October 25th, 2018
“Rahajeng semeng!” Wishing you a “Good Morning” in Balinese (Basa Bali), a Malayo-Polynesian language spoken mainly in Bali in Indonesia.!!!
The first Great American Read is over. The Grand Finale was aired on PBS on Tuesday, October 23 (happy birthday sean!). How did your favorite books do? Didn’t see it? Well I think you can view it here. You can also watch the other 7 shows featuring commentary from the authors and celebrities sharing their reasons for loving their favorite books
It has been a big week for us! We had a nephew and his girlfriend visit us over the weekend and perhaps my oldest friend (we are both pretty old by now) came to visit with his wonderful wife and sister. Its always so good to see them. I was pretty worried about remnants of Michael passed over their area just before they were to come out here. But they came out ok…just some rain by the time it got to them in Virginia.
This week I learned some stuff:
• October 25th is the INTERNATIONAL ARTIST’S DAY !! Artists work hard to add beauty to the world around us in many different mediums. Painters, photographers, sculptors, musicians, dancers, writers, actors, directors, playwrights, digital artists and Clint Eastwood, who seems to do it all. Hug your favorite Artist today!
• My new favorite phrase in Greek? “Ἡ κυρία θὰ πληρώσει γιὰ ὅλα”. Which means, “ This lady will pay for everything.”
Website Update:
• Last week for the “New” Vocabulary Quiz!!!
• New “UJT Music Trivia Quiz”
• I added a new recipe for you all – Greek White Bean Soup (Fasolada). This soup is a very interesting and a very good dish of contrasting flavors and textures.
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• This week I painted a couple more paintings and glazed one of my new coil clay pots.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• There is a great song by Venice called, “Right Where We Left Out” about friendship. It kind of defines friends as the people who you might not see as often as you like but whenever you do, whether it has been a month or a decade, you connect up again as if they had just stepped out of the room for moment. I believe that such treasure is really the stuff of wealth. Its not crap we own or the money we can squander. Its just the simple pleasure of your company every chance we get. Thanks for the visit old friends!
Music Update:
Here is another musical smorgasbord for you to feast upon. I know that not every dish will be your favorite but I hope you will sample it all.
Go to this week’s UJT Radio program.
• Casey Hensley Band — Big Mamma’s Coming Home — This gifted blues singer, evidently has been a local star in San Diego for sometime without me knowing about her. Once again I learn something from my poker buddies!! This cut is from her 2017 live release featuring a great guitar player, Laura Chavez. Enjoy!
• Joe Bonomassa — Further On Up the Road (Live From the Royal Albert Hall) [feat. Eric Clapton] — This is a great song from a great live album released in 2009. At the end, you can hear Joe saying, “Eric Clapton! That was the coolest thing I have ever done!”
• Bruce Springsteen — I’m Going Down — This is from his “Born in the USA” album released in 1984. Its just a great Springsteen song!!
• Venice — The Water — This is as close as this band gets to hard rock and I really like it. This one is from their 2008 release, “Home Grown”.
• Marika Hackman — Ophelia — I am not sure where I heard about this lady but I was pleasantly surprised when she came up on rotation this week. This one is from her “We Slept at Last” album released in 2015.
• Alanis Morissette — Eight Easy Steps — This is from her 2004 realease, “So Called Chaos”. iTunes had a version of this with her commentary on each song…I thought that was cool.
• Neil Young – Cinnamon Girl – Everyone has a Cinnamon Girl somewhere in the past. This one came out on his “Everybody Knows This is Nowhere” released in 1969. Always loved this song.
• Balmorhea – Barefoot Pilgrims – This band is really interesting for me. Their music is a fusion kind of jazz that kind of reminds me a little of Chic Corea back in the Return to Forever days. This one comes from their 2012 release, “Rivers Arms (Deluxe Edition)”.
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!