music is love in search of a word (vol 4, issue 1)  

Howdy partner!

How are you? I've been counting down the days until I have to go back to work. I know, I'm such a big baby. Hey, speaking of babies...

Eric and I love fish. At our last apartment, we had about six to nine fish pots with guppies, platies, and cherry shrimp. Ever since we’ve been together, really, we’ve had fish pots or tanks. 

In Lampang, we tried to have a large fish pot, but indoors, and that didn’t work as well as we’d hoped, so we splurged on another fish tank. [We’ve got a smaller one with just cherry shrimp, and they're delightful to watch. They zip around with their little legs busy and eat the darnedest things like watermelon, papaya, and pumpkin.]

But the other tank only has guppies for now, and it’s great to be able to finally see them. They’re a common fish, so they don’t get the attention they deserve, but they’re active, utilizing the whole tank (as opposed to just hanging out at the bottom). They’re also unique, a true mix of their parents. While with other fish, they pretty much look alike.

Anyway, did you know that female guppies have the ability to chose which male sperm they’re going to keep? The ladies keep the potential candidate's sperm in packets. After the fish "do their thang" female guppies then observe the males to see who survives and looks good before making the decision of which sperm to jettison and which to keep.

Awww.

🎶 I've been listening to a lot of music during my holiday. For example, I'm really diggin' on Lorde's new album, Solar Power. And I had no idea she's from New Zealand until I discovered her 5 songs sang in Māori -- it's so close to Hawaiian, and quite lovely.

🎶 We watched Get Back, the Beatles documentary by Peter Jackson. It's an insane 6 hours, so we watched it in bite-sized segments. Only for us crazy fans, right?

🎶 This led me to YT, looking at recent stuff from Paul and Ringo, which led me to an organization called Playing for Change. They do songs around the world (love these) and the one Ringo was in was with Robbie Robertson, The Weight, from RR's days in The Band.

🎶 But I remember Robertson best from his Music for the Native Americans album. I used to listen to it often, reminding me of days when that's what we did. Nowadays, we're more likely to listen to playlists. What do you do?

🎶 Then through David Bennett Piano, I discovered some great artists.

🎶 First up is Little Simz, a British-Nigerian rapper. Now, I like rap, but I don't listen to it regularly. But DAMN, she's changing my mind. Her Tiny Desk concert is a great place to start.

🎶 Sam Fender is also impressive, with his working-class Bruce Springsteen vibe. My fav from him so far is Spit of You.

🎶 Lastly, Wolf Alice is my new best friend who makes me feel young again. Don't Delete the Kisses is a song I've been listening to a lot lately, and it's a great music video, too. Just have a listen to their Blue Weekend album.

Okay, I better stop here... I always fear my letters run too long. 

What are you listening to these days?

“You know how I always dread the whole year? Well, this time I’m only going to dread one day at a time.” —Charlie Brown

Growing up in Hawaii meant being exposed to Japanese culture because there are a lot of Japanese on Oahu. This meant Ultraman on TV, visiting Shirokiya dept. store to head upstairs to eat bentos, celebrating Japanese holidays like Boys and Girls Day, and seeing gyotaku - fish prints, originally created as a way for fisherman to 'record' their catch, in people's homes and restaurants.

May you make good decisions this new year. Consider 'packets' for organizational purposes.

💞 Lani