Remember when the iPod was cutting edge? Yeah, I barely remember those long lost times too… although I can vividly remember Walkmans and even Discmans.
Back in those halcyon days of portable digital technology, when silhouettes danced across our TV screens, I was a cheapskate… and still am today.
So instead of getting an iPod, I got a Creative Labs Zen Nano.
Lo these many years later, when most iPods have been relegated to junk drawers worldwide, my trusty Zen Nano is still going strong. I use it every weekday on my bus commute to and from work. Honestly, I think it had a few advantages over iPods. It runs on a single AAA battery, and I always carry a spare battery, so I don’t have to worry about it dying on me and I don’t have to be near a computer – and have the proprietary Apple USB cord (sold separately, of course) – to recharge it.
Adding music to it is a lot easier than using iTunes (Apple is famous for intuitive user experiences but iTunes is horrible, always has been). And in addition to listening to mp3s, I can listen to FM radio (even record it) and record sounds via the built-in microphone. It’s only 1 GB but that’s enough for more than a dozen albums, and it’s a lot more compact than an iPod. It’s slightly larger than the iPod shuffle but those had no display, which was a joke.
I know I can now listen to music on my phone, but I still prefer my moments of Zen.
The Super Bowl to end all Super Bowls (at least until next year) is just a day away… and already I’m sick of the hype. Not the hype for the game – I’m oblivious to that after years of Roman Numerals being shoved in my face XXIV/VII (see what I did there?). I’m sick of the hype for the halftime show. Excuse me, I meant to say “The Greatest Halftime Spectacle In The History of The Universe” or whatever they’re calling this year’s gig. They went with the Chinese Restaurant menu approach this year – one from each column – Coldplay for the aging wannabe hipsters, Beyonce for the soul sisters, and Bruno Mars for… well, pretty much everybody else. And of course they have a corporate sponsor, because there’s a sponsor for everything. I’m surprised they don’t say “This Geico commercial is sponsored by Bud Light.”
Call me an old fuddy duddy (merely typing that phrase makes me an old fuddy duddy) but I actually miss the early Super Bowls before the greedy tentacles of the NFL and advertisers hijacked the halftime show. For many years, the “entertainment” (using that term very loosely) was Up With People – a group of overly earnest teens singing easy listening versions of the day’s top hits. Sort of like an Osmond Family clone army. Sure they were super cheesy and super lame, but who cares? It’s halftime – time to reload on food and drinks.
Paste Magazine has a nice interview with Geddy Lee, the singer/bassist for Canada’s premier power trio, Rush (sorry Triumph, better luck next time). Count me among the many “geeky nerds” (as Geddy himself says) who have always liked Rush. They were the first band I saw in concert, back in ’81 on the Moving Pictures tour, and they blew me away. I’ve seen them more than a dozen times over the ensuing years. They always put on a fantastic live show, which is a huge part of their enduring appeal. Better yet, they don’t seem to take themselves too seriously – must be that Canadian upbringing.
It seems that Neil Peart, the Rush drummer, doesn’t want to tour anymore. Can’t blame him. He’s the best drummer in the world but kids a third of his age wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demands of single Rush set, much less an entire tour. I certainly hope they still make studio albums, but if not it’s been a fantastic 40+ years. And as their R40 tour proved, they still have the chops.
Here’s a clip of one of their more recognizable songs…
Back by unpopular demand, it’s the dubbatrubba list of last year’s top albums, in no particular order, with a video from each album, because I don’t know how to do a Spotify playlist.
Calexico – Edge of the Sun
Royal Headache – High
Kacey Musgraves – Pageant Material
Jason Isbell – Something More Than Free
CHVRCHES – Every Open Eye
Sufjan Stevens – Carrie & Lowell
Tame Impala – Currents
The Mountain Goats – Beat the Champ
Courtney Barnett – Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit
Here’s a plastic surgery ad from a recent issue of Cincinnati Magazine:
I had no idea there were so many options… face lift, neck lift, eyelid lift (isn’t that called “waking up”?), volume lift, fat transfer (isn’t that what happens when you take a Twinkie out of the box and put it in your mouth?)… and things with sci-fi names like Dysport and Liposonix.
Here’s a better idea: accept your body the way it is. Warts and all. Saggy eyelids and all. Embrace the aging process, or at least deal with it in a way that doesn’t involve scalpels, injections, suctions or concoctions with an “SM” next to their name.
I have a theory that plastic surgery doesn’t just remove or reposition unwanted flesh, it also steals brain cells. So perhaps you’ll look a bit better but you’ll be a lot dumber. And looking better isn’t always guaranteed. Look at poor Meg Ryan, who went from America’s Sweetheart to looking like a stunt double for The Riddler.
Here’s a Twilight Zone episode that teaches a beautiful lesson about aging.
If you don’t have 25 minutes to spare—but you should always have 25 minutes to spare for Rod Serling—here’s the best line from the show, a quote from Robert Browning:
“Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made.”
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