Thursday, April 9, 2020

John Prine, Black Beauty and Elvis


Man, did I sleep last night. I don't understand why I was so tired, since practically all I did yesterday was walk the dog and read. Seems like a lot of us are sleeping or napping more these days. I think the persistent anxiety of the age of coronavirus saps more of our energy than we know.

I bought John Prine's first album on iTunes yesterday and listened to it in the morning. I used to own it on CD, years ago, but I must have sold it back at some point. (Remember how we used to be able to buy and sell used CD's? Whole stores -- in fact, whole retail chains -- were devoted to them! I spent hours browsing used CD racks, not to mention used vinyl. Now you can't give a CD away.)

Anyway, it was nice to catch up with that album again. Prine remained a force in the music world for years, but to my ears he was never better than on that first record, singing "Sam Stone" and "Hello in There" and "Angel From Montgomery."

Then I took Olga to the cemetery.


Here were my cemetery clean-up items for the day -- a tubular metal frame of some sort (a chair, maybe) and a broken keyboard. Into the bin they went.

And since I have not much else to tell you about yesterday, let's catch up with some more iPhone photos!


You may remember the tree-in-a-bag that I occasionally pass on our dog walks. It has now leafed out and it's even blooming. Is it going to remain in that bag forever? Can it survive like that?


Here's another blooming tree. I took this just before our lockdown started -- hence all the traffic. But it seems very illustrative of our crazy time, with the masked bicyclist carrying a Union Jack bag. (To be fair, the bicyclist may have been masked against exhaust fumes rather than coronavirus -- hard to tell.)


The wood anemones are blooming in the cemetery.


This sign is posted at Fortune Green. People obey it to varying degrees.


I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up some of Dave's medication, and this was the front door.


On the bright side, though, people are celebrating spring! Here are some martenitsi I found on a bush on the high street.


I always thought Black Beauty was a horse. This made me wonder, though -- seriously -- how coronavirus is affecting sex workers. Surely their business must be down, and they can't easily fall back on unemployment, I imagine.

Then again, people have a lot more spare time at the moment.


A couple of trays set out on a bench on the high street, free for the taking. Again, I took this picture weeks ago -- I imagine now people are pretty wary about picking up objects. (I'm sure they'd be fine as long as they were washed.)


And finally, a box I saw in someone's recycling bag. I had no idea there's a brand of beer called "Elvis Juice." Here's the description on the box: "An American IPA with a bitter edge that will push your citrus tolerance to the brink and back. A caramel malt base supports a full frontal citrus overload: grapefruit peel piled on top of intense American aroma hops, rounded out with waves of crashing pine, orange and more grapefruit."

Even if Elvis loved grapefruit, which seems like a big if, I'm pretty sure he would not want waves of crashing pine in his beer. Waves of crashing peanut butter, maybe!

18 comments:

Frances said...

Those messages on the pharmacy door are appalling ! I don't mean the content, but my 7 yr old grandson could have done a more professional looking job than that !!
Have a good and boring day. I think I shall be spending it watering my garden and the garden next door. They are stuck in New Zealand and are very keen gardeners , so need to keep as much going as I can!. I shall need to plant out their broad beans soon, when they get big enough. They should have been back yesterday!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I think a better description for "Elvis Juice" would be "Guzzle a few cans and get wasted" rather than all that pretentious taste poetry by a drug crazed copywriter. Besides, "Elvis Juice" sounds vaguely disgusting - as if it might have leaked from his coffin. A better name for the beer might be "Pandemic Escape". The sign in the pharmacy window has a curious balloon over the lower case letter "i". It's outrageous! Such abuse needs to cease immediately!

Moving with Mitchell said...

Dear god, that beer description. Full frontal? Please!

Edna B said...

I'll stick to my Sam Adams lite thank you. There's no crashing waves of anything in it. I agree, that tree in a bag should be planted in the ground soon. I guess someday we'll all sit back and think -- wow, can you imagine! Stay safe and have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

Ms. Moon said...

Elvis Juice? First off- horrible name. I agree with Mr. P. on what it actually sounds like. Secondly- I am not a fan of IPA's. Thirdly- Waves of crashing pine?
Oh Lord.
Anyway, yeah. I sleep a lot. I try not to nap because I don't want to mess up my regular ten hours at night routine.
The main reason I'm pushing my walks is so that I'll sleep better at night.

I hope Black Beauty is okay.

Sharon said...

Another great group of photos with lots of things to think about. I'll pass on the Elvis Juice with it's over-the-top description. I love seeing Olga among the flowers. I slept all the way through last night for the first time in about two weeks. You are right, I think the stress of this situation is making us tired. It's also been making me sleep terribly uneasy. I'm not sure why last night was better but it was thank goodness.

Anonymous said...

The absurdity of "Elvis Juice" just made the foggy morning here very bright. I love a good laugh to start the day.
Sleep seems to be a very good way to handle this pandemic crisis. Dreaming of better days.

ellen abbott said...

so this stuff you gather at the cemetery, does it appear in between visits or you're just slowly clearing out the trash?

Elvis Juice? thanks, I think I'll pass.

The Padre said...

Olga's Appearance Is Worth A Thousand Words - Made My Day There Brother Steve

Cheers

Catalyst said...

That was an interesting tour through your iPhone.

Fresca said...

A fun round-up of photos. Thanks!

Curious, I looked up Elvis Juice and see that "the self-styled punk brewery and the King of Rock'n'Roll's estate have been rumbling," but eventually Brewdog won the legal right to use the name.

I'm nostalgic for hand-written signs, now we usually see computer print. The repetition of the signs at the pharmacy are a good picture of frustration:
people don't read signs! (I'm always missing instructions plastered right in front of me.)

Fresca said...

P.S. Great photo composition: Olga's red kong + the red tulips.

The Bug said...

I was going to say the same thing as Fresca - that pharmacy door is a picture of frustration. I can just see the pharmacist (or whoever), maniacally penning a new note every time the instructions on the old notes are ignored :)

Linda Sue said...

John Prine is sentimentality at its finest, his poetry ricks me. The thing about musicians such as he and Blaze Foley and Townes Van Zandt, - don't miss them, their music/poetry is eternal pretty much, tap in anytime. Wonderful phots , signs on the door made me laugh. I have been home since before valentines day , Dennis two weeks later, We intend to stay in and covered until there is a vaccine. Lots to do, and we are not especially social anyway, so We are fine. Naps are an event! Time is non existent - day time- night time. that is it. Dennis parks himself in front of MSNBC all day with head phones! It is a wonder that madness has not taken him.

Linda Sue said...

his poetry "ricks' me hahaha ROCKS!!!

Penelope said...

I think the person who wrote the brew review may have been ingesting schrooms, smoking hash and listening to Jimmy Hendricks.

Penelope said...

H E N D R I X

Steve Reed said...

Frances: What a good neighbor you are! If they have to be stuck somewhere, New Zealand is a pretty good place to be.

YP: It does sound kind of gross, doesn't it?!

Mitchell: Ha! Over-the-top, definitely.

Edna: I definitely don't want crashing waves in my beer!

Ms Moon: Getting exercise definitely helps with sleep.

Sharon: I slept less well last night, and had some anxiety dreams. It's hit or miss, isn't it?

Robin: I hope those better days aren't far off!

Ellen: It's all stuff that's been there for ages. I'm just cleaning it up slowly.

Padre: I'm glad! You're her number one fan! (Well, after us.) And yes, she got a treat.

Catalyst: I usually have a backlog of pictures I've been meaning to blog!

Fresca: They ARE a picture of frustration. They really convey the mood, don't they? I wonder how Elvis' estate can dispute the name. They don't say Elvis PRESLEY, specifically. It could be any Elvis they're talking about, or none.

Bug: Yeah, I bet he got in fits of temper.

Linda Sue: I don't think I could take TV news all day. I don't watch it at all. At least he's watching MSNBC and not Fox!

Penelope: Ha! Or maybe just ingesting lots of Elvis Juice!