More Friday Family Blogging

Here's a picture of Natalie striking something of a Hollywood pose. Or am I reading too much into the sunglasses?

Friday Family Blogging

It's a little fuzzy, but I really think that Emma's personality comes through in this shot. Also, she looks cute in overalls.

Friday Philosophy

A great a true insight attributed to the immortal Greek philosopher Socrates (c469 BC- c399 BC):

"True wisdom comes to each of us when
we realize how little we understand about
life, ourselves, and the world around us."

Cool Song

I'd love to see a clip of Jackie Wilson doing this song live. But in the absence of that, I'll take this neat little animation:

Toonerville Thursday

Today the spotlight is on "Tomboy" Taylor, just one more of the interesting characters who populate Toonerville.

Something to Think About

Here's a question worth pondering from the famed expert on mythology, Joseph Campbell (1904-1987):

"Is the system going to flatten you out and
deny you your humanity, or are you going
to be able to make use of the system to the
attainment of human purposes?"

A Favorite Performer

Ted Hawkins had one fo the most distinctive voices I've ever heard, mostly performing other people's material and making it his own. Here's a good example-- see if this doesn't get under your skin:

Three Pictures: Sunnier Climes

Winter just doesn't seem to want to end here in SW Montana. Every day is cold, gray and usually wet. wet or snowy. So, naturally I'm thinking of warmer places, especially southern California where I was lucky enough to get away to last about six weeks ago. How I long to see some greenery, like the palm trees in Santa Monica seen above.

I can't imagine when I might see some flowers blooming around here, but the gardens were very colorful at the Huntington Library complex.

The last shot is also from the grounds at the Huntington center. I can easily imagine whiling away an afternoon with a good book, sitting under the trees. Unfortunately, at the moment I can only imagine it.

Words of Wisdom

Here's a great quote from Robert Kennedy (1925-1968):

"All of us might wish at times that we lived
in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And
if our times are difficult and perplexing, so
are they challenging and filled with
opportunity."

Cool Song

Here's a nice relic of the psychedelic era-- Country Joe and the Fish performing "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967:

This Week's Top Five List

I'm afraid we might've been guilty of a lack of originality with this week's Top Five-- but it was worth it to honor the holder of the top slot:

Quote of the Day

Here's a pretty famous line from William Shakespeare (1564-1616), a line that first appeared in his play As You Like It:

"All the world's a stage, and all the men
and women merely players: they have
their exits and their entrances; and one
man in his time plays many parts, his
acts being seven ages."

A Favorite Movie Scene

Anybody who saw the absolute gem of a movie Beautiful Girls, directed by Ted Demme back in 1996, had to know Natalie Portman was destined for great things. I frankly am surprised it took her fifteen years to win an Oscar. The rest of the cast in that film is just as good, and it's one of those movies that rewards repeat viewing. Anyway, here's my favorite (well, one of my favorite) scenes...

WestFest 1

Last Friday, the radio station for which I broadcast, KDWG in Dillon, celebrated its tenth anniversary with what we hope will become an annual event called West-Fest. It was supposed to be a big outdoor party, but inclement weather forced us indoors. Even so, it was a great time, with live music from 3 to 10, along with a barbecue, beer garden, and assorted art demonstrations and booths. Here are a few pictures I took at the festivities, starting with the Black Rose Band above.

Kayli Smith performed a nice acoustic set.

Landlocked got the crowd moving with their patented Polynesian reggae mix.

Unfortunately, the light was such that I couldn't get a sharp image of the crowd, but I think this conveys a bit of the action on the dance floor.

Headlining was The Dirty Shame, and they put a nice country cap to the evening. Great show overall-- and I can't wait for next year!

Battle of the Bands Update

Well, I don't know if anyone could have possibly predicted this (sarcasm intended), but in the Battle of the Bands to determine the greatest British rock and roll band of the era 1960 to 1974 unfolding on Dr. John's Record Shelf over the past few months, the two finalists ended up being the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The former edged the Who for their berth in the final, while the latter knocked off the Kinks.

Songs in competition were "Sympathy for the Devil" by the Stones, "Won't Get Fooled Again" by the Who, "Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles, and "Tired of Waiting For You" by the Kinks. Next week, for the final, I'll play three songs by each group, early enough in the program that we can take phone call votes. But if anyone wants to post a preference in comments here, I'll add that to the tally.

Monday's Quote

I find this line from the founder of the American Red Cross, Clara Barton (1821-1912), rather inspiring:

"I have an almost complete disregard of
precedent, and a faith in the possibility of
something better. It irritates me to be told
how things have always been done. I defy
the tyranny of precedent. I go for anything
new that might improve the past."

A Tribute to Curly

This was actually something of a novelty hit about twenty-five years ago-- and I remember that we had boxes and boxes of the 12" version on consignment cluttering up the back room of the record store where I worked. Like a lot of novelties, after its initial burst of popularity, you couldn't give the thing away. But now that it's been awhile, it was kind of nice to hear again...

Battle of the Bands Final Four

Our Battle of the Bands is winding down on Dr. John's Record Shelf. Tonight, we have the final four semi-finals, with the finals to occur next week between this evening's winners. Here's the lineup if you want to try and get in a vote:

Mod vs. Teddy Boy Bracket:
"Sympathy for the Devil," Rolling Stones v. "Won't Get Fooled Again," the Who
Empire vs. Pop Bracket:
"Tired of Waiting For You," the Kinks v. "Hard Day's Night," the Beatles

I'll post the results tomorrow.

Sunday Funnies

Last week I posted some examples of Gasoline Alley from 1937. A couple of those included a bonus Frank King strip focusing on Corky, the little brother of Skeezix (the main character of G.A.). There was a time when just about every Sunday funny page had a main strip and another to fill out the page ('cause they actually were full pages). So here are a few more examples of the Corky strip, and if they whet your appetite, there are a whole bunch more at the I Love Comix Archive.

Sunday's Quote

You know, I think there may be something profound hiding in the midst of this joke by Demetri Martin:

"A lot of people like lollipops. I don't
like lollipops. To me, a lollipop is hard
candy plus garbage. I don't need a
handle. Just give me the candy."