Why I no longer support March Of Dimes

I did the math, folks..

I had committed myself to donate $25 a year to March Of Dimes and have been doing itMarch every year. Maybe that's not a lot but when you consider that I also support the Autism Society, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts and my local school fundraisers, I have to have a set amount.

I have a nephew who was born premature and I know a few people who had late miscarriages, so I did it to honor them and hopefully save babies. But I realized that after all the mailings with cute little address labels and free magnetic notepads and calendars and dozens of paid telemarketer phone calls asking me to contribute or do the Walk America or help with a letter campaign, I am pretty much just paying them to hassle me.

In my opinion, they are spending way too much money to market to the wrong people (those of us who already support them!) A few times in the past when they have called, I told them "I'll send my gift of $25 in March as usual, you don't need to call me about it" but they don't seem to listen and they call and send mailings and call some more. I will have to find another way to help science save these young lives.

Wild Boy "Shines"

My two-paragraph review of Andy Taylor's new autobiography

When I heard that Andy Taylor was coming out with a book, I must admit I was skeptical. I thought “Here we go.. an angry, astrainged band member out looking for revenge.” like countless books out there written by bitter celebrity ex-wives claiming abuse and infidelity. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Andy’s recount of his life in Duran Duran was incredibly fair and honest. He shows his respect for everyone in Duran Duran, readily praising them for their specific talents and strengths. But he also doesn’t sugar-coat anything, illustrating that they all have their weaknesses, including himself.

In my twenty-six years of being a “Duranie” and watching them closely through the media, you would think I’d know every facet of their history, but there was still so much more to know. In this book, we get the story from the inside for the very first time. The book is both informative and amusingly anecdotal. I learned many things about this band, but also about the music business and the rock-and-roll lifestyle in general. The writing takes on an open conversational tone, absent of any bitterness or regret. Over the years, I have had the chance to meet all of the members of Duran Duran on various occasions.. except for Andy. Now I feel I’ve just had him ‘round for a beer and a long chat. Thanks Andy!