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IMHO…

Festival (Boris Midney) – Disco Evita (1979)

…still the best rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Evita score. Back in the late 90s my housemate Michael picked up Madonna’s interpretation and after one listen, shaking my head through the entire performance, I dragged him down to a music store at Stonestown Galleria and picked up Boris Midney’s version. “This is how Evita is done,” I told him.

Yes, even at my age, I’m still very much a disco dolly.

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That Didn’t Take Long

And the vultures descend…

Fortunately I already had it archived in iTunes.

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I can easily see this house in rural western Massachusetts where my grandparents lived. 

First off, let’s assume that NORTH is up in this just so I can explain locations more easily.

That first floor bedroom wing needs help.

I’d remove the closets between STORAGE and the hallway, close off the STORAGE entrance from the OFFICE and then use that room as the OFFICE.

I’d push that north wall from that strange closet that opens to the hallway inside the master suite to align with the rest of the hall, realign the window on the east side, lose the door to the master suite and relocate it either to align with the end of the closets in the OWNERS RM and then turn CLOSET into a bath. The existing OFFICE can then be used as a bedroom by converting that countertop space to a closet.

Alternately, you could split the existing STORAGE room so that on the left side there’s a guest bath, and on the right, a walk-in closet that services the BEDROOM that the OFFICE can now become. In that instance I’d rip out that whole closet mess abutting the hallway in that area to maximize the square footage of the secondary bedroom.

As for the OWNERS ROOM, I’d convert that double closet into a single walk in closet area as well turning the double bath that serves no purpose in that configuration into a really nice single ensuite.

The second floor basically works okay for me. Yeah, the bathroom is at the end of the hallway, but not all that unusual for an older house. It wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me..

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Thirty Years Ago

Brian Feydo and your host at Point Bonita, August 1996.

It hasn’t really been thirty years, has it?!

2026−1996=302026-1996 =30

Fuck.

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That’s A Tough One

You Can Choose Only Three – 80s Movies

There were so many excellent films in the 80s.

I could easily select seventeen! But if I had to whittle it down to just three, probably Breakfast Club, Poltergeist, and Blade Runner.

And I know those are decidedly different answers than I would’ve offered up in 1990.

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Not Bad…

But it does NOT need a second floor. This is a perfectly fine plan just as it stands.

And I’m pretty sure our entire house could fit inside the space occupied by the garage, entry, and foyer/stairwell…

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I Could Live There

Except for the fact that that the levels of the second floor don’t make any sense (the two bedrooms could not connect via the shared bath/dressing closets because they’re at least 3—if not 4—stairs’ difference in height, and the rat’s nest of the kitchen wing needs some work, I generally like this one.

Just don’t mention Frau Blücher!

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Hmmm…

Casa Óculo OHLAB Architects 
Palma, Spain 570 m² 🇪🇸
Photographers Jose Hevia 

Casa Óculo is a single-family house located in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Palma. Defined by a simple and bold architectural gesture —a large flat roof stretching east to west— the project explores light, materiality, and climate as the main design tools. The clear and rational form responds to a south-facing topography, open mountain views, and a client with a structured and well-defined program, resulting in a contemporary Mediterranean home that balances efficiency, texture, and a deep connection to place.The roof rests on a series of load-bearing walls finished in lime mortar, running north to south. These walls organize the spaces, set the rhythm of the house, and filter the views —shielding the sides from neighboring plots while opening long, framed views to the south and the mountains. Their orientation also encourages natural cross ventilation, ensuring passive and consistent thermal comfort throughout the year.

The broad roof acts as a protective plane that wraps the house and generates generous perimetral porches. These shaded thresholds blur the boundary between interior and exterior, provide shade during the warmest months, and allow the house to be lived in flexibly throughout the year.

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The More You Know

I also have my funerary arrangements in place. One thing that I brought with me out of the horrible 90s was the urgency to get that shit taken care of so your survivors don’t have to. I contacted The Neptune Society (again, based on my experience in the 90s) and arranged everything so Ben wouldn’t have to. It wasn’t cheap, and they force you to buy a ridiculously expensive wooden box to hold your ashes that isn’t worth a quarter of what you’re charged, but it was still cheaper than going the traditional route. When the time comes, they’ll pick up your body pretty much anywhere in the world, take care of all the paperwork, cremate your remains, and deliver the ashes to your loved ones.

Many years ago Ben gifted me a big blue Tardis ceramic cookie jar with the intent it would hold my ashes until he could decide what to ultimately do with them. Personally, my first choice has always been to have them scattered at North Baker Beach in San Francisco, but I realize the logistics of actually pulling that off are more difficult now since I don’t actually live there any more. My second choice would be in Sabino Canyon north of Tucson. Ultimately, Ben will do what he feels is best and brings him the most peace, so if that means scattering over the back yard so the dogs can roll around and play in me, that’s fine too.

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For Those Who Have Large CD Collections…

Do you find that you actually only listen to about a dozen discs with any regularity? I know I have my “go to” titles that seem to get all the rotation in my collection especially when I don’t know what to listen to.

In no particular order, they are

  • Verve Remixed (vols. 1 thru 5)
  • The Best Of Blue Note
  • Blue Note Reimagined
  • Blue Note Reimagined II
  • Marla Glenn – The Best Of
  • Nina Simone – Four Women (box set)
  • Chris Isaac – San Francisco Days
  • George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice
  • George Michael – Faith
  • Miles Davis – Kind Of Blue
  • Miles Davis – Blue Miles
  • Disco Discharge – European Connection
  • Anything on the Three Blind Mice (Japanese Jazz) label.

And of course, probably because of the novelty of something new from Madge….

  • Madonna – Confessions II

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Did I Say Eight Was Enough? I Meant…Nine, Er…Ten Was Enough

You may have noticed that sapphire blue beauty in the top row in some of my recent posts.

It’s a Sony D-EJ985. While not from the last model year Sony made portable CD players or even the newest in my collection, it (along with the D-EJ915) are my favorites and is one of their best IMHO.

You’ll also notice another D-EJ985 in silver at the lower right corner. That one appeared on my eBay feed first, and was advertised as “Untested. Comes with charging stand, but power cord is frayed and I have no gumstick batteries to test functionality.” It was ridiculously cheap, looked to be in excellent cosmetic condition, and since I’d been wanting this particular model for a while and the 985s are usually way out of my price range, I jumped on it. I figured I could always send it off to “my guy” Shawn for repairs if it wasn’t working.

Of course, as is often the case, within a day of sending payment, the much more desirable blue one appeared. That color! Yowsah! I had to get it. (It was also manufactured in a plum/maroon color.) Despite my rather monotone existence, I do enjoy splashes of color.

It was selling for about $20 more than the silver model, but the seller evidently didn’t do his homework prior to putting it up, because I got this one well, well below what a fully functional, “tested” unit typically goes for.

Turns out they both work beautifully. I have Sony power bricks that work with them just fine and I’ve even got an inline remote that came with one of my MD players that is essentially the same thing that originally shipped with the 985s.

I certainly don’t need two of the same model in my collection (even if they’re different colors) so I’ll be eBaying the silver one this weekend.

 

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