Music Friday: "To My Younger Self"

 One of the most under appreciated musical artists of the past twenty years is the band Glossary. The band is no longer intact anymore, but the lead singer/lyricist is still putting out music although his last album, The All Night Bedroom Revival, came out in 2016. I hope he puts out a new album soon. 

Regardless, here's a tune from The Wildness. 

I wish I could talk to my 16-year old self from what wisdom I've acquired along the way. As the cliche goes, and I know I'm not getting the wording exactly right, wisdom is wasted on old people. 

Musing of the Moment: The Dangers of Left-Handedness

Mrs. Nasty got me an electric powered chainsaw for my birthday. I'm finally going to get around to using it this weekend because the weather has gotten more hospitable. 

It looks like a good chainsaw from what I can tell. It has a self-sharpening device on it, which is nice. But I have a concern. It's designed for a right-handed person. 

So I did some searching on this matter, and the InterWebs spit out this figure and statement: "More than 2,500 left-handed people are killed each due to using right-handed products. Right-handed power saws are the most deadly." 

Where did this figure come from though? 

It appears there is not such a thing as a left-handed chainsaw. 

In light of all this, I give you "The 20 Worst Products for Left-Handed People." 

I will also drop this here: "15 Less Known Facts about Left-Handed People." Apparently, we are only 10% of the population, have more people with high IQs, are more likely to be schizophrenics, are not "more creative" as the common notion espouses, tend to have worse tempers, and are more likely to be queer.

Musing of the Moment: Free Dele Alli

 I just watched the highlight of Spurs demolishment of Austrian side Wolfsberg, which you can enjoy below. 

Dele has been in Mourinho's doghouse--justified or not--for some time. However, today's performance was outstanding. He had an amazing goal and contributed two superb assists in the match. 

He needs to start this Sunday against Burnley. 

The lineup I'd like to see in Jose's 4-2-3-1 would be the following

1: Kane, of course

3: Son, Dele, and Bale or Lamela or Moura

2: Ndombele and Hojbjerg or Sissoko

4: Whatever back four gives us our best defense, but I really enjoy seeing Reguilon play

Regardless of my ideal lineup, free Dele. 

Free Dele Alli.

Music Friday: "Summer Days"

The other new album I bought this year is Langhorne Slim's Strawberry Mansion. If you're familiar with his work, he has a folk-rocky ethos. 

And it works well. 

Here's "Summer Days." 

Random Notes from a Crank

I dislike the term "foodie." To me, it just seems pretentious. Why not just say you like independent restaurants and bars?

The other day I was browsing watches and explored the Swatch online store. Back in the 80s, I wanted a Swatch watch, but my parents wouldn't buy me one because they were expensive (from what I remember). 

Now I've informed Mrs. Nasty about the Swatch watch I want for a special occasion. 

I'm not much for accessories. I only wear a wedding ring. But I feel naked when I'm not wearing a watch. 

Rush Limbaugh died. I have no sorrow about this. He was a menace to democracy and a spreader of hate, lies, propaganda, and misinformation. I see the hashtag #restinhell is trending on Twitter. You reap what you sow. 

Music Friday: "Party at Ground Zero"

Last night I watched Everyday Sunshine, which is a documentary about one of my favorite bands, Fishbone. It's a sobering film about a great, influential rock band that has deserved more loot and accolades during the band's long career. 

Here's one of their earlier songs of note. 

The Primus-Fishbone double bill I saw in Columbia, MO back when I was in college was the best concert I ever attended. It was the tour after they dropped The Reality of My Surroundings. 

Random Notes from a Crank

 Of the stemware that's out there, the martini glass has to be the most stupid one. The glass is designed almost on purpose to be easy to spill, especially for the cocktail it contains, the high-alcohol martini. When I drink martinis at home, I use a stemless wine glass.  

The other night I watched Jim Gaffigan's Amazon stand-up The Pale Tourist. There's only two episodes - one for Canada and the other for Spain. Both are solid, but I really enjoyed the one about Canada. It's hilarious. 

I'm reading The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think by Jennifer Ackerman. It's a good book. I liked The Genius of Birds better. Regardless, in a couple of chapters when she's describing the behavior of raven and keas, she cites the concept of "emotional contagion" among those species.  

So now I'm thinking of how that concept plays out with humans. 

And here's something from Psychology Today to chew on: "Protect Yourself from Emotional Contagion." 

A month ago, the Nasty family got a membership to Costco, which in the long run is going to save us a good bit of money. One of the grocery items we have consistently bought when we go there is Kirkland basil pesto. 

But I wonder at the terms. By nature, traditional pesto is made with basil, so why the need to use basil as an adjective? 

Musing of the Moment: Searching for a New Word for T****

 If you've been reading this blog for a long time or for a short time, it's clear I despise the 45th president. 

On a related note, I like to play card games, especially spades and euchre. 

I am on a search for different world to use in place for trump. I don't want to utter Moscow Don's last name because it just makes me angry, among other unhelpful emotions. I'm taking my cue from The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in that they use this to present his name: "T****."

So here are some possible replacements for a word that replace t****:

• Stopper
• Closer
• Changer
• Biden
• Putin
• Secret Jewish Laser Satellite
• Antifa

If you have any better suggestions for a replacement word for t****, please provide them in the comments. 

Music Friday: "Good as Gone"

The first new album I acquired this year is Lucero's When You Found Me. 

It's a solid album. I've listened to it several times, and the lineup of songs works seamlessly. 

Here's the fifth tune on the album. 

Check out When You Found Me. It's a good one.  

Random Notes from a Crank

 I'm looking forward to some new albums coming out this year. I know The Hold Steady is set to drop a new album this year. And I've already acquired new albums form Lucero and Langhorne Slim. 

The fact that many of the GOP Senators will not acquit the 45th president for inciting a riot is ridiculous but not surprising. No spines or ethics. The Republican Party is being held hostage by a crazy person and white supremacist nonsense. 

As much as I like the term Latinx term, I read an article in Harper's recently that noted that over two-thirds or three quarters of Latinos don't care for or use the term. It's a coinage used by academics and well-meaning liberals, not one created by the people themselves. So they're not really using it. 

Regardless, Latinos and Black are not monolithic voting blocks. They never have been. In fact, they tend to be more centrist than left wing. 

Then again, as Jennifer Rubin write about in "Shrinking the GOP, One State at a Time," there are significant amounts of voters who are no longer registered as Republicans in important states like Colorado, North Caroline, Arizona, and Pennsylvania after the attack on the Capitol. 

And D.C. and Puerto Rico should be given statehood.