Saturday 9: London Town (1978)

Saturday 9: London Town (1978)
On Saturdays I take a break from the heavy stuff and have some fun… 

 Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) Have you ever visited London?
No, but I have been to New London does that count?

2) In this song, Paul sings of encountering a London street musician playing the flute. Are there street musicians in your town?
No, but… In Provincetown MA on Cape Cod there was a street musician, Ellie Castillo who sang in front of the town hall, she sang mostly Frank Sinatra songs with a portable mic setup.

3) It's raining as he wanders around London. How is the weather where you are today?
Well they say mostly sunny, but they got me fooled!

Ooh... Ooh... the sun is peaking through the clouds since I wrote thing!

4) "London Town" is one of a handful of songs credited to Paul McCartney and Denny Laine, his bandmate in Wings from 1971 to 1981. They became fast friends in the mid-60s when Denny was with The Moody Blues, the band who opened for The Beatles on their final UK concert tour. Paul has acknowledged Denny's outstanding vocals and guitar playing, as well as his humor and generosity. Share the good qualities of one of your close friends.
I won’t share the good qualities of one friend, but I’ll share the good qualities of all my friends… empathy. They care about others!

5) Wings broke up in 1981 when Paul decided he was weary of touring. His kids were in school, his Beatle bandmate John Lennon had been murdered, and he simply felt more comfortable staying put and working in the studio, rather than performing live. Denny believed this would mean his role, and his financial compensation, would diminish so he quit Wings. Tell us about why you left one of your jobs.
Well I’ll tell you about why I left all my jobs.
Job #1, Went bankrupt. (From that I learned that the employees are way down the list of creditors).
Job #2, Got bought out, I saw the hand writing on the wall and bailed with some other engineers to...
Job #3, For 28 years, many of which were with my old engineers from the previous job (Sadly, I just learned the other two just passed away.). They closed the factory and moved it South Korea and I took early retirement.

6) Linda McCartney also wrote and performed with Wings. In addition to music, she is known for her photography and cookbooks. Of these three – music, photography and cooking – which do you enjoy most?
Oh! Oh! What a choice “photography and cooking” I claim both! Because each you do separately. (Well I guess some can argue that you can photography your food.) 

7) Paul's first car was a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. He selected it himself before The Beatles went off on their first world tour and it was waiting for him when he got home to London. He drove it when he shouldn't have, as he didn't get his license until spring of 1965. When did you get your driver's license?
When I was 17.
Oh and do I have a good story for my driving test!
So we show up at the motor vehicle department and it is snowing!
We sit down waiting for me to be called, so I take the vision test, the written test, and then came the dreaded driving test!
I look out the window and the snow is coming down horizontally! We go out to my mother’s car, I get in start it up and turn on the defroster, and get out! Clean the whole cars off and by then the car is toasty.
I drive out to the main road, wipers beating out that one long song, I drive a block, the inspector says do a “K” turn. And we drive back. So my driving test was less than a ¼ mile long in a blinding blizzard! Best of all my mother let me drive home with my new license (I always thought that it was because she didn’t like to drive in snow.).

8) Speaking of driver's licenses ... Last year someone bought one of Paul's expired driver's licenses at auction for $20,000. When you get a new license, passport, or state issued ID, what do you do with the old one?
All but the passport gets shredded. My old passport I kept because under this administration I cannot get a new one because my names don’t match. Also if the SAVE Act passes I will not be able to vote just like millions of women who names do not match their name on their birth certificate, welcome to the club of not being able to vote.

9) Random question – Which do you have more of: dirty dishes in the sink or dirty clothes in the hamper?
Well today’s Saturday!
So the dishes went from the sink to the dish washer to be washed over night.
And it is laundry day! (At least I don’t have to check to make sure snow is not blocking the dryer vent.)

---

As many of you know I like to see what an AI can do, so I asked ChatGPT...

Your mission, should you choose to accept it… One of the labors of an avid reader—or listener—is deciding what to read next, or in my case, what to listen to.

The books I enjoy include works by David Weber, Elizabeth Moon’s Vatta’s Peace series, and the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold for hard sci-fi. For fantasy, I like Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon’s The Deed of Paksenarrion series.

So your mission is to find me new authors—especially those whose audiobooks are available on Hoopla.

*******

Mission accepted 😄 — and you’ve got excellent taste. Based on your mix of military sci-fi, character-driven space opera, and classic fantasy, here are some strong author picks—especially ones that often show up on Hoopla audiobooks.

---

🚀 If you like David Weber & Bujold (military / character-driven sci-fi)

🔹 John Scalzi

• Try: Old Man’s War series

• Why: Military sci-fi with humor, fast pacing, and strong characters

• Hoopla odds: High (very common in audio catalogs)

---

🔹 Marko Kloos

• Try: Frontlines series

• Why: Gritty military sci-fi, similar boots-on-the-ground feel as Weber

• Hoopla odds: Moderate–High

---

🔹 Tanya Huff

• Try: Confederation series

• Why: Space marines + strong character work (very Moon/Bujold adjacent)

• Hoopla odds: Moderate

---

🔹 Jack Campbell

• Try: The Lost Fleet series

• Why: Tactical fleet combat + leadership themes (very Weber-like)

• Hoopla odds: High

---

🔹 Becky Chambers

• Try: Wayfarers series

• Why: More character-driven and optimistic (like the softer side of Bujold)

• Hoopla odds: Moderate

---

🐉 If you like McCaffrey & Paksenarrion (classic fantasy)

🔹 Mercedes Lackey

• Try: Valdemar series

• Why: Strong character arcs, magic systems, and classic fantasy feel

• Hoopla odds: High

---

🔹 Raymond E. Feist

• Try: Riftwar Saga

• Why: Epic scope, accessible storytelling, old-school fantasy vibes

• Hoopla odds: Moderate–High

---

🔹 Tamora Pierce

• Try: Protector of the Small

• Why: If you loved Paksenarrion’s growth and training arc, this hits similar notes

• Hoopla odds: Moderate

---

🔹 Kristen Britain

• Try: Green Rider series

• Why: Classic fantasy adventure with strong female lead

• Hoopla odds: Moderate

---

🔹 David Eddings

• Try: Belgariad

• Why: Comfort fantasy, very classic and character-focused

• Hoopla odds: High

---

🎧 A quick Hoopla tip

Hoopla availability varies by library system, but:

• Big-name authors (Scalzi, Campbell, Lackey) are very likely

• Older/classic fantasy is often surprisingly well stocked

• Series availability can be partial—worth checking before you commit

---

👉 If you want a sharper mission

I can narrow this down further if you tell me:

• More military sci-fi or more fantasy?

• Prefer serious tone or okay with humor (like Scalzi)?

• Want long series or tighter trilogies?

Or I can go even deeper and build you a “start here on Hoopla right now” list.

The Noose Tightens

It is getting worse, now they are going after online pharmacies!

Major ‘DIY’ hormone hub shuts down as the anti-trans brigade targets more sites

A major ‘DIY’ hormone resource website appears to have closed just days after being targeted by right-wing and gender-critical media outlets.

The Pink News

Mar 13

Written by Amelia Hansford

HRT Cafe, a grassroots database of tutorials, resources, and information on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), closed its doors earlier this week.

The website, which was maintained by a small, anonymous group of developers, was considered one of the biggest resources for ‘DIY’ HRT in the UK.

‘DIY’ HRT, also known as self-medicating, is the practice of obtaining and administering medication with minimal or no medical oversight. It is considered a last resort to accessing gender-affirming care. It is not illegal to possess non-controlled hormones for personal use without a prescription in the UK.

When I first started hormones my insurance wouldn't cover it back in 2004, so I ordered mine from overseas. I also had prescription and was being monitored by a doctor.

Its closure came just days after a number of right-wing news outlets, including The Daily Signal, published articles on ‘DIY’ vendors citing HRT Cafe and other resource sites. Gender-critical pundits also posted on social media to suggest this was just the first step in getting additional resource sites shut down.

While several LGBTQ+ and trans non-profits advise against self-medicating, warning of potential harm due to contamination from unregulated vendors, several members of the community have said it is the last feasible way for them to access the potentially life-saving medication.

I would also guess they are doing the same with abortion medication! I also wonder if they are scanning emails address to the overseas pharmacies and when you search for them! Is "Big Brother" watching you? Are they making databases of whose been naughty and nice?

The overseas press is even worse!

Online pharmacy selling HRT SHUTS after handing transgender people drugs without checks

GBN

By Alice Tomlinson

Published: 13/03/2026

A website that helped transgender people find hormone treatments online has shut down after coming under scrutiny over the sale of medication without medical checks.

HRT Cafe, a grassroots online database that compiled information on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), appears to have gone offline days after coming under scrutiny in the media.

The site, maintained by a small anonymous group of developers, had become one of the most widely used online resources for people seeking so-called “DIY” hormone therapy in the UK.

“DIY” HRT refers to the practice of obtaining and taking hormone medication without direct medical supervision, often through online pharmacies or overseas suppliers.

You know if it wasn't for Trump lies this wouldn't be happening! It is always the Republicans! 

The Lavender Scare -- Republicans

Save Our Children -- Republicans

Book bans -- Republicans

Drag show bans -- Republicans

All the anti-trans laws -- Republicans

We lived with no problems until the Republicans came along, and not just any Republicans but MAGA Republicans!

Did you know that a lot of the early pro-trans legislation came from Republican states? Because they said by changing our documentation we could become productive members of society! Now they've done a 180 and have declared a pogrom against us!

Women History Month!

I don’t know about you but I had some preconceived ideas about traveling in colonial times and when I read about her journey it was amazing! I don’t think were many woman can do that today! I can across her journal and I asked ChatGPT to write about it and recommend other stories about women traveling!

In 1704, a Boston businesswoman did something almost unthinkable for her time: she set out alone on horseback, traveling south through Connecticut to New York City. Her name was Sarah Kemble Knight, and her journey would become one of the earliest known travel diaries by a woman in colonial America.

Knight wasn’t traveling for leisure. She was handling legal business for a friend’s estate. But the story she left behind shows a woman bold, clever, and unafraid of the risks of the road. She navigated muddy post roads, crossed rivers with no bridges, and stayed in inns where the beds were often crowded, uncomfortable, or infested. Along the way, she observed townspeople, inns, and local customs, recording everything with sharp wit and humor.

Her diary, later published as The Private Journal of a Journey from Boston to New York in the Year 1704, reveals a woman actively shaping her own experience. Knight complains, jokes, and critiques the people she meets, showing intelligence and independence that defied the norms of her era.

What makes her story extraordinary isn’t just the physical journey — it’s her determination to live life on her own terms, traveling through spaces most women of her social class would never enter. For a brief glimpse, you can imagine her riding through forests, dodging poor roads and the occasional rude traveler, notebook in hand, documenting the world in her own voice.

Sarah Kemble Knight reminds us that even in the early 18th century, women could step outside prescribed roles, pursue work and adventure, and leave a record of courage and curiosity that still inspires today.

---

## 1. Isabella Bird – adventures in the American West

One of the most entertaining travel writers.

    • Book: A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains

    • Written in the 1870s as letters during her travels in Colorado.

    • She rode horses through mountain wilderness and frontier towns.

The book describes frontier life, landscapes, and colorful characters she met along the way. ([Wikipedia][1])

Her style is very similar to Knight’s—personal observations, humor, and everyday details.

---

## 2. Isabella Bird again – traveling across America

Another free book:

    • The Englishwoman in America

It describes her journey through Canada and the United States and her impressions of American society. ([Project Gutenberg][2])

---

## 3. Stories about many women travelers

There’s also a collection called:

    • Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century

It tells the stories of multiple women explorers and travelers who wrote journals about their journeys around the world. ([Project Gutenberg][3])

---

## 4. Other colonial-era travel journals

Historians often group several early American travel diaries together, including:

    • Sarah Kemble Knight

    • William Byrd II

    • Alexander Hamilton

Their writings describe the difficult roads, taverns, and daily life in colonial America. ([Samson Historical][4])

---

💡 Why these are great blog material

Travel diaries are fascinating because they show:

    • what roads and towns were like

    • how people ate and slept while traveling

    • social customs and regional differences

They often feel surprisingly modern and personal, even though they were written centuries ago.

---

✅ 

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Lady%27s_Life_in_the_Rocky_Mountains? "A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains"

[2]: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7526? "The Englishwoman in America by Isabella L. Bird | Project Gutenberg"

[3]: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31479? "Celebrated Women Travellers of the Nineteenth Century by W. H. Davenport Adams | Project Gutenberg"

[4]: https://www.samsonhistorical.com/products/colonial-american-travel-narratives? "Colonial American Travel Narratives - Samson Historical"

Is MAGA Collapsing?

It seems Trump has crossed an invisible line he didn't see coming. His MAGA base, however, saw it clearly and are throwing their usual hissy fit.

Cracks appear in Trump’s MAGA base as leading figures criticize the Iran war

AP News

By  DAVID BAUDER, MEG KINNARD and ALI SWENSON

March 4, 2026

For President Donald Trump, some of the sharpest criticism he’s faced in the early days of the Iran war has come from once-loyal media figures far more accustomed to singing his praises.

Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Matt Walsh are among those to express discontent. It’s been noticed in the White House, which has been playing defense on social media and in interviews.

To be sure, these critics are the minority of the media MAGAsphere, where Fox News’ biggest stars remain cheerleaders. But their words illustrate conservative media’s influence and how valuable it is to Trump when all runs as a well-oiled machine — and, by contrast, how much of a problem it can be if it fractures.

[...]

“It’s hard to say this, but the United States didn’t make the decision here. Benjamin Netanyahu did,” Carlson said on his podcast, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

I would argue that Trump's "loyal" base isn't that loyal anymore, and observers on the other side of the pond see it, too.

How the Iran war exposed cracks in Trump's Republican coalition

BBC News

Lucy Proctorand Mike Wendling

March 14, 2026

"This is Israel's war. This is not the United States' war."

The video was posted to YouTube less than two days after the US and Israel began their most recent attacks on Iran. It's been viewed more than two million times. But it wasn't made by an anti-Trump activist or critic of the president.

The monologue came from one of the most influential voices on the right of American politics: former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

"Countries become less free during war, a spirit of violence descends and people change fast," said Carlson, a long-time supporter of Donald Trump, who reportedly met the US president several times last month in an attempt to dissuade him from ordering military action. "You can feel on people the bloodlust, the hate, and it accelerates."

Carlson's advice was clear: "Get out right away. It's just that simple. Of course, it's also incredibly complicated, but the first step is deciding that we're leaving."

While many of Trump's most fervent supporters back the current military action, polls indicate that one in four Republicans take the opposite view.

The MAGA crowd finally saw through the rhetoric. Israel pulled Trump’s strings! They essentially said, "We are attacking; you're going to be left behind if you don't join us!" So, like a good lapdog, he went to war. In another AP News article...

It was no surprise when Joe Kent showed up on Tucker Carlson’s podcast a day after quitting his counterterrorism job in President Donald Trump’s administration. Here was a top official who resigned to protest the war with Iran turning to right-wing media’s leading critic of the conflict.

“The Israelis drove the decision to take this action,” Kent said in Wednesday’s interview.

[...]

The conversation encapsulated two schisms within the Republican Party and the right-wing media system, both of which have reached high into the national security establishment of the Trump administration.

There’s a foreign policy debate over the wisdom of Trump’s war with Iran and the future of the United States’ longstanding alliance with Israel.

Trump spent years feeding his base statements they took as Gospel truth... claiming the Democrats started all the wars and they believed him. He promised he would never start a war, and the MAGA movement ate it up. And now?

But look closer, and there are splits apparent on the right.

Nine out of 10 Republicans that self-identify as "Maga" (Make America Great Again) support the war, according to NBC.

These are Trump's ride-or-die supporters, the type of people who show up to his rallies wearing red hats and almost always support his agenda.

The same poll indicated that Republicans who don't call themselves Maga are much more sceptical about the war – just over half said they approved, and more than a third say they oppose it.

You know I think that I am beginning to smell a grassfire. Responsible Statecraft reported that...

According to a new poll of Trump 2024 voters commissioned by the Quincy Institute (which publishes Responsible Statecraft) and the American Conservative, and conducted by Ipsos from March 12-14, 79% say they would prefer the president declare victory and get out of the war now.

“While Trump voters by and large stand behind Trump, they overwhelmingly want him to declare an end to the war,” said Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute. “Trump risks losing significant portions of his base if he escalates the war with ground troops and allows the war to further push up gas prices.”

Craa... ck! That sound is of Trump base cracking!

When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall,

And down will come baby, cradle and all

Yeah, But...

This totally doesn't make sense that the 14^th Amendment wasn't ever being considered back then!

The Supreme Court’s Birthright Citizenship Decision Hinges on a Case You’ve Never Heard Of

Slate

By Smita Ghosh

March 18, 2026

On April 1, the Supreme Court hears oral argument in Trump v. Barbara, a class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship for certain people. No one will be surprised to hear lawyers discussing the text of the 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause and the history that led to its ratification—that clearly relates to the Trump administration’s claim that birthright citizenship doesn’t apply to children of “undocumented” or “temporarily present” noncitizens because their parents cannot establish “domicile,” meaning permanent presence in the country. But court watchers may not expect to hear debate about an 1844 inheritance case from New York. Yet that case, Lynch v. Clarke, has become incredibly important. Indeed, it may be instrumental in determining the fate of millions of American-born infants.

In the 1844 case, Judge Lewis Sandford held that Julia Lynch, the child of Irish parents who was born during their “temporary sojourn” in New York, was a U.S. citizen. The issue arose amid a heated battle over the fate of Lynch & Clarke, a firm that sold bottled spring water from Saratoga Springs to New York City residents in the early 1800s. Thomas Lynch and John Clarke were partners in the firm until Lynch died in 1833. Lynch had no will, and his only surviving heirs, which included his brother Bernard and a deceased brother’s daughter—his niece Julia—lived in Ireland. A year after Thomas’ death, when Julia was 15, she and her uncle Bernard sailed to New York and geared themselves for a fight for Thomas’ property.

I would like to point out the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1866!

Sandford also rejected Bernard’s argument that Americans had abandoned the English concept of birthright citizenship. He acknowledged that American authorities had rejected some aspects of British law and society. But he concluded that birthright citizenship was by now distinctively American. As Sandford recounted, the Founders understood that their new nation was, in James Madison’s words, “indebted to emigration for her settlement and prosperity.” American authorities therefore embraced the rule of birthright citizenship, referring, for example, to a “natural born citizen” in various statutes and cases.

You know that the current Supreme Court Juices are so called "Originalists" so this goes to show that it was where you were born matters, not your parent's nationality. Kind of shots holes in the Republican's argument. 

The Republicans Are A Bottomless Pit

Tennessee House Bill 754.

It seems as though Republican-led states are in a competition to see who can pass the most draconian laws, and Tennessee just moved to the head of the pack.

Republican bill would require TN medical facilities to share some info on gender-affirming care, or face up to $150K fines

The bill would also prevent local governments and parents from barring mental health therapy for transgender minors.

WBIR Ch 10

Chris Salvemini

March 13, 2025

A Republican bill in the Tennessee legislature would require medical facilities share some information about gender-affirming care with the state, or else face suspensions of at least 6 months and fines of up to $150,000.

The bill, HB 0754, was introduced by Representative Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby) and would apply to medical facilities that both offer gender-affirming care and receive state funds. Those clinics would need to share information with the state whenever pharmaceutical or surgical gender-affirming care is prescribed. Faison said it would include patients whose gender-affirming care is paid for with insurance.

It would need to tell the state when procedures were prescribed or when referrals were made for procedures. It would also need to tell the state the "age and sex" of people who are prescribed or referred to others for gender-affirming care. If they get prescribed drugs as part of their care, the facility would need to share the drug's name, dosage, frequency, duration and how it is administered. They would also need to share patients' states and counties of residence.

The names and contact information of healthcare professionals who prescribe gender-affirming care would also need to be given to the state, along with a list of "neurological, behavioral or mental health" diagnoses that patients received.

This is incredibly dangerous. It is likely one of the worst state bills ever introduced because it targets the privacy of our medical records. However, this is just one of a whole slew of anti-trans bills currently being considered.

Tennessee lawmakers weigh a dozen new Republican anti-LGBTQ+ bills

Advocates warn that the proposals targeting employment protections, health care, marriage equality, and Pride displays could reshape life for LGBTQ+ Tennesseans.

The Advocate

Christopher Wiggins

Mar 04, 2026

 Tennessee lawmakers are taking up more than a dozen bills affecting LGBTQ+ people this week, a package advocates warn could dramatically reshape the legal landscape for queer and transgender residents. Hearings began Tuesday and continue through Wednesday at the Cordell Hull Building in Nashville.

The Tennessee Equality Project has called the moment a “legislative crisis,” noting that committees in the Tennessee General Assembly are set to hear at least 13 measures touching nearly every corner of LGBTQ+ life, from employment protections and health care access to marriage recognition, library books, and Pride celebrations.

It is getting bad out there, really bad for us!

The Tennessee Conservative writes,

In the Senate, a bill that prohibits TennCare from providing reimbursement for Trans “gender affirming” procedures, not just for minors but for all Tennesseans covered under the state’s Medicaid program, passed in an 8 to 1 vote along party lines in the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Tuesday and now heads to the Senate floor for a final vote.

These bills are designed to inflict pain and harm upon our community. This effectively places "Big Brother" in the doctor's office, looking over your shoulder.

This is our Trail of Tears. This is the worst type of government: one designed to cause targeted harm to a specific group for nothing more than political gain. It is designed to break our community!

Couple this with the Kansas laws... it is becoming very, very dangerous for us! We are becoming "Healthcare Refugees" we are fleeing the states where we were born to the safety of the Blue states.