Rhyme and Reason

It would be a bit of a stretch to say I can see very well. At least, without my glasses, it would be a stretch. And even though I’m more vision-challenged now than when I was younger, my eyesight was never 20/20. But thankfully I can see very well with my cool, round glasses. Now, I shared all that to lead into another snippet of my professional music history. Let’s adjust the Wayback...

Way, way back in time, Elgielene put some kinetic energy on my wrist. And that’s my poet brain way of saying she bought me a Seiko Kinetic watch. If you’ve never seen one or had one, check ’em out. They’re pretty cool. And getting a little more rare these days. I’ve had mine for 26 years now. Seiko found a way to store kinetic energy in a tiny capacitor. And that&#821...

The famous northern lights show up at high latitudes around the world. It’s especially to see them near the Arctic Circle, in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Norway. But they can also be seen as far south as northern Idaho. One popular theory about the northern lights is full of hot air. Well, soar wind to be a little more clear. Apparently there are disturbances on the sun that shoot off a s...

I’m suffering from depression. Right now. Exactly at the moment I’m typing these words. If you’ve followed my posts or podcast episodes, you might think I’d never be one of those people who deals with depression disorders. But here it is. And I gotta say, it hasn’t helped one bit to open up about this. There are a lot of depression disorders out there. But mine is wei...

Nikola Tesla was a fascinating character. And he was a great example of how great ideas started out with dreams. Like, have you ever heard how he had a dream to harness the power of Niagara Falls? I’ve been to Niagara Falls. I’m not sure anyone is gonna harness it. But Mr. Tesla had a knack for making his great ideas come true. Before he put his mind to work on electrical current, DC (...

Got some health challenges? Or other physical obstacles? How about emotional or relational problems? And let’s not forget your mental well-being. Have you discovered you’re not as young as you used to be? And wouldn’t you like to know why bad things happen to “good” people? Well, I can tell you why. You did it. “Wha?! I did it?!,” you ask incredulously. Or...

I know that you know that words can be deceiving. When I was a kid, we had a rhyme to thwart something somebody might say about us. It went like this: “Sticks and stones might break my bones, but words will never harm me.” But people are even meaner these days. And they have more complex weapons. And words can be deceiving you in spite of what you “see.” Or they can at leas...

Norwegian Wood, by the Beatles. Scarborough Fair, by Simon and Garfunkel. We Are The Champions, by Queen. And even She’s Always A Woman, by Billy Joel. Those songs all have something in common. Do you know what it is? Well, I won’t make you guess. They’re all performed in 6/8 time. And 6/8 time is one of the best for heart-felt emotion. 6/8 time is a meander, not a walk. A deligh...

They’re everywhere. In almost every household. Certainly in every politician’s office. And in the heads of most every kind of person there is. From young graduates to old tyrants. Big plans. For good. And not so good. And downright evil. Big plans and dreams are fine. If you’d like to achieve and receive awards, scholastic achievements, and trophies, there’s nothing inheren...

How about this expression? “The bad apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” You’ve heard that, right? Hmm, maybe that’s acorn. Or lemon. Doesn’t matter. The point’s the same. But there’s another expression, too. “One bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch.” That, of course, originated from the Jackson Five, where the wise and glimmeri...

It’s a mean world. Every day you see and experience the cold, hard truth in this world. Whether you like it or not. And whether you prefer to think positive or be negative. Doesn’t matter if you’re a glass-is-half-full person or glass-is-half-empty person. It’s the “new normal.” But this new normal is anything but new. If you’ve been alive here on planet e...

According to search engine “suggestions,” a very popular search term is “Kanye West net worth.” And sadly, for the hip-hop rapper, it’s way less than it was. Poor dude is only worth about $400 million now. But don’t worry. Because fans want to make him a billionaire again. Gotta get that Kanye West net worth back into the $B column. But why do fans, who probably...

It’s not a new cop show. Nope. The Grace and Glory I’m talkin’ about is found in the one story that makes ALL history possible. And this is true whether you believe in the God of the Bible or not. Because your belief, thankfully, doesn’t provide or diminish grace and glory. And that’s because grace and glory are fully contained in the one person who’s responsibl...

Real, and true, inalienable rights come from God. And all those so-called “laws” that so-called “lawmakers” make, almost daily? Well, they’re childish gibberish hung from a foolish wish. And they’re subject to subjectivism and/or the whims of a so-called “organic” government document. But even that document acknowledges that true rights come from God...

So. You grew up, left your parents’ house, and went out on your own. Great. You’re not a kid anymore. And that’s exactly as it should be. What’s that? You still have to deal with your inner child? Well, here’s some free, unsolicited advice. Kick that inner child to the curb. Yeah. You read that right. Kick that inner child out of your head immediately. And don’t...

Ringtones for phones are still a $2.1 billion bidness. According to one website I found that talks about such things. In 2005, ringtones outsold CD’s. Yeah, I know that’s no big deal now because who cares about CD’s anyway? Right? Not so fast Mister Man (or Missy). I just read a few news snippets that talked about how 2021 was actually a comeback year for our old friend the compa...

I’ve enjoyed Dr. Seuss books since I was a kid. In fact, I’m sure his rhythmic and whimsical writing inspired many of my writings for kids. And I’ll even admit that in a court of law if needed. But that still doesn’t stop me from sharing what I’m about to share. You might call me Mr. Grinch after this. But it brings me no joy (and there’ll be none in Whoville) t...

From here to Timbuktu. You’ve heard that expression or something like it. Right? Well, I’m not gonna give you a history lesson on where the expression originated or if it’s even a real place. But it DID inspire a toy store in the Denver area. And so, Timbuktu also, in a roundabout way, inspired a song. It’s one of the 10 fun and silly songs in the Kiddin’ Around colle...

Throw away your daytimer (does anybody have one of those anymore?). Toss out your to-do lists, your notes to self, your calendar apps, and your reminders. Because everything has already been painstakingly planned out for you. You just need to get your research hat and glasses on. And discover the details of that plan. And how they apply to you. But there’s a snag in that approach to life. Go...

Imagine, for a moment, that you’ve set up a move in day for your nice, new house. Or apartment. Condo. Doesn’t matter. It’s just about perfect. It has precision appliances, digital climate control, two car garage. And basically all the amenities you could ever want. There’s just one catch. On move in day you discover your neighbor hates you. In fact, your neighbor hates you...

If it ain’t got a beat, then it just ain’t no treat. Of course, I’m talking about that ever-popular writing style known as sonnet poetry. And man is it ever manly! In fact, that’s the main ingredient to stylish poetry and prose. Manliness. But, before I harp on that, check these facts about sonnet poetry. First, it’s got da beat. Well, purists might call it meter. But...

A social media friend of mine shares some amazing photography. The colors are often so brilliant and high resolution they almost jump off the screen and directly into my brain. Lately (for obvious reasons) many of the pics are focused on Autumn. One of them, that popped up only yesterday, was titled Nestled in Nature. And I’m a huge fan of alliteration. So, I added a poem to the photo. This...

I read another article about brain cell connections to music. Yeah, I’m a nerd when it comes to that kind of information. And I love a quote from that article that said, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Of course the scientist who said that was talking about how brain cells communicate with each other by “firing” messages through junctions called synapses....

Let’s see. There was one bassist. Three cellists. Three violinists. And one pianist. Yeah, that about covers it. An eight-piece ensemble that started out, in second class, as a three-piece ensemble and a five-piece ensemble. Second class were their accommodations. Not their character or talent. Yeah, these were the kind of classy musicians who played for teatime gatherings. And other sort of...

95 years ago, today, October 6, a quirky little guy said, “”Wait a minute, wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet.” And the crowd went wild. You probably already know I’m talking about Al Jolson. And you probably already know he was the guy who made movie history when “The Jazz Singer” premiered as the first “talkie.” Yeah, after all those silent...