Get 🎸Advanced Funkification🎸!

The Portly Politico12 Comments

As I wrote this morning, my latest album, 🎸Advanced Funkification🎸, is out now on Bandcamp and various streaming platforms. I figured it would be worthwhile to compile the various links into one list for your convenience. I’m really proud of this release, and I think it deserves to be heard—and I think y’all will enjoy it!

Here is the current list of websites/platforms/services where you can listen to the release:

For YouTube users, here’s the full playlist:

Get funky!

—TPP

🎸Advanced Funkification🎸 Out Today!

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Hi Readers,

My latest album, Advanced Funkification, a collection of funk and funk-adjacent tunes, is out today. It’s my grooviest release yet, and it explores the boundaries of funk in intriguing and cool ways.

Pick it up for just $5, and you’ll not only get eight funky tracks, but full scores of each piece; MP4 videos; and original artwork. You can find it here: https://tjcookmusic.bandcamp.com/album/advanced-funkification

Time to enroll in Advanced Funkification!

The album is also out on Apple Music and YouTube, as well as other streaming services (except for Spotify).  I’ll post direct links in the comments as soon as I get them.

I have had a blast releasing tons of instrumental music this year, but I think this release is my best this year.  Let me know what you think!

Funkily Yours,

TPP

TBT^4: Reclaim the Rainbow

The Portly Politico14 Comments

Perhaps it is my own ignorance of worldly affairs, but it feels like the gay stuff has been toned down dramatically this June.  After many years of insufferable degeneracy masquerading as “tolerance,” the “pride” people went too far, and people who didn’t want their kids stuffing dollar bills into gay men’s leather thongs or getting secret gender reassignment surgery through their local elementary school’s guidance office rose up and fought back—by withholding their spending.

Conservative efforts at boycotts have always been iffy, but now they actually seem to be working.  Target saw a substantial reduction in its business after displaying kid’s clothing that came equipped with wiener-tucking compartments for all those “trans” kids out there.  Budweiser—the most American beer, perhaps the most American product, period, after maybe the Ford F-150 and Levi’s—lost so much market share that Modelo—a Mexican beer company!—dethroned it as the king of beers.  In this case, I don’t think you can chalk that up to mass Mexican immigration.

Of course, I could be wrong.  In spite of these clear messages that most Americans don’t want to be forced to “celebrate” a tiny minority’s sexual peccadilloes, I suspect that we’re going to keep having public homosexual erotica thrust into our faces (perhaps quite literally) whether we like it or not.

All the more reason, then, to reclaim the rainbow.  What was once a symbol of God’s Promise to Moses—and, thereby, humanity at large—has been co-opted to represent the government’s promise to emasculate and depopulate all of us.

With that, here is 22 June 2023’s “TBT^2: Reclaim the Rainbow“:

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Stardew Valley

The Portly Politico24 Comments

One of yours portly’s goals for his long, indolent, decadent, self-indulgent, succulent summer break is to play more video games.  I am happy to report than my reversion into perpetual childhood is progressing nicely, as I’ve already logged nearly twenty hours (rough estimate) in Stardew Valley so far.  This week I am also running my annual Minecraft Camp, so I’m pretty much getting paid to play video games with kids all morning.

Stardew Valley is a farming sim game released in 2016.  It draws heavy inspiration from the Harvest Moon series (Story of Seasons in Japan; Wikipedia offers a good overview of the legal reasons for the different names).  In addition to farming—planting, watering, and reaping crops; raising livestock; clearing land for cultivation; upgrading and building farm buildings—the game encourages exploration and relationship-building.  Your character can spend all day fishing, for example, or exploring a network of caves (with monsters and loot!).  You can chop down trees, plant new ones, hang out at the saloon, romance the local singles, donate artifacts to the museum, and on and on.  You even have the opportunity to rebuild the dilapidated community center—or throw in with the big box chain store in town and bulldoze it.

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Open Mic Adventures LXXXII: “Brown Friar”

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

Well, just like with Lazy Sunday, I was off on my Roman numeral numbering for Open Mic Adventures.  Fortunately, it’s just by one, but I made the mistake somewhere around the fortieth-odd post, so, like with Lazy Sunday, I’m just going to start the correct numbering back with this post.  As such, there’ll be two posts with “LXXXII” in their titles, but the list of “Other Editions of Open Mic Adventures” below has been corrected.  Goodness!

Regardless, today’s track is from my seventeenth album, Four Mages—the last one I have yet to feature here.  It is a collection of ten electronic tracks, all but one of which (“The Blind Prophet“) is color-coded. Each piece explores some facet of fantasy archetypes, weaving and casting a musical spell upon listeners.

Here are some platforms where you can listen:

I really enjoy this album, and I hope you will, too.  It’s about fourteen minutes in length, so it’s perfect listening for doing a short errand or for a quick drive.

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Monday Morning Movie Review: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

The Portly Politico26 Comments

Nine years ago, George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) hit cinemas with an explosive impact worthy of the big screen.  It is perhaps the best film of the last decade.  I remember seeing it at least twice in theaters, and being totally enthralled both times.  My niece, who is now nine, was still in my sister-in-law’s belly at this point; Barack Obama was still president; and the idea that the world would shut down due to a bad case of the flu seemed outrageous.  It was a different world.

Indeed, I remember my younger brother scolding me for seeing MM:FR with a colleague instead of him and his wife (and, I suppose, my natal niece by extension).  I think I saw it with them for my second viewing, but I cannot remember at the moment.  Regardless, that was probably the last time that the three of us could have gone to the movies together—truly the end of an era.

And MM:FR was the perfect film to end that era.  Indeed, it was something a vestige of the dying days of practical effects and crazy stunts.  Fury Road did use some CGI and digital effects, but it was largely shot practically, which is insane when one considers the dangerous stunts.  It must have been grueling to film.

What captivated me so much about Fury Road was the world in which this extended car chase occurred.  Miller dribbled in just enough information to give a sense for how this wasteland worked, but left a great deal unexplained.  That fueled hours of speculation about the locations and people in this world.  How did Immortan Joe come to power?  What happened to the Green Place?  What is going on with Max’s mental state?

After nearly a decade, Miller released Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), which serves as a prequel to Fury Road.  The film did not answer every question, but it does a great deal to flesh out the world of Mad Max, while still allowing it to maintain some of its mystique and mystery.  It’s also an excellent film.

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Lazy Sunday CCLXV: Disco Elysium Reviews

The Portly PoliticoLeave a comment

A bit of tedious housekeeping before launching into today’s installment of Lazy Sunday:  I give this series, as well as several others, Roman numeral designators.  It is a bit unwieldy, but unnecessary unwieldiness is, after all, a hallmark of this blog.  What is portlier, I ask, than a bloated inefficient numbering system?

That said, I tend to make mistakes with Roman numerals.  It’s easy enough to do, especially as the numbers enter the triple digits.  I decided to check to see if I have been accurate in my numbering, and I have not.  It seems I got off track somewhere in the 140s(ish).  It occurred to me to check when I labeled this edition “CL” (150), as I thought, “wait a minute—didn’t I hit that milestone a long time ago?”

So I undertook the tedious task of renumbering all of the titles for past installments of Lazy Sunday on the list below, and changed from a bullet to a number for the list, to give myself an additional safeguard.

What I did not do was go back and change the title of each individual blog post to the correct number.  That would take an inordinate amount of time.  I may go and correct that eventually, but, goodness—what a dreary task!

So we’re starting fresh today, with CCLXV, or the 265th installment of Lazy Sunday.  That means in one hundred more Sundays (assuming I don’t skip any—gulp!), we’ll have year’s worth of Lazy Sundays to enjoy.  Maybe I could publish The Lazy Sunday Daily Devotional?  Ha!

With that, let’s get on to the posts!  To celebrate Ponty’s review of Disco Elysium (that’s an affiliate link, so I get a portion of proceeds from any purchase made through it at no additional cost to you), I figured I’d feature our respective reviews of that legendary game.

Go play some video games!

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

Other Lazy Sunday Installments:

  1. Lazy Sunday – APR Pieces
  2. Lazy Sunday II – Lincoln Posts
  3. Lazy Sunday III – Historical Moments
  4. Lazy Sunday IV – Christianity
  5. Lazy Sunday V – Progressivism, Part I
  6. Lazy Sunday VI – Progressivism, Part II
  7. Lazy Sunday VII – Deep State
  8. Lazy Sunday VIII – Conservatism
  9. Lazy Sunday IX – Economics, Part I
  10. Lazy Sunday X – Economics, Part II
  11. Lazy Sunday XI – Walls
  12. Lazy Sunday XII – Space
  13. Lazy Sunday XIII – Immigration
  14. Lazy Sunday XIV – Gay Stuff
  15. Lazy Sunday XV – Work
  16. Lazy Sunday XVI – #MAGAWeek2018
  17. Lazy Sunday XVII – #MAGAWeek2019
  18. Lazy Sunday XVIII – SubscribeStar Posts
  19. Lazy Sunday XIX – Music
  20. Lazy Sunday XX – The Laziest Sunday
  21. Lazy Sunday XXI – Travel
  22. Lazy Sunday XXII – Reading
  23. Lazy Sunday XXIII – Richard Weaver
  24. Lazy Sunday XXIV – Education
  25. Lazy Sunday XXV – Techno-Weirdos
  26. Lazy Sunday XXVI – Small Town Living
  27. Lazy Sunday XXVII – Bric-a-Brac
  28. Lazy Sunday XXVIII – World History
  29. Lazy Sunday XXIX – The New Criterion
  30. Lazy Sunday XXX – Trump, Part I
  31. Lazy Sunday XXXI – Trump, Part II
  32. Lazy Sunday XXXII – Festivals
  33. Lazy Sunday XXXIII – Virtue Signalling
  34. Lazy Sunday XXXIV – The Desperate Search for Meaning Series
  35. Lazy Sunday XXXV – Corporate Grind
  36. Lazy Sunday XXXVI – Best of the Reblogs, Part I
  37. Lazy Sunday XXXVII – Best of the Reblogs, Part II
  38. Lazy Sunday XXXVIII – Best of the Reblogs, Part III
  39. Lazy Sunday XXXIX – A Very Dokken Christmas Series
  40. Lazy Sunday XL – Christmas Carols
  41. Lazy Sunday XLI – Food
  42. Lazy Sunday XLII – 2019’s Top Five Posts
  43. Lazy Sunday XLIII – Music, Part II: More Music
  44. Lazy Sunday XLIV – SubscribeStar Saturday Posts, Part II: The Search for More Money
  45. Lazy Sunday XLV – Techno-Weirdos II
  46. Lazy Sunday XLVI – Man Time
  47. Lazy Sunday XLVII – Winning
  48. Lazy Sunday XLVIII – Culture
  49. Lazy Sunday XLIX – Family
  50. Lazy Sunday L – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  51. Lazy Sunday LI – Just for Fun
  52. Lazy Sunday LII – Democratic Candidates, Part I
  53. Lazy Sunday LIII – Democratic Candidates, Part II
  54. Lazy Sunday LIV – Coronavirus
  55. Lazy Sunday LV – Animals
  56. Lazy Sunday LVI – Movies
  57. Lazy Sunday LVII – Christianity, Part II
  58. Lazy Sunday LVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap
  59. Lazy Sunday LIX – The God Pill Series
  60. Lazy Sunday LX – Music, Part II: Gigging
  61. Lazy Sunday LXI – The Tuck
  62. Lazy Sunday LXII – The South
  63. Lazy Sunday LXIII – Holidays
  64. Lazy Sunday LXIV – Grab Bag
  65. Lazy Sunday LXV – Rioting
  66. Lazy Sunday LXVI – Video Games
  67. Lazy Sunday LXVII – Phone it in Fridays, Part I
  68. Lazy Sunday LXVIII – Phone it in Fridays, Part II
  69. Lazy Sunday LXIX – Phone it in Fridays, Part III
  70. Lazy Sunday LXX – Phone it in Friday, Part IV
  71. Lazy Sunday LXXI – Road Trips
  72. Lazy Sunday LXXII – Forgotten Posts, Volume I
  73. Lazy Sunday LXXIII – Forgotten Posts, Volume II
  74. Lazy Sunday LXXIV – Forgotten Posts, Volume III
  75. Lazy Sunday LXXV – Forgotten Posts, Volume IV
  76. Lazy Sunday LXXVI – Forgotten Posts, Volume V
  77. Lazy Sunday LXXVII – Rural America
  78. Lazy Sunday LXXVIII – Space, Part II
  79. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – SCOTUS
  80. Lazy Sunday LXXX – Big Ideas
  81. Lazy Sunday LXXXI – Education, Part II
  82. Lazy Sunday LXXXII – Universal Studios
  83. Lazy Sunday LXXXIII – The Mountains
  84. Lazy Sunday LXXXIV – Halloween Hijinks
  85. Lazy Sunday LXXXV – Elections
  86. Lazy Sunday LXXXVI – Questions, Part I
  87. Lazy Sunday LXXXVII – Questions, Part II
  88. Lazy Sunday LXXXVIII – Questions, Part III
  89. Lazy Sunday LXXXIX – 100 Week Review
  90. Lazy Sunday XC – Questions, Part IV
  91. Lazy Sunday XCI – Questions, Part V
  92. Lazy Sunday XCII – Christmas
  93. Lazy Sunday XCIII – 2020’s Top Five Posts
  94. Lazy Sunday XCIV – My Favorite Things
  95. Lazy Sunday XCV – The Best of Lazy Sunday
  96. Lazy Sunday XCVI – More Movies: Movie Reviews, Part I
  97. Lazy Sunday XCVII – More Movies II: Movie Reviews, Part II
  98. Lazy Sunday XCVIII – More Movies III: Movie Reviews, Part III
  99. Lazy Sunday XCIX – Romantic Music
  100. Lazy Sunday C – Valentine’s Day
  101. Lazy Sunday CI – Obituaries, Part I
  102. Lazy Sunday CII – Obituaries, Part II
  103. Lazy Sunday CIII – Begging
  104. Lazy Sunday CIV – Time
  105. Lazy Sunday CV – Grab Bag II
  106. Lazy Sunday CVI – Adventures
  107. Lazy Sunday CVII – Easter
  108. Lazy Sunday CVIII – Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2021 Recap
  109. Lazy Sunday CIX – Pillow Talk
  110. Lazy Sunday CX – Inspector Gerard Reviews
  111. Lazy Sunday CXI – Bric-a-Brac II
  112. Lazy Sunday CXII – Responsibility
  113. Lazy Sunday CXIII – Short Stories
  114. Lazy Sunday CXIV – More Movies IV: Movie Reviews, Part IV
  115. Lazy Sunday CXV – Memorable Mondays
  116. Lazy Sunday CXVI – Delays
  117. Lazy Sunday CXVII – More Movies V – Movie Reviews, Part V
  118. Lazy Sunday CXVIII – More Movies VI – Movie Reviews, Part VI
  119. Lazy Sunday CXIX – Summer Camps
  120. Lazy Sunday CXX – Animals, Part II
  121. Lazy Sunday CXXI – MAGAWeek2021 Posts
  122. Lazy Sunday CXXII – MAGAWeek2020 Posts
  123. Lazy Sunday CXXIII – Murphy
  124. Lazy Sunday CXXIV – Bible Posts
  125. Lazy Sunday CXXV – More Movies VII – Movie Reviews, Part VII
  126. Lazy Sunday CXXVI – Joy, Part I
  127. Lazy Sunday CXXVII – Joy, Part II – Music
  128. Lazy Sunday CXXVIII – Civilization
  129. Lazy Sunday CXXIX – Friends, Part I
  130. Lazy Sunday CXXX – Friends, Part II
  131. Lazy Sunday CXXXI – Friends, Part III
  132. Lazy Sunday CXXXII – Milestones
  133. Lazy Sunday CXXXIII – Inspector Gerard
  134. Lazy Sunday CXXXIV – Friends, Part IV
  135. Lazy Sunday CXXXV – More Movies VIII – Movie Reviews, Part VIII
  136. Lazy Sunday CXXXVI – More Movies IX – Movie Reviews, Part IX
  137. Lazy Sunday CXXXVII – More Halloween Hijinks
  138. Lazy Sunday CXXXVIII – Friends, Part V
  139. Lazy Sunday CXXXIX – More Movies, Part X – Movie Reviews, Part X
  140. Lazy Sunday CXL – More Movies, Part XI – Movie Reviews, Part XI
  141. Lazy Sunday CXLI – Thanksgiving Stuff(ing)
  142. Lazy Sunday CXLII – More Movies, Part XII – Movie Reviews, Part XII
  143. Lazy Sunday CXLIII – More Movies, Part XIII – Movie Reviews, Part XIII
  144. Lazy Sunday CXLIV – More Christmas Carols
  145. Lazy Sunday CXLV – Christmas Cheer
  146. Lazy Sunday CXLVI – 2021’s Top Five Posts
  147. Lazy Sunday CXLVII – More Movies, Part XIV – Movie Reviews, Part XIV
  148. Lazy Sunday CXLVIII – The Gemini Sonnets #1 and #2
  149. Lazy Sunday CXLIX – The Gemini Sonnets #3 and #4
  150. Lazy Sunday CL – The Gemini Sonnets #5 and #6
  151. Lazy Sunday CLI – More Movies, Part XV – Movies Reviews, Part XV
  152. Lazy Sunday CLII – Romance
  153. Lazy Sunday CLIII – Behind the Songs, Part I
  154. Lazy Sunday CLIV – Behind the Songs, Part II
  155. Lazy Sunday CLV – Péchés d’âge moyen Posts
  156. Lazy Sunday CLVI – More Son of Sonnet
  157. Lazy Sunday CLVII – Ponty’s Posts, Part I
  158. Lazy Sunday CLVIII – Ponty’s Posts, Part II
  159. Lazy Sunday CLIX – Scrambie Eggs
  160. Lazy Sunday CLX: Fine Arts Festival
  161. Lazy Sunday CLXI: Easter II
  162. Lazy Sunday CLXII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations Recap 2022
  163. Lazy Sunday CLXIII: Friends, Part VI
  164. Lazy Sunday CLXIV: Friends, Part VII
  165. Lazy Sunday CLXV: Friends, Part VIII
  166. Lazy Sunday CLXVI: Friends, Part IX
  167. Lazy Sunday CLXVII: Friends, Part X
  168. Lazy Sunday CLXVIII: More Movies, Part XVI: Movie Reviews, Part XVI
  169. Lazy Sunday CLXIX: More Movies, Part XVII: Movie Reviews, Part XVII
  170. Lazy Sunday CLXX: More Movies, Part XVIII: Movie Reviews, Part XVIII
  171. Lazy Sunday CLXXI: Frederick Ingram, Part I
  172. Lazy Sunday CLXXII: Frederick Ingram, Part II
  173. Lazy Sunday CLXXIII: MAGAWeek2022
  174. Lazy Sunday CLXXIV: More Movies, Part XIX: Movie Reviews, Part XIX
  175. Lazy Sunday CLXXV: More Movies, Part XX: Movie Reviews, Part XX
  176. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: More Movies, Part XXI: Movie Reviews, Part XXI
  177. Lazy Sunday CLXXVII: School, Part I
  178. Lazy Sunday CLXXVIII: School, Part II
  179. Lazy Sunday CLXXIX: More Movies, Part XXII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part I
  180. Lazy Sunday CLXXX: More Movies, Part XXIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part I
  181. Lazy Sunday CLXXXI: More Movies, Part XXIV: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part II
  182. Lazy Sunday CLXXXII: More Movies, Part XXV: Portly’s Worst Films, Part II
  183. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIII: More Movies, Part XXVII: Ponty’s Worst Films, Part III
  184. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIV: More Movies, Part XXVIII: Portly’s Worst Films, Part III
  185. Lazy Sunday CLXXXV: More Movies, Part XXIX: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Worst Films
  186. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVI: More Movies, Part XXX: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part I
  187. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVII: More Movies, Part XXXI: Midweek Myers Movie Reviews, Part II
  188. Lazy Sunday CLXXXVIII: Video Games II: Ponty’s Picks
  189. Lazy Sunday CLXXXIX: Even More Halloween Hijinks: The Musical
  190. Lazy Sunday CXC: Cozy Time
  191. Lazy Sunday CXCI: Veterans Day Posts
  192. Lazy Sunday CXCII: Myersvision, Part I
  193. Lazy Sunday CXCIII: Thanksgiving Week Posts
  194. Lazy Sunday CXCIV: Solo Cover EP, Part I
  195. Lazy Sunday CXCV: Solo Cover EP, Part II
  196. Lazy Sunday CLXXVI: 2022’s Top Three
  197. Lazy Sunday CXCVII: Review[s] of A Christmas Carol (1951)
  198. Lazy Sunday CXCVIII: The Worst of 2022
  199. Lazy Sunday CXCIX: More Movies XXXII: Portly’s Best Films, Part I
  200. Lazy Sunday CC: More Movies XXXIII: Ponty’s Best Films, Part I
  201. Lazy Sunday CCI: More Movies XXXIV: Portly’s Best Films, Part II
  202. Lazy Sunday CCII: More Movies XXXV: Ponty’s Best Films, Part II
  203. Lazy Sunday CCIII: P​é​ch​é​s d​’​â​ge moyen Picks
  204. Lazy Sunday CCIV: Arizonan Sojourn, Part I
  205. Lazy Sunday CCV: Portly’s Best Films, Part III
  206. Lazy Sunday CCVI: Ponty’s Best Films, Part III
  207. Lazy Sunday CCVII: The Beach
  208. Lazy Sunday CCVIII: Walks
  209. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Paintings
  210. Lazy Sunday CCX: Arizonan Sojourn, Part II
  211. Lazy Sunday CCXI: Hono[u]rable Mentions
  212. Lazy Sunday CCXII: Easter III
  213. Lazy Sunday CCXIII: Spring Break Short Story Recommendations 2023
  214. Lazy Sunday CCXIV: Ponty and Portly’s #1 Picks
  215. Lazy Sunday CCXV: Myersvision, Part II
  216. Lazy Sunday CCXVI: Myersvision, Part III
  217. Lazy Sunday CCXVII: Myersvision, Part IV
  218. Lazy Sunday CCXVIII: Myersvision, Part V
  219. Lazy Sunday CCXIX: Myersvision, Part VI
  220. Lazy Sunday CCXX: Myersvision, Part VII
  221. Lazy Sunday CCXXI: Intergalactic Nonsense
  222. Lazy Sunday CCXXII: Stories
  223. Lazy Sunday CCXXIII: Original Music, Part I
  224. Lazy Sunday CCXXIV: Original Music, Part II
  225. Lazy Sunday CCXXV: MAGAWeek2023 Posts
  226. Lazy Sunday CCXXVI: Greatest Hits Recap
  227. Lazy Sunday CCXXVII: Ponty Week 2023
  228. Lazy Sunday CCXXVIII: D.C., Part I
  229. Lazy Sunday CCXXIX: D.C., Part II
  230. Lazy Sunday CCXXX: TJC Deep Cuts
  231. Lazy Sunday CCXXXI: Weird Piano Music
  232. Lazy Sunday CCXXXII: Cinema
  233. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIII: Monarchy
  234. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIV: Sandwiches
  235. Lazy Sunday CCXXXV: Skeletons
  236. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVI: Myersvision, Part VIII
  237. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVII: Myersvision, Part IX
  238. Lazy Sunday CCXXXVIII: Festivals II
  239. Lazy Sunday CCXXXIX: Two Cryptid Tunes
  240. Lazy Sunday CCXL: Ghostly Doings
  241. Lazy Sunday CCXLI: Veterans Day Posts II
  242. Lazy Sunday CCXLII: Indie Musician Rants
  243. Lazy Sunday CCXLIII: 2023 Releases
  244. Lazy Sunday CCXLIV: Civilization Series
  245. Lazy Sunday CCXLV: Chapel Lessons, Part I
  246. Lazy Sunday CCXLVI: Chapel Lessons, Part II
  247. Lazy Sunday CCXLVII: Christmas Concert Reviews
  248. Lazy Sunday CCXLVIII: The Best of 2023
  249. Lazy Sunday CCXLIX: Best Ponty Posts of 2023
  250. Lazy Sunday CCL: Best Myersvision Posts of 2023
  251. Lazy Sunday CCLI: YouTube Roundup Roundup I
  252. Lazy Sunday CCLII: YouTube Roundup Roundup II
  253. Lazy Sunday CCLIII: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part I
  254. Lazy Sunday CCLIV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part II
  255. Lazy Sunday CCLV: Firefly Dance Tracks, Part III
  256. Lazy Sunday CCLVI: Days Off
  257. Lazy Sunday CCLVII: Murphy Vids, Part I
  258. Lazy Sunday CCLVIII: Food II
  259. Lazy Sunday CCLIX: Four Mages, Part I
  260. Lazy Sunday CCLX: Murphy Vids, Part II
  261. Lazy Sunday CCLXI: Ultra Laziness
  262. Lazy Sunday CCLXII: Mothers
  263. Lazy Sunday CCLXIII: Four Mages, Part II
  264. Lazy Sunday CCLXIV: End of School Events

SubscribeStar Saturday: Spring Jam 2024 Postmortem

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Today’s post is a SubscribeStar Saturday exclusive.  To read the full post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.  For a full rundown of everything your subscription gets, click here.

On Friday, 24 May 2024 I hosted the fourth annual Spring Jam Recital on my front porch.  It is one of two front porch recitals I host each year, the other being the Spooktacular in October.

This year’s Spring Jam was the smallest one yet.  I always host the event the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, primarily because it is the night before graduation for my school’s seniors, so many families are still in town.  However, the combination of graduation season (which means graduation parties) and the holiday weekend mean it is a potentially dicey weekend in terms of schedules.

So far, I have been fortunate to have a large number of students who attend and play, but this year, Fate cut differently and we had a much smaller crowd than usual.  Even so, we had a blast.

Gear Loaded Up!
Drum Kit
Wider Shot of Kit
Added a Small Cymbal
Rotel Dip!
The Stage is Set!

To read the rest of this post, subscribe to my SubscribeStar page for $1 a month or more.

Ponty Praises: Disco Elysium

The Portly Politico50 Comments

Disco Elysium is quite possibly the best video game I have ever played.  It is certainly the most unique.  I knew it was something special after only an hour of playing it, and while I have not started a new game since finishing it—“beating” is probably not the right word for Disco Elysium—it is a game that could reveal fresh layers through dozens, perhaps hundreds, of playthroughs, even if it only consists of one “main quest,” as it were.

I’ve never played a game that more accurately reflects the way my own mind is structured, and the way that I think about and dwell upon certain inane details.  I don’t have a “Thought Cabinet,” per se, but the notion of fixating upon and ruminating about an idea to the point that it worms its way into your psyche feels true to my experience.  As dear old Ponty will point out, the game has a way of seeping into your mind and, therefore, your life outside of the game.

I don’t want to give too much away, as Ponty delivers a brilliant and detailed review, so I’ll turn the controller over to him.

With that, here is Ponty’s review of Disco Elysium:

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TBT^2: Summertime Schedule Begins

The Portly Politico50 Comments

Not to rub it in or anything, dear readers, but today marks the first true day of my summer vacation.  Who knows how I’ve started this auspicious day?  Perhaps I lounged decadently while sipping coffee.  Perhaps my dog is licking my feet.  Maybe I’m still asleep—gasp!

Well, it’s an interesting little dip here—this extended weekend, of sorts, before I start my summer camps next week.  I always relish this transitory moment before camps begin, as it’s a good chance to decompress.

Whatever I end up doing, maybe I’ll finally get some work done on my planned third book, Offensive Poetry: With Pictures.  I largely abandoned the Sunday Doodles book, but perhaps I should revive that old chestnut, too.  I’ve got all summer to figure it out—mwahahahahaha!

With that, here is 9 June 2022’s “TBT: Summertime Schedule Begins“:

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