April 15th, 2016 – Tax Day US
Dobre zajtšo! (If you were in parts of eastern Germany some one might say Good morning to you this way!!!)
Lets all bow our heads a say something sweet and pithy to the universe in hopes our hard earned tax dollars are not once again wasted by a congress not doing their job. Come on fellas, what say we actually do the work we elected you to do instead putting the agenda of the two political parties ahead of the needs of the taxpayers who expected so very much more out of you. You should all donate your paychecks back to the treasury as you clearly have not earned them!
This UJT week was started for me by “One of Those Days!” You know what I am talking about. Those days when any and every simple task is complicated, done wrong and requires extra steps to fix it. Stuff that never happens to you happens to you and the entire time you are doing things the way you always do. But one after another, like cosmic dominos falling stuff goes wrong. On this kind of day sometimes you aren’t even totally finished fixing the last thing that went wrong when a new disaster strikes. Without going into a lot of commiserating detail, on my particular day, I managed to un-house my Siamese Fighting Fish (Matt) and his buddy the Frog (Bob) not once but twice! I broke two small fish tanks, got wet broken glass and pebbles all over both my little living room and kitchen. Trying to escape, I forgot the tax papers that my wife has to sign. That’s when I discovered that I had also locked myself out of my house. My new secure location for my hide-a-key is a really good one so my daughter had to come over to let me back into my house.
Believe it or not I cherish these moments because its times like these that I set the context for just how good my life is normally. Its the part of where you just have to smile and say, “I can’t make this stuff up”. I am happy to report, that both Matt and Bob survived their various trips to floor surrounded by water, peoples and glass snd are eyeing me suspiciously from their new house.
This week I learned some stuff:
• How to play Dominos again! My daughter decided to try to teach the old folks how to play Dominos after dinner. We had a good time but I am sure as she went to bed exhausted without a shred of patience left, she was pondering any other suspect choices she has made recently. We had a lot of fun but I don’t think she thought there would be as many challenges in the task as there turned out to be. Anyway, the important thing is the guy having the supremely “crapola” day and fragile ego won 🙂
• How to make “Creamy Key Lime Chicken Pappardelle. I came up with this new dish this week and was pleased enough on how it turned out t place the reciepe on UJT. I hope you will try it out and of you do, enjoy it as much as I did.
Website Update
• A“new” Vocabulary Quiz for you folks this week!
Painting Update:
• Slowly, step by step, I am making my way to the paints…but not this week. I am preparing to move.
Writing Update:
• I took another week off from editing … still finding typos in GPS.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• Where did all this crap come from?? As I pack my stuff to move, I am discovering new dimensions of apparent schizophrenic hoarding going on when I was listening to the voices telling me that I was basically a neat and clean person. I think there must he 40,000 lbs. of dust, spider webs and those furry weird clouds that hide behind the books. What is up with that??!!!
• Sperm Whales, the largest and mightiest mammals on the planet are being killed by lazy money grubbing, self-centered little parasites – yup us humans. Our plastic bags, bottles and other assorted plastic “disposables” were the only things found in the stomachs of the 13 whales that were stranded on Germany’s North Sea Beaches. Unlike most everything on the planet, once created PLASTIC NEVER GOES AWAY. It can get only get recycled, or broken into smaller pieces or burned into poisonous smoke. Think about all the things that you personally do with plastic and ask yourself it is worth even one of those whales? Want to learn more? Go to bagitmovie.com. Learn things that could change everything!
Music Update:
I dusted off some pretty eclectic tunes for you folks this week.
• Dishwalla – Every Little Thing — This is just a great little love song from their Opaline album. Its all about being helpless to help the one you love enough. I know this one by heart.
• Grateful Dead – Fire on The Mountain — From the vinyl!!! This is just another great Grateful Dead tune from Shakedown Street that we all used to dance around to during concerts. Go ahead ..turn it up.. get up on your feet…just sway and smile as you do your special happy dance and just let the music take you…
• Venice – Rivers Never Run — From the Vinyl!!! This one is from the special pressing they did called, “Venetian Vinyl” (thanks to the Lad and Lad’s Dad)A beautiful song filled with beautiful harmonies. I have seen them do this in concert a couple of times thanks to the good offices of Brother Joe McAndrew and his merry crew. Its a sweet song that I like a lot.
• Little Feat – All That You Dream — From the vinyl!!!! This one comes from their monumentally successful, ‘Waiting on Columbus” double live album and is a total favorite of mine. To me it sounds like a 25,000 person sing along. Just makes me smile. I hope you do too.
• The Moody Blues – The Story In Your Eyes – Another song from their, “Every Good Boy Deserves Favor” album that I found last week searching for something else. Some times you just get lucky.
• Donald Fagen – Good Stuff — From the vinyl!!! Deep cut from his most recent album called, “Sunken Condos”. Mr. Fagen has always been able to put together an amazing musical experience that takes to some kind 1940s vibe place and makes you surrender to the feeling. It just so tight and authentic.
• Alan Parsons Project – Eye In The Sky — Speaking of tight and authentic music, Mr. Parsons put together an amazing ensemble for his music. I got this cut from his amazing 1983 compilation of songs on the The Best Of Alan Parson’s Project”.
• Melissa Etheridge – Come to My Window — This lady was gay way before it was popular. I never cared about that but I always loved the phrasing and passion in her music. There is a soulful place where she keeps the stuff she is proudest of and this is just one of the ways she lets us see it in all its beauty.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; And always remember, the best is yet to come!
As always, thank you for being my friend!
James