August 1, 2019
And a very happy August to you.
In honor of the month’s namesake, we’ll leave you with a quote to ponder.
Festina lente
That means make haste slowly.
___________________________________________________________________________
August 2, 2019
There’s an old Texas Aggie saying, “Highway 6 runs both ways.”
That refers to folks who don’t like something. A sort of “Take it or leave it,” kind of attitude.
As for me, I’ll be running both ways on Highway 6 today. It’s even four lanes in most places now.
_____________________________________________
August 3, 2019
We should try to set aside some time to have lunch with old friends, even when we’re in a (******** ) hurry. However, there may not be time for “Hushpuppy’s, Daddy.”
A Diablo sandwich and a Dr Pepper aren’t meant to be enjoyed alone. Buford knows this.
_____________________________________________
August 5, 2019
Like any old codger who sits on the porch, we can talk about the weather. Or we can look at it.
This small clip was taken yesterday in the middle of a brief respite from the blazing August sun.https://videopress.com/v/vcO6cbAz?preloadContent=metadata
_____________________________________________
August 16, 2019
Overheard on West Alabama St in Houston regarding the weather…
“It feels like a mouth out here.”
If you’ve ever been outside in Houston, Texas on an August afternoon following a rain shower, you know exactly what they’re talking about.
_____________________________________________
August 24, 2019
Do you keep a playlist?
We used to call them mix-tapes back when we could record on cassette tapes. Sometimes, those mix-tapes would include songs we recorded from a radio station.
We would wait for what seemed like hours for our desired song to come on, and then would jump at the radio and hit record really fast. It was a skill that required practice to get the very beginning of the song and the ending and stop the tape before the disc jockey started talking.
Long gone are the mix-tapes in favor of the playlists. I keep a few.
My most common go-to playlist resides on the Shazam app on the phone. The Shazam app will listen to music playing, usually on TV, and identify the title and artists. I find that I use it most while watching a movie or TV series and want to know what songs the creators used.
Another frequent use is when I’m listening to NPR’s Morning Edition and they play an instrumental between news stories. I have discovered the most unusual music through NPR from all over the world. Have you ever heard techno music from the Ukraine or bluegrass from South Africa? NPR has probably sampled one or two songs like that in its ~45 years on the air. They even have a page dedicated to what they call their musical interludes.
Here’s one that you might want to listen to while looking at the night sky out in the country. That is, if you can get cell service out there. After all, the best places to look at the stars are typically the worst places for good cell service. You’ll have to use an AM radio out there.
Another platform is the traditional YouTube. Oh sure, you can watch all the cat videos and shaky cell phone clips of people falling down on the Youtube, but I also use it to build playlists like this one:
Sometimes, a song gets stuck in your head. You’ll hum it all day. There are bad songs to get stuck in your head like Yellow Submarine and Henry the VIII. Yeah, man. Those are terrible. I don’t even wish those on an enemy. Wikipedia calls these ear worms and somebody wrote the equivalent of a masters thesis on the subject.
But then, there are good songs that get stuck in your head. I’ll leave you with this one that’s been lodged somewhere up in the cobwebs of my mind. Enjoy.
_____________________________________________
August 27, 2019
My new workplace has an amenity not common at television stations. There’s a long story behind it, but we’ll have to get to that later.
No, they don’t allow swimming at work. It’s exclusively a visual feature these days. Once upon a time though, I’m told it was the hangout spot for employees.
_____________________________________________
August 31, 2019
The final day in the month named after the Roman Empire’s first emperor. The sultry days will soon fade into the autumn of the year.
How have you been? Are you ready to feel fall?
Usually around this time, I will catch the slight hint of air from the north that will creep down. It usually comes early in the morning or late at night while I’m outside alone in the silence. That tease of air comes even when that day’s temperature climbs to over 100 degrees. It will catch you at just the right time to remind you it’s coming in full force eventually.
Of course, I haven’t felt fall yet. I knew it would be late catching me when I packed a bag and relocated back down south of I-10. I’m living in two places at the moment. Weekends are still done in Waco. The rest of the days are in Houston. Eventually, it’ll be a permanent Houston address. Perhaps before fall comes at us in full force.
_____________________________________________
Charlie Haldeman 