Some relatively big events over the past seven days. Cory Booker’s historic, record-breaking (don’t* call it a) Filibuster on Tuesday. Departments dropping DeRP 2.0. Imposing tariffs on penguins. markets falling, along with our retirement accounts.

And me, on Wednesday, falling and landing flat on my back.

Several of these things hit personally, though one in particular. Even with the TENS machine, muscle relaxants, a strong bourbon cocktail Thursday after work and adapted sitting positions, it still hurt like hell.

Yep, wheelie office chair, hardwood floors, and a bad angle of approach. It was, shall we say, awkward.

This turn of events also really sucked because the weather has been beautiful these last couple of days, and I was really looking forward to getting out on the bike to get serious about getting back up to snuff on cycling miles (and drop these 20 pounds the stress and snow and med changes have collected over the winter), but my back just won’t manage it right now.

Oh well, given that the two cars that aren’t normally yellow are yellow right now thanks to the pollen, a consistent fifteen mph on the VCT probably wouldn’t be good for the lungs right now anyway.

Pretty normal week here for an aging man in the current United States…

Aiming for a quiet weekend with very little drama or surprises; healing up, running the usual errands, and popping out to Williamsburg on Saturday to deliver some dance costumes to a friend, and maybe hit up Billsburg for beer and socializing. Sunday, given that we’re looking at a soaking all day rain, it might actually be brew day, as I’ve finally rounded out all the tools and ingredients (thanks to a stop at Original Gravity last weekend) for my first batch of home-brewed beer in nearly 30 years.

With luck, in a couple of weeks (should the basement room stay in line with my temperature tests), I’ll be enjoying a fresh pint of Backache English Brown.

As this is Friday, here are some tunes. Lots of glam/classic rock and adjacent stuff this week, which is find, because that’s what I’d been feeding the algorithm. Going to point out #2 in particular; I’ve not really gone down that particular rabbit hole, but if this track’s any indication, it was really Sammy and Michael that defined the sound of Van Halen circa ’85-96, which I’d always suspected anyway. Also of note is the winner of the most repetitive hard rock single of 1989, coming in at #11, though one has to point out that this self-titled record also included songs titled “Bang Bang” and “Boys (will be) Boys”:

1. “One World” – Dire Straits
2. “Different Devil” – Chickenfoot
3. “Snortin’ Whiskey” – Pat Travers and Carmine Appice
4. “Love to Love” – UFO
5. “Love Can Make You Blind” – Every Mother’s Nightmare
6. “Stay Awake All Night” – Krokus
7. “I Could Be Good For You” – 707
8. “Prove It All Night” – Bruce Springsteen
9. “Heroes” – Hollywood Vampires
10. “World Turning” – Fleetwood Mac
11. “Naughty Naughty”- Danger Danger
12. “Levon” – Elton John

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* – There’s been some debate as to whether this particular event fits the definition of a filibuster or not, as it wasn’t intended to block or delay a vote on any particular piece of legislation, as previous record-holder Strom Thurmond’s unsuccessful twenty-four hours and eighteen minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1965 was. It did, however, delay the vote to confirm Matthew Whitaker’s appointment as US Ambassador to NATO by twenty-five hours and four minutes, so I’m going to call it one.