Merry Christmas!
Every year, this is how I celebrate Christmas.
Merry Christmas, friends! May you always remember the best moments of life and love today.
Friends are like bras; a good one never lets you down
Every year, this is how I celebrate Christmas.
Merry Christmas, friends! May you always remember the best moments of life and love today.
One of my favorite songs for this time of year.
It’s pretty much the same for me every Christmas Eve. Well, musically. Mostly.
Here’s Justin Hines.
Epenthesis and Anaptyxis walked into a bar and confused the hell out of everyone.
This week’s new words are wonderful. Simply wonderful. Or should I say they’re “wonderaful”?
Epenthesis (eh-penth-e-sis) is the adding of a vowel or sound to a word in order to facilitate pronunciation. Like “es-top” or “stop-e(h)”. Or “bu-lue”.
More spectacularly, the addition of the vowel in epenthesis has a specific name: (you guessed it!) anaptyxis (an-app-tu-sis). Think of Yogi Bear telling BooBoo he’s going to get that “pic-a-nic” basket. That’s epenthesis and anaptyxis in action.
What’s even more fun is when Epenthesis and Anaptyxis are out drinking and they run into and are mesmerized by Paragoge. Paragoge also goes by the name Proparalepsis. (Can you tell I love this stuff?)
Paragoge/Proparalepsis “refers to the annexing of an expletive syllable”. In some cases, you can think of it as a nickname for words and, (ed: er…um…) names. Like “Johnny, for John;” “deary, for dear;” “withouten, for without.” (ed: Or my personal favorite “broughten, for brought.”)
When someone asks me “what kind of weirdo are you?” I’m the kind of weirdo who loves this shit. And that’s the honest to God truth. I’m also just a huge ol’ word nerd.
Stay tuned for more words I’ve encountered which have charmed and enchanted me. I have a list. Yeah, an actual list.
Feel free to share words of your own in the comments section.
I did it! Finally!
I lost my virginity.
Silly thing for a mom of two to write, but hear me out.
Craig Ferguson took my virginity. True. Fucking. Story.
October 7, 2023, is a day that will live in infamy for it was the day I finally got to go see Craig Ferguson on tour with his stand-up act. Not only that, but I met him, got a hug, he touched one of my tattoos (neener neener, wouldn’t you like to know which one!), and…and…and…it was all perfection. Mostly.
Yes, I’d been to tapings of his show many times over his ten year run as host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Yes, I’d been mere feet away from him. Yes, I laughed myself silly. But I hadn’t seen his stand-up show before.
I’d envied those I knew who had been many, Many, MANY times. They had met him. They got their picture taken with him. They…touched…him. I was happy for those people. But I stewed in my own bitter juices of jealousy in private. I feared I’d never get my moment with THE GREATEST, FUNNIEST, AND MOST HANDSOME SCOTTISH LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST AND COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD. But I did. It happened. And now my life is (mostly) complete. I say “(mostly) complete” because there was just one teeny weeny little problem with our conversation (okay, two teeny weeny little problems) (maybe three teeny weeny little problems, but definitely not more than three). Main problem the first: I’d forgotten to ask if he remembered a sketch from the show where a particular name was used. Why would it matter almost 20 years later? Because I was author of that name! Well, the author of half the name. And I wanted him to sign one of his books for me using that name. Big problem the second: I forgot to bring the book. Don’t look at me in that tone of voice! I know what I did and I know how stupid that was. Look, it’d already been a very long, hot day full of emotion* before I even left to make the journey out to the middle of nowhere to see him. I couldn’t possibly be expected to remember VERY IMPORTANT items I almost desperately wanted signed by THE GREATEST, FUNNIEST, AND MOST HANDSOME SCOTTISH LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST AND COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD! It’s like you don’t know me at all, people! Have you fallen so out of love with me your blog reading that you’ve forgotten all my (very) charming (and occasionally frustrating) quirks?
Le sigh.
I’m disappointed enough in myself, I don’t need your help in that department.
Problem the third: I also forgot to ask about his kids. Oh, the stories he told about his kids! So funny! So absolutely charming! So clever! The only kids I knew who were as funny and charming and clever as his kids were mine. Truly. I wanted to know if they continued to be funny, charming, and clever…like mine. Because: parents. IYKYK, right? Right.
All said and done, it was a beautiful day punctuated with the most magical evening of laughter and absolute joy. If I ever figure out how to post photos here again, I’ll post the pic of me beside THE GREATEST, FUNNIEST, AND MOST HANDSOME SCOTTISH LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST AND COMEDIAN IN THE WORLD. And you will once more envy my glamorous life. (Glamorous in that I had one night away from GmaB and the farm, but it still counts!)
And that’s the story of how Craig Ferguson took my virginity.
* My best friend got married and I photographed her wedding. She was completely stunning! She looked so happy! And the latter part is and was the most important part of the equation. I really want her to be happy.
This only happens once a year and we should all get as excited as these guys!
Happy 21st of September, y’all!
And because I’m all peppy now, here’s a bonus song from roughly the same era.
Between goosebumps and tears, I watched every video I could of Joni Mitchell performing at the Newport Folk Festival this year. She hadn’t performed a full set anywhere for 22 years due to a life-threatening aneurysm, but boy did she make up for lost time!
Here are some of the highlights. (Special shout out to Brandi Carlile — God, I love her — for making this happen!)
Bonus tracks!
I hope this helps create a good mood for your Tuesday and maybe even your entire week.
I know I posted more than two videos — how could I not? This is just so good! Please head over to the Tubes of You for more Joni and even more great music. You’ll be glad you did#
This first song is my favorite Flatlanders song ever. It’s just…perfection.
The second song reminds me of my time in the mid-late 80s when I was dancing every weekend and spending a lot of time getting to know some very interesting and amazing people.
I missed this week’s Twofer Tuesday. And Threefer Thursday. It’s been a WEEK.
So here are some songs for absolutely no other reason than I just happen to really like them, have time to share, and the ability to share them.
Another find from here in Texas: Charlie Stout.
I originally started following him on the Tweety because of his photography (oh my God! It’s gorgeous
, y’all. Gorgeous.) and was surprised to run into him at the first night of the singer-songwriter competition here. It took a second for me to make the connection, but there it was. So, yeah, he’s a talented photographer AND a talented musician.
Please check out Charlie’s bandcamp page for more great music. I heartily recommend “The Windmill Song” from Five Years Ago Tonight, “West Texas in My Eye” from Oklahoma (live bootleg), and “The Hanging” and “Set Your Eyes on Things Below” from Dust and Wind.
Once again, I urge you to buy his albums because they’re worth every penny. And if you’re looking for some stunning art
, head on over to Charlie’s website.
I feel like a total heel for not sharing any of this music at some point during the past 7-8 months. I’m very sorry.
Next up in the local musicians category is Jerry Serrano. Jerry’s incredibly nice, plays multiple instruments, and is just one of those people who draws you in.
He runs the open mic night at the Blue Light on Mondays and also hosted the singer-songwriter competition last fall. The best part about his hosting duties (aside from getting to hear a lot of performers) is when Jerry gets up to play.
The first song here is one I felt like I’d heard before and by the end, I could swear it was one I was super familiar with. Good songs are like that. They’re old friends you’ve only just met. (That would be a great title for a song and an album: Old Friend I Just Met™®. Anyone interested, email me at dagoddess@gmail.com. We can work out a deal.)
Okay, confession time: I’ve been holding out on you. Bob Simpson is probably my favorite local performer and I find his songs, songwriting, and voice to be just what the doctor ordered nine times out of ten.
I’m sorry I haven’t shared his music sooner. I hope you’ll forgive me.
I was tempted to post all of his songs because I dig each and every one of them. Instead here’s Bob’s Bandcamp page, have a listen, and then buy the album. I promise, it’s absolutely worth the purchase.
You know how much I love music, so when I say it’s worth plunkin’ down some money, you know I believe it’s worthy of your permanent collection.
It’s been ages since I’ve done a Two-fer Tuesday post, so let’s get to it, shall we?
First up is a song I really dig by American Aquarium. They have a bunch of great music (including a very good album of covers), but this is probably my favorite…at least it is at the moment.
Next up is Sarah Shook. I was so looking forward to seeing her last month. However, as you know, I’ve been too poorly to travel and I missed out on the opportunity to catch her live and in person. Oh well, another time, yes? Anyway, here’s the song I picked for today.
Hope you liked the songs I’ve shared and are curious enough to check out more from both artists. H has turned me on to some fantastic performers and I look forward to sharing more in the coming weeks.
The night was cold and the sky was clear. The stars were out and the moon was just coming up from behind the big hill near the edge of town. Icicles twinkled on eaves all across the hamlet as people all around began sitting down to a warm meal.
Except for the poorest of their neighbors. For them
, supper was little more than an icicle melted in a pot with a lingering carrot or turnip and maybe some cabbage thrown in.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, a song from John Berry. That voice. This song. Every year. Every. Year.
It’s simply THE SONG I have to hear on Christmas day.
Merry Christmas, friends! May you always remember the best moments of life and love today.