In Limbo

This ⬆️is basically where I am as I end this past week and start a new week:

I’m still reading The Cruelest Month, the third Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, by Louise Penny.
I’m not watching much of anything beyond the original CSI on Hulu.
I’m still listening to Father John Misty’s latest album (came out in June), God’s Favorite Customer, over and over, and now I’m getting my wife hooked.
I’m not doing much of anything because the weather while not super hot or hot at all compared to southern California or Texas standards where a few of you readers are from, it has been incredibly humid. Last night, the humidity was 97 percent, even though the temperature was in the high 60s (Fahrenheit). Oddly, or maybe not so much, it felt horrible.

Add on to that, we learned last night of the death of a relative with whom sadly our family had a complicated past (I’ll just leave it at that, not trying to be vague here, but it’s really…well…too complicated to explain). So today, I’ll try to continue to read The Cruelest Month, although I’ll be honest that I doubt I’ll be able to focus much and probably just will listen to some music, play Solitaire, and watch CSI reruns.

So what have you been/are you reading, watching, listening to, and/or doing this past week/today?

Pushing Forward Back June/July 2018

Back at June

June was a pretty good month on the personal front, especially for three weekends in a row. First, on Saturday, June 9, I celebrated my 49th birthday. Then on Sunday, June 17, I went and visited my dad (and mom), who lives about 60 miles away, for Father’s Day. I also was grateful to be able to see my sister, brother-in-law, 11-year-old nephew, 3-year-old niece, and their new almost 6-month-oldest cockapoo/Shetland sheepdog puppy. Finally on Saturday, June 23, Kim and I (along with family and friends) celebrated with her sister Tracey as she got married near Cleveland, Ohio.

Blogging-wise, it wasn’t a good month, but then again, I was busy with other things. Highlights on the blog this past month were 25 Things I Want To Do Before I Turn 50 and My Library Checkout June 2018. If you look at the list and wonder how I’m doing so far on doing some of those things, not great, but hey, I still have time to turn that around. We also got Hulu again and are enjoying watching especially older shows like ER, CSI, and My Name is Earl.

Musically, the two big albums this month were Kanye West’s ye and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s Everything is Love — at least for everyone else. Spinning again and again, though, on my virtual turntable was Father John Misty’s God’s Favorite Customer. I just couldn’t, and can’t, get enough of this album:

Forward to July

This month starts off on a high, with three days off for both of us. Kim has her normal three days off: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and I took vacation days for Tuesday and Thursday, having Wednesday already off as a holiday for The Fourth of July. After traveling last weekend, we have no plans of going anywhere, but it will be nice to have the time off together. I have a feeling we’ll be getting together with our neighbors for a cookout on the Fourth too, but we’ll see. If not, I’m sure we’ll still have burgers and hot dogs on the grill.

Other than that, I only can think of one other thing that I have planned: the 24in48 Readathon on Saturday, July 21, and Sunday, July 22, for which I’ve signed up. For more information or to sign up, click on the link.

At the end of the month, I’m looking forward to this movie:

So how was your month of June? Read any good books, seen any good movies and/or TV shows, listened to any good music? What was the highlight of your month? What are you looking forward to in July? Share in the comments.

Friday Finds | Father John Misty

Each Friday I share what I find myself listening to. It might be new. It might be old. This week, it’s relatively new, Father John Misty’s new album God’s Favorite Customer, released on June 6, and to which I’ve been listening almost incessantly ever since:

What is on your virtual turntable lately?

Pure Comedy & Arca

Pure Comedy Each Friday I feature new music that is catching my ear. Sometimes it is from this week; sometimes it is not, but it’s always within the last few months. This week, I am highlighting the new albums by two artists who prefer to use pseudonyms/personas: Father John Misty, the comic and tragic mask worn by Josh Tillman, and Arca, the namesake of Venezuelan producer Alejandro Ghersi.

I first discovered Josh Tillman with his second album, I Love You, Honeybear, which was one of my favorite albums of 2015. I won’t say that I immediately loved the album, but it grew on me, mainly because of songs “Bored in the USA,” “Holy Shit,” and the surprisingly endearing “I Went To The Store One Day”. On this new one, Pure Comedy, released today from what I’m reading and hearing his cynicism is on full display. I’m listening to it now in my headphones and am maybe halfway through it. I’m enjoying it thus far.

Arca_-_Arca I stumbled across Arca after he helped produce four songs on Kanye West’s Yeezus, which was one of my favorite albums of 2013, and then Arca released his solo album, Xen, in 2014. Since then, he also was producer on Björk’s 2015 album Vulnicura (yes, another favorite album) and also released one other album, Mutant, in 2015. So like Tillman, this is his third album. On this one, he introduces his own voice to what up until now has been mostly instrumental music. I haven’t listened to this one much yet, but am looking forward to listening to it more today along with Tillman’s new album.

I’ll leave you with a performance from Tillman on SNL last month:

What new music is catching your ear recently?