Thoughts
Fem-fluenza & The Petersons
I got waylaid by a nasty flu bug that I am still not quite over, yet. Right around Christmas, my neck became very stiff and I had a hard time turning my head from side to side. I visit a chiropractor regularly and this wasn’t spine-related. Having had an allergic reaction to a hair product over a decade ago, I recognized the feeling of lymph node activation. Not good. After my last post on January 14, I was run over by a fully loaded dump truck and didn’t get the license plate number. Fem-fluenza seemed to be altogether fitting and proper after fellow blogger Britchy battled ‘Manbola’.
My new friend gifted me with exhaustion, a sore throat, a strange colored goo-substance in my sinuses and a headache from hell. I can count on one hand how many times in my 52 years I have had a headache. I’m not prone to them. The closest I get is one (or the other) temple will get sore when I need an adjustment. This? My entire skull hurt. My temperature jumped up and down between 99.8 and 101.6, my ears got really hot (there is a joke in there, somewhere) and my eyes ached. I’m not talking scratchy eyes or itchy eyes, I’m talking total eye-socket pain…and, they were hot, too.
There was a three-day stretch where the fever stayed around 101 and eating was just out of the question. I didn’t even have the strength to lift my head, much less chew. My stomach & lungs stayed busy with whatever alien potion was sliding out of my head (which I continue to hack up). In the middle of this waking nightmare, there was entertainment…1000s of channels to stare at while your brain cooks, your eyes weep, your nose runs and you fade in & out of consciousness.
I happened to be catching a repeat episode of Forensic Files on HLN in a lucid moment and came to a common sense conclusion despite my condition. I’m not fond of the last name Peterson. I will explain further.
The particular episode I am referring to is about Michael Peterson and the murder of his wife Kathleen. He was a novelist, wrote columns in the Durham Herald-Sun and was, supposedly, a Marine Vietnam Veteran. The murder took place in Durham in December 2001 and he was convicted in October 2003. There is still some question as to whether or not he was guilty for another woman’s death but, I’m not going to cover his case here. During the show, it hit me. That last name…
I’m sure everyone remembers the Scott Peterson/Laci Peterson murder case. He was convicted in 2004 and sits on death row at San Quentin awaiting a lethal injection while his case is being appealed to California’s Supreme Court. Then…there’s ex-cop Drew Peterson. He came on the scene when his fourth wife Stacy disappeared without a trace in 2007. That lead to a re-opening of his third wife’s death, Kathleen, in 2003. He was convicted of her murder in 2012 and got added time at Terre Haute Penitentiary for attempting to have the Prosecutor in his case killed. What a charmer he is.
After the episode was over, all I could think was “Don’t marry anyone with the last name Peterson, especially if your name is Kathleen.” Sheesh.
Shutterbug Saturday: Tribute Pictures 5.0
1st Street Bridge
Town Lake (Colorado River)
Photo Credit: Carlos Delgado on Unsplash
It appears that I have more Patton pictures than I realized. Some of them are of him, not by him. Nevertheless, this is looking like a seven part series, now.
♦ Part I
♦ Part II
♦ Part III
♦ Part IV
06-04-2008
08-27-2008
02-24-2009
05-08-2008
More to come… ~Vic
Foto Friday: Tribute Pictures 4.0
This is part four of a five, possibly, six part series showcasing my former supervisor W. H. Patton’s photography. The first post is here. The second post is here. The third post is here.
Round four…
10-09-2008
10-09-2008
02-21-2008
02-27-2008
03-07-2009
03-07-2009
05-18-2008
05-18-2008
Shutterbug Saturday: Christmas Local 2.0
Beautiful home a block away.
Part II of 2018 Christmas reflections.
Registered National Historic Landmark
Built in 1772 by Francis Nash
Was home to William Hooper 1782-90
Foto Friday: Christmas Local
Iron Reindeer & Sled
Foto Friday, local flair…something a little different from Shutterbug Saturday.
Iron Sled & Reindeer in the background.
More to come… ~Vic
National Hangover Day
January 1 has three celebrations with New Year’s Day being the most obvious. It is also National Hangover Day, a time of global suffering after the New Year’s Eve parties all over the planet. Loud snoring, moans, groans, staggering and heaving noises can be heard in nearly every neighborhood. Lost cars, car keys, phones, glasses, shoes and, quite possibly, underwear befuddle the squinty-eyed masses. Trashcans overflowing with bottles, cans and party favors litter cities worldwide and returning garbage workers will, collectively, curse tomorrow, many still suffering from their own hangovers. It’s a great time to be alive. The folks at National Day Calendar have graciously provided everyone with a list of symptoms, preventive measures and cures.
At a get together at the Oven and Tap, a restaurant in Bentonville, Arkansas, in October of 2015, people were talking about National Days. The conversation then turned to what day on the calendar had little or no National Days attached to it. When it was announced that January 1 was only known as New Year’s Day, Keegan Calligar and Marlo Anderson both stated, simultaneously, that it should be National Hangover Day.
National Hangover Day was submitted by Keegan Calligar and Marlo Anderson in October 2015. The day was approved by the registrar of National Day Calendar in November of 2015.
Also celebrated:
National Bloody Mary Day (How àpropos…)
Cheers and enjoy!
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 29 & Day 30
A song you remember from your childhood…
As the challenge comes to a close, this is the final post. ~Vic
I’ve covered everything in the 70s back to 1972, specific to my childhood. Rolling back a little bit more, I remember liking these though I was very young.
1970
No Sugar Tonight
1968
I just barely remember this playing. I was so little but, it is burned into my young memory.
Love Is Blue
*************
Past that, everything I know of music was learned later in life. The above are my earliest true music memories of what I liked, even as a child.
A song that reminds you of yourself…
I’ve never really found a song that reminded me of myself but, there are four songs I really identify with in terms of wandering thru life and the subsequent lessons.
The opening line to the movie:
“On a Saturday (March 24, 1984), five high school students report for all-day detention.”
This is my generation, though I was never in detention. I graduated in June 1984. Ditto Footloose.
Don’t You Forget About Me
Also released during my senior year…
Adult Education
Going Down To Liverpool
What I have turned into (tongue in cheek)…minus the nail-biting. *wink*
S.O.B.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 28
A song by an artist whose voice you love…
I covered Darius Rucker, Linda Ronstadt and Susanne Sundfor, yesterday. I’ve posted Paul Durham, Maria McKee, Emily Hackett, Pat Benatar, Sarah McLachlan, Enya, Amy Lee, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood, Anna Nalick, Sia, Patty Smyth, Loreena McKennitt, Kenny Loggins, Kelly Holland, Elvis and George Harrison.
Here are five more…
There are SO many Olivia songs…way too many to choose from. This song, in particular, showcases her range well. She was my hero as a teen…beautiful voice, gorgeous face, stunning hair and perfect teeth. We may not have her much longer. She is my mother’s age.
I was given a CD of her music by a friend. She is my age and such a powerhouse. She did a CMT Crossroads episode with Pat Benatar and she was an even match in range.
And, of course…Adele…
I like her squeaky voice.
This one is so cute.
Chatting With Coffee
Update (June 1, 2020):
It appears that Bottomless Coffee 007 is no longer blogging. My link to our conversation back in December 2018 is, now, broken. Apologies. ~Vic
Conversation Shaken, Not Stirred
Fellow blogger, Bottomless Coffee 007, is an aspiring voice/radio personality that invited me to a chat/podcast, yesterday. I was a little apprehensive at first, not knowing what to talk about but, as the conversation warmed up, an hour passed before I knew it. Should you decide to get comfortable and listen, I hope I don’t bore you. He asked me some very deep questions.
Check Coffee out. He is becoming a smooth operator on the ‘mic’. Thanks for the invite, sweetie. We will do it, again.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 27
A song that breaks your heart…
“Living in the memory of a love that never was…”
“I wish you never even loved me…
It makes it so hard to live without love, now…
I had a handle on my sorrow…
My composure was in order…
If not sufficiently intact…
But, every reminiscent echo brings a blow…
To chill my senses and my heart quakes…
And tenses ’till those moments pass…
Every trace, every vision…
Brings my emotions to collision…
Past love’s lost tokens…
Every cherished thought once spoken…
False hope of reconciliation…”
Darius Rucker could sing the phone book to me.
“Don’t fall away…
And leave me to myself…
Don’t fall away…
And leave love bleeding in my hands…
“Since, I was young, I knew I’d find you…
But our love, was a song, sung by a dying swan…
And in the night, you hear me calling…
You hear me calling…
And when the nights are long…
All those stars recall, your goodbye, your goodbye…
Breathe in the light and say goodbye…”
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 26
A song that makes you want to fall in love…
So many love songs. So little time.
“You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs…
I look around me and I see it isn’t so…
Some people want to fill the world with silly love songs…
And what’s wrong with that…
It isn’t silly, love isn’t silly, love isn’t silly at all…”
Gives me chills…every time. For a song that was created to be the theme to a prison film, it has to be one of the greatest love songs ever written.
Originally released in 1967, this was re-released in 1972 and it made it to #2 on the Billboard 100. I am posting the full orchestral version with the ‘late lament’ in tact (including gong) considering we are officially in winter. This is a masterpiece. More chills…
I was very fortunate to get to see these two, live, with my mom at Carowinds in 1976. I was ten when the song came out and I remember it playing on the radio, vividly. Even at that young of an age, the words of love and longing struck a chord with me (pun intended) that remains to this day.
Oh, Pat Benatar…her music is a large part of my teen years. Her first album was released three days before my 13th birthday. What a way to grow up. She and her hubby, Neil, have rocked us all.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 25
A song you like by an artist no longer living…
I’ve already posted some Prince videos and I will have to work hard to keep this post trimmed down.
Can’t do a post like this without The King of Rock and Roll…Elvis. I grew up with this music.
Then, we can’t do a post with The King of Pop…Michael. His Off The Wall album was the third album I ever owned, behind Surf & Drag and Grease.
Next up, The Queen of Disco…Donna. Her music covered my life from 10 years old to 18.
The Beatles were never played in my house. Their music was just not part of my childhood. I discovered who they were after they split up and I liked a lot of solo stuff that came out. My favorite was George. I liked his scratchy, squeaky voice. Paul came in second.
This one covers two that have left us…Freddie and Bowie. This song spoke to me at 15 and still does to this day (and I was extraordinarily annoyed when Vanilla Ice ripped it off).
This came out after I started college. Teena was the Ivory Queen of Soul.
Ok. I’m stopping at seven (I could be here all night). I grew up with this music, as well and still remember all the words. I previously posted my favorite of his songs related to the Gold Rush of 1896. So, I will post my second favorite. I give you Johnny Horton.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 23
A song you think everybody should listen to…
I have to keep in mind, for this category, that people have their own tastes in music. One man’s dream is another man’s nightmare. I’m posting these not only because I like them but, because they are fairly unknown. And, I happen to like it very much when someone else introduces me to music I’ve never heard, before. So, I hope that anyone listening to these might enjoy them.
I don’t recall ever hearing this on the radio though, Billboard charted it as high as #29 on the Hot 100.
Vox Humana
I picked this up from a college radio station associated with the University of Texas back in 2010. It never got any regular airplay anywhere else. Billboard has no chart record of it. And, it is the only song I have ever encountered that, the live version(s) (and there are many on YouTube) is better than the studio version. I’m also fascinated with her bassist playing the drums at the same time.
In Sleep
I heard this song playing over the speaker system in a grocery store in Boone three years ago. I can’t find where it ever charted on Billboard.
Two Way Radio
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 22
A song that moves you forward…
I just recently discovered Sia. She is amazing.
And, one more…
Winter Solstice 2018
I was hoping to capture some images of the Moon, tonight but, we are so overcast from the rain storms, it’s just not going to happen. I will try tomorrow night.
Winter is officially here, as if all the snow we’ve had wasn’t a clue. The solstice arrived at 5:23pm EST and tomorrow’s Full Moon will be at 100% full illumination at 12:48pm EST. From The Almanac:
The word solstice comes from Latin sol “sun” and sistere “to stand still.” In the Northern Hemisphere, as summer advances to winter, the points on the horizon where the Sun rises and sets advance southward each day. The high point in the Sun’s daily path across the sky, which occurs at local noon, also moves southward each day.
At the winter solstice, the Sun’s path has reached its southernmost position. The next day, the path will advance northward. However, a few days before and after the winter solstice, the change is so slight that the Sun’s path seems to stay the same, or stand still. The Sun is directly overhead at “high-noon” on Winter Solstice at the latitude called the Tropic of Capricorn.
The solstice is the beginning of astronomical winter. (An almanac is defined as a “calendar of the heavens,” so we use the astronomical definition.) Astronomical seasons are based on the position of the Earth in relation to the Sun. However, meteorological seasons are based on the annual temperature cycle. For the ancient Celts, the calendar was based around the solstices and equinoxes, marking the Quarter Days, with the mid-points called Cross-Quarter Days.
This is the longest night of the year. It is a time for rest and reflection. Just like Spring cleaning time, the beginning of Winter can herald a cleaning of its own. Cold temperatures and bad weather can mean more time indoors. It can be a time for sifting through the past or contemplating the future. Many may find that re-evaluating relationships and possessions is easier during this slower time. I will be lighting a candle and smudging. Wishing everyone health and happiness. ~Vic
Cosmic-Observation 