Shirley's Mind Grapes

Shirley's Mind Grapes

The answers to questions nobody asked

BART

Dailies 07/27/13

Dailies 07/27/13

Daily Doodle: Turtle Flower Power

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Song of the Day: My Cherie Amour by Stevie Wonder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Gu-CyE-NQ

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Musical Pipe Dream: In the underground tunnel between the Powell and Montgomery Street BART stations, there’s a man singing with his well-timed clapping being the only accompaniment. It’s a late hour, so it’s not crowded. As I walk by, I see a woman who is sitting with her back against the opposite wall of the performer. She’s not actively crying, but has tears streaming down her face. She’s wearing a knit cap, peacoat, a skirt with leggings, and army boots. Staring at the floor, it looks like she’s looking at something miles away. The man continues to sing with natural talent. He has a few bills and mostly copper change in the hat he has in front of his feet. I’m not sure if it’s my train I hear approaching the platform, so I walk with wide steps while fishing in my pockets for my ticket. As I fly down the stairs, I can still hear the man’s voice singing and the echoes of his clapping.

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Blurb 1/365: The same moment is different for every single being in the universe.

Dailies 07/10/13

Dailies 07/10/13

Daily Doodle: BART Stare

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Song of the Day: Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXq5VvYAI1Q

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’ve got the bass hung low to my hips. My skinny arms are flexed. My hair is all brushed to one side bit it’s still messy. During the lyrical parts, I sway back and forth while accompanying the vocals. During the jams, I slightly bang my head while my left hand climbs right on the frets to the higher notes. I’m biting my bottom lip with concentration.

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Blurb 1/365: We’ve all just got to give each other a break.

Dailies 04/24/13

Dailies 04/24/13

Daily Doodle: Comic: BART Sneeze

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Song of the Day: Try a Little Tenderness as sung by Otis Redding

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiDq4Q62tz4

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Musical Pipe Dream: This video of Otis Redding’s performance in Sweden is magical. His slight movement and groove when the horns come in, the tempo, the audience feeling the music, the bridge, the breakdown, the band, everybody feeling the magic, the two encores, the kids getting their bags ready to leave, the third encore, the audience going nuts, the horn section having to step up to another part of the stage to back up from the audience, the announcer just doing his thing, THE BAND, Otis Redding … my musical pipe dream was that I was actually there. This is the kind of stuff I thank the YouTube gods for.

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Blurb 1/365: “It’s easy to give advice, and it’s even easier not to take it.”

 

 

Dailies 03/11/13

Dailies 03/11/13

Daily Doodle: Whoa-oh-oh

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Song of the Day: Me & You by Brenton Wood

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNBg2tzS3YY

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Musical Pipe Dream: I’m singing into a 1960s mic. My hair is styled as an Elvis bouffant and I’m wearing a white tuxedo with black trim.

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Blurb 1/365: I saw two mice on the BART tracks today. They were scurrying as fast as they could and covered with soot. I was rooting for them to follow their dreams.

 

Cellphone-less

I forgot my cellphone at home today. Albeit sort of ridiculous, I sort of felt like half a person without it. I didn’t have a pen or a book or a pamphlet to accompany me on my BART ride. On the plus side, I had the opportunity to see some things:

A sign that says “Ghirardelli Factory Store Now Open”

A big painted sign of the cartoon Pink Panther holding a pair of scissors

A pickup truck flatbed full of hamburger buns

A painted/decorated crosswalk (I wonder if more crosswalks could be like this?)

A few church steeples that I hadn’t noticed before

A lot of nice looking graffiti art

A lot of bad looking graffiti art

Many different types of roofs

A symphony of 7uP trucks getting ready to depart on their journey to different stores

A somewhat hidden playground with kids playing soccer in it

A man with a hairstyle reminiscent of DeBarge (I have been seeing this a lot lately)

So, it was pretty awesome. I’ll remember to do as the title of the BBC show says, “Look Around You”.