I won't go into the details, but I just wanted to write a quick post about how easily open online personals websites like match.com can be when it comes to "romance scams," a longer and more elaborate type of the infamous 419.

This month I had a potentially harrowing experience of my own with online fraud and when I researched the subject more I was astonished to discover 1 out of 3 profiles on sites like match.com are completely fake.

I have to give credit (not really!) to the person who tried to rope me in...the scammer came up with an intriguing and interesting background for their personal history (complete with very convincing photos that most likely were stolen), but they still tripped and fell. They mistook yearning on my part (to meet someone nice and hopefully sincere) for stupidity.

For more info read here. It's one of the best sources on "romance scams" and amazingly close to what happened to me. I have to say that match.com was great about giving me a refund and helping with the situation, but I can't help but worry about particularly vulnerable people out "there" in cyberspace who may not realize what's happening to them until it's too late...

What a cute little thing this is; I saw it advertised in this Sundays' paper, in a Kohl's ad. It plays cds, cassettes, vinvl and even MP3s...

So when I was sick a couple of weeks ago and my viewing standards considerably lowered I watched a lot of  "I Dream of Jeannie." In one very likable episode ("Jeannie, The Hip Hippie") I couldn't help but find the "fake" music group Jeannie put together very catchy.

I didn't realize that two of the guys she blinked into her living room were actually Tommy Boyce and Bruce Hart, often associated with the sound of the Monkees. They had a huge hit with "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight" (a song I used to love as a little girl.)

But a bit unnerving (and unexpected) was the sight of a young Phil Spector playing himself and nodding enthusiastically to the "new sound" of the group Jeannie slipped in to his office.

...'65 love affair...

Last night I suffered a bit of 80s nostalgia and found myself on iTunes, downloading some songs I'd long forgotten about...but used to really love. Until recently it was impossible to find the single "65 Love Affair" by Paul Davis (look at that hair!) anywhere digitally, unless it was the Karaoke version..

"65 Love Affair" came out when I was ten and I have vivid memories of it always seeming to be on the car radio whenever I was riding with my family. It was different than "I Go Crazy" and some of his other well-known songs...it had more of a Hall and Oates wanna-be feel to it and it milked "wasn't it great when we were younger?" for all it was worth. (I love that he tries to rhyme "dum dum" with "pom pom.")

Wikipedia mentions that David originally wanted to call it "55 Love Affair," but was talked out of naming it that since he would have been 7 at the time and most of the target audience listening in the early 80s would relate much better to being young and in love in the 60s!:)

One night in the late 80s I was listening to a weekly Westwood 1 radio program which often played "extra" songs during popular music countdowns (it wasn't the official Top 40 by Casey Casem). The DJ started something featuring George Michael on vocals. It was a cover of "Jive Talkin'" and I was flabbergasted. At the time I loved George Michael and the Bee Gees with equal passion.

The next time I was out shopping I looked everywhere for the single, but it turned out (I would later discover) it wasn't an American release. It was only available in the UK.

Yesterday, for some odd reason, I thought of the song for the first time in years. I had tried a few times in the past to track it down, but George Michael wasn't credited for the track so it took some digging. On iTunes and Amazon it is available as a 7" inch single and a 12" Jellybean remix (Amazon only offers them in vinyl while iTunes--obviously--is strictly digital).

Without even pausing to consider that more than twenty years had passed since I last heard this particular "Jive Talkin'," I downloaded both versions onto my iPod touch...and I can say without hesitation that it sounds as good as ever. The Bee Gees once said that they had heard this cover and liked it very much!:)

Here's more background on the song and Boogie Box High:

Boogie Box High