Not too long ago I mentioned how I love music. Well as soon as I saw the word prompt two songs came into my head and no way to shake them but give in and post.
The band is The Offspring and the song is Pretty Fly (For A White Guy), not a favorite song but oh so catchy. Here, let’s get it stuck in your head too…
And whenever I hear that song it triggers something deep inside me, a slightly off kilter place. Maybe one would even call it Demented. I think I probably heard this on the Dr Demento show. All I know is once you’ve heard it you just cant keep Weird Al out of your head…
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – offspring
“Real art is one of the most powerful forces in the rise of mankind, and he who renders it acceptable to as many people as possible is a benefactor of humanity.” – Zoltan Kodaly
Art comes in many forms and can truly move you. Whether it is a photograph of a mountain you want to see some day, a sculpture of an inspiring person you wish to be like, or a painting of a field of flowers you can practically smell, it all touches a part of us that brings joy. It could be an intensifying piece from a symphony or the gentle movements of graceful dancers in the performing arts that brings back a memory or entices a moment.
Art can open our eyes to other cultures, times and ways of life. Teaching us, inspiring us and so often an encouragement to keep moving. One of my favorite forms of art is photography. A mood can be captured with the press of a button. The right lighting and composition can create a response you never expected.
As the winter months come upon us soon, why not plan a trip to a local museum? You can escape a little with the beauty of art in a nice warm environment. Just like stopping to smell the flowers (natural art if you will) you need to take time to appreciate the beauty that has been created all around you.
I really love that quote but saw it attributed to at least four different people. Bottom line, if you have followed me for any length of time you know I love music. Am crazy about live music. And my taste shifts over most genres.
Something I whole heartily agree with is the push in the last few years to shop local. This works for music as well. There is a lot of talented artists who have not had that big break yet, or unfortunately never will. I have supported a few local bands in my life, two disbanded due to a husband and wife split within the group, one split for solo opportunities and one of my favorite ones only played through college and then got “real jobs” – how disappointing, but I still wish them the best!
This day and age the path of a successful artist does not necessarily rely solely on the local bar scene. There is YouTube and Facebook and so many other online sources for music. So tonight I am going to share a couple of artists I have found through one source or another thanks to the internet. I hope you enjoy one or more of them.
The first musical viral video I got hooked in on, forgive me for posting Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but a do know a few people who celebrate both with certain families. Straight No Chaser…
A friend introduced me to the this group that will be in the state next month but with winter driving I cant guarantee I could get there if the weather is bad, so no tickets for me. Postmodern Jukebox…
A friend who is into more heavy metal music found this cover artist who does a pretty good job. Leo Moracchioli…
And last but not least an artist my daughter introduced me to Greta Van Fleet…
There is also Lindsey Stirling, 10 Second Songs, Apocalyptica, 2 Cellos, Peter Hollens … the list goes on.
I am doing some “speed reading” and not many comments. With everything going on I have not had time or energy to do much on WP… so I am trying like crazy to “catch up.” I apologize for not taking the time to comment like I usually do, but I have got to do something to speed things up and I don’t want to miss any of what you all write. So, I do not hate your writing, I am only silent for times sake. If I do that through this weekend I may just be able to get back to “normal” next month. Thanks everyone… I still love your words!
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – dirty
I will give credit to Imagine Dragons, they did a good song called Radioactive. But I was raised earlier and in my late teens The Firm did a song called Radioactive first (in 1985). I can’t help but think of it every time I hear the word, so it was an obvious post for this prompt… hope you enjoy it!
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – radioactive
My first thought was my shampoo bottle in the shower… but I didn’t feel like writing another fiction piece. I toyed with the idea of a limerick
There once was a man named Lou
Who used only Suave shampoo
… but I didn’t get very far with it and my concentration kept wandering to the very early 90s. So Gerardo won… and consequently most of us lost (I mean have you really listened to the lyrics of this, talk about a sexist song), but it was a catchy hook.
I knew what I wanted to do the minute I saw this, and I will get to that but first. My life has been to the extremes. I have had my high points and my lows. Some people would think this was a low point as I am no longer in a relationship with my boyfriend of nearly ten years, but I feel a definite freedom and weight off of my shoulders. I had been extremely isolated while he was actually here, but he was too busy with a million other things. It was time to put me first. And this past weekend he and his mom left to a small two-bedroom apartment.
So, now I wait for the extremes of depression and anxiety to hit. I had a lot of high anxiety levers during the pack and leave, but it has been wonderful these last couple of days. I know the lows of depression will come though and I am doing all I can to keep them at bay. I have a wonderful support group of family and friends who have been there for me.
Tomorrow will be a stressful day as they come back to (hopefully) get all the rest of their stuff they left behind. Then I will totally free.
Maybe if he had listened to this song and taken notes things would have been different… but I doubt it. What I thought of first when I saw the prompt… the band Extreme with one of my favorite rock ballads, “More Than Words.”
Written for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – extreme
Ok, I know what Kafkaesque is… but it does not flow well in a poem, actually it is a word that does not even roll off the tongue very easily (at least not my tongue!). I could try to work it into a fiction piece, but I just did one about homecoming and I would much rather stack up poems than fiction pieces. So that leaves me back at a roadblock. Not that many of my poems rhyme, but what word even rhymes with Kafkaesque? All I can come up with is burlesque. But I will not travel down that road. I am going to do a plug for my friend actually.
Everyone knows that October is Breast Cancer awareness month, but did you know it is many other awareness months? Adopt a Shelter Dog month, Eat Better Eat Together month, Emotional Wellness month, International Walk to School month, National Book month, National Pasta, Pizza and Pretzel months, Positive Attitude month, and list goes on and on (take a look on https://nationaldaycalendar.com/october-monthly-observations/ ). But I am in particular supporting National Dysautonomia Awareness month
There are several forms of dysautonomia, but I know a couple of friends that have POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and they can have debilitating conditions. I know one of my friends often spends days where she has to do activities like cooking and washing dishes seated in a chair, so she doesn’t pass out. The disease affects her blood pressure and is something that can come on suddenly.
Ok, I am just going to wing it here. I had a post written up last night but more than half of it was irrelevant now more than 12 hours later. So, here I am just freeform, cut loose, train of though… I hope it will make sense.
I am not in a very decisive mood. It has been a long week with lots going on. My living situation is in the middle of change, but at my request, so it is ok. Two and a half days later than scheduled (sure glad I didn’t have anything planned) the “crew” showed up to build the shed we bought… it is a crew of one! This may take a while. And besides being sleep deprived trying to get up early for the shed three days in a row, I was the last in my house to get the cold that was being passed around. So, I have a very foggy mind today and it is hard to be decisive about anything except that I could use a nap.
I need to go and snap a picture or two of the current progress… although it is awfully quiet out there to be much for progress… *sigh*. I hope everyone has a good weekend. I know I am going to try to. (((HUGS)))
Written for Fandango’s One Word Challenge (FOWC) – decisive
“Behind each woman rises the austere, sacred and mysterious face of Aphrodite.” – Nikos Kazantzakis
“I don’t take much from my own father, because he was a very austere, quiet, private man who would come home from work, go to his parlor and play Beethoven on his piano.” – John Mahoney
“I do believe that our modern English usage has become way too clipped and austere/ I have been reading excepts from the journals of 18th-century seafarers lately, and even the lowliest press-ganged deck-swabber turns a finer phrase than I do most days.” – Geraldine Brooks
“Well you know… I grew up in a post war Britain, where you were lucky to get anything to eat. People in America have absolutely no concept of how austere England was after the war. While you were all sort of eating butter and eggs, we were eating rabbit. That’s what there was in the butcher shop.” – Tim Curry
For Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (FOWC) – austere
Leigha Robbins 