Senses working overtime #500

Photo by Tessa Edmiston on Unsplash

This is the 500th edition of Jewels For The Thirsty (the blog's title comes from an XTC song called...Senses Working Overtime - see what I did there?) 

I've selected one item from each of the top 6 most popular weeks of all time (well, since it started with week #1 in April 2015).

1 The most popular week so far has been #178 - 

 John Cage's 10 rules for teachers (#178 from 2018)

2 Christmas is football (# 193 - below is from 2019) 

Always a frenzy of activity over the festive period - notably Liverpool lost their 100% winning record and Man City lost three games! Loads of drama to follow on MOTD.

As to my teams - Rochdale are solid in the lower reaches of League One and the gunners wobbled. But we still beat Spurs 4-2!!

January transfer window is always interesting. We need some defenders please.

3 The Fab Fabs (#263, from 2020)

They heighten my senses every day, let alone every week.

4 Vinyl celebration #213 (below is from 2019)

 
It's been a funny old week. But then I connected up my turntable after a long time in storage. It felt good! This week's edition is late. Wah wah. Cry me a river. Here are five plus vinyl celebrations.

 

5 Waterloo Sunset (#209, below is from 2019)

 

The Kinks masterpiece goes under the Thom Hickey microscope on his great blog - The Immortal Jukebox.

Overtime: Senses working overtime #57 (below is from 2016. This one is a peach. Hard to pick just one item so do yourself a giant favour and go to the link. But if you shove...try):

Cool

I was never a cool kid, never hip, so this piece from a kindred spirit struck a nice chord.

Senses working overtime #364

1 Movie sequels - the best of.

2 Poetry corner

from Incantation of the First Order Listen, no one signed up for this lullaby.  No bleeped sheep or rosebuds or twitching stars  will diminish the fear or save you from waking  into the same day you dreamed of leaving— mockingbird on back order, morning bells stuck on snooze—so you might as well   get up and at it, pestilence be damned.  Rita Dove (2021)

3 Pop stars on life after the spotlight moves on

Recognise him?

4 Vinyl

Well, it never went away from my life - but it's back. Big time!

5 Speaking of which...try this from American Beauty.

Overtime: The value of nature

Filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin on the value of nature:

"When the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can’t eat money."

Source: As quoted in "Conversations with North American Indians" by Ted Poole in Who is the Chairman of This Meeting?: A Collection of Essays

(Courtesy James Clear)

Senses working overtime #317

1 Vinyl resurgence 

Here are some quaint tips from Wired.

2 Animals - Frank O'Hara

3 Agatha Yu

4 Consider Yourself - Steve Marriott

A Steve Marriott compilation was the covermount on my latest Mojo magazine. When this came on amidst the Small Faces and Humble Pie tracks it was a shock to realise that it was his performance as the Artful Dodger that started it all!

5 Donald who?

The person known as the former President tried to blog and found out that blogging is hard!

Overtime: “

Make sure you know what makes you happy, and don’t forget it ― Derek Sivers

Senses working overtime #238

1 Vinyl!

Delicious!!

2 Emma Stone

The ad is interesting but the critique is hilarious!!!

3 How Einstein learned stuff

A worthwhile read about Einstein's learning habits.

4 Movies for Christmas
Austin Kleon has curated an interesting site with movie recommendations for Christmas.

5 The Crown (Season 3)

We've just finished watching this season. Olivia Colman and the rest of the cast are amazing. Can't wait for season 4 and the Thatcher years.

Overtime 1: Austin wonders
I wonder, sometimes, when artists die, what happens to all the images and ideas they once received. (More here)

Overtime 2: C.D. wonders

My American Scrawl Increasingly indecisive, about matters both big and little, I have found that poetry is the one arena where I am not inclined to crank up the fog machine, to palter or dissemble or quaver or hastily reverse myself. This is the one scene where I advance determined, if not precisely ready, to do battle with what an overly cited Jungian described as the anesthetized heart, the heart that does not react. C.D. Wright

Senses working overtime #224

1 Fathers' Day ideas part 2

2 Van the man's Tupelo Honey

One of my favourite ever songs gets the Immortal Jukebox treatment to great effect.

3 Ageing

Ageing, according to Suzanne Moore (and Ursula Le Guin, pictured above), via The Guardian.

4 Advice (Via Joseph Campbell)

Photo by Dyaa Eldin on Unsplash

A bit of advice given to a young Native American at the time of his initiation: As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. 

It is not as wide as you think.

5 James Acaster




I love his stand up routines and he's a brilliant guest on WILTY.

Overtime: Magna Carta

Speaking of seasons, here's an excerpt from Seasons (to celebrate the approach of spring!)

Senses working overtime # 222

1 From Warren Ellis

2 You what?

Why Canadians say, "Eh"

3 It's the weekend

Time to get back into my vinyl!

4 Warren Ellis Part 2

This is his work station. NOTHING like I imagined!! There's light for a start!! And order!!!!

5 D. A. Pennebaker

Rest in peace.

Overtime: Van the man and...er...Cliff

Senses working overtime #216

1 Vinyl 
This week's vinyl obsessives picture for your delight

2 Purpose

Photo by Michael Heuser on Unsplash

Nice indication that having a purpose in life allows you to live longer. Cool cool.

3 Earl

 Thom Hickey, the author of TIJ, in the foreground (probably)

Great Immortal Jukebox post on Earl Bostic which actually tells you more about the writer of Immortal Jukebox, Thom Hickey, than Earl, and that is super fine with me.

4 Seinfeld night!

Great look at two iconic Seinfeld episodes that eviscerate Los Angeles. 

5 The Rise Of Skywalker

Wahoo. Can't wait! JJ Adams is on board. If it has his visual panache and The Last Jedi's intellectual heft it will be the perfect end to the latest (last?) trilogy.

Overtime: Genius sign off from Warren Ellis:

Take a breath. Feel your feet on the ground. You're standing on a ball that's spinning at a thousand miles an hour. And the ball is moving through space at sixty seven thousand miles an hour. You're doing all that without even trying. Whatever the next week brings, it's not going to be too much trouble for someone moving at sixty seven thousand miles an hour while spinning around at 1000mph, is it? You can do anything. See you next week, speedy.

Senses working overtime #213

1 Vinyl heaven
It's been a funny old week. But then I connected up my turntable after a long time in storage. It felt good! This week's edition is late. Wah wah. Cry me a river. Here are five plus vinyl celebrations.

2  

3  

4 

5  Cool idea for our new house...

Overtime: In summary!

Wozza out!

Senses working overtime #209

1 Baby, you're a star (Prince)
That 'you' would be music in general: I can't live without music as this selection shows.

I'm not sure if I like this new storage trend for vinyl, replicating the shopping experience. Maybe. Maybe.

2 Yesterday
I saw the shorts of this movie recently and made a mental note to catch it if I can.




3 Here today

This Netflix Joko doco travels some familiar ground (regardless of what this piece would have you believe) but it's still a must see!

4 Good work if you can get it

The world's richest musicians. Where do you think Macca featured on that list? Check your answer here.

5 Waterloo Sunset
The Kinks masterpiece goes under the Thom Hickey microscope on his great blog - The Immortal Jukebox.

Overtime: Hall and Oates

Been spending a lot of time in the Purdmobile this week (my new work car has been christened 'Sid'). Radio Wozza threw up a few Hall and Oates classics along the way and this one had me bopping and pounding the wheel like a maniac, maniac. A perfect road trip song:

Senses working overtime #207

1 Yikes

Look at the way this guy is holding this precious record!! Wrong Wrong Wrong!!!!

The rest of it is pretty accurate though.

2 The Girls

I've just finished this novel which contains characters who replicate the Manson Family and events that happened in 1969 (that's when the novel is set as well).

Having read Helter Skelter years ago and been old enough to remember the court case, I have a grim fascination with the story.

Co-incidentally, while in a doctor's surgery waiting for my wife, I read an article in one of those dreadful women's magazines, about the remaining members who are still getting refused parole.

3 Eat Pray Love

Just started reading this book and...it's really good. Like millions before me, I like the too sensitive, high maintenance, erudite Elizabeth!

4 Disco era's 12 inch singles



5 Avengers: Endgame

Looking forward to this one, it's getting good re-release reviews, even though the 3 hour running time is daunting!

Overtime: Stephen Fry's Brexit videos

Senses working overtime #198

1 February! Thank goodness!

It's off to a flyer. Literally. I'm in Vienna. Lovely spot! British Airways got us here safely out of Heathrow's Terminal 3. No frills (have to buy a cuppa fer goodness sake), and the cabin attendant had a cold and looked bored according to the current Mrs Purdy. but all up, it was okay for a short 2 hour flight.

2 Vinyl

Been a great few days vinyl wise as I rebounded from the HMV debacle (all three of the HMV's close to me - Bluewater, Croydon, Oxford St., have all lowered the shutters. Grrrrrrr.
Still Fopp is operating where I picked up a Howlin' Wolf picture disc and a Blackberry Smoke EP.

3 HMV

Some great photos of the 1960s HMV.

4 Vienna




5 Walking

I really enjoyed Austin Kleon's lovely post on walking.

Overtime Wack! I was made up seeing Macca had retweeted this story.