Friday Music

This is a gospel-influenced track composed by Curtis Mayfield and released by the Impressions as a the title track from their People Get Ready album.  Released as a single it became the group's best-known hit reaching number three on the Billboard R&B chart and Number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

In 1965, the date of the song's release, Mayfield was beginning to manifest a growing sense of social and political awareness in his writing.  Martin Luther King shared that this song was the 'unofficial' anthem of the Civil Rights movement.

Rolling Stone magazine names it the 24th greatest song of all time and also placed itt at number 20 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.  It's also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.  Whew!

It has been covered by everyone from Jeff Beck, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bob Marley, Al Greene, Aretha Franklin, The Chambers Brothers, Eva Cassidy, Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan, Rod Stewart, the Staple Singers and way too many more to count.  Whew!!

In my view Curtis Mayfield is one of the greatest soul singer/composers of all time.

To provide for contrast and for a sense of the timelessness of this song and how it has  transcended boundaries over multiple generations, social, political and religious movements I am posting a 1987 soulful Live In Montreaux performance by Mayfield followed by a contemporary white evangelical cover by Lindy Cofer and Matt Redman.

Good stuff. 

People Get Ready...

The Dear Leader

click on the image to enhance your worship experience

Yup.  Another massive banner bearing the image of Donald Trump was hung from another federal building today; above the main entrance to the Department of Justice Headquarters in Washington, DC

Further evidence of the vast improvement of your and my prosperity and general lot in life.  Along with making the world a safer place. 

All Hail The Dear Leader! 

Trail Camera Update

A funny thing happened to the trail camera supply chain this winter.  There wasn't a Moultrie trail camera to be had.  Nothing in stock locally.  Nothing on Amazon Prime.  Nada.  Was it a chip shortage?  A consequence of tariffs?  A shipping container that fell from a ship and is bobbing-around somewhere between China and a California port?  I have no clue.  What I know for sure is I've been wanting to acquire two more cams and I'm not used to being denied for 3 months.

Since they don't need to be cellular-equipped I know I should be able to snag them for under a $100 apiece; only they've been unavailable.  Other brands and models, yes.  Moultrie. no.  Pardon me for brand loyalty but it is what it is.  It's a boomer thing.

Anyway, after waiting for months, the Missus announced they were back on Amazon and that I should check-out the selection so she could include them on our order.  In short order they arrived - a couple of A-900 bundles including SD card and batteries - free shipping too. Set me back about $90 a camera.

I deployed the first, replacing the last of two A-25i models deployed April 24, 2020.  Its twin succumbed in 2025 and after five years of continuous use this cam was nearing the end of its useful life and will be held in reserve or maybe finish its tour of duty as the 2026 Oriole Cam this year.  We'll see.  Bottom line is I have one new camera still in the box and one old cam in reserve for the present.

Here are the last two pics from the old trail camera... 

Prepping and deploying the new camera...

Stay-tuned for some new photos before too long....

Don't Kiss The Frog

You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your handsome prince.  So goes the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm about the frog prince.  

The version ending with the Princess kissing the frog, who transforms to a handsome prince, is unfaithful to the original in both spirit and content. In the original tale it is the abject rejection of the frog that culminates in the princess violently hurling the hapless amphibian against a wall that transforms him.  The Brothers Grimm sometimes dispensed with nuance.

The version with the kissing is more about doing what you are told - and for women anyway - compliantly accepting their fate.  The original fairy tale is edgier, much more about societal status, the traditional role of women in general and the assertion of free will.  The tale is dripping in allegory and bears little resemblance to a Disney production.  Naturally, all things Disney become fantasized.  Besides, I have the book and have read the tale.  You can fight me over interpretation any time you care.

If only Russian dissident and opposition leader Alexei Navalny had an opportunity to toss his assassins against a wall. 

According to five European governments, recent forensic testing reveals that Navalny was likely murdered with epibatidine, a potent neurotoxin found in South American poison dart frogs.  This finding has resurrected scrutiny over the circumstances of Navalny's 2024 death barely two years ago. 

France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK have reported that independent laboratory analysis detected the rare toxin in preserved tissue samples from Navalny's body.  They argue that inasmuch as there is no credible natural explanation for its presence they have reported the findings to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as a possible violation of international law.

I am not a biologist, but even I know that poison frogs are not native to Russian Gulags situated above the Arctic circle.  What I do know is that even small amounts of this toxin can disrupt the human nervous system, causing paralysis, respiratory failure and death. 

Navalny died February 16, 2024 imprisoned in a remote and frozen Soviet-era penal colony.  Naturally, the Putin regime denies any involvement insisting that their problematic citizen passed away of natural causes.  

Six years ago I had the opportunity to learn more about South American poison dart frogs on a museum tour.  You can see them here in captivity - duplicating their tropical environment.

 

Got to hand it to Vlad.  It used to be Sudden Russian Death Syndrome; the accidental falling from hotel windows phenomena that has claimed the lives of a mind boggling number of businessmen, bureaucrats, oligarchs and journalists as a mechanism to silence opponents would suffice.  Having dispensed with the messiness of Polonium-210 as the poison of choice the play list now includes a toxin from South American poison frogs. 

If only the Brothers Grimm were alive today to spin a fairy tale with this material.....

Fake Spring

Three days in a row of spring-like weather with sunshine, melting snow and outdoor temps venturing into the mid-50s.  There is even rain in the forecast.

Hmmm.... 

Sure feels like spring; but I've been to this rodeo before and I am no fool.  We're gonna see a drop in temps, a return to snow and maybe even a blizzard or two with possibilities of such nonsense extending into April.

This ephemeral meteorological phenomenon is what is known as Fake Spring.

For the present what we know for sure is paw prints covering the porch confirm that Mud Season has commenced.  Consequently, a freshly-laundered supply of dog towels are on the rack above the janitor slop sink in the garage.

  

Fat Tuesday

On the first of several trips to Paris over the years we stumbled-upon Carnivale.

 

Jill had sleuthed the parade routes which converged at the Place de la République, a famous square located between the 3rd, 10th, and 11th arrondissements. 

 

Naturally, we took the subway to the famous square and situated ourselves at a cafe from where we could observe the arrival of the revelers. 

 

By the time the masses had assembled we joined the festivities for some Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 

 

Raising a toast to travel spontaneity and Lenten tradition…..

 

(Apologies for the glitchy autofocus)

Ice Drinking

 

 Sturgeon season thru the ice opened on Valentines Day. 

The season is scheduled to last 16 days, closing on March 1, 2026, or earlier if the predetermined harvest caps are reached.  

Great weather Sunday to catch some rays and maybe spear a really big fish….