Barry Manilow! Here I Come!
Or...The Dragon is goin' to see a source of inspiration! And I'm excited about it!
Anyone who is familiar with this blog knows that Barry Manilow (yow!) is one of my sources of inspiration. His song God Bless the Other 99 is one that helped me see light at the end of the tunnel during some of those obnoxious query letter days on my road to getting Choices Meant for Gods published. (All you writers know what I mean... )
And consider for a moment that in my fantasy novel, Nigel calls the heroine, Amanda Chariss, by the name Mandy half the time and, well, you can see the Barry influence CLEARLY.
So when my employer confirmed my flights for Vegas for a huge equipment show and conference that I'll be covering next week, I thought, "I'm not going to Vegas without spending one evening in front of Barry Manilow's Music and Passion Show." Duh. So I got my little self online and ordered a fancy ticket in Row G. That's the seventh row. I'm going to be so close I can see Barry's tonsils when he belts out "how happy you made me, Oooooooooooh, Mandy."
I'm very tickled. My bank account is gasping for breath, of course, but I don't care. You only live once! And I love the motto that you shouldn't live with the goal of ending up in a well-preserved body, but racing to the grave, skidding in sideways with a martini in one hand and something chocolate and decadent in the other screaming "yahoo, what a ride!" I actually had an employee once tell me that quote sounded irresponsible to him and that he and his wife had given up living that way. You know, I respect his right to go home and sit on the couch, but, dude, I'll "waste" $198 to see Barry Manilow from the seventh row when an opportunity like this presents itself.
And now, for some mid-day inspiration:
God Bless the Other 99
by Barry Manilow
I learned more from failure than I learned from success
I learned from "no thank you" so much more than from "yes"
I learned to be willing to lead with my chin
And if I were willing to lose I could win
I learned from the losers who got right back in line
The dimmer their future then the brighter they’d shine
Three cheers for the one, the one in a hundred
But God bless the other ninety nine
Those courageous people changed my life
They taught me
You can give in, you can give out, but you don’t give up
And that, my friends, is good advice that I've taken to heart.
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Barry Manilow, Vegas, Mandy
Or...The Dragon is goin' to see a source of inspiration! And I'm excited about it!
Anyone who is familiar with this blog knows that Barry Manilow (yow!) is one of my sources of inspiration. His song God Bless the Other 99 is one that helped me see light at the end of the tunnel during some of those obnoxious query letter days on my road to getting Choices Meant for Gods published. (All you writers know what I mean... )
And consider for a moment that in my fantasy novel, Nigel calls the heroine, Amanda Chariss, by the name Mandy half the time and, well, you can see the Barry influence CLEARLY.
So when my employer confirmed my flights for Vegas for a huge equipment show and conference that I'll be covering next week, I thought, "I'm not going to Vegas without spending one evening in front of Barry Manilow's Music and Passion Show." Duh. So I got my little self online and ordered a fancy ticket in Row G. That's the seventh row. I'm going to be so close I can see Barry's tonsils when he belts out "how happy you made me, Oooooooooooh, Mandy."
I'm very tickled. My bank account is gasping for breath, of course, but I don't care. You only live once! And I love the motto that you shouldn't live with the goal of ending up in a well-preserved body, but racing to the grave, skidding in sideways with a martini in one hand and something chocolate and decadent in the other screaming "yahoo, what a ride!" I actually had an employee once tell me that quote sounded irresponsible to him and that he and his wife had given up living that way. You know, I respect his right to go home and sit on the couch, but, dude, I'll "waste" $198 to see Barry Manilow from the seventh row when an opportunity like this presents itself.
And now, for some mid-day inspiration:
God Bless the Other 99
by Barry Manilow
I learned more from failure than I learned from success
I learned from "no thank you" so much more than from "yes"
I learned to be willing to lead with my chin
And if I were willing to lose I could win
I learned from the losers who got right back in line
The dimmer their future then the brighter they’d shine
Three cheers for the one, the one in a hundred
But God bless the other ninety nine
Those courageous people changed my life
They taught me
You can give in, you can give out, but you don’t give up
And that, my friends, is good advice that I've taken to heart.
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Barry Manilow, Vegas, Mandy
Labels: Barry Manilow, Choices Meant for Gods, inspiration, Vegas
posted by Sandy Lender | 10:24 AM
4 Comments:
Hello Sandy
Congratulations! You are gonna
have the best time. Barry is
the "must see" show in Vegas.
I'm going for the first time (thanks to a contest win!) in
about a month; and I can't wait!
If you'd like to see "God Bless the Other 99" see if you can find
Barry Manilow Live On Broadway.
It's a live performance from the Gershwin Theater in 1989. Maybe, you can find it on ebay; as I just checked and it's not available yet from Stiletto.
I do have a copy, from a friend.
Let me know if you'd like it.
Barry and company, Debra Byrd, Billy Kidd perform this number and it's terrific. During the song Barry kisses the "Geek" goodbye!
I'm sure you would thoroughly enjoy it! Barry is such an inspiration in so many ways.
Have Fun!
mac
Wow...very moving...will help me get through current rough times!
To Mac,
Congratulations on winning tickets! Fabulous... I haven't seen the show in Vegas yet, but, man, seeing him before has always been moving. I get that funky, butterflies-in-the-stomach thing right before he takes the stage like I'm some teeny-bopper again. Very bizarre. And, of course, I burst into tears at the first note of Mandy (You can read a post about THAT nonsense on Nigel's blog...Feb. 15 post at http://sandylender.blogspot.com...I think we were writing about Valentine's Day Confessions or some such travesty.)
I know you'll have a great time next month. Please stop back by and share with us.
As for the Gershwin Theater performance...I swear that's really familiar. It's on videotape, right? I'll have to do some digging...
Thanks for stopping by!
Sandy L.
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
Diane, I've got a post for you today (3/9).
Sandy L.
"Some days, I just want the dragon to win."
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