Big Joe Turner, born on this date, 1911. run here, pretty mama, sit down on your daddy's knee I want to tell everybody how you been sendin' me Well if that's your secret, you better keep it to yourself Cuz if you tell me I might tell somebody else I ain't never loved and I hope I never will Cuz the lovin' proposition gonna get somebody killed Now you can take me pretty mama Jump me in your Hollywood bed and Eagle Rock me baby, til my face turns cherry red aw put a apple in that cat's mouth you a cool one, you a cool one! now I ain't never loved and I hope I never will Well the lovin' proposition gonna get somebody killed Now you can take me pretty mama Jump me in your Hollywood bed I want you to boogie my woogie til my face turns cherry red, cherry red From the other side of the aesthetic, Weasel Walter is 49 today. And Mark Mothersbaugh is 71. I still vividly recall seeing this segment on Saturday Night Live and being all, like, what the actual fuck. I also recall reading that, in some live shows, the band would go to the call and response section toward the end for 45 minutes or more, until they were attacked. In other news, a few things I'm wondering today. 1. How do people get up and workout first thing in the morning? I keep thinking it would significantly improve my evenings if I could at least fit the exercise bike or a run into the morning. But then the morning rolls around and I'm absolutely incapable of doing it. It seems ridiculous. I guess one just gets up and does it for a while and then it doesn't seem so ridiculous. 2. I am a hardcore coffee snob in a lot of ways, although since moving to Arizona and then here I have settled for Peet's or even (gasp!) Starbucks. The parents at my swanky school recently put together gift baskets for the faculty and there was some $18 whole bean espresso in there from a local roaster called Unincorporated Coffee and I realized I didn't even own a coffee grinder. So I bought a coffee grinder that arrived at my doorstep the next day, and now I wonder why it took me so long to not use fresh ground coffee every morning? The espresso, their "Quiet Prophet" blend, which they call "the Mona Lisa of espressos." is pretty good. It's not really all that. But it's good. Anyway, it makes me think of my tendency to deny myself things in life that I truly enjoy. I think the whole coffee grinder thing ended for me when the last coffee grinder I had was a cheapo piece of junk and it was annoying to use. It's typical of me to respond by just not using a coffee grinder at all, rather than spending a little bit on a good coffee grinder. 3. I dislike cooking smells in the bedroom. Having lived in tiny to small places for most of my adult life, I have developed the pattern of shutting the bedroom door whenever I cook. It's important to me. I have no clue why. The place I lived for three years in Tempe was a studio with no bedroom door. My usual solution was to cook outside on the grill. 4. One of the prerequisites for a new advanced environmental science course I'm teaching next year is for students who have requested the advanced section to send me a letter indicating why they want that option, rather than the regular class. Some of the letters are really charming. I think I'll work with the students on how to write a cover letter/letter of interest/query. One student's letter in particular stands out. She is actually a student in my biology class this year. "I am xxxx, a 10th grader at our school. Reading about the class you are teaching, Advanced Environmental Science class, totally sparked my interest and determined me to let you know that I would love to enroll in your class. I have a keen curiosity about the natural processes and patterns of our surrounding world. COVID-19 pandemic has made me realize how important all elements of our Mother Nature and our environment are and how strongly they are interconnected…how they form systems and how they communicate with each other in a not always known or seen way. With COVID-19 going on, I realized how much I missed my connection, as a human being, to all these parts of the natural systems we are an integrative part of, and how strong is my willingness to learn and discover more, in a faced paced and advanced manner, about what I’ve missed out during the said pandemic. The Lab part of this class would be an amazing opportunity for me to practice more of my nature advocacy and protection, along with my fancy gardening skills, and discover more amazing facts and information about our always inspiring and intriguing environment! I am up for the challenge this class might represent, Dr. B! Thank you very much!" Such a fine example of a ton of pretty bad habits inculcated probably by fairly well-meaning adults. 5. Ratio of times I think about going camping in the California wilderness to the number of times I actually have, in the past year: approximately 1 billion to 1. Maybe this coming weekend. My little trip up and over the Angeles National Forest to Phelan, CA and back, last Saturday, was great. Pics on the way sometime when I can troubleshoot why I suddenly cannot upload pics. Yet another in what seems like an endless series of ridiculous tech issues lately. Sigh. Update: figured it out. I had updated the php via my web hosting service and that made it impossible to upload images. Temporary fix: downgrading php again, until I can figure out how to upgrade php *and* make the blog work. Okay, deleted pics because *now* I am trying to figure out how to scale them properly for large size with custom aspect ratio. It ought to be a piece of cake, but of course, the help available on the web is inscrutable to me. Okay, looks like I figured it out by completely changing the theme for the website. Pics look a ton better. Also, note: the burnt rubber skidmarks surrounding Sappho are not from her. It looks like I spun out into the parking lot.