Big Band Music – “The Escorts” of Central Florida are a great band!

Got together with my friend Willa of Witch and Wizard last night, at Holly & Dolly’s, our favorite watering hole.  There was a great “Big Band” playing — “The Escorts.”  They drew a huge, very enthusiastic crowd and everyone had a lot of fun!

I mention it because I know there are lots of other Goths out there who, like me, really enjoy the Big Band sound and the music of the 30s and 40s, particularly.  The Escorts played Glenn Miller, a McGuire Sisters number (with reference to Arthur Godfrey, who discovered them), “New York, New York,” and at our request played “Moonlight Serenade” and a medley that included “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else But Me” (one of my favorite WWII tunes and particularly poignant with everything that’s going on in Iraq.  They also played Tony Orlando’s “Tie A Yellow Ribbon” earlier in the evening).  They closed the evening with a Dixieland number that brought the house down.  Couples were up jitterbugging, people were singing along, and one overenthusiastic lady kept shouting her request for “Torpedo Junction” (and kept shouting it, even though several of us tried to correct her and let her know that what she wanted was “Tuxedo Junction”).

The band members are all tremendously endearing, and their soloists are quite something! They have a woman playing sax and another on the keyboard; most of them are well over 50 and one member is a WWII vet who has been married for 61 years — both of which drew tremendous applause and cheers from the audience.  The bandleader delighted in making corny jokes, and when he moved from a 40s number to a 50s rock and roll piece, his comment was, “from the sublime, to the silly.”  He said they were very happy to be at Holly & Dolly’s that night.  “But then, at our age, we’re happy to be anywhere!”  That old chestnut got such a laugh that he threw in “Take my wife — please!” for good measure.  I think that was his dryly witty way of commenting on how old the first joke was!

The Escorts unfortunately no longer have a website, but I spoke to the bandleader and got their phone number if anyone from the central Florida area would like to book them.  They were a big hit, and drew a huge crowd, so particularly if you own a venue I highly recommend you book them for a gig.  The leader’s name is George Skeet and his number is 407-239-1521.  Tell him I sent you.

BB,

Vivienne

P.S.: If you enjoyed this post, please share it by clicking on the “share” button below. Thank you!

Unique Creations

My friend Dorothy has a wonderful custom jewelry business, Unique Creations; she is in the process of getting her domain set up, and then I will try to get her hooked up with WordPress so she can blog and we can link to each other.  I will post here again as soon as she is up and running, but I can’t wait to see her website!

BB,

Vivienne

New email subscription option

I just signed up at FeedBlitz.com — this allows readers of this blog to sign up to have new posts sent straight to your email inbox, if you prefer, instead of or in addition to the rss feed (which still remains available).  In the upper left hand corner of the site there are now two icons next to the company name: a little envelope, to subscribe by email, or the classic rss feed icon.  I have also changed the widgets in that left hand column so that the categories, archives by date, a search box, and more are now available.  I hope this makes using the site and keeping up to date easier for everyone.  Please do leave me your comments so I know if there is anything I can do to make your experience here at Persephone’s Haven as enjoyable as possible.

BB,

Vivienne D’Avalon

3” diam. buttons – McCain/Armageddon/Apocalypse – pinback or magnet back

I’ve just added three new fixed price button listings to ebay:

A Vote for McCain is a Vote for Armageddon

- or -

If you Vote for McCain you Vote for the Apocalypse
(2 designs)

Designed by Magus Dethen
Exclusive to Persephone’s Haven

$2.99 each; up to 5 buttons ship for $1.99
Discounts available for multiple purchases – See other listings at Persephone’s Haven for sets of 2 for $5, and bulk orders of 10 or more for $1 each.

3″ diameter pin-back and magnet back buttons – please contact me to specify which design you want and whether you want pin-back or magnet-back

white and red lettering on a black and white background

“A Vote for McCain is a Vote for Armageddon”: a semi-transparent head and shoulder image of McCain is superimposed over a nuclear mushroom cloud, with the phrase overlaid in white and red lettering.

“If you Vote for McCain you Vote for the Apocalypse”: a semi-transparent head and shoulder image of McCain is superimposed over a painting of souls writhing in agony at the end of days.

Neither of these is an exaggeration:

• McCain was endorsed by Rev. Hagee, an apocalyptic dominionist preacher who believes Armageddon must be fought by the United States against Iran and that the Holocaust was God’s way of forcing the Jews back to Israel to fulfill end-times prophecy (McCain Gets Hell For Embracing Armageddon Sect“; McCain, Hagee and Armageddon as Foreign Policy“; “McCain Courts “Apocalypse Pastor” Hagee“

• “The pastor McCain calls his ’spiritual guide,’ Rod Parsley, believes America’s founding mission is to destroy Islam, which he calls a ‘false religion.’”

• McCain thinks singing “bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran” was funny (see You Tube video footage here and has made it clear he plans to go to war with Iran;

• McCain has said the nuclear option is on the table and Bush recommends a pre-emptive strike against Iran (”Iran: Bush’s Nuclear Option for a McCain Victory.” McCain wants to solve the energy crisis by proliferating nuclear power plants; (”It’s Time for the Nuclear Option, Says McCain“)

• McCain has had so many lapses of memory and made so many mistakes that many have called for him to be tested for senility — this is the man who would have his finger on “the button”:
  • He couldn’t remember how many houses he had or what kind of car he drove;
  • He didn’t know the difference between Shia and Sunni Muslims and had to be corrected three times in the space of a few seconds by Lieberman;
  • He thinks Iraq (rather than Afghanistan) shares a border with Pakistan;
  • “Many of McCain’s fellow Republican senators say he’s too reckless to be commander in chief. One Republican senator said: ‘The thought of his being president sends a cold chill down my spine. He’s erratic. He’s hotheaded. He loses his temper and he worries me.’“

• McCain’s Vice Presidential pick, Sarah Palin, is a “stealth dominionist.”  Dominionists believe Christians should take over the world by force so they can impose their version of ”Christian” law on everyone in the world, which includes the death penalty for gays, abortion providers, pagans, and anyone else who disagrees with them.  They also believe the Apocalypse is a good thing, because they will be raptured into heaven where they can laugh at the torture and suffering of those left behind.

The fate of the world literally hangs in the balance with this election.  Warn as many people as you can with these buttons.

BB,
Vivienne D’Avalon

P.S.: If you enjoyed this post, please share it by clicking on the “share” button below. Thank you!