Holiday Music

Well, it’s holiday music to me.

Happy Birthday, Neil

Today would have been Neil Peart’s 68th birthday, Notice how almost immediately after we lost Neil, society went down the shitter. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

I’ve got two Rush pins on my guitar strap. The Test for Echo pin was bought at a merch stand at a Test for Echo show in either 1996 or 1997… I think.

The Exit… Stage Left pin was purchased at a t-shirt store in the old Billerica mall probably in… 1982? Maybe? Can you say, family heirloom?

My Desk Rocks

My desk rocks harder than yours. Working Man, indeed.

My Spot

Christmas presents were finally hung. The one on the right is the star chart for the night of our first date. The two on the left are Rush awesomeness. The top one is a clock. I love clocks. I love Rush. The bottom one is a metal plate and it’s awesome. There is no doubt who sits at that desk now.

Still Missing Neil

Neil Peart is still gone. I keep checking in the hopes that it was fake news, but it wasn’t. I’m still missing Neil.

Neil is Still Gone

Last night after work Jen and I went for a drive to nowhere. She put on some music. I didn’t ask for anything, I just planned to listen to whatever she wanted.

She picked some Rush. Clearly she’s brilliant with impeccable taste. Hold Your Fire mostly, but also a little Power Windows.

The song “Grand Designs” includes the line:

Some world-views are spacious
And some are merely spaced

That pretty much sums up our idiot world, doesn’t it?

The world sucks without Neil Peart in it.

My First Rush Concert

This was posted to a Rush group on bookfayce today. It’s an ad from The Boston Phoenix for the first Rush concert I ever saw. December 3, 1987.

We were in the balcony so it was probably $15. We bought tickets at the door.

Widget Hope

The United States is literally crumbling around us. Americans are being murdered in the streets by law enforcement officials who have sworn to protect them, and the so called president is pledging to sic the military on those who speak out against it.

And yet there are glimpses of hope buried in the chaos. Americans have flown into space on American vehicles for the first time in a decade.

And earlier today the WordPress widget on my iPhone did this: