Good morning and Happy 4^th of July tomorrow. I consider myself a fortunate Canis lupis familiaris as fireworks are banned in our neighborhood. This of course does not mean someone will not shoot some off, but it is a relief to know our neighborhood will not turn into an all-out war zone. From what my novelist told me about this place before I was born, it did not have a fireworks ban and was indeed a war zone with all sorts of explosives going off everywhere lighting the sky on fire. The smell of smoke hung in the air two or three days later. She still will not take me on walks from July 3^rd until after July 5^th. Apparently, she once had an unexpected run in with a patron who was leaving the drug dealer’s house across the street. She was going on a walk with my predecessor on July 5^th, and a firecracker was hurled in her direction by said patron whom she had never even met. Even though she witnessed the drug dealer and his ill-mannered pit bull being evicted from the house by the police one night later that same year after an explosion went off in his house, she still does not take chances during the 4^th of July. Even with the ban. I think that might be a bit extreme but then she is an introverted NT personality type.     

That said, if you read last week’s blog you know that my novelist is in a trance. She has been scanning over the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale. And I thought, how can I put this insanity to good use. Well, it occurred to me I might take this time to address school clothes. My novelist and I are not influencers. So, we are not here to discuss the latest fashions. We are not trained in that area. But we do have some gentle suggestions based on costume design classes she was required to take at her university.

1. Avoid fast fashion. Yes, we know it’s cheaper, but you get what you pay for. Even with the higher end fast fashion. Even if you do not care about it greatly harming the earth, know that fast fashion is designed to rip you off. You end up buying clothes and then tossing them away because they are not sewn right or they are made of subpar yarns and fabrics. It is better to buy less clothes of good quality than more clothes of poor quality. If you see something you like, always do a search on the brand to see if it is fast fashion and if it is, choose something else.
2. Don’t go broke buying overpriced designer brands. You may have the desire to buy a few of these pieces but do not go crazy. Especially if they have a trendy look. You will not get your money’s worth out of them and there’s better ways to save or spend your money.
3. Choose natural fabrics. Unless you are purchasing clothing for a job or something you must have for a school project, or your medical doctor said you had to wear them, try to always choose natural fabrics. Alpaca, angora, bamboo, cashmere, cotton, hemp, linen, genuine leather, mohair, ramie, silk, wool (especially merino wool which is softer) are amongst your best choices. They tend to last longer and generally feel better. If the item has some elastane (spandex or Lycra) mixed in that is okay. But try to avoid polyester, acrylic, nylon, faux fur, and neoprene as best as possible. The one clothing item I would omit from this list is running shoes or trainers because sometimes that is what you need to wear. But again, I would stick to brands like New Balance, Hoka, On Clouds, Puma and other non-fast fashion shoes.  
4. Choose colors that look good on you. This is not always easy, but you can get this book which has been around since the 80’s called Color Me Beautiful by Carole Jackson that is a good start to figuring out what looks best on you and what colors you like.
5. Choose clothes that fit you. Some places such as Nordstroms will make alterations to clothing which is wonderful. You book an appointment and go in. If, however, you do not wish to have alterations, make sure the clothes you choose fit you. Just because you like something on the hanger, or on a website, does not mean it will look good on you personally, or it may not be the proper size. If it doesn’t fit you, or looks odd on you even if it fits, you likely won’t wear it much and you’ve wasted your hard-earned money.

Until next week, I wish you a happy holiday and I bid you adieu.

MY BOOKS

You can check out my books Chicane and all five installments of the Musicology book series Musicology: Volume One, Baby!, Musicology: Volume Two, Kid!, Musicology: Volume Three, Twist!, Musicology: Volume Four, Sweetie! and Musicology: The Epiquad on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. You can also check out Musicology’s web site at www.musicologyrocks.com and vote for who you think will win Musicology!

STREAM OF THE WEEK: THE TWILIGHT ZONE SEASON 3, EPISODE 3: IT’S A GOOD LIFE-PARAMOUNT +

Occasionally a television episode will stand out for one reason or another that I think is extraordinary. And it being the 4^th of July I thought this would be a good one. Based on the 1953 short story “It’s a Good Life” by Jerome Bixby which is considered one of the best Sci-Fi short stories of all time, it is also considered one of the most chilling Twilight Zones of all time. Take note when you watch it that Rod Serling’s introduction is a little different than usual here. This is not by accident. He is pointing out to you that the monster in this episode has done something very important: it has isolated its victims.

Without giving much away, the story is based on three things: WWII ended only eight years before the short story was written, there is a fear of nuclear war, and there is a fear of totalitarianism. If we look at our society today, it has been four years since the war in Afghanistan ended for the US, there is a fear of AI, and there is a fear of totalitarianism. If you have ever wondered what the difference is between pop fiction and literature, this episode shows it brilliantly. Yes, the monster may be a child because it’s childish. Yes, this may be a small town because the inhabitants are isolated. But this is not a commentary on child rearing. The child isn’t really a child, and the town isn’t really a town. Everything here, all of it, is metaphorical. Great literature is often metaphorical, presents a strong argument and is layered. It’s not just there to entertain the reader. Remember that the root of the word “actor” means plaintiff or someone who argues a point. This can be applied to novels and short stories as well as film and stage. Look for lots of details in this episode, like what is the “corn field” when we think of the story in relevance to WWII and modern times and even what’s playing on the television in one of the scenes. An absolute must see.