There stands the glass

January 5, 2021January 5, 2021 ~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 15 Comments

Is it half full? Half empty?

Forget about those nagging short-term problems like epidemic idiocy, creeping fascism, and the future of the Republic — what the hell’s happening with water?

And which of the three stories below do you think will get the most “likes” on Facebutt?

Shit, I forgot to squeeze a little lemon in my water. I guess I won’t live forever.

• Is the Dust Bowl returning?

• There’s gold in them thar rivers!

• Beauty and the boost: Hydrate your way to health! If you can find water, and can afford it once you do. Just don’t forget the lemon, dipshit.

Meanwhile, just because, here’s “There Stands the Glass,” as covered by Half Man Half Biscuit. It starts at 6:15, but you should probably listen to the other bits that precede it. Get yeer full glass mate!

What’s he building?

December 27, 2020 ~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 5 Comments

And we wrap up our Christmas 2020 bloggery with Tom Waits, who seems to have had the Music City Bomber on his musical radar back in 1999.

Happy birthday, Ludwig van Beethoven

December 17, 2020December 17, 2020 ~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 19 Comments

Portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler
(1820) Wikimedia Commons

OK, so, he was no Tom Waits, but still, credit where credit is due. The man made some music, as my piano teachers felt compelled to remind me whenever I groused that I wanted to play some modern rock ’n’ roll, not some dead old German dude.

The New York Times has a sampler here.

Rock, out

December 14, 2020 ~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 8 Comments

Yes, it’s still Zappadan, in case you were wondering.

Birthday card from a Mad Dog in Albuquerque*

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 ~ Patrick O'Grady ~ 12 Comments

The last leaf on the tree. Well, not really;
we had to make life imitate art a little bit here.

A happy 71st birthday to Tom Waits. This particular autumn is taking a whole lot of leaves; I hope it won’t take him.

* For anyone who isn’t a Tom Waits fan — could such a person exist? — the headline riffs on the title to his song “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis,” from the album “Blue Valentine.”