Songs I Love in 88 Words or Less: "The Ballad of El Goodo"

"The Ballad of El Goodo," Big Star

Oh, this song! Alex wrote it about the Vietnam war, and though I wouldn't pretend to know or understand it in that context, I do know that the world is full of El Goodos…whether they're planet-sized ones with lightning hands and the courage to speak for a nation, or smaller, quieter ones with much less significant impact and little power, whose most resilient act is to look at the world day after day with gentle and kind eyes.

P.S. President Clinton says it way better, but heck, he had more than 88 words : ) Please read his beautiful tribute to Muhammad Ali if you haven't: "In the second half of his life, he perfected gifts that we all have: Every single solitary one of us has gifts of mind and heart. It’s just that he found a way to release them in ways large and small."

Wordless Wednesday: Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu

Oh, Lorenzo. A cat by any other name wouldn't make me think of every 70s-80s sitcom hero to ever wear a wife beater and eat linguine. (70s and 80s only, please. Those tools from The Jersey Shore have nothing on the Big Ragu.)

Meezer Monday: The One That Got Away

Everyone has one. Even Derrick, who came this close to eating this big mo-fo of a fly earlier today. Who knows how they worked it out, but the fly flew free, and may even be hiding in my shoe right now. I'm not sure I would have let it get much further though, 'cause I am not like those people who film "When Animals Attack" et al and watch the whole thing going down. And you're all crying because the baby cheetah cubs, who hardly stood a chance in the first place, have been killed.

Oh. my. Sorry to end on such a bummer note.

Wordless Wednesday: Why Don't We Do It in the Road?