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After I published my Bye, Bye, Bear Blog! post, Khoaly mailed me and invited me to participate in their Bearblog Carnival. I couldn't resist... If you can have dinner with anyone in the world, who would that be?When I was younger, I had a few heroes, or role models, or whatever you want to call...
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IntroductionOur back garden ends at a fence that is covered in Hedera (commonly referred to as ivy). If you know anything about gardening, you already know this plant grows quickly and relentlessly. It wraps itself around anything it can reach, and it practically glues itself to any surface....
abagond
Remarks: The year 1976 not only gave us “Muskrat Love” and the best song ever, but “Disco Duck” too! It went to #1 on the US pop chart and was a top-ten hit throughout the Anglosphere. . See also: songs: the 1970s also 1976: Diana Ross: Love Hangover Starland Vocal Band: Afternoon Delight...
abagond
Benjamin Netanyahu (1949- ), aka בִּנְיָמִין “בִּיבִּי” נְתַנְיָהוּ, aka Bibi, has been prime minister of Israel off and on for about 19 of the past 30 years: 1996 to 1999 2009 to 2021 2022 to present (2026) He faces voters on October 27th 2026 for the first time since the massacre of October 7th 2023, the...
abagond
The Economist wrote this in 2014: “Japan has about 500,000 non-naturalised Koreans, some of whom have come in the past couple of decades but many of whose families were part of a diaspora that arrived during Japan’s imperial era in the first half of the 20th century. They have long been targets of...
abagond
Remarks: This came out in the summer of 1963. It was the number one song on the US R&B chart for four weeks. It is still a great song. It was written by Holland-Dozier-Holland, the same who wrote nearly every number-one hit sung by the Supremes. Linda Ronstadt covered this song in 1975. Martha...
abagond
Remarks: Fifty years ago today, shortly after the Bicentennial, this was the number one song on the US pop chart, from July 10th to 23rd 1976. It was a top-20 hit throughout the Anglosphere. The band won a Grammy the following year for Best New Artist – and then never had another hit. The...
abagond
Some songs I have posted about the US: 1939: Billie Holiday: Strange Fruit 1964: Sam Cooke: A Change Is Gonna Come 1965: Barry McGuire: Eve of Destruction 1968: Dion: Abraham, Martin and John 1969: Jimi Hendrix: The Star-Spangled Banner at Woodstock. 1977: The Eagles: The Last...
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IntroductionWhen I was a computer science student, I read the first edition of the book "Parsing Techniques - A Practical Guide" by Dick Grune [1] et al. In the ~30 years since, it may be the book I’ve been reminded of most often. The primary reason for this is that the book goes off on tangents...
abagond
James Earl Jones reads the most famous part of Frederick Douglass’s speech given on July 5th 1852. The Declaration of Independence, signed on July 4th 1776, said all men were created equal, but the war only freed White Protestant men of property. US history since then can be read as the slow,...
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When I talk to my cats, I do this in a cute voice (don't judge me; I know many people do this!) but even after all these years, my "I'm talking to a cat" voice does not elicit any special response from them. It's as if they are unable to hear the difference between my regular voice and my cat...
abagond
Remarks: This came out in 1976 reaching #3 on the US R&B chart and the top-40 on pop charts throughout the Anglosphere. It is one of those songs that I assumed I had already posted. I especially love the long version (posted above) where the violins come in at the 4:31 mark. See also: songs:...
abagond
Remarks: Aged British rocker Roger Waters of Pink Floyd and Palestinian singer Mona Miari reimagine “Comfortably Numb” from Pink Floyd’s album “The Wall” (1979). They flip a song of personal despair into one of hope for Gaza, which plays itself in the video in all of its bombed-out, betented...
abagond
Remarks: This is my favourite Cher song not counting “I Got You Babe” (1965). It went to #1 on the US pop chart in 1974. She did not have another number-one hit till 24 years later – “Believe” (1998). That must be some kind of record. The video above comes from 1973 when she sang it on “The Sonny...
abagond
Remarks: Wow, they hardly ever make songs like this anymore. It is, by far, my favourite Olivia Dean song – so far. It is not her best known song, but after nine months it has already reached the top-40 on pop charts across the Anglosphere. It is based on a sample from a 1971 song, “We Had True...
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IntroductionIn my early teens, I read a book by I think it was Dale Carnegie and one idea from it has stayed with me for over 40 years. The book suggested that one should walk a mile in another person's shoes before judging (for being untruthful, immoral, wearing Crocs, or whatever). As a young,...
abagond
Remarks: This came out in the summer of 1970, reaching the top 3 on pop charts throughout the Anglosphere. It is one of those sad songs that sound happy. Because Cracklin’ Rosie is not a real woman. She is “a store-bought woman”, “a poor man’s lady” – a bottle of wine. Cracklin’ Rosé was a brand...
abagond
Remarks: This came out in 1983 and it is still a great song. And it is not just me: right now, on May 24th 2026, it is the number one song in the whole world according to Billboard’s Global 200. The video above has been seen over 2 billion times! Baby Shark watch out! See also: songs: the 1980s...
abagond
Remarks: This may be the first time I have posted a country music song, but it is not the first time in this space that someone got their heart broke at a Texas honky-tonk. This song came out in 2025, conquering the country charts and then, in 2026, the pop chart, where it has been number one in...
abagond
Remarks: This came out in France in 1966. It is my new favourite Françoise Hardy song! It is Mina’s “Se Telfonando” (1966) but with considerably different lyrics: a break-up song became a I-will-follow-your-anywhere song! Does anyone still write songs like that anymore? Miss Hardy did sing it in...
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Those of you who have read my About page know I'm an old geezer. I probably don’t have any of the credentials you might look for in a source of life advice -- other than that my path through life has likely been longer, and definitely different, than yours. Along the way, I may have stumbled upon...