My Manilow Network/The New Barrynet

So, they have completely revamped and changed the old Barrynet and have brought it into the current century… FINALLY!

I have been having so much fun the last few days on the bnet… and I’ve been there more and posted more than I have in the last couple of years.

The Barrynet has always been a great source to go to if you needed to find out information about Barry Manilow, his music, his shows, his fans… you name it.

In the beginning, even the message board was pretty cool, open to all fans. Something went terribly wrong somewhere though and the board began to turn into a personal messenger system for a select few fans who monopolized the board and shut out anyone they didn’t, didn’t like, and/or didn’t agree with (which was almost everyone)

This new format opens up the forums to ALL fans, and the beauty is… you can pick and choose which topics you want to discuss, ignore the ones you want no part of, and you can also choose who you want to have reading your posts. You can post in the original forum so everyone on the site can see… or with a little copy/paste action you can share with only the friends you want to share with. Those who are on your personal network.

And no one person or group can “monopolize” the conversations as they did before.

If you’re a Barry Manilow fan…

Why don’t you come on over and join us.

Just click the link below the music player or go to My Manilow Network

Or if you still love the old Barrynet… you can go there too… The Barrynet

 

 

Find more music like this on My Manilow Network

The Beginning

It was simple enough

boy meets girl

but you didn’t count on little girl makes three

You wanted what you wanted though

Someone you could control

Hey, lucky you…

You got a two-for-one

You wore Mom down verbally

Made her unsure and afraid

And me…

Well, you wore me down with words too

But you beat me down as well

I never knew when the next blow would come

But I always knew that it would

Sometimes, just passing by where you sat

Sometimes, you’d drag me out of bed in the middle of the night.

Mostly, it was for no damned good reason at all

I was only four.

What

was

the

challenge

in

that

?
?
?

What the Hell Is The Big Deal? The Miley Cyrus/Vanity Fair Mishegas.

I have been seeing/hearing/reading all the hoo-ha about the Vanity Fair photo shoot of Miley Cyrus.

Miley’s an adorable, intelligent, well-spoken and TALENTED 15 – year old girl who is best known for playing “Hannah Montana” (for those who have lived in caves and have no clue… LOL)

 

 

 

 

I mean, really… Look at this kid!

 

 

 

 

So why all the fuss about this Vanity Fair photo shoot?

Let’s tackle the big question first… you know from the ultra-conservatives. Is it really anywhere near being “pornographic”?

 

 

 

Let’s see…

Here’s the photo shown most often when they are claiming that it’s bordering on “child pornography”….

For those who do think so… you’re obviously seeing something that I’m not. Reading more into it than is shown.

She is covered… only a bare back showing.

A little more suggestive than I’d personally permit any child of mine to pose for (if I had any, that is)… but NOT pornographic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a “behind-the-scenes” shot from the photo shoot…

 

As you can see, she’s got jeans on under that sheet.

Also… hert parents were actually present at the photo shoot and they apparently saw nothing overtly sexual in the poses either.

If you are… maybe the problem is with you… not Miley.

 

 

 

 

 

 

That Disney would throw a fit about it is beyond me too. But it has been enough to make Miley issue an apology and say she was “embarrassed” and sorry that she ever thought of sitting for the photos.

Now… some think this has been a great big marketing ploy to boost her “cred” with the industry and have agents start seeing her as an “adult”. I think that may be overreaching… It may, indeed, make her more visible to industry bigwigs… but this hasn’t been a positive for her. So it’s no boost for her by any stretch of the imagination.

Personally… people need to lighten up.

As someone who has been a victim of child abuse (physical, sexual, emotional… you name it)… I know abuse when I see it and this ain’t it… so back off the parents!

As someone who has been exploited (from the same abusers)… this ain’t that either. Again… lighten up.

In the end… this is going to be, I think, a huge growing pain for Miley. Something she will hopeful be able to look back on with a smile someday… and something she can learn from and use to her advantage in the coming years.

Shame on anyone who sees it as anything more than that.

Nothing Important Today

I’m just going to try to kick some rust off and write a little poetry.

It’s something I have always loved to do, but I don’t get much time to do it anymore.

Untitled

I can’t say that when I met you I knew

I’m still not sure about “love at first sight”.

But over time as our friendship grew

I fell in love with you, now you’re my life.

Even though we’ve had our share of pain

We have something I’m willing to fight for

We’ve also seen a lot of joy between the falls of rain

Our love is something I’m willing to die for

Don’t give up over one mistake

I was wrong and I admit it

Can’t you see you’re my whole world?

I’d do anything… help me save it.

Tell me you’re willing to fight for us too

Tell me we’re not a lost cause

Don’t you know I can’t live without you

Help me save this love

copyright 2008 Michelle D. Wampole.

Untitled

I remember hearing your footsteps in the hall

and feeling fear at the thought of you walking in

I’d brace myself to be dragged from my bed

and beaten until I could no longer stand

I don’t know what I ever did to make you mad

I always tried everything to earn your love

But it never came

All I got were bruises I had to hide

And that wasn’t even the worst of it.

Bruises, even broken bones…

they all heal with a little time

But you shattered my mind and broke my spirit

With words you destroyed my self-esteem and dignity

That didn’t heal right away, still hasn’t completely

I’d rather have endured being beaten nearly to death

Than to have had you make me question my self-worth

Yeah, it’s true what they say about sticks and stones

But they forgot to tell is that words can break our hearts.

But I’m learning that everything you drilled into my head was wrong

I am smart, and worthy of being loved

And I’ll be damned if I let the echoes of your voice in my head

Take that away from me.

I have more positive voices to remind me you were wrong

I have my family and friends who have helped me heal

And if I can help just one other person

who is living through the same hell

Everything I have endured will have been totally worth it.

In the end, no matter how hard you tried…

You LOSE!

copyright 2008 Michelle D. Wampole

Just Trying This Thing Out…

So this post may not make very much sense.

I’m trying out the Live Writer for the first time here, and I’m just gonna experiment with all the gadgets available to me on here to make my blog posts look really good. Well, they’re supposed to anyway.

So… adding pictures is supposed to be a snap… Let’s see…

 

Oh yeah… this is sweet!

This picture of Barry Manilow was taken by Barbara Carpenter at the April 26, 2008 concert in Kansas City, at the Sprint Center.

It’s a great shot, isn’t it? Well, she does have an amazing subject. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

Okay… next on the agenda… inserting video… This may be tricky…

No, this was pretty easy too… just the MySpace embed code and voila!

This is a video remix I created myself, using the song “Right Kind of Wrong” by LeAnn Rimes and photos/video clips of my favorite guy… you guessed it… Barry Manilow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What else? Oh yes… hyperlinks!

Official Barry Manilow Website

Official BMIFC Website

Official Barry Manilow Merchandise Site

Official Music and Passion Site You can see his performance schedule for the Las Vegas Hilton here.

 

Hmm… I think this covers just about everything for right now. I’ll figure out how to get emoticons and other plug-ins later.

 

Not bad for a first time.

 

 

I Don’t Understand…

…why anyone would think I am brave or courageous for writing about what I have been through.

I certainly don’t feel that way.

 

Writing about my past actually scares me to death, but I know if I don’t write about it from time to time, I have done nothing to help prevent it from happening to someone else. I have done nothing to help someone else who is currently being abused. I have done NOTHING… and I absolutely cannot bear that.

It would be like letting everyone who ever abused me win. And I’ll be damned if I let that happen!

 

So, I sometimes write about being physically and emotionally abused by my step-father. And I write about being sexually and emotionally abused by my maternal grandfather. Not because I’m brave… not because I enjoy remembering it (God forbid!), but because if I remain silent… I contribute to the perpetuation of the abuse to others.

 

I thank everyone who said such wonderful things in response to my blog post… but I’m no more brave or special than anyone else.

 

I just want all the pain to end for EVERYONE.

 

All my love to all of you, my amazing friends and family! I couldn’t have become the person I am without you!

 

God bless you all!

Thank You, Barry Manilow!

I make no secret of the fact that I am a Barry Manilow fan. I have been ever since January of 1975 when I heard the song “Mandy” for the first time when I was just eight years old. I mean, really… look at my screen name… it says it all. *micksluvsmanilow*

How more upfront about it can I possibly be?

My family and my friends are all aware of my love for Barry and his music. I take a lot of good natured ribbing from the family as I am the only lifelong, diehard, loyal fan in the family… although my Mom has recently been “Manilowized”. LOL My friends… well, most of them love him as much as I do.

What they may not all be aware of is why I am such a bullgog loyal fan. So… here goes. Some will understand, some won’t. It’s alright either way.

 

I had a very rough time of it growing up. My parents were never married and they split up when I was still a baby… maybe two years old. My Mom married someone who wasn’t any good for either of us, nor my sister and brother that came after they were married. He was very abusive. If he wasn’t trying to knock all my teeth in on a daily basis with his fists, he was systematically tearing down my self-esteem and confidence with verbal/emotional abuse. I was also being sexually abused by another family member as well. Let’s just say my childhood was a living hellish nightmare.

By the time I was school age, I was already extremely, painfully shy. I just didn’t know who, if anyone, I could trust NOT to hurt me. Making friends was nearly impossible for me, and growing up… I think I literally only had three very good friends (best friends). The problem was compounded by the fact that we moved an awful lot.

So, I spent much of my time alone. If I wasn’t reading a book, or making up little stories of my own, I was listening to music. Mostly country music because that’s what my Mom and her husband used to listen to most… but now and then, when cleaning the house, Mom would turn on a station that played Pop and Rock music… and one day, I heard “Mandy” and I suddenly understood what the point to music was. It was supposed to make you FEEL… whether it made you feel sad or joyous, that was it’s main function. And with that one song, I discovered my soul-mate… well, musical soul-mate. Barry Manilow.

I’m not sure just how familiar anyone is with the dynamics of abuse are and the things victims sometimes do just to survive. One of the things I had to do was to just shut down emotionally. Literally, I turned off all my emotions. I didn’t dare cry (that was a sign of weakness that invited even harsher treatment), and I sure as hell had nothing to be happy or laugh about. So I just totally turned it all off and let myself feel absolutely NOTHING! Well, most of the time.

The ONLY time I allowed myself to feel anything at all was when I was totally alone in my room and listening to Barry’s music. I was never afraid to cry or laugh when I was “with” him. I honestly believe with all my heart that I would have never been able to hold on to my sanity were it not for the emotional outlet he gave me.

Truth be told, I almost didn’t make it.

At the age of 16, I decided I had had all I could take and chose my way out. An overdose. No mess, no fuss… not that anyone would have cared, I thought at the time. But then, just when I was about to end it all… Barry was there again, right when I needed. I heard, “I Made It Through the Rain” that New Year’s Eve night in 1982, and cried myself to sleep instead. When I awoke the next morning, the lyric still ran through my head… and I believed every word… and thought for the first time in my miserable life that I just might “make it through” too.

I’ve had my ups and downs since then… a failed marriage, another suicide attempt, a year and a half in a state mental health facility getting well for the first time in my life, another broken marriage… but for the first time in my life I can truly say that I am happy and mean every word.

My family and few close friends get most of the credit… but Barry gets a lot of the praise too.

Had it not been for Barry Manilow and his music, I might never have survived my childhood, nor would I have found my passion for language and writing (I’m a wanna-be poet… I’ll post some of my work sometime).

So, Barry… I thank you from my heart. I couldn’t have made it without you, my friend!

P.S. What you are doing with the music schools there in Palm Springs is so amazing. I never would have stayed in school as long as I did without music classes (band and choir). God bless you for it all and I hope that others will follow your lead and this grows to become a nationwide program.