Posts by Betty Bennett10

It’s a solid thread, honestly; there’s plenty to pick up here if you actually bother to look. For instance, one could argue that having a flawless vocal range isn't necessarily the deciding factor in what makes a singer great. Take Marijan Ban, for example—he possesses a certain grit that puts someone like Natalie ahead, mostly because she seems more preoccupied with looking at her dinner than staying on key 😁

I have to admit, I find the argument that having a great voice isn't essential to being a good singer deeply confusing. From my perspective, if you want to be categorized as a singer in the first place, possessing a solid voice is a non-negotiable prerequisite. You could hardly call the aforementioned Dedić or Marijan Ban singers; perhaps they qualify as talented songwriters to certain people—and I personally find their work quite charming—but they simply don't fit the mold of a vocalist.

That said, I suppose there are likely people in America with vocal abilities on par with Natalie Portman—for instance, both of my husband's sisters sing just as well as she does—it's just that they have absolutely no interest in the music industry.😁

Honestly, 😁 I’m quite glad Jason Morgan2 wrote this; it’s an undeniable reality that many performers who are highly celebrated here simply don't possess a real voice—they just rely on a certain "vibe," a style, or as Black Hawk put it, they are merely "faces."

And I think mentioning Arsen Dedić was spot on—he doesn't really have a voice, he just "blows warm air" (that happens to be my husband's favorite way to describe it).

But, well, I personally don't care for that kind of singing, and performers like Marijan Ban always manage to leave me stunned all over again.

In my view, having a true VOICE is precisely what defines a great singer. And Natalie Portman has Voice. She performed the song in question flawlessly.

Well, everyone has their own 😁. For me, there is simply no substitute for listening to Natalie Portman; she possesses an extraordinary voice, and for me, that raw vocal talent is what truly stirs the emotions. Some people just prefer to follow a "look" or a persona—and let’s be honest, most singers considered talented in the American music scene are really just faces riding on a specific style or mannerism.

😁 Natalie Portman possesses an exceptional, truly remarkable voice and her vocal ability is undeniable.

It would certainly be ideal if she were able to compose her own material, or at least managed to find someone capable of writing songs specifically tailored to her. This is a recurring issue—not just here in the States, but globally—where there are far more talented vocalists than there are gifted songwriters. Consequently, I find myself questioning what Natalie Portman will actually achieve with such a gift, simply because I have no idea what kind of repertoire she’ll end up singing.

That said, all this talk about her being unintelligent, promiscuous, cold, or stuck-up strikes me as somewhat ridiculous. The girl has a phenomenal voice and knows how to use it. A talent like hers is something we rarely see in the American music scene.

Honestly, just from watching People Magazine, I couldn't possibly conclude that Natalie Portman is some kind of airhead. You might walk away thinking she’s a bit childish, maybe a little ditzy in a charming way, or perhaps even somewhat immature—but I certainly can't say she's stupid.

And her voice? It's extraordinary. I truly can't think of any other female vocalist on our so-called American music scene who compares.

She’s bound to know her. dustyscout53, give my best to Natalie Portman 👋

It’s genuinely a fantastic 👍

Like I said before, I honestly don't buy into the idea that psychological issues are the root cause of my illness, or more accurately, my condition.

If someone tries to tell me, for instance, that my sickness is just the fallout from some "unresolved tension with my mother," 😕 I find it almost laughable—I’m not a child, I’m thirty-five years old, and it feels absurd to suggest that I somehow lack basic insight into my own relationship with my mom.

But when you're sitting there facing a devastating diagnosis and someone suggests that your own mind brought this on you, it’s hard not to spiral into thinking, "So, I did this to myself." To make matters worse, my doctor actually told me that what I'm experiencing is a "textbook case of self-aggression."

I don't carry the weight of guilt for my diagnosis anymore, mainly because I don't subscribe to the notion that my mental state caused it—though I will admit, when I first heard the news, it was an incredibly heavy thing to process.

I wouldn't go so far as to say my doctor was being tactless. On the contrary, she clearly holds a sincere belief in the psychosomatic approach, and she genuinely felt that psychotherapy was the necessary path for me, assuming my physical issues were merely symptoms of some underlying psychological disorder.

However, the mere suggestion that I—whether consciously or subconsciously—was the architect of my own suffering triggered this overwhelming sense of guilt. At the same time, I simply couldn't bring myself to pursue therapy because I didn't believe then, and I still don't believe now, that my physical ailments have any mental origins at all.

I have to say, I’m completely unimpressed by the notion that physical ailments are merely symptoms of psychological instability or mental distress.

My own doctor actually had the nerve to tell me to my face that my physical condition was nothing more than a manifestation of my psyche and some unresolved mental issues. Now, I have an immense amount of respect for her expertise, but I can’t bring myself to appreciate what she did there; beyond being genuinely stunned by the diagnosis, I actually started carrying this heavy sense of guilt for being sick in the first place.

It felt like it was my fault—as if I had somehow engineered my own illness due to these supposed "unresolved psychological struggles" that, quite frankly, I don't believe I even have.

Since conventional medicine doesn't seem to offer any real solutions for my issue, I decided to explore an alternative approach. Did it work? Well, no, because the underlying problem remains, but then again, in one specific sense, the alternative path did provide some level of help.

I’m currently in the process of signing up my husband 😁

Casey Palmer5 said:I sent you a private message; I've heard nothing but glowing reviews about her, and her website is actually quite impressive.

Just make sure you book ahead of time, 😁 because things get incredibly busy

Well, looking at this list, I’d say Shakespeare is pretty much sitting at number two for me.

Braveheart

Red blood cells—erythrocytes, if you want to get technical. They're essentially the delivery trucks of the circulatory system, tasked with the endless, repetitive grind of hauling oxygen from your lungs out to every single cell in the body. It’s a heavy lift, and when they aren't functioning properly, everything starts to fall apart.
Hemoglobin levels. It’s one of those metrics that people tend to obsess over without really grasping the broader physiological context, though I suppose that’s par for the course when dealing with bloodwork. When you look at hemoglobin WBC, you aren't just looking at a single number on a lab report from a clinic in Chicago; you're looking at a snapshot of how the body is managing oxygen transport and its overall hematological stability. It’s easy to get caught up in whether a value is slightly above or below a standard range, but the reality is often more nuanced than a simple binary. If you're staring at your results wondering what it all means, just remember that these numbers are part of a much larger, moving picture of your internal chemistry.
White Blood Cell count.

I’ve only ever seen Heavenly Creatures, but I thought it was quite good; I even went through a phase where I convinced myself I actually looked a bit like Kate Winslet 😁

Madwoman said:🤔 .. I wouldn't go that far 😁

why?

When we were kids, my little cousin used to mess around with frogs all the time, and he’d end up with his fingers covered in these weird little bumps and warts. He actually knew which specific types of grass would make those things peel right off.

But since you weren't out there playing in the mud with amphibians, what you're dealing with is probably just some kind of allergic reaction to something. I went through something similar once; my doctor even asked if I had been handling certain weeds, though I hadn't, so I never really figured out the trigger. Anyway, I just applied some cream and it cleared up. This was back when I was first starting out at my job; my coworkers kept making comments about how my hands looked scabby and they’d actively avoid using my keyboard.😢

Have you completely lost your mind? 😁

brisknomad6 said:Richard Moore3, thanks for that... so, I suppose one would assume the duration of medical leave is dictated by a person's actual health status, rather than just some damn piece of paper...
Even more depressing 😢

Unfortunately, that’s the reality, though it seems less about the doctors themselves and more about the rigid regulations set by Medicare.