CYBERSPACE "SHOW AND TELL"...

...yet another way to needlessly take up space on the 'net...

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Lord have mercy! It's already the End Of August. I can't believe it. Long ago, I heard someone remark that as you get older, the days go by faster. Of course that's not true...is it? Labor Day's right around the corner, and it seems like just a few days ago it was July 4th. Someone stop this train! Wait, don't! It's supposedly better to stay alive than to consider the alternative...all of a sudden this paragraph is getting waay too analytical. I'll close this graph with a bit of philosophy courtesy of Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick...she said something along the lines of "Man is the only creature on Earth that knows he's gonna die, so he invented Heaven to keep himself from going crazy." THUD!!! Back to reality...
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Every musician these days, young, old or, like Keith Richard of the Rolling Stones (who should be dead, due to his drug intake level, but isn't), is represented on various websites, but Way Back When, before computers, many, many trees died to create the paper that Fan Club Newsletters were printed upon, stapled together, and postage paid, they winged their way to the enthusiastic faithful. How quaint that sounds. Old-school, even. The Beatles have legions of websites out there, but circa 1990 and before, this is how Fan Clubs got their message out:

Here's the "Write Thing", which originated in Minneapolis, which carried Beatles news way back when, even before John Lennon was killed. I came into possession of about four YEARS' worth of quarterly-published newsletters, which also featured ads from record stores, collectors' groups and other business ventures. Now, the internet makes everything so easy to find, but way back in the dinosaur days, this is How You Became Aware. Once, I saw an ad in "Rolling Stone" Magazine placed by a record store in Berkeley, California, and I ordered, by mail, an item on their 'for sale' list, and about a month later, it arrived. As I recall, it was an album by Brian Auger & The Trinity. Received by Snail Mail. Maybe the next new invention will be a computer that, once you've placed your order and given out your credit card number, the item will be Instantly Teleported to A Location Near You. That would be kinda cool, huh? Same-day Service!

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Did you ever join some kind of fan club...waiting days and days for the mail to arrive with all the neat goodies you'd bought? Back in the day, getting the info out, even on a semi-regular basis, took a whole lot of work. Back in the day when a Computer was the size of a Sherman Tank. Well, courtesy of my fractured brain, we Revisit The Past with More Beatles-Newsletter fotoz...

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Included with all the newsletters, were various pages authored by The Beatles' Fan Club, telling you how you could start your Very Own Chapter! Among the pages (above) was a (duplicated) handwritten page with The Fabs' Signatures which would be sent out to everyone who joined. Wow, huh? These pages were originated way back in the '60s, and the second page above is about as close as I'll ever get to having Genuine Beatles' Signatures.

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I've been getting into some music from the 1930's lately, which probably would've been impossible without the internet. I've been collecting records by Miss Lee Morse (see left side of this blog for more on her), and along the way, I've run into others who dig those early sounds. One lady told me about Al Bowlly, who was a huge star back around 1927-1930, so I went over to YouTube.com and heard a couple clips of him, and he's sounds okay. Now here's where the serendipity happens; while shopping at the local Goodwill, I found 5 ALBUMS of Al with the Ray Noble Orchestra. I now have 80 songs by Al Bowlly in my collection. I'm finding that I enjoy the 'lightness' of the '20s and '30s records as compared to the 1940's which were more lush and very serious. Mr. Bowlly was an Englishman, and so was Ray Noble, but Bowlly became hugely popular in the States, and he resided here for a couple of years. He returned to Britain in the late '30s, and in 1941, he was killed in one of WWII's London air-raid bombs. But as they say, the music lives on.

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While delving into Craigslist, I ran across something I never knew Existed. Well, I'd never thought about it, anyway. I was surfing in C-L's 'Pets' category, and there it was. "FerretSheen", a shampoo for Ferrets. You know, it looks suspiciously like Herbal Essence Shampoo. Maybe an added bonus of using Ferret Shampoo is that you'll never come down with rabies or dysentery? Finally, I cannot think of the word "Ferret" without thinking back to the days of the M*A*S*H TV program, when Major Margaret Hoolihan would call her wimpy love interest, Major Frank Burns, "Ferret Face". Well, he had no chin to speak of, what can I say?

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Now, Into The Outdoors we go. What you see here is my trusty old Yamaha Guitar, that I've had since the Mid-'80s. It was dinged up and scarred when I bought it, so I didn't have the added pressure of trying to keep it scratchless and all new-looking. I'm proud of the fact that it's never been back in the pawnshop since. And I've had experience with musical instruments and pawn shop owners. It's never fun when you've got an instrument in pawn. I have a rhythm machine that I used to pawn regularly. Bring instrument in, get money for it, bail it out later and pay more money than you received when you first took instrument in. Anyway, my guitar is pointing oceanward; I like to sit in the beach grass and not have to worry if I hit bad notes (and I hit more than my share); the only ones who listen with any regularity are the seagulls. And we know how sophisticated THEY are. Squawk!

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I haven't been to the beach as much as usual this year. It's been a weird summer down here on the O-Coast...It's been foggy and really drizzle-ly a lot lately. But every now and then Ma Nature decides she's gonna open the window and let the world see what she is up to. Many times Ocean Sunsets get obscured by layers of clouds, but not on this particular evening...

Not a cloud in sight. First, an overall view, and then a close-up. The Sun is slipping, slipping, slipping. The birds head home to wherever they go at night, little fishing boats try to get in before nightfall, and we all have the promise that this Lucky Old Sun will rise once again tomorrow, to Roll Around Heaven some more.

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Just a pinch of sunlight in this next photo; I've seen photos others have taken doing this, so I did my version. I guess you could say I've got the world (or at least the sun) at my fingertips here. I probably also have too much time on my hands, but that's another matter altogether. This was one of those "perfect sunsets" where the sun looks virtually atomic as it sinks below the horizon.

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And, Here Comes The Moon. You know how big the Moon gets when it first rises, due to the earth's atmosphere acting like an out-of-control lens? I wanna see it set over the Ocean. Will the Moon double its size as it sets over the Horizon? Anyway, I had thot, quite a while ago, that Nights are just Darker than they used to be. And I've read that as a person ages, their eyes don't soak in as much of what little light there is at night. Great. Now, visually speaking, I'm an old Geezer.

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I don't listen to Opera. I can't take it. My dad once told me that All Operas are sung in Italian, except in Italy, where they're sung in French. Those opera voices can peel paint. The warbling vibratos of Opera Singers' Voices elevate my blood pressure and make me dizzy. I've seen albums which came out in the '50s, such as "Opera for those who can't stand opera"...yeah, right, like I'll be converted and feel I've got to have every Arthur Fiedler Orchestra record. NOT! Well, we all know that "It's Not Over 'Til The Fat Lady Sings", but this next little item promises to cruise by without needless vocal hysteria, so I proudly present...
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"Opera Without Singing"!!! Now, you, too, can TURN IT UP to full-volume and not have to worry about your precious collection of empty Avon bottles shatter while the music's playing. I just can't listen to classical music At All. Maybe I'll give this disc a shot, though, and actually take the record out of the sleeve and play it. I may have to get drunk first. Wait, I don't drink anymore...

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Well, crimestoppers, that was certainly fun, wasn't it? I said, WASN'T IT??? I keep thinking that, hey, I can do a photo-post because it won't take as long as a standard post. Well, I'm right except for the fact that Photo-posts take Three Times As Long. The typewritten copy never comes out all neatly arranged as The Finished Blog. But at least I got to check in one more time before the Month of August actually ends. See you in September...la la laaaaaa...(is that the fat lady trying to sing?).

POWER SHOTS from around the area...
...taken with my Canon 'Powershort' camera...

First of all, no, the Canon Camera Company isn't sending me any gigantic residuals (nor residuals of any size whatsoever) for my mention of its product; but when you've got a term as definitively emphatic as "Power Shot", well, ya gotta use it...so I did. Okay, onward...many of the photos I've taken are from my immediate area, in the Coos Bay/North Bend area of Oregon. I took a trip up to Florence recently and I snapped some shots along the way. Why some of the following photos are larger than others, well, I don't know. Never said I was any kind of expert. And now, the photos, enhanced (or not) with colorful (or not) commentary...
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Since I live close to the coast much of my life at, or near sea level. But, highway 101 is no flat, easy stretch of road to navigate. Unlike the interstate highways, almost every foot that goes up and down the coast demands intense attention as it twists and winds along. So for those of you who might think the coastal area is level and flat, well, "Hah!" There's lots of hilly country here.

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Next up is Takhenich Lake itself, one of the small freshwater lakes all up and down the coast. Hiway 101 actually borders the lake on the west side. As you can see, this is a peaceful place, and the bullfrogs have just gotta be happy, seeking shelter in the numerous lily pads and other water-vegetation. I'd say this lake is about 5 miles north of Reedsport on the way to Florence.
It's hard, really, to make good time on Highway 101. It's so scenic.
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This next photo is of the bridge that spans the Umpqua River waaay up in Florence, which is 50 miles from where I now live. It was a fairly hot day along the coast, which is fairly unusual in itself. I actually had to use my car's air-conditioning for the first time in over a year. It had to be a good 80 degrees out there. The Umpqua River can be seen below, proving that' it's all 'water under the bridge'. Someone's big deluxe travel trailer is seen crossing the bridge.
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These next two smaller snapshots were taken along the way to Florence...there are campgrounds all up and down the coast, but since I had to get to where I was going, and not be late, I didn't commit to memory every place I stopped. That's why I can't tell you where the small photo at left was taken except to say "this photo was taken at or near a campground located west of Hiway 101". I took it because I liked the view. The small photo at right is the Umpqua River Lighthouse, Winchester Bay, Oregon, just south of Reedsport. It's still in service, as is evidenced by the fenced-in housing provided the government's personnel who man the tower and, I guess, do other government-type stuff in the area.

Below, the photo on the left is one of the huge sand dunes, this one located directly across the Umpqua River from Florence. And the photo on the right is of the big dredging boat which hangs around Coos Bay this time of year. It was taken from a cliff that's about 100 feet above the water. The ship is scooping out the bay, keeping things safe for big ships.

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These last few photos were taken in the Coos Bay/North Bend area, not far from home. This spring-fed, man-made lake is right in-between both towns, and provides fishing and recreational access for those who need someplace beside the Ocean to be. This is a very placid and peaceful place. It's called John Topits Lake. There's actually two John Topits lakes; the other is nearby, and together they form what is known as the Empire Lakes. It's obvious this is a man-made lake; the greenery in the background goes right down to lake level. I wonder how deep they are...
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Next up is a huge boat taking loads of logs from the trucks; this load's goin' to China, or so the Newspaper said. The boat's claw can easily grab a logging truck's entire load, and this boat takes on loads and LOADS of logs, and still it floats. Boggles my mind, for sure. This was taken on the inland side of Coos Bay.
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When it's very hot inland, the cool ocean air runs headlong into the warmer inland air, and when that happens, Bam!!! We get fog over here like you wouldn't believe sometimes. This photo in the 'old town' portion of Coos Bay called 'Empire', and this is an old pier (I guess) that has certainly seen Better Days. A cool subject for a picture. You gotta have something to compare the fog to, or you won't see the fog...
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Finally, it's come time to end another post. We've traveled a lot of miles here, but to put a period on the sentence, there's nothing that says 'End Of The Day' like an Ocean Sunset. Especially when it's not foggy. This was taken from the Bastendorff Beach overlook; Bastendorff is also a county park that's full most of the time in the summer. Hint: Best time to be here is September thru about Mid-November, because there's less Fog.

It's been a long day. We've seen the sights and traveled many a mile. Alas, Day Is Done, and it's time to reflect upon hours well spent with Mother Nature. And now as the Beatles once sang, "And now the sun turns out his light...good night...sleep tight..."

Politics, Sports, War, Windows Vista and a whole lot more...
DANGER! DANGER! THIS IS A RIDICULOUSLY LONG POST...
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HYDRATE-OPHOBIA: I was watching one of those "World's Dumbest" video-collection programs the other night, and the theme of this particular show was "World's Dumbest Pranks". This is the show which features such famous B-list stars like Danny Bonaduce and Tonya Harding, among others, telling the viewers how unbelievably stupid the people in the videos are. When Tonya Harding says you're dumb, well, it's time to go jump off a cliff, 'cos there ain't no hope for ya. Anyway, one of the prank videos had to do with a mom's phobia of SPORTS DRINKS. Well, Mom and Dad went away for a weekend, so what does their dumb teenage son and some of his friends do? They went and bought a truckload of sports drinks, some twenty-five THOUSAND bottles, and piled them all over the house. The living room, the bedrooms, the kitchen, the dining room, all over the frickin' house. Well, Mom and Dad came back home, and while Dad took the whole thing in stride, the Mom was in endless-freakout-mode because there were cases of sports drinks everywhere. The only comment I have is, there are enough things in this life to be afraid of...why Sports Drinks? And what do you call such an affliction? Hydrate-ophobia, perhaps? Hey lady, if you're reading this, I have a bottle of GATORADE within reach. Ya thirsty?
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THE KENNEDY WATCH: For some reason, I seem to be intrigued with the circumstances surrounding JFK's assassination all those years ago. So far, I've read "Four Days In November" by Vincent Bugliosi, "The Day Kennedy Was Shot" by Jim Bishop, and a book by Evelyn Lincoln, who was JFK's longtime personal secretary. Right now, I'm halfway through "Death Of A President" by William Manchester. The author describes the sadness and massive grief among those who were closest to JFK, as well as the Nation's Sadness in an excruciatingly microscopic manner. It's morose and gloomy, but ultimately very gripping, and as such is a revealing portrayal of the Emotional Devastation that gripped Washington, D.C. as well as the rest of the nation. After I've read this one, I've got another one all lined up, titled "The Kennedy Men, 1930-1963". Evidently Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. was quite a scallawag in his day. His first son, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. died in 1944 when the warplane he was piloting blew up and his body was never found. And we all know what befell John F. Kennedy and his younger brother, Robert. And, it's probably just as well that Old Joe Kennedy had departed this earth before Teddy's Chappaquiddick travesty took place.
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I've found yet another tale of the Kennedy family, titled "Sins Of The Father", which describes still more of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.'s dastardly deeds early in the century and evidently he was Quite Dastardly, Quite Often. He manipulated the stock market for personal financial gain, he took advantage of people along the way, he had an unsuccessful run at being a diplomat (Embassador to England), and was appointed head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, weeding out the kind of graft and corruption he'd participated in earlier in the stock market. And that's just skimming the surface. It's not as if I'd set out to read every Kennedy book I could find; I've found them all 'at random' lately. It's as if I was Meant To Read These Books at this particular stage in my life. Why, who knows? Before now, I'd never had any idea just how Awful the Kennedy Assassination was. The grit, the misery, the horror and the sadness...I'm shocked, really, by how terrible the events surrounding November 22, 1963 were for our country, as well as for the Kennedy Family, and those who served him in his administration. Everyone remembers the Young President who captivated the entire world. But here's something that puts it all in perspective...had JFK lived, he'd be 93 this year. Ninety-three. Gosh, time flies...
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From left to right in this 1938 photo: Joe Kennedy, Jr., Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy (she died in an airplane crash in 1948) and John F. Kennedy, future President. These Kennedy Siblings were living in England while their dad, Joe Kennedy, Sr. was serving as U.S. Ambassador. Interestingly, this photo was taken on the day England declared war on Germany.
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There's an interesting parallel that can be laid at the feet of Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., a well as his younger brother, John. Joe Jr. had flown more than his share of missions in World War II. He had several chances to be Honorably Discharged and go home, but he wanted to keep flying and talked others in his squadron to stay together. Lastly, he volunteered for a hazardous mission involving "drone" airplanes; he took off in a plane loaded to the gills with TNT; the idea being that he'd switch the plane to Autopilot and then bail out, only the plane blew up before he could bail. The idea was, that the plane would be remote-controlled to a suitable bombing target. In JFK's assassination, when the motorcade took off from Love Field for the trip thru Dallas, The President indicated he didn't want Secret Service Agents standing on the rear bumper of the limousine for protection purposes. He wanted to seem really in touch with his public so he waved the agents off. It was later pointed out that had a Secret Service Agent been standing on the rear bumper, there's a chance he would've blocked Lee Harvey Oswald's view of The President from the 6th floor of the Texas Schoolbook Depository building. John F. Kennedy was a very smart guy, and so was Joe, Jr. Yet both suffered judgment lapses brought on by bravura. President Kennedy, dismissing the Secret Service Agents who were trying to protect him, and Joe, Jr., by volunteering for a mission that he himself said was, at best, a "50-50" proposition. The moral of the story? Being Too Brave Can Get You Killed. The meek shall inherit the earth.
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WORKING MY WAY THRU WINDOWS "VISTA": It's different, that's for sure. I miss having the names of various browsers in my lower toolbar, for instance. Instead there's a lower-left "zoom" thing which, when clicked, zooms all the browsers back in a Star-Wars sort of way, and there's another device, at lower right, that you can click to see what your browsers consist of. So Windows Vista needlessly complicated something that was convenient. I guess all them Microsoft Engineers have nothing better to do. New features! Complications! Whoopee! But there's a neat little Vista feature which is located just above the lower right toolbar; you can easily change the size of what you see on your screen; you can select as low as 50% (half-size) or as high as 400% which will work on ultra-small items, or if your screen is the size of an Average Football Field.
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But in another case of fixing something that's not broken, Vista's Recycle Bin has been needlessly "enhanced". If you want to "Empty Recycle Bin", you do so by a right-click on the icon, and you'll find Vista's Recycle Bin menu has not only the 'Empty Recycle Bin' phrase, it also contains another phrase, "Delete Recycle Bin", which is just stupid, 'cos who wants to delete their recycle bin, the place where all of the computer garbage goes? I am not the only one who has Accidentally Deleted My Recycle Bin, thinking "Delete" meant "Empty". The 'net's loaded with users who've done it. But it's fairly easy to get your Recycle Bin back. I'm running Windows Vista "Home Edition" so the following may or may not work for your particular system. To reinstate your Recycle bin, press "start>all programs>accessories>system tools>control panel (select classic view)>personalization>change desktop icons>recycle bin"...yep, that's all you gotta do to get yer Recycle Bin back. That's enough technical stuff for one post; I almost deleted this post going back and forth to make sure all my instructions were correct.
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YOU'VE GOTTA LOVE THESE GUYS (OR NOT): You might remember that phrase being used in promotional spots for the Seattle Mariners a season or two ago. Seattle has been the dreadful land of mass upheaval lately. Manager Don Wakamatsu got fired. The manager of Seattle's farm team, Tacoma, was put in his place and is Expected To Work Minor Miracles. I can also imagine the New Manager works for a lot less than the Old Manager. Always follow the money. Thing is, since the New Manager took over, Seattle's won 4 out of their last 5 games. You heard it here. The Mariners Are Winning. Well, not so fast there, bucko. The M's are playing Cleveland in the current series, and they just played the Oakland A's, and those two teams are, well, about as good as the M's are. The big test awaits: The M's are on another long "away" stand, in which one of their opponents will be the New York Yankees. So we'll see if the Mariners have become Suddenly Revitalized or if it's more of The Same Old Song. Should be interesting. Once the M's battle cry was "refuse to lose". These days, it's more like "refuse to finish under .500", which, to the uninitiated is the same amount of wins and losses. These days, the M's are running a HUGE deficit..
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To all TWO of my faithful blog-readers, I apologize for not posting more often. Many of my latest postings have been over at the Seattle Times' Mariners Blog, where all us fans suffer together. Plus I've posted, titled and captioned almost 100 new photos over at http://www.webshots.com/; username 'digitaldave72'. Plus, I've been really, Really lazy lately.