It's new year's eve, once again, and once again, I don't care! We won't do anything tonight, except get fed, and watch a movie, go to bed well before midnight. It's fake holiday. I don't like to be reminded of how I wasted another year of my life again, and I don't want to think about next year. So there. Elvis Costello above, great music from the late 70's, and after. Recycled a lot of good rock and roll, country and blues, with a punk edge.

Nice piture of The King, outside Graceland. I have a read sweater, just like that one. Wish I could sing like Elvis, but who can? The current crop of "singers", such as they are, can't hold a candle to The King, or Jerry Lee, Neil Young, Dylan, Mick, Chuck Berry, and of the oldtimers. No character in their voices. Same for the chick singers. I guess that dates me a bit, but so be it - I don't have to follow fashion anymore, not that I ever did. Was always more of a beatnick than a hippy - paved my own way.

Not much else to talk about today. Have more outside and inside Christmas stuff to put up tomarrow, then more shopping. Hope the wife decides not to go to her office Christmas party; those are always a drag, especially for the spouses (like me).

There's a new Star Trek movie coming out next summer, which looks pretty good, from the trailer. Like the second round of the Star Wars epics, it will be a prequel, telling the story of the original crew (Capt. James T. Kirk, Dr. Sprock, Bones, etc.), in their "yute". before they got fat and old. Of course, the special effects will now be a lot more special, but I hope they don't lose the story in the process, as so many of today's blockbuster sci-fi movies do. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should, I always say. The other picture is a girl singer; don't know who, or anything other about her, except she is a looker. Give an old man a break.

Used to have an old upright piano like above, only in somewhat better shape. Never had it tuned, but it was a great boogie woogie piano. Talked about it in an early episode of this blog, if youre interested. Somehow survived Thanksgiving, though it was tense. Mark and Betsy (son and d.i.l.) cooked most of the food, which was great, although they substantially left us with the greasy clean-up. Enjoyed their company, though. The wife got a bit crabbly prior to, but mellowed out once the kids showed up. All in all, a nice time.

This is a boring entry, I guess, but not a lot to say. Will be interested to see Cadillac Records, a new movie about the early days of Chess Records. I like music biopics, like The Buddy Holly Story, in which Gary Busey makes up for all the subsequent insanity in his life. Also, there's one about Richie Havens, which is great, and I especially like Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez. She is great in that. Nobody to my knowledge has ever done a good one about the Beatles, so someone needs to step up.

Thanksgiving, it is, and God! I hate holidays. However, I am rightfully thankful for all that I have in life; a good wife, you stands by me (right or wrong), two good kids, two beautiful grandkids (6 and 11 yo girls), and enough money (for now). I also have my health, except for a few chronic, but hopefully not fatal, irritating conditions. A celebration of fall; everything is dying, hopefully to be renewed a few months hence. Not so tough in Fla., anyway. Later.

Some astronomers recently discovered some planets; large gas giants, orbiting a star on the fringe of the Milky Way, about 500 light years (500,000,000 miles) from Earth. Significance was Hubble was able to actually take pictures of them. Not closeups, but enough detail to identify them as planets. As Carl Sagan used to say, with "billions and billions" of stars, there must be "billions and billions" of planets out there, and some of them must harbor life. Maybe intelligent life, perhaps superior to our own. We are incredibly arrogant to assume we are the only intelligent life in the universe. They why hasn't someone tried to get in touch yet? Thats one of the great mysteries!

On a more picayune scale, I don't think we should bail out the U.S. automakers; let them go bankrupt, and finally make the painful adjustments called for in a capitalist economy, when you manage your company very poorly. Sorry for the pain of the employees, but they will lay off hundreds of thousands anyway.

I still can't stop listening to Neil. Just found a boot of 1995 concert of Neil with Pearl Jam - Great grunge! Love those feedback-laden guitars. Neil is distinguished from may by his songwriting, both melodic and interesting lyrics. Don't know anyone else whose abilities range so widely; from folk, through soft rock, country rock, country honk, r&b, through hard rock. He can also write a "message" song that doesn't chase you away.

I can relate well to this cartoon. Most of us are badly misunderstood. Oh well. Hopefully, Santa will give us a break this year; times are tough! I voted today, for Barack, of course - can't fathom the appeal of that old geezer, McCain, and that witch Palin. She needs to slink back to Alaska, and shoot wolves for fun. It will be a big relief not to be bombarded with politics all day and night. I hope Barack, and company, can get something accomplished, particularly health care for all Americans. Really, we need to get the insurance companies out of it entirely, put it all under Medicare, but that probably won't happen. At least, we need subsidized premiums that are realistic, and requirements for portability, inclusion of pre-existing conditions, and group ratings. There is no excuse for anyone not having access to quality health care. We need to join the rest of the civilized world in this. I am optimistic things will turn around now.

I havent posted in quite awhile, so thought I would throw in two pictures, going along with the "old time" theme I am on lately. Been thinking a lot about the past, my childhood, etc. Dad had a couple Fords in the 50's, which were good, sturdy cars. I learned to drive in his '49 Ford convertible, with stick shift on the floor. He had two 55 or 56 fords; a coupe, with a Thunderbird v-8, which could really haul. Also had a 56 wagon, which was good, too. We had a 64 Ford Falcon convertible, red, with white top; a nice care. I miss the old days, which were much richer for me than the present. Our kids (and grandkids) don't have the freedom we had, and they missed the birth and mutation of rock and roll in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I was a witness and participant in the mid-20th century show, and really appreciate that gift from the maker.

This is what the British socialists think of Obama and McCain - all capitalist pigs to them, I guess. We know the difference, though. God help us in these troubled times. The lucky man and/or woman will lose this election. Its been a long time coming, as far as a new post goes, for me. Not much interesting to comment, except that I feel pretty good, having turned 62 and still kicking. Not sure I like my nest egg sinking, but hopefully, it will mostly come back over the next several years. I have a loving (if critical) wife, good kids, and two grandgirls (6, 11), so I'm not complaining. My folks are still alive, and living by themselvers (out of state), and my mom in law lives semi-independently, in her own home, in Sarasota. Hope this condition holds up for awhile.

Miscellany

Some old rockers, and a very old building. Nothing in common, except both old, like me. Old as the hills, and twice as dusty. Too old to cut the mustard anymore. However, there may be snow on the chimney, but there's still a fire in the furnace. My grandma had a coal bin in her basement. Coal truck would show up every year, and stick a coal chute through the basement window, directly into the coal bin. Her house was always hot in the winter, the way she liked it. I'm sure coal fired heat was dirty, but it was central PA., and nobody cared, in those days. I think they converted to fuel oil in the 60's. Not sure that's any great improvement, except way more expensive.

Friday

Here's acouple of kind of cool photos for you. Lightnin Hopkins was my favorite old blues man in the late 60's. He played a kind of slow, electrified country blues that appealed to me. My old pal, Chris called me "Lightnin Bill", because I liked to play slow blues, and appeared to be almost catatonic, and extremely laid back, a lot of the time. Still waters run deep, as they say.

Today is My Birthday, Today, Today!

Today is my Birthday! (I think I said that already) - 62, and still kickin. Above picture is going south on Rt 15, up the mountain in South Williamsport, Pa. I was born in Williamsport (the main town, accross the Susquehanna River). However, my earliest memories are a house on Market Street, in South Williamsport. Market Street was the main drag, after coming over the Market Street Bridge, and eventually turns into Rt 15. My grandma and grandpa Smith (Miffy and Pop), my mother's folks, lived one street over, on Howard Street, in a yellow brick duplex. I remember my grandma used to have a lot of flowers, including Holly Hocks, which you don't see these days. She was a great cook, in the german/pennsylvania dutch style, including chicken pot pie, shoo fly pie, etc. When she baked pies, she would bake the leftover crust with some cinnemon and suger, just for me, which I thought was great. I was the first grandkid in the family, and was treated like a little prince, for about 5 years, until Denise, my cousin, was born. My grandma Bastian (Nana), lived in Williamsport, and for years operated Molly Bastian's Gift Shop, I think on Third Street, downtown. She let me hang out with her over the years, and "help" in the store, which I thought was great. I think I wrote about that in an earlier posting. Turning 62 makes me reflect on those days. My grandparents are long gone now, but had a good run, both living to 95+, although my grandpas only made it into their 80's. Good genes for longevity, though, I tell myself. My folks still live in the area, in Montoursville, east of Williamsport, along the Susquehanna. Brother Steve still lives in Williamsport. We grew up mostly in Kansas City, and Endicott, New York. The folks returned to the Williamsport area years ago, and my brother Steve followed. Brother Scott lives in Endicott, and middle brother, Matt, unfortunately passed away about 10 years ago; only 35 or so. Man.

Friday Again - How Original!

I was thinking yesterday, about my birthplace, and old home town, Williamsport, Pa. Above is a typical winter scene from the old icebox town. It was a great place to spend my early years - used to walk to the end of the street in South Williamsport, and directly up the mountain. I was a real "ridge runner". Now live in Florida, and enjoy the heat, and the flat. Miss my grandmas, and Uncle Jim. My folks live in Montoursville, just to the east, and brother, Steve lives in Williamsport. Wish I could see them more. The wife hates it up there, and vows never to return. Oh well.

The Latest Thinking

Here's the Commander in Chief, checking out the latest armored humvee, so he can send a bunch to Iraq and the non-war in Afganistan. I'm glad things are now so peaceful in our occupied territories, it's not even worth telling us about whats going on - at least until McCain takes over the helm. He's itching for the chance to get his hands dirty, and kick some proverbial arab ass, so let him, right? Wrong!

The other picture is here because I like this chick - she has a loopy kind of sensuality that pleases an old dude like me. That's about as sexy as we get in Bill Bee's Basement, though.

This is a family blog, not that anyone looks at it but me, except by accident. I put in every interest under the sun in my blogspot profile, but no one seems to connect. Oh well. Maybe if I featured more graphic stuff, but that's not my bag. I'd rather talk about old Neil Young, Stones, or Hendrix, old blues, from back in "the day".

The Basement Floods

The picture has nothing to do about the basement, or flooding - I just like it. Johnny Winter was/is one of the great white bluesmen. Because of Fay, it rained in Sarasota all day Saturday, most of the day Sunday, a couple inches. Good for the grass, but not for the sinuses. Monday was nice, though. Mark and Betsy came over, swam, at chinese food with us. Sue and M.I.L. did a 550 piece puzzle, while I went to work (fool). I like the solitude, though.

More Friday Doldrums

Yes, it's Friday again, the Friday before labor day weekend (big deal). We are staring at two possible hurricanes headed at us. Most likely will rain all weekend. I probably will end of working Monday, unless the wife has other ideas, of course. Barack got nominated this week, and put on a nice show. Bill and Hillary appear to be well on-board, as is Al Gore. All gave rousing speeches, as they should. I see Old Fart John McCain just nominated the gov. of Alaska, a 40 something female, to be VP candidate with hime. She appears to be pretty far right (pro-life, pro oil drilling in Anwar, described as "born again" Christian). However, she is young (and a looker), and has a nice family (5 kids). Probably a good move on his part. Should be an interesting couple of months. I just hope we "dont get fooled again", as the Who liked to sing.

Probably won't make much difference in my little life, of course. I just hope whoever gets in can instill some confidence in the economy again, and get things moving. I would like to be able to retire in a couple years, as planned, but don't want to give up my house equity for a song.

Have a good weekend, all!

Friday Doldrums

Here's just some good old stuff, no particular reason. I'm still downloading a lot of old R&R - Its amazing how much I actually missed, back in the day. I thought I was always up on the latest thing, but once married life kicked in for me in the mid-70's, I apparently missed a lot. Many of my old heros (like Neil) produced a lot of good stuff in the late 70's to current, and until about a year ago, I missed most of it. Thank God for old fanatics like myself, and the net. You can get just about anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant, as Arlo used to sing.

It's Friday, and our tropical storm is moving toward the panhandle, slowing, throwing off bands in about a 300 mile radius, and still causing a fuss in Sarasota -breezy, some showers, but nothing serious. Gave the east coast a good soaking, though. Not looking forward to the weekend, which will be grass mowing, and hearing more about my backlog of importance home maintenance projects. The lawn still looks like swiss cheese, thanks to sneaky cinch bugs, but after a good dose of pesticide a couple weeks ago, looks like it's starting to grow in again. As the neighbor was nice enough to point out, once you get a brown spot, the bugs have moved onto greener pastures, and unless you dose them good with toxic chemicals, you can count on the roots of the good St. Augustine grass dying in short order. May as well plant rocks.

That brings Arizona to mind again - no grass!

Latest and Greatest Post

Were are supposedly having a tropical storm in old Sarasota today, but fortunately, it blew further east, as far as the eye is concerned, and we are only getting a mild breeze and some rain. Pictures above represent the old rockers (CSNY, below), and a new rocker (top picture). Its all good, as they say. I will try to think of something more meaningful to post next time around.

At Last, A Post!

This is a stupid picture I came upon, but has a lot of boomer nostalgia value, so here it is. The wife a week ago friday she wanted to drive to North Carolina (700 miles), to see daughter and kids, which is fine, but Mother-in-law was in back seat. She's ok, but what a grueling trip. It was in mid-90's in Raliegh, and hotter in South Carolina. We got to stay at a couple of mediocre motels, and ate a lot of pretty bad road food, except for Sonny's Barbecue, which was pretty good, as usual. Got to see Meghan (6), and Johanna (11), and get goofy with them, which made the trip worth it.

I see Issac Hayes just died; 65. Too many of us 60's types dying off these days - I still want my 20 bonus years.

Miscellany

This may seem like an odd picture, but I guess it suits my current mood. I feel like I'm on a train to nowhere, and my train's probably going to continue right past this sad little outpost. I've been reading Comanchee Mood, by Larry McMurtry - a great Western story, plenty of brutality, a lot of humor, native american wisdom, and plenty of humor. I like that he develops the native americans' personalities- some are wise, some are foolish, mean, perverted, etc. Lots of torture, and just enough sex to keep it interesting. Lately was made into a pretty good TV mini-series, which I'm planning to acquire soon.

The first pic, I'm not sure what to say about it, except it's cool. Later, all.

Here We Go Again

I dont know why I wait till the last minute on Friday to make a post. Guess I'm just too busy, and a great procrastinator. Thinking of the great Johnny Cash again -dead for 5 years now. He was such as presence all my life, it shook me a lot when he passed. Dont know why. Guess he achieved a form of immortality, though, in his music. Hard to replace these American originals. Oh well.

Not much doing this weekend. The wife and I may go to Disney one more time on our annual passes, which expire in a week. However, given the heat down here in Flor-i-duh, we may not make it. Floating in the old pool with a marguarita sounds a lot better.

So long till later.

Another Day, Another Dollar, and More Boredom

This guy thought he was on top of the world, in 1942. Everyone thought he was great, because he said he was, told them what they wanted to hear, and blamed everyone else in the world for his country's problems. Also blamed minorities within his own country. Does this sound familiar? Perhaps. Just downloaded an album by Kings "X", new in 2008. First heard of them in late '80s-kind of an odd mix of heavy metal, grunge, and late 60's. These guys claim they are wrestling with their religious identity, primarily Christian. Anyway, an interesting sound - lots of turmoil and grinding guitars.

Work is work today, but time to quit for another day. So long.

Finally, a Post!

This is my first post in quite a time. We had the kids (daughter, husband, grandaughers 6 and 11) down for a short week. Lots of pool time, of course. We had a good time, although exhausting for us old people. Took the girls to see Wall-E, which was great. The kids enjoyed it, but there was enough satire of western culture involved to interest adults. Animation was superb, of course. The above picture is a shot of Mars, of course, with the latest addition of a Wal-Mart store. I'm sure this is in their long range plans, perhaps a hundred years or so out. That's all I can think of at the moment.

Arizona Trip

First entry in quite a while. I and the wife just got back from a 9 day trip to Tucson, Arizona, one of our favorite places. It was hot (hit 105 or so a couple days), and dusty, but we had a good time anyway. Started early in the morning to hike or other outdoor activity, and in the pool generally by 1 pm. The locals come out after 7 at night, when it cools down to around 85 or 90, but we were fed, and in bed by that time, given the 3 hour time change from Florida. Above is a picture of me (small chubby person in the center), at Tumacacori National Monument. It's a 15th century mission, in ruins obviously, located south of Tucson, about 45 minutes. A beautiful, peaceful place, redolant with history, and haunted with the ghosts of the Spanish friars, native indians and outlaws. Because of the lawlessness in the area, the mission moved to San Xavier Del Bac, in Tucson, now on the Tohano O'Dham (spelling?) reservation. San Xavier is very much a working mission/church, and undergoing continual restoration. It's called the White Dove of the Desert. We also did Sabino Canyon, Saquaro East and West, Mt. Lemmon (12,000 feet), and had great Mexican food and cowboy steaks. Will talk more about our trip later. But, glad to be back to the Swamp (only 90 degrees high).

Bo Diddley Dies

Bo Diddley passed away yesterday, May 2. I did a post about Bo a couple weeks ago. He was a real original, a pioneer of R&R. His influence can be heard in everyone from Buddy Holly, to the Stones, Beatles, and all the hard rockers. His was not a blues beat, it was a rock and roll beat - didn't swing, just propelled you along on the insistent rhythm, and pounding guitar. I still dig those square guitars! RIP, Bo - they aren't making any more like you.

Finally, a Posting!

Finally, got around to making a post. Sort of burnt out, after the Mem Day holiday. Above is picture from southeastern Arizona, not exactuly sure where, but a nice little town in the sun. We are going to Tucson next week, for a getaway. Will haunt our usual haunts, I'm sure; Staying at the Windmill Inn, so we can eat every night at El Corale (sp?). Great steaks, mexican food, etc. Good and hot this time of year, of course. We love it. Mountains, desert, Native Americans, all good.

Friday - Memorial Day Weekend!

That's all for the working week, but not all for this blog! I will probably be at the salt mine on Monday, while everyone else is flipping burgers, and drinking margaritas by the pool. Oh well.

Thursday - Space Quest, and Rock and Roll!

This is the maintenance deck, on the Galaxy Queen. Note the robot maintenance guy. This was not to be first mission to another star system. There had been two prior, both since the discovery of fusion ion propulsion engines, in 2275. The first the Star Explorer mission, launched by the ISU (international space union), in 2300. The target was the closest star system discovered at that time to have a solar system, with possibly habitable planets. This was the Xperion system, about .5 light years distant, in the same general section of the Milky Way as our solar system. That mission was much smaller in scale, with a crew of about 200, and no colonists, since it was basically an exploration mission, with no colonization envisioned. The mission, which too about 6 months at near light speed, was a success, by all accounts, although no habitable planets were discovered. The system had 10 planets, four of them with detectable atmospheres, mostly of the hygrogen/methane variety, similar to our gas giants. The second mission, dubbed Star Trek, in tribute to the late 20th century science fiction phenomenon, was aimed at a system 1.5 light years distanct, closer to the core of our galaxy, and took almost 2 years to reach it's destination. At this time, in 2230, the reach of our space telescopes had extended our ability to assess the characteristics and potential of other system in a much more sophisticated manner. This solar system, include on planet that was definitely Earth-type, with with abundant carbon-based life in evidence, at least plant life, as well as extensive liguid water, and an oxygen-rich atmosphere. The mix of gases appeared to be different than Earth's, but might possibly be breathable. More in the next installment of this story......

This is the bass player, again, from The Subways. Please don't think I may be obsessed with her, but who doesn't love a female rock bass player, especially one who is a young redhead. Enough sexist rubbish for now. Nothing new and interesting to talk about today. I purchased a TV show from iTunes, only to discover I couldn't play it except in Apple gadgets and computers. I.E., I couldn't burn it to DVD, and have it be playable on by DVD Player, for the TV. Something called DRM encoding, basically Apples way to make sure we only use Apple products - diabolical! They need to make things a lot simpler for us old folks.

Tuesday

This is the inside of the Galaxy Queen, the 10-mile long lightcruiser that is set to take off from Saturn Station, from orbit, for the Salurian Nebula. Departure is scheduled for June 1, 2342, with an ETA of about 30 days. This is fast, even considering the ship will reach near-lightspeed for most of its voyage. Our long-range sensors have detected an Earth-class planet, about five times the size of earth, orbiting a sol-class star, somewhat larger than earth's sun. A breathable, oxygen-rich atmosphere has been detected, and ample plant and animal life. The planet's surface is about 1/2 covered with water, with polar ice caps, similar the those that existed on earth 300 years ago. The ship will include a crew of 500, and approximately 10,000 colonists, all men and women of childbearing age. It will probably be a one-way trip, at this point, although if things went south, a rescue mission could probably be mounted within a year. Our research has not detected any radio transmissions, or other signs of technologically advance life on the planet, so given human superiority in these realms, the colonists and crew should be able to handle any local opposition they might run into.

In the Basement Today

Here's some more guitar "pornography" for you. Don't know what it is about these things, but I can't get enough. I guess its because they are a great combination of style, form, and function. I love music, and I love wood. Also, the guitar is relatively easy to play.

The other picture is not guitars, although it has guitars in it. It also has a nice looking young blonde girl, although I don't want to sound like a D.O.M. I do appreciate the beauty of God's creation, though. (Nothing wrong with that). The band is The Subways. The wife and I have been watching The O.C. (I know, it's aimed at teenagers, but we like it because it's a pretty good soap opera). The adults are very good, too. Anyway, they had the Subways playing in their fake beachside nightclub, and their song, "Be My Little Rock and Role Queen", intrigued me. Their sound, like all great r&r is spare, intense, repetitive and hypnotic. Great grinding guitars, nice harmonies (with a raw sound), and good drumming. Rock On!

Lower Slobovia

Lower Slobovia is small country, just south of Upper Slobovia. People in Lower Slobovia believe they are superior to the people in Upper Slobovia, and any other country in the world, too. Several years ago, some outsiders raided Lower Slobovia, and managed to bomb and destroy Lower Slobovia's greates monument, the Terrific Tower. The Terrific Tower was built of old packing crates, in the days before the great budget crisis. It was a tribute to the country's great prowess in trade, of which the main product was yak butter. The President of Lower Slobovia at the time was Pappy Yokum. Based on the advice of his best advisors, mainly Mammy Yokum, Little Abner, and Daisy Mae, Pappy decided to attack and occupy Upper Slobovia. He had been wanting to do that for a long time, just looking for an excuse, since Upper Slobovia had a big Yak Butter supply, which he (and his business buddies) were itching to get their hands on. Lower Slobovia had a bigger army at the time (150 troops, and a mule), and managed to accomplish the ugly task in less than week, particularly given that Upper Slobovia's army consisted of 15 reservists, armed with muzzle loading muskets. All went well, until the Upper Slobovian's decided to leave all the yak butter out in the sun, and it predictably went sour fast. They refused to cooperate with the occupation, and did even less work than typical. The rest of the civilized world quickly turned on Lower Slobovia, and refused any longer to buy their yak butter, or anything else for that matter. In the next election, Pappy Yokum was voted out, the job then fallying to Pogo Possum, who promised quick withdrawel of the troops from Upper Slobovia.

1967

Jefferson Airplane was great, back in the day. I loved their quirky time signatures (3/10 of a mile in 10 seconds, or something like that), and it helped to be stoned to enjoy it, but not really necessary. I think this music holds up well today, and similar to some of the more offbeat stuff the kids do today. I got off on some of the later stuff, as well, particularly Long John Silver, and Baron Von Tollbooth and the Chrome Nun - Grace Slick was the Chrome Nun, and Kantner was the Baron. Gracie could blast the paint off a 49 ford. These records featured Papa John Creach, an ancient, black fiddle rock and roll fiddle player (probably the only one). Playing with a bunch of white west coast hippys - now theres integration!

Wednesday's Post

For a while recently, I was on a Beach Boys kick - downloaded albums and bootlegs, and hit the beach. I still like the mid-60's beach boys the best, since I was in high school at the time, like In my Room, Dance, Dance, Dance, Help Me Rhonda, Be True to Your School, and Dont Worry Baby. I had a 45 of don't worry baby, which I played over and over again all summer between sophomore and junior years. There was a girl in my sophomore class that I was mooning over, but afraid to ask her out. Finally got up the nerve Junior year to talk to her, and she said I should have called her during the summer - she would have loved to go out with me. Thats what a looser I was with the ladies at the time, and not much has changed, except I got a little nervier in college. Back to the subject: Also like there late 60's stuff, like Pet Sounds, Good Vibrations, Heroes and Villains, even some of the Smiley Smile stuff, at least before Brian really went off the deep end. Brian truely is a genius, and I'm glad to see he's pulled himself together in recent decades, but for a while there, he could not produce anything coherent, musically. My wife and I saw them at the University of Arizona, in mid-70's, and they really had the place rocking. Of course, west coast kids were (and are) really tuned into the California, surfing vibe. At that time, they still had the full original crew, which was great -Brian, Dennis, Carl, Mike Love, Al Jardine, etc. They had reportedly lured Brian out of his torpor for that tour, by letting him bring a small sandbox onstage for the show, in which he kept his bare feet the entire time, as he sat at the piano. Never moved a muscle, but belted out the songs great. Dennis (rest his soul), was obviously drunk through the whole thing, and did a suitably boozy version of "you are so beautiful". I recall there was a scandal in the paper the next day, describing how he was aprehended with an underage girl in his hotel later that night. Dennis died not longafter by falling off his boat and drowning. A troubled, but talented guy. Carl, Mike and Al were, of course, the pillars of strength in that group, at the time, and Mike was obviously the M.C., and kept the thing glued together. Of course, Carl died not long ago, and Mike Love continues to tour as the Beach Boys, without any Wilsons, or Al Jardine. I haven't seen them for awhile, but hear they still put on a good show. Mike is a talented guy in his own right. Brian continues to perform, and issue different versions and collections of his music, as well as some new stuff, most of which I haven't heard, but will check up on some day.

Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley lives in Clearwater, Florida, I believe. Now theres a roots rocker, if there ever was one. Bo made his own guitars, and I particularly dig the square ones. The scooter is a trip, too. I heard Bo has had some serious health issues lately, and wish him well. I hate to see one of the orignals taken from us. Was listening lately to a boot of a Chuck Berry concert, from this year, somewhere in Europe. He now tours with his own bank, including his son, Chuck Junior, and daughter, the former a good guitar player, and the latter a good harp player and blues shouter. This is superior to the old days, when Chuck would tour by himself, and hire a pick-up band whereever he was playing on a particular night. That led to some rough mixes. Chuck always did things his own way, though, and continues to. He will quit or change a some in mid verse, if he feels a notion to. Chuck is 80+, and hope he goes on forever.

In the Basement Today

This here is a picture of a mahogany Harmony guitar, pretty much identical to one I had when I was in the Nav, back in the late 60's/early 70's. Not an expensive guitar, it had a nice, full tone, but kind of a hard action. This was probably because it had very heavy strings, and I never changed them. It was great to bang out a tune in the barracks. Unforetunately, like an idiot I sold it when I left Cuba, thinking it would be drag to carry it back to the states. That was before I was enlightened enough to realize I should keep every guitar I ever owned. Really, I have sold or given a way a couple of them over the years, but still have four - my Fender Custom Esquire, circa 1962, my Harmony Roy Smeck model, semi-acoustic, my Gibson Folk Guitar, circa 1966, and my Ibanez full-size acoustic, circa 1975. Love guitars, obviously.

Wednesday's Post

I posted this picture, mostly because it combines two of the things I love the most; rock and roll, and Arizona (the Sahuaro, or Saguaro cactus, depending upon your preference). The wife and I are heading for Tucson again in mid-June, to visit our favorite haunts, such as Sabino Canyon, Mt. Lemmon, Saguaro Monument, Old Tucson, Mission San Xavier, etc. It will be hotter than Hades, of course, but its a dry heat, as they say. The trick is to do your outdoor activity in the early AM, quit by Noon for lunch, a siesta and/or dip in the pool, and then come to life again in the early evening. We usually are exhausted by 7 pm, particularly given the two hour time difference from Florida.

Long May He Run

I have been on a Neil Young kick for about a year now. I guess I liked his work back in late 60s and early 70's, but then lost track of him; busy with life -college, marriage, kids, etc. I remember my brother, Matt lived for Neil Young, back in the 70's. Matt passed away at an early age (mid-30's), and had a difficult life, but Neil was his refuge for awhile. Neil is one of the few from the old days who has managed to evolve over the decades, but still keeps the same basic style. He has always done what he pleased, and can alternate between acoustic country, and hard rock, quite easily, and often does, within the same show. I have been listening to a lot of his bootlegs from over the years, which have a raw sound I prefer. Mostly like the hard rock side these days. Neil is currently touring Europe, and sounds as strong as ever, judging by the Berlin and Amsterdam shows I have heard. Rock On!