Happy 50th Birthday, Billy Bragg

He's not twenty-two, and hasn't been for a long time, but happy birthday to Billy Bragg, folk-punk rocker (punk-rock folkie?) extraordinaire. In his honor, here are a few songs:

The wonderfully cheesy 1991 video to "Sexuality":


A solo version of "She Came Along to Me" (from Mermaid Avenue, an album Bragg made with Wilco, putting music to unrecorded songs of Woody Guthrie):


And finally, early birthday wishes + "A New England":

Do Glasses Make The Man?

Above -- Old Glasses, New Glasses.
Below -- Old Glasses, New Glasses.




The aging process seems imperceptible, but the 23-year-old prediction that my eyesight would improve slightly several years before I'd need bifocals has begun to come true. The recommendation at Friday's appointment was that I should try to avoid using my glasses when I'm reading, in the hope that I can strengthen my eyes so that I won't need bifocals. The optometrist said that my astigmatism may make it too difficult, but that it was worth the try. I type this paragraph without my glasses, and I can just make out the words. For the proofreading, I put the glasses back on.

'Tis the Season 2

I know a beer snob like me shouldn't take pleasure at seeing a bunch of Grolsch bottles, but sometimes it's all in the presentation.



My friend Pete sent this to me, joking that it was something for the beer party. Maybe in past years, but all I could think of in the here and now was, "Oh yeah -- I could see Little Miss Destructo Girl having a reaaaaallly good time with that. Sure she'd just 'look' at it."

'Tis the Season

It's December, and that means that there are plenty of great events to experience. Last night, for example, there was a beer dinner featuring two highly regarded, extremely rare beers that I was looking forward to trying. Tonight is my friend's 20+th annual Hanukkah party, an event I always enjoy. And this Friday is our annual holiday beer party.

Alas, being December, it also means that sickness is capable of rearing its ugly head in any variety of ways. The malady that struck me is some sort of stomach bug, one that made my innards feel as though they were covered in bile and left me with no appetite whatsoever (it took a lot of willpower just to eat a few crackers, a banana, and a package of Ramen yesterday). Fever/chills and throbbing headache are the bonuses.

Consequently, I missed work yesterday, and skipped last night's beer dinner. I'm feeling somewhat better today (no bile!), but still very weak, so I also stayed home today, figuring it was better to rest up a little more and regain my strength. The remnants of the kegs with the two rare beers go on tap at 5pm, but I went slightly green when Kathy offered to make me eggs this morning, so beer isn't an option, nor is tonight's Hanukkah party.

My goal is to be healthy for our party, and for the slew of prep that's needed to get the house ready. As for Kathy, she seems to have come down with a cold herself (it seems to be one of the standard variety ones), but trooper/masochist/martyr that she is, she's working through it. Emelia might have been sick last week (and in fact, might have given me my illness), but if so it was mild for her, and right now she's doing fine (knock wood).