Growing up in the 70s and 80s I remember popular music being omnipresent but not always grabbing me. Or, if it did, my parents were often horrified to find me singing along to something with mature content. Like eight year old me rocking out to the J. Giles Band’s Centerfold without having any idea what it was about. Similarly I’m pretty sure I enjoyed Eye of the Tiger just because Jimi Jamison was singing about tigers (but it was also very anthemic). These are strange nearly forgotten bits of childhood. If I hear one of those songs now I’ll realize I know all the words. But I process them differently as an adult. During a recent public radio pledge drive I found myself scanning stations on my car’s radio. I kept flipping back from one classic rock station to a golden oldies one. And it was like I was really hearing the songs for the first time. With maturity and life experience has come understanding. The pain of wronged lovers. Regret. Loss. Consequences for foolish actions. I get it now. I’ve been there. But some of the lyrics are still baffling. Like today, when I heard The Warrior by Scandal. “Your eyes touch me physically” - what? I can’t shake the mental image of some guy’s moist eyeballs actually making contact with my bare skin. So gross.
Five good or interesting items of note:
- I have so much respect for this man. “How John Oliver won the Internet - Last Week Tonight has already surpassed other fake news shows of its ilk. Its secret? Long-form journalism” Watching John Oliver take on the sugar industry just in time for Halloween was so perfect. And immediately made me feel guilty for buying two bags of Halloween candy at Target. We should have just gotten glow sticks! Or toothbrushes. Or something else constructive and useful to hand out. Instead of this poison. I wonder if I saved my receipt.
- Somehow I missed this over the summer but it’s pure genius. “Weird Al†Yankovic plays Isaac Newton in Epic Rap Battles Of History
- This is so inspiring. “Old Masters: After 80, some people don’t retire. They reign.”
- Terrifying but hilarious. “This is Deb, she sells handmade sweaters on eBay while looking like she’s being held hostage against her will.”
- Since the beginning, in 2004, I’ve been a flickr user and fan. At times I’ve been disappointed in flickr, as will happen with a partner in any long-term relationship. But sometimes flickr surprises and delights me. As they did recently with Flickr PARK or BIRD. “We at Flickr are not ones to back down from a challenge. Especially when that challenge comes in webcomic form. And especially when that webcomic is xkcd. So, when we saw this xkcd comic we thought, we’ve got to do that“
Oh crapple. I’ve long had lousy luck with iPhone cables. And the lightning cables are even less hardy than their predecessors. I’ve gone through at least five since the beginning of the year. The only thing that has reliably charged my phone is a little speaker dock. But that won’t sync my phone to my computer (and I can’t set up wifi sync until I get yet another working cable). “Prevent or fix frayed lightning cables.” I suppose. I quite like this one. But for now I’m going to try this sturdy looking one. And yes, I realize this is inconsequential non-news. But irritating just the same.
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