BitchPal7769 Sorry No Longer Accepting F...'s blog: "BitchPal's Bitchin' Blog"

I am deleting most, probably almost all of my photos and probably change my icon pic also, but I will still keep my account here for now. Just wanted to let you know.... I will still check in from time to time mainly to keep in touch with some friends.... But, I have become dismayed by fubar's drama, and greed. Please keep in touch as will I If you are interested in keeping contact with me, then please send me a message or leave me a comment in this blog and I will send you my email addy I have found a treasure in you as a friend and hope to keep contact somehow, some way.... Big Hugs to you, Tori

Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboard player Billy Powell dead at 56 By Matt Soergel, Jacksonville.com (story updated at 2:19pm on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2009) Billy Powell, a longtime keyboard player for Lynyrd Skynyrd who survived the band's 1977 plane crash, died at his Orange Park condo early this morning, according to police. Orange Park Police Chief James Boivin said Powell called 911 from his condo in Club Continental and was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m. after rescue crews performed CPR on him. Boivin said he was told Powell had an appointment with his heart specialist Tuesday but never made it to the appointment. Current Lynyrnd Skynyrd singer Johnny Van Zant spent 22 years with Powell in the band. He said the band took the news of Powell's death hard. "You know, they say they've got one hell of a band up in heaven. My brother Ronnie up in heaven is probably saying, 'Billy, what took you so long?' I'm sure they're catching up on things in heaven." Powell, who went to Bishop Kenny High School, joined Skynyrd in 1972 after working for the Jacksonville band for a couple of years as a roadie. He was seriously injured in the Oct. 20, 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant and five other people. Johnny Van Zant said his brother invited Powell to join the band after he heard him playing piano during a rehearsal of "Free Bird." "Ronnie said, 'What's that?' and Billy said, 'That's the introduction to 'Free Bird.' Ronnie said, 'I like that. You're in the band.'" The piano introduction to the song became a highly anticipated part of the band's live show, though Johnny Van Zant said Powell was sometimes relucant to jump into the spotlight with it. "He'd say, 'I don't want to do that, I'm embarrassed to do that,'" said Van Zant. "I'd make him do it: I'd say, 'Come on, it'll make their night.' It made mine." Earlier this month, Powell and the band took a four-day cruise, called the Simple Man Cruise, on a ship out of Miami with "4,000 crazy Skynyrd fans," said Van Zant. The band had recorded several songs for a new album and had upcoming gigs in Louisiana, Mississippi and Orlando. They will be canceled, said Van Zant. "We've got to lay our brother to rest," said Van Zant. "That old saying, the show must go on, always counts. Unless you die." Guitarist Gary Rossington and Powell were the only members of the pre-crash incarnation of Skynyrd who were still playing with the band. As for the future of the band,Van Zant said, "That's really the last thought in my head. I've given 22 years to the band and hope to do it for another 22." Van Zant he spoke with Rossington, who lives in the Atlanta area, this morning. "He's hurting," he said. "You know, he was very sad and wondering why all us brothers are leaving him, why he's still here." Rossington's wife, Dale, reached by telephone this afternoon, said her husband was too distraught to come to the phone. "We're just lost," she said, fighting back tears. She said band members had long been worried about Powell's health. "But he had such a big huge heart of gold, such a huge abiding faith in God and his savior Jesus," she said. Powell was married to Ellen Vera Powell and had four children. "For me," said Van Zant, "if anybody reading your article wants to do something, say a prayer for Billy and his family. That would be greatly appreciated." From Rolling Stone Magazine: (Some of this info is repeated, but there is some info here not included above.) I am also including some excerpts from other stories I have run across whilst seeking more info.... Rock & Roll Daily, Your non-stop music news source. Previous Next Latest Lynyrd Skynyrd Keyboardist Billy Powell Dead at 56 1/28/09, 12:15 pm EST Photo: Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Billy Powell, the only keyboardist Lynyrd Skynyrd ever had, died last night at his home near Jacksonville, Florida. He was 56. No cause of death has been announced, and a post on the official Skynyrd Website reads, “A Great Loss — Beloved Pianist for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band, Billy Powell, passed away last night. We will post more info shortly. The family and band request your respect and understanding during this difficult time. Thank you.” The band is canceling upcoming shows and directing fans to its Website for tour updates. Powell first joined Skynyrd in 1973 after serving as the band’s roadie for a year. His keyboard work features prominently on the band’s debut (pronounced ‘leh-’nerd ’skin-’nerd), with Powell credited for crafting the intro for their epic anthem “Free Bird” (Number 191 on Rolling Stone’s Greatest Songs of All Time). After impressing Ronnie Van Zant with his work on the song, Powell was officially invited to join the band, and remained a member from their debut album until 1977’s Street Survivors. Powell survived the 1977 plane crash that took the lives of singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines, backup singer Cassie Gaines and other crew members. Despite suffering injuries including facial lacerations and nearly losing his nose, Powell was the first to be discharged from the hospital and was the only member to attend his bandmates’ funerals. After Skynyrd, Powell joined the Christian rock band Vision, but reunited with Skynyrd after a decade-long hiatus for some concerts in 1989, and ultimately remained with the band until now. In May, Skynyrd played their first-ever gig at New York’s Madison Square Garden with Kid Rock. Powell and the rest of his Lynyrd Skynyrd bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. With Powell’s death, guitarist Gary Rossington becomes the lone surviving original Skynyrd member touring with the band. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ His son Brandon Powell is a guitarist in the Jacksonville based rock band Syntenic. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Powell, whose fluid piano runs spiced such classic Skynyrd songs as "Freebird," "Call Me the Breeze" and "Sweet Home Alabama," and founding guitarist Gary Rossington were the only two surviving band members aboard the 1977 plane crash that killed singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and backup vocalist Cassie Gaines. Since then, guitarist Allen Collins and bassist Leon Wilkeson have also died; former drummer Artimus Pyle survived the crash but no longer tours with the band, which reformed in 1987 and still is a powerful concert draw. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Earlier this month, Powell and the band took a four-day cruise, called the Simple Man Cruise, on a ship out of Miami with "4,000 crazy Skynyrd fans," said Van Zant. The band had recorded several songs for a new album and had upcoming gigs in Lousiana, Mississippi and Orlando. They will be canceled, said Van Zant. "We've got to lay our brother to rest," said Van Zant. "That old saying, the show must go on, always counts. Unless you die." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ R.I.P. Billy Powell Birth name William Norris Powell Born June 3, 1952(1952-06-03) Corpus Christi, Texas , U.S. Died January 28, 2009 (aged 56) Orange Park, Florida Genre(s) Southern rock, Hard rock, Country rock, Blues rock Occupation(s) Musician, Songwriter Instrument(s) Piano, Synthesizer, Organ, Hammond organ Years active 1973-2009 Associated acts Lynyrd Skynyrd

Richard Wright, keyboardist and founding member of legendary rock outfit Pink Floyd, died Monday (9/15) after a short battle with cancer, according to published reports. He was 65.



The BBC quoted a spokesperson for Wright as saying: "The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer. The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this difficult time.

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No mention was made of the specific type of cancer to which the musician succumbed.



Wright met fellow Pink Floyd co-founders Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined a previous incarnation of the band dubbed Sigma 6. That group morphed into Pink Floyd.



Wright's contributions to the iconic prog-rock act included writing songs such as "The Great Gig in the Sky" and "Us and Them" from the band's famed 1973 album, "The Dark Side of the Moon".

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Wright resigned from the group during recording sessions for "The Wall", but toured with the band in support of the set. His role as a recording member of the group resumed with the 1987 album, "A Momentary Lapse of Reason", and continued with 1994's "The Division Bell".

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Wright most recently appeared with Pink Floyd during a one-off reunion performance at 2005's Live 8 concert in London.



In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Wright released two solo albums--1978's "Wet Dream" and 1996's "Broken China"--as well as "Identity," a 1984 album that is the only output from Zee, a short-lived side project that Wright formed with Dave Harris (Fashion).

My sister had Heart surgery 3 weeks ago, and obviously having a hard time right now, getting around is difficult etc. but she is a trooper. Now she is suffering from complications, and is bed ridden and will be for an unknown amount of time. I'm so worried for her. She and I are all that is left from the family that we were born into.....everyone else has gone to Heaven...... So, needless to say computer time isn't a high priority right now.....I have checked my messages, but I'm not really up to rating profiles, photos or leaving comments right now, as I'm sure you understand. I knew at some point that I would have to let someone know why I've been gone so much. Please don't worry about me....I'm ok.........I'll be back when I can Hugs to you xoxoxo

The following is a comment left on my page by my sweet friend Kitten.....Thank you!! I loved it so much I had to blog it, it is so true..... :D ,,,,,Hello my Dear Friend! A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself and doesn't feel even the least bit weird shutting your 'beer/Pepsi drawer' with her foot! A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend's shoulder is soggy from your tears... A simple friend doesn't know your parents' first names. A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book. A simple friend brings a bottle of wine to your party. A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean. A simple friend hates it when you call after they've gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call. A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real friend seeks to help you with your problems. A simple friend wonders about your romantic history. A real friend could blackmail you with it! A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument. A real friend calls you after you had a fight. A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend expects to always be there for you! A simple friend reads this e-mail and deletes it. A real friend passes it on and sends it back to you! INSTANTLY WHEN YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER, YOU'RE REQUESTED TO SEND IT TO AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE, INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT IT TO YOU. It's a Joy and Pleasure to be your Friend!,

Sorry I have been away so much lately. I am a union carpenter by trade.....for those whom haven't read my profile. Presently I am working to help build a new building at the University of California, Santa Cruz. We are building a new construction 2 story building for Digital Arts. Yep, I am off of the High Rises for a while (Yay!!! LOL) I get up @ 4 am, leave for work before 5 am..... drive an hour and a half....start work @ 7 am get off work @ 3:30 and get home between 5 - 5:30 pm. Cats are starving....or so they think,....... so I barely get my stuff set down before I feed them, shower, cook dinner, eat, clean up the kitchen, make lunch & coffee for tomorrow, and relax a bit, watch a little tv to unwind, but by this time, I'm finding it difficult to keep my eyes open.....lol It has been difficult to find much time during the week for the computer, but I do try to check messages and hang out a little on the weekends if at all possible in between loads of laundry, housework, cooking, grocery shopping, errands and of course being a mom. I don't want to lose contact with my friends due to my work consuming my life..... This particular job is winding down, so perhaps I will get to work closer to home with the next job site. I hope all is well with each and every one of you....I miss chatting with my friends. I'm getting sooooo backed up on my messages....Please know that I will get back to all a little later hopefully very soon, but I still have so much work to do here in my house to prepare for the week ahead....so the messages and the computer will have to wait for now......I will answer all messages at some point....lol Love ya guys, xoxox Tori

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All You Need Is Love... An old man and woman were married for many years, even though they hated each other. When they had a confrontation, screaming and yelling could be heard deep into the night. The old man would shout, "When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!" Neighbors feared him. They believed he practiced black magic, because of the many strange occurrences that took place in their neighborhood. The old man liked the fact that he was feared. To everyone's relief, he died of a heart attack when he was 68. His wife had a closed casket at the wake. After the burial, she went straight to the local bar and began to party, as if there was no tomorrow. Her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, "Aren't you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way up and out of the grave and come back to haunt you for the rest of your life?" The wife put down her drink and said, "Let him dig. I had his casket buried upside down..."

Last night I went through my "friends" list and deleted 153 fake friends. Dead wood. Friend collectors. Whatever you want to call them. There was a few more that I was considering, but I decided to give them a little more time. To be fair....I looked at how long it has been that they have been on my friends list, how often they have visited me (never), if they have ever returned the favor of rating anything of mine (nope), if they ever gave me a shout (nope) or if they even cared if I existed (nope again). I understand that we all get busy in life, work, or just bored sitting on the computer sometimes. But friends will let you know that you are not being ignored.....they just have stuff going on. Most that were deleted last night were people who have been on my "friends" list since '06 and '07 and I never hear from them. They won't miss me anyway........ The friends on my friends list are Rockin"!!! I love the chats, comments, interactions!! Thank you to those of you!!!! Big Hugs and Kisses, Tori

* When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning ... uphill BOTH ways * yadda, yadda, yadda * And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it! But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! * I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!! * There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter ...with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there! * There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! * We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister! * We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games w ith high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'asteroids'. Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE! * When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or some old broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed! * Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no on screen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to cha nge the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You cou ld only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards! * And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire .. imagine that! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid Jiffy Pop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot. *We didn't have cell phones either. The phones were connected to a wall and a short cord, unless you went to the store and bought a longer cord so that you could sit at the table, and the phones had a rotary dial with finger holes. And if my mom put me on restriction from the phone, she simply put a little pad lock on the number 1 finger hole and it effectively worked to keep anyone in the house from making a call out. *I was born in the late 50s....we didn't even have FM stereo back then, nope just a little transistor radio with AM only....when FM did come along it was just too expensive for my 25 cent a week allowence!! *And the TV....VHF, and UHF stations was it. On VHF were channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, (the local stations) and 54. 9 and 54 were the PBS stations. UHF was channels 20, 36, (with the CHEAP Carol Doda flaunting her fake boobs) and channels 44, & 48 (the hispanic station) Most of the stations went off the air for several hours in the middle of the night. There was no cable TV until I was about 8 years old and a salesperson came door to door trying to sell cable to the public for the outrageous cost of $6.00 per month....LOL So, yeah I agree, the kids nowadays have no idea how easy life is now. * That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1960! * Regards, * The over 40 Crowd

Sentencing of Reid Remember the guy who got on a plane with a bomb built into his shoe and tried to light it? Did you know his trial is over? Did you know he was sentenced? Did you see/hear any of the judge's comments on TV or Radio? Didn't think so. Everyone should hear what the judge had to say. Ruling by Judge William Young, US District Court. Prior to sentencing, the Judge asked the defendant if he had anything to say. His response: After admitting his guilt to the court for the record, Reid also admitted his "allegiance to Osama Bin Laden, to Islam, and to the religion of Allah," defiantly stating, "I think I will not apologize for my actions," and told the court "I am at war with your country." Judge Young then delivered the statement quoted below: January 30, 2003 , United States vs. Reid. Judge Young: "Mr. Richard C. Reid, hearken now to the sentence the Court imposes upon you. On counts 1, 5 and 6 the Court sentences you to life in prison in the custody of the United States Attorney General. On counts 2, 3, 4 and 7, the Court sentences you to 20 years in prison on each count, the sentence on each count to run consecutively. (That's 80 years.) On count 8 the Court sentences you to the mandatory 30 years again, to be served consecutively to the 80 years just imposed. The Court imposes upon you for each of the eight counts a fine of $250,000 that's an aggregate fine of $2 million. The Court accepts the government's recommendation with respect to restitution and orders restitution in the amount of $298.17 to Andre Bousquet and $5,784 to American Airlines. The Court imposes upon you an $800 special assessment. The Court imposes upon you five years supervised release simply because the law requires it. But the life sentences are real life sentences so I need go no further. This is the sentence that is provided for by our statutes. It is a fair and just sentence. It is a righteous sentence. Now, let me explain this to you. We are not afraid of you or any of your terrorist co-conspirators, Mr. Reid. We are Americans. We have been through the fire before. There is too much war talk here and I say that to every-one with the utmost respect. Here in this court, we deal with individuals as individuals and care for individuals as individuals. As human beings, we reach out for justice. You are not an enemy combatant. You are a terrorist. You are not a soldier in any war. You are a terrorist. To give you that reference, to call you a soldier, gives you far too much stature. Whether the officers of government do it or your attorney does it, or if you think you are a soldier. You are not----- you are a terrorist. And we do not negotiate with terrorists. We do not meet with terrorists. We do not sign documents with terrorists. We hunt them down one by one and bring them to justice. So war talk is way out of line in this court. You are a big fellow. But you are not that big. You're no warrior. I've known warriors. You are a terrorist. A species of criminal that is guilty of multiple attempted murders. In a very real sense, State Trooper Santiago had it right when you first were taken off that plane and into custody and you wondered where the press and the TV crews were, and he said: "You're no big deal." You are no big deal. What your able counsel and what the equally able United States attorneys have grappled with and what I have as honestly as I know how tried to grapple with, is why you did something so horrific. What was it that led you here to this courtroom today? I have listened respectfully to what you have to say. And I ask you to search your heart and ask yourself what sort of unfathomable hate led you to do what you are guilty and admit you are guilty of doing? And, I have an answer for you. It may not satisfy you, but as I search this entire record, it comes as close to understanding as I know. It seems to me you hate the one thing that to us is most precious. You hate our freedom. Our individual freedom. Our individual freedom to live as we choose, to come and go as we choose, to believe or not believe as we individually choose. Here, in this society, the very wind carries freedom. It carries it everywhere from sea to shining sea. It is because we prize individual freedom so much that you are here in this beautiful courtroom. So that everyone can see, truly see, that justice is administered fairly, individually, and discretely. It is for freedom's sake that your lawyers are striving so vigorously on your behalf, have filed appeals, will go on in their representation of you before other judges. We Americans are all about freedom. Because we all know that the way we treat you, Mr. Reid, is the measure of our own liberties. Make no mistake though. It is yet true that we will bare any burden; pay any price, to preserve our freedoms. Look around this courtroom. Mark it well. The world is not going to long remember what you or I say here. The day after tomorrow, it will be forgotten, but this, however, will long endure. Here in this courtroom and courtrooms all across America, the American people will gather to see that justice, individual justice, justice, not war, individual justice is in fact being done. The very President of the United States through his officers will have to come into courtrooms and lay out evidence on which specific matters can be judged and juries of citizens will gather to sit and judge that evidence democratically, to mold and shape and refine our sense of justice. See that flag, Mr. Reid? That's the flag of the United States of America That flag will fly there long after this is all forgotten. That flag stands for freedom. And it always will. Mr. Custody Officer. Stand him down. So, how much of this Judge's comments did we hear on our TV sets? We need more judges like Judge Young, but that's another subject. Everyone should and needs to hear what this fine judge had to say. Powerful words that strike home.