Ceilings can be a trip...

Check out these incredible ceilings from around the world.  They are all stunning and beautiful, but the one that strains my belief is the green ceiling in the Royal Palace in Brussels.-- 1.6 million beetles!  Come on man!

Joe Cocker R.I.P.

God Dammit!

Key and Peele

Entertainment Weekly and lots of other publications have been touting the comedy team of Key and Peele, who have a program on Comedy Central.  I am just now going back and watching from season one forward.  Their show is a half an hour so it's perfect for times when you can't commit to something longer, or you just want something to watch before you hit the sack.  One of the guys, Jordan Peele, does a fabulous impression of President Obama.  In the episode I just finished watching, he does an Obama bit without his partner Keegan Key.  I swear it had me laffin' my ass off.  It is frickin' High-Larry-Us.  Check it out right here and see if you agree.  Oh, and start checking out their show.  These cats do outstanding work.

A wise take on music

“Aside from purely technical analysis, nothing can be said about music, except when it is bad; when it is good, one can only listen and be grateful.” — W.H. Auden

Skaters: Who's who...

I'm still enjoying repeated viewings of the Chet Faker video featuring three wonderful skaters.  I got to wondering who they were.  Here is what I found out:

So, just who are these amazing skaters? They are:

Candice Heiden, a well known Los Angeles roller girl who used to run the blog We RollerSkate(which is no longer viewable). She was also one of the skaters featured in Moby’s music video The Perfect Life (featuring vocals by Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips). A look at Heiden’s YouTube channel shows that she has made a few educational/instructional videos on roller skating as well.

April Corley, a professional roller skate performer who served as Roller Skate Choreographer Assistant during Madonna’s Confessions Tour, was one of the principle skate performers inMadonna’s “Sorry” music video and placed 2nd in World Class Pairs at the 1996 Artistic Roller Skating Nationals – Junior and Senior World Team Presentation.

Appelusa McGlynn, another professional roller skate performer, member of the Screen Actors Guild and an Artistic Roller Skating Coach at Northridge Skateland (1999-present) who has appeared as a skater in numerous commercials, television shows and films such as That 70’s Show, Glee and Gingerdead Man 3. She also coached for two distinct productions of Xanadu, one at Pepperdine University and one at The Met Theatre.

I kinda figured these ladies were not amateur light-weights.

New favorite video

I don't watch a ton of music videos but this one is my current favorite by miles.  Even though I'm an old codger, I find it to be erotic in a surprisingly refreshing way.  Enjoy.

Cassady letter - the plot thickens

It's no surprise that people are coming out of the woodwork to claim ownership of the Cassady letter mentioned in my previous post.  Lots of moola at stake, which brings out the greedy worst of all the players.  You can read about all this in today's SF Chronicle right here.  Be sure to check out the great photos on page two.  I love the picture of "the gang" outside Ferlinghetti's City Lights book store in October 1956.

Neal Cassady letter

Today's Chronicle has a front-page article on the famous "Joan Anderson Letter" written by Neal Cassady in San  Francisco to Jack Kerouac in New York.  The letter is said to have inspired Kerouac's approach to "On the Road."  The letter is to be auctioned off on December 17th with the bidding to start at around $300,000.  (Hold on while I check my checking account balance.)  The article is very interesting and you can read the whole thing right here.  Click bottom right corner of page 1 to move to page 2.  An interesting irony is that the "Joan Anderson Letter" was named for a woman Cassady describes in amorous detail, but who she is or was remains a mystery.  Note the link on page two to an interesting video from the Beat Museum regarding the letter.  The link is functional.

More from Fowler album

More from my great grandma's album.  She was my mother's grandmother.

Here is a photo of my parents, probably taken close to their marriage in 1943.  

And here is another photo of them with my aunt Helen, my father's older sister.

The Fowler album

Sorry I have not posted more recently.  I have been in the throes of scanning photos from a photo album that belonged to my great grandmother, Edith Fowler.  It's been quite a job.  I got the album from my cousin Kris, who with her mother Norma charted out and identified all of the photos.  Norma is my late mother's sister. There are over 250 photos and I have finished scanning them all and am working on making making an index from Kris's charts..that correlates to the file names of my scans.

Some of these photos go back to the early twenties so they are pretty interesting, if not amazing.  I have decided to share some of them with you.  Here is the first, a picture of me as a toddler.  Sure wish I had all that hair now.

In praise of "words"

I had a father who persistently yet gently corrected my grammar and use of the English language.  It sort of annoyed me at the time, but after I got to high school English and college courses that required any sort of writing, I was grateful for his guidance.  Later came law school and then teaching writing to law students.  With such a background, you can see why I came to love the language and all its twists, turns and colloquialisms.  Thus, I was totally taken with this homage to language, which also soundly rejects those who have become self-styled language policemen.  It may not be your cup of tea, but if you love to read and write, you should watch it in its entirety.

Ah, Bertrand....

"The fact that an opinion has been widely held is no evidence whatever that it is not utterly absurd."

~ Bertrand Russell

 

An apparently widely held opinion:  Republicans and the right wing will fairly and competently run the country based on the needs and desires of the many, not the privileged few.

Obama may not be perfect, but .......

Please take the time to check out this link.  How come we don't hear about these things?  And just think about all the additional accomplishments that could have been realized if the right wing had not sabotaged his presidency from day one.  What a shame.

Pullin' your coats to James Brown

For those of you who have HBO, I STRONGLY recommend that you tune in to "Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown, " premiering this coming Monday at 9:00 pm.  I had the good fortune to see James Brown twice in the years between 1966 an 1969.  Those were some of the most electrifying live shows I've ever seen, each culminating in the the "six-cape finale."  (Those who saw him live will know what I'm talking about. )

I read about this documentary in David Wiegand's column, which appears in today's SF Chronicle.  I'm dying to see this show, especially because Wiegand says that unlike a lot of musician documentaries, this one is heavy on the music and light on the talking heads.

People make documentaries about musicians all the time, and some of them are rich with insight. But even among the best of the bunch, few are as thorough about the artist’s music as Alex Gibney’s “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown,” airing Monday on HBO.
The basics of Brown’s early career, from the time he and the late Bobby Byrd formed the Famous Flames, through his rise to singular prominence through the mid-’70s, are amply covered in the two-hour film, produced by Mick Jagger. But what sets it apart from other films about musicians is how deeply Gibney explores Brown’s music through extensive interviews with band members — Maceo and Melvin Parker, Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield, PeeWee Ellis, Martha High and Bootsy Collins — and other musicians such as Christian McBride and Questlove.

Sounds awesome, right.  I'm hoping they show a condensed version of the six-cape finale at some point. (Maybe is was less then six capes, but I know it had to be at least four in the shows I saw)

As a closing treat, here is James at the TAMI's with  a four-cape finale.  If this doesn't charge you up and put a smile on your kisser, you need to check in at the mortuary.

***  (Looks like the fourth cape was ready to be put on him, but being the TAMI show they settled for what I would call three-and-a half.  However, at the regular live shows he would stretch it out to what I recall to be five or six)

Pentatonix makes the big time...

Entertainment Weekly October 17, 2014, Chart Attack section:

Top albums [10 listed]

Number 7:  PTX, Vol. III,  PENTATONIX

********************************************

You can hear a terrific track from the album right here, presently at 6,331,559 YouTube views.  Looks great on full-screen view.

A shout out for Yogi

When I was a kid, I spent first grade through fourth grade in Bend, Oregon.  There was no TV, and the only sports teams were fielded from the town's high school.  Thus, the only sport I grew up with, (and played in Bend's Little League) was baseball.  And, the majority of games we got on the radio were Yankee games.  So, I became a pretty rabid little Yankee fan continuing through our move to the Bay Area in California where I started fifth grade.  Like a lot of my buddies I was an admirer of Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, but unlike those buddies, my favorite Yankee was Yogi Berra.  Even though I was not deeply into statistics at that time and age, I sensed that Yogi truly was a great ball player who was especially productive in clutch situations.  He was the MVP in 1951, 1954, and 1955, which today most people don't remember.  But let's  dig a little deeper.  Here are his stats for 1950, the year before his first MVP.  The reason I'm choosing 1950 will be explained later.

At Bats =597
Runs = 116
Hits = 192
Doubles = 30
Triples = 6
Home runs = 28
RBI's = 124
Stolen bases = 4
Walks = 55
Strike outs = 12
Batting average = .322
On base percentage = .383
Slugging percentage = .533
On base + slugging (OPS) = .915

These are stats today's ball players would kill for.  An OPS even in the low eight hundreds is considered excellent. Yogi's is in the nine hundreds!  But, you may have overlooked the most amazing stat he put up in 1950, which was:  Strike outs = 12!!  That amazes me every time I think about it.  Out of 597 times at bat he only struck out 12 times.  True, Joe Sewell of the 1925 Indians struck out only 4 times in 608 at bats, but it was a different game than it was in 1950.  Any way you slice it a mere 12 strike outs in a season is very rare.

Yogi was an awesome player, and as we all know, his "Yogi-isms" are legendary. For instance:

"You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there."

 Recall most of them right here. 

Discovered sweet movie site

Hey check out this very cool web site.  I'm just getting into it, but I can already see that I'm going to spend some time there in the future.

For instance, for Netflix subscribers, by all means check out 18 Best Movies on Netflix You Haven't Seen.  I am surprised that I have not seen more of them, but now I have a nice list of movies to watch at my leisure.  My track record on these movies?

18.  Nowhere Boy - Nope
17.  Tell No One  - Sorry
16.  Francis Ha - No
15.  Broken - Another no
14.  Ice Storm - At last, one I've seen and liked a lot
13.  I Saw the Devil - No, but I actually have it waiting on my Netflix list
12.  Samsara - I'm guessing most, like me, have not seen it, but sounds cool.
11.  Mr. Nobody -  I'm a nobody on this one.
10.  Boy - Geez, where have I been?
09.  Get the Gringo -  Missed this one too.
08.  Gattaca -  Hooray.  One of my favorites.
07.  Headhunters - Striking out again
06.  Exit Through the Gift Shop - Yes, yes, yes.
05.  Detachment - Alas, no
04.  The Station Agent - Two huge thumbs up.  Dinklage is awesome
03.  Dear Zachary - Negatron
02.  Senna - Loved it
01.  Short Term 12 -  No, but the list-maker says one of best in last 20 years.

I'm kinda hanging my head in shame, but I'll try to find time to watch these flicks.

Shout out for Paula Malcomson

I've been busy the last few days, and am still a bit short of time.  Anyway, a couple of nights ago I watched the season 2 finale of "Ray Donovan," a  terrific Showtime series that I have watched from its beginning.  One of the characters is Abby Donovan, the protagonist's wife.  The part is a juicy role, played by Paula Malcomson.  She is simply mesmerizing in this role, especially in the last several episodes where the character gets amped up and hubris closes in on her.  It's some of the finest acting I've seen.

I have always enjoyed Paula Malcomson, starting with her major role as "Trixie" in 36 episodes of the legendary "Deadwood" series.  Then I saw her later playing the part of an Irish woman in "The Sons of Anarchy" in a 10 episode story arc taking place mostly in Ireland.  It turns out that Paula is indeed an Irish actor, having been born in Belfast.  I was totally on board with her performance in that milieu. You can read all about her and her filmography right here.

As you can see, she also plays the role of Mrs. Everdeen in the Hunger Games movies.

But, circling back, it was her role as Abby Donovan that in the end had me shaking my head and saying to myself, this woman is a fierce, powerful actor, with a range of emotions that merits our admiration.  Some of the scenes with Liev Schreiber (Ray) are so intense they are almost unbearable.

Nostalgia comes in many forms...

There is certainly something to be said for this!

Successful surgery (and check out the hardware!)

Hey all:

The surgery yesterday was a total success.  Even though I am sore and have some pain because of the new incision to remove the hardware, it is not nearly at the level it was after the primary surgery on May 30th.  And, I could immediately feel the difference of having the plate and screws removed.  I feel great and am pretty sure I'll be totally recovered in a couple of weeks.

The doc was kind enough to give me the plate and the seven screws that I was carrying around inside my shoulder for 3-1/2 months.  I was shocked at the size of the plate, but what really sort of freaked me out was the size of the screws, which of course were screwed into my actual collar bone.  Having seen them, I can see why they refer to the plate and screws as "hardware!"  I realized I could share this with you by photographing the hardware.  Here it is.

                                                                                                                                   

Final surgery tomorrow

Tomorrow, (Friday), I go in for more surgery to remove the plate and screws that were put in during the original surgery on May 30.  According to my doc the fracture has healed and removal of what he calls "the hardware" will allow me to gain full mobility.  Also, the surgery will only take about 20 minutes, although there is still going to be a healing period of about 10 days.  So, I'm armed with my bottle of percocet and the remotes for my TV and DVR.

Speaking of TV, I have to put in a plug for a show I recently discovered:  "Your The Worst" on FX.  This show is truly hilarious.  The chemistry between the lead players is wonderful and the writing is so sharp and cutting that it often leaves me with a mixture of laughter and literary admiration.  Also, another nice feature is that the episodes are only 30 minutes long, which means that you can sneak in a watch here and there where you wouldn't be able to squeeze in something longer.  Do yourself a favor and check out the show.  Unless your sense of humor has been excised, you will do your fair share of laughing your ass off.

A Pentatonix original composition

I'm still firmly in place on the Pentatonix bandwagon.  Just in case you thought they only did covers of other tunes, here is one of their originals.  Great arrangement and cool video.

This is not to be confused with the composition of the same title by Bryan Adams or the Whitney Houston song from the soundtrack of "Body Guard," which was written by Jud Friedman and Allan Rich.  

Pentatonix - A post script

After watching Pentatonix in my previous post, I thought it would be a good idea to show you just how wide-ranging their talent is, and how diverse their videos are.  So here is two minutes and sixteen seconds of pure fun.

Pentatonix with Lindsey Stirling

OK, you all know how much I dig Pentatonix.  They are always doing something new and different, and their videos are really unique, e.g. their amazing medley of Daft Punk tunes ... see my earlier post.  

A while ago they teamed up with the gifted violinist, Lindsey Stirling to produce a terrific video cover performance of "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.  As you can see from the Wikipedia quote below, the performance won the Response of the Year in the You Tube Music awards.  Anyway, I won't keep you any longer.  Check it out on You Tube right here.

She performs a variety of music styles, from classical to pop and hip-hop to electronic dance music. Aside from original work, her discography contains covers of songs by other musicians and various soundtracks.^[6][7] Stirling is also a YouTube sensation: her music video "Crystallize" finished as the eighth-most watched video of 2012,^[8] and her cover version of "Radioactive" with Pentatonix won Response of the Year in the first YouTube Music Awards in 2013.^[9] Lindsey has also sold more than 1 million singles worldwide^[10] and on May 2014 her second studio album Shatter Me peaked #2 at the Billboard 200. Her YouTube channel had, as of June 2014, more than five million subscribers and 675 million total views.

I'm totally a sucker for Pentatonix and Lindsey is as hot as her talent.

By the way, if you want hear the original version from Imagine Dragons, check it out right here.  Guess what, I like the Pentatonix version more than than the original.

Back at home...

Hi All:

Got home yesterday.  Stand by for pictures in the next day or so...

The rental house

Here is the house at about 6 pm.

Having a great time.

We arrived at the rental house yesterday afternoon. Even better than I expected. Mellowing out and playing games with the grandkids. Got 2 more days and then heading for home on Friday morning.

Vacation begins tomorrow

Tomorrow (Wednesday) we are taking off for a well-deserved vacation.  We will wend our way north with stops at Mt. Shasta and Eugene, to arrive on Friday for a big family reunion at my aunt's place in Longview, Washington.  We will hang out there with my brother and sister and children and grandchildren and hoards of cousins through Sunday.  Off on Monday morning to a large house near Mt. Rainier that I rented for four nights.  My daughter and the grand-kids will join us along with my sister and brother-in-law.  The place is awesome, with the White River running past the back yard.  Check out this little video, which will show you how cool it is.  

I'm planning on taking tons of photos, which I will share with you when we get home.  I am not taking my laptop so I'm not sure whether I will blog during the trip.  I have downloaded the Blogger app for my smartphone so I'm hoping to be able to blog that way.  We'll see.

Ciao for now,

~ Tom

I've checked out...

Here are the final two paragraphs of E.J. Dionne's column in today's WaPo:

Pelosi, for her part, went out of her way to praise “the Grand Old Party that did so much and has done so much for our country.” Commending the opposing party is not an election year habit, but her point was to underscore that Republicans had been “hijacked” by a “radical right wing” that is not simply “anti-government” but also “anti-governance.”

On balance, Washington gridlock has hurt Democrats more than Republicans by dispiriting moderate and progressive constituencies that had hoped Obama could usher in an era of reform. The key to the election will be whether Democrats can persuade these voters that the radical right is the real culprit in their disappointment — and get them to act accordingly on Election Day.

The second paragraph made me realize that I have fallen among the dispirited "moderate and progressive constituencies that hoped Obama could usher in an era of reform."  I rarely listen to the MSNBC shows any longer and I have given up political pod casts for pod casts aimed at the arts and sports.  I fall asleep each night listening to sports talk shows and spend a lot of time reading books on all subjects, EXCEPT current politics.  Guess what?  I feel a whole lot better.  Ain't nuthin' I can do about the FUBAR state of our government, so I'm going to avoid being "dispirited" by not paying very much attention to the stuff that makes me crazy-depressed.  This will probably change when the 2016 presidential election gets underway, but until then, consider me gone.  And, go Giants, 49ers, Warriors, and US women's World Cup soccer team (women's World Cup is in Canada next summer!).  

 

3 minutes well spent

Hi all.:

Need a little cheering up today?  Well then hop on this.  Makes me smile and feel real swell.

Inside joke

If you are not a "Game of Thrones" fan you won't get this at all.  If you are a fan, you will be laughing or at least smiling.

BBC rejects false equivalency

I was about to give up on any hope that false equivalency in the media would be combated and rejected by "responsible" media.  It turns out that the BBC has kindled some hope in me, as explained in this excellent WAPO article by Katrina vanden Heuvel.  I love the John Oliver solution of staging an actual climate change debate with 3 deniers vs. 97 reputable scientists armed with proof.  At some point the deniers would be viewed as Humphry Bogart was giving his paranoid rant while rolling the steel balls around in his hand  in "The Caine Mutiny."

An apt quotation

Even though I am now retired, I must always remember to make sure I'm not working:

"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else" 
~ J.M. Barrie

Climate change: Lest you forget

The facts concerning climate change are so conclusive that it's hard to imagine how the right wing tea party crowd can ignore them.  I probably could offer a newspaper, magazine, or television analysis of the problem each day, but I refrain from doing so because I know that I would be preaching to the choir. Nevertheless, occasionally I run across something on the subject that is succinct, informative, and  wryly humorous, which I am compelled to share.  Such is Richard Cohen's wonderful piece in today's WaPo. I love the opening anecdote about the newspaper weather report.

Seven Nation Army - A pop icon

Several years ago I was at a Cal football game when the rooting section began a chant that immediately gripped my attention.  It was one of those things where "I know what this is, and I've heard it before, but I can't place it."  Then I started hearing it all over the place chanted by fans of various sports in various countries.  It was spreading like wildfire.  I finally realized that it was simply the signature riff of "Seven Nation Army" released in 2003 by The White Stripes.

Now, watching the World Cup, I hear the riff chanted by one group of fans or another each day.   So how did this come about?  I have done some research that I will share with you, but first, let's listen to the original "Seven Nation Army" track released in 2003 on an album titled "Elephant."  You will recognize the riff immediately.

Apparently, the chant phenomenon was born in Italy (or Belgium)  in October 2003 and began to mushroom thereafter within Italy reaching its apex at the time of the 2006 World Cup matches.  By that time it had become a theme chanted in support of Italy's World Cup team, "Azzurri." You can read how this all came about by clicking right here.  Another version, which also discusses migration to the US, and includes a Belgian role, can be found here.

Care for some real-life videos of the chant?  Try Spain v. Greece.  Or, Ohio State fans giving it to Penn State fans.  Or this, where San Antonio fans are rubbing it in the face of rival Miami.

Well, now you know the story.  I find it to be fascinating.

Another movie list

I really like lists of movies, books, or music that are based upon a theme conjured up by their creators.  I like them even if I disagree with some of the inclusions or fume over the omissions.  I also enjoy them because they often make me aware of content I have not yet seen or heard.  I just stumbled across a list titled "25 Spectacular Movies You (Probably) Haven't Seen."  It turns out I have probably seen about half of them and I'm going to try to see the one's I have missed out on.  I can say that I have enjoyed all of the one's I have seen (of course "The Big Lebowski" had to be included).  For example, I still dig "Waking Life," which some of my friends just don't get.  And, I dig "Kung Fu Hustle," which it seems none of my friends have seen, but which I find to be insanely funny and entertaining.  And, I always recommend "Downfall" if only to alert folks to the epic performance turned in by Bruno Ganz playing Hitler in the final days.  For a taste of the latter check this out.  Be sure to click on the little "cc" button at bottom right to get the subtitles.

So by all means check out this interesting list.

World Cup rocks!

Way back when, when my son Jesse was playing soccer, I became a certified referee and over the years worked my way up to some State-level games.  I learned a lot about the game and became a life-long fan.  I also played on a team in the "over thirty" league, which was a gas even though our team was pretty awful.

So needless to say, I am fired up for the World Cup, which opens today.  The USA team ended up in a group that has been dubbed the "Group of Death."  The description is apt in that the the other three teams in the group are Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.  Germany is ranked #2 and Portugal #3, and Ghana has knocked the US out of the competition in the last two cups.  No high hopes, but the US getting out of the Group and into the next round would be amazing.

Anyway, things are going to get interesting right away:  Tomorrow (Friday) we have a reprise of the 2010 final with champion Spain taking on Holland.  Then the next day we get England vs Italy.  Love it.

Today's quote

"Would to God your horizon may broaden every day! The people who bind themselves to systems are those who are unable to encompass the whole truth and try to catch it by the tail; a system is like the tail of truth, but truth is like a lizard; it leaves its tail in your fingers and runs away knowing full well that it will grow a new one in a twinkling."
~ Ivan Turgenev to Leo Tolstoy (1856)

At one time or another we've all been left holding the lizard's tail, haven't we?

Surgery status

On Friday, I went in for the surgery to repair my fractured clavicle. The surgery went perfectly and I was home clutching my bottle of Percocet by about three o'clock in the afternoon. As I think I mentioned in an earlier post, they had to put in a plate with screws to ensure that the break healed correctly. In three months I will have to go in again and have the plate removed. However, that procedure will be a whole lot simpler than the initial surgery.

I am still taking Percocet to keep the pain level in check. I have been able to ratchet back my consumption but I still definitely need to pop one of the pills when the pain starts really throbbing. As you might guess, I am watching a ton of television while sprawled out on the living room couch. I have been concentrating on "The Americans" and am about three episodes shy of completing season 2. I have also been watching a lot of the French Open tennis tournament, which has been excellent.

I am hoping to turn the corner in the next day or so. Wish me luck.

Bummer!

On Monday, I was out taking a run. At one point, the trail that I was running alongside the bay had a lot of rocks in it and I stumbled on one of them. In order to avoid doing a face plant, I turned to the side and hit the ground full impact on my right shoulder. The pain was pretty excruciating and I knew right away that I had done some serious damage. Eileen took me to the emergency room where they did x-rays and determined that I had fractured my collarbone at the point where it attaches to the shoulder blade. The upshot is that I am going to have surgery on Friday at 10 AM to repair the damage. They are going to have to put a plate in, with screws, as stage one of the process. Then, three months later, I have to go in for another minor surgery to have the plate removed. All in all, it is a real downer. Fortunately, they have prescribed adequate amounts of Percocet pending the surgery and we already have a post-surgery prescription for loads more Percocet.

Because I am in a sling right now, I have resurrected my Dragon speech recognition software and am dictating this post. I will continue to use the software to keep you up to date and to post items as I would normally do.

Bowie surprise...

I am working on a new compilation to burn to disc and give to my friends.  In the course of this project I remembered a true buried treasure that I have known about for years:  David Bowie covering "Wild Is The Wind."  In my opinion it's a complete outlier, being unlike anything else of have heard him perform.  And, it's just simply a genius rendition of the tune.  Now I cannot help but give you a link to hear it for yourself.  As it builds it becomes crazy-good.  Eat your heart out Johnny Mathis!
 

Jesse Winchester, R.I.P.

It's bad enough when someone you admire very much dies, but it's worse when you don't find out about it until a month or so later.  Such was the case with the death of Jesse Winchester on April 11th.  I only learned of it today.  I loved his music and his great soul.  In fact, my first wife and I named our son Jesse after him.  He rarely appeared in the Bay Area, but every time he did, I was there.  Most recently was a couple of years ago at Freight & Salvage in Berkeley -- just him and his guitar and a boatload of wonderful songs all written by him, of course.  Damn, this one really hurts. The world is definitely not the same now that he has left us.

Anyway, you can read a good obit here in the Rolling Stone, and check out the Wikipedia entry on him here.

There are scores of his songs that I could put up here, but I'm going to give you a link to one that I heard him sing and play for the first time at the Freight & Salvage gig, which really moved me, never having heard it until that moment.  The song is called "If Only."  From a live performance with just him and his guitar, listen to it right here.

 

Me...

Here is a picture of me on the deck of the Carmel rental house.

The Dude and I have it down. Nuff said.

Carmel/Monterey

We rented a little house in Carmel to celebrate Eileen's birthday.  We arrived Tuesday afternoon and will be leaving tomorrow morning, Saturday.  The weather has be absolutely gorgeous, in fact, the best I have ever experienced here in mid-May.  We went to Carmel beach on Wednesday, and yesterday we walked along Monterey Bay and had lunch at Cafe Fina on Fisherman's Wharf.  Here are a few shots to illustrate. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Carmel beach

Pelicans hanging out in Monterey Bay

Harbor Seals snoozing in Monterey Bay

Wide shot of above critters

Unexpected snow!

Hey everybody.  We were up at our Tahoe/Donner place over the weekend. All during the drive up we noticed no snow at all --ditto on our arrival.  Much to our amazement, it snowed on Saturday. (Hmmm, I'd say that's yet another manifestation of climate change).

From the front bedroom window at the beginning of the snow.

About an hour later from the rear bedroom window.

But of course there really is no such thing as climate change, is there.

A loyal Obama fan recharges his batteries

For quite some time now I have been discouraged over the Obama presidency.  As I have written before, it's sort of like forcing a gifted quarterback to play on a team with a horrible offensive line, receivers with snail-like speed and concrete hands, and no defense at all.  After a while even the most loyal fan stops going to the games because it is too painful to watch his idol be sacked, and literally beaten up, while his receivers drop the few passes he is able to get off, and meanwhile the defense is letting the other side score at will.  My loyalty and admiration remain intact regarding the president, but I have to confess that I have been missing quite a few games these days.  Thus, it was truly refreshing to read this article by Eugene Robinson.  Guess I should pull out my season tickets and head for the stadium.

Gotan Project

I have been a big fan of "Gotan Project" for quite some time now.  I was introduced to them when one of their tunes came up on Radio Paradise and I have been hooked ever since.  They are masters of hip tango music, which I find highly pleasing and certainly sensual.  A great introduction to the group would be "Queremos Paz," which you can listen to by clicking right here.  And if you want to actually see them in action, check this out.

Another "cool" addition to the Birth of the Cool.

Lisa Fischer is truly amazing

Back in August of last year, my friend Michael Lally posted on his blog recommending that we all check out "20 Feet From Stardom."  I finally got around to renting the blu-ray from Netflix and watched it on Saturday.  Michael was right:  It is too good to be true.  I loved it all, but shining through for me was Lisa Fischer.  I was captivated by her singing, but was equally knocked out by her interview segments  She seemed so real and likable -- someone you'd love to spend a day with.

Well, today I went on a Lisa Fischer quest and found something truly amazing.  Check out this tribute to Lisa Fischer.  I think I like it almost as much as 20 Feet.  If you loved 20 Feet, I can guarantee that you will be blown away by this production.  Be sure to give yourself 37 minutes to watch it.  I'm sure you'll be thanking me for pulling your coat to which I say, "you're very welcome."

Love ya, Lisa.

Can't go wrong with a cello

There have been what seems like a zillion covers of Daft Punk's "Get Lucky."  But if you want to see/hear one of the most unique, gorgeous versions try this.  Four sweet minutes.

Abandoned places

I've always had a strong fascination with abandoned structures and deserted places.  I can't help but wonder what they were like when they were populated and in use, and what caused their ultimate demise.  Needless to say, I was utterly captivated by this collection of abandoned places.  See if you don't get the same eerie feeling I get when looking at these photos. 

Sony RX100 shines

Remember a while back when I posted about my new high-end small camera, right here? The camera is certainly living up to its reputation as you can see from this pretty awesome shot, which I uploaded to my Flickr account.  I did a little post-shot production on the clouds, which were a bit blown out, but the rest of it stands "as shot," and shows the quality of the camera.

An "oldie but goodie"

Bill Maher laid down this terrific rant back in January 2011, but it is as fresh today as it was then, (if not more so.)  Why are matters that are so clear to me beyond the ken of the right wing believers?  I guess they live in their own self-constructed universe based on blatant denial.

Andy Borowitz nails it again...

Andy Borowitz has a sly way of getting heavy points across lightly.  Concerning the so-called failure of Obama Care he offers the following gem.  [scroll to the top of the article]

Reagan - when things started going downhill

This says it all.  Funny, but actually sad.

John Butler deserves more fame

One of the most underrated, undiscovered (other than in Australia)  talents making music today is John Butler, with his trio, or by himself "unplugged."  By all means you should read all about him right here.
Eileen and have been big fans for quite a long time.  He is truly versatile as this excerpt from the Wiki page bears out:

Butler plays harmonica, didgeridoo, drums, lap-steel, banjo and amplified acoustic guitars and removes the higher octave G string on his 12-string guitar.^[28][29] Butler prefers the Maton 12-string guitar and often uses a Seymour Duncan SA-6 Mag Mic pickup with a Marshall Amplification JMP Super Lead Head and a Marshall 4×12 cabinet. He uses a variety of electronic effects including distortion, reverb / delay and wah-wah pedal to achieve his unique sound.^[30] Butler uses long, pointed acrylic fingernails for finger picking.

So I know you've been waiting for a link to a performance, right?  Try this one, a great "uplugged" effort.  Ain't he the very essence of cool?

Post-modern jukebox

For yet another example of why the Internet is endlessly cool and surprising, check this out.  All six songs are great, but the last one (Get Lucky) is a charmer.

A bit of cello madness...

My daughter was an accomplished cellist in former times.  Therefore, I know a bit about cello works and have witnessed many stirring performances.  However, in all this time I have never seen anything quite like this performance.  Play the official "Thunderstruck" video.  It's a wonder that either guy's bow survived the onslaught.

Nile Rodgers = cool

One of the happy benefits of the Daft Punk "Get Lucky" craze is the renaissance of the great Nile Rodgers who is featured in the Daft Punk hits.  Back in the age of disco, he and his band, "Chic" were a driving force behind that genre.  Even when tastes changed and disco became of bit of a pariah, Nile still managed to adapt and keep in the game.  All of this is explained in an hour long 2013 BBC bio feature that you can view right here.  Obviously you don't have to watch it, but if you've got the time, you won't regret it.  Nile is one fascinating cat.

In the meantime, just to whet your appetite, I'm going to serve up an example of a 2013 revival of Chic that should blow your socks off.  Check it out right here.  Long live Nile Rodgers, a true cool soul.

New Pentatonix release

I'm soooooooooooooooooooo happy!  Just got notice of the new Pentatonix video.  I have only listened to it once but that was enough to send me running to my blog for a posting.  I'm sure it will get even better as I listen to it more and more.  And, I still have a hopeless crush on Kirstie Maldonado.  You gotta check it out right here.

Upon further listening....

I just watched/listened to the video 4 more times.  This is Pentatonix at their best. Not only are they fabulous singers, but their arrangements are stellar.  Kirstie is in top form and this time we get to hear Avi Kaplan take a little solo, which blows me away because it shows his range.  Also very cool is getting to hear Kevin Olusola play his cello (beautifully) and provide a rare vocal to end the song.  Wow.  Sorry I'm such a fanboy but I just love this group.

"The Americans"

Of late there has been a huge buzz over the premier of the second season of "The Americans."  For example, it was listed number 1 in the "Must See" feature of Entertainment Weekly. I've read lots of reviews praising the show.  Plus, season 1 just went up on Amazon Prime streaming video, and is now just sitting there waiting for binge watching.

I must say that I was very reticent about getting into it because the subject matter (Russian spies in deep cover in the US) seemed like something I was not going to like.  A similar situation occurred a while back when "Big Love" came on HBO.  I thought, "no way I'm going to watch a show about a polygamist Mormon family living in Utah."  Of course I fended off that preconceived notion and began watching the show, which immediately had me "hook, line, and sinker" for every moment of every episode.

Well, with season one of "The Americans" coming on to Amazon Prime for free streaming, we decided to give it a go a couple of nights ago.  We watched episode 1 (the pilot) and were completely blown away.  We then watched the second episode and found it to be just as good.  Keri Russell, whom I've always dug immensely (Felicity, The Waitress), is simply mesmerizing and is definitely playing against type -- lots of very steamy stuff.  Matthew Rhys as her "husband" is equally compelling, and Eileen says he is "a hunk."  The writing is top-notch, and the production value very high. Also, capturing the early 80's with Reagan coming into power is a real trip. If you decide to check it out I guarantee that you will be on the edge of your seat and slightly breathless most of the time.

I love this couple and their baby

The world can really be a downer if you stop looking for the little things that make life fun, interesting, and rewarding.  I ran across this photo spread of a young couple's whimsical tableaus in which they feature their infant.  When you discover things like this it definitely cheers you up, and you find yourself wishing that you could hang out with these people and enjoy their company for a while.  

Insults galore

Well now, this video is really a lot of fun.

Using another source I was able to get an index of the various delicious insults.

Here is a List of Movies Cited in the Above Video

0'00 - Roxanne, Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Gleaming the Cube, The Princess Bride, A Fish Called Wanda, Star Wars, The Wizard of Oz, Casino, Three Amigos, A Clockwork Orange

1'05 - Dolemite, Glengarry Glen Ross, Bad Santa, The Witches of Eastwick, The Big Lebowski, In Bruges, Full Metal Jacket, There Will Be Blood

2'05 - Toy Story, Casablanca, Encino Man, The Women, Predator, Army of Darkness, They Live, Uncle Buck, Big Trouble in Little China, New Jack City, Billy Madison

3'00 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Departed, Carlito's Way, In the Loop, Glengarry Glen Ross, Stand By Me, Grosse Pointe Blank, Duck Soup, Caddyshack, Planes Trains & Automobiles

4'00 - South Park, Napoleon Dynamite, Mean Girls, The Breakfast Club, As Good as It Gets, The 6th Day, Step Brothers, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Full Metal Jacket, City Slickers, Road House, True Grit, Shot Circuit

5'00 - Raging Bull, The Usual Suspects, Snatch, Caddyshack, The Last Boy Scout, Ghostbusters, The Sandlot, As Good as It Gets

6'00 - 48 Hrs, In Bruges, Silver Streak, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Fish Called Wanda, Goodfellas, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, The Mist, Trading Places

7'00 - The Warriors, Point Break, Gangs of New York, Reservoir Dogs, The Breakfast Club, The Cowboys, Full Metal Jacket, Dodgeball, Donnie Darko, Scarface, The Good the Bad and the Ugly

8'00 - Anchorman, Tropic Thunder, Sexy Beast, In the Loop, Get Shorty, Blazing Saddles, The Way of the Gun, Blade: Trinity, Clerks, The Boondock Saints, The Exorcist, What About Bob?, Weird Science

9'00 - Con Air, True Romance, In the Loop, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Lake Placid, The Front, Gone with the Wind

****

Enjoy.

I'm still here...

It's been a while since I posted something.  I retired at the end of the year and have been converting my home office to a much, much smaller footprint and adding a new bed for guests, etc.  This process necessitated some ruthless decisions about discarding things that I no longer have room for.  The hoarder in me was sometimes hard to overcome.  Anyway, I pretty much finished up the whole conversion today so I can get back to dreaming up some worthy posts.

Oh, I also got a new camera.  I have been looking for a professional-quality "point-and-shoot" to use when I cannot use my larger SLR, or when I just don't want to lug the SLR around.  In doing the research I found a great article by a photographer who used a Sony RX-100 to photograph the Rolling Stones in a live performance.  Check out the article here, even if you are not interested in learning about the camera because the pictures are fabulous. I bought an RX-100 for myself and have been carrying it around and shooting stuff like crazy.  It's an amazing little piece of technology.  Here are a couple of photos of the camera.  When looking at the photos, remember that this itty-bitty guy took those pictures of the Stones!

Science vs. the "Nay-sayers"

This cartoon pretty much nails it.  Excuse me while I take a look at those 6,000-year-old dinosaur bones that my dog just dug up.

Carlin bringin' it...

I was poking around the Internet this morning and was rewarded with this blazing rant by George Carlin in 2005.  When I look at today's Congress (and the folks who elected them), I can only say that it has gotten even worse than Carlin saw it back then.  I would have loved to hear Carlin's take on the Tea Party!! Yet another guy that I really miss.

Daft Punk & Stevie @ the Grammy's

 Last night's Grammy's provided one of its all time greatest live performances:  Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers joined by Stevie Wonder and his crew doing a live performance medley of "Get Lucky" [Daft Punk], "Freak Out" [Nile Rodgers & Chic], and "Another Star" [Stevie].  It was undeniably great but even so a bit poignant in that Stevie is starting to show signs of losing his prodigious vocal chops.  Still, Stevie hitting on six out of eight cylinders tops almost anything else, and in this context it was just fine with me.  As always, Nile Rodgers is joyously cool, and I love the part when Daft Punk appear in the recording booth.  Pharrell Williams' vocals and charisma are 10 out of 10. [He also won for Producer of the Year].  Also the shots of the truly amped up audience are loads of fun.  I found a super HD link to the entire performance right here.   Crank up the decibels and go full screen.  

Beer commercial ear worm

I won't bore you with the details, but a few days ago I had occasion to hear the "Here's to good friends..." Lowenbrau commercial from the seventies.  As you may recall, it was sung by the great Arthur Prysock, and packed a whole lot of musicality (tune and lyrics) into a mere commercial ditty.  Anyway, ever since hearing it after all these years I can't get it out of my head.  I searched around for a good version of it to share with you all and the best I found was here.  You will need to scroll down to "Here's To Good Friends, Tonight Is Kind Of Special" and then down to the video portion.  The song is 100% authentic, but the video is a recent-ish parody as evidenced by the Red Bull cooler and the guy mouthing WTF.   Check it out, but BEWARE of a resulting ear worm.

~ Tom

Alexei Dmitriev -This belongs on "Birth of the Cool"

Holy cow, I was surfing around the Net and found this insane, brilliant piece of work, produced by Alexei Dmitriev:  "Dubus" "A slow dance of classical cinema to the music off Zelany Rashoho."  Extracted from: Sun Valley Serenade (1941), Casablanca (1942), Some Like it Hot (1959), Citizen Kane (1941), and On the Waterfront (1954).  Is the Internet cool, or what?

Klondike - Don't miss it.

Sometimes I read a rave review of a movie or TV show and get a "well I guess so, but show me" attitude.  My reticence in the face of the rave review can be caused by any number of factors:  the subject matter, the cast, past track record of the directors and producers, and so on.  But other times I read a rave review and just know that I am going to love the production, top to bottom.  Such is the case with the new mini-series "Klondike."  Today's SF Chronicle has a review of the series, which is off the charts.  My guess is that after you read it here, you will be setting your DVR or scheduling yourself to watch it in real time.  By the way, Ridley Scott is the executive producer.   Enjoy.

Cows aren't that stupid...

Shortly after I got my dog about six years ago, I had a revelation and stopped eating meat.  Not that I was eating dog before that, it was just that being so close to such a wonderful animal brought up my awareness of "lives," be they humans or animals.  Here is a perfect example of what I am getting at.

p.s.  I did not give up eating seafood.  Somehow fish don't pull my heartstrings.  

Verily, verily I say unto you...

Love this VERY much...

Happy New Year and "Have fun"

We have a local Safeway store in the small Harbor Bay shopping center, about a mile from our house.  I'm in there about every day because I have a UPS box at the UPS store, which is right next door.  Anyway, there is a Safeway checker who is pretty laid back and cool, but what makes him special is that once he rings up your groceries and you pay him he always says "have fun" as you depart.  He says this to everyone, every day, without fail.  I got to thinking about it and decided that "have fun" is a great "parting shot."  Better than "have a nice day" or "later" or "ciao" or "see you soon" or "take care," etc.  Think about it.  How can you say anything better than "have fun" to some one you are parting from?  Isn't that about the best thing that can happen to a person -- to simply have fun?  So, I've begun to use "have fun" myself and am finding that it makes me feel happy and seems to make the other person happy too.  So I say, "have fun."