Wrestle Wednesday

 

Another singlet-clad regular guy, if this counts as regular, BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Heaven Must Have Sent You' by Bonnie Pointer

Day 13 of my series of Songs That Peaked at No. 11: Bonnie Pointer didn't need any help from her famous sisters to score this hit in 1979, which sounds as good today as it did when I was in sixth grade. (Another Holland-Dozier-Holland composition -- natch! -- originally recorded by the Elgins.) That it wound up being one of the biggest singles of the year -- the 43th biggest single overall -- despite never making it into the Top 10 speaks to its longevity, I suppose. Poor Bonnie died two years ago of alcoholic liver disease and cirrhosis at just 69, with "Heaven" her eternal gift to us -- the chimes! the scatting! -- and the biggest hit of her life. 

Of note: The Pointers Sisters' first post-Bonnie album (called "Energy") proved to be their breakthrough. Driven by the success of their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Fire," the LP went gold -- and set the stage for a string of popular singles ("He's So Shy," "Slow Hand," "I'm So Excited," "Automatic," "Jump (for My Love)") that kept the gals on the Billboard Hot 100 throughout the 1980s. 

Page 1 Roundup (08/17)

 

Daily News: Family, friends of Bronx woman killed by falling tree while swimming in her building’s pool struggle for answers: ‘Just a shock’

NBC News: 3 men killed in hit-and-run outside popular black-owned gay bar in Chicago 

MNPP: Who wears short shorts?

MetroWeekly: Federal judge sides with gay employee who sued Catholic Relief Services

Greg in Hollywood: I totally teared up watching Murray Bartlett share some special Olivia Newton-John memories on “The Tonight Show” ... she's reportedly getting a state funeral in Melbourne

Brian Ferrari: Remembering prolific pornographer Robert Prion

PinkNews: Gay man tragically lost his boyfriend to Covid -- so he turned his grief and pain into comedy

Washington Blade: Gay man recounts escape from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan

The Randy Report: A disgraced ex GOP rep walks into a gay bar in NYC ...

Them: When you're incredibly rich, and even more incredibly messed up

New York Post: This is what keeps New Yorkers on their toes

Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour to sell controversial $18.1M home

Boy Culture: 'Encyclopedia Madonnica' is getting some work done! 

CNN: Australian rugby player Ellia Green becomes first Olympian to transition to a man

Outsports: Gay pro baseball player’s teammates ask about his boyfriend, ‘wedding’ advice

The New York Times: A reader’s birth father and siblings don’t know he exists. Should he contact them?

The Washington Post: Biden signs sweeping bill to tackle climate change, lower health-care costs

Alex Wagner’s challenge at MSNBC: Keeping the Rachel Maddow superfans

The Wall Street Journal: Don’t fetch, it’s a rattlesnake! Snake-safety class is the hot thing for dogs

What to do about that WFH beard?

Hot Cats of the Day: Harvey's upstate cousins hope you have a nice day! 

Morning Wood

 

Five more poses, including in bed where he belongs, BELOW.

Meme Spirited

On a related note ... my sister-in-law thought this new purchase, below, was a tad obscene(!). 

My ongoing sinus issues -- painful pressure in my forehead, frequent itchy-watery eyes -- led me to follow my regular doctor's advice to try a neti pot. (Allergist was no help.) I assumed it would be useless and haven't exactly been persuaded otherwise, as much as I like the sensation of being water-boarded. A friend in L.A. was experiencing a never-ending sinus infection -- I consider mine to just be all-season(al) allergies -- and finally saw an ENT, which is what my doctor recommends I do next. My friend was told he had an infection above his tooth that is eating away the bone/skull above it -- a lot. (Took a CT scan to learn this.) He's having the tooth removed tomorrow. Now I'm even more bewildered.

Tennis Tuesday

 

When Greek sex workers hit the courts. More BELOW.

Song of the Day: 'Leave a Light On' by Belinda Carlisle

Day 12 of my series of Songs That Peaked at No. 11. This one is interesting because like "Head Over Heels" by the Go-Go's, "Leave a Light On" kind of portended the beginning of the end for Belinda Carlisle's solo record sales, just as "Head Over Heels" did for the Go-Go's. After hitting the Top 10 with "Mad About You" (No. 3), "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" (No. 1), "I Get Weak" (No. 2) and "Circle in the Sand" (No. 7) from her first two solo albums, the premiere single off "Runaway Horses" (1989) peaked at No. 11. 

But rather than being a hiccup, it would prove to be her last decent hit, with just one more song ever making the Top 40: "Summer Rain" off the same LP reached No. 30 in early 1990. (Likewise, after "Head Over Heels," the Go-Go's had one more Top 40 hit -- "Turn to You" at No. 32.) Then Belinda only had one more single on the Hot 100: "Do You Feel Like I Feel?" hit No. 73 in 1991 and that was all she (didn't) wrote. (Ditto for the Go-Go's, who had "Yes or No" place at No. 84 only to never chart again.) Like "Head Over Heels," "Leave a Light On" remains one of the Go-Go's singer's best songs to date, further proof that the American record-buying public generally has terrible taste. (It reached No. 4 in the U.K., where her solo hits continued through the '90s.)