This blog spot is the home to my ramblings. I am a free lance writer. Most of my work goes on Associated Content. Sometimes I write what is on my mind, sometimes I plug some of my writing, and sometimes a combination of the two. So, sit back read, enjoy, and we will see where it goes.
During my time away from not blogging. Honestly, I took a trip and certain tropical storm decided to go to the same place. I was at the beach this was by the river in Jacksonville.
Luckily the only damage to where I was staying was a tree fell and brushed the house. It was like a 50 foot tree but the City of Neptune Beach responded quick. Here is a picture of the tree against the house..
Other than that it was typical debris thrown around. It did close the beach for a few days which was a bummer but better to be safe.
Sorry for the break in posts, I went on an unplanned vacation but I am back now! Unfortunately deaths don't take a vacation. The legendary guitarist Doc Watson passed away at 89. It has been a rough year for makers of Old Time music and Doc is a fine example of one of the best going away.
Don't take my word for it he won eight Grammy Awards including a Lifetime Achievement award. I read somewhere Chet Atkins had a likeness of Doc in his home somewhere. That is some high praise.
Watson is best know as a guitarist, one of the best flat pickers ever and he could finger pick too! He also played Harmonica and Banjo simply put he could play multiple instruments. His music skipped genres from bluegrass, to gospel, country, folk, and blues. Yes I know some of those are easy to cross but their is no doubt Doc was a versatile musician.
Deep River Blues from Youtube...
A member of the Bluegrass Hall of Honor, several honorary degrees, a National Honor of the Arts, A lifetime achievement Award from the Recording Academy highlight some of his awards and honors along with the fore mentioned Grammy Awards. He certainly achieved a lifetime of musical awards and left us quite a legacy. He will be missed.
Two Greats we lost this year may they play in the concert hall in the sky..
Two famous musicians died within 24 hours of each other. I plan to write about one of them somewhere else. The more famous one is Donna Summer. She was known as the "Queen of Disco." She was known for her sexual songs as well, certainly her influence opened the doors for Madonna and Lady Gaga and others.
Here is a very long song by her that illustrates that part...
But she was a giant doing a duet with Barbara Streisand...
In the end I guess you can say she worked hard for the money....
No doubt about it she had a long and successful career and she will be missed by her fans and the music world. Cancer struck again.
I liked the hiring of Dale Hunter as the Washington Capitals coach. I loved the idea of the team hiring one of their own greats to coach the team. The team responded with a 30-23-7 record under his reign. Most importantly he was able to squeak the team into the playoffs.
Here is a highlight of Dale Hunter back in his playing days...
The team welcomed him back with this montage...
The team did not have an easy run in the playoffs. The Caps defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins in seven games during the first round.
Next up the Caps lost to the top seeded New York Rangers in seven games...
The team had a good showing in the playoffs and nothing to feel bad about. Yes like the good teams in the past they did fall short. Next season will be interesting for the team.
Being a little older and wiser I don't blame Dale Hunter for making the decision to return to his home, to be with his family. Those are important things. I wish him well and I hope he enjoys. I hope the Caps find a great Coach to help them reach their goals as well.
Here I go joining another blog fest, challenge type thing. What was my first favorite movie? I honestly don't remember. Reaching way back in my mind I am thinking it was a Disney movie probably "Lady and the Tramp" I remember watching that in the theater way to many years ago.Well it wasn't this version from 1955..I want to say they re-released it in the theaters in the 70's as well.
Well my all time favorite is Scarface and my favorite actor is Al Pacino.That said he has done some very strange roles.
Perhaps this is the only blog in the world which would have Lady and the Tramp and Scarface back to back. Funny thing is I still have those type of tastes. I enjoy watching movies with my daughter and she keeps me more grounded watching shows I should be watching. However, I still like the gangster movie or murderer show like Dexter now and then. Kids do make you more aware of what you watch though.
Music..honestly my first love of music was what I called Cowboy music which I used to play on a record player way before I was five. Perhaps when I was three. What did I consider Cowboy music stuff like Marty Robbins...
Maybe "Ghostriders"
This song was on my early playlist...
Then it was on to J.Geils Band and Men at Work...Thankfully I was introduced to Zeppelin along the way.
Books..Joy Adamson's Born Free, and actually the whole series I remember reading when I was quite young. I was going to save the world, and catch poachers in Florida when I grew up..I wonder what happened to those dreams. I should have chased them I suppose.
First love..I am not mentioning names on this. The safe answer is my wife she was the first to marry me. Or perhaps I should go with my daughter go with the Alpha and Omega thing. I love being a Dad.
Donald "Duck" Dunn has passed away at the age of 70. He played for Booker T. and the MGs and played sessions for just about everyone on in classic rock. Otis Redding, Rod Stewart, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Muddy Waters, Albert King, the Blues Brothers and more.
Here he is performing "Green Onions" with Steve Cropper..
Farewell video...
With Eric Clapton..
He was part of classic rock history pretty much from the start to now. If he wasn't creating the originals he filled in and played the parts. He will be missed ...R.I.P
I have a lot of Bob Marley related stuff happening in my life next week. However, it was 31 years ago today Bob Marley passed away. To me is the Elvis of Reggae music, the king of the genre. I like the positive vibe of his music. I'm a fan of reggae ( I like a lot of music, if you haven't guessed). I have been to reggae festivals in clubs in Washington, D.C. that are no longer there. I've seen Stephen Marley perform which was incredible.Unfortunately Bob Marley passed away before I got a chance to see him. Great lyrics, good vibrations, plus the flavor of the Islands what's not to like..
Anyway this isn't my first post about Bob Marley and it won't be my last. However to remember him on his day here is some footage from his funeral...
He survived being shot only to die due to cancer(yet another reason for me to dislike cancer)
Well if you read my blog then you know I did the A to Z Challenge last month. I haven't done this in a while and I always admit I am not very good at playing things forward in the blog world. Well if you want to read other bloggers reactions to the April A to Z Challenge experience check out Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog here. Alex is better than me at playing things forward as he already has 382 reactions linked to his blog.
On the bright site if I don't mention you at least you know you are not on one of my R.I.P. posts. Gee it seems like a lot of deaths recently. Enjoy Alex's blog and I will be back soon with another post.
It has been tough year for musicians especially bluegrass musicians. Bluegrass lost another one this week when Everett Lilly passed away. He was considered a forefather in the genre. He was a star on the Grand ole Opry and performed with Flatt & Scruggs on that stage. He was born Charles E. Lilly in 1924 in Clear Creek, West Virginia. That is in the southern part of West Virginia near Beckley. Here he is last Fall with Marty Stuart..
Here he is performing "Long Journey Home:"
Hopefully his last journey was peaceful, may he rest in peace and may his memory be kept alive with music..
In 1964 Maurice Sendak wrote one of my all time favorite children's book "Where the Wild Things Are." It would probably be another decade or so before I heard the story. I remember seeing it on a television program. I never watched the featured film that came out in 2009 based on it. The book won numerous awards and I am sure I am not alone ranking it among the top children reads of all time.
Anyway, I digress Maurice Sendak has passed away today. He was 83 years old. You can read a nice remembrance of him by NPR here. I think the version of his book I watched was something like this...
Here is a trailer for the movie...
I will take his passing as a reminder to share his book with my daughter. Perhaps we will even watch the movie together. Maybe even search out another book by him. I think that would be the way to celebrate his life and legacy by sharing his work.
I didn't see this one happen..Michael Burks dead at the age of 54. It is reported he collapsed at the airport going through customs. My deepest condolences to his wife, family and love ones. I met him once after his set at the Western Maryland Blues Fest and he was a warm, friendly man. He was very nice and genuine to his fans. That's how I will remember him signing autographs and greeting fans in the rain.
Here is a picture of him doing just that..(I took the picture)
His talent is what most people will miss. I know I will miss his guitar skills and his music as a fan. I am glad I got the chance to see him perform.
First of all the April A to Z challenge is fun!It is challenging and it kind of forces you to post almost everyday. Luckily this year I wasn't on a big road trip as travel adds another challenge. The benefits of the challenge are awesome!
Seven new followers found my blog! Hopefully, they will stick around. I also received a lot more comments. I also gave a few. My page views went up more than double from the month before.All great stuff! I think the best thing of a contest like this is the discovery of other blogs.
I got away from the shameless self promotion that I do. I still do some and I will again in the future. That's what I do. But I got a chance to write on topics I haven't in a while. Get a chance to revive some old twists, keep some twists, and and some some new twists in this rambling vine of a blog.
It was also nice to know which letter the next blog would start with. Most days I don't have a clue what this blog will be about. Some days I know exactly. Other days I kick myself thinking I should of blogged about that.
Well the A to Z: Challenge was fun and I look forward to next years.
Adam Yauch, the Beastie Boys' rapper better known as MCA lost his battle with cancer. He was 47 again a little to closer to my age. I hate cancer, my Aunt battled it and won and my mom battled it and won. But cancer claimed Levon helm and now MCA.
I'm not a huge rap fan but I do like almost every kind of music. The Beastie Boys hey day was in my youth. I did like them. I cranked up there songs on DC101 back in the day. He was also a founder and participant who made the Tibetan Freedom Concerts take place. The Tibetan Freedom Concert was my first multi-day, multi-act festival that I went too. I didn't like the lightning strikes.So Adam did help make one of the biggest music events I have gone too take place. I think everyone knows this song..
Here are some clips from one of the Tibetan Freedom Concert...
Yes I blog about the occasional musician death or even rarer the former athlete who died. Junior Seau died today, it looks like he killed himself. You can read an article about it here.So was a great linebacker, from my generation. He isn't someone I watched as a child. He is very close to my age which is scary. I assume being a football star he had wealth. ( I know some find a way to become broke.) I guess Dr. Phil was right when he said "Money doesn't solve problems." I am paraphrasing. I know money could fix my problems and make mew happier. I think Dr, Phil was trying to say money doesn't make you happy. I don't watch a lot of TV or Dr. Phil. But wow, a 43 year old former star, dead it is very sad. I know there are 43 year old folks who are not famous who die and that is sad too.
Here are some highlights..
He seamed to be a good guy, helped charities, did the right things. However, I guess like most people he had demons too.
As a fan of football thank you Junior for your achievements on the field. To your friends and fans I wish them peace and may he rest in eace.
The A to Z: Challenge ended and now my blog is back to it's regularly scheduled programming. Then again maybe not. It is about time I told you about some rocker who died. Maybe old rockers are taking a break from becoming deceased. Maybe young rockers are deciding the 27 Club is overrated. Well anyway our fairy tale begins in a restaurant owned by a rocker who can't drive 55..
Heart guitarist Ann Wilson married Music Executive Geoff Bywater, you can read the details here. I think it had to do with him being a Magic Man..
Now they are on their Honeymoon on the Sea of Love...
and they live happily ever after..or that's the way it is supposed to go. Hopefully they won't be eaten by Barracudas..
