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Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025

12:58pm EST

Members: 834

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Max's Musings

by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Rated: 18+ · Book · Writing · #2041762

A math guy's random thoughts.

Show Recent Comments

10 Most Recent Blog Comments:

Seabreeze

about 3 hours ago
In response to "Soundtrack, Feb 26, Melancholy Baby"

Nice. I love just about anything played on a piano.

Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Feb 7, 2025 at 12:39pm
In response to "Soundtrack, Day 4, Hallelujah"

Allan, that's a nice rendition. Here's another by a group I like.

Allan Charles 🐾

Feb 7, 2025 at 11:33am
In response to "Soundtrack, Day 4, Hallelujah"

I absolutely love this song. It gives me goosebumps every time. This is personally my favorite cover of the song:

🐕GeminiGem🎁

Feb 6, 2025 at 3:36pm
In response to "Soundtrack, Feb 6, Come Sail Away"

I became a rabid Styx fan in the early 80's. At one point I had all the vinyl they had released, but those are long gone. I rely on greatest hits CD's or a Styx mix on Spotify. This song comes up often. I always wondered about the line about climbing aboard the starship, but not enough to research it or anything like that, LOL

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Feb 18, 2024 at 2:19pm
In response to "La Mer"

One of my favourites as well. I used to think the English version was a translation of the French, but as you say it's a different song altogether.

The film "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" from 10 years or so ago got indifferent reviews but I quite liked it, and it has a great montage ending where all the loose ends are tied up, with the French version of La Mer (performed by Julio Iglesias) providing the background.

If you'll forgive the impertinence of adding to your blog, here it is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SSIp2J3YHM

Dave Ryan

Feb 17, 2024 at 11:14pm
In response to "I Think I'll Make a Cake"

I'm not a great fan of Glass on the whole, but for some reason I do quite like his violin concerto.

And Stravinsky has just gone up in my estimation by several orders of magnitude for the Fantasia quote!

1 Like

Dave Ryan

Feb 16, 2024 at 6:23am
In response to "M'appari, Tutt' Amor"

I know that, in the eyes of some, this will destroy my credibility irrevocably as he appears to be a love-him-or-loathe-him type of performer, but as I've listened to the nostalgia radio stations over the years I have to admit that Billy Joel has grown on me. The man has quite an impressive body of work.

KingsSideCastle

Feb 6, 2024 at 8:12pm
In response to "Take On Me"

Take on me is an excellent choice.

Kåre เลียม Enga

Dec 19, 2021 at 11:53pm
In response to "Visiting"

Two years late to read this but...

I loved Tulsa when I lived in Oklahoma. Read my poetry at the Gypsy... back in the day... 2004? Joined WDC because of someone I met there.

When I had a home I would've been delighted to have folks stay with me. Now? No room.

I've met folks in Minnesota, Iowa, England, Sweden, Romania, Australia and even here in Montana. Precious memories.

🐕GeminiGem🎁

Dec 9, 2019 at 12:24pm
In response to "Floaters"

At one of my eye exams in the last couple of years, the optometrist told me that floaters were just pigment from the colored part of my eye that detached and are literally floating around. Completely harmless. Dark-eyed people, like me, are more "susceptible" to them. I have them all the time.

WebMD is known for scaring the pants off of people. It is kind of like knowing what is running through your doctor's head while you are going through the history of your symptoms. The difference is, the doctor filters that information better than the web site does (usually).

When I was consulting a surgeon after my cancer diagnosis, she said, "So, how much research have you done on the internet?"

When I said, "None, I thought that's why I hired you," I thought she was going to jump up and kiss me.

A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing, but if it got you in to get examined by a medical professional, I guess it wasn't so bad, lol

February 23, 2025 at 12:27pm

#1084274

Soundrack, Feb 23, Softly and Tenderly

"Softly and Tenderly" was written by Will L. Thompson in 1880 as part of the American Restoration Movement. It is based on the Bible verse Mark 10:49. It is among the most used gospel songs, and has circulated far beyond its original evangelical origins.

Growing up, my rather stern Congregationalist church never used this hymn--at least to my memory. Not paricularly a propos of anything, the history of this particular congretation included having the father of Robert Milliken as it's pastor. MIlliken won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 for measuing the mass of the electron. His autobiography describes my home town in the 1880s as having more saloons than taverns on main street.

That tedious anecdote aside, here's another. My first enocunter with this song that I actually remember was while watch the film Junebug. That's the performance I've linked below. In this scene, Allesandro Nivola sings the song a cappella, along with two extras from the local congregaton where the scene was filmed. The reactions from the other characters while he's singing add amazing depth to the performance.

It was this scene and Nivola's performance that inspired the associated story. In this case, it's final chapter of "Dreamin' Life Away"

, "Chapter 11--Softly and Tenderly"

. Dante is back in the subway to hell 1950s Tulsa and he hears two street magicians, a pianist and a violinist, performing an instrumental version of the song. For completeness, I'm including a link to the song Dante hears, but it's not what motivated its inclusion in this chapter.

If you want to read this chapter or any of the chapters, please email for the passkey. Here's a complete list of eleven chatpers:
Max Griffin
Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Novel

FOLDER

Dreamin' Life Away

(18+)
Dante finds a subway to the past in his basement. A slipstream story.
#2314898 by Max Griffin 🏳️‍🌈

Genre: Slipstream, Supernatural, LGBTQ+
Teaser. Dante's boyfriend just dumped him. He's moved into a new place. Oh, and there's a locked door in his kitchen.

"Chapter 1. Sleep Walk"

18+: Dante can't sleep
"Chapter 2. Take Five"

18+: The Subway
"Chapter 3. Over the Rainbow"

18+: At the downtown subway station
"Chapter 4--Danse Macabre"

18+: At the Cool Cat Clothiers
"Chapter 5--Everyday"

18+: Everyday life's headed this way, faster than a roller coaster.
"Chapter 6--Mad World"

18+: Dante is back in his new digs
"Chapter 7--So What, Gymnopédies"

18+: Back in the subway station
"Chapter 8--You Belong To Me"

18+: The Screen Test
"Chapter 9--Get Happy, In Dreams"

18+: At the Club of Dreams
"Chapter 10--Rider on the Storm"

GC: Back in Dante's bedroom
"Chapter 11--Softly and Tenderly"

18+: Back on the subway
"Songs in "Dreamin Life Away""

E: Links to the songs referenced in the story

Here's Nivola singing in Junebug.The movie is definately worth watching.

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