appear! And then when labor did start, apparently everyone in town who was pregnant also went into labor. Mom talked about nearly giving birth to me in the hall because there was a line for the delivery room (remember this was the dark ages of putting Mom to sleep and not letting Dad in the room). I had two friends in high school whose moms were in the hospital giving birth at the same time as my mom was having me. Oh, and she had to beg to stay an extra night because she didn't want to go home to face two teens, a ten-year-old and a baby. I'm surprised she didn't hop a train and ride the rails. It would have been easier in some respects!!

7) "Da Doo Ron Ron" was originally recorded by The Crystals. Can you think of another song that has been a hit by more than one artist?

A lot of the Motown hits from the 60s have been redone (often by white people) since then. The originals are almost always better, although I've a soft spot for Phil Collins' version of "You Can't Hurry Love."

8) In 1977, when this version of "Da Doo Ron Ron" was popular, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated Apple. Are you Mac or Android?

I am SO Android it's painful! I don't even own an iPod; never have!

9) Random Question: You're exhausted. You collapse into bed and are about to drift into slumber when you hear the drip-drip-drip of the bathroom faucet. Would you kick off the covers and go turn it off? Or would you stay in bed, letting it drip until morning?

Hmm, specifically dripping? I would totally go shut it off. I grew up conserving water. Lots of other things, though--squeaky fans, vents clicking, loud music across the street--I'd stick the earplugs in and go right to sleep.