Blowin ' in the Wind

Can I just say, I feel somewhat bad for my influence on my husband? 

But only somewhat. 

In theory - or at least once upon a time - he was more mature than I. But honestly, who wasn't?  Who isn't?  He still is. Just less so. 

I think the foundation of my destruction of his humour level came at my telling of the USS Enterprise / Toilet Paper joke*.  

His biggest laughs now-a-days comes from some of the least mature items on Family Guy. Honestly, I love watching him watch some of them and his inability not to laugh. If there is a level below sophomoric humour, he kind of loves it. 

Not tawdry stuff. It's more the making fun of everyday things. Things most probably wouldn't laugh at. Like the below clip. 

So I just watched in delight as I watched him play this stumbled-upon clip from InstaGram. 

Whatever you think, you gotta love the guys commitment to the bit. And yes, you have to watch it all. 

I am sorry I have brought 710 down to my level. But there was no real way of getting up to his. 

*What do the USS Enterprise and Toilet Paper have in common?   They both circle Uranus in search of Klingons. 

Song by: Bob Dylan

My Music Monday

Not only is today not new music, but this choice goes back to 1981!  It just popped into my head earlier yesterday, and I couldn't get it out of my thoughts. 

Pirates is not just my favourite Rickie Lee Jones albums, it is one of the best albums out there. Period. 

It's a fact!

I know I have featured one track from the ablum on My Music Monday, at least a decade ago. I'll do another today - "A Lucky Guy". 

At this rate, in 70 more years, I'll have eventually feature each track at some point. I'll also be 132 years old. 

The arrangement is full, but when you break it down it's about four instruments and four vocals - all being Jones harmonizing with herself. 

Love the song, but oddy, it's not even close to being the best song on the disk. 

O Superman

HBO has the new Superman movie, which is good because we never made it to the theater to see the film. 

I dunno know man, everyone said it was possibly the best one. I have seen a few (not all) of the others, so it's not a huge leap to go from fair to good. 

But good doesn't make great. 

The new Superman / Clark Kent isn't as handsome as Henry Cavill (duh, who is?). He is a decent actor though - albeit one in blue tights and red underwear. 

As it turns out, there are only so many stories one can tell of Superman v Lex Luthor, right? It's all a variation on one theme as far as I can tell. All that said, I'm not familiar with multiverses and such, so take my word with little authority. I'm sure you already do on any number of topics. 

The biggest add is Krypto - or Superdog!  

What the fuck doesn't a dog make better - unless he's put in harm's way. 

As with most of these movies, no one really dies. This time, one did. One. Billions of dollars of damage, but only one life. Ok. Two. Allegedly. 

....and it is never the one you want. All the DC and Marvel movies have a horrible henchwoman who never ever ever gets just desserts. If they want equality, they need to suffer too - and not just in childbirth and menstruation. 

Metaphors of Russia ,Ukraine and Musk are heavy and heavy-handed. But go with what is current. 

Rachel Brosnahan is fine as Lois. Nicholas Hoult is a decent Lex. Nathan Fillion is kind of wasted, though whomever did his hair is not going to be winning an Academy Award, unless it is with irony. Beck Bennett's first (?) outing after leaving SNL is 100% wasted. 

Alan Tudyk, as a voice, is a stand-out and without a doubt has the best line in the film. 

As for special effects and suspending disbelief, ehhhhhhh........ working for Luthor, you know he has to be bad, so spare me the shock and awe when his employees are made aware of this fact. That is less believable than Mrs. Maisel being non-phased at being in a space ship...............and then flying it!  Multiple times!!!!

You might remember, much of the movie was filmed here in Cleveland. All very familiar to us - and to my running. When one of the bridges goes down, I was thrilled that I will no longer have to run over it again! But they pretty much destroy the convention center where I do packet-pickup for the marathon. And apparently Mentor Headlands allows HumVees and tents on the beach, but you bring Shep up there one time and it's: NO DOGS ON THE BEACH.   Sheesh. 

Movie Count: 05 of 12  (we acually have seen more, but I'm way behind on writing about them)

Song by: Laurie Anderson

Will It Go Round in Circles.

Another week with not cats. I'm so sorry. Short of getting another myself, there is only so much I can goad pics of Simon, Henry and / or Virginia. 

Dogs will have to do. 

Shep happy to see me after I left him alone.................for 3 minutes. 

Love his tail goes circular. 

These Three!

They parked next to me when I went into grab new running shoes. 

Caged. 

My sister had guests over (besides us) and Bailey was being annoying, so they crated her. 

Daycare IG feed!

Olive being a loaf. She eventually got off the sofa to play with me. 

Fall is arriving. Colours just starting to turn. 

My sister's place, 20 miles away is much farther along than where we are. 

Song by: Billy Preston

Record of the Month / Record of the Month - Classic

I figured I'd do a monthly 'what I'm listening to' kind of thing. This could be viewed as a lame placeholder kind of post. And probably it is. But it's my blog! So there!   

Buckingham Nicks gets the first (and only?) combined Record of the Month and Record of the Month - Classic post. 

The disk, originally issued in 1973, went quickly out of print once their record company dropped them a few months after the album was released. It did get a lingering copy after Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks started getting famous in Fleetwood Mac in 1976. 

That is when I snagged my copy of this disk. Since then, it's been bootlegs or poorly transferred .mp4 files on line somewhere.

At some point, the rights reverted back to the artists, each of them owning 50%, neither of them able to rerelease it without the other's permission. ....and Buckingham and Nicks aren't what anyone would call friendly to each other. 

But $$$ rules everything - and a month ago, they jointly (but separately) announced the remastered rerelease of the disk - in vinyl, CD and download. 

Hard to believe, but I still have that album from almost 50 years ago. 

I'm sure hardcore fans will trip all over themselves praising this disk, but honestly, it is just ok. Maybe better than ok, but save maybe one song, it's not a classic. I think I romanticized the idea that it was a great disk way back when. 

Nicks shows potential here, but she's in her early 20s and it sounds like it in her writing. Granted, life experience (or lack of) plays a part in the light versions of her songs. It's not a fault, it's just reality. The tunes are pleasant, but not hard hitting. 

Buckingham, who is even younger than Nicks, overall fares better. More in his playing than his songwriting or singing. 

While their inexperience somewhat shows, they always seemed to have a talent for effortless harmony. Buckingham's guitar work is pretty brilliant for someone in their early 20s. 

I'll note especially their one songwriting collaboration here (and the song that caught the attention of Fleetwood Mac), "Frozen Love".  It's a little over seven minutes long and while the song is pleasant, stick around for the extended guitar work, both acoustic and electric. It is impressive. 

A somewhat flat Buckingham tune "Lola (My Love)" would resurface in a few bars four years later in "the Chain".  Nicks' "Crystal" would be repurposed on the first Fleetwood Mack disk on which they appeared. 

"Don't Let Me Down Again" was used for the first few Fleetwood Mac tours to flesh out enough material for the newer version of the band, and it's decent here, but pretty good live. 

Obvi, the audio is remastered from 50 year old tapes, so the quality is better than what I have on my LP. 

I don't really need to purchase the digital copy here. While it is very reasonably priced, it just doesn't hold the same sentiment I once had for it. 

Statues

I could do research and read shit, but I have zero motivation to do so. My ability to focus and follow-through just is not there lately. I am assuming it is part of my depression and anxiety, but I'm trying to navigate it all. 

Anyhooo......

A while back, temporary statues have been showing up on the National Mall. Mostly, if not all, BLOTUS related. None of them complementary. 

And these aren't rogue They are getting permits from the District (or Dept of Interior?) to be put up.  

The newest (and current) one is up top. BLOTUS and Jeffrey Epstein. 

LOVE IT. 

I mean, not an accurate representation or BLOTUS would be much much - eh hum - "heftier". 

But since the election, other have appeared. They are only up for a short amount of time - not because they're trashed or mishandled, but because that is what the permit length states. Or what was requested. 

Here are some of the others. 

Bad enough.........but you really need to see it from the side-angel to fully "appreciate" the work. 

I'll be honest, I'm not sure what this is. 

Yes, Bible holding mockery in light of the BLM marches in 2020. 

....and mockery of dance. 

Again, I've done zero research so I don't know who is behind it, but I love them just the same. 

Song by: Foo Fighters

the Patron Saint of Liars and Flakes

As you know, I don't read the news anymore, but clearly I see headlines and shit. 

RFucKjr and BLOTUS 100% bogus claims that Tylenol causes Autism is just sooooooo fucking reckless. 

Granted, I'm only seeing day-old headlines, so I don't know what Kenvue (Tyleno's parent co?) is doing, but pharma has deep pockets for both the GOP and the Dems. 

Do you REALLY want to fuck with them? And not just Kenvue, but all the other manufacturers who produce the generic versions of Tylenol. 

This administration is set on tanking more and more businesses - and I'm guessing all to keep us talking about anything and everything that isn't Epstein. I'm racking my brain trying to think what else it could be on why they're dead-set on doing this. 

I'll "happily" take suggestions here. 

But I'm praying (ok......I'm not, but you get the idea) that this (these) company (companies) finally put their foot down and make a public stink. 

You can see the almost high of the stock price before the RFucKjr the non-supported announcement of the Autism link. Investors, Board Members, C-suite folks must be pissed. I hope to fucking g-d they do something - publicly! 

And SOON. 

Song by: Fall Out Boy

Autumn Love

Apparently I missed the first day of Autumn.  I had to be reminded. 

It is not like anything different has really changed. Yesterday we still had temps in the 80s. 

Je won't pretend to understand how fallen leaves work. I mean, I do, but I don't. 

Take this picture to the left?  I took it two weeks ago on a walk (since I was not able to run). One yard - one! - had its leaves down. Like most of them. Of the 100 houses I passed on the same walk, they had none. 

And no, it's not like the others raked them. They were all attached to their trees. 

Still, it was a stark reminder that this is coming - and sooner than later. Our plumber sent us an email a few weeks ago about our outdoor taps and winterizing them at least two weeks earlier than usual. Usual is Halloween. So he's expecting colder weather sooner. 

The old me would have bitched about that. The old-new me found the heat of this last summer intolerable, and I like running in cool or cold weather much better than the surface of the sun. 

Overall, Fall is probs the best season. Or usually the most consistent in terms of temps and precipitation. 

I don't think I'll mind hunkering down as it cools. Books to be read and all. 

Song by: Death Cab for Cutie

My Music Monday

I think I'm the unofficial champion of Milky Chance. 

This has to be my fifth or sixth selection of theirs I'm doing for My Music Monday. It would take a buttload of work to confirm, but I'm pretty sure no other group has gotten this much exposure from me - and I've been doing MMM since like what, 2008? 2010?

The band has a new song out, "Camouflage". 

I've only heard it a few times, but like the beat. It's less than two and one-half minutes. 

I'm not sure they didn't put the words on the screen due to the fact that the singer can be hard to understand from time to time. 

What I like about the band is, they don't wait for an album to release anything. They finish a song and put it out to the world. This would be at least their third in about one-third of a year. At some point they'll probs combine all of them into album form - or maybe not. 

It's 2025. It's iTunes and streaming services. Why should artists wait anymore to just release a song without a greater marketing scheme? I think iTunes - and now streaming - have shown that we are back to being song driven and not album centric. 

Me? Yeah, I still like the album concept, but let's face it, I'm old school. 

I don't think I've converted anyone here to be a fan of Milky Chance, but I probably won't stop trying. 

Not Enough Time

I'd say there wasn't enough time to craft a post, but in reality, I just mismanaged my time.

Saturday just got away from me. From an early morning 16 mile run to dinner with my sister - and in between with a hike with the dog (and husband) and a nap. 

Truth be told, even with time I had nothing planned out about which to write. So, in a way, this works out. 

It's 22:16, so way past my bed time, as I have a 5.25 mile run this morning.  I gotsta get to bed. 

Song by: INXS

Penny for Your Thoughts

Sorry kids - no felines this week. I do what I can, but I rarely resort to begging. There is still some good canine representation though. 

Shep up at the lake, but in Portrait mode. 

SIGGIE. 

My second Sig visit in a week. The time before, he ignore both Shep and myself. This time? He was all over me and I just gave him all the attention. 

Camo Pup. 

Roxie. She of the car fixer upper place. She is a love sponge. 

My lord. He's taken to sleeping in dirt and mulch. 

Don't know this dude. But he blocked every other dog from getting pets from me. 

Sorry, with that attention and commitment to detail, he deserved all the pets. 

Shep is a reluctant lady's man. 

Besides Lulu, Penny also has a thing for his attention. I'm so glad he didn't ignore her. 

Song by: My Morning Jacket

Messages

It's been a little while since I've done one of these, but the screenshots are adding up and I need to delete them from my phone or laptop. 

I'm still fucking with people and it momentarily makes me feel good. 

According to a translate site, my response means "go fuck yourself" in H'awiian. 

They shouldn't be throwing around "alohas" if they don't know the language. 

Song by: Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark

It's Over

So, it seems we are a few steps closer to the U.S. being completely into totalitarianism. 

To your left, was the second - and last - thing I saw on social media. 

I literally put my phone down, put on my earbuds and went for a 5.3 mile run. Upon my return I went about my day only looking at my phone to either text my NYT puzzle results to my friend group or to text 710. 

I never opened my laptop until I had to type out this piece of shit post. 

So, free speech isn't free. Criticize some college drop out, extremist podcaster and you're jailed. 

On what charges, exactly? I'm sure they'll make them up as they go along - you know, to send a message. 

710, on our evening walk, had to tell me that Jimmy Kimmel was suspended (?), fired (?) or something for mentioning Kirk the previous evening on his show. 

I'm about 91% sure any joke on most late night shows - or award shows - get the once over from the studio legal team or the censor board. So, ABC would have had to know what coming and they did nothing.........until someone complained. 

Huh. I wonder who THAT could have been?  I'm sure Colbert knows. 

So, we are being systematically sanctioned and censored for things we say. Next up: on what we think. 

Pam "I'm a Stupid Cunt" Bondi - who heads the DOJ basically! - doesn't understand the 1st Amendment. Nor does she understand the SCOTUS ruling of businesses being able to turn away business with views in which they don't believe. 

Ehhhh......it's just 'law'. It doesn't matter. 

Yeah - I know somewhat some of you secretly have been thinking I'm over analyzing, overthinking things and being an alarmist.  Are we still thinking that?

We never truly had much freedom in this country regardless of what most think, but it is less and less....and it is happening daily. 

We. Are. So. Fucked. 

Period. 

(oh yeah - I'm still in 'a mood'.  shocking!)

Song by: Electric Light Orchestra

moody

I'm in a mood. 

You do know when people say that, it is never a good one, right?

Bad moods aren't always conducive to writing. Or thinking clearly, sometimes. 

I had a post semi ready to go, but just didn't finish it yet. You know, cause......mood. 

No doubt some of it is social media, which I just had to stop looking at, since every fucking post was about Kirk. That media / social media / propaganda machine is just working day and night. Talk about doom scroll. 

No doubt some of my mood has been from a week without running. Allegedly, I'll be able to start tomorrow (today, now). I think we all know that running is a huge mental health thing for me, so a week is a long time. 

Biking and lifting are ok, but don't do the job, and I'm anxious about how this affects my marathon training 

So I've been burying myself in reading in any of my free time. It distracts me from the now. And I finally got smart to do it where I put my phone and laptop in another room. Well, I put ME in another room, but you get the idea. 

I don't necessarily expect a mood shift once I do my first run. It might take a few, but hell, you never know. It could happen. 

Song by: Royal Otis

Sacrifce

I maybe full conspiracy theorist with this one.........and I'm fairly comfortable with it. 

Charlie Kirk had to die.  

End of sentence. 

This is not a white supremacy thing - though it factors into matters. 

It wasn't a religious thing - though it factors into the matter. 

This is not a transexual thing - though it factors into matters. 

This isn't even necessarily a GOP v Dem thing - though, yes, say it with me, it factors into matters. 

BLOTUS' blowing up of boats - not remotely trying to intercept them - did not change the national narrative on Epstein. 

Rumours of BLOTUS' health did not quell those stories either. 

They had to think bigger and badder - and someone had to take the bullet. Literally. 

With Kirk, they got the multi-pronged approach achieved. 

Now the cunt-ry is in an uproar about a known BLOTUS loving, white supremacist who wrapped hatred to look like religion being shot to death - publicly and on video - to achieve that uproar. 

If you hadn't noticed - there are no stories about BLOTUS and Epstein currently.  

MISSION: ACCOMPLISHED. 

They added / leaked stories of the shooter - and I quote: "living with a tranny"!!  So they did all the - a-hem - trigger points with one sacrificial lamb.  That the shooter couldn't have been Black and Jewish is just a shame. 

Even Kirk would have been proud. 

Naturally, it gets better, no? 

Did the AP or NYT report Kirk's death?  Nope. BLOTUS announced it. The body?  Picked up by Air Force Two. Flags flying at half-mast!

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK????

Rewind a few months - to a military helicopter bringing down a passenger jet in the Potomac, killing all 67 people on board. BLOTUS couldn't be bothered even addressing it.  Nor did he when Minnesota DEMOCRATIC politician was assassinated in their homes along with family members and the right-winged shooter had a hit list of other dems. 

No presidential or congressional outpouring of anything. 

Yes, I've seen the memes that had Charlie Kirk been a 4th grader, we would have moved on by now. 

Still, this comes down to BLOTUS. He is far far far too involved with a singular private citizen death. 

And again. EPSTEIN.  

Oddly this all happened right after a number of Epstein's victims testified before Congress and BLOTUS' birthday message to Jeffy was revealed. The walls were coming in. He had to do something. 

So he did. 

....and I'm sticking to this. That they let the shooter live seems like the only flaw in the plan. Assuming he really was the shooter. 

Song by: Sinéad O'Connor

My Music Monday

I cannot go on record to say I'm a big matchbox 20 or Rob Thomas fan. I mean, I don't think I'd go out of my way to see them perform live. And I've never actually purchased a thing of theirs. 

All of that aside, they have a handful of songs I either like or like enough not to hit the 'next channel' button on the radio. I guess just not enough to part with my money. 

Thomas has a new solo disk out apparently. I tripped upon one of the songs, "Machine". At least at this point it hasn't been released as a 'single', so it might just be a regular old album cut. 

It's all of two minutes and 40 seconds long, which is fine too. There is no new ground broken here for Thomas, be it in his solo work or with his band, but it's got a good beat. Part of it sounds familiar to any number of his previous songs. Sometimes familiarity is good. 

....and yes, I listen now for songs I can throw in a running playlist to pretend it helps my pace. 

I Call Your Name

Has there ever been anyone else with the last name Hitler? 

I mean, you know, since 1945. 

There was a great episode of Happy Endings that dealt with it, so if you can find it streaming somewhere, I suggest viewing. 

I think there is a small club of names really one does not want to have as their own: Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Caitlyn Jenner. 

Now Jeffrey Epstein has been added to that list. 

Shortening it to "Jeff" isn't really helping matters. 

So with this news item from our NPR/PBS site of course it got attention. How could it not? 

Naturally, my eyes immediately dropped to the number of comments. Then my fingers, to open said comments. 

Some are very predictable. Some are just out and out hilarious. I'm only posting a sample, but feel free to go to your IG search function for Ideastream, find the post and read the rest. Something is telling me there are many more comments added since I screen-captured these days ago. 

Song by: the Mamas and the Papas