Summer Days are MUCH too long...
...it's so much easier to postpone things when the sun's out!

My blogging activity has fallen off considerably, I know. That might have something to do with the fact that I LOVE to watch the Sun set over the ocean horizon. And, the sun sets LATE this time of year, which cuts into my blogging time. Call me 'compulsive-obsessive' if you must, but I feel a strange compulsion to Be At The Ocean When The Sun Sets. Now, I know that's silly, because the sun is gonna set no matter where I'm at. I suppose that my 'newbie-ness' down here on the Southern Oregon Coast might have something to do with that. I 'spose that those who've lived down here a long time have probably seen so many ocean sunsets, that to them, 'a sunset's a sunset'...but at the oceanside park I usually go to, all of the tourists come out and make a big deal of seeing an Ocean Sunset. Out come the cameras, binoculars, and lawn chairs, and the benches near the side of the cliff fill up with visitors (along with their miniature weasel-dogs) awaiting the sunset like it was some sort of Hollywood Premier. Then again, a scene like the one below pretty much blows away anything Hollywood can churn out...



Yep, I've used this picture before. I have sunk so low that I am now Stealing From Myself. But I'm noticing something else: The Days are Getting Shorter. Last night, the sun set at 8:42pm, over the ocean, which means that since June 21st, the Day is already over 20 minutes shorter now than it was then. So why am I not watching the sunset tonite? I'm BLOGGING. I've gotta stay home once in a while, right?
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Pepto-Bismol Can't Cure This Gas Attack: Face it, the economy reeks. It's pretty bad these days. Companies are going out of business, or are laying off, or are bribing long-term employees with buyouts, and you know things are bad when EXXON Corporation begins to suffer. I really think we all need to dig deep and Donate To Exxon. Exxon corporation didn't make quite as much PROFIT during the last reported quarter as it thot it would, according to an article I read yesterday. That, in spite of the article's saying that Exxon's last reported profit was the largest of Any Company In Recorded History. So, we've got to donate to Exxon. Otherwise, they'll Raise Gas Prices again. We wouldn't want that to happen; prices at the pump have actually FALLEN lately. I'm now paying only $4.13 a gallon. That means that over 10 gallons, I'm actually saving $2.00. How cool. Now I'll have more bucks with which to spend on other items that have increased in price lately.



Yes, I know the above graphic is hopelessly outdated...it was rendered two years ago. 'Regular' was only $2.59 back then? See, this is how things are done. Right now I'm thankful to be paying only $4.13 a gallon. So in spite of lower 'current' gas prices, I'm spending waay more for gas than I was two years ago, or even three months ago...I think Pavlov's dog went through some sort of similar conditioning, which taught that "Abnormal" is really "Normal" after all...we're being lulled into believing that if gas goes back down to $4 bucks a gallon, that we're saving lotsa money. By next year, prob'ly, we'll long and yearn for the days of four-dollar-gas.
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No Joy In Mudville: I suppose that, after viewing this emphatic little Baseball version of "Mr. Yuk", that you're not surprised this section is all about the Seattle Mariners. Today was the trading deadline, and rumors had it that Seattle was going to try to trade a whole lot of players; trouble is, that basically, NO ONE wanted to trade for any Seattle Players. It had been speculated that Raul Ibanez, Adrian Beltre, Jared Washburn; yea verily, even Ichiro would all get traded if The Price Was Right. Well, obviously no other teams wanted to look behind doors number 1, 2, or 3. That might've had something to do with the fact that the M's basically have played this year with a startling lack of chemistry, personality, empathy, or collective ability. Seattle is so far behind, that the only way they could reach the post-season now, would be for all the teams in the A.L. West to forfeit the entire remainder of their schedules...even then, Seattle probably wouldn't catch up in the win department, the way this season has gone. Actually, Seattle Reliever Arthur Rhodes DID get traded, but he's a quality lefty, and everyone knows that Presidents of Baseball Organizations would chop off their own limbs to get a good lefty. Wanna know how badly baseball teams want left-handed relievers? Arthur Rhodes got THROWN OUT of the game last night, before being traded today. Seattle is now about one-thousand games out of first place in their division. Well, that's the way it feels. Meantime, I read in a Mariners' blogsite last nite that the M's are on pace to lose 106 games this year. THAT'S scary.
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A Bite Of The Apple: When the Beatles founded Apple Records, back in 1968, the idea was that they'd release their own records on 'Apple', plus everyone in the group, as well as close associates, could Bring Talent To Apple and get that talent recorded, too. For instance, The Beatles' longtime road manager brought in a group called The Iveys, who were later renamed "Badfinger" and had a few hits on Apple. Paul McCartney brought in Mary Hopkin, who sang "Those Were The Days"; George Harrison brought in singers Doris Troy and Jackie Lomax...George even brought in a group of spiritual singers from the Radha Krishna Temple of London, who recorded two singles and an album. I imagine that album sold probably 25 copies. John Lennon brought in Yoko, who was pretty much a handful. Anyway, another band made 2 singles on Apple; the name of the band was "TRASH". I've never seen a picture of that band, and have no idea who the members were, but at long-last, here's what the members of "TRASH" looked like...



This European-issued EP ('Extended Play', a 7" record with 4 songs) brought together both of Trash's singles; I've got both singles, and believe me, they are HARD TO FIND. I don't really understand why Trash recorded "Golden Slumbers"/"Carry That Weight"; the Beatles did it WAAAY better on the "Abbey Road" album, and Trash would've probably been better off recording their own songs. Kinda pointless, really, to try and have a hit single with Beatles' songs. There's just no way. The Beatles were so good. Many other artists have tried to have hits with their versions of Beatles material, but surprisingly, few 'Beatles Covers' have ever charted down thru the years. "Fool On The Hill" by Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66 (from 1968) was about the biggest non-Beatle-Beatle number that I can think of.
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See what I can do when I give myself an extra hour in which to blog? I got to use a bunch of photo files that I'd had laying around in my computer, and I've proven to the rest of the world that I Am Still Alive. It's only about 8:05pm as I'm finishing up here. OOOOH, I've got about 40 minutes to catch the sun set! Naaaah...I'll just stay here in my La-Z-Boy tonite and be a "chair potato".