Red

Red contributes to our recycling efforts in his own special way!

Sharon found this on Book TV(cspan).I have just started it and it promises to be enjoyable.Already I have learned that there are many factors that have contributed to this process.Just a few are Geological , political, historic treaties and purchases . It is interesting that states did not get their current shapes instantly ,rather by a process that evolved as conditions changed . More later

Another cycle change completed. This was the easiest yet although it is still a few days work.These plants(bottom photo) will not have fruit until season after next
(June-August 2013) If the world has not blown up by then they will be yummy I am sure!

He's back

Although my mom died over 30 years ago she was in our house today. I feel that way every time I fix spaghetti. When I was a kid she would make this and it was quite an occasion.She would put it on at 8 in the morning and by the evening the house would be filled with a wonderful aroma, She claimed the recipe was given to her by a friend of my dads. His name was Charlie Masterpolo and his family was said to have owned an Italian restaurant . Of course my mom also claimed she was going to name me doing very (Niceley). Anyway, it is a nice story and I am sticking to it!
She would always complain as we were eating . The sauce was always to watery or something else would be off. It always tasted good to me though. As I got older I was not going to chance eating spaghetti fixed any other way so decided to learn to cook it myself. Although I have gotten fairly competent fixing it I still can't resist thinking it is just not good enough either. I guess that is just part of the recipe.

SO!

I had been watching a ballgame(well actually a ballgame and a movie on TCM) for almost an hour.I turned to look at my cat Harlech (a castle in Wales) for just a second and when I looked at back the picture had shrunk to the center of the screen and turned a funny brown color. Just as I thought--- what the--- a funny cracking sound came from the rear of the set followed by a loud POP and a strong electrical burning smell. "This does not look good" I thought. Odd that I had been thinking earlier that we have had this set for 20 years . And it still has such a great picture! Talk about going out with a bang!

We have less than 20 pineapples left(having started with around 60) and it is time to move to the next phase
of rooting starts and planting them. Faced with a shortage of new planting space we are
doing things differently this year.We would usually leave the 2nd year plants in for another season(plants can
fruit for more than one season) but these have multiple shoots that might produce more that one fruit on each plant meaning smaller fruits and less quality. Removing these (pictured) plants will give us the needed space and better fruits, They wont have fruits next season but the 60 pants we put in last time will. Never though this would turn into such a fun (although labor intensive) project!

Can I get an amen!

Time for a change of pace(reading material that is) . I normally like to read non fiction but
Sharon thought I would like this Mystery. Now that I have read almost 100 pages I can say she
is correct! More later

From the Archives

Tthings my wife wants me to throw away #4

Pineapple time again! This year we have about 60 that are almost ripe ,last year it was 100. Slowly we are succeeding in downsizing because it is too difficult to use or give them away fast enough . last year it was worse because warm weather made them ripen all at once. Problems Problems!!!!

what a wonderful thing!

Gil Scott-Heron 1949-2011

One of the winning groups at Merrie Monarch

Fun Stuff

miss you

The Way it feels sometimes

Merrie Monarch time again

Here is a brief rundown from the Merrie Monarch festival page

King David Kalākaua

The Merrie Monarch Festival is dedicated to the memory of King David Kalākaua, known as the Merrie Monarch. King Kalākaua came to the throne of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1874 and reigned until his death in 1891. He was a patron of the arts, especially music and dance.

Kalākaua restored Hawaiian cultural traditions that had been suppressed for many years under missionary teachings. He advocated a renewed sense of pride in such things as Hawaiian mythology, medicine, chant, and hula.

Ancient Hawaiians had no written language, but chant and hula served to record such things as genealogy, mythology, history, and religion. Hula, the dance of Hawaiian people, was one means by which culture was expressed and passed down through generations.

The Merrie Monarch Festival has steadfastly maintained the teachings of our kupuna, our elders, and in doing so we strive to perpetuate the history and culture of Hawaiian people in a manner that respects those teachings. Through our efforts, along with those of other organizations, we hope to ensure that the unique traditions of Hawaiian people will continue to flourish.

Now I understand!

U.K. Town / Pub names #4

Woke up with a tune on my mind this morning. This used to go on for hours.
Every few minutes I would find my self whistling or singing
(well attempting to sing) this intruder.
Then one day I read that if you can name it you can usually relate it to your mood. For the past week I have been fighting off this cold that is an energy zapper. Not bad symptoms but general tiredness. Well the morning of the songattack I was feeling better hence the tune "No more Blues" was in my head. Pretty slick!

Things my wife wants me to throw away # 3

It's becoming a habit; This Saturday afternoon CD review. This week it was the Hi-lo's ,
a tight harmony vocal quartet.They were formed by Gene Puerling in 1953 and
produced almost 30 albums . This CD (actually a 2 album compilation of albums made in the 50s) was produced in 1999. Suddenly it's the Hi-lo's is presented first but the second( Harmony in Jazz) is what interests me. This is because It has a more serious jazz nature . Unlike the first half of the album ,which has a complete orchestra including strings, the second half (Harmony in Jazz) has the group accompanied by the Marty Paich Dek-tet so the material selected is less commercially oriented . This smaller group also showcases the voices better ! This is another of my comfort albums( recordings loved as a child)
but remains vital still. Another case of quality material passing the test of time!

Contact imminent contribution

Speaking of the Prisoner, I am a member of the Six of One Prisoner appreciation , a group for those of us that cant get enough Information about the classic cult TV series. One of the membership benefits is a quarterly magazine and from time to time I try to contribute by sending them material. Here is my latest contribution.

The Prisoner series

I can't recall how many series of things I have started but here is a new one anyway. This time it is a trading card set of The Prisoner ,my favorite tv series. I promise to see how many I have running and try to make progress on all of them. You are probably thinking who cares but I have fun with it anyway.

U.K. Town and pub names #3

The third in a series of British town and pub names from The Camra Good Beer Guide. There are over 50 counties so this might take a while. The real challenge will be to just make it through the entire guide . At least I am not listing all 4,500 pubs in the book.

Lucky we live Hawaii

I was walking Red yesterday and had one of those moments where it really hits me how fortunate I am to
live here. So here are a couple more photos. Top one is looking towards the back of one of our 1 acre lots.
The trees in the far background are the lot line.The plants halfway back on the left are bananas which we eat periodically. To the right is a lemon tree. I then turned around and took the bottom photo looking towards the front.The palm frond on the ground is from the coconut tree in front of it. I am actually standing on our other lot which is also one acre. More on that later. The lots are about 120 feet wide and 400 ft long. For the most part it is blissfully quiet here with almost no traffic or background noise other than bird song and a faint surf sound. The fact that I have not seen one jet contrail overhead in the 9 years we have been here illustrates how remote we are!. As they say here Lucky we live Hawaii!

Dave Frishberg

Listened to this Dave Frishberg CD again the other day . He is a Pianist/ songwriter /singer ala Mose Allison,
Bob Dorough, and The late Blossom Dearie (stylistically speaking) He co-creates a lot of the material he does but also presents great versions of others work. He does not have a strong voice but does have a hip sense
of phrasing and presentation and his piano "chops" are excellent. I have had this Live CD for a long time (it was produced in 1986) and in reading the liner notes realized for the first time the Sharon and I were there when it was recorded at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

Things my wife wants me to throw away # 2

I did a similar post last year with Guinness but this time the Guinness is a little different.
Guinness brews more than one style of Stout. This Bottle is Foreign extra Stout. Unlike most of the bottled Guinness we get in the states, most brewed in Canada , Foreign Extra is brewed in Dublin. It is also quite a bit stronger( 7.5% ) than most of "our" Guinness. A few years ago I bought bottle of it in England but until Lately it has not been available here. Perfect selection for today!

Better Repair

I recently fixed a set of headphones I have. The material covering the foam rings had
deteriorated (blame the sub tropic environment) and was flaking off all over me. Now that they are in good working order again I have been trying to catch up listening to some boxed sets acquired over the past few years. I tend to buy them, listen once and go on to something else. It might take some time but I eventually return to each and get to know it better. The latest is The Nat King Cole/ Billy May sessions.
The material on this 2 CD set was recorded in the late 50s/early 60s. All of the arrangements are done by Billy May and performed by his orchestra although there are exceptions where Nat King Cole is accompanied by a small group. The orchestra (there are strings on some cuts) is very full and with the addition of a Tuba
a really interesting full sound range is produced. the arrangements are excellent and of Course Nat King Cole
is too. The execution is perfect making everything fit .
This would not be nearly as easy to hear without the head set . I shall make an effort to keep them in better repair!

absolutly melts me!

things my wife wants me to throw away #1

Sax Baixo Rio Branco-143

Dreamy twilight

I had a colonoscopy last week that turned out great. It was really a piece of cake even though my imagination made me miserable before hand . The cleansing was not pleasant (the solution was a bit much after 16 - 8 oz glasses over 2 hours ) but was not bad The anesthetics I worried about were no problem. After the nurse gave me the drugs, I babbled away for 15 seconds and the next thing I remember I was the recovery room. I don't even remember going to sleep! The doctor popped in and said everything looked great . When I told him how easy it had been he said "Good , tell your friends to have one"!

from the archives

Did it just get hotter in here?

On the Importance of Jazz

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival, WPFW News (Washington), [23 August 2002]

God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival

The way it feels sometimes

A day in mom's life - 1938

Trees

Well, our Christmas tree is up once again. Each year it gets more obvious that no matter
what the tree looks like to begin with , it always ends up with the same look. The ornaments
always do that. once again here is the proof,this year is on the right. It is bigger and took every
ornament and light we had but still looks like last years. I guess thats kinda nice!

Happy Holidaze

All set (ale wize anyway) for the Holidays. Not only do I have all of these new Holiday ales, I am finishing the old ones too. I find it fun to see how long they will "mature" without going off. So far results have been mixed. I had several Jubelales go bad last year. On the other hand I had a Anchor special ale from 2006 yesterday that was fine. The same happened with 2 Serria Nevada celebration ales a few days ago. 2006 was bad but 2008 was good. All the older ones are almost gone anyway. Years ago we tried this over a 10 year period with the 10 year old ale proving to be best!

I thought you would never remove that drawer!

Never know number 3

Monday we got a phone call from our neighbor across the street. She had some pig hunters (living in a rural area
we often have trouble with wild pigs) who were looking for a place to set a trap. They had reached the back
of her one acre lot and had just entered the lot next door when they saw a small cave. Don't forget that we live on a volcanic island and there are many old Lava tubes . Entering they discovered human bones . There are burial caves nearby so this is not a real surprise. Well, the police were called and 5 cars responded. Eventually there were official looking people all over the place. Finally they declared it a possible Hawaiian burial site and scheduled an archeologist to investigate.

Another never know moment

On our way to town today( Monday is our weekly grocery shopping day) we had another you never know moment.
The store is about 30 miles away(hence the weekly shopping) and we take Highway 130. About half way there we zoomed by a small kitten in the middle of the road. I yelled STOP, and we pulled onto the shoulder. It was pouring down rain (as it often does here) and I bolted out of the car . Some how I managed to stop traffic in both directions , and on my knees
grabbed the kitten which was under one of the stopped vehicles. As I carried it to the side of the road it started biting me and I said " I'm trying to help you here". We reached the car, It is still raining and I am bleeding , now wondering if it was all worth it. We drove to our vet and parked. In the process of trying to get the the little guy/gal in the building the feisty thing bit and scratched me again . I dropped it and it promptly ran under our car and disappeared . Fortunately
our vet knew what to do and we got it into a carrier . We called our friend Sandi who works at an Animal Sanctuary and our little friend will be there soon!

The way it feels sometimes

Never Know

So, as Sharon, Red, and I returned from out nightly walk yesterday ,we were about to enter the house.
I was giving Sharon the house key when Red spotted a Mongoose.
I was not really paying attention to him (this is always a bad idea) and he charged (all 75 pounds of him)to the other side
of the driveway extending the retractable leash to its maximum length . Unfortunately it was not long enough and
the force of it yanked me to the ground. I landed on my elbows and knees producing some nasty scrapes.
I did not however break anything (ribs teeth etc etc) so I was really lucky. Maybe one day I will learn to pay attention at all times when holding Reds leash. It struck me how you never know the full extent of possibilities at any given moment.

Autumn

I have finished my David Nobbs book. It was a fun comedy/romance involving a couple of young lovers that break up only to get back together many years later and live happily ever after. The last sentence was really clever because it was a device to begin a novel (the first sentence of the one you have just finished) which was about to be written. Good fun!
Now I am switching back to non fiction with A History of Wales written by John Davis. I have been interested in Wales ever since visiting Portmeirion (in Wales) years ago. As a matter of fact I bought this book during one of those visits. It is one of the many books purchased while traveling that I am finally getting around to reading. Time for stuff like this, one of the many joys of retirement.

Very good

I have been thinking about a couple of new posts but when this came along I couldn't
resist. This beautiful ,delicious grapefruit came from our tree. It is November and the beginning of grapefruit season. We planted an 18 inch plant 7 years ago and is now a healthy 20 foot tree! This fruit is at least 5 inches across and is (was )
very good.

Have loved this for many years

2nd Prize

Being Saturday it was dog class day. We have been trudging off to Red's class for 3 years now .
Classes are held for a period of 10 weeks followed by a gap of two or three months. In this
fall class cycle a Halloween costume contest is held. This is our 4th contest and until now we have not been
recognized. This is ironic because this time we put no time or thought into the process. Then while
grocery shopping last Monday made an impulse purchase of this child's costume. I saw it and thought it was
a perfect image of Red's personality. There were 37 dogs in the contest and with all the creative home made costumes I didn't think we had much of a chance. I guess the judges felt differently.

For a change I am reading a book that has no hidden material in its structure. David Nobbs(best know for creating The fall and rise of Reginald Perrin) latest book is a fun comic novel. I am already half way through it and enjoying it thoroughly.

losing marbles

I am getting most adept at selecting challenging books. I think I have said before I started
this practice after seeing it in a book about reading. Anyway, The British museum is falling down( the Author
originally wanted to name it The British Museum had lost its Charm) turned out to be more than I expected.
It is a humorous story about a Catholic British couple struggling with the churches practices regarding birth control.
But because the main character is involved in Literary research at the British Museum the author cleverly writes
parts of each chapter in the style of several notable classic authors . Not being familiar( with any detail ) of the authors
being parodied It went right over my head for the most part. It was not until the books afterword that I had the AHAH!
moment. I enjoyed it none the less. Now I am reading about St Peters Basilica . Not becuse of the catholic theme of this book alone but in combination of it and The stones of Venice. I wonder if you could call it viral reading?

Should be fun

On the reading front I just finished The Stones of Venice and am starting The British Museum is Falling Down written by David Lodge. The stones of Venice was really enjoyable and much more than than I had thought. It is written so well that I did not have as much difficulty with it as I feared. the Author presents his Ideas that the art of the renaissance is pestilent.The first half of the book is spent in a crash course of fundamental aspects of architecture so that the reader can see the good and bad of each period. After a section discussing the nature of the Gothic he then moves on to wonderful detailed descriptions of the two most important buildings of Venice.The Gothic Ducal Palace and the Basilica of St Mark. He ends with 3 chapters on Renaissance presenting his reasons for its failures .

My new book is a comic novel(a departure from my usual non fiction reading) regarding Catholics and their dilemma with birth control. A blurb on the back cover states
Rueful Rabelaisian glee
Catholic Herald
Should be fun!

Even our cats love reading

Sticking to it

Being Saturday today we were at dog class. As we loaded up for the trip home we noticed a small
Gecko right on the middle of the plastic covering the instrument gauges. Not realizing we had brought it with us
and being the silly sentimentalists we are, we could not leave it 30 miles away from its home,our back carport.
so we dutifully tried to not excite it all the way home. I repeatedly instructed Sharon (she was driving) not to freak out and crash the car if it jumped on her. It meandered over to my side about halfway home but basically stayed on the inside
of the windshield. We all made it all the way home and as far as we know our unexpected passenger is reunited with his wife and kids. That is our story and we are sticking to it.

Here we go again. Another book that will be challenging I am sure. A detailed look at the architecture of the Renaissance by an author who detests it. It does concentrate on Venice(which was my attraction to it) and is well written so no matter what it will be rewarding.