Tuesday, August 28, 2007

The Prisoner appreciation Society




The Prisoner is considered by many to be the most unusual and thought-provoking television series ever made. When it was first shown in England in 1967 there had certainly been nothing like it before and, many would argue, nothing has surpassed it since. The series first aired in the United States on June 1st, 1968 on the CBS network and was repeated in the summer of 1969.
The series is now unbelievably 40 years old but retains its vitality . This is helped in part by six of one the Prisoner appreciation society now celebrating our 30th anniversary.For more information visit

http://www.sixofone.co.uk/


Saturday, August 25, 2007

Classes


The notion of a dog training class as a place where they are trained is only half of the picture. Today was training class day. We are now in our third level of classes. Each level lasted 10 weeks. Even with all that training behind us it is not until now that it is dawning on me it is not just Red who has to learn. In order for it all to work I have to be a good trainer. Slowly I am learning that this is more complicated than I expected. At the end of level one a friend of mine asked what I had learned . I replied I do not have enough patience. I now realize that is not my only shortcoming. I guess I will need a few more classes.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

from http://www.garysmulyan.com/


Gary Smulyan

"...Smulyan's tone seems to get bigger and his ideas more expansive from album to album"
Doug Ramsey Jazz Times

"...exhibits his charachteristic bold sound, magisterial line invention, easy chair warmth, and robust swing"
Zan Stewart Stereophile

"... Smulyan's bari is sweet as silk, and smooth as butter"
CD Reviews Magazine

"...Smulyan never compromises his robust sound and urbane wit"
Mark Stryker Detroit Free Press

" ...a pointed improviser..." Ben Ratliff New York Times

"...one of the best baritonists..." Gary Giddins Village Voice

"... Pepper Adams' heir on baritone sax..."
Bob Blumenthal Boston Globe

"... His phrasings and inflections are flawless... he has mastered the ability to play changes with the same fluency that Pepper Adams did..."
Tim Price Saxophone Journal

"...romps through beboppish solos with amazingly clean articulation ..." Newark Star Ledger

Friday, August 17, 2007

Thursday, August 16, 2007

What Else?

Another day another earthquake, thats what! At least it wasn't as strong as that monster in Peru. That is the earthquake that triggered our short Tsusnami alert yesterday. Small world. Wish it would stop shaking!

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

WHAT ELSE COULD HAPPEN !!!

Things are not always easy here in”Paradise”. For the past several days we had been tracking a Hurricane headed towards our end of the Island. At its strongest it was a category 4 storm with 140 mph winds. We dutifully prepared for the worst then waited. To make matters worse when the storm was about to hit us we had a 5.4 earthquake nearby. It was one of the many quakes associated with the erupting volcano not to far from us. As I type this I am thinking it makes us look really loony for moving here!
Anyway the storm weakened, went south of us, and eventually amounted to nothing.
The earthquakes come an go and the eruption is in a remote area. Today just when everything was settling down an earthquake in Peru caused a brief Tsunami advisory for the Islands but it has been canceled .I am reminded of something my dad used to say during a rough period in his life

WHAT ELSE COULD HAPPEN !!!

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Later That Night


It was quite a sight as they opened while we watched! The only disappointment was the lack of a strong fragrance. Aside from that it was quite a night!

Opening stage one


It is remarkable how the blooms changed before they opened fully.

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Special



We are excitedly waiting for our Night Blooming Cereus buds to open. Early in the evening the buds open out into beautiful large cups about a foot long and have a mildly spicy fragrance. The Cereus was originally brought to Hawaii from Mexico in 1830 on the Brig Ivanhoe. It is widely known for the quarter-mile hedge it forms at the Punahou School in Honolulu. Hope to get a photo to post. This is going to be special.

Thursday, August 02, 2007

The jungle


It all started with a small plant given to us by friends who were moving. Not really knowing what it was we stuck it in the ground. Turns out it was a Passion fruit vine which proceeded to grow and grow and over take a small tree next to it. Having visions of the fence falling down and the tree being strangled we decided to remove it. Have to keep the jungle pushed back!