Cloister Commentary, Day 274: Leeks, Parsnips, Cannellini Beans

We took a walk in the morning, which turned out to be somewhat abortive, as the neighbor’s cat enthusiastically joined us for half of it, then–because someone had her dog unleashed–freaked out, so we picked her up and walked back home. At least we got out of the house.

Nicole created a new crockpot dish, a vegetable stew with lots of good stuff including leeks and parsnips, that was fan-damn-tastic! The inspiration was via Betty Crocker, but she improvised, then added some cannellini beans for good measure after we ate to cook in for an hour or so. She also made a low-salt, high-garlic hummus that we pretty much finished off. As Bob Dylan once sang, “I can’t help it / If I’m lucky!”

In the afternoon, we spun a couple great records: the Beasties’ Paul’s Boutique and Clifton Chenier and His Red Hot Louisiana Band. That’s some good sh*t right there.

Evening (Son of Movie Night): Surprisingly strong Ian Dury biopic (Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll), final, unsurprisingly powerful and moving installment of Small Axe (“Education”)–do yourself a favor and watch that, ok?

Streaming for Strivers:

Man vs. self musical conflict?

Cloister Commentary, Day 273: Watermelon Sky

Question for my friends who are wild about music: Name an artist or act that it took you considerable time to open up to and appreciate. I’ll go first: Belle and Sebastian!

Highlights of the day…

Taking an early morning walk under a watermelon sunrise and talking, just talking.

Putting holiday cards in the mail, then checking the “Informed Delivery” app and seeing cards from two of the addressees were on their way to our mailbox.

Enjoying, vicariously, Nicole’s Zoom happy hour / TGIF with her friends and colleagues.

Wearing out our kitten by making him run up and down the stairs after his current favorite gross toy (an aluminum foil ball).

Seeing Kevin The Durantula back on the court again, hitting dagger jumpers, slicing through the lane, and disrupting the opponent’s offense. Hello Brooklyn!!!

Drinking a cold Tecate with lime and salt backed by a small pour of tequila.

Sleeping straight through the night….

Streaming for Strivers:

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose…

Cloister Commentary, Day 272: The Immediate Present

I awakened feeling a ton better physically, but still a bit stressed mentally and emotionally. I mean, December usually weighs heavy at the same time that one is about exhausted from the (albeit arbitrary) year, but this one has been a doozy. I was worried about a claim that had hit a snag, about my mom’s arthritis, about my decision to kick a clinic visit can down the road…Nicole could see it on my face, hugged me around the neck, messed up my perfect part, and told me she understood. My favorite moment of the day, and it moved me into the immediate present. I knocked out another 20 holiday cards, mailed ’em, and read four CDs’ worth of sleeve notes that I’d been putting off.

Thursday is Movie Night here, of course. We ate Bangkok Garden leftovers (does anyone else send holiday cards to your favorite eateries?), popped some poopity-popcorn, poured a couple ginger beers with bourbon and lime, and watched episodes 3 and 4 of the amazing, hard-hitting, and seriously educational Steve McQueen series Small Axe. I cannot recommend it enough. I told Nicole that we are sure to look back on this series of films as major cultural landmarks; I hope we will have another Zoom discussion about them with Rebecca and Frank!

Streaming for Strivers:

Relative to Episode 4 of Small Axe. I was wondering when LKJ would make it onto the series’ stimulatin’ soundtrack–it was inevitable–and last night was the night. Final track from this record (I may have posted it previously, but it’s worth it–it isn’t streaming on Apple Music and I wonder why)…

…and I’m not forgetting your full album stream!

(6) Linton Kwesi Johnson : Reggae Greats (Full Album) – YouTube

Cloister Commentary, Day 271: Don’t Worry! It’s 2020!

After awakening feeling human for a change, I set myself to a morning like I’m sure many have: attending to this-and-that missives that had accumulated on the kitchen table (pet vacc appointments, filter changes, like that). I also rescheduled an upcoming health appointment for next month–I have too much on my plate right now–wrote and mailed a dozen or so holiday cards, and sent tips to our two newspaper carriers.

Also, I kept a medical appointment. Due to a diagnosis of atrial flutter, I’d been sent for an echocardiogram last week but “flunked,” as my heart rate was too high and erratic to get decent image. So on my return visit yesterday, I again had an elevated and erratic heart rate but somehow the technician got a reading–she felt I actually was exhibiting atrial fibrillation. Wonderful. I’ve been tracking my heart rate with a handy cuff, and it’s been consistently normal, but the technician explained that such cuffs only tend to measure ventricular heart rate, not atrial. Now they tell me.

I was a little rattled when I got home, but settled down after I talked to Nicole, ate lunch, and hid in a book for a few hours. Nobody at the clinic seemed too concerned, so I guess I need to chill, at least for the moment. Right? I mean, after all…it’s 2020!

Streaming for Strivers:

Sassy, (relatively) easy on the vibrato, all the way there on the invention, aided by Zoot Sims.

Cloister Commentary, Day 270: Out of Gas

I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but yesterday, as a result of using muscles that had been sprawled on my body’s couch for the last decade, I did some moaning and groaning. And napping. And shuffling around.

Also–I know I’m not alone in this, because it’s probably a common COVID-19 experience–I think I just ran out of emotional gas. Nicole’s care and presence, a nap, comfort food, and comfort reading (yep, reference books: Will Friedwald’s A Biographical Guide to the Great Jazz and Pop Singers, informative, funny, and strangely warming) helped a lot. I feel better this morning.

Streaming for Strivers:

Under Friedwald’s spell.

Cloister Commentary, Day 269: Crates of Vinyl and Clearasilled Zits

I’m helping a friend find homes for his vinyl collection, so I spent the morning going through the first two of four crates and doing some sorting. I had forgotten how heavy record crates were; I hadn’t moved any since I was in my forties, but damn! I’m feelin’ it as I thumb this out. Flipping through the stacks and seeing original vinyl copies of Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Minutemen, Meat Puppets, Johnny Thunders and more took me straight back to the days when those acts were the meat ‘n’ potatoes on our dinner table. Not that I don’t play them anymore, but, to paraphrase George Jones reflecting on Hank Williams, they were everything to us.

Later, Nicole and I celebrated a couple of bits of wonderful national news–couple of zits got Clearasilled–by treating ourselves to curbside dinner, a cocktail, “Whiskers R We,” and a Jimi Hendrix documentary/concert. We then lapsed into sleep smiling.

Streaming for Strivers:

All essential music’s been digitized, right? Wrong. Found this in my friend’s stacks, though I already have a copy of my own.

Cloister Commentary, Day 268: The Road Home

Road trip back from my mom’s–listened to Black Thought’s first two “Streams of Thought” EPs (strong stuff), then Robert Calvert’s Lucky Leif & The Longships and Hawkwind’s Quark, Strangeness & Charm (strange and wonderful stuff). Switched to Chiefs game for my last lap only to hear them in “we’ll-spot-you-some-points” mode.

I was glad to see Nicole. She fixed me a titanic grilled (pepper) cheese sandwich and some tomater soup, we had a couple beers, Zoomed with a couple of friends, poopity-popped some popcorn, and closed out the day with the documentary Fantastic Fungi. Serious food for thought, right there.

Streaming for Strivers:

This random selection from a stack of things I was curious about entertained and fascinated the hell out of me when I was on the road yesterday! It is a concept album (I think) both wacky and wry.

Cloister Commentary, Day 267: Movie Marathon with Mom

The vaccine is being shipped out. Frontline workers to be vaccinated early this week. May this operation be a success…. (I’m not up for an exclamation point yet.)

Yesterday, Jane and I launched a movie / TV marathon. She awakened feeling great (she was very talkative) and suggested we watch The Godfather! She’d never seen Part II, so we watched that as well, though we decided to wait for the release of Coppola’s re-edit of Part III. You know, those first two are pretty decent movies…

After some Mexican curbside deliciousness (I do love Acambaro’s enchiladas banderas), we resumed with a chunk of Springsteen on Broadway–she had to listen to him being blasted on my stereo when I was a teen, and she pronounced him good–and an episode of her favorite investigative series Vera. That show is complicated!

We closed with SNL, since Bruce was the musical guest; neither of us had heard of the guest host. Mom loves Weekend Update, and we struggled through a series of subpar sketches to get to it. A surprise appearance by Dr. Weknowdis made it all worth it. Springsteen: he performed joyfully but left me unmoved. Mom had no comment.

I didn’t read a page but it didn’t matter!

Streaming for Strivers:

Adios, Mr. Pride.

Cloister Commentary, Day 266: Three Gifts

Helped Mom yesterday deal with some arthritic pain. We had a great experience with health professionals here in Monett: a quick and clear diagnosis, and treatment that was fairly immediately effective. I’m very thankful for frontline workers. Very.

We received a visit from longtime family friend Phyllis Garrett. She regularly checks on Mom, and since I’m normally over three hours away, that is a comfort. Phyllis’ love, concern, and good humor is a gift.

After lasagna and salad, we watched two productions I was skeptical about: Hillbilly Elegy and (a few episodes of) Schitt’s Creek. The book from which the former was adapted was a best seller, but a few reviews I’d read convinced me to skip it (I read What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia instead). Nicole and I had previously sampled the latter (Catherine O’Hara? Chris Elliott? Eugene Levy? How could it miss?) and were left somewhat cold. However, enthusiastic urging by our friends Frank and Rebecca Wimer-Pisano and my suspicion Mom would be interested prompted me to give both a whirl–and we very much enjoyed them! Maybe the movie improved on the book, though judging from the first three episodes of the comedy series, it needs a little more Chris Elliott.

Streaming for Strivers:

Last notes before bed last night.

Cloister Commentary, Day 265: Undone

It is hard to write these on the road (so to speak). I’m out of my routine, and, because I prefer to write via smartphone–I have my reasons–it can seem to those unaware of my mission that I’m simply phone-obsessed and messaging obsessively and mindlessly. Thus, like today, I feel late, late, to a very important date.

My mom and I had pork loin, mac and cheese, and salad for dinner, then binged the entire Amazon Prime Series The Undoing. It was suspenseful and grizzled Hugh Grant is an amusing sight, but I was distracted constantly by Nicole Kidman’s complete inability to keep her Australian accent in check. Why couldn’t her character just have spoken that way? The movie felt no reason to explain why Grant’s character was English. It was embarrassing, but the Monett Margaritas (aka “The Basquiats”–did you know when Jean-Michel was in Europe he relentlessly tried to teach bartenders how to make them?) allowed me to just regard them with humor.

Nicole sent me pics of her kitchen projects. That really helped me not miss her.

One of my favorite little routines of the pandemic has come at the suggestion of my former student and current good friend Nathan Ferguson. Every Friday, we trade Apple Music recommendations via IM, with a brief explanation and / or justification. I spent some enjoyable moments last night plotting what I’d send him today. He’s sent me to some cool stuff, plus he’s just smart. I’ve come to the conclusion he was too quiet when he was in my classroom and needed to have held my feet to the fire more frequently. As teachers, though, we can’t have everything.

Streaming for Survivors:

A man can dream. I’m ready. I’ve been ready.