Steel Kaleidoscopes

Lyrics of the Day

"Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me."

— John Lodge, 1968

The Maintenance Guy

He watches the trains come and go through the station, his wide face and patented blue-collar mustache scruffily trimmed.

His yellow uniform has sleeves that are too long, as he pushes the broom across the platform and underneath the benches.

He's a union worker and a company man.

He has a wife and three kids who watch him leave the house like clockwork, bringing home a Friday paycheck based on the chads in his time card.

He's social with his peers in their yellow uniforms, discussing the Bruins and the Celtics while reading the local free rag.

He drinks bad coffee out of a cup that features playing cards.

He whistles.

He's happy.

And he keeps the subway clean.

Over the Alps

 

Heading back to the states, the French Alps reaching skyward.

(Photo courtesy of Carol in Halfmoon, N.Y.)

Wall Street

Dollars in, dollars out

Morning optimism, afternoon doubt

Bulls, bears, not much to say

Once proud portfolios in disarray

Buy, sell, we're up today

Sell, buy, we've lost our way

Puts, calls, options in play

The bell rings in another day

Money flows, money goes.

And where the bottom is, nobody knows

Quote of the Day

"Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for."

— Jose Addison, Poet

Axl Rose's Forehead

 

'Sup, dude?

Fatal Attraction?

This story is just crazy.

Due, I guess, to the global recession, a man in China decides he's going to downsize his five mistresses to just one. He holds a beauty contest.

And one who didn't make the cut drives him and the other four contestants over a cliff.

Social Media

Twitter you, twitter me

I'm on Facebook, can't you see

Friend you, friend me

I'm doing nothing, golly gee

Interests, pleasures, date of birth

Choose a photo that hides my girth

Take a poll, drink some tea

And on Linked In, recommend me

Plaxo her, Plaxo him

Creating a blog post on a whim

Nothing to say, nothing to do

But change my profile picture

To show my new 'do

YouTube, you say

Filming your frathouse won't make my day

Text you, text me

In a car, from afar

Dig My Space, click away

Tell me I'm hip, it's OK

Why the boast, do you say

'Cuz I'm friended, poked and pinged every day

Twitter you, twitter me

It's all zeroes and ones, can't you see.

The Cage

 

Twenty years ago tonight, the Cage was rattling.

It was a time of shifting tides in the music landscape, the keyboard-laden '80s in the rear-view mirror as grunge and innovative speed funk stepped to the forefront. Both Nirvana and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were still underground bands, poised to take center stage and blow minds.

So here we were on the corner of Harvard and Comm. Aves, walking out into the night to this place called the Cage, underneath the now-defunct Molly's.

After a work day that did not involve email or web surfing (that was a good six years away) and a quick run along the Esplanade with a Walkman plugged into our ears after doing a load of colors down at the corner laudromat, we headed over to the Cage.

The bill was Dogzilla and Hell Toupee and they rocked and rattled the Cage until early the next morning. The place was packed and quite the fire hazard. It had the feel of the Rath, but much more claustrophobic.

We rocked until we rotted and had lunch with Ed.

The Michelobs went down easy.

It was a different time, a different place, a place that no longer exists.

But for that moment, that night, 20 years ago, we were young and alive.

Market Conditions

Cleanup in Aisle 6.

Front windows need washing.

Funky expiration dates with the yogurt.

Open up the canned pea inventory in the back. We've got a shortage on the shelves.

Time card rack needs fixing. May just be we tripped the breaker.

Move those tomatoes out of the back bins to the front. We don't want them to go bad.

Need some sand at the front entrance. It's a bit slippery.

Cleanup in Aisle 2.