brainsplotch

I can't quite remember where I left off. The day after we arrived in Radebeul, we spent the day in Dresden, looking at the scenery and old (and newer) buildings, including a church [Frauenkirche] that was rebuilt after reunification. It had been a pile of rubble following the Dresden bombing of 1945 and the wreckage was a memorial during the GDR era. I will need to edit this post later with the name, which I know but can't recall (and if I try to flip between here and Facebook, I'm afraid I'll lose this post). On the 23rd, we spent the day decorating the two Christmas trees (one downstairs and one upstairs outside on the balcony) and later that day walked around the old section of Radebeul (with buildings dating back to the 1400s and 1500s). Christmas Eve we met N's brother and his girlfriend and later enjoyed a dinner of sausage and potato salad. We also unwrapped gifts. (I like the lowkey way that Germans celebrate Christmas. I wish Americans would do the same). Y...

L. and I arrived in Radebeul yesterday morning, which was mid-afternoon Michigan time. I need not tell anyone who has flown to Europe how that throws off your body. I am sure most people are aware of it, but me being someone who took this damned long to travel to Europe, it was tough.  Older son and his girlfriend N.'s father picked us up at the Dresden airport. We drove to their house, which is in a fairly quiet residential area of Radebeul. It was once farmland during the GDR era, went fallow after reunification, and then was developed into housing in the 1990s and 2000s. It is, I suppose, the German approximation of an American subdivision, but with winding streets and houses right next to each other and much smaller gardens (yards). The houses here have more character, too. They are all two-story and colorfully painted. Germans have the right idea. There seems much more a sense of community here compared to middle-class, suburban America--in which people live in the...

Greetings from the Frankfurt Airport. We arrived safely and now just must wait another few hours for our connecting flight to Dresden. Amazingly and embarrassingly, this is my first ever trip to Europe. It took me far too long. Now that we have a son who has embraced German culture, is attending a German university, and has a German "significant other" with a family who wants to meet us and invite us to their home, we are here. Covid be damned, we are here. Aside from my Covid immunization card falling in a narrow crevice next to the baggage conveyor belt at the Lufthansa desk (the woman at the desk was able to fish it out), and L's TV screen not working on the flight, it was an uneventful trek from Detroit to Frankfurt. Now I am just feeling groggy, and will likely feel even more fried when we reach Dresden.

I am currently waiting at the Lufthansa gate for our flight to Frankfurt. Going through TSA always fills we with dread, but it never seems to be quite as bad as I expect. The Omicron strain and Covid spike, combined with international travel, had me a little extra on edge. I am feeling like about the only person waiting who doesn't speak German. Besides my phone, I am passing the time with the latest Entertainment Weekly. I had considered also buying The New Yorker to combine high brow with middle/low brow, but who am I kidding? I do not feel like reading The New Yorker. (Another "high brow" possibility was The Atlantic, but the cover had me so depressed that I quickly nixed that. I don't need to be reminded what a political shit show America is. I know. That's all for now. Wish us luck.

How many times during this pandemic did we think we were "over the hump"? How many times did it feel like life was getting better? At this point, I've lost count. I remember going to SuburbsFest in early October--which now feels like a long time ago--and seeing a flicker of light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. We were almost entirely maskless, while we listened to and/or performed music, recorded podcast episodes, and traipsed around D.C., and life actually felt pretty normal. Now it's late December and it seems we are in the midst of the worst spike in Covid since this pandemic began two years ago. (Two years already! Can you believe that?).  Between the never-ending Covid situation and our precarious political climate, am I the only one who feels like I'm living in a fututistic dystopian novel? So in this big Covid spike, we are headed to Germany to visit our older son and his girlfriend's family. It should be an adventure. This will be my first ever tri...

I probably shouldn't have waited a full week before writing about The Beatles' Get Back documentary, which began streaming on Disney+ starting on Thanksgiving. So if you are interested in my thoughts, here you go... I'll just start off by saying I loved all eight hours and could have easily watched 18 hours. Many of our preconceived notions of the Beatles were changed or modified. They didn't seem to hate each other. Yes, there was tension at Twickenham Studios culminating in George Harrison leaving the band for a few days, but everyone appeared to get along swimmingly when the venue changed to Apple Studio on Savile Row. Yoko Ono did not break up the Beatles. If anything, she kept John Lennon interested in the band longer than he may have otherwise. I liked the scene at Twickenham in which Yoko and Linda Eastman (McCartney) are seen talking to each other. They appear to be having an enjoyable and intense conversation, which defies what I've read that Yoko and Linda...

The following is a Facebook post about the Rockin' the Suburbs SuburbsFest that I decided to also post in the blog: (I arrived at the Dulles early just to be on the safe side. Plane doesn't board until 1:00 PM). This weekend at SUBURBS FEST!! - Oct 1-3, 2021 can trace its origins to 2014(ish) when "two middle-aged guys who have not lost their passion for rock 'n' roll" started a podcast through USA Today called Dad Rock. I'd guess that many of us stumbled upon the podcast by accident or word-of-mouth. Jim and Patrick, from the beginning, had a fun and lighthearted (yet passionate) approach to all kinds of music subjects. When these "two middle-aged guys" left USA Today, they started a new podcast called Rockin' the Suburbs. Over time, an online/social media community developed. Meanwhile, Jim and Patrick championed people still out there playing music while living regular lives with families and day jobs (which probably describes most musicia...

Charlie Watts, drummer of the Rolling Stones, sadly and unexpectedly died on August 24. I thought I'd take this opportunity to share my Charlie Watts story: As I have probably already mentioned on this blog--or maybe not--I became a casual Stones fan in the mid '80s when I bought, at the local Woolworth store, K-Tel's cheapo two-volume Story of the Stones cassettes. (If I hadn't been such a spend thrift at the time, I'd have saved my lawnmowing and babysitting money and bought the Hot Rocks compilations, but I was too shortsighted to do that). By the time I got to college, I became more immersed in the Stones and, upon discovering the existence of used record stores, grabbed as many Stones albums as I could. This is when I acquired Out of Our Heads , Aftermath , Some Girls, and several others. By 1992, I was firmly established as a fairly big Rolling Stones fan. That year, I'd forked over what was then a significant amount of money for The Singles Collection: ...

It has been to long since a blog post. Today is the first day of school for our younger son (who is starting 11th grade), so there is a good deal of anxiety and trying to get used to the change of routine. And then there is that Covid thing that just lingers like a moxious and unwanted dinner guest.  Our son feels anxious and I know that both his parents do. It doesn't help that younger son is on the autism spectrum, so changes in routine and ventures ("adventures?") into the unknown are twice as hard as they are for "neurotypical" folks. Like almost every other kid in America, he spent the entire school year of 2020-21 in virtual learning. It did not go well for him, and I suspect it did not go particularly well for the majority of students out there. Kids really need to learn in person, which has made this pandemic doubly terrible in how it has made conventional school so hard to sustain. I just hope for a healthy year with little (or how about NO) incidents o...

 It's been almost two months since I wrote here. Much to catch up with. So how about that year-and-a-half we just went through? How are you all doing? Wasn't that crazy, disturbing, and just a bit scary? I hope you made it through. It's still unfathomable how many people we lost from Covid since early 2020. I am thankful that I and my family made it through relatively unscathed. I know all too well that there are plenty who did not. We are slowly returning to "normal," or whatever "normal" is. At work, we no longer have to wear masks and, beginning yesterday, we are done with filling out our morning health screenings. (This began on June 11, 2020 and lasted until June 28, 2021). Every morning for well over a year, we all had to officially let work know--one hour prior to arriving on site--that we were not sick (or at least did not "feel" sick).  By the way, I am still trying to get used to the idea of not wearing a mask. I still bring one with ...

Listening to What’s Going On (while putting groceries away) as a commemoration of sorts for its 50 th anniversary. While listening, I had an epiphany—or maybe I just think it’s an epiphany. Maybe I actually heard it or read it somewhere and now I believe it to be an original theory. Anyway, the album starts with Marvin (or the character Marvin is portraying) greeting friends (Mel Farr and Lem Barney of the Detroit Lions) before launching into the title track. “What’s Going On” is a summation of the sad state of affairs in 1971 (which may as well be 2021). We can also hear conversation and laughter in the background, as if we’re at a get-together or party. The second song, “What’s Happening Brother,” is told from the perspective of a returning Vietnam vet, asking how everyone else is doing and relating his struggles. We are still at the party. And then one of them (the vet?) starts “flying high in the friendly sky…without ever leaving the ground.” The next five songs are the most ...

 I meant to post an update on the Chauvin trial, but never got around to it. On the day of the verdict (April 20), the coverage coincided with my drive home from work. I was nervous the entire 16 mile trip, as I anxiously awaited for the jury and judge to enter the courtroom. Literally, as I pulled into the driveway, the judge and jury had entered and were ready to deliver the verdict. Coincidentally, L. and D. had arrived home too at that same time. We all remained in our respective cars waiting for the verdict. When Chauvin was found guilty on all three counts, I (perhaps embarrassingly) reacted as if my favorite sports team had defeated a heavily favored arch-rival.  I am not sure whether this is a harbinger of the future, or just an anomaly because it was so freaking obvious in that video that Derek Chauvin was a murdered. It's entirely possible that cops will be able to continue on indiscriminately beating the hell out of and/or killing people when they feel like it, but ...

The Derek Chauvin murder trial has been on my mind, as the prosecution and defense rest their cases and the jury begins deliberation. I have had a hard time watching any of the coverage or even news recaps. I find this case to be so deeply disturbing and further troubled by the real possibility that Derek Chauvin walks. I have no doubt in my mind that Chauvin murdered George Floyd, but we all know too well what happens when a cop is a defendant. No matter how much the defense wants to gaslight the jury into believing anything but Chauvin's knee on Floyd's neck was responsible for Floyd's death, I keep going back to that video and the look of defiance and soullessness on Chauvin's face. No matter what the defense may want any of us to believe, that is the look of a murderer. Chauvin needs to be held accountable for his actions. He needs to be punished by the hand of the law. If he is exonerated, then the police essentially have the right to kill any of us for any reason-...

This is probably a bit self-indulgent on my part, but here are the notes I took when listening to The Godfathers' More Songs About Love & Hate. I thought it might be of some interest to some people (and probably completely boring for 99.9 percent of everyone else), but it's my blog and I'll do whatever I want--so there! So here are my musically uneducated off-the-cuff observations of each song on the album: "She Gives Me Love"--Poppiest song on the album? Prominent drumming and wah-wah guitar. Good opener. "Those Days Are Over"--Has an AC/DC "For Those About to Rock" feel with Byrds-y guitar break. Song about dissatisfaction or maybe warfare (either real of metaphorical). "How Low Is Low"--Title says it all. More dissatisfaction sung over a Rolling Stones groove. "Pretty Girl"--This could have been on a mid-'60s beat group album. Simple lovelorn lyrics and "yeah, yeah, yeah" vocals on the outro. "This ...

The following is adapted from and expanded upon an Intagram post I made. There was copy-and-pasting going on, which always seems to irrevocably mess up the font size and font type in Blogger. I recall loving The Godfathers' song "Birth School Work Death" back in 1988. It was full of piss and vinegar, righteous anger, and in the video, the guys in the band looked like extras from The Long Good Friday . For whatever reason, however, I never bought the album. After finally discovering, 32 years after the fact, the no-frills, Clash-meets-AC/DC rock 'n' roll of More Songs About Love & Hate , I now feel the need to dig into their earlier stuff. And in fact, I have finally ordered Birth, School, Work, Death album a mere 33 years after its release. (Update, the disc arrived yesterday and I love it). More Songs About Love & Hate (I assume the title is a nod to Leonard Cohen) largely avoids the cheesy production that mars many '80s albums. It might help that, ...

Mark's latest book report: Arc of Justice, by Kevin Boyle, was published in 2004, won the National Book Award, and I finally got around to reading it (though I took a few breaks along the way). I had the book on my “to read” list for many years. The book is the painstakingly researched and detailed story of Ossian Sweet, a young, successful Black doctor who bought an attractive brick bungalow on the corner of Charlevoix and Garland in an all-white neighborhood on Detroit’s east side. On the evening after Ossian and his wife moved into the house in September 1925, a white mob gathered outside, and chaos ensued. Stones were thrown at the house and shots were fired from an upstairs window. Two people were struck by bullets, one of whom died.  What unfolds is a kaleidoscopic view of 1920s Detroit. The city was a rapidly growing industrial metropolis, with thousands of people of all races and nationalities flooding the city to work in auto (and auto-related) factories. At the same time,...

I recently hit up the local St. Vincent de Paul thrift shop down the street from work to look at their CDs (because more CDs is just what I need--like a hole in my head). I can at least rationalize it by telling myself that I'm donating money to charity. Anyway, I found some decent stuff, or at least stuff I believe to be decent. Certainly decent for $1 apiece. So here is what I bought: Franz Ferdinand-- Franz Ferdinand , Gorillaz-- Gorillaz , Live-- Secret Samadhi , Madonna-- The Immaculate Collection, Paul McCartney --Run Devil Run, and   10,000 Maniacs --Our Time in Eden.  So here is the rundown: I remember Franz Ferdinand from the early aughts and the era of angular punky garage-y bands like The Strokes, The Hives, etc. I suppose Franz Ferdinand belong in that category, or are at least adjacent. Outside of their hit "Take Me Out," I didn't pay them much attention then, but in 2021 at the thrift shop I thought: why not? I spun the album a few days ago and enjoyed i...

We made it. We survived. No violence. A peaceful transfer of power. I woke up yesterday morning to the news that Donald and Melania Trump had already departed in a helicopter from the White House. No straightjacket or handcuffs were required to get him out, as I had not quite jokingly worried about for months. Oh, did I mention that all the library staff worked remotely yesterday because downtown Lansing was deemed potentially too dangerous for us to work in the building? Thank you Trump. Thank you MAGA, Proud Boy, and QAnon buffoons. I can happily report that there was no violence in Lansing yesterday. In fact, I think the city was a ghost town on Inauguration Day.  So I woke up, found out that Trump had left, and wrote this on Facebook. (I really need to spend less time on Facebook, but that's another story). These words were straight from the gut and flowed right out of me. I had probably waited four or five years to write them: "He is gone. Good riddance. Easily the worst ...

I am in one of those periodic stages I have been throughout the pandemic in which I feel like the world is closing in on me. I'm stressed out and the only way I can get through is by taking life day by day, which I suppose is what everyone is doing. We had someone test positive for Covid at my workplace, and that has me feeling anxiety. I think it has most of us feeling some degree of anxiety. I feel that I'm constantly monitoring my health: "Is that a sore throat I feel coming on? No, I guess not. Good. Can I still smell things? Yes? Good. Uh-oh, I just coughed. Is that just a normal cough? I guess so. Good." And on and on. I mean, I tend to be a bit neurotic anyway, but combine that with a pandemic and one positive test at work--the first one we have had to the best of my knowledge--and I am even more on edge than usual.  Before I make this too much about me , I must say that I hope my co-worker who tested positive makes a full recovery. By the way, yesterday marke...

The dust has at least temporarily cleared from yesterday's storming of the United States Capitol and attempted coup by a mob of MAGA terrorists. How long have I been railing against Trump and the danger he presents to our nation? It's not as if I'm a brilliant sage or learned political scholar. Anyone with a brain could have seen this coming as far back as 2015, when Trump announced he was running for president and started to get traction. And in all actuality, this is a wound that has been festering since well before Trump became president. What should have been a celebratory day--after Georgia elected Raphael Warnock, the state's first ever Black senator (and Jon Ossoff also winning his Georgia senatorial runoff)--turned into an afternoon of chaos in Washington, DC. What happened at the capitol was simply the culmination of the ferment that Trump has been stoking for the last four plus years.  The week began with me leaving messages on the voicemails of Ted Cruz and J...