PICTURE BOOK: MY FAVORITE CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHS OF 2015

At the end of each year since I started this site and got back into the world of music photography, I like to pick my favorite shots that I took that year and do a little post. Now, as I prepare to look at my 2015 work, I am filled with emotion. Due to unexpected serious illness, I wasn't able take any photos -- or do much of anything with my eyes at all, other than walk around in a blur -- for the first two months of the year. It wasn't clear (black-humored PUN there) if my eyes were permanently damaged or not, or whether I'd ever be able to photograph anything again. Music photography is so much of my core, my identity, how I relate to the music I love, that the thought of losing the ability to do it decades before I expected to was profoundly worrisome.

BUT HEY GUESS WHAT? My eyes settled the eff down, I got stable sight back, and got back to shooting in March! Woo hoo! So, my two criteria as always for selecting the shots for this post remain the same: 1. Do I love it?, and; 2. Is it beautiful? This is what I strive for, no matter the conditions or challenges: to make something beautiful that you will please to enjoy. Thank you for viewing my efforts, very especially for 2015. (You may click on the photos to see them all large and in charge on Flickr, and can peruse all my photos there should you be so inclined!)

Tweedy, Neptune Theater, Seattle, WA, March 12, 2015

What makes this lovely for me is that here we have a picture of father Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and his son Spencer on drums, and that this image sums up the tone of this show: the relaxed, funny, experienced frontman who spent a lot of time interacting with the crowd, and the son who was performing on his first major tour and kept a very close eye on his Dad. Sweet.

The Sonics, Silver Platters Records, Bellevue, WA. 3/30/15

Pacific Northwest garage rock legends The Sonics were my heroes of the year, snagging my Album of the Year nod with "This Is The Sonics." Here at Silver Platters, I got to see them holding the vinyl press of the record for the very first time as they arrived for a signing session for fans. What a moment.



The Sonics, Moore Theater, Seattle, WA. 4/2/15

That time when Krist Novoselic of Nirvana joined The Sonics onstage and drummer Dusty Watson shook his hand.



Steal Shit Do Drugs, The Sunset, Seattle, WA. 4/8/15

The post-processing choice for this explosive new punk band was the centered double exposure. You can look at this photo and hear and feel the music, no?



The Sonics, Easy Street Records, Seattle, WA. 4/18/15

That time when Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Freddie Dennis of The Sonics were so close to you that your camera lens hood got bumped off.



Steal Shit Do Drugs, Spin Cycle Records, Seattle, WA. 7/15/15

Moody red light theirs, post-processing double exposure mine.



wimps, The Center for Wooden Boats, Seattle, WA. 7/14/15

When your fun friends play on a pier in sailor gear and you decide to porthole them.



Stallion, Chop Suey, Seattle, WA. 7/30/15

When your other fun friends form a band dedicated to pro wrestling, arrive in a white Mercedes wearing your own silver leggings and a full-length fur in summer, and you paparazzi them.



The Gooch Palms, Pizza Fest IV, Chop Suey, Seattle, WA. 8/7/15

Beer on me and my camera? CHECK. Worth it? OF COURSE.



Gazebos, Pizza Fest IV, Chop Suey, Seattle, WA. 8/7/15

For a split second, lead singer Shannon Perry turned into a marvelous platinum poofy creature on tattooed stems.



wimps, Bill and Melinda Gates Amphitheater, Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, WA. 8/27/15

"Preschool punks party in park; proud parents psyched."



Thee Oh Sees, The Crocodile, Seattle, WA. 8/30/15

Shooting Energizer Bunny frontman John Dwyer is the best. This time, I shot from behind the stage; interesting perspective, very challenging task. What I like about this one is that the silver of light outlining Dwyer is so minimal, but so effective.



Partman Parthorse, The Highline, Seattle, WA. 10/28/15

Now there's a true fan of PMPH lead singer Gary Smith! (P.S. The twirling little boy with the Cupid curls in the wimps photo above is Perseus Smith, son of our minimally-attired fake-bloody friend here and Lisa Smith on the orange drums.)



Steal Shit Do Drugs, Chop Suey, Seattle, WA. 11/4/15

Their red lighting, my contrast and color boost, Kennedy Carda's big shout.



The Intelligence, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA. 11/15/15

That time when one of your very favorite bands play a local art museum on a Sunday afternoon and gives you lighting + performance that gives you a photograph that's pretty art-y.



Dancer and Prancer, The Funhouse, Seattle, WA. 12/19/15

And to close it out for 2015, your friends who play in a Christmas surf rock band bringing goodwill to all.

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PEOPLE LIKE LISTS: MY 11 FAVORITE ALBUMS & EPS OF 2015!

I'm bucking tradition by delivering my "best of" lists for 2015 in 2016 because I CAN. I could, IF I WANTED TO, deliver my 2015 lists in 2020, EVEN. Before I become too drunk with power, I think instead I shall move forward and offer you my picks for what new sounds floated my boat in 2015, because I'm always hoping your boat may be floated in a similar manner and then we can head out to sea like Lemmy leaning into the wind on the bow of the Titanic, or something perhaps slightly less crazy and doomed, like Keith Richards in a Boston Whaler. Please to enjoy!

LIKE THERE WOULDN'T BE SOMETHING FROM TY SEGALL ON THIS LIST

Ty Segall: Mr. Face EP (Famous Class)

Famous Class puts out the best little gems on 45, and this guy is certainly is a charmer. Mr. Face finds Ty at his weirdo best: free to add in little quirks like a penny whistle while keeping that California psych-garage vibe that feels like you just uncovered some dusty '60s freakbeat record at a yard sale. Ty totally gets both the playful and heavy aspects of '60s music, and makes it all his own. Bless you, my little prolific one.



INSTANT SUNSHINE

Jacuzzi Boys: Happy Damage EP (MagMag, Burger)

How I love Miami's Jacuzzi Boys, and love them extra-much for providing me with their new "Happy Damage" EP on MagMag Records, which contains the song "Sun," which just makes me feel like flying up into the sky in joy...without doing that whole Icarus deal, of course. Sweet and strange in all the right ways, and big, shimmering production. Cool vid, too.



AN UTTER EMBARRASSMENT OF LOCAL RICHES

I'll tell ya straight up: I think Seattle has the best new music scene in all the Yoo Nighted Staytz. Throw a rock anywhere and you'll hit a great band that's combining compelling performance and kickass songwriting and their own unique thangs that are just soooo gooood as to make me feel guilty that I don't go out every single night to the clubs while it's all in full bloom. Can it stay this way? I don't know, but I know that WE IS HOT right now. I want to also say that you shouldn't throw real rocks at bands as that is not nice. Here are several Seattle releases that I loved to pieces this year.

Wimps: Suitcase (Kill Rock Stars)

Wimps' long-awaited sophomore album is a delight. Witty, world-weary lyrics and stripped-down DIY punk mesh into something that is thoughtful, fun, flip, and just a touch nutty, LIKE PEOPLE ARE. Are you always the "old guy" at the party? Listen to "Old Guy." Do you spend a lot of time on your couch? Listen to "Couches." Do you have a living situation that is at best a ramshackle collection of ruffians, layabouts, old food, and rats? Listen to "Dump." Wimps have you covered.



Pony Time: Rumours 2: The Rumours Are True

Luke Beetham and Stacy Peck make a much bigger noise that you would think two people could manage with a minimal drum kit and a fuzzed-out bass/baritone guitar. It is a good noise, a very good noise, grumbly and rumble-y with glimmers of '70s pop glam and throat-grabs of primal garage rock. This album will be released on vinyl on S.S. Records in 2016, which gives you even more opportunity to love it. Dig this Alvin Stardust video vibe!



Steal Shit Do Drugs: First Comes Money EP (Help Yourself)

Steal Shit Do Drugs (or SSDD if your grandma is around) burst forth this year in a big way, releasing their first EP, going on a West Coast tour, and playing some pretty high-profile gigs. Get in now so you can say you knew them when, folks, and DO NOT miss the chance to see them play. Kind of like the Stooges with lots less blood and more shirts, you can't keep your eyes off them.



The Gods Themselves: Pink Noise

This trio brought an impeccably-produced album that effortlessly mixes decade-spanning genres -- late '60s psychedelia, '70s funk, '80s technopop, '90s rap, and a little post-punk and classic rock thrown in for good measure. When this band finds its audience outside of Seattle, I think sky's the limit. They also dress really, really well.



Childbirth: Women's Rights (Suicide Squeeze)

Tammy Wynette, in the first line of her 1968 hit song "Stand By Your Man," sang "Sometimes it's hard to be a woman." YA THINK, SISTER? YA THINK?? Even in 1968 I thought that it was not fair that women were treated like second class citizens, but figured the adults would work that out for me by the time I got to be an adult myself. SURPRISE! Despite many gains, we still are drowning in a world that thinks we are lesser beings, disposable and controllable. One could get very depressed and angry about this bullshit, but if you are Childbirth you turn your angst into fun and funny feminist songs that remind you that a sense of humor is not only personal salvation, but a very clever weapon, indeed.

I've played this song more times than I'd be willing to admit.



"I AM SO SMART, S-M-R-T"

The Intelligence: Vintage Future (In The Red)

Courtney Barnett: Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit (Milk!)

It's true: sometimes all I want to do is to play "Tequila" over and over again and dance around like a sunburned, drunk cruise ship matron. But more often, I prefer some intelligence with my groove-on. Specifically, if I get an album by L.A./Seattle band The Intelligence in any given year, that year is then made 74% more cerebral and 100% better. It feels like I waited for "Vintage Future" THREE WHOLE YEARS, because I did, and now I hug it to my chest and dare anyone to try to get it from me. Go buy your own! Thank you, The Intelligence, for making it. Go make more, before my hearing goes.



People do like lists, and you may have noticed Courtney Barnett made a whole lot of 2015's bests. Let us all get down on our knees and thank this young Australian for writing lyrics that are so damn smart you have to listen over and over again just to figure them all out, ala Elvis Costello in his verbal heyday. Barnett goes past pithy wordplay into storytelling; the funny, weird things that happen in everyday life seem absolutely compelling in her hands. The music is simple, three-chord stuff, anchored by Barnett's heavily-accented talk-singing style and some sweet harmonies. I could not be happier that now lots and lots of people get to hear what she's doing; she's a gas, gas, gas.



AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Action Aid: All I Want For Christmas Is A Goat

Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Oh, god. I made this my ringtone.



THE GUYS WHO KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK AND INTO THE STRATOSPHERE FOR THIS OR ANY OTHER YEAR

The Sonics: This Is The Sonics (Revox)

The minute I heard "This Is The Sonics," I knew. I knew, even though there would be a TON of great albums out this year, this was the one. I'm still awestruck months later and suspect that The Sonics, the '60s progenitors of garage rock and, one could argue, punk rock as well, are magical beings rising out of some kind of mystical Tacoma industrial swamp. How else can one explain it that, 50 YEARS LATER, they make an album that sounds like no time has passed at all??? HOW HOW HOW HOW? I'm serious. "This Is The Sonics" has the same swagger and bite, the swing and snarl, the juvenile delinquent attitude and the Saturday night dance party joy as they delivered in 1965. Ain't nothing slowed down here, ain't no keys lowered, no quarter given to aging bones and muscles. I've never heard anything like it in my whole life, and don't suspect I will again...other than maybe if The Sonics make another album.

"This Is The Sonics" is great rock n' roll, and beyond that, a triumph of brilliant production, willpower, spirit, and resilience. It is my album of the year.

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PHO-HO-HO-TOS: HOLIDAY FUN WITH MS. CLAUS (VALENTINE'S TATTOO), & THE FE FI FO FUMS AND DANCER AND PRANCER (FUNHOUSE), SEATTLE, WA., 12/19/15

December is hands-down my busiest month of the year. Some of this is in the form of wrapping ONE PRAZILLION GIFTS and getting multiple paper cuts in the process, very actively ignoring delicious holiday sweets, and standing in line at the post office for 45 minutes with said one prazillion gifts. But my favorite December activity is going to see some holiday musical events arranged by some of my favorite Seattle pals! Last Saturday, I split my evening into two cool events: attending the short-but-sweet performance of Ms. Claus at Valentine's Tattoo, and then zipping over to the Funhouse to catch The Fe Fi Fo Fums and headliners Dancer and Prancer. I brought my camera, so please to enjoy! (Click on the photos to enlarge, and click on the Flickr set links to see more!)

Ms. Claus, Seattle's finest feminist holiday band, features Robin Edwards (Lisa Prank), Stacy Peck (Pony Time, Childbirth), Bree McKenna (Childbirth, Tacocat), and Shaine Truscott. While entertaining the party crowd at Valentine's Tattoo in Capitol Hill, the women wished each other and everyone else a Merry Christmas possibly 50 times in 15 minutes, and smiled a great deal. Lelah Maupin, McKenna's Tacocat sparkly bandmate, was so happy she used her telephone device to capture the merriment. I hated to leave the beautifully-decorated space, and regret not using the holiday photobooth.

Ms. Claus, Valentine's Tattoo, Seattle, WA. 12/19/15 Flickr set 

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I MADE YOU SOME CHRISTMAS CARDS (2015)

(click to enlarge...ho ho ho!) 

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PHOTOS & WRAP UP: #SHOUTYOURABORTION BENEFIT SHOW, CHOP SUEY, SEATTLE, WA. 12/8/15 BY AMELIA BONOW & VICTORIA HOLT!

(I'm very pleased and honored today to host the work of activist/writer Amelia Bonow, co-founder of the #ShoutYourAbortion movement, and Victoria Holt, ace photographer. I am inspired by the creativity and courage both these friends have shown, and grateful for all they bring to our community. Amelia has written a lil' wrap up about the recent benefit show in support of SYA's larger mission, which is to keep opening up productive, positive, and non-judgmental dialogue about abortion, and Victoria took some kick-ass photos of the great local bands that played that night. 

I realize that the topic of abortion is extremely divisive, and I respect that it's a complex subject. However, any analysis of human history shows two things: 1. Abortion has existed forever, and will continue to exist forever, no matter what restrictions are put in place, so all societies choose to make the procedure safe or unsafe, and; 2. If women do not have full autonomy and choice about what happens to their own bodies, they are made lesser humans, and will exist as prisoners all their lives. 

Thank you, Amelia and Victoria. -- Marianne)

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MEGA THRIFT WEIRDNESS! 24 VINTAGE VINYL ODDITIES & OTHER CRAP FROM VALUE VILLAGE AND GOODWILL!

Well, it's a drippy, gloomy early December Saturday here in the Pacific Northwest. I should be donning raingear to schlep myself out to do Christmas shopping but GUESS WHAT? LET SANTA HANDLE THAT HORSE HOCKEY, I GOTS THRIFT STORE FUNNIES TO SHARE WITH YOU! Please to enjoy things that caused me to smile in public.

Ladies and gentlemen...introducing Dave Boyer and his embedded twin brother, Leechy!

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PHOTOS & REVIEW: THE INTELLIGENCE @ FRYE ART MUSEUM, SEATTLE, WA. 11/15/15

First a Genius award and now playing on a Sunday afternoon at a slick art museum? Dang, The Intelligence, youze some kinda fancy post-punk band! These two events are in fact linked, as this special performance was part of the Frye Art Museum's "Genius/21st Century/Seattle" series, made up of 65 recipients of the prestigious arts award, given out annually by Seattle's The Stranger newspaper. The Intelligence received the honor in 2011, and promptly used the $5000 award money to buy 500 lbs. of raw almonds, He-Man Underoos, and one of those cute fainting goats. Only the first part of that last sentence is accurate..as far as I know.

This was a true all-ages show, with a crowd ranging from a sweet chubby-cheeked baby less than a year old to white-haired patrons of the arts, and lots of regular ol' good-lookin', smart-brained Intelligence fans. The elegant setting in a large gallery room with soaring white walls and a warm wood floor was enhanced by low blush-pink light and dramatic shadows. It was particularly sweet to see little kids running around and dancing, familiar faces smiling, and new fans made.

The 45-minute set was generously loaded with lots of songs from The Intelligence's new album, "Vintage Future," a Lars Finberg tour-de-force of incisive lyrics, and catchy, angular, modernist music that is endlessly intriguing, often funny, sometimes tragic, and always important. You may purchase "Vintage Future" at In The Red Records at your leisure, but I suggest just going ahead and doing it NOW by clicking THIS LINK. You know what they say about procrastinators.

Thank you Mr. Lars, Dave Hernandez, Drew Church, and Kaanan Tupper for playing for us and being overall pretty nifty, and to the Frye Art Museum for being free and freaky in the U.S.A.!

(Click on the photos to enlarge and click on the Flickr set link to see more!)

The Intelligence, Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA. 11/15/15 Flickr set link

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PHOTOS: BEHIND-THE-SCENES AT THE VIDEO SHOOT FOR "DUMP," STARRING WIMPS! (KILL ROCK STARS, 2015)

Have you ever lived in a dump? Now, I'm not talking about a little lead-based peeling paint here and there, folks...I mean a real DUMP, with pests (both human and rodential), garbage, curling old slices of pizza, with smells that are rich in stale rankness that you can never bleach away? Where there's a dude sleeping on your couch that you don't even know and the police stop by regularly to "say hello?" If so, have I got a video for you to commiserate with! If not, WELCOME TO HELL! At least for a couple of dizzying minutes!

Last August on a pleasantly warm evening, I and many musical pals made our way over to Seattle's Columbia City neighborhood to help Seattle's Best Punk Band™∞, the effervescent wimps, with their new video entitled (you guessed it) "Dump." My job was to shoot photos and stay out of the way. Others had to drink generic beer and stay in the way. Carlos Alberto Fernandez Lopez's job was to direct the video, ably assisted by wife and associate producer Cathy Lopez (and their sweet still-in-utero-then son Iggy), and camera/lighting whiz Joshua Green. This is the second time I've been lucky enough to work alongside Carlos and Cathy, who create such a pleasant, laid-back, and fun atmosphere out of what normally might be something rather stressful. I really am fascinated by how films are made, especially the continuous-shot take, like "Dump." Everything has to be timed just right, or you must begin the shot again. But hey...if there's a mistake it's just a good excuse to drink more beer and eat more pizza!

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PHOTOS: HELP YOURSELF RECORDS WEST COAST TOUR KICKOFF WITH SSDD, NAIL POLISH, & UBU ROI @ CHOP SUEY, SEATTLE, WA. 11/4/15

We here in the Emerald City are afforded, EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR, a spectacular bounty of incredible local music talent to enjoy, fed to us like peeled grapes. All we have to do is show up and BOOM! Grape in mouth! Now we will share some of our BEST GRAPES with you, the residents of the West Coast, courtesy Help Yourself Records: post-punks Steal Shit Do Drugs and Nail Polish are heading to Oregon, California, and Nevada RIGHT THIS MINUTE IN A VAN!! The "WE'LL ALL BE RICH" World Tour begins TONIGHT, November 6th at the Kenton Club in Portland, and continues on through Santa Rosa, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Davis, and ends up in Reno on November 14th. I encourage my friends in these three fine states to check out our lovely friends if you can, buy some merch, and dig some of our best and brightest (or best and darkest, if we want to keep with the whole No Wave thang). Thank you!

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PHOTOS & REVIEW: BLOWFLY, THE GODS THEMSELVES, WRECKLESS FREEKS, PARTMAN PARTHORSE @ HIGHLINE BAR, SEATTLE, WA. 10/28/15 (PROBABLY NSFW)

Things kinda get a little freaky around Halloween -- crazy costumes, candy overload, spooky decor, the 2016 Republican debates -- but sometimes LEGIT FREAK is on and no amount of bite-sized Twix bars are going to save you, baby! Come with me if you dare to the Highline Bar in Capitol Hill, where last Wednesday night the crazies crept out of their lairs to entertain the brave assembled! DISCLAIMER: visually-squeamish viewers may wish to avert their eyes from fake blood and people jumping on Lego bricks with bare feet. Please to enjoy!

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THE TEN STRANGEST THINGS I USED TO EAT AS A KID

Food, to me, is one of the great pleasures in life. When I really like a food, MAN ON MAN, I like it. I savor, I swoon, I make every last morsel last the longest I can, which invariably leaves me the last at the table, flirting with a creamy Brie or juicy mango slice. So, since I'm a big fan of food, I do remember a lot about the things I liked especially when I was little and growing up in Wisconsin, and I thought I'd share (or confess) some of the weirder things I used to consume, with recipes if you'd like to indulge. Please to enjoy!

1. CANNIBAL SANDWICHES

You need: Cocktail rye bread, raw lean ground beef, sliced raw onion, salt, pepper

This was my favorite treat for years and years, and my dad's favorite. It is also fairly insane, as eating raw beef is a bad idea. Oh, but it was SO GOOD! The key, my mom said, was buying the best fresh custom-ground sirloin and consuming it immediately, and pouring on so much salt and pepper that your blood pressure would explode your vessels.

Do I still eat this?: No. I am not insane. But I sure do miss them.

2. MIRACLE WHIP SANDWICHES

You need: Two slices of Wonder Bread, Miracle Whip Salad Dressing

Slather on the Miracle Whip onto the squooshiest white bread you can find; consume. I liked these because they were fast.

Do I still eat this?: No. I now like fiber and flavor in my bread, and buy actual mayo.

3. "REESE'S CUP" SANDWICHES

You need: 2 slices Wonder Bread, Skippy Chunky peanut butter, Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

We never had candy around the house, so the day I improvised this calorie-fest to approximate a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup I figured I was a straight-up genius. The Hershey's gave it kind of a bitter, processed flavor, but WHO CARES? CANDY SANDWICH!

Do I still eat this?: No. I'd weigh 5000 pounds by now and would be forced to have a reality show.

4. CANNED MAC & CHEESE + COTTAGE CHEESE

You need: 1 can Franco-American Macaroni and Cheese, 1/2 cup cottage cheese

You're lucky I couldn't find a photo of this mixture, because it looks like puke. The choice of this particular canned mac n' cheese was crucial, with its pale yellow fat long noodles, which were unnaturally slippery, in a salty, weird cheesy sauce. The addition of the cottage cheese boosted the salty cheesiness to another level. This was comfort food for me, but it grosses absolutely everyone else out.

Do I still eat this?: About once a year. JUDGE ME, I DON'T CARE!

5. COLD SAUERKRAUT BOWL

You need: leftover cooked refrigerated sauerkraut with caraway seeds

If my mom had cooked pork roast or chops during the week, you can be sure she served sauerkraut with it, and if there were leftovers, they were MINE. This was one of my favorite Saturday day morning cartoon-watching snacks, complete with sauerkraut juice that I'd lap up from the bottom of the bowl. This also grossed out everyone, especially my friends who might be sleeping over. I did not care.

Do I still eat this?: I still love sauerkraut (and caraway seeds are VITAL), but the big cold bowl of it is beyond what I can process in my dotage.

6. FRIZZLEBURGERS

You need: 1 lb. hamburger, 1 medium onion, chopped, several dashes Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, hamburger buns or rye bread

This was my mom's recipe, and one of my dad's favorite lunches. You'd cook the hamburger down into well-done crumbles that resembled tiny carbon rocks, with translucent, extremely-caramelized onions, dashes of Lee & Perrins, and plenty of salt and pepper. Served loose on a bun or rye, it was tasty as heck, ya.

Do I still eat this?: Yes! And the kids love it, too.

7. BUTTER + PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES

You need: Wonder Bread, Skippy Chunky peanut butter, salted butter

In my house, all sandwiches came with butter. ALL. So I didn't realize this was kinda weird until I was an adult. But, I must say, the addition of the butter to the peanut butter highlights the salt and fat in a most-pleasing way,

Do I still eat this?: No, it seems indulgent. But I remember it with taste fondness.

8. MARASCHINO CHERRY JUICE 

You need: a jar of maraschino cherries

This got me in trouble a lot. We always had a jar of maraschino cherries in the fridge for my dad's cocktails, and we were verboten to eat them, which was awful because they were DELICIOUS. It was all I knew of cherries until I got to be around 10 and had a real cherry, which of course I thought was sour and hideous in comparison to this over-sweetened probably-toxic fruit thing. Anyway, I rationalized that, OK, if I couldn't eat the cherries, I could drink the juice from the jar, right?

Do I still eat this?: That would be really bizarre. No.

9. COLD HOT DOG SANDWICHES

You need: cold cooked hot dogs, sliced into bite-sized circles, butter, 2 slices Wonder Bread

This sandwich was like a more-satisfying version of the classic baloney-on-white sandwich. Yes, the hot dog circles would sometimes fall out of the sandwich as you tried to eat it, but it was a challenge I was up to.

Do I still eat this?: I haven't had one in decades, but would like to revisit it once.

10. ZOTZ

You need: Zotz candy

Zotz! I hope you have experienced Zotz in your lifetime, people. It was created in Italy in the late '60s, and remains my favorite candy because IT IS FUNNY. Food + humor = YES. You start out sucking on the fruity hard candy shell, right? Then you get bored and bite into it. THEN A GIANT SOUR FOAM IS RELEASED AND SLAMS YOUR MOUTH! HA HA! Oh, I love it so. I used to trade hoarded Halloween chocolate for these if my friends had some.

Do I still eat this?: In my 40s, I took the Zotz Challenge on a dare, and stuffed as many Zotz into my mouth as I could and then chewed. The resultant explosion blew out of my mouth while I laughed myself into tears. So, there's your answer.

This lady is trying just one Zot for the first time. HA HA! Strange for some people, is just strange.

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JOHN LENNON, INSTANT KARMA, & ME

John Lennon would have been 75 years old today. As I get on further in years and have had the privilege to observe human beings up close and personal over many decades, I've come to the conclusion that our innate personalities remain fairly stable throughout our lives. Life throws crap at you, you change and grow, but you still are who you are. So taking that theory into account, I think John Lennon would have remained John Lennon, his essential qualities of intelligence, musical and artistic talent, and quick wit intact. His lesser qualities, of course, would have also remained. There's no excusing some of Lennon's past behaviors, particularly notable in his earlier years, and particularly cruel and heartless towards his first wife, Cynthia, and son Julian. If you have the ability to act in this manner, you will never lose it, but perhaps might gain the wisdom, compassion, and self-control to be able to mute it.

There have been some high-profile articles written this year detailing Lennon's personal failures and horrible behaviors, but any serious fan of Lennon and The Beatles knew it all already. It was clickbait for millennials who rather rake a famous dead man over the coals on the internet than look at change over time. For as many rotten things as Lennon may have done, we were able to see that he eventually became aware of the pain he had caused, and was determined to try to be a better human being. As it would be for anyone even without the extreme situation of being one of the world's most powerful people, the process was and would have continued to be challenging for him. When you are used to thinking and behaving in ways that you come to believe are unacceptable, you have to rewrite your internal playbook page by agonizing page. For Lennon, for all of us, the process of becoming a person of integrity and accountability takes a full lifetime.

Lennon was robbed of this opportunity at age 40, but I think we knew where he was going. I can't think of a more vocal male feminist in the early '70s, when rock gods were still using and abusing women as their natural right. His devotion to his young son Sean and renewal of his relationship with Julian was heartening. Lennon's true passion was activism for world peace, and perhaps it was in part a broad expression of his own internal struggle, looking for sanity, kindness, and reconciliation. He didn't offer any excuses for what he did in the past. He just started making the changes, fighting against some pretty solid demons, but trying anyway. This is what I want to remember about him -- that he became cognizant, and began the journey of becoming better. You are who you are, and part of John Lennon's character was his fierce will. I have no doubt at all that he would have kept at it, and on his 75th birthday would have had much to celebrate.

A few days ago, I decided I wanted to learn how to play Lennon's "Instant Karma" on the piano. I do not play the piano, but I too have some determination in my character. I sat down and figured out the chords, very slowly and with many frustrating mistakes. My left hand ached from trying to do the octave spread needed throughout the song, and had to bag it. I'd sit down for awhile, work on it, then walk away, so many other things to attend to. Two lines from the song kept running through my head on these days:

Why on earth are we here?

           Surely not to live in pain and fear 

Well, I guess I'd answer the question like this: we are here to understand, embrace, and then conquer pain and fear, and not let it take away any of our goodness, our happiness, or our abilities to contribute well to the world. Fly your freak flag proudly, be nice, work hard, and then work harder. Repeat as long as you can.

My highly inelegant hammering away at "Instant Karma" won't win any ribbons, but it made me feel happy, and glad that I had a chance to think about this extremely-relevant song today, and how much I love people for who they are, flaws included.

Instant Karma's gonna get you, 
Gonna knock you right on the head, 
You better get yourself together, 
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead, 
What in the world you thinking of, 
Laughing in the face of love, 
What on earth you tryin' to do, 
It's up to you, yeah you. 

Instant Karma's gonna get you, 
Gonna look you right in the face, 
Better get yourself together darlin', 
Join the human race, 
How in the world you gonna see, 
Laughin' at fools like me, 
Who on earth d'you think you are, 
A super star, 
Well, right you are. 

Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun, 
Well we all shine on, 
Ev'ryone come on. 

Instant Karma's gonna get you, 
Gonna knock you off your feet, 
Better recognize your brothers, 
Ev'ryone you meet, 
Why in the world are we here, 
Surely not to live in pain and fear, 
Why on earth are you there, 
When you're ev'rywhere, 
Come and get your share. 

Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun, 
Yeah we all shine on, 
Come on and on and on on on, 
Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah-. 

Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun, 
Yeah we all shine on, 
On and on and on on and on. 

Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun. 
Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun. 
Well we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun. 
Yeah we all shine on, 
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

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