August 10th, 2024
“ Dobroho ranku”, or “Good Morning!” in Ukrainian, an Eastern Slavic language spoken mainly in Ukraine. I have decided that the UJT will remain focused on Ukraine until we can all rejoice at the end of hostilities. It has been 913 days since Russia invaded Ukraine.
This week I learned some stuff:
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- The big bug that I had finished and I remain intact if slightly humbled by the experience.
- We are enjoying our tandem visits from our granddaughter and my sister-in-law. These are some very interesting creatures! Chloe and BJ have become Pickle Ball devotees. It’s always fun when Sharon is around.
- You can find out all about today’s history here.
This week’s Website Update:
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- Not much time for recipes and such this week.
- The Home Page will have a quote from PBS’ Professor Tempest: “ Opinions are the enemy of justice and the curse of the modern world.”.
Writing, Bonsai Trees, Stained Glass, and Painting Update:
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- Stagnant area at the moment.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
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- Many of us take so much for granted in this life that we often miss some of the nuances that might just clarify our existence, a bit. We just get so busy! Many of us are even busy on vacation! I think I might have an exercise that could help our hyper-active. ADHD-like minds find reasons to slow it down and pay more attention: Write your obituary. Summarize who you are in 100 words or so. It is a humbling experience, Every once and a while, someone posts something like, “What would you tell a 17-18-year-old if you could ?” I recommend taking both of these mental sightseeing trips. Perhaps some rainy day before you start to read that new book. If you journal, perhaps capture your thoughts on the matter. As long as we are on this side of the grass, we have a chance to enjoy more, laugh more, share more, or spend more time being kind to others and so on. If your obit is missing something important…go for it. If the advice that you would offer that you might not have shared with others who could take advantage of your experience. I have a feeling that our lives mean something different to each of us and the exploration of your particular experience is would the effort.
Music Update:
This week’s selections took me on a fun stroll through memories – Enjoy the Ride!!
This week’s UJT Radio Program:
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- Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention — Zomby Woof — Like fine scotch whisky Frank is an acquired taste. Some people cannot get past his sarcastic lyrics but that is a shame because Frank was a musical genius and a perfectionist. His music is so tight! All the best players worked with him. This one’s from their 1973 release. “Overnight Sensation”.
- Stephen Stills — 4 + 20 — Stephen is a phenomenon all on his own. With CSN&Y they were just scary good. This song always spoke to me. It was released on the CSN&Y album, “Deja Vu”.
- Joe Walsh – Midnight Man — From the Vinyl!!!! This song is from Jpe’s last album with James Gang. “Thirds” was released in 1971 and it was just so different, many of us were just puzzled by the changes. This song is all wrong but it works.
- Shawn Phillips — The Ballad of Casey Deiss — From the Vinyl!!!! Shawn Phillips is perhaps the most unsung (no pun intended) great player of my generation. His voice, songwriting, and guitar work were impeccable. Shawn taught George Harrison how to play the Sitar. This is just one of the beautiful songs from his, “Second Contributions” released in 1970. My friend Dino first played it from when I was home on leave one time.
- Brad Paisley — Waitin’ on a Woman — I love this song because It reminds me of my wife. Paisley’s guitar work is just superb! I found the video for it ..if you get a moment alone, watch it ..I hope it makes you smile. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-C-IbkuNWs . This one comes from his, “ Time Well Wasted” released in 2005.
- Boston— Don’t Look Back — This is one of those songs that makes you jack up the volume and test exactly how tough those fancy speakers you bought are. This was the title cut from their 1978 release.
That’s it… Do the best you can; Laugh every chance you get; Always remember… The best is yet to come! As always, thank you for being my friend!