A Thought for the Day

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) was something of a man about town (the town being London) and bon vivant (at least according to his biographer Thomas Boswell). But he was also a man of letters, and this quote is suggestive of his more thoughtful side:

"A wise man will make haste to forgive,
because he knows the true value of time,
and will not suffer it to pass away in
unnecessary pain."

A True Rock Classic

Although the Troggs were seeded somewhat low in the competition, it was really no surprise that they would advance in the Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf behind this particular song: "Wild Thing." I mean, this is as close to a stone cold classic as you will hear (even in this somewhat truncated video version):

Thanks Bobby!

Well, my team, the Atlanta Braves, were eliminated from the playoffs this evening, falling 3-2 to the San Francisco Giants. Every one of the four games was decided by a single run, and each outcome was determined in the late innings. The Braves were just too decimated by injuries going in to play up to their full potential, having lost two of their best hitters (Chipper Jones and Martin Prado) and two of their best pitchers (Jair Jurrjens and Kris Medlen) before the regular season ended, then watching their closer go down in game two of the series. Those losses were too much to overcome when all was said and done, and it was to the team's credit that they kept it as close as they did. One reason, of course, was that they had the venerable Bobby Cox filling out the lineup card. But tonight was his last game-- he's retiring after about thirty-five years as a manager with the Braves and Blue Jays, including the Braves stunning run through the nineties and early aughts when they won fourteen straight division titles. I can't tell you how much I appreciate Bobby Cox for all the great work he's done in keeping the Braves competitive for such a long time. I became a Braves fan in the late sixties, and followed them through a lot of down periods in the late seventies and late eighties, when they were perpetual cellar dwellers. Cox's arrival corresponded to their resurgence, and even though they only took one World Series title under his stewardship, they were in the hunt every year. Some fans complained about the lack of championships, but me, I'll take those long seasons of success regardless of what happens in the playoffs every time. Believe me, it's so much better than watching the team lose close to two thirds of the time. So Bobby Cox: thanks for the memories, and I hope you enjoy your retirement. To the rest of the team, wait'll next year!

Battle of the Bands Update

The Band

Two more matches in our Battle of the Bands on Dr. John's Record Shelf, two more winners who will meet in Round 2. The Band (seeded no. 2) held off Vanity Fair (15) by a narrow 5-4 margin, while the Troggs (10) upset Traffic (7) in an 8-1 blow-out.

The Troggs

The winning songs were "The Weight" and "Wild Thing," which bested "Hitchin' a Ride" and "Paper Sun," respectively. This week's winners join the Easybeats, Buffalo Springfield, Free, Manfred Mann, the Rolling Stones, Mott the Hoople, The Who, Sweet, the Moody Blues, and the Tremeloes in moving into the next round. If you'd like to cast a vote for upcoming pairings, you can find the full brackets here, here, here, and here (just leave a comment here with your selections-- you can vote for some or all of the pairs).

Monday's Quote

This comes from the famous French author Victor Hugo (1802-1885), probably best known for his novel Les Miserables:

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch
that she feels bending beneath her, still
she sings away all the same, knowing
she has wings."

Cool Video

The visuals here are kind of goofy, but I really like the song by the Vivian Girls-- they've got kind of a neo-garage vibe going on:

Heading to Vegas

We have a long weekend next week, so I'm driving down to Vegas with a couple friends for a quick little vacation. Thinking about it caused me to poke through my pictures from a year and a half ago, and I found these three that seemed worth sharing. Above is a view of The Strip (Las Vegas Blvd.) looking north from the Excalibur Hotel.

I kind of like this futuristic view of the monorail as it curves into the entryway to the MGM Grand Casino.

Everyone likes the water show outside the Bellagio. The water spouts get a bit more interesting than seen here, but I liked how the black and white captured the contrast. That's Caesar's Palace in teh background.

Sunday Funnies

George Herriman's Krazy Kat is one of the greatest strips of all time, maybe second only to Peanuts in terms of sustained quality and influence. Here are a couple of very early Sunday pages, from 1916, when the characters of Krazy, Offisa Pupp, and Ignatz Mouse were still in their developmental stage.

Sunday's Quote

This is from the labor leader Samuel Gompers (1850-1924). I hope that he's right, and that things can get are generally moving in the right direction:

"Time is the most valuable thing on earth:
time to think, time to act, time to extend
our fraternal relations, time to become
better men, time to become better women,
time to become better and more
independent citizens."

More Michelle Malone

Here's a video by one of the artists featured in my previous post. See if she doesn't win you over too:

Three Pictures: Musicians

Three pictures today taken at concerts I attended over the past couple of years. Above is blueswoman Michelle Malone performing at Gateway Park alongside the Erie Canal in Tonawanda, NY. I hadn't heard of her before the show (she was opening for Robert Cray), but she made me a fan with her high energy show.

I was already a big fan of Alejandro Escovedo when I saw him at Thursday in the Square in Buffalo last year, and he completely lived up to my expectations and then some. Here he is dueling with guitarist David Pulkingham (l.) with drummer Hector Munoz in the background.

Tift Merritt opened the show for Escovedo, and was awfully good herself. I was familiar with a couple of her records, but she was much better live than I expected, partly because of her excellent band (maybe I'll post another image some time with the whole crew). I've been playing around with all these pictures with Photoshop-- cropping, filtering, etc. I know they're far from pro quality, but I'm having fun trying to make them look a little better.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

I can't remember the last time I posted a Bugs Bunny short, so let's go ahead and do that now. Here is our hero confronting Marvin teh Martian in a classic Chuck Jones directed short:

Today's Quotation

Here's another quote from the great American poet, author, and Librarian of Congress Archibald MacLeish (1892-1982):

"Once you permit those who are convinced
of their own superior rightness to censor and
silence and suppress those who hold contrary
opinions, just at that moment the citadel has
been surrendered."

Friday Night Music

I think it's about time to post another tune by the great Joe Ely. Joe is a first rate songwriter, but also has a knack for putting his stamp on the compositions of others (notably Butch Hancock). Here he is with a blistering version of one of Robert Earl Keen's best known tunes:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Easy question this week: where was the above picture of Gerik taken? Put your guesses in the comments section.

Last week, I asked you who the arm stretched out behind Joseph's head belonged to. Lizzie knew it was, in fact, my arm. Congrat Lil Sis! To everyone else, better luck this week.

Soup Diary 101008

It's been awhile since I posted a soup diary entry, but that doesn't mean I haven't been eating soup. No, it just means that I haven't had anything new and different in awhile (mostly enjoying the occasional cup of Pacific organic roasted red pepper and tomato, my favorite packaged soup). But yesterday I got a little ambitious (emphasis on "little") and whipped up a pot fo chicken and stars soup. It's basically the same homemade chicken soup I make every few months, but I used stelline pasta for a bit of a switch (usually I go with orzo). It turned out pretty good, but I need to start experimenting to see if I can't develop a knack for something more adventurous. Maybe I'll take a crack at some kind of peanut soup, or maybe sweet potato, two of my faves from Fables. I'm just a little intimidated trying to match the concoctions of their chefs, but it would do me good to get more creative, so maybe this weekend I'll take the plunge. Keep your eyes on this blog for details of my efforts as they develop.

More Friday Family Blogging

Here's another shot of last week's birthday boy, Joseph. This was taken a few years ago at the water park at Fantasy Island.

Friday Family Blogging

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Helen. Check out that gleam in her eye-- you can tell she's just raring to go!

Friday Philosophy

Charles A. Beard (1874-1948) was perhaps the best known American historian of the early twentieth century. Here's something he wrote to summarize what he had learned through his august career:

"All the lessons of history in four sentences:
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make
mad with power. The mills of God grind slowly,
but they grind exceedingly small. The bee
fertilizes the flower it robs. When it is dark
enough, you can see the stars."

Some Modern Psychedelic Sounds

Here's another one of my favorite contemporary bands, Asteroid #4 out of Philadelphia. I hope you like it:

Three Pictures of Berlin

This walkway spans the Spree River, connecting some modern Government Buildings. I got the shot from a boat passing underneath, and the colors were augmented by some filters in Photoshop.

The tower at Alexanderplatz. I'd like to say that's the moon rising behind the tower, but it's just a light from another building.

Last is the new train station, where we caught a train back to our hotel on the outskirts of the city after a long walk around the Tiergarten park.

Cat Blogging

I'm pretty sure this is Montana. I know it's a little fuzzy, but then, Montana is a little fuzzy too.

A Thursday Quote

Here's a wonderful quote from the artist Robert Henri (1865-1929). It comes from his influential book, The Art Spirit:

"There are moments in our lives, there are
moments in a day, when we seem to see beyond
the usual- become clairvoyant. We reach then
into reality. Such are the moments of our greatest
happiness. Such are the moments of our greatest
wisdom. It is in the nature of all people to have
these experiences; but in our time and under the
conditions of our lives, it is only a rare few who
are able to continue in the experience and find
expression for it."

One of the Best

Last night in my Honors seminar on Popular Music and Society, I showed the class Anita O'Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer which has to be among the greatest documentary biographies of an artist that I've ever seen. It doesn't just have a great subject, but is put together in such a way as to replicate something of the improvisation and rhythms associated with a great jazz song. Somewhat to my surprise (and delight) the students really liked it too (it's always a crap-shoot when I try to expose them to something outside of their comfort zone) and we had a great discussion about Miss O'Day and women in music generally. Here's a clip that was also included in the movie, a performance of "Honeysuckle Rose" from about 1963:

Go Braves!

Well, my team squeaked into the playoffs as the National League Wild Card. I say "squeaked" becasue they were really hit hard by injuries over the past few weeks, losing one of their top pitchers (Jair Jurrjens) and the guy who has been their most consistent offensive contributor all year (Martin Prado). Jurrjens may come back if they get the second round, but Prado is sadly done for the year. Derek Lowe (above) did come up big, earning pitcher of the month honors for September, but much of the rest of the team seemed to be scuffling as the season wound down. But they hung in long enough, and though I'd like to see them playing the Padres (sorry Evan) I think they have a chance to beat the Giants. So, once again, I'd like to ask the readers of this blog to think good thoughts for the Braves, and maybe they can deliver one more championship to their venerable (and retiring) manager Bobby Cox. Go Braves!

Three Pictures

These three images were taken last winter on the Niagara River, starting with the sunset above. The top picture was enhanced slightly in Photoshop by making the colors a bit more vibrant.

These two pictures were converted to sepia tones and processed through a filter to create a paper texture (which is more noticeable in the above shot). I'm looking forward to visiting again around Christmas, so there may be some sequels to these photos.

Today's Quote

I like this comment from the famous philosopher/psychologist William James (1842-1910), who is widely credited with being one of the main creators of the movement known as pragmatism:

"If you believe that feeling bad or worrying
long enough will change a past or future event,
then you are residing on another planet with
a different reality system."

Great Song

This tune may sound familiar if you're a Bob Dylan (or Eric Von Schmidt) fan, but the Animals kind of changed the words around a bit and it ended up being their first British hit. From all the way back in 1964, here's "Baby Let Me Take You Home:"

This week's Top Five List

We travel down under for this week's ranking from Dr. John's Record Shelf. You'll notice that it made Art Vandalay pine for the outback:

Another Nice Photo Site

As most readers of this blog know, Buffalo NY is my hometown. There's a wonderful collection of old (and new) photos taken in and around Buffalo available at the Western New York Heritage website. Above is an aerial view of McKinley Square from back in the 1920s-- those familiar with the area will notice that City Hall is missing from the lower right of the picture, missing because it would not be built until some years later. Many of the pages in this collection include then and now comparisons, and if you're like me, you'll end up whiling away a couple hours checking them all out. I'd be curious to know if you find any particular favorites, so let me know in the comments section.

Thought for the Day

Here's a good bit of advice I need to take to heart, courtesy of the great author Mark Twain (1835-1910):

"Drag your thoughts away from your
troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or
any other way you can manage it."

Battle of the Bands Winner

The Easybeats were probably the most successful Australian export to the States back in the sixties just before the Bee Gees came along. They were certainly good enough to move up in teh Battle of the Bands unfolding on Dr. John's Record Shelf, riding this, their biggest hit, into the second round (by the way, one of the guitarists is the older sibling AC/DC's Young brothers):

Happy Birthday Joseph!

My nephew Joseph turned 11 today, and I hope he had a great day, got some good presents, and enjoyed some cake. Two more years 'til a teenager-- yikes!

Battle of the Bands Update

The Easybeats

Here are the results of this week's Battle of the Bands competition on Dr. John's Record Shelf. In an upset, the Easybeats (seeded 11) took down Fairport Convention (6) by a 4-3 score, while Buffalo Springfield (3) beat The Move (14) 7-2.

Buffalo Springfield

The songs played this week were "Mr. Soul" by the Springfield, "Do Ya" by the Move, "Friday On My Mind" by the Easybeats, and "Mr. Lacey" by Fairport. So in Round 2 next Spring, This week's winners will square off against each other. They join the Free, Manfred Mann, the Rolling Stones, Mott the Hoople, The Who, Sweet, the Moody Blues, and the Tremeloes in moving into the next round. If you'd like to cast a vote for upcoming pairings, you can find the brackets here, here, here, and here (just leave a comment here with your selections-- you can vote for some or all of the pairs).

Monday's Quotation

Georges Sorel (1847-1922) was a French philosopher who wrote on myths and politics, among other things. Here's something he wrote that is worth thinking about:

"Hate is able to provoke disorders, to ruin
a social organization, to cast a country into
a period of bloody revolutions; but it
produces nothing."

Classic Television

That's the band, not the medium. Here are Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, et. al. playing the title cut off their first album from 1977. They may have been the best group coming out of that NYC scene that also produced Patti Smith Group, Talking Heads, Blondie, etc., though I like all those other bands as well.

Three Pictures

Yesterday I took a ride over to Nevada City and Virginia City, two old gold camp towns northeast of Dillon. They're almost entirely shut down for the season, but I wandered around a bit and got a few nice shots, including these three. Above is a pond behind the old Nevada City train depot.

This is the sidewalk in front of the Nevada City Hotel (also closed for the season). This is one of the few places in Montana that actually looks like an old western town like the ones you see in movies. In fact, it's been used as a location for lots of films and TV shows over the years, including Missouri Breaks and Lonesome Dove.

Here's a small waterfall where Alder Creek runs under the railway bridge on the west end of Virginia City. At one time, Alder Creek was the site of the biggest gold strike in the world, but if I recall correctly, it only held the record for a short time. But Virginia City was quite the boom town back in the 1860s, and the place where Montana's famous vigilante group was formed (though one could debate whether that was an entirely good thing). I'll probably post more pics from my visit in the future.

Sunday Funnies

Here are three Sunday strips from 1936 of the Billy DeBeck classic, Barney Google (with the goo goo googly eyes). In fact these particular editions of the comic appeared as the title character was being eased out in favor of hillbilly Snuffy Smith and his family.

By the time I was a kid and reading the strip regularly, you never saw Barney at all (by that time Fred Lasswell was the artist). But I've read that in the twenties, he was quite the pop culture icon, with hit songs written about him, and the entire nation cheering his racehorse Sparkplug on to victory. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this little sample of the classic strip.

A Sunday Quote

John Wooden (1910-2010) was the legendary coach of the UCLA basketball team for many years, and for many championships. Everything I've ever read about or by him suggested he was a man of integrity and class, which comes across in the following:

"Be more concerned with your character
than your reputation, because your character
is what you really are, while your reputation
is merely what others think you are."

Mekons Rule!

The Mekons may be the greatest rock band of the last thirty years that most casual music fans have never heard of, though there are probably plenty of other candidates for the title. The thing is that few of them have been consistently active and good for the entirety of that period, and though members of the group periodically engage in side projects, when they get together every few years, they produce another classic. Here's one of their songs off the album So Good It Hurts:

New Hal Crowther Article

My favorite columnist is back with a solid commentary about the Tea Party. Like Crowther, I understand why folks are frustrated and angry, but I can't figure out why they choose to follow a buffoon like Glenn Beck, or fail to understand how they are being manipulated by the likes of the Koch family who clearly have no sympathy for the little guys caught in the current economic squeeze. Sadly there are too few true leaders in the political establishment willing to step forward and offer a real clearcut alternative, and as a result it seems more likely that things will get worse before we ever see any improvement (by which I mean a political system that actually reflects some degree of intellectual integrity and civic responsibility).

Saturday Morning Cartoon

I always liked the Warner brothers parodies of popular TV shows and movies, even when I didn't recognize the reference. In this case though, I was very familiar with the Honeymooners. This was years before The Flintstones put its own spin on a Gleason/Carney imitation, and more in line with the original. Enjoy:

Today's Quotation

The following might stand as a motto for this blog, since I've devoted so much of it to sharing photographs over the past couple of years. Edward Steichen was arguably the greatest American photographer of the first half of the 20th century, equally adept at urban landscapes and Hollywood portraits:

“Photography records the gamut of feelings
written on the human face, the beauty of the
earth and skies that man has inherited, and
the wealth and confusion man has created.
It is a major force in explaining man to man.”

Detroit Classic

I'm not a huge Bob Seger fan, but this song kind of gets under my skin. See if it doesn't have the same effect on you:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

Easy question this week-- whose arm is that stretched out behind Joseph's head? Put your guesses in the comments section.

Last week, I asked you to identify the eyes in a cropped picture, and Ben correctly guessed that they belong to Helen. I'd publish the full picture, but at the moment I can't seem to find it, so check back in a day or two (I have too many pictures on my hard drive, and they aren't very well organized-- sorry about that). Good luck with this week's question!

A Favorite Movie

A couple nights ago, I watched The Sundowners on TCM, one of my favorite movies. It's one of those rare films that is hard to categorize, as it defies most of the standard genre labels even as it embraces elements of several. It's the story of a family of itinerant Australian sheep-shearers, and one season spent first at a ranch working, then racing a thoroughbred won by the father on a lucky bet. It ambles along, in no hurry to finish its story, and with no obvious or even likely conclusion to wrap things up. The film ends with the clan still on the road, heading for the next job, not having realized any dreams nor staved off the slight sense of desperation that periodically visits them in times of need. The leads are Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr, and they're great in unglamorous roles, especially Kerr. Equally good are Peter Ustinov and Glynis Johns leading the supporting cast, whose slightly comic, yet sweet romance ends as unconventionally as the rest of the plot. The director is Fred Zinneman, who I always considered over-rated (High Noon, in particular may be the worst "classic" film I've ever seen), but he manages a fairly light touch with The Sundowners that won me over from the first scene. There's a slight resemblance between this film and another of my favorites from that same period, Howard Hawks' Hatari, which has a similarly episodic structure, and lighthearted tone. But where the latter movie favors slapstick-tinged action, The Sundowners keeps things more in line with true-life, balancing small triumphs with the kind of disappointments that seem huge at the time, only to fade with the passing of time. This isn't one of those movies that seems to pop up on the TCM schedule all that often, but if you get a chance, let me recommend you try to see it. I doubt you'll be disappointed.

More Friday Family Blogging

Here's another kaleidoscopic shot, this time of my niece Helen. This kind of approximates the speed she moves at, even when she's sitting still.

Friday Family Blogging

Here's an experimental shot I took of Ben a few years ago, holding a kaleidoscope up to the camera lens. I've got to figure out a way to do this with my new camera, whose lens is a little too big to work with the toy kaleidoscope the same way.

Thought for the Day

Take it from a historian: Lillian Hellman (1907-1984) knew what she was talking about when she uttered (or wrote) these words:

"We are a people who do not want to
keep much of the past in our heads. It
is considered unhealthy in America to
remember mistakes, neurotic to think
about them, psychotic to dwell on them."