Saturday, August 10, 2013

Something Blue

Somewhere out in the blogosphere, there is a blue blogging initiative going on.  Carol suggested I join it so here is my effort.

The first thing that comes to mind is awhile back my elder son gave me some songs, album, re-release or some such that he had bought.  It was songs by Willie Nelson and he wanted me to listen to it.  A few days later he called and asked if I had been listening.  I said I couldn't listen to it, it made me cry.  So he asked what I had been listening to and I told him Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.  He laughed.

It had to be blue eyes crying in the rain, not brown, green or hazel because it is blue we associate with sadness, melancholy, the Blues - and even Fats Domino singing Blue Monday - for crying out loud.

So why with all this blue, depressing stuff would Elvis care a whit about his shoes?  He did though and a lot as he warned his honey, "don't you step on my Blue Suede Shoes."  Apparently he set a great store by those shoes.  I'm guessing it is because blue is also the color we associate with calm and serenity and even safety.  So maybe those shoes were like a baby's security blanket.  Oh and by the way, I guess you can get your very own pair for as low as $38.99 if the ads are to be believed.

This is probably enough about songs but there's one more - Crystal Blue Persuasion - which was a huge hit and quite controversial as many people thought it was about crystal meth.  I'm not sure it was blue but it certainly is on that show we all love for no good reason, Breaking Bad.

There are blue babies.  So called because they look blue and their story before the advent of modern heart surgery was blue indeed - heart breaking to their parents.  HBO made an absolutely wonderful movie about how that surgery came to be and it is called Something the Lord Made.

There is Blueberry pie which is pretty wonderful as is Blackberry Pie which is also blue and wonderful.

Lest we forget, a bride needs to carry a few items with her to the wedding - something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

And finally our national flag - The Old Red, White and Blue.

23 comments:

Carol said...

Well done David. A very enjoyable read.

David Oliver said...

Thanks Carol. After I thought about what you said, I got kind of excited about the idea. It was easy and fun writing.

ADRIAN said...

An excellent read. I'll come back and read it again.

David Oliver said...

Many thanks Adrian. You and Carol have made my day!

Andrew Leon said...

I, um... I don't like that show. The show is a lie. I didn't go past the first season because I got fed up with all of the dumb in it.

David Oliver said...

Aww, Andrew. Anything that is fiction is a lie. When I think of a show or a book as being dumb is when it pulls me out of the story. Feel free to argue with me about this but I think people have a problem with this show for the same reason they did with the "Sopranos" and "The Shield." It makes you want to empathize with the bad guy.

Andrew Leon said...

No, I didn't have a problem with that; it was all the stupid they did. Just the first episode starts out with the writers lying to the audience (and doing that thing I hate where they start at the end and, then, flashback to the beginning) by having us hear police sirens, but, when they go back to that part, it's fire engines. That is just a blatant lie meant to lure the audience in, and I can't get behind that.
Not even to mention the fact that the fire department responding that quickly to a fire out in the middle of the desert is completely ridiculous.
So, yeah, the -first- episode was so full of stupid crap like that that I couldn't get into the show. And it only got worse as the first season went on.

I liked the first season of The Shield, for the most part, even though I never empathized with the lead. I did find the show interesting. But we've switched to The Wire, a much better show in all respects, because my wife didn't like The Shield.

David Oliver said...

I see what you are saying and honestly had not even thought about that. It must be different things that bother people. Generally if I like the characters, I'll let details slide. My elder son says if I like something I'll let everything slide and he might be right about that.

My younger son never empathized with the lead in "The Shield" either and he absolutely loved "The Wire." I liked it too but not as much as he did.

Gorilla Bananas said...

Do you remember The High Chaparral? Big John Cannon's son was called 'Blue Boy'. I wonder why that was.

David Oliver said...

I remember when it was running but never watched it - no idea why now. As to the name, this from

http://www.thehighchaparral.com/ep101a102.htm

Blue strikes up a quick friendship with pretty Sarah Ward, and tells Sarah how he came by the odd name of "Billy Blue". His mother wanted to name him Billy, but his father wanted to name him after a hunting dog he had.

troutbirder said...

Mmmm. My favorite "Blue blue my world is blue. Crying for you.... Maybe Perry Como... can't remember for sure.

David Oliver said...

I remember hearing that song and googled it. Looks like the most popular artist was Frank Sinatra but Marty Robbins of all people is also prominently mentioned.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater said...

"Blue Moon" is a sad one too. Some bitch left him standing alone without a dream in his heart.

David Oliver said...

Blue Moon by the Marcels! I'm kicking myself. I wouldn't hazard a guess on how many times I've heard that song. And I forgot all about it. Thanks for reminding me.

A Beer for the Shower said...

What about Blue's Clues? Steve was always way too happy in that show. I bet he really had the blues after all the cameras shut off, seeing as how none of his co-stars were real...

Should Fish More said...

Regarding 'blue babies'.....pretty remarkable that a condition that once was a death sentence for babies is one of the easiest and safest procedures in heart surgery. It doesn't even require surgery, it's done via catheterization to close the septal defect.

David Oliver said...

I had never heard of Blue's Clues. So of course I googled it. Maybe Steve was blue after the cameras shut off but you know, having people around is tricky business. A lady at work had a sign on her desk that said:
Everyone here brings happiness, some by coming in, others by going out.

David Oliver said...

Mike, I didn't know that. For some unknown reason I got in a rush finishing up the blog and just scanned the first of the wiki article to make sure my memory was right about the movie.
Thanks for the update.

Carol Kilgore said...

There's also Blue Moon and even little blue-haired old ladies :)

David Oliver said...

Carol, Carol, Carol, yes! You are right and there used to be lots and lots of those little blue haired ladies. Not so much anymore but as far as I know we still have the same number of blue moons. :)

Cro Magnon said...

As well as Great Aunt Gladys's Blue-mers, there are bluebottles, bluebells, and blue-stockings. But 'blue suede shoes' wins the kudos stakes.

David Oliver said...

Thanks Cro. I'm sorely tempted to get me a pair of those shoes but my old fun nemesis, reason, is winning right now.

David Oliver said...

Oh and the blue-mers...ha, ha, good one. The bottles, bells and stockings *sigh* I just never thought of them. Thanks for the add. The list sure is growing.

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