kidsmoke

May 2023 be a kinder, gentler year than the past few. Let's all resolve to treat the people we encounter daily with compassion and a real effort to understand each other. As the song says, "We can make it better!"

Happy 2023! Here's to new adventures and new loves!

Wishing a wonderful birthday to our favorite drummer boy, even if he doesn't take his own advice! Love you Glenn!

*The inscription reads, "Donna- Never twirl your sticks"

Has anybody read this? It's brilliant! Death and I could have so much fun if he were like the dude in this book, so open to adventure and new stuff.

Highly recommend!

12 hours ago, theashtraysays said:

Oh? New tenants moving in soon?

No, buk you never know when one might cross the road and ask for directions.

2 hours ago, chuckrh said:

2022 getting its last punches in. Wind storm knocked out power last night. Then I woke up with a roaring sinus infection & found that my refrigerator has bit the dust. Freezer full of spoiled food. Hassle I could seriously live with out!

I swear, stuff like this is always in 3's. I've had that kind of day myself, Chuck, only on a more minor scale. I hope you can get assistance quickly with the refrigerator!  What a royal pain, not to mention the cost of losing all that food. That totally sucks. 

Thanks for posting this recap! VC was down due to some glitch at GoDaddy, nothing wrong here at the site. Maybe the weird weather was involved?

Now that the tinsel and wrapping paper have settled into the carpet, what new "toys" are you all playing with? I got a beautiful stack of books I've been craving including "How to Speak Chicken", and I've got a salted caramel hot chocolate bomb, so a plan is forming. I'll demonstrate my new bilingualism in person next Solid Sound, bwok bok bok.

Also I have a new Nathaniel Rateliff album to play as I study. All I need now is a comfy chair and a lap dog.

How are you enjoying the last week of 2022?

That's a gorgeous tree Doug! Stay warm.

My tree.

Try to stay warm and cozy on this chilly, blizzardy Christmas! I hope you have the company of people and pets you love, good foods and drinks, music that makes you happy, and gifts that surprise and delight you!

Merry Christmas, all! 

That was great! Thanks for sharing it. I really like Jeff's take on sharing the music we love.

16 hours ago, Doug C said:

This is obviously late, but I agree that it is a masterpiece, about it’s power

and how it and similar films are needed. A superb example of how the great art allows us to see and understand ourselves and the lives of others.

 

As a recently retired high school teacher, I truly appreciated the anecdote about your student. It made me think of many students over my 36 years that benefited from exposure to the film, music or book that helped them through and/or let them know they were not alone. And of some that likely would have if they had been provided the opportunity.

 

That is what I miss the most. Not ‘’teaching’’. Who really gives a damn about the state standards? But the interactions with students, the getting to know them, the banter, the feeling when you know they now understand a concept they had difficulty grasping and providing opportunities for them to better understand their lives and those of others. But I digress. John Wesley Harding will inform me that this is not an Arby’s.

This is beautiful. You were born to be a teacher. 

6 hours ago, Beltmann said:

Last week I showed Kelly Reichardt's "Wendy and Lucy," which is heavily influenced by Italian Neorealism, to my film students. High schoolers always find this minimalist movie challenging, for obvious reasons. I'll never forget the day, though, when one of my quietest students lingered after class to tearfully thank me for showing it. She told me that "Wendy and Lucy" was the best movie she ever saw, because it was the first movie that truly understood her life and her family's challenges. She didn't know such movies even existed, and she was grateful to be seen in a way that once seemed unthinkable. Some teens have lived experiences that lead them to, say, John Hughes. They can use him. Other teens have lived experiences that lead them to Kelly Reichardt. They need her.

Perhaps you must have personal experience (like my student, I was raised in abject poverty) to grasp how this masterpiece acutely conveys the fears and vulnerabilities associated with feeling that you are perpetually near a precipice.
 

 

This looks amazing.

I'm pulling out the Scott McCaughey / Minus 5 classic, "Dear December" with hits like "St. Nick's a Dick" and "Yuletide Me Over". 

Whattya got for the season?

11 hours ago, Heart full of holes said:

Your cookies look perfect, Donna!

Meanwhile in VA, it's cranberry pistachio biscotti time... Only 2 more batches to go.

I have been craving biscotti ever since I saw this photo.

6 hours ago, chuckrh said:

Haven't jumped yet......besides my friend's little grandkids I'm fine with ignoring the whole thing. Safer that way.

But....cookies! 

I feel perennially late every Christmas, but hey, cards are sent, packages are mailed, lots of presents are bought & wrapped & the outdoor lights are finally up!

Today was cookies, using a cool set of cookie molds and a lot of green and red dye!

Now to get a Christmas tree. I hear they are exorbitantly expensive this year, but then, isn't everything?

How's your holiday, VC?

I'm a big Waxahatchee fan, too. Katie Crutchfield has a one-of-a-kind voice! What do you think of her work with Jess Williamson in Plains?

I love the contrasts between their voices. Interesting factoids on that album, "I Walked with You a Ways", are that Spencer Tweedy was the drummer, and also track 7, "Last 2 on Earth" was co-written by Katie and her longtime partner, Kevin Morby. I like the character that brings to the song, in my mind.

I'm appreciating these favorites. I need to explore several people!

If anyone has a spare ticket for the 6th or the 8th, I have a friend who's interested. 

EDIT: My friend has decided she can't make it after all. 

...anybody? I'm all set but a friend is desperate. 

I'd be eternally grateful! Well maybe not eternally, but for a long while. 

Let me know, thanks.

I've recently discovered Tré Burt after meeting him after a show in November, and lately he's all I want to listen to. He was signed to John Prine's label in early 2020, and I can see why Prine was so impressed with him.

The song currently stuck in my head on endless repeat is "Know Your Demons", but the rest of his output is just as good. Love his lyrics!

I'll be taking notes from all the choices people come up with! Great topic idea. 

Ah, that voice! She leaves behind such a soaring, lilting legacy as a singer and songwriter. This one takes a chunk out of me, for sure. I'm glad she passed peacefully with family. 

1 hour ago, Albert Tatlock said:

Investigating Rosie Carney after hearing this song as a theme on a BBC radio programme.

 

 

 

Wow, that's captivating! What a voice.

What would Wilco be, without its stalwart bass player? It wouldn't be Wilco. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of rock's sweetest massive talents! We love you, John!