songbird's crazy world

 Leap year!  Once every four years we add an extra day to February. And thus was born a plot point in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.    For some ridiculous reason, to which however, I've no desire to be disloyal, some person in authority-- I don't know who--very likely the Astronomer Royal, has decided, that, although for such a beastly month as February, twenty-eight days as a rule are plenty: One year in every four his days shall be reckoned as nine and twenty. Through some singular coincidence--I shouldn't be surprised if it were owing to the agency of an ill-natured fairy, you are the victim of this clumsy arrangement, having been born in leap year on the twenty-ninth of February. And so, by a simple arithmetical process, you'll easily discover, that tho' you've lived twenty-one years, yet, if we go by birthdays, you're only five and a little bit..Over.

 Every time I drive through the neighborhood the old house captures my attention.  It’s an old farmhouse, dating back to when this community was still rural.  There’s nothing remarkable about the old house, except for its location. The house is surrounded on three sides by land belonging to the local elementary school.  The school was built in the 1950’s, when the community rapidly transformed from sleepy farming town to modern suburb.  The house is much older than the school.  Zillow says the house was built in 1875. I marked the location of the house on the Google map photo.  See how the school driveway and parking lot encircle the house? The school is next door to a park. Street view, also from Google. You can see the yellow farmhouse in front, the school building behind it.   It’s an odd place for a house.  The  school website  mentions the house when discussing the school’s history.  I’m sure the farmer who built the house...

  Feb. 26 You have two theme choices this week –   #1   It’s National Pistachio Day, so how about spelling pistachio using Song Titles (or Artists/Bands if you prefer).  #2 Since it’s a leap year, build your picks with “leap” or  “jump” song titles.  Hmmm, which to choose? Let’s start with a classic by Harry Belafonte    We have to have something by the Boss    Let’s get moving with some Van Halen    The Stones    Manilow?  I’m a fanilow    And we have to include the Pointer Sisters   

  Shambala Welcome to Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Shambala (1973) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) This week's song refers to the mythical kingdom of Shambala. Can you think of another song that mentions to faraway, mythical land? 2) "Shambala" is performed by Three Dog Night. The name is derived from an Aboriginal Australian legend. In the outback, hunters would sleep with a dog beside them. If it was very cold, they would sleep between two dogs. If it was freezing -- you guessed it -- it ...

 A miracle … An hour later, back to normal …Shadow chased Duchess into the living room…Shadow pounced …Duchess growled …

 Long Island has two types of limited access highways:  expressways and parkways. Expressways are direct routes designed to carry all sorts of traffic, from motorcycles to 18 wheelers. The Long Island Expressway runs east to west almost the entire length of the island, carrying traffic between Manhattan and Riverhead.  The Seaford Oyster Bay Expressway (not-so-fondly referred to as the SOB) carries traffic north from Seaford  to …Syosset.  The road was supposed to continue north to Oyster Bay, but they never finished it. Parkways, on the other hand, were designed to be scenic, picturesque roadways meant for casual driving.   When the Master Builder Robert Moses designed Long Island’s  parkways he never imagined that they would become major thoroughfares from over congested suburbs around the island and into the city.   Drive on any of our parkways — the Northern State, the Southern State, the Meadowbrook, the Wantagh — and you will encounter very ...

 Another “your choice” week That’s Jimmy Webb. You may not know his name, but you certainly know his music.  He wrote “Galveston”, “By the Time I Get To Phoenix”, “Up, Up and Away” and many, many more. He has worked with Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, the Association, the Fifth Dimension, Richard Harris … We saw him perform earlier this month, in a show that focused on his friendship with Glen Campbell and the Jimmy Webb songs Campbell recorded.  Drew is a huge fan. So let me present a few Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell gems.          Webb with Linda Ronstadt    This is the song that won his first Grammy    The Highwaymen (I’m sure the faces and voices are familiar)    This one was recorded by Richard Harris and also by Frank Sinatra, but I’ll play Jimmy’s version now    Johnny Maestro had a Jimmy Webb hit And this last one … Richard Harris had the hit, Donna Summer had the hit, but I like Glen Campbell’s ve...

You saw the photos Jen took while cat sitting last week. The reason Jen was cat sitting for us … Drew and I were in Philadelphia.  You’ll recall I mentioned he sees a specialist at Temple University Hospital.  He needed minor surgery.  We had the pre surgical consultation Wednesday, surgery was Thursday, and we came back to New York Friday.  He’s recuperating on the couch right now.   So Jen had to give me a ride to the mechanic Saturday to pick up my car.  When the cats saw her come back to the house … I think they were worried Drew and I were leaving again.  But happy happy!  The car repair cost significantly less than the estimate.   So we didn’t really celebrate Valentine’s Day, since it was the night before the surgery.  We exchanged cards, but obviously couldn’t go out to dinner.  And today is my birthday.  We’ll celebrate next weekend. Yeah, this is what 64 feels like.  

  Paper Doll Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Paper Doll (1943) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) The song is about a fellow who is exasperated by men flirting with his girl. Do you have a jealous streak? Not really. 2) He's blue after a quarrel with Sue. Did you exchange harsh words with anyone recently? No. 3) "Paper Doll" was #1 for 12 weeks in 1943-44, sold 11 million copies and remains one of the best-selling singles of all time. Had you heard it before today? No. 4) As kids, the...

My daughter took these photos while cat sitting for us.  Initially both cats hid from her, but after she fed them …  

 I literally cried when MSNBC called the election for Tom Suozzi.

 

 And the theme today Love Songs or Songs about Breaking Up or a combo of the the two I’ve done love songs before, more than once, so today I’ll do break up songs.  People have different ways of dealing with a break up. This first song deals with a cycle of breaking up, reuniting, then breaking up again.    Let’s hear from some strong women.  Gloria Gaynor found her strength.    Kelly Clarkson found her life improved    Who was the subject of Carly’s song?    Pink apparently misplaced her husband    Don’t get on Carrie’s bad side    CCR heard some rumors     Rod came to realize the relationship wasn’t good for him     Roxette  knew it was over    Billy Ray didn’t care what anyone said about him    Neil didn’t want to break up     Yeah, breaking up is hard to do.  It hurts.  But sometimes it’s for the best.  And break ups produce...

 You’ll renember my excitement when I bought my  Prius  back in 2016,   Well, I still love that car, but right now I’m not so happy with it. The problem with hybrids is that when the main battery goes…well, it’s an expensive repair.  Very expensive repair. Don’t misunderstand.  Replacing the battery is cost effective.  While it’s a 2013 Prius C, it’s only got 66,00o miles in it, this is the first real issue I’ve had with the car, and if I do the repair up I can easily keep the car on the road for a very, very long time. But that doesn’t mean I can’t grumble and complain   About it,

 Will be shown tonight during the game 

  At Last Welcome to  Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: At Last (1960) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here .   1) Etta James sings that "life is like a song." What song reflects how you feel about life these days? 2) She is delighted to have found the love she has always dreamed of. Have you found true love to be the way you imagined it would be? Or has it surprised you?  If you know anything about my life, you know the answer to that … Drew and I have a very long history, we dated, broke up, dated, broke up,...

  The question is, which cat?

 I don’t often delve into serious topics, I only occasionally indulge myself with political discussions on this blog.  Today will be one of those occasions. Upon admission to the bar, every lawyer stands in a courthouse, raises their hand and takes an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.  Lawyers are deemed to be officers of the court, with a duty to the judicial system, to justice and the rule of law. Law school curriculum includes required coursework in Constitutional Law.  So when you take that oath and begin your career, you have a full understanding of the Constitution and its importance to our republic.   I took that oath 40 years ago.  I hope that I have honored my oath throughout my career as a member of the bar. Lawyers aren’t the only ones who take an oath to the Constitution.  Members of the military take a similar oath.  And, of course, public officials are “sworn in” to office. Which is why today’s argument before th...

 I’ve mentioned before that Drew sees a specialist at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.  Periodically we drive from Long Island to see the specialist, about two hours each way. Drew is scheduled for outpatient surgery February 15, and we were supposed to go to Philadelphia yesterday for a pre surgical consultation.  We were getting ready to leave the house when the phone rang.  The appointment was canceled, the doctor had a family emergency.  At least we weren’t on the road …  Now I’m wondering if the surgery will be rescheduled.  We didn’t do much with our unexpected day off.  Just some laundry, household chores … though I did take the time to make a batch of gluten free brownies — from a mix, but still fun to bake. I’m finding myself in my kitchen, cooking and baking, more often than I used to before I went gluten free.  There aren’t as many convenience foods available, and what’s available is very expensive, so I’ve had to try ma...

 And it’s a freedom of choice week. Last week Broadway lost an icon, an incredible star.  Chita Rivera was the original Anita in West Side Story.   The original Rose in Bye Bye Birdie.  The original Velma Kelly in Chicago. She starred in The Rink, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and Nine. Ten Tony nominations, she won twice.  And later was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Let’s start with a song from West Side Story with Chita, Rita Moreno (the film Anita) and Bette Midler       Here she is with Gwen Verdon, a song from Chicago    While we’re on the subject, a little gender bender for charity    Speaking of charity …    Anything goes…    On the Ed Sullivan show    From Kiss of the Spider Woman    With Liza Minelli    And we close it out with another tune from Chicago   

  Poor Little Fool Welcome to Saturday: 9 . What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love to  answer the questions, however, and here is today's questions! Saturday 9: Poor Little Fool (1958) Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it  here . 1) Ricky Nelson sings of a girl with "carefree devil eyes." Are your eyes your best feature? If not, what is? Yes, my eyes are my best feature, but they’re usually hidden behind my glasses. 2) "Poor Little Fool" literally arrived at Ricky's doorstep. A pretty girl knocked on his front door, and played and sang her original composition for him. Who has most recently knock...