Three More Weeks of Summer!

School's back in, some of the mornings lately have felt distinctly autumn-like, and yes, Halloween stuff has been in the stores for weeks now (argh)... but summer ain't over yet. Labor Day notwithstanding, fall and the equinox don't arrive until the night of the 22nd, astronomically speaking. And I love speaking astronomically. I don't know about you, but I need to get in at least one more trip down the shore.

I went to my first general admission, better-bring-earplugs show in too long last month to see the rock band Plush. The all-female trio rocked the hell out of Teaneck's Debonair Music Hall, as did their supporting acts Hunter Road and Major Moment. I partook of the VIP meet-and-greet with Plush before the show and got autographs and a photo with the band. I don't think I'll be returning to my old live-music schedule, but it was great to feel the energy of a performance like that again, and I'm sure I'll be doing it again before too long.

Ashley, Faith, Moriah, and me

Gina and I got away for a weekend down in Cape May and Wildwood this August, squeezing in visits to our beloved Harry's of Cape May and Willow Creek Winery, another incredible dinner at Tisha's Fine Dining, and a hearty lunch at Mermaids Restaurant. We walked the Washington Street Mall and the Wildwood boardwalk, did some antiquing, and got in some beach time, too.

In other news, I attended a state career fair last month, the first time I've gone to any kind of job fair. It was a little overwhelming, but a good experience, and I reached out to several departments within the state in hopes of employment. We shall see...

And of course we lost Hayden Panettiere, Frank Beard, Dolly Parton, and Tim Curry (among other notable and non-notable people) in August. Believe it or not, I'd never seen "Heroes" (beyond catching a few minutes while idly channel-surfing a long time ago) before deciding to check it out on Netflix this July. I finished the series finale the week before Hayden's passing, which made it that much more immediate and gut-wrenching. I never saw ZZ Top live, but love their music, and beardless Frank's drumming is as essential to their sound as Billy Gibbons' guitar. My dad listened to a lot of country music when I was growing up, which probably contributed to my early distaste of it, but I learned to appreciate a lot of it later in life (particularly the 'old-school' country of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, etc.). While I probably couldn't have named more than half a dozen Dolly songs, while streaming some of her music last weekend, I was surprised to realize just how many tunes I recognized and remembered. She was a terrific human being in addition to an amazing songwriter and musician, so you don't have to be a fan of the music to feel the loss of the person. And of course Tim Curry was a fun and zany actor, first seen by many of us (myself included) as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", who went on to so many great roles in so many great (and some not so great) films. He, truly, did the rock.

I've got an anniversary and a birthday this month. Brazil will be celebrating 204 years of independence from Portugal on the 7th (Sete de Setembro). Apple's "Surprise and shine" event is on 9-9, and nein, I don't think I can skip upgrading my iPhone this year. My 12 Pro is going to be six years old next month, as will my Series 6 Apple Watch, and while they're both still working fine (though the phone does have two screen cracks, and the watch's battery doesn't always last me the whole day on one charge), I believe I'm finally ready to replace them. Happy birthday (month) to me... ♩

June

It's June 6th. Many years ago today ("It's been 84 years, and I can still smell the fresh paint..."), I was one of many young men in my Paterson, NJ high school protesting the dress code (no shorts for guys, despite the heat) by wearing a skirt in school. (We got the policy changed!) Even more years before that, over 150,000 Allied soldiers invaded Normandy to liberate France (and much of western Europe) from Nazi Germany. Civil rights activist James Meredith was shot on this day in 1966 during the Walk Against Fear; five years later, "The Ed Sullivan Show" broadcast its last episode (a rerun, and yes, it took place in the Ed Sullivan Theater where Stephen Colbert was hosting "The Late Show" until recently). In 1982, the second (!) Israeli invasion of Lebanon began on 6 June. And thirteen years ago today, my then-fiancée and I met with our intended officiant to discuss our impending nuptials (a month and a half later, we were no longer engaged, but I don't think it had anything to do with the reverend...).

The 37th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre just passed, too. I guess I'm trying to say that June is a hell of a month. It's Pride month, despite an awful lot of people (or is that a lot of awful people?) still not understanding that LGBTQIA+ people are still just people, deserving of the same unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness the rest of us feel entitled to. There's Flag Day on the 14th. Juneteenth happens this month. So does the solstice (the start of summer or winter, depending on whether you're north or south of the equator). Ashura falls on the 26th this year.

Preparem-se, o hexa está chegando! (Hopefully.) Yes, the World Cup starts this month. ⚽ I'm dreading what it's going to do to traffic (I live less than three miles from MetLife New York New Jersey Stadium as the corvid flies), and I'm not generally a fan of noisy, rambunctious (and inebriated) crowds, but I just might venture out to one of the local-ish events in June. We'll see. I'd have loved to have attended a match in person, and I wouldn't have even needed hotel accommodations, but the ticket prices are just astronomical, so... no.

I've been playing guitar regularly for the past several weeks, which is an awesome and much-needed feeling. (Bass, too, after finally restringing that thing.) A new song or two should result in June. Hopefully I can get back to the beach (or "down the shore") at least once or twice this month, too. Maybe to the Coney Island Mermaid Parade again...

OK, one thing that's not happening this month, though: Andersen Silva is not participating in UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn. Stop asking! I won't do it. Thppt!

I May... but I May Not

Happy May Day. It's also another Bandcamp Friday, so yeah, I'm plugging "Dangerous Babies" again. I know I'm biased, but it just seems to fit the times so well.


I'm well-pleased to report that not only am I playing guitar regularly again (every day for the past week and a half or so, and my calluses are building back up), I've also started working on a few new bits and pieces. Oughta be a new song or three coming out in the not-so-distant future. OK, that's probably more music to my ears than to yours, but still.

Hopefully, the Subvert platform will be live soon, and a new forum for me to share the new music. I've finally gotten around to uploading the I'll Live album there, and I'd like to see good things happen.

Can the rain and the wind and the heat and the cold all just pipe down already?!? I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a string of seasonably/reasonably warm sunny days without 30mph gusts. I'll meet you outside...

ICE Out! National Shutdown

In support of today's National Shutdown, I'm not going to work (ha) or shop today. This country is in serious need of an ICE breaker. Whatever your feelings on immigration (I'm the son of immigrants, and have had countless immigrant friends, classmates, neighbors, and colleagues), it's clear that putting masked, jackbooted thugs on the ground in American cities, on the streets of Minneapolis and elsewhere, is not what the people want.

The majority of immigrants in this country, documented or otherwise, are not violent criminals. The agencies involved in rounding them up appear to deny their very humanity, however, and we have cases like:

• Maher Tarabishi, a Texas man whose detention may have caused his chronically ill son's death, and who was denied temporary releases to see his son on his hospital deathbed and to attend the funeral
• Milagros Solis Portillo, a California woman who suffered a medical episode when she was detained, then was forcibly removed from the hospital and transferred to Indiana
• Harol Alvarado Rodriguez, a New Jersey man grabbed on his way to work and transferred to four immigration detention centers in four different states since December

Then there are those who have died in ICE detention. And who can talk about ICE and death without mentioning American citizens Alex Pretty, and Renée Good (both from Minnesota), and Keith Porter, Jr. (from California)? But then American citizens have their heads in the sand if they think they're automatically safe from this administration.

Slowing or stopping immigration, and repatriating immigrants already here, should not result in death, serious injury, or separation of young children from their parents. It should not result in people being disappeared. Peacefully protesting these reprehensible and inhuman actions should not result in death. Citizen, documented resident, or undocumented, we are all human and we all demand to be treated as such.

Last year's Oscar winner for best international feature film, "Ainda Estou Aqui" ("I'm Still Here"), and this year's Golden Globe winner for best foreign language film (and Oscar nominee for best picture and best international feature film), "O Agente Secreto" ("The Secret Agent"), are both Brazilian films set during the military dictatorship in that country (where my parents were from). Brazil suffered that dictatorship (not its first) for over 20 years before returning to democratic civilian rule. Brazilian citizens were detained, tortured, killed, disappeared. And Brazil is hardly unique. Bullies and assholes have always existed, and sadly probably always will. Doesn't mean we stand silently by or make excuses for them.

January 6th / January 8th

Ten years ago tomorrow, on David Bowie's 69th birthday, his album Blackstar was released. And what an album. I'm still mesmerized, and haunted, by the music video for "Lazarus." Bowie died two days later, leaving Blackstar as a fitting swan song. He is probably the one musical artist I could have seen live that I most regret never having seen, though at least I did get to see Bernard Fowler, Living Colour's Corey Glover, and Charlie Sexton sing Bowie's songs three years later, backed by some of the musicians who'd played with the man over the decades.

Five years ago yesterday, a mob of rioters attacked the US Capitol and law enforcement. No pardons, no lies, no revisionism can alter the facts or undermine the evidence, and there is quite a mound of evidence; go ahead and peruse if you've forgotten the details, as NPR has done an incredible job of archiving.

Three years ago tomorrow, no doubt at least partly inspired by the J6 goons, a mob of rioters in Brazil (where I'll be visiting soon) attacked the Palácio do Congresso Nacional, the Supremo Tribunal Federal, and the Palácio do Planalto in Brasilia, also attacking law enforcement. Fortunately, this attempt to undermine the will of a nation's people failed as well.

Hell of a month, January. Of course, Janus is the god of beginnings and endings (of conflict and other things), of change and transition, so I suppose it all makes some sort of sense. Dammit, Janus...