Time

 

Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
You fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

 

Tired of lying in the sunshine, staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

 

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
Sun is the same, in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

 

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught, or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

You'd Hit The Produce Aisle At The Super Walmart

I'm sitting in a Walmart for over an hour by myself today thinking about the things that have happened in the last couple of weeks. I was recently asked if I do my grocery shopping alone. I answered "Sometimes."

I should probably ask if there is something behind that. 

Cold As Ice

 There have been many events recently, in the world, the nation, the state, my city that constantly remind me of a quote from one of my favorite books: “…nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change…” - Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish

With that, why can’t we actually just not be shitty to one another? I was sitting in a church today with my family listening to the readings. The overwhelming theme of the readings today boiled down to “Love thy neighbor as you love yourself.” I cannot help but to look over in the bench and see someone that I happen to know for a fact is a racist bigot and I just sigh in exasperation, because that person thinks they are a legitimately good person. 

Many things have happened locally this week. ICE has been very active in my city this last week. One of my best friends told me on Thursday that ICE took their dad earlier in the week. Yes, they released him later on in the day, but that doesn’t change the fact that they did it. My understanding of the situation based on what I’ve read is thus: A woman (the woman in question said this while being interviewed) that she noticed ICE following her as she pulled out of her driveway in a painter’s van. She stopped for gas. They saw my friend’s father and took him instead. Is there more to the story? Maybe so, maybe no. But that is my understanding.

So summary? Literally grabbed him off the street. No checks, no nothing. Hispanic? Yes. Legally here? Also yes. Presumed reason based on what I‘ve read? Looking Hispanic may have been enough. From what I read about the situation, they were actually following someone else in a painter’s van. She stopped somewhere, they saw him and decided to grab him. Based (presumably) on appearance alone.

                                                 Racial Profiling - A government or law enforcement activity that targets a suspect or group of suspects based solely on their race.

Again, is there more? Maybe so, maybe no. Imagine going to work and being followed based solely on what you are driving. Imagine (in this case) watching someone else get picked up after you stop, or even getting picked up yourself. Again, based on what you are driving. Just because your work vehicle puts you on someone’s radar. Why does a construction-oriented van do that? Statistics. And here's the part that really gets me: my friend's father wasn't driving a work van. He was trying to put gas in something like a blue sedan from a Korean manufacturer. You know, that thing that's a dime a dozen.

This grabbing people off the street based on how they look, well…That’s racial profiling to me.  That bothers me. That bothers me a lot. My friend is here legally. Has a legal status of some sort, but is terrified to leave their home in order to do things like go to work, go to the grocery store, make sure their child is taken care of. I learned a lot this week. Among the things that I learned is that “there’s an app for that.” An app to show where ICE activity is.

As I said to my friend, “I love that there is an app and it is helpful, I hate that we live in a world where that app needs to exist.” 

That doesn’t change the fact that my friend is scared to leave the house to live their life though. How does a country that purports “…liberty and justice for all!” end up in this situation? I realize that nothing about this country was ever perfect, and I realize that “liberty and justice for some” is what it always meant. I realize that we’ve made great progress getting closer to “for all” rather than “for some.” I understand that we still have a long way to go. I also think that there are too many people who think that our current capitalistic society and so called democratic government are stumbling blocks in that path. But are they really? Or is it just people (like myself, I’ll admit) that are sitting on the sidelines being silently outraged. I guess standing on the curb, filming and posting on social media in the hopes that their video will bring justice, or at least a clearer picture of events is at least attempting to do something.

Who is actually out here doing the work? Abbie Hoffman is gone. I don’t think there are many people these days in the mold of ‘60s and ‘70s activists that are willing to get their hands dirty? Typing into the void that is social media only goes so far. Even using ALL CAPS WHEN YOU TYPE ONLY GOES SO FAR, to be honest. I don’t know how the ICE protesting actually goes, but it SEEMS LIKE every time one of those makes the news, it ends up with some form of gun violence in the street. Sometimes the protesters are portrayed to be doing something foolish, other times not so much. I realize this is what the information age has morphed into…A constant stream of always on opinion pieces. I also understand that this is an opinion piece.

I hate that I am surrounded with people who think that immigration of all sorts, legal or otherwise, should be outlawed in all its forms.

I wish the system was much more fair to everyone. I wish that ICE wouldn’t just grab people off the street based on how they look. They should work within the actual rules set of the rest of the criminal justice system. Stop for an issue, check ID, run legit information, make a decision based on actual, established facts. Are there bad people that are crossing the borders? Yes. Do the good outweigh the bad? I’m going to venture to say also yes. But here’s the thing…We live in a world where the only things we hear about are the bad.

Why is that? Are there no good people coming to the country in a legal way? Are the good ones just quiet and not noteworthy? Are the bad ones only being used to push an agenda? My friend is a good person who appears to be here legally, so I know that part is true. My friend and their family appear to be quiet people who don’t want to make trouble. I don’t know. I wish there was a more modern and streamlined process for citizenship but I suspect that won’t even matter in the end if you still look like what they are looking for.

And that’s really the crux of it, isn’t it? 

What you look like.

How does the phrase go? You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover?

I could keep going, but I probably shouldn’t. I will say that my political views tend to lean more toward center of the road common sense. Please keep the guns and drugs out of my neighborhood (without turning it into a race war). If you’re going to take my money in the form of taxes, please give me decent roads to drive on. But we can’t even do that.

Oh mommy
I ain't no commie
I'm just doing what I can to live the good all American...Way
It says right there in the constitution
It's really A ok to have a revolution
When the leaders that you choose
Really don't fit the shoes

But here we are. I’m not preaching revolution or overthrowing the government, but I would venture to say that the system needs an overhaul. Across the board.
 

I Wish You Were Here

Addressed to: Gen.Y Carville,

Be aware:

We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl, year after year. 

Runnin' over the same old ground, what have we found? 

The same old fears, wish you were here.

 

Let Me Wander In Your Garden

 "I'm going to just start sending you this guy's videos until you finally do something with my back yard!" #QuoteOfTheFuckingDay

I know I shouldn't be as annoyed by things that the people I live with say, but sometimes...Well...Here we go. 

Shake It Off

Podify Wrapped

Week of June 8–14, 2026

328 Plays. 94 Artists. One iPod Lost Somewhere Between Pink Floyd and Jeff Foxworthy.

Welcome back to another edition of Podify Wrapped, where my iPod's listening history is carefully analyzed to answer one important question:

"What exactly was I doing this week?"

The answer, apparently, was listening to 328 songs from 94 different artists while refusing to commit to any single genre for more than twenty minutes at a time.

This week's playlist wandered through progressive rock, classic rock, hard rock, country music, video game soundtracks, comedy albums, 90s alternative rock, and whatever category The Presidents of the United States of America occupy.

In other words:

Business as usual.

By the Numbers

🎵 Total Plays: 328

🎤 Unique Artists: 94

📀 Unique Songs: 287

🎙️ Live Recordings: Approximately 52%

🎸 Classic Rock & Hard Rock: 57%

🤠 Country & Americana: 11%

🎮 Video Game Soundtracks: 8%

🤣 Comedy & Spoken Word: 4%

🎭 Miscellaneous Musical Chaos: 20%

📈 Playlist Consistency: Unavailable

Top Artists of the Week

🥇 Pink Floyd

35 plays (10.7%)

Pink Floyd didn't merely win this week.

Pink Floyd annexed this week.

At various points the playlist became a continuous exploration of mortality, memory, insanity, capitalism, and guitar solos longer than some television episodes.

If someone asked what your favorite artist was this week, the answer is simply:

"Yes."

🥈 Led Zeppelin

31 plays (9.5%)

The closest challenger.

Between "Whole Lotta Love," "Heartbreaker," "Black Dog," and enough live recordings to fill a small concert venue, Led Zeppelin spent the week reminding everyone why they remain one of the greatest rock bands ever assembled.

Also, three plays of "Whole Lotta Love."

Apparently moderation was not invited.

🥉 Blue Öyster Cult

14 plays (4.3%)

The surprise powerhouse.

Blue Öyster Cult quietly accumulated enough listens to claim third place while probably demanding additional cowbell the entire time.

🏅 Jeff Foxworthy

12 plays (3.7%)

This statistic deserves its own section.

Most music summaries feature Taylor Swift.

Mine features Jeff Foxworthy.

I feel this says something about me.

I'm not entirely sure what.

🏅 David Gilmour

8 plays (2.4%)

Apparently Pink Floyd alone wasn't enough.

🏅 The Presidents of the United States of America

8 plays (2.4%)

Still carrying the banner for musical unpredictability.

🏅 Styx and REO Speedwagon

8 plays (2.4%)

Arena rock remains undefeated.

Top Songs of the Week

🥇 Tie for Most Played

Money — 3 plays

Whole Lotta Love — 3 plays

Heartbreaker — 3 plays

Apparently the week's dominant themes were:

• Capitalism

• Love

• Aggressive guitar riffs

A surprisingly complete emotional spectrum.

🥈 The Two-Play Club

Notable repeat visitors included:

• Comfortably Numb

• Layla

• Fanfare

• Smooth

• Whiskey in the Jar

• Mountain Music

• Tubthumping

• Mmmbop

• Flaming Telepaths

• Shake It Off

This may be the strangest Top Songs chart ever assembled.

Genre Breakdown

🎸 Classic Rock & Hard Rock — 57%

This week belonged to classic rock.

Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Blue Öyster Cult, Aerosmith, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Styx, REO Speedwagon, Cheap Trick, Metallica, and dozens of others accounted for more than half of all listening.

The playlist frequently felt like a radio station broadcasting directly from 1978.

🤠 Country & Americana — 11%

Alan Jackson, Alabama, Sawyer Brown, and Jimmy Buffett made regular appearances.

Every few hours the playlist briefly stopped contemplating the meaning of existence and started discussing pickup trucks.

🎮 Gaming & Soundtracks — 8%

Frank Klepacki and Nobuo Uematsu continued their ongoing campaign to sneak video game music into every Podify Wrapped report.

Mission accomplished.

🤣 Comedy & Spoken Word — 4%

Jeff Foxworthy somehow cracked the Top 5.

Again.

I cannot stress enough how unusual this is.

Most Surprising Transition Awards

🏆 Grand Champion

Pink Floyd → Jeff Foxworthy

From:

The pressures of modern life.

To:

Redneck jokes.

In approximately four minutes.

No further explanation required.

🥈 Runner-Up

Final Fantasy IX → Whole Lotta Love

From magical airships and fantasy kingdoms directly into Robert Plant screaming.

🥉 Third Place

Shake It Off → Comfortably Numb*

The emotional whiplash award.

Podify Achievement Badges

🏆 The Floydian Scholar

Listen to enough Pink Floyd that your playlist starts questioning reality.

🏆 Guitar Solo of the Week

Winner: David Gilmour

The judging panel fell asleep halfway through the solo and woke up to discover it was still happening.

🏆 The Cowbell Preservation Society

Awarded to Blue Öyster Cult.

🏆 Most Unexpected Country Detour

Winner: Alabama's "Mountain Music"

🏆 Commander of the Brotherhood of Nod

Awarded for repeated Command & Conquer soundtrack listens.

🏆 Live Album Addict Level III

More than half your listening came from live recordings.

At this point you're basically paying imaginary ticket fees.

🏆 Shuffle Goblin Lifetime Achievement Award

For creating playlist transitions that would cause modern recommendation algorithms to burst into tears.

Listener Personality Report

If Podify generated a personality profile, it would probably say:

"This listener enjoys classic rock, progressive rock, country music, video game soundtracks, comedy albums, and complete unpredictability."

Translated into plain English:

"User appears to use the shuffle button as a form of recreational gambling."

And honestly?

That's probably accurate.

One minute you're listening to Pink Floyd question the human condition. The next you're hearing Jeff Foxworthy tell jokes. Five minutes later you're commanding tanks in Command & Conquer before returning to Led Zeppelin.

Does it make sense?

Not remotely.

Did it make for a fun week?

Three hundred and twenty-eight plays suggest the answer is yes.

*The graphic has this going from Alan Jackson to the Safety Dance. I have discussed it with ChatGPT already, and the results of that conversation are below 

Take One Bite Now Come Back For More

 I have the following things in my house, please make me a

 crock pot recipie peas, broccoli, green beans, chicken nuggets, 

ground beef, chocolate chips, sausage, butter, garlic bread, salsa, 

red potatoes, yellow onions, chicken, diced tomatoes, kidney 

beans, pineapple, unsweetened chocolate, tortilla shells, tortilla

 chips, garlic, shallots, diced jalapenos, hamburger patties, 

french fries,shredded hash browns

 

With that pantry/freezer situation, the best crock-pot meal is probably a Chunky Slow Cooker Beef & Bean Taco Stew. It uses ingredients that are actually crock-pot friendly and avoids things like chicken nuggets, fries, and garlic bread that would get sad and mushy.

Crock-Pot Beef & Bean Taco Stew

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2–3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 cup salsa
• 2–3 red potatoes, diced
• 1–2 diced jalapeños (optional)
• 1 cup frozen green beans
• 1 cup frozen peas
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water (1–2 cups as needed)

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain excess grease.
2. Add beef to the crock pot.
3. Add onions, garlic, potatoes, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, salsa, jalapeños, and 1 cup water.
4. Cook on:
   • Low: 6–8 hours
   • High: 3–4 hours
5. During the last 30 minutes, stir in the green beans and peas.
6. Add additional water if you want it soupier.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve With

• Crushed tortilla chips on top for crunch.
• Warm tortilla shells on the side.
• Garlic bread if you're feeling rebellious and don't care that it's crossing culinary borders.

---

Alternative: Slow Cooker Pineapple Sausage & Potato Bowl

If you want something a little stranger (in a good way):

Ingredients

• Sausage, sliced
• Red potatoes, diced
• Pineapple chunks
• Onion, sliced
• Garlic
• Salsa (½ cup)

Instructions

1. Put everything in the crock pot.
2. Cook on low for 5–6 hours.
3. Stir occasionally if possible.
4. Serve in tortillas.

The pineapple caramelizes into the sausage juices and salsa and ends up tasting surprisingly close to a sweet-and-spicy Hawaiian-style filling.

---

Chaos Option: "Everything I Found in the Freezer" Cowboy Hash

• Ground beef
• Sausage
• Hash browns
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Tomatoes
• Beans
• Jalapeños

Brown the meat first, then throw everything else in the crock pot with a little water and cook 4–6 hours. Serve in tortillas with crushed chips. It's not elegant, but it will absolutely feed a family and leave enough leftovers for tomorrow.

We Are Smoking In Front Of The Building

The Blue Light Special.

I should be sleeping. Not considering K-Mart. Why that store? There is a blue light plugged into the wall in my kitchen right now.

I cannot help but be a little sad by the world we live in. Each passing day I start to feel a little more like Spider Jerusalem living in the world of Transmetropolitan. I need to find and read those again.

I Don't Mean Dallas

So this is going to probably get kind of weird. I'm trying to get my old last.fm account set up to track what I listen to on my iPods. Some random Reddit thread pointed me to a program that will get my iPods talking to the site via my PC. With that in mind, I'm going to try to convert that into a fairly straightforward, weekly blog post in which a ChatGPT bot basically judges me for my listening habits for the week.

Fun, eh?

I decided to run the testing tracks through ChatGPT just to see what the output looked like. I got two options. 

Here is the "standard blog post" version:

My iPod Listening History This Week: A Completely Normal Person's Musical Choices

There are two kinds of people in the world: people who carefully curate playlists to match a mood, and people who let their iPod ricochet between Pink Floyd, Billy Ray Cyrus, Led Zeppelin, and Mark Chesnutt like a caffeinated squirrel with access to a jukebox.

Based on this week's listening history, I am very clearly the second person.

Over the course of 32 recorded listens, my musical tastes demonstrated all the consistency of a weather forecast in Indiana. Somehow I managed to bounce between classic rock, hard rock, progressive rock, country, metal, and whatever category "Kick Out the Jams" falls into when it suddenly appears in the middle of everything else.

The good news is that I'm never bored.

The bad news is that neither is my iPod.

The Top Artists of the Week

The crown for most-played artist wasn't exactly a runaway victory. Instead, several artists finished tied at the top with two plays each, creating what can only be described as a musical traffic jam.

Boston

Boston managed two appearances with "More Than a Feeling" and a live version of "Rock And Roll Band." This suggests that at some point I decided that hearing one of the most recognizable guitar sounds in rock history wasn't enough and immediately followed it with more Boston.

Honestly, that's hard to argue with.

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin also landed two spins with "Bring It on Home" and "In My Time of Dying." Apparently I spent part of the week reminding myself that subtlety is overrated and that songs should occasionally be longer than some television episodes.

David Gilmour

David Gilmour's solo work showed up twice, including "A Boat Lies Waiting" and a live version of "Wish You Were Here." This is the musical equivalent of taking a brief emotional journey before immediately returning to giant guitar riffs elsewhere in the playlist.

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd also earned two plays with "Sorrow" and "Bring the Boys Back Home." The combination suggests I was either contemplating the human condition or simply enjoying one of the greatest catalogs ever assembled. Possibly both.

The Warning

The newest band among the week's leaders was The Warning, whose live recordings of "MONEY" and "Dull Knives (Cut Better)" proved that my listening habits aren't entirely trapped in a classic-rock museum.

Only mostly.

Mark Chesnutt

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Mark Chesnutt's "Goin' Through The Big D," which was the only song to receive two plays during the week. Apparently I heard it once and thought, "You know what? Let's run that back."

I respect that level of commitment.

The Songs That Defined the Week

While most tracks received a single play, a few stood out as representative of the week's overall vibe.

The playlist opened with a classic-rock parade that included REO Speedwagon's "Keep on Loving You," the Eagles' "Take It Easy," Led Zeppelin's "Bring It on Home," and The Who's live version of "Won't Get Fooled Again."

In other words, the week started with a soundtrack that could comfortably fuel a road trip, a backyard cookout, or a conversation beginning with, "They just don't make music like they used to."

Then things became delightfully unpredictable.

Billy Ray Cyrus appeared with "Achy Breaky Heart." Metallica showed up with a live symphonic version of "Nothing Else Matters." Paul Brandt rolled through with "Convoy." The Presidents of the United States of America crashed the party with "Kick Out the Jams."

At this point, my listening history stopped looking like a playlist and started looking like a radio station being operated by multiple personalities.

Genre Breakdown: Controlled Chaos

The dominant genre this week was unquestionably classic rock. Boston, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, The Who, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and the Eagles formed the backbone of the listening session.

Progressive and psychedelic rock also made a strong showing thanks to Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Rush, and Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets. This suggests that while I enjoy straightforward rock songs, I also occasionally want a track that requires a map, a compass, and a willingness to disappear into a twelve-minute instrumental section.

Country music maintained a healthy presence through Dierks Bentley, Mark Chesnutt, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lyle Lovett, and Paul Brandt. These tracks served as a reminder that sometimes the perfect follow-up to Pink Floyd is a song about trucks, heartbreak, or both.

Meanwhile, Metallica and The Warning brought some heavier energy to the mix, ensuring that the guitars remained loud enough to prevent anyone from accusing this playlist of being relaxing.

Final Thoughts

If this week's listening history proves anything, it's that my musical taste refuses to stay in one lane.

One minute I'm listening to thoughtful David Gilmour ballads. The next minute I'm blasting Led Zeppelin. A few songs later I'm singing along to Mark Chesnutt and Billy Ray Cyrus without the slightest concern for genre consistency.

And honestly, that's probably the best part.

The playlist may not make sense on paper, but it never gets boring. My iPod continues to function as both a music player and a personality test, and based on this week's results, the diagnosis appears to be: enthusiastic classic-rock addict with occasional country detours and absolutely no interest in staying on theme.

I can live with that.

Here is the "Spotify Wrapped-style" version:

 My iPod Wrapped: The Week My Musical Identity Crisis Went Public

Every year Spotify releases Wrapped and people discover they listened to one artist for 47,000 minutes while convincing themselves they have "eclectic taste."

This week, my iPod generated a much more honest report.

And the results suggest that I don't have a favorite genre so much as a favorite activity: aggressively changing genres every few songs.

By the Numbers

Total Plays: 32

Unique Artists: 30

Most-Played Artists: 6 artists tied with 2 plays each

Most-Played Song: "Goin' Through the Big D" by Mark Chesnutt (2 plays)

Percentage of Songs Played Only Once: 96.9%

Commitment Level: About the same as a toddler walking through an ice cream shop.

Most people have comfort artists. Apparently I have comfort chaos.

Nearly every song this week was a unique selection. Instead of settling into familiar territory, I spent the week wandering through decades of music like someone who accidentally gained access to every radio station in North America.

Your Top Artists

#1 (Tie) Boston

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

Boston earned top billing thanks to "More Than a Feeling" and a live version of "Rock And Roll Band."

Apparently one of the defining themes of my week was hearing one legendary guitar tone and immediately deciding I needed another.

#1 (Tie) Led Zeppelin

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

With "Bring It on Home" and "In My Time of Dying," Led Zeppelin reminded me that songs don't need to be concise when they can simply become a way of life.

#1 (Tie) Pink Floyd

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

Pink Floyd contributed both "Sorrow" and "Bring the Boys Back Home."

This suggests that somewhere between all the classic rock and country music, I found time to contemplate humanity, war, existence, and whether my speakers could handle one more David Gilmour guitar solo.

#1 (Tie) David Gilmour

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

Speaking of Gilmour...

A solo David Gilmour track and a live version of "Wish You Were Here" made the cut, proving that I apparently need Pink Floyd-related content in multiple formats.

#1 (Tie) The Warning

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

One of the newest acts in the week's lineup, The Warning brought some modern energy to a playlist otherwise populated by people whose peak album sales happened before the internet existed.

#1 (Tie) Mark Chesnutt

2 plays | 6.25% of weekly listening

The only artist whose song was repeated.

When "Goin' Through the Big D" came on, I apparently decided that one trip through the Big D wasn't enough.

Top Songs of the Week

#1 Goin' Through the Big D — Mark Chesnutt

2 plays

The undisputed champion.

Every other song got one spin. This one got two.

That's a 100% increase in commitment compared to literally everything else I listened to.

Honorable Mentions

Since almost every song tied for second place, let's celebrate the sheer randomness of the contenders:

• More Than a Feeling — Boston

• Bring It on Home — Led Zeppelin

• Wish You Were Here (Live) — David Gilmour

• Nothing Else Matters (S&M) — Metallica

• Achy Breaky Heart — Billy Ray Cyrus

• Convoy — Paul Brandt

• Kick Out the Jams — The Presidents of the United States of America

No algorithm on Earth could successfully predict that sequence.

Genre Report Card

Classic Rock: 55%

Classic rock dominated the week.

Boston, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Eagles, The Who, Van Halen, Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Led Zeppelin formed the backbone of the playlist.

My iPod spent most of the week pretending it was parked in the lot outside a 1978 arena concert.

Progressive Rock & Floyd-Adjacent Content: 15%

Pink Floyd, David Gilmour, Rush, and Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets accounted for a significant portion of listening time.

This category can be summarized as:

"Would you like a normal song?"

"No, I'd like a musical journey."

Country: 20%

Mark Chesnutt, Dierks Bentley, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lyle Lovett, and Paul Brandt made surprisingly strong appearances.

At any given moment this week I was only one song away from either a guitar solo or a pickup truck.

Sometimes both.

Hard Rock & Metal: 10%

Metallica and The Warning delivered enough volume to ensure the playlist never became too thoughtful.

Whenever things started getting reflective, somebody plugged in another amplifier.

Most Unexpected Musical Jump

One of the best things about tracking listening history is discovering transitions that would horrify professional DJs.

This week's playlist casually moved between artists like:

Pink Floyd → Billy Ray Cyrus

Metallica → Country Music

David Gilmour → Convoy

These are not genre shifts.

These are acts of transportation.

What This Says About Me

Spotify would probably describe me as:

"An adventurous listener with diverse musical interests."

My iPod, having witnessed the evidence firsthand, would probably describe me as:

"A person who cannot make up their mind."

And honestly, that's fair.

This week wasn't about discovering a favorite artist or obsessively replaying a single album. It was about bouncing between decades, genres, and moods with complete disregard for consistency.

One minute I wanted thoughtful progressive rock.

The next minute I wanted stadium rock.

Then country.

Then metal.

Then somehow Billy Ray Cyrus.

In short, my listening habits remain exactly what they've always been: wildly inconsistent, occasionally questionable, and endlessly entertaining.

And frankly, I wouldn't have it any other way.

I like both options, but I think I'm going to go with the Spotify-esque job on a weekly basis. 

I'm going to snag the info weekly, and try to have my week's posts up for a Monday. 

Planetary, Intergalactic

And I'll Throw The Book At You

I started reading a Three Investigators book, The Mystery of the Moaning Cave this evening for the first time since something like '93. I read it in one day, while I was home sick from school and I remember really enjoying the book. I'm pretty sure we had two copies, and the cover had come off of one, so the sheaf of pages was just flapping around freely.

I miss those books.

Anyway, I decided today to read it on the Nook GlowLight 4 that I picked up recently.  Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of it. 32GB of storage? Sure, but you can only use  5GB for side-loaded content. Which is about all I use these things for. The rest of it is kind of stupid. I don't like that the cover doesn't display on the screen when it's sleeping.

Also, literally every time I've gone to use it...It's been dead. I haven't picked up my Kindle since something like February, but I can probably go turn it on now and it's just fine to use. This thing? Nopers. I fully charged it today, and I'm going to try to use it until the battery dies. Just to see. Probably a few days. 

And The Joke's...ON YOU!

 

 

Here's a random ass flower.  

 

Goodnight. 

 

I'll Wait For You

Surviving is winning. Everything else is bullshit. - The Sledge

I Saw A Werewolf With A Chinese Menu In His Hand

A Parade Of Horribles is being released tomorrow. I wonder how early/late it will be available.

I haven't been this interested in a book release since Wolves of the Calla back in...What? 2003? Bought that on release day and read it from cover to cover in one day. 

Turn On, I See Red

MOG. I have a 4th generation iPod photo that just got a new battery. It went from around 20 minutes of "un-tethered" play time to...Let me check...14 hours, 9 minutes. Yeah, I'm calling that a win. 

Man, As If I Couldn't Tell

Texas.

chicago. ohare. that plane. grr. the airport. el paso airport is kind of hideous. the malibu. el paso proper. two white people in a white chevy malibu,just smile and wave through a border patrol station. first night hotel.food. driving. carlsbad cavern. the bird.signage. the cave.driving. more driving. pecos. rest of the week hotel.  the sky is everywhere. like literally everywhere. salt flats. decaying building.endless sky. balmoreah. the lake. the turtle. the minnows. the turtle vs the minnows re:bacon. the state park. the sleeping. driving. pecos. the spark plug bandolier. the desert. the observatory. the driving. the absolutely endless sky. the heat. "you'll get sun poisoning, no i won't." i didn't get sun poisoning. the grasshopper. eating. laundry. bob the builder. sleeping. sonic. many pictures. the camera being broken. marfa. the ice plant. the railroad pens. no marfa lights. sleeping. the walking stick. the driving. the continuing to be endless sky. the mountain. the driving. the return flight.

Senorita With Her Eyes On Fire

One of my co-workers has decided that I’m 85% Mexican, so with that in mind here is what I’ve learned about Cinco de Mayo.

First of all, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. Apparently that’s the cultural equivalent of thinking Taco Bell is authentic cuisine because it came with Diablo sauce packets and regret. Mexican Independence Day is actually September 16th, while Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Which, honestly, sounds like the kind of underdog story Americans should have turned into a movie starring either Chris Pratt or Danny Trejo by now.

This revelation alone has made me question every grocery store sombrero display I’ve ever seen.

See, growing up in the Midwest, Cinco de Mayo was explained to me as “Mexican St. Patrick’s Day,” which I accepted without hesitation because public schools in the 1990s were basically powered by laminated maps and vibes. Every year restaurants would suddenly hang colorful banners, stores would stock industrial quantities of tortilla chips, and somebody’s dad would wear a poncho he bought during the first Bush administration.

Now that I actually know a little more about it, the whole thing feels wonderfully chaotic. In Mexico, the holiday is mostly celebrated in Puebla, where the battle happened. In America, meanwhile, we turned it into a nationwide festival centered around tacos the size of hubcaps and margaritas that glow an unnatural shade of green. Somewhere along the way we collectively said, “You know what this historical military victory needs? Karaoke and queso dip.”

And honestly? Respect.

I’ve also learned that if you mention Cinco de Mayo around certain people, there’s a 75% chance they’ll suddenly become amateur historians. Someone who couldn’t identify France on a map yesterday will immediately launch into a TED Talk about Napoleon III. They’ll be standing there in a sleeveless Corona tank top saying things like, “Well actually, it symbolized resistance against European imperialism,” while holding a plastic cup containing what appears to be antifreeze and tequila.

Then there’s the food discourse. Every Cinco de Mayo somebody starts gatekeeping tacos like they’re protecting classified government secrets.

“Those aren’t real tacos.”

Listen. I’m from Indiana. If you hand me meat in a folded tortilla, I’m not calling the authenticity police. I’m eating it. We have entire counties here where “spicy” means black pepper. Lower your expectations.

But my favorite part of this whole experience is how my co-worker arrived at the conclusion that I’m “85% Mexican” in the first place. Not because of ancestry or cultural background, but because I apparently:

• eat alarming amounts of microwave burritos
• enjoy spicy chocolate cookies
• redacted 
• prefer Mexican coffee

Which, to be fair, is compelling evidence.

At this point I’m just leaning into it. I’ve accepted that every office needs a guy who gets way too excited about street corn and owns three different hot sauces labeled “EXTREME.” If that’s my role in society, so be it.

So this Drinko Cinco de Mayo, maybe take a second to appreciate the actual history behind the holiday. Then immediately ruin that educational moment by consuming an irresponsible amount of chips and salsa like the rest of us.

That, I believe, is what cultural exchange is all about.

Don't Believe Me If I Tell You

I didn't know that Def Leppard did a cover of Don't Believe A Word. Which is hilarious, considering I own the album the song is on.

Now You Play A Pretty Good Fiddle Boy

There are certain phrases that arrive in your life without explanation, like an unattended shopping cart drifting across a parking lot or a duck wearing what appears to be a wristwatch. Today’s phrase was:

"Now You Play A Pretty Good Fiddle Boy."

Nobody said it.

Nobody wrote it (Well, Charlie Daniels did).

It simply appeared in my head at approximately 8:17 this morning and sat there like a county fair judge waiting for livestock.

I spent much of the day trying to determine whether this was something my brain had remembered or something it had manufactured on-site. Human memory, after all, is less a filing cabinet and more a raccoon operating a paper shredder.

The phrase feels like it belongs to a story. Specifically, the sort of story told by a man named Clem who has somehow become mayor of a riverboat despite possessing neither a river nor a boat.

I imagine the scene unfolds thusly.

A young fiddler arrives in town. Through determination, talent, and an alarming willingness to perform for poultry, he eventually wins the annual Tri-County String Extravaganza. At the awards ceremony, the town elder rises slowly from his chair, adjusts his suspenders, and declares:

"Now you play a pretty good fiddle, boy."

Thunder erupts. The moon cracks in half. Several geese are elected to public office.

The fiddler, naturally, is never heard from again.

This is because stories traditionally end when the protagonist achieves his goal. Nobody wants the sequel where the fiddle champion spends six months arguing with an insurance provider about coverage for moon-related damages.

Meanwhile, real life consists almost entirely of those sequels.

Today I paid three bills, answered four emails, and spent twelve minutes searching for a pair of scissors that I myself had placed in a perfectly sensible location. The location, regrettably, was sensible only to the version of me that existed yesterday. That individual is effectively a stranger.

Perhaps that's what adulthood actually is: a continuous series of negotiations with previous versions of yourself.

"Why did you put the scissors there?"

"I had reasons."

"They were bad reasons."

"They were excellent reasons at the time."

In any case, the scissors were eventually discovered inside a box labeled "Important Cables," which is where all objects eventually migrate, much like salmon returning to their spawning grounds.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a sudden urge to learn the fiddle.

I suspect I may be one compliment away from accidentally becoming a legend.

Waitress Please, I've Had Enough

There are days where I worry about my caffeine tolerance.

Not because I'm afraid it's going to kill me, but due to the fact that I can consume copious amounts and not really be affected, so far as I can tell. Occasionally a cup of coffee after like 10pm messes me up, but that isn't very often.

I should probably cut back a little.