Viral Vicissitudes

Re-collecting, recollect: the long and short of it.  Intro-ject/spect-tion: "It was his  idea, not mine ...he hit me first...Well, she called me a name a few weeks, at least months ago, of that I can be sure...No, I don't think so...well, I just don't remember to be honest..." Timely, time-less: As there will be a lot of recalling of the past, past events, in the coming few days, in advance of the new year, within the context of reflecting on the one(s) passed (as well people, especially within the current year..."who we lost this year") and probably in shared company...whereas you may find yourself, in the very near future, when prepping, gathering lots of receipts in advance to filing your annual tax re-turn, discover that someone "owes you", as in an "uncollected debt". Good luck with that. Words that contain the same letters, but depending on the emphasis (short/long vowel) and punctuation, take on a whole different meaning... Somethi...

Re: appreciation of bumper music A smooth transition: "Bumper music", as it's titled, enlists an infinite number and variety of titles, from a legion of writers, artists, and renditions, depending on the target audience, whose tastes are frequently arrived at via what's called in the industry "focus groups", to buffer transitions between segments and signaling a "commercial" break (especially if you are listening to what's still referred to as commercial radio stations, where the adjective sometimes takes over the talk host) If you are a long time, regular listener here, or even semi-focused, you have become accustomed to my musical references and preferences, which I hope you have by now ascertained as being quite wide-ranging as in "eclectic", as well as well-timed and always  in good taste, according to at least some of my re-viewers. At this point in time, given what we are transitioning from and to, I am enlisting the services an...

What Mary Meant, Part 2: Inn Re-View Upon Approach: As in what I wrote here about, in several posts, leading up to Christmas morn, as well as the day after ("What, re-turn of Merri-ment?). How This whole Thing started, the one you woke up early for, especially if you still have little ones, as in "children nestled in their beds" accompanied by sugar plum fairies, of all things, whose early risings may have been responsible for "I sprang out of bed to see what was the matter..."  As in waking 'with a start', but more likely, given your state of sleep deprivation, still in a dreamy state yourself, just starting to wake up (as depicted by the dad in "Christmas Story", a host of others). But can you imagine, on the other hand, what words you could muster up, upon hearing the ones from the angel Gabriel to Mary, the ones that instigated this whole journey, that for much of the world, continues to this day, in one form or another..."Do not be a...

What, re-turn of Merri-meant? ("HOPE not")   Came, and went? Merriment, that is, even the idea of JOY! that I shared here with you just 24 hours ago, as a "sharing gift". But here we are, just 24 hours of getting at least a glimpse, others a more sustained gaze, into what This is/was all about. The holiday(s) - depending on your origin of secular and/or theological grounding, that you have been prepping for, for a lengthy period have finally arrived and, once again, depending on which you acknowledge or celebrate, are either getting wrapped up or at least winding down a bit. The parties, most of which included a degree of merriment, have at least paused, on the way to some celebrants prepping for yet another eve, followed about a month later by something really Super! So not a lot of let-up, depending...How you engage This and what's to follow is quite personal, based on both my own personal and professional experience... B4, After, Affects: Followers of this bl...

                                                Christmas, Joy Offering: A Sharing Gift   In, Out: Words that you, if you have perused this post even on less stellar occasions, have come to associate with my reference to a Pixar film, in order to get you in touch with your-selfie, a few of your core feelings, which recently got updated with an appeal to get in touch with your inner child, on such occasions as This . Including an update on what now constitutes "naughty and nice". But now that It  has finally arrived, the day that we, almost worldwide now, has been anxiously awaiting...shopping, dropping ($$$) for, we can all take a minute or two, to ponder what This  is really all about. To peer inside ourselves to find at least a morsel of that JOY ! we have been hearing so much about, ever since a few minutes after midnight on 10/31 -- "we are your...

Re: missives: what we learned, earned, yearn for. "Lest I be..." Part 2: Party of the First Part.  In letter form: How we, after learning to say them, all 26 (which ones were you prone to leaving out?), were taught how to form them, first in printed form, with our best attempts to "stay between the lines" (which is eventually where we also learned how to read, for the "hidden meanings"), which then became fully formed paragraphs, which could, depending on who we were intended on addressing, could take a lengthier, formal form, as in a "missive" As I pondered what to include in the post regarding yet another reflection on the party, AKA "the gathering" which has been partly covered -- as in Part 1, on December 21st, which included some of my own, miss-givings on my experiences on a particular evening, a so-called "party" that I was called to, then "called out", called a few chosen names (other than my own), and culmin...

Re: gathering my thoughts, on the Gathering - Yester, next.  Part 1: In search of better fete. What just happened?! More personally, "what was I thinking ?! Or, stated more plaintively, "what happened to me, just wasn't myself, lost sight of..." This, after some regrettable re-marks, or even missed opportunities. OR , in the case of "the botched play that eclipses all previous botched plays strung together!" -- one that simultaneously (which was quickly "simul-casted") had players on both sides of the ball, scratching their heads, after they were finally allowed to take off their helmets (which results in a penalty if they do so while the ball is "live")...as well as the coaches..."one can only wonder..."what they were thinking?!" Well, if only they could have put the whole thing on "slow mo" -- can you relate? As when I, myself, in the midst of growing controversy, after first being invited to the "gatherin...

Re: Viewing "The List": a last minute update. Self-Inflicted: Prior to re:gathering and sharing my additional thoughts on attending a gathering (see December 17/18 for a partial re-view), due in part to the incessant ringing in my ears, I just had to get this out, on your behalf, hope-fully in time for some adjustments, as needed. To see if you measure up. OK, so this was prompted by my re-sponse to ad, by the well-known and respected org, "Salvation Army" who re-minded me that even in times where most folks do donations electronically, bell ringers "still matter", if only to set the mood, stir up some spirit of the season. I thought that I was simply doing something "nice" just before Christmas arrived, just in time to gain a few points for the Big Guy, just in case...Well, it sure turned out to be other-wise, something bigger and grander than I could have ever expected -- what I thought to be a bit of a self-less act became quite self-enlighten...

Re:working the Room: Table scraps, scrapes - from late arrivals to early de-parters A state of be-nial: What started off innocently, under benign conditions, even with a degree of optimism, accompanied by the "best of intentions"...a great convo starter in most settings, such as this, where you are deemed to be among "polite company" (which you thought included a degree of charity, including giving you the benefit of the doubt), attempt to initiate a conversation, a dialogue even, with the party-go-er who was seated (literally) next to you, ostensibly with "great care" by the party planner, as someone with whom you might share something in common, at least relate...gets 'dis'-interpreted as being either "too intrusive!" or, on the other hand, "too impersonal😕😖"...or, in the most extreme cases, an increasing trend in today's socially hyper-sensitized world, "AGGRESSIVE!!" The latter occurring when I simply reverse...

Re: introductions: "Well-come, to The New House, US, our rules": What's old is new... Age, Old: (Punchu-ation, as in comma, intended) The age-old wisdom, regardless of your own, is that to be 'polite' (aka "be courteous", let alone minding your manners...), especially if you are deemed to be "in polite company" one question you don't ever  ask, at least explicitly, is the age of the person seated on your immediate right, or left, and now includes at least an initial avoidance of asking if they are  (right, left, that is). This, while it's still OK, especially if done in a whisper (careful here, remember what our parents told us about telling secrets, as others may feel left out, may get a bit paranoid) "how old do you think that guy is over there, the one spouting off about age-old wisdom...". And at least as of the time this post was posted, what US bloggers quip as representing the new "post time"...it's still ...

Re: Punch-uating, your Party: The new Cross-Overs, for throw-ers and go-ers Part 1..."Intro-ducing..." JIT!   Yep, just in time for all you hosts and party-goers, other-wise revelers, those who love to PARTY! Who have been held back some the past few years, at least as far as IP get togethers go. Here, as your host, of this post, I am here to greet you, "welcome you in!" and to introduce you to what's now in, out, since you were out and about, at least as far as "social" gatherings are concerned. I am here to upgrade your social skills, provide you with a handbook (more like a small cheat sheet) you can fit inside whatever is the new 'thing' to carry them around, with the updated social (ab)norms, especially as in... The New BIG 3: Around the region in which this im-poster resides, "The Big Three" used to be a quick reference to the main car companies, which are largely responsible for much of our local economy, as well as fueling tha...

Re: Beholding in the Rear View: "well, lo and be-held!"   - Post-homonymously Pre-post: Simply put, this post, just short of a fortnight prior to the Eve, is to point out, to point you in the right direction, for those of you who are neither (north) star gazers, nor have Siri at your side -- to get you to "Behold!" -- before this opportunity to gaze with a-maze-meant is be-hind you, in the rearview mirror, if you didn't even bother to get out of the comfort and warmth of your car...as in Christmas past, at least until this time again next year, several months after you swore, at least resolved, to hold up those things most prized, the ones you hold dear, even sacred. This is a friendly prompt from your post-er, to help you plan in advance with whom you will be relating to, after this is all over, your kindred spirits (see December 10th for how this may define you), just where you fall on this whole "beholding" process, and how, after, you are now beari...

"Behold": Re-cognition, Core-respondents. "Here, I am; I am here"  Correspond: 1. have a close similarity; match or agree almost exactly; 2. communicate via letters, emails or other messages ("I'll be coming soon, almost there...be ready for me...wait for me...) Correspondent: 1. one who communicates with another by letter or...2. one who contributes news, commentary ("this is what we've all been waiting for...") Ex-perientially speaking: speaking from experience, after having observed and experienced... "Beholding" present participle of "behold" - as if it's happening "Right now!"  "In the Moment" Kindred: one's family and re-lations Kindred Spirits: shared attitudes, interests Kindred, Spirits: sort of a high-bred😇😊 Like Minded: well, you know me...think like me... Christmas Present: as in the one we have been prepping for, for so many months now...now upon us...the one we are now "behol...

Re-turn here tomorrow, for some re:wording of something old, present, new, what I have been prepping you for...don't traverse too far...  

Re: Read-iness, or Not, what this is all about (?) Us, re-spondents. So...(?) Is that a question or a statement, and do I really  have a choice in the matter? It's why I put the question, mark in ( ), to once again bring your and my own attention to this matter at hand, this whole issue of readiness, for such an event, occurrence, which we spend a lot of time prepping for, which itself becomes an event in and of itself, to the extent that we can get all 'wrapped up' in the process, and even miss what might be in our, midst. Then find ourselves, once again, be-wildered, "is that all there is, is it over, did I miss it???" Good questions, all and the ones that are worth pondering ahead of time, in order to be ready... So,  here we all are, where and when we find ourselves, at any time of year, place, set of circumstances in our respective and collective lives, where and when you are about to "Behold!" something spectacular! (redundancy for emphasis). Wheth...

Touched-up, down! Re: Readiness, Angelic-types👍👎s   Before and After...Time: We, even in our youth, perhaps while swinging on a swing set, re-gardless of whether soul-y by ourselves or in the friendly company of...and irr-regardless of what we may have been drinking, that fueled our deepest thinking...we contemplated, gazing into the "starry, stary, night..." We have all been there, alone in our own thoughts, perhaps even while in slumber, when we first were awoken (in whatever form, see 12-2-22 here), or in a more re-laxed 'state' (see 12-2 again, for range of state-meants)..."Just what is up there...what is beyond...what was going on around here, well before and what's going to be happening....well, you know...? All the things that we don't..." Be-yond Comprehension, Touching: The many ways we experience being "touched", even when we could not actually experience it, tangibly, as in "human form", such as a hand shake, fist bum...

Re:Awakening: "Ready, set..." "It's that time again" Easy to notice, hard not to miss, with all the incessant ringing...in my ears -- "in with the new, out with..." Those that re-semble the "jingle all the way..." to the ones that will ring out in unison, or at least in succession, given the different time zones, across the U.S. of A. and elsewhere, on December 24th, right around 11:59 PM..."Go tell it on the mountain..." As well as the ones that are more localized, as in "bedside" The ones that used to be only "alarming!" but now quite adjustable, allowing for different ring tones, volumes, voice quality...Nice. But all ostensibly here to serve us, as a re-Minder of the time of day, month, and year, which will at least be a beginning to get us "oriented" ("time, place, person..."). Bells perhaps accompanied by whistles, that themselves may range from being (purposely?) shrill to more "in...

RU Re:ally Ready for this?! States of... "Who could blame US?!" The continuing conversation, back-and-forth, dialogue, post-demagoguery, the Q&A re:garding "how long", "when" and, ultimately, "whether" we, each and every one of US here, can really, ever be fully pre-pared for such a grandiose...especially when we least expect it, but knowing our "very nature"..."to be completely honest and transparent" after a time of over-exposure to ads that have been designed to miss-lead US, regarding "red, blue" states...even with a lack of cacophony, barrage of the so-called election (perpetual) cycle...even when we are given ad-vance notice, by this blogger (once again, starting just shy of a year ago, 12/23/21), and all those who are "sponsoring" the shows we binge watch, the stuff that "in all honesty", in actuality, is actually pre-occupying You-tube and mind, after all the advanced warning systems (...