SUSAN BOYLE - are you following this?

[trinacriabob]

You don't have to be over ANY age to think this whole thing is amazing. Amazing. Even a 20 y.o. can understand that this lady, like Andrea Bocelli, has one of those "one in a hundred million" voices.

I don't watch TV much. But a person in my office told was talking about what happened on "Britain's Got Talent," so I checked it out on YouTube. It was like David slinging at Goliath and winning!

She's odd all right, but she's so damn comfortable in her own skin. And a voice that's in the stratosphere. I'm hoping she goes all the way. Have you been following this?

Link to YouTube

Edited May 10, 2009 by trinacriabob

[Croc]

We already had a thread on this, but yeah, she's damn talented.

[ocnblu]

Yeah, I've been onto this for a while now. She's fantastic. There are a couple more clips out there, too. I wish her enormous success, and I hope she keeps her wits about her and doesn't let things go to her head.

[trinacriabob]

I wish her enormous success, and I hope she keeps her wits about her and doesn't let things go to her head.

Right, but I think that someone so unassuming will never let it go her head. Another example of that, from what I've read, is Louie Armstrong. He was a great human being.

[siegen]

It bugs me when people make such a big fuss about this. It was even on the local news. Woop-dee-freaken-doo, she can sing well.

[Croc]

It bugs me when people make such a big fuss about this. It was even on the local news. Woop-dee-freaken-doo, she can sing well.

But when she went out there for the show, she was so unaware of just how good she is. She seemed genuinely shocked to get a standing ovation. It's very rare for someone with that talent to emerge in their 40s.

[Drew Dowdell]

She's good, but I liked Paul Potts better.... there wasn't as much of a fuss made about him.

[daves87rs]

She's not bad...

[ocnblu]

What's weird about this whole thing is... after seeing her walk out on that stage and her demeanor before she sang, I thought the singing voice must have been dubbed. I had the same look on my face Simon did!

[Casket Demon]

OMG!, ugly people can sing???

[Croc]

OMG!, ugly people can sing???

Unkempt people, with that demeanor, usually don't sing THAT well. Not on a TV talent show. Not when they're pushing 50 and look like showing up for the talent show was the first time they left their cats unattended since the 1980s.

[ocnblu]

Whoa, that's not politically correct. And here I thought political correctness was a necessity. Maybe only for Croc it isn't, but it is for the rest of us.

[Croc]

Whoa, that's not politically correct. And here I thought political correctness was a necessity. Maybe only for Croc it isn't, but it is for the rest of us.

Excuse me? Since when is stating the obvious fact that someone is "unkempt"-looking, with the demeanor of a crazy cat lady being politically incorrect? Or were you objecting to the assertion that the people on TV talent shows that look/act "eccentric" (to put it nicely) usually do not have the talent to present? Or was it my allusion to someone who thinks he/she has an incredible talent and nobody in the world knows until he/she is nearly 50?

I don't really see anything in my abstract answer to Casket Demon's facetious post that would suggest political correctness is present or relevant...???

Edited May 11, 2009 by Croc

[ocnblu]

"unkempt" "crazy cat lady"... Oh my, you're going to HELL for telling all of us to be nice and even if we think something, we shouldn't say it, blah blah blah... hypocrite much? Would you say that TO HER FACE? My point is not so much to pick on you, Croc, but to say that this whole political correctness thing has many sharp edges for those who espouse it. Be careful or it'll cut you, man!

[Croc]

"unkempt" "crazy cat lady"... Oh my, you're going to HELL for telling all of us to be nice and even if we think something, we shouldn't say it, blah blah blah... hypocrite much? Would you say that TO HER FACE? My point is not so much to pick on you, Croc, but to say that this whole political correctness thing has many sharp edges for those who espouse it. Be careful or it'll cut you, man!

Hmmm...

I never said you had to refrain from saying certain things. I never said "this is good," and "this is bad." If you haven't noticed yet, speech is contextual. Someone dies an untimely death due to their criminal involvement in someone, you probably don't want to remark about that in front of their grieving family. You don't make a disparaging remark about molesting priests and your views of the Catholic church's response to the problem outside a Cathedral as people are leaving Sunday mass. All I said was that political correctness is a part of being gracious (on the outside) and therefore part of good manners.

I didn't even say anything was "bad" about asking an African about chicken and watermelon--just that it is different than asking an Asian the same thing, and asking an Asian about chow mein and eggrolls could be offensive. Not necessarily is, but could be.

Speech is contextual. That's where tact and diplomacy come in. Go ahead and have a conversation with an African person about fried chicken and watermelon, I won't stop you--but you DO have to be a little more tactful about it if you want to ensure you won't offend him or her. Seriously, this isn't rocket science here.

And please explain to me the correlation between political correctness and closet racism--because last time I checked, someone is either a racist or they aren't, and it has nothing to do with running at the mouth inappropriately.

Just because you don't ascribe any meaning to something like "fried chicken and watermelon" doesn't mean that anyone else is aware of that fact. Many other people have historically ascribed negative connotations to that context so that the natural assumption, in a general context, is that if that is directed at an African person from a Caucasian person, it is ignorant at best, racist at worst. And yet, it still depends on the context, and how much social finesse you have.

So, I'm struggling to see where your issue is. I never told anyone to "be nice"--hello, have we met? I'm Croc. I certainly never said that certain things should not be said even if we think them--but that speech is contextual and certain, sensitive things need to be communicated more tactfully around certain individuals who are more likely to be sensitive due to historic/cultural/regional/etc. predispositions.

Also, I most certainly would not say those things to her face, because as I said above and in that other thread, "political correctness is a part of being gracious (on the outside) and therefore part of good manners." If I were to meet Susan Boyle, I would congratulate her for blowing everyone away with her talent, praise her for being so gracious and unassuming (presuming that doesn't change), and wish her the best of luck in the future. In my head, I'd probably think, but not say, that she should really get a stylist. See how that works? But from what I've read, Simon Cowell is already working on getting her to where she needs to be in that department, so by the time I meet her, that may have been addressed.

So, again, I fail to see where I have contradicted myself at all. But no worries, I like the Cayman Islands, so going to Hell won't be much of a bother.

Edited May 11, 2009 by Croc

[Cory Wolfe]

She can sing, yes.

[Drew Dowdell]

both of you drop it now.

[ocnblu]

um ok

[FAPTurbo]

I think that there are more 'good' singers that are ugly, than there are gorgeous 'good' singers.

Example: