ANYTHING

Looking back over my many post titles since March 16, I note that I’ve published pieces about NOTHING, SOMETHING and EVERYTHING….making it hard to believe ANYTHING (has been overlooked). But it seems that ANYTHING (of all things) was overlooked….so, before moving on to other things, it behooves me to do ANYTHING to make up for it — starting with giving Anything a little (Oliver) Twist to get things rolling.

Almost the same title, different — and earlier — song: (note Fats Waller doing his thing on the ivories a little past half way through):

The next presentation reminds me of what two campaining political candidates might sing to each other if they could shoot their mouths off in song:

And with that, I can’t think of anything more — but anything can happen, and if it does, I don’t want anything to do with it.

MORE OF EVERYTHING

The more I thought about a sequel to EVERYTHING (my previous post), the more I wondered how much more of everything a heavenly body can take. Not that our put-upon planet was ever a bed of roses (I’m old enough that you can take my word for it), but now I’d be lying like a politician if I claimed that

Yes, the world has its moments. Nonetheless, the world isn’t a very congenial place to live at this moment, and it’s a wonder that it hasn’t gone off the deep end — or at least had a nervous breakdown. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit to hear that the world is seeing a shrink and lamenting….

It would really be nice to be able to believe that….

But….

EVERYTHING

After posting in March about NOTHING and SOMETHING, and then drawing a week-long blank for my next post, it came to me out of nowhere that I hadn’t thought of EVERYTHING. If ever anything is replete with possible posts, it’s EVERYTHING. You might find everything anywhere, including the past. Take it from Satchmo: EVERYTHING’S BEEN DONE BEFORE….

Of course, the past is far from perfect, but….

….because

and if Everything’s Gonna Be All Right, why wouldn’t I post more of everything?

To be continued….

I GOT NOTHING FOR YOU (Part 2 1/2)….plus SOMETHING MORE

One of the commenters to my last post (I GOT NOTHING FOR YOU (Part 2) said he was looking forward to Part 3 — which I hadn’t planned to do, so in so many words, I replied that I’d think about it. I’m now done thinking (about it), and have decided to meet him half way. Hence the first half of this post will be about Nothing, and the second half will be about Something. Please don’t look forward to a follow-up post about the latter, because you’re already getting Something More here.

I don’t want to leave Nothing on a negative note, so I’ll end Part 2 1/2 with a couple of positive quotes:

“There is nothing more wonderful than creating — not only in art and science, but even in the simplest moments in life. Looking after others, being loved, activating the conscience of a very young person waking up to curiosity about knowledge and sensitivity. This transmission can give rise to a feeling that life is not only wonderful, but that it is more than justified. Humanity is, above all, a matter of nurturing one’s capacity to get into other peoples’ skin in order to understand them. –Alfredo Guevara, author and intellectual

“We know nothing, we know nothing of our ultimate destiny, we know nothing about anything. It is a materialistic existence, there is no point in denying it, But it’s also a spiritual existence, an immense mystery. I think you have to understand the spiritual nature of the universe, the extraordinary gift of human creativity. Every single person has a creative quality in them and unless you use it on a regular basis, you stagnate. You must live every day of your life, because it is not for wasting.” –Michael Radford, film director

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And now for SOMETHING MORE — namely, Something to Sing About….

….and Something to Remember You By:

Is Something better than Nothing? I leave it to you.

I GOT NOTHING FOR YOU (Part 2)

It is with ‘heavy’ heart that I inform you that NOTHING (Part 2) won’t be as lighthearted as Part 1. This is due, in no small part, to something of a ‘dead-end’ book I just read titled WHY DOES THE WORLD EXIST? by Jim Holt, a philosopher who thinks a lot about the ups and downs of nothing.

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+does+jim+holt+exist+john+horgan&sxsrf=APq-WBvFPtUc5HItBFcCtAbN2p1sNa2sag%3A1648034328043&ei=GAI7YpWhAqO-ggeur4DwAg&ved=0ahUKEwiVjc2ljtz2AhUjn-AKHa4XAC4Q4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=why+does+jim+holt+exist+john+horgan&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBQghEKABOgcIIxCwAxAnOgcIABBHELADOgoIABBHELADEMkDOgQIIxAnOgYIABAWEB46CAghEKABEIsDOggIIRCrAhCLAzoFCCEQqwJKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQlQ5Y1ExgzWdoAXABeACAAbEBiAG9GpIBBDQuMjaYAQCgAQHIAQm4AQLAAQE&sclient=gws-wiz

You may wonder what this has to do with posting Part 2 of NOTHING. Well, the book’s subtitle (AN EXISTENTIAL DETECTIVE STORY), and especially one of the book’s chapters (A BRIEF HISTORY OF NOTHING), should be clues into the tie-in. Seriously, this is serious stuff. Finding out that NOTHING has a history does not bode well for the future, because (as you may have heard) those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. I don’t know about you, but if our future is more nothing, why would I want anything to do with it? Seriously.

So, how do we avoid Nothing in the future? Unfortunately, the book in question left me with…

I wish I could just let it ride, but since there’s nowhere to hide and I can’t get off the schneid, NOTHING can’t be denied. Here’s what other somebodies have thought about nothing:

Philosophy, n. A route of many roads leading from nowhere to nothing. –Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary
Among the greatest things which are found among us, the existence of Nothing is the greatest. –Leonardo da Vinci
Religion enables us to ignore nothingness and get on with the jobs of life. –John Updike
The monuments of the nations are all protests against nothingness after death; so are statues and inscriptions. so is history –Lew Wallace
The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing. –Socrates
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. –Edmund Burke

As to the last quote, I’ve done my Part(s), so if they were good for nothing, blame Edmund Burke

I GOT NOTHING FOR YOU (Part 1)

Yesterday morning, I woke up thinking about nothing in particular — or was it nothing in general (nothing can be hard to get a handle on). Either way, nothing came to me, so I was about to try to go back to sleep when it dawned on me: nothing is nothing to ‘snooze’ at….so why not do something with it — like a nothing post. Nothing to it, right?

The more I thought about nothing, the more I saw that nothing is too much of what I do best to settle for just one post….especially when I’m two months behind in singing the praises of nothing (it seems I was asleep on the job on National Nothing Day, January 16). Not that I’m apologizing, of course. After all, I….

You think that’s somethin’? You ain’t heard NOTHIN’ yet:

Not to toot my own horn of plenty, but….

There’s plenty more ado about nothing where the foregoing came from, but more will have to wait until next time, because I want you to have nothing to look forward to.

ON THIS REAR OCCASION

I woke up this morning not intending to post today, but then I noticed that this is INTERNATIONAL FANNY PACK DAY….and I thought to myself: Self, you cannot let this day pass without making an ass of yourself. Just another day at the orifice? Probably — if I weren’t retired.

Anyway, rather than get off my fanny and look for something useful to do, I decided I should do this post. But, being privy to nature’s call, I must first unpack yesterday’s satiety and refill. After breakfast, I shall return. Meanwhile, here’s a little fanny music to keep you entertained:

I’m back. Thank you, Fanny, for holding down the fart.

As it happens, this Fanny business reminded me of FUNNY GIRL, a 1964 Broadway musical and 1968 movie starring Barbra Streisand (in her Oscar-winning film debut) as Fanny Brice. Brice was a very popular 1930s-40s comedienne, singer, and radio star (best known for playing a bratty toddler named Baby Snooks). Here is Streisand singing the title song from the film:

My favorite song from the show is this Fanny Brice classic:

As a fan of both Fanny and Barbra, I wish you a fantastic Fanny Pack Day.

BE NASTY and GET OVER IT

Yesterday (March 8) was BE NASTY DAY, and today is GET OVER IT DAY. We can be thankful the chronology isn’t reversed, because if the latter day preceded the former day, how could we get over today what won’t happen to us until tomorrow? In any case, it seems GET OVER IT DAY was created by some guy trying to get over a romantic breakup, rather than trying to get over someone being nasty to him….although, of course, it’s quite possible the romantic breakup was nasty. I suppose we’ll never know.

So enough conjecture. At this juncture. let’s move on to what the above was leading down to in the first place, namely NASTY and GET OVER IT music (what else?):

As for GET OVER IT,

Well, what’s to do about it?

And what, I pray, if all else fails?

PEG ON A POST

In the face of suffering of the Ukrainian people, all seems unavailing in the protestations of bystanders (like me) feeling outraged by Putin’s unrelenting invasion of a sovereign nation. Nonetheless, life goes on (for most of us), and so now I return to posting about a ‘matter’ which is not just a distraction from life’s anguish, but plays an almost life-long role in getting through it: music which mollifies with romance, wistfulness, wit….or is simply a pleasure to listen to. Some call it “Golden Age” music. I call it (and jazz) my kind of music.

To get back in the swing of things, I checked the calendar for the birthday of a bygone songwriter to use as a peg on which to hang today’s post….and found a forgotten lyricist named Irving Kahal, who was born on March 5, 1903. Here are just three of many fine songs he wrote from 1927 until he wrote his swan song* in 1942 — the year in which he died in NYC as World War II was raging across The Big Pond(s):

*titled “Old Sad Eyes”

The songs are old, but….

My third and last selection looks both forward and backward:

As we come to a close, it’s almost midnight where I am. Sad to see, the time may be the same in Ukraine. And so it goes.

I’ll be seeing you.

THE MARCH OF TIME

The march into Ukraine of Russian forces
At a mighty despot’s beck and call of course is
Nothing less than sheer human insanity
And a Faustian crime against mere humanity

But since these (or any) words are futile
And can’t keep the brutal from being brutal
Old timers such as I remain bystanders in the march of time
And have naught to bring to March but song and rhyme.

Would that wooden soldiers could crush Putin’s armies
In humane response to Ukraine’s harm pleas
But wishful thinking won’t save the day
As we send February on its way.

So let us March ahead and end innocent woe
With humans who’ve proven that they know
How to muster courage and be bold
And defeat the foe as in days of old: