Pounding The Keyboard

           I saw this book, Music For Chameleons by Truman Capote, a collection of short stories (fiction and non-fiction) on my Facebook News Feed and I was reminded that I was so awed reading it eons ago that I was inspired to try to be a writer. No, of course, I didn’t aspire to be as great as Truman Capote (pronounced as Ka-po-ti ), I just wanted to experience the joy of writing. A fire razed my copy of the book (my copy resembled the one in the photo above), so I looked for a copy on the internet, aiming to read it again, hoping that it would inspire me to write again.      My pretty muse has wandered so far away from me.

Open up your heart  Say the things you want to say  Maybe a delicate subject  But say it anyway...                                    XTC, Say It        XTC has always been one of my happy pills when it comes to music. I always find myself playing their songs whenever I’m stressed and distressed. IMO, they could be compared to The Beatles when it comes to creating wondrously awesome pop music, power-pop songs with smart, witty lyrics, and catchy, smile-inducing, addictive melodies, hooks and arrangements.  And I love Andy Partridge's voice. They had a fantastic catalogue that anyone would be hard put to name their best songs, but my favorites are “The Wheel And The Maypole,” “Easter Theatre,” “Your Dictionary,” “Mayor Of Simpleton,” "Senses Working Overtime,”...

     When a few of your (not-so-old) friends, friends’ friends, acquaintances, Facebook friends, Facebook friends’ friends are dropping dead because of some illnesses, you can’t help but be wary of your own mortality and the fact that you’re also not immune to these diseases, especially if you’re already experiencing some minor aches and discomfort every now and then.      So first, I had my blood pressure taken, which result was neither normal nor too high, something I could manage or bring down through diet and exercise. Then, I had a blood test, which results were fairly normal, except for a bit high cholesterol (probably the effect of binge-eating during the holidays and the past few days), which, fortunately, can also be managed and brought down by diet and exercises. Then I thought of undergoing HIV/AIDS test, but I changed my mind. I haven’t had sex for more than fifty years now so I think it would be useless.   ...