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 So playing the trombone wasn't getting me in enough trouble? |
| I need someplace to write down the often confusing thoughts that enter my mind, while my stories give voice to the characters that wander through periodically, this is the place for my voice. Join me if you wish, comment if you wish, all are welcomed and appreciated. |
| All Righty Then — here's something that really frosts my glasses. Around 30 years ago, I wrote a march for Elementary, which was picked up and published by XYZ Music Publishers. XYZ was later purchased by ZYX Publishing, which has since merged into a megolomanic, moronic monopoly in the music publishing business. Now, the little march I wrote went out of print close to 15 years ago, meaning it's not listed in ANYBODY's catalog, you can't buy it on any marketplace, and, for all intents and purposes, it no longer exists. I was contacted by a teacher in the Midwest, who had somehow heard the march, probably from a very old recording, perhaps even the original publisher's advertisement blurb. I do remember recording it with a High School band and sending it off to them. She contacted me to see if the tune was still available and asked if I could send her a copy. Now here's the frosting: Even though the score was published by a now-defunct publisher, which was bought, rebought, and rebought yet again before merging into said megolomanic, moronic monopoly. And even though it's been out of print for decades, I cannot send her a copy of the tune because said megolomaniac, moronic monopoly still claims ownership of a score they no longer publish, and verbally indicated they do not intend to reissue. I did manage to get the last laugh and perhaps remedied the situation. I was recently commissioned to write several pieces for assorted ensembles. Through my agent, I was in negotiations with several publishing houses to publish my work. Megolomanic, Moronic Monopoly, was one of them, and had expressed a very strong interest in the new charts. They were quite surprised when my agent contacted them to close the process. The first question they asked was, "What can we do to get this back on track?" They are now reviewing the little march for republication. The Midwest school, you ask? Well, they got a brand-new little march named after their school, and I've got an open invitation to come spend time with them — maybe when it's not so cold! |
| So, yesterday we, kinda sorta celebrated Thanksgiving in June, which is appropriate given the Christmas in July schtick. We had an off-the-bone turkey breast in the freezer, and we decided to cook it. I brined it in a beer-based brine overnight and cooked it on the Weber charcoal grill. It took about three hours, using two chimneys of charcoal. We rounded out the menu with baked sweet potatoes, regular baked potatoes, cauliflower cooked on the pellet smoker, and corn on the cob, wrapped in foil and grilled. The cauliflower was an experiment, and one we won't repeat. It received four out of five NO votes. Back to the drawing board on that one! Everything else turned out great and was well received. The best part is that it was something a bit different, challenging, and fun to cook. Tonight, I'm grilling my version of Teriyaki Chicken Tenders, along with leftover baked potatoes and corn on the cob. My Marinade recipe is here "Teriyaki Chicken Tenders"  |
| I decided to post an update here on my blog so it won't clog the news feed. And if you don't want to read it, you can ignore it! Well, if you don't know, let me start by saying that I have prostate cancer; fortunately, it is contained within the prostate and has not spread, which is an excellent thing. It's still cancer, but far more treatable and curable. I am treating it via radiation mainly because it has fewer potential side effects. The treatments last about fifteen minutes; I have them for twenty-five consecutive days. They leave me a bit tired, which, coupled with our current heat wave, has knocked me for a loop. Preparing for the treatments is a topic for another blog post. Part of the therapy includes a hormone shot. This serves a dual purpose of both shrinking the prostate, making the radiation more effective, and stopping the flow of testosterone. The cancer feeds off testosterone, so the hormone injection sends it into remission. But!! The hormone shot has a few side effects. I now experience what the Doc calls Manopause, among the symptoms are hot flashes, an enhanced emotionality, some hair loss, though it's hard to tell if I've lost hair. All in all, things are going well, except for the occasional hot flash and feeling tired, I'm doing well! |
| Life is full of petty annoyances, and we all have some that are personal to us. Heaven knows I have more than a few. But this is one that really tweaks me, bringing out the Grumpy facet of my personality in full force. Fees for using a credit card to pay a vendor for services rendered or products delivered. Here in New York, vendors aren't allowed to charge a fee for the privilege of extending your credit card debt. So, instead, vendors offer a cash discount. When all is said and done, this amounts to a surcharge for using a credit card. Now I completely understand that Credit Card Companies are sucking funds from both ends of the transaction. They charge the vendor a processing fee and the consumer interest on any balance they carry. I can also understand a sole proprietor, with no employees passing that fee onto me. I don't like it, but I understand it. But here's what bothers me about larger business passing it on; I spent enough time in both retail and fast food work to know the following. Any business that has more than two employees will invariably experience cash shrink — more recorded sales than cash collected. Whether it be human error or theft, it is going to happen if cash nis involved. While working for Arby's during High School, the manager saw me as a candidate for advancement, one of the things he always talked about was shrink at the POS (point of sale). Just before I left to start college, we began taking credit cards. Guess What? Shrink dropped dramatically; it seems it's very hard to miscount or steal cash that's not there. Credit Cards were actually saving Arby's money. The same holds true in retail; the less cash in the register, the less opportunity for it to disappear somehow. And yet, Retailers and food purveyors add that cost to consumers, even though in reality, the use of credit cards ultimately protects their bottom lines. |
| So far, Pubby's Christmas Quest has generated 23 Merit Badge Commissions, which is a great deal of work for The StoryMistress, so I hope everyone has shown a great deal of patients and grace. Pubby is beside himself with excitement, and like all hyperactive bunnies, he wants more. But I think 23 in the first week is pretty good. He was a bit taken aback when I presented the tab for the 23 badges, but like a good sport, he paid up tonight, transferring 11,500,000 Gift Points into Richard 😀🎵 account. He has also graciously agreed that Richard deserves half a day off to go to far of Head of the River, at the far reaches of the Isle of Long, to view the festive Christmas Light Show. So I'll be on for a bit in the morning to check in at "Pubby's Christmas Quest Raffle ~ Closed." and "Pub Bunny's Merit Badge Sale ~ Closed" , but for now, my bleary eyes need to get off this blue-lit beast. |
| When I was a little guy, no wait I'm still a little guy, I meant when I was younger, I enjoyed wandering through woods and forests. Actually, I still do. Very often I would get so preoccupied with the sights and sounds of my journey that I'd lose track of my path. That was wonderful for discovery, but annoying when it was time for lunch. A trick that I found was to remember the Down/Listen Advice. The principle is based on the fact that most civilization forms in valleys, so to find the valley you head — down. This will also very often lead you to a road or stream, that's the listening part. You can hear a road before you'll see it, likewise for a stream. I have found my way out of the trees quite often using this advice. I have never really minded getting a bit lost, whether hiking or driving. Sometimes the best adventures start with being lost!  ...I'm only the trombone player! |
| Today is National Home Brew Day. Or, maybe yesterday was? No matter, I going off on a different tangent altogether. On assignment to find and procure new sources of refreshment for "Invalid Item" , I stumbled upon this little tidbit of useless information.Did you know there is a giant cloud of alcohol drifting in space? I mean a really giant cloud, 400 quintillion liters of huge. quin·til·lion. a cardinal number represented in the U.S. by 1 followed by 18 zeros, and in Great Britain by 1 followed by 30 zeros. Great, another question. Why does Great Britain need more zeros? This is why I never get anything done! Just to put that number in perspective; "everyone (Earth's total population) would need to consume 300 thousand liters of alcohol daily for a billion years." Aside from the fact that much imbibing would be inherently unhealthy, said alcohol itself isn't really the pleasant drinking kind, more the anti-freeze, windshield washer fluid kind (methanol). Not to mention that the cloud it forms also contains other deadly chemicals. You might ask, why is this even important? If we can't drink it, why did we even bother looking for it? "Alcohol is also an organic substance, an integral part of living organisms. Barry Turner of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory claims that these alcohol clouds can “help us better understand how life can evolve in the universe”." But the cloud also proves that the Universe has a sense of humor. "The cloud contains ethyl formate, an ester that gives a raspberry flavor and, as astronomers say, it smells like rum. Therefore, it seems that these cosmic spirits may have a taste and aroma similar to raspberry rum." So, I can't drink it, but it smells like I'd want to. |
| As Waltz Invictus said today, there's a Day for everything, I might add that very often it's because somebody is trying to make a buck or two. So today is "National Men Make Dinner Day". I'm willing to wager that many of the men here make dinner, maybe not every day, but more often than to make a big deal out of it. I think men cooking is normal! I enjoy cooking, I find it relaxing. I learned to cook early, after watching my Father and Brother nearly starve to death, because my Mother was late getting home from an American Legion Auxiliary luncheon. The first meal I cooked was not fancy, or gourmet by any means; hot dogs, beans, and french fries, but it astounded both of the other two males in the household. You have to understand, on a camping trip, these two chefs thought that you added a can of water to Chef Boyardee's canned spaghetti, like it was a can of Campbell's Condensed Soup. A byproduct of my newfound cooking skills, I was now considered camping trip-worthy. Now, Lenore and I tend to split the cooking, the ratio varies with the seasons; During the Spring and Summer (BBQ season) more of it falls on me. In the winter she does a bit more than I do. However, the other night I made a new (for us) dish, and it came out pretty well! We had chicken breasts stuffed with asparagus, mozzarella, and shallots. very simple seasonings, salt, pepper, garlic, paprika and Italian seasoning. It must have been okay because I have permission to "make it again". |
| Sadly, I have to reflect on the passing of Momma Mary Candiano, Lenore's Mom passed quietly at home, surrounded by family, just as she wished. Thankfully, Mary passed with little suffering or pain. The biggest blessing was that Mary had left very detailed instructions regarding her care, what she found acceptable, and what she didn't want. The lesson here is; Everyone should do that, we don't want to face that day possibly, but doing so now will make our caregivers' lives much easier when the time comes. Her passing leaves a vast empty spot in Lenore's and my life, much of our time was spent with her in the last years. She will be missed, mourned for, and grieved over. But, as Lenore pointed out several times in recent days, that is not what Momma would have wanted, and if we don't move on with our lives, I'm pretty sure she will make her displeasure known in some way. At any rate, there will be empty moments, sad memories, and tears in times to come. My one regret in this is that Mary didn't live to see Lenore and I married, circumstances conspired to prevent that, with dates being pushed off for varied reasons. That will, of course, be rectified in due time. We have to the estate to settle, but Mary stipulated that Lenore has several years to do so, thankfully, no rush there. We are both sad Mary is gone, happy that she didn't linger and suffer. We will both miss her, her sly humor, the wonderful food she used to cook, and her sage advice. Mary was one of a kind, God Bless and Keep Her. |
| Posting from my phone, so please excuse both the brevity and typos. We were forced to take my MIL to the hospital, she was getting weak, unable to eat, and dehydrated. Unfortunately, a scan of her abdomen revealed masses on her liver. The doctors suspect that the masses are metastatic cancers that have spread from somewhere else. Lenore and her siblings, after speaking with Momma's doctors have decided to forego any further intrusive testing. Aside from the fact that the tests themselves might prove fatal, it's almost a foregone conclusion that she wouldn't tolerate the treatment required. Nor would it really provide a livable extension of her life. Mary was a strong lady, she lived a wonderful 97 years, and saw the birth of grand children and great grand children. Please keep Mary and Lenore in your prayers. |
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Hooray for the Midwest school! 
Credit is delaying the pain unless one pays it off every month. I don't buy what I can't afford. I don't go into debt. I live well by living well within my means. 
