Thursday, July 31, 2008

Gabby All Night

1 AM Friday here: click on post title for link, then click "viewers", then click "NATV Ch 53"

This is part 2 of the broadcast "Remembering Gabby Pahinui" -- with MC Skylark Rossetti and guests Cyril & Martin Pahinui, Peter Moon Jr. and Palani Vaughan.
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Housekeeping!

Be sure to check out the bottom of this page for the latest RSS feeds from WWOZ in New Orleans and the Mt. Washington Observatory. Good stuff!
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What This Country Needs Is A Good 5-Cent Joke

"The world's oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 BC and suggests that toilet humor was as popular with the ancients as it is today.

It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: "Something which has never occurred since time immemorial; a young woman did not fart in her husband's lap."
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Kaua'i Helicopter Crash: Mechanical Flaw

"A mechanical defect caused the fatal March 2007 Inter-island Helicopter crash near Tunnels Beach on the north shore, a National Transportation Safety Board report said."

This was the same crash that seriously injured two people from here in New Hampshire, who settled for $9.5 million...
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Jelly

Not Jelly Roll Morton or jelly donuts (sorry, Homer), but a flotilla of box jellyfish has closed Hanauma Bay...
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Come And Get It!

Here's an interesting story about Joey Molland, the last remaining member of the first band signed to Apple Records, Badfinger. I saw Joey live last summer at "Hippiefest", and will be going to see him again tomorrow night.
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All That Jazz (and Folk!)

National Public Radio has announced that they will offer webcasts of portions of the upcoming Newport Jazz and Newport Folk Festivals.
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VOG = Disaster

More on the VOG problem on Hawaii's Big Island.
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Thursday Music Digest

Looking back at some forgotten 45's

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/olyfilmgirl/archives/144841.asp?from=blog_last3

Great band name that Neil Young would love-Lionel and the Big Trains!

http://www.wickedlocal.com/holbrook/news/x1542103438/Lionel-and-the-big-trains

Walter Trout sings the blues:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/469974

A look at the New Orleans Music Hall of Fame-

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977410143

And yet another music fest this weekend-Gathering of the Vibes in Stamford CT.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/livingandhealth/ci_10051188
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Legal Tales From Gilligan's Island

As a character from another 1960's teevee classic would say, "Fascinating!".

Includes the story of how 30 thousand people once signed a petition to change the island name of Mau'i to "Gilligan's Island".
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Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Hawaii Tourism Plunges in June

Auwe!
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Water on Mars?

"In a discovery that could qualify as one of the most important in the history of space exploration, NASA’s Phoenix Mission may have confirmed the presence of water ice on the planet, Popular Mechanics has learned. The scheduling of a press conference for Thursday at 2 p.m. Eastern by NASA and the University of Arizona has raised hopes in the space community that scientists will announce the breakthrough."
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Yet More Lowell Fest Pictures

Click on the post title for another photog's work on Flickr. Over 200 of them!
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Kite Surfers Make History

The first crossing from Mau'i to Oahu is in the books!
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Hawaii Loses Jobs...To China?

Hawaii has lost 4100 jobs to China from 2001 to 2007...
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Testing Hawaii's Beaches

Pollution!
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Remembering Joe Zawinul

A new film documentary captures the man behind Weather Report...
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Wednesday Music Digest

A profile of a lady who dresses African musicians:

http://www.ugpulse.com/articles/daily/Arts.asp?id=987

The Minnesota Orchestra gets jazzed up!

http://www.minnpost.com/pamelaespeland/2008/07/29/2750/a_big_step_for_jazz_and_the_minnesota_orchestra

RIP to legendary African music producer Faisal Helwani

http://dailyguideghana.com/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6412

Saving folk music in Berkeley:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/localnews/ci_10036895

And Ringo and Paul have stopped the DVD release of "Let it Be"...

http://www.list.co.uk/article/10681-beatles-cant-buy-dvd/
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Mobile!

One of the marauding bands of musicians (these were from Mexico) who held guns to our heads and forced us to listen to their music at Lowell Saturday.
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Lowell Bridge

Remembering 12/7
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Another Lowell Musical Venue

Lowell MA, 7/26...I bet the acoustics in this one rock.
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All You Need Are Beatles

Updated info on the XM Satellite Radio Beatles show...
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Voyage to the Bottom of Lake Baikal

(Courtesy photo)

"The two Russian submersibles which dived to the sea-bed beneath the North Pole last year are now attempting to reach the bottom of Lake Baikal in Siberia. Mir One and Mir Two will try to measure the maximum depth of the world's deepest lake."
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Fresh Air

6 Hawaiian cities and towns made the top 25 list for clean air...even Honolulu.
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Swamp Rats

A group of volunteers have been cleaning out Kawanui Marsh in Kailua...
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Tuesday Music Digest

60's bebop flashback:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/arts/music/28smok.html?ref=arts

A Japanese jazz artist discovers Boston's jazz music scene...

http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view/2008_07_28_Hofbauer_jazzed_about_Hub_s_scene_/srvc=home&position=also

Widespread Panic to celebrate Halloween in the Big Easy:

http://www.relix.com/Features/Daily_News/Widespread_Panic_to_Celebrate_Halloween_in_New_Orleans_During_Fall_Tour_200807283060.html

Speaking of NO, it's almost opera season down there!

http://blog.nola.com/marklorando/2008/07/new_orleans_opera_lovers_look.html

Norman Thompson and the Smokestack Lightnin' gang keep the blues streaming on the internet-

http://www.smokestacklightnin.com/

And a nice George Carlin story...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/07/28/carlin.album.ap/index.html
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Monday, July 28, 2008

2008 Lowell Fest Crafts

Here are a few of the nice wood decoys made by Massachusetts craftsman Bob Brophy. Click on my post title for his story.
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We Travel the Spaceways

SDSSJ1430: A Galaxy Einstein Ring
Credit: A. Bolton (UH/IfA) for SLACS and NASA/ESA

Explanation: What's large and blue and can wrap itself around an entire galaxy? A gravitational lens mirage. Pictured above on the left, the gravity of a normal white galaxy has gravitationally distorted the light from a much more distant blue galaxy. More normally, such light bending results in two discernable images of the distant galaxy, but here the lens alignment is so precise that the background galaxy is distorted into a nearly complete ring. Since such a lensing effect was generally predicted in some detail by Albert Einstein over 70 years ago, such rings like SDSSJ1430 are now know as Einstein Rings. SDSSJ1430 was discovered during the Sloan Lens Advanced Camera for Surveys (SLACS) campaign, an observation program that inspected lens candidates found by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with the Hubble Space Telescope's ACS.

Strong gravitational lenses like SDSSJ1440 are more than oddities -- their multiple properties allow astronomers to determine the mass and dark matter content of the foreground galaxy lenses. Given these determinations, SLACS data has now been used, for example, to show that dark matter fraction increases with overall galaxy mass. The inset images on the right depict, from top to bottom, a computer reconstructed image of what the background blue galaxy really looks like, just the white foreground galaxy, and just the lensed blue background galaxy.
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When Babe Met Duke

Babe Ruth meets Duke Kahanamoku, the dean of Hawaiian surfing.
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RIP Jazz Guitarist Joe Beck

(Guitar Specialist photo)

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Joe Beck, a jazz guitarist who collaborated with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis and James Brown, has died at a local hospice after battling lung cancer. He was 62.
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Artificial Wildlife

Back in the mid 1990s, the fine folks of Northfield, NH created the state's first "Artificial Wildlife Sanctuary" just off of Interstate 93. This was in protest of the state removing a small hill and its trees near the Northfield exit, in order to create an "artificial wetland". They decided that an artificial wetland required artificial wildlife, and the rest is history. Click on my post title for the whole story.

I took this picture of another Artificial Wildlife Sanctuary a few weeks ago. This one is located in West Plymouth, but there is no info about it online yet.
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Off to the Races

"Australian Jamie Mitchell easily won his seventh straight QuiksilverEdition Molokai to Oahu Paddleboard Race crown on Sunday."
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Tracking Bigfoot

Biggie spotted in Ontario?
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More Lowell Pictures

Another photographer has posted a nice set of pictures from early Saturday afternoon on Flickr. Click the post title to see them.
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Monday's Music Digest

Pink Floyd's David Gilmour gets his own guitar

http://blogs.courant.com/eric_danton_sound_check/2008/07/david-gilmour-gets-signaturemo.html

Wolfgang opens the vault to some vintage shows by It's a Beautiful Day!

http://tinyurl.com/6bjnno

Who's Johnny Griffin? Read about him here...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2463604/Johnny-Griffin.html

Review of a new jazz book by the Boston Globe's Bob Blumenthal:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=30029

And a Randy Newman sighting:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/jul/28/popandrock.usa
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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Between Sets

Folks leave JFK Plaza during the music act change sequence at Lowell, 7/26...
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From New Orleans to the World?

Back in the early 1980s, a local radio station in New Orleans, WRNO, decided to push the envelope. They got a government license and fired up a station on the shortwave bands.

Their signal, at least early on, was huge here in the New England Area. They also had great programming, including Louisiana music programming and also New Orleans Saints NFL footie.

When the inventor of this concept, station owner Joe Costello, kicked the bucket, 'RNO was sold to religious broadcasters. The station had experienced a major transmitter fire earlier, so the station has been MIA for years.

Breaking wireless news from Glenn Hauser-click on my post title to get to GH's SW radio report in full!

"WRNO New Orleans has finally started testing under new ownership with new transmitter, first heard July 18 at 1938 on 15590.4; later also on 7505, but only for brief periods with a variety of music, no IDs.

George Jacobs and WRNO HQ in Fort Worth confirm they have started on-air testing. Programming expected to start August 1. Not like the original WRNO, but now just another religious station."
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Big Bands in the Movies

TCM will be unreeling some obscure Big Band films soon...
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NH Tornado Update

Wow!

"The tornado that hit New Hampshire Thursday traveled 40 miles through 11 towns, creating a swath of destruction a third of a mile wide in some areas, while lifting off the ground and skipping over others, a National Weather Service expert said today after completing a review of the damage."
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The End of the Hawaiian Pineapple?

With a major layoff this week, Hawaii's pineapple production may be nearing a close...

"High land and labor costs have made Hawaii pineapple growers less competitive with producers in places like Costa Rica, Mexico and Ecuador."
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Eclipse Time

Friday, August 1 is a red-letter day for eclipse enthusiasts. On that date, the sun will be partially eclipsed over an immense area that includes western and central Asia, parts of northern and central Europe, all of Greenland and even a small slice of northeastern North America
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Northern Lights Mystery Solved

"A flotilla of NASA probes has solved the 30-year mystery behind the most colorful aurora displays on Earth and the explosive magnetic "substorms" that spawn them."
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Sunday Music Digest

Students embark on a music caravan to jazz up the Big Easy:

http://www.americanprofile.com/article/27742.html

The San Francisco Tape Music Center

http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/books/la-bk-bernstein27-2008jul27,0,116337.story

Guitar Fest-Nils Lofgren offers instruction by computer!

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080727/ART16/878728480/-1/ART

As rock legends age, the concert era is drawing to a close. Or so they say.

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-commentarydemaio0727.artjul27,0,4966071.story

And Beatles guru Neil Aspinall left 7 million pounds in his will.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/mailonsunday/article-1038882/Beatles-8217-business-guru-Neil-Aspinall-leaves-7m-will.html
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Stupid Music Picture of the Day

The current cream of the crop as far as Texas stupid music guitar players go these days-Cindy Cashdollar and Redd Volkaert at Lowell, 7/26. Photo by yours truly.

Highight of Redd and Cindy's set? An unbelievable circa 2008 reading of the Allman Brothers Band's intrumental classic "Jessica", featuring Cindy on electrified lap steel guitar. Gabby Pahinui would surely approve of her style.
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Saturday, July 26, 2008

Looks Tasty!

Armenian Relief Society Food Tent, JFK Plaza at the Lowell Folk Fest.

These are a combo of beef and lamb, and occupy a tiny space inside a pita with delicious Armenian salad. In other words a meal to go.

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Pass the Salt Fish, Ackee and Jerk, Please.

Legendary Jamaican musical inventors The Skatalites at the Lowell Folk Festival, Saturday July 26, 2008. Photo by yours truly.
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Lowell Bound!

It's off to the Lowell Folk Festival for some tasty music and even tastier food. As a result, blog entries today will be nonexistent until later tonight.

Click on the post title for a schedule of the performers. Among the highlights this year are legendary Jamaican group The Skatalites, gospel/soul shouter Sister Marie Knight, and a couple of mighty fine guitarists from the Lone Star State, steel guitar great CIndy Cashdollar (late of Asleep at the Wheel) and Telecaster master Redd Volkaert.

Here's a sample of Redd and Cindy at work. Now I must go, as it's curried goat and sweet potato pie for lunch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY8AFtlAykA
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Saturday Music Digest

Royal Hawaiian Band sighted:

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/GETPUBLISHED/80725068/-1/SPORTSFRONT

News from the Grand Ole Opry!http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/TUNEIN/807250380/1005/ENTERTAINMENT

25 years of folk-

http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080725/FEATURES02/807250305/1011/FEATURES02

Music-club hopping in New Orleans...

http://www.worldhum.com/weblog/item/applause_on_planes_flag_waving_and_new_orleans_20080725/

And RIP to original Jeff Beck Group drummer Mickey Waller:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/may/28/obituaries.mainsection
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Friday, July 25, 2008

Don't Go Near the Water

Shark attack at Makaha Beach!
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Just March

Some of the unknown and un-ID'ed New Orleans victims of Hurricane Katrina will get the traditional Jazz Funeral...
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"I Want My....Wi-Fi"???

Slacker whining 101-no WiFi at Hawaii's airports.
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"New" Randall Hall Update

Taken between the monsoons Thursday, we see the rigid yellow foam insulation in place.
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After the Monsoon

It's official-the NWS has confirmed that New Hampshire WAS hit by a tornado Thursday. First one in 60 years?

No link to this story yet, be patient!
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Exhibit by NYC Waterfalls Artist

Looking at works by Olafur Eliasson and other Icelandic artists in NYC.
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Chinese Grand Canyon Opens

Located in the counties of Mainling and Medog of Nyingchi Prefecture, the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon is the world's deepest and largest river valley...
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This Weekend on GI

Lots happening on Governors Isle in NY Harbor.
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Koloa Plantation Days

The very cool little town we stayed in on Kaua'i is having their annual Plantation Days this weekend.
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Transpac Sailing Race Has a Winner

"Al Hughes on Dogbark has taken line honors (first to finish) for the 2008 Singlehanded Transpac, crossing the finish line at Hanalei bay..."
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After the Monsoon

"Crews are working to restore power and clear roads this morning in a section of New Hampshire that was hammered by a violent tornado-like thunderstorm Thursday that killed one person in a house collapse.

Jim Van Dongen, a spokesman for the New Hampshire Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, said that all state roads in the area between Epsom and New Durham are "at least passable." But crews of workmen armed with chainsaws are still working on clearing local roads."

Click the post title above for the rest of this story. More coverage at the links below (this has "gone national", as they say in the news biz):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/25/AR2008072500668.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-nhstorm5-2008jul25,0,683176.story

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN24311563
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Friday Musical Digest

Review of some new albums, including releases by Buddy Guy and Joe Cocker

http://www.mlive.com/saginawnews/entertainment/index.ssf/2008/07/more_kevin_ohare_album_reviews_1.html

Hawaiian music fest in Oregon:

http://www.oregonlive.com/entertainment/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1216682728310420.xml&coll=7

More reviews, this time of new DVDs, including the new CSN & Y concert film-

http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-et-capsules25-2008jul25,0,6267186.story

Another folk fest is running this weekend besides the Lowell one-in Calgary:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=d8620dab-cda1-49e8-9991-73af40e7fc4f

That city will also have a blues fest in early August-

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/swerve/story.html?id=389ce0e5-17d3-4065-af07-4727e926c5c3

And Taj Mahal plays Pittsburgh...

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08207/899336-42.stm
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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Selecting a State Rock Song for Oklahoma

OK already has an official "pop" state song ("Oklahoma!" by Rodgers and Hammerstein), an official country song (the Bob Wills tune "Faded Love") and an official folk song (Woody Guthrie's "Oklahoma Hills"). Now the rockers get their turn.
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State of Emergency

From the Boston Herald (click post title for complete story)

"New Hampshire’s governor has declared a state of emergency and called in the National Guard after a freak flurry of wild weather and powerful wind damaged hundreds of homes, knocked out power and left residents shaken.

In Epsom, N.H., where a tornado warning was issued over the lunch hour, powerful winds damaged 50 to 100 homes and knocked down power lines and trees, said Mary Frambach, a volunteer at the Epsom Fire Department. A shelter has been set up at a town elementary school.

Gov. John Lynch declared a state of emergency in five New Hampshire counties after they were hit by severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes. The declaration affects Belknap, Carroll, Merrimack, Strafford and Rockingham counties. Lynch also called out the National Guard to help in the storm recovery."
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Climate Change Update

07/24/2008 1150 am

Barnstead, Belknap County.

Funnel cloud, reported by public.

Possible tornado. Multiple houses collapsed near Barnstead.
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"Dogs Flew Spaceships!"

"FORMER NASA astronaut and moon-walker Dr Edgar Mitchell - a veteran of the Apollo 14 mission - has stunningly claimed aliens exist. And he says extra-terrestrials have visited Earth on several occasions - but the alien contact has been repeatedly covered up by governments for six decades."
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Climate Change!

The National Weather Service in Gray Maine has issued a Tornado Warning for... southeastern Belknap County in central New Hampshire... northwestern Strafford County in central New Hampshire... until 1215 PM EDT* at 1138 am EDT... National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated asevere thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado 13 milessouthwest of Farmington... or about 6 miles northwest ofNorthwood... moving northeast at 45 mph.*

Some locations in the warning include but are not limited to Farmington and Alton.In addition to the tornado... this storm is capable of producing destructive straight line winds.

The National Weather Service in Gray Maine has issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for... eastern Belknap County in central New Hampshire... northwestern Strafford County in central New Hampshire... eastern Merrimack County in central New Hampshire... southern Carroll County in northern New Hampshire... until 1230 PM EDT at 1133 am EDT... National Weather Service Doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing damaging winds in excess of 60 mph. This storm was located 9 miles south of Barnstead... or
about 8 miles west of Northwood... and moving north at 51 mph. Some locations in the warning include but are not limited to Barnstead... Gilmanton... Alton... Wolfeboro and Ossipee.

Flood Watch remains in effect through Friday morning... The Flood Watch continues for portions of central New Hampshire and northern New Hampshire... including the following areas... in central New Hampshire... Belknap... Merrimack and Sullivan. In northern New Hampshire... northern Carroll... northern Coos... northern Grafton... southern Carroll... southern Coos and southern Grafton. Through Friday morning expect a total of 2 to 4 inches of rain to fall in the watch area through Thursday night. Showers and thunderstorms will continue through the day... with the flood potential increasing as showers continue through Thursday night. Heavy rain from showers and thunderstorms may cause area streams to rise quickly... with small stream and urban flooding possible.
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Love's Bakery Sold

Hawaii's Love's Bakery, an island fixture for decades, has changed owners.
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Nani Lee Meadows Funeral

Back in April I mentioned that Hawaiian singer Nani Lee Meadows, who was married to the immortal singer and composer Kui Lee, had passed away. Her funeral will be this weekend in Kaneohe.
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Thursday Music Digest

When Betty Davis (Miles' ex) met Hugh Masekela:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=20960

Beaglemania!

http://www.bakersfield.com/142/story/504412.html

Lowell Folk Fest preview part 297:

http://www.boston.com/ae/music/articles/2008/07/24/lowell_folk_festival

Ukulele U.

http://www.dunnconnect.com/articles/2008/07/22/news/news04.txt

Derek Trucks, guitar hero:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/chi-derek-trucks-fill-0723jul23,0,1869765.story

And speaking of guitars, it's the Hitchhiking Guitar Man!

http://www.star-telegram.com/869/story/761883.html
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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Turtle Love

"A popular oceanic visitor of Laniakea Beach, Hawaii paid his respects to his murdered Hawaiian Sea Turtle friend."

Click post title for the video.
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Happy Birthday Telstar

On this date in 1962 the first TV transmission across the Atlantic was relayed by the satellite above. Telstar 1 was developed by Bell Labs (in fact, my Grandpa Wally worked on it) and the gigantic US ground station was built in Andover Maine, which is just to the east of Berlin, NH.

The first broadcast on July 23 was to have been President Kennedy, but signal acquisition came before JFK was ready, so they showed a baseball game!

Telstar later became the name of a hit song. The satellite is still up there, and the earth station at Andover is still standing.
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We Travel the Spaceways

High Cliffs Surrounding Echus Chasma on Mars
Credit: G. Neukum (FU Berlin) et al., Mars Express, DLR, ESA

Explanation: What created this great cliff on Mars? Did giant waterfalls once plummet through its grooves? With a four-kilometer drop, this high cliff surrounding Echus Chasma, near an impressive impact crater, was carved by either water or lava. A leading hypothesis is that Echus Chasma, at 100-kilometers long and 10-kilometers wide, was once one of the largest water sources on Mars. If true, water once held in Echus Chasma likely ran over the Martian surface to carve the impressive Kasei Valles, which extends over 3,000 kilometers to the north.

Even if initially carved by water, lava appears to have later flowed in the valley, leaving an extraordinarily smooth floor. Echus Chasma lies north of tremendous Valles Marineris, the largest canyon in the Solar System. The above image was taken by the robotic Mars Express spacecraft currently orbiting Mars.
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50 Peaks in 50 Days

"Zach Price and Mike Haugen hoped to reach the summit of Mount Rainier Monday.

That accomplishment help the men close in on their goal of scaling the highest peaks in each state in less than 50 days."
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New Beatles Documentary

Inside the making of "Magical Mystery Tour".
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In Search of the Lusitania

"It is the best known shipwreck lying on the Irish seabed, but it is only today that the owner of the Lusitania will finally begin the first extensive visual documentation of the luxury liner that sank 93 years ago.

Gregg Bemis, who bought the remains of the vessel for £1,000 from former partners in a diving business in 1968, has been granted an imaging licence by the Department of the Environment. This allows him to photograph and film the entire structure, and should allow him to produce the first high-resolution pictures of the historic vessel.

The RMS Lusitania sank off the coast of Cork in May 1915 when a German U-boat torpedoed it. An undetermined second explosion is believed to have speeded its sinking, with 1,198 passengers and crew losing their lives."
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Remembering "Pops" Pahinui

From Auntie Maria:

"Thursday Jul 24 and Thursday July 31, go online to enjoy the two-part broadcast "Remembering Gabby Pahinui" -- with MC, Skylark Rossetti and guests Cyril & Martin Pahinui, Peter Moon Jr. and Palani Vaughan. 7pm (HST): http://www.olelo.org Click "viewers", then click "NATV Ch 53"

7 PM HST = 1 AM EDT
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Guitar Fest

Gibson Guitars proudly unveils 4 new Les Paul models.
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Missing Goat Hunter Found on Kaua'i

"After being released from the hospital, Kimura went to Hamura's for a bowl of saimin."
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Wednesday Music Digest

Keeping jazz alive in the Arkansas Delta

http://www.helena-arkansas.com/entertainment/x223014787/Myers-keeps-Jazz-alive-in-Ark-Delta

An ukulele maker in Wisconsin

http://www.leadertelegram.com/story-news_local.asp?id=BH79Q3K4E22

A preview of New Brunswick's upcoming Fredericton Blues Fest:

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/news/article/362816

Former Hanapepe resident Taj Mahal is about to kick off his 40th Anniversary Tour:

http://tajmahal.shop.musictoday.com/Default.aspx

This weekend in New Orleans, it's the annual Satchmo Fest

http://top40-charts.com/news/Jazz/Free-8th-Annual-Free-Satchmo-Summerfest-Celebrates-Louis-Armstrong-In-New-Orleans/41826.html

And speaking of the Big Easy, the NO Opera will explore Mahalia Jackson's music in its new season!

http://blog.nola.com/arts/2008/07/new_orleans_opera_announces_20.html
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Tuesday, July 22, 2008

More World Travel Rankings

Includes hotels and airlines. The Four Seasons Resort Lanai, The Lodge at Koele, ranked #15 in the world's top 100 hotels. Last year it was #60!
Hawaiian Airlines was #5.

As for the islands, in the world's top 10:

Mau'i = #3
Kaua'i = #4
Big Isle = #7
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Artie Traum RIP

(Flickr photo)

"Artie Traum, a veteran songwriter and guitarist who came out of the Greenwich Village folk music scene, has died. He was 65.Traum died Sunday at his home in upstate Bearsville, near Woodstock, from cancer that spread to his liver, said manager Jeff Heiman."

Rest of obit below; click on the post title for an appreciation...

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/tuesday/news/ny-traum225772763jul22,0,2438510.story
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Top 10 Music Books

Selected by Simon Napier-Bell, who discovered Marc Bolan of T-Rex and has himself written several music books.
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Turtle Found Killed on Oahu

A-holes...
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Rock Drummers = Pro Athletes?

NRBQ's drummer Tommy Ardolino, shown at right, could not be reached for comment.

"Playing the drums for a rock band requires the stamina of a Premiership footballer, research suggests.

Tests on Clem Burke, the veteran Blondie drummer, revealed that 90 minutes of drumming could raise his heart rate to 190 beats a minute."
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A 3 Hour Tour

A Duluth sailor is racing solo from the West Coast to Hawaii...
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Through the Looking Glass

A scientific look at mirrors...
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Kaua'i Surf Claims Another Swimmer

"A 26-year-old Murrieta former high school homecoming queen who was studying to become a teacher and coaching softball died last week after being pulled from the water in Kauai, according to police and a family friend."
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Lava Update

Latest on the most recent volcanic escapades on the Big Island; one of the Honolulu teevee stations even sent their helicopter over...
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Tuesday Music Digest

New Orleans music, after the flood:

http://www.list.co.uk/article/10245-after-the-flood/

A profile of southern-born saxophone player John Ellis-

http://www.glidemagazine.com/articles/53700/john-ellis-son-of-a-preacher-man.html

The California-based online Hawaiian music station is back on the air after being shut down by a forest fire.

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/16/business/engle.html

RIP jazz bassist Dave Carpenter-

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-me-carpenter30-2008jun30,0,7724153.story

And some Hawaiian musicians look back fondly at a childhood staple, cracked seed! Pass the li hing mui!

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/8288/40/
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Monday, July 21, 2008

Latest Saddle Hill Crop Pickin'

Can't remember the exact name of this summer squash variety, but The Dirty Worm replaced their longtime standard variety, "Multi-Pick", with it this year. I must admit it's better than MP, with less blossom end rot. Sliced and boiled gently for 12 minutes, then topped with a little butter and salt-that's tasty eating!

And many folks don't know it, but summer squash flowers are also edible!

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Brah Jake

"With Arthur Godfrey and Tiny Tim gone, Jake Shimabukuro might just be the best ukulele player on the planet."
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Ukulele Meets Canoe

A tour of NY State
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Music on the High Seas

The first-ever Playboy Jazz Cruise will set sail soon.
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Paving the Pali

Everyone's favorite Kailua-bound highway will see major lane closures this week.
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"New" Randall Hall Update

Roof trusses almost done...
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New Hawaii Culinary Website

From Cindy Cha at KHNL:

"Hawaii's culinary scene is going digital. It may not be the Food Network but it's a way for local chefs to gather online and share their tasty secrets.

It's called Share Your Table, and it cooks up a mean recipe, giving food lovers a taste of the island's favorites."

Click the post title for Cindy's story on the background of the website, and click below to go there!

http://www.shareyourtable.com/
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Monday Music Digest

A Hawaii doctor treats his patients by playing them classical piano music!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jul/19/health.classicalmusicandopera

I keep meaning to post Auntie Maria's Hawaiian music calendar, here 'tis...

http://www.mele.com/resources/events.html

McCartney plays George's ukulele in Canada:

http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=3c124897-aaf2-49ce-bc68-75cc321e3a48

Meanwhile, George's ex-gardener is in big trouble with the law-

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/justice/article1447275.ece

And a Martin Short sighting

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1AqH299p3r2jwGAWsW-uv5WVpFw
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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lazurus!

Remember this one?

"The Alternative Factor" is a first season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. It is episode #27, production #20, and was broadcast on March 30, 1967. The episode was written by Don Ingalls, and directed by Gerd Oswald.

In this episode, the crew of the Enterprise encounters a reality jumping madman. This is the first Star Trek episode to deal with parallel universes."
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Sonando Vuelos

A look at a new jazz singer, Anna Estrada...
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Lost in Space?

39 years ago today, we sat in my grandparents' living room in New Hampton and watched as the first men landed on the moon. Needless to say, they were amazed, as they were 10 years old when the Wright Brothers took off in the first airplane.

A lesser-known story from the Space Race was this mystery story about missing Russian cosmonauts. A fascinating read!
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Hot Tomalley

Maine State health officials are urging lobster eaters to avoid the greenish innards known as the tomalley because of risks of shellfish poisoning
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Elvis Sings Stupid Music

"Bob Wills wrote “Faded Love” and Patsy Cline made it a hit. Elvis gives this country classic a mellow vocal performance ..."
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New Kaua'i Mayor Goes to Work

"Kaua'i Mayor Bill "Kaipo" Asing promised hard work on tough issues such as property tax reform..."
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Preserving Paradise

A look at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Kaua'i.
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Guitar Fest

Hog heaven for pickers-the Chet Atkins Guitar Convention!
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Sunday Music Digest

The new sounds of Mardi Gras:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=20767

The 38th ukulele festival in Hawaii

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080718/GETPUBLISHED/80718049/-1/SPORTSFRONT

NY school teacher sings "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" at Yankee Stadium:

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/new-york-school-teacher-wins/story.aspx?guid=%7BCF98A5FF-274A-4CC8-AA28-AFCDAD834D4E%7D&dist=hppr

Race and the birth of jazz in New Orleans

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=30047

And there is a guitar shortage in Kalamazoo!

http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/07/three_guitar_businesses_quit_k.html
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Saturday, July 19, 2008

More New York City Waterfalls

Natural ones, not man-made...
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Tiki Bar Lawsuit

"Attorneys for the elderly owner of one of Hawaii's last tiki bars are working on a settlement to regain control of the business."
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City of Keys

The 20th annual New Orleans Piano Competition starts Monday...
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Death of a Ballpark

The end of the line for Tigers Stadium in Detroit, built 96 years ago.
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Saturday Music Digest

Guitar solo 101:

http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20080717_112922_3924

"Diba Diba"

http://www.theherald.co.za/herald/news/n06_18072008.htm

Buddy Cage's ride with the pedal steel guitar...

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20080719/ASPENWEEKLY/300677035/1060

Bobby Charles sighting

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/saturday/act2/ny-blurbboxedno5768835jul19,0,3350171.story

And a review of a new blues up-and-comer, Janiva Magness, whom I think will be playing here at the White Mountain Boogie and Blues Fest next month:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/07/18/115700.php
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Lanikai Blacked Out

Tree at Buzz's?

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/8323/76/
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Friday, July 18, 2008

Traffic Jam

"A freaky detour for Windward Oahu drivers who had to maneuver around whale remains that fell onto the road as they were being transported Thursday.

The whale removal on Oahu's North Shore was a big, stinky job on its own, but moving the bones actually created another big mess in Kaneohe. The scooped remains were taken for burial in Kahuku, but the bones were given to Hawaii Pacific University for students to study, but on the way to campus one of the drivers lost part of the load."
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Old Jazz

"In the 1930s, people danced in New Orleans night clubs to the sweet and melodic jazz of Creole singer and trumpeter Lionel Ferbos.

Now they sit at tables and sip cocktails, watching the 97-year-old perform as one of the city's oldest working jazz musicians.

Born July 17, 1911, Ferbos started playing professionally during the Great Depression. He still performs regularly at French Quarter clubs and has appeared at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival annually since its beginning in 1970.

A birthday celebration is planned Saturday night for Ferbos at the Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro. Recently, he sat with friends at a Canal Street restaurant to reflect on his life and his music."
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In Search of Steve Fossett

Adventurer Steve Fossett disappeared in a plane in the Nevada mountains a year ago, and was legally declared dead in February. Now a group of mountaineers are conducting the first of two planned on-foot searches of some of the more rugged areas where he may have gone done. Click the post title for their website, which includes a day by day summary and also some video.
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Free Music!

Click the post title to be taken to Alligator Records, where you can get free downloads of some new music, including "Watermelon Time" from the new Marcia Ball album and "Hypnotized" by the great Eddie Clearwater. Koko Taylor is also there...
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"I Feel Like Singing..."

Human ballads, bird songs, and croaky frog serenades are all controlled by a common brain circuit that first appeared in animals hundreds of millions of years ago, a new paper reveals.
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Guitar Fest

A few guitar-related stories...

Hendrix coming to "Guitar Hero":

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hFAATNSXFYS2daBqiiAAI5hpdl8AD91VTKP80

Leo Kottke sighting-

http://www.telluridenews.com/entertainment/x2050101481/Leo-Kottke-and-his-enduring-guitar-love-affair

Frank's son Dweezil is a Zaapa off the old block!

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/orl-abbott1808jul18,0,2213420.column

And from a couple of weeks ago, a story about Johnny Burns, son of the late great Jethro.

http://www.pioneerlocal.com/evanston/entertainment/1033804,dn-burns-070308-s1.article
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Friday Music Digest

George's sister Louise Harrison is planning a Beatles Museum in Branson

http://www.kbsradio.ca/news/music/87/756604

Love Festival Hawaii

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/18/features/story05.html

More Beatles news-Paul will play Israel soon:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2306615/Sir-Paul-McCartney-to-rock-Israel-43-years-after-ban.html

Preview of September's San Francisco Blues Festival-

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/17/DDMN11Q7S3.DTL

And a preview of next weekend's Lowell MA Folk Festival, which I will be attending for the 21st straight year!

http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x2109420910/JUST-THE-TICKET
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Thursday, July 17, 2008

SF Bay Area 2008 Radio Hall of Fame

Some worthy nominees didn't get in.

"Seventeen local broadcasting legends, including longtime favorites Alex Bennett, Rosie Allen, Renel Brooks-Moon and Dave Sholin, are members of the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008.

Four of the Bay Area’s most popular sportscasters — Bob Fouts, Russ Hodges, Don Klein and Roy Storey — are members of the latest class, as is the “World’s First Airborne Traffic Reporter,” Hap Harper."
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R.I.P. Jo Stafford

Another classic vocalist leaves the building...

"I never made it with the critics," she once told Gene Lees. "I think what the critics didn't like was that it was simply singing."

Here she is doing one of her standards:
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Music in Motion

from the New Orleans Times-Picayune (click on post title for whole thing)

"A refurbished 1927 train car will depart from New Orleans today on a fundraising tour for two area charities, promising those who raise the most money a chance to win a trip to the Video Music Awards in Los Angeles or a red-carpet event in New York City.

The car, known as the Patron Tequila Express, is part of a national fundraising initiative called the "Music in Motion" tour. The purpose is to collect donations along the way for two New Orleans area charities: the St. Bernard Project and Preservation Hall."
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Latest Saddle Hill Crop Pickin'

As kids in the 1960s, we always looked forward to vitising "Grampy Smith" at Linnacre in New Hampton, not least of all for a chance to eat fresh raspberries straight off the bush. Especially delicious were the "orange" variety he grew on a limited number of plants. Even our dog Sandy would eat those right off the bush.

Sadly, the Linnacre berry patch (now owned by my Uncle Dan) has died off of old age. In the spring of 2007, I bought a "Gold" raspberry plant at Wal-Mart, and stuck it in a container to see what would happen. A year later, here is one of the results.
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1625, More or Less

When was New York City really first settled?
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Bering Strait Land Bridge Theory Challenged

"Research by a Valparaiso University geography professor and his students on the creation of Kankakee Sand Islands of Northwest Indiana is lending support to evidence that the first humans to settle the Americas came from Europe, a discovery that overturns decades of classroom lessons that nomadic tribes from Asia crossed a Bering Strait land-ice bridge"
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Thursday Music Digest

A classic site for music in Philly (as well as sports), the Spectrum will go the way of Randall Hall soon
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/NEWS01/807160367/1006

Uncle Tom is gabbin' music from Kaneohe:

http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/utg_article/uncle_toms_gabbin124/

The Harvest Blues and Jazz Festival in Canada

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadian-Heritage-879094.html

Pete Best, who preceded a guy named Starkey, releases his first album in 40 years.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/2303581/Fifth-Beatle-Pete-Best-releases-first-solo-album-40-years-on.html

And a group named after the ghosts of the Hawaiian warriors, called the Night Marchers...

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/07/16/entertainment/music/z291bab10133e6768882574860057dc5a.txt
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

American Airlines Testing Anti-Missile Technology

"Developed in New Hampshire by defense contractor, BAE Systems, the cross country passenger jets are now equipped with a laser deterrent system mounted on the plane's belly. It can identify and misdirect an incoming missile. It's being tested for Homeland Security."
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Hugh Masekela Changes His Tune?

"Musician Hugh Masekela — who made scathing remarks about Nelson Mandela last week — is to perform at a Mandela birthday festival.

Masekela told The Times last week, when asked to record a birthday message for the Nobel laureate, that he was “tired” of Mandela’s birthday.
But it seems Masekela has made an about-turn and will be performing at a Mandela birthday festival planned by Eastern Cape’s OR Tambo municipality."
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Hanalei Bay Closed

HANALEI, Kauai (KHNL) - Hanalei Bay is closed until further notice due to a shark sighting in the area.
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Walking Catfish

The Firesign Theatre was right (as usual)-catfish DO walk!
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Another Nick Danger Sighting

Phil Austin's latest: "The Regional American Surrealist Cookbook".

One of the recipes:

"KANSAS CITY OYSTERS
Submitted by: Big "Chief" Tom of Kansas City, Kansas

INGREDIENTS:

Cab fare
1 doz. oysters
1 gal. bourbon whiskey

Get oysters drunk on whiskey. Put them in a cab. Give driver cab fare and tell him to take them to Kansas City."
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50 Bands, 50 States

The Boston Phoenix readers pick 'em. I never even knew Ronnie James Dio came from New Hampshire! He was named best solo artist, and naturally the best band from here was Aerosmith.

Alltime best solo artist from Hawaii? Don Ho, of course!

Apparently, the voting continues at the link.
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The Gathering Place

A true New England classic, the New Hampton NH Town House was built in 1798, and is shown here on July 1, 2008. 3 days later, the annual July 4th shindig was held here, which included the planting of a new disease-resistant "Freedom Elm Tree". Later that night, the annual giant Square Dance took place.

This is where the Town of New Hampton holds its annual town meeting, and also where the residents vote. It's located in "The Old Institution", so named because it was the original site of New Hampton School when it began in the 1850s. This is about 2 miles from downtown New Hampton, off of NH Rt. 104.

In fact, Randall Hall, which I have shown here several times, was originally built across the street to the right of the Town House, and then a few years later it was taken apart and moved brick by brick to the current campus, where it remained until being demolished a few months ago.

Click this post title to be taken to "The New Hampton Connection", the town newsletter. And click the link below to go to my Randall Hall blog:

http://solongrandall.blogspot.com/
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"Dog" is Back

Dog the Bounty Hunter (and wife Beth) start their 5th season tonight on A & E. As most folks know, the show has been "on hiatus".
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Ukuleles Around the World!

A new ukulele interview project...
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Flooding the Grand Canyon

Will artificial floods work?
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Hendrix Guitar to be Auctioned

A guitar Jimi set on fire in London some 40 years ago is going on the block.
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Yet More Housekeeping

All the Weather Underground graphics are back, and I also fixed the BBC Music RSS feeds at the bottom of the blog.
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Stupid Music Post of the Day

A look at country fiddler extraordinaire Buddy Spicher, who's played with everyone from Bob Wills to Bob Dylan!
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Wednesday Music Digest

Assorted new music releases

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=772662

Music from Mau'i:

http://www.mauiweekly.com/features/story7226.aspx

Ben and Jerry's name a new flavour after Sir Elton John-

http://www.accesshollywood.com/article/10350/ben-and-jerrys-honors-elton-john-with-new-ice-cream-flavor/

Hybrid rhythmic engine!

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/64707-Hybrid-rhythmic-engine/

Gibson Guitars go 3-D

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gibson-guitar-enters-virtual-world/story.aspx?guid=%7B212D2470-7B91-4553-88F0-8BDD322848F9%7D&dist=hppr

And some fiddling around by a bevy of female players from around the world-playing country music...

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/14/country-strings-attached/
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Blues in the Whites

The 12th annual White Mountain Boogie and Blues Festival is set for the weekend of August 15-17 in Thornton, NH, which is about 20 miles up I-93 from Saddle Hill. Click on the post title for this year's stellar lineup, which includes Marcia Ball, Coco Montoya and Roomful of Blues. It's held in a huge pasture fronting the Pemigewasset River, with nice views of the surrounding mountains.
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More Housekeeping

All of the weather link graphics have disappeared due to technical issues with Weather Undergound. This started earlier tthis afternoon...

UPDATE-apparently WG is moving to a new web server and encountered some problem...they should be back tomorrow.
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Channeling Johnny Cash

"Discovered singing on a Seattle street, Vince Mira, 15, is a somewhat shy kid who looks uncomfortable during a TV interview. But when he steps up to the microphone to sing Johnny Cash's classic "Ring of Fire," the result is downright spooky. He performs the song in this Good Morning America segment."
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Hawaii Blog Recommendation

Just came across this blog, looks ono!

http://luckywelivehawaii.blogspot.com/
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News From the "Pineapple Island"

Not much news comes out of the island of Lanai, but here's one about a possible wind energy project:

"A draft habitat conservation plan and environmental assessment are available for public review as part of an application by Castle & Cooke Resorts for the construction and operation of seven meteorological towers on Lanai.

The towers will be used for as much as two years to collect data on wind patterns to assess whether sites could sustain a wind power generation facility."
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Latest Big Island Volcano News

From the mountains to the sea!
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Housekeeping

A couple of slight changes to this blog are underway-for most of the posts, clicking on the post title will now bring you directly to the story link, meaning the URLs will no longer be shown at the bottom of each post. This however will not apply to the daily "music digest" posts, which will still have each link below their respective descriptions.

A couple of the BBC RSS feeds at the bottom of the page have moved. I will be trying to get these fixed as time permits.
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Hawaii Software Millionaire's Body Found

Apparently he jumped off of the Pali:

"HONOLULU, July 14 (UPI) -- A missing millionaire software designer was found dead in Hawaii Monday, two weeks after he was last seen at a Honolulu hotel, authorities said."

Click on the post title above for the main link to this story; link below has video:

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/8182/245/
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Tuesday Music Digest

New guitarist discovered on youtube

http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/ent-life/youtube_generation_discovers_beaumont_r_b_guitarist_07-13-2008_17_59_01.html

Hugh Masekela disses his old bud Nelson Mandela?

http://www.modernghana.com/music/7560/3/happy-birthday-nelson-mandela.html

A primer on blues music web sites

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080714/EWORCESTER/447555229/-1/eworcester&template=eworcester

Speaking of the blues, BB King will start hosting his own show on XM Satellite Radio soon:

http://sev.prnewswire.com/music/20080714/NEM01314072008-1.html

Billy Joel will play the final live concerts at the soon to be shuttered Shea Stadium (or as The Rutles called it, "Che Stadium")

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/tuesday/news/ny-etshea5763985jul15,0,3272176.story

And the grumpy music critics in the Midwest don't seem to like Ringo's latest All Starr Band:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/chi-starr-0vn-0715jul15,0,4055418.story

http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/25454414.html?location_refer=Health%20+%20Wellness

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/OSH05/80714042
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The Wounded Are Walking!

I was knocked out in the wee hours of Monday morning by either a stomach flu or food poisoning, and was basically comatose for about 30 hours. Posting should resume today at a more "normal" rate!
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Monday, July 14, 2008

Belated Monday Music Digest

Wrapup of the Johnnie Johnson Fest

http://www.timeswv.com/intodayspaper/local_story_195235206.html

Tributes to the Who and Sir George Martin

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/music/la-et-sixties14-2008jul14,0,7665607.story

Canada crowns its air guitar champ

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadian-Air-Guitar-Championships-878398.html

And a real guitarist, Wes Montgomery

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/07/14/042415.php

And Jimmy Buffett sighted

http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080714/ENT03/807140320
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Sunday, July 13, 2008

Looks Like a Big Fried Egg

Scary stuff, kids!

"Radar data obtained by MUFON confirms that there were Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) flying above Stephenville, Texas, January 8th, 2008, just as many eyewitnesses had reported and which made headlines worldwide.

MUFON's analysis of the radar data obtained through freedom of information act (FOIA) requests to the National Weather Service and the FAA show that unknown flying objects were on a direct course to President Bush's Crawford ranch and were separate from the known F-16 jets the same radar data confirmed were flying in the area that night."

http://www.pr.com/press-release/94809
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New Web-Based Sci-Fi

The Sci-Fi Channel is launching a new series that will not be on the telly!

http://scifipedia.scifi.com/index.php/Sanctuary_(web_series)
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Now Hear This...

Enjoying music isn't possible without ears.

"Berkeley Lab scientists have for the first time pieced together the three-dimensional structure of one of nature’s most exquisite pieces of machinery, a gossamer-like filament of proteins in the inner ear that enables the sense of hearing and balance."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080710131216.htm
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Lady MacBeth Visits Jupiter

"Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky.—"

Macbeth Act 5, scene 1, 26–40

Jupiter's Little Red Spot got destroyed this week:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/24453169.html
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"Book 'Em, Danno!"

Watch "Hawaii 5-0" online:

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/7533/76/
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It's Not Easy Being Green

A turtle on Mau'i survives with a missing flipper!

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/13/news/story06.html
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Doing a Train?

"LAGUNA NIGUEL -- More than 50 law officers were breaking up an estimated 8,000 people drinking alcohol and mooning passing trains late Saturday, as an annual "Moon Over Amtrak" party was shut down due to complaints about public nudity.

The event drew a crowd of about 8,000 Saturday along the tracks near Mugs Away Saloon, 27324 Camino Capistrano, but things got out of hand as businesses and residents called in complaints, said Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino.

California Highway Patrol officers were called in to assist Orange County sheriff's deputies shut down the impromptu event, where thousands of people bared their rear ends to passing Metrolink and Amtrak trains."

http://www.knbc.com/news/16865249/detail.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fePk3GSduhc
http://www.moonamtrak.org/
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Chain Gang

Metal chain fencing from a 250 year old cemetery in New Hampshire vanishes...

http://www.wmur.com/news/16856835/detail.html?rss=man&psp=news
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Honolulu Oasis

A visit to Dr. Hildebrand's garden...

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/13/travel/tsutsumi.html
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Sunday Music Digest

Traditional Japanese music re-invented...

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/rock-candy/rock-candy/2008/07/roundup-june-indie-releases/

The burgeoning Miami jazz scene

http://www.miamiherald.com/1213/story/601677.html

NABF in Maine

http://bangornews.com/news/t/?a=167042

Remembering Janis

http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2008-07-12-voa2.cfm

And a new music club in Maine with a Big Easy twist

http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15567&Itemid=86
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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Hanapepe Dream


Here's the sleepy Old Main Street of the artists' colony of Hanapepe, where there were still opium dens as late as the 1930s.

Not seen to the right is the famous Swinging Bridge, and the building on the near left is home to a couple of great artisans, "Uncle Eddie" the Angel maker and Al Lopes, who makes koa wood cabinets.

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"Careful With That Twang Bar!"

The new iPhones let you tune yer guitar. Looks hard at first...

http://www.macworld.com/article/134420/2008/07/guitartoolkit.html
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Where's the Beef?

Hawaii beef production tumbles...

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/07/07/daily47.html
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Gone Fishin'

Haven't been out myself yet, but here's the latest fishing news from the Granite State:

"Coldwater anglers on the big lakes are reporting the thermocline (the water "layer" where warmer and cooler waters meet) is rapidly setting up at 25-30 feet; once the insect hatches settle down, look for action to really pick up over the next two months.

I have caught some decent 14-18 inch rainbows in Winnisquam, at 30 feet on the downrigger and 4-5 colors of lead core line.

DB Smelts and Guide Specials (you name the color -- it works) have been productive. Balls of baitfish (smelt) are beginning to show up on the bottom in 40-60 feet of water. This is the critical time of year when one-year-old landlocked salmon feed voraciously on young-of-the-year (YOY) smelt."

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/fishing.htm
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Bleached Coral Reefs

"Ruh-roh!"

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080710/BREAKING01/80710047/-1/LOCALNEWSFRONT
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For the Birds

Here on Saddle Hill we have a couple of cat birds, related to the mockingbird (which we also get on occasion) that do the same thing as this blackbird in England:

"A blackbird has learnt to mimic the sound of an ambulance siren and has taken to waking families at 5am each day with the noise. The bird can also recreate the sound of a car alarm, a mobile ring tone and can even wolf whistle at passers-by. But the calls - thought to be an attempt to attract a mate - are driving its human neighbours to distraction."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/07/10/eablack110.xml
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Dog Days

Folks on the Big Isle, the Valley Isle and Oahu are being asked to conserve water:

http://www.khon2.com/home/ticker/24407004.html
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Saturday Music Digest

Gee, this one should be called a Beatles digest

Beatles myths:

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/views/liverpool-columnists/echo-columnists/2008/07/10/myths-of-the-beatles-100252-21317221/

And a Beatles quiz:

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/capital-of-culture/capital-of-culture-liverpool-news/2008/07/10/are-you-a-fab-fan-take-our-beatle-tastic-quiz-100252-21318942/

How jazz evolved

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92456200

More on the new HBO "Treme" show about New Orleans:

http://blog.nola.com/davewalker/2008/07/more_on_david_simons_treme.html

80 year old stripper in Vegas uses a Ringo clone as her drummer!

http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/247861.php

And Sir George Martin goes "on the record"

http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1126106320080712
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Friday, July 11, 2008

First Victims of NYC Waterfalls

2 kayakers almost drowned and had to be rescued after getting too close...

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nyfall0712,0,3737945.story
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Lightning Strikes!

"ANTRIM, N.H. (WBZ) ― A 21-year-old Antrim woman is recovering after being struck by lightning Wednesday night. The bolt hit her feet and came out through her nose ring."

http://wbztv.com/local/newhampshire/lightning.nose.ring.2.767868.html
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Another "Forbidden Island"

Restoring birds to Lehua, the tiny uninhabited island off the north side of Niihau.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080711/BREAKING01/80711060/-1/LOCALNEWSFRONT
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"I Don't Think We're in Kansas Any More"

Funnel cloud over the Gathering Place!

http://www.khnl.com/Global/story.asp?S=8652152
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Save a Lighthouse!

Well, actually it's an online contest being run by Jeld-Wen windows and doors. The winning light will get all new (what else?) windows and doors.

Vote here:

http://www.jeld-wen.com/lighthouse/index_vote.cfm
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"Here Come the Girls"

37 years after its original release, a song by the late great New Orleans singer Ernie K-Doe (best known for "Mother in Law") has come back to life. "Here Come the Girls" became a hit in a British tv ad last year, and now the original K-Doe album the song came from will be re-released.

The CD release party is Saturday night at the New Orleans Rock and Bowl (better known as the Mid City Lanes). Admission is $10, but all ladies in evening gowns get in free!

"Taking place on the seventh anniversary of Ernie K-Doe’s internment, the event will include 101 formally attired ladies, dozens of gentleman clad in black and white tuxedos and K-Doe’s band, the Blue Eyed Soul Revue."

http://www.2theadvocate.com/entertainment/music/24344184.html
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Voyage to the Bottom of the Canyon

Driving to the bottom of the Grand Canyon? Yes, it can be done!

http://www.azcentral.com/travel/arizona/features/articles/0710travelqa0713.html
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Cara-Mac Price to Rise?

The 50th State's macadamia nut harvest is down 38% over last year. Auwe!

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/07/07/daily50.html
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New Search Engine for Hawaii Rentals

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/new-search-engine-focuses-exclusively/story.aspx?guid=%7BE35957EF-03DD-43E4-9734-A16763685C70%7D&dist=hppr
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Kaua'i Beach Gets Lifeguards

Kee Beach on the north shore...

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/11/news/story06.html
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Friday Music Digest

Remembering "Johnnie B. Goode"

http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=3334

A foreigner visits the Montreal Jazz Fest:

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view/20080710-147587/Starting-young

HBO to shoot music TV pilot in the Big Easy

http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2008/07/10/HBO_to_shoot_TV_pilot_in_New_Orleans/UPI-14661215721532/

Edgar Winter, currently a member of Ringo's All Starr Band, has a new CD out!

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2008/07/11/sidetracks/sounds/doc48765bacdfed0501885672.txt

And Ringo admits he's "getting high" at the gym these days:

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/the-gym-not-drugs-gives-ringo-starr-a-high-these-days_10070079.html
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Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Incredible Shrinking Island

O'ahu's population goes down for the first time in 7 years.

http://www.kpua.net/news.php?id=15329
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When Woodie Met Bob

What would have happened if Woodie Guthrie and Bob Wills had met?

http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/spot/article.aspx?articleID=20080710_270_D6_WOYGTR112276
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New Hampshire Kudzu

Oriental Bittersweet on Saddle Hill
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RIP Jazz Drummer Bobby Durham

Jazz drummer Bobby Durham, who actually started out playing with doo-wop legends The Orioles as a teenager and later played with such jazz legends as Lionel Hampton and Count Basie and was Ella Fitzgerald's drummer for 10 years, left the building on July 6.

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:09fexqqjldje~T1
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Makaha Sons Northeast Tour

Uncle Moon, Uncle John and Uncle Jerome, better known as The Makaha Sons, will make a return visit to New Hampshire in September, and will also be playing at the Triad in New York City.

Their opener for this tour will be the very talented Daniel Ho, who won a Grammy for his part in assembling (and playing on) the "Legends of Slack Key" albums.

Buy tickets here! Or, "Be there, Aloha!"

http://www.sharleneoshiro.com/makahasons/eastcoast.html
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Thursday Music Digest

Punk rock's 10 mightiest guitar gods:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/punk_rocks_10_mightiest_guitar_gods.html?200807100731

Guitar Legends Tour

http://www.guitarjamdaily.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1666&Itemid=73

Keef Richards a Vampire?

http://www.thespoof.com/news/spoof.cfm?headline=s4i37985

Preview of the WC Handy Blues Fest...

http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20080710/NEWS/807100327/-1/searchxml

The return of Les Paul's godson, Steve Miller:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08192/895942-42.stm

And more on 22 year young New Orleans musician Trombone Shorty...

http://www.projo.com/music/content/wk-trombone_shorty_07-10-08_6CAPSG3_v10.2ba0552.html
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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Software Millionaire Goes Missing

Steven Thomas, the creator of WebRoot Software (who make Spy Sweeper and Window Washer), has disappeared on O'ahu. He was last seen at a hotel in Waikiki, although he and his wife own a home in Lanikai (the exclusive little burg next to Kailua).

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080709/NEWS06/807090399/1010/LOCALNEWSFRONT
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"Looks Tasty!"

A tour of regional hot dogs...

http://www.seriouseats.com/eating_out/2008/07/america-regional-hot-dog-styles-coneys-half-smokes-reds-whites.html?ref=se-bb1
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More on the Eruption

Webcam, updated every 15 minutes.

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/cam/

And more from our friends at Hawaii Magazine:

http://www.hawaiimagazine.com/blogs/hawaii_today/2008/7/9/100_foot_burst_Kilauea_volcano_magma_meets_ocean
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Hoboken Ferry

Back in the days when we lived on Governors Island, we could see the famous "Hoboken Ferry" make its daily crossings of the Hudson River between New Jersey and lower Manhattan. This was as I recall run by one of the railroads, and stopped running in 1967. The Coast Guard bought one of the boats and used it briefly on the Governors Island run.

After 22 years, ferry service between Hoboken and NYC resumed, and for one day only on July 26th, a boat will make a day trip from Ho-Ho to GI:

http://www.nj.com/hobokennow/index.ssf/2008/07/free_ferry_to_governors_island.html
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Shark Bait

A 10 ton whale carcass is attracting sharks on O'ahu's north shore...

http://kgmb9.com/main/content/view/8065/40/
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Lake Winnipesaukee Digest

New Hampshire's Governor signs a new law putting a speed limit in the Big Lake, effective in 2009:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20080709-0009-statespotlight.html

Idiots have been running their snowmobiles on the lake this summer:

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/GJOPINION02/259574443/-1/CITNEWS08

And also in the tough sledding department, the real boats are feeling the pain of high gas prices...

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080707/FRONTPAGE/807070335
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Wednesday Music Digest

The Joy of Jazz Festival will pay tribute to "The Union of South Africa" this year. That's an early Hugh Masekela band...

http://www.sowetan.co.za/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=798270

Another great band name-Primal Scream.

http://undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=5575

Uncle Tom Moffatt is a Honolulu radio legend-he's gabbin'

http://www.midweek.com/content/columns/utg_article/uncle_toms_gabbin123/

George Harrison's sister Louise keeps his memory alive!

http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1467273/louise_harrison_nurtures_fab_fours_legend/

And Click and Clack are honored by Martin Guitars

http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/07/matin_guitar_ho.html
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Tuesday, July 8, 2008

LAX Waterfalls

The NYC cascades, as seen from Nick-Danger land...

http://art.blogging.la/2008/07/seeing-new-york-waterfalls-from-los-angeles/
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Ulupo Alert

Yet another work alert fot the gigantic Kailua sacred site Ulupo Heiau, this one for more restoration. Be there! Aloha...

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/GETPUBLISHED/80708067/-1/SPORTSFRONT
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Sacred Ground, The Sequel

Here's an enhanced rendition of the shot I took of the Royal Heiau above the Wailua River on Kaua'i. As previously mentioned this is above the Fern Grotto...
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