Saturday 9

 Saturday 9: Love on Top (2011)

Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here.

1) Beyonce sings that she and her lover have worked through a tough time and now they are happier than before. Do you agree with the lyrics that relationships take effort? Or do you think that if a couple is well-matched and their love is real, happiness will naturally follow? I think all relationships take effort, not just romance. Which reminds me, I owe my friend Elaine an email and Cousin Rose a letter.

2) She tells us that he's the one she can always call. But that was in 2011. If someone needed to get in touch with you today, would you recommend they call, send an instant message, or text? Call me on my landline. I don't always hear my cell. (It's often in my purse.)

3) Beyonce goes through many costume changes in this video and in her concert performances. What are you wearing right now as you answer these questions, and will you change clothes throughout the day? I just changed into my pjs. (8:30 on a Friday. Do I live a wild life or what?) Earlier in the day I wore jeans and a t-shirt.

4) The choreography in this video was inspired by Janet Jackson's videos in the 1990s. The Jackson family -- Janet, her brothers as solo artists and as The Jackson 5 -- have sold a staggering 750 million records. Can you think of another successful musical family? Nancy Sinatra had 4 Top 10 hits. I hear her dad was a singer, too.

5) Beyonce and husband Jay-Z have an impressive classic car collection, including a restored and customized 1959 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II, reportedly worth $1,000,000. If you suddenly received a million, what would you splurge on? We want to hear about a gift you'd give yourself. (It doesn't have to take the whole $1,000,000.) I'd like to rent an apartment, move in, and then renovate my condo. Hardwood floors with throw rugs instead of carpeting. Fresh paint everywhere and faux exposed brick in the dining room. New refrigerator and stove. New kitchen cabinets. What the hell! Let's have new bedroom and bathroom doors, too! Why stop there? Let's get new window treatments. All this work would be so much easier if the unit was empty, hence the rental, and I had unlimited funds. When it was finally done I'd move back into a home that reflected me.

6) Beyonce "loves to lather" and enjoys shampooing her hair. What's a simple, everyday thing that relaxes you? Who knew Beyonce and I had something in common! I love my time in the shower. Afterward, the world always looks a little better.

7) In 2011, when "Love on Top" was popular, so were movie franchises. Sequels to Harry Potter, Transformers, Twilight, Kung Foo Panda, and Disney's Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean all topped the box office. What's your favorite movie series? Between 1934 and 1947, there were six Thin Man movies. The first three are my favorites. Nick and Nora Charles, and their very cool dog, Asta, solve murder, drink martinis, make marriage seem sexy and are just so damn funny.

 

8) Speaking of sequels, Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and two of its sequels (The Girl Who Played with Fire and the The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) were on the NY Times list of fiction bestsellers for 2011. Have you read any of them? I tried to read the first one. It was so violent and dystopian that I quickly gave up. I know they're popular -- all the "Girl Who" books re-sell well at the annual library book sale -- so if you enjoy them, well, chacun a son got.

9) Random question -- Which of these items do you misplace most often: your cellphone, your keys or the TV remote? It's a tie between one and three.