Chairman of the Board

December is a good month for famous musical birthdays, including some of my personal faves, such as Jim, and Keith, and, my all-time favorite:

Frank Sinatra



The kids these days, I tell you. I have eclectic tastes in music, so I like most stuff. But during this holiday season, I've been inundated with everyone around me blasting the fucking Trans-Siberian Orchestra at every opportunity. It's like they've found some hidden, classic artistic gem that's just too cool to not play at top volume everywhere. I was patient for a week, then I started to complain, and today, with it being old blue eyes' birthday and all, I had to freak out a little bit and insist that we groove some Frank for a while lest I go into a psychotic rage.

Everyone has their idols. And The Voice alone is enough to make me swoon. But how could I not love a guy as articulate as this? Some of his better quotes:

"I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day."

"You only live once, and the way I live, once is enough."

"Basically, I'm for anything that gets you through the night - be it prayer, tranquilizers or a bottle of Jack Daniels."

Here's one for all the writers out there (sort of):
"Hell hath no fury like a hustler with a literary agent."

Here's one for the smart bitches out there:
"I like intelligent women. When you go out, it shouldn't be a staring contest."

And, here's one for everyone:
"You gotta love livin', baby, 'cause dyin' is a pain in the ass."

There's plenty more pithy quotes of his, you can find a bunch of them here.

And, of course, there's the famous quote from Kurt Vonnegut that I've always found enlightening:
"To do is to be." -- Socrates
"To be is to do." -- Sartre
"Do be do be do." -- Sinatra

But it's not just what he said, or how he swaggered, or how he sang. It was everything. Frank was one cool cat. Frank was the cool cat.

He was a lover and a fighter, a philanthropist and a thug. And he was always genuine.

He also once said, "May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine." Personally, I can't think of a better thing to wish for.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sinatra.