I really don’t have anything clever to write. This roller coaster weather (warm then cold then warm then even colder) has sapped my creativity for the time being. To get by let me just announce that it’s another Open Trackback Friday. It is your opportunity to share interesting blog entries from your blog by using this blog’s trackback feature. Many people, including myself enjoy reading a variety of material from other people’s blogs, so link your post to this one, send a trackback to it and it’ll appear in the comments section after I manually approve it. I still approve all comments & trackbacks manually due to spam bots so it won’t show up immediately, but I will get to it as soon as I can. I am still using myself as the ultimate spam filter but now have the aid of an excellent trackback filter. To obtain the trackback URL simply rightclick where it says “trackback” below and then click on “copy shortcut” to get it. That’s all there is to it! And thank you in advance for trackbacking to my blog. And while you’re here, please take some time to look at some articles I’ve posted. Maybe you’ll find something interesting. If you do, trackback to it as well.
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Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell passed away on Wednesday of apparent heart problems in his Orange Park, Florida home. He was 56. Powell’s distinctive piano is best remembered on the song “Free Bird.” I’ve seen Lynyrd Skynyrd twice in my lifetime. First when I was a kid in 1976 (my first ever rock concert) in Memphis, Tennessee (November 26, 1976, just under a year before the infamous plane crash in Mississippi) and during their first reunion tour in 1987 in Tallahassee, Florida. In both concerts as is the custom at all Skynyrd concerts, “Free Bird” is the big finale song. During the 1987 performance in Tallahassee, “Free Bird” was performed as a instrumental but the audience, myself included, sung the lyrics in honor of late frontman Ronnie Van Zant. Billy Powell’s piano solo in both instances was memorable; the second being more memorable because as they put the spotlight on him playing a white grand piano a spotlight illuminated a brass statue of an eagle with wings spread as in flight. I think I’ll listen to the live version of “Free Bird” in honor of Billy Powell.
Trackposted to Rosemary’s Thoughts, Allie is Wired, third world county, Political Byline, DragonLady’s World, Wingless, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, Cao’s Blog, Democrat=Socialist, and Conservative Cat. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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The first week of the Obama regime is just about over and we managed to get through it. And the weather around here is getting warmer after several nights of below freezing temperatures. It’s also time for another Open Trackback Friday. It is your opportunity to share interesting blog entries from your blog by using this blog’s trackback feature. Many people, including myself enjoy reading a variety of material from other people’s blogs, so link your post to this one, send a trackback to it and it’ll appear in the comments section after I manually approve it. I still approve all comments & trackbacks manually due to spam bots so it won’t show up immediately, but I will get to it as soon as I can. I am still using myself as the ultimate spam filter but now have the aid of an excellent trackback filter. To obtain the trackback URL simply rightclick where it says “trackback” below and then click on “copy shortcut” to get it. That’s all there is to it! And thank you in advance for trackbacking to my blog. And while you’re here, please take some time to look at some articles I’ve posted. Maybe you’ll find something interesting. If you do, trackback to it as well.
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Tonight the temperature here in north Florida is supposed to drop into the teens. Pardon me while I go get the blankets. In the meantime enjoy Open Trackback Friday. It is your opportunity to share interesting blog entries from your blog by using this blog’s trackback feature. Many people, including myself enjoy reading a variety of material from other people’s blogs, so link your post to this one, send a trackback to it and it’ll appear in the comments section after I manually approve it. I still approve all comments & trackbacks manually due to spam bots so it won’t show up immediately, but I will get to it as soon as I can. I am still using myself as the ultimate spam filter but now have the aid of an excellent trackback filter. To obtain the trackback URL simply rightclick where it says “trackback” below and then click on “copy shortcut” to get it. That’s all there is to it! And thank you in advance for trackbacking to my blog. And while you’re here, please take some time to look at some articles I’ve posted. Maybe you’ll find something interesting. If you do, trackback to it as well.
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Back in the spring of 2007, I wrote about some excellent books I purchased while on a trip to Apalachicola, Florida. Yesterday, one of the authors, Richard Edward Noble left a nice comment on the original entry. Since I’ve been going through old blog entries and finding some of the more interesting ones to repost, I figured this would be a good opportunity to repost this one. Since the books by Mr. Noble and Mr. Lovel are now available on Amazon.com (see links on their names at the bottom of the post) I urge you to get them. Especially the four I mention: “A Summer With Charlie”, “Hobo-ing America”, and “Spring Creek Chronicles I & II”.
-=-
Both my wife and I are avid readers. We always have been. Unfortunately we don’t get as much time to read as either of us would prefer. However we do manage to read from time to time (my wife more than myself) and we tend to keep an eye out for interesting books. We found some while on a day trip to Apalachicola, Florida last Friday. I haven’t had time to read them yet but have skimmed through parts of each out of curiosity.
The first is entitled “Hobo-ing America” by Richard Edward Noble and is a collection of personal tales from “places where Charles Kuralt was afraid to park his bus.” There are stories about fishing in Canada, meat-cutting in Miami, picking peaches in Michigan and other adventures of Richard and Carol.
The second is also by Richard Noble and is entitled “A Summer With Charlie.” It tells stories of Richard’s old friend Charlie who developed a terminal illness and his last days. It has a cast of characters that seem to be from a Hollywood casting call but are from real life. There’s a lot of emotion in this book and even skimming through it was a bit difficult because a lot of sadness is contained in some of the stories. There’s also a lot of humor, too. I personally feel it could and should be made into a movie. One of those independent films that brings some up-and-coming director, producer, actor, whatever to the forefront. I look forward reading this book.
Third up is “Spring Creek Chronicles” by Leo Lovel which is self-described as “stories of commercial fishin’, huntin’, workin’ and people along the Gulf Coast” and it is exactly that. Many of them take place in and around the small community of Spring Creek, Florida which is a “small commercial fishing village located at the end of County Road 365 that deadends into the Gulf of Mexico.” I’ve taken the time to read a few of the short tales and so far all have been interesting.
The final book of the quartet is “Spring Creek Chronicles II” which is a book of more short stories from Leo Lovel. There’s not much more I can write about this book that I haven’t already written about the first book from Mr. Lovel. I only have read a few of the stories in this one as well and found them just as interesting.
I look forward reading them all. I picked them all up in a couple of shops in Apalachicola, Florida and each set has an address where I assume you can order copies for yourself. In case you are interested, here they are…
Leo V. Lovel
Spring Creek Restaurant
33 Ben Williams Road
Crawfordville, FL 32327
(850) 926-3751
Both addresses came from the books themselves and hopefully are current. All four books seem to be very interesting and entertaining based upon the limited amount of reading I have done with each. And even with that, I recommend them.
UPDATE [Jan. 14, 2009]: The books by both Richard Edward Noble and Leo Lovel are available on Amazon.com and can currently be ordered. Click on their names to see their books that are available.
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Political Byline, Woman Honor Thyself, Adam’s Blog, DragonLady’s World, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Democrat=Socialist, and Right Voices. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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As many of you are well aware, I have a passion for music. And one of the genres I particularly like is called ska. “What is ska?” you ask? According to Wikipedia:
Ska is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the offbeat.
In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads. Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s, the English 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s.
You can watch a brief history of ska here. Now that you know what ska is according to definition, let me tell you briefly how I became a fan of the genre.
I was born in the 1960’s and reared in Mississippi all the way until I graduated from college. In those formative years, the music played on the radio was rock, country, blues and r&b. At least the stations of which I frequently listened. That was pretty much the extent of my music horizons on the radio. And with the additions of listening to my Grandparents’ big band and swing albums and 78s the only other expansion of my musical horizons were the trips we took to New Orleans. However that is a story for another time and blog entry.
When I started college in 1981, I was already a professional radio disc jockey with several years of experience under my belt so I was drawn to the student run campus radio station. It was a sad little station atop Lee Hall on the campus of Mississippi State University. Its call letters at the time were WMSB (it no longer exists — the station went dark immediately after I graduated in 1986 but a completely new and majorly improved station was built elsewhere on campus in the years after I left MSU) and it was run by the students with a couple of faculty advisors. This is where I first was introduced to not only the genre which became known as alternative but also several other genres including ska. In fact, the first two groups that really grabbed my attention were Madness (which remain my favorite group of all time) and Bad Manners. However I soon discovered other ska artists such as The Specials, The Selecter, The Skatalites and several others. Thus began my lifelong passion of ska.
Needless to say, ska is a genre that has a small yet devoted following in the United States. I count myself as one. So it’s a nice surprise to find a blog devoted to ska such as Ska Blah Blah which I found via a post over at BoingBoing. I’ve amassed a collection of over 200 ska CDs at the moment and I keep my eye out for other ska CDs to add to my collection. Ska Blah Blah will be a very welcome resource to expand my collection and also a nice place to visit and leave comments with other folks who like ska as well. I have added it to the bloglist on the sidebar at the left of your screen. If you’ve not sampled ska before, I urge you to give it a try. It’s great uptempo music and really fun.
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Political Byline, Woman Honor Thyself, Adam’s Blog, DragonLady’s World, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Democrat=Socialist, and Right Voices. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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As I stated in an earlier post, for the next several days (probably weeks), I’m going to be culling through the old stuff on my blog, getting rid of some older blog entries along with as many dead links, missing pictures, etc. as I can find. And if I run across something that I had long forgotten but is still interesting, I’m going to repost it. I found such an entry from 2005 about hot sauces. Yes, I’m still a chilihead and I still use hot sauces in a lot of food.
-=-
I love trying new hot sauces. In fact, I not only enjoy trying new sauces, but also writing reviews on my own personal web page. It’s just a hobby, but it would be so nice if I could be paid to do it. Would it still be a hobby? I think so.
In the past I have made some of my own hot sauces from various peppers. All have turned out quite good. When I got really creative, I went to a local nursery and purchased several exotic pepper plants and attempted to grow my own peppers in pots on the porch of the apartment my wife and I were living in at the time. The plants grew more peppers than I anticipated (my wife says I have a “green thumb” but I honestly have no clue what I’m doing when it comes to raising plants) and I had fun producing my own sauces from the peppers.
Several years ago, I worked for a legal publishing firm and one of my co-workers enjoyed hot & spicy foods, especially hot wings. The hotter, the better. One Monday, I brought in a bottle of Dave’s Insanity Sauce which at that time was the hottest sauce on the market. It was too hot for my tastes (I knew my limits) but I didn’t want to waste the whole bottle by throwing it away so I decided to share. At lunch I showed my co-worker the bottle and asked him if he wanted to try some. He did, so I warned him of the potency. I don’t think he listened because he then placed a good glob of the stuff on the Mexican rice portion of his microwavable dinner. Sensing trouble, I urged him to at least mix the glob into the rice. Nope. He took his spoon and dipped it into the rice taking the whole hot sauce glob with equal parts rice into his mouth. For the next few nanoseconds, I expected both extremes: cries of pain or maybe even pleasure, but neither occurred. Instead, my co-worker let out what can be best described as a desperate attempt to draw in a breath of air and then sprinted frantically from his office. This was not the reaction I anticipated from a man who bragged that he liked his buffalo wings “nuclear hot.”
While my co-worker was wherever he was, I took the bottle to my supervisor.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re probably thinking that I was going to try to dupe my supervisor into suffering a similar fate. I don’t do things like that. After all, I warned my co-worker about the sauce’s heat. I can’t help it if he didn’t listen and allowed machismo to rule.
So I sat down in my supervisor’s office. We always had a great relationship and spent many breaks shooting the breeze in there. I told him what happened a few moments earlier and asked him if he’d like to try some. My supervisor also likes hot & spicy foods, but at least he listens. He used a toothpick to taste just a tad of the sauce and that small amount was enough to convince him that Dave’s Insanity Sauce was too hot for his preferences.
After several minutes, we started to get worried about my co-worker. After all, the desperate gasping noises he made on the way out of his office weren’t exactly encouraging. My supervisor and I both half-jokingly wondered out loud if the hot sauce was giving him a heart attack. We decided to wait. Several minutes later, he came by and informed us that it was the best sauce he ever had. You couldn’t tell by looking at him. His face was flushed and rivulets of sweat were still forming on his brow. However, it was obvious that internally, endorphins were being released in large doses because he was happy. Major league happy. Positively giddy. Relieved that he didn’t die, I went ahead and gave him the bottle.
That was many years ago. Since then, numerous even hotter sauces have been concocted and are on the market. I don’t think I’m going to tempt fate by trying most of those sauces. And then again, maybe I will.
Anyone for an endorphin rush?
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Political Byline, Woman Honor Thyself, Adam’s Blog, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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I am a little bummed out. One of my favorite blogs, Percy’s Posts, a blog of wrestling managerial legend, Percy Pringle III (who also was known as Paul Bearer in the WWF/WWE) has ceased operations. I have been a lifelong pro wrestling fan since the late 60’s when I was a little kid and my Grandaddy took me to the wrestling shows in Memphis at the old WMC-TV studios. I’ve blogged about that before. I lived south of Memphis in Cleveland, Mississippi and the local cable television company carried several regional television stations from Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Louisiana (this was well before the FCC’s proximity rules). Many of those stations aired taped professional wrestling shows from various federations so I was able to see as many as 5 different companies each week. That was where I first saw Percy Pringle III managing. I seem to remember it was via a wrestling show out of Texas aired by either the Monroe, Louisiana or Little Rock, Arkansas station. I can’t remember who he was managing at the time but honestly as a kid who was buying into the kayfabe, I marked out during his interviews and interferences (for the majority of the time, he worked as a heel manager). Later on when I started learning about the non-kayfabe aspects of the business and started watching pro-wrestling not only for entertainment but also seeing how they set up angles, worked the crowds, etc. I really appreciated watching Percy Pringle III work. By this time I seem to remember seeing him on the old Georgia Championship Wrestling (via the old WTCG days and then when it turned into Superstation WTBS) and also Championship Wrestling From Florida (one of the Panama City, Florida stations aired it back in the 70’s and I’d get to watch it along with Southeastern Championship Wrestling out of Dothan, Alabama when my family would take us on summer vacations with my Great-Grandparents in Lynn Haven, Florida — my Grandparents eventually retired and moved to Lynn Haven as well buying a house only a few blocks away from my Great-Grandparents’ home). So when he dropped out of sight, so to speak, I felt somewhat knowledgable when I was watching a WWF show on TV and Paul Bearer appeared. Something told me that he looked awfully familiar but as soon as he spoke, I knew who it was. Well, the man behind Percy Pringle and Paul Bearer, William Moody retired and went full-time into the funeral home business. You can read his biography here. Mr. Moody still participates in various shows in and around the Mobile, Alabama region and gives advice and instruction to up and coming wrestlers.
Well, I ramble a bit. Sorry.
It was announced last week that he was ceasing his blog and frankly I am disappointed and saddened. I understand that he is indeed a busy man and has a very active life with family and friends so blogging needed to go. But I am going to miss reading his blog entries especially his memories and recollections of his days in pro wrestling. Now he will continue to maintain his Percy Pringle website and I hope he will add more stories and also photos from his personal collection. I definitely will visit from time to time to see.
I gonna miss Percy’s Posts.
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, Political Byline, Woman Honor Thyself, Adam’s Blog, and Right Voices. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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One of the blogs I visit regularly, Biblical Christianity, was created and is maintained by Dan Phillips. I enjoy reading his blog posts and have learned quite a bit from them. Dan has graciously allowed me to reproduce one of his recent articles from his blog that made an impression upon me. It concerns noted 19th century preacher Charles H. Spurgeon and how one rather coarse critic perceived him then. For the sake of clarity, I have presented the article as it appears on Dan’s blog but I felt the need to add a few things for the readers’ benefit. Such additions will be within square brackets [] with my initials [TCM]. The additions do not change nor alter the content. I felt the need to add some links within the reproduced article so when Dan refers to someone or something, like the Pyromanics blog (”Pyro“), the read will be able to link to it directly. Also at this time I would like to thank Dan Phillips for granting me permission to post his article in its entirety.
–=–
Criticism Of Pastors In The Light Of Eternity
by Dan Phillips
Pathetic title, I know, as it could stand over a hundred totally different essays. But such it is, and here we go:
Listening through Charles H. Spurgeon’s autobiography, I’ve been amazed at the utter, unsparing, out-for-blood, bare-knuckled brutality of the criticism that CHS received, from the very start. Quoting it all would make for a massive post — a series of massive posts — but let’s have a taste of one very early critic.
The critic wrote letters to the editor of a magazine called The Earthen Vessel under the pseudonym “Job,” though he was likely one James Wells.
“Who?” you ask.
“Exactly,” I reply.
Job/Wells writes in a very lofty, condescending, elitist tone. He sniffs that Spurgeon is pedestrian and derivative, damns him by some faint and sneering praise, then says this (emphases added):
And yet further than all this, Mr. Spurgeon was, so says the Vessel, brought to know the Lord when he was only fifteen years old. Heaven grant it may prove to be so, — for the young man’s sake, and for that of others also! But I have — most solemnly have — my doubts as to the Divine reality of his conversion. I do not say — it is not for me to say — that he is not a regenerated man; but this I do know, that there are conversions which are not of God; and whatever convictions a man may have, whatever may be the agonies of his mind as to the possibility of his salvation, whatever terror anyone may experience, and however sincere they may be, and whatever deliverance they may have by dreams or visions, or by natural conscience, or the letter or even apparent power of the Word, yet, if they cannot stand, in their spirit and ministry, the test of the law of truth, and the testimony of God, there is no true light in them; for a person may be intellectually enlightened, he may taste of the Heavenly gift, and be made partaker of the Holy Ghost, professionally, and taste of the good Word of God (Hebrews vi.), and yet not be regenerated, and therefore not beyond the danger of falling away, even from that portion of truth which such do hold (Spurgeon’s Autobiography)
In other words? He doubts Spurgeon was really converted.
But he’s far from done.
…that no man who knows his own heart, who knows what the daily cross means, and who knows the difference between the form and the power, the name and the life itself, the semblance and the substance, the difference between the sounding brass or the tinkling cymbal and the voice of the turtle, pouring the plaintive, but healing notes of Calvary into the solitary and weary soul; — he who walks in this path, could not hear with profit the ministry of Mr. Spurgeon.
…[Following a series of gravely-delivered broadsides] I would make every allowance for his youth; but while I make this allowance, I am, nevertheless, thoroughly disposed to believe that we have a fair sample of what he will be even unto the end [IOW Spurgeon will never amount to much]
Now, this was written at the very start of Spurgeon’s ministry (1855). But crushing, thundering, unsparing, merciless pummellings and vicious attacks attended him all the way. If you ever think anything Phil [Phillip R. Johnson of Pyromaniacs and The Spurgeon Archive - TCM] or Frank [Frank Turk of Pyromaniacs and A Flame Of Fire - TCM] or I have said about anyone is harsh, you’d read these and gasp. I do!
Now, step back. It’s 150 years later, more or less. Spurgeon’s personal ministry on earth is done. But is his ministry done? Hardly. Spurgeon is still read from pole to pole. People find Christ and love Him better for Spurgeon’s sermons. His preaching reproduces itself in countless ministries, spoken and written. Phil quotes him every week at Pyro, and every week he sounds as if he were writing today, with allowances for style.
Did he know he’d have such a lasting impact? No. He couldn’t have.
But what I’m focusing on at the moment is that his critics were absolutely certain they were right. His contemporary critics damned Spurgeon for being — you won’t believe me, but I’m just reporting what I’ve heard and read — shallow, stupid, unreflecting, derivative, ham-fisted, theatrical, corny, egocentric, arrogant, impudent, coarse, and inarticulate.
That’s right. Spurgeon.
And where are most of these critics? Forgotten, and deservedly so.
But this is a common theme in biographies of great men. Their contemporaries largely didn’t think much of them. Many of them died sad, sometimes impoverished, probably seeing themselves as failures. Yet history judges differently.
–=–
Dan’s post got me thinking about several things, not all of which I will go into here. The most obvious was to think about how someone could go about criticizing someone so harshly and so arrogantly like “Job” did to Spurgeon. Charles Spurgeon, for those of you who do not know, was arguably the best known preacher in Great Britain in the 19th century. His sermons and writings are required reading in many seminaries across the globe to this very day. I enjoy reading his sermons from time to time and believe I am blessed with greater enlightenment, encouragement and edification each time.
The reasons why “Job” wrote the stinging critiques is up for debate. It could have been fueled by jealousy, disdain or just plain malice but as time went on, Spurgeon’s writings inspired by Scripture to teach about Jesus Christ, Salvation, and other Biblical topics are still with us and read, as Dan put it, “still read from pole to pole.”
Another thing went through my mind as I read Dan’s post; something he may or may not have intented. I was reminded of an old saying, “don’t let the turkeys get you down.” That’s the G-rated version, but the message remains when someone is unfairly or unjustly attacking you, don’t let it get under your skin to bother you. Nothing you can do or say will stop them from doing so and frankly, there are always going to be those jerks out there just itching to take pot shots at you especially if you hold firm to any viewpoint at all. Doubly so if you hold to your viewpoint with any sort of passion. Don’t let it worry you.
A preacher from the 20th century, the late Ray Stedman, put it this way:
“Someone said, “I am so loaded up with worries that if anything happened to me this week it would be two weeks before I could get around to worrying about it.” Sometimes we make an artificial attempt to cure our worrying by will power. As another has put it,
I’ve joined the new ‘Don’t worry’ Club
And now I hold my breath
I’m so scared I’m going to worry
That I’m worried half to death.
But the admonition is: Worry about nothing, and that is only possible when you have put on the armor of God. Do not try to attempt it on any other basis. Worry comes from fear, and the only thing that ‘will dissolve fear is facts. Therefore, to put on the armor of God is to face the facts just as they are.”
Those are good words of advice and as I believe them to be Biblical they are also words of great wisdom as well. I am no expert on Charles Spurgeon’s sermons, nor am I an expert on Spurgeon himself, but I am pretty sure that he preached on similar topics from time to time encouraging and exhorting his congregations to follow Biblical teachings on not allowing others’ nasty and hurtful words to get under their skin, but if those words did manage to find their marks and were painful to Spurgeon’s listeners (and readers) I am certain he passed along Biblical teachings of healing that soothed those wounds and encouraged them in the process.
I imagine there were many like “Job” in the past who viciously attacked people who are considered important today. And just as very few remember “Job” nor his harsh attacks, just as few remember those as well. Unfortunately there are plenty more today where “Job” came from. It just isn’t worth the effort nor the stress to worry about what those others think about us especially when it is presented in such a vehement manner and with such hubris. Don’t confuse such with honest, sincere criticism given humbly and in a gracious, beneficial manner. I imagine Charles Spurgeon realized this early on.
But I digress…
My blog is just a very obscure little point in the massive blogosphere, but I will never know who reads what I post. Just as Charles Spurgeon didn’t know at the time that his words would have a lasting impact, something I have written might have a lasting impact on someone else. Thinking about that is somewhat humbling. And I guess it all boils down to writing what inspires me at the moment as I have always done, not worry about what others think about it, and hope that it may have a lasting impact on someone, hopefully in a positive way. Charles Spurgeon’s sermons have made a positive impact on my life. Dan Phillips’ article did as well. You just never know where or when it will happen. But it will. And it does.
Trackposted to Nuke’s, Rosemary’s Thoughts, third world county, Political Byline, DragonLady’s World, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, Leaning Straight Up, and A Newt One/American Truth Warriors. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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Please take the time to read about NY Police Officer Susan Porcello and what she did for United States Marine, Gaspar Musso.
NY Police Officer Susan Porcello
USMC Gaspar Musso
I don’t know if the United States Marine Corp bestows medals and/or honors on civilians, but if they do, Officer Porcello has to be on the list for one. Major, major kudos to Officer Porcello.
A tip o’ the cap to MsUnderestimated for the headsup.
Trackposted to Allie is Wired, third world county, Political Byline, DragonLady’s World, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, A Newt One/ American Truth Warriors, and Leaning Straight Up. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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For the next several days (probably weeks), I’m going to be culling through the old stuff on my blog, getting rid of some older blog entries along with as many dead links, missing pictures, etc. as I can find. However, while I’m doing this, I thought it would be fun to repost some of the more interesting and unique posts from some time ago hence the “blast from the past” title. This first one is from almost 2 years ago and deals with one of my passions in life: music.
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Continuing thoughts on the latest batch of CD’s purchased from Louie’s Juke Joint located in New Orleans, Louisiana…
I have been a huge Dr. John (Mac Rebennack) fan ever since I first heard “Right Place, Wrong Time” and “Such A Night” back in the 70’s when I was a music-lovin’ kid. Even back then, I bought as many of his albums as I could find. Later on in the advent of CD’s, I got the CD versions of those albums and also filled in the gaps of albums I didn’t have. I also purchased so-called compilations of rare cuts and unreleased songs. This CD is one of those compilations. According to the liner notes Mr. Rebennack referred to these songs as “scab sessions for Huey Meaux with some pretty poor musicians” and even though the quality on most of these songs aren’t as great as those on major label releases, they give fans like me a listen to some very early and rare recordings that otherwise would have remained in obscurity. After listening to this album, I personally would love to see the good Doctor dust off some of the cuts and re-record them the way he would have done them. For example, “Somebody Tryin’ To Hoodoo Me,” “Don’t Want No Monkey In My Business,” “Chicky Wow Wow” and “Doghouse Blues” are just four songs I really like on the album that suffer from poor engineering and audio quality but should get a second chance at music life by the good Doctor at some point. However in the meantime, I will just have to settle on this out of print CD from Edsel Records. I wouldn’t recommend this CD for someone to be interested with the works of Dr. John; there are many much better albums to introduce someone to Mac’s music. This album is more for the Dr. John audio completist (like me) who just can’t get enough of Mac Rebennack’s music.
Junior Kimbrough wasn’t well known outside of the Holly Springs, Mississippi area where he lived until he signed with Fat Possum Records in the early 1990’s. Kimbrough was already in his 60’s before he recorded his first album. There’s more information about Junior Kimbrough on the Fat Possum site as well an obituary written by Steve Sharp. There’s also live performances by Junior Kimbrough in the Robert Mugge documentary “Deep Blues” which is described on Mugge’s site as “a 91-minute exploration of Mississippi blues featuring rock star David Stewart of Eurythmics, music writer Robert Palmer, and blues musicians Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Big Jack Johnson, Roosevelt ‘Booba’ Barnes, Lonnie Pitchford, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Jack Owens & Bud Spires, and Booker T. Laury and filmed on location in Memphis and Mississippi.”
However I digress (I’m passionate about music, so sue me)…
This particular album is the only non-Fat Possum album from Junior Kimbrough and The Soul Blues Boys that I know of. It’s still pretty good. The recording quality is pretty raw but then again so is Kimbrough’s music and playing style. That’s what makes him so unique! He’s not polished nor should he be. Instead he sings with a soulful force that complements his guitarsmanship. This is what blues music is all about. Junior Kimbrough was a musical innovator with his own personal style that has influenced a lot of other musicians. This particular CD is unique in of itself in the sense that it was put together by Dr. Sylvester Oliver of Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi and Dr. David Evans of the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee and recorded in academic recording studios located in Holly Springs. Sounds more like an academic project rather than the typical commercial record label. But I guess that’s appropriate since Junior Kimbrough’s style was atypical as well. I personally like Kimbrough’s music and have several of the Fat Possum releases so when I saw this album being sold on ebay by Louie’s Juke Joint, I went ahead and got it. I was not disappointed. If you are already a fan of Junior Kimbrough, I strongly suggest you seek out this album of his Mississippi hill country blues.
This is a sampler of blues from various blues artist who records on the Los Angeles-based Specialty Records label back in the 1950’s. It features some fairly well-known artists like Big Joe Williams to the completely unknown like “Pine Bluff Pete” who is so obscure no one knows his real name. One story relates that he was dubbed Pine Bluff Pete by Barry “Dr Demento” Hansen (this contention is within the CD’s liner notes) while another story claims that “Pine Bluff Pete” was Roland “Boy Blue” Hayes. I guess it will forever remain a mystery.
I digress a lot, don’t I?…
Anyway, this CD is a great sampler of down home blues much of which are rare unreleased cuts and I recommend this album to all blues aficionados out there. There’s not a bad cut on the entire album (although technically speaking, some are rougher than others). I personally really enjoyed all the cuts by Pete McKinley and the two Pine Bluff Pete tunes show how talented this unknown artist was (how they let this guy get away is beyond me). To show you how raw the recordings are, listen for the sound of something unmusical hitting the floor about 54 seconds into the song “Uncle Sam Blues” by Pine Bluff Pete. This CD should be required listening for blues lovers.
Trackposted to Allie is Wired, third world county, Political Byline, Woman Honor Thyself, DragonLady’s World, Rosemary’s News and Ideas, The Pink Flamingo, A Newt One/ American Truth Warriors, and Leaning Straight Up. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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Uncle Jay’s news word for this week is confidunce.
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Trackposted to Blog @ MoreWhat.com, The Pink Flamingo, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Leaning Straight Up, Allie is Wired, third world county, and Woman Honor Thyself. Also, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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This marks the first Open Trackback Friday of 2009! Let’s hope the upcoming year will be better than all the dire predictions of the so-called “experts.” It is your opportunity to share interesting blog entries from your blog by using this blog’s trackback feature. Many people, including myself enjoy reading a variety of material from other people’s blogs, so link your post to this one, send a trackback to it and it’ll appear in the comments section after I manually approve it. I still approve all comments & trackbacks manually due to spam bots so it won’t show up immediately, but I will get to it as soon as I can. I am still using myself as the ultimate spam filter but now have the aid of an excellent trackback filter. To obtain the trackback URL simply rightclick where it says “trackback” below and then click on “copy shortcut” to get it. That’s all there is to it! And thank you in advance for trackbacking to my blog. And while you’re here, please take some time to look at some articles I’ve posted. Maybe you’ll find something interesting. If you do, trackback to it as well.
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