Tag: reblog

TBT^256: Mahler’s Composing Shack

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My album Koi Dance is still 90% off with promo code koipond. Pick it up today! —TPP

Tuesday night I had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Roman Riva of Opium Tales. Regular readers will know that I’ve been reviewing his series of novellas (read my reviews of the first four books here, here, here, and here). We discussed music (Roman is a talented heavy metal guitarist), dogs, koi, art, and all manner of other topics. You can watch the interview on Substack or on YouTube:

Amid our conversation we talked about composing and my various musical influences. It reminded me of this post about Gustav Mahler’s composing habits.

I love this time of year, as the crisp, cool weather is conducive to creative activity. Time seems to speed up after summer, too, which creates an underlying sense of urgency to create and produce. I’ve been a tad lax on creating new works lately, as I’ve been doing some arranging for my students, but I’m eager to get back to composing original works.

With that, here is 2 October 2025’s “TBT^16: Mahler’s Composing Shack“:

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Lazy Sunday CDVIII: Opium Tales Reviews, Part I

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I’ve been working my way through Roman and Anna Riva’s collection of novellas, Opium Tales (which doubles as Roman’s Substack moniker and publication). I’ve reviewed the first three books so far, so it seemed like a good time to look back at those reviews today:

These are fun books and quick reads; I highly recommend them (A Pirate’s Tale is my favorite; that’s an Amazon Affiliate link, so I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you).

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

TBT: 31 Days of Halloween Starts Today!

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Last year I did a daily film review, which I dubbed 31 Days of Halloween. Back then, YouTube Shorts were only one-minute in length, so I had to get to the point quickly (I did not always succeed).

Here’s the entire playlist from last year:

This year, I’ll be opening The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween Countdown Calendar (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link, at no additional cost to you—TPP) each day in October and making a short YouTube video (or a “Short”) revealing what I uncover. That will be 2026’s version of 31 Days of Halloween (although I’ll try to toss in some short film reviews of flicks I missed last year, too).

I’ll try to open each “day” on the calendar on the actual day, so the videos might not be up at 6 AM EST like last year’s videos. That said, they’ll get up hopefully by lunchtime each day, although Thursdays might see later videos (I’m writing this post a few days early, so check the comments or tomorrow’s post for a link to the video if I haven’t gotten it done by the time you’re reading these words). You can check my YouTube channel, too.

With that, here is 1 October 2025’s “31 Days of Halloween Starts Today!“:

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Lazy Sunday CDVII: Spiders!

The Portly Politico3 Comments

The spooky season is almost upon us, and with the post earlier this week about tarantulas, I figured it was a good time to look back at posts about and/or related to, however loosely, spiders.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

TBT^2: Tarantulas and the Hygge

The Portly Politico3 Comments

It’s the first day of autumn, which means things will be getting chilly in another month—or, given we’re in South Carolina, another two or three months. Regardless, we’ll all soon be cozying up with chili and blankets and sweaters.

Let’s hope, however, that our furry-legged arachnid friends, the burrowing tarantulas, don’t decide to cuddle up with us! Fortunately, that’s unlikely in these parts, as tarantulas are mostly kept as pet, and even that’s a pretty small niche of pet owners.

I stumbled upon today’s post back during the heat of the summer, when I was dreaming of the hygge (if not massive spiders), so I thought I’d reblog it to commemorate the start of all. It turns out that it was exactly six years ago today that I lost reblogged this piece. It seems that the “toothsome” Patricia is still making tarantula content, too; kudos to her for sticking with her niche and making something cool.

With that, here is 24 September 2020’s “TBT: Tarantulas and the Hygge“:

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Lazy Sunday CDVI: Conference Sessions

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On Friday, 18 September 2026, I attended the South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) Teachers’ Conference. I presented two sessions, one about creating a “DIY Garage Band Music Ensemble” from scratch, the other about teaching private music lessons to supplement your income. Paid subscribers have access to my full remarks, but anyone can view the Google Slide decks I assembled to accompany them here and here.

That said, I thought I’d look back at those two talks in this addition of Lazy Sunday:

I’ll have more details on how the talks went soon, but I’ve been all over South Carolina the past few days, so stay tuned!

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

TBT^256: The Frisson of the Night

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My church recently partnered with my town and a number of other local churches to host A City Set Apart. The event started at 6 PM on Friday, 11 September 2026 and ended at 6 PM on Friday, 12 September 2026. For twenty-fours, volunteers ranging from local clergy to lay people read Scripture aloud.

I signed up for the 2 AM slot on Saturday morning. I set an alarm for 1:15 AM and blearily crawled into a hot shower. I had a cup of coffee waiting in the fridge, which I popped into the microwave before heading downtown. My assigned text was Micah 1-7 (the entire book), which I apparently breezed through, even though I didn’t think I was reading that fast, so my pastor then gave me Psalms 42-51. Reading Micah, which is a pretty hardcore book, at 2 AM over a loudspeaker with my voice bouncing off the brick buildings around town square was powerful.

It was also just cool being out at that time of night. A lady from our sister church read a large portion of Psalms (including the lengthy Psalm 119), and hearing her reading it at that hour, while still a bit sleep deprived, really made it “hit” differently. I could really hear the poetry of the text, and she read it with this impassioned voice—not stentorian, not melodramatic, but I could feel the conviction in her reading.

Later, the lanky reverend of the Presbyterian Church read the Gospel of Matthew. I stuck around until shortly after 3:30 AM, by which point he’d read through chapter 9 or 10. At that point, I was ready to get back to Dr. Wife and Nugget and try to get some sleep (I ended up dozing until nearly 11:30 AM), but his reading also brought the Gospel to life. I’ve read Matthew dozens of times and have heard large chunks of it read in services over the years, but something about hearing the Presbyterian reverend read it in his distinct voice opened my eyes and heart to shades of significance I’d never really absorbed in prior readings.

That’s all to say that it was a memorable event and I hope they do it again next year. I told Dr. Wife I’d opt for an early morning slot again, but something a bit more reasonable, like 5 AM. I got home and I was absolutely ravenous, so I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and drank a caffeine-free Diet Pepsi in the dark before getting back into bed around 4 AM. I thought Dr. Wife was out cold, but she told me later that she heard me crack open the drink and wondered what in the world I was doing—ha!

I keep using the phrase, “there’s something about,” but I’ll abuse it again here: there’s something about that time of night, the wee hour(s), that makes everything a bit more intense and surreal. Sometimes that’s a bad thing—the overly vivid nightmare, the baby crying in the night, the distant wail of a motorcycle as someone is up to something sinister. But it can be good, too: the prayer warrior on his knees, intercessing to Christ; the sumptuous midnight snack (or PB&J); the people of a town marinating their home in God’s Word.

Sure, most nights I like to be long abed by 2 AM, but every once in awhile, those wee hours still have something to offer.

With that, here is 18 September 2025’s “TBT^16: The Frisson of the Night“:

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Lazy Sunday CDV: Music Lessons

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Now that yours portly is essentially semi-retired (although maintaining our household is a full-time job in its own right), I have more time to work on music for my private music students. It’s really broadened my students’ repertoires with some fun pieces, and it gives us some recital-style work to do outside of the usual method books (although we still work from those, too).

Ergo, I’ve been writing more about lessons and such, so I thought I’d share some recent posts that relate to the teaching of music lessons:

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

The titular “Will” loved his waltz!

TBT^4: Remarkable Animals

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It’s been an animal-centric year for yours portly. Sweet Murphy crossed the rainbow bridge; Nugget is still going strong; and we’re likely adopting a puppy in a few weeks. The koi and other creatures are doing well—I even wrote an entire album about it (still 90% off with promo code koipond)—and our bird feeder continues to attract lots of birds—and lizards. I’ve seen a nasty skink slinking around, too.

That reminds me of this piece I wrote a few years ago, “Lament of the Lizardman“:

But I digress. It seemed apropos to reblog this series of posts about animals in all their glory.

With that, here is 11 September 2025’s “TBT^2: Remarkable Animals“:

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Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2026]!

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Ah, yes, another Labor Day here in the United States. Now that I don’t work full-time, every Monday is Labor Day, except since today actually is Labor Day, Dr. Wife is home, too. I might have to swing by Food Lion and pick up some hot dog and hamburgers and baked beans—’tis the season!

Today represents the spiritual end of summer throughout the nation, although most students have been back to school for three or four—or even five or six!—weeks already. It’s an odd, late Labor Day, as 1 September fell on a Tuesday. I imagine the kids and their teachers have been eager for this brief reprieve.

We’re still a good ways away from dog days of summer being over, but I’ve already begun detecting that crisp bit of autumnality stirring in the early mornings and at night. A little over a week ago I took a late walk as a storm was approaching, and it positively felt like I was walking through a Ray Bradbury story. I was positively chilly. It was the howling wind and swaying tree branches, though, that saw me cut my walk short and scurrying home to Dr. Wife and Nugget. I kept praying that the Lord Would Spare me from a massive widowmaker branch falling from one of the town’s ancient oak trees. He Saw fit to spare me for another day—and I’m sure I’ll take other walks in dubious weather again!

Fall is also a great time for music; if you haven’t already, you can still pickup Koi Dance for 90% with promo code koipond. You totally should!

With that, here is 1 September 2025’s “Memorable Monday: Happy Labor Day [2025]!; New Releases!“:

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