My Music Monday

I tripped across "Yeasayer" from a group called O.N.E..

While it was new to me, it's hardly new.  13 years old, or so.  So, really not new.

I cannot quite put my finger on why.I liked it when I heard it, but I did. 

Anymore, when I hear music, it boils down to, "can I run to this?". Then it quickly becomes, "should I?". 

Often songs make the cut and then in a test run, do not. I used "Yeasayer" in my run over the weekend, and it held up. It'll stay there for a little while. I don't know if is a long term playlist song, but it's good to have something new, if just to distract you from your run. 

Israel

War is hell......am I right, Bruno? 

It is hard to be pro-Jew and pro-Israel at the same time. Israel makes it that way. 

It's tougher when the US provides so much money and weapons to Israel too.  The US makes it that way. 

There is some understanding that we shouldn't be the world's police, but I get helping countries who are truly fight atrocities who don't have the means. Israel are none of these. 

It's doubtful anyone wakes up and sees headline about war declaration anywhere. There was a time Netanyahu seemed like a reasonable leader, but that is all out the window. It has been for some time. 

I get Palestine instigated this latest round, so they're not blameless, but Israel as all but negated Palestine's existence for decades now, most of it with violence. 

I have no good solution here. Clearly, no one does.  But maybe it's time for the US to stop funding ($520 million in defense monies so far in 2023. This isn't chump change. 

Palestine isn't Russia invading the Ukraine. The resources are forever in Israel's favour and they're still kind of dicks about it. 

The world is seemingly at a breaking point. So much strife. And war is profitable. And there's a US election coming up. Sitting presidents LOVE war. 

Song by: Morrissey

Curious

We are having a nice Autumn here in the 216. I mean, we take Shep out in all kinds of weather, but it's nice to do it when it's still warm and sunny - even with a hint of Fall in the air. 

Dad #1 went to get picnic fud. Shep was all about the return. 

One day post-op. Flying from radiator cover to bed. 

He's fine. 

I slept on the sofa one night. Shep snoozed with me and at some point Simon curled up behind my legs. 

Best. Night. Ever. 

Shep up at Lake Erie on such a gorgeous day. 

Afterwards, we went down to the beach where he frolicked in said lake. 

Respectful distancing. 

What is for dinner???

Curiosity did not kill the kitten. 

Song by: Franz Ferdinand

Bad Reputation

If you hadn't read, John Kelly, BLOTUS' longer chief of staff, has gone "on record" about his former boss. 

I'd say none of it is that surprising, but we've known it for a while. Kelly knew it sooner, sat by and did nothing. He's as bad as BLOTUS. Possibly worse. 

The man was a Marine general. And he kicked back while BLOTUS denigrated the military and gold star soldiers. And would refuse to be seeing with disabled veterans. Kelly was as bad as his son-in-law who puckered up while his dad-in-law showed hi antisemitic side. 

I hate saying people are worse than BLOTUS, but........sometimes it is warranted. Here he is on his last employer: 

“A person who is not truthful regarding his position on the protection of unborn life, on women, on minorities, on evangelical Christians, on Jews, on working men and women.  A person that has no idea what America stands for and has no idea what America is all about. A person who cavalierly suggests that a selfless warrior who has served his country for 40 years in peacetime and war should lose his life for treason – in expectation that someone will take action. A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. 

 “There is nothing more that can be said,”. “God help us.”

Maybe Kelly thought he could keep BLOTUS from becoming a communist country. Maybe he liked his position as is. Maybe he's just a fucking dirtbag who waited three years to say something.  I'm going with 2 out of 3. 

Everyone is so scared of BLOTUS. Honestly, had 3-4 folks stepped up during the presidency, this might have all been over long ago. But now we are going into season 3 of the worse reality series in the history of the United States. 

Song by: Freedy Johnson

Balls

It's not just the kids who are changing their pronouns. 

Simon is no longer a cis-gendered pussy. He is a They/Them. Or an It now. He hasn't really told us how he wants to be identified. It's all very new to him. 

Yes, Simon got fixed. 

We are gauging he's around the 6 month mark. Well, others are saying that. I still think he's a month younger, but he is a big boy. I don't think he was two months old when he found me. 

But while he'll never be an outdoor cat again, he's never going to be a dad no matter what. 

We've never had a male cat, but we know they can spray and all, and you know, I'm good with him not. 

I don't know how, or if, his personality will change. He's this weird mix of super social and super bitey. 

He's not much of a cuddler.........yet. But he'll floop down in front of you and expose his belly. This, is a traip, by the way. Wrists are grabbed and he pulls you into his waiting mouth. Mind you, he never truly chomps down, but....you never know. His claws, at this time, almost never come out either. 

Simon is the softest cat we've ever had. But I suspect our clothes will be covered in white hair. I'm ok with that. 

I do hope it will make him more cuddly. Tovah and Sophie always slept with me during the winter months and I loved it. I hope Simon finds me to be a warm cuddle guy who will let him move me around the bed at his will.  8 lbs vs well, not 8 lbs. 

We just finished a full day after his surgery, plus a half day. I haven't picked him up or anything, but he's around a lot. Not quite jumping on and off things, but seems no worse the wear. 

He's a better trooper than I would have been if someone took my sac. 

Song by: Sparks

Speak

I think the post image would be funnier if the GOP sitting in the House weren't going to nominate someone far worse and far more to the right. 

I get, but I don't get, the GOP. 

They are all about retribution. Period. 

It's not about governing, or even winning. It's about making others lose. The crueler the better. They'd gladly shut down the US government just to 'show them'........whoever 'them' are. 

What they aren't, is completely dumb. 

Let's see going into a presidential election cycle where they still worship the orange calf. He's not gold. He's not even gold-plated. But what better way to get an edge than to blame Democrats - who hold the White House - for shutting down the government because they won't compromise. 

It's tried and true and works most every time. 

It also seems a little early in the election season for that, but.........what do I know 

Full disclosure: I haven't read much about McCarthy being ousted. What I haven't heard is who might be his replacement. I got a lot of scoffs when last time I said it could be Jordan, but it could be. 

Imagine this: Marjorie Taylor C U Next Tuesday.  (I don't Blogger putting this post behind a sign-in wall). 

Song by: Peter Gabriel

Love Story

Can I tell you how much I don't care how people pretend not to care about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce?

I honestly, save one song, don't really know or care for Swift's music, but she is a musical business genius - or at least someone on her team is. In a world of Vegas residencies, she sold out every show that was 3-4 times the size of any Vegas venue. And in Vegas, you can't play more than something like 90 minutes, because it affects the casino cash.  Honest.  She plays for 3.5 hours. 

There was an article a few weeks back that only Swift can save the music industry - and they might be correct. She takes stands professionally, business-wise and political wise and has the power to get away with it all. Streaming service seem great, but will legit kill the music business, and companies buying up all musical rights aren't helping matters. 

Back to her date. 

If Fox "news" comments on it, and in a negative way, for fuck sake, pork that football players brains out. Or at the very least, pretend to. 

The brand is just pissed that the Chief games are on CBS or NBC, and viewership has rocketed on the hopes of seeing Swift in the stands.

And well, Swift is an ally to the LGBT community, stands up for civil rights and talks down Tennessee politicians and BLOTUS himself.  Fox's problem is her popularity and what her outspokenness can do. Kelce is one of the few white football players to take a knee. This coupling is a threat to Fox and their viewers. Of course they don't want to see this. Or want anyone else to see this. 

I want to hear about people seeing it. On the surface, I don't give a rat's ass who dates anyone, but if this makes others bristle, it's probably a good thing. I'm fine with them putting up a facade of liking each other, even if they don't. 

Of course, I like the rumours that the other Kelce brother is dating Jake from State Farm, since he was with the mom Kelce. Jake seems more in touch with his feelings than Taylor. 

Song by: Taylor Swift

My Music Monday

I'm going back a few years with "Madness" from Muse. 

It's been ages since I've heard it. Spin class might have been the last time, and I haven't gone to that since well before Covid. 

I have mixed reactions to the band Muse. I like a handful of certain songs, but overall am not a fan. Clearly someone likes them better than I, as this song is 11 years old and has almost 170 millions views. 

It would most likely surprise no one that I like the underlying repetition of 'm-m-m-m-mad mad mad'  

Sugar, We're Going Down

Wes Anderson has a new movie, his second this year, with a Apple TV+ Netflix film, with the Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar. 

I really know nothing about Rolad Dahl, outside of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But Henry Sugar was one of his short stories, and Anderson made a short movie of it - 37 minutes to be exact. 

As you'd suspect, Anderson doesn't stray from his quirkiness or even colour pallet. 

He doesn't have the usual cast of character, but the cast shines with Dev Patel (I loved him in this), Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley and Benedict Cumberbatch. All do great jobs, as you'd expect. 

Allegedly, Anderson will be making a series of short films with this cast. 

I can't say there are spoilers to be had, it's just a short story in a short film that is extremely well executed. 

It's 37 minutes. What do you really have to lose? 

2023 Movie Count / Goal: 10 of 15

Song by: Fall Out Boy

Cute

I should put text here, but I didn't. 

What cat doesn't like a box? 

Mr. Difficult wouldn't pose. 

the Pic of the Week. 

710 took it at the home office with his new assistant. 

Shep down in the Emerald Necklace, down where I do some of my Saturday runs. 

Simon stalking Shep from 710's bedside table. 

That is the matching bedside lamp - like the one I destroyed the night before. 

Song by: Oscar Peterson

There's a Light That Never Goes Out

Hulk mad !!!!!

The image doesn't really show much of anything except a few holes in the wall. Until the night before last (or last night as I'm drafting this yesterday), that is where my wall mounted beside lamp resided. I was going to take a better pic of the destruction, but my husband cleaned up early in the morning. 

As it turns out, while I am better, now and then my cough persists and in a semi-violent way. It hit shortly after midnight. Maybe it's all the gym work, maybe my mild mannered Bruce Banner persona was slipping away - I reached for my inhaler, which lately have had to keep on my bedside table, and somehow took down the lamp. 

I swear I heard glass break too, and assume it was the bulb. Then I sat for a few minutes wondering how I'm even getting out of bed as some point with glass all over the floor and carpet.  Then I wondered how my husband slept through the entire thing.  Then I tried to sleep, which lasted all of seven minutes before Mr. Shep barked. 

Shep has a certain bark (singular) which tells me he needs out. Since 710 didn't hear my 'smash', he certainly didn't hear a bark. I got my phone, turned on the flashlight, and saw that I had not actually broken any glass.  Yay me!

I got up, grabbed clothes, my inhaler, phone and glasses. I knew how this was ending. 

Shep has been restless at night lately. I'm not sure why. But I let him out, and we both crashed out on the sofa for the rest of the night. We have a decent sofa on which to sleep, and I got to snooze with him, so it wasn't all bad. 

Now we'll have to find a way to reattach my light fixture. 

.....and by "we", I mean 710. 

Song by: the Smiths

Falling Apart

It's probably too good to be true, but man oh man, I hope BLOTUS & Sons go down in flames. 

I mean, if they could take their feckless cunt of a sister down with them, it would be better, but a judge let her our of the mix a year or so back. 

A NY judge, for those reading this years later for historical purposes, cited fraud for the (t)Rump Organization for over inflating value to their assets, mostly real estate - including his self-named tower. 

The judge effectively revoked BLOTUS' licenses to operate his NY properties — and potentially an even broader swath of the family business that BLOTUS built over the last half-century. The ruling left much of his New York operation hanging in the balance.

Oh please oh please oh please..............

I would so love to see his buildings be stripped of his name. For all his business failures - and they are many - having his real estate holdings in NY taken from him, would have to sting. 

I mean, I'd love to know BLOTUS Jr and Eric got dry fucked in prison, but the start of the fall of their empire is a start. 

Song by: Skylar Grey

I Don't Remember

Sorry - but would-be media whore, Cassidy Hutchinson needs to be 86'd by the media. Especially CNN which is eating up every word she says. Ditto with CBS' Face the Nation. 

The Senate testimony (or was it the House?) from one-time aide to BLOTUS' Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, reeks of excerpts of what was probably - and now certainly is - her book. Now she's making the media rounds before a host of Voter Fraud and Insurrection trials. 

Honestly, BLOTUS has a good - and bad - argument for his trials. Moving venues won't change anything. States, Cities or anything (yes, though to Federal vs State court). It's hard to argue you wouldn't get a fair trial in Atlanta when everyone in the country know something about the case. There can be no full impartiality. None. 

But now you taint the pool of people testifying after their book has come out. There is plenty of time to discredit the witness with whatever drivel she wrote. 

Worse than that is her defense on CBS to say everything she says is true as she remembers is - which alone is gap moment. Her problem is, when she first testified, she said, "I don't know and I don't recall" more than 100 times !!!!

Honey, you already threw in reasonable doubt in the first go-round, now you have a book with tidbits and feelings more than facts. Almost nothing can be corroborated. You're giving your former boss and his boss a free pass. 

I cannot believe, with the help of this twat, BLOTUS could possibly walk. It wouldn't surprise me if this was all planned for just that reason. 

Song by: Peter Gabriel

Tired

It is 20:33........and I just snapped out of falling asleep.  On the sofa. Barely after sundown. 

At times I wish I weren't such a slave to the gym. This getting up that early is beginning to wear, even on me a little. 

I know from experience that to change that routine means I end up quitting. 

Work has been draining too.  Four more days to a major system conversion. Then the two weeks after that trying to get everyone comfortable with said system will be a different kind of busy. 

But now it's 20:38.  I'm gonna wrap this up and head to bed. 

Song by: matchbox twenty

My Music Monday

My "new" song today is actually like nine years old and has over 41 million views. 

Seemingly First Aid Kit's "Silver Lining" is new to me, and possibly to me only. 

Sure, there are probably a handful of folks in Equatorial Guinea who haven't heard it, but that's it. 

I heard of the band - a Swedish folk duo who are sisters - a while back when I saw them perform for Emmylou Harris. 

A song with a good and mournful fiddle is always a winner for me. The harmonies are good too, and the entire arrangement. 

Maybe that's why 41 million others have heard it and seemingly liked it. 

Get Better

My "health" still plagues my running. 

Lungs are better, but by no means great. My prednisone treatment is over and I still have, but rarely need or use, the cough suppressant pills. Now and again I have a flare up, but not to the degree it had been. 

The ankle is another story. Or is it? 

It hurts. It's annoying. It's not 100% debilitating. But, it's annoying enough for me to see someone about it - and I went a new route: chiropractic medicine. 

I've done acupuncture for somethings with varying degrees of success. I truly suspect placebo effect. 

Through work, I know a chiropractor and I emailed him for advice, not an appointment. I told him what condition my condition was in, and he got right back to me that it was something he did, as did his team, and that they could help. They treat athletes all the time. 

Ha. Athletes. I'm a 60 year old shmoe who runs several times a week. I'm not an athlete. I don't even identify as a runner. 

BUT he could get me in the next day.  So, WTF, I went. 

One sees their job at adjusting backs and necks and such. I didn't know what, or how, they do things for feet and ankles, but.........I found out. 

As you might suspect, there is some manipulation like they do on spines and things. He did press on my facia on the bottom of my foot.  OUCH. 

He saw my face and goes, "hurts or ticklish?".  The latter. 

The doc also adjusted the leg on down. Apparently the song is correct: the hip bone is connected to the thigh bone.........and so on. It seems I had a knot of some kind in to bottom of my foot, so he said, "this is going to hurt" - as he put a needle in there (several times) and moved it around to break it up. 

Oddly, it didn't hurt much at all. The pressing on the facia way by far the most painful thing. 

The thing was: after one-half hour, I wasn't cured, but I was far better than when walked in. He encouraged me to keep conditioning, no overdo it, but not to baby it. 

I took part of his advice. 

I ran yesterday for a bit of a distance. More than I should have. The pain was present and annoying but not undoable. I will have follow-up chiro appointments over the next few weeks, so let's see how it goes. 

Song by: Nothing But Thieves

Windows

Weird-ish week.  Doggie Daycare was closed for various reasons, but we knew in advance. 710 and I split working from home, so someone could stay with Shep. To say our live revolves around him would be an understatement. 

But.........on with the pictures. 

Shep joined me (wait, I joined him) outside one day for lunch. 

.....and I was greeted another day by Simon - who loves his windows.......as you'll see. 

Way too much zoom going on here, so it's blurry, but we got to see Georgia a few times this week. 

We love her. 

710 day at home + a worker in the house, so Shep was blockaded upstairs with Dad #1.

Simon was not and somehow got over said blockade to join the pack. 

What a difference two years makes. Duncan was just a puppy 1/4th Shep's current size when we first met him. Clearly, he has grown up.  He's adorable. 

Easily the best pic of the week. 

Did he go around the blind?  No. No he did not. He went through the slats. 

Song by: a Flock of Seagulls

Record of the Month

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!   

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit have been playing in my ears for the last few weeks with their new release, Weathervanes. 

I mentioned a bit ago, when I featured a song from the disk on My Music Monday back in July, that I have heard priase for Isbell, but had never actually heard him. A second song on the album pricked up my ears, and I went to the iTunes and purchased the entire disk. 

While the album doesn't defy a genre per se, and to paraphrase Donny & Marie, it's a little bit country and it's a little bit rock and roll. I'm going with Roots Rock. Or electric Americana. 

Isbell is probably as much a storyteller as he is a musician. I'm basing this on Weathervanes alone, as again, I've heard of him, but until this, not him.  He is a Bruce Springsteen meets Craig Finn with a little Leonard Cohen thrown in there, but with a Memphis type vibe. 

Weathervanes, in my opinion, is the album the Killers wanted to release two years ago, and failed at miserably with Pressure Machine. 

You can categorize them both as views of small town life and the sad stories that go with them. The difference was the Killers were trying for Springsteen's Nebraska, and Isbell tried for Isbell. It's not forced at all. 

There are plenty of songs based about drug or opioid use and abortion, home strife, Uvalde school shooting and such. There aren't a lot of uplifting moments in terms of lyrics, but they're put together well and played with a lot of talent. The guitars and violin / fiddle are very well done. Some of it could be from mid to late 80s Mellencamp (I say that thinking Scarecrow and the Lonesome Jubilee in mind). 

MMM was the opener with "Death Wish". Topic aside, the production and songwriting grabbed me from the first few lines. He doesn't stop there and goes with "When We Were Young", which is the most electric of the songs, probably. It's an amazing piece. 

But the more nuanced stories, "If You Insist", "White Baretta", "Volunteer" and "King of Oklahoma". The closing track, "Miles" starts with more than a nod to Neil Young's "Southern Man", but it is the longest piece and the most eclectic. 

In between all of those are good songs, but maybe not great ones. "This Ain't It" has Isbell doing an early '70s Jagger homage and "Cast Iron Skillet" didn't draw me in at all. 

I am happy with my purchase. I play the album a lot and it makes me want to explore some of the band's earlier works. For now, this is the strongest album I've purchased in 2023.

They're Not Laughing at Me Anymore

What a blatant pack of lies!

This is absolutely outrageous. Simply implausible.

Russel Brand is not a comedian!

He might be a lot of things - including a serial sexual assaulter, but "funny", he is not. 

Mind you, nothing is funny about sexual assault, and there absolutely is nothing funny about Brand, so by Pythagoras' theory, Brand must be a sexual assaulter. 

It's math, people!

Back in the early part of the last decade (I'm spitballing here), I was trapped on a plane that showed Arthur. 

No no.  Not the Liza Minelli vehicle. The Jennifer (I get stuck with only shitty roles) Garner and Russel Brand as the eponymous character remake. Sir Helen Mirren (yes, I said that), played Hobson. She is the only one for whom I felt bad. 

To clarify: the movie was on, I didn't really watch it, as i didn't put in headphones, but it was difficult to completely tune it out or not see it out of the corner of you eye.  Even with no sound  and my superb internal witty screenwriting skills, this stunk worse than the fish the flight attendants were serving. 

I'm no fan of Katy Perry, so in a ways I was fine they latched onto each other. It saves so many other people that way. 

I'm certainly not saying the women in question deserved the treatment or situations they were in, but it's Russel Fucking Brand - why were you there in the first place?  I mean.......ewwwwww.  You have eyes, right?  He's like a Weird Al reject. 

Still comedians of the world should take offense that he's lumped in with them. Come to think of it, so should guys on the sex offender list. 

Song by: Elvis Costello

Low

I don't know how many of you actually went beyond the Blogger warning they put up on my blog post. For those who did, I appreciate it.  For those who didn't, I totally get it. 

I'm not here to scream 'censorship' or anything. It would help to know which 'community guideline' I violated. 

One has to believe, I have used all those words in other blog posts. Granted, not in the same one or the same order, but...........

Was it the 'seaward'?  And I didn't spell it out or say it. I said, the 'seaward'.......but with 'c'. 

Was it the 't' word? 

The job of hands? 

Was it just saying "Lauren Boebert"?   I mean, THAT I get. Protecting innocents at all costs from having to deal with her on any level. 

I'm honestly baffled. I've written a lot of worse stuff, but about less worse "women". 

I suppose Harry Belafonte's estate filed a grievance, so that I'd understand. 

One of the comments yesterday said the guy in the video has also issued an apology. 

Lord. I haven't read it, but what could the apology be for, exactly?   That he got serviced at a mediocre musical touring company of a mediocre Broadway play?  Was it for 'exposing' himself to children, parents, thespians and cameras? 

Or - maybe, just maybe - that you went out with Lauren Boebert? 

Dude, there are not enough "I'm sorry's" for that. The only thing worse than going out with her is your absolute lack of judgement, self-esteem, character, moral compass and / or class. 

Considering who you "dated", that is saying something. The bar wasn't just low, it wasn't even off the ground and you still went under it. That chick is incredibly bad and somehow you are worse. 

Song by: Foo Fighters