1 December - Meteorology

Here it is December. Today is the start of what they call Meteorological Winter, although there are some of us who insist on waiting for the Solstice before considering it official. But seeing how there are plenty of folks out there who always jump the gun on the Yuletide (retailers, for example), it's not surprising that there's a "modern" way of looking at the seasons. March 1st for Spring, June 1st for Summer, September 1st for Autumn, and now this. It's simple, I'll give you that. And I've had to scrape my car's windshield several times already, so I'm not gonna argue.

Besides, as of yesterday, which marked a full month since I deleted my account, my exit from Facebook has become permanent. I'm in a good mood. You want to start Winter today, go ahead. Means we're that much closer to Spring.

31 October - Permanence

This is basically an update to the last entry. As of 11am today, my Facebook account has been deleted for good. Decided in light of recent developments to dispense with the usual temporary break, and to get rid of the thing once and for all.

According to an email sent to me by the Facebots, my account will not be permanently gone until 30 days have expired, and I can log into my page at any time between now and then and stop the process. Not gonna happen. 

Happy Halloween.

27 October - Hiatus

We're getting near the end of the month, and this means Halloween (of course), but also that my annual holiday hiatus from Facebook is approaching as well. I'm starting early this year. In the past I began these breaks around Thanksgiving, but this time it'll be for all of November and December, and I'll reactivate the account on the first of January.

That's the plan, anyway. But it's on shaky ground. I have had a difficult time finding justification to stick with the platform for the past couple of years, and have been threatening (to myself, anyway) to delete the account entirely. And recent disclosures about the way the company has been run are not helping sway me toward re-upping with Facebook after this coming break. Quite the opposite.

I'm no longer impressed with the platform as a promotional tool. And although I have many friends around the world with whom it seems to be our primary choice for casual communications, other means of contact are available to us. Every single time I log into the place, I can't help but admit that it is far from the enjoyable bulletin board it once was.

Anyway, I have a big decision to make. And the fact that whether or not to remain qualifies as a "big decision" is rather telling.

05 October - Birthdays

Yesterday was my father's birthday. He would have been 95, but he left this earthly plane for something more astral back in 2009. Last Saturday was my birthday, and it was the one I like to call the Beatles Birthday. That's right, 64. I was born the year that John and Paul met, lucky me. 

October 9th will have been be John Lennon's 81st birthday.

So there you go. We all shine on, whether or not we're still here to enjoy our birthdays.

23 September - Autumn

The Autumnal Equinox happened here yesterday afternoon, so today is the first full day of Fall. I'm looking forward to less humidity, good food, and getting together with friends. Perhaps I'll see you 'round town. We can shuffle through the leaves together.

24 August - Sadness

Charlie Watts photo courtesy of The Rolling Stones

31 July - Angel Park

We had a crowd of close to 70 people at the Angel Park show on Wednesday, but of course our friend Ivan framed this photo to make it seem like we were playing to just my Mom and John (my brother in law). It was fun to get out and perform with Nick and Fred again, something we had not done since October of 2019. Turns out that had been the last time I had played out, period – either with these guys or in any other capacity (solo, The Prestons, etc.). It's a crazy old world.

Photo by Ivan Oransky

22 July - Gig Poster

 

7 July - Peace & Love

 Hey, it's Ringo Starr's birthday. He's 81 today.

29 June - Coming Up

The trio version of my old band Group DeVille is playing in a local town park at the end of July, smack dab in the middle of this concert series. If you're around, stop by and listen. In fact, come see all of these artists if you can. As always, it's a fine line-up.