The $25.00 outlay has gained $6.96 in interest, currently at 0.63%, and is now worth a whopping $31.96.
Your name hereOur family – mostly I – is cleaning out our attic, and that fact MAY become the source of several blog posts. I have noted that it has become a bit of a sore point. We all have stuff up there, but I have items that are relegated there because there’s no room on floors one and two, according to the powers that be. So I have two bookcases, with books, that I would be inclined to access, e.g.
When we decided to get the attic insulated, it took THREE years. Moving all the stuff to half of the attic, then have it insulated. Then paint it, which I would have skipped. And for a brief time – maybe six weeks, the attic was again a usable space. But then time to insulate the other half, so everything’s then in the OTHER half of the room. And this took the contractor FOREVER to do, until I got…rather grumpy about it, let’s say. Room gets insulated; floor, which was weakened, was repaired; room (again, I believe unnecessarily), was painted.
NOW, finally I could put things from one side of the attic into the other, rather than have everything packed to the ceiling on one side, where I can’t access/find anything. Some of the clutter are old bills and the like, which I WOULD have gotten to a couple years ago, if that had been possible.
One box, I quickly determine was receipts of The Wife’s, all from 2004, the year the Daughter was born. One thing I DID take out was a $50 savings bond. Hmm, I wonder what it’s worth. I go to the TreasuryDirect calculator, and discover that a $50 savings bond purchased in April 2004 doesn’t mature until April 2034. The $25.00 outlay has gained $6.96 in interest, currently at 0.63%, and is now worth a whopping $31.96.
I then remember that I have a about two dozen $100 savings bonds, purchased for $50 each, from the mid-1990s, and I should check their value.
The first one, purchased 01/1993, has gained $89.56 in interest, is still gaining at 4.00%, and is now worth $139.56, more than face value. Cool.
The first ones I got in the next two years are worth somewhat less: the one I purchased 02/1994 has $57.56 in interest, still at 4.00%, for $107.56. 01/1995 has $53.72 in interest, at 4.00%, for $103.72.
But then it drops off badly. My 01/1996 purchase $50.00 has made $50.00 in interest, but is getting only 0.59% interest now. And the last one I bought, in 08/1997 has garnered only $36.20 in interest, and is receiving only 0.63%.
So if I were to have to cash them in, I’d start with the 1996 issue, then 1997, 1995, 1994, and keep those 1993 bonds for last. Savings bonds don’t seem to be the golden value they used to be.
His royal highness Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Gregory James is giving a ball.
My personal nightmare is over, and I won’t have to listen to the incessant stories about George Cambridge, which sounds like the name of a character actor in 1970s films, but in fact is what I’ve dubbed one baby born this past Monday, along with about 350,000 others worldwide.
It’s not that I have a particular antipathy towards the royals as much as I don’t much care. The overload of coverage, though, made me cranky.
I was at my physical therapist’s earlier this week, and NBC’s TODAY show was on TV. The hosts promised a royal-free zone in their vapid What’s Trending segment but did one non-crown story before devolving. Over the previous weekend, with no baby, the news organizations were reduced to reporting on how much time and effort news organizations were spending waiting for George.
Then the baby was born. Lots of even numbers, I noticed. 8 pounds, 6 ounces, 4:24 p.m. on the 22nd of the month. I suppose I, like some others, was hoping for a girl, if only to put that new primogeniture law to the test.
What, no baby name yet?! Wait a day, people! Names of royals always remind me that Diana muffed Charles Philip Arthur George’s name at the wedding, saying Philip Charles. It also brings to mind Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, specifically, “The Prince is Giving a Ball” – LYRICS and LISTEN: Herald: His royal highness, Christopher Rupert Vwindemier Vlandamier Carl Alexander Francois Reginald Lancelot Herman Boy: HERMAN? Herald: Herman Gregory James is giving a ball.
The Wife, though, is more interested in the newest heir to the British throne, maybe because she is related. Nine generations ago, back in the 1690s, John Olin married Susannah Spencer, who is an ancestor of Princess Diana. Usually, I zip through the recorded news, but this week, I have to wait for her to watch the royal news, something I might otherwise have zapped through.
I’ve heard less about the desire of skipping over Charles (who’s only been waiting most of his life to become a king; don’t expect HIS mom to abdicate), and to install William, who is, after all, a tired new dad. Also, it seems that the hatred of Camilla has waned in the years since Diana’s death.
Speaking of the royals, about six months after Charles and Diana’s wedding back in 1981, my friend Jessica Lawrence developed a parody skit of that event, a narrative accompanied by a slide show. The pictures were taken at Westminister Presbyterian Church in Albany. The presentation was the Eighth Step Coffee House when it was still located at First Presbyterian Church, and it was hilariously irreverent. That’s Jessica as Diana and me as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Daughter will be a fine childsitter herself, if she is so inclined.
The evening I got home from that brief hospital stay in April, my daughter wanted to go to game night at her school. My wife did not; truth to tell, I didn’t much, either. But I hadn’t spent much time with her the last couple of days, so I took her.
We go to the gymnasium, and instantly all these four-to-six-year-olds scurry to her, calling to her by name. She knows them from the afterschool program they all go to. Still, I didn’t know that she was so popular with the younger set there.
I WAS aware that she had a similar relationship with the younger children at church. She plays with them, watches out for their welfare, and generally plays big sister. There was a mother at church who noted that my daughter could control her child in a way she could not.
I think this is a function of some of the girls, now young women, who have looked out for her, and are among the pool of child sitters for her.
Someone at church said that she’ll I reckon when she gets older, she’ll make a lot of money as a fine child sitter; I reckon, if she is so inclined, that would be correct.
The Wikipedia describes “the hypnotic riff Brian Jones is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley’s song ‘Diddley Daddy'”
Mick Jagger at the White House
I started reading this Philip Norman book about Mick Jagger last month, and I’ve never understood the physical appeal of the man, but it is palpable from the very first chapter. He continues to be such an icon that there was a (relatively) recent song about him, Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. A lock of his hair fetched $6,000 at auction recently; it was for charity to be sure, but still.
Anyway in honor of Sir Michael’s 70th birthday, here are my 20 favorite Stones songs. The album references are to the UK releases; worse than with the Beatles, the US record company could be swipe one song and stick it on another album, or two.
20. Start Me Up -Tattoo You (1981) Not sure I liked this song as much as appreciating another’s enthusiasm for it. I went to my 10th high school reunion, and it was deadly boring. Afterward, a bunch of us went to our friend Cecily’s house and partied until about 6 a.m.
My good friend Karen was playing this brand new song by the Stones; she must have listened to it a half dozen times or more that night, quite loudly, if memory serves. This was well before I heard it too often in a certain commercial.
19. You Gotta Move – Sticky Fingers (1971) A gospel standard that still sounds like the band.
18. Play With Fire – B-side to “The Last Time” single (1965) Love the contrast between the pretty guitar and intense feelings in the lyric.
17. Dead Flowers – Sticky Fingers I rather liked the faux country feel of the song. And for some reason, always liked the line about the US mail.
16. Ruby Tuesday – single (1966) It wasn’t as strong as Nirvana would do later, but they had a few songs where the verse is lovely and quiet, and the chorus more robust.
15. Lady Jane – Aftermath (1966) Brian Jones’ dulcimer helps to make this a beautiful piece. Sounds vaguely Elizabethan, or something.
14. Love in Vain – Let It Bleed (1969) A Robert Johnson song, played with a bit more country feel than the original.
13. Please Go Home – Between the Buttons (1966) It’s the echoey effect of the chorus, the distorted guitar, plus a theremin, played by Brian Jones, which gives it an almost early psychedelic feel.
12. Happy – Exile on Main Street (1972) This is Keith Richards’ signature song with the band. And with the brass, it sounds so, well, happy.
11. Jumpin’ Jack Flash – single (1968) Great guitar line. “But it’s all right.”
10. Backstreet Girl – Between the Buttons Brian Jones on glockenspiel and Jack Nitzsche on the harpsichord, plus an accordion. Lovely waltz that was a social commentary on some UK sex scandal of the day.
9. Street Fightin’ Man – Beggars Banquet Its muscular guitar playing and off-the-beat drumming give the song urgency. What is its politics is a bit unclear.
8. I Got The Blues – Sticky Fingers Bluesy organ of Billy Preston, not to mention the horns made this for me.
7. 19th Nervous Breakdown – single (1966) Wikipedia describes “the hypnotic riff Brian Jones is playing during the verses pays a tribute to Bo Diddley’s song ‘Diddley Daddy’… The song is also well known for Bill Wyman’s so-called ‘dive-bombing’ bass line at the end of the song.” The tune was ripped off by other artists, it was so infectious.
6. Mother’s Little Helper – Aftermath In some ways, an anti-prescription drug song: “And if you take more of those you will get an overdose No more running for the shelter of a mother’s little helper They just helped you on your way through your busy dying day”
5. I Am Waiting – Aftermath Another soft/loud song. Always loved the intentional echo effect in the vocal in the last chorus. There’s a great cover of this by a group called Ollabelle.
4. Paint It, Black – Aftermath Brian Jones’ sitar. “I want to see the sun blotted out from the sky.” When the press made it the “good” Beatles v. the “evil” Stones in the day, this full-bodied tune was a good example of the latter.
3. You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Let It Bleed I went to see the movie The Big Chill when it first came out in 1983. The first scene is a funeral, and the organist is noodling about when I recognize this song and started laughing; I’m the only one in the theater to do so for a long 30 seconds until other people start getting the joke. From the French horn opening to the great choir response, a tremendous song.
2. (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Out of Our Heads (1965) What’s to say? One of the most recognizable riffs in all of pop music, often stolen. This song is always on the list of greatest singles, and rightly so.
1. Gimme Shelter – Let It Bleed My favorite song is this apocalyptic tune, with the great Merry Clayton vocal.
Weird thing about getting a cat in the 21st century: the “book” said that you should keep the cat in a small location so that he doesn’t get too disoriented.
Being the terrible blogger that I am, I have totally neglected to mention the fact that we got a cat this year.
The Daughter has been wary of animals, especially dogs and cats. So we had never had pets of any kind since she was born. But as she spent more time with her friends’ cats, she decided that she wanted a feline of her own. In fact, when she didn’t get one for Christmas 2012, she gave us a deadline for her birthday in March to get one. Finally, around that date, she and her mother went to the animal shelter. There were two kittens she really loved who liked playing with each other. But before they could decide on which one to get, or possibly get them both, one was selected by another family.
They came back the next day and picked the remaining kitten of the pair. He was born around January 26, so he was two months old when he arrived. The Daughter named him Midnight. The weird thing about getting a cat in the 21st century: the “book” said that you should keep the cat in a small location so that he doesn’t get too disoriented. I had cats 30 to 55 years ago, and I had not heard such a thing. So he was in the guest room for a time unless he was with one of us, for too long for my taste. Part of the issue is that, to this day, it’s almost impossible to catproof the house. While sometimes he cuddles and is mellow, other times he’ll run the length of the house and jump on the dining room table, or some other verboten locale, knocking over any vulnerable items.
The general routine is that someone, whoever gets up first, will go downstairs and feed him; that’s usually me. After that, he’ll be purring and mellow for about five minutes. Then he’ll look out the window and watch what The Wife has dubbed KITV, Kitten Television before he starts marauding. This tires him out and he’ll sleep for a while.
The Daughter really loves him. I guess The Wife and I do too.
