I had this same thought

but it took Steve Martin to come up with the song.

once in a very red bonnet

As I wrote here,

a very blue moon

shone down on New Year's Eve.

I believed it was

an omen of

good things to come.

Perhaps more rare than a blue moon, this red Bluebonnet growing on my street, might be one such good thing.

It's such a beautiful time of year, spring.

And when you come upon a field of Bluebonnets, you do believe there's nothing prettier in nature.

Below is Nanci Griffith singing a duet with Darius Rucker (of Hootie and the Blowfish) about a Bluebonnet Spring:

once in a very belewe moon

Folklore tells us that people of long ago named each moon, depending on the time of year it shown. The harvest moon, say, and the summer moon.

A moon which appeared too early, an extra moon in the seasonal cycle, was called a blue moon.

When it came before the Lent Moon, preachers dubbed it the belewe moon, or, the betrayer moon.

Mary at Beauty Amongst the Weeds and Kathleen at Hill Country Mysteries both blogged about our New Year's Eve moon. A cold and blustery night here in Texas, Sam and I, along with a group of friends, toasted the New Year beside an outdoor fire pit. We looked up to the sky, champagne in hand. After the sparkles of the roman candles dissipated, the clouds moved away to reveal the big blue moon directly over our heads.

What does it mean when a blue moon shines on the very last night of the year? Is it an omen that foreshadows an ill wind? Or an auspicious promise of a better turn of events?

I took an interest in blue moons after hearing a native Texan, Nanci Griffith, sing this version of "Once in a Very Blue Moon." I was in Texas only a year or two when I first saw her performing it on video. I believe it was on MTV. This was back when MTV was a prized commodity, when party locations were determined based solely on who subscribed to it because it was that new and that cool.

You could call it a driveway moment in my living room. Mezmerized, I bought nearly all of her albums, went to see her live, became a lifelong fan. With this one song, I ventured away from pop and rock music and toward the more soulful folk.

A grammy award winner, Nanci mentions Austin's Congress Avenue in her love song, So Long Ago. A native Texan, she was schooled in Austin at the University of Texas. She taught kindergarten and first grade here in the 1970's. Those lucky little students. I wonder, did she bring her guitar to class and sing? Where are they now? And do they realize their good fortune?

Nanci does a haunting rendition of Bob Dylan's Boots of Spanish Leather, if you like what you've heard so far. Her duet with John Prine, Speed of the Sound of Loneliness, is another one that stops me in my tracks every time I hear it.

In 1986, Nanci put together The Blue Moon Orchestra. They've been recording and performing with her ever since.

So for me? There's no question. A new year welcomed by a blue moon is all good.

he who hesitates is los loserface

And his wife, los loserest loserface of all.

It was summer 1990. Late July, I think it was. Sam and I were still dating at the time. In a few weeks I would be moving away for a year. Far away and out of state. When you live in central Texas, anywhere out of state is far away, but I was moving many states away. At the time I didn't know if I would be returning to Texas.

Sam was a big fan of Austin music legend Stevie Ray Vaughn. Had been since Stevie was an unknown playing Miranda's at Northgate in Aggieland College Station. And later, when Sam would drive to Austin on weekends to catch him at the Soap Creek Saloon.

During 1990, Sam and I spent a lot of evenings listening to his albums. I didn't think I liked blues before then. Sam helped cultivate my taste for it. I had never been one for loud lead guitar riffs, but I did favor rhythm and blues, so Sam took the time to find SRV songs I would like. By summertime, I was a fan.

So on this particular Wednesday in July I heard that SRV was playing that night about 45 minutes away. Now was my chance to see this guitar wizard on stage.

"But it's a work night," complained Sam, sucking the wind out of my spontaneous sails. But then, he was the only person in the room with a 7am wake up call. "We can hear him in Austin anytime. We'll catch him during one of your weekend trips back."

So I went by myself plopped down on the couch and pouted kept the 8-to-5 working man company.

A few weeks later, I heard the sad news.

Stevie Ray was killed in a helicopter crash August 27, 1990.

I can't hear his music without feeling incredibly sad. And gypped.

So this is for you, Stevie. The sky is still crying and the telephone lines are still down.

Looks like I'll have to catch a performance on the other side. Until then, it'll be Sam's albums and youtube. Like these two, below, my favorite SRV tunes.

have you got the beat?

Merlot Mom asked for song suggestions to help get her exercising. I left a list of some of the songs loaded on my mp3 player, but I didn't have anything very recent to offer.

Then I heard this song on the radio today. It fits my bill - fast beat and .. well .. I just like it:

Shake It by Metro Station. Follow the link and listen, here.

Below is my list, in no particular order. Though, about 10 minutes in, I like to skip forward to Salt n Pepa's Push It ... or Shakira's Hips Don't Lie ... because they get me moving. Then when it's time to slow it down, I skip to John Lee Hooker's Catfish Blues.

So, if you see me on the stairmaster, chances are I'm listening to one of these songs. Without my ear plugs, I can't seem to tread above a slow crawl. And time draggggggggggggs.

Can anyone add to my list?

Shakira: Hips Don't Lie

Jet: Are you gonna be my girl

Will Smith: Get jiggy wit it

Everything But (?): Missing (remix)

Marky Mark: Good vibrations

Stevie Ray Vaughn: Love Struck Baby

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Scar Tissue

Janet Jackson: Nasty

Salt 'n Pepa: Pump up the Jam

Salt 'n Pepa: Push It

M.C. Hammer: U Can't Touch This

Run DMC: Walk this way

Tag Team: Whoomp. There is is.

Yaz with Alison Moyet: Only You (longtime favorite song)

La Bouche: Be my lover

Jellyhead: Crush

Black Box: Everybody everybody

Right Said Fred: Too sexy for my love

Cece Peniston: Finally (club mix)

Fun Factory: I wanna be with you

2 Unlimited: Get ready for this

Kylie Minogue: Can't get you out of my head

John Lee Hooker: Catfish Blues

Fine Young Cannibals: She drives me crazy

Robin S: Show me love (club mix)

Harold Melvin: The Love I lost

Santana: Smooth

Image of workout baby found here.

more on musicians and oxytocin

No sooner had I posted about oxytocin and music last week, then I made plans to join some girlfriends and see one of Austin's most awesome musicians, Bob Schneider. His incredible show provided one more note of evidence that this city is, if not the Music Capital of the World, as so frequently touted, then a top contender.


Where else can you hear music this good, at a moments notice, on a Monday night? And I mean, gooooood. I was so impressed and loved every minute of it. Three guitars, a drummer (nay, a percussionist), a string section (or, one guy alternating a cello and a fiddle), a brass section (or, one other guy playing a smallish tuba and a horn), and a squeeze box.

If not because of his music, you may have heard of Schneider because of his famous ex-girlfriend, Sandra Bullock. She remains a sometimes Austin resident and local bistro owner. You may have also heard of her multi-million dollar Austin lake house debacle rumored to become the couple's love nest (not to be confused with her movie, Lake House). Bullock claimed the house was uninhabitable due to shoddy workmanship, a jury agreed and she was awarded $7 million. Soon after, she bulldozed the 10,000 square foot house to the ground and is now in the process of rebuilding. A different builder, I assume.




But I majorly digress. Back to my original theme, oxytocin.

As I grooved to Bob Schneider's music and felt all googly-eyed like the 21 year old I was 100 years go, I was thinking about how common it is for fans to fall in love with the musician on stage. And the reputation musicians have for falling in lust right back. At least for the night. Present big-assed, middle-aged, perimenopausal fans who don't get out much, excepted.

And because I live and work in a city with so many musicians, I see a fair number in my practice. And what I see is a trend we're all familliar with: a high rate of infidelity. Musicians who can't keep their pants zipped. Traveling troubadours followed from town to town by groupies, obliging them with more than an autograph.

So now with the latest news of oxytocin, this rampant infidelity makes even clearer sense to me.

Bad news for partners of musicians, though, huh? How to feel trust when your partner is on stage oozing the hormone responsible for love, attachment and orgasms while in a room full of adoring, similarly oxytocin intoxicated fans. Add a cold beer or two and you've got a recipe for a cheatin' heart.

Here's one of Bob Schneider's best known songs: Big Blue Sea.





(For a laugh, listen to Schneider wax on about Damien Rice's hair, here.)