moon soup

Yesterday was Erin’s birthday. She’s 45! And she’s 13.

Ageless, really.

https://youtu.be/0wSduqRHFes?si=e3_bRhzajV1GU6lk

Love is all there is.

In the late 1930s my dad was a sailor on the USS Astoria. In 1991 or so he recorded this collection of stories on a cassette recorder and sent it to my sister. She eventually had it transferred to disk. Recently my son ripped the data file from the disk for me. I cleaned up the audio, removed noise and ran it through a transcription program.

Viola!

(The ship shown in the video is wrong. It’s the Arizona. Dad was on the Astoria in these stories. Mea culpa! Mea magna culpa!)

My father, after recording this, died the following year of a service-related illness so it was really something that could have been lost. He didn’t often talk about his war experience, and when he did it was just the funny parts. He had a great sense of humor and that can be found throughout this recording.

He had been in the Chinese civil war, World War 2 and the Korean War. He served most of his life.

Listening to Part 2 of this, I learned something I had never known before. When he married my mother, he decided to leave the navy at the end of his enlistment and go back to Portland to raise his family. Before he could leave, the war started. He was stationed in Pearl Harbor.

It was weeks before my mom could get any news about if he was alive because there was a total blackout on news regarding the casualties of the attack. The government didn’t want it to be known just how much of the Pacific Fleet was now underwater.

Dad, while stationed at the Harbor, was assigned that day to a PT Boat doing reconnaissance. Any chance of leaving the navy was now over.

There’s a great story at the end of Part 2 about being stationed at Oakland in 1942 when the Astoria was sunk in the Battle of Savo. The survivors were processed back in Oakland and my dad spent the evening running into old shipmates and getting blasted. Somebody on Reddit told me that his grandfather served on the Astoria and was one of the survivors.

I wonder if he got drunk with my dad on that night in Oakland?

A Christmas song for you.

Also a couple other things.

A Roches song I love that is fun to sing.

Finally, a project I’m starting that may get no interest at all.

I have loved the work of Rabindranath Tagore for most of my life. I’m trying my hand at reading poetry out loud. There will be more in spite of the fact no one is at all interested.

That’s all for now.

Happy spring!

Some draft ideas for front and back cover. Currently getting some folks to read the first manuscript, then will figure out how to publish. Feedback would be super appreciated but I have learned to not expect it.

Today will be 30 years since my little girl killed herself. She’d be in her mid forties.

Holy flaming shit, what a nightmare.

On the other hand, my oldest son will soon be 39 years old. I could have that wrong; birthday math was never my strong suit. People who were born in the year 2000 will never have trouble remembering how old they are.

Everything is really joy. Go figure.

I’ve taken down all the draft pages of my book/ story.

I’ve completed the first book. My next step will be to get some folks to read through it and look for glaring errors. I plan to self publish soon. I simply have no clue on how to proceed with submitting it to an actual publisher. I will soon disclose how to obtain it once I navigate the process.

The first book in the series is called Maj and the Shadow Makers. I’m actually super pleased with it. There are many changes and additions since I last offered a draft version.

Book 2 will be Maelgwyn’s Journey, Book 3 is Bad Carl and the final book, unless I think of something else, will be Overthrow the Stars.

I have a new song:

(this is actually a very positive song)

Loving is a terrible thing

When I look out on a tree

with its branches slowly waving

I can tell the wind is moving things around

When the trunk is lying down

and the branches are stripped of leaves

I suppose there’s been a hurricane in town

Ch:

Anyone might say I’m beaten

I would have to disagree

I know the game was over at the start

Now it seems you finally

have got me where you wanted me

Go ahead and see

if you can break my heart

I used to fear

what waited in the shadows

lurking in the places without light

Now I know the darkness holds

no hint of greater evil

You are the only one who waits

out in the night

Anyone might say I’m beaten

I would have to disagree

I know the game was over at the start

Now it seems you finally

have got me where you wanted me

Go ahead and see

if you can break my heart

Bridge:

Everyone says love

will pull you through

and that is what

the troubadours

all sing

But everything born

in this world will die

Loving is a terrible thing

I stand at the edge

You’ve got all the exits covered

Now I will submit in every way

I will not flinch

I’ve no will to resist you

I offer my surrender

on this day

Anyone might say I’m beaten

I would have to disagree

I know the game was over at the start

Now it seems you finally

have got me where you wanted me

Go ahead and see

if you can break my heart

Go ahead and see

Go ahead and see

Go ahead and see if you can break my heart

I have another one you may have missed:

Shivariff

Also, Formless

Here is one hardly anyone has seen- 11 views in the past year.

See all my poorly produced recordings here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgSEOjBhQekrOvEkN7B0voQ

Happy April, everyone.

My first completely new song in many years.

I know my production sucks. My apartment is noisy and I have little patience for re-takes on track recording. I still think it’s good.

All the visuals are made by me using StarryAI and Fantamorph programs. Recorded using Audacity freeware.