Spring is almost here! I know we did not have a massively harsh winter, but I look forward to warmer weather. While climate change is no joke, the warmer February and March have led to some great sunsets this month.

With the spring comes a lot of change! So much has happened since my last post. People have come and gone, some have disappointed, some have surprised, movies have come out, books have been read, a ton of music has been heard, and new places have been eaten at.

Life changes are weird and messy. I took a contract job near The Grove and I loved it. I worked with interesting professionals, did some meaningful marketing, got some serious writing done, and collaborated on interesting projects. I also loved being near The Grove during lunchtime. So many choices, especially the Gramophone sandwiches. My favorites are the Buffalo Soldier and the Crustacean Nation.

With this job, I got to explore all the stuff going on in Forest Park Southeast. Businesses are moving in and development is happening without kicking out residents. There is also some wonderful architecture in the neighborhood.

But change happens. After years of hustling and doing loads of contract work and various projects, I have accepted a marketing and communications writer position at Washington University. I am excited and terrified, but in the end, the stability will be great and the job perks are awesome. I also am enthused about collaborating with the same team for a long period. Plus, I will get to work remotely most of the time which I love.

I am thrilled to be shrinking my work load. I still will write for Broadway World St. Louis and FEAST Magazine, but beyond that, I will be cutting back.

I have accepted an offer to host a program on The Face Radio, which is headquartered in Brooklyn, but broadcasts globally. My show, The Free Design, airs on Mondays from 6-8 PM ET (5-7 PM CT) with a repeat on Tuesday mornings from 8-10 AM ET (7-9 PM CT). For this show I am still playing new music, older indie, electronica, and forgotten cuts. However, I am experimenting more with track selection and flow.

I also am still hosting Antics on Louder Than War Radio and (for now) my weekly in-town radio show here in St. Louis. While the situation there is insane, I have been moved by everyone who has asked me to say and commented on much having my show to listen to weekly means to them. Basically, it is a week by week situation.

While am not seeing as much theater as I would like, I loved the St. Louis Actors Studio production of Copenhagen. It was filled with angst and ethics and the ensemble was terrific. I saw Company and Funny Girl at The Fox. The former was just okay. It had a decent cast and everything but it just seemed a bit flat. Funny Girl was entertaining, its star Katerina McCrimmon, was astounding.

I also have spent the last few months catching up on television. In addition to my Star Trek The Next Generation rewatch, I have enjoyed the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The casting for that show how been well done and the stories are well written.

Masters of The Air has been terrific. I like WW2 history but find that a lot of tv shows based around it never really capture the scope of the conflict. This one does. It based on Donald L. Miller’s book about the the 100th Bomb Group, who conducted hazardous raids over Nazi Germany.

The drama is palpable thanks to a cast that includes Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Doctor Who himself, Ncuti Gatwa. I also like hw the show captures the tragedy of war through stunning cinematography.

Season two of Silo is coming. It is pretty darn dystopian, but the performances are worth checking out. The plot surrounds a community of 10,000 people who live in a heavily regulated society. The chief rule being, do not question authority or you will be made to leave the silo.

With 144 levels, there is a lot of room for creating stories and developing characters. love have the characters all have shades of grey to them. They live in a gritty world where asking questions can cause major problems. Unlike other dystopian shows, this one has more of a heartbeat in how it executes the realities of living in a suppressed society. I need to read the book series the program is based on (Wool, Shift, and Dust).

The Dune sequel was just as staggering as the first film. The second film finishes off the first book in the series and sets the table for Dune Messiah and Children Of Dune to make it to the screen.

Just like the first one, this Dune looks incredible. It’s basically a lot of sand with big open skies. but then, suddenly the action switches to darker, more claustrophobic places. I love the look and feel of the film. it feels like a natural continuation from the first film.

I have been reading a lot of Japanese fiction. Generally, a lot of the titles I have read are ideal for brisk reading. They also have stories with charm and humor and a hint or three of melancholy.

Convenience Store Woman is the current read. As someone who has worked in retail, I can relate to the perils Keiko goes through in the book. She is a free spirit who has problems handling the forced conformity and strictures that society places on both her professional and personal life.

Satoshi Yagisawa’s Days At The Morisaki Bookshop is set in Tokyo’s massive bookseller district (heaven). The book centers on Takako, a young woman whose happiness is upended after she learns that her boyfriend Hideaki, whom she expected to wed, announces he cheated on her and is marrying another woman.

From here she is in an emotional freefall. She loses her job, her friends, and her acquaintances, and spirals into depression. In the depths of her despair, she receives a call from her distant uncle Satoru asking her to help him run his bookshop.

Charming, and filled with rich characters, the novel (which now has a sequel), plays on common themes of change, self-discovery, work and family. But it reads lightly and is excellently paced. This is pretty fantastic.

A nonfiction title I have enjoyed is Hunting The Falcon by John Guy and Julia Fox, it is about the marriage of Anne Bolyn and King Henry VIII and how it shook the geopolitics of Europe at the time.

Also serving as a biography of both figures, the narrative plays out with intrigue. The event of Hank’s wedding to Anne happened during a perfect storm of politics, lust, and greed as all around jerk Henry VIII becomes hopelessly obsessed with Anne. As a result, he loses his damn mind in a quest to woo her. However, he underestimates how independent and intelligent she is. The book also spells out how their marriage is a tragedy that shaped how the Tudors ruled and were perceived afterwards.

The last few months have had a lot of great music dropping. I love the new IDLES album and the new Yard Act is swell too. However, I discovered SPRINTS by accident.

They are from Dublin and their recent shows have created a big buzz around them. The four piece have released their debut album, Letter To Self.

This may be my favorite song on the record. there’s a pretty grimy dirge going on here. it is pretty clear that singer Karla Chubb was working through some things when the album was being recorded. There is a ferociousness at work in her vocals.

There is also angst, rage and a desire to move on, even though it is hard. The guitars seer and the percussion is tight too, making the album pop from start to finish.

I am a little tired of television insurance ads. They are all equally dreadful. Nothing makes me want to activate my life insurance policy than watching the Liberturl Mutual commercials. Those ads kill braincells.

I don’t really care where Kate Middleton is. There are bigger issues in the world than the convalescence of some entitled person. But I love all the gonzo conspiracy theories. Those are bonkers.

In appliance and home repair news, the bathroom window has been repaired. There was a hole in the window frame. Now it needs a new coat of paint because our property manager didn’t use a waterproof variety and it all just wiped off.

In other happenings, the LED lighting in the kitchen went out. Fortunately, after a laborious search, replacement bulbs were found. There is also new motion-activated lighting in the carport.

Finally, the newish dishwasher our property manager got is smaller than the space allotted for it in the counter space. So, now, there is a goofy-looking gap between the top of the dishwasher and the bottom of the countertop. Some imbecile didn’t do any measuring for space.

I cannot believe how many people went to see The Eagles concert here. Nothing cries of a boring night out like going to see The Eagles. Except maybe seeing Kansas, Foreigner, or Journey. Clearly, I have stopped believing.

I guess Dave Wakeling has nothing to do in his life because The English Beat has come through town for like the 9th time in two years. Okay, we get it, you own the name now, that doesn’t mean you have to jump on every new wave ’80s tour that comes around. Get a hobby! I can make this complaint too, because I love The Beat.

The boojie section has arrived. I am sorry to say that I have rediscoved the joy of having a really good fountain pen with ink. My reasoning is that the writing just looks cooler, even with my terrible cursive handwriting, which is almost unreadable, I wish more people wrote in cursive.

Moving ahead I will try to be less of a simpleton and do more posts. The length of time between them is all on me. I’ve been busy with life stuff and dealing with people disappointing me. Not very fun shenanigans I am afraid. Before recent events ( like the new job), my life was like going to live in a Frank Lloyd Wright house only have the joy shattered by the discovery that the roof leaks.