This blog will host my ramblings about life. To be a bit more specific, I'll probably focus on these subjects: music, sports, food, the everyday beauty of life, and the comedy/tragedy/absurdity of our existence. That about covers it.
Friday, April 4, 2025
Unpopular Opinion: David Bowie Is Just Ok
Music Friday: "The Fourth Night of My Drinking"
Random Notes from a Crank
In not-so-surprising news, the travel and tourism industry is getting hit hard as hell because President Adolf has pissed off Canadians. The Washington Post's article, "Canadian Travel to U.S. Is Plummeting: 'There's a Lot of Anger,'" relates that fact with lots of details.
The consequences are going to affect two red states in particular: Florida and Arizona. There are estimates that there are going to be 4 million fewer travelers to the U.S. because of this anger and Canadian patriotism.
If I were Canadian, I'd just vacation in Mexico, Costa Rica, or Belize.
Also, I would think European travelers will be avoiding the U.S.
As the saying goes, FAFO, America.
Based on Moscow Don's tariff policies, if one were to buy say a Nissan Sentra, which would normally be about $22,000, it now would cost, at minimum, $27,280.
I wonder what percentage of automotive parts are made in China and Japan? A cursory search panned out that it's not as large of a percentage as I assumed: 9.5% from China and 9.4% from Japan.
However, 38% of automative parts come from Mexico, and 10% come from Canada. I'm assuming those are still subject to a 25% tariff.
As I drove over to get my car an oil change this morning, I saw that gas prices went up. In my little corner of the planet, gas is $3.39 a gallon.
61% of the oil we import comes from Canada, which is a country hit by 25% tariffs.
The one country not hit by tariffs?
Russia.
Moscow Don at work. Not really. He's golfing on my tax dollars.
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
As the author says, "demolition, today, is a perverse luxury of economies where materials are cheap and labor expensive. It is a ubiquitous part of the architectural cycle -- building, erasing, and rebuilding -- with thought to the reuse of old materials, or the environmental cost of creating ever new supplies of concrete, steel, and gypsum board."
As I am sure other left-leaning pundits have opined, if you are a Democratic candidate for a competitive House or Senate seat in the midterms, whether for federal or state office, you surely want to Elon Musk to campaign for sychophantic GOP candidate.
Or at the very least the Democratic candidate needs to show how much Musk donated to the GOP campaign.
The guy gets people angry and motivated.
Unfortunately, the actor Val Kilmer died. On one of the SiriusXM stations I listen to regularly, the host recommended the documentary about him simply titled Val.
I enjoy reading newspapers outside the U.S. to get a good perspective on things: "Trump Goes Full Gameshow Host to Push His Tariff Plan - And Nobody's a Winner."
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Salt-Pepper Seasoning for the Griddle
Friday, March 28, 2025
Music Friday: "End Times"
I've been listening to a bunch of albums by Eels this week.
Here's "End Times" from the End Times album.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Monday, March 24, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Friday, March 21, 2025
Musing of the Moment: Bourbon in the Movies
Music Friday: "The Wreck"
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Musing of the Moment: Resistance Gardens
I'm a gardener, mainly a vegetable gardener.
I saw a great post on Tik Tok that talked about how during WWII people planted "victory gardens" because of the war effort, and these gardens produced 40% of the vegetables people ate during the war.
Random Notes from a Crank
President Adolf and his goons and charlatans are planning even more tariffs to happen on April 2 according to The Washington Post: "Trump Aides Prep More Tariffs for April 2 on Imports Worth Billions."
He's wanting to do something similar to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which helped deepen the Great Depression. History often rhymes.
Here's a political cartoon from Nick Anderson that shows what's going to happen.
As expected, Putin is playing Moscow Don like a fiddle: "Trump-Putin Call Seen as a Victory in Russia."
The only positive I can see from a trade war is that the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, among other such entities in Canada, have pulled US products from their shelves. I wonder if these moves could reduce the price of bourbon here in the US.
The prices of bourbon are ridiculous. I used to be able to get all kinds of different bourbons at decent prices, but the flippin' hipsters have latched on to the liquor, which has driven up prices across the board. There are some YouTube bourbon guys who consider "budget" bourbons to be a bottle under $50.
WTF?
There are some bourbons I used to be able to get on a regular basis, such Very Old Barton 100, Early Times Bonded, and Eagle Rare, that I can't find anymore.
So if there's an excess of bourbon (supply), perhaps the demand will start getting met more effectively. Hopefully by me.
Regardless, the hipsters need to become more interested in a different spirit, such as rum or gin.
At the nudging of Mrs. Nasty, I've joined Tik Tok. I'm using my same pseudonym.
Monday, March 17, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Friday, March 14, 2025
Music Friday: "Ride to Robert's" & "Crimson and Clay"
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Musing of the Moment: "Up and Not Crying"
Random Notes from a Crank
I volunteered to conduct a couple of mock interviews with graduating seniors in our department. The one I did last week was with a young lady who is intending to enroll in a graduate program at the University of Alberta.
My first question to her was why that university, and I asked a joking question of "Are you a big fan of the Edmonton Oilers or something?"
Her reply was that part of the reason was the "political situation" in the U.S.
I suspect Canadian universities are going to see an uptick in applications from U.S. students over the next few years. I know my daughter is probably looking at some grad programs in Canada along with universities in blue states.
I saw this chart of sorts on Facebook.
I'm no vegan, but looking at this chart and based on my tastes, here are more go-tos for protein:
- Almonds
- Pistachios
- Tofu
- Hazelnuts
- Walnuts
- Pecans
- Lentils
- Garbanzos
- Lima beans
- Spinach
Monday, March 10, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Friday, March 7, 2025
Stay Positive: Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel
Music Friday: "Living in the USA" & "Back Against the Wall"
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
- Rank of November 6, 2024, among the days with the most account deactivations on X since Elon Musk acquired the company: 1
- Factor by which the average wait to receive approval for federal disability benefits has increased since 2019: 2
- Estimated number of Americans who died in 2023 while waiting for such approval: 30,000
- Percentage change since 1973 in the average American's carbon emissions: -36
- Factor by which per capita U.S. carbon emissions exceed the global average: 3
- Average percentage by which the opening of a Walmart Supercenter causes nearby household incomes to decrease: 6
- Percentage of U.S. solar-power capacity growth last year accounted for by Texas: 31
- Percentage by which Texas's new solar-power capacity exceeded California's last year: 358
- Chance that an American believes they have undiagnosed ADHD: 1 in 4
- Chance that they do have ADHD: 1 in 17
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
I have a Word-of-the-Day calendar at work, and the word today is compunctious, which is an adjective meaning "1. arising from remorse or regret 2. feeling remorse or regret."
With President Adolf's tariffs against Canada and Mexico starting this week, a lot of Americans can be described as that. American voters fucked around again and will be finding out.
Members of the GOP have no spine.
I'm not all that concerned about out the markets usually, but they didn't respond favorably to the tariffs with both Canada and China set to retaliate with their own tariffs right away and Mexico set to announce how they're going to respond by Sunday.
I rejoined Facebook mainly because I want to keep in touch with my family members who are on there along with friends and fraternity brothers. I'm no longer using my real first name because I'm paranoid.
Also, I'm going to be more judicious in who I accept friend requests from. If you're a supporter of Moscow Don, you're no virtual "friend" of mine.
My plan is that I'm going to share my viewpoints on this blog and Bluesky and share personal stuff on FB.
Here's the cover photo I'm using on FB.
Zappa is an artist I've always been interested in, but I have never bought any of his work. I did watch a great documentary about him simply titled Zappa. It's worth a watch.
Now I'm pondering getting Freak Out! by Mothers of Invention.
Monday, March 3, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Sunday, March 2, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
Saturday, March 1, 2025
Stay Positive: Wild Turkey 101
I like bourbon. And I watch a couple of YouTubers who drink bourbon to see what's good and what's not, often in blind tastings.
The one guy I watch regularly goes on bourbon hunts and buys more expensive bourbon than I would buy unless I somehow start harvesting money off my imaginary money tree in my back yard.
If I had to pick a bourbon that is the best, price per ounce, and really a low-cost bourbon (I'm talking under $30 MSRP), it would be Wild Turkey 101.
Of course, Wild Turkey hits my flavor profile. It's strong, is spicy, and has strong oak char on the finish.
It's an old-school bourbon.
And Wild Turkey, if you willing to sponsor my blog, I'll take payment in booze.
Friday, February 28, 2025
Fumbling Toward Culinary Talent: Sausage, Cabbage, and White Bean Skillet
This is a variation of a recipe I found in The Washington Post, but I modified a bit.
Ingredients
- 3 hot Italian sausages
- 4-6 TB of avocado oil
- 1 small green cabbage, cored and sliced thinly (2 lbs.)
- 1 medium onion, chopped finely
- 2 cans of Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/3 cup of 2% milk
- 1/2 cup of bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan
- Smidge of Penzey's Justice seasoning (probably a teaspoon)
- Healthy smidge of Penzey's Resist seasoning (probably a tablespoon)
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Music Friday: "Where the Night Goes"
I've been listening to albums by Josh Ritter this week. Here's a great tune from one of my favorite albums of his, Sermon on the Rocks.
"Three cheers for the grapevine."
"You pay your bills, and still they own ya."
"Let's see where the night takes us./ Let's see where the night goes."
"I feel the pull of the American darkness."
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Random Notes from a Crank
- Much better - 21%
- Somewhat better - 26%
- About the same - 21%
- Somewhat worse - 12%
- Much worse - 10%
- Not sure - 9%
- The United States - 27%
- Canada - 56%
- Both equally - 10%
- Not sure - 7%
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Stay Positive: Death Wishes
I remember back to when one of my friends, Roy, died. He knew he was going to go, and he obviously laid out how he wanted his funeral to happen ~ down to music that was played at the service.
First off, I don't want a religious service when I die. No priest or reverend or other such stuff. Religion need not apply when I die. I'm not "in a better place now." I'm flippin' dead.
I want to be cremated. So the place I'll be in is some kind of receptacle, and then after the ashes need to be moved into one of those deals in which my ashes become part of planting a tree.
For the service, just gather people together to have a good time, to celebrate that they're still alive. And you can talk about me if you like, but the point is that you're still alive, you lucky bastards.
I don't know if a funeral parlor will allow this, so you may have to rent some kind of a hall for the proceedings. Have a potluck dinner where people bring what they like to eat or maybe dishes I liked to eat. Food is important. And I like cooking. It can be therapeutic for me.
There needs to be libations. If possible, get a keg of Schlitz for the party. If Schlitz isn't available, that's fine. Also, some manner of a good IPA is necessary such as Bell's Two-Hearted Ale.
But overall, you just need to get together and have a good time some night to celebrate life.
Like my friend's funeral, I want to control the music choices. So what follows is the playlist that should happen. The songs with an asterisk are essential. If you don't play those, I will haunt you.
This is a long list, and it's done via alpha order (via iTunes) of the artists:
- Burn. Flicker. Die, American Aquarium
- Show Me How to Live, Audioslave
- *Shadow on the Sun, Audioslave
- I and Love and You, Avett Brothers
- *Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise, Avett Brothers
- INever Stop, The Bad Plus
- In 3s, Beastie Boys
- Shake Your Rump, Beastie Boys
- *Professor Booty, Beastie Boys
- Selfless, Cold, and Composed, Ben Folds Five
- Ground on Down (Live from Mars version), Ben Harper
- *Tones of Home, Blind Melon
- Change, Blind Melon
- No Rain, Blind Melon
- *See a Little Light, Bob Mould
- Black Sheets of Rain, Bob Mould
- Welfare Music, The Bottle Rockets
- Keep Your Heart Young, Brandi Carlile
- St. Thomas, Branford Marsalis Quartet
- Everywhere I Go, Caitlin Rose
- When I Win the Lottery, Camper Van Beethoven
- *Life Is Grand, Camper Van Beethoven
- All the Talkers, Centro-matic
- Murderer of Blue Skies, Chris Cornell
- *A Murder of One, Counting Crows
- Holiday in Spain, Counting Crows
- God Shuffled His Feet, Crash Test Dummies
- Afternoons and Coffeespoons, Crash Test Dummies
- *All Your Favourite Bands, Dawes
- The New Year, Death Cab for Cutie
- The Sound of Settling, Death Cab for Cutie
- The Day John Henry Died, Drive-By Truckers (John Henry is my favorite folktale)
- *Grand Canyon, Drive-By Truckers
- Postcard from 1952, Explosions in the Sky
- Holy Shit, Father John Misty
- *Pure Comedy, Father John Misty
- Total Entertainment Forever, Father John Misty
- I Guess Time Just Makes Fools of Us All, Father John Misty
- *Fight the Youth, Fishbone
- One Day, Fishbone
- Everyday Sunshine, Fishbone
- *When My Train Pulls In, Gary Clark Jr.
- This Land, Gary Clark Jr.
- *Poor Boy, Glossary
- *Headstones and Dead Leaves, Glossary
- *Save Your Money for the Weekend, Glossary
- Trouble Won't Always Last, Glossary
- A Shoulder to Cry On, Glossary
- *Some Eternal Spark, Glossary (I obviously like the band Glossary a lot. It's a band most people don't know about.)
- Welcome to the Jungle, Guns-n-Roses (Delta Delta)
- The Humorist, Ha Ha Tonka (a song about Mark Twain, one of my favorite writers)
- Kiss You Down There, Hackensaw Boys
- *Hey Good Looking, Hank Williams (My mom used to sing this often.)
- There's a Tear in My Beer, Hank Williams
- Stomp and Holler, Hayes Carll
- *Bad Liver and a Broken Heart, Hayes Carll
- Stuck Between Stations, The Hold Steady
- *Stay Positive, The Hold Steady
- *Gone, Jack Johnson
- *Choctaw Bingo, James McMurtry
- *Something in the Way She Moves, James Taylor (for Mrs. Nasty, our wedding song)
- Ocean Size, Jane's Addiction
- *Grown, Jason Isbell (one of the most underrated Isbell songs)
- The Blue, Jason Isbell
- *Streetlights, Jason Isbell
- Alabama Pines, Jason Isbell
- *Songs That She Sang in the Shower, Jason Isbell
- *Relatively Easy, Jason Isbell
- 24 Frames, Jason Isbell
- *Goddamn Lonely Love (Live in Alabama version), Jason Isbell
- *Hope the High Road, Jason Isabel
- Feel Free, Jay Farrar
- Cahokian, Jay Farrar
- Waiting for the Sun, Jayhawks
- When You're Hot, You're Hot, Jerry Reed
- Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce (one of my favorite songs when I was a kid)
- Come On (Let the Good Times Roll), Jimi Hendrix
- On Fire, JJ Grey and Mofro
- Harp and Drums, JJ Grey and Mofro
- John Deere Green, Joe Diffie (I used lots of quarters for this song to play at The Flamingo)
- Blue Train, John Coltrane
- Satan and St. Paul, John Fulbright
- Human Wheels, John Mellencamp
- *Longest Days, John Mellencamp
- Stones in My Pasway, John Mellencamp
- Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash
- *A Boy Named Sue (live), Johnny Cash
- *Man in Black, Johnny Cash (My daughter's favorite Johnny Cash song)
- *Hurt, Johnny Cash (my favorite dance of my daughter's was this song)
- *Thin Blue Flame, Josh Ritter
- Rattling Locks, Josh Ritter
- Another New World, Josh Ritter
- Getting Ready to Get Down, Josh Ritter
- *Where the Night Goes, Josh Ritter
- Lone Pine Hill, Justin Townes Earle
- *Harlem River Blues, Justine Townes Earle
- Ain't Waitin', Justin Townes Earle
- Hangover Heart, Kudzu Kings
- Good Kisser, Lake Street Dive
- Smooth Sailin', Leon Bridges
- Memories Can't Wait, Living Colour
- Fight the Fight, Living Colour
- Sing Me No Hymns, Lucero
- *What Are You Willing to Lose?, Lucero
- Mercy Mercy Me (the Ecology), Marvin Gaye
- *One, Metallica (one of the best music videos of all time)
- For Whom the Bell Tolls, Metallica
- Love & Hate, Michael Kiwanuka
- *Final Days, Michael Kiwanuka
- Piano Joint (This Kind of Love), Michael Kiwanuka
- *Hero, Michael Kiwanuka
- *Yea Alabama, Million Dollar Band (Alabama's fight song ~ please play this more than once)
- Ho Cake, Mofro (mmmm, a song about Southern cooking)
- Brighter Days, Mofro
- Fireflies, Mofro
- I Just Want to Make Love to You, Muddy Waters
- *Don't Let It Bring You Down, Neil Young
- Heart of Gold, Neil Young
- *Thrasher, Neil Young
- Pocahontas, Neil Young
- This Tornado Loves You, Neko Case
- In an Aeroplane Over the Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel
- Zigaboogaloo, Nicholas Payton
- *Elephant in the Corn, Nickel Creek
- Lithium, Nirvana
- Shake Em On Down, North Mississippi All Stars
- I Can't Turn You Loose, Otis Redding
- Evenflow, Pearl Jam
- Go, Pearl Jam
- *Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town, Pearl Jam
- Love Boat Captain, Pearl Jam
- *Faithful, Pearl Jam
- Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam
- *Wishlist, Pearl Jam
- *Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
- *Everybody's Trying, Poi Dog Pondering
- Fruitless, Poi Dog Pondering
- *Spirits in the Material World, Police
- When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around, Police
- To Defy the Laws of Tradition, Primus (one of the best shows I saw was a double-bill of Primus and Fishbone)
- Harold of the Rocks, Primus
- Tommy the Cat, Primus
- Rye Whiskey, Punch Brothers
- *Who's Feeling Young Now?, Punch Brothers
- Magnet, Punch Brothers
- Little Lights, Punch Brothers
- Find the River, R.E.M.
- It's the End of the World as We Know It (and I Feel Fine), R.E.M.
- Feeling Gravity's Pull, R.E.M.
- *Driver 8, R.E.M.
- These Days, R.E.M.
- *Sad Professor, R.E.M
- *Take the Power Back, Rage Against the Machine
- Wake Up. Rage Against the Machine
- Know Your Enemy, Rage Against the Machine
- *Life Is a Highway, Rascal Flatts (My son loved this song when he was a little kid)
- Two Birds, Regina Spektor
- All the Rowboats, Regina Spektor
- Unsatisfied, The Replacements
- Left of the Dial, The Replacements
- I Don't Know, The Replacements
- *Valentine, The Replacements ("You wish upon a star, and it turns into a plane." For whatever reason that sentence has haunted me for years.)
- Can't Hardly Wait, The Replacements
- Anywhere's Better than Here, The Replacements
- Happy Town, The Replacements
- Blues Jam, Rollins Band
- Of Kindred Souls, Roy Hargrove
- *Strasbourg/St. Denis, Roy Hargrove Quintet
- *Working Man, Rush
- Ring Them Bells, Sarah Jarosz
- Broussard's Lament, Sarah Jarosz
- Sing a Simple Song, Sly and the Family Stone
- *Everyday People, Sly and the Family Stone
- I Am One, Smashing Pumpkins
- *Out of the Picture, Son Volt
- Live Free, Son Volt
- Automatic Society, Son Volt
- Driving the View, Son Volt
- Bandages and Scars, Son Volt
- Down to the Wire, Son Volt
- Candle, Sonic Youth
- *Rusty Cage, Soundgarden (If I could have a "walk-up" song before I teach like baseball players before they hit, this would be it.)
- Jesus Christ Pose, Soundgarden
- *4th of July, Soundgarden
- Superunknown, Soundgarden
- Non-State Actor, Soundgarden
- Rowing, Soundgarden
- Cuckoo, Stephen Wilson Jr.
- Grief Is Only Love, Stephen Wilson Jr.
- Voodoo Chile (Slight Return), Stevie Ray Vaughn
- Testify, Stevie Ray Vaughn
- Higher Ground, Stevie Wonder
- *Consider Me Gone (Bring on the Night live album), Sting
- Another Day (Bring on the Night live album), Sting
- Life Ain't Fair and the World Is Mean, Sturgill Simpson
- Turtles All the Way Down, Sturgill Simpson
- Let Me Get By, Tedeschi Trucks Band
- Hunger Strike, Temple of the Dog (basis for our pledge class song)
- Monk's Dream, Thelonious Monk Quartet
- Birdhouse in Your Soul, They Might Be Giants
- *This Land Is Our Land, Todd Snider
- Moon Dawg's Tavern, Todd Snider
- Statistician's Blues, Todd Snider
- *D.B. Cooper, Todd Snider
- *Keep Off the Grass, Todd Snider
- *Ballad of Devil's Backbone Tavern, Todd Snider (great message)
- Happy New Year, Todd Snider
- In the Beginning, Todd Snider
- Big Finish, Todd Snider
- Runnin' Down a Dream, Tom Petty
- *Wildflowers, Tom Petty (For my daughter ~ I want it to be the song played for the dad-bride dance at her wedding.)
- *Even the Losers, Tom Petty
- Suburbia, Trombone Shorty
- Hurricane Season, Trombone Shorty
- Gin, Smoke, Lies, Turnpike Trobadours
- Mooshiner, Uncle Tupelo
- Chickamauga, Uncle Tupelo
- *Linus and Lucy, Vince Guaraldi
- Thanksgiving Theme, Vince Guaraldi
- Skating, Vince Guaraldi (Some of my favorite childhood memories are watching Charlie Brown specials with my parents. Reading Peanuts and then comic books primed my passion for reading.)
- *Thank God for Girls, Weezer
- Hard Luck Story, Whiskeytown
- Tennessee Square, Whiskeytown
- Ain't Life Grand, Widespread Panic
- *Coconut, Widespread Panic ("Gone" by Jack Johnson and this one are songs I used to play in my daughter's room in St. Louis, and we'd dance.)
- *This Land Is Your Land, Woody Guthrie
- Uptown Ruler, Wynton Marsalis (I listened to Soul Gestures in Southern Blue, particularly vol. 2, often when revising my dissertation.)