Shirley's Mind Grapes

Shirley's Mind Grapes

The answers to questions nobody asked

music

Dailies 08/03/13

Dailies 08/03/13

Daily Doodle: Polar Opposites Attract

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Song of the Day: The Way You Look Tonight by Fred Astaire from Swing Time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIW_Ah0wg-w

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m slow dancing on a cruise ship. The dancing is understated and has small, playful accents. I lean forward slightly and my toe points down and back. In one fluid move, I go into a dip and my toe slides to the front into a small kick that doesn’t go beyond the width of my skirt.

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Blurb 1/365: BE excited. BE BE excited.

Dailies 08/01/13

Dailies 08/01/13

Daily Doodle: Dog Daze

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Song of the Day: Cookie Thumper by Die Antwoord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cdhJsu1MqU

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Musical Pipe Dream: It’s 3AM and I’m at a CVS. I’m picking up a dog leash and Gatorade. The fluorescent lights illuminate the blue and blue-grey colored carpet tiles. Nobody’s at the cash register and as I wait for somebody to come out from the back room, this song is playing over the speakers in the ceiling.

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Blurb 1/365: I love how androgynous dance is as a sport and an art form.

Dailies 07/31/13

Dailies 07/31/13

Daily Doodle: Cat Daze

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Song of the Day: You Beat Me to the Punch by Mary Wells

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O1iq3yEqXU

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m singing lead stage left to the three other singers. I’m wearing a crisp cotton candy pink dress with a square neck and full skirt. My dance moves consist of flapping my arms with the movement stemming from my shoulders and alternately stepping my foot behind the opposite foot.

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Blurb 1/365: Support and use public transit. I ranted today about inconvenient and inefficient bus systems: We’re lucky if a line runs more than once an hour. It’s not fair to the constituents or the bus employees. Not all of us constituents can afford a car to get us to available public transit. And the bus employees have to fight for available work time that sometimes has a forced 3 hour lunch in between. If there were more buses, people would pay money to use them and it would eventually start to fund itself. But it’s always pulling teeth to get things started because it seems nobody wants to give money without immediately getting something in return. The result of this is a perpetual cycle of underfunded public transit, almost useless bus lines and schedules (except for peak commute hours), and people having to PARK A CAR to take public transit. That defeats the purpose of public transit.

Dailies 07/30/13

Dailies 07/30/13

Daily Doodle: Barbershop Singlet

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Song of the Day: Baby on Board by The Be Sharps as performed by The Dapper Dans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pURFU3pL93o

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m on a moderately full BART train and I’m singing the baritone portion only. Three random people join me and sing lead, tenor, and bass.

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Blurb 1/365: We got a new couch! Let’s Animal Crossing this shit UP.

Dailies 07/28/13

Dailies 07/28/13

Daily Doodle: Raindrops

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Song of the Day: Yakety Sax by Boots Randolph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4NDLJow1ZE

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m in a recording studio on the piano. When the music is climbing to the part where it repeats, the band and I look at each other each time we stop playing for a beat. Our heads bob and stop, we look at each other, take a breath, then play again. The folks on the studio recording team on the other side of the glass are eating potato chips.

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Blurb 1/365: Sprinkles on a donut, calculator buttons, or vitamins.

Dailies 07/27/13

Dailies 07/27/13

Daily Doodle: Turtle Flower Power

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Song of the Day: My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Gu-CyE-NQ

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Musical Pipe Dream: In the underground tunnel between the Powell and Montgomery Street BART stations, there’s a man singing with his well-timed clapping being the only accompaniment. It’s a late hour, so it’s not crowded. As I walk by, I see a woman who is sitting with her back against the opposite wall of the performer. She’s not actively crying, but has tears streaming down her face. She’s wearing a knit cap, peacoat, a skirt with leggings, and army boots. Staring at the floor, it looks like she’s looking at something miles away. The man continues to sing with natural talent. He has a few bills and mostly copper change in the hat he has in front of his feet. I’m not sure if it’s my train I hear approaching the platform, so I walk with wide steps while fishing in my pockets for my ticket. As I fly down the stairs, I can still hear the man’s voice singing and the echoes of his clapping.

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Blurb 1/365: The same moment is different for every single being in the universe.

Dailies 07/26/13

Dailies 07/26/13

Daily Doodle: Raccoon Detective

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Song of the Day: The Streetbeater by Quincy Jones

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O20Sljxmy9M

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m busting it on the harmonica. My hand and the harmonica are covering most of my face and I’m looking down. Even though I’m stationary in front of a microphone, I’m grooving to the beat and tapping my foot.

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Blurb 1/365: Instead of getting angry, I’ve got to put that energy towards something useful, like baking a cake.

Dailies 07/24/13

Dailies 07/24/13

Daily Doodle: Rooster Roast

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Song of the Day: Time of the Season by The Zombies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc7b62El_fk

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m standing while playing the keyboard. When comes the time to sing harmony, I lean into the microphone angled towards me. The keyboard stand is shaking as I’m jamming on the keys.

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Blurb 1/365: “Well my family and I can’t live in good intentions, MARGE. Oh, your family’s out of control, but we can’t blame you because you have GOOD INTENTIONS.”—Hurricane Neddy

Dailies 07/23/13

Dailies 07/23/13

Daily Doodle: Pachyderm Packing Peanut

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Song of the Day: Sinnerman as performed by Nina Simone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn5tiuZU4JI

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m playing the piano on a huge stage with several musicians. We’re magically keeping time with each other though hardly looking at each other for cues. Everybody’s sweating.

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Blurb 1/365: “His name is Elephant, and he’s a pachyderm. His name is Elephant, and he applies Nutraderm.”