First Faded Jeans, Now Road Worn Guitars

Guitars with more than a few miles on them exude a captivating mojo and mystique that musicians find irresistible. Every scratch, ding, and dent is like a badge of honor, earned through considerable sweat, passion, and determination. It's almost like the harder you push your instrument, the more it gives back, rewarding players with ever-increasing comfort and playability.

Think of a great Fender� guitar player or bassist and chances are you'll also think of their well-worn and loved instruments. From Stevie Ray Vaughan's Number One Stratocaster� with only remnants of its original sunburst finish remaining on its body to Andy Summers' highly modified and battered Telecaster�, these guitars reflect the players' personalities and experiences in every scar and blemish. These are the reliable old friends that players like Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, and John Frusciante (wins the prize for wear and tear) count upon gig after gig and session after session even though they could afford to buy a shiny new guitar every day if they wanted.

If you're not into beat up guitars, how about $150 for a pair for jeans that have been blasted with a shotgun? Only in America.

Cheers...

The Blind Boys of Alabama

A good friend recently invited me to see these guys in concert. They have a dynamite sound that will blow you away.

They've been making music for over 60 years, won 4 Grammys and are up for a lifetime achievement Grammy next month.

You can get a taste of their sound here.

Cheers...

What Have You Seen, Florence Nightingale?

[ from Science News ]

Florence Nightingale: The Passionate Statistician... Nightingale created many novel graphics to present statistics that would persuade Queen Victoria of the need to improve sanitary conditions in military hospitals.

When Florence Nightingale arrived at a British hospital in Turkey during the Crimean War, she found a nightmare of misery and chaos. Men lay crowded next to each other in endless corridors. The air reeked from the cesspool that lay just beneath the hospital floor. There was little food and fewer basic supplies. By the time Nightingale left Turkey after the war ended in July 1856, the hospitals were well-run and efficient, with mortality rates no greater than civilian hospitals in England, and Nightingale had earned a reputation as an icon of Victorian women. Her later and less well-known work, however, saved far more lives. She brought about fundamental change in the British military medical system, preventing any such future calamities. To do it, she pioneered a brand-new method for bringing about social change: applied statistics.

Cheers...

Irish Snake Shop

Okay, that would be a lame business venture since as we all know, there are no snakes on the Emerald Isle. Legend and lore would have us to believe that it is due to the charming St. Patrick who lead them all into the sea. Facts and data unfortunately point to several coverings of glaciers and an island surrounded by icy cold seas. I tell you this not because there are only 170 days left until March 17, 2009, but because it came up today at lunch.

We were relating a story about an encounter with a very large snake this summer whilst on holiday on Mackinac Island. When a 4-foot serpent pops out of a stone wall at you, the first question that pops into your head is "How did that snake get on the island?" (Actually, the first question is more like "How much like a little girl did I just scream?")

This particular snake was put down (with a bow and arrow) by the owner of the cottage we had rented following the snake's aggressive attack on an elderly woman's cane as she was walking past his lair. It's snakes like that what give them all a bad reputation.

Cheers...

Hello, I love you, let me pick out your name...

And when I do, I want to know how popular it is now or may have been in the past. In order to aid me in my quest, I shall employ The Baby Name Voyager. This app lets me view letter by letter, how common or unique, fresh or old-school the name I have chosen may be. For example, names beginning with the letter "F" are in steep decline; while those beginning with "I" dropped off from their peak in the 1890's to a low in the 1960's. A quick ramp up in the 1970's and 1980's and then a huge spike in the 1990's. If you want to see a name that should be on the the endangered given names list, checkout Lester.

Something else revealing is if you were born when your name was most popular. Makes you wonder how creative your parents were or if they followed the herd :)

Cheers...

Treasures from the Past

I've only found a few things in the used books that I collect for my library of classic fiction. So far, only 3 that I can think of.

1) Five $20 bills tucked into my $40 copy of Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment"

2) A New Rochelle to New York train schedule from 1974 used as a bookmark in a copy of Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint". On the back is an ad for a realtor in Pelham, New York. (Which for synchronicity points made me think of a great Matthau movie, "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" which was also from 1974.)

3) Last weekend, I was in a small town bookstore and picked up a 1954 copy of "The Scotswoman" by Inglis Fletcher. Tucked away in the middle of the book for hiding (like the money) rather than marking one's place was a letter. It had been mailed a long time ago because it was stamped in red, "Postage & Fees paid U.S. Department of Justice". The return address was a PO Box in Leavenworth, Kansas. It was in fact a letter from prison from an uncle to his niece.

Sun March 31st

Hi Kate -

Just a few lines to let you know I've arrived at my final destination. What a drag. Thank God I have only a short time to be here - am scheduled for the camp program - after spending 15 - 30 days inside these walls for orientation. Have already started to exercise and can feel the weight leaving me - Thank God - had to remove my beard which distressed me to no end - but it'll grow again. By the way, no matter what happens to Bill (if anything) while I'm away just tell Lucille you have no idea where I am - that you think I'm living in Calgary, Canada - that's way up in the wilds and I'd rather Blondie didn't know where I am. If anything should happen to Bill my presence certainly wouldn't bring him back to earth. Besides, he's pretty tough and I think he'll be here for a few more years yet. Hope you got all my things put away OK - try to keep my records (my classics) in their covers and ask the children to help. I'm sure they'll be glad to - Ha Ha! All of my addresses were sent home by mistake so I had to guess at your address - Hope George is able to do something with that Tobacco Road trailer. Have several more letters to write so will cut this short. Will write again after I'm out at camp. Say hello to all your family. Hope you got that silver shaker back from John got by mistake. Write if & when you get time - my address for the duration is on the envelope.

Love always from Uncle Bob

Goodnight Bob, Goodnight Kate, Goodnight Mrs. Fletcher and Goodnight Walter.

Cheers...