my careless contagion

If you're anything like me, you're lounging around your hallways and living spaces right now in an outfit just like this. It's hot out, but you're even hotter. Way to look, man! You're living, laughing, and loving stylishly, my friend. Come along for the ride. This may be the last retro post, so enjoy while you can.  My all-time favorite styles are art deco and art nouveau. I believe Alphonse Mucha was brilliant and will always be remembered as emblematic of the art nouveau style, though he didn't want to be associated with art nouveau. The above is art deco. I simply love it. The grace. The modernity. The boldness. The shininess. The sensuality. For something stationary and two-dimensional, it has motion and depth. It's absolutely enrapturing for an amateur art nerd like me.  It's nice to think of times when life was supposedly simpler. Not easier, mind you. But, most likely, they were simpler. Like the age during which I grew up. Even the 90s were see...

ABBA! Did you know the name ABBA came from the first letters of the band members' names? Now you know. I saw their names and figured as much. Holy crap, those names. They are definitely Swedish. We are back to writing about things without consequence. Whee. Pardon me, but I have a docket full of things to write about and no one is going to do it for me. Sometimes you have to write for the sheer enjoyment of it. Hopefully, someone reads it and likes it, but whatever. If not, they're missing out. C'mon, let's leave the squares at home. We're going on a trip to Sweden!  My first recollection of ABBA was when I was a boy and we lived in Broken Bow. One of my coworkers listened to ABBA. I didn’t know anything about them except they weren’t exactly cool at the time. But, what is this song? I guess it’s a love song. Not really, though. Most love songs are misnomers. They describe not love but lost love, broken love, lust, or something like that. Those aren’t love. Those ar...

Rocket Man by Elton John. At this point you're really wondering what's up with dear, old Joshua. Why this particular song? What, you don't like piano ballads from the 70s (1972 to be exact)? Let me frame this song for you. It's not what it appears to be, unless you can see through the veneer. In 1972, probably not many could. Here's a little song about an astronaut. How cute. Actually, this song is whatever you want it to be. This is just my take. This song was covered a million times over the five decades since its release. A notable one I'm familiar with is by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes . I like punk or ska versions of songs because they really tighten up the slack and make more compact songs. When a song has a lot of covers, it shows the strength of the original. A good song can withstand a lot of reinterpretation. Elton John somehow remains relevant, also, probably because of his gay lifestyle (very much promoted these days) and legendary rock/disco past ...

No need for introductions. We all know Enya. Good. We're done here then. Well,  maybe I should add some more. Only Time was released in 2000. If you were me, you weren't doing much in 2000. If you lived a better life than me, you were building things you are enjoying now. It was a long time ago. Perhaps you started your career or bought a house or had a baby. I don't know. I wish I had done those things instead. But, time reveals our mistakes as well as our triumphs. The only way back to the right path is to seek God. Let's move forward. They say time heals all wounds. Time alone can't do that. Time is just days going by. It has no power in and of itself. I had wounds that festered since my childhood that weren't fully dealt with until God said it was time. Without the Lord moving in my life, I would still be handicapped and struggling. Or, I may have simply died. Grief can do that. It saps your life force. Makes you sad. Weak. But, let's continue. One thing...

I woke at 1 am one morning and wrote this. I love how effortless writing about that girl is. If everything in life was as easy, life would be a completely different experience. Can I kiss you? He thought he should ask, but he never did. As it turned out, he didn’t need to. He simply cupped her face and kissed her. It wasn’t a great kiss, but neither of them cared. She closed her eyes, and when he pulled away, it was like electricity went through them both. She lit up, her eyes wide and wondering. He said I see my future in your eyes. I want to share my life with you. But I don’t know how to do this. Please just take my hand and let’s do it together. We’ll figure it out. We’ll make a way, starting right now, if you want. You can think about it. (She didn’t seem to need to hear that.) Let’s move forward. It won’t always be easy, but nothing good or worth doing is ever without trouble. We aren’t perfect people, but we are perfect for one another. It was clear they loved one another. It wa...

Here we go again with random stuff! Why not? It's fun and no one gets hurt. Well, I hope no one gets hurt. Maybe some egos. Maybe some Eggos. This is just for fun. So, grab a hot drink and take a seat around the fireplace! Let's get this party started. Low-key party, though, cus I'm old and the tea knocks me out. Chamomile. That's the good stuff. This is a long post. But it might be the most important thing you'll read all year. Or just a really long, stupid, but hopefully fun read.  There is a lot to unpack these days. I felt a great sense of relief when the Supreme Court denied the OSHA vaccine mandates, which would have affected my workplace. God answers prayers. The devil never sleeps and has but a short time to unleash his hatred on humanity. But, not today.  Yeah, I expected the apocalypse to be a lot sexier too, just like in the movies. Instead, we are all looking like The Dude from The Big Lebowski (with a mask). Sigh. But, I did love that movie once upon a ...