This pretty much nailed how I am feeling about the state of my once beloved country in general, and especially, this election year of 2024.
Somebody please beam me up.
And so it goes.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #5,770
yeah I know you did not ask!
You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.
A big portion of the price of any alcoholic beverage, as listed on the shelf or bottle, includes various taxes (excise being an example), as imposed by different levels government, mainly federal and state. When you get to the cash register to pay, they add sales tax to the shelf price. More often than not, the now not so random thought pops into my brain that they are charging sales tax on taxes. Just does not seem right.
Just saying.
Solitude and Quietness
Solitude and Quietness… no I am not Superman in his Fortress of Solitude.
I came across this click bait article in my news feed with the words weird and intelligent grabbing my attention.
10 Weird Habits of Highly Intelligent People
It did make me wonder about a large group of folks, especially the generations younger than me , Z, X, Epsilon, Millennials, Omega, Alpha, Cherrio, whatever it is they are calling them these days.
There seems to be all too many folks that have to have music, video, some form of input constantly streaming into their heads. When does this leave time for quite reflection and daydreaming?
Of course, one of our neighbors, a gentleman several years older than I, cannot be outside without plugging in. Since he must be nearly deaf, he has his rock and roll from the 60s and 70s cranked up in his huge radar operator earphones. If he is walking his dog, I can hear him a football field away.
A few years back, without conscious decision, I started leaving the radio/CD player off in my vehicles the majority of the time. Especially when I was jogging or now when I am riding my bike, it is a qualitative difference between doing those activities with audio input versus listening to your own self. When I realized this, I quit plugging in so much when I was doing those sort of activities.
We all walk this world in our own moccasins, but I do worry about folks constantly plugged in without quiet time for their self.
And so it goes.
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #2,503
yeah I know you did not ask!
You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.
Friends do not let friends spend hours careening down the YouTube or Facebook rabbit holes.
Put that cell phone down on the ground and step back 2 paces… DO IT NOW! Don’t make me hide your charger again.
Just saying.
A Pete Morton song for our times: Two Brothers
Pete Morton is absolutely one of my favorite folk singers of all time. While I love his voice and his simple guitar playing, the real beauty of his music is in his message and the way he crafts the words and images.
He is English, lives in London, and performs mostly in England, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. Occasionally, he will drift over to the States and play at The Focal Point here is St. Louis. If there were any sanity in the music business he would be better known that he is. Of course, folk music is a style that drifts in and out of popularity… but not with me.
Given that the situation in this world and this country seems to be degenerating more and more quickly, I think what the world needs is Pete’s message in his song, Two Brothers, to be taken to heart.
Sometimes the greed, the lust for power, the lust for money, the absolute self-centeredness of so many folks, the need to impose your beliefs, your religion, your values on others, even against their will, just overwhelms me. It is more than I can bear at times, and there really is no place to run. There is no alien inter-galactic ark coming to carry us safely to the proverbial mountain top.
Below is Pete Morton’s song Two Brothers. Enjoy, maybe even meditate on the message.
And so I wish it would go.
Un Chicago or Una Chicago
Porous Frontiers
You do not really need to know another language to know that linguistic frontiers are very porous, resulting in words from one language being incorporated into another.
English is a wonderful example of this, beginning life as a Germanic language that imposed itself on the native tongues of what was to become Scotland, England and some extent, Ireland. That mash-up, in its turn, having Nordic languages stamped on top of it. The Normans were so kind as to invade, Continue reading “Un Chicago or Una Chicago”
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
I would not really call myself a birder, but birds have always fascinated me. We keep a 4 station feeder outside our kitchen window and hummingbird feeders on the porch during the warmer season. A time or two Señora has complained that the birds were eating us out of house and home, but she keeps buying seed. They are definitely fun to watch and we get more than a few species taking advantage of our generosity.
I have a Biology degree that specialized on the zoological side of the science. One of my regrets is Continue reading “Eurasian Tree Sparrow”
Back in the Day
My brother and I going out to play… back in the day!
And so it went…
Rev. Joe’s Random Thought #5,488
yeah I know you did not ask!
You should so be blessed – well cursed at times actually – with a mind such as mine, making all these weird connections between my rumored neurons. Just be thankful that I do not share all of my random thoughts.
To state the obvious, crazy people are hard to deal with. That is one of the many reasons we call them crazy. Frequently, one of the most difficult things to tolerate is that they suck all the oxygen from a room, they hog all the bandwidth, leaving room for only their drama. Even when they are not there physically.
Just saying.
STL – Chinese Restaurants Open Christmas Day
We are thinking Lu Lu’s ourselves…
From the STL Jewish Light: Your guide to open Chinese restaurants in St. Louis on Christmas Day
Would not be the first time my Russian princess, Señora, and I took ourselves to a Chinese restaurant on Christmas Day.
Bon appétit.