1923 might actually be an interesting year to be alive in. And given currently reality, 2123 might no be so hot. So I might actually go back.

Rock or Jazz?

And it is the weekend! Good Saturday morning, crew!

For coffee, we've got some Dark Roast Private Reserve from Las Chicas. Teas du jour are Scottish Breakfast and Black Currant flavoured black tea. Cold beverages are, of course, also available.

Later, alligators.

So found out that Spiritbox, a metal band from BC, Canada that touches on many influences and styles, made the nominations for Best Metal Performance at the Grammy Awards. That puts them alongside popular metal luminaries Metallica, Slipknot, Ghost, and Disturbed. Not bad for a band that's only been going for six years with 1 LP and 3 EPs in that time. The nominated performance is from their EP The Fear of Fear, which dropped a week ago. I note that it is also the only female-fronted metal in the list, a nice feather in the cap of lead singer and band co-founder Courtney Laplante.

Quote by verbal
I think she's a great writer. and Red and 1989 are just phenomenal albums.

I'd say she is great within her niche, but doesn't hold a candle to someone like Kate Bush or Joni Mitchell (to stick with female singer-songwriters) in the bigger picture. And it really is not my niche, either.

Quote by verbal
We are gonna try to see the Taylor Swift concert movie.

I am so meh on her, it is not funny. And I am a big fan of female singer-songwriters. Her singing doesn't grab me and neither does her writing. But she has her fans and success and I respect that.

(Damn, that was a bitch-y post. Sorry. Deleted the bitch-y parts.)

Marcela Bovio began her career in metal and still performs metal a lot (e.g. she revived her old band Stream of Passion for an EP and concert this Fall). However, in her solo career, she has a much softer, more subdued sound, usually backed by a classical string trio. This is from her second solo album Through Your Eyes, which is one of my favourite albums right now.

Quote by AnnaMayZing

In the Trunk? 🤔

Ack, my old jokes are coming back to haunt me. 🤣

MGM and Eon seem to be no closer to casting Bond today than they were when we started this thread. I haven't even really heard any new casting rumours in a while.

Good morning and Happy Friday!!

Putting some Tobermory Grotto in the coffee machine. It's a lovely spot so I hope this dark roast is also lovely.

For teas, we got Assam and Sunday Tea.

Cold drinks are also refreshed.

Have a good one, folks!!

Interesting way to celebrate your anniversary. We usually take a trip for ours. Congrats!

RIP, Molly. At least she had someone good with her at the end.

Takes a turkey and a pumpkin pie

Quote by Meagananne1986

My daughters. They're letting me know they're hungry or they ready to be changed.

Babies are definitely not inclined to be shy about their needs, eh.

Nothing right now, but this was on in the car this morning.

Maze - Daze

Not a fan of car racing but when I did occasionally watch back in the day, I tended to prefer F1. My brother and his kids are more the NASCAR crowd.

Travel to space or to the deepest depths of the oceans?

Coffee ... the final frontier

These are the voyages of the Starship Inspirations

Our neverending mission

To seek out new sources of caffeine and sugar

To boldly go where no cafe has gone before ... Ah, ah, ah ah ah ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh 🤣

Good morning. There's some Deathwish Dark in the coffeepot. Teas are Russian Caravan and Yorkshire Gold (which is a really, really good black blend). Pitchers in the fridge are washed and refilled with iced tea and lemonade.

Hope all are doing well.

See you 'round.

Depends on where I am, but usually a hotel/motel. B&Bs tend to be for longer stays (e.g. we've often stayed in homes rented off AirBnB when visiting our son).

Try out a new musical artist/band or dust off an old favourite?

Finally got around to listening to the debut album from Mia x Ally. It's a lively, enjoyable collection. Most of the tracks are ones they have covered to varying degrees finally getting full covers, but there's some new material, too. Electric violin and bagpipes seems like an odd combo (did to me at first, anyhow), but these two make it work. Both are lifelong musicians with both conservatory training and a heap of raw talent, which helps. They are currently touring the US in support of the album.

Hare - Bare

Hey, gang. Back in the office today so didn't have time to pop in. Thanks, Jeff, for looking after the hot beverages. Will check on Elyse's story. Think I had noted it and not got back to it.

Later...

Quote by verbal
It plus whatever music I tell Alexa to play (I use Alexa for music and news only, in my office).

Yeah, if you're using Alexa, then Amazon Music is a good choice. I don't so that doesn't factor into my decision.

Good morning.

Coffee is Tobermory Flowerpot Island. We have Red Rose and Sunday Tea for us tea drinkers. Pitchers are washed and refilled with iced tea and lemonade.

Giving the place a spruceup. Washed the floor, wiped down the counters, got the fireplace ready for winter. Blankets are all washed and furniture wiped down.

See you 'round.

Quote by JustAnotherSapphic

My go to was Apple Music for years, but I got tired of fighting with their payment process, so I switched over to Amazon Music cause at least I get that as a bonus with Prime (which means there's no more payment struggles).

I tried Prime Music but ended going with the Music Unlimited package. The Prime collection was too limited.

Spotify's app is much better at this point. Interface isngood. Can cast directly to my smart speaker, no need to use Bluetooth or set it up in the speaker's app. Have not tried with Android Auto yet but I imagine it will work well.

10K is the most I could ever do.

Run or bike?

6404

Hiking boots. I prefer them even for urban walking.

Overnight hike or stick to day hikes?

New Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member Kate Bush is on my buds right now. Listening to Spotify's This Is Kate Bush playlist. Currently playing:

Quote by DenimAngel

I prefer Spotify over Amazon ... more variety in what you can find

My beef is that Amazon for some reason removed an EP by an obscure Finnish band that I like. I only discovered them because I am on a social site with the original lead singer's sister and when she posted about them recently, I realized it had vanished from my library on Amazon. Spotify has it along with their new single. And I am finding things Spotify does better technically.

Hi, Sara. Thanks for setting up. Nursing a headache and working on setting up my Spotify account. Looking at leaving Amazon Music since they had PO'd me a couple recently.

Beignets sound wonderful. Haven't had one in almost a year (was in NOLA in January).

So I am pulling double duty right now, also slinging java at some less reputable joint down the virtual street.😉

For here today, we have Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Russian Caravan. Cold bevvies are refreshed.

I have a conundrum. I have an s-f setting worked out that I quite like but can't seem to get a story going to introduce it. It's near future alt-history with aliens involved. Fun stuff to work through but this is the downside, I find, of focussing on worldbuilding. A world without a story may as well be for a roleplaying game. That's part of why there was never a successor to Night Of The Wind. I had worked out a lot about the world, but really only had that one story. Though to be fair, my comp winner The Goddess Dances is technically in that world as well, just so far removed in geography and style that it doesn't really seem like it.

Quote by Meagananne1986

The,Sound of Silence. Dated, but still stirring for me.

Hardly dated given that the Disturbed cover kind of brought it back in a big way. I have been a fan of the song seemingly forever (it came out the year I was born).

Spiritbox are a new-ish band from British Columbia, Canada (though many of the members are American). New EP came out today along with videos for the songs from it that didn't already have them. Lead singer is Courtney Laplante, originally from Alabama but living in Victoria, BC since her teens. She co-founded the band with her husband, Mike Stringer, who plays guitars and other instruments.

Fork - Form