dreary days, streaming, the season

The days this week have been wet, overcast, cold, and dreary. We did get about 2 1/4” of rain last Monday so that was good. Days like this I plug the star lights in.

I’ve always been a Beatles fan. They were an extraordinary group whose music in the decade the band existed evolved dramatically. their output was astonishing, every album unique and better and better. Though at 15 in 1965 when I had a choice between seeing the Beach Boys or the Beatles live, I chose the Beach Boys because I was put off, and didn’t get, the whole delirious screaming of the girl fans that made it impossible to hear the music. Besides, I thought, I could go the next time they toured through Houston, only they quit touring soon after that so I never saw the Beatles live. And while Marc and I watched the Peter Jackson production of The Beatles: Get Back when it came out on Disney in 2021 which to me really highlighted the end stage of the Beatles and the dissolution of the band we had never seen the Beatles Anthology released in 1995…until this past week. The newly remastered and remixed Beatles Anthology 2025, the story of their meteoric rise from their Liverpool beginning and eventual dissolution of the band as told from the point of view of the individual surviving members of the band, including clips from recordings of interviews with John Lennon before his murder, with a new final episode 9 added on. It was wonderful to see George, Paul, and Ringo getting together and interacting after 25 years of water had flowed under the bridge, their genuine affection for each other. George Harrison’s remark at one point that he was only 23 when  Sergeant Pepper’s came out in 1967 really brought home how young they were trying to just make music and deal with the worldwide fame and pressure. Anyway, we thoroughly enjoyed The Beatles Anthology 2025, streaming on Disney+, remembering that part of our youth and viewing the Beatles through their own eyes and recollections, four best friends who took the world by storm.

The Beatles Anthology interrupted what we had been watching and have returned to, American Gods on Amazon Prime based on the novel by Neil Gaiman of the same name. We’re were halfway through the first of three seasons and when we went back to it, episode 5 was not available, nor was episode 7 (of 8). We watched six and eight and supposedly there are two more seasons supposed to be available of amazon Prime, but they didn’t show up. Apparently, for #s 5 and 7, the license to show them ran out and I suppose for the other two seasons. I don’t know if we’ll be able to watch seasons 2 and 3 but the series was canceled before the end so no big loss I guess. I’m going to see if the new little book store has the book.

We are fully into my least favorite time of year, the Christmas ‘season’ which actually starts before Halloween with small displays of Christmas stuff. Now after Thanksgiving which barely gets a nod from retailers these days, it is full blown. Christmas music everywhere you go, one radio station plays nothing but, everything on tv is Christmas themed, the stress and the impossible expectations, the feeling that giving gifts is an obligation of the holiday, the ridiculous ‘war on Christmas’ that surfaces every year from those that refuse to accept or acknowledge all the other holidays that happen in December. I used to actively hate it and it would put me in a foul mood all month because, people get a fucking grip, it’s one day of the year, does it really have to start before Halloween? Now, not so much. As a non-Christian and anti all religion in general I just ignore it as much as possible which is easier to do out here instead of when I lived in the city. The closer it gets though the more often I’ll be asked if I’m ready for Christmas. My standard non-reply is, as ready as I ever am. Of course my kids and grandkids are grown, have aged out of the mandatory gift giving. Instead, if I see something I think someone would like I’ll gift it to them regardless of the time of year. That said, I will occasionally buy a holiday gift for someone but the point is not because I feel obligated to give a Christmas present and it so happens I have two gifts I intend to give this year. When I have a good pecan harvest, people get a pound of shelled pecans but that just coincides with this time of year. They’d get them if it was spring or summer.

If I did celebrate this time of year it would be the pagan roots of the winter solstice that has morphed into the Christian/secular Christmas; the return of the light; the yule log, decorating with evergreens, candles, the giving of small baskets of fruits and nuts or small tokens of nature. The early Christian Church rededicated this festival to the birth of their Savior in an attempt to bury paganism and impose the new religion same as they did the spring celebration and festival of Eostre (Ostara), the goddess of spring and fertility because they knew the common people would not give up their earth and nature based celebrations and festivals. I did set up a small altar last year with a cedar branch and a candle for the solstice. Perhaps I’ll do the same this year, add a few pecans and an orange.