October 12, 2017

“Goeie moarn” Staying in the northern European region, this is a “good morning” that you might hear in West Frisian, a variety of Frisian spoken in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen.

Happy National Savings Day !!!October 12 was set aside to recognize those who value the act of saving and to provide simple steps to show getting started isn’t as difficult as it may seem.

IPhone users got a long awaited (at least by me) upgrade last week. The new update includes some additional features that will prevent your phone from accepting texts or calls while you are driving.

This week I learned some stuff:
• I should have gotten my Flu Shot in September because this Saturday I woke up with a scratchy throat!
• We are progressing on our family disaster plan. The biggest task is trying to find what you already have and what you need to buy to complete the kit. I am hoping to get feedback from the rest of the family this week to update the plan.
• I learned how to install an A/C in a window in our master bedroom that opens sideways instead of up and down. Certain creatures who live at my address are addicted to central air and heat so it has been awhile since I opened any window. I had forgotten that many of ours are the sliding window kind which added a little more complexity to my plans. But we overcame the obstacles. Next big deal will be to install and test the generator to power it, the O2 machine microwave, lights and refrigerator.

Website Update:
• This week Walmart and the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon partnered to donate up to a total of $2 million dollars to the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Walmart will match every dollar donated with two dollars. The link is on the UJT Home Page. Donate what you can to help Puerto Rico recover from this terribly timed and horrendously damaging storm.
• This week I also added a poem that I drafted some years ago and decided it was finally finished.
• I tried some new recipes this week. Not all of them make it to you folks. Some don’t work or at least the don’t work to my satisfaction (in spite of or perhaps because of my tweaks). But I liked this Transylvanian Goulash and added it to the Main Dishes in Things to Eat.
• Houston, we have a New Vocabulary Quiz!!!
• This week I also added the lyrics for “Steel Eyes” from Shawn Phillips. Enjoy!

Writing and Painting Update:
• I finally got around to getting my paintings from the show. It was fun finally have something worth showing.
• I wrote another chapter in Artifacts this week.
• I started a new pastel project for class, then i missed the class this week!
• I started a new painting this week. At least I found a subject I like-a friend’s daughter sitting in a big pumpkin patch surrounded by orange mines:) Its a nice image of a pretty little girl. I haven’t decided which medium to use for this one. I have been thinking about doing some acrylics again.

Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• Terrible fires all over Eastern LA county! It is amazing how quickly they spread and became deadly.
• Does it bother anyone else that we have had the technology to curtail the phone related distracted drivers for at least 5 years and our slow ass political and “free” market economy worked other priorities?? For example, in 2012 at least 3 years after all the technical capabilities were in place to stop it, 3,328 people were killed in the US because of distracted driving. Another 421, 000 were injured in these accidents. 11% of the drivers under the age of 20 in these accidents were using their phones at the time. It sure bothers me. As my kids grew up, I gave them more and more authority over their lives. They made the choices but we all understood, choices involving safety were not negotiable. We could discuss terms but at the end of the day, in safety issues, I made the call. But this phone thing, although worse for kids affects everyone. I see old ladies and business men, construction workers, every one it seems “must” take that call or read that text!! I did it too until I almost crashed. Then I became a hands-free guy but even that is too distracting if I am honest. There is something wrong when our systems fail to stop behavior of individuals that threaten innocents when alternatives are clearly available.

Music Update:
Click here for week’s UJT Radio program:
• Shawn Phillips — Remedial Interruptions — From the Vinyl!!! I discovered this guy through my best friend Dino when the Navy finally took me back home to Miami right after I got married. I had never heard of him. This is just a very short vocal aria but a beautiful demonstration of his great voice.
• Shawn Phillips — Steel Eyes — From the Vinyl!!! This is another more illustrative cut of his song writing, guitar and yes, whistling skills. A nice Factoid for you – Shawn Phillips is who taught George Harrison to play Sitar. 🙂
• Melissa Etheridge — I’m the Only One — This is just a great balls to the walls love song from her, “Yes I Am” album.
• Dave Mathews Band — Two Step — From the band’s, “Crash” album. These boys are just Soooo Tight!! This is a deeper cut from that great record.
• Lifehouse — All in All — These guys are almost worth loosing Jude Cole’s solo music. He produces there albums and helps musically too but there is no denying these boys have the stuff!
• Diswalla — Give — Speaking of boys who have the stuff!!! These boys surely do. This one even gets a bit funky on the back end. I hope you like it.
• Pure Prairie League — Angel — This is just one of the prettiest songs I know. The harmonies and bright guitars are just so sweet and hippie-like .. I can feel the softness of the tassels on my Buffalo Bill jacket that I wore the first time I heard this one. This is a deeper cut from their Bustin’ Out album released in 1972.
• Pink — Sober — This is a cut off the Songs for Japan album. Those charity compilation albums are so great because of the cause you buy them and then you discover new people doing old songs or new people doing new songs or sometimes old people doing new songs for them. Anyway, I liked this “new” (new to me anyway) artists sing her new song (again to me anyway). This song feels brutally honest and authentic to me. I hope you like it too.

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
Under the Jacaranda Tree URL: http://www.jfmccann.com