Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Charm Offensive

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

It’s an election year here in sunny Australia. Sometime between now and May, we will be lining up at the polls to elect a new national government. Voters don’t choose the Prime Minister. The leader of the winning party normally becomes the PM. Party leaders are elected by sitting government members or other processes determined by the relevant party. Too easy. In the lead up to the election, the current PM has, according to media reports, embarked on a “charm offensive”. Charm is not an attribute I usually associate with the PM. Anyway, he and his fam recently did this big interview with one of the television networks. Anyway, anyway, I’m not sure that the interview achieved the charm objective but we are all talking about him as a result of that interview, so perhaps it was a success?

The most surprising part of the interview was when the PM’s wife, Jenny, took the rap for the PM’s disappearance to Hawaii on a family holiday during the bushfire emergency after Christmas in 2019. I can’t blame her for wanting to get away from Australia at that time because both Canberra and Sydney where they live, were covered in toxic bushfire smoke. Their official residences are old so they were probably full of smoke. Any mother would want to get her kids away from that. I’m not sure Jen should be taking responsibility for the PM’s absence though. Strange decision for the PM to leave the country in the middle of a major emergency affecting half the country.

Anyway, anyway, anyway, I was delighted to see that the PM had taken up the ukelele. Everyone needs an outlet in these stressful times. In his very own Like a Version cover, he strummed a few bars of the old Dragon hit, April Sun in Cuba for us. Strangely he didn’t seem to know any of the words beyond the first line of the chorus. I wonder why he picked that song? Let’s have a look at the words of the first verse:

I’m tired of the city life
Summer’s on the run
People tell me I should stay
But I’ve got to get my fun.

[Songwriters: Paul Hewson / Marc Alexander Hunter / Yaleidys Salazar Fernandez / Dayana Otero Salazar / Mark Richard Edwards]

C’mon, the PM’s taking the piss, isn’t he? The one thing I’ve learnt from my Friday song day is not to offer up a tune until I’ve checked the lyrics.

I look forward to the (soon to be ex?) PM participating in the national uke muster at the National Folk Festival in future. I suspect he may be too busy to attend this April due to family commitments, campaigning and not taking responsibility for anything, except maybe for scaring the hell out of voters or further taking the piss.

Sadly I won’t be attending the Nash this year either. My hearing is going and I need to protect what’s left of it. I guess that comes from attending too many folk festivals. Or maybe it can be attributed to that Dragon concert I went to at the Calamvale pub in the 80s. Gosh, that takes me back. Let’s have a listen to the original version.

I also like that line about snake eyes on the paradise, but I’m easily amused. Despite Jen’s convenient mea culpa on the Hawaii trip, I’ve come to the conclusion that the PM really doesn’t “get it” if he needs his partner to take responsibility for his actions.

Here’s to holding the hose and taking responsibility for your own actions or lack thereof.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Photo by alleksana on Pexels.com

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

How Long Is Too Long?

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

My True Love (TL) has several standard responses and I am meant to remember what they are as I hear them on a semi-regular basis. I never do. They never make it to long term memory unless I have something interesting to stick them too.

Anyway, I asked my TL why we don’t have a favourite lovey dovey song like other couples, although I probably wouldn’t remember it even if we did. His response to this phenomenon, ie. a couple’s song, was to pretend to gag. Apologies to couples out there with a special song.

Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.com

Anyway, anyway, the next question I asked him was how long have we been married. Dates don’t stick in my memory either. Anyway, anyway, anyway, his response was “two” or maybe “too”. He gave me an expectant look, thinking I would finish his sentence. In this respect, we are not soul mates. Any guesses? It is really obvious. Not to me, of course.

The answer was “too long”. So what do you reckon? Yep, potential couple’s song popped straight into my head.

Let’s have a listen to it. It is Loving You Too Long, written by Jerry Butler and Otis Redding, and performed by Etta James. If you are partial to lounge room karaoke, I invite you to sing this song off key while your partner has a Zoom meeting. No, I didn’t do that, but I could ….

I think I may have stuck the “too long” response now. Not sure how long we’ve been married though.

In other news, I’ve password protected my posts on my latest mosaic project to protect my copyright. Regular readers that missed out on seeing it, can drop me a line and I will let you know the password. I want to make a T-shirt of the image for my niece. A chance chat with her led to the idea for the project. Back to the T-shirt. It turns out that making one from my own original artwork is more complicated than I anticipated. I have some learning to do.

One last thing, a couple of people pointed out to me that the plural of octopus is octopuses, not octopi, as I wrote in my last post. Fancy that! You can’t trust Google.

Take care, everyone, and thanks for your spelling help.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Surrender Is The Only Option

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Happy new year to all who celebrate the Chinese New Year. It is the year of the Water Tiger. I feel inspired to write a short poem.

Surrender To The Forest

silence descends
deep are the shadows
birdsong marks its passing
the water laps the lake

Photo by Danne on Pexels.com

Continuing on this cultural journey, I think we should have a listen to Sun Quan, The Emperor, by Moyun. Enjoy.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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The Big Event

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you. This week I am also joining in with the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge – Memorable Events.

I think some of the most memorable events in our personal history are those with which we have an emotional attachment, eg. having a baby, seeing your favourite band, winning a contest, producing something you love, etc. Bringing a new piece of art into the world is like giving birth. The arrival of every piece is a memorable event. The Lens Artists Memorable Event theme seemed a perfect time to reveal my latest work but I have a couple of days work left on it. She is going to be beautiful, that is, as beautiful as a piece of climate change protest art can be. Serious stuff. When I reveal it in a few days, I would like to know whether you would like its back story? Or would you rather I let the artwork do the talking? Let me know in the comments below.

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Healing Together

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Australia Day is next week. The date is controversial, divisive. The date for Australia Day was chosen mid last century at a time when First Australians were not permitted to vote. This option was specifically granted to First Australians in 1962.

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End Of The Story

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

Photo by Emre Can Acer on Pexels.com

I think we should have a song in tribute to acclaimed actor, Sidney Poitier, who died last week at the age of 94. To Sir With Love, written by Don Black and Mark London and performed by Lulu.

Take care, everyone.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Rainy Daze

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

It is quite damp here at the moment. In eastern Australia, the sky dogs are rumbling and drooling all the way from Coonamble in northern New South Wales through to Marlo in southern Victoria. Marlo is situated at the mouth of the iconic Snowy River in Victoria. I bet the Snowy River is flowing full throttle at the moment. That would be a sight to behold. Good for the soul.

That’s a nice segue to my song choice. Today we will be listening to Australian rocker, Jimmy Barnes, perform a cover of Soloman Burke’s Cry To Me. If you can’t view the video below, I encourage you to check out the original or one of the many covers on that popular video streaming platform. You know the one I mean. Enjoy.

Riding the wave rapids is a bit daunting. Buckle that life jacket and hold on tight, everyone.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Love You, Miss You

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

I’m dispensing with the big finale to 2021. I don’t have the energy for it. Congratulations if you survived 2021. Instead, I would like to dedicate my Friday song to my mum, who I haven’t seen for over three years. I hope to see my mum again next year.

The song I’ve chosen is Leo Sayer’s More Than I Can Say.

Say it loud, sing it often.

Take care, everyone.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

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Friday Joy

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you. What a week it has been. It has exceeded all my expectations! You don’t want to know.

Today I also want to recommend a couple of podcasts to my readers who might be looking for some entertainment over the hols. My True Love (TL) is a great fan of podcasts. I have difficulty coping with endless talking, but I think the constant exposure to his vast trove of podcasts has slightly re-wired my brain. This year, my TL particularly enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History podcasts. As for me, I’ve always had a fascination with how we (humans) came to be, why we came to be and whether there are others like us (complex life) elsewhere in the universe. I’m currently watching the BBC documentary, Universe with Brian Cox. The more we learn about the universe, the more insights we can gain on our own world and on the philosophical and existential challenges for our future. On that theme, my TL suggested I listen to The End of the World with Josh Clark podcast series. I’ve just started listening to the latter but already the suspense is killing me. Maybe have a listen and we can discuss it next year.

I don’t know where I am going with this. Is this a wrap? Would I tease you? Of course, I would. Now, my TL thinks the only thing better than a ukelele orchestra performing Ode to Joy would be a class of first year recorder students performing it. Honestly, what’s wrong with the man! Here’s the Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain bringing the house down with Ode to Joy. Grab your uke (or recorder) and join in.

Finally, I want to thank all those wonderful people who have worked on the frontline of the pandemic this year, including health staff, clinicians, researchers, medical supply manufacturers, educators, community organisations, through to those who have picked, processed, packed and delivered our food and all those other essentials to our car boots and homes throughout the year. Unsurprisingly, given the explosive growth of the new Omicron variant, they are now busier than ever and more than likely, exhausted. We owe you a great debt.

Merry Christmas, everyone. Stay safe, stay sane.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

Festive Cheer, Or Not

Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day and general ramble, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.

I don’t really feel like Friday song day today. My well of songs is drying up. I realise that is a cop out because it is not all about me. Every now and then we all feel obligated to put on our happy face. Many people struggle with their mental health and for them, Christmas and other national festive occasions, can be particularly challenging. If you can see that your loved one is struggling, ask them what they need. It may not be the stress of a big family get-together. Sometimes a chat or a warm/cool beverage and a familiar face may be more than enough.

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