Thursday, September 18, 2014

Short Takes


-- Tonight I am off to see Joan Baez in concert at Royal Festival Hall! It will be, I believe, my fifth time seeing her in concert (not counting the time I saw her speak at the 92nd Street Y in New York.) I saw her in 2008 with my blog pal Gary, with my coworker Ann in the early aughts, with my stepmother in the late '90s in St. Petersburg, and with my friends Suzanne and a different Ann in Tampa back in the '80s. I tried to recruit some friends to go see her with me this time, but no one could make it, so I bought a ticket for myself and will be going it alone. I have no qualms about going to events by myself, and I am looking forward to this one.

-- Dave is still out of town. I am trying to survive these few days without doing any grocery shopping, and so far it hasn't been difficult. We have a ton of food that hasn't been eaten, and I'm slowly making my way through it. It's kind of a game, like, "What can I whip up tonight from these few ingredients?" Chorizo sandwiches with fresh spinach and radishes, anyone? (Not bad, actually!)

-- In response to my post about Scotland yesterday, my blog pal Linda Sue pointed the way to this hilarious yet informative video where John Oliver explains the potential national divorce. Watch it! It's the best 15 minutes you could ever spend on this issue. You will be laughing out loud and perhaps learning something at the same time.

-- I had a definite Emma Thompson sighting on Saturday morning, so the information that she lives nearby appears to be accurate. She was wearing denim overalls and was unmistakable. She looks just like her pictures.

-- All those holes in our horseradish plant do, in fact, seem to be caused by cabbage whites. At least some of them. I found a couple of little caterpillars on the plant yesterday. As is my policy, I left them there to become next year's cabbage whites.

-- Does anyone know some good male bloggers who write journal-style about their lives? I have a few in my sidebar (Mark from Montana, who I've followed for years, and the sporadically posting Wayne, and the Dishwasher.) It seems to me, though, that most guys write blogs about specific topics like bicycles or their careers or politics or celebrities. All those topics have their place, but I am looking for some fellow men who write personal blogs about their lives and experiences. Bonus points for gay men! Let me know if you have any recommendations.

(Photo: Free chaise longue, anyone? And isn't Honeybourne Road the best street name you've seen in a while?)

10 comments:

  1. I went to a concert once at the Greek Theater here in Los Angeles -- I think it was Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, and because I knew one of the Flecktones (who was married to a dear friend of mine), we went backstage and walked around before the show. The concert was a festival -- several bands -- and Joan Baez was one of the performers. My son Henry was newborn at the time, and I was carrying him around in a frontpack. We walked by Joan -- she was lying down on a massage table getting her shoulders rubbed, and when she saw me and the baby, she sat up and called us over. She spoke to us and patted his head! Quite thrilling for me as I'm a huge fan. Have fun by yourself tonight -- I wish I were closer and I'd meet you there!

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  2. I've seen Joan once and her voice was as clear and strong as ever. I love Elizabeth's story.
    If you find any new men bloggers, let me know too. I love my lady friends but I cherish the fellows too. Thank you for being one of them.

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  3. You were right, Steve-o! That John Oliver clip will probably be the best 15 minutes of my day. I'm half Scot, but my only connection to the Land of the Unicorn is a few beautiful kilts.

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  4. I do believe I have what you are looking for:) ok I am not real savvy and I found this chap by accident try: 'Going Gently" or disasterfilm.blogspot .com He posts everyday sometimes more. He lives in Wales,AND he is gay! He has dogs and stuff I believe you would like him.

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  5. I do believe I have what you are looking for:) ok I am not real savvy and I found this chap by accident try: 'Going Gently" or disasterfilm.blogspot .com He posts everyday sometimes more. He lives in Wales,AND he is gay! He has dogs and stuff I believe you would like him.

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  6. oops I have not had enough coffee sorry bout the double post.His name is John Grey he is 52 years young.He and his partner have been together 14 years,and are planning their wedding. Check him out. Send all points to Alabama..Have a lovely day. Mary.... i believe Ms Moon would love him as he has a thing for chickens...

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  7. I get the most complete contextual take on the news from John Stewart and John Oliver. Some weeks, they're the only news I watch. A year ago I'd have had a wonderful gay male blogger to recommend, the irreverent Mark from Our Simple Lives but he has since stopped blogging and now shares all his news on Facebook. Sorry you missed him. He was hysterically funny and infuriating and plainspoken. I wish he'd come back to us. So what's the point of this non-recommendation? To say how much we miss the bloggers we have come to love when they go away, I guess. I really missed you when you stopped blogging for a while and I'm glad you're back!

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  8. And I forgot to say that OF COURSE Emma Thompson was wearing overalls because that's what we totally cool ladies wear!

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  9. I was going to tell you Going Gently but seems like everyone has beaten me to the punch....VA Dog Rescue is another nice one; interesting reads, I think, of a gentleman from Virginia and his partner.

    Love your blog and your pictures are so nice!

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  10. Thanks for the shout-out, Steve! I'm a faithful daily reader still, after all these years.

    I tried to think of some other LiveJournal bloggers you might find interested in, but the exercise reminded me that long-form bloggers are getting scarce ... the world is losing its attention span. Nonetheless, here are some folks you could take a look at. (Accessing some of these peoples' posts requires LJ "friendship," -- if you're interested in any of these folks, feel free to tell them I sent you.) I'd especially recommend the first two.

    http://poliphilo.livejournal.com -- older UK gentleman caring for a disabled spouse and elderly mother.

    http://puddleshark.livejournal.com -- a woman, but you would absolutely love her photos of dog-walks through the English countryside.

    http://thisisdavid.livejournal.com -- gay guy teaching English at a high school in Thailand.

    http://bdouville.livejournal.com -- gay gay guy who's an adjunct history professor at a small university in northern Ontario.

    http://artkouros.livejournal.com -- gay guy and French Bulldog lover, who's an engineer for NASA.

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