Unsung Classic

Louie and the Lovers are one of the great under appreciated bands of the rock era, in my opinion.  Their one and only album is loaded with great songs, and Louis Ortega has one of the great rock and roll voices, which is very evident on this, the lead cut on the aforementioned album:

This Week's Top Five

We always have fun with the Top Five List on Dr. John's Record Shelf when there's a popular culture angle.  Such was the case this week:

A Tuesday Thought

A great line from the poet John Keats (1795-1821):

"I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the 

heart's affections and the truth of the imagination. 

What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth."

Good Song

An anthem for the henpecked out there.  It's a song called "Nag" by the Halos:

More Yellowstone Pics

Here are a few more shots from m y recent visit to Yellowstone National park.  I know the first one looks a bit fuzzy, but that's by design.  It's a double exposure with one shot in focus and one out-- I was trying for a slightly surreal feel.

Here's a view of the geyser fields near Old Faithful just as the sun was going down behind them. 

I can't remember which river this was, but they were all so darn photogenic I spent a lot of time shooting different spots on the Madison, Firehole, Gibbon, Gallatin, not to mention the Yellowstone itself.

Another part of the geyser fields. I was trying hard to capture the steam rising off the spring, but didn't quite nail it. 

More rivers.  The shot below was shot at dusk, and the sky was looking quite cool...

Monday's Quote

Paul Valery (1871-1945) was a French poet and essayist.  I think he was on to something with this observation:

"A man who wishes to impose his opinions on others is unsure of their value. He has to uphold them by all possible means. He adopts a special tone of voice, thumps the table, smiles on some and browbeats others. In short, he borrows from his body the wherewithal to bolster up his mind."

Classic Sing-Along

This is one of those songs that's hard to resist, from way way back in 1962.  See if you can keep from tapping your foot or singing along...

More Friday Family Blogging

My nattily dressed Dad, checking out the scenery in the Columbia River gorge in central Washington.

Friday Family Blogging

Thomas and Sara in the backyard. I wonder if they still remember how much fun they had on that old swingset?

Friday Philosophy

I'll buy this notion from the poet Dylan Thomas (1914-1953), but argue that it is equally true of a good painting or piece of music:

"A good poem is a contribution to reality. The world is never the same once a good poem has been added to it. A good poem helps to change the shape of the universe, helps to extend everyone's knowledge of himself and the world around him."

Cool Song

Erin McKeown is a contemporary singer-songwriter whose work I really enjoy.  Here's a live clip of one of her best songs, done solo:

Toonerville Thursday

Even the merchants of Toonerville are a source of laughs (though they may not think so themselves).

A Thought for Thursday

Interesting thoughts from the great Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973):

"Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies. If he only shows in his work that he has searched, and researched, for the way to put over lies, he would never accomplish anything."

Classic Comedy

I consider this one of the funniest scenes ever from the TV program Seinfeld.  The set-up is that George is cheating on an IQ test (Elaine actually takes it for him, but has a little mishap), and has to do some quick thinking to cover his little ruse.  Funny stuff...

 

This Week's Top Five List

Due to a technical snafu, I don't have this past week's Top Five List from Dr. John's Record Shelf.  But luckily, I do have this "classic" edition from back in 2007, you know, for your listening pleasure:

A Tuesday Thought

Keen insight from the mind of noted playwright Moss Hart (1904-1961):

"So far as I know, anything worth hearing is not usually uttered at seven o'clock in the morning; and if it is, it will generally be repeated at a more reasonable hour for a larger and more wakeful audience."

Cool Song

There are a few more clips of the Cash Brothers on YouTube (compared to the Mary Janes), but several are lacking in the actual video content (like this one). Luckily, once again the music more than makes up for the visual shortcomings:

Yellowstone

I spent a couple of days in Yellowstone Park last week, and these are some of the photos I took as I wandered around.  Thursday was reasonably bright and clear, but Friday ended up being rather overcast.  Still, the scenery jumped out regardless of the light conditions. 

 

I tyhink my next camera will be one with a built-in GPS, so that I won't have to try and remember exactly where I was when I snapped a shot.  I'm pretty sure this is the Madison River on the west side of the park, but I could be wrong.

 This is, I think, the Gibbon River, and below is a picture of Gibbon Falls.

And here's one end of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  I'll likely have some more of these up later this week.

Monday's Quote

Here's something to keep in mind as the current political campaigns wind down towards election day.  It's a line from Ted Sorenson (1928-2010), who was a key figure in the Kennedy administration:

"A speech is made great, not from the words used, but from the ideas conveyed. If the ideas, principles and values and substance of the speech are great, then it's going to be a great speech, even if the words are pedestrian. The words can be soaring, beautiful and eloquent but if the ideas are flat, empty or mean, it's not a great speech."

Great Song

I've gotten so used to finding pretty much everything on YouTube that it's kind of shocking when I can't find something I'm looking for on that site.  Here's a good example: this appears to be the only clip by a wonderful group called the Mary Janes, who never got much attention when they were active, and now appear to have been largely forgotten. It's sad too, because their two albums are excellent all the way through.  Anyway, here's the only thing I could find by them on YouTube: