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BY JOE GENCO
A short take on today’s news:
Nickel City Sessions Inaugural Season Finale edition —
- Season 1 went out with a flourish, from Davey O dusting off the first song he wrote on his Gibson and being comfortable in these shoes he’s standing in. Sonya Heller reminding us “a weed is just a flower on the wrong side of town.”
- David M Miller of Miller and the Other Sinners brought his raw blues to a single guitar sound, inspired by O’ Brother Where Art Thou and even sharing a delicate song “Needle and the Wheel” he wrote about his friend Anita West’s son. He and his band are working on a series of 45s that will be digitally released. He promised a funky version of Tom Sawyer is coming.
- Last but not least, Christine Havrilla rocked rambunctiously with a soulful lilt reminiscent of Melissa Etheridge or some other more celebrated songstress. She also made great use of a gadget that allowed her to loop her music mid-song so she could add tambourine and play a 2nd guitar line while singing backup to herself. By the time it ended, she had the whole place singing “I’m stronger than you think.” Many artists buy technology like she brought. Few master it. She has.
- The Cee D. Wright Community Center was a great place for the show since Nickel City Arts is closed down for renovations following the fire. The location brought a few new faces. The only thing missing was our dear friend and favorite curmudgeon Mark Buell. Be well soon, Mark. We miss you.
- It was a rough day in the stock market as the Fed raised interest rates and investors shook a little. Economically, we may not have fallen off the cliff but we are close to the precipice. I’ve done a lot of telling clients to breathe deeply and not panic. I’m here if you need to talk.
- The House of Representatives agreed to fund the Trump Memorial Wall, but it appears the Senate is insisting President Trump needs to be dead before any memorial can be built. A proud Trump shutdown looms just in time for Christmas. What happened to the art of the deal?
- As we consider that wall, here’s NPR calling bullshit on the President for: A) insisting Mexico would pay for it; B) saying revenue from the NAFTA 2.0 would pay for it; and, C) saying our military would build it.
- A Canadian pontificates about how we spend too much time considering our First Lady and we would be better off to look the other way and lower our expectations for Melania Trump. Be OK with the fact she doesn’t like the job. In other words, why don’t we let her go back to dating rich white married men, posing for photos and translating some of the 6 languages in which she is fluent?
- The Buffalo Diocese knew of a sexual predator masquerading as a priest in the 1980s and yet never removed him, allowing him to go on molesting young boys. It gets uglier and uglier. And not to hang on semantics, but someone at the Diocese needs more sensitivity. Calling funds paid to victims “awards” is distasteful.
- Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is resigning because he advocates more moderate policies than our President, to whom he wrote, “you have a right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours.” Fascinating that the guy is known as a “mad dog” a hardliner now sees himself as too soft. I wonder if it was Syria, Yemen or the Kurds that did it. What is that ticking sound?
- The American Conservative magazine writes about our President being a fraud and narcissist filled with false hope and empty promises and even pulls Ann Coulter into the discussion.
- Glad I ordered wool hats from Newfoundland with two weeks of lead time. They showed up Thursday. Here’s to the Puffins Perch in Baybulls.
- Boyd Curiosity: Cheer up, young lady, a producing dairy cow is pregnant 75% of the time.
- Another day, another Page 1 Fox story on Ocasio-Cortez. It’s enough to make them stop bitching about Hillary.
- Stopped at Hamburg Brewing after a sales call with a client, filled a growler with Just Sayin’ IPA (which made me thing of Anna Marie Pera) and met Luke Mumbach, who told me all about the Hamburg Music Festival. I look forward to visiting next year.
- Floridian rednecks (that’s not redundant, is it?) were arrested and charged with using donuts pilfered from a Krispy Kreme dumpster to use as bear bait for their hound dogs who would attack and kill the animals. So proud.
- WNY Weather: Rain and a high of 10 (51). Breezy tomorrow with snow and a high of 0 (32). Work slows down for the time between Christmas and New Years. Might be nice to get in a hike.
- Saturn’s rings are slowly being pulled apart by gravity, falling to the planet. They are mostly made of water ice, according to NASA.
- Grading Bills/Lions All-22, Levi Wallace is looking up, Eddie Yarbrough is losing ground and Wyatt Teller is the highest ranked offensive lineman.
- Sabres/Caps tonight. Trying to avenge the loss that snapped the win streak.
