Lazy Saturday Ephemera

Identity

In light of recent developments, I have decided to announce that starting today, I self-identify as a young, handsome multimillionaire. I anticipate being featured on the cover of GQ magazine soon, and to get my own season of The Bachelor, but in the meantime I shall expect the rest of the world (especially the ladies) to respect my choice and treat me accordingly...

"And I'm the Queen of Sheba."

Shut up, hater. You don't even know what that means...

Wild Kingdom Bed & Breakfast Update

After a fairly messy experience with a prepackaged wild bird seed blend (they'd throw most of it out of the feeder to get to the stuff they liked), I decided to read up a little and make my own House Blend. So far, the reviews have been positive...

"The cracked corn is excellent, and you simply must try the Nyjer seed."

I'm thinking about adding another amenity to my patio today, and will report here if my shopping trip proves successful. In the meantime, I can attest that watching these creatures, and listening to them, is endlessly fascinating. I am even beginning to notice differences in feeding behaviors among the various species (some birds just eat where the food is, while others will grab something they like, fly away somewhere to eat it, and come back for more). It's pretty funny watching them sit at a distance and wait patiently when a kitty comes by for a snack, too...

Anticipation

I'm still suffering from withdrawal pains following the series finales of Justified and
Mad Men, but very soon now another one of my favorite shows, Suits, will begin it's fifth season. Really looking forward to it...

Damn right, Harvey...

A Word From One of Our Sponsors

Singing Pumpkins

In railfan parlance, locomotives painted in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe orange and green livery are called "pumpkins." My apartment has train tracks very close by on both sides, so I am frequently treated to a pumpkin serenade at all hours of the day and night...

"Let me sing for you the song of my people!"

Not everyone agrees with me, but I love the sounds of locomotive horns as they pass by, especially after dark...

"We should grab our 'go' bags and hitch a ride sometime."

The thought crosses my mind every once in awhile, old friend, but you'd have a helluva time trying to jump onto a moving train, don't you think?

Until Next Time...

My hero Pete Townshend wrote lots of songs about struggling with identity, including two of his most famous song cycles: Tommy and Quadrophenia.

On Saturday, August 29, 1970 The Who performed at the Isle of Wight Festival. I had seen the band perform live at Freedom Palace (formerly the Pla-Mor Ballroom) in Kansas City on July 2 that year, just a couple of months before. It was the first of three times I got to see the band perform, and it was one of the peak experiences of my life. They were an incredible live act in their heydey. The band's performance at the Isle of Wight Festival was captured on film and released as a DVD. Here's the band performing one of Pete's best songs about identity, "I Don't Even Know Myself" (you can ignore the stage hijinks after the song ends if you like). Enjoy...