Battle of the Bands, Northwest Bracket

Moby Grape

Here are the last set of matchups that will air as part of the season long Battle of the Bands segment on my radio show starting this fall (limited to American groups between 1954 and 1974 for this first go-around). You can see the other brackets at these links: Northeast, Midwest, Southwest. The first round will unfold through the autumn, with subsequent rounds completed in the spring, with results duly posted to this blog. The hope is, if this turns out to be a popular feature, then we will redefine the criteria (different time-frame, genre, nationality, etc.) and do it again in subsequent seasons. As always, comments are welcome.

Country Joe & the Fish

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Fortunate Son" vs The Sonics, "Psycho"
Paul Revere & the Raiders, "Kicks" vs The Standells, "Dirty Water"
Jefferson Airplane, "Somebody to Love" vs Quicksilver Messenger Service, "Fresh Air"
Santana, "Evil Ways" vs Country Joe & the Fish, "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine"
Grateful Dead, "Truckin'" vs Electric Prunes, "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night"
Steppenwolf, "Magic Carpet Ride" vs Moby Grape, "Omaha"
The Kingsmen, "Louie Louie" vs Canned Heat, "Goin' Up the Country"
Beau Brummels, "Laugh Laugh" vs Big Brother & the Holding Co., "Piece of My Heart"

Thought for a Wednesday

In an era where we often hear that people don't read anymore, and all kinds of ills are neatly (if not always accurately) laid at the feet of other forms of mass communication, I think it's worth keeping this idea from historian Barbara Tuchman alive:

"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without
books, history is silent, literature dumb, science
crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.
Without books, the development of civilization
would have been impossible. They are the engines
of change, windows on the world, "Lighthouses"
(as a poet said) "erected in the sea of time."
They are companions, teachers, magicians,
bankers of the treasures of the mind.
Books are humanity in print."

Great Sonic Youth Song

Sometime back, I posted a clip from the Hal Hartley movie Simple Men, with the song providing the soundtrack. Here's the full song and band video (which I may have thought about because of the mention of the NY underground in the previous post-- that's meant to somewhat foreshadow what to expect):

Continuing My Exploration of Art in WNY

One of the true gems of downtown Buffalo is the CEPA Gallery, celebrating the art of photography. Last week I saw two exhibits there, including the Writing With Light show advertised in the above picture. This is a series launched last year in which local school kids are given a camera and a theme and asked to come up with not only a picture but also a poem related to the theme (this year it was "respect"). Some of the results are pretty good (no tthe least the photo seen above). This exhibit will be up for awhile if you are in the area and want to check it out. Unfortunatley the other exhibit I saw has closed. It was a group show of night photography (if you've been reading this blog over the past couple of weeks, you can imagine why that had some appeal to me) done by some local artists, and again, much of it was quite spectacular. One memorable sequence was of lonely ice machines outside of gas stations and convenience stores around the city (shot at night); another followed the nocturnal wanderings of a "sprite of light" who seemed to be haunting Delaware park and environs; a third were impressionistic images after those produced by artistic photographers of the early twentieth century, like Edward Steichen. I had a nice chat with one of the CEPA staff, who seemed really happy that I stopped by (the gallery was otherwise empty-- I hope that wasn't true through the exhibit, lest it become harder to mount similar shows in the future). All of the work was interesting and made me want to get out and make some pictures myself.

Then today, I stopped by the Queen City Gallery (housed in the Market Arcade Building where CEPA is also located), and got to see an exhibit of photos by Paul Zone documenting the New York Undergorund Scene, 1972-1977 (here's a link to the exhibit when it was on display last year in Los Angeles-- Buffalo is it's second stop). Most all of the images featured musical performers like Lou Reed, Debbie Harry, and various members of the Ramones. The proprietor at the Queeen City Gallery told me that Zone is working on putting together a book, so if you like the examples at that link (or get a chance to see the show itself), they may be avaialble in a published edition sometime in the near future.

Soup Diary 090616

I was at the Buffalo & Erie County Library earlier today and tried another soup that I don't recall ever having before. It was chilled cucumber dill and looked more or less like the picture above. It was tasty enough, but nothing really special. I think that as cold soup goes, gazpacho-- which is tangier and crunchier-- has it all over the cucumber variety. I'm glad I tried it, but doubt I'd order it again.

Public Service Announcement

If you should ever find yourself parched on or near the University of Buffalo's Main Street (South) Campus, let me recommend what I am certain must be the world's best water fountain, pictured above. It is located in the first floor hallway of Hayes Hall, and I have been partaking of its sweet fluid for more than thirty years. Even though my visits are often separated by months or even years, it has never failed to be ice cold and to flow in a nice, high even stream with the mere push of a button. And, once you've slaked your thirst, there's almost always an interesting display of architectural models or charts nearby to peruse (Hayes Hall being home to the University's Architecture Program). I won't go so far as to say the fountain alone is worth a special trip to the campus, but if you're nearby anyway, give yourself a treat and stop by.

Thought for Tuesday

Sir Herbert Read (1893-1968) wrote a lot about art and aesthetics in addition to producing several volumes of poetry. I think this quote reflects each of those pursuits:

"All moral impulses, all feelings of goodness,
all grace and truth, are but shadows cast
from the dance of life; shadows cast, as
Shelley said in his great poem, by the
light of intellectual beauty."

The Return of W.C. Fields

It's been awhile since I posted something from the great Mr. Fields. Here's a brief scene in which he portrays Larson E. Whipsnade ("Break it up, break it up") from You Can't Cheat an Honest Man:

The Last Movie I Saw

I'm not sure this movie really deserves much attention from me or anyone else. It's taut, slick, well-acted and sharply edited, all in the service of nothing I can decipher beyond cynical market manipulation (and I mean of the audience, not the glaringly obvious subplot that the movie pretends is some big revelation three quarters of the way through). I'm guessing director Tony Scott's reputation is such that he can attract talented actors like Denzel Washington and John Turturro to be in his films, but one look at his resume reveals nothing more than a lot of noisy nonsense, and this one fits right in. I've not seen the original version of this movie from the seventies, but I've got to believe that it was more suspenseful and less dehumanizing than this overblown waste of time.

I Thought You Might Like to Know...

... that this blog is rated PG according to an analysis done at this site. If you want to see why, just type in the web address of the blog (drjohnsjournal dot blogspot dot com) on the page attached to that link. What you'll discover is that some words have multiple meanings, and this particular rating service assumes the worst.

I'll just add that it is fully my intention to keep this weblog free of any language that would give anyone offense. Opinions, mine or in the quotes I post, however are a different matter-- though they are shared in an effort to promote thought and discussion and not as gratuitous provocation.

A Rather Late Monday Quote

Here's a point to ponder from the pen of Herman Melville (1819-1891), the noted American author of, most famously, the classic Moby Dick. This particular quote, however comes from his novel Pierre:

"There is no faith, and no stoicism, and no
philosophy, that a mortal man can possibly
evoke, which will stand the final test in a
real impassioned onset of Life and Passion
upon him. Faith and philosophy are air,
but events are brass."

What I Did Today

I spent most of this afternoon with Mom, Sally, Tom, Theresa, Ben and Natalie down at the Allentown Art Festival. This is an annual event (both the show and our attendance), and needless to say, I took along my camera. The fest is as much about people watching as it is checking out the work on display (much of which is very very good).

I have a friend (an artist) who claims this is little more than a glorified craft show, and so stays away. He's right up to a point-- there are at least as many woodworking, jewelry, toy, and other similar kinds of work on display in addition top the painting, photography and sculpture. But that just adds to the variety, and hardly detracts from the really fine "fine" art on display. Natalie, for one, spent a lot of time checking out the jewelry:

Here's a shot of one of the booths with pictures in frames:

I put this next one in because I was impressed that I caught the two seagulls in the same shot (flying over the festival). I'm easy to please that way:

After traipsing all over Allentown, most of us took the opportunity to rest outside the Wilcox Mansion (historical footnote: that's where Teddy Roosevelt was given the presidential oath in 1901), and I started playing around again with the manual settings on my camera. Here's one I think came out particularly good of Theresa:

It was a great art-filled day, capped off when I went with Sally to the Art Salon she belongs to at her church this evening (no pictures of that though). Later this week, I'm looking forward to checking out an exhibit at the Queen City Gallery of 1970s era photographs of the New York City Underground (the music/cultural scene, not the subway).

Battle of the Bands, Southwest Bracket

Thee Midniters

Continuing to list out the first round matchups in the upcoming Battle of the bands that will air on my radio show next fall, here are those comprising the Southwest Bracket. You can see the Midwest lineup here, and the Northeast contests here. Comments are welcome (but unlikely to effect changes at this point).

Bobby Fuller Four

The Byrds, "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better" vs Thee Midniters, "Whittier Boulevard"
The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" vs Mothers of Invention, "Trouble Every Day"
The Doors, "Light My Fire" vs The Seeds, "Pushin' Too Hard"
The Eagles, "Take It Easy" vs Love "Alone Again Or"
Allman Brothers Band, "Midnight Rider" vs Bobby Fuller Four, "I Fought the Law"
Monkees, "Pleasant Valley Sunday" vs Spirit, "I Got a Line on You"
The Association, "Never My Love" vs Sir Douglas Quintet, "Mendocino"
Grass Roots, "Temptation Eyes" vs Doobie Brothers, "Black Water"

I should have the last bracket posted in a couple of days.

Sunday's Notable Quotation

Considering this is Sunday, let's have a quote from a clergyman. This was said by the Reverend John Shelby Spong back in 1992:

"When the dust settles and the pages of history
are written, it will not be the angry defenders
of intolerance who have made the difference.
That reward will go to those who dared to step
outside the safety of their privacy in order to
expose and rout the prevailing prejudices."

Adventures in Night Time Photography

Last night I finally got around to going out and playing with the manual settings of my digital camera to see if I could improve my night time photos (thanks again to Michael Tucker for advice on what to try). I spent a little time in Delaware Park and at the Erie Basin Marina, and just kept shooting off pictures (I also took some with my film SLR, but I don't have those developed yet), making various adjustments to the settings and reshooting the same shots. Unfortunately, I neglected to bring along a pen and pad to note just exactly what settings went with what pictures, but I'll remember to do that next time. Here are a few that seemed to turn out particularly well.

This is looking at the lights of downtown from the marina. Note that here I have a reddish effect, whereas in the earlier post on this topic my problem was things looking a little green. I think I can address this by making some other adjustments, but I liked the way it turned out in this instance.

This is also from the Marina, looking across the corner of lake Erie to Fort Erie on the Canadian side. I was happy with the balance between reddish rocks and blue water and sky in this one, though I think the composition could've been better.

Here's one of the Casino in Delaware Park. This was shot before the sun was totally down, but that just makes for a starker contrast in colors, I think.

As I was leaving the Marina, the Bisons game must've just ended, because firewworks started going off in front of me. I didn't have a chance to set up my tripod, so this was taken with a pretty shaky hand, but I thought it ended up looking kind of interesting. I'm looking forward to getting out again and continuing to experiment.

Saturday Morning Cartoon

I haven't posted one of these in a couple of weeks, but let's get back on track with a classic episode of PeterPotamus. He wasn't the most famous of the Hanna-Barbera creations, but I have fond memories of his adventures with sidekick So-So, flying around the world in their balloon. Doesn't the giant in this clip look like he might be Fred Flintstone's great great great great... grandson?

Philosophy for a Saturday Morning

I'm not entirely sure I'd agree with this rather cynical aphorism from the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), but it's worth thinking about:

"All history treats almost exclusively of
wicked men who, in the course of time,
have come to be looked upon as good men.
All progress is the result of successful crime."

A Musical Interlude

I first heard Luna's version of this song (it was originally done by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigit Bardot in the sixties) over the end credits of the Olivier Assayas film Irma Vep-- a great coda to an excellent movie (check it out if you haven't seen it). Here's a live rendition from a couple of years later:

Friday Family Blogging Quiz

This week's question: what classic rock star does Nik (pre-shorn locks; see previous post) most resemble in this photo? Put your guesses in the comments (I have a specific answer in mind, but maybe you'll nail it with a better comparison than mine).

I'm claiming a stump-erific victory in last week's quiz, as apparently just about everyone was scared away from playing (kudos to Ben and Sally for making valiant, albeit erroneous guesses). You were asked to identify what the green objects were that Helen was peering over in this picture. The correct answer was the soles of her brand new flip-flops. Thanks to those who played and better luck this week!

Even More Friday Family Blogging

Nik got a haircut a couple days ago and I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the results. Here's the before picture:

And here's the after:

Wow! Can you believe this is the same kid? ;-)

More Friday Family Blogging

Continuing on the theme begun in the previous post below, here are acouple more shots of Uncle Chuck. First up is him with Aunt Clare and baby Kevin:

And here's one that I really like of Uncle Chuck with the catch of the day. Maybe I should make this the weekly quiz, but I have another question already in mind: anyone want to guess the name of the river that delivered up that string of fish?

Friday Family Blogging (Three Uncles Plus One)

I'm continuing to mine my Mom's collection of photos while I'm home visiting. I thought you might enjoy seeing some pictures of my three maternal uncles and great uncle. First up, Great Uncle Walt with his daughter Ida Mae:

My Uncle Chuck served in the Navy during World War II, and this appears to be a shot with him flanked by a couple of his shipmates:

It appears from the photographic evidence that Uncle Dick was quite the outdoorsman in his youth, though when you get the other guy to do the rowing that's probably not such a rigorour lifestyle ;-)

My Mom likes to tell stories about how Uncle Frank was kind of a rascal, but you'd never guess it looking at this fresh-scrubbed youngster, would you?

Soup Diary (Or, An Easy Way to Boost My Post Count)

Some years back I got into the habit of always ordering soup when I went out to eat at a restaurant. Initially this was because I realized that if you did order soup, it almost always came right out away; and if you were hungry (and why else would you be in a restaurant?), it was nice to have something to dig into right away. At first, I stuck with old favorites, like chicken noodle or chicken noodle, maybe French onion. But at some point, none of those was an option and I decided to try something new. As I recall, it was a creamy mushroom soup that about knocked my socks off (I was not normally a big fan of mushrooms at all), and I realized there was a whole world of soups out there that were probably really, really good, if I'd only give them a taste. So I got into the habit of always trying something new and different if the opportunity presented itself.

Jump ahead a couple of years, and the central library in downtown Buffalo opened a coffee shop where they served not one or two, but rather three or four different soups-of-the-day. Since I was a pretty regular visitor to the library anyway, these soups soon became a staple of those visits. They are universally, and I do not exaggerate, fantastic-- apparently made fresh every day and pretty much spanning all the varieties one is likely to find in any cookbook. Maybe they were inspired by the classic Seinfeld episode about the Soup Nazi, I don't know. But while I'm here in Western New York, I've been imbibing at least twice a week, and I thought I might share the experience with my readers.

Today, I had the African Peanut Soup (an approximation of which can be seen in the picture above). It's a nice combination of salty and sweet, with peppers, rice, and onions in a semi-creamy broth, along with, of course, peanuts. There are recipes on-line, and maybe I'll try one sometime, but I have a feeling that my culinary skills are insufficient to match the quality of the bowl I enjoyed earlier today. I'll probably be back at the library early next week, and I'll let you know what I order then (what else is a blog for, but such trivial information?).

Friday's Notable Quotation

Of all people, Isaac Newton probably had more accomplishments to be reckoned with than almost anyone else in history. Yet this sentiment expressed in his memoirs suggests an individual of great humility who understood the vastness behind any notion of knowledge:

"I do not know what I may appear to the world;
but to myself I seem to have been only a boy
playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself
in now and then finding a smoother pebble or
a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great
ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me."

Classic Bob Newhart

For all the years he was on television, with at least three classic shows to his credit (and he was no slouch on record, in movies, and on stage either), I get the feeling that Bob Newhart remains somewhat underrated among the ranks of great comedians. The Bob Newhart Show of the early seventies was my favorite of his efforts, but his subsequent show Newhart certainly had its moments as well. Here's one of them, with Newhart as Dick Loudon, Vermont innkeeper and TV talk show host:

Favorite Paintings 33 & 34

Reginald Marsh, Coney Island Scene c1932

One of the things I enjoy about going to art gallerys and museums is the opportunity to look for common elements across the generations. I've featured Reginald Marsh before in this series, and I've been a huge fan of his work for a long time. Partly, this is because he depicts the American scene in the period between the World Wars, which corresponds to the era I started doing research in as a graduate student (and which frankly was the period that most fascinated me and led me to study history in the first place). On a more aesthetic level, I love the vibrancy of his work, the crowded, active scenes of ordinary people converging in mostly urban settings where they represent hearty resistance to the modern context of cold steel and soulless technology. His work represents something of a counter argument to his contemporaries Grant Wood, Thomas Hart Benton and John Steurt Curry, in stating that the American character is not just a remnant of the agrarian ideal (and I know that that is probably an unfairly limited view of those other artists, but not wholly inaccurate either).

Peter Paul Rubens, The Garden of Love c1630-32

What I hadn't realized prior to my recent trip to Los Angeles was just how much Marsh's work resembled (and, it probably goes without saying, was influenced by) that of the great Renaissance painter Peter Paul Rubens (who I also recently featured in this series), who was working exactly three hundred years earlier. Both the Getty Center and the Norton Simon Museum of Art had multiple Rubens paintings on display, and though I'd seen his work in the past (the above hangs in the Prado in Madrid), I don't think I ever saw so many in such a concentrated period of time. My immediate reaction was to think how much his work reminded me of Reginald Marsh's. Maybe that's a common theme when the latter is studied in art history classes, but I'm largely self-taught in that area and so it came as quite a revelation. Of course, Rubens's paintings could hardly be seen as the same kind of response to modernism that I see in Marsh, but otherwise, there's a real affinity not only in style, but also in their takes on basic human behavior and attitudes. Each is very earthy in ways that suggest a shared perspective on morals that I'd define as non-judgmental without crossing the line into prurience or worse. They are celebratory and fun-- hardly the image many might associate with the stuffiness of so much high art. If art is intended to make life more enjoyable, Rubens and Marsh certainly mastered the practice.

The Last Movie I Saw

I sort of have this theory that human beings' endless capacity for telling and hearing stories of whatever form or type is part of a collective effort to create a master narrative of existence, and once the essential story is complete, we'll all understand the meaning of life. It's an idea that I turn over in my head every now and then, especially when I'm exposed to what seems a particularly well-crafted tale, and especially if it represents a variation on a common theme (that is, it resembles a wide variety of other stories I've heard, without being identical). I don't know if this theory necessarily holds water-- but its a notion that keeps popping into my head and leads to almost endless consideration when I start applying it to specific cases.

Last night I went to see The Brothers Bloom written and directed by Rian Johnson and starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz and Rinko Kikuchi. It's an incredibly entertaining movie of the Con Game genre, both funny and fun for most of its running time as one becomes more and more acquainted with the personal idiosyncracies of the main characters. The story is propelled less by the details of the con, which was frankly too intricate and too boring to spark much interest on my part beyond recognizing it as necessary to bring together the mostly goofy cast of characters, including Robbie Coltrane and Maximilian Schell in smaller roles. Johnson clearly enjoys wordplay and referencing other well-known stories, which create a sense of depth to the proceedings even when not a lot is really happening with respect to propeling its own plot forward (or at least it often seemed that way to me). The irony of this is that the con at the center of that plot, like the movie itself, is scripted. Brody's character longs to live an unscripted life (as Ruffalo's older brother character keeps meticulously rewriting the details of their fraternal story-- with Weisz's character seizing an opportunity to collaborate as well). In the end, these multiple efforts to construct alternate tales, shaped by competing priorities, lead to a muddled finale. But I'm not sure if that's the fault of the ultimate scriptwriter Johnson's inability to tie it together effectively; or, alternatively, an astute recognition that the varied individual efforts to "write" their own respective fates are always ultimately irreconcilable (which kind of blows a hole in the theory I introduced above), at least to the degree that there can ever be a truly comprehensive happy ending. I'd like to give Johnson the benefit of the doubt and assume the latter explanation, but if so I also have to acknowledge that it meant this viewer was left a little disappointed by the end of the film, not because it strikes a blow to my theory, but because I've been trained like most of us to anticipate the happy ending, especially if the preceding ninety minutes are as high-spirited and funny as was the case here. But please don't take that as an "un-endorsement." The film is well worth seeing, and I plan to see it again myslef. Maybe I'll have a different take after a second viewing, but I doubt I'll enjoy it any less.

Battle of the Bands Midwest Bracket

The Buckinghams

I've been promoting, in dribs and drabs, an upcoming feature on my radio show by which we will attempt to determine the greatest American rock and roll band from the period between 1954 and 1974. A couple days ago, I listed out the match-ups for the first round in our Northeast Bracket; here are the songs going head-to-head in the first round of the Midwest Bracket. Comments are welcome:

The New Colony Six

Chicago, "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is" vs Cryan Shames, "Sugar and Spice"
Grand Funk Railroad, "We're An American Band" vs The Gants, "I Wonder"
Lynyrd Skynrd, "Sweet Home Alabama" vs The Knickerbockers, "Lies"
Buckinghams, "Mercy Mercy Mercy" vs Shadows of Knight, "Gloria"
The Crickets, "Oh Boy!" vs Big Star, "September Gurls"
The Stooges, "Search and Destroy" vs Rock and Roll Trio, "The Train Kept a'Rollin'"
Box Tops, "Cry Like a Baby" vs Rare Earth, "I Just Want to Celebrate"
New Colony Six, "Love You So Much" vs Outsiders, "Time Won't Let Me"

Thursday's Quote

Today, I like this thought from American historian James Harvey Robinson (1863-1936), which I believe speaks to both philosophical and artistic endeavors:

"The chief strength of the ancient Greeks lay in their
freedom from hampering intellectual tradition.
They had no venerated classics, no holy books,
no dead languages to master, no authorities
to check their free speculation."

A Classic Comic Strip Artist

Aside from the great Roy Crane, I can think of only one other artist responsible for creating two classic strips, and that's Milton Caniff. No doubt I'm forgetting several others, but that in no way changes the fact that Crane was responsible for launching two of the greatest adventure strips of all time: Captain Easy and Buz Sawyer. The former actually started out as Wash Tubbs, which many identify as the first great adventure strip; the original titular character was eventually supplanted by his more heroically inclined chum, Captain Easy. Crane's work on this strip no doubt influenced others like Caniff (Terry & the Pirates, Steve Canyon), Hal Foster (Prince Valiant), Noel Sickles (Scorchy Smith), Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon), and so many others.

Although the character of Captain Easy was originally added in a supporting role to Wash Tubbs, he eventually took over the Sunday version of the strip, and the adventures grew even more exciting. Back in the 1970s, there were several anthologies of Crane's work published by Dragon Lady Press up in Canada, and it was in those collections that I first encountered these early expoits (Buz Sawyer was at that time a mainstay in the Buffalo Evening News, so I was already well aware of the later creation).
Crane turned Easy over to other hands sometime in the early 1940s (I assume from a dispute over ownership of the characters), and introduced Buz Sawyer around that same time, initially as a World War II pilot. He had the crispest, cleanest style I think I've ever seen in an adventure strip (unlike the inky shadows employed by Caniff, for instance), and though it retained a humorous, cartoony quality (especially in relation to Sawyer's sidekick, Roscoe Sweeney), Crane knew how to ratchet up the drama and thrills when necessary.

Much like Captain Easy had earlier assumed the lead role in Wash Tubbs' Sunday adventures, at some point Sweeney became the featured character in the Buz Sawyer strip on the weekends too. The version of those strips I remember best involved Sweeney as a slow-burning suburban squire dealing with the trials and tribulations of dealing with neighborhood kids, door-to-door salesmen and other assorted middle-class travails.

Roy Crane definitely deserves to be in the pantheon of great comic strip artists, but then I'm not saying anything that hasn't been common knowledge among strip fans for decades.

Wednesday Philosophizing

Today's snippet of insight comes from R. Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983), a well-known architect and writer who was probably best known for designing the geodesic dome:

"We are not going to be able to operate our spaceship
Earth successfully nor for much longer unless we
see it as a whole spaceship and our fate as common.
It has to be everybody or nobody..."

The Evening Sky Over Tonawanda

In the past I've posted some images of the stunning skies over Montana. This evening there was a nice sunset over the Niagara River in my hometown of Tonawanda, NY. Even if it isn't quite as spectacular as the splendid vistas of the west, I thought it was quite nice, and somewhat enhanced by the bevy of ducks floating through the scene.

Later note: as Sally notes in the comments, these are of course geese (well, all but the one on the far left). What can I say, I'm a historian, not an ornithologist!

I Never Would Have Believed It...

I saw something this evening that I frankly always thought was a myth, an apocryphal story heard by virtually every school age child (and probably told by many as well), but certainly not something that was literally true. I saw a dog (in this case Andromeda, seen above in an unrelated photo) eat a kid's homework (in this case, my nephew Ben's math worksheet). As a teacher, I now find myself in the unexpected and unappealing position of no longer being able to dismiss out-of-hand this time-honored excuse the next time it is proffered by one of my students. Thanks a lot Andromeda!

Pop Nugget From the Seventies

Anyone remember this song? It was the biggest US hit by Slade, though they had some bigger ones in the UK. Part of the "glam" moment in pop, they would've made the Battle of the Bands mentioned in the previous post if they were American, but then they really wouldn't have been Slade, would they?

Battle of the Bands: First Round Match-Ups

The Velvet Underground & Nico

Some of you will remember that back in this post I laid out a plan for a Battle of the Bands competition that will air on my radio show, Dr. John's Record Shelf, starting this Fall. In several subsequent posts, I mapped out the brackets for the competition, and now I've selected songs that will be used in the head-to-head match-ups. Remember that one of the rules is that a song can only be used once, which means I had to balance whether it was worthwhile to use a group's biggest hit in the early rounds as opposed to saving it for when they might be facing stiffer competition. For groups who were less prolific or less popular, it makes sense to shoot off the big gun early, because they might not otherwise advance. Does that make sense? By the way, I've lined up several independent judges to participate, but could use a few more-- if you'd like to try, let me know and we'll see what we can set up. So, here are the songs selected for round one in the Northeast Bracket:

Velvet Underground, "Sweet Jane" vs The Monks, "Boys Are Boys"
Lovin' Spoonful, "Summer in the City" vs The Fugs, "Slum Goddess"
Three Dog Night, Mama Told Me Not to Come" vs The Nazz, "Open My Eyes"
The Turtles, "You Showed Me" vs New York Dolls, "Looking for a Kiss"
Steely Dan, "Reelin' In the Years" vs The Remains, "Why Do I Cry"
The Rascals, "Groovin'" vs Flying Burrito Brothers, "Christine's Tune"
Raspberries, "I Wanna Be With You" vs Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, "Sylvia's Mother"
Cowsills, "Indian Lake" vs Blood, Sweat & Tears, "You Make Me So Very Happy"

Comments are welcome, as always, though I don't imagine I'll make any more adjustments at this point. I'll post the other brackets over the coming days.

Tuesday's Notable Quote

Today, I have an interesting observation by well-known science guy Carl Sagan. Chew on this one for awhile:

"It is of interest to note that while some dolphins
are reported to have learned English-- up to
fifty words used in correct context-- no human
being has been reported to have learned dolphinese."

What? No Quiz-Takers This Week?

Hey, how come no one is taking a shot at last Friday's quiz? As of today, there are no responses. It's not that hard. Also, I really would like to know who the baby is in this post-- someone must have an idea. Pleeease!