“Then he explained in a whisper that the plan was composed entirely of awesome. It was made and designed by the House of Awesome, from materials found in the deep awesome mines of Awesometania and it would be recorded in the Annals of Awesome—and nowhere else, because any other book would catch fire and explode from the awesome—and by its awesomeness it would be known from now until the crack of doom.”
Tigerman by Nick Harkaway
More art by Nat Meade
I spent an hour in a laundromat this afternoon, washing and drying a load of clothes. I can’t remember the last time I did that. Must be 30 years ago. That’s about how old our house is and many/most of the appliances. A major remodel starts in a week or so, including new appliances which are gasping their last.
When I had lots of Important Stuff to do, sitting in a laundromat was a hassle. Today’s chore wasn’t one at all. I’ve reached he point where waiting for the spin cycle to end is the most productive thing I do all day.
Barb tells me the new washer and dryer can be operated from our phones and we’ll receive notifications (if we want them) when the wash is done. In the meantime, are you sure these aren’t your panties?
I recently heard a bluesy/jazzy version of CCR’s Fortunate Son. The uke chords seemed to be within my limited range so I’ve been amusing myself (and our two dogs). This afternoon I took a break to fiddle around with Garageband. This sounds nothing like the cover that got me started. Submitted here for your amusement.
Media researcher Gordon Borrell says “we’ve reached the end of the Golden Age of Advertising.”
“In general, an opinion is a judgment, viewpoint, or statement about matters commonly considered to be subjective. What distinguishes fact from opinion is that facts are verifiable, i.e. can be objectively proven to have occurred.” (Wikipedia)
So here’s my question: Do you choose your opinions? Do you have control over your judgments and viewpoints? If, for example, you are of the opinion that the Green Bay Packers are the best NFL team, could you choose to have a different opinion on the matter?
If you answered YES, I have a follow-up question. Can you choose to have NO opinion on a topic? That sounds much harder. If I sit down next to you and say: “Abortion,” you probably have an opinion on that topic almost instantaneously. How would it be possible for you to decide NOT to have an opinion on that topic? When might such a decision have been made? To me it feels like opinions happen to us, rather than something we do.
At this point some of you A students are thinking: “Sure, my opinions are emergent, but they’re the result of all the reading and thinking and information gathering I’ve done throughout my life.”
Granted. But it sounds to me like we don’t have any control over our opinions. At least not in the moment. So choosing not to have an opinion… any opinion… is out of the question. An opinion happens to you like Psoriasis. And yet, our opinions play a huge role in our identity. “I’m who I am because I believe these things.” But you didn’t decide to believe those things and you couldn’t decide to believe something else if I put a gun to your head.
The more I think about it, the more worthless opinions — yours and mine — seem. Could I go all day without expressing an opinion? For one hour?
“Do not seek the truth; only cease to cherish opinions.” — Seng-ts’an
“In the summer of 1966, while a DJ convention was being held in Memphis, Dan Penn and Chips Moman were cheating while playing cards with Florida DJ Don Schroeder,and decided to write the song while on a break. Penn said of the song “We were always wanting to come up with the best cheatin’ song. Ever.” The duo went to the hotel room of Quinton Claunch, another Muscle Shoals alumnus, and founder of Hi Records, to write. Claunch told them, “Boys, you can use my room on one condition, which is that you give me that song for James Carr. They said I had a deal, and they kept their word.” The song, lyrics and all, was written in about thirty minutes.” (Wikipedia)
I first heard this song in the 1991 Alan Parker film The Commitments. It’s been covered by lots and lots of artists (Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Gregg Allman, Linda Ronstadt, to name a few) but my favorite versions are by Bobby King & Terry Evans and Veronica Klaus.