Good morning!  With all the other news and grown-up information you get in your inbox, we wanted to tickle your ears for 5 to 10 minutes.  Today we dig into; Cold days, Earworms, Spectacular Photos, Purgatory, and end with a few grumpy old men we idolize.  Remember, today is going to be a fantastic F*&^%$ day!

Summer turns to fall, blink again, and snow will start to fall, depending on where you live.  Anyone living in an area with seasons and a winter knows it’s on its way.  The Guardian put together a few ideas of what to do in the U.K., and we decided to add our own U.S. adventures to add to the list.  From tee shirts to cozy sweaters, the winter can also be an excuse to bake and eat a few more carbs than the unforgiving swimsuit season allows.  Throw the cinnamon rolls into the easy bake oven and sit back with your blanket as you read.

The Guardian’s list includes specific things to do in particular places; our list is general ideas for all the U.S. states that will see snow this year. 

I almost stole this idea; you can walk around the lake or jump in it; that would be another one of the listed adventures. 

What causes us to hear a great song or even a not-so-great piece and not be able to get it out of our heads?  Typically called an earworm, we researched to identify why some songs stick and others might not.  With more knowledge, we aim to trigger the earworms to play our favorite tunes more often.

According to an article at Harvard.edu, the simple, nursery rhyme-type songs with a fast tempo and a pitch that rose and fell stuck with us the most.  They cite a song like “Don’t Stop Believin” by Journey as an example. 

Another part of the explanation made sense too.  Have you ever turned memorization into a song?  We have seen videos online, and one of our writers is married to a teacher, and teachers have helped students learn spelling words by turning the letters into a song.  Turning memorization in a piece gives the memorization a rhythm, the rhythm gives way to the association, and the association helps with memorization.  If you talk to some musicians, they tell you something similar.

When they started, Tom DeLonge of Blink 182 and Angels and Airwaves talked about writing songs for Blink 182.  His goal was to write nursery rhymes and put them to fast skate punk style music in the early 90s.  Now listen to Blink 182… Dammit!

In the simplest sense, a purgatory is a place you wait; unless you have mastered your Buddhist mind, all waiting contains suffering.  You could say a diet is purgatory, rehab is purgatory, waiting for the weekend when it’s only Wednesday, and so on.  In each of these examples, the suffering and the removal of the suffering are in the hands of the individual.  Purgatory is self-imposed, and you wait it out with some effort.

In Dante’s The Divine Comedy, he describes Purgatory as a place the soul is cleansed of all impurities.  Another place to wait, but there is another catch with Dante, the souls in Purgatory can’t do anything to move from Purgatory to Heaven.  Purgatory, in this sense, is described as neutral, part of the suffering comes from knowing at some point you will be in Heaven for eternity, but you aren’t there yet. 

Dante doesn’t discuss the concept of others praying for the souls in Purgatory; in many Christian faiths, people will pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.  It’s an interesting concept in our U.S. rugged, bootstrap, dream, independent lifestyle we seem to idolize.  The U.S. that we can’t earn something through effort is foreign to us.  It’s also beautiful to think your future could be determined by other believers who take it upon themselves to pray for you.  It also makes you feel about your life and the other people you would be willing to pray for, think about, help, and who may never know who you are.  That’s food for your soul.

The Guardian put together another awe-inspiring list of Architectural Photography from The World Architectural Festival, which will be displayed in Lisbon, Portugal, later this month.  The photographs took our breath away.

[Music Notes]

Two bands we love, two artists who defined music for us, have a bit of a beef.  Stereogum reports that Paul Weller is not a fan of Robert Smith or The Cure.  The article mentions something from 1985.  Hey Paul, I suggest you grab Robert and meet him Down on Fascination Street!? We couldn’t resist!

Spin reported that Stephen Patrick Morrissey (Morrissey) had to cancel his first concert in 3 years.  There is no definitive reason why the show was canceled, but there is lots of speculation, and fans uploaded many videos from the show.  Morrisey also posted a delay in his forthcoming album, due in February 2023.  The explanation from Morrisey’s website states that it is in the hands of the music label Capitol Records.

[More New Stuff]

Words | Music | Art | Unknown

Oh, come on!

Click on the Apple Music image to listen to the song on Apple Music or on the Spotify Image to listen to Spotify.

Thank you for spending a few minutes with us!

With A Shout Team