Summer Meltdown

Summer AF

After what seems like weeks of nothing but rainy mornings and afternoons, clear blue skies and sunshine return to my corner of the world today.





Of course, that also mean ridiculous humidity, temperatures approaching 100 degrees, and an official Heat Warning from the National Weather Service that's good through Thursday night.

Ugh.

"Don't be such a crybaby. Hot weather is fun!"

Says the quadruped whose native habitat is near the equator...

Requiescat in Pace

Although graphics like the one the New York Daily News ran on its front page the day after the Indiana Primary have been ubiquitous for months, last night the Republican Party made its suicide official by nominating asshat Donald Trump.

It is an odd feeling for me, not having a political party to call "home" anymore. I can't agree with the foolish conservatives already making noises about how the party will survive its flirtation with this unhinged lunatic (who probably doesn't even want the job anyway).



The issue was never whether there would continue to be a Republican Party. The issue was whether the GOP would continue to be the natural home for genuinely conservative principles and policy ideas.

Last night put paid to the very suggestion. Trump and his supporters are exactly right that the GOP is his party, now.

"To hell with the whole lot of them, eh?"

Exactly...they've made it clear people like me are no longer welcome, so...

Hydration

From the wonderfully off-kilter webcomic xkcd, by Randall Munroe, which you should read every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, as I do.

Until Next Time...

My introduction to the genre known as "surf music" was mostly due to my older cousins, who played their favorite radio stations and 45s while babysitting me. I didn't outgrow my fondness for it even when I hit my teenage years and began listening to harder, heavier groups. Surf music still turns up regularly in my iTunes playlists.

Although everyone assumes the phenomenon began with The Beach Boys, in fact the first "surf music" record to top the charts was Jan & Dean's classic "Surf City." The song was passed along to Jan Berry by The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson, who had lost interest in his version of it but wanted to help out a friend. That it went on to be such a hit became a sore point within The Beach Boys family, but of course music fans didn't know about any of that until much, much later.

Original 45 rpm single sleeve

On July 20, 1963 "Surf City" hit
No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart, a position it would hold for three weeks.

The recording featured terrific studio musicians, including guitarists Billy Strange, Glen Campbell, and Bill Pitman, and drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer. They were all members of the famed Los Angeles collective known as The Wrecking Crew.



Today's send-off is the original 1963 hit, paired with some evocative photographs of the surfing lifestyle. Enjoy...