davidcedillo.com

We got together with Barb and Evelyn last night for the first time in over a month. Barb lives next door and Evelyn is across the street. We take precautions to be a three house safe zone bubble. Barb made dinner, Evelyn baked brownies, and Jenny and I brought pineapple chunks and blackberries. Evelyn was self conscious about the way her brownies turned out. They were close to being runny instead of the way she likes them. When Evelyn said, “sorry the brownies are soupy,” I said “just like Soupy Sales!” and she smiled and said “oh he was funny!” I hadn’t thought of Soupy Sales in years.

How do you share the stage with The Beatles? Yesterday I celebrated 10 years of blogging on davidcedillo.com– 10 years and 1,392 posts to be specific! Then I found out that day, February 9th, The Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. When I heard the radio dj on WUMB reference the date, I thought “cool! I started my blog that same day!” Then with each Beatles song that followed, it felt like a gradual eclipse because that’s what happens when another sphere moves into your space. So how do I share that moment in time with The Beatles? I just keep blogging and pretend the fans are screaming for me.

Ten years ago today I started writing on davidcedillo.com. If you don’t believe me, go to the archives and check. A lot of water has gone under the bridge and over the dam since then. In ten years I’ve hosted 3 podcasts, jammed with friends and strangers, taught pedestrians how to play songs on fruits and vegetables, used teeter totters for conflict resolution models, and attempted many other artistic endeavors! Here’s to another 10 years!

The zooming and the video calls reached critical mass yesterday. Between 1:30 and 8:00 we visited with our former pastor in Minneapolis, Jenny’s family in Nebraska, and this happy girl in Illinois pictured above! Thaddeus is holding his little girl, Bahiyyih, up close to the camera (thanks Diane for helping me spell her name right!). We were calling to wish Maryam (momma) happy birthday, and we got say ‘hi!’ to the whole family: Thaddeus, Maryam, Maku, and Bahiyyih!

KEXP is playing The Clash and all things related to the Clash today! Why? It’s International Clash Day! The radio station broadcasts out of Seattle but you can stream it anywhere on kexp.org. John Richards, the morning deejay, started the tradition in 2013 when he just wanted to play The Clash all day. Now it’s something that’s even celebrated in the UK. Joe Strummer of The Clash is quoted as saying “We’re anti-fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist, and we’re pro-creative. We’re against ignorance.” That’s an ethos I can get behind.

Was she taking notes? Was she forming a question? No. My co-worker Denise doodled a skinny balder version of me while we were in a meeting Tuesday. I got an email from her that said “here’s what I was doing during the meeting.” She drew it from my profile pic that I uploaded for work (that image on the left). If that picture was zoomed out you would also see John Cusack and Jenny.

If you’re reading this then it’s actually February 3rd and we can all get on with our lives. In real life Groundhog Day doesn’t repeat in a Mobius loop (like it did in the movie), but that doesn’t stop me from being paranoid of having permanent deja vu when February comes around. I’m ok, I’m ok. I don’t have to live like there’s no tomorrow because it’s… today!

Jenny’s brother Jon told me about this group of ukulele players that do a cool version of ZZ Top’s Gimme All Your Lovin’ — click that link above or this one here now! Then go find a ukulele player and give him or her a virtual hug!

This song is another Folk Alley discovery. The haunting female vocals going “oh-dee-oh-dee-oh” grabbed me. I caught the tail end of it and quickly wrote down The Secret Sisters and Tennessee River Runs Low so I could play it for Jenny. She liked it too. Other artists I’ve found on Folk Alley include: Susan Werner, Tim O’Brien, and The David Wax Museum.

The camera on my dumb smartphone isn’t working again. I can only post pics that other people have taken. I found this one on Instagram and it made me chuckle– and then I felt guilty for chuckling. The guy just looks so dejected, but his sign might as well say “free to a good home,” because you know he’s not getting on another motorcycle. I sold the only motorcycle I ever had 20 years ago and I didn’t have to break my leg to do it. My friend James sold it to me around 1990. I still have my motorcycle license but Jenny isn’t letting me buy another one. Besides I don’t think James has another one to sell me.