The Most Godlike of Them All

Freddie Mercury

5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991
"Those who compile lists of Great Rock Frontmen and award the top spots to Mick Jagger, Robert Plant, etc. all are guilty of a terrible oversight. Freddie, as evidenced by his Dionysian Live Aid performance, was easily the most godlike of them all."

AK: That’s a pretty big image to deliver…godlike. Obviously, you have struck a chord with thousands or even millions of people, including those in your profession. So, do you realize what impact you band (Queen) has had on people’s lives?
FM: "We're the Cecil B. DeMille of rock and roll, always wanting to do things bigger and better." I don’t know what impact we’ve had on people’s lives…I hope it’s been good. I hope we’ve helped people, I hope that what we’re doing makes a difference in people’s lives. But, we’re going to keep trying to improve, we’re always going to want to do more.
AK: Well then, what would you say, thus far, is your proudest accomplishment?
FM: Musically?
AK: Either musically or personally.
FM: My relationship with Mary. “All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary, but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me." The only thing anybody can ever ask for is to love and be loved in return. I’ve got that with her. I am proudest of her.
AK: I’ve heard you have written certain songs about her, but I’m extremely curious on if you have a favorite song.
FM: "I hate doing the same thing again and again and again. I like to see what's happening now in music, film and theatre and incorporate all of those things." I don’t have a favorite song. My favorite song changes from day to day, it depends on my mood, my life, my surroundings. My favorite song is probably one I haven’t heard yet, and it will only be my favorite until I get bored of it.
AK: What is the hardest thing about being in a famous band? Is there something you would want to give up that relates to being in the band?
FM: I don’t like any of attention. I would prefer to be on the stage and then, to the world, not exist off of it. I hate that the decisions that come with this lifestyle can hurt or affect those I care about. “I felt it correct … protect the privacy of those around me.” But, overall, I think it’s inevitably necessary. You can’t make the music and actually have it effect people unless your willing to deal with the harder parts of the lifestyle.
AK: Well, like you said, there’s crap that comes with your life. With the band. Including a lack of privacy. Is there one question in particular that you have always hoped an interviewer would NOT ask you?
FM: “When I'm performing I'm an extrovert, yet inside I'm a completely different man." If I had my way, I’ve never interview at all. So any question is the question I would prefer not to be asked. “My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews.”

On November 23, 1991, Freddie Mercury made a public statement confirming his diagnosis of AIDS. Twenty-four hours later, on November 24, Mercury died of bronchial pneumonia. He is still believed to be one of the best artists in rock history, and I would have been honored to interview him.
Queen’s last album, Innuendo, includes several songs dealing with the despairing fact that Freddie was reaching the later and far more painful stages of AIDS. One of those songs is “The Show Must Go On,” which has extremely difficult falsetto notes. It was believed by lead guitarist Brian May that Freddie was too sick to record the song, and he fully intended to do it himself. On the day of recording, Freddie apparently drank some vodka and said "I'll fucking do it darling!" proceeding to nail the vocal line in one take without problems. “The song chronicles the effort of Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life.” However, Freddie was far too sick to be filmed for the song. This resulted in a montage of previous footage being collaged together to create the official music video.

An Interview with Scarlett

In an interview with Margret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind's heroine Scarlett O'Hara.


What would you say was your greatest struggle throughout the novel?

-“Well, although I had to uphold the irritating social standards, escape from Atlanta while it was under attack, fight off starvation and the carpetbaggers, I think the worst part was not being able to posses Ashley Wilkes. I got him to kiss me once and I am quite sure that he loved me but he wouldn’t be unfaithful to that mousey Melanie. I always figure out a way to get what I wanted except for when it came to him.”

How did you feel when you returned to Tara after Atlanta had been attacked?

- “Extremely overwhelmed. After we got back into the county we found most of the other plantations burned to the ground. Tara fortunately was still ok even though it had been looted and all the Negros had been run off. To top it off , I found my mother had died from typhoid and Suellen and Careen were about to join her and I found that my father had gone insane. I realized that from that moment on I couldn’t depend on anyone except for myself and I vowed that I would never go hungry again.”

How do you feel about Rhett Bultler?

“He is a rich swindler which I hate more often than not but after he left me I finally realized that I was in live with hi. He is the wealthiest, smartest, most un-southern man around and we fight constantly. He is the only one who ever can get the best of me and he is the only one who isn’t afraid of me.

Urritating

Dogs. I love them. I work with them on a weekly basis and I have one at my side constantly. He is my baby boy. On the other hand there is my brother’s dog, Pugsley. Big surprise of originality he is a Pug. Punched-in faced, bug-eyed Pug. My brother “rescued” him about 9 months ago. My parents and I thought it would be a good companion for my brother for when he first moved down here. He had been wanting one ever since he was a kid. We took the dogs home and with in hours of getting to our newly carpeted home, Pugsley had peed three times. This was just the beginning of the urine tales. For months the dog hiked on everything, from the walls to the couch and the most irritating thing was my pillow. As the urinating continued for months and training techniques had failed, my irritation increased while my patience was exponentially falling. It seems like every time I come home to rest my head I have to inspect my pillow, my blanket, everything in my room. I will come into my room and do the inspection, I scream and throw a fit if I see that yellow ammonia scented stain. Staring at me. Mocking me for being a dumb forgiving human being. The bile in my stomach rises and thoughts of harming even killing the thing come over me in flashes. My brother always apologizes, but for that type of invasion it’s just not okay. I have tried convincing him to get rid of the dog, but he continues supporting the thing. Fearing that is was him that failed the dog. I guess he doesn’t have to wash his pillow cases every time Pugsley decides to show where his territory is.

Strang Phobias...I know

I don't have a lot of phobias just a couple, but they are odd in themselves. One of the things that I have a phobia of is fingernail files. I hate the way they feel on your skin, nails anything. The surface feels like sand paper raking over the top of your nails. I don't like any style or kind. Just because it has butterflies on the surface doesn't make the feeling of cringing go away any time soon. My sister use to get my mother's fingernail file and run it across my bare skin, I would almost go limp because my body was so tense.

Another phobia that I have, and I know this is awful, but midgets scare me. I have a feeling that one day one midget might try to chase me, and if this happened I would die of a heart attack. I have never liked being chased. Even when I was younger playing hide and go seek I would almost pee my pants thinking someone would catch me. I never really knew I had a phobia of midgets until I was around them and I had the strangest feeling that they wanted to chase me. I know that I sound deranged, but its the truth.
I feel bad that I am this way because they can't help the way they are and its not the person I am scared of its their size. My friends make fun of me when I tell them about my phobias, but the thing is they probably have worse ones than I do. I especially get made fun of because I am afraid of midgets or little people. I try to get better about these phobias, but I do not know if they will ever change or go away. Hopefully one day they might.

What do you think I am?

I have been described as magnificent, powerful, and beautiful. I am centuries old and breathtaking. When I run you see the tension and flexing of muscles rippling through my body. As the wind blows you can see my hair blow, and hear the sounds as I call to the others of my kind. I am a very gregarious creature.
The strong scent of fresh grass always surrounds me. The rumble of my stomach can be heard if you stand real close. My warm wet muzzle will nibble on your hand and tickle you with its short prickly hairs. Occasionally, I may lick you. My tongue is nothing like a cow, rough as sandpaper, mine is smooth and slimy. As you run your hand down my neck you can feel raw strength. My coat is smooth and warm. If you pet in the right direction the hair grows there is no resistance, but I don't like it when you pet the opposite direction. As you pet me I may become more relaxed and prop one of my back legs up.
You can literally see and touch the muscles that make me so magnificent. The prominent "v" between my front legs and large bulges on my forearms are keys to my successful lift off across the pasture. My massive hip and hindquarter muscles allow me to "get up and go!"
On a more sensitive level I have large brown eyes covered by huge eye-lids and long eyelashes. My ears are small, fuzzy and normally point forward. If I am angry they may point backwards. My nostrils will flare as I breathe in and out. I am a loving creature if I am treated properly, and would love nothing than to lie in the sun all day.

Love Connection

What is Love??????




Love is a bond between two mates
Love is a matter of heart you can't take
Love should be with you through thick and thin
Love should be with you till the end
Love is something you make throughout your life
Love can be a big sacafice
Love can be good
Love is something people never had
Love is powerful
Love is strong
But don't get it twisted..................
Love can go wrong
Love is a connection you should cherish and grasp tight
Because when it gone.........it's gone alright!!!!!!!!!!!!

Club Red

Long narrow room, one wall has panels of windows and two glass doors. Rows of chips and candy. Gurgling coffeemaker. Scones and bagels stacked in the display.

"Hi, how are you today?" one cashier says. Middle aged woman, gray hair, quirky smile.

"Cinnamon Raisin bagel with cream cheese, please," says a mustachioed man.

People come and go - students, professors, university employees. Some wear hoodies and sweatpants, some wear suits and ties. Some buy scantrons, some buy bagels, but nearly all buy coffee. The delivery man comes in through the back entrance.

"Where's the drop-off box at?" he says.

"In there I guess," the cashier replies.

"You guess?"

"I guess. They won't let you come in the front door anymore?"

"Nope."

"They don't want him coming in the front door," the other cashier interjects. Younger, wears navy skirt, white socks cover her ankles.

The gray-haired woman checks the coffee containers. One is empty. She sets up the machine to make another batch. Water gurgles. A few minutes later, the younger cashier turns the machine off.

"Coffee done?" the older cashier asks.

The younger cashier is emptying the coffee grounds. No reply is given.

"Guess so, huh." She walks over the register and looks down at it. "You know I got 517 people at this register yesterday. Five hundred and seventeen people."

The younger cashier finishes emptying coffee grounds and goes into the back room.

"You know," the older woman says to a customer, "I went to bed at 8:30 last night I was so tired. I'm glad its slow this morning."

Crazy Rituals I Will Never Understand

In my Cultures of the South class we watched a documentary on a religious group in the Appalachian Mountains that practices snake handling as a religious ceremony. Every service is based on the handling of poisonous snakes. They will not use non-poisonous snakes. They refer to a passage in Mark that says "they shall take up serpents." They are a very conservative group. They don't wear makeup,cut their hair or seek any type of medical attention. I am a religious person and I understand that everyone worships in their own way, but seriously poisonous snakes. I was cringing just watching. They dance around with snakes in their hands. Many people have died from bites. One of the men in the documentary had been bitten 68 times. I just can not understand how people can do this. It is crazy. They are setting themselves up for serious injury and even death. To make it worse if they are bitten, they do not seek any medical treatment. They just wait it out and hope they survive. Many of the families had lost at least one or two people from snake bites. The kids were also exposed to this. I think that is what agitates me the most. It's one thing if you want to play with poisonous snakes, but to put little helpless babies in this environment it ridiculous. I can't not imagine how I would feel if my child died from something that could have been prevented. Can you say child endangerment? As I understand it, child services has intervened in some cases, but it is hard to do anything without infringing on people's religious freedom. Seriously though, where is the line. A child has no idea what they are doing. Should they be forced into a dangerous environment? I mean to each their own, but don't take you children down with you. I guess I just will never understand some things.

Spring Break

My spring break was not you average spring break. I did not go to panama,out of the country to some warm beach, or skiing. The weekend before i went to russeville to visit my boyfriend. I stayed there till late Sunday night. We didn't do much over the weekend, just cooked and enjoyed our time together. I guess that is called "being lazy." Sunday night i went home to Pine Bluff. I visited with my family and friends. Monday i went to the Toyota dealership(where i use to work) and visited with them and had my car services. I also had my driver seat looked at because my lab tore a hole in it. Tuesday i was off to Mississippi. I was going shopping with my mom. I was so excited to see Oxford, Mississippi, this was my old stomping grounds. I spent the next three days shopping and eat. We also looked at my old campus(ole miss). I loved that place. It brought back many good memories i will never forget. Thursday my mom and i headed back to Arkansas. That night i went to Sheridan with my best friend Haley to see my boyfriend. We ended up getting in a huge fight and Haley and i went back to Pine Bluff. Friday Haley left to go back to Fayetteville, and i was still in a fight with my boyfriend. Later that day, we made up. He invited me to go fishing with him and his friends. Later that night we went to dinner and then to grapevine to a bonfire. This was a good time, i was so glad we made up. Saturday he headed to Lake Village to start his spring break off and i did not get to see him. I was very sad. I visited with my family Saturday. I showed my grandmother all my new clothes. She loves clothes and shoes. Sunday i saw an old friend then headed back to Fayetteville. Although my spring break was not a big party, i got to see a place i love and shop. I mean what girl would give up the chance to shop!!

What am I?

This little creature is so soft and sweet. He is black with small white spots around his eyes. I'm sitting in the chair and he is slowing making his way onto my lap. He likes a lot of attention from anyone around him, always rubbing his head against anyone's hand that might be near.

This guy is so old and has gray whiskers. We've had him since I was 14. His fur is a fawn color with some black spots here and there. When walking up the stairs he struggles and bit and whimpers with each stair he takes. The black line down his back is a sign of good breeding. I'm sleeping and he snores so loudly because he has breathing problems.

Her stature and strong legs are intimidating to any other animal. I've never seen anything so beautiful. Her hair is white with large brown spots. Shes running along the fence and you can see the muscles in her shoulders and legs. The speed is astonishing. She is gentle as I pet her back but gets scared easily if anyone makes a sudden movement.