Aug

17

Today for many of us this means getting far away from an interstate. We took a short weekend to go to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. What a gorgeous and largely unspoiled piece of real estate. Highway 106 and 101 provide drives that can take your breath away. The northeastern part of Washington state is also a beautiful area off the beaten path.

Superhighways are a fast means of travel, but there is so much more to America if you take the backroads.

Jul

23

I am on the road this week and thus far have been listening to Sirius radio. I just feel totally disconnected from the local environment. Maybe the world is changing and passing me by, but we live in a world where MySpace wins out over a face to face conversation, a text message instead of a phone conversation. It is not these technologies that I have a problem with. They all have there place in the world of communication. I have a problem with the way we are choosing to communicate with one another. Tomorrow I am tuning into FM … no static at all.

 

Jul

22

The media is NOT fairly covering the presidential election. News these days is more like an epsiode of Access Hollywood than it is news. The New York Times rejection of McCains op-ed piece is simply outrageous. Their defense of their decision is lame and absurd. Air time overtly favors Obama and is unfair to the American people.

An importance component of our democracy is our media.  Maybe they should stop acting like the Soviet Union media of the cold war era!

 

Jul

10

Yes, we need to look to long term solution to reduce our dependency on oil and foreign oil. Duh! But today we can seriously and significantly minimize the problem today.

Go to Stop Oil Speculation website and fill out their form to email to your congressman. Url, http://capwiz.com/sosnow/issues/alert/?alertid=11571321 . Do not let them asking for your phone number deter you. I you don’t want to supply one just make one up. This is too important an issue to sit on the side lines for.

Also, please pass this information to others!

If you want more scoop airline customers received a letter with very solid information on the subject. I have excepted below…

“Twenty years ago, 21 percent of oil contracts were purchased by speculators who trade oil on paper with no intention of ever taking delivery. Today, oil speculators purchase 66 percent of all oil futures contracts, and that reflects just the transactions that are known. Speculators buy up large amounts of oil and then sell it to each other again and again. A barrel of oil may trade 20-plus times before it is delivered and used; the price goes up with each trade and consumers pick up the final tab. Some market experts estimate that current prices reflect as much as $30 to $60 per barrel in unnecessary speculative costs.Over seventy years ago, Congress established regulations to control excessive, largely unchecked market speculation and manipulation. However, over the past two decades, these regulatory limits have been weakened or removed. We believe that restoring and enforcing these limits, along with several other modest measures, will provide more disclosure, transparency and sound market oversight. Together, these reforms will help cool the over-heated oil market and permit the economy to prosper.”

Jun

25

I am quite fed up with all the right and left wing spin demonizing each presidential candidate. The latest rift started by James Dobson (whom usually is sane) is just a load of crap.

If James pulls out his Bible he might note that the “religious right” of the day tried to trap Jesus into a similar church and state argument. Jesus response was to take a Roman coin and respond by saying “Render unto Ceasar the things which are Ceasar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s”. Jimbo, I suggest you do the same.

But this is not the point… To all you dillweeds out there…

Here is the point…

-The housing market is on the brink of collapse

-Our healthcare system is an out of control nightmare still unavailable to many

-Dependency on oil and current prices are going to put us over the edge and require both long and short term solutions

-Climate change is an issue we need to address NOW! The science exists, is valid, and conservative media Bozo’s need to pull their heads out of their ass and get enagaged in reporting how we solve this problem.

-Oh, and by the way, there are jihad zealots who are willing to sacrifice their lives to kill us and our way of living…

Given the above most of us could give a crap who Barack or John’s pasters are or who is or is not endorsing them this week. We could care less about most of the sniping that is going on between the left and the right and the polarization that occurs as a result. Maybe we all could pull our collective heads out of our rear ends and focus on what we are going to do short term and long term to solve these problems.

As someone that tends to be conservative in my political views I would suggest that the conservatives start listening to folks like Newt Gingrich. The Republican party and the right are so out of touch with reality these days it is hard to even listen to word most of you are saying. Y’all need a huge look in the mirror. You have become inflexible, intolerant and disconnected with reality. This November conservatives will be in for the political shock of your lives. And by the way, the church seats are well populated with Christians like myself that hold similar points of view.

As for you liberal weenies, to quote a Navy term, you will soon have the “Deck and the Con”. Make the most of it and start leading us in digging out of this mess we are in. Some words of wisdom. Listen to some of the ideas of the right and do not dismiss them because they come from the right.

It is time we start working together. I do realize for most of you this is too much to ask.

Jun

22

According to a story by the Washington Post in May (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103773.html) GM truck and SUV sales have fallen 27% overall sales down 16%). Ford reported SUV sales down 36% for April (12% overall decline). These numbers are HUGE!!! What is just as significant to me is that it means in May 73% were still out buying gas guzzling Chevy trucks and SUV’s, and 64% were buying gas guzzling Ford SUV’s.

Granted some of these sales may have been for legitimate business reasons (like a landscaper needing a new truck for his business). But I am guessing that the vast majority were by people that have the income to afford gas at $4.00+ a gallon that have their head buried far in the sand.

I would tell these people to wake-up but think this would be a waste of breath. Fortunately the sharp decline in sales has caused the auto manufacturers to begin re-tooling and working on making more energy efficient vehicles. This of course will not happen overnight but will happen over the next 3-5 years. In the meantime if you need a car buy a Prius.

Jun

22

Accoring to the Natural Reources Defense Council (http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/aoilpolicy2.asp) America spends
$13 million per hour on foreign oil. This represents about 60% of the oli America uses.

“In Twilight in the Desert: The Coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy” by Matt Simmons has created a compelling case that Saudi Arabia production will soon reach an apex, after which its production will decline and the world will be confronted with an immense and potentially catastrophic oil shortage. If this happens and the globe does not have an alternate plan we could face times that are unprecedented in the history of modern civilization.

It is time to start looking at alternate forms of energy. We NEED a national energy policy that outlines both a short term and long term strategy on solving this problem. We need to solve this problem in a sane and safe way looking for a solution that considers future generations!!!

But if you think this is solely the job of the government you need to rethink your position. With gas prices over $4.00 and even at $4.50 for regular this is also an economic issue. The days of $2.50 a gallon gas are gone, and left us so quickly my head is still spinning. This is a problem unprecendented in modern times, one that will require consumers, business, and government to solve.

It is also a problem whose solution is directly tied to our climate change problem.

Jun

21

The following are just some random thoughts I jotted down at the festival…

If you love music Bonnoroo is a great place to be. At least 16 hours a day (and more) the festival is alive with music. From the Which stage grounds which can hold 30,000+ people to the smaller tents that can handle a hundred or so there is always music happening somewhere. Bluegrass, rock, jam bands, and just about every other genre in between. With headliners like Pearl Jam to lesser known, but extremely talented acts like Jypsi you can always find some great music to listen to. Get up shoulder to shoulder in the mosh pits (no moshing going on), or sit out on the grass the festival is a veritable no worries, no hurries type of atmosphere.

If you get music’d out (I never did), there is a cinema, a comedy tent, and numerous other things to amuse yourself with. Get tired and you can walk (or stumble) back to the campground and crash for awhile. You can always find a spot to crash out on the massive fields with little worry of being trampled.

For any lover of music Bonnaroo is a worthy life experience to have.

Bonnaroo - Give Peace a Chance

I did not camp at Bonnorroo. I would suspect from the size of the day parking lot relative to the cavernous campground that less than 5% of those attending did not camp. In any event I spent somewhere between 35 and 40 hours inside the venue over the four days. I also need to preface that there was beer being sold, a great deal of pot smoking, lots of tobacco smokers (too many), and of course the facilities were less than desirable port-o-potties that got a bit dicey as the day wore on. Having said all of this I was struck that the entire time I was in the venue I did not see a single altercation. For that matter I did not even witness a single argument. When you consider that there were 85,000 people sharing 1200 acres of camping and festival grounds this is really quite remarkable.

Jypsi blows me away 

Bonnaroo Saturday 2:54pm
Some of the best and most intimate acts can be found in the far reaches of the festival. About 300 yards directly behind the cavernous Which stage is the Blueroom Cafe. An awesome Alt Bluegrass (if this isn’t such a classification there is now) band named Jypsi played. Three beautiful and talented woman that looked more like the Go-Go’s gone punk. They and their three male band members served up a mixture of up tempo bluegrass and covers that any music lover would enjoy. Their guitarist picked his acoustic like a banjo player and also had a great voice. For me this was by far the best small act I saw at the festival. These type of small acts are a great means for getting exposure to the lesser known musicians and just a wonderful experience for music fans.

BB and Lucile

BB King at 82 may not be mobile on stage but he and Lucile are still the king and queen of the Blues. It was great to see all the young people and the reverence and exuburance they paid him.

The Church of Steel Guitar

Sunday 1:15pm The Lee Brothers
Starting off the day with some high energy steel guitar. Those who ventured out at this early hour (by Bonnaroo standards) received quite a treat.

Susan Tedeschi Rocks

Sunday 3pm - Susan Tedeschi on the Sonic Stage. One of my favorite singers. I have listened to her for quite a while. The intimate Sonic stage was a perfect venue to see her up close. Her big soulful voice and blues riffs made for a short but well spent 30 minute set. While the other stages can overwhelm this stage, with Susan it was very easy to stay focussed on her.

Music Nirvana

Watching Pearl Jam on Saturday night I was just blown away. I thought how are Robert Plant and Allison Krauss going to top this performance? Well, on Sunday I cut one of my favorite bands (O.A.R) short to get up close to Allison and Robert. They exceeded every expectation I had. The covered some Zeppelin tunes. Imagine a fiddle solo on Blackdog. Hey, maybe it was not Jimmy Page but he rocked the house. Bluegrass music will never be the seem.

Only 359 days until Bonnaroo 2009

Jun

13

The flight from Seattle to Nashville, 3 hours and 50 minutes. The drive on day one from Murfreesboro to parking at the venue, 5 hours and 15 minutes. That is 30 miles. You can do the math.

We heard the traffic situation has actually improved in recent years. 

 

Jun

10

I am going to Bonnaroo this week and am really looking forward to seeing the Felice Brothers. They are edgy and relevant. Musically and lyrically they hit on all cylinders. Tonight At The Arizona is an incredible work with great tracks like “Hey Hey Revolver” and “Your Belly in My Arms”

Lyrics - Your Belly In My Arms 

we’d watch the shapes the rain would make
falling down the window of our bus
i said they reminded me of paper ponies blowing free
you said they reminded you of us

your belly in my arms
tomorrow we’ll be through these rains and gone

woke up with the driver cryin Birmingham
looked through the glass and found morning sky
i said that cloud was shaped like a burning man
you didn’t have the heart to tell me why

your belly in my arms
tomorrow we’ll be through them clouds and gone

i put my hand inside your skirt
nasty, the thought that our baby’s life would turn out this way
you said you wasn’t really sure
but really you’s too good to say it

your belly in my arms
tomorrow we’ll be through them rains and gone
your belly in my arms
tomorrow we’ll be through them games and gone

—

…Check them out…

http://www.myspace.com/thefelicebrothers

 

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