This song is around 40 years old. It was one of the last tracks bassist John Glascock recorded with Jethro Tull prior to his death.
Always thought this was a beautiful track. Stormwatch didn’t quite get the props of some of Tull’s earlier work, but it was a solid effort, and one of those wonderful albums that tackled environmental concerns at a time when that might not have been especially fashionable.
I’d sort of give up on Tull for a lot of reasons – a couple lackluster albums followed by an album I could only describe as what Ultravox would have sounded like with Ian Anderson’s vocals and lyrics was enough for me to move on. That said, Crest of the Knave was not a bad late 1980s LP, even if it sounded more like a Dire Straits LP. Not bad company if nothing else.
The bar is open. I seem to be resigning myself to the idea that I am now pulling double duty as DJ and bartender. ‘Tis the season, so I’ll probably stick to something Holiday themed, unless there is a good impeachment themed drink out there.
So this is open. Need a place to talk? Come on in and sit a spell.
One more set of finals. Then a semi-respite. In other words, I get to play catch-up.
White Christmas Sangria, anyone? I live too far south for any meaningful chance of a snowy Christmas morning, but weather has been weird enough. If nothing else, I have a drink for that:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wQfADWmosA
Any good impeachment-themed drinks?
Jukebox is open for anyone wanting to post impeachment-era tunes from either late 1998 & early 1999 when this all happened the last time, or for 1974 era tunes from when Tricky Dick had the good sense to cut and run before he could be impeached.
All the finals are done, submitted, etc. Now to deal with the usual end of the semester burnout, while prepping for the next round. We have a shorter break period this year.
Kind of quiet the last few days.
Happy Festivus Eve! Here is a review for a Festivus Holiday Ale. Not the most enthusiastic review. Probably someone added that to the airing of grievances.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Egnqgdccyw
Took one of my daughters to see Ford Vs. Ferrari. Enjoyed it. I can see why the critics thought highly of this film. If you love racing, it’s one for the ages. We ended up being the only ones in that particular theater to view the film. Usually even late screenings have quite a few folks. Just us two. I told her that this was as close to a private screening of a film as either of us (as part of the 99%) will likely ever experience, and to savor the moment. It was a good time. Happy Festivus everyone!
By the way, since this daughter is a novice driver, we talked a good deal about the importance of practice, getting to know your car, as a prerequisite for trusting it. I drive the opposite of anything considered a racing machine, but I know how it accelerates, brakes, handles different surfaces (pavement, gravel, dirt), tight curves, etc. And yes – I am admitting I drive a now aging Prius on dirt roads – sometimes pretty fast. She’ll get the hang of her car pretty soon. She’s a racing enthusiast. Wouldn’t be surprised to eventually find her behind the wheel of something pretty serious in the next few years.
She used to be horrified with what I would do with my current Prius. Would I really drive down a dirt road crowded with cows? Why do I trust my machine to make that dip at an intersection at 40 mph? I trust it. Came from being behind the wheel long enough to test its limits. I know when to go all out and when I need to hang back. Will be hesitant to part with that vehicle. It’ll be about a decade old before too long, and I rarely drive anything over a decade old any more, after my last set of experiences.
Traffic two days before Christmas is insane. Thanks for attending my TED talk.
What if a diary was published and nobody saw it? Would it still exist? This is a question that has baffled philosophers since the dawn of the digital age.
Today’s season appropriate drink: Santa Claus Shots (via Tipsy Bartender):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM_Oy4VuYgY
One more for the road – the Christmas Mimosa:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulOhSn-YvoU
We’re fixing to hit a pretty unpleasant anniversary for me – the death of my eldest nephew. Misdiagnosed with a respiratory infection that was instead a severe strain of the flu that the vaccines didn’t inoculate against. Apparently died peacefully right at the start of 2019. Just about to train to be an EMT. I missed my last chance to visit him while he was alive because of another family emergency. That’s gnawed on me all year.
Because it is one of those nights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cnIQHJ169s
Mood:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gmd1HVGBzk
Could have used some company tonight. Guess I will see who’s on Twitter.
Look. I am this close to one of my walkabouts. Am really hoping to hold off until after the general election. I do need to know that whatever I am doing here is worthwhile to someone more than me. I was in distress tonight. Will be for the next several weeks. Death anniversaries tend to be like that. No one was around. I’ll put up a new Cafe/Lounge for Wednesday and see what happens. Curious to see if Neon Vincent will grace our presence. If so, he deserves tons of uprates. No joke. B2’s paintings? Seriously? Why does nobody engage? Did any of you not try to create something at some point in your life? Those screen names you see here? They are real human beings, with real aspirations and real losses. Right now, this real human being is dealing with a real loss and is facing another, and possible other major life changes. I don’t need anything deep right now. I just need to know that someone hears me and gives a damn.
Maybe I am asking the same question Dale Bozzio was asking about four decade ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IasCZL072fQ
This will likely be my opening video for the next post. Do you hear me? Do you care?
This whole set of posts is asking a question – will anyone understand? Will anyone relate? Am I just as expendable here as I am in any other transactional situation? I guess I will know my answer soon enough.
So yeah. You had a member of your community in distress. Tried to say so in not so many words. No one was around. Duly noted.
This cafe/lounge was nothing but a monologue by someone who is trying to cope with a very senseless loss. I guess it is how most performance art might have been characterized by Vonnegut: “a very human act.” Next few weeks will be very rough. I do have some stories to tell. Maybe all the silence is telling me that this is no longer the venue. That saddens me, more than I already was.
My late nephew used to bust my chops about driving a 3rd gen Prius. The car is now about 8 years old. I wish he could have lived long enough for me to let him in to the passenger seat so he could see how that machine handled gravel and dirt roads. He had a cousin, my eldest daughter, who would attest that I drive Priuses (both my old 2nd gen and current aging 3rd gen) the same way any Arkansas hillbilly drives a Ford F-150. She’s seen me cross dips at speeds that terrified her. She’s been with me on dirt and gravel road with that machine. And yet I was totally calm, totally in the zone. I know what those Priuses can do. I trust my machine. Had we been given the chance, I think my late nephew would have understood where I was coming from. His point about battery expenses was always well taken. I will probably face that with my current daily driver simply because of the mileage I put on it. At the end of the day, it comes down to who I trust to drive my current machine. My son has done so already. My eldest daughter will get to do so sooner rather than later, due to the way my travel schedule works. I am zen behind the wheel. Life is short enough. The time I have behind the wheel – even in a vehicle that was not designed for anything more than efficient travel – I have fun driving. The point of life – have fun. No telling when it will end. He had a beautiful Dodge Charger. I always hoped that he was zen behind the wheel. I have a feeling he was. He knew it and trusted it. To me, that is living.
If anyone caught any of this, please spare me pity. Losses hurt. I’ll deal. I have memories. I have stories. Those will now suffice. I still have kids, nieces, and nephews with whom I can share memories. One – on a soon to be ex side – seems bound to kill himself. Alcohol poisoning is a terrible waste. The others seem in a better place. If they want me, they know how to reach me. I do Instagram. I’ll soon even have Snapchat. My goal is to keep up with the living in hopes that they realize that I have possessions that are rightfully theirs, in large part because they connect them with people long since gone who mattered once to me (and who still do in my dreams). Monetarily, they mean little. In terms of love? They mean everything.
I’ll put up one more diary (as they us used to be known). Given that it will be Christmas I have low expectations. A lot of us are alone during this season. Do us solid. We do what we can. I am lucky thanks to kids. For those less fortunate, please some compassion.
I’ll have a penultimate (for 2019) midweek lounge posted and ready to launch at midnight.
Happy Christmas Eve, everybody!
And to you as well. New cafe is set to launch.