Time Off

By

Taking some time off for a variety of reasons. Hopefully I'll get back to posting soon. Take care, my friends.

Popular posts from this blog

What is this? Where am I? What's it all about?

By
Image
All good questions. Let me explain. My name is Giselle and I'm your new best friend. Well, maybe not "best friend." A best friend usually listens in addition to talking, but that's not me. What I will do is be here every day, starting June 1 2019, to share with you whichever song pops into my head. Why?  What's the point? Well, here's the thing: I'm a writer. It's a pretty lonely job. Over the years, I've become increasingly socially isolated and you know what? It sucks. It sucks bad. The truth of the matter is that a lot of us are socially isolated, these days. And not just older people--younger ones, too.  There are "friendly visitor" programs for seniors, but those of us under 65 are kind of lost at sea. I speak from experience. Let me be your friendly visitor! If you need a no-pressure visit every day, let me be your visitor. I'll bring a song--whichever song pops into my head, gets stuck in my head, or seems relevant...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay Hetty Wainthropp Investigates Theme by Nigel Hess (London Film Orchestra, soloist Phillip McCann)

By
Image
I'm in pain and seeking out the coziest of cozies. Hetty Wainthropp is way up there. I'm in bed with BritBox, hoping I'll come across an episode I missed on TV, but I'm pretty sure I've seen them all. Rewatching the later ones anyway. No reason not to. I was such a fan of Keeping Up Appearances, and Hetty Wainthropp felt like an odd continuation of that show--like, if Hyacinth were actually nice to Richard, and they took in a stray teenager and opened a detective agency?  It's basically the same show, if you look at it that way. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and anecdotes, the easiest thing you can do is buy my books (most are for adults only!) or check them out from your local library.  Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely. I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . I...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay Cheers Theme: Where Everybody Knows Your Name (Gary Portnoy)

By
Image
A lot has changed since I first created this blog. Even more changes happened while the blog was on hiatus. Most notably, my partner was diagnosed with cancer. He is currently receiving treatments, the side effects of which make every day incredibly arduous. When you become a caregiver, everybody tells you that you have to take care of yourself first--the whole oxygen mask thing. Even my partner tells me I need to take care of myself first, particularly because I have chronic health conditions that make it almost impossible to function some days. It feels kind of ridiculous sometimes, the two of us trying to take care of each other when we're both sick. We need so much help, and right now we have nothing. All we've got is each other. Every time someone tells me to take care of myself first, I wonder how I'm supposed to do that when my partner's needs are so immediate and life-or-death. He is not a demanding person. Cancer is demanding. It takes over your entire life...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay The Sound of Silence (Simon and Garfunkel)

By
Image
 I had an episode of The Simpsons on last week called Lady Bouvier's Lover, I think?  It's the one where Grandpa Simpson courts Marge's mother. I've referred to it often during Covid, because it's got that one scene where Grandpa goes into the retirement home to grab Mrs. Bouvier and he comes out with the wrong woman, and that old lady says, "Can I come too?"   You know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I quote that line a lot, these days. I've got nothing going on, so any time my partner is going anywhere, I'm right on that "Can I come too?" At the end of the episode, there's a spoof on this song called "The Sound of Grandpa," which is what I was going to play for you... but my partner loves Simon and Garfunkel, so I'm going for the original. In his honour. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell a...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay The Old Apartment (Barenaked Ladies)

By
Image
A couple weeks ago, I told you that I've been watching old episodes of Cheers as a self-soothing mechanism. Well, I've never seen my partner watch a sitcom until now, but suddenly he's watching Big Bang Theory all the time. He scours the TV listings and watches it on this channel, then watches it on that other channel. Apparently it's always on, the way Friends was always on in syndication 20-odd years ago. I didn't feel like posting the theme song, so I chose another Barenaked Ladies track instead. There are a couple different places that live on only in my memory (and other people's, too) but they no longer exist in this world. One such place is the office I worked in 20 years ago. The landlord decided they'd make better money if they converted this office building into condos, and instead of relocating, the business I worked for just decided to close their Toronto location. So the building itself still stands, but it's now condos, not offices. I dr...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay The Warrior (Scandal ft. Patty Smyth)

By
Image
This is a song I've known forever (well, since it came out), but I never knew who sang it. I often don't know who sings what songs. I'm not a music expert. I'm just a person who likes music. Anyway, when I spotted this video on YouTube I finally understood a riff from Miami Connection , which I have watched many dozens of times. (Actually, I usually just listen to it--I'm not sure I've ever watched it with my eyes.) This movie is about a karate rock band populated by orphan housemates who hate stupid drugs. I'll have to play you music from the film one day. I genuinely like it, but I'm a sucker for anything 80s.  The riff I've got in mind is sung, and it's something like "I'm not Patty Smyth--the one who spells it with a Y from Scandal, I'm not her." I never knew who this riff referred to, and I thought it was talking about the TV show called Scandal, which I never saw. I didn't know there was a band called Scandal. Except...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay I've Tried Everything (Eurythmics)

By
Image
I have been incredibly ill. Emergency room, IV fluids, diagnostic equipment, more meds.  I'm so sorry for taking off without letting you know what was going on, but there are times when it can't be helped. I've missed sharing music with you. I think in terms of posts I want to write, but for a while I couldn't come near my computer. Now I don't remember what I wanted to say. Figures, eh? This song came into my mind at a time when I truly believed I would never get better. Time and treatment didn't seem to make any difference. I was just so sick all the time. At this point, I don't know whether I'm "better" or whether the new medication I'm on is just keeping me stable. More medical appointments to come.  Meanwhile, various other portions of my life are falling apart. Not my relationship. That's strong. My partner has been taking good care of me physically, and I'm trying to take good care of him emotionally, but now is not a happy t...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay Is It Cold In The Water? (SOPHIE)

By
Image
 You've probably heard that 34-year-old trans musician SOPHIE died in an accident last weekend. I encourage you to read this great article about her life and work.   Read also this moving tribute written by Morgan M. Page .  This song is just gorgeous. It's breaking my heart to listen to it right now. If you're wondering how you can support me in bringing you songs and visits every day, the easiest thing you can do is tell your friends about the site. Tell anyone you know--particularly people who are isolated and enjoy music. Readers of adult fiction can also buy my books or check them out from your local library. Supporting my  AudioErotica  endeavour on  Patreon  would also help me hugely! I'm also an  Amazon Influencer,  so hopefully I can make a little pocket change when you buy stuff by clicking through  my affiliate links . But you don't HAVE to do any of that. I'm very happy to get a daily visit from you, so just keep coming back...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay The Globe (Big Audio Dynamite)

By
Image
When my partner moved from his apartment in the city to a (small) house in a small town, he said it was because he didn't want to die listening to the woman upstairs snoring. Now he's bought this condo in a his hometown and a move seems imminent. I keep wondering how he's going to react to the other-people noises in this new building. My own apartment building is a concrete structure. This morning, I woke up to the sound of a sneeze. My partner isn't here with me. The sneeze came from another unit. I'm not even sure whether it was a human sneeze. I think it might have been a dog sneeze. He got away from the thing he wanted to get away from, and now he's going back to it. What's worse is that he's moving farther away from the place he wants to be (the city) because it's so massively expensive to live here. I can only afford my place because I've lived here for twenty years and rent controls have kept the cost down somewhat (long ranty story). T...
Read More! »

#SongoftheDay Bennie and the Jets (Dwayne Gretzky)

By
Image
Last night I dreamed that my partner and I were consulting with a pharmacist. She was suggesting different board games and puzzles for us, and then she asked my partner what his favourite song was. He said, "It's that song Hey, Stupid!" The pharmacist was like hmmmm not sure I know that tune. So I asked him, "Do you mean Bennie and the Jets?" And he was like yeah, that's the one. In the dream, I just got the sense that he was mishearing those first lyrics "Hey, kids" as "Hey, stupid." Now... none of this is based in real life. Bennie and the Jets is not my partner's favourite song. It's definitely a song known for its mondegreens ("She's got electric boobs--her mom has, too") but I've never known anyone to refer to this tune as "Hey, Stupid!" It's nice to bring you a lighthearted post, I must say. My physical and mental health are getting worse by the day, and the more pain I feel in my body...
Read More! »