November 1st, 2018
“ 起きみそーちー (ukimisoochii)!” Wishing you a “Good Morning” in Okinawan!!!
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee took the number one spot on the Great American Read. You can find out the rest of the results here.
I had fun carving the pumpkin and doing the 20 yard dash to the door for the Trick or Treats. The costumes seemed much more elaborate this year for some reason.
We had another terrible week of hate crimes. The first was when a Kentucky man with a history of violence entered his local Kroger store and started killing black people. He had attempted to get into a black church before deciding to kill the two people in Kroger.. Then on Saturday, a lone gunman with an AR-15 and three pistols killed 11 people and wounded some 13 others, including four police officers. This yahoo figured out that all the problems of the world can be laid at the feet of Jewish people. So he thought he would make a statement about that. Either he or the cops shot his dumbass and he is being held in the jail wing of the hospital. On Friday they arrested some dweeb in Florida who thought certain democrats were being too critical of SCROTUS. He sent 14 pipe bombs through the mail. All were intercepted and no one was hurt. I suspect the divisiveness of “Normal” people’s politics has emboldened fringe elements of our society to make them think that they may have an audience now. I hope I am wrong.
This week I learned some stuff:
• November 1st is a BBBBIIIIGGGG DAY – First of all, it is my youngest brother, Mike’s Birthday. Happy Bday Troutguts!!! It is National Calzone Day; National Authors’ Day; National Family Literacy Day; National Cook For Your Pets Day; National Vinegar Day; National Deep Fried Clams Day; National Brush Day; and finally, National Men Make Dinner Day (Must Cook. No BBQ Allowed!)…. So go crazy, at least one of these has to be your day!
Website Update:
• Sometime back, I may have mentioned that the webpage editing tool that I used to create and edit the UJT pages has a quirk. The pages I create and edit display perfectly in Firefox. However if you try to view UJT pages in Safari or Chrome the first line of text or image would be superimposed on the template image for all the pages (big ass Jacaranda Tree!). I have attempted to add that amount of blank space in every page. This creates a little gap at the top of the page for Firefox users but all the folks using Safari and Chrome can see everything clearly. I have submitted a ticket but haven’t found a remedy yet.
• A “New” Vocabulary Quiz!!!
• I added a couple of recipes for you all that I wrote several years ago but neglected to publish, Cioppino, a wonderful seafood soup or stew. And I also added my “Its Flied Lice, you Plick!” recipe too. On top of that, I just added a new soup recipe for you, “Ginger Chicken and Bok Choy Soup. I decided to cook the Greek White Bean Soup again this week to double check the recipe (last time I just made it with Vegetable Broth and wanted to try it with Chicken Broth). Anyway, as I went through it I found a bunch of typos. PLEASE! If you ever find any typos on the site, please let me know. My proof-reader is an old geezer that lacks any attention to detail. So help a brother out!
Writing, Ceramics and Painting Update:
• This week just worked on one painting. My poor little bowl/pot ceramic things got glazed and one came out kind of interesting -totally useless but interesting. Started a new box and kind of fish wind chimey thing.
Weird-Stuff-O-Meter:
• Grace Slick, lead singer for Jefferson Airplane, Starship and assorted solo efforts, turned 79 years old on Tuesday, October 30th. “Turned XX years old” That phrase always kind of bugged me for any one past the age of puberty. I mean when a 13 year old turns into a 14 years old … well that there is what you call a transformation. It gets awkward for everyone. They don’t know how to act and we don’t know how to treat them anymore really. But from 78 to 79…eh.
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 feat. Laura Chavez — Don’t Want it to Stop — Another gift from the present my friend gave me. Casey’s singing reminds me of all my favorites mashed up – Linda Ronstadt, Grace Slick, and Janis Joplin and Ms. Chavez’s guitar is the perfect accompaniment for her singing on this “Live” album released in 2017.
• TLC — Waterfalls — The faithful seeking the shade of the Jacaranda regularly will know I am not what you would call a big fan of Rap Music. But good music is good music in any genre. This is an old-school soul-based musical arrangement with socially conscious lyrics criticizing drug dealing and unsafe sex, and an introspective rap from Lisa (Left-Eye) Lopes. Lopes was killed in a car accident in 2002 while driving in Honduras. This song comes from their, “CrazySexyCool” release in 1994.
• Kris Kristofferson — Jesus Was a Capricorn (Owed to John Prine) — From the Vinyl!!!! This was perhaps the first thing I ever heard written by KK(I still am not sure what the “Owed to John Prine” in the title means. JP being a clever lyricist may have been the originator of the Capricorn angle. I was so impressed with the lyrics and the delivery, I was just blown away. This is a song about trying to bridge a gap between the old school Christian establishment and the newly “enlightened” and slightly stoned hippies. This is the title cut from his album released in 1972.
• Lynyrd Skynyrd — Saturday Night Special — This was my next favorite LS song (of course like billions of other “Freebird” fans) from their “ Nuthin Fancy” released in 1975.
• Tommy Emmanuel — Struttin — This one comes from his “Endless Road” album released in 2004. This is Tommy channelling his inner Chet Atkins, I think. It is a sweet subtile instrumental.
• Cold Play — Talk — A great medley from their “X & Y” album released in 2005. This was the first song I head by this band. I cannot tell you exactly what happens inside me when I hear this and some other songs by this band. They have constructed a connection to some part of my head or something. But it works for me.
• Elton John – Amoreena – This song is one of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin collaborations that gave us so much great music. This was released in 1970 on their “Tumbleweed Connection” album. “… like a lusty flower..” oh my!
• U2 – With or Without You – U2 was always one of those bands that could make me smile or cry at any given moment. The music, the lyrics and Bono’s voice and phrasing just pulls me in every time. This one is on of their best songs I think. It comes from their “The Joshua Tree” release in 1987 and was their very first number one hit in the US.
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!