That's Gneiss! #70 ~ Winter may be leaving us at last
At last! A relatively relaxing weekend with no mad running around. It’s starting to hint at spring - though it’s really more of a taunt. I have zero complaints about the weather though, as I just saw the forecast for the pretty much the entire country east of the Rockies.
The snow is gone, other than a few filthy clumps pretending they’re cars and taking up parking spaces. I think everyone here is glad to see it gone.
Rowland says it’s time to move on from winter - he wants to laze around outside while the rest of us do productive things! He’s quite good at it, though it doesn’t bring in any money. His standard excuse is that he’s got no thumbs. I think he’s just a slacker.
We’re really enjoying walking around the neighborhood, and it seems like on every walk I see some fun new thing I hadn’t noticed before. This morning it was a bright birdhouse in a tree at the corner of a yard.
We’re starting to find our way around town. Yesterday’s lunch spot:
We used to get some great sunsets at our old house. This morning we had a lovely sunrise - and we’ll still be able to see the sunsets from the back of our house.
Living next to the freeway is not nearly as disruptive as you might think. I’ve quickly gotten used to the steady sound, and our house is well insulated so it’s not too loud. There’s an occasional loud truck or motorcycle or siren, but most of the time I don’t even notice it. Here’s a typical evening northbound commute - I’m so glad I’m no longer driving for hours every day! It was rarely this bad on my route, but still. So glad.
The final dispatch from Nolan and Mia is that they should be back to Vancouver late Monday night. No more photos to share this week. I’m looking forward to seeing them and hearing all about the trip.
That’s all this for now - have a wonderful week!
~Anne
Tidbits
It would have been so much easier to learn the periodic table in school if it had been put into context like this!
Who doesn’t love pinball? I’ve never played this one, but apparently The Addams Family game is a perennial favorite. That reminded me of Earthshaker, a game I enjoyed playing oh-so-long ago. Do you have a favorite? You can probably find it in The Internet Pinball Machine Database.
The best ugly dogs! Mush! Looks like I’ve got some reading to do…
Which countries have topped the U.S. headlines since 1900? This chart based on NYT headlines paints an interesting picture.
It just might be worth downloading Spotify to listen to this…
Reading: I finished How to Make Hand Drawn Maps. It’s full of a lot of fun ideas for mapping all sorts of things, from your neighborhood to your mind to your travels. Now I’m going Bonkers about Beetles. The art in this book caught my eye, then the subject. I love it when science and art collide to make learning beautiful and fun.
Making: progress! Let the unpacking begin. Michael gets all the credit for putting the shelves, drawers, and tables together.
Recently eaten: we had lunch yesterday at Sol Food Bar & Grill. Tasty! We’ll go back for sure, and they do brunch! We tried to go to Twin Foxes first, but their cook wasn’t in until later so any food we ordered would be cooked by the solo barkeep, and it would just depend on how busy she was… NOPE.
Video of the Week
Mush!
Question of the Week
Just hit reply to send your answer, and I’ll share it next week. Always anonymous!
This week’s question will take a little extra work on your part. A few months ago University of Winds invited her readers try this, and the results have been so amusing I want to share it with you too.
Step 1 - set up a Google Alert (or two) for something obscure that interests you. You’ll receive emails alerting you to new content on the web that meets your search criteria.
Step 2 - wait. Depending on how obscure your selected topic(s) is/are, it may take a while before something pops up. Be patient!
Step 3 - share any amusing or interesting results you get.
Have fun!
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Oh boy. Last week I asked about cover songs you love, and those you hate. There are some great ones! So many that rather than post every video here, you’ll just have to click through and check them out. Take a chance on the songs that aren’t identified for some fun surprises.
Cover songs. I will admit I really like the new Weezer album of my favorite ear worms. I think it was meant to be sort of a joke so that’s the way I look at it and I love it.
Cover songs? I always say my favorite is "Ziggy Stardust" by Bauhaus:
Oh, and I also love how Kozelek turned "Love At First Feel" from a lecherous leer into a tender love song.
Least favorite? I'm sure there are plenty, but a friend shared this version of New Order's "Age Of Consent" recently and we both decided we did not care for it.
OMG so many good covers in the world.
Every version of "Louie Louie" since the Kingsmen!
Finally, not quite a cover, but kinda sorta and so good I couldn't resist
Covers that are bad, Weezers cover album. Covers that are good, Ministry and the Coconspirators cover album and Deftones cover album.
To answer your musical question this week - the first artist who popped to mind is Caetano Veloso, a Brazilian with the voice of an angel. I adore all of his covers, but my favorite is his version of the Talking Heads' (Nothing But) Flowers. His take on Nirvana's Come As You Are is also quite good.
Oh, and two more!
Jonatha Brooke's cover of the Alan Parson Project's Eye in the Sky, and for a bit of cheese rounded out by Joe Jackson's always welcome vocals, William Shatner with his cover of Pulp's Common People.
I love The Meat Purveyors vast improvement on Ratt’s Round and Round.
The very bizarre cover of a song I actually detest (why are their track suits falling off?)
Kevin Rowland (of Dexy’s Midnight Runners) does an exquisite cover of Concrete and Clay. It’s lovely, but just not the same without the original video, which keeps disappearing from YouTube. Here’s a 30-second clip for your enjoyment and/or horror. Let’s toss in the Save Ferris version of Dexy’s Come on Eileen for good measure.
From the closest weather station until I get mine set up:
Current Temperature: 40 F (4 C)
Current Humidity: 64%
Wind Gusts: 13 mph
Precipitation: 0.00 in
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