“Books are like seeds. They can lie dormant for centuries and then flower in the most unpromising soil.” (Carl Sagan); “Nothing ever dies on the Internet.” (anon.); “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.” (Madison Ave. [m]adman). My posts amalgamate these three philosophical elements into one novel experience; they champion critical thinking, human dignity / equality, levelheaded / even-handed / liberty-based governance and solid environmental stewardship. C’mon in!
With each and every new post, we wind up “burying” many of our favorite past posts.
True, reblogging can “exhume” them but, recently, I began wondering if there might be a better, easier method? Perhaps, even a way to, simultaneously, post and selectively repost?
With that in mind, I created a new category, titled: “A-Graded Past Posts”. Admittedly, such nomenclature, at first glance, may seem akin to an overly inflated, self-appraisal but, I assure you, this was merely to get that new title to begin with an “A”… thereby positioning it near the top of my Categories Menu where site visitors will be more apt to spot it.
To complete this project, I next located / re-categorized many of my favorite blogs spanning the 2+ years since my arrival within our WordPress community.
Time permitting… I cordially invite you to check out my archived, select past posts… the subject matter inclusive of social / political commentary, human interest stories, humor, fiction, sci-fi, musical BlogCasts, song parodies, poetry, limericks and even one hybrid acrostic limerick and a parable.
To access them, either scroll down the right side of my home page to locate my categories menu title “A-Graded Past Posts” or click this link… “A-Graded Past Posts”.
As always, I am humbled by the mere notion that… with each click of that rectangular shaped, teal hued PUBLISH button… my outward rushing thoughts attain the speed of light to span the globe… to mind-meld with readers who I’ve already met… and readers who I’ve yet to meet.
I thank all of you kindly souls, who deem my posts worthy of your precious time.
If you missed my monthly musical program titled No Crickets Were Harmed During This September BlogCast you can ACCESS IT HERE.
In that post, I spoke of a cricket who had set up residence in my cellar… and of my not wanting to harm him in any way. You see, I include myself among the various cultures spanning our globe, which regard crickets highly. True, some folks might dismiss such sentiments as superstition, however, I’d prefer to categorize these as spiritual.
However you may weigh in, in our discussion, I do have good news to report. A couple of nights ago, my above-mentioned cellar dweller came out of hiding long enough for me to use the glass jar method (outlined in my past post) to carefully capture and return him to the great outdoors. Totally unharmed, he now has rejoined his brethren… once again adds his chirps to their fall-time symphony.
Welcome to our monthly musical get-together. Before we PB the tunes, I’d like to briefly state how the inspiration behind each BlogCast’s musical selections can come from many different sources. However, this month in particular, has involved the most serendipitous occurrence, to date. Here’s how this evolved…
Since this past week’s Michigan weather has been on the sultry side, I’ve been keeping my windows wide open long after sundown. So, in addition to welcoming in the somewhat cooler night air, I’ve also been treated to the seasonal serenade of crickets… these lovely creatures even lending some “lyrical” ambiance to my twilight piano playing. Well… that was when my free-associating mind started recalling some recording artists, who’ve deliberately mixed cricket sound effects into their own tracks.
Naturally… this became the “angle” to this month’s musical presentation.
I even test segued these three tracks through my stereo system’s mixer last night… and wound up even more impressed by how the in-real-time crickets blended in so perfectly with their prerecorded colleagues… especially the cricket soloist, who has somehow managed to set up residence in my cellar.
BTW, as much as I do admire his singing, I do hope to return him, soon, to the great outdoors. Working towards that happy, humane ending, my strategy involves capture and release. If I spot him, I’ll carefully slip a glass jar over him, slide a piece of cardboard under the jar and then carry him out to my backyard to set him free.
Some may say that my making such a fuss is inordinate. But… I think not. You see, my quick Google Search has turned up three cultural reasons for nonviolence…
“In Asian culture, it is considered bad luck to kill crickets because for thousands of years, crickets have been referred to as ‘watchdogs’, guardians that chirp and make noise when danger approaches. The Native American culture believes that crickets are a sign of good luck, and it is considered disrespectful to mimic their chirping. In Western culture, killing a cricket inside the home is considered bad luck because a chirping cricket symbolizes a future windfall.”
So, my listeners, you can trust me when I claim: No crickets were harmed during the production of this BlogCast.
On a technical note… whenever YouTube commercials pop up, they do ruin my segues. Of course, you can just play them back “as is”… OR… if you’d prefer to don your DJ cap… the following brief tutorial could come in handy. Check it out.
To ensure these segues are seamless, it’d be advisable to “audition” the 2nd and 3rd tracks in advance. That way you can either PLAY or SKIP any YouTube Ads that may appear from time to time. I mean, Madison Avenue jingles do jangle this BlogCasts’ aesthetics. However, once the Ads are out of the way, just click PAUSE and confirm the counters are “ZEROED OUT”. If your reflexes aren’t quick enough, the songs may start too soon. If so… re-cue the tracks by simply dragging that “RED DOT” backward to 00:00.
Well my listeners… we’re now in biz!
On a musical note… if you’re fortunate enough to have your own cricket population residing in your “corner” of our world, I highly recommend that you have them sing along with these cricket enhanced tunes…
Leon Russell ~ My Cricket
Beatles ~ Sun King
John B. Sebastian ~ I Had A Dream
I thank you for your listenership and cordially invite you to click back here for my next monthly BlogCast, which typically features anywhere from 3 to 5 songs that, when segued, transform everything into a variety of appealing themes. My next program is slated to hit the www during the first week of October 2018.
FYI, my past musical presentations are archived within my BlogCast and music categories.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, don’t forget to like, follow, share and comment (click onto this blog’s headline to access the “LIKE” and “Reblog” buttons and “Comment Box”).
On this day, Ayesha and I began following each other’s blogs and I thank her for raising my awareness re [1] her fine writing style and [2] the indomitable spirit of a science/tech savvy, published author and Afghani feminist, Ms. Fatemah Qaderyan.
Were there such a thing as a Thesaurus where words and pictorial representations get cross-indexed, then, whenever we’d be looking up synonyms for terms such as intellectual curiosity, courageousness and heroism we’d find portraits of Qaderyan.
Indeed, this young woman won’t settle for anything less than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness… to see that her gender’s curiosity, imagination, dreams and ambitions are all rewarded… not punished like some sort of crime.
Regrettably, such a stance places her in the unenviable position of being in defiance of the Taliban… jihadists notorious for their barbaric, sociopathic, misogynistic traits… not unlike the set in stone, faults of a certain fake prez whose travel ban had, temporarily, denied Qaderyan entry into the U.S.
Without revealing much more of her eloquent speech to the attendees of May 2018’s Oslo Freedom Forum… she speaks of paying dearly for standing her ground… tells of societal demands for female submissiveness… where what should be the full color palette of female optimism gets splattered with the dreary shade of black… the blackness of bullets… and lurid red… the redness of spilt blood.
While Fatemah Qaderyan’s eyes do well up and spill over with sorrow, they also gleam with hopeful optimism. Her story is guaranteed to cause every clearheaded, warmhearted soul to regard her as the feminist hero who she truly is… to wish we all could’ve been among the Forum attendees who had given her a standing ovation.
Welcome to our monthly musical get-together. Hey… I can dig it! In our get everything done yesterday world, who even has time for music, anymore? Right?
Problem? No Problem!
Even if U think my playlist sucks, it’ll all B over B4 ya know it. That above headline is NO lie! Hell… the only way this could possibly B a drag is if YouTube tacks on some of their 4 minute ads! YIKES! I mean… who doesn’t click the skip button when that happens? Right?
Crunching the PB Nos.
trk. 1 = 02:01
trk. 2 = 00:45
trk. 3 = 00:50 trk. 4 = +0:24
G Tot = 04:00
Blur ~ Song 2
Bush ~ X Girlfriend
White Stripes ~ Little Room
Beatles ~ Her Majesty
I thank you for your listenership and cordially invite you to click back here for my next monthly BlogCast, which typically features anywhere from 3 to 5 songs that, when segued, transform everything into a variety of appealing themes. My next program is slated to hit the www during the first week of September ’18.
FYI, my past musical presentations are archived within my BlogCast and music categories.
If you’ve enjoyed this post, don’t forget to like, follow, share and comment (click onto this blog’s headline to access the “LIKE” and “Reblog” buttons and “Comment Box”).
From June 9 thru July 14, 1958, singer / songwriter Sheb Wooley’s novelty song, The Purple People Eater became an American, Billboard chart topper. Throughout that summer, as a four-year-young boy, I must’ve spun that 45rpm single multiple hundreds of times… practically melting it down on to my Zenith™ monaural turntable. Oh… how I yearn for the carefree, innocence of my younger days.
Well, it now being sixty summers later, I’ve “grown-up” and contemporized the lyrics to better fit our far from innocent times. Either read them as a poem or take it one step further. You see… I’ve also included a Karaoke video just in case any of you choose to sing along.
A few noteworthy advisories… as for my first two choruses, I do “crowbar in” far more syllables than Mr. Wooley had written into his lyrics. But, since I, a rank amateur singer, had no problem keeping up with the music, I know this is doable. Also… owing to the fast-paced song tempo… unless you have a companion to sing / speak the brief parenthetical passages, I’d advise that you omit them.
I must also do a bit of fact checking / explaining with regards to one lyrical reference. Since the USSR’s KGB morphed into the Russian Federation’s Federal Security Service, perhaps its high time to sub in “F – S – S” for “K – G – B”? Naw… considering how Vladimir Putin is still calling all the shots… look at it this way… F – S – S? K – G – B? W – T – F is the diff?
Additionally, since Wooley’s song ender was the word “Tequila”, I had originally subbed in “Sayonara”… a word ending in “a”. However, just prior to clicking the “publish button” this early a.m. I realized that instead of Japanese, I needed to say good-bye in Russian… hence my changing over to Proshchay / Прощай! BTW, follow the link to hear how to pronounce Proshchay.
Beyond that?
I hope you can have a bit of fun with this… I know I sure as hell did!
The Brown Shirted Putin Hugger
Well I saw the King in his scraper, sky-high.
Sporting two devil horns and glared evil eye,
I commenced to shakin’ and I said, “ooh-eee!”
“It looks like a duped Putin Hugger to me!”
CHORUS: It was a woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted, Putin Hugger,
Woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted, Putin Hugger,
Woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted, Putin Hugger,
Looks deranged to me! (evil eye!)
He came down from his tower and lit in D – C,
I begged, “Patsy Mr. Putin Hugger, don’t harm me!”
I heard him say in a voice so gruff,
“I’ll outsource that job to a K – G – B tough!” *
CHORUS: It was a woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted Putin Hugger,
Woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted, Putin Hugger,
Woman hater, child abuser, brown shirted, Putin Hugger,
Looks deranged to me! (Devil Horns!)
I said, “Nasty Mr. Putin Hugger, what’s your line?”
He said, “Bumping off America, to me, that’s fine!”
“But there’s more to come to conquer your homeland…”
“Vlad and I will overthrow the whole world / expand!
CHORUS: He’s sold his soul, tanks will roll, Brown Shirted, Putin Hugger,
Prison camps, genocide, Brown Shirted, Putin Hugger,
We wear long frowns! Ugly, evil Putin Hugger,
There’s no place to flee! (We’re Screwed!)
He next Tweeted from D – C, just to rally his throngs.
His incoherent screeds, masked his faults and his wrongs,
He “sang” a ditzy ditty ‘bout the clouds of mushroom!
(“Sing a boop boop aboopa loopa BOOM! BOOM!! BOOM!!!)
CHORUS: He’s sold his soul, tanks will roll, Brown Shirted Putin Hugger,
Mushroom clouds, we’ll all die, Brown Shirted Putin Hugger,
We wear long frowns! Ugly, evil Putin Hugger,
Pearly Gates we’ll see? (We’re Saved?)
Well, he went on his way, and then what do ya know?
I saw him last night on a FOX TV show,
He was blowing it out, really knockin’ Sean dead,
Brain farting Fake News through the hole in his head!
The Major-General’s Song from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan… already a catchy tune in itself… does truly lend itself to the parodies of most sharp-witted songsmiths.
SIDEBAR: Another G & S composition from H.M.S. Pinafore, even got incorporated into the plot of the big screen, Star Trek flick, Insurrection.
Well, it was during one of my recent, (nearly daily) YouTube talent searches, that I had the good fortune of stumbling onto the genuinely, stable genius of Randy Rainbow and his spot on, musical op-ed piece regarding the present-day, UN-stable, Odious Oval Office Occupant.
As for the NSFW aspect to his lyrics, it’s all quite mild… mere clinical, textbook terminology straight out of Gray’s Anatomy. In an era where broadcast journalists have been left little choice but to quote, on air, the unexpurgated, un-presidential vulgar language, one would expect that, by now, most of us would’ve become fully desensitized. But, to keep it totally real, RR’s parody is far from obscene when juxtaposed to the obscene admin headed by…
THAT brown shirted, white sheeted, robber-baron Putin hugger… THAT fear/warmongering, saber rattling, nuclear madman/gun nut… THAT slayer of Lady Liberty and Mother Nature, mocker of the disabled, aged and infirm, loather of LGBTQs and abuser of women and children!
Not much else to add… save to say… Step #1 in chasing away the blues is to marginalize / lampoon whatever is causing these blahs. True… I am not really a shrink… I just play one on the www. Nonetheless, I regard Mr. Rainbow’s wild rollercoaster ride upon the musical clefs as a surefire, overall mood elevator. My Rx to you is to listen to his performance as many times as is necessary.
Once we roar with laughter and soar miles above Donny Downer’s Downward Dive into the Dark Ages, Depression and Despotism, we can renew our faith in English theologian Thomas Fuller’s proverb… “It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth”… oft contemporized thusly… “The darkest hour is just before the dawn”.
At that point, we can restore our sky’s the limit belief that… somewhere out there… the dawn of a new day / a new era exists. There can be a rebirth of the America… as envisioned by our Founding Fathers… so long ago.
We have oft seen VainMan’s underlings gushing,
Sucking up to their boss without blushing,
Do they drop by the loo?
To applaud his poo, too?
Does VainMan even crave praise before flushing?
For more limericks (as well as other verses and song parodies, etc.), head over to my “Categories Menu” and select “Poetry”.
CommonSenseTom
12:28 pm on July 18, 2018 Tags: distracted drivers, higher student to teacher ratios, LED lights, LED outdoor signs, Life ( 331 ), loss of dark skies, lunch shaming ( 2 ), marquees, outdoor school LED signs, politics ( 966 ), public school gun violence, school teachers' concessions, teachers buying supplies for students
I’m sure that many of you have frequently driven past the type of outdoor, LED signs oft found in front of public schools. What I’d like to know is who, if anyone, ever gets to actually read even one of the displayed messages in its entirety?
Even if motorists are obeying the posted, usually slower, school zone speed limits… oh say 35mph / 56.3kph… just how much info can one possibly assimilate while passing by? Not much… especially considering how it oft requires two to three sequential displays to completely convey one message. If timed out right, about all one could ever expect to totally read would be the time and/or temperature reports.
Even so, should anyone operating a vehicle even be attempting to read such messages in the first place? After all, Rule #1 is to always keep your eyes on the road. The only good news, here, is that… to my knowledge… my own hometown’s sign has not caused any distracted driver type car crashes… so far… so far…
So, might rubbernecker car passengers fare better in reading more? Not likely. The mph/kph issue would still be in play. Beyond that… if your town is anything like mine… most cars zipping on by are driver only. So…
What I’d still like to know is who, if anyone, ever gets to actually read even one of the displayed messages in its entirety?
In my locale, that’d likely amount to just three people… my two neighbors and I. That’s because we live right next door to the school in question. The irony, here, is that since none of us have any kiddies enrolled, these flashing school calendar / events specific messages are of little value to us.
The further irony, here, is how folks, who do have school age kids, are likely gathering all the info they need right off the school system’s website.
Adding further insult to injury is how the three of us do find this sign to be aesthetically offensive. There’s no escaping it’s flashing red, orange and green garish LED glare! Even our windows’ closed thick drapes get noticeably backlit.
Folks, this goes on and On and ON… 24/7… even now while school is out for the summer. This unwanted, undesirable radiance intrudes whenever I sit down to eat at my dining room table… whenever my neighbors attempt to chill out on their back porch.
While such marquee-like displays complement cityscapes dotted with movie theaters, nightclubs, saloons, tattoo parlors and pool halls, they do utterly clash with the last remaining vestiges of the small town, laid-back, pastoral atmosphere, which my neighbors and I had so enjoyed… i.e., prior to the advent of this excessively bright urban blight.
One must not ignore the environmental concerns in play, either. While LED technology is supposed to be more energy efficient… nonetheless… such signs burn up energy anyway. Factoring in how this sign, in actuality, is serving no purpose… that makes the wastefulness even more unforgivable.
Ditto that sentiment re the light pollution issue. As a amateur astronomer my options have become few… either move out west ISO the dark desert skies or dust off my scope and sell it to the highest bidder.
Or… maybe it’d be possible to educate the educator powers-that-be?
SIDEBAR: One would hope that our local school board is not made up of frittering away the budget, little boys playing with their worthless, little high tech toys. Not in an era where schoolteachers are forced into collective bargaining concessions and purchase (with their own money) school supplies for their students. Not when teachers’ benefits packages and retirement plans are being mercilessly slashed. Not when students have become the sitting ducks of gun nuts… when they’re getting packed into dilapidated classrooms like sardines and are facing down the humiliation of lunch shaming.
Even if this LED sign had been donated by some “philanthropist”, this lets neither the donor nor the donee off the hook. It is up to the superintendent to remind benefactors of the higher priorities… properly paying teachers and preserving their benefits… the urgent need for buying textbooks, computers, and (the aforementioned) supplies etc…. the pressing need to fund school meal programs for the needy… the need to pay the building and grounds maintenance bills, etc. If she or he offends any frivolous gift givers lugging around Santa sized bags full of worthless toys, too bad.
Of course, what’s done is done and what remains is the need to FIRST convince the school board muck-a-mucks to see the light… their garish sign’s light. NEXT, they’d need to get the lead out AND get the LED out… by pulling the plug on this sign… if not forever… at least from dusk till dawn?
CommonSenseTom 