As winter's snow blankets the ground with a cold warmth of silent nights, there are a new set of rules to live by.  These lifestyle rules apply to how we walk, drive, and even the amount of salt we use. (outside that is)  Ah, beautiful winter a season with rules of its own. 

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The tryptophan has worn off, and as we awaken from a peaceful Thanksgiving nap all Hell is breaking loose, it's the holidays!  Trees on speeding cars, neighbors houses lit up like a landing strip at LAX, shop until you drop, and get it all done in twenty days! Then when the big day it over the rush to tear down!  Deck the halls with whatever it left. 

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Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  It's foundation, of family, friends, tradition, and food remains for the most part untouched by the stress and rush of other holidays.  Unlike Halloween where decorations are up in in stores by August, or Christmas where decorations are for sale by October, Thanksgiving does not have that forced rush about it.  In fact, in many cases it can be overlooked by those who are in a hurry to get their Christmas tree up as fast as they can in November.  Oh, yes commercialism creeps in as "Black Friday" becomes Thanksgiving afternoon, but to me this holiday remains about gratitude, family and friends, those still with us and the love and the memories of those who have passed on.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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In this episode a follow-up to 'This Land is Your Land" by Woody Guthrie, I reflect on The Thanksgiving  Day classic," Alice's Restaurant" written by his son Arlo Guthrie.  This song which honored  the legacy of Woody and his belief in blending satire, humor and charm through storytelling and bringing the listener along for ride. "Alice's Restaurant" was released in 1967 the same year Woody died.  The song it as applicable today as it was then considering these times we are living! Not a song to read, but a must listen. I recommend you listen to it on Thanksgiving morning while the turkey is being stuffed.   "You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant".

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With all that is currently going on in our country I found myself searching for  inspiration, a sense of connectiveness beyond all the geographic and political boundaries of today.  I came across one of the greatest protest songs ever written.  It was written in 1940 and recorded in 1944, by Woody Guthrie, "This Land is Your Land".

It held true then, and holds true today. 

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There is something about Sunday Night that can bring on the blues.  All the activities of the past week behind and the new week ahead.  It is a kind of calm before the storm.  Even when I use to work on Sunday Nights there was always a different feel, in a studio, or on the streets.   There is a peace, and bit of sadness in the reflection along with a sense of warmth.  

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After 232 years the penny has been minted for last time.  The impact may not be immediate, but over the long run it will be felt.  Our friend the penny, with Abraham Lincoln greeting us and giving us a sense of security.  Eventfully there will no longer be penny loafers, or just the price "of a penny for our thoughts", even though we always gave our two cents. We will have less luck, and the song, Pennies from Heaven is where all the pennies will be.  So, there's my own two cents take it or leave it, you had better take, it won't be around for long. 

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Today marks the 50th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10th, 1975.  Twenty-nine  brave souls perished that day in the cold waters of Lake Superior.  Later a folk rock ballad was written, composed and performed by Canadian singer-song writer Gordon Lightfoot to memorialize the crew on board the Edmund Fitzgerald that perished that evening around 7:15pm. 

The song was recorded in December of 1975 and released in August of 1976. It was a song that you did not talk through or dance to.  Instead, you became engulfed with it as the music and lyrics transformed you.  I was a senior in high school and it still give me chills, as it keeps the memory those twenty-nine souls alive. In this episode I read the song and remember those 29 sailors.  "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead. When the gales of November come early". Gordon Lightfoot

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After 208 years the Farmers' Almanac is hanging it up. The 2026 edition will be the last. I never read the Farmers' Alamac, but I always took comfort in knowing it was there, especially this time of year.  As the cold breath of November was upon us we would hear on the news: "according to the Farmers' Almanac, we are in for a harsh winter".  A lineage of 208 years ending makes me sad. Goodbye old friend I never knew, but I took great comfort in knowing you were around. 

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I was listening to NPR, (while we still have it) the other day and the topic was ASI, Artificial Super Intelligence.  Now mind you, AI fills a void that has been identified in the majority of our civilized species.  A void we won't get back because we have become dependent on the technology.

This next generation of Advanced Intelligence is still in the very early design phase. The result will be robots that are vastly more intelligent.  In essence we are designing the alien  force that will cause our extinction.   The Dinosaurs had and excuse, they did not create the asteroid. 

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