Archive for September, 2008
Dress Your Sons and Daughters In Neutral Colors and Pray
For about five years during my middle school and high school years, I took guitar lessons from Mario, an Italian guy in his late 20s whose fingers were each as wide my entire fist. He had a ponytail, that when let out, made him look like a heavy metal Shakespeare character. He was responsible for teaching me some guitar, but most importantly, he told me to buy some records that I would still take bullets for. Among them were Paul McCartney’s Ram and Jellyfish’s Bellybutton, which through Jason Falkner, led me to Brendan Benson shortly after.
Not much point to this story, other than Benson’s One Mississippi just came on my iTunes a few minutes ago, and much like Ram, Bellybutton, and Benson’s second LP, Lapalco, it has got some of the most lyrically ridiculous yet enjoyable pop songs ever put on tape. Noiz.
I need a pickup and I don’t mean truck:
MP3: Comments On Ram By John Lennon
MP3: Brendan Benson – Bird’s Eye View
Posted: September 30th, 2008 under Music/Movies/Books.
Comments: none
Western Tour, 1981
Thank you Piedmont Fossil for some truly amazing photos:
Mary and I took our pop-up camper and made a big loop through the western states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico before heading home by way of the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee. My parents flew out to Denver and rode along with us as far as Santa Fe before flying home again.
Lights out tonight, trouble in the heartland.
Got a head-on collision, smashin in my guts man.
I’m caught in a crossfire that I don’t understand.
But theres one thing I know for sure girl:
I dont give a damn for the same old played out scenes
I dont give a damn for just the in-betweens.
Posted: September 30th, 2008 under Camping.
Comments: none
newman
A friend of ours once came across a letter from Paul Newman that ended with a line that has stuck with us for a long time.
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be.
Here’s to a natural born world shaker.
Video: Paul Newman – Plastic Jesus (from Cool Hand Luke)
Posted: September 27th, 2008 under History.
Comments: none
Crow Killer
Crow Killer: The Saga of Liver Eating Johnson is the book that inspired Jeremiah Johnson:
One May morning in 1847, Crow Indians killed and scalped John Johnston’s pregnant wife; for many years thereafter, he killed and scalped Crow Indians. Then he ate their livers, raw.
He ate them not for hunger’s sake but upon principle – just what principle, his whole life’s history may suggest. Other tribes than the Crows could arouse his anger; the Blackfeet indeed once shamed and mistreated him, their captive; but one tribe only did Johnston dreadfully humiliate. He was Dapiek Absaroka, the Killer of Crows.
Posted: September 25th, 2008 under Music/Movies/Books.
Comments: 1
The Living Building Challenge
From Building Green:
Skip Backus, executive director of the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, discovered something in the process of researching materials for the new building on campus. “We don’t make anything in this country anymore,” he said. Many building materials are still made in the U.S., but simple things like nails and screws are difficult to find. For an ordinary building, that wouldn’t be much of a problem. But Backus is pursuing certification of the building through the Living Building Challenge, which requires all materials to come from within a certain radius of the building site.
Thanks Bryce.
MP3: Girls – Lust For Life (Thanks Cannibal Chearleader)
Posted: September 25th, 2008 under The World Is On Fire!.
Comments: 1
Mac
MP3: Fleetwood Mac – Jewel Eyed Judy
Posted: September 24th, 2008 under Music/Movies/Books.
Comments: none
Winter Camping
The husband and wife team of Lucas St. Clair and Yemaya Maurer just wrote the first edition of the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Guide to Winter Hiking & Camping, and if it’s anything like the other AMC books, it’s sure to be real fine.
MP3: Rolling Stones – Winter (Thank You Selective Service)
Posted: September 24th, 2008 under Camping.
Comments: none
Seasons Of A Navajo
Pretty sure you’ve all seen this on PBS.
From Amazon:
The Navajo heritage of sacred songs, ceremonies and spoken tradition comes alive as you meet Chauncey and Dorothy Neboyia, grandparents to an extended family of two generations. The Neboyias live by farming and weaving; their home is a native hogan. This acclaimed documentary captures their traditional lifestyles, and features striking photography of Arizona’s ancient Anasazi ruins and the spectacular Monument Valley.
Videos are here
Posted: September 23rd, 2008 under Native American.
Comments: none
