Tomorrow Never Knows

"Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream,
It is not dying, it is not dying?

Lay down all thought, surrender to the void,
Is it shining? Is it shining?"


Tomorrow Never Knows. It was the last song on the Beatles' "Revolver" album. Two years earlier, the Beatles released the album "A Hard Day's Night," which contained such finely crafted pop standards as "And I Love Her" and "Can't Buy Me Love." The Beatles hinted at an evolution from poppy love songs to something else with their previous album "Rubber Soul," but for many, the first playing of "Tomorrow Never Knows" must have been a bit of a WTF moment.

Mustang Sally

One of the first record albums I encountered as a kid was an album by the Young Rascals. One of the hit singles from the album was the song "Mustang Sally". I didn't find out until much later that the song was a cover of the Wilson Picket hit from a couple years earlier. And MUCH later, in 1991, Chicago's own Buddy Guy did a blistering cover of the tune on his album "Damn Right I Got the Blues". It showed me that sometimes musical history lessons arrive in a sort of circular fashion.

The Right to Live Your Best Life

"When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw." -- Nelson Mandela

The Most Famous Pandemic in All of Literature

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

We miss you, Frank!

We could all use more Zappa...and more T.P....right now.

John Prine

The world just lost one of the generation's great singer/songwriters. His songs like "Dear Abby" and "Illegal Smile" made us laugh. His songs like "Sam Stone" and "Hello in There" made us cry. In short, his songs made us feel. You can't ask much more of a song or a songwriter.

There's nothing like a little music to help you through the rough times.

Yes...It's April First!

Perhaps Mongo was speaking for us all.

ZZ Top

Just watched the 2019 documentary "ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas" on Netflix. It's a must-see for any fan of the band.

The Importance of Books

"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."  --- Julius H. Marx

Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.  —  Albert Einstein

"You work your life away and what do they give?
 You're only killing yourself to live."

Words from the song "Killing Yourself to Live" by Black Sabbath. Once one of my favorite bands. Saw them a couple times in the '70s, Their music is a bit overly apocalyptic to me now. But as I look back on all the sleep deprivation I experienced getting up before four in the morning, staying up all night, working twenty-four hour shifts...I can appreciate a bit better what the lyrics mean. It's REALLY good to be retired.

All of Creation

a cosmic game
with rules we can't know
dark energy
dark matter
dark time
dark life
the singularity blew
filled the void
with plasma we can't perceive
reality expands
knowledge grows
thoughts close
mindless animals
skittered across rocks
now become gods
the gods look to the void
reality morphs to dreams

DDS

Advertising (and products) certainly have changed a lot over the years!

Theoretical physicists need love too.

Delicate snowflakes.
Pristine, unique, logical.
Join. Become mountain.

DDS

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."  --  Ram Dass

I think we can all take a cue from young Weird Al Yankovic. Always take time out to do what you love. Better still, find a way to make a career out of doing what you love.

Happiness is not something you wait for; it's something you decide.