ODDS AND ENDS: 
MY SPOTIFY WRAPPED, GOODREADS SUMMARY, OLD NEWS, AND ALSO?
I HAVE QUESTIONS.

Here we go.

Kinda surprised that Genesis was in my top artists yet again. I mean I dig them ('70s and early '80s Genesis, to be clear -- think Abacab era. Any of their post-1987 Michelob beer commercial sounding crap? Never!). I guess I didn't realize how much I listen to them.

Love my Top Five tracks obvs, but I expected to see Nation of Language further up the list, because I've been playing the shit out of them for the last six months or so. 

They did make my Top 10....

Nation of Language is a revelation. Their sound is a blend of OMD and early Human League, with a bit of 1982-era Depeche sprinkled on top. If you are an old-school new waver and haven't heard them yet, do yourself a favor. 

Although "Weak In Your Light" is gorgeous, "Sole Obsession" is my sole obsession. 

**************************

Onward! Goodreads is now doing its own version of Wrapped, and I love it. Here are some highlights from mine. 

Yep, I read a lot of graphic novels this year. I'm a huge fan of the genre, but not of the Alan Moore/Neil Gaiman variety; my tastes run more toward Daniel Clowes, Julia Wertz, Lisa Hanawalt, and their ilk.

I was lucky -- two of my favorite novelists (Curtis Sittenfeld and Morgan Richter) had new releases over the past year. I can confidently recommend anything and everything by those two authors.   

You know which book I don't recommend? The Better Liar by Tanen Jones. Absolute crap. I must've been feeling generous when I gave it two stars. It deserves one at most. (I have no problem ripping into a mainstream author. I'd never do that to an indie author, however. We struggle enough to be seen.) 

Ooh, "...a feeling of dread snaking through this novel." I was in an emo mood that day, apparently.

Yes, it's true: a former fling of mine in the Twin Cities had a hand in crafting Debbie Harry's memoir. The guy has an unusual surname, but even so I thought, "No fucking way!" Then I did some Googling and checked out his professional Facebook page and--I'll be damned--it's totally the same dude. No, I won't reveal his identity. He's a nice enough bloke and I don't want to put him on blast. I will divulge this semi-juicy tidbit, however. Remember back in the '90s when Sting was going around talking about how he was into tantric sex and could go for hours and hours? The guy in question made the same claims to me before we got, ehrm, "friendly." And in his case, the assertions proved to be decidedly false. In fact, quite the opposite, if you catch my drift. (What is it with British men of a certain age professing to be tantric studs?) Whatever. I just hope he didn't try that line on Debbie. 

**************************

OLD NEWS!

One of my early Christmas gifts from John was a subscription to Newspapers.com. I was delighted to receive it because, yes, I'm a nerd. I mostly wanted it for genealogy type research, but I am also having a blast looking at some of these old "nekkid lady ads" from The Indianapolis Star. I remember being quite fascinated with them as a kid. So seedy, so salacious, so unintentionally hilarious.

COMING
rain or shine!

Heh. Nice work, Ponderosa Sun Club publicity team. I see what you did there. It would've flown right over my head as a 10-year-old (which I was in 1983), but now I get it. 

My favorite part of that ad:

VISITORS NEED NOT DISROBE 

Here's a question for the ages: why in the name of fuck do these unhygienic jiggle joints serve food, and who was taking advantage of ALL THE SPAGHETTI YOU CAN EAT - $2.95 offer at The Centerfold showclub? Never mind, I don't want to know. In fact, I will pay you not to tell me.

Also, playing at The Rivoli: Three Cheers for B.J.U. Hmm. I wonder what that one's about?

Now this is just wrong. "Jo" looks like they used her senior yearbook photo for her "Fantasy of the Month" featured dancer ad. I mean, she's wearing a turtleneck for Christ's sake. Girl, you ain't about that life! I hope your tenure as a dancer was short-lived, and I'm sorry your father failed you. (I happen to agree with Chris Rock---a father's main goal in raising a daughter should be to keep her OFF THE POLE. There's a lot of truth to that.) 

The ad for this special investigative report was in the same section as the strip club ads. Coincidence, or were they trying to make some kind subtle statement? 

Fun fact: 1983 was also the year my parents divorced. If only reporter Tracy Horth had gotten to the bottom of this crisis a few years earlier, my generation might've been spared the trauma. But probably not. 

Really though, I'm still glad to be Generation X. I was a free-range child myself, and I'm better off for it. I would've hated to grow up a Millennial, with all the helicopter parenting and arranged playdates and over-scheduling. (Not to mention all their shitty, shitty pop music.)

Speaking of free-range children....

That's me on the far left in the Fozzie Bear shirt, along with some of my neighborhood friends from Sherman Drive, fall 1980. Largely unsupervised, and we turned out just fine.

**************************

And finally, I have some burning questions. 

For Donald Trump: Who gives better blow jobs, Lindsey Graham or Mike Johnson?

(Personally, my money's on the Speaker of the House. He may not be as adept at some of the mechanics, but I'm sure he's plenty enthusiastic, which can make all the difference. Besides, you just know Lindsey Graham is a total pillow princess.)

For Elon Musk: Who gives better blow jobs, Donald Trump or Amber Heard? 

For JD Vance: Does Peter Thiel make you top him, or vice versa? 
(I don't know. With the eyeliner and the bitchiness, Shady Vance just screams "bossy bottom" to me.) 

For Donald Trump Jr: What size strap-on does Kimmy Guilfoyle use on you? 

(Oh come on, you know that limp-dicked cokehead hasn't gotten it up in years.)

For Lauren Boebert: Ew, you fucked Ted Cruz?

For Ted Cruz: Ew, you fucked Lauren Boebert?

For Greg Abbott: HEY BITCH, LIKE MY SHIRT?

And I'm out! Happy Solstice, Happy Christmas, Merry New Year, and be kind, rewind.