Coffee and certain foods, and the right amount of exercise. Besides those things, the prospect of visits from or to family, having a project to work on, coming up with a good topic for a blog post, and, as it turns out, the grandchildren. They aren’t things, but as much as they can tire me out, they also provide a spark. Often times, their energy is contagious.
Author: tallthinman72
Tough Call
This is about as subjective as it comes, but there are several contenders, mostly relatively ancient but from the same decade: Abbey Road (Beatles), Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel), Deja Vu (CSN&Y), Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd), Court and Spark (Joni Mitchell), Desperado (Eagles), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John), Chicago VII (Chicago), The Stranger (Billy Joel), 52nd Street (Billy Joel), and Hotel California (Eagles). Also, In the Digital Mood— Glenn Miller music, released in 1991.
Since I have to pick one, I’ll go with Abbey Road.
Be Curious
Music theory, particularly as this applies to piano and guitar; vocabulary enrichment, if that’s even a thing; creative writing; how to be a better conversationalist; astronomy; political science; gardening; woodworking and carpentry; cooking and meal planning; first aid; developing a decent golf swing; how to avoid or at least keep diabetes at bay; and how to make a good coffee/espresso drink.
Guess I better pick two or three and get busy.
Goose and Gander
So, next is Kimmel. Can’t say as I’m surprised. A similar set of circumstances to Colbert—Jimmy says something that paints the Trump administration in a less-then-flattering light, there’s some sort of merger/acquisition at stake, and voila! Another attempt at silencing dissent.
People on the Right who claim the importance of free speech need to take a closer look at the concept. Is it sacrosanct or not? Is it free speech for all, without caveats, or not?
Soundtrack
Like cereal without milk, popcorn without a touch of salt, vanilla ice cream without some sort of topping.
My brother and I spent parts of several days last week on a couple of projects at the house. We listened to tunes the whole time. It was admittedly a trip down memory lane, for the most part, but having the music playing while we were working made the tasks less tedious, and we had a good time singing along.
Music is a sensory wonder.
Nothing Civil About It
I happened to catch a YouTube post from Adam Kinzinger the other day, on the topic of civil war and those who see it as inevitable and are blithely wishing that hell upon us all. It was his opinion, of course, but I found it worth considering.
Basically, Kinzinger said that some, maybe many civil war proponents and prophets of doom are just needy loners searching for meaning. There’s probably some truth in this, since few people possessing a healthy amount of emotional stability would advocate for civil war, would want to tear down an earnest attempt at democratic governance, along with all that has taken decades and centuries to build up—from basic infrastructure to healthcare and medicinal advances and the numerous means of communication. Lifestyles and amenities have changed a bit since the 1860s.
Civil war would mean the disruption or disappearance of pretty much everything that we’ve come to take for granted. Few would be prepared for the depravity and hardship. In fairly short order, life would become unbearable and harsh. Kinzinger basically issued a warning: be careful what you wish for, because these hardline civil war zealots have no idea what they’re talking about.
They may have their stockpiles of MREs and weapons, but they’ve spent way too much of their lives trying to justify their paranoia, feeding their irrational hatred– preparing for the worst, while all along they could have been part of ongoing efforts to make things better.
Focused
It wasn’t always a word. It began as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
Laser.
That’s my favorite word, for now.
If Only…
I wish I had somehow absorbed a more robust understanding of things financial, in terms of disciplined saving and savvy investing.
Backing up even further, I wish I had a clearer sense for the path I wanted my life to take, from a vocational standpoint. I could have more intently focused my energies in college, actually gone to college with a clearer sense for what I needed to be doing and studying, maybe even finding something I was actually passionate about.
My life has been akin to Forrest Gump’s, without all the serendipity– unfocused, aimlessly floating like a feather.
Tradition
For the warm weather ones– Memorial Day, July 4th, Labor Day– we might get together for a cookout. We used to seek out a fireworks display on July 4, but not so much anymore.
The cool/cold weather ones– Thankgiving and Christmas– have lately been times to gather with family who comes in from out of town. At Thanksgiving, we might take in a local road race, and a big meal is often involved. All the cousins get to see each other and catch up.
A Christmas tradition of late is to head up to our son’s and daughter-in-law’s place for some gift giving and opening– especially among the grandchildren– and then we have a nice breakfast. I might try to catch a presentation of A Christmas Story during its 24-hour marathon, and seasonal tunes are often playing in the background.
Yum
On the one hand, anything that tastes good. On the other hand, things that I know are good for me. I eat certain foods mostly because I know they have nutritional value– beets and such. Others I eat because they simply satisfy a craving. Pasta with meat sauce, honey garlic chicken, oatmeal, eggs over easy, avocado toast, baked cod, rice pilaf, french fries, a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich, an occasional apple.
And popcorn.
3 Cents' 