According to the calendar it’s officially been autumn for over a week now, and this past week the weather has reacted accordingly with milder days and cooler nights. Born in late September, I am effectively a child of the Fall. And I’ve always had a strained relationship with the final full season of the calendar year. Sunshine dependent as I am, I’ve never been a fan of darker days and since I abhor the colder climes, autumn’s role as the harbinger of the Midwestern frigidity to come is a big part of my reluctant embrace of the season wholeheartedly.
But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that think autumn is arguably the most beautiful season in many ways. The colors of the leaves display an astonishing vibrancy that ironically belies the fact that they’re dying. I’ve used this observation in a few pieces of short fiction of mine over the years, a couple of which I know will be up on the Ruckerpedia dot com site I’ve been tirelessly working on the better part of this past week (more on that below).
Like clockwork, though, I gripe about the consistency of gray overcast days during the fall and winter here in the Midwestern United States. Sure, I hadn’t any plans to leave the house for anything this weekend as I had much work to do here on various things, but that doesn’t mean I welcomed the rain and clouds. Sunless days just don’t do it for me.
In the fall of 2009 I wrote a rather gloomy piece of music for my Saint Ruckus music project after getting laid off from one of the best jobs I’ve ever had. “Autumn Descends” simply has the somber sound of fall, fit for a forlorn, maudlin man at the time. Check it out.
If you listen closely you can hear the main piano line essentially emoting: “Out of work” or “Lost my job” — your pick.
Crappy Headline of the Week
Bees placed on endangered species list for the first time in the US
New Music of the week
I grabbed Jillian Banks’ new CD on Friday. The Altar is the follow-up to 2014’s Goddess. I’ve only spun it once but I like it. It’s slightly more adventurous than her debut LP, if not as immediately captivating. Still, she’s got one of the best voices of any of the modern chanteuses.
Idol of the Week
Heard another interview with my main man James Hetfield of Metallica that was just a friendly reminder of why I love that man as a human being, let alone as one of three individuals who inspired me to finally pick up the electric guitar 28 years ago.
http://sixxsense.iheart.com/media/play/27327959/
Speaking of music and years ago, last week I took a moment to commemorate the 7th anniversary of the release of my first ever solo album, a demo LP called Bridging the Disconnect. An album that I wasn’t aware was actually up on Spotify until I curiously did a search. It’s been available on iTunes, Amazon and countless other digital retailers since it’s 2009 release, so I guess it should be no surprise that those digital streaming rights wound up at Spotify as well. So, there it is, warts and all.
Personal Quote of the Day
“Blatant, overt bigotry and racism are now the norm. Again.”
Made just moments ago in response to a news story a friend posted about a Pennsylvania cop being fired for posting a racial slur on Snapchat – y’know, that safe haven of social media where the posts are supposedly transient and ethereal and quickly ghosted, leaving some to believe in a false sense of security with the app.
The question begs answering: have we regressed as a society or has much of our progress simply been a falsehood?
TV Show of the Times
So Marvel’s Luke Cage launched on Netflix this weekend and it’s really good stuff, even if done a little differently than expected (and I’m not even sure what I was expecting after his co-starring role in last year’s Jessica Jones series last year). I think we’re about 5-6 episodes in now, and may try to squeeze in one or two before tonight’s 2-hour season finale of AMC’s Fear the Walking Dead.
And finally . . . the New Website
This week’s column is running a bit long already so I’ll try to keep this brief. The activity that’s kept me from doing any actual writing this past week is nearly complete. Ruckerpedia dot com is pretty much set to launch this week, finally, after several months of gestating. It is, quite simply, an online library of my fiction, poetry and lyrics. An archive. A magazine. Something that, If I died prematurely, can stand the test of time as a virtual monument that validates that I was actually a writer, or at least did a pretty decent impression of one. Much more on this later this week when it launches (tomorrow?). Doing some final layout and navigational tweaks tonight. I have 60-some pieces that will populate the site by this year’s end alone. Hoping to launch with several categories stocked well-represented to make everyone’s inaugural visit worthwhile.
No additional links section this time. I’ll do a separate Linkage post later in the week.
Be good to each other.
Have a great week.
-BLR
Lost Signal 