From the “You wonder why the world thinks we’re crazy department”, here is a picture of the trapeze pylons in Young Circle, near the new Arts Center. That is correct, you can take trapeze lessons. I wonder how many strokes that took? This is right across the street from the Publix supermarket, in case, I suppose, some housewife decides the “lost twenty pounds fast” blurb in the checkout rack isn’t going to work before the in-laws arrive tomorrow.
Newsweek reports what I think is a fascinating development. In Hungary(?), if a newspaper prints an article that mentions you by name, you have the right to send them a letter. The paper must then publish this letter without added editorial. Somebody said to the effect the only thing the law changes is putting freedom of the press in the hands of the people rather than those who own a newspaper. I love it.I’ve finished “When Titans Clash”, and it goes a long way to dispelling some concepts about the Red Army during World War II. The primary revelation is how the Soviets managed to disguise troop movements to breakthrough areas, which gave the world a false impression of overwhelming manpower. This is tough reading due to the names of the Russian generals (they were all Russian as well as Soviet). The entire book contained only one factual error. It stated that the new panzer models V and VI were armed with the 88mm cannon. In fact, only the model VI, popularly called the Tiger, had this splendid weapon. The mark V, known as the Panther, was armed with a 75mm cannon.
Good news, for me anyway. According to the heart clinic I’m actually better off than I was a few years ago and the symptoms I have should abate slowly over a few more weeks. All I required was a $17 per month prescription and two of the most expensive tests ever devised. More on that as it happens. On the waiting room table, there were magazines advertising a lady’s wristwatch called “La Dona” for the “complicated woman”. It is an 18k diamond studded white gold model, yours for $122,800. (The same publication shows a Rolls Royce having a pushbutton control in the glove box to retract the hood ornament.)
Walgreen’s is where I get my prescription, and I always like to browse the section where they have all those things advertised on TV that are not available in stores. Like a permanently sharp razor and device for getting slicing open the plastic packaging on new products (a.k.a. the Shoplifter’s Friend?). Nearby I noticed they had Rubik’s Cubes for sale. These “toys” have been around for what, thirty years? They are a piece of plastic. Yet they carried a price tag of $10. Now, does buying that make you smart or stupid?
The car radio scanner picked up Country 99, the local cowboy station. I’ve always considered mainstream country music to be on a par with soap operas. It would be tolerable, I think, if the lyrics were not so obviously written for simple-minded people, although that is not the only criteria and I know that. This morning they kept playing this song about a woman who is trying to raise her daughter to be the woman the mother had wanted to be. What a joke that is, can you just see Madonna explaining to her daughter why she should not be a slut? But for CD sales, it has its appeal.
I dropped by Jimbo’s y’day to see if anything had changed since I was last there. No. But the Karaoke people came in early and I sang again. Will was there, and we talked about his guitar practice. He still does not see it as a priority, yet he is still sitting in the audience. The singer before me did that nauseating “New York New York” song. Will pointed out that everything the singer was doing was wrong. I pointed out that everything Will was not doing was right.
Chances are I will be performing tonight. I’ll be there early, as I’m out of practice. Going through all the advertising I can find, including professional DJ and advanced Karaoke rigs, I cannot find any device that meets my requirements – an MP3 player that shows a complete list of my music so I can random access any tune on an optical disk I burned myself. What’s more, the gear I see is so advanced and specialized, I suspect that unavailability means nobody else in the whole country is doing what I do, which would not surprise me.
Last, yes I played, a full 3-1/2 hour set. Two sets actually. I’ll see if I can get you a still of the blonde babe that was all over me. Nice or what, but married. I don’t do married. That eliminates the majority at my age, but there are good ones out there. The gig went great except for a little volume trouble with the lush sounds. I may also have popped a speaker. The money tonight was excellent; I believe that means another weekend trip.
Actually, there is one more thing. Newsweek ran an article titled “The Six Dollar Loaf of Bread”. Those of you who have been following along know that I predicted this back in 2004, and although I said pent up inflation, I meant prices soaring to five times the present level. Personally, I would like to see an end to all food subsidies. Hardest hit would be those who buy prepared food and that is how it should be. Prepared food is way out of line already, let’s see who orders the first $80 pizza.
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