I had a gig a couple weeks back, and it’s gotten me practicing my sax a lot more. It’s also been an opportunity to churn out some sweet, sweet YouTube content. Indeed, last week I featured three quick sax pieces; check them out if you missed them.
This week, here are three more videos of my saxophonic noodling, curated for your listening pleasure:
“Moon River” by Henry Mancini
Just a quick rendition of the classic tune from the classic film.
“The Way of the Ghost” from Ghost of Tsushima
A sax arrangement of “The Way of the Ghost” from the classic Ghost of Tsushima; I play it a bit faster than the original. Good old Ponty requested this cover, so I took the opportunity to arrange it for solo alto sax.
Indeed, you can purchase my solo sax arrangement at the following online retailers:
It’s truly wild to think how much the world has changed in just a few short years. When I first wrote this post in 2021, we were living through Peak Woke. The Left tried to discredit Trump with the Epiphany Demonstrations and Joe Biden served as a sleepy, somnambulant puppet for a shadowy cabal of hyper-progressive ghouls intent on devouring the corpse of decent society.
Now it’s like we’ve stepped into some kind of time machine or portal to another dimension. It’s not only tolerated, but almost borderline accepted that, say, people will openly complain about Indian H1B workers writing horrible code, or denouncing the oft-repeated lie about homosexual men not being into lurid acts with underaged kids (to be fair, it seems like our ruling class is also into that stuff—horrible!). People are saying things on the Internet and publicly that would have cost them their jobs in 2021—and, let’s be real, for as long as I’ve been alive.
I don’t know if this moment will fade once Trump leaves office or if we’ve really seen a cultural shift. I suspect that large corporations will simply go wherever they think the prevailing winds are blowing, which makes me pessimistic about the long-term prospects of such hardcore red-pilling in that arena. But people overall seem to be waking up to Reality.
Once again, the “Pride” celebrations seems muted. The flamboyant pastels and wiener-tucking kids’ clothes of yesterpride have been replaced with the drabbest of beiges—praise the Lord! I get The New York Times‘s The Morning newsletter sent to my school e-mail address, and the author for 1 June 2026’s newsletter wrote, “Happy Pride Month.” No even an exclamation point! He knew he had to write something about it, but it’s like that scene from The Office where Dwight puts up the banner that says, “It is your birthday.”
Finally, the way “Pride” Month should be observed—deflated balloons and declarative sentences.
Once again, I’ll renew my call that we restore the symbol of the rainbow as the sign of the covenant between God and Noah never to flood the earth again, rather than as a symbol of depraved sexual licentiousness and casual buggery.
Note: the following post contains affiliate links. I receive a portion of any purchases made through these links, at no additional cost to you. —TPP
Longtime blogger Esoterica of Existential Ergonomics wrote a piece last Saturday that caught my attention: “Why Is WordPress Adding Achievements Now?” WordPress.com has long tracked “streaks” of daily consecutive posts starting with three days-in-a-row; indeed, that’s partially why I decided to start blogging daily way back in January 2019 (as of this post, it’ll be 2712 for yours portly), but now they’ve introduced little “badges” and achievements for more granular milestones.
Gamification through Achievements Incentivizes Writing
My comment on her post was to indicate my “mild resentment that the rewards and badges [aren’t] retroactive for the life of the blog, because I’d have several of the achievements already, haha!” But as I’ve reflected on that (admittedly selfish) initial reaction, I think what WordPress.com has done with introducing these achievements is very clever.
Consider: if I have been motivated to keep my daily streak going for 7.43 years just by a daily counter, imagine how much more motivating earning badges for specific milestones could be? Gamification works for a reason.
The new “activity streak” achievements, the old daily streak counter, and a new feature showing posts from that day in years past
Positive Changes: Plug-Ins
WordPress.com has instituted a number of changes lately with the aim of improving user functionality. One yuge change was opening up plug-ins to users with any paid plan, not just the $25-a-month Business plan. For years I’d been dying to add Disqus and Buy Me a Coffee (which, you know, you really should do, dear reader), the former because it’s used even more widely for comments sections than WordPress.com, the latter because I appreciate your support (cough cough). Adding that functionality was a real gift from the Happiness Engineers at Automattic.
My two plucky plug-ins in red; the spunky little “Classic Editor” (disabled) in green–more on the latter soon
So WordPress.com seems to be driving hard to improve the user experience, in ways that both benefit long-time users (like yours portly) and incentivize new users.
Most users will likely start with a free plan, which is how I began when I made the switch from Blogspot/Blogger back in 2018. As the blog grew, my desires to have a stronger presence and to monetize prompted me to spring for the $8-a-month (paid annually) “Premium” plan, which boasts a generous 13 GB of storage. Because I’m not selling handmade doilies and what-not through WordPress.com, Premium has been an excellent plan for my needs (the Business plan gets to the next level with all sorts of e-commerce features with WooCommerce, but that’s beyond my expertise). Coupled with WordPress.com‘s incentive structures and the addition of achievements, I could see many new bloggers posting more frequently and upgrading to at least the $4-a-month (paid annually) Personal plan (which has 6 GB of storage, which is very respectable if you’re primarily posting text and some pictures).
Adapting to the New Order: Blocks vs. Classic Editor
Now, one point of contention Esoterica and I both touched upon is the transition away from the Classic Editor to Blocks. WordPress.com rolled out its block editor some years ago, but maintained the option to use a “Classic” block. I had grown very accustomed to working with the Classic block editor, which essentially created one big “block” that allowed for doing everything that typically goes into a post: embedding video, uploading image galleries, etc. It worked very similar to a word processor, for example, but not as finicky.
For reference: a “block” is essentially a paragraph; indeed, one of the blocks is called “Paragraph,” and it’s the default block in WordPress.com. This paragraph block is teal because I designated its style as “Info”—TPP
Well, Blocks have grown on me, and I am beginning to understand the logic behind them. One issue I’d run into use the Classic block is that, if my PC crashed and I hadn’t exited the block to save my work, I could lose a substantial amount of writing. That happened frequently enough that I’d leave the block, save, and then return to it. However, that seriously disrupts work flow.
Of course, learning a new way of blogging, including how to embed video and upload images, was a bit disruptive, too—at first. When one uses a certain format or program for so long, inertia can set in, so that even changes that are ultimately beneficial can seem annoying. For example, the first time I wanted to upload multiple pictures in one block, I realized that I could not simply use the “Image” block, but instead had to use the “Gallery” block; the former only allows one image to be uploaded, while the latter permits multiple image uploads.
For new users, however, the learning curve—which is very shallow to begin with—will be a breeze; it’s just us old grognards that will take a few weeks to adapt. I think I have already; in yesterday’s post, I was able to move blocks around seamlessly to get the kind of layout I wanted. With the old Classic editor and/or the Classic block, pulling off those New Music Tuesday posts, which include embedded video, images, and audio was much more difficult (I wrote about formatting these posts more extensively back in January).
Editing with multiple blocks—Paragraph, Audio, and Image (not pictured but also used: Youtube Embed)
Also, it seems that the Classic Editor is still around in the form of a plug-in! I wasn’t brave enough to engage it while writing this post, but I’m going to activate it at some point and report on my findings; stay tuned!—TPP
Conclusions
WordPress.com has really been stepping up its game in terms of engaging bloggers to do what we do best—blog! Anything that incentivizes writing, while also making multimedia posts more intuitive and user-friendly, deserves praise. While it took some adjusting, I’m learning to embrace the new block editor (well, new-ish to me—it’s been the norm for years) and explore its possibilities. There are blocks I’m only just learning exist, and it’s stimulating intellectually and creatively to explore what this spunky platform can do.
If you’re thinking of starting a blog, first of all—do it. I’m all about more people creating. We need that as a civilization! Secondly, WordPress.com is the institutional leader in the blogosphere. I’ll discuss the pros and cons of other platforms in a future post, but WordPress.com still comes out on top.
I’ve been really pleased with the functionality of WordPress.com, which also comes with Jetpack built in. Jetpack has functionality I’ve only begun to explore; that said, I love its Akismet anti-spam system. According to Akismet, it’s blocked 13,830 spam comments in the past six months alone—and 141,377 over seven-plus years I’ve been writing this blog[.]
I think those Akismet numbers are way higher now—ha!
Happy Blogging!
—TPP
The Portly Politico is me, Tyler James Cook. I’ve been blogging on WordPress since 2018, and daily since 2019. I love to write about politics, culture, and music, and frequently feature my original music. Check out my musical creations here on the blog or on Bandcamp. —TPP
I’ve got something very different for readers/listeners this Tuesday. I’ve been experimenting with multitrack recording using Audacity and my Logitech Blue Yeti USB microphone (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link at no additional cost to you)—the most rudimentary setup since my early days dangling a computer microphone from an ancient 486 33Mhz computer running Windows 3.11 for Workgroups in front of my older brother’s ancient Crate amplifier (shew—talk about a long sentence).
I’ve done lo-fi recording before, and this setup is actually pretty clean. The Lo-Fi Hymnal and The Lo-Fi Hymnal II were both recorded entirely using the Voice Memo app on my old second-generation Apple iPhone SE. Well, the “drum” part for this piece was recorded using the Voice Memo app on my new third-generation Apple iPhone SE!
I put “drum” in scare quotes because the “drum” in question is actually a piece of yellow, metallic patio furniture that Dr. Wife brought down from her old house:
Photo Credit: Dr. Wife; Yellow Metallic Cylinder Thing Credit: Dr. Wife
While I was carrying that cylindrical “table” (or whatever it’s supposed to be) outside, I whipped out my phone and recorded a quick little drumbeat (the pitter-patter of feet at the very beginning is Dr. Wife’s three-legged dog, Nugget, shuffling along the floor behind me):
My plan was to use that little beat for something at some point. I had a chance Saturday morning, and imported the file into Audacity. Well, I tried to import it into Audacity, but the Voice Memo records in the obscure M4A format, which isn’t supported in Audacity without jumping through a bunch of software hoops that I’ll figure out eventually but didn’t want to mess with while the creative juices were flowing. Instead, I used an online audio converter (the same one I use to get the WAVs that I export from Noteflight upconverted to the proper bitrate for digital distribution).
With a proper WAV file, Audacity took the track. I then copied it and replicated it over the course of about forty-five seconds, after which I grabbed my alto saxophone and started layering in tracks:
I started with a “root” alto sax part that essentially consisted of the root of a A minor (concert C minor) chord, along with some other little bits of noodling. The “harmony” alto added in the minor third, with the lead alto coming last. For “OCD” reasons, I added a fourth alto sax part to the tail end of the “Yellow Metallic Gong” percussion track to add a bit more color into the last chord, an Asus2 (concert Csus2).
The end result is this slithering, mysterious, slightly messy piece, “Sumatran Snake Charmer“:
Dr. Wife and I took a trip to the theater on Saturday to see the horror/psychological thriller/black comedy Obsession (2025-2026). Dr. Wife had seen it on social media, and Critical Drinker’s positive review clinched it.
The film is based on a familiar premise: be careful what you wish for. It’s essentially a “The Monkey’s Paw” with one wish instead of three. Naturally, the one wish goes horribly awry.
The protagonist, Bear, is deeply in love—obsessed—with his friend and co-worker Nikki. After a night out with their fellow co-workers Ian and Sandy, Bear drives Nikki home, and she pointedly asks Bear if he likes her, saying, “now’s the time to tell me.” Bear, who is a rather cowardly young man, sheepishly denies it.
Frustrated with his own spinelessness, he uses a “One-Wish Willow”—a novelty toy he purchased at a New Age shop as a gag—to wish that Nikki love him more than anything else in the world.
Well, it wouldn’t be a movie if the wish didn’t come true; it does, and what starts as a giddy romance quickly devolves into an obsessive, dangerously co-dependent relationship, amid which the “real” Nikki briefly “breaks through.” These episodes of lucidity show a woman desperately fighting to reassert herself against Bear’s wish, which has robbed her of her free will.
Book titles in this post have an Amazon Affiliate link. I receive a portion of purchases made through those links, at no additional cost to you. —TPP
It’s been one of those rare, near-perfect Sundays, the kind of Sunday that is so peaceful, it’s hard to believe it’s possible. I know that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, the Sabbath, a day of rest, but I don’t think it’s ever really been that way for me.
Growing up, Sunday was a marathon of excessive churching, in which a hot, sweaty nap would be squeezed between seemingly endless church services and band practices. I’m very thankful for that upbringing in many ways, but it always meant Sundays were an exhausting scramble, usually topped off with finishing math homework after we finally got home at 9:30 PM.
As an adult, Sundays have become a working day. After church, the day is spent prepping for the week, with lesson plans, scheduling music lessons, and the like. Sometimes that includes hammering out succulent blog posts for the week ahead.
Top that off with the “Sunday scaries”—that vague sense of dread and anxiety that settles in around 4 or 5 PM on a Sunday afternoon—and I’ve never much cared for the day, or thought of it as all that restful. Church is great (and you should go, just probably not for eight hours every Sunday), but by the time I’m home from it, the weekend is essentially over and work begins. It’s why I try to take Saturdays as my “Sabbath,” when I truly do try to rest and recuperate.
That said, today has been what I think Sundays are supposed to be. Dr. Wife and I had a quiet morning and headed to church, after which we had lunch and picked up groceries. We came back and knocked out some chores around the house and in the yard, and then took a glorious nap with the dogs, from which we both got up from a short while before I wrote this post. Minecraft Camp starts tomorrow and I have a few lessons to schedule, but I don’t feel rushed. Dr. Wife usually has to drive back on Sundays to North Carolina, but because of the nature of her new rotation (which starts tomorrow), she won’t have to leave until tomorrow morning, and she’ll leave when I head out for camp.
The net effect is that it’s been a glorious and restful Sunday. Even as we’ve gotten things done around the house, it’s been a day both to celebrate and worship the Lord with other believers and time for rest and reflection. There is a peace over the house that I’m almost hesitant to articulate, lest the momentary blessing be somehow broken.
Well, enough of that waxing poetic (and complaining about going to church, which is somewhat hypocritical of me). For today’s installment of Lazy Sunday, I thought I’d look back at various Summer Reading Lists of yesteryear:
Today’s post includes Amazon Affiliate links to the books referenced. I receive a portion of any purchases made through those links, at no additional cost to you. If a book is linked, it is an Amazon Affiliate link. —TPP
It’s summertime! That means yours portly is getting in a ton of reading, especially in my favorite format: short fiction.
“Short fiction” here is a catch-all for both short story collections and shorter novels/novellas. Two of the works on today’s list are technically novels, but they’re both 250 pages or fewer (in the case of Jake Barter’s The Sniper, the book is exactly 250 pages). 250 pages might seem generous, but these are works that can be read over the course of several evenings, and are paced briskly enough that they won’t be piled on your nightstand for months or even years.
Typically I leave the full list behind the paywall for paid subscribers; however, as several of these authors are indie/self-published, I would like to boost their works more broadly (and, naturally, gain access to those sweet, sweet affiliate clicks). So, here are four books I’ve read and/or am currently reading that I highly recommend you order:
Jake Barter, The Sniper – “Jake Barter” is the nom de plume of blogger photog, proprietor of the excellent blog Orion’s Cold Fire. As far as I can tell, this book is his first outing. It’s the next on my “to-read” list after the next entry, but knowing photog’s writing, I can already recommend it. He’s been working on this book for years, and it’s not a hastily slapped-together book like one of mine.
Erang, Midnight Under the Monsters’ Mask – “Erang” is the nom de plume of, well, Erang, a mysterious, masked French musician who is among the pioneers of dungeon synth. I’ve just started reading Midnight in the English translation, and the stories so far are delightfully creepy. It’s a mix of horror and weird fiction that really shows Erang’s early exposure to horror flicks as a kid in the 1980s. Erang’s whole schtick is championing imagination over all else, and he creates in his music entire fantasy realms. Having listened to his music for years—over a decade, at this point—I can “hear” it in his writing.
Various authors, Amelia: Counterrevolution (the second anthology from authors of the “Lemurverse“) – this collection of short stories and poems found inspiration in Amelia, the viral, pro-British, pro-nationalist, anti-immigration character of a government-sanctioned video “game” that was intended to spook teens away from online “radicalization” (basically, becoming right-wing). The fatal flaw, however, is that the game designers made Amelia into a cute goth chick with a chic aesthetic and, well, commonsense arguments against flooding Britain with unassimilable invaders. It’s a fun collection and priced right at just $5.99 in paperback. Note that it does use AI-generated images, but not writing, as illustrations between stories, so if that cuts against your principles, be forewarned. However, the writing is 100% human!
John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids – a classic of 1950s British sci-fi, Triffids is a chilling tale of a world in which everyone is blind—and giant, carnivorous plants called “triffids” shuffle around killing people. But there’s way more to it than that; the work is post-apocalyptic, but it’s quaint in how “high-trust” post-apocalyptic Britain is portrayed—a stark reminder of how much that once-great nation has changed. I read Wyndham’s Foul Play Suspected earlier this year and can heartily recommend it as a tense crime thriller with an appropriately English sense of restraint and pacing.
More on Amelia and Triffids below the punch. I’ve read both of those in their entirety. That said, each of these books if quite affordable on Amazon, and if you’re a fan of short stories or shorter novels/novellas, you can scoop them all up for under $50.
I had a gig this past Saturday, so I took my practice time as an opportunity to churn out some sweet, sweet YouTube content. Here are three videos of my saxophonic noodling, curated for your listening pleasure:
Before it became overrun with AI slop and bots, the Internet was the good kind of wild frontier, brimming with jokes and otherwise lost content. Well, the Internet is still that, there’s just a lot more trash to wade through to find the good stuff.
One website that provides “the good stuff” is RetroGames.cz, which makes possible the playing of some classic games via emulation in your browser. I spent a good chunk of time last year playing through the old Dragon Warrior game; eventually, I’ll get around to loading up my save state and finishing it. It’s the grindiest RPG I’ve ever played!
Occasionally, I find myself nostalgic for the rudimentary, homemade websites of the late 1990s and early 2000s, wherein website design philosophy consisted of cramming as many animated GIFs onto the homepage as possible, and everything was typed in Times New Roman font. The formality of the font contrasted with the frivolity of the overall design, to the effect that webpages in those days were akin to early digital folk art. The amateurism—which, it must be remembered, still required a good bit of working knowledge of HTML and JavaScript at the time—leant those websites a certain charm, even if that whimsical form came at the expense of function.
Well, enough of my waxing artistical. Go play some good games.
Summer Break begins today! Yesterday was yours portly’s last official day of the school year. Indeed, it was my last official day as a teacher. Of course, I’ll always be a teacher, but that particular position has ended formally. I’ll be returning to my little school on a very-part-time basis as its chaplain.
