music observations

Main Character Energy

My daughter recently used the term “main character energy” when describing a mutual acquaintance. As in, “That person has main character energy!” In the past, we might have said a person “lights up a room” with their personality. A person with main character energy is someone you can’t take your eyes off of because their personality is so magnetic. It’s meant to describe someone with positive energy, not a Debbie Downer or Dastardly Do-Badder. Obviously,…

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Mid-Century Aluminum Christmas Tree

Hubby and I have been busy beavers today after visiting family for Thanksgiving the past two days. This morning, I finished sewing a new jumpsuit pattern. In the early afternoon, we replaced our smoke detectors, which were well over 10 years old and in need of swapping out. In late afternoon, we put up our Christmas tree. This may be one of the earliest times we’ve ever set up a tree. It’s a special tree.…

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family music technology

Duran Duran’s Remake of Psycho Killer

Duran Duran’s new album “Danse Macabre” was released October 27, 2023, on lead singer Simon LeBon’s 65th birthday. Of course I had to get it. October being my birthday month, Hubby got me a gift card for South Metro Music so I could pre-order it. I picked up the CD the day it was released and quickly made a digital copy so I could have it on my phone. The album is Halloween-inspired and includes…

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family observations reading writing

The Weirdness of Autographs

A couple of Sundays ago, Hubby and I went to hear Cory Doctorow speak. Cory is a prolific writer who writes at the intersection of technology and policy, excoriating corporations that harm society and the politicians who play to corporations at the expense of the majority of us. He keeps a link blog called Pluralistic (https://pluralistic.net) and has written both fiction and nonfiction related to tech and policy. Over the course of the pandemic, he…

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family recipe

A One-Pan Meal

I hate washing a ton of dishes after dinner. When my kids were little, I didn’t have a lot of time to wash dishes, even if I did enjoy it … which I don’t. So, whenever I can find meals that don’t take many pots and pans, I’m all for it. I have loads of meals I can manage to make with two pans, but very few with one. Meatloaf is one such meal, if…

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