tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33480700626517539682024-03-18T22:57:52.637-04:00Cassidy's QuestCassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.comBlogger441125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-9948078388536894072021-08-07T23:26:00.006-04:002021-08-07T23:36:25.871-04:00Another Brief Check In<p> Hello all. I hope everyone is having a good summer. This is just (another) brief post. </p><p>As I mentioned in my last post, it's been a difficult few months. Again, I prefer not to go into the specific reasons, other than to say I'm dealing with some health issues of my own, as well as those of my nephew. I will say that my nephew could use all of the positive energy and thoughts you can spare. Thank you.</p><p>This has been a particularly dark period, but the one thing that helps me without fail is music. So, I'll share a few songs from the music that's helped during this time.</p><p>First is something from a collaborative album between John Hiatt, one of my very favorite songwriters (I named one of the main characters in my old comic strip after him) and the great Jerry Douglas, who is both a solo artist and a member of Alison Krauss's band Union Station. Their album is called <i>Leftover Feelings</i>, and this track is "All The Lilacs In Ohio":</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/zEBVevAr1cQ" width="480"></iframe></p><p>This is actually the second time Hiatt recorded this song; the original version was on his excellent 2001 album <i>The Tiki Bar Is Open</i>, with his superb backing band The Goners:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/zECi9rfuHVQ" width="480"></iframe></p><p>That's Sonny Landreth on slide guitar, by the way. He also appears with Hiatt on this 1988 appearance on David Letterman, performing the title track to <i>Slow Turning</i>:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/PH_roDQakiA" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PH_roDQakiA/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Next is a song from what is what will almost certainly be the most moving album you will hear this year, Allison Russell's <i>Outside Child</i>. It is a harrowing, deeply personal, but ultimately redemptive effort, and is well worth your time. This is "Persephone," a tender song about first love, and its healing power in even the darkest of times.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/4hJKqYsIHok" width="480"></iframe></p><p>She is also a member of Birds of Chicago, with her husband, JT Nero. I'm just beginning to explore their music, but one song that immediately stood out is "Real Midnight," the title track of their 2016 album:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/F3QzUQt14xU" width="480"></iframe></p><p> I'm looking forward to checking them out further. She was also in the Canadian roots-rock band Po' Girl (she's a native of Toronto), and I hope to hear some of their work as well. I first became aware of her through her participation in Our Native Daughters, a collaborative album recorded in 2018 by Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCall. This is a powerful song called "You're Not Alone," performed at the 2019 Newport Folk Festival:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/PA8E-I36bN8" width="480"></iframe></p><p>The entire album is equally good; do yourself a favor and give them a listen sometime.</p><p>That will do it for this post. Be good to yourselves.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-8338005831184415452021-07-03T00:59:00.002-04:002021-07-03T00:59:20.050-04:00 A Brief Check In<p> Hello all. Apologies for the long gap since my last post. </p><p>This has been a difficult stretch. I've been feeling very down the past 4-6 weeks, for reasons I won't go into here. The one exception that I will discuss is my nephew's illness, which has, unfortunately, come back with a vengeance. He has had a very hard four years, and the path forward will be equally challenging. I can't go into details, but any positive thoughts you can send his way would be most appreciated. Thank you.</p><p>I've been willing myself into writing again on a daily basis, even if it's usually only for a minute or two. Anyone who has issues with mental health can understand that there are days when that minute or two represents a major victory over the darkness. It's an ongoing battle, but one I can't afford to lose. And I won't.</p><p>Again, my apologies for the somber nature of this post. I'll end with the one song I can think of that feels appropriate: Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down," taken from the 9/11 broadcast honoring the frontline workers at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. While the video quality is a bit iffy, his seething, defiant delivery comes through loud and clear and says what needs to be said.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/MmSoisK5dso" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MmSoisK5dso/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Take care, everyone, and be good to yourselves. And to others. We can use lots more of that these days.</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-61077956213489869242021-05-22T01:31:00.000-04:002021-05-22T01:31:06.196-04:00The Write Stuff<p> Hello all. Just a brief post this time. </p><p>The different/unique post I'd mentioned in my last post for this week... will actually be appearing *next* week. (Sorry!) But it's because it's expanded in scope - in a good way - not because I'm stuck. So, I'm going with the flow, as I try to do when inspiriration strikes like this. Hopefully you'll feel it was worth the extra wait. :c) Keep an eye peeled on this space!</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I've been digging into Bryan Ferry's solo discography quite a bit the past few weeks, and have been thoroughly enjoying it. While I've always been a Roxy Music fan, the only solo work I was familiar with were his two 1980s solo efforts, <i>Boys & Girls</i> (1985) and <i>Bete Noire</i> (1988). Both were excellent; in fact, I borrowed the title of this post from a track off Bete Noire:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/eW2cNGs5wnk" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/eW2cNGs5wnk/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>That's a very young Johnny Marr on guitar, incidentally. I could be mistaken, but I <i>think</i> he co-wrote this with Ferry.</p><p>The next track is the title track from Ferry's 1976 album <i>Let's Stick Together</i>. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/Z9EbR0ckb40" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Only someone who is Bryan Ferry-level cool could get away with not only pulling off a white suit but looking effortlessly stylish as well. (Having Jerry Hall in a catsuit draped all over you while wearing it doesn't hurt, I suppose. ;D) Not sure about that mustache though...</p><p>Here's another track from the same album, and one of my favorites from his solo catalog: "Chance Meeting." Roxy Music did a terrific version of it on their 1972 debut album, but I think he actually manages to top that powerful version with the stark, deeply personal version on <i>Let's Stick Together</i>. Here's a great live version from 1999:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/aP1UfF08A5s" width="480"></iframe></p><p>I'll end up with one more from 1988's <i>Bete Noire</i> album. This is "Kiss and Tell," which also features Johnny Marr on guitar (on the studio version, not this live version).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/5fdh-bk3ZI8" width="480"></iframe></p><p>That's going to do it for this post. 'Til next time, have a great weekend...</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-82796993792376488212021-05-16T21:04:00.000-04:002021-05-16T21:04:28.092-04:00This & That: Vaccine 1, Cass 0<p>Hello all. A very brief post, for reasons which I think are explained by the title. </p><p>I received my second shot yesterday (Pfizer), and woke up today feeling as if a truck ran me over. Achy, sore, and very, very tired. From what I gather it's short-lived, so I just took it easy today. I even fell asleep for a half-hour, which I only do during the day when I'm not feeling well.</p><p>Needless to say, I didn't do much writing today, but I do have the longer posts I've mentioned in the pipeline. Moving took up a lot of my free time, but I got back on track the last few weeks, so keep an eye peeled.</p><p>That will do it for this post. Have a good week, everyone!</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I've had two songs running through my head all day, so I thought I would share them with you. </p><p>First is a track from the final Dire Straits album, <i>On Every Street</i> (1991). It has several excellent songs, including the title track, "When It Comes To You" (which was covered by John Anderson, who had a big hit with it on the country charts), and this one: "The Bug." Here's a terrific live version from 1996, with some smokin' guitar from Mark Knofpler:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/z43cMvXagTw" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z43cMvXagTw/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Completely unrelated to that is the other song: "Feets Don't Fail Me Now," from Utopia's self-titled 1982 album. This song, written by Utopia front man Todd Rundgren, is insanely catchy, even by his standards, and the video is utterly charming in an early-MTV way. (I think Rundgren also directed the video, but I could be mistaken.) I guarantee that a) you won't be able to get this one out of your head once you've heard it, and b) you won't mind at all. :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/KSMR9CfDioM" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/KSMR9CfDioM/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>That will do it for this week. 'Til next time...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-14232545568898755952021-05-09T21:42:00.002-04:002021-05-09T21:48:39.088-04:00This & That: The Difference<p style="text-align: left;">Well, the <i>differen<u>t</u></i>, actually, as this isn't the post I alluded to last week that I was working on. That's still in progress, but it's somewhat time-sensitive, so I'll polish and post it the week after next. Hopefully you'll think it was worth the wait! This post, however, is just a post to keep the regular posts on track, even if it's not earth-shatteringly important. </p><p>I'm more or less settled into the new apartment, other than a few minor repairs needed here and there (a cracked window pane, a balky storm window lock, and an issue with the garbage disposal). None of them are a big deal, and fortunately my landlord B has responded immediately when I've called with a problem.</p><p>The most pressing issue has been with the outside door, more specifically the lock, which for some reason took a dislike to my key after a week and stopped working. The first time I was locked out was a cold, rainy evening (of course) when I was trying to juggle my pocketbook, a bag of groceries, my iced coffee, and the keys. Fortunately B works late (his office is on the first floor of the building where I live), and he was nice enough to come out when I knocked on the door. </p><p>After several fruitless attempts on his part with the master key, he tried spraying silicone in the lock, which didn't really work, followed by graphite, which did. Or at least it did until three nights later - also a raw, drizzly evening - when once again I couldn't get my key to work. B, to his credit, came out once again. Once he determined that my key, for whatever reason, wouldn't work consistently, he gave me his spare, which <i>does</i> work, and said he would replace the lock in short order (likely early this week). On the bright side, it turns out he's a fellow baseball and hockey fan like yours truly; you can never have too many kindred spirits, right?</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>To continue with the randomness theme for this post, here's a shot of the American Chop Suey my mother and sister made last weekend:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkqpEREO_w8QQ8vzqo0U3vA7FM0uAfSuB5p_5Yw0ohr68H23sxFAF-C2zFNCqScEt2UJG7P05a1ccDIRUyj3OnhjameNJbtMcbPsxmeulE5KCE4UG4mmH8eTE2nKa5xOWK_4wa9BAycg/s2016/IMG_3752.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="2016" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinkqpEREO_w8QQ8vzqo0U3vA7FM0uAfSuB5p_5Yw0ohr68H23sxFAF-C2zFNCqScEt2UJG7P05a1ccDIRUyj3OnhjameNJbtMcbPsxmeulE5KCE4UG4mmH8eTE2nKa5xOWK_4wa9BAycg/w400-h300/IMG_3752.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>This is one of four containers of this size that they gave me, incidentally. lol Much as I love it, and much as it tastes even better heated up, I had to freeze three of them for future use - including this one, which was my dinner this evening. Incidentally, this was made with ground turkey, not beef (although I will make an exception to my usual avoidance of red meat for this dish; I'm sure you can understand why ;D).<div><p>OK, that will do it for this post. Stay tuned for another in this space soon!. :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I was pleased to see that The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan's band, are releasing their first new album in nearly a decade next month. I've been a fan since their first album, and have enjoyed all of their records - and Dylan's two excellent solo efforts - so the forthcoming album is welcome news. Accordingly, here are a few tunes from their catalogue.</p><p>We'll start with "The Difference," from their 1996 sophomore album <i>Bringing Down The Horse</i>. This is a terrific live version from 2002:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/4I5jn2A5joc" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4I5jn2A5joc/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Next is the lead single from their third album, 2000's excellent <i>Breach</i>; this is "Sleepwalker."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/Qvwu4e664Jo" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Does he look just like his Dad or what? And those eyes... damn... (I met him when he played the Newport Folk Festival in 2008, and can attest that they are just as remarkable in real life - and that he is a genuinely nice guy. :c))</p><p>Next is the lead single from <i>Bringing Down the Horse</i>, and my second favorite song from them: "Sixth Avenue Heartache." Apparently this was inspired by a street musician Dylan would see playing every day on the corner outside his apartment building. He was slowly realizing the pull music had on him - just as it did with his fellow musician down on the corner: "And the same black line that was drawn on you/Is drawn on me/And it's drawing me in/Sixth Avenue Heartache."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/kXDiGtgPL6E" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Such a visually striking video - and I've actually been to several of the places they visit too. :c) That indelible guitar part, incidentally, is played by Mike Campbell, formerly from Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and now solo with his own band, The Dirty Knobs.</p><p>Finally, we'll wrap this post up with my very favorite song of theirs: "Three Marlenas," also from <i>Bringing Down...</i> Beautiful song (the keyboard part and the string arrangement really enhance the song's dream-like quality), and mysterious too. Is it about one Marlena, with each verse representing her imagined version of a new life? Or are they three different Marlenas? Maybe even she (they?) don't know: "One, two, three Marlenas/There's got to be someone we can trust/Out here among us."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/RloXtzcCAf8" width="480"></iframe></p><p>I've always loved the lines: "She's gonna pick a star in the night/And pray to make it all right/She tried so hard not to pick a kite/She only prays to heaven lights." Beautiful imagery.</p><p>That will do it 'til next time. Have a good week, everyone...</p><p><br /></p></div>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-65423042299252404272021-05-02T23:16:00.000-04:002021-05-02T23:16:02.161-04:00Cass's New Kicks<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">...As in my new shoes - running shoes, to be precise. :D</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYTmgZ-CxPtItMj4vIfqJHH6QtIov6w1V9un15gp29GOCGL2-VDahbzZEzBFY3JG7K2UYm6o2F5k4TH9z_x1bRn00X8LsyXXPdA0RlogQueERTlhAicKGLVKhO958hSVhIOp51JvbwrQ/s2048/cass%2527s+kicks.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="2048" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYTmgZ-CxPtItMj4vIfqJHH6QtIov6w1V9un15gp29GOCGL2-VDahbzZEzBFY3JG7K2UYm6o2F5k4TH9z_x1bRn00X8LsyXXPdA0RlogQueERTlhAicKGLVKhO958hSVhIOp51JvbwrQ/w400-h251/cass%2527s+kicks.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">With that established... hello all. Hope everyone had a good weekend. You are looking at one of the two big news items in Cass's Casa from last week. My running reboot effort has been going fairly well, all things being equal - until one day the week before last.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It started to rain lightly just as I was finishing my run, about five minutes from home. It wasn't a hard rain, but it was enough for me to realize my feet felt wet after a minute or two of precipitation. I stopped and took a peek at the bottom of my shoes; both had a hole. Oops. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I couldn't complain; I'd gotten two and a half years out of them, after all, just as I had with my previous pair, which is pretty astounding for running shoes. (New Balance makes a great product.) I'm not hard on my shoes in general (I constantly startle people inadvertently who don't hear me approaching), but two-plus years is still terrific. I have wide feet - I'm between a double E and a triple E - and a high instep, plus one leg is longer than the other by a third of an inch. (I wear an orthotic, but it still causes issues from time to time.). Combine all of those factors, particularly the wide feet, and the side of my running shoes and sneakers closest to my big toe and the ball of my foot eventually splits open. Again, two years-plus is still pretty great, so I have no complaints.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I gave the new pair their first test run yesterday (Saturday), and they passed with flying colors. My feet felt great during and after the run, and still feel good today. The style is slightly different than I'm used to, but in a good way. The tongue isn't a separate piece; its all one unit. I'm explaining this poorly, but I think this design is why they feel so good. I'm glad I spent the extra money to get the ones my research indicated were the best bet.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's supposed to rain here tomorrow and Tuesday, so they may not get their next jaunt until mid-week, but it's nice having a new pair. I don't know if it's a coincidence or not, but my split improved by nearly half a minute (I think it was just a fluke, honestly). Still, they're off to a good start, as is the running. I am absolutely determined to get back to my normal weight once and for all. And I will do it. I'm right on track (no pun intended). :c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The other news flash also helped rectify a potential exercise/running-related issue. I've had the same Fitbit for over four years. It was solid and reliable, and did exactly what I needed. My nephew C received an Apple Watch for Christmas, and while helping him with some of the basic initial setup on Christmas morning, I saw enough to make a mental note to investigate them further, thinking that my Fitbit was already past its expected sell-by date.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, the past few weeks it's been acting up. It wasn't tracking steps properly . For example, I went for a 90 minute walk one afternoon at a sustained brisk pace, only to discover the Fitbit decided I'd taken 2900 steps (it should have been closer to 9000, based on past performance). It wasn't tracking active minutes properly either, which messes up the algorithms it uses to measure your performance.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I had a few minutes free last Wednesday evening while making dinner, so I decided to do some quick research on the Apple Watch vs. the new, top-of-the-line Fitbit. Based on the 15 minutes I spent, it became clear that while the new Fitbit is terrific, the Apple Watch 6 is still superior in most respects. That convinced me that my next sports watch would be the Apple Watch 6. Since I've just moved, and on short notice, I'm still feeling the pinch financially. I hoped I could get a few more months out of the Fitbit before it met its demise.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, the next day I get a text from my landlord telling me a package had just arrived for me. I was puzzled, since I wasn't expecting anything. So I went downstairs, picked it up, and put it on the living room coffee table so I could attend an online meeting.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I finally got a chance to open it several hours later, and to my shock - and very pleasant surprise - this is what I found:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPI9jaYtd0OOMewPhIg9KTg_4dPuRfH0Qq36_mlLokPgqgTnpr5YCGJQ9rQeXq9nlor5NuSwg7oZy8CCIQ6uK8PxwO5Rimh1JWZPXJS3w57OadnApEkrHCEZKm9dymOUSEIYZrzabnpc/s2542/code+red+cass+watch+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2542" data-original-width="1237" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVPI9jaYtd0OOMewPhIg9KTg_4dPuRfH0Qq36_mlLokPgqgTnpr5YCGJQ9rQeXq9nlor5NuSwg7oZy8CCIQ6uK8PxwO5Rimh1JWZPXJS3w57OadnApEkrHCEZKm9dymOUSEIYZrzabnpc/w195-h400/code+red+cass+watch+2.jpg" width="195" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5iheUgUNRqFaeanI8J1gd-vlOmOaXWSU11trtHq6cUN4EhKUm0u-BlxSobC8NGLX9LocmLUxU117se4lE0cH8mHEf2kP35dfPwd8Ot0LhOS2LVvLGp3pLf5V-ZkMGnqGAy7tW8EcZ5A/s2048/code+red+cass+watch+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1611" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB5iheUgUNRqFaeanI8J1gd-vlOmOaXWSU11trtHq6cUN4EhKUm0u-BlxSobC8NGLX9LocmLUxU117se4lE0cH8mHEf2kP35dfPwd8Ot0LhOS2LVvLGp3pLf5V-ZkMGnqGAy7tW8EcZ5A/s320/code+red+cass+watch+1.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Yup, this is the Code Red Apple Watch 6. Pretty snazzy, eh? How did this fall into my lap, you ask? Like this: </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm a sustaining donor for a local non-profit radio station, and they were giving away prizes during a recent fundrasing drive to by gear for the soon-to-open new studios. I made an additional dontaion on top of my standard monthly contribution, which turned out to be a terrific investment indeed. (While in general I have what my friends say is less-than-stellar luck overall, I've always had great luck with contests, going back to junior high. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(I guessed the number of jelly beans in a jar and only missed by three; I was out sick the day they annoucned the raffle, so I didn't hear what anyone else had guessed, which turned out to be a good thing, since my guess was larger by several hundred than the next-closest guess. What did I win? An autographed ball from the Boston Celtics. While they had one of the worst records in team history that year, several non-roster folks also kindly signed the ball: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Havlicek" target="_blank">John Havlicek</a> (one of the all-time great Celtics)... and a skinny young fella from French Lick, Indiana with the improbable moniker of Larry Bird. Wonder what ever became of him? ;D) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Anyway, I've barely scratched the surface on what it can do, but suffice it to say I am very impressed so far. Its metrics for exercise, particularly running, are far more robust than th Fitbit, so I'm already loving it. And I'm looking forward to exploring its features further this week. Should be fun.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*** </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Going to wrap it up here. By the way, this is a stop-gap post. I'm working on something a bit different than the usual fare here for my next effort, but it's not ready for prime time quite yet. I'll have it posted before next weekend, so keep an eye on this space.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">One last item I wanted to share. I recently celebrated my birthday, and I have to show you the card I received from my dear friends T & J. Check this out:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNAAg7opIgQTl61-3FM_HXg0jzVX-iR2QZoXHnQ6lENJe-N4gp13z48KzjW8QGbHBrBTF-yudsXeRua7T_gOa529rbWJwnC_KhV2F2C0VagOIKJIDJZ-DBqQN4gePbTdec9QgRZRiyIg/s2048/moo-ey+buouno+b%2527day+card.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyNAAg7opIgQTl61-3FM_HXg0jzVX-iR2QZoXHnQ6lENJe-N4gp13z48KzjW8QGbHBrBTF-yudsXeRua7T_gOa529rbWJwnC_KhV2F2C0VagOIKJIDJZ-DBqQN4gePbTdec9QgRZRiyIg/w300-h400/moo-ey+buouno+b%2527day+card.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">It's a bit difficult to read the card (thanks to my mediocre photo skills), but it says "Hope your birthday is Moo-ey Bueno." lol You can never go wrong with a cow-related gift item, I always say. :c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As you can see, it now occupies the place of honor on my refrigerator door alongside the postcard of the late, great John Prine. I think John would approve of the juxtaposition; it is, as he said, a big old goofy world. :c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Have a good week, everyone. 'Til next time....</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Speaking of the aforementioned Mr. Prine, here he is performing "It's A Big Old Goofy World" from his 1991 masterpiece <i>The Missing Years</i>:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/ZACwVOJXpn0" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZACwVOJXpn0/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">From the same album, here's the sort-of title track: "Jesus - The Missing Years," which is about... well, what the song title says it's about. :D Be sure to check out his introduction explaining his inspiration for writing the song; it is hilarious. :c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/suoJ6mLVBlU" width="480"></iframe></div><p></p><p>I'll wrap up with the final song he ever wrote, shortly before his death in April 2020. (He'd had multiple bouts with cancer in recent years, and eventually died from coronavirus complications.) He was 70 years old. This is "I Remember Everything."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/L21Tc_DtL6M" width="480"></iframe></p><p>I hope that when he got to heaven, it was exactly the way he hoped it would be:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/JKPDFQRmG_M" width="480"></iframe></p><p>RIP, John, and God bless. You are sorely missed.</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-42149370218296536512021-04-25T21:37:00.004-04:002021-04-25T22:23:54.709-04:00Halfway Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxGmSVWVWWSwTkM_kYYPfcEiAYCAVG_BdSoYfQ6Oy5dNfJdd9JpEw5FOPgRM5qSxCIyNCSf6KpWfzF3r1Zs-TGAU7GoEbjWkPocirTca_VhVYr9t9_WjFwIQ1MpnW11ZLRAbN6Z_l-YE/s2048/cass%2527s+cows%252C+et+al+%25284.22.21%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGxGmSVWVWWSwTkM_kYYPfcEiAYCAVG_BdSoYfQ6Oy5dNfJdd9JpEw5FOPgRM5qSxCIyNCSf6KpWfzF3r1Zs-TGAU7GoEbjWkPocirTca_VhVYr9t9_WjFwIQ1MpnW11ZLRAbN6Z_l-YE/w400-h300/cass%2527s+cows%252C+et+al+%25284.22.21%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Hello all. Hope everyone had a good weekend.</p><p>The big news in this corner of the blogosphere is that I received my first vaccination this past week. I'd been attempting to line up an appointment for several weeks (i.e. as soon as I was eligible), using a number of tools to search for appointments. </p><p>One thing I learned quickly is that she who hesitates is lost - or at least shut out from that round of appointments. You basically had to responds literally within seconds upon receiving a notification or everything would be booked. </p><p>I finally landed one through the state-run program, and was scheduled to get one in Boston on Friday afternoon at the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay neighborhood (for those unfamiliar with Boston, think the traditional image of Boston, with the brick house buildings and the gas lamp style streetlights; that's the Back Bay). While getting into and out of the city is a hassle, thanks to Boston's notoriously awful traffic, and I'd been hoping to find something closer, I was still genuinely pleased to finally have an appointment. </p><p>Just as I was leaving to head into Boston on Friday, I received one of the "appointments available" text message alerts. Out of habit I opened it up - and there were suddenly multiple vaccinations available at multiple nearby locations. I hadn't seen a single one closer than about 25+ miles until this.</p><p>I decided to click the link to see what was available, expecting the usual notice that all available were taken - but lo and behold, I was able to snag one in the next town over. I could hold the reservation for three minutes, so I quickly checked to see if it was still possible to cancel the appointnent in Boston, I didn't want to take a time slot away from anyone else at either location, needless to say. Fortunately, it <i>was</i> possible, so I cancelled in Boston and registered for the shot at the nearby pharmacy. </p><p>And how did the appointment (using the Pfizer vaccine, in case anyone was curious) go? Just fine. As predicted, my arm was sore around the injection site, particularly for about 8-10 hours afterwards. It's still a bit sore, but basically it's just slightly more than a typical shot. Other than that, I just feel more tired than usual today, which is also common. I've taken it easy today (no 10K runs today, needless to say).</p><p>I'm now registered for the second shot, in three weeks time, which I am very much looking forward to. I think I've mentioned that my parents, sister, nephew, and niece have already been vaccinated, so I was the lone straggler. I'm looking forward to being to see my sister and my nephew C in person without a mask for the first time in a long, long time.</p><p>So, as the post's title indicates, I'm halfway there. I felt as if I've been in one of those suspended states of animation for quite some time on a number of fronts, as past posts have indicated. Hopefully the new apartment (which I'm really enjoying - as is my little menagerie in the photo above) and this are a sign things may start to move in the right direction. Fingers crossed.</p><p>That will do it for this post. Hope everyone has a great week. :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>Bonus photo: this was the view from my kitchen window on Friday, April 16th:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JzltRXD_OXyFWsHoGj9tL9eid1LcWIhBbUBPouKHK1PoZSnT0C9bloCQbYk9mVO1UOxpdBFEBH3Vb_1mkxBjmR2EFWnd7s2iBJ2KJn1HIJliK2JWN0ioHwv3t26w69NN-29qBzZ6rss/s2048/IMG_3577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JzltRXD_OXyFWsHoGj9tL9eid1LcWIhBbUBPouKHK1PoZSnT0C9bloCQbYk9mVO1UOxpdBFEBH3Vb_1mkxBjmR2EFWnd7s2iBJ2KJn1HIJliK2JWN0ioHwv3t26w69NN-29qBzZ6rss/s320/IMG_3577.jpg" width="320" /></a></p><p>Suprise! We wound up with about an inch where I live, but friends in central Massachusetts received over half a foot (~16 cm). It was also very cold for April here: just above freezing all day. It was 80°F/25°C just a few days before. Similarly, yesterday was sunny/75°F (23°C); today was rainy/48°F)(°C). .Such is spring in New England...</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>A few songs to wrap up this post. We'll begin with one from the late, great Levon Helm. This is his version of Buddy & Julie Miller's "Wide River To Cross," from his wonderful 2007 album <i>Dirt Farmer</i>:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/ZLhzynANXYM" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZLhzynANXYM/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Here's a gorgeous Julie Miller song - hymn, really - from her 1997 album <i>Blue Pony</i>. This is "By Way Of Sorrow":</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/VuI_s49061U" width="480"></iframe></p><p>I listen to this one a lot when I'm feeling down. She is a brilliant songwriter (as is her husband Buddy).</p><p><br /></p><p>Finally, one last Julie Miller song, covered by Emmylou Harris on her landmark 1995 album <i>Wrecking Ball</i>. Here's her stunning version of "All My Tears."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/7naQUkKKmeo" width="480"></iframe></p><p>As the unmistakable sound indicates, <i>Wrecking Ball</i> was produced by Daniel Lanois, a longtime favorite of this blog. I was fortunate enough to see Emmylou tour behind this album, with Daniel Lanois and his band backing her up. It was an incredible show, as you would imagine.</p><p>Until next time, then...</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-74346365109969303312021-04-13T22:34:00.003-04:002021-04-13T22:34:43.635-04:00Musings: Thru With The Two Step<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkprMK9rihKo8j8fV7Ak14myfI6s_HMQcBR4b2oVqflYuHuqnOAzZ7XCc3ok3zd0yWD0xV1CBKaqi0-KGRnZyIusemIRDiZR3SMifCU9qMAi_8eq1Ld-rwltIIQgqLUNhUmdQ11HvkHw/s1000/woman-running-pavement.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpkprMK9rihKo8j8fV7Ak14myfI6s_HMQcBR4b2oVqflYuHuqnOAzZ7XCc3ok3zd0yWD0xV1CBKaqi0-KGRnZyIusemIRDiZR3SMifCU9qMAi_8eq1Ld-rwltIIQgqLUNhUmdQ11HvkHw/w400-h266/woman-running-pavement.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Hello all, and a happy mid-week to you. Just wanted to put together a brief post to stay in the writing zone. </p><p>I'm pretty tired tonight; a car alarm kept going off every half hour or so last night from midnight until almost 4:00 AM. It sounded as if AAA finally came and towed it away, so it must have been an electrical problem. I had long since conceded defeat to getting a decent night's sleep by then, unfortuantely. I can get by on 4-5 hours, but I got less than three last night, and I'm feeling it right now.</p><p>One other, much more positive, reason I'm dragging a bit is that I'm running again. I'm still in the very early stages, where my only goal is to rebuild my stamina. I had an online appointment with my doctor this morning, who is also a runner. She nodded sympathetically when I mentioned I'd started up again. She agreed that the first few weeks of starting again from scratch (which I am, for all intents and purposes) just, well... suck. :c) There's nothing to do but keep the big picture in mind and work through it. It will be worth it in another 2-3 months when I start seeing serious results. And having done it once before I know the payoff will come. So as the blog title says, it's through with the two step, each day.</p><p>As I've mentioned in recent posts, I'm determined to get out of the long-standing rut where I've been for too long. Without going into details, my doctor's appointment today will help. As we were finishing she said she knows I'll get past this rut, and said I'm one of the most determined patients she's ever had. That was a nice thing to hear. Positive feedback like that goes a long way.</p><p>OK, that will do it for now. I'm off to take a shower, then hopefully get a decent night's sleep. Ciao, everyone...</p><p><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I was sorting through moving boxes over the weekend and pulled out an old favorite from my record collection: Robert Plant's second post-Zeppelin solo album, <i>The Principle of Moments</i> (1983), which for me is his best solo album. </p><p>I'll start with a song that was running through my head (no pun intended) during yesterday's jaunt through the neighborhood - "Through With The Two Step."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/sf9DboGeydQ" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">Next is one of the album's two hit singles - "In The Mood": </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/jj5nH0O8lmg" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">One reason it's such a great song is the unmistakable drumming of Phil Collins. I was lucky enough to see Plant's tour to support the album - his first as a solo artist - and even luckier because Collins was the dummer in his touring band. I've never understood the flack some people give Collins; the man was a monster drummer. Just listen to the drums in the song's instrumental break, around the 3:05 mark. Seriously great playing. </p><p style="text-align: left;">(Having watched the video for the first time in I don't know how long, I have to say: it is really, really weird. lol I still haven't figured out how the housewives at the 1:28 mark figure into things... but I sure do <i>love</i> their look! Maybe for my next Halloween costume...)</p><p style="text-align: left;">The other hit from the album was "Big Log." I don't care much for most music videos, but this one is a standout; it perfectly captures the song's dreamy, mysterious, other-worldly feel. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/FxSsol3Zd7k" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">I always loved how it ends too; you get the sense this scenario plays out over and over as each new person arrives. </p><p style="text-align: left;">I'll wrap up with my favorite song from Mr. Plant, one which never actually appeared on an album proper. "Far Post" was recorded during the sessions for <i>Pictures at Eleven</i>, Plant's solo debut album from 1982, but inexplicably didn't make the album. Again, Phil Collins drums are a highlight: </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/5GxI-II7kLg" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">It's funny what you remember; I distinctly recall this song receiving extensive airplay on WBCN-FM & WCOZ-FM, Boston's two biggest rock stations at the time, in the fall of 1982. I have vivid memory of hearing it on COZ's Thursday night Top Ten countdown that autumn as it climbed the chart all the way to the top spot. Quite impressive for a song that at the time was only available as the B-side to an import single (if memory serves). I liked it enough that I trekked all the way into Boston to Newbury Comics (which is still around and still great) to buy the single. And all these years later it still sounds great...</p><p style="text-align: left;">'Til next time, everyone...</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-49589492528665913512021-04-04T21:10:00.004-04:002021-04-04T21:50:43.280-04:00A Sort of Homecoming<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-14hS5aDVh-yGeWMtiTQD0D5Ifhu6kIicYD-cR1cjVL-ths3l5_0cInpBrUmbAemAvs69FVMo_-oOYEJ108VcJgDDMP4kJh9LxzfLoIb52-fYLbjp8H6apE1eqT1vMNUBZGWGdawRi1E/s2048/IMG_3531.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-14hS5aDVh-yGeWMtiTQD0D5Ifhu6kIicYD-cR1cjVL-ths3l5_0cInpBrUmbAemAvs69FVMo_-oOYEJ108VcJgDDMP4kJh9LxzfLoIb52-fYLbjp8H6apE1eqT1vMNUBZGWGdawRi1E/s320/IMG_3531.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hello all, and Happy Easter to those who observe it. Hope your weekend was good, and that the Easter Bunny was generous. :c)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">As mentioned in <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2021/04/my-new-old-beat.html" target="_blank">my last post</a>, Thursday was moving day to my new apartment. It was an intense, draining experience (I had barely two weeks from viewing the apartment to moving day), but the hardest part is over. I still have some unpacking to do, and the apartment needs some additional work on the part of the landlord (finishing repainting in the living room and spare bedroom, fixing the fan in the bathroom), but overall it's in good shape.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It's funny; this is is less than a quarter-mile from my previous apartment, and about five houses from the apartment previous to that (hence the title of this post). But even though it's not that far distance-wise from my most recent apartment, it really does feel like a homecoming. This apartment is <i>really</i> quiet, which is a welcome change of pace. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And even though it's only a quarter-mile away, this feels much homier. I went for a run today on one of my old routes. It was my first run in over a year, so I have a long way to go to get back to where I was headed pre-pandemic, but I'll get there. More on that in my next post (along with plans & progress on other post-move goals).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">***</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Back to settling in. My sister and nephew came over Saturday afternoon to help me with the unpacking. My sister also picked out some curtains for the apartment. She has a real eye for interior design, so I'm happy to defer to her in these matters. I have to say, curtains make a *big* difference. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Once the painting is done early this week, my nephew and I are going to hang some pictures. And after we finish we'll get dinner from his favorite restaurant, which, by sheer coincidence, is literally across the street from where I now live. (I'm sure spending quality time with his favorite aunt is the <i>real</i> draw for C, not the chicken cutlet & fettuccine house specialty, right? ;D)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My sister also brought a few housewarming gifts, including one of her beloved candles (she *loves* candles):</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KVnk-dMTnKOg_w1lIG0QW8rMV1e9c3MXZ7EsETCBxhVxPMWTWEm2fS5arofLagmEBQFn0k4ZtYboskqzwx8efQXeBU5703thv_L1GRomO6HedXUQjM7Dhhjf-ioS_kZkbGJ6BJiv5pY/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1695" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0KVnk-dMTnKOg_w1lIG0QW8rMV1e9c3MXZ7EsETCBxhVxPMWTWEm2fS5arofLagmEBQFn0k4ZtYboskqzwx8efQXeBU5703thv_L1GRomO6HedXUQjM7Dhhjf-ioS_kZkbGJ6BJiv5pY/" width="199" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">She also brought a really cute plant holder (see the top photo) - and, to my surprise, an Easter basket. Check it out: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><img data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJoLxLuvDBLCEqYdCIz7VjnYKriceTFyeOy_3vsoT1yiAH_5vXunUHAPdiNOKQ9LOUjQskLt0kXFFTTeIt5ULFJTqO_1EsM07SZ4nhG8YJmaZKwstOIVnH2gwjZOJQvO9FVeaUc4aQGvc/w300-h400/IMG_3535.jpg" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 238); color: #0000ee; text-decoration: underline;" width="300" /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_903WqPDNm5AjBOTK5Z8QvAbSr5ZH4K_dDwlVDYk8_DTVni68YRJ651IqtWVgbbyrpghWeSSGcXQeGMPGSKEKZeAeXHy8i-4HHBV0qdZzXZH8wSRSBGlrdLm92nEX2CAYhxw8Xg7RNg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1819" data-original-width="2048" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_903WqPDNm5AjBOTK5Z8QvAbSr5ZH4K_dDwlVDYk8_DTVni68YRJ651IqtWVgbbyrpghWeSSGcXQeGMPGSKEKZeAeXHy8i-4HHBV0qdZzXZH8wSRSBGlrdLm92nEX2CAYhxw8Xg7RNg/" width="270" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I saved the best for last. Check out the adorable gift I received from my dear friend <a href="https://hallesfacade.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Halle</a>:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcQzEcVBqhu9SUldfp2qxQu2imceHYwFeSQr2FgKp_-c8jbNlMcc8moDCl8eMfyW8Aw_kHalxLtWKsHJcEr9nkmvOmPoIPSJNqoATYaG01rnVZbOUI6s0YS59l5K-Hoev3TVwKLyZMJ4/s2048/IMG_3532.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcQzEcVBqhu9SUldfp2qxQu2imceHYwFeSQr2FgKp_-c8jbNlMcc8moDCl8eMfyW8Aw_kHalxLtWKsHJcEr9nkmvOmPoIPSJNqoATYaG01rnVZbOUI6s0YS59l5K-Hoev3TVwKLyZMJ4/s320/IMG_3532.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Needless to say, this occupies pride of place in my living room. :c) Thank you very much, Miss D!!! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">OK, time to wrap this one up. Have a great week, everyone!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">***</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'll end with a few U2 songs, starting with the song that provided the title of this post. This "A Sort of Homecoming," the opening track of their 1984 classic <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i>:</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/zxpf0j60uu4" width="480"></iframe></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next is the title track from the same album, one of their most beautiful and mysterious songs:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/KTzmzrruHwc" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> was a transitional album for U2 between their first three albums (<i>Boy</i>, <i>October</i>, & <i>War</i>) and their commerical high point, 1987's <i>The Joshua Tree</i>. <i>War</i> had been a beakthrough album for them, but rather repeat its sound, they chose to take a risk and completely retool their sound. One result of that is that the band chose to leave off some excellent songs that simply didn't fit their evolving sound. This is "The Three Sunrises":</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/7KOWOuv1gZM" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another standout track that didn't make the cut for <i>The Unforgettable Fire</i> is one of their most beautiful songs - "Love Comes Tumbling":</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/59SMb35m8v4" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /><p></p><p>You're definitely on a songwriting roll when songs as gorgeous as this are relegated to B-sides (and, in the case of these two tracks, the <i>Wide Awake In America</i> EP).</p><p>That will do it 'til next time, everyone!</p><p><br /></p></div>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-69892899843764540602021-04-01T22:38:00.000-04:002021-04-01T22:38:25.100-04:00My New (Old) Beat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHr6Qo6WsTQYb-G5u04Wi-1oXKMDSKQ2f1RLH-OjO9N6pYDCqTWakRCAy4qZ68H2N8exNrrkg_FWaFn0m0XYYGWfI1MS7DgfJLUT2H03J5ivfICS7i3s-uMRw0XNeliiaoLMw31c87aw/s612/istockphoto-1055013676-612x612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="612" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUHr6Qo6WsTQYb-G5u04Wi-1oXKMDSKQ2f1RLH-OjO9N6pYDCqTWakRCAy4qZ68H2N8exNrrkg_FWaFn0m0XYYGWfI1MS7DgfJLUT2H03J5ivfICS7i3s-uMRw0XNeliiaoLMw31c87aw/w400-h190/istockphoto-1055013676-612x612.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p>Hey folks. Happy end of week to everyone. Just wanted to write something up tonight because (dramatic pause): I moved into my new apartment today. Phew... it was quite the adventure pulling off a move in less than two weeks while working 50+ hours. But it's done.</p><p>I liked my old apartment (really, the first floor of a house) well enough, but this is substantially larger (my bedroom is nearly twice the size of the old one), and much quieter. Much as I enjoyed my landlord's children, having a four-year-old tearing around directly above me for hours on end was less than fun. </p><p>Now I live above a small office, and the only other apartment unit is rented by two young residents who are studying at local hospitals. I heard them come in earlier this evening, but haven't heard a sound since, which is what the landlord told me to expect.</p><p>I think I mentioned in a previous post that this is a block away from another apartment I rented several years ago. I like this neighborhood in general, but particularly because my favorite restaurant is across the street and, even better, because I now have access to the running routes I used when I started running about 5-6 years ago.</p><p>My last apartment wasn''t far from here, but the traffic is much heavier, and the running routes involve crossing a number of busy streets. The routes from here are on much less traveled roads, have more varied terrain (some hills of differing intensities), and go through some of the prettiest streets in town. </p><p>I took today (Thursday) and tomorrow off because I know I'd be exhausted by now. It's supposed to be a quintessential early spring day here in New England tomorrow - overcast, with occasional light rain and/or snow, temperatures a degree or two above freezing, and a raw east wind off the Atlantic - excellent conditions for kicking off a new season of running. </p><p>I am determined to get back into the best shape of my life. I was well on my way in the fall of 2019, only to be waylaid by, in order: a) a severe bronchial infection that lasted nearly two months; b) a hyper-extended knee, injured on my first run after recovering from the bronchitis; c) three (re-)broken ribs; and d) the pandemic. Other than those things, I have no excuse for not being out there pounding the pavement. ;D</p><p>Kidding aside, I've set my mind to pucking up where I left off in October 2019 and meeting my goal by the weekend before Christmas this year. I jsut had a chat with my nephew C, who told me he's going to be moving back to the next town over in a few weeks for work. He wants to start running again as well, so we're going to be running partners. I've never run with anyone else before, but C is just like me when it comes to setting goals: once he's done so, he doesn't let anything stop him, up to and including broken bones (just like his Aunt Cass, unfortunately for him!).</p><p>So, I'll be getting back to my longstanding exercise routine over the next 2-3 months. While packing for the move I dug up a number of outfits I'm looking forward to wearing again by the end of the year. Not that I needed it, but the extra motivation is nice. </p><p>And finally, with the move nearly done, other than unpacking and some cleanup here, I can resume my writing projects again. The past month has basically been a wash in terms of significant progress; there are only so many hours in the day, and working 50+ hours and packing doesn't leave much left over I've been taking notes and jotting down ideas when time permits, which will hopefully provide some fodder now that I'll have free time again.</p><p>OK, that will do it. I'll wrap this up with a few Bruce Cockburn songs. First up is one he wrote about moving from Toronto to Montreal to be near his then-girlfriend (they've since married). This is "My New Beat," recorded for his 2002 anthology <i>Anything Anytime Anywhere</i>:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/6NanolD07ik" width="480"></iframe></p><p>If the backing vocals sound familiar, that's becuase they're courtesy of Patty Griffin, who has one of the most distinctive voices around.</p><p>And to wrap things up, a gorgeous, meditative song about travel (of a sort) from his third album, 1971's <i>Sunwheel Dance</i>. This is "Feet Fall On The Road."</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/a7EMv_yovkw" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Have a great Friday, everyone. See you back here soon...</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-36747254403386518762021-03-21T21:20:00.003-04:002021-03-21T21:24:00.670-04:00A Weekend Hello<p> Hey folks. Just another brief post, as moving-related tasks are taking up all of my free time. It's not a lot of fun, but I've been thinking for some time that things need to change, so hopefully this is the first step on the road to somewhere better. Fingers crossed. </p><p>***</p><p>Lyle Lovett, one of my favorite songwriters, has been holding a series of livestream shows since last summer. He invites a different artist for each show, and they basically have a conversation and perform songs related to what's being discussed. He was a journalism major in college, which helps explain his ability to draw people out during these shows. He's also the epitome of a Texas gentleman, which certainly doesn't hurt.</p><p>He's had on, among others, John Hiatt (another big favorite of mine), Shawn Colvin, Chris Isaak, Elvis Costello, Vince Gill, and Jason Isbell. His most recent show, on Friday evening, was with Michael McDonald, from The Doobie Brothers. I like the Doobie Brothers, and obviously he has a terrific voice, but I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this show. It flew by, which is always a good sign. Looking forward to the next one already.</p><p>I thought I'd wrap up this post by sharing a few of my favorite songs from Lyle. First is one from my favorite album of his, 1996's <i>The Road to Ensenada</i>. This is "Private Conversation":</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/OyTC0wiBEd8" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/OyTC0wiBEd8/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Next up is one that highlights his sly, self-deprecating sense of humor: "Her First Mistake," also from <i>The Road to Ensenada</i>:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/SEiZItKGpBY" width="480"></iframe></p><p>And finally, a beautiful, heart-breaking song of betrayal - "Nobody Knows Me," from <i>Lyle Lovett & His Large Band</i> (1989):</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/bF3KeXcRAhE" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bF3KeXcRAhE/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>You know you've written a great song when Willie Nelson sheds a tear while listening to it (at the 2:00 minute mark). </p><p>He was close to wrapping up work on his first album of original material since 2009 when the pandemic hit, and judging from the new songs he's shared the past few months it's going to be terrific. Can't wait.</p><p>That will do it for this one, folks. Hope everyone has a good week. :c)</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-69830790262815687952021-03-11T21:25:00.000-05:002021-03-11T21:25:25.188-05:00Move On Up (Again)<p> Hello all. Just another quick post to keep the writing muscles limber. </p><p>It's been a bit hectic lately, and will be even more so for the next few weeks, becaue I'll be moving to new digs at the beginning of April. I didn't really want to move, but my current landlord needs my apartment for family reasons. They feel terrible about it, but I've assured them (honestly) that they have no reason to apologize. Family comes first, after all. </p><p>That being said, I have had to move far too many times, and it has gotten very, very old. Moving is stressful and exhausting, and I've definitely been feeling it recently. </p><p>The good news is I found a new place that is almost literally around the block from where I currently live (it's less than half a mile away), so it won't be as bad as it could be. It also promises to be much quieter than my current location. There are only two units in the building, both on the top floor, and the building manager mentioned several times that it's a very quiet building. That will be a welcome change. My current landlords have two young children. I love kids, and their two are wonderful, but... well, let's just say my noise-cancelling headphones have gotten a workout the past year while I've worked from home.</p><p>So, the next three weeks will be tiring and stressful, but at least there's the promise of more restful digs afterwards. I do like this neighborhood, and this new location will offer me better routes for running, which I plan to start up again once I've moved. And there's a fabulous diner directly across the street, so that's a nice perk. Anyway, I'll be happy when it's all over.</p><p>That will do it. I'll end with a classic from the late, great Curtis Mayfield: "Move On Up," from <i>Curtis</i>, his solo debut album from 1970. I've shared this before, but a) I really <i>am</i> moving up, too (the new digs are at the top of a hill), and b) you can never have too much Curtis Mayfield in your day:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/iN3KsbnQZxU" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Have a good Friday, everyone...</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-28959854174431686462021-02-28T22:22:00.004-05:002021-03-05T22:19:27.696-05:00Short & Sweet (For Once) ;c)<p> Hey folks. Just a very quick post to say hello. </p><p>It was a busy week here both at work and home, particularly home. I'm in the middle of hunting for a new apartment, which is always time-consuming and stressful. I have a few prospects to investigate in the next few days; hopefully by this time next week I'll know my next address. More on that in the next post.</p><p>That will do it for now. Hope everyone has a good week! </p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I"ll keep the music portion of the post brief as well - but I'll make it count. :c) </p><p>PJ Harvey released the demos from her 2000 masterpiece <i>Stories From the City Stories From the Sea</i> last week. It's a great record, and this is my favorite song: "You Said Something":</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/-zB0UzHGo4s" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Her singing is so evocative - so much so that although she never tells you what they said (note that she never specifies if it's a man or a woman), I think we can guess. :c)</p><p>Ciao, all...</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-90180257715118815732021-02-21T22:49:00.034-05:002021-02-24T18:15:25.401-05:00Musings: That Restless Kind of Feeling<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPCp12XmAWpKOklmRGsTgO418FmxV-bpLGFb9OfOUs2UrqMPztqJ_e4zkqVv9upkJRnhqAoBm4lkeohgSIsNQPqKpZltyCjMae4eks3oyqo-A7ay2mtZz1VFElcsvVNrOIBHoE7FqkRg/s1540/river+thru+snowy+forest.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1540" data-original-width="1242" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPCp12XmAWpKOklmRGsTgO418FmxV-bpLGFb9OfOUs2UrqMPztqJ_e4zkqVv9upkJRnhqAoBm4lkeohgSIsNQPqKpZltyCjMae4eks3oyqo-A7ay2mtZz1VFElcsvVNrOIBHoE7FqkRg/w323-h400/river+thru+snowy+forest.jpg" width="323" /></a></div><p>Hello all. Hope everyone is doing well. </p><p>We had yet more snow again this week here, and a continuation of the usually lengthy cold as well. It looks as if we're finally going to be back to normal temperatures here starting this week (around 40°F / 6°C), and some rain tomorrow. </p><p>With any luck the sidewalks will be mostly clear by the end of the week. It's been a long time since it's been safe to walk for an extended distance, let alone run, and I've been raring to ramp up both activities. It's been too long without them, at least at the levels I like. And need.</p><p>That feeling of restlessness is pretty pervasive in my life right now, and consequently has been on my mind quite a bit lately. I inadvertently hit <b>Shuffle</b> while listening to music a few days ago (I tend to listen to entire albums - old school, I know), and this song popped up:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/2G9PiSiWAwU" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2G9PiSiWAwU/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>"Restless" is from Gordon Lightfoot's 1993 album <i>Waiting For You</i>. It was recognized as a return to form after several somewhat sterile, overproduced albums (albeit with some hidden gems), and "Restless," the leadoff track, was rightfully hailed as one of his major works. (He apparently feels the same way, as he plays "Restless" at nearly every concert since the album's release.)</p><p>For me, this restlessness has been uncomfortable. But listening to his reflections on it made me look at it another way:</p><p></p><blockquote><div>There's a kind of a restless feeling and it pulls me from within</div><div>It sets my senses reeling and my wheels begin to spin</div><div>In the quietude of winter you can hear the wild geese cry</div><div>And I will always love that sound until the day I die</div><div>***</div><div>There's a kind of a restless feeling and it catches you off guard</div><div>As I gaze off at the distance through the trees in my back yard</div><div>I can feel that restless yearning of those geese as off they roam</div><div>Then trade that for a warm bed and a place I can call home</div></blockquote><p></p><p>As is so often the case, it's all a matter of perspective, isn't it? </p><p>That restlessness isn't a bad thing to be overcome.</p><p>Instead, if you allow yourself to listen, it's that quiet inner voice telling you not to settle. </p><p>Not to give up. </p><p>To keep striving. </p><p>It was a message I think I heard for a reason this week. </p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><div>Friday night I listened to what might be my one Desert Island Disc (if, God forbid, I could only have one): Bruce Springsteen's <i>Darkness on the Edge of Town</i> (1978). </div><div><br /></div><div>I've written about the album a number of times here. He recorded the album after a protracted legal battle with his former manager over the control of his career that, for a time, looked as if it would prevent him from being able to record again. </div><div><br /></div><div>Springsteen prevailed, but he was profoundly changed by what had happened. <i>Born To Run</i>, his previous album, was filled with songs about protagonists looking ahead with hope. </div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i>Darkness</i>, by contrast, was about those same characters several years later. Their youthful idealism has been battered by the harsh realities of the world. The songs were no longer about triumph, but instead were about survival.</div><div><br /></div><div>That said, they were <i>not</i> about hopelessness, but about vowing to carry on no matter the odds:</div><blockquote><div>Talk about a dream</div><div>Try to make it real</div><div>You wake up in the night</div><div>With a fear so real</div><div>You spend your life waiting</div><div>For a moment that just don't come</div><div>Well, don't waste your time waiting </div></blockquote><div></div><p>I came across a 2010 <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/arts/music/07darkness.html?referrer=masthead" target="_blank">interview</a> he gave around the time of a deluxe reissue of the album. Reading it this weekend, I was struck by something he said about his state of mind as he headed back into the studio to record what became <i>Darkness. </i>He and Gordon Lightfoot have a similar attitude about the virtue - the necessity - of giving your all in pursuit of your vision:<i> </i></p><p></p><blockquote>“The only thing I was always nervous about was not living up to what my potential might be,” he said. “That frightened me the most. I didn’t think I was the most gifted performer or singer. I felt like I was given a heavy dose of journeyman’s talents, and that if I worked those things with everything I had, they could coalesce into something that was specifically mine.”</blockquote><p></p><p>That's a remarkably humble assessment from one of the great American songwriters. But the message really hits home: it's about putting in the hard work to find something uniquely yours. If that approach is good enough for Bruce, it's certainly good enough for the rest of us, no? :c) </p><p>And frankly, that's what transitioning is (if you do it the right way, at least), isn't it? Taking a leap of faith in the pursuit of being yourself, in spite of the uncertainty and fear, and then doing the hard work to make it happen. And if we can do that... we can do anything. A good message for a Sunday evening. Or any evening, really. :c) To quote a line from another song of his about living to the fullest: "Mama always told me not to look into the eyes of the sun/Oh, but Mama/That's where the fun is." :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;"> ***</p><p>Part of the hard work Springsteen put in realizing his vision for this album was only including work that fit that vision. During the <i>Darkness</i> sessions he recorded, then gave away, songs that other artists made the centerpiece of their albums. He gave this song to the Pointer Sisters, who had a huge hit with it in 1979:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/K9S5EZgIJck" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Most famously, he wrote and recorded "Because the Night," then gave it to Patti Smith, who recorded her classic version (with revised lyrics) that became a major hit in 1978:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/c_BcivBprM0" width="480"></iframe></p><p>A stark, riveting version that featured a ferocious, extended guitar solo from Springsteen was a nightly high point on the legendary tour following the album's release. This is from his show at The Capitol Theatre in Passaic NJ on 9.19.78. It's my favorite Springsteen show. Watch and you'll understand why:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/eUhsV0HxC6E" width="480"></iframe></p><p>Never get tired of watching that!</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I thought I'd end with a song Springsteen co-wrote with Southside Johnny Lyon and Steve Van Zandt (a/k/a Miami Steve of E Street Band fame). "Trapped Again" was a highlight of <i>Heart of Stone</i>, the 1978 album from Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes. How this song wasn't a massive hit boggles the mind:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/03-CW89SSW4" width="480"></iframe></p><p>It really has that late-Seventies Jersey Shore sound, doesn't it? Such a great song.</p><p>That will do it for this one. Have a great week!</p><p><br /></p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-32852364349232198102021-02-14T02:06:00.003-05:002021-02-14T06:57:26.448-05:00More Musings, The Sequel: A (Slight) Change of Plans :D<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXJO5D8pq8EBeReLD2f0QJRNmcD9zNQyvEHTh5zQQcqCdgWFV1KNHmb4YhnHULpNmh1raFPudTfoYjJsVXUt8ORl-ZZH8khQj0s2OC0SLogAMXeiDR1s9KcM9w5r0PsJLL6zWNGztZGI/s241/Picture1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="241" data-original-width="241" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlXJO5D8pq8EBeReLD2f0QJRNmcD9zNQyvEHTh5zQQcqCdgWFV1KNHmb4YhnHULpNmh1raFPudTfoYjJsVXUt8ORl-ZZH8khQj0s2OC0SLogAMXeiDR1s9KcM9w5r0PsJLL6zWNGztZGI/w320-h320/Picture1.png" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;">Hello all, and a happy Saturday/Sunday to everyone. Hope you're doing well.</p><p>This is just a brief post I'm putting up about a change of plans I decided on this week. In fact, most of it will actually be about the songs that came to mind when I decided to write this. lol That said, the main reason I wrote this, as you will see, is so I've committed to this decision in writing. :c) </p><p>I mentioned in my last few posts that I had three writing projects I'm going work on, and that I'd decided to start with a series of posts about my experience having my GCS in Montreal. After that, I would tackle two other projects I've had on the back burner for a long, long time. </p><p>These are larger, more complex - and, in the case of the project I had planned to work on after the Montreal series, more challenging and painful: my childhood.</p><p>Well, I started work on the Montreal/GCS project this week, spending about eight hours total over four nights. And it was going well.</p><p>But after the second night, I began to feel myself being drawn to this second, more difficult project. This feeling didn't subside after two more nights of writing.</p><p>I've learned to trust my instincts, particularly on important matters such as this.</p><p>So, I've decided to put the Montreal/GCS project on hold for the time being. </p><p>Instead, I'm finally taking on writing about the one thing I've never really allowed myself to truly face, even after all these years. </p><p>Why now? I don't know. But that voice inside is never wrong, for bad or good.</p><p>So, I started late last night, and then for the entire afternoon today. About nine or ten hours, all told.</p><p>I haven't gotten to the challenging part yet. But it's coming up.</p><p>And this time I'm ready. Once and for all.</p><p>I'm not going to post it until the entire thing is done (in multiple posts, based on how much I've already written). It's going to take a significant amount of time. </p><p>But I <i>will</i> finish it. </p><p>And I <i>will</i> post it.</p><p>And based on my experience in finishing the other posts in <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-chronicles-of-cass.html" target="_blank">The Chronicles of Cass</a> series, it will be an exorcism as much as, if not more than, it is a writing project.</p><p>I'm going to post about other topics in the interim to keep up the discipline of posting, so it won't be total radio silence. :c) So keep your eyes on this space! 'Til next time...</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>I heard a song early in the week that I suspect may have played a role in why I decided to switch up the order of my upcoming posts. I don't think it was a coincidence that I came across this particular song at this particular time.</p><p>It was written by Colin Hay, who was the singer and main songwriter in the Australian band Men at Work. The band's first two albums were quite successful, particularly their debut, <i>Business As Usual</i> (1982), which was a massive global hit. </p><p><i>Cargo</i>, the 1983 follow-up, wasn't quite as successful commercially (although it still did very well), but showed real artistic growth. Unfortunately, their third and final album, 1985's <i>Two Hearts</i>, was a disappointment both commercially and creatively. </p><p>The band was dropped by their record label and, after several fruitless years trying to recapture the magic, they broke up. Several years after that his record label dropped Hay from his contract as a solo artist as well after three unsuccessful albums. </p><p>He entered a dark period in his life, trying to reconcile where he currently was - on his own, with no recording contract and no audience to speak of - with where he had been - worldwide fame, Grammy awards, platinum albums, and on and on. </p><p>The result of that struggle became the basis for his most beloved, and enduring, song as a solo artist: "Waiting For My Real Life To Begin," first recorded for his 1994 <i>Topanga</i> album. No need to elaborate further; this wonderful, moving live version speaks for itself:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/PvukKx68_yM" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PvukKx68_yM/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>The American TV series <i>Scrubs</i> , ostensibly a sitcom, used this song to great effect in one of its best episodes, "My Philosophy." While ostensibly a sitcom, "My Philosophy" demonstrates how it could, and frequently did, segue in an instant to powerful drama. Both this episode and show are well-worth your time. Also, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the terrific 2015 documentary about Hay, also titled <i>Waiting For My Real Life To Begin</i>. It's wonderful.</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>After their debut, Men At Work were unfairly labeled by many as a lightweight, jokey band. But like their spiritual cousins Barenaked Ladies, there is frequently more going on for the careful listener. "Overkill," written by Hay, was released as the leadoff single from their second album <i>Cargo. </i>Both the song and its excellent video made it clear that Men At Work, and Colin Hay, had much more to offer than easy laughs:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/RY7S6EgSlCI" width="480"></iframe></p><p>In an interview, Hay was once asked which song he was proudest of writing. He cited "Overkill," particularly what he acknowledged were its deeply personal lyrics:</p><blockquote><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;">I can't get to sleep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I think about the implications</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Of diving in too deep</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">And possibly the complications</span><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Especially at night</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I worry over situations that</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">I know will be alright</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">It's just overkill</span><br /><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Day after day it reappears</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Night after night</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">My heartbeat shows the fear</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Ghosts appear and fade away</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Ghosts appear and fade away </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Ghosts appear and fade away</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span>He went on to say that after completing "Overkill" he knew for the first time that he was a real songwriter. And rightly so, as a song that still stands up decades later proves the point.<p></p><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div><br /></div><div>Since this post is about changes, I thought I should end with a few songs about change. First up is "Change," from Patty Griffin's 1998 <i>Flaming Red</i> album. Her albums are almost exclusively acoustic-based, with <i>Flaming Red</i> as the lone exception. An out-and-out rock album, <i>Flaming Red</i> is a showcase for Griffin's hurricane of a voice. If you've never seen pictures of her, she's a tiny slip of a thing, but that voice is a force of nature, as this song shows.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/LnwLAdaClRI" width="480"></iframe></div><div> </div><div>Next, a second song about change - one that spans decades. </div><div><br /></div><div>Woody Guthrie's daughter Nora invited Jay Farrar (Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt) to add music for some of her father's unpublished lyrics to commemorate Woody's 100th birthday in 2012. Farrar, in turn, invited Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Will Johnson (South San Gabriel and Centro Matic), and Anders Parker, a New Orleans-based songwriter to collaborate.</div><div><br /></div><div>The result from the ad hoc collective was called <i>New Multitudes</i>, which served simultaneously as the name of the group, the album, and one of its songs. Critically acclaimed upon its release in 2012, Farrar, James, Johnson, and Parker supported the album with a brief nine show tour. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was fortunate enough to see them at their final appearance at the 2012 Newport Folk Festival. As good as album was, watching them perform live was even better. The guitars were turned up, adding a real edge to the songs. </div><div><br /></div><div>That being said, my favorite songs from the album are two of its quietest. The music for "Changing World" was composed by Jim James; his one-of-a-kind voice sings the verses, while all four members share the chorus.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/md4lZMmwKUk" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>My other favorite song, written by Will Johnson, is "Corine, My Sheba Queen," a hushed duet with James. Anders Parker provides the gorgeous guitar parts.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/ZaQcQD5s2qw" width="480"></iframe></div><div> </div><div>This song in particular sounds as if it could have been written yesterday - or 200 years ago. The stunning black and white photography perfectly captures the song's shimmering, ghostly beauty.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div><div><br /></div><div>And on that lovely note will this post end. Have a good week, all...</div>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-84644997178934451182021-02-07T01:24:00.001-05:002021-02-07T01:31:36.845-05:00Musings: A Beautiful Forest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfnDxdqGhcQVPY_p8iEiPBhc3jutZ7j1kC_gAtpoBjkNjcCU_N399illlLJ78oE15ey9a1N8nHtsEZJgcpYeLLME48FI5XBlWGs7jk7GKrVhE0xLAhc_4tuYoIAFeRA_GFrbDhV85Lfg/s2048/Version+2+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1409" data-original-width="2048" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOfnDxdqGhcQVPY_p8iEiPBhc3jutZ7j1kC_gAtpoBjkNjcCU_N399illlLJ78oE15ey9a1N8nHtsEZJgcpYeLLME48FI5XBlWGs7jk7GKrVhE0xLAhc_4tuYoIAFeRA_GFrbDhV85Lfg/w640-h440/Version+2+%25281%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hello all. Hope everyone had a good week, and is having a good weekend. </div><p>We're expecting more snow tomorrow here in Boston - not a lot by local standards (3-5"/7.5-12.5 cm), but we had a storm earlier in the week that dumped over 16 inches in the town where I live, part of a trend of above-average snowfall so far this winter. One of the few positive things about working from home continuously since last March is not having to deal with commuting in bad weather. Small blessings, and so on.</p><p>As mentioned in my posts from last weekend, I'm determined to write much more often this year. One of the ways I'm going to encourage myself to follow through on that is to say up front what I want to actually write about. I'm generally a pretty determined person when I set a goal for myself, but I can get derailed when my depression flares up. When that happens, just getting through the day is an achievement.</p><p>That being said, I already mentioned the first thing I want to write about in my last post: my GCS (Gender Confirmation Surgery), which I had in Septembr 2017 with Dr. Brassard in Montreal. I'd planned to write this a <i>long</i> time ago, but, well, see above. So, that is first on the agenda.</p><p>After that are two topics - projects, really, given their size and complexity - are things I've had in mind for some time - since I started this blog in the first case, and in the past year for the second. So, this is just a brief post to get myself on the record, with witnesses (virtually speaking) for those times when I need to push myself.</p><p>For more, follow along below the jump. :c)</p><p><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p>The first topic is something I know I've needed to write about as soon as I started my transition. I've written a series of posts (<a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-chronicles-of-cass.html" target="_blank">The Chronicles of Cass</a>) that are a sort of quasi-autobiography, but it's been missing the most important period: my childhood. </p><p>Like many of us, I suspect, growing up was a confusing, painful time, one that I've obviously been less than eager to revisit. I can recall how difficult it was to write most of the posts in that series; I think of them as exorcisms, really, rather than posts. </p><p>That being said, there is one post in that series that opened my eyes to the power of documenting something I had never told anyone - <i>anyone</i> - for over twenty years. Getting those thoughts out of my head by writing about them was catharic in ways I never anticipated. </p><p>For that I can thank M, my brilliant, compassionate therapist, then and now, who helped me finally put those events in perspective. </p><p>I would also be remiss if I didn't acknowledge Kelli Bennett, of <a href="http://goodbadblonde.blogspot.com" target="_blank">The Good, The Bad, and The Blonde</a>, who gave me a critical boost just when I needed it. If you read this, Kelli, thank you again, and I hope you are well. Miss you! :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p>If you're curious, here are the three posts I wrote about those events.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The first is an introduction, to provide some background: <a href="http://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2012/02/another-brief-explanation.html" target="_blank">And Another Brief Explanation</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">The second is about the events themselves: <a href="http://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2012/02/why-cant-this-be-love.html" target="_blank">Why Can't This Be Love?</a></p><p style="text-align: left;">And the third is about that crucial next-morning session with M that I now recognize as perhaps <i>the</i> turning point in my transition: <a href="http://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2012/02/healing-game.html" target="_blank">The Healing Game</a>. </p><p style="text-align: left;">Anyway, for anyone interested, reading those will give some idea of what the forthcoming writing about my childhood will be like. Consider yourself warned (she said semi-jokingly :D). </p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p style="text-align: left;">As for the second project, I can only speculate about in vague generalities at the moment. </p><p style="text-align: left;">It's not because I want to be mysterious, or withholding. It's because I don't really know what form it's going to take, ultimately.</p><p style="text-align: left;">It's a creative project I've been thinking about for some time. I can say that it's semi-autobiographical, and it will (necessarily) be in part about my transition.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I've been struggling with how to approach this project for nearly a year. It isn't writer's block that's holding me back, fortunately. Rather, I have too many ideas, and I'm not quite sure how all of the pieces fit.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I suspect I won't be going into specifics about that project when the time comes to start writing about it. Instead, I have a hunch those posts will be more about the process of sorting out those ideas and finding the path forward. </p><p style="text-align: left;">One thing I've learned when writing these kinds of things is that where they start often bears no resemblance to where they end up - in a good way. I've learned to trust the process, and let the ideas take me where they want to go, trusting that the way forward will present itself. It's happened more than once in the past. It's happened with some of the posts of which I'm proudest in this blog. And it happended with this one, in fact. :c)</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p style="text-align: left;">Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, two legendary musicians and producers, spoke about this very subject for a documentary film Lanois made about ten years ago to explore the creative process called <i>Here Is What Is</i>.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Eno and Lanois are certainly qualified to talk abou the creative process with some authority. Listing their career highlights would take hours, but here's a very, very brief list.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Brian Eno co-founded Roxy Music, then left to release a series of critically-acclaimed albums. He also served as producer on three landmark albums by Talking Heads (<i>More Songs About Buildings and Food</i> (1978), <i>Fear of Music</i> (1979), and <i>Remain In Light</i> (1980)), and collaborated with David Bowie on his legendary Berlin Trilogy (<i>Low</i> (1977), <i>Heroes</i> (1977), and <i>Lodger</i> (1979)). And he did all of this just in the Seventies. (He also invented ambient music during his spare time in that decade.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">It was while working on <i>Apollo</i><i>:Atmosphere & Soundtracks</i>, one of his ambient music projects, that he met Lanois. They went on to co-produce a series of U2 albums, inclduing three classics (<i>The Unforgettable Fire</i>, <i>The Joshua Tree</i>, and <i>Achtung Baby</i>).</p><p style="text-align: left;">Daniel Lanois also produced masterworks by, among others, Peter Gabriel (<i>So</i>, 1986), Robbie Robertson (<i>Robbie Robertson</i>, 1987), Bob Dylan (<i>Oh Mercy</i> (1989) & <i>Time Out of Mind</i> (1997), The Neville Brothers (<i>Yellow Moon</i>, 1989), Emmylou Harris (<i>Wrecking Ball</i>, 1995), and Willie Nelson (<i>Teatro</i>, 1998). </p><p style="text-align: left;">And like Eno, he's released critically acclaimed solo albums; his first two, <i>Acadie</i> (1989) and <i>For The Beauty of Wynona</i> (1993), are among my favorite albums of all time. I saw him live with his amazing backing band, Spyboy, on the <i>Wynona</i> tour in the summer of 1993 at the late, great Nightstage in Cambridge MA. To this day it's the single best show I've ever seen. (He remarked several times from the stage during the show that it was a very special night, so he obviously sensed it was well.)</p><p style="text-align: left;">All of this is to say: these guys know what they are talking about when it comes to creativity. Which makes what Eno has to say about it, in his quiet, humble way, all the more remarkable. And encouraging, for anyone engaged in any kind of creative pursuit:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">I think what would be <i>really</i> interesting for people to see is how beautiful things grow out of s***. (<i>laughs</i>) Because nobody <i>ever</i> believes that. I think what's so interesting, and a lesson that everybody should learn, is how things come out of nothing. Out of nothing. The tiniest seed, in the right situation, turns into a beautiful forest.</p><p style="text-align: left;">I think it would be important for people to know this, to give them confidence in their own lives, that that's how things work. If you walk around with the idea that some people are so gifted, that they have these wonderful things in their head, but you're not one of them, you're just sort of a normal person, who could never do anything like that, then you'll live a different kind of life, you know?</p><p style="text-align: left;">But you could have <i>another</i> kind of life, one where you say, "Well, I know things come from nothing very much, and from unpromising beginnings. And <i>I'm</i> an unpromising beginning.'"</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">Reading it on the printed page doesn't do justice to what he has to say. See and hear for yourself.</p><p style="text-align: left;">And then go out and grow your own beautiful forest. </p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/We1Cvs44i-Q" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p style="text-align: left;">I had first one, and then another selection of songs intended for this post, but, well, it had other ideas. lol Hopefully I'll use those selections very soon in another post.</p><p style="text-align: left;">First up is Roxy Music performing their first single, the remarkable "Virginia Plain" single on <i>Top of the Pops</i> (8/24/72). It was recorded and released several months after the release of their debut album Roxy Music, but was asubsequently added to it after the success of both the single and album in Great Britain. It's difficult to imagine how utterly alien this must have sounded in mid-1972; it still sounds fresh and vital today, nearly 50 years later.</p><p style="text-align: left;">(That's Eno at 1:07; a self-professed "non-musician," he would take the sound of the band as they played and manipulate it using his synthesizer, resulting in what he cals "treatments.")</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/BonWfTW7jKc" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BonWfTW7jKc/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe> </p><p style="text-align: left;">Next is a track from <i>Apollo:Atmosphere & Soundtracks</i> (1983), mentioned above as the first project on which Eno and Lanois collaborated. It's also a great sample of what ambient music is like. (It's also the first Brian Eno album I ever purchased, and the first time I ever heard ambient music.)</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/dcWwtQmAt7E" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">Next up is Emmylou Harris, backed by Lanois and Spyboy, performing "Where Will I Be" (written by Lanois for her <i>Wrecking Ball</i> album), on David Letterman's show in 1995:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/B_1_LCfZMKQ" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/B_1_LCfZMKQ/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;"> I was lucky enough to see them shortly after this performance at the Paradise Theatre in Boston, sitting in the second row just a few feet from Emmylou. It was, needless to say, quite a night.</p><p style="text-align: left;">This is "The Maker," one of his best-known songs (The Dave Matthews Band does an excellent version), from his 1989 debut album <i>Acadie</i>. That's Aaron Neville on backing vocals:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/w-JtAcpKtYQ" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">And finally, my favorite Lanois song, also from <i>Acadie</i>: "Ice," simply one of the most beautiful, haunting songs I've ever heard. You would only have to listen to this once to know he's Canadian:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/XrhIfbUsptw" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XrhIfbUsptw/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">He has one of the most distinctive "sounds" in popular music, does he not?</p><p style="text-align: center;">***</p><p style="text-align: left;">Incidentally, the entire <i>Here Is What Is</i> documentary is available on YouTube. It's well-worth the 90 minute watch time.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/u1kj0m0mGHc" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u1kj0m0mGHc/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p>See you soon; stay safe 'til then...</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-14412933733293195412021-02-01T22:24:00.004-05:002021-02-01T22:24:54.630-05:00And Then There Were Three...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22jFPlPqFFF_Zdm-CWbiHZLScWJqMtGHJSqSHdSPbIlkue0j2UPO8923TTvQFp4YIlxsmtb2s0gYH6ZDEmnxEJrUEZdWDNZ6X3ciCyaxXtLYBV61JZkL9UkJYgCVFZXGA6itoaZVGBHY/s640/three-is-the-magic-number.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh22jFPlPqFFF_Zdm-CWbiHZLScWJqMtGHJSqSHdSPbIlkue0j2UPO8923TTvQFp4YIlxsmtb2s0gYH6ZDEmnxEJrUEZdWDNZ6X3ciCyaxXtLYBV61JZkL9UkJYgCVFZXGA6itoaZVGBHY/s320/three-is-the-magic-number.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p style="text-align: left;">Wow - three straight days with new posts! I guess three really <i>is</i>... well, you know. ;c)</p><p>This one will be brief, however. As I mentioned in my last post, I'm open as to what I'll be writing about. It will definitely be about where I'm going - or hope to be going - but it might be useful to look back as well. </p><p>There were several things I'd planned to write about here that never happened, for one reason or another. I was chatting with my friend A this evening, and she immediately brought up the topic I was thinking about: my surgery in Montreal, back in...</p><p>September of 2017(!).</p><p>Damn, it was a while ago.</p><p>Anyway, this feels like the best thing to write about first. It was the culmination of my journey to be myself... and also where I think I lost the plot a bit afterwards. Hopefully writing about it will shed some light on why.</p><p>I don't know how much detail I'll go into, partly because, well, some of it I simply don't remember, thanks to the drugs. lol I promise it won't be a minute-by-minute account, nor will it be a photo essay. :D It *will* discuss the experience before and after, though, which I hope people will find interesting. (Spoiler alert: nurses are angels, as are the staff at both the clinic and the post-surgery recovery center.)</p><p>And as mentioned above, I'm hoping that writing about the experience will help me process it - and my entire transition, really. I never really went into detail here at the time, but it was a challenge. My therapist told me recently that it was one of the most difficult she has seen - not physically (although it was at times), but emotionally. </p><p>I have a hunch that my instincts are telling me this is a good topic to start with because there are things associated with it that I've never really let myself feel, or process. I think I know some of them, but others... not so much.</p><p>So, I guess there's no time like the present, right?</p><p>I likely won't be posting every day, but I hope to do so at least a few times a week. And I may digress for a post or two if the mood strikes. But overall I want to start exercising these particular writing muscles. and there's no other way than to write.</p><p>Until the next time, then, stay safe, and we'll see you soon. :c)</p><p>***</p><p>It's been so long since I've done these regularly that there are many albums I've never written about here. So I'll start with two of my favorites from last year.</p><p>First up is a track from Jason Isbell's stellar album <i>Reunions</i>. "Only Children" is a spare, haunting elegy. I'm reluctant to say more; it reveals its secrets with repeated listenings. And it's worth the time. </p><p>The video is a quiet stunner too. I'm generally not a fan of conceptual videos (as opposed to performance clips), but this is definitely an exception. It's certainly open to interpretation; all I'll say is that things are not what they seem.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/_bKi2aQxU14" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">Second is a song from an artist I <i>did</i> write about last year (well, late 2019, actually): the pride of Ottawa Ontario, Kathleen Edwards. She took a six year break from her music career to open a coffee shop and recharge her batteries. </p><p style="text-align: left;">The result is my favorite album from last year. One listen to "Glenfern," the lead track from her album <i>Total Freedom</i> (performed here at her coffee shop, Quitters - see my earlier post for the story behind that name!), will show you why. It's an affectionate, nostalgic look back at her marriage to Colin Cripps, who is now a member of Blue Rodeo. Clearly the time off did her a world of good.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/XgiJ5o92DoI" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XgiJ5o92DoI/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">And as a bonus song, how could I not include this one? Count along, everyone...</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/aU4pyiB-kq0" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">Never get tired of that one. And am I the only who finds it quietly moving? Such a lovely song.</p><p style="text-align: left;">That will do it for this post. See you in a few days, folks!</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-88131729096141458002021-01-31T22:38:00.002-05:002021-01-31T22:40:45.845-05:00More Musings: A New Year, and a New Start<p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXE2hc2d7kyPRwM20WaPsqE-hOPreuWF2a3GR-x-633w3TrzakAlRPJXMK-aLzGasTxE6j8EkMUQNaaW2X3a4W_LVC9UCXvX1JF3Xi0nKd8kQmWlglcS2AMAihkr7rq5209Z8zHghjxl8/s640/crossroads_SI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXE2hc2d7kyPRwM20WaPsqE-hOPreuWF2a3GR-x-633w3TrzakAlRPJXMK-aLzGasTxE6j8EkMUQNaaW2X3a4W_LVC9UCXvX1JF3Xi0nKd8kQmWlglcS2AMAihkr7rq5209Z8zHghjxl8/s320/crossroads_SI.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well, hello again. :c) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Back so soon, you say?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">How come, you say?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">(Well, probably not, but I was thinking it.) :c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Because last night I re-read yesterday's post again. And I felt I hadn't quite captured everything I was trying to say. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So, I've spent the past hour trying to think of what else it needed. But I wasn't sure more of <i>what</i>, precisely. </div><p></p><p>Then I was struck by one of those all-too-infrequent moments of clarity. </p><p>When one appears, it's best to pay attention.</p><p>And that moment of clarity told me that it's fine that the post wasn't missing anything.</p><p>And it's OK that I don't have it all figured out from the very beginning. </p><p>In fact, it's more than OK; it's exactly what I needed to realize right now.</p><p>Which is that a large part of the reason I'm feeling stuck <i>isn't</i> because I have no idea of what to do.</p><p>It's because I have <i>too many</i> ideas. </p><p>Too many possible paths. </p><p>Too many possible futures, all jumbled together, and all wrestling for supremacy.</p><p>And I'm spinning my wheels trying to figure out in my head which one is the right one.</p><p>Which brings me back to my original question from the beginning of this post.</p><p>Of course I didn't - couldn't - include everything in that first post.</p><p>Because it's the first post.</p><p>It's the first step in a journey.</p><p>And, if I give it my all, the journey will ultimately lead to where I should be.</p><p>I know writing about things like this works. </p><p>Because writing this blog helped me figure out the biggest issue I faced in my life:</p><p>Who am I?</p><p>Well, thanks to this blog, I now know who I am.</p><p>I'm Cassidy.</p><p>I'm <i>glad</i> I'm Cassidy.</p><p>The effort to get to that point - to being fully myself, at long last - took a lot out of me.</p><p>And now that I am myself, I need to think about the next big question.</p><p>Now what?</p><p>And that is precisely why I think I've been in a rut.</p><p>I think it's the last remaining piece of the old me that for some reason I've been holding on to.</p><p>Why? I don't know. </p><p>Not yet, anyway. </p><p>Hopefully I'll find out in the weeks and months to come.</p><p>I know in my head I'm more than ready to move forward.</p><p>I guess I just need my heart to know it too.</p><p>That it will be OK.</p><p>I already did the hardest part. </p><p>I willed myself to become the person I should have been all along.</p><p>Now that I've done that, don't I owe it to myself to live the life I should be living?</p><p>Yes. Yes, I do.</p><p>So... now that that's out of the way:</p><p>Let's get started, shall we? :c)</p><p>***</p><p>Well, this post turned out to be longer than I expected! But that's fine - it led to me listening to some great songs that I'll share will you now.</p><p>I included "All Things Must Pass" from George Harrison's first post-Beatles solo album yesterday. So it seems appropriate that this post includes a track from his final, posthumous album, 2002's <i>Brainwashed</i>. This is the first song on the album - "Any Road":</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/c45laq6OJn0" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/c45laq6OJn0/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><div>If you don't know where you're going/Any road will take you there. </div><div><br /></div><div>***</div><p>Next up is a song from an artist I don't think I've ever featured on this blog. David Wilcox is a terrific singer, songwriter, and self-taught guitarist. He's a thoughtful lyricist, and this song is one of my favorites. He wrote it about his he and wife, when they were dating and contemplating that next, huge step, using the metaphor of walking on a railroad bridge. It's called "Farther to Fall" (<i>Home Again</i>, 1991):</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/UXq5huOIrVg" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">The final verse brings it all together:</p><p style="text-align: left;">Now you make your choice</p><p style="text-align: left;">Will you turn around and walk away</p><p>The tremble in your voice</p><p>You turn to me, smile and say</p><p><br /></p><p>Hey, balance is no harder after all</p><p>Out across this bridge so tall</p><p>Balance is no harder</p><p>It's just that you've got farther</p><p>Now you've just got farther to fall</p><p>Balance is no harder</p><p>It's just that you've got farther</p><p>Now you've just got farther to fall</p><p style="text-align: left;">***</p><p style="text-align: left;">Finally, one of my very favorite songs, from one of my very favorite albums. While the song's lyrics are open to interpretation, I've always thought of it as a gentle admonition for when things seem overwhelming: "Take The Long Way Home" (Supertramp: <i>Breakfast In America, </i>1979).</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/LPRrHyXchEY" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LPRrHyXchEY/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: left;">OK, that will wrap it up. Can't promise I'll be back tomorrow, but it will be very soon. See you then, I hope!</p>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-30489138159870851062021-01-30T23:03:00.000-05:002021-01-30T23:03:52.947-05:00Musings: A New Year, and a New Start<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDmJ10mnuwvx8BvxLKXV4kHa45DVq88fuMbIgGOf3MihRh3A-QdmCELsivEPcUUdXE38UfbSuqIDq2Pe95QGcEh0b3nlWKRc1nsM7Bcf9xGfrGQrOv0vKrQTMMWZOF60-XgcYEqOlvOM/s1600/moi%252C+7.16.20.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1444" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPDmJ10mnuwvx8BvxLKXV4kHa45DVq88fuMbIgGOf3MihRh3A-QdmCELsivEPcUUdXE38UfbSuqIDq2Pe95QGcEh0b3nlWKRc1nsM7Bcf9xGfrGQrOv0vKrQTMMWZOF60-XgcYEqOlvOM/s400/moi%252C+7.16.20.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">Happy New Year, all. Hope 2021 finds you well. Let's hope it's the polar opposite of last year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Like many of us, I feel as though my life has been on hold since last year. In my case, if I'm honest, it goes back well before the pandemic hit, for several reasons.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm trying to work out what to do about this rut, and how to get out of it. I realized this week that one thing has helped me in the past: writing about how I'm feeling, in one form or another. So that's what I'm going to try to do much more often this year with this blog.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm not sure if I've written about this previously, but there is one instance in my past where putting pen to paper was the key to moving forward in my life. Even if I have, I feel the need to retell it for myself. Interested? Follow along below the fold for more. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><span><a name='more'></a></span><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was in what I now recognize as one of the darkest, if not <i>the</i> darkest, chapters of my life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was in my late twenties and had been unemployed for over a year. The economy was in a protracted recession; I'd had no luck whatsoever in my job search. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The Boston area was having one of it's worst, most relentless winters in history. We received over 100 inches of snow, well over double the annual average, with one storm after another in an endless succession from mid-December through the end of March. It was also one of the coldest winters on record. My memory of that time is constantly shoveling for hours on end, then getting up the next day and having to do it all over again.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was living alone, working for minimum wage at an office job that was just awful. Not the people; my co-workers were all very nice. It was the overall chaotic atmosphere - there's that word again - that took its toll. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Without going into details, my family life was chaotic at this point as well. It didn't involve me directly, but the fallout from it certainly did. The only saving grace was my nephew C, who had been born the previous summer. But in all other respects that area of my life offered no comfort. The opposite, in many ways, really.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I went through each day in what I can only describe as a fog. It was particularly severe in the mornings, but even in the afternoon and evening it was ever-present. I lost 30 lbs that I absolutely could not afford to lose. I would eat one meal a day, if that, because my stomach wouldn't tolerate more. In fact, I would be sick to my stomach every afternoon at 3:00, like clockwork. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Every. Single. Day. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The first therapist I saw (with the <a href="http://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2012/02/right-now.html" target="_blank">assistance</a> of my dear, much-missed friend R) told me this was an episode of, in her words, "severe, severe depression" (a term that therapists typically do not use, I now know), and that I was very fortunate to have survived it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What's remarkable is that to a casual observer nothing was wrong. I would engage in the office chit-chat and joke with my colleagues as I normally would. But the entire time I wanted to crawl under my desk, curl up into a ball, and hide. But I never did. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Three days a week I worked as a janitor at a local grammar school, a job I shared with my father. I didn't know it yet, but I had a severe allergy to dust (among many other things); dry-mopping a five-story brick building with tiled floors and slate stairs was basically the worst possible thing I could be doing. But I had no choice. The pittance that I made was essential.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I got home each night, I was utterly drained. I would collapse on the couch and sit in the dark, alone, with no lights on in the house, for hours and hours. My mind went to some very, very dark places during those lonely hours. To this day, even after years and years of therapy, I still find it too painful to think about.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This went on for months and months, starting in autumn. In February or March, I finally reached bottom.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It was a Friday evening. My family had gathered at my parents house for dinner. My sister C, my nephew C, my parents' son F, as well as a number of aunts, uncles, and cousins. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We were in the dining room, and everyone was having dessert. I abstained; I had no appetite. I hadn't eaten dinner either, but I escaped notice; I always did.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This evening, for some reason, the fog was even worse than usual. Perhaps because it was the end of a long week, and I had come to the house directly from working at the school. Regardless, I can only describe the feeling as if I was under water, watching everyone else. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Towards the end of the evening, my nephew C, who would have been about seven or eight months old at this point, was sitting in my father's lap. Something my father was doing - I can't remember what - was making C laugh hysterically every single time. Everyone at the table was laughing too. Of course they were; is there a more joyous sound in the world than a baby's laughter? </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I felt... nothing.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I distinctly remember looking around at everyone else watching my father and C, with huge smiles and delighted expressions.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>They're all laughing,</i> I remember thinking. <i>This must be funny. You should try to laugh too.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;">And I did, as best I could. Again, no one really noticed. It was a good thing; the reaction would not have been sympathetic or understanding, I suspect.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Perhaps it was because it involved my nephew. Even at that young age, we were close. He loved to play with me, and I did my best to give him my undivided attention. Maybe it was because I knew he needed it. Regardless, something about this moment cut through the fog, and I had a moment of clarity.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">A tinge of fear - terror, really - struck my spine. It was only for an instant. But I felt it. I pushed it away because I couldn't process what it was in that moment.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">On my drive home, however, through the fog, a realization hit me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Something is wrong</i>, I remember thinking. <i>Profoundly wrong</i>.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>You can't keep feeling like this.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>You can't keep going like this.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>You have to do something.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Anything.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>And you have to do it now.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">There was an unacknowledged <i>Or else</i> there as well. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I couldn't acknowledge it, not consciously. But it was there.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I knew instinctively that I had to find something - to <i>do</i> something - to pull myself up. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But what?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">When I got home, I collapsed on the couch and turned on the Red Sox exhibition game, mostly for the familiar, comforting rhythms of the game.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My eyes drifted over to the bookcase. An entire shelf was devoted to my Peanuts books. Another contained other favorite cartoons: Calvin & Hobbes. For Better of For Worse. Doonesbury. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I sat upright.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>That's it</i>, I thought. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>I'm going to draw my own comic strip</i>. <i>And I'm going to submit it to the newspaper syndicates.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I don't know what prompted this; I loved to draw, particularly cartoons, but it had never occurred to me to try to create one myself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But I knew in an instant that this was something I <i>had</i> to do.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">I knew absolutely nothing about how to actually do it: from finding characters to developing storylines to the actual mechanics of drawing a comic strip - the correct format, the right materials to use, and much more.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I was starting from scratch. And looking back, I think unconsciously grasped that I needed something like this. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To give myself a purpose, a reason to get up in the morning.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To learn something new.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To challenge myself.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To do something I could be proud of.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">To survive.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I think I'm going to stop here. Like that winter evening all those years ago, I've realized in the past few days that I'm at another crossroads. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I spent seven years of my life determined to finally, at long last, be myself. And in spite of a number of challenges, I did it. I had my GCS three-plus years ago. It was the hardest thing I ever did, and the best thing. I'm incredibly proud of what I accomplished.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">However, I feel as if my life has stalled since then, for reasons I'm not totally sure about. Not yet, anyway.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'm still at the same job, at the same company, with the same colleagues (for the most part). I like the people I work with, which helps a great deal. And my manager is a genuinely kind, caring person, well above and beyond what her position calls for. I do not take these things for granted.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But my life feels as if it's been on hold in the three-plus years since my surgery. And not just in terms of my job/career, even though I'm good at what I do and still derive satisfaction from it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">The malaise extends to other areas of my life. I know it. I've made several attempts to get out of this rut, devoting a great deal of time and energy to it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And yet here I am.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">So... what do I do now?</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Well... I don't know, exactly. I don't have it all worked out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And that's OK.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What I do know is that I'm going to use this blog in some fashion to figure it out.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's been dormant, for all intents and purposes, for five years. (I can tell as I write this; my writing feels disjointed and a bit clunky.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">But today - this afternoon, in fact - something told me that this blog is going to play a part in figuring out how I move forward, much like I knew I had to create a comic strip back then.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">My hope is to write MUCH more frequently than I have the past five years. Much of it, I'm guessing, won't be of interest to anyone but myself. Navel-gazing seldom is. :c) But anyone who wants to share the ride is more than welcome to hop aboard.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I know I have to start somewhere.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And so... it begins.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Can't wait to see where it takes me.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">See you again, I hope. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Soon.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">***</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Several songs popped into my head while I was working on this post today. I've shared some of them in previous posts, but hey, it's my blog, so I get to pick the soundtrack, right? ;c)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll start with a cover version. The best covers make you hear a familiar song in an entirely new way. (John Wesley Harding's remarkable - and surprisingly moving - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swEnwb_IBhM" target="_blank">reinterpretation</a> of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" is the example I always think of first. Do check it out; you won't regret it.) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another example is Mary Chapin Carpenter's brilliant re-imagining of Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark." I first saw her play this live, much like this clip:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/-l2dFhlaIRk" width="480"></iframe></div>
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<br /></div><div>She perfectly captures the melancholy and quiet desperation of the lyrics, which are overshadowed in Springsteen's original version by the arrangement. </div><div><br /></div><div>He wrote it at the end of the two-year-plus recording sessions for 1984's <i>Born In The U.S.A., </i>angered by his manager's assertion that the album wasn't complete and needed another song. He went home, furious, and sat down on his bed wit his guitar. He began with "I get up in the morning," then caught himself, because he gets up in the evening. And with that, he was off and running:</div><div><br /></div><div>I get up in the evening</div><div>And I ain't got nothin' to say</div><div>I come him in the morning</div><div>And go to bed feeling the same way</div><div>I ain't nothin' but tired</div><div>Man, I'm just tired and bored myself</div><div>Hey there baby, I could use just a little help</div><div><br /></div><div>You can't start a fire</div><div>Can't start a fire without a spark</div><div>This gun's for hire</div><div>Even if we're just dancing in the dark</div><div><br /></div><div>Springsteen was never happy with the synthesizer-dominated sound of the original, by all accounts, in spite of it being a massive hit. When he toured behind his 2002 album <i>The Rising</i>, however, the song featured a reworked arrangement that turned it into the guitar-driven take he always wanted. It's still upbeat, but I've always preferred this version to his original.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/R0Dk_LuD5d8" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Next up is a song I know I've shared before in a previous post. It belongs in this post as well, given its message of comfort and quiet, determined optimism: George Harrison's "All Things Must Pass," from his 1970 magnum opus of the same name:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/0EVeeR41aGw" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0EVeeR41aGw/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Here's his demo version, recorded during the sessions for <i>Let It Be</i>:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/0OiWpuKbfEY" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, two other songs I've shared before, from two of my favorite Canadian artists. It's probably clear to regular readers of this blog (if such a thing exists, that is) that Canada holds a special place in my heart. Why? I'm not really sure. But it does, and always has. I plan to explore this fascination in future posts. But for now, I'll just share these songs. </div><div><br /></div><div>First up - Bruce Cockburn's "Waiting For A Miracle." His guitar solo is a barn-burner, even by his standards:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/Q5IcGwwt6Gk" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Next, and finally, is a classic from Toronto's finest, Blue Rodeo. This is the title track to their 1992 album, <i>Lost Together</i>:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/xAnJw9Ctqkc" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xAnJw9Ctqkc/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div> They close every show with this. I can't imagine a better choice.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until the next time, stay safe, and have a good week. See you shortly...</div><div><br /></div>
Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-79518406124761467942020-11-10T00:32:00.007-05:002020-12-02T13:57:49.140-05:00"Once in a lifetime, hope and history rhyme."This is how the Irish national news broadcast ended on Saturday, November 7th, after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 Presidential election. It is a must-watch.<div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/i37IjTV4J0o" width="480"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>The words come from the great Irish poet Seamus Heaney's <i>The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes</i>, a verse adaptation of Sophocles' play <i>Philoctetes</i>, first published in 1991.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Human being suffer.</div><div>They torture one another</div><div>They get hurt, and get hard.</div><div>No poem, or play, or song</div><div>Can fully write the wrong</div><div>Inflicted and endured.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div>History says, don't hope</div><div>On this side of the grave.</div><div>But then, once in a lifetime</div><div>The longed-for tidal wave</div><div>Of justice can rise up,</div><div>And hope and history rhyme.</div><div><br /></div><div>So hope for a great sea-change</div><div>On the far side of revenge.</div><div>Believe that a further shore</div><div>Is reachable from here.</div><div>Believe in miracle</div><div>And cures and healing wells.</div><div><br /></div><div>Call miracle self-healing:</div><div>The utter, self-revealing</div><div>Double-take of feeling.</div><div>If there's fire on the mountain</div><div>Or lightning and storm</div><div>And a god speaks from the sky</div><div><br /></div><div>That means someone is hearing</div><div>The outcry and the birth-cry</div><div>Of new life at its term.</div><div>It means once in a lifetime,</div><div>justice can rise up</div><div>and hope and history rhyme.</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">***</div></div><div><br /></div><div>I could think of no more appropriate song to accompany this post than "Drowning Man," one of U2's most beautiful songs, from their 1983 album <i>War</i>. The song, whose lyrics were adapted by Bono from the Bible (Isaiah 40 v28-31), was written about bassist Adam Clayton, who was struggling with serious substance abuse problems while the album was being recorded. Its message of brotherhood, perseverance, and hope, however, are timeless, and universal.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Take my hand</div><div>You know I'll be there</div><div>If you can</div><div>I'll cross the sky for your love</div><div>For I have promised</div><div>Oh, to be with you tonight</div><div>And for the time that will come</div><div><br /></div><div>Take my hand</div><div>You know I'll be there</div><div>If you can</div><div>I'll cross the sky for your love</div><div>And I understand</div><div>These winds and tides</div><div>This change of times</div><div>Won't drag you away</div><div><br /></div><div>Hold on, and hold on tightly</div><div>Hold on, and don't let go of my love</div><div>The storms will pass (the storm will pass)</div><div>It won't be long now (it won't be long now)</div><div>His love will last</div><div>His love will last, forever</div><div><br /></div><div>Take my hand</div><div>You know I'll be there</div><div>If you can</div><div>I'll cross the sky for your love</div><div>Give you what I hold dear</div><div><br /></div><div>Hold on, hold on tightly</div><div>Hold on, hold on tightly</div><div>Rise up, rise up</div><div>With wings like eagles</div><div>You run, you run</div><div>You run and not grow weary</div><div><br /></div><div>Hold on, hold on tightly</div><div>Hold on, hold on tightly</div><div>To this love last forever</div><div>To this love last forever</div><div>Take my hand</div><div>Take my hand</div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NV1dLOiyvvk" width="459"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-67821512672604853922020-11-03T03:14:00.000-05:002020-11-03T03:14:06.517-05:00I Still Believe<div>I wanted to share some songs of defiance, inspiration - and, most of all, hope - as one of the most important days in the history of the United States dawns. </div><div><br /></div><div>Let's start with Patti Smith, from her 1988 album <i>Dream of Life</i>:</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pPR-HyGj2d0" width="459"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div>Another from 1988 - Tracy Chapman's "Talkin' About A Revolution":</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R1P1g4C-Jjg" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Next, one of my all-time favorite songs, and one I've posted several times here, by The Kinks:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qs6G9tisVdU" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Another from one of my all-time favorite albums, Big Country's <i>The Crossing</i> (1983). This version will get the blood flowing, guaranteed!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NMeipHcDmbI" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NMeipHcDmbI/hqdefault.jpg);" width="459"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Of course, I have to include one from my <i>very</i> favorite all-time album, <i>Darkness on the Edge of Town - </i>"The Promised Land."</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cDrKILy0s4c" width="480"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span> <span> <span> </span></span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I'll end with a song from a criminally underrated band that I cannot believe I have never featured in a post before. The Call are probably best known for their song "The Walls Came Down," but they put out a number of excellent albums and had a well-deserved reputation as an incendiary live band. I had the good fortune to see them a number of times, and can attest to their power.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Lead singer/songwriter Michael Been (who passed away much too soon in 2010 at the age of 60) in particular was a riveting live performer. Check out his bass playing on this version of "I Still Believe," from their 1986 album <i>Reconciled</i> (which also features the remarkable "Everywhere I Go"):</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_Q_J6zPyt4" width="459"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div><div>I'm out on my own</div><div>I'm walking the streets</div><div>Look at the faces that I meet</div><div>I feel like I'm lost</div><div>And I want to go home</div><div>What do I feel?</div><div>What do I know?</div><div><br /></div><div>But I still believe</div><div>I still believe</div><div>Through the shame</div><div>Through the grief</div><div>Through the heartache</div><div>Through the tears</div><div>Through the waiting</div><div>And through the years</div><div><br /></div><div>For people like us</div><div>In places like this</div><div>Who need all the hope</div><div>That we can get</div><div>I still believe</div><div><br /></div><div>I still believe too. And later today we can take the first steps on the journey to take back our country. See you there. </div></div>Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-53816216201626476542020-08-23T22:16:00.003-04:002020-08-23T22:16:36.809-04:00Dispatch from the Home Front<div style="text-align: center;">
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Hello everyone. I hope you're all doing well and staying safe in these perilous times.</div>
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I haven't posted in a long time, for a variety of reasons. Work has been very busy (I'm grateful to have a job, needless to say), and we're nearing a big deadline. I've also been working on two large personal writing projects as time permits, one of which I'll share here when I finally finish (hopefully in the next 4-6 weeks, if work eases up at long last). And finally, I'm dealing with a health issue that has impacted my energy level to an extent I haven't dealt with in quite some time. (I'll be OK; it's taken a toll that will require some time and rest to heal.)<br />
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The other reason it's been a while is a side effect of the horror show that is the United States the past four years. I had nearly finished a lengthy post about the ongoing destruction of my country by the traitor in the White House and his fellow travelers in the US Senate and the House (which fortunately is controlled by the party that actually loves America), but I decided to remove nearly all of it. (I suppose my views are pretty clear from the previous sentence, aren't they?)<br />
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I rarely write about politics here, although I have very strong views and support a number of causes with both my time and money. But what I'm witnessing here on a daily turns my stomach. To think that 30-35% of the population is perfectly OK with what is is going on makes me ashamed to share a country with them.<br />
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Suffice it to say that I am doing everything in my power, inconsequential though it may be, to help ensure that they are completely, totally, utterly annihilated at every single level of government, from the White House to dog catcher, in the election this November. And then I want to watch them suffer the consequences of their betrayal of everything this country, flawed though it may be, is supposed to stand for. And make no mistake: the <u>good</u> people of this country are going to make sure they face their day of reckoning, one way or another. Count on it.<br />
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OK, time to move on to more upbeat matters, for my own sake. (Rage is not a healthy place to reside for very long, and I spend far too much time there already.) Follow along below the fold for the fun stuff.<br />
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I thought I'd share a few photos pics of happy moments, and then a few songs from some of the artists I've been listening to the past six-plus months.<br />
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First up is a photo of the birthday presents I received several months ago from my sister, nephew, and Mr. C (her dog):<br />
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Say hello to Benny Bear (so named by my sister; I know better than to contradict her :c)) and his new pal, Cindy Cow. I've been working from home since March, and Benny and Cindy keep me company all day. They're good listeners, which is helpful for me as a writer who likes to test out prospective wording to an audience. They also attend the daily Doc team online meeting (but only after they had signed their NDAs, of course). Joking aside, it really does help to have them next to me; quarantining definitely takes a toll, and they're a reminder that there's a world outside my four walls.<br />
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Speaking of Mr. C, he and my sister took a few well-deserved days off last month. (As mentioned in my <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2020/03/musings-lost-together.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>, she's a nurse practitioner, and has been running drive-up testing centers for the coronavirus in some of the hardest-hit communities in the Greater Boston area, working 60-70+ hours every week since the beginning of March.) They decided to go to the beach (socially distanced at all times, of course). And while my sister <i>likes</i> the beach, and had a <i>good</i> time, someone else <i>loves</i> the beach, and had a <i>great</i> time:<br />
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(He's trying to reach a piece of driftwood, in case you're wondering what he sees on top of the buoy. Fortunately a thoughtful passer-by retrieved it for him.)</div>
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(As you have no doubt surmised, the photo at the top of this post comes courtesy of Mr. C as well. :D)</div>
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My sister has a longer vacation coming up the week after next, with a return trip to the beach in the works; presumably Mr. C will be returning all of the sand he brought home with him during his last visit. :c)</div>
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To wrap up, a few songs from some of the great artists I've been listening to since my last post.<br />
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One unforeseen consequence of working from home is that I've had the radio on (well, streaming, anyway) all day to keep me company. My favorite station (which I think I've written about before) is WMVY-FM. Based on Martha's Vineyard, it's locally owned and listener-supported, which means there are no commercials, which in turn means it's not a slave to the quarterly ratings race that commercially-driven stations must run.<br />
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(That said, there are several stations I like a great deal, including The River (WXRV-FM) and any number of terrific college stations in the Boston area, including WMFO-FM, where <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2019/09/cassi-dj-sequel-pt-1.html" target="_blank">I</a> <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2019/09/cassi-dj-sequel-pt-2.html" target="_blank">occasionally</a> <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2019/10/cassi-dj-todays-playlist.html" target="_blank">sit</a> <a href="https://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2019/11/cassi-dj-todays-playlist-110219.html" target="_blank">in</a> with my friends Mike and Sue. Hopefully I'll be able to do so again someday post-pandemic.)<br />
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Because it isn't commercially-driven and beholden to ratings, WMVY's playlist is much more eclectic, with a willingness to play music that commercially-driven stations typically don't feature. Here are a few of the artists I've really enjoyed the past few months, some of whom I've written about before, and some I haven't.<br />
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I'll start with Emma Swift, an Australian singer-songwriter who has just released <i>Blonde on the Tracks</i>, a brilliant album of Bob Dylan covers. It's receiving ecstatic reviews, and deservedly so; she is an interpreter of uncommon grace.<br />
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To pick just one example, consider her version of "Going, Going, Gone," off Dylan's 1974 album <i>Planet Waves </i>(recorded with The Band backing him up)<i>.</i> To call her version revelatory scarcely does it justice. She's taken what was previously a deep album track on one of his lesser-known (but still excellent) albums and made me listen to it anew. That is an amazing gift.<br />
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I haven't had any luck finding a clip of it online yet, so I'll share another gem from the album. Dylan himself released <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i>, a stunning new album of his own a few months ago. One of the key songs on the album is "I Contain Multitudes." To demonstrate how two artists can take the same song and make it their own, consider each version. First is Mr. Zimmerman:<br />
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(As an aside, just a quick shout-out to Dylan's backing band, who are as good as it gets.)<br />
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And here is Emma's version:<br />
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Remarkable. Do yourself a favor and check out both albums. You won't regret it.<br />
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Next up are tunes from two artists for whom songwriting runs in the family. This is "Brand New," a spare, haunting (and haunted) song from his terrific new album <i>Heartbreaker Please</i>. The video features a live vocal. Just listen to how he holds one note for 15 seconds, starting at 2:10; that one note conveys perfectly something that can't be expressed in words.<br />
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And finally we have a track from Lilly Hiatt, the daughter of the great John Hiatt (like Richard Thompson, one of my all-time favorite songwriters). Her latest album, <i>Walking Proof</i>, is her fourth, and continues to build on her already impressive catalog. This is the lead single from the album, "Brightest Star" (and yes, the gent in the video is getting a tattoo in real time - ouch...):</div>
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Damn. I could listen to her sing all day.</div>
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That will do it for now. I'm going to try to write more frequently; it helps me get out of my own head, if nothing else. Take care, everyone, and stay safe.</div>
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Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-35557738543094843072020-03-22T20:53:00.001-04:002020-03-22T20:53:32.443-04:00Musings: Lost TogetherHello all - hope this finds you and yours safe and well. In these difficult, challenging days, staying connected and maintaining perspective are more important than ever.<div>
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I'm working from home these days, as are many of us. And while it's challenging - I'm prone to depression, and I've been going through a difficult stretch for quite a while, for a number of reasons - I'm doing my best to counteract the feelings of loneliness and uncertainty by keeping in mind those who are making huge sacrifices for all of us.</div>
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People like my sister:</div>
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The photo is from a <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/03/21/nation/when-will-coronavirus-pandemic-end-what-scientists-can-say-about-life-returning-normal/" target="_blank">front page story</a> in Saturday's Boston Globe. She's a nurse practitioner, and she and her colleagues at the clinic where she works are providing drive-through testing for the coronavirus. Here's another photo of her in action - she's at the car window.<br />
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People like my sister and her colleagues, the staff at the supermarket where I went shopping Thursday evening, the pharmacist at the drugstore where I picked up my estrogen patches on Friday evening, and many, many others are genuine heroes. It's encouraging to see people (not all of them, unfortunately, but quite a few) recognize them as such. I made it a point to thank the staff at the pharmacy and the supermarket to let them know their efforts are not going unnoticed. Even though times are challenging, thinking of them helps me to maintain perspective.</div>
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In the weeks and months to come there will be a great deal of speculation about how the world will change because of the pandemic. As horrific as it has been, and will continue to be, we can hope that it will inspire a more compassionate, equitable society once we get to the other side (and we <i>will</i> get to the other side). </div>
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On a personal note, I've been feeling stuck in a rut, both professional and personally, for far too long. I had already begun taking tentative steps to break out of it when the pandemic hit with full force. While I don't know how long it will take for things to return to some semblance of normalcy, I know that where I have been is no longer enough for me. I feel I have more to offer the world than what I've been doing. </div>
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I don't quite know how to get where I want to be, but I'm reminded of when I started my transition. I didn't know how to do that either - and yet here I am, living as myself at long last. If I can do that, I can do anything I put my mind to.</div>
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The first part of that will be appearing at this site in the weeks to come. I have something I've needed to write for a long, long time, and I've been putting it off and putting it off because I know how painful it will be. But I've realized that not writing it is holding me back from fully living. So, I've started work on it. It will be difficult, and will take time, but I have faith that finishing it will provide clarity and a sense of purpose. I can't prove it; I just know that it will lead me to be doing what I was put here to do. So, please bear with me. I hope others will find the result worthwhile as well.</div>
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In the meantime, please be safe, take care of your loved ones, and remember that we are all lost together.</div>
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That's the title track from Blue Rodeo's 1992 album. They close every concert with this, and you can see why in this great live version from Halifax, Nova Scotia from a few years ago:</div>
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In case you're wondering, the handsome young gent singing the second verse solo is Devin Cuddy, the son of Jim Cuddy, one of the two songwriters in the band (along with Greg Keelor, who wrote and sings this song). That is one proud papa looking on as he sings. 😊</div>
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And on that happy note we will wrap this up. See you soon, everyone...</div>
Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-64537814431026219952020-02-23T17:53:00.001-05:002020-02-23T17:53:34.849-05:00Cassi-DJ: Featuring My Nephew C!Hello all - hope you're having a good winter so far and are doing well.<br />
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I meant to write about this last week, but I was under the weather nearly the entire time with a low-grade bug of some sort. I'm still dealing with an iffy stomach off and on, but I feel well enough otherwise.<br />
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In any event, better late than never to mention that I was on my friend Mike's radio program yesterday morning with a special guest: none other than my nephew C, as in the <b>Conversations with C</b> series. :c)<br />
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I've written about C's serious health issues the past two years, but I'm <i>very</i> happy to report he's doing much, much better. He's slowly regaining the weight he lost, as well as his energy level. (He was meeting friends to play basketball after the show, in fact, albeit with frequent rest breaks.)<br />
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Mike and Cs have been friends since C's childhood. When I lived in Seattle, I would come back to Boston for the holidays a few days before Christmas. It became a tradition for the three of us to get together my first day back and head into Boston to look at the Christmas lights, followed by dinner at C's favorite restaurant, a three minute walk from Mike's apartment, then an evening watching movies and listening to music.<br />
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Years later C told us how much those visits meant to him. "I was only six years old when we started hanging out tougher, but neither of you ever treated me like a kid," he said. ("That's because you were already smarter than Cass and I combined, even at that age," Mike joked. :D)<br />
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Accordingly, it was a natural for Mike to tell C he had an open invitation to join us on his show, and, after several cancellations over the past year-plus because of C's health, we finally made it happen yesterday.<br />
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As it turns out, C is a natural on the radio. Being on air and hearing your own voice through studio quality headphones can be disconcerting for first-timers, but C handled it with his usual aplomb. In fact, he even took part in an interview Mike conducted with Tyler Morris, a Tufts graduate student who is also a superb blues guitarist and songwriter (watch out for that name, folks - he's releasing his next album in March).<br />
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In response to a question from Mike, Tyler mentioned that he sings for the first time on the album, which prompted C to ask several questions about what that was like, comparing it to his experiences as a nursing student working with patients for the first time. He and Tyler had an interesting discussion about the process of gaining confidence and learning to trust yourself; all Mike and I had to do was sit back and listen, smiling. (Mike jokingly asked C if he wanted to take over the rest of the show so he and I could go for coffee.)<br />
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When I sit in Mike graciously allows me to program a five song set, which I passed over to C this time around. He spent several hours Friday evening working out his set list, apologizing to Mike at one point for the number of text messages he was sending as he refined it. Mike, being a pro, told him an apology wasn't necessary, and that it was the mark of a professional to spend that much time on it.<br />
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Not surprisingly, C's set list was quite good. While he listens to a wide variety of music, he decided to focus on dance-oriented artists at Mike's suggestion. "That isn't my area of expertise, and it's always great to expose listeners - and myself - to things they wouldn't normally hear on my show," he said. While I only knew one of the songs C played (Frank Ocean's "Lost," from his <i>Channel Orange</i> album), I was impressed with how well the set flowed.<br />
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Things went so well that we'll be back with Mike next month on the 21st, when Tyler will be performing with his band live in the studio. We're also making plans to attend one of Tyler's record release shows. I'm already looking forward to both!<br />
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That will do it for now. Hope to have my next post up sooner - have a great week in the meantime, everyone!<br />
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Thought I would feature several albums I've been enjoying recently.<br />
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First up, one from The Drive By Truckers new album <i>The Unraveling</i>. This is the eerie "Rosemary with a Bible and a Gun." I usually post live tracks, but the studio version is so striking I went with that instead:<br />
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Next up is one from a terrific Canadian songwriter, William Prince. Here's "The Spark," from his excellent second album <i>Reliever</i>, which came out just over a week ago. This was recorded live in his hometown of Winnipeg for the CBC:<br />
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He's just beginning to get the recognition he deserves (Neil Young is a big fan), so be sure to check him out. You won't regret it.<br />
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Last but by no means least, here's "St. Peter's Bay," the lovely lead-off track from Canadian songwriter Sarah Harmer's long-awaited <i>Are You Gone</i>, her first album in ten years:<br />
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This was recorded at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Vaughan, Ontario. I'll be seeing her in April up in Canada with my friends A and B, so I'll have more Sarah in a future post. Stay tuned!<br />
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<br />Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3348070062651753968.post-42118186239613839512019-12-31T22:53:00.001-05:002019-12-31T22:53:03.955-05:00(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Boots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello, all. Hope your holiday season has been a pleasant one. </div>
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As I mentioned in my last post, this isn't my favorite time of year, as is the case for many of us. Last year was particularly difficult; I was dealing with a nastier-than-usual bout of depression, for reasons that still escape me. Fortunately, this year, while still not great, has at least been tolerable. That said, I'm glad it's nearly over for another year.<br />
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We had crazy weather here the past two days. We received well over two inches of precipitation, all told. I say "precipitation" because it ran the gamut, changing literally from minute to minute at some points. We had snow, sleet, ice, freezing rain, and (mostly/fortunately) plain old rain. Oh, and gale force winds (of course).<br />
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At one point last evening we were simultaneously experiencing sleet, hail, and - wait for it - thunder and lightning. That was a first, even for New England. We received over an inch of sleet in less than an hour; luckily it switched back over to a drenching rain, which washed nearly all of it away.<br />
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In spite of the less-than-hospitable conditions, my feet stayed dry and toasty as I made my way around - the result of a fortuitous, spur-of-the moment purchase I made while visiting my friends A and B up in Canada back in early November, as noted in a <a href="http://cassidysquest.blogspot.com/2019/11/bear-with-me.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>:<br />
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They're almost cute enough to make winter worthwhile. <i>Almost</i>. :c) That being said, they also enable me to share one of Elvis Costello's most beloved songs, so there's that as well:<br />
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I'll end with two songs I play every New Year's Eve and pass along their sentiments to all of you good folk. First up - Big Country, recorded live at Barrowlands in Glasgow on December 31, 1983:</div>
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I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert</div>
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But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime</div>
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In a big country, dreams stay with you</div>
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Like a lover's voice across a mountainside</div>
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Stay alive</div>
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And another hopeful song from the same show - "Wonderland":</div>
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And finally, Pearl Jam's ragged-but-right version of "Better Things," from The Kinks:</div>
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Really glad I found this tonight - one of of my favorite bands covering another of my favorite bands!</div>
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So, here's wishing all of you the bluest skies and the very best of choruses in 2020. And I hope tomorrow we all find better things. Happy New Year, everyone!</div>
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Cassidyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10765803435751308973noreply@blogger.com0