Peckerwood Manor

Lots of holiday rigamarole commences next week, so if you can, carve out an hour or so today just for you . If you're lucky enough to have a puddytat, observe their silliness and play with them; if you have a dog, take them for a walk or to a dog park. And if you're bereft of furry creatures, take yourself for a walk, stop at a cafe, and drink a hot cup of joe or a cocoa - but without looking at your phone. Just sip, clear your mind, and do some Cyclic Breathing. Have you ever tried it? It's my favorite breathing technique: inhale deeply through your nose, follow immediately with a second breath (you can do it), hold it all in for a sec, then very slowly exhale through your mouth. Repeat several times. The slooooow exhale is what makes it so very relaxing, I promise. Cyclic Breathing is different from other breathing-type exercises because it involves a double inhalation and a long, even audible exhale.  But, hey, whatever brings you a few moments of peace today is worth do...

  Here we are: the shortest day of the year, the longest night. Nature is slowly but surely continuing its cycle of rebirth and we will see brighter days ahead. It's the perfect time to reflect on the past year and consider what kind of light you'd like to bring into your life. A time of hope and renewal. I wish you all a happy Solstice! Source: Flux Image BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Can you hear this painting like I can? Hone in on a conversation; what are they discussing? There's music playing; what does it sound like? There's an aroma in the air; what does it smell like? Who is your favorite guest? What's their name? What are they wearing? The little girl at the top of the stairs - what does she think of it all? Who are her parents? How long has she been there? Why is she there? How long until she's discovered and sent back to bed? Decades have passed; does she remember this night still? BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

  BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Join me in returning a handy weapon, the Hat Pin, an Edwardian lady's best self-defense, to prominence. Can you imagine how wonderful it was when a woman only had to reach up under her beautiful wide-brimmed hat and stab a would-be assailant with dark-sided things on his mind right in the neck? Take that, sir! Think of it. Strike fear in the hearts of men worldwide when women would have fashion work for us instead of against us. Sure, a stiletto to the temple is an old, tried and true; you can mash a foot into a bloody pulp with some wooden soled platforms, and you can kick the junk up their bellies with steel-toed cowboy boots, but then you have to balance and be agile and all that jazz. No, my ladies, hat pins, that's the way we will ride out this era of the incel.  In 1901, the Suffragettes had enough of being little women objectified and bullied; besides the mailbombs and actual aggressive freedom-fighting acts of rightful protest that would come later, back then, they had ...

Yvette Nicole Brown, of Community fame, tied the knot this weekend to Anthony Davis. The star looked absolutely stunning, and reunited with her former co-stars for the special occasion. Brown, who is 53, admits she never thought this moment would happen for her and she's delighted to finally have her happy ending. Aww! Source: People BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

"What-whaaaaat, my bitches!" cries DJ Li'l Scratch at the Manor's "Tubesteak Lounge." Right now he's spinning Etta Jones. Yes, Jones.   Etta Jones is not Etta James (let's clear that up right away).  Have you heard of her? I hadn't until my bestest galpal introduced me to her years ago, and I've been hooked on her ever since. She's another one of those singers who was popular with the public for a wee bit, then forgotten, then rediscovered to a certain extent through YouTube and blog sites in the early 2000s. But she's never been forgotten by jazz aficionados. They've been devoted all along. Born in the 1920's and coming into her own professionally in the 40's and 50's, Etta endured long, grim years of struggle,  toiling at rough factory jobs during the day, then  performing at night with a 'who's who' of jazz performers. Years later, she partnered with sax legend Houston Person for nearly thirty years on t...

BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Farrah Abraham, who became famous for getting knocked up at the tender age of 16, made headlines this week after posting a scathing Yelp review for a med spa featuring photos of her botched face. Abraham claims she wasted months being a "research project" and accused her injector of not filling both sides of her face equally.  The medi-spa responded to her comments, claiming that they chose to end their provider-patient relationship with Abraham after repeated insistence on treatments that do not align with their medical advice. Yikes. The reality star is no stranger to cosmetic procedures and frankly looks nothing like she did during her debut on MTV's  16 and Pregnant . Let's have a moment of silence for Farrah's original face: Sources: Radar Online, MTV BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Louis Cole, Musician and Giver of BDE As the year ends and a new, uncertain one begins, many of us are feeling a bit reflective and sensitive. Yes, even us feral, trifling sluts here at the Manor have a little tenderness in our hearts every now and then. So today, I bring you a song that always makes me bawl my eyes out like a little bitch (in a good way!). Nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for Best Arrangement, Instrumental, and Vocals, Louis Cole's "Let It Happen "  from his 2022 album Quality Over Opinion  goes from a sweet whisper to a sweeping cascade of sonic exhilaration, eliciting an emotional response that hits me in the gut like a Doritos Cheesy Gordita Crunch coming to collect its dues in the wee hours of the morning. And hey, I like Taco Bell and I love Louis Cole, so it's always worth it. "Let It Happen", Performed with the Netherlands' Metropole Orkest BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Unlike La Viola, I am not wearing floofy pink peacock feathers, but instead, since I just rolled out of bed an hour ago, cobalt blue cotton shorts from Target - yes, I'm free-balling - and white crew socks. Fashion? At this time of day, yes. I'm still on my first cup of coffee, so don't even start with me. But more urgently... ...what are you wearing at this very moment? Be truthful. Even if you're starkers, we want to know.  BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Firefighters in Dublin, California found themselves in a sticky situation this week when they were called to a vehicle fire on Interstate 580. The fire broke out on a truck that was hauling over 30,000 pounds of chocolate, coating the highway with the sweet substance. It reportedly took hours to clean up, but luckily there were no reported injuries. Source: UPI News BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Come on in, hepcats! DJ Li'l Scratch is spinning some fine tunes at The Manor's "Tubesteak Lounge." What inspired this week's selection of artist Bev Kelly? Two words: Earthquake, earthquake! San Francisco had a shake-shake-shake last week, dont'cha know, and luckily it was fairly mild. But it did make me think of Jeanette MacDonald - and gosh, how brave she was in " San Francisco " ( Judy does it better ) - and the Golden Gate Bridge and beatnik coffee shops and the always delightful 1950s and 60s-era jazz chanteuse Bev Kelly, who recorded several LPs in good ol' Fog City (see how neatly that all fits together?). Though largely forgotten by mass-market jazz aficionados (and she really shouldn't be), Bev was playing classical piano at age five, and by the time she graduated college, she was already touring the nation's top jazz clubs and recording albums. She continued performing well into the 1970s, but her family soon took priority - a...

Like many of you, I was nearly moved to tears when I saw Dick Van Dyke in a music video the other day, and it got me to thinking about how many octogenarians are around and how much we cherish them, like the always lovable, supremely talented Carol Burnett and the forever ageless and stately Catherine Deneuve, to name just two. But then I thought, "What about regular folk?" That's when Mike Petross and Phil Pugh came to mind. Three years ago, they gobsmacked everyone when they appeared in a Washington Post article entitled, " Black, Gay and Graying Gracefully in Love " by Black journalist  Jamal Jordan . At the top of the article, Jamal admitted,  "The idea of growing old as a gay man used to terrify me. I simply had no concept of what longevity looked like for gay Black men." Representation is everything, and there simply wasn't much coverage about older gay men, and there was almost none if they were Black. There still isn't. In the article...

Tis the season of goodwill  making a quick buck, and Gwen Stefani has found herself filled with the spirit of capitalism this year. The singer just posted an ad on her instagram promoting Hallow, a "prayer, meditation and music app" that is hosting a 25-day prayer challenge for the Advent season. Most humans know you can pray alone, for free, but where's the fun in that!  With this app you can join millions of Christians around the world who want to pay to pray for our collective salvation. But if you're a Christian on a budget, you can sign up for the app and get a 7-day free trial. Maybe you can pray for more money to be able to afford the app for the whole year!  Source: instagram BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Hey boos, it's Friday! And today, we take a moment to remember the earth angel whose sparkle now shines down on us from the heavens, Miss Tina Turner. She simply WAS the best, wasn't she? What's your favorite Tina song? BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .

Vegas Vicky  Neon Roadtripping requires us to walk into the past, so everyone is required to wear something vintage from the years between 1920 and 1960, during the heyday of neon. Our cars will be 50s convertibles. Bring your hair scarves, sunglasses, and plenty of music because we, my dearest Peckerwoodies, are going to crisscross America, only stopping in diners and sleeping in motor lodges, on a trip through nostalgia, a different time, and some museums. In 1898, two British chemists by the names of Sir William Ramsay and Morris William Travers were credited for discovering the four gases that would eventually be used to create neon signs: neon, krypton, xenon and argon. However, it would be French inventor and engineer Georges Claude who would be the first person to take their discovery a step further and create the first neon lamp, which he presented to the public at the Paris Motor Show in 1910 and received a U.S. patent in 1915. The technology spread across the United State...

  The British Fashion Council Awards took place last night and there were some interesting (read: ugly) looks on the red carpet. But Issa Rae showed up looking every bit of perfection. Funny, beautiful, talented. She's the whole package! Here are some other choices from last night: Nicola Coughlan Rihanna and A$AP Rocky Stella McCartney, Anna Wintour and Baz Luhrmann Source: FilmMagic BTW, looking for Peckerwood's Weekly Lunocracy Post? It's  RIGHT HERE .