Newsletter

Art I’ve Found

André

One day I got a new follow on X/Twitter from André. I rarely dismiss follows without looking at what they post to see if I like what they do.

I looked at his profile and saw fun, digital art that I knew would brighten up my timeline every day.

He describes his art as, for the most part, psychedelic. I find it fun, bright, and if you need something colorful to brighten your day, keep him in your viewing feeds.

Find him and his art:

Website – Linktree
X/Twitter – Instagram

My Art

Summer Lillies

Most people hear “lillies” and think of Easter. There are some stunning summer lilies around if you look for them!

Find My Art…

Music I’ve Found

Pachelbel’s Canon – 4 Flutes

Pachelbel’s Canon is the best song I have ever heard. A girl in high school played it for me on her Walkman, and I never forgot it, even eventually buying the CD.

One night it popped up on my iTunes, I wondered what happened to that girl, and Googled her. I found her on LinkedIn, she accepted my connection request, and then accepted my request to become my wife.

I found this version. It’s kind of cool as the flautist mixed four flutes for the video, and have never seen the wacky flute in the bottom right corner of the video before.

Best. Song. Ever.

My Dorky Song

Better Get to Enjoyin’ Summer

With the beginning of August here, looking at the calendar, it occurred to me that the summer is quickly wrapping up.

It’s crunch time, time to squeeze out every bit of summer while you still can.

Go do it!

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I’ve Written

A tease with a picture of something coming soon, planned right now for September 1st! I’m even surprising myself with this project!

One More Thing…

Pig-Butt Worm

Yes, there is a thing called the “pig-butt worm.” I find it kind of cute.

Find the story on LifeScience.

Art I’ve Found

Tim “TimmboSlice” Burgess

I saw Tim’s stunning aerial photographs and became hooked watching for them in my X feed.

His art gives a perspective of the oceans that will have you see things differently the next time you gaze at the sea.

My Art

Storms a Comin’

I miss Italy. Luckily the storms stayed away while we were hanging out at The Colosseum.

Music I’ve Found

The 502s

When I heard The 502s, after I stopped bouncing at my desk, I thought they were a fun mix of sounds like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones mixed with The Lumineers.

Just a bunch of fun music to put you in a bouncy mood.

My Dorky Love Song

A Walk is Lonely Without You

I was working from home and decided to go for a walk. Walks are so much better when my wife is along!

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One More Thing…

Kassia – Midi Art

I guess there are a few people out there making these videos, but watching the midi notes flow, like an old piano scroll, shows just how talented a piano player like Kassia is.

Art I’ve Found

Cory Babstock

It’s puffin season in Newfoundland, and Cory loves to share all things puffin and more!

Years ago I saw a news story about the puffins, and from then on, I always wanted to see them.

Right now the closest I can get to a puffin is usually through the lens of Cory on X or his Instagram. As he hosts tours at puffin-time, I do hope, someday, to make the trip across the pond to see, and take pictures of, the cute birds, in person.

My Art

The Colors of the Land of Kauai

Right now, with it being summer in the Chicago area, I don’t miss Hawaii that much. Come February, though, the thoughts of moving somewhere warm and beautiful will come creeping back.

Music I’ve Found

David Kushner

I heard the song “Daylight” from David Kushner pop on my playlist and thought, “Hmm, sounds a bit like that Hozier dude, but different.”

As happens these days, David became famous on Tik-Tok first, but don’t hold that against him. He’s got great lyrics and some great songs. There will also be a new album coming out the end of August if you find you enjoy “Daylight.”

My Dorky Song

Anticipation or Vacation

Some people say that the anticipation of vacation can be better than the vacation itself.

I say they are blowing smoke up their behinds or planning lame vacation because, for me, the vacation is the awesome part!

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One More Thing…

World-Wide Labyrinth Locator

Are you wondering if there might be a labyrinth near you?

Who doesn’t?

Maybe you want to do a meditative stroll or just see something, well, labyrinthian.

Have no fear, the Labyrinth Locator website is here!

Yup, maybe you find yourself in Keaau, Hawaii, and have thirty to forty minutes to spare. Go ahead, stroll a replica of the Chartres Cathedral Labyrinth. Better yet, head to France and see the original!

Art I’ve Found

Jonas Hangartner

When I first came across the art of Jonas Hangartner on X, I was amazed at the vibrancy and colors that seemed from another world. I learned he uses a variety of infrared filters to transform scenes that, while beautiful in their own right, become wild works of beauty.

My Art

Time to Get Busy

Sometimes you just need to be like a bee and get busy doing your work.

Music I’ve Found

Lizzy McAlpine

When I heard “orange show speedway” come across my speakers, I was intrigued. I heard a little bit of Billie Eilish in there, and some storytelling like Noah Kahan.

The more I listened, I also heard some Taylor Swift, but in a unique way.

It’s quite the mix of goodness.

My Dorky Song

Summer is the Greatest

The other day, in my car, I was pondering the seasons. It occurred to me that summer is the greatest season.

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One More Thing…

The 12-Year-Old in Me…

… finds farts funny. Even funnier to me is seeing a bear fart and seem to enjoy it.

Thank you Vermont Fish & Wildlife!

Art I’ve Found

PattiVerse

Patti is a creator who focuses on artistic photography, using creative lighting and backdrops to create stunning art.

Her messages on X/Twitter are always filled with inspiration, her photographs are beautiful, and I always love coming across her work on my feed.

My Art

Flying to Celebration

As this edition comes out on the 4th of July in the United States, I figured a picture of the American flag would be appropriate.

This one was from Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a few years ago, with a parachute team starting the evening celebrations!

Music I’ve Found

Johnny Cash – Songwriter

As you can tell from the picture of me, I have been a long-time fan of Johnny Cash.

As I was listening to music the other day, up came a Johnny Cash song I had never heard before. “What, a new Johnny Cash album?”

It appears, back in 1993, Johnny recorded a batch of demo songs and they didn’t suck. They were just never released.

John Carter Cash, Johnny’s son, found the songs, had the backing tracks re-recorded, and released them as “Songwriter,” a wonderful collection of songs just as great as anything Johnny put out when he was alive.

My Dorky Song

I Had an Egg Sandwich

If you have been following me for a while, you know my love for egg sandwiches. In fact, it’s an egg sandwich that got this whole “posting songs on YouTube” thing going when I accidentally emailed a song about an egg sandwich, meant for my wife, to my sister.

This egg sandwich was not as good as the one’s my wife makes.

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One More Thing…

You Can’t Get Away With Anything…

I can’t believe I didn’t know about this, but apparently those lucky enough to work from home all of the time had found a way to not work but appear like they are working.

The slackers at home were buying devices that would keep their mouse active, giving the illusion they were working so things like that annoying light on Teams would stay green signifying they were “Available,” i.e. at work, instead of yellow, or “Away.”

Not for much longer.

As happens, companies are finding other ways to detect if work is getting done, so, slackers beware, you will have to find something new to pretend you are working but not work.

Art I’ve Found

astromarkc

In the spring I took pictures of the solar eclipse and fashioned myself an “astrophotographer.”

Every time I see an image of Mark’s coming through my X/Twitter feed, well, I’m reminded that I’ve got a long way to go.

With stunning pictures of nebula, galaxies, and all things astro, his work continues to amaze me and has me look at the night sky a little differently.

My Art

“It Brought Up The Rear”

It occurred to me that kids these days, and some adults for that matter, have no idea what a caboose is.

Music I’ve Found

2 the Moon – Pitbull, Ne-Yo, AFROJACK

In my wide variety of music listening, I am a fan of Mr. Worldwide, Pitbull. Sure, the video really just has women dancing around, but when the song popped up on my iTunes, I couldn’t help but do the old-man-dance at my desk.

My Dorky Song

“Bug In My Car”

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Art I’ve Found

VivianeG

If you ever wondered if you should just start something you are interested in, VivianeG is a wonderful example that you should. Her art journey started in just 2021 with paying for a Photoshop course. Quickly her visions of minimalism and red balloons became an instant hit in the art world.

Over the short amount of years since then, Viviane didn’t stop with Photoshop, honing skills on Blender and other art creation tools bringing animation and other styles to her repertoire.

Whether minimal or expansive, seeing Viviane’s work come across my feed is always a joy.

My Art

Green Means Go

We have railroad tracks near our apartment. As a person who grew up loving trains, maybe mostly because my dad would put up a train set every Christmas, there is something that gets me excited, even when a train is nowhere to be found.

On a morning walk, with the sun coming up, a stretch of tracks was empty, but from the signal lights you knew a train was going to be heading towards the sunrise very soon.

Music I’ve Found

Holy Locust

The article at Boing Boing started, “Listen to folk punk from hobo heaven.”

I’m in!

The band they were referring to is Holy Locust, a mix of punk, jazz, and folk.

There is not a lot about them out there, a little on the Flail Records website, and on Bandcamp, but if you like jazz or folk or punk, give them a listen!

My Dorky Song

Thinking About Love

I sing a lot of dorky songs for my wife and then post them on my YouTube channel.

Every now and then I let her know that I really love her and call it “Love Song Thursday” for the post.

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Out in Internet Land

Glenda is Nuts

Apparently a squirrel has been tormenting a woman for years.

What to do?

Start a TikTok, call the squirrel Glenda, and let social media enjoy.

Me, I love squirrels, even though they are basically rats with fuzzy tails. I remember feeding our “pet” squirrel from the palm of my hand when I was a young lad. I wish our squirrel was more like Glenda, though.

Art I’ve Found

Avaaaaart

Ava is an artist from Istanbul, Turkey. I fell in love with her creative faces to start, and then, as I paid more attention, how she melded them into scenes of life.

One image doesn’t do her work justice, so check out her Instagram or avaaaaart.eth.co profile.

My Art

“Nature Reflects”

This is combination of My Art and Art I’ve Found.  I took the picture and love the colors and shadows, but the sculpture was part of the Human + Nature exhibit at The Morton Arboretum near Chicago. The artist is Daniel Popper who creates beautiful sculptures. The focus for this exhibit was utilizing tree-like construction to meld nature with human-like qualities.

Music I’ve Found

Yuma Wang

I would have never had any idea who Yuja Wang was were it not for someone I follow on X/Twitter, linking to their video, and simply posting, “Yuja Wang is undefeated.”

She is a pianist extraordinaire, and I was mesmerized by her talent on Glass: Études: No. 6 from The Vienna Recital. If you like piano, heck, even if you just want to see some awesome piano playing, I encourage you to check her out.

My Dorky Song

At Least They Drown Out the Traffic

My obsession with cicadas continues. There is an expressway by my office, and the traffic is kind of noisy.

Who do you think wins in the noisy department these days, the traffic or the cicadas?

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Didn’t Know What Was Coming Next

Kevin Costner on WGN Morning News

As they are wont to do, the WGN Morning News always has an interesting way to greet guests.

A recent visit from actor Kevin Costner was no different.

It’s always great seeing how the stars react to the antics of a professional newscast!

Art I’ve Found

Bradley Moon

Bradley is a photographer I’ve grown to love, especially as his work varies from subject to subject whenever he posts. One day it might be a stunning architecture image shot at a different angle, and the next day he’s posting a stunning flock of birds against a sunset or sunrise.

I don’t remember the first time I saw his art, but this image of “Nature’s Airshows” was one of the first one I commented on, as the 12 year old in me took over, mentioning that I would not want to be on that boat.

My Art

“Come Out of Your Shell”

Yea, I’m a little obsessed with cicadas right now. They are weird, seem to have a purpose every 17 (or 13 years), and leave a mess, like the carcasses that hang on the trees, fall to the ground, and stink up the place.

Still, I’m going to miss their song when I go out to my car in the morning in a few weeks when they are gone.

Music I’ve Found

SOHN

Listening to a podcast, the host mentioned when he needed background music to keep him focused, he listened to SOHN. I said to myself, “Self, I sometimes need background music to stay focused.”

I searched out SOHN (real name Christopher Michael Taylor), and sure enough, he’s got a rhythmic quality to his music that is kind of dreamy and not too overpowering. Perfect for extended periods of needing focus at my keyboard.

My Dorky Song

I Seem to Like Blueberries

For what seems like forever, I didn’t like blueberries. No particular reason, just didn’t care from them, and they stained everything.

For whatever reason, a few years ago, I added them to cereal at the urging of my smart wife, and she would put them in scones.

Now I am a fan of blueberries.

Who knew?

Coming Soon!

What Ben Didn’t Know

For a while now I’ve been working on some short stories revolving around a man named Ben. My anticipated launch date is July 1st for the first volume tentatively titled, “Just Another Lunchtime Walk.”

I’m very excited to let you into the world of Ben, and will let you know how find him in the coming weeks!

One Last Thing…

The Ladder Luchador

A few years ago this commercial made me chuckle. It’s one of the most memorable commercials for something as mundane as a ladder that I have ever seen.

I came across it while cleaning out some old bookmarks. Now I want a house so I can have a ladder.

Art I’ve Found

Jason O’Rourke

The first image I saw from Jason O’Rourke was of a monk seal on Kauai, Hawaii. It instantly took me back to a vacation and falling in love with the monk seal. He is a landscape and wildlife photographer, and has a passion for marine conservation, especially the monk seals.

If you want to see wonderful marine photography, Jason is a great place to start!

My Art

The Lion of Cantigny

Memorial Day was just celebrated in the United States. The day is a remembrance of those who gave their lives in the Armed Forces. The image is a sculpture called The Lion of Cantigny which commemorates the Battle of Cantigny in World War I.

Music I’ve Found

Miles Davis

In the world of me, I found it surprising that I had never listened to Miles Davis. While searching for music at work, Apple had come out with its top 100 albums, and there sat “Kind of Blue.”

Miles Davis became the music of the day.

While I should have been listening to Miles in an easy chair, with a scotch or Manhattan beside me, and maybe a pipe, sadly, I was listening at work. Even so, I am now a fan.

My Dorky Song

Cicada Noisiness is Here

It’s been seventeen years since the cicadas sang their beautiful song, well, actually just made a lot of noise. They are back to remind us, “Why the heck are there cicadas?”

I still am not sure why they are here, but they are noisy!

I’ve Written

Faceless After Dark

From my review…
Faceless After Dark” does a great job taking you into the psychosis of a movie star stuck as a one-hit-wonder of a horror movie.

More Cicada Goodness

The 17 Year Cicadas …

Yes, it’s cicada time as I’m mentioned, and as dorky as my song is, the Forest Preserve District of Dupage County in Illinois takes the fun to the next level.

Their videos explain the life cycle of the cicada, and the second video makes you appreciate that you aren’t a cicada.