Queer

As a young gay, of a certain era, I loathed the word 'queer'. 

It had such negative connotations. Even if not used to describing gay men. 

I suppose it was better than 'pansy' or 'faggot', but not by a lot. I know to my adjacent (read: older) cohort, they, at some point, embraced the word 'queer'. They kind of weaponized it. 

While I still don't use the word a lot, I've weaved it into my vocabulary and have now and again used it to self-identify. 

Our bestest independent bookstore (though 710 will claim, except for Barnes & Noble, aren't they all independent anymore?) I got a message about a soon-to-form queer focused book club. 

As one of my 2023 goals is to read more, I thought, "eh why not?".  I'm a "community member". I think .

Oddly, the Queer club is Bi...........monthly. I think I can swing that. Reading a book in two months and going to chat about it. And it's on Thursdays, so it won't interfere with my Tuesday running group. 

2023 was not a goal year to make friends. And I'm not saying it will happen, but between group reading and running, who knows?  

I'm curious how many will take part. Maybe they don't know the store has a cat roaming around. That's reason enough for me to attend. 

Song by; Garbage

Cooking with Blobby

I'll start out with a few word review:  they can't all be winners. 

There.  That's it. 

Of course, you know I'll expound.......so, hold on. 

My go-to for recipes lately has been the NYT. They have a decent food person(s) and some easy-ish dishes are have some depth of flavour........allegedly.  Some have been winners - like the chilie crip pasta, which I've now made a few times. 

We eat salmon about once per week and you know, some times, you just want to serve it a little differently. .....and so I did. 

Peanut Butter-Glazed Salmon and Green Beans

Who doesn't like peanut butter......................on fish?  

Before you curl your lip - and I know you are - the peanut butter was not the problem. But more on that as we do into the prep, cook and serve. 

INGREDIENTS 

Yield: 4 servings 

1 pound green beans, trimmed 

1 bunch scallions (about 6), halved lengthwise then cut crosswise into thirds 

1 tablespoon minced garlic 

3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as safflower or canola 

Salt and black pepper 

¼ cup smooth peanut butter (either conventional or natural works) 

2 tablespoons lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving 

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 

1 tablespoon grated peeled ginger 

½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil 

4 (6-ounce) center-cut salmon fillets 

¼cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional) 

 

First off - I forgot to put the scallions in the picture. Secondly, I forgot to get a lemon at all.  Thirdly, I had the peanuts and forgot about those too. I don't think any of these made a difference to anything. 

Looking at the list, it seems a little labour intensive, but it's not. Not really. Trimming the green beans and peeling the ginger were the most laborious things about it.  ....and I got 710 to do the ginger!

PREPARATION 

Step 1 Heat oven to 450 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, combine green beans, scallions, garlic and 2 tablespoons of the neutral oil; season with salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat, then spread in an even layer. 

Ick. 

Less ick. 

Step 2 Prepare the peanut butter glaze: In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon water. Season with salt and pepper, then whisk until smooth. 

Step 3 Rub salmon with the remaining 1 tablespoon neutral oil and season with salt. Arrange salmon on top of beans and spoon half of the peanut butter glaze on top of the fish. Roast for 5 minutes, then spoon over the remaining glaze. Roast until salmon is cooked to medium and beans are crisp-tender, 5 to 7 minutes more, depending on thickness. 

Step 4 Divide salmon and beans among serving plates. Top with peanuts and serve with lemon wedges. cup chopped unsalted roasted peanuts (optional)

First off -  scallions!  I love the smell of them. It's always smells of freshness. And I'm good eating roasted scallions with sesame oil and garlic. 

As I said, the peanut butter, to me, was not the problem. Mind you, I thought it was thin out and "melt" a little when cooked. It did not. Adding the second coating was really really really not needed. 

For me - it was the ginger. It's all I smelled. It's all I tasted. Mostly, I can take or leave ginger, but yowza. Oddly, 710 didn't taste the ginger at all. I whisked all this together, so I know it just didn't show up on my piece of fish. 

But yeah, I didn't taste the fish. I barely noticed the peanut butter by taste. Consistency, yes. Taste, no. 

I would like to think not having the lemon juice in the glaze would not have made a huge difference, but maybe it would have mellowed - or diverted - the ginger senses?  I'll probably never know, as I'll probably not give this one a second try. 

As 710 said, "it was a good experiment".   Yeah, me as Dr. Bunson Honeydew, in the lab.  Notice he didn't say it was a good meal. I did. 

Everywhere

We are CRUSHING this year's movie goal of 15.  It is only January, and we are one-fifth of the way there.  

Yeah yeah - I know this will peter out after award season. Even before. But hopefully we can make a dent in the would-be total so I can just eke it out at the end. 

We had every intention of seeing Everything Everywhere All at Once last summer, but it was gone from the theaters last summer, as we missed that window. Apparently it's on Hulu which I considered getting for a month so we could see it, but a friend mentioned it was on Showtime through Hulu.  Fuck that. 

As it turns out, due to the multiple Oscar nominations the film received, it's back at our art theater. Probably the giga-plex too. So on Sunday afternoon, for the single showing, we went to see it. 

I'd give you a synopsis, but I'm 100% sure I cannot do it justice - at least where it makes sense. Think Inception on acid.  Meta multiverses. 

Honestly, had I been the slightest bit high, I would have been "WHOA!".  Perhaps had I been the slightest bit high, I would have gotten it more than I did. It's trippy. Maybe Crazy Matrix-y Asians like, 

While the movie certainly doesn't defy description, it's one of those films that are best left up to each individual to dissect. Trying to craft that here would take time - and I still wouldn't do it justice. 

A few weeks back, I mentioned that movie making must be enormously complex, to have a story and shots in your head and getting them to screen.  With EEAaO, multiply that by a trillion.  

There are shots that last 2-3 seconds long, while jumping time and/or wardrobe. How one gets that from brain to paper to screen, even in a semi-coherent state, is beyond me. 

Michelle Yeoh is great - and probs deserves the Oscar. Stephanie Hsu (who is Mae, in the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) should too. I loved her. No offense to Jamie Lee Curtis. I like her and all, but I have to believe there were better, stronger performances by a supporting female out there. 

And that kid from the second / horrible Indiana Jones movie, is all grown up and no longer Kate Capshaw-bad at acting. Not at all. It only took him 40 years to learn his craft, I suppose. Which is more than I can say for Kate. 

Everything is worth seeing, even for the "whoa" factor. 

2023 Movie Count / Goal: 03 of 15

Song by: Fleetwood Mac

My Music Monday

I'm a little excited. I've seen some of the releases slated for the first half of 2023 and I'm cautiously optimistic. 

While it won't be in order or anything - or even every week - I will tackle some of the pre-released songs from those will be disks. 

I'm starting with the National and their new song, "Tropic Morning News". 

I haven't been wild about the last two National releases, so they are really putting the 'cautious' into my optimism. They dropped one of my top songs last year with Bon Iver, which kind of made up for especially their last disk.  

I'm not sure "Tropic Morning News" breaks any new grounds, but it's a solid song.  The bass line is different and while they almost always have muted drums - and they still are - they are a little brighter. 

It gives me better hope for the rest of their new disk First Two Pages of Frankenstein, which comes out at the end of April. 

Shopping with Blobby

Yet another installment in the drudgery that is everyday shopping. The camera-phone makes it a bit more fun - though I get looks whenever I take pics of products. Like I care what people think!   

I'm a semi-normal gay man. 

I have wants. I have needs. Most of them go unmet. 

For instance:  I have not found the perfect pillow. Nor do I ever expect to at this point. 

To a degree, the same can be said about underwear. 

Yes, as a gay man, I wouldn't say I have an underwear fetish, but I do like to be comfortable in them, and like them to potentially look good on me - not that anyone is looking. 

But like pillows, locating a good pair of boxer briefs is challenging. 

Yes. Boxer briefs. 

Sure, I've got the goods to parade around in briefs, but that's just for the package. There are other factors - such as the cut of the leg and where it sits and how heavy those legs might be at any certain time. 

Boxers - well, I may as just well go commando. I do that about once per week as it is, as invariably, I will forget to put underwear in my gym bag. I don't think there is anything Freudian to it, but one never knows....at least until one goes to a therapist.  I forget belts and socks now and then too. 

The problem is: there are too many choices Even if you found THE pair, upon going back to the store, 187 different styles and brands have taken the place of whatever you might have had. 

I currently have some decent pair - and some really bad ones. Yet, I don't throw them out.  You know.....in case. 

Actually, Morty taught me something years ago. I took all my outgoing underwear on trips - for work or pleasure. And I'd throw them away in the hotel room trash. It purged the stuff that needed tossed and provided a bit more room in the luggage. 

So anyways, I was at Dicks (yes, the irony is not lost on me) yesterday and saw a pair that looked ever so comfortable.  

Yeah - I saw them. TJMaxx doesn't put underwear on mannequins. Dicks apparently does.  

They looked good. They felt good. I opted to reach for a box, you know.............because....this could be the one!    ......and that's when I saw the price. 

Fuck. That. Shit. 

$55 for a two pack?   

What. The. Actual. Fuck. 

I totally get that I'm cheap. You read TJMaxx above. That wasn't even written tongue-in-cheek. I mean, I can get like 37 pair of underwear for $55 there.  Even a pair I bought at Lululemon eons ago (and sill hold up) were $17.  Maybe if you factor in inflation, they'd be the $22.50 that, whomever Tommy John is, is charging per pair. 

Maybe they'd feel like pure bliss, but there'd be a Tell-Tale Heart thing going on every time I wore them that would drive me insane. 

Actually, I'd probably think I didn't deserve to wear them even if I bought them and they'd sit unused for years.  "Oh, they're too nice to wear", I'd tell myself. 

I politely put them back in their place and left with what I actually came to purchase in the first place. 

Passenger

Shep Day.  I have no other pets or animals to show today.  Good thing he's a handsome dude. 

He watching other - better trained - dog run up at the school. 

They can be trust not to keep running and to come back. He can't. 

Rule Breaker.

Kind of. We went no further. 

Shep take over any seating area he so chooses. 

We let him. 

Passenger. 

Too cold for an outdoor picnic, but we will grab lunch and eat at a park - in the car - before going on our hike.   He's hoping for a hand-out.  

 

Song by: Interpol

Site of the Month

Site of the Month.........kind of. 

It's really just a video that reminds us of how we - as a population - are actually made up. The ratios to the subjects they bring up gives on perspective - and more importantly, in theory, it should shift the U.S. population it is not just about them. 

Rolling

Ahhhh.....the joys of aging.........and / or over-exertion. 

I continue to push myself with running. Perhaps too much so, at least for a man who is closer to being Medicare eligible than he'd like. 

But it's what it's. 

Remember when my biggest issue with running was my bruised hands? 

Since then, it was a stress fracture. When I came back from that, oddly, no more hitting the treadmill with my manly beefy hands (read: thin, girly digits). 

Recently though, it's been a left hip situation. If I can make it past minute 10, I'm fine. But some days, I don't make it past minute 2.  I know I need more rest between some runs, and I way overdo it on other days. So, it's a balance. 

Thanks to on-line look-ups, I can self-diagnose my problem and solution. Or at least I think I can.....and isn't that what's important. 

Yes, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. I'm doing like two of those things. The thing not on there is a solid foam roller. 

Before and after my run - or even on days when I'm not scheduled to run - I get on the gym floor and inflict pain in my left hip area. I put my fat old self on top of said roller and move back and forth, really working into my muscle and tissue. 

And OUCH. 

But I do it anyways. 

It really digs into my hip, but let's face it, I'm probably putting at least one third of my body weight onto this roller. That's not nothing. 

It works. Kind of. My pain is immediately less, but not zero. I don't feel my running is great though. I'm not sure, but I'm figuring I'm favouring a leg.  I'd say after 8-10 hours an ache comes back, but nothing like before. 

I have only been doing the roller thing for two days (this is three!), so we'll keep it up to see how it goes. 

But it was a breakthrough for me.......the consumer, part of me that is. My first thought was, "ugh - I have to buy one". Then I remembered seeing others roll on something at the gym, so I waited 12 hours and found it myself. Now I can just use the communal one instead of shelling out for one at home. I'm there every day, so, why waste the cash? 

I'm hoping with continued use and time, my hip will be back to normal. 

Song by: Michael Kiwanuka

Shot Down

 

Honestly, this might be the last post I do on gun violence / mass shootings in the U.S. 

I mean, what's the point? 

Seriously - look at the headline above. We are 24 days into the year.  I mean, I know I'm not influencer in law or on-line, and clearly no one is doing one fucking thing about ANY of this. 

I'm just wasting time and keystrokes here. You're wasting time reading this nonsense. And in 2023, we're doing both while people bleed out from multiple gunshot wounds. And Congress is more worried about pride and trans flags flying over embassies. They're pro-life, but only if you're a 6 week old fetus wanna be. Other than that, fuck you. 

Fuck Them.  Both parties. 

Not for nothing, but the Doomsday Clock was just moved to 90 seconds to midnight. 

.....or the closest we've come to the apocalypse since it was created in 1949. 

Mind you, this has more to do with making the Earth uninhabitable, or you know, nuclear annihilation, but let's face it - the chance of any of us dying at the hands of gunman (yes 'man' !!) are more realistic than Putin or Jun Un ending life for everyone because they have their thongs in a bunch. 

Doom is Doom - one way or the other. It's hard inhabit the Earth with a bullet through your skull. 

So yes, maybe I will post again on gun violence, but it's gonna have to be a doozy. They keep upping the game - and the numbers - so, it's really gonna have to get my attention.  

.....and that is just fucking sad.   And frightening. 

Song by: the Sonics

Glass Onion

In our effort to be better in our movie "going" experience, we Netflixed Glass Onion over the weekend. 

We had seen Knives Out at the theater years ago, and enjoyed it, save for Daniel Craig's Foghorn Leghorn impression - which was just 100% distracting from anything he did. 

I was assured by friends that his horrible southern accent was toned down in this one - and it was. But not enough, in my book. 

I don't necessarily mean for there to be spoilers below, but perhaps. Read with caution. 

The cast, for the most part, is good. There are two minor characters - especially one - that could be dispensed of and no one would even know. Possibly both, though one serves a slight slight slight purpose. 

Like the first movie, they writer / director doesn't do too much (enough?) with the "ancillary" characters. All have semi-interesting, yet never truly explored, backstories. In the first movie, it was a sin to waste Toni Collette the way they did.  Ditto with Katherine Hahn in this one. 

Edward Norton and especially Kate Hudson seemingly have one acting style - no matter what movie they are in. I don't quite get Norton's appeal, though I somewhat remember liking him in Birdman a few years back. Hudson isn't bad, but you know, she's not Streep.  Or even Hawn. 

Janelle Monáe was the stand-out here in the entire group. 

Without too many details, all the characters (kind of) get invited to a private island for a murder mystery party by Norton's character, who I'm assuming is Musk-like. Heavily involved in space, energy and a Twitter-like social medial platform. Technically, one person wasn't invited at all. More puzzling is why another was. It's a big plot hole for me that wasn't discussed - though I have my reasons as to why they might have been. 

My problem with the cast of four of the characters was their lack of any morals whatsoever. Once or twice the filmmaker tried to inject some kind of conscience into them, but either not enough, or the actors couldn't pull it off. 

Any attempt at redemption at the end was only to save their own skin, which was their problem and flaw in the first place. And there was no real sense of finality. 

Like the first one, Onion was fine and somewhat clever. But like I said with the first one - and I stick with it - it was no Murder by Death. 

2023 Movie Count / Goal: 02 of 15

Song by: the Beatles

My Music Monday

Here's a news flash:  Today's selection is NOT a running song !!!

Just one 710 and I heard last weekend on the way back from a hike with dog. 

"Edge of the Edge" by Panda Bear & Sonic Boom. I'm assuming this isn't a band, of combo of, that I want to go picking at the scab to see what they're all about. 

But the song is catchy and familiar - right? 

We both go - at the same time - "Beach Boys like!" 

It's got a total just-ever-so-slightly-past-their-prime Beach Boy's vibe, along with the underlying work of the Wrecking Crew.  Yet it's got that new sound too.  But it has the echo chamber-like sound that was prevalent in their music. I'm guessing it's a quasi-homage. 

I'm really feeling the "dah dah duh dah"s.  It kind of sells the song.

I'm Just a Girl

This would be funny if it weren't already a joke. And a dangerous one. 

The intertubes have meme after meme of fake lie after fake lie (which I know....lies are fake). 

We know his lies. Most of them. Some of them. 

Maybe George - or Georgia? - Santos was a drag queen, maybe not.  He's denying it of course. Oddly, it is the only thing he has denied. Usually it's list of "accomplishments" he touts - even doubling down on some of them. 

But at this point, you can't expect him to tell the truth on anything, and even if he is, at this point who is actually going to believe that?

The GOP has a problem on their hand. They are fine with his lies. Clearly. They are fine with an alleged gay man (I'm still not sure that's a lie) with an anti-LGBT agenda. What they hate, of course, are drag queens and trans-anything. Except trans-fats. I'm sure they're fine with them. 

Still........the danger to which I referred. 

The memes. The jokes. 

We are all laughing this off. To the point it makes zero impact. He's still in the House. He still has more of a say in making laws - or obstructing them - than you or I will ever have. 

We joke about him so much, it is just that: a joke. Once again, we are desensitized to it all. Shocked and outraged for about 14 minutes and we let it go. And George is still there. 

It's exhausting. All of it. All of them. It's just fucking sad. 

Song by: No Doubt

Cold Outside

 Pets  - not all of them mine. But most of them. Kind of. 

Welcome to my daily daycare pick-up.  

He amuses others waiting to pick up the much better behaved pooches. 

Bailey back from the 'spa'. 

She looks so calm. Looks are deceiving. 

the "big" girl on the right is Ellie. 

She is SO sweet.  And pretty.

Lake Erie - not frozen over. 

Every branch and rock and tree: frozen over from spray from Lake Erie. 

One cool dog!

Song by: Keb' Mo'

Wasted on the Way

I'd say, "you didn't see that one coming........", but you totally could. 

....and then I realized the man was 81. 

Maybe the actual surprise was you should have seen it coming, since David Crosby was an octogenarian.  The bigger surprise is that drug addiction didn't do him in much earlier. 

Or that someone didn't murdered him. 

Crosby, for all his talent, was not well liked. Eventually. He seemed to alienate and / or piss off just about everyone he's ever known or called a bandmate or friend. 

Stills, Nash and Young haven't spoken to him, probably in years. Joni Mitchell is not a fan. Melissa Ethridge's ex (but then current) partner used him as a sperm donor. Twice. 

I mean, any addiction study will tell you that familial relationships are the number one cause of passing on addiction. So, it only made sense to choose a heroin addict as your baby-daddy. And Ethridge wonders why one of those kids killed himself. 

For all his accolades, I know Crosby only through his harmonies. If he sang lead on any CSN or CSNY (or Byrds) song, I don't know it. Maybe "Wooden Ships"? And probably "Almost Cut My Hair".  Granted, harmonies are much more difficult to pull off than most melodies, so total props for that. 

Three of four years ago, we saw a documentary on him, which I have to say was fascinating. It must be streaming somewhere. I'd recommend seeing it. 

Crosby's death is just a reminder of the passing of time - his and ours. 

This death comes in threes thing seems to be wrong. It seems there have been a lot of deaths in 2023 - and we aren't even three full weeks in. I guess they can be lumped to multiple groups of three. 

Song by: Crosby Stills & Nash

Missing

Oh no - Julian Sands is missing. 

I fell in "love" with him back in 1985 (?) when first seeing Room with a View at the Paris theatre in New York City. 

Technically, this would be my second independent film. It would take months for it to reach Columbus, where I forced others to go see it with me. They didn't enjoy Edwardian behaviour or period pieces. 

No doubt they've seen everything Downton and loved loved loved it. 

Anyhooo......Sands went hiking in Southern California and hasn't been seen since.  Poor chap. 

Flash floods? Mudslides?  Mountain Lions? 

Or is he just holed up at a friend's house drinking Little Kings and eating Pringles, and forgot about the time?  I mean, we've all been there................am I right? 

Julian never looked as good as he did in E.M. Forester adaptations. And I think he was robbed (I tellz ya!) when not getting the title role in Maurice.  I mean, I don't even know if he was up for it, but if you had read the book, he seemed to fit perfectly for it. 

After that, it was mostly character acting, which was fine and pays the bills.  But look how dreamy he was.  Of course, Helena Bonham-Carter shined in Room with a View too. It is still a great movie. Bet you don't even remember that Dame Judi Dench is in it. She's a national treasure. Not our nation, but still.........

I hope it's just a badly twisted ankle and no cell service that is causing his inability to get home. So far drones and dogs have not been able to locate him. 

Honestly, I had nothing provide today, but when one can use an image like the one above, well......sometimes you just craft the words around that. 

Song by: Everything but the Girl

Runaround

Seinfeld once said after 30, you can't make any new friends. 

While not 100% true, it's is much more difficult. I have a handful of friends I met after 30, and only like 2 since turning 40.  I'm not sure I have any new ones after the big 5-0. 

My long lasting friendships, other than my Banshees moment, were formed and have lasted since my 20s. 

Yesterday, I did something. I joined a running group. 

To be honest, it's about bettering my runs, picking up motivation and better training and running habits. As with all things running related, I conferred with Morty before taking the plunge. I wasn't sure how he picked his running peeps, or if he did. 

The folks in his group are now long-time friends and race buds. 

I don't know I'm going for that. I don't know if I'm not. 

All these groups say they take all levels, while I'm guessing they do, I'm guessing they don't have to be happy about it........or inclusive. If it's anything like making friends as a kid, I'll be left alone - and I could have run like that on my own. 

As always, I fear I'll be the 17th wheel in this group. Folks who've been running and training together for eons who now have to take Medicare-adjacent guy into the group hoping he doesn't fracture a hip. 

They encourage no headphones. Not just for safety on the open road, but to interact and converse. Oh g-d!

I mean, I get it. But I don't know how to run without music. I'm not great at small talk and now to have to do it and run and keep focused? 

Perhaps I am making this more than it is. 

They meet twice per week for runs - Saturday mornings, which is fine and reasonable And Tuesday's at 18:00. That will be more challenging. Leaving work, changing, making my way across town then to run and get home semi-late for me. 

Of course, I'll try to make Tuesdays, but I might miss some of those. Saturdays, which are the longer runs (I'm assuming) should be doable. 

If I make friends, so be it. I don't know how that works. But starting February 4th, I'll start to find out. 

Song by: Rickie Lee Jones

Just Go Away

We didn't quite make our movie goal of 2022.  It was for total lack of trying. There were things to see on any number of platforms.  This is totally on me. We just didn't get motivated. 

But I'm keeping with 15 as our 2023 target. And even with that, and no shortage of content, it still took us two weeks to see our first movie of the year. 

The Banshees of Inisherin was on our list anyway. For the 1.5 weeks it was at the theater, we missed it. Luckily, it's on HBO. 

Banshees isn't bad at all. It'd be a stretch to say it was 'good' though. 

I mean, the writing is good, the acting is great, the scenery fantastic.  The storyline is engaging and yet hard to watch from time to time.  

No spoilers here, but the movie revolves around a friend who opts no longer to be friends with the other.

It's a semi-ghosting story, but right in your face, as it's on a small island off the coast of Ireland. It's hard to ghost someone right in front of you - but.............

The little mentioned 'civil war' is really the backdrop, and probably the metaphor, for the flailing friendship of characters played by Brendon Gleeson and Colin Farrell.  I'm not sure which is the IRA and which the National Army, but you gotta figure it factors in there somewhere. 

Like the two rowing factions, they don't know why exactly it just goes one with no sign on an ending. 

Gleeson and Farrell are amazing, as is the woman who plays Farrell's sister. 

Personally, I didn't have a problem (save twice) following the dialogue. Morty told me I'd want to turn on the closed caption, but I didn't find it very difficult to understand with them there Irish accents.  ...and 71% of the script was the word "feckin'".  

I made fun with my friends that it is the story of me and another friend of ours. Ex of mine. He opted not to be friends with me, but unlike the movie, he never said it to my face. I jokingly (honest!) said, maybe I should talk to him to see if the same fate awaits him.  You'd have to actually see the movie to understand. 

Still, the look of hurt on Farrell's face is so well done. His inability to understand the rationale of his soon to be former friend.  I mean, he's easy on the eyes anyways, but I feel he's very underrated as an actor. 

Banshees is a well-made movie that has some idiosyncratic parts. It's not one of those movies I'd revisit, but it was worth seeing. 

2023 Movie Count / Goal: 01 of 15

Song by: Blondie

My Music Monday

No theme. Not even 'shuffle' this week. Just something that popped up on Apple Music a week or three ago when I was running. 

I don't know from White Lies or anything, and doubtful I'll trip over them much outside of "to Lose My Love". I kept the song on because it had a decent rhythm section and I could keep pace to it. So I loaded it to a playlist. 

Sad as it may seem, much of my music these days revolves not around the gym as much as it a subject of the gym - or outside the gym when it comes to running. 

I've been much more liberal about what I add, even if it's not what I'd call a great song. It serves a greater purpose and hopefully, I find redeeming value in it - and if nothing else, for a few weeks or more, it's something new in which to listen. 

As I craft different playlists for different runs, I'm just as quick to delete a song if it doesn't serve my purpose. Harsh for sure. It's not that I don't like a song, it's just not the correct setting. 

As for "to Lose My Love" the theme struck me.  

If you retain some of the crap I write over the last two decades (!), it has a recurring theme of death - and with 710, which one of us goes first and how we deal with that. I was anxiety ridden over that during the first 4-6 months of Covid - maybe until there was a vaccine.    .....and you wonder why I'm on anti-depressants. 

The opening line of the song addresses this: "to lose my life / or lose my love / that's the nightmare I've been dreaming of". 

That really is it: one goes first. So either you die, or they do. 

The chorus takes a less morbid view.......kind of.   "let's grow old together / and die at the same time". 

Honestly, that is the best case scenario. 

The song has an '80's goth-ish vibe, but it works. I don't know I'd play it outside of a run, but you never know. 

Don't Be Cruel

I really have nothing to say about Lisa Marie Presley. I'm not sure there is anything to say. 

I can't say "I saw this coming" like you might have with Whitney Houston's kid. But I can't say I'm surprised. 

You might have noticed that Mike and I skipped the Golden Globe contest this year (maybe last too?) so I had not vested interest in watching it to see how bad I might lose. 

Due to that, I didn't see Lisa Marie get interviewed, but it sounds like she didn't look good. 

What few things I've read, not one has mentioned her years in Scientology. Or her leaving it behind. 

I had read she married Michael Jackson to get him to join - as they are always looking for high profile / $$$ folks. And when that didn't / couldn't happen, they divorced. Clearly no idea if that's true. Or care. 

The above if my friend Jon and myself at Graceland-adjacent. This is the closest we got to Lisa Marie. We went on an excursion to Memphis - on a whim - and probably didn't have the $6 to tour the jet. We used it all on our first La Quinta experience.   .....and drinks at bars. And one Chinese restaurant that, and I quote, "looks a little pricey". 

I can count on one finger how many songs of Lisa Marie's I've heard. She only had three albums and I had to laugh and laugh and laugh at American Songwriter magazine's social media stupidity:

10 ????  And honestly, define 'top'.  My, weren't they being earnest........and kind. 

710 thought she couldn't make it as a singer being compared to her father. Actually, I think it would have worked in her favour. There could never ever ever truly be a comparison or the ability to live up to Elvis! If anything it would have been a free ride. 

People are questioning, 'who has cardiac arrest at 54?'. 

Ummm.....Women.  Primarily women. Women who are treated dismissively by their physicians when it comes to chest pain and heart attack symptoms. It's why heart disease kills so many women.  ....and at a younger age. 

Fortunately, all three of her disks are charted on iTunes now. Unfortunately, all of Jeff Beck's reside in much higher ranking. The girl cannot catch a break.   

Song by: Elvis Presley

Wind

Today i all Shep; all the time.  

The first work week of the new year and the first full week in about the last month. The re-entry wasn't all it could be. There were not many opportunities for other animal pics.  

We didn't even really come across neighbor dogs either, but with Winter, the walks are in the dark as it is. Only two months and one week until Spring!

Shep loves loves loves his puppaccino. 

His nose is too wide for the cup, so at some point we cut down the cup so he can get it all. 

He's also VERY demanding about leaving daycare faster faster faster. 

I like to dawdle and say 'hi' to the other dogs. 

Sister Batrille (sp) ears up at Lake Erie. 

The Solstice Steps always has a breeze.  I love this look. 

Hike in the snow. 

Our would be 8" came out to somewhere between a dusting and a half inch. But it was slushy, so he got a walk around a lake. 

Song by: Joseph

12 of 12

 So I'm doing my 153rd 12 of 12.

Normally it is 12 pictures taken on the 12th of the month. Since I only post once per day, you get my images the following day. All pictures taken with my iPhone. Click images to enlarge, if you choose.

Created by Chad Darnell and picked up from, what I can tell, any number of random bloggers who then link back to him and vice versa. Chad is no longer doing this, nor is successor coordinating the linking of other 12 of 12'ers anymore. Erik is back and I think he's picking up 12 of 12 again.

03:54.  Wordle. 

It's one of my go-to starter words. Three vowels, dontcha know. 

I'd still end up taking four tries to "win". 

.....and I was already a 'genius' in Spelling Bee by this time.  

04:18.  B'fast. 

Honey Nut Cherrios.......almost every single morning. 

05:56.  Leg. 

Post run stretching. Working my hip flexers. My left hip is bothering me and I need that to go away. 

07:36.  Snacks. 

You can't see them, but there are blueberries behind the clementines and banana. 

09:03.  Knowledge Booster conf call. 

We are implementing a new system. I'm in the September wave, but I still joined the call.  Kind of.....

09:21. Maze. 

....what I was doing during was this.  My swear-phrase-of-the--day calendar was done on Dec 31. I have a maze-a-day calendar now. But I have to wait till the following day to peel it off and do it. 

It's not as fun as the swear one, but I figure it will keep me out of a memory unit for an additional six weeks. 

10:25.  Daily Reminder. 

No - I'm not planning on running the Cleveland Marathon. But they do have a 10K, which I have not yet signed up for. This mocks me daily. 

12:52.  Bother. 

13:40.  Lunch. 

One slice of cheese pizza because I was too lazy to pack. 

16:46. Leaving Work. 

The temps dropped by about 15 and it poured all day. By the time many of you read this, we should have a decent snowfall on the ground. That will continue throughout today. 

19:22.  Salad. 

I made the salad while 710 finished the pasta I started. 

19:49.  America's Test Kitchen. 

That's what was playing as we at. Bridget made a chiffon buche de noel.

Well, the first 12 of 12 in 2023 is in the books. 

Glad and Sorry

Sorry to hear about Jeff Beck's passing. 

But since 1984, no one can tell me that Nigel Tufnel wasn't inspired by Beck. 

Song by: the Faces

the Throne Room

You all know the right brain / left brain thing. 

The right, allegedly, is more creative in terms of visual and artistic stuff.  Us lefties are more controlled by logic, speech, language, etc. 

I struggle with being creative.  You read this blog - you get it. 

I suppose this could be "language". Creative, it is not. But when it comes to creating art, or thinking creatively outside of work issues, I'm not your guy. 

Those who can see art in things, or make things are amazing to me. Even if I had the vision, I would falter on how to make said vision. 

Music is a big one. I get songwriting. The production on putting things together, having a single instrument play a few notes on a song, and it makes the song (no, not more cowbell!), can be inspired. 

Movies. Lord. How does one get from A to Z with any mind left?  They're shot out of order, so you're always piecing them together in your head on how it will be, but maybe backwards. You have to keep that in order to figure out what is what while you're three scenes ahead or behind. 

And if you've ever seen one made - it is SO boring. Wait around for three hours for three minutes of work, then reset everything for the next scene. Or maybe the previous one. 

So, while I get that this all includes acting, writing, lighting, filming, special effects, et al, never - and I mean NEVER - underestimate the power of the film score. 

Ever. 

Rebecca sent me the below.  

It. Is. Painful. 

PAINFUL.   

Absolutely painful to watch. And I've seen it 1,083 times over my lifetime (so far), just in a different way. Just as you all have. I never realized how bad it is................without music. 

Well, without music...........a voice over.......some sound effects and one throat lozenge.

.....and yes, while painful, for full disclosure, I laughed out loud three separate times. Like truly LOL'd. 

 

All hail John Williams. 

Song by: London Symphony Orchestra

the Walls Came Down

Let's take a break from Washington for a sec, shall we?  That shit show will be there when we return. 

Howz about that Carl Nassib? 

The first truly openly gay NFL foolball player (sorry, Michael Sam - you didn't get the job, so technically.....) now has a bf. 

Yeah, yeah, he had to go outside the country to nab him, but I don't really know where gay football players have to get to get laid. 

Apparently Denmark. 

And apparently, it has to be another athlete, because us normies would never do. So Carl went for an Olympic swimmer from Denmark - as if you couldn't tell by the chest and abs with not one strand of hair remaining. 

In a way it seems mundane. But it really is not. Whether you like football or not, a gay player, who is going into playoffs, is knocking cleats with another dude. Officially  Not just on the DL under the bleachers.    .......though the bleachers thing is possible, I suppose. 

This isn't a sport that has embraced men going down on their knees.  Sure sure........to hold a ball in place for a kicker. And sure sure.............for the occasional fellatio.  Just as long as they are not black and doing it to support lives of black people. 

It shouldn't be unimaginable for a pro-sports figure to be a 'mo and to have a normal life with a person of the same sex..........but in the NFL (or NHL, ABA or MLB) it seems taboo to a degree......though it shouldn't. 

We've seen Brian's Song - if that wasn't two dudes in a love story, I don't know what was.  Yeah, Brian Piccolo had to die instead of move in with Gayle Sayers, but that had to do more with interracial relationships more than gay-acting. 

But seriously...............

What is seemingly a small step forward, is a giant leap. 

Maybe some kid playing ball in high school will see this and go, "hey..........yeah.........that's just like me". 

The wall comes down a piece at a time. Good for Nassib (and his chest) to help make it happen. 

Song by: the Call