Tag: Spotify Playlists

Cloister Commentary, Day 357: Forming the Yin-Yangs

As rain, clouds, and cold descended, we attempted to weather it sans heater. Or rather, I did, as Nicole was relatively warm at work. Thermal underwear and an extra pair of socks got me to her quitting time; the cats either formed yin-yangs or crawled under comforters. The chill did keep me alert enough to finish Hari Kunzru’s Red Pill, or as I now like to think of it, Dread Pill. Not sure whether I’d recommend it other than if you enjoy being aggressively sobered (and I ain’t talkin’ ’bout hooch).

Activities: after our terrific experience with the film Babylon, Nicole requested a reggae playlist on her Spotify account (particularly peopled with the women of reggae), and I obliged, unsurprisingly ending up listening to reggae myself all day. I was reminded once again that NOT EVERYTHING IS STREAMING.

After a Shakespeare’s pizza and salad, we had another delightful Zoom with Frank and Rebecca Wimer-Pisano. We like to gab about movies; under discussion last night were Nomadland, Moonlight, and the new Billie Holiday biopic. Rebecca’s new name for KFC nearly brought us tears of laughter.

Full justice for Breonna Taylor!

Streaming for Strivers:

Nyabinghi-powered goodness from an early Rasta too-soon-departed.

Cloister Commentary, Day 126: Earthseed Graphics

Took a long early-morning walk into the Monett countryside listening to Rolling Stone writer Joe Levy’s Spotify playlist, “Uprising 2020.” That was better than three shots of espresso, and lasted longer.

Nicole, Mom, and I Zoom every morning for 10 minutes or so before we get on with our days. Yesterday, though, we got pretty engaged in our subject matter and almost talked for an hour. And here I thought I was done with Zoom “classes” for a while. For myself, I think I just miss my wife a wee bit.

Graded the first wave of research papers that arrived from my summer school students: three As and two Bs, plus they had some zip to ’em. They aren’t due til Sunday night, but today’s authors are of the TCB variety.

Started two new books, a so-far nice bio of the contagiously joyful and mischievous jazz master Fats Waller (written by his son) and Duffy & Jennings’ second graphic novel adaptation of an Octavia Butler novel, Parable of the Sower. If any of my readers know that book, well–you’ve probably thought of it once or twice since March. The team has an adaptation of Parable of the Talents on the way.

My mind and body forced me to nap in the afternoon, but I was ready to go for a nice dinner with Mom and my chosen brother Greg Carlin. We spent a good three hours talking about Monett family trees, his health-wrestling, complicated dogs, and oblivious neighbors. As a lineman (not the football kind, the electrical kind), he interacts with a cross-section of the public in their home environments, but when he discusses certains folks’ unusual living habits, he is never mean nor does he consider himself superior to them. That’s the sign of a good man.

Streaming for Strivers:

For this instrumentalist, an album could not be better named. The band’s pretty talented as well.