Spitball Army

One of several watercolor picture/postcards that were apparently scissor-cut from a postcard book featuring scenes in and around Birmingham, Alabama.

This card pictures “Jefferson County Court House, showing Pools, Birmingham, Ala.”

( Michael Reynolds / EPA / October 31, 2012 )

Part Two of my Hurricane Sandy playlist: more musical commentary on a particularly unpleasant stormy situation.

Approximate playing time: 79 minutes.

1. Jason Isbell  “Hurricanes and Hand Grenades”  (2007)
2. Bonnie Raitt  “Cry Like a Rainstorm”  (1973)
3. Buzzie  “Sandy”  (1970)
4. Bob Dylan  “Shelter from the Storm”  (1975)
5. Paul Simon  “Hurricane Eye”  (2000)
6. Scorpions  “Rock You Like a Hurricane”  (1984)
7. Big Country  “The Storm”  (1983)
8. Peter Gabriel  “Here Comes the Flood”  (1977)
9. Doves  “The Storm”  (2005)
10. The Doors  “Riders on the Storm”  (1971)
11. Arcade Fire  “Cold Wind”  (2005)
12. Spoon  “Out Go the Lights”  (2010)
13. World Party  “You’re a Hurricane, I’m a Caravan”  (2000)
14. Billie Holiday  “Stormy Blues”  (1954)
15. Ron Sexsmith  “Cold Hearted Wind”  (2006)
16. Barbara Kessler  “That Hurricane”  (1996)
17. Citizen Cope  “Hurricane Waters”  (2004)
18. Classics IV  “Stormy”  (1968)

Q: What do you call a mushroom who goes into a bar and buys everyone a drink?

A: The fun guy.

Again, with the eight-dollar, so-called “bargain” matinee. And this one was even before noon!

One of several watercolor picture/postcards that were apparently scissor-cut from a postcard book featuring scenes in and around Birmingham, Alabama.

This card pictures “Comer Building, Birmingham, Ala.”

The 1913 Comer Building is currently known as the City Federal Building, and is located at the intersection of 2nd Avenue North and 21st Street North. For nearly 56 years after its completion, it was the tallest building on the Birmingham skyline.

Sometimes one of the first reactions I have to news from outside of my immediate surroundings is to make a playlist about it. When the happenings are closer to home, I am usually too busy dealing with them directly to bother with such a trivial task.

So it was with tropical storm Sandy, which hit the East Coast this past week. Here in Alabama, we got some wind: no big deal and, even if it had been more than some wind, it would have still been no big deal, relatively-speaking.

I have some strong, tough, and courageous friends living on the Eastern seaboard.

This particular playlist was so long that I have had to divide it into halves. The second half will post here next Sunday.

Approximate playing time: 73 minutes.

1. Ed Harcourt  “The Storm Is Coming”  (2004)
2. Paul Petersen  “A Little Bit for Sandy”  (1968)
3. Jeffrey Foucault  “Storm Windows”  (2008)
4. Echo & the Bunnymen  “Hurricane”  (1997)
5. Ocean Colour Scene  “Flood Tide Rising”  (1999)
6. Magnolia Electric Co.  “Map of the Falling Sky”  (2009)
7. Talking Heads  “Listening Wind”  (1980)
8. The Soundtrack of Our Lives  “The Flood”  (2001)
9. James McMurtry  “Hurricane Party”  (2008)
10. Ana Egge  “Storm Comin'”  (2009)
11. The Collins Kids  “Hurricane”  (1958)
12. The Sleepy Jackson  “Rain Falls for Wind”  (2003)
13. T-Bone Walker  “Call It Stormy Monday”  (1948)
14. Bruce Springsteen  “4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)”  (1973)
15. Louis Armstrong  “Stormy Weather”  (1957)
16. Ronny & the Daytonas  “Sandy”  (1967)
17. Western States Motel  “Powerlines”  (2006)
18. Mason Jennings  “Black Wind Blowing”  (2009)
19. Danny Day  “Please Don’t Turn the Lights Out”  (1965)

This is the kind of garbage that we get in our mailboxes in Birmingham, Alabama, with just four days left before the election. I don’t know if I am more aghast at the shrill idiocy within the text or the shameless copyright infringement of the Godfather design.

Click or double-click on the images for a closer look.

I just threw the phone across the room and it started ringing.

Card is untitled on the front.

Printed on back of post card:

The central building of VESTERHEIM, Norwegian-American Museum, Decorah, Iowa 52101. Built as a luxury hotel in 1877 and restored to its original appearance in 1975.

Publishing information:

1977 Pub. by H.K. Barnett, Allison Park. Pa. 15101. NAM-10 081388