It’s that time again. I was talking to a friend not too long ago and remarked how as I’ve gotten older, time passes quickly, while simultaneously the amount of time it takes to get tasks done has increased. (Warning to you younger folk on the list, lol.) And when I was wondering why my father never warned me about this, I had cause to reflect that I’m now almost 3 years OLDER than he was when he died….time, time, time. As I used to say to the chagrin of my language profs: tempus fugit, nicht wahr?
As always, music first! I would encourage you to WATCH the videos if possible, esp. the one of Gary Clark, Jr. It’s visually such a treat to see him, almost enough for me go watch the movie. I start off with a polyphonic offering from the band San Salvador- La Fin De La Guerra. Doesn’t matter that you don’t know the language (though there’s always Google Translate!)-they sound so wonderful…….; Then transition to the Senegalese musician Cheikh Lo singing Kora music , the song Degg Gui from his album Balbalou in Portugese-Wolof. Back to America for Fantastic Negrito, as he sings about what we are all feeling these days in Push Back. And then Gary Clark, Jr just gets BEYOND AWESOME on his version of COME TOGETHER! ( Seriously-watch this one video, if you watch no other!) I don’t drink, that one glass of hard cider at Abingdon Vinyards notwithstanding. But I found this video called Drink by La Chica and thought it fun for y’all who do. When I heard that the group And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (of COURSE I’d listen to this group, right?) had a new album out, I knew I had to include a song-so here’s one for All Who Wander! Maybe to South Korea to hear Ak Dan Gwang Chil do music like THIS-Youngjeonggeorri. They are a multi-award traditional music group. BACK to America for some American Indie with Green Day’s new Father Of All. (And let me say, that they are one band that hasn’t lost their edge with age!) Then a female punk band to keep the theme going-The Bombshells with Notre Dame. And finally I’m sending you off with some 70s ska I chose with my tongue firmly lodged in cheek for ALL sorts of reasons. Plus ca change…..lol! You can look up the references if you wanna know why. Otherwise, just enjoy the song! Here’s The Specials singing A Message To You Rudy.
Articles! It’s become a standing joke among some of my friends to throw random “namastes” at me. (Long story.) So I found an article that explains the origin of the word and why Hindi users cringe along with me when it is casually misused EVERYWHERE in America.
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/01/17/406246770/how-namaste-flew-away-from-us?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Second. I know a lot of you like to cook. But even if you don’t cook, this is still fascinating. A group of archaeologists and scholars have been busy reconstructing from cuneiform the world’s oldest recipes! How cool is THAT? There’s a lamb stew, a lentil broth, a vegetable soup akin to the one you might serve to someone recuperating from a cold or flu, and a chicken pot pie!
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191103-the-worlds-oldest-known-recipes-decoded
Third. We all cuss sometimes. (As part of my resolve to be kinder this year, I’ve limited that.) But in case you DO need to use profanity, here’s a list of useful LATIN curses!Some of them are actually pretty funny. My personal fav is: Te odeo, interface cochleare! (Yes, you will have to look it up!)
14 Useful Latin Profanities You Can Use To Curse At People (And Impress Them)
Books, books, books! (I’m 7 books ahead on my reading challenge, in case anyone wants to know.) Starting off with a wonderful book of POETRY (coz poets read other poets!):
Oblivion Banjo: The Poetry of Charles Wright. With a name like THAT? He’s won multiple prizes: Bollingen, Pulitzer, and been Poet Laureate of the U.S…not that that would mean I would like his work. He currently lives in Charlottesville. But I do like his poems very much. He writes with a sense of place and time that resonates.
The Highly Selective Thesaurus And Dictionary For The Extraordinarily Literate by Eugene Ehrlich. This was a gift many years ago from a dear friend. It is now worn from being well-used but has a permanent place by my chair-side, as I find it an invaluable resource.
Stay With Me by Ayoba mi Adebeyo. Written by a Nigerian author and set in Nigeria, this book offers a picture of family life that will be unfamiliar to most living in the U.S. But it deals with themes that are familiar: How to save a foundering relationship? How to negotiate the ties of family? How to deal with the pressures of society?
Halibut On The Moon by David Vann. I miss Todd at the library for so many reasons. He introduced me to Vann several years back and both of us would eagerly await his (Vann’s) new book. I offer you this one. But I will warn that Vann is a savage writer who deals with difficult issues in visceral ways. (Why I love his books, right?) This book, for instance, re-creates the last days of the author’s (in the book, not Vann’s) father as he struggles with mental illness. Powerful, gripping, and potentially triggering.
This is my musing section. I rent my dwelling. Over the years I’ve found a number of items to be extremely useful. So I thought I would share these, for those of you who are also renters. And for those of you who own your places, well, skip this if you like or read on. Who knows, maybe you might need these things, too…Lint roller. Useful for much more than cleaning Miss P’s fur off of my black cashmere coat. It can de-wool an ottoman, do a quick pick-up of the couch if you lack time to vacuum, and remove odd things here and there. Basic tools: hammer; screwdriver; pliers; wrench; allen wrench; You don’t need buy a toolkit, unless you just want to be pretty in pink (or whatev.) They generally contain items you will never ever use. I’ve listed the items I have used over the years. Flashlight. We all know the power WILL go out at some point. So grow up and buy a good one already. And batteries, fer goodness sake. Tape, duct and otherwise. Funnels. I have a set of three I recently purchased at the thrift store. Incredibly useful. Comes under the category of “how did I not realize I needed these?” Your mother might not be around to tell you, so I am. Micro-duster. It will dust EVERYTHING, including your pet! (Miss P is looking nervously at me as I type this…..) Finally, a step-stool, folding or otherwise. Speaking of Miss P, the folding metal step-stool I own is part of her trifecta of terror. Every time I fetch it out, she hides under the bed. No idea why. Poor whippet. Her life is fraught….
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