The old man rants

 Did somebody say equinox?

I don't know.  I don't think Old Dog and I are getting the same internet.

Don't know nuttin about this pitch correction or auto tuning.  I wonder if this is the same thing as remastering.  I remember when CDs first came up and there was a minor tempest about how they were fucking with the ones and zeros in order to get more songs on the disc.  This caused a diminution of sound quality that sharp ears claimed to hear.  But I didn't notice it.  Come to think of how could I?  I never go to concerts so how would I know anyway?

I'm certainly not going to YouTube to investigate some music critic I never heard of.  I use YouTube to learn how to tell if an egg is hard boiled or not. or to play a song, but I know people who have become enveloped in the YouTube fog and never came back.  I'm sure Old Dogs is strong enough to stand up to the siren song, but not sure if I am.  

Jesse Welles does not appear at all in my internet world.  I did stick my toe into sticky YouTube to check out him playing a regular song and two political songs.  The political songs were quite clever, but were they music?  Not to my ear, nor was the regular song anything special.

Not that I know much about music, but you know, I know what I like.  When I was younger I scoffed at that phrase as ignorant.  Anymore I am perfectly fine with it.

There is something about Jesse.  He sings like he is reciting his ABC's.  Does not even allow himself to give a little smirk at his better lines, and I admit he gets in several.

But also you know, he is young. How can anybody so young know anything?  We oldsters remember when we were young how full of shit we were, so why should we listen to some snot nosed kid?

We boomers were into our music.  It was like our musicians were leading us, and even at the time I thought sure this guy can play a mean lick, but what does he know that I don't that makes him a leader?

Anymore I can brave YouTube enough to see Mick play an early Rolling Stones tune, and Boy, that guy is cool, and smart, and with it.  But if I see some whippersnapper like that Jesse singing all I see is a snot nosed kid.

Since I have moved back to Chicago, about forty years ago I have not been to a concert.  I have taken a couple tours of The Auditorium, my hero, Louis Sullivan's, masterpiece, but have never been to a performance there.  

Well Wednesday I have put down a hunnert bucks to see Gillian Welch at The Auditorium. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkS6rgmwwLc&list=RDIkS6rgmwwLc&start_radio=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkS6rgmwwLc&list=RDIkS6rgmwwLc&start_radio=1

I listen to her a lot when I am painting, but it's with kind of a half ear.  Now I will be sitting there giving her my total attention.  I expect it will be a mind blowing (should I drop some acid?  maybe not) experience.

I will keep you informed.

Equinox

For some reason I thought that the Autumnal Equinox was on the 21st of September but not so, maybe it shifts a bit during the dance of the celestial spheres.  For the last couple of weeks I've been observing the color shift of the tree tops, from full green slowly fading to patches of yellow.  Something tells me it's going to be a long winter.

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Lots of things to ponder during this bizarre timeline we share; used to be a hell of a country, didn't it?  I'm keeping my mouth shut, no telling how the algorithms or AIs will interpret any unfortunate turn of phrase of mine.

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There is some curious revisionism (is that a word?) going on in the music business.  Ever hear of "pitch correction" and "auto-tuning"?  These processes are used to "improve" past live recordings but I call it cheating.  Check out Fil at the Wings of Pegasus YouTube channel; his musical analyses are quite thorough.  You may find it interesting, or not.

I've been seeing a lot of Jesse Welles online lately, apparently a folkie in the Woody Guthrie/Pete Seeger/Bob Dylan tradition.  Some good stuff but there's something a little off about the guy, not sure of what it is.  Any thoughts?  Quite a lot of buzz has been developing, if you follow that sort of thing.

 

 

Writing longhand

do you type or write longhand?  

 Interesting that you should ask.  I always write on the computer, it's faster for me and I like being able to do things like cut and paste.

You know going to these senior citizen things always gives me pause.  A lot of the people who show up are just people who are lonely or bored and they just want to go somewhere and natter.  They haven't ever written anything and never will, they just want to talk about writing in some vague way and they quickly turn the talk to talking about  themselves and blather on and on.

The first writing class was like that.  One person talked about some play they wanted to write about social problems from their personal experiences in such and such.  And then they went on to talk about themselves.  I asked her what she had written so far, Oh nothing.  Well for fuck's sake, and then the conversation went on to how  important writing is, and how vital writing is and how it is the  window of the soul and blah blah blah. 

I never went back.  Then I heard about another class from one of my improv buddies, so I tried that.

The first thing the teacher did was hand out these little composition books and pens and said the first thing we were going to do was just write for twenty minutes and then she went out to grab a cup of coffee.  Kind of rinky dink I thought and my handwriting is terrible.  But I started in, and to answer Old Dog's question, yes there is something to be said for writing longhand.  It is so immediate, you just keep going.  You don't pause to edit or find the perfect word, you just keep going, even if it occurs to you that what you are writing is not that good, just keep going.  Later on you can edit, just keep writing, and at the end of twenty minutes you have something down on paper.  Later on you can edit but for the nonce you have something down on paper.

Yes I can see where writing longhand has a place.

Even as I was writing that thing about putting in links to make it easier on the reader, I was wondering if I wasn't being too persnickety and bossy.  But I left it in because, well, I had already written it, let's see what the Fellows will think of it.

And I think Old Dog had the right response.  In so many words, I'll do as I please.  

I read the news today, oh boy.

Me too.  

9/11 again

My, how time flies!  I remember that Beacon story and I didn't realize how long ago since it was posted, about four years.  I also recall giving Uncle a hard time about needing an editor and literary agent to get that writing to the next level but it's never too late.  But here's a question: do you type or write longhand?  I like a bit of cursive once in a while as long as I can make it legible; usually but not always.

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Note how easy it makes it for others when you use the link tab when posting links.

True, and I used to do that but I've gotten a hair up my ass about things being too easy, much to the detriment of society.  It isn't about being lazy (well, maybe a little) but about being disengaged in the task at hand.  Easiest isn't always best but that's a rabbit hole for a different time.

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I read the news today, oh boy.

Not good for my blood pressure, I tell you what.

 

Beacon USA

So I'm going to sign up for some writing class at the local (downtown) senior center.  It's been awhile  since I have written anything.  You guys remember I used to  post my stories to get some feedback from my fellows at the Institute.  Don't remember if I posted this one so I am going to post it again.  

Whaddaya think guys?

When the lights go down the curtains stay closed and then the music begins and grows louder, and then you hear the soft shoes, slow at first, but then growing faster.  The curtain opens and there is Mary O'Connor, "The best little hoofer to ever come out of Beacon High," as the music teacher, Mr Cahalan, likes to say.

She is wearing a peppermint striped little jacket, and a rakish boater, and she has a cane as a prop.  She gets to have her solo here and she hoofs up a storm.  And then I come out of the wings, kind of drifting towards her at centerstage, an easy loping rhythmic stride, and I begin to sing:

"Are you from Beacon?

Are you from Beacon?"

She cups her little pink shell of an ear in my direction as I drift into my position beside her.

"The Illinois River.

The verdant farmland."

This is directed more towards the audience than at Mary, and then I take a deep breath so I can sing out that last line loud and proud.

"Beacon U S A."

Then a little silence with just the sounds of our hooves, I guess to give the viewers who have dropped their programs in all the excitement a chance to retrieve them.

And then little Mary's bell-like chime:

"Yes I'm from Beacon.

Yes I'm from Beacon."

Probably it is just me that notices how for the next two lines she goes more distant, bored, almost sarcastic.

"The Illinois River.

The verdant farmland."

But she has to tone it all the way up for the next line.

"Beacon U S A."

And then we do one of those dosey doe things, linking our arms and dancing in a circle.

"Oh we're from Beacon,

Oh we're from Beacon.

The Illinois River,

The verdant farmlands.

Beacon U S A."

I wrap my arm around her waist then, which strictly speaking isn't part of Mr Cahalan's directions, but Mary doesn't mind, not at all.

And then just after the U S A part, this other couple, kind of dance wander onto the stage, and Mary and I sing out to them:

"Are you from Beacon?

Are you from Beacon?"

And then the whole thing again, ending up with the four of us in kind of a pinwheel at the end.

And then four more coming on, and after that eight more, which is really too many, because the first two are pretty good hoofers, but the next four are not so hot, and that last eight, well they can't dance at all.  It is all they can do just to run to keep in place at the end of the pinwheel.  And when it comes time to sing towards the audience they are all gasping, but anyway we all sing low, just so that we can hear Mary's sweet voice ring out.

"Are you from Beacon?

Are you from Beacon?"

etc.

The first two rows are taken up by our classmates who return the favor:

"Yes we're from Beacon

Yes we're form Beacon."

etc.

And then all together:

"Oh we're from Beacon

Oh we're from Beacon."

etc.

And then, and then the first two rows of the audience turn around towards the rest of the audience and sing to them and etc, and etc, and etc.

And then, and then, it just goes on and on, just repeating itself, over and over, way more times than you would have thought were possible.

I was a pretty good dancer.  It was just something I could do, like some guys can do those yo-yo tricks.  I didn't live to dance or anything like that.  But I was okay with it when Mr Cahalan wanted me to be in his annual Beacon Blast.  If I had known that I would end up in that peppermint coat, boater, and cane, singing that song over and over I never would have done it, but then when I heard that Mary O'Connor would be dancing next to me, I guess I would have done it even knowing how it was going to turn out.  Anyway I did it.

It's been over fifteen years since I knocked the Beacon off my boots.  Mary went straight to New York when we graduated and was going to call me when she got settled, but then she never did, and that hoofing thing never worked out for me, not without her.  I’ve been tending bar at the Ramada for the last couple years and it’s ok. Some things have gone alright and some things not but wherever I go and whatever I do, I will always know:

I'm from Beacon. 

speaking of smells

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_person_smell

Note how easy it makes it for others when you use the link tab when posting links.  Just click on the link tab (looks like a paperclip, to the left of the insert image tab) and paste it in and choose open in another tab.

Oh no, thank you.

   

Michigan smells funny

Nothing like a humorous diversion to start the week with, eh?

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/24/nx-s1-5506282/michigan-fragrance-beach-scents