Moonbeam McQueen

I’ve received two top ten list contributions from the menfolk, and I’m posting those today.

The first one is from Quaker Dave, whose blog was one of the first I ever started reading. Dave writes from his big ol’ heart about important things like autism, education, world events and his Quaker faith. He also has wonderfully broad taste in music, and has introduced me to a few new singers over the past months, as well as keeping many old favorites in rotation.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, without further delay- heeeeeeere’s Dave!

Desert Island Ten

So here we go: If I’m to be stranded on a desert island (hopefully shipwrecked with Mary-Louise Parker), and I have a solar-powered CD player, here’s the discs I hope survive:

1. A Love Supreme by John Coltrane. To Mrs. QuakerDave (she knows about my Mary-Louise fixation, by the way), this sounds like a chicken being strangled. To me, it’s music that saves my life and sanity from time to time. Needless to say, it’s been in heavy rotation for the last six months. One person’s choking poultry is another person’s listening to the angels. Trane was channeling God here.

2. The Essential Billy Bragg. Okay, a two-disc best-of set is cheating. Sue me. Billy is my hero.

3. So by Peter Gabriel. I still haven’t seen him live yet, and probably won’t get to, but this is a masterpiece.

4. London Calling by The Clash. I DID see them live, and they are still The Only Band That Matters. And this is the greatest record ever made. Period. Got that?

5. Joyful Noise by the Derek Trucks Band. What? You’ve never heard of Derek Trucks? He is the most talented guitarist on the planet right now, in any genre, and I listen to a lot of guitar music. Derek plays with the Allman Brothers sometimes, but this is the best CD by his own band. Trucks is a very spiritual young man, a real universalist in so many ways, and this CD will lift anyone’s soul, right quick.

6. Jazz In Film by Terence Blanchard. Great jazz trumpet, playing pieces of the scores for films like Chinatown and Anatomy Of A Murder. Great jazz for people who don’t think they like jazz. You know you do.

7. Just Like You by Keb Mo. Keb’s another guy you should know if you don’t. He’s found in the “blues” bin at the music store, but there’s a whole lot more going on here than just blues. And all of it done with a smile

8. Aerial by Kate Bush. She disappeared for quite a stretch a long while back, and then came out with this two-discer last year. Kate Bush is an acquired taste for a lot of people, but I have always loved her music.

9. The Harder They Come. The soundtrack to a movie I’ve never seen, and maybe the best reggae collection ever. Jimmy Cliff is featured, but the rest is awesome, too. Great for the summertime, in the car, with the sunroof open and your sweety by your side…

10. Tropical Brainstorm by the late, great, wonderful, gone-too-soon Kirsty MacColl. If you’re stuck on a tropical island, you’ll need this CD, for background music. It’s terrific, bouncey, sassy, and a bit nasty. In the best possible way. Kirsty was killed in a tragic boating accident after finishing this, and we’ll never know what would’ve come next. If this was any indication, we missed out on something special.

This was fun. Thanks, Moonbeam!
Thank YOU Dave. I can’t believe you got to see the Clash live, you lucky man.

Great list– thanks for playing!!

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Sometimes Saintly Nick is a minister in Louisville, Kentucky who blogs about all kinds of things that I like– current events, politics, peace, his cat Alex (pictured at left), and his “Too Bad It’s Monday” posts, which consist of various entertaining jokes to cheer the masses up on their return to work each week. He also has one of the busiest sidebars this side of the Blogosphere.

Nick has very kindly bestowed upon us a list of things he learned last Christmas. Really, a lot of them are pretty good lessons all year round, and you can get a head start on Christmas ‘08 with the rest.

Things I Learned Last Christmas:

* If the instructions on the medicine read Take with Food, do so. Definitely do not take it with grapefruit juice on an empty stomach unless you want stomach pain and nausea.

* On those rare occasions when the cat is already in bed before you, do not try to climb over him unless you have first stuffed ear plugs into your ears.

* Start shutting the bathroom door completely when sitting on the toilet. Otherwise the cat will wander in, leap upon your naked thighs, and then upon your fat belly to take a nap.

* When eating a ham and cheese on toast, do not put the sandwich on the dinning table and turn away to get a glass of milk unless you want to literally share the ham and cheese with the cat.

* Alex (the cat) can leap a hell of a lot higher than I thought he could.

* Make sure the cat is not searching for ham inside the refrigerator before closing refrigerator door.

* When you place Christmas wrapping paper on the shopping list you give to your housekeeper, check first to be sure you have tape to seal the wrapped presents.

* When you are in conversation with someone whose name you have forgotten, say “Excuse me, but your name has slipped from my memory.” Never think you can get by winging it.

* When the estimate for the car repair is $124.00, do not bank on it. Rather, go to the bank (or on line) and make a very large transfer of funds from your savings account into your checking account?or, alternatively, cash a Certificate of Deposit or two.

* When the cat goes outside to play in the winter and the temperature is relatively warm, do not expect the furball to come home in less than a couple of hours.

* When attempting to use a warm, wet wash cloth to remove coal dust from the cat’s head and back, remember the cat’s aversion to water/wetness. Otherwise, after the first swipe of the cloth across the cat’s fur, you will spend the next half hour attempting to locate/recapture the cat.

Thanks for the list contribution, SS Nick! I think I remember it from your blog at Christmastime, and I liked it then too. Hope you and Alex are doing well!

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