U by the Incredible String Band

 U is an album I bought in 1970 when some college friends were huge fans of the Incredible String Band and I got caught up in the fun. It has laid around in my record collection for eons, for thirty years never played. As part of my "rediscovering my albums" phase I recently listened to it from start to finish. Surprisingly I like it. It is a bit amateurish and some of the songs go on too long, but I find playing the album makes for a nice backround to reading or cleaning the floor. It has an eclectic blend of music, some of it influenced by Irish string bands. For some reason it can be listened to in its entirety on You Tube. One of the bad things about boomers is that they have enough old stuff that they don't really need to listen to the new stuff that is out today. 

Editor's note: I talk about the Incredible String Band in my post on WBAI. 

Being a hiking curmudgeon

 I am lucky to have some nice parks nearby. Not just parks with swings and baseball diamonds but parks with wilderness trails. I can walk on the macadam trails but I prefer the wooded areas. They are more scenic, I get to see deer and chipmunks and I get to avoid listening to babies cry, fathers yellling at their sons and ladies complaining about their boyfriends and bosses. 

The problem, at least in the summer, is that gnats follow me on the trail, and they are worse in the more rustic parts of the park. I read that they are attracted to baseball hats. I took off my baseball cap but soon discovered that they will come around my eyes if I'm hatless. Today I tried putting a permethrin spray on my hat. It didn't seem to help much. Going back to the Internet I found that the combination of a large hat and sunglasses may do the trick. I'll try that next. 

Fourth of July in Colorado

 Here is an oldie but goody. Happy Fourth of July

Editor's note: Apparently they are still having these. 

A man for our time

The commotion led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been dominating the news since the weekend. We all know the basic story by now and nobody in the media knows any more than we do about what is going on behind the scenes. Yevgeny seems to be quite the character. We have needed a face to attach to the war. A con man or a Russian patriot? He looks like he came out of central casting to play the rogue general. A man who would cut off a man's balls for the fun of it but who may be useful to the West. Perhaps some of the freed soldiers defected to the Ukranian army? Nobody knows.

This whole story should make a good movie. However, they should do something about his name. It may be hard to fit on the cover of Time's Man of the Year issue. 

Editor's note: A tragic accident.

Help Sally find a liver

 

I came home from the store yesterday and found stuffed in my mailbox a one page flyer. On it read " Help Sally Find a Liver". I'd have to say that this was a new one. I've been asked for money so a man can ride a bus home, feed his sick mother, keep America well, and keep America well informed, but no one has ever asked me for a liver before.

I thought about it. I have become accustomed to my liver. It has served me well and I have not been an ideal partner. I like to drink and I'm sure beer, white wine and Jack has not been kind to my liver over the years. I'm afraid my liver might not even be that serviceable. Sorry but if you need a liver you will have to look elsewhere. 

the chair

In honor of Father's Day, I have a new post in my Sixties blog. 

the Phoenix Economy

I have gotten into the routine of listening to Slate Money every Saturday morning. Last week, the host, Felix Salmon, was promoting his new book.  I find the show fun and informative and thought I'd take a chance on it and bought it on Amazon for my Kindle. 

I have been expecting a series of books to start coming out on the pandemic. "September 11" and Afghanistan have produced a few good books, as well as a few forgettable coffee table dust collectors. This is the first book on covid, at least that I have noticed, that comprehensively deals with   the economic, social and political ramifications of the disease. 

The book is an easy read and has some information that I did not know. However, oftentimes, what is presented as fact is often closer to opinion. This book is full of Salmon's points of view. Although it tries to be somewhat encyclopedic in its breadth, I feel it shortchanges covid's effect on education. I also suspect some eyebrows were raised when he talks about the babysitting aspects of teaching.

Editor's note:  Librarians also become unwilling babysitters.