Getting in the spirit…

As my wife and I listen to a Darius Rucker Christmas we put up some decorations, honestly, some stay up year-round like Rudolph. Our tree Mr. Purply has been with us since the day we moved into this apartment in 2011. New editions include a giant present covering the front window and the Gnome my wife made for the front door.

A Vastly Different Soundscape (Conclusion the not so familiar)…

Ok now these are all the musicians you may or may not know

This band was a Lehigh Valley Institution..I miss this band. So ridiculously quirky.

  • A.R. Rahman
  • 3rdeyegirl
  • 3T
  • Aaron Hall
  • Ahmad Lewis
  • Alberto Beltran
  • Alessandro Sefina
  • Alice Coltrane
  • Another Pretty Face
  • Arcadia
  • Baloo Beat Box
  • Band of skulls
  • Bazza Ranks
  • Beat Happening
  • Berywam
  • Bessie Jones
  • Betty Davis
  • Betty Everett
  • BIlly Lee Riley
  • Billy Stewart
  • Black Box
  • Black Thought
  • BMU
  • Brenton Wood
  • Cam’ron
  • Carl Douglas
  • Chakachas
  • Chali 2na
  • Champion Jack Dupree
  • Cheo Feliciano
  • Cold diamond & mink
  • Cory Lee
  • Courtney Barnett
  • Curtis Harding
  • Cymande
  • Danny & the juniors
  • Dave Sitek
  • Del Naglas
  • Del the funky homosapien
  • Delinquent Habits
  • Diggable Planets
  • Digital Underground
  • DJ Kool
  • DJ Muggs
  • DJ Shadow
  • DJ Snake
  • Dobie Gray
  • DoFlame
  • Durand Jones and the indications
  • Dwarves
  • East 17
  • Emotional Oranges
  • Ennio Morricone
  • Enola Gay
  • Ewan MacGregor
  • Father
  • Fats Waller
  • Fela Kuti
  • Fila Fresh Crew
  • Frances Lung
  • G-Unit
  • Gang Starr
  • Gene Page
  • Jumpin’ Gene Simmons (not the bass player from Kiss)
  • Genitallica
  • Glass Animals
  • God’s Property
  • Gospel Music Workshop of America
  • Gotts Street Park
  • Guru
  • GZA
  • H. Jon Benjamin
  • Harry Manfredini
  • Harry McClintock
  • Henry Thomas
  • Holy Ten
  • Ibrahim Ferrer
  • Imagine This
  • Inspectah Deck
  • J Lloyd
  • J. PERIOD
  • Jack Earls
  • James
  • Jeri Southern
  • Jimmy Smith
  • Joseph Bishara
  • Junior Walker & The All Stars
  • Kelly Finnigan
  • Kid Koala
  • Kimya Dawson
  • Krxdo Zkillz
  • L’Imperatrice
  • L7
  • Lauryn Hill
  • Le’Andria Johnson
  • Leaf dog
  • Leon Bridges
  • Lil Jon
  • Lisa Simone
  • Little Walter
  • London Symphony Orchestra
  • Luscious Jackson
  • M-Beat
  • Mantan Moreland
  • Marsha Griffiths
  • Marlena Shaw
  • Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
  • Mase
  • Masta Killa
  • Maurice Williams
  • Maya Jupiter
  • ,MC Lyte
  • MC5
  • McFadden & Whitehead
  • Melvins
  • Method Man
  • Mink Deville
  • Molotov
  • Moon Dog
  • Mungo Jerry
  • Mya
  • NFX
  • Nu Shooz
  • Ol’ Dirty Bastard
  • Olu Dara
  • Opus Kink
  • Park Hye Jin
  • Peaches
  • Percy Sledge
  • Polo & Pan
  • Portugal. The Man
  • Positive K
  • Pras
  • Primus
  • Prophets of Rage
  • Pussy Riot
  • Puya
  • Q-Tip
  • Rachel Elkind
  • Raekwon
  • Rahzel
  • Rakim
  • Ram Jam
  • Randy & the rainbows
  • Refugee Camp Allstars
  • Richard Band
  • Royal Philharmonic
  • Ruff Ryders
  • Rufus Thomas
  • Rupert Holmes
  • Rusko
  • Sampa the great
  • Santigold
  • Sara Bareilles
  • Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Jukebox
  • Self Esteem
  • She drew the gun
  • Slim Gailiard
  • Solange Knowles
  • St Germain
  • Steinski
  • Stevie Fontaine
  • Suicidal Tendencies
  • Superorganism
  • T La Rock
  • Tammy Terrell
  • Teddy Riley
  • Teenage Head
  • Temple of the dog
  • The 5.6.7.8’s
  • The All American Rejects
  • The Allergies
  • The Blossoms
  • The Brothers & Sisters
  • The Dust Brothers
  • The Foundations
  • The Funk Hunters
  • The Goats
  • The Hillbilly Moon Explosion
  • The Hues Corporation
  • The Impressions
  • The Marvelettes
  • The Moldy Peaches
  • The Mothers of Invention
  • The Pharcyde
  • The Runaways
  • The Slits
  • The Soundtrack Orchestra
  • The Sugarcubes
  • The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
  • The Zodiacs
  • Thee Headcoats
  • Tierra Whack
  • Tom Clay
  • Tonly Allen
  • Too $hort
  • Too hot
  • Too many birthdays
  • Tri-D
  • Twiztid
  • U-God
  • Ultra Nate
  • UNKLE
  • Van McCoy
  • Warren Smith
  • Ween
  • Wendy Carlos
  • Wet lag
  • Wicked Lester
  • Willow
  • Willie Hutch
  • X-Ecutioners
  • Young-Holt Unlimited
  • Yugen Blakrok
  • Zen for primates

Short Story Saturday: Yeshiva Girl, a Novel: Chapter 1- The Arraignment

https://anchor.fm/matt-david-snyder/episodes/Yeshiva-Girl–a-Novel-Chapter-1–The-Arraignment-e150faa

Yeshiva Girl is about a Jewish teenager on Long Island, named Isabel, though her father calls her Jezebel. Her father has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with one of his students, which he denies, but Izzy implicitly believes it’s true. As a result of his problems, her father sends her to a co-ed Orthodox yeshiva for tenth grade, out of the blue, and Izzy and her mother can’t figure out how to prevent it. At Yeshiva, though, Izzy finds that religious people are much more complicated than she had expected. Some, like her father, may use religion as a place to hide, but others search for and find comfort, and community, and even enlightenment. The question is, what will Izzy find? by Rachel Mankowitz copyright 2018. The print copy of this book is available at Amazon and other booksellers. You can read Rachel’s Blog here.

When it rains it pours Dept…

Nothing beats getting blood work done early Saturday morning, because you hope to get answers sooner than later to an issue, only to have the lab call you as soon as you get home to tell you, they can only do that blood work Monday through Thursday before 2 pm. Hum, why the hell did you take my blood, to begin with. Fucking Idiots.

Blue Friday (*sensitive information read with caution*)…

Blue Friday

I have blogged about a never-ending cycle of never achievable weight loss goals. I mean the most weight I lost was thirty pounds in a month (which is unrealistically high) after being in lockdown and being sick from Covid for about two weeks. It was great to finally be under 300 pounds, but it didn’t last. My anxiety and depression came at full force and very poor eating habits resurfaced and I had an imminent gain and then some. But this post isn’t just about the usual weight loss journey, it’s something deeper. When I was 18 I had a family doctor tell me I had a low sperm count and I would most likely never be able to have kids (the thing is I don’t remember ever giving a sample of my semen to analyze, so perhaps I only remember half of what was said to me) not that I ever wanted a family to begin with.

Turns out what I actually have is dangerously low testosterone. A man my age & weight should have a level of about 100 (Normal for a physically fit man is over 300) because as you age it lowers and even further if you are obese. Mine is 25. I never thought to consider checking my testosterone till my father-in-law mentioned it could possibly be a contributing factor to my weight.

I recently saw an endocrinologist, to get to the bottom of why my testosterone is so low. But let’s backtrack slightly, I initially got tested in 2018 by a family doctor I hated who never did any kind of a follow-up. I retested this year with a new doctor who was dedicated to finding the cause but felt that a referral to endocrinology would speed things along. So two days before Thanksgiving I had that visit. After a thorough examination, the doctor suspects I may be suffering from a rare form of Klinefelter Syndrome. Rare because I am short as opposed to tall. Also, it appears I only have 1 testicle which produces semen but absolutely no sperm.

With both my parents deceased, I have no way of knowing if they were aware of any of this. Klinefelter affects mood, converts muscles into fat, and could lead to brittle bones if left untreated. It would definitely explain the last 33 years of my life. Obesity does not run in my family, I lack hair on my face, under my arms, and in my pubic region. It could very well also explain why some people confuse my sex. Speaking of which, I brought that up as my reason for checking my testosterone levels and the doctor then asked me how I identify. I won’t lie, that angered me. I told him, I’m not the one confused. I am a man, I believe I am a man and have never questioned my beliefs.

So I have been exercising and doing weight lifting at the gym, and at home since I was 25. I have absolutely zero muscle to support that. You know how distressing it is to want to bulk up and have nothing to show for it. I also only take one med for my mood and nothing for my weight, you’d think after all these years, a doctor would question that?

So, I have blood work set for tomorrow morning to verify if I actually have Klinefelter Syndrome, either way, I want to start testosterone replacement therapy so I could be a bit more of a man than I am. Mainly, I want those muscles I’ve worked so hard to achieve and I definitely don’t want to develop osteoporosis. The facial hair would be nice as well.

Here is to better days.