Would you like to take a ride in a time machine? Here's quite a good collection of photos in the form of a slide show, many of them from London, from decades past. If a picture is worth 1,000 words, you're in for a lot of words in only a few minutes. Picassowoman is responsible for assembling these.
I've followed and admired Ralph Towner for many years. Now keep in mind that I play the guitar, sometimes professionally, and I do play some jazz. But I have no idea how he creates lush pieces like the one in the video below. I only know that I love listening to his creations. And consider that he didn't even start learning to play the guitar until he was 22. This is a small sample of what he can do, a song without a name (if you like this, Youtube offers many of his other performances): Towner formed an incredible group called Oregon in 1970. If you haven't heard any of their music, you owe it to yourself to click on the video below. They created quite a few albums over the years, and they sound exotically fresh every time I listen. And yes, that's Ralph Towner in the following video playing jazz piano.
Back in the 1970's I was quite impressed with the musical innovation of the group Yes. I haven't followed them for decades. Tonight, to my surprise, I see that they were still performing as recently as 2003 (and the band is still performing 40 years after its start, though with some line-up changes). The following video contains a tune called "And You and I," just a tad laid back from the original version. The musicians include Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Rick Wakeman and Alan White. If you'd like to follow the lyrics in writing, click through to Youtube and listen.
What follows is a public service announcement. I’m taking some time to put on my President’s hat and talk about our upcoming event. We’re a week away from the Celebration. October 23rd at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. If you’ve been reading this blog any length of time, then you know about my involvement. For the last 8 1/2 years I’ve been working for it, trying to make it better, five of those years as president. We’ve done some pretty cool things in that time. The Missouri Center for the Book has, like most such organizations, been undergoing some ups and downs the last few years. We have been reorganizing in order to be a more vital part of the literary and reading community in Missouri. Among the things that we have done over the last few years is the establishment of the Poet Laureate office for the state. We are instrumental in running the program and selecting the candidates for the post every two years. The program has been very popular. We also continue to run the state Letters About Literature Awards for students. Every year we send representatives to the National Book Festival. And we put on our annual Celebration. [More . . . ]
Warning - Science Geekery ahead! Am I the only person in the world who gets that we can control for Boyle's Law? While reading a (Science Fiction) book, by a very respected author*, I encountered a scene where a character brews some coffee. Yum! I love coffee! But my delightful anticipation was immediately spoiled by the character's complaints about how the low ambient pressure makes for lukewarm coffee! Seriously? Have people never heard of these amazing newfangled devices called pressure cookers? Heck, Europeans have had little stovetop espresso makers for many many years, that are essentially little one-shot pressure cookers! With the correct setup such equipment can produce strong, hot coffee regardless of the ambient pressure! Whenever I come across such obvious stupidity it kills the story for me. Get the little details right, people! Let me enjoy my stories and enjoy my coffee (regardless of ambient)! * in defense of the Author, he is an older American, so can be excused for not really understanding the difference between coffee and the pale brown caffeinated beverage that shares that name in the States.