(10:02 AM EST)
( My Mix on YouTube)
( current weather: sunny, -8*F, no wind chill)
  One of my Facebook friends post a photo of an old 5 & dime store......as I scrolled through my memories of shopping at 5 & dimes but got snagged on the memory of Neisner's...... I'll get to why the memories of Neisner's keyed this memory later.....
  I had a love/hate relationship with my High School English Teacher, we both loved a good verbal argument, and we both hated the other's point of view..Sometimes we would deliberately take contrary views on purpose ......anyways we had to write a senior term paper...the rest of the seniors got to choose their topic.....mine was assigned...
  I had to write a paper on Utopian theory......the catch was I could only use 5 assigned book...now I already had.....Plato's "Republic", Augustine's "City of God" and Marx's "A Communist Manifesto" in my private library......and borrowed More's "Utopia" from the school library.....but the 5th....H.G.Wells' "A Modern Utopia" was a problem.......after doing a search at the local branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Library System discovered there was only one copy in the whole system.....and that was in the reserved room at the main library....and could not be checked out......nuts......
  So I took a day during Spring vacation....had my dad drop me off on his way to work......and spent the day in the reserve reading room taking notes...Thankfully I have a killer reading rate and was able to complete the book in under 8 hours.....
  But again why Neisner's keying the memory...there was a Neisner's close by with a lunch counter......I was 18 years old.......a boy needs to eat.... but this reminds me that "The Palace Burlesque" was just down the street from the library....who would of thunk it...2 educational institutions that close to each other....and no although I was 18 and could have gotten in...just didn't have the time.....
  Well I wrote the paper and turned it in.....most of the other students papers were in the 8 to 10 page range.....my was about 25 pages...don't recall exactly.....after all that was going on 52 years ago.....
  Well anyways I got my paper back...I got a 95/100 on it....which was the highest grade Mr. W every gave but in red letters "Well written and I don't agree with a word of it"......which set of an exchange of written point and counterpoint...and a few debates in class......but I must say I did respect him...although we never agreed, he never marked me down for my opinions, only the way I presented them...An honest man....he was dead wrong about many things IMHO.....but he was a good teacher
  the funny thing about this I was taking World History in college about a year later and one section of the study was on utopian theories.....and Doctor C...asked if anyone had read the "Modern Utopia" by H.G. Wells and mine was the only hand that went up in a class of 100+.......said he "I've been waiting 10 years to discuss this book with someone" he dismissed class and we spent most of an hour in discussion on the book.......Thanx Mr. W 

{10:58 AM EST)
( now playing My YouTube mix......assorted classical.....)
  Another bright sunny day here...the good news is the temp is +15*F.......the bad news adjusted for wind chill feels like +3*F........
  I went to bed at 9:30 PM EST......but my feet were taking turns singing me four letter arias......finally they stop sing around midnight....and baring a few wake up calls to visit the little boy's room......slept to 8:45 AM.....My dreams have been a little weird as of late....not disturbing or nightmares...which  I have had in the past....and the reoccurring ones haven't come........the ones are just mostly "flash backs" to past events inn my life...but a little different......I'm wondering I've been on the proverbial
"wagon" for a tad over 2 months.....??
(2;18 PM EST)
( listening ro reruns  of "Street Outlaws" on the boob tube)
  Some light snow but the temp is dropping now +8*F..and the wind chill has dropped to -8* F.....and going to be colder over night.....Haven't been out shopping since Tuesday last and checking the forecast it looks like the coming Tuesday or Wednesday maybe the next good day for a walk......I have plenty of food and other stuff but then there is always delivery........
(4:33 PM EST)
(now playing: "Sink the Bismarck"......)
  Went to the vending machine that is just around corner from my rooms to get some peanut butter cookies and saw a package of M&Ms that have a caramel filling.had never seen them be for......
  I deny having OCD....I have CDO...same thing only I insist on alphabetical order.....any one who read this blog before knows I love to fiddle with my layout...one of my major deals is having the length of the post and the column about the same length......so be prepared for some fiddling on January 1......I know the length of the Archive list will shrink a lot.....am considering how to deal with that... 
{10:11 PM EST)
( back to "My Mix" on Youtube}
  -8*F......no wind, therefore no win chill......
  An old concert band mate from High School post to my Facebook timeline a picture of Adolphe  Sax's 7 belled 6 valved trombone........and it sent me to Google images...found pics of a 2 belled French Horn, a 2 belled trumpet, an a double bell euphonium part of the reason I found that was he played the regular euphonium..some times called a baritone horn......but I had a friend in Pep Band in college who played a double bell euphonium...but my old band mate reminded me when back in school we saw the Marine Corp Band play and one of their players had one..Time to put this and me to bed..... 

{9:25 AM UTC -5}
(best of Bernstein)
  It's -9*F as I write this post....it may get to all of +7*F this afternoon....when I tried to type Bernstein above my tremors took over and it came out "Beernstein"..or maybe it was my sub conscience using my inner puny powers...?......but anywho..oy vey..
(12:28 PM UTC -5)
(Vivaldi: Concertos for multiple instruments in another window)
  It's a heat wave.......temperature now +1*F......you may think that I have developed an obsession with the weather...I deny that......well maybe a little obsessed with it.....
  Before I found Facebook, I posted to G+ quite often.....spent some time today getting rid of some of the communities II never post to anymore, but did add a few I want to check out
  Not much going on......nothing planned for the New Year's Weekend......years ago I played a lot of the card game "Rook"....friends.of mine would have a group over and we would play Rook on New Year's Eve.....sometimes to breakfast.....which reminds me when my daughter was just a kid...My dad and mom would come over almost every Thursday night to play Rook......but the funny thing about it.we had a mixed breed dog,......part Border Collie and part Golden Retriever who loved my mom....or was it she loved the bones my mom would bring.....but we'd say to Taffy (the dog not my daughter)   "Grandma coming".....the dog would run from window to window watching for my mom......and when mom got there the dog would get so excited she'd lose bladder control......we debated for years whether the dog just loved my mom or was it the bones she'd bring .......
(1:14 PM UTC -5)
(Bernstein: Overture to Candide playing)
  Our High School band tried to Play an arrangement of the Overture for band.....wild french horn part which the second horn and I practiced extra time to get and we got it......then the music disappeared from the folder.....when we asked why.Mr.A said "the clarinets could get their parts" so as revenge we figured out where to aim the sound of 5 horns so that it would bounce off the floor under the last clarinetist......I don't think he could hear himself think, let alone hear what he was trying to play
(20:48 PM UTC -5)
(The best of Segovia now playing)
   'Tis time to wrap this up for the day...current temperature here....-15*F,,,,,,,and the wind chill of -29*F.....it's early...but I think it's time for me too tuck myself into a warm bed.....nite all

(Now playing Beethoven's "Christ on the Mount of Olives")
(it is my intent to leave this in "draft" and add on during the day before publishing)
  I awoke this morning a tab farmisht (befuddled-Yiddish) so the fact that first meal include scrambled eggs was quite appropriate... I checked many Facebook account, and discovered an old friend's birthday was today......and I thought I had posted my greetings to her time line...but I actually posted it to my own......then had to tag her so she'd see it.......oy vey
  I posted to one of the G+ poetry groups.....and got some feed back.....I reread my last 3 poems, a set of Limericks...a tad risque....a kind of silly poem, and finally a serious one.....the more I think about it....I may be the ultimate definition of an Oxymoron....a contradiction in terms or at least in my thoughts...a combination of parts that should not ever be in the same mind.....but they are......coming forth from mind at any given minute can come forth a range of thoughts from the risque, to the silly, to the serious, and even occasionally the profound and everything in between, and in no particular order and I have little control over what and in what order ..........and at times unfortunately I have no built in filter.......so what I think in my mind comes out in the spoken or written word, for all to see.....lets just say I'm complicated.......
(listening to reruns of "Beat Bob Fray" on the boob tube)
  As a local weather update, it's a beautiful, sunny day, and it's the warmest it been today right now......it's +2*F....and it's predicted to be around -9*F tonight.....normally December is not that cold.....January is usually the cold month and February is the month we get the heaviest snow fall........several years back everyday in January it was below 0*F at least one time during the day..and for several days the temperature was never above 0*F..and at times the wind chill was in the range of -40*F.....back  in the early 70s we had a day when the temperature was -55*F with a wind chill in excess of -100*F.....obviously that day you stayed indoors.....frostbite and hypothermia......could set in in under a minute.........why do i chose to live here......I'm after all a little meshugeh (crazy-Yiddish)....
( now playing an episode of "Horatio Hornblower"
  It's high time that I post this post to bed as it were.......but a quiet day......but an enjoyable one no the less.....I will have it playing in another window at some point, I found on YouTube the Haydn horn concertos....
  I can't believe I'm saying this..HBO2 is showing the replays of "Game of Thrones" and I haven't watched them at all......seen all the episodes several times...just not in the  mood...
( it's almost a record, but I didn't mess with the layout today.....(knock wood)

( Best of Faure playing in another window)
  Where to start today...have several things I'd like to put done here in 0's & 1's..so lets have at it
  1) Spent sometime yesterday messing with layout and theme......you didn't notice..well that's because all if nor all was done to my other blog "Troll's Poetry Corner"....massive redo....you can find the link wandering around in the column to the left.....which reminds me that I did add a couple of new links here....
  2) This AM I was doing my first run through of my email accounts ( will mention this later on) and when I went to YouTube I discovered a group.well it's not a group really...it's one guy who does four part acappella.......he apparently sings the four parts individually and then dubs them together.....boy I'm jealous........I am ( or was ) capable of doing that, always wanted to do it, but never got the chance......voice is pretty much toast....but can still hear the parts in my head but to continue my meandering  around YouTube, I of course subscribed to that page.....and got to wondering just how may subscriptions I have on my YouTube page....haven't counted in a while.....well the number is 103....boy I'm not into YouTube.......do you think.....mostly classical music, old movies/old TV shows......and some miscellaneous......that does include "Joan Jett and the Blackhearts" ( and yes spell check there are 2 T's in Jett and blackhearts is one word).....which reminds me next time on Youtube I must look to see if I can find any music by the band "Cheap Trick"
3) I enjoy the occasional solitaire game....so while checking my Facebook account.....they list a whole plethora of games and found a couple, although one of them Yahtzee does supply you with an online opponent
4) to get back to my e-mails....I get weather alerts every morning and the temperature was at my first look a little after 8AM (EST).....-9*F.......and also tucked in with my weather alerts was a "windchill warning" starting this evening running through mid-day tomorrow......wind chills are expected to be between.......-25*F & -35*F.......now that will put the frost on  your pumpkin........Obviously I will be staying in my rooms today and I'm quite glad and thankful that I chose to walk to the food market yesterday.....(Update at 10:30 PM (EST) temperature is -12*F and the wind chill is -27*F)
5) for many years I ran the shipping/receiving/warehousing department of a small local factory..and dealing with what winter threw at us to get the trucks in and out......I remember days when I was outside in wing chills in the range of -40*F......why......It was my job....I was well paid.....and I through years of experience knew how to dress for it.......but looking back on those days I realize I was a bit meshugener (crazy)....I didn't know spell check knew Yiddish....but I might have added it to it's dictionary at one point.......Reminds of an old line that describes me to a T...."They say the second thing you lose as you grow old is your memory......and for the life of me I can't remember what the first thing was.....
(because of the length of this post I may have to fiddle with the layout)
(that was an easy fix.....just changed the number of posts display)  

(for the first time since I'v been posting what I listen to while composing my posts.there is nothing playing in another window...however I'm listening to The Godfather Marathon on AMC)
   After complaining that there was nothing on the "Boob Tube" I wanted to watch.for the last 2 days AMC had not only the Godfather Marathon today......but a John Wayne Marathon yesterday....
  Only westerns and only 2 that I really like.."Rio Lobo" and "El Dorado" (I guess my spell check didn't take Spanish either).....actually my 5 fav Wayne pics one is a western "Fort Apache" the others are "Hellfighters"' "Hatari","Green Berets" and though he is only one star out of many..."The Longest Day".......but 2/7 I guess I shouldn't complain...but
  They showed "El Dorado" at 1030 PM (EST) and it finished at 1:30 AM (EST).....now the Godfather Marathon started a 9:00 AM (EST) this morning....and besides it was a Tuesday morning...which is the day housekeeping comings in and cleans my rooms..so I like to be up at or around 8:00 AM (EST) so the girls can clean my room first thing........OOPS!!.....rolled out of bed at 9:30 AM (EST).......
  Now the Marathon is on all day......and despite what I said about the weather (see early post today below) I decided that maybe today was my best chance at a walk....now my sis... bless her heart..gave me a pair of lined sweat pants......and my sis-in law (same blessing) gave me 4 pairs of thermal socks.....so I figured why put them to waste.....among other things I got some good olive oil, a nice bread in the french style ( a boule )...some yogurt.....some salami....but no bananas...I looked but all they had were either slightly over ripe, or bruised or were too many in a hand.....oy vey......
  So i thought I had spelled "boule" correctly but spell check disagreed.so I went to Google and the definition was a ball used for French lawn bowling but noticed a reference to Wikipedia for boule (bread)......(Boule_(bread)) ........now I must admit that in the never ending struggle Of MadTrolle vs. Spell check...normally spell check wins....but not today...I'll treasure this day for while...maybe the next 6 minutes.......there are times that I actually know the spelling of a word, but get the red line anyways.....but I have Essential Tremors.....and because of that I sometimes get extra letters or even clip a letter next to the one I wanted.....so yes I could be charged with the abuse of spell check..... 

  

( one of my YouTube mixes that is mostly the Hastings College Choir.......acappella arrangements of old hymns for the most part, as I get further into this mix there is a bit of the choir of King's College and other groups)
  I was seriously considering walking tonight late after the traffic has abated......except for lunch at the "all you can eat" Chinese buffet w/ my brother and his wife an their son.haven't been out of the rooms for almost a week...so looked at the weather.......the next 9 days the high temperature for the day will be in the single digits *F and the over night lows dipping in to the -*F.....but when I looked at the wind direction it was varying one side or the other from the north, and mostly a tad west of north.......in plain geographic terms the wind was coming off of Hudson Bay.....in the winter that means it's going to be cold.....our winter weather really is controlled by the wind and two bodies of water westerly winds over Lake Ontario and we get "lake effect snow"......winds from the north or NNW off Hudson Bay and we're in the deep freeze..But the Summers are great......we have 3 seasons here: "Just was Winter...soon will be Winter..and Winter".......But the Summers are great.......did I mention that the Summers were great..and they are but sometimes it feels like our year swings on the winter........you never hear people talking about what kind of Spring...Summer.......Autumn we might have before that season(s) come.....but even during the Summer you can hear people asking what does the "Old Farmer's Almanac" say about the weather this winter......In case you aren't familiar with the "Old Farmer's Almanac" (LINK)
  From the tenor of the above ramblings you may get the idea that we are a bit obsessive up here about winter......but you'd be very wrong to think that most people in "The Northcountry" (what the locals call it) are a bit obsessive when it comes to winter.....truth be told most people up here are totally obsessed with winter........and I do mean  TOTALLY.....
  I was never that obsessed with it, but because of my job for many years I was forced to deal with the inconvenience of it.......I guess in many ways I saw it as an obstacle that needed to be dealt with severely....for years I ran a shipping/receiving/warehouse department in a small local factory......and because of heavy snows or extreme cold ( wind chills in the -40*F range are some years quite common)........I saw winter as a challenge.......but now at 70 years old and retired.....I just view winter as a giant pain in the my gluteus maximus muscles ( I get a great charge out of spell check it did't recognize "gluteus maximus".........however it does recognize both "butt" and "ass"......oy vey)......the funny thing is when I entered said "gluteus maximus" originally I actual thought I had spelled it correctly and I had.......and then I saw the red underline.......but then I remember that I had taken Latin in High School and apparently spell check hadn't......
  Enough is Enough.....I'm out of here.....

( listening to one of my You Tube mixes.......mostly classical/liturgical......)
  It's Christmas day and I need to get dressed to go out with my bro's family to an Oriental restaurant for Christmas dinner, has become a tradition in my bro's family since their kids have grown up.....
  But started this post now......will probably leave it as a "draft" and finish it when I return...
  Didn't get a whole lot of snow over night, but fairly strong winds, which drifted what snow we got and what was on the ground into interesting sculptures of white.......an example of nature's artistic abilities.....
  I haven't mentioned this before but today marks 2 months sober for me......didn't pick the date to stop drinking so a month fell on Christmas......just happened that way......although I had a bad 3 first days physically.......haven't really had any cravings as of yet (knock wood).....but have not been exposed to the opportunity to imbibe yet.......but we'll deal with that when it happens
( I have returned)
( Beethoven's "Christ on the Mount of Olives" now playing)
  Had a nice visit with Bro and his wife and their son.......is a lawyer who works for a "dot org" in NYC.......we went to an "all you can eat" Chinese buffet.......and I think their son took that name literally because boy can that kid pack the food away......reminds me of me several years ago......I now have the appetite and eating habits of a bird......I peck at small amounts of food, several times a day......
  Finally some decent TV....tomorrow AMC is showing the Godfather I & II, twice back to back, don't get me wrong I guess they have to play Christmas movies during the weeks running up to Christmas.....but I only wish there would show a decent flick once in awhile, during that period......Yes I know wishful thinking on my part...but ..........ah nuts.......(the mad on chuckles.....I beat you thought I'd type......oy vey)..It's times like this that I"m thankful for YouTube......I can watch and listen to what I want...
(returned again..."Nine Lessons and Carols" Kings College Choir 1999)
  For those who are new to this blog....I messed a little with the layout......again......a common occurrence...added an article to the column left and changed the fonts on the article "Origins".....nothing major but I will start to document all adjustments for my own edification....and it will happen again

( The piano pieces of Clara Schumann playing in another window)
  Well here we go again.......from 9 PM tonight until 6 PM Wednesday we are under a winter storm advisory for lake effect snow........and the possibility of feet of accumulation......however from the description of the areas to be affected seems to indicate to me anyways that the bulk of the snow will most probably fall to the south of where I live (knock wood)....
  I am beginning to get a little frustrated with the weather.....and it's way to early to feel that way...as winter has only begun....I haven't walked since Wednesday last week.....mainly if it was just snow  I'd probably walk, however there was some ice buildup and then more snow fell on top of the ice......the last time, a few years ago, i walked in those conditions I fell and pretty much destroyed my left shoulder.....and now have restricted mobility with my left arm.......so if there is the potential of ice under a cover of snow I stay put.....
  So not being able to get out and possibly not til mid week I decided yesterday to get Chinese delivery...but first how much do I want to spend......I always order at least a total of items that is at least $15......or in $5 intervals....which includes an 8% sales tax and a 15% tip......well i messed around for better then an hour and when I finally got an order that fit all my requirements I realized it was really to late to order so set the finalized list aside and delayed the delivery until today....of course when I looked at the order I had decided on......spent another 45 minutes or so and redid the entire thing.....oy vey......
  I've been accused of having OCD...which I always deny..responding that I have CDO...and to the query "What's CDO" I reply "it's the same as OCD, I just insist that the initials be in alphabetical order"......  

( the music of Hildegard von Bingen......playing  in another window)
  This lady was a Benedictine Abbess  who lived in Germany from 1098(?) to 1198, a very gifted lady in many different subjects, if interested you can find a bio of her here.......
  Most of the time I find music that I like by having heard it before.....but sometimes like the above..I went to my YouTube page and found it in the section "recommended"....apparently YouTube has a function that reads your typical saves and recommends similar content....mine usually contains old movies/TV series, and classical music with a slant to liturgical music......actually I had never heard any of her music or of her for that matter..a nice find.....thanx YouTube......not for everyone taste in music but I find it very pleasing....
  Another snowy, windy day here.....the storms of the last few days are not from the normal westerly direction but out of the north east......so the total snow fall will be around 12".....but there was some freezing rain for a while and although if it was just the snow I'd probably walk later.....have nothing I actually need..but there are a few things I'd like to pickup.........but under current conditions......a walk would be ill advised......

( now playing in another window all 4 of Mozart's horn concertos + a fragment of an unfinished piece..soloist: Barry Tuckwell)
  Both my daughter and I played the French horn, although to be honest she was much better then I.....she was good enough to study Music/Music Ed. at Syracuse University, school of music on an academic full ride, the horn being her major instrument..I played in High School, she has a good voice but as she says "My voice is not my instrument of choice".........and as much as I enjoyed horn, I prefer my instrument of choice to be my voice.....
  but speaking of my daughter she is as I quite a scamp, she with 2 others were questioned by campus security because they were sledding down the hill behind the music building.....on cafeteria trays during the first snow fall of the year..fortunately the head of the  music school intervened .....
  When she was about 3 1/2 she was sitting on my lap watching the first Superman Movie /Christopher Reeves ( she was born in late '77) and at the start of the movie a date is flashed but no sound, and she said "Look daddy June 1939".now for a awhile we had suspected that she was able to read but that was the first time we knew for sure...now in the early '80s you didn't sit before a computer learning to read, you went to the library.....but to check books out rather then letting her mom or I do it she wanted her own library card..remember she was only 3 1/2 at the time..but to get her card she had to sign her own name....in cursive...and her name was a long one she practiced for a week or so and got her card,....now I was not present at this event (working) she took her books to the check out desk which was taller then she was and the clerk told her "I'm sorry but you have to wait for your mother"  my D pulled her library card out of her pocket and said "This is me"......never had a problem after that...
  She always needed to be precise..while she and I were sitting on a bench in the local children's  zoo, 2 couples of teens were walking thru the zoo and the one girl commented "Look at the squirrel stealing the duck's corn"......my D marched up to the girl looked up and said "That is not a squirrel, that is a chipmunk.you can tell by the black stripe on its' side".....and marched back to the bench at which point I was seriously thinking about hiding under it.....but I heard her boyfriend say "Listen to the kid she's right"...... There are far more stories I could tell about her escapades but I think that is enough for now
  It's snowing again.and maybe for the next 2 days as well....maybe 8" to 12"......plus just to make things interesting a little winter mix (snow/ice).......I'm reminded of my mom this time of year..how my mom loved a white Christmas..looks like this year she would have been pleased...

( the works of Tallis in the background)

  Thomas Tallis ( in the only surviving signature his last name was spelled Tallys)  Little is known of him personally only his music survives.....it was liturgical in style and is in a style called polyphonic (link)...He composed during the 16th century..in England.....no picture of him is known....only an etching done 150 years later (?) 

  Started out a quiet day.......first meal, a cherry yogurt and a banana...ok I confess and 3 miniature candy bars..

  the front desk called that my sis was there and I had them send her down to my rooms......she had some Christmas gifts for me, as she and her hubby are heading to Syracuse airport tomorrow for a 6 AM flight to Florida to spend Christmas with their daughter and her hubby and 2 kids..won't be back until early January......part of the conversation was that my bro might call about Christmas day...

  So in the middle of me getting second meal ready a tad after 2 PM......phone rang and as predicted it was my bro.....apparently since their kids (3) are grow they usually go out for Chinese food on Christmas day.....for 2 reasons ........their family loves Chinese food and Chinese restaurants are just about the only ones open on Christmas day.....and despite my standing plans to celebrate Advent alone their son will be there......and plus I like Chinese food as well......plus it's been a few years since I've seen Aaron.....

  A tad after 3 PM..phone call to my bro at an end.....restarted prep for second meal...an open-faced sandwich......half of a focaccia roll, olive oil, grated hard cheese, and preserved artichokes.......also a few breaded shrimp, and a glass of ruby red grapefruit juice.....

  Now the real question of the day is or rather 3 questions:

"Where was I?"

"What was I doing"

"And Why?"

( the movie "Sink the Bismarck" is playing in another window)
  If this post ends up more disjointed and run-on sentences and phases that don't usually go together.it because for some reason or possible no reason at all I have the attention span today of a wild 3 year old...
  Today is that last day of Autumn, winter officially starts tomorrow at 11:28 AM EST or if you prefer -5 UTC........I used to have a UTC map in the header of this scarp pile I laughingly call my blog....
  The weather the last 2 days has been in the mid 30*F and raining.....with the exception of the piles where plowing was done the snow we had is gone......although it has  been forecast that we may get some light snow after midnight local time....
  This AM around 9:00AM  the temperature was 30*F with a wind chill of 20*F.thanks to a brisk wind coming out of the west (270*) and the outbound leg of my walk was dead in to the wind.....I joked with one of the store clerks that I needed a tiny woolen cap for my nose...I was fine otherwise.....maybe I should get one of those woolen  caps that you can pull down and just you eyes and mouth show.....nah....I'd probably be mistaken as a robber or the like and end up in the slammer..but on the inbound leg of my walk with the wind at my back....was actually a pleasant walk.....except for a little lingering ice..the sidewalks were clear
  Before I start expounding on who knows what I think I will bring this to a close.....

( 4 Bach Christmas cantatas BWV 27, 84, 95, and 161...playing in the distance)
  If you haven't figured it out yet I'm it could be said heavy in to classical music, particularly masses and other liturgical works...mostly of the Barque and early Classical periods...I took a few years of piano when I still was in grade school....the teacher taught from a series of books based on classical music...the first time I sang in church, it was a duet with my sister...and I already sang harmony......then there was high school band.I played French Horn in a group that the majority of the pieces we played were transcriptions of master works...along the way to my 70th year I played, and sang in various groups church choirs, school chorus, small groups, and several times with the local choral society.....I've mentioned piano and French Horn, but also what we call in the USA recorders, but they are also know as beaked flute......and then the voice.....I had a high tenor voice, one that was best suited to Barque music, particular liturgical music ...I said had because age and ET (no not extraterritorial, but essential tremors.which had a negative effect on my vocal chords and diaphragm...but I can still hear the parts in my head....and still enjoy listening to the music I loved to sing......
  But although I was a 1st Horn or the leader tenor in many of groups I played/sang with......I was also a bit of a scamp.....and when presented a great horn or tenor part I tended to lead my section in the "taking over" of the piece....Two times jump to mind
  When we sang the Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah the director add "Let  All the Angels of God Worship Him".....a absolutely wonderful tenor part and my fellow scamp DJ and I ran away with it....but then I had  CD of the Robert Shaw Choral sing the same piece and their tenors did the same thing..in rehearsal our director, gave the two of us "the look" shook her head, but didn't say a word and we continued blasting the part......
  But the best of all was when our High School played a transcription of Beethoven's "Egmont Overture" in the final section there is a very wild finale and a great horn line.....so I arranged for the whole section.5 horns strong in a band that maybe had 50 members..to go bells up in one rehearsal .....our director gave a quick glance and basically just accept it....but we were playing on the stage of the auditorium and when we got done the senior high principle was in the well in front of the stage and was pointing to the ceiling and the chandeliers in the main part of the auditorium were swinging.....he was not pleased but for my part I loved it.....

( tonight as I write I'm listening to a Hornblower episode on YouTube)
  I really enjoyed them on A&E and was pleasantly surprise when I discovered them on YouTube....and I truly enjoy being able to see them again (although tonight I'm listening while I write this post)..........before I watched them on A&E I had read all 11 of the series of books on the mythical Horatio Hornblower.(over and over if truth be told)........what could be called historic fiction.......he, that is C.S.Forester the author places the fictional character Hornblower in the events of the conflict between the English and the French during the Napoleonic period of European history.....Forester did the same thing in his historical/fiction work "Sink the Bismarck".......and to a lesser extent in his book "The African Queen".......as to the A&E series they did use what one might call literary license..but enjoyable none the less....
  Has been another quiet day......not that I had any need to go out..but I had planned not to walk for the next 2 days because the weather was forecast as not too good.....after a real cold snap.... the temperature today and tomorrow is or will be in the mid-30s F.with the so called winter mix..that is snow/ice/rain none of which is right for a nice walk....
  Well it's a week until Christmas, for the last few years I have spend them alone.....my choice.....the over commercialize holiday that Christmas has become.....I will have none of it......I prefer to think about the Advent stories without the secular additions......
( now playing the Christmas portion of "Handel's Messiah" w/ the Robert Shaw choral)
  Over the years I sung parts of the Messiah...both the choral music and a few of the arias and recitatives.....but a few years ago got the chance to sing in a performance of the Christmas portion ( basically Book I.with a few add on from the other books)....both a challenge.and a lot of fun..but also a very spiritual experience.....
  I guess what I really miss is the "Old-Fashion Christmas"......and the sacred/liturgical music that is traditionally used in the observance of Advent....but thanx to YouTube.....I can enjoy the inspirational music of the period in my own rooms.......
  I guess I'm just an old fuddy duddy (not surprisingly spell check blew another gasket over fuddy duddy)......I yam what I yam & that's all I yam...( spell check didn't have a problem with yam.but then it figured I meant a sweet potato)..to quote the famous philosopher Popeye the Sailor..
  I need to draw this collection of random thoughts to an end....

( The Best of Wagner"........okay I know it's a repeat  but it fits my mood tonight )
  I took one of those crazy quizzes yesterday this one was applicable only to Americans."Are you a Republican or a Democrat" .....truth be told I've never been either......For many years I was registered in The New York State Conservation party, was a ward committeemen for many years.and served for about a year and a half on the County Executive Committee but got very frustrated with the other members save one the rest where one issue oriented...regardless of the lack of qualifications if a person came before us for are endorsement if that person was Pro-Life he or she got the nod over another who was highly qualified but was Pro-Choice......I got so frustrated at one particular decision bothered me so much I questioned why I was wasting my time with it......the answer was no...so I resign...( as aside I voted several times for the candidate that the committee rejected....they were the best qualified and it was for an office which didn't deal with that issue)
  On all personal issues I am very conservative.....on the topic of Faith....the Bible.......fiscal issues..and what I personally believe......if you ask me if I'm Pro-Life or Pro-choice..personally I'm Pro-Life and I don't agree with same sex marriages......But I also believe that I don't have the right to tell you what to believe.......I don't have the right to seek legislation to prevent you from following you own beliefs and your right to chose for yourself on social issues.....
  After  a while I changed my registration to independent...and I vote as I chose...( but of course I always did I just didn't want to be associated with the one issue concept).......truth is the last candidate I worked for was a Democrat .......but what really gets my dander up is the religious right....who feel they have the right to legislate morality....with their  own congregation yes they do..but for those outside their group.....IMHO they don't......I believe that the teachings from the pulpit should be the gospel.....not politics..... 

( The Best of Wagner playing in a second window)
  A quiet day.....as I  write this the temperature outside is 7*F with a windchill of -3*F....and it's predicted to be even cold over night...had considered a walk to the local food market..but have reconsidered and will wait until tomorrow.....Monday is going to be warm but with snow (this time of year here warm is any temperature in the mid 20's F),  and then Tuesday is foretasted to be mid 30s F, and rain......oh how I love the transitional weather up here between Autumn and Winter..NOT!!!!!
  I have a great distaste for the TV shows run during the bulk of October...away to many horror movie leading up to Halloween.....but then in my opinion one horror movie is one too many.....
  But obviously for different reasons The December TV listings are chucked full of Christmas movies and  virtually all the series have a Christmas episode...even the Food Network......have  a variety of baking shows featuring Christmas goodies......
  To continue I was curious as to how many adaptations of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Choral" I figured maybe 50 or so ....boy was i off (LINK)  there has got  to be 100's and several of them will be show on the boob tube this month.....and long with a plethora of other seasonal offerings....and except for "A Charlie Brown Christmas"...... my reaction to the rest is Bah Hum Bug....
  

(Haydn's "Lord Nelson Mass" is playing in the background)
  First meal today a simple salad, and a piece of the Chinese BBQ chicken on stick from the Chinese invasion of yesterday (okay I got delivery)....I'm not a huge fan of chicken other than Buffalo Wings...and have never ordered the BBQ chicken before but I will again.....
  Took a late walk to the local food market......needed salad greens.and bread...got the greens but they didn't have the rolls I wanted.....oh well.but did pick up some bottled anchovies, and a small grinder of pink sea-salt, a very nice finishing salt
  Much happened after I posted yesterday......hence the presence of the "Lord Nelson Mass" as background music.......although this piece of choral music, Haydn at his best IMHO..it has a real bear of a tenor part....but it's also one of my favorite pieces to sing....it is commonly called the "Lord Nelson Mass"..and some mistakenly think it's a requiem mass with it is not.the original title was "Missa in Angustiis" ( I think spell check blew a fuse on Angustiis)........English translation "Mass for troubled times"......I got news after I had posted yesterday which caused me to be plunged in to a very reflective mood.I actually tried to write it down  last night late.....but my thoughts were too confused....
  I got word over a group chat that one of my old school mates had passed away........on one hand not surprising as in the next calendar year all of my old mates from school will turn 70 (IIRC).....certainly he is not the first...but I had lost track of my classmates for 50 years....my family moved away just after graduation.....and I never re-connected with any of them until just a little less than 2 years ago when I joined Facebook....and the funny thing is I joined to be able to connect with a group site that was about a game I was playing......the fact that I connected with several old school mates was basically an accident.....one which I'm  glad for.....but this is the first time I've found out the same day...
  Although I really didn't know him well.....we had mutual friends in common..we where not  in very many classes or  the same extracurriculars but his passing triggered a flood of memories.....which I have managed now after the initial shock had worn off to put them is some reasonable order....
( Faure's Requiem now playing....also one of my  favs) 
  As this post is verging on a novella, I will not relate any of those memories now
                                        REST IN PEACE EV 

( music of J.S.Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier in the background)
  As I sit here this morn I am contemplating what to get for launch and beyond..actually I'd like to walk to the local food market and get a few things but 2 rather important and negative factors make that a poor choice
  The first is I awoke this morning and check the temperature outside.....it's 4*F......but fortunately no wind to speak of so windchill is no factor...and I normally would just walk anyways....this is the start of my 52 winter in the icebox that the locals call "The Northcountry" .......several winters ago we had a day when the actual temperature was -55*F..add to that winds in excess of 50 MPH......the windchill was below -100*F...........and I used to work outside in the winter when the wind chill was in excess of -40*F.......over the years I've learned to dress properly for the extreme cold.....but today..no walk because the other factors
  Well actually just one other factor.....probably partially because of the weather conditions but I awoke this AM with knees that are quite stiff and sore.....I've had chronic tendinitis in both knees for at this point about 55 years.......and I've even had to resort to using my cane around my rooms......which I don't do very often......now if it was a warm day outside I might attempt the walk because the warmer weather conditions plus the exercise usually loosing up my offending joints.....besides I have some occasional balance issues so I never leave my rooms without my friend the cane..I call it "Ichabod Cane" ( yes I know a bad pun....but puns are supposed to be bad)
  So as we come towards the end of this ramble through the wilderness that is laughingly called my mind......based on the above looks like it's call for delivery....but before I go through all the possibilities I think for two reasons I will end this ramble:
A) this post is staring to verge on novella
B) I'd like to be alone when I contemplate food
( as Bugs Bunny would say "That's all folks)
( of course we know that Bugs is a lying con-rabbit so as a postlude)
  So I decided on Chinese delivery.....took maybe 2 minutes to chose between pizza, wings and Chinese......and another 30 minutes and several different options of what to get.....I ended it up with crab......chicken.....pork.....and beef....
( now "that's all folks")
( the mad one walks away with fingers crossed behind his back)

(Beethoven's "Christ on the Mount of Olives" can be heard playing softly in the back ground)
  I always used to write with classical music on...in the old days it was a LP, then a cassette tape, then a CD..now it's a piece steaming from YouTube......but as to the piece tonight although I'm listening to the whole oratorio several years ago I had a CD with just the final chorus of the work....."the Hallelujah" quite  different from the Handel Hallelujah.but beautiful in it's own right.....at the time I had a budgie that loved the piece.....as soon as the instrumental intro started she would do the "head bob", and once the choir began to sing she would sing along with it......terribly off key..but she had a good time with it
  Yesterday was my birthday...had a enjoyable meal with my sis and her hubby.....we stayed close because a snow storm was blowing quite hard......not that much snow....we have gotten just a couple more inches.....but the visibility was bad.....
  Have had a quiet day..finished off my meal from last night.....as I age I find that my appetite is not what it used to be, so more often then not I end up with what back in the day we called a "doggie  bag"....but I prefer to call it my "next meal bag"......when I get delivery......typically $20 (US)....gives me meals for 2 to 3 days......I tend to order delivery more during the winter months when it's some times difficult for me to get out.....and make the walk to the local food market......during the nice weather....I tend to only get delivery when I really want something that I can't make myself....... ( read "nice weather" to mean no snow to trudge through).

(The Best of Gershwin can be heard softly playing in the background as I write this missive)

  Today is a day of remembering and reflection....I played in the school marching band for 5 years and we marched every year in the annual "Village of Alden" Memorial Day Parade .....it was kind of a big deal......marched down the main drag of the village to the cemetery ......to preform the traditional "Taps" to honor the fallen vets buried there........and then back to the village bandstand to hear someone recite "Lincoln's Gettysburg's  Address".........

  In the flood of Facebook greetings from my friends on my birthday, or as one of my friend a GOT fan reminded me..my naming day......I was reminded of the gag my day played with his age...the year he turned 40 he began to celibate anniversaries of his 39th birthday.and eventually it was the anniversaries of the 39th anniversary of his 39th birthday.....that being said I have decided to take a page from good old Abe and have decided to from this date forward  to express my age in the form he used in that famous address.....instead of saying 90 years ago..he said 4 score and 10 years ago......

  So on the day of my birth (or my name day if you would prefer) I declared my age as 3 score and 10

  So far a quiet day other then the afore mentioned fact that my Facebook timeline is blowing up with B-day wishes.....but sis called and I will be going to dinner somewhere about 5:30 with her and her hubby......we had a good laugh when I told her I didn't care where we went but let my bro-in-law chose..and quipped that if he chose we'd probably end up at a local diner/truck-stop.....which come to think of it wouldn't be a bad idea.....they have really good "comfort food" 
( and yes I have messed with the layout again ( or maybe the fact that I am perpetually messing with the layout would be more correct)) 

  I have two small refrigerators in my rooms and last night spend several hours defrosting them....I don't have a good reason for letting them get that much of a build up of ice before doing it.....I really should resolve to defrost on a regular basis......but somehow I doubt that I'll remember to do it more often.....
  Needed a few things so left the rooms for the first time in four days......with the snow we got (some where between 6"-8").....actually what I needed the most was to get out of my rooms......nice day....sunny...29*F....and little wind.....therefore windchill wasn't a factor..besides I'm starting my 71st winter.....and know how to dress for cold weather.......layered clothing.......a warm knit hat.....and a hoodie.....have several from light weight through a blanket lined Carhart jacket with hood.....and on a sunny day like today with all the fresh white snow everywhere sunglasses are a must......
  As to the walk......I live on the edge of a retail area...so most people drive......and only a few of us walk.....and some of the businesses don't do a very good job of clearing their sidewalks......I score the quality of the sidewalk condition on a 1 to 5 scale......1 is a cleared and reasonably dry ......all the way up to a 5 which stands for...forget about it and walk in the street......since the street I live on is one of the busiest in the city.......it's always well plowed and the traffic makes it clear how be it a tad wet....of course the down side is avoiding a rather unfriendly encounter with an SUV.....truth be told I'd lose in an exchange with Fiat 500......an although I did walk today when there was heavy traffic......I usually wait to do my shopping this time of year after 10PM..... once the stores close the traffic drops almost to nothing.....and the food market that I do most of my shopping at is only closed 36 hours a year ( 8PM Christmas Eve until 8AM on December 26th).......as to today's score card some of the sidewalks  were about a 1.5 but there were a few spots where it was into the street....definite 5 on the MadTrollie scale....  

 The predicted snow fall, has not lived up to the claims of the forecast.....if it continues to snow at the current rate we may get 6" +/-.......If you don't live in an area that gets "lake effect snow" which at times can literally snow a foot of snow an hour ...allow me to try and explain how the massive amounts of snow can occur
  But certain conditions must be met"
  1) you must have a large deep body of fresh water to the west.(check) Lake Ontario is west of where I live
  2) wind must be out of the SSW, SW or WSW........(check)
  3) temperature of the water must be significantly the the temperature of the air (check)
  4) and in general we get the larger amount of snow when the air temperature is between 12*F and 20*F........
    And that's way the predicted snow didn't happen.......the temperature this whole time as been hovering on side of the other of 32*F.....and as the lower accumulation shows the difference between the water temperature and the air is not great enough for a great amount of moisture to be transferred from the water to the air,  and therefore we are getting some so snow..just not the amounts predicted..
  But personally it's enough snow to keep this gimpy old codger tucked away safe and warm in my rooms..besides I haven't gotten the attachment for my can with the little spikes for snow and ice yet......and probably never will........I basically hate snow......
( I have added a picture in the column below left that was take on Tug-hill which is a little south and east of where i live in 1977)  

  The wind is quite brisk this AM.......and starting this evening we have about 2 and a half days of potential snow coming are way...I say potential because I live in an area which gets from time to time "lake effect snow" ( I live a few miles from the east end of Lake Ontario ).........the lake effect snow tends to come in fairly narrow bands.....general from the west......so if your in a band it can snow as much as a foot or more an hour.....but outside the band of snow there maybe only a trace of snow...very hard to predict where and how much......but then as an old friend often said "Weather men are the only ones who get paid for being right only 25% of the time"
  I am conducting a little experiment......on one of my email accounts I have selected to  receive "Breaking News Alerts" from 3 different sources:
    1) CNN (definitely a liberal biases )
    2) Fox News (definitely a conservative biases )
    3 NPR (National Public Radio...(usually quite neutral but can slide slightly to one side or the other from time to time)
  So far have reached no conclusions......but have found that both CNN and Fox tend to put a spin towards their particular point of view, even when it's called "Breaking News"......and I expected that.....some times one will run an alert but the other won't......(?).......besides by reading both I can usually discern the true gist of a story......
   We who  live in the USA at least are living at a time when most people tend to have an "either or" mind set....as in something is either right or wrong...I on the other hand have the mind set of "both or neither but something in the middle of the 2 contrary opinions"
  I live by the adage "Don't tell me what to believe, but give me the tool so i can find out for myself what I believe, and if you don't teach me how, rather then what...then I'll teach myself"
(NOTE: the paragraph starting "We who live" has been edited...on a reread I realized that I knew what i wanted to say.....had just mucked it up a bit) 

 When I awoke this morning, I rolled over and looked at the clock......it is in actuality an alarm clock..but being retired I never use it for that purpose.....If I must be somewhere at a set time I use one of the perks of living where I do, .and schedule a wake-up call......back to where I was.provided that I can find it.......so the clock was reading 7:58 AM......and as I was thinking.....let's roll over and catch 40 more winks......it dawned on me that it was Tuesday and a little after 8:15 or so housekeeping comes in for the weekly cleaning of my rooms.....fresh linens....et al.....so I let Ms.B know that i was up and grabbed a bagel from the free breakfast which I ate later.....I can not even tolerate the sight of food, much less eat food for at least 2 hours after i get up in the morning.......I never was a morning person and retirement has made it even worse.....
 So awhile later I had my bagel.on 1 half finished the egg salad I had make, the other half some nice orange marmalade......did my morning run through my desk top.....checked emails.....my blogger stats....check my YouTube home....and then FaceBook.......and finally a folder on my bookmark bar that contains the schedules for the TV channels I watch...discovered that HBO was showing "Captain and Commander"....never had seen it start to finish..only bits and pieces while I was channel hopping.....and it's set in a period of history which I have some interest.....decent...but doubt I would watch it again......
  Now one of the things I find in my emails every morning.....usually shows up between 8AM EST and 8AM EST is local weather conditions for the day...and the occasional national weather alerts for the area.......and this AM there was an alert.......from Wednesday at 7PM EST until Friday at 10AM EST this area is under a lake effect snow warning.......possibly 10" to 18" of snow..  so let the winter games begin
  I'm off ( many would say I've been a tad off for years) and check my blog layout......and perhaps to tinker with it...... 

  I had not intended to walk today....walked yesterday but discovered after the walk I was getting low on my bottle of ruby red grapefruit juice......but as that was all i might need.thought I could get away with waiting to walk Tuesday.........rain on Tuesday and then snow through Friday......so I thought the better choice was to take a quick walk to the dollar store and get some juice.....also got some olive oil, and a bag of ripple chips.........as I avoid when possible walking in the rain or snow for that matter.....the rain for obvious reasons..and the snow because I walk with a cane......and have balance issues...and it usually takes a few days for the sidewalks to be properly cleared....
  If I live to be 100 years old I will never understand the New York State sales tax code.....as in what is taxable and what isn't........the olive oil I bought is not taxed....but the grapefruit juice is taxable because it's not 100% juice, as it contains a sweetener...but ripple potato chips are nontaxable.......and that in a nutshell is why I'm confused......my only conclusion is that the potato chip lobbies have more pull with the state legislature, then the fruit juice companies......100 % juice is nontaxable but add sweetener and the state gets their 8%......
  But enough of my confused ranting.....since my walk have had a quiet day......a little surfing the net here, watching some videos on YouTube........my posting both here and FaceBook.....and a repast of one of my fav open faced sandwiches.....olive oil, garlic, grated Romano cheese, marinated artichokes, a dash of red pepper flakes, on a half of a focaccia roll.......
  Just a brief note: this is now and always will be from hence....my diary......sometimes just what I've done today or will do.......sometimes a commentary on what goes on around me.....sometimes biblical commentary...and just from time to time the raving rants of the MadTrollie...... 

  I awoke this AM with only one thought on my mind......cheese cake.......I needed cheese cake...but it was still pretty cold and checked the weather and it looked like it would warm up as the day progressed......so waited until it was in the high 30s*F..and went out for my grand quest for cheese cake.since this requires a walk to the local food mart...and decided to pickup a bottle of marinated artichokes while there..well I got to the market and I my path to the cheese cake I past by the deli and there calling out to me was prepacked Sopressata ( if you don't know what that is neither did spell check so you're in good company..it's a wonderful dry Italian salami ) now Sopressata usually sells for $4.99 for 4 ounces....but it was on the value card for $3.99 so it was in the cart.....
  The first thing I did when I got home was to quickly put an end to a slice of cheese cake.......and then I had some focaccia rolls ( spell check didn't know that word focaccia either, do you know where I can find a English spell check that also knows Italian?) the rolls are square, a little over 4 inches on a side........split in half long way in to a top and bottom......used one piece to create the hot open faced sandwich of my dreams........the roll, a little olive oil, some crushed garlic...some fresh grated Romano cheese, and slivered Sopressata...nuked for 1 minute......a meal fit for a trollie.....
  the base of the of the open face sandwiches never varies, roll, olive oil, garlic, and cheese..however the toppings do vary based on what I have on hand.......artichokes, olives, pepperoni,mushrooms..what ever is on hand.....also sometimes oregano, or red pepper flakes....  

  If you've read the previous posts........on the foot front or should that be front foot...there was a saying when I was a kid about putting your best foot forward......but when I put any foot forward or backward for that matter, I never know what will happen...(pause)....where was I, what was I doing and WHY!!.oh yeah........my right foot is back to normal..well not normal for a health teenager, but for near 70 year old....it's what I like to call the "new normal".....considering the damage sports.work...et al.....my knees and feet  endured I'm surprised they still function at all......I've often said that the young man who had use of this body thought it indestructible....the old may who inherited it from him now realizes that he was an idiot......unfortunately I inherited the idiocy was well.but at least I now realize it and have done what I can to control it.......but sometimes it still gets the better of me.......there is a Yiddish word that fits me perfectly.....in fact if you found a dictionary definition of "klutz"..there would probably have my picture in the text as an illustration......