Category: Life

Repressed Memories

Staple of WKZO in Kalamazoo, home of celery and tin-eared hillbillies
Staple of WKZO in Kalamazoo, home of celery and tin-eared hillbillies

As a child, I was forced to suffer many indignities, but none of them left as painful a scar as being subjected to Rem Wall’s Green Valley Jamboree.

My dear parents even dragged me to Deer Forest in Coloma, not to see the animals or ride the rides, but to see Rem and his boys perform live on stage.

From what I remember, The Green Valley Boys were on Saturday nights just before we went to Mass. There’s nothin’ like country music to put you in the mood for salvation! When we got home, we’d have supper where I would get a dose of Lawrence Welk for good measure. Helps keep your mind on your bizness! [Grandpa Simpson voice]

Those of you who’ve derided my taste in music in times past, should therefore cut me some slack. You can see the damage that was done by these passive-aggressive parental tortures.

Anyhoo, misery loves him some company so here ya go…

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Meanwhile, in the World of Art…

Ooo. Ahh.
Ooo. Ahh.

I’m no art critic, but I appreciate creativity and here’s creativity on a very large scale. Christo, who you might have heard of for his surreal art installations, has done it again with the, ahem, Big Air Package. Strange on the outside, kinda magical on the inside.

Christo and his late wife collaborated on some truly whimsical art such as Surrounded Islands and the Wrapped Reichstag. With the Big Air Package, he created a giant balloon inside an empty gas storage tank. Give the man credit for his project management chops, because doing stuff this big has got to be complicated as hell!

Now, we all know that some of what passes for art, clearly isn’t. Say what you like about Christo, he definitely makes you stop and think. It’s just too bad that we as a society have become so jaded, that we only react to stunts, and not to the beauty that surrounds us every day.

If spring ever comes, go outside and stare at a flower for a while. I’ll bet it will elicit a quiet “Wow!”

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The Feast of the Annunciation

annunciation

Humble, young maiden, favored of God, you are to be the new Eve, the Mother of us all. Will you accept this? Do you know what it will mean?

Scandal, ostracism, pain.

And a sword will pierce your heart. Are you willing?

“Be it done unto me as you say.”

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

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BTW, Happy Vernal Equinox…

…yeah, whatever. It’s still flerggin’ cold outside!

See? This is why I don't go out.
See? This is why I don’t go out.

I’m told it’s the fault of the Greenland Block, an enormous area of high pressure which forces all the normal west-to-east weather patterns south.

The practical upshot being, that we get a regular dose of arctic, Canadian air which is perfect for constant waves of snow and cold. I’m sure those of you who live in Michigan and the Northeast are sick and tired of it by now.

Well, blame Canada. Or Greenland. Or better yet, the Danes, since they still control Greenland. Anyway, welcome to Spring!

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Anybody here…?

Well, I’m back chewing glass.

In fact, I just ingested a whole 20 place setting of stemware. About two weeks of this blog are gone. All the little electrons have become disentangled and flown away into the ether at the speed of light (or greater depending on who you ask).

Never forget: Just because someone’s backing your stuff up, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t back it up too.

Night (and Day) of the Lepus

In more proof that God has a sense of humor, Okunoshima Island, which used to be the home of the Japanese Imperial Army’s poison-gas weapons lab/factory, is today overrun with bunnies.

[De Niro voice] Are you…looking at me?
The furry descendents of the original lab animals have largely taken over the island and are protected by the Japanese government. No dogs or cats allowed.

The rabbits are apparently unafraid of humans, often approaching visitors in search of a handout or to sell postcards of Mt. Fuji and cheap, Godzilla dolls.

 

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