Headline cred to The Bangles.

Well, it’s this guy’s birthday today. Happy 3rd birthday, Hudson! (Pictured above, the facemasks are due to some extended family being at the party.) We were with you for birthdays 0, 1 and 2, but we’re COVID-blocked from attending your 3rd. Another crummy loss for 2020. His parents and Louisville extended family managed to give him what looked like a great little party, and he was talkative when I called him today. He said he missed me, which was simultaneously great and horrible.

I spent some time this morning making calls and knocking a few things off my to-do list. While I did that, I explored the audio and video legacy of Kruangbin online, via Youtube. They’re definitely my favorite new music, and watching them live is mesmerizing. I’m no music pro, but they look and sound like three instrumental savants who were lucky enough to find each other and share a vibe. There’s a comment on one of their Youtube videos that sums their act up perfectly: “The bass swayer, the guitar slayer, and the beat layer.” You’ve gotta see them to get it.

I’ve always loved guitar solos, great guitarists, and this dude (Mark Speer) is spectacular. There’s gotta be a reverb shortage in the world after he plays a set.  So far I’m loving their NPR Tiny Desk concert, and their long, beautiful live set at the 2018 Best Kept Secret show. Highly recommended. And the Netherland-based Best Kept Secret concert/festival looks like a fantastic event. Sort of a Euro-Coachella.

Today is the start of the Democratic National (online) Convention, another thing in 2020 that normally wouldn’t be a big deal, but the combination of COVID and Trump make it one of the biggest deals ever. Time to send the Orange One packing and start to repair the incalculable damage he’s done to the country, economy and reputation. Selecting from many possibilities, the daily outrage for August 17 is this headline. Sure, let’s open up one of the last pristine wildlife refuges to oil drilling – what a great idea! I don’t know where to start, except acknowledging that this administration seems to look around for the worst possible thing to do at a moment in time and then make that their mission.