Social Media
I’d had enough.
After the one too many-eth time someone had popped onto my page to demand that I do my research and “get the facts,” I was done. If I wanted a homework assignment, I would’ve asked for one. Maybe you can relate?
Maybe people that had once played such important roles in your life have been reduced to angry avatars that claimed they could see through the media. The same people you’ve shared so many life events with have become unrecognizable.
In my case, friends I’d spent my school years taking science courses with were now peddling dangerous…
Travel. Hometown Tourist.
The appeal of visiting new worlds without leaving your area code
For most of this past year, my family took 2–3 vacations a week. We didn’t get on an airplane (though I work for an airline), and we didn’t cross any time zones. Heck, we didn’t even get in the car.
We got on our bikes.
When planning a vacation, people look to the usual high-profile places; New York City, San Francisco, etc. Some will venture abroad, while others will hit Disney and the Florida coasts. COVID changed that calculus for most of the world.
In the middle of flyover country lies one of the most underrated cities in the country…
Music
Lone Justice- “Shelter”
Artist: Lone Justice
Release Date: November 1986
Record: Shelter
Highest Chart Pos. (US): #47 Billboard Hot 100
Music fans love to assign labels to artists. Critics too. We endlessly sort, categorize, and tag labels to try and bring some objective sense of order to the subjective.
Dance, Rockabilly, Cowpunk- no band is immune. But sometimes groups do their level best to evade being put in a box.
Lone Justice was formed in the early ’80s by Ryan Hedgecock and vocalist Maria McKee. Initially doing covers, they rounded out their lineup and began recording their own material.
They soon became a…
Ad astra per aspera
For most of us, flying between Point A & B is a pretty simple exercise. Get on board, sit down, play on your phone. Often, the hardest part is making sure you get to the airport on time. There is a lot of work happening behind the scenes to make the extraordinary seem routine.
Massive investments in training and technology have completely changed the industry for the better. …
Music
“I don’t want to make no scene.”
Each week I take a look back at my playlists and share songs that were either played the most, got stuck in my head, or just stood out. Many are new to me, but there are old faves mixed in as well.
Last year at this time we went from 100 mph to zero. As the world comes back to life, it seems like the opposite. Everything is starting all at once.
Last week I mentioned spring sports, and this week saw both of my sons’ seasons hitting critical mass — I don’t think I have a day off until…
Iran has indicted 10 officials for their role in the 2020 shooting down of a Ukraine International flight.
On January 8th of last year, a 737–800 operated by Ukraine International…
Current Events
Ad astra per aspera
Note: Please read through to the end for a story about coffee, lives well lived, and state-sponsored gambling.
Humanity is steadily returning to normal (whatevertheheck that means). For us in America, that also means the return of mass shootings. We were still reeling from the one in Atlanta before the next one in Boulder (with a workplace shooting in Oconomowoc, WI thrown in for good measure).
There is already a flood of think pieces & hot takes about possible motives. This won’t be another one. Frankly, I don’t care about the “why?” anymore. …
Another day, another massive data breach at Facebook. This time personal information of over 533 million users was leaked online for free. This is the same data set that people could pay for previously. Now your info is available to anyone at no cost. From the article above:
The exposed data includes personal information of over 533 million Facebook users from 106 countries, including over 32 million records on users in the US, 11 million on users in the UK, and 6 million on users in India,” according to Insider. …
Music
Dave Edmunds- “Slipping Away.”
Released: 1983
Album: Information
B-Side: “Don’t Call Me Tonight”
Peak US Chart Position: #39 Billboard Hot 100
There is a meme making its way around social media asking people things like “tell me how old you are, without telling me how old you are.”
Another way to do this is to mention MTV. One’s immediate response is always a tell. People of a certain age reflexively launch into a screed about how they remember when MTV used to actually play music. For some bands, that was the jumping-off point to stardom. For others, it sparked the end of their careers.
…
Kevin Alexander
Is in your extended network. I write about music, current events, and airplanes. See what I’m up to at: https://linktr.ee/KevinAAlexander
