DT
Evolution Of Music
Tunesday: Insect Trust – Declaration Of Independence
A sample of some obscure - and maybe not obscure - tunes from my strange and off-the-wall collection.
Today's selection: Insect Trust - "Declaration Of Independence" 1968
Today's selection was inspired by several of Jean's poems.
A New York band of sorts, the core of the band to be left for San Francisco in '66, singing for gas and food along the way as the Solip Singers. They gave up heading west, the Solip Singers broke up, and returned to Memphis. The Insect Trust congealed in 1966 in Memphis and bounced back and forth between Memphis and Hoboken. During their "success" time, they fronted for bands such as Santana and the doors but eventually, personnel problems - drugs and business didn't mix well - led to the final breakup in Hoboken.
This cut is from their first, self-titled album. As one critic put it: "The album did nothing, sales-wise ... But what was really remarkable was that, somehow or other, the Insect Trust got a second chance a year later with "Hoboken Saturday Night. After the 2nd release, the band quietly fell apart bit by bit."
Liberals Rage In Idaho
Headline (Gateway Pundit): "Liberals are Raging After Idaho Bar Offers Free Beer for a Month to Anyone Who Helps ICE Identify and Deport Illegal Aliens"
Not that too many care about liberals or illegals. The bar is doing a booming business.
The Old State Saloon in Eagle, Idaho, is offering a whole month of free beer to anyone who assists U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in identifying and deporting illegal immigrants from the state.
The saloon’s bio [also] proudly declares it as the “Birthplace of Heterosexual Awesomeness Month” and sells merchandise with slogans like “Make America Straight Again.”
And, as I drift off topic ...
Eagle being a semi-suburb of Boise; it's also the "richest" per capita city in the state ("city" hereabouts being over 5,000 people). Eagle is considered one of the "bluer" cities in the state (#5) with about 46% voting blue and just over 50% voting red.
There are 34 cities in the state; nine (including Eagle) being in the Boise metro area (or 13 depending on definition of metro area)
Only one city in Idaho has a D majority; Hailey, "home to the stars" near the Sun Valley/Ketchum resort area with 67% blue. Moscow (college town) is #2 with just under 50% blue.
The 10 most conservative cities each have over 75% voting red; #1, Preston, over 85%; the least red, Hailey, only 30%.
Idaho is about 2½ times larger than Indiana with a total population being slightly less than Indianapolis metro, a bit less than ½ being in Boise metro.
ghostsniper better not visit ... unless he brings his family and belongings with him.
For those curious, I meet friends for breakfast every so often near that little bump a bit SE of "Illinois". Boise proper is near that bump on the Indiana/Illinois border.
Cactus Flower
Pogonip – The “White Death”
When conditions are just right - very cold and very still air - a dense fog can form long, needle-like crystals of rime (not ice); the super-cooled water remains liquid below the usual freezing point and doesn't freeze until the droplets contact a solid surface. "Rime" is similar to that white stuff that needed to be cleared out of older freezers. Conditions for a pogonip may only last hours but may last for days.
Relatively common in western Nevada, the local Paiute lived in sagebrush huts and feared the coming of the pogonip. Breathing the frozen air would cause sore throats at best, a difficulty in breathing, and a ripe environment for pneumonia - the white death.
This photo was taken outside Fernley, Nevada about this time of year; the crystals on the trees were 2" and longer in length.
It's a good idea to wear a mask when outside for any length of time under these conditions.
One might speculate as to whether DT wore a mask when wandering around this copse ...
Continue reading →Be Warned …
I'm back "live" and it's Carcass Day.
Hope you all had a pleasant Thanksgiving and are able to avoid the "Black Friday" crowds and "sales".
Twas a quiet day for me and Mrs DT; she enjoys cooking a "Thanksgiving" meal: turkey, stuffing, all the sides ... this year, the friends we normally give thanks with had scattered to the winds so it was just the two of us. No computers, no football, and unfortunately, no "good" holiday movies we cared to or were able to watch. So we watched some old B&W westerns that she's grown fond of. Figure that ...
Guess what I'm having for dinner the next few days ...
Way back when I was a mere sprout living near Detroit, in the days of 3 (4 in our case) B&W TV stations, the family would gather to watch the Hudson's Christmas Parade down Woodward. By the time Santa Claus got off his sleigh at Hudson's main entrance, friends and relatives would begin to show up. Mom and other assorted females - related or not - would gather in the kitchen to prepare the meal while the men gathered around the TV set for football. The kitchen was off-limits to all; the kids were normally kicked outside if they weren't watching football (sometimes even if they wanted to watch football) and the men did what men did when watching football with the women in a different room and the kids outside - even if it was snowing. Later I found out they didn't do much of anything except play coach and quarterback - not an athlete among them (except Walt Kowalczyk after he retired)
If I recall correctly, the game was the Detroit Lions vs Somebody - a Thanksgiving tradition since 1934 - and started around noon. Dinner was served after the game, say about 2:30 or 3.
The kids were called in and plopped down at the kid's table. It was usual that the kids were served to eliminate more pandemonium in the kitchen - and control portions. The adults served themselves buffet style and sat in the rarely used dining room and spilled over into the living room. Having 20-30 people around was not unusual; Mom loved to host social events.
By the mid-60s, Dallas got into the tradition with a Game 2, starting around 4 or 5PM. There was about an hour between games. If dinner wasn't finished in that hour, the feast moved to the TV set for the Dallas game. One year - I forget which year, late 60s I suppose - and thereafter, I got to sit with the adults >>> :) :) :).
I was all grown up by informal decree (until the next day).
Pie and other goodies were served during halftime of Game 2. Nibbles took place during the 2nd half. That game ended around 7, which began the splitting of the spoils. By 8:30 or so, all the visitors had left and once more, peace reigned in the household - "peace" being what was possible with 4 youngsters all spiked up on sugary desserts and no school on Friday.
The traditional large gatherings started to fade away by the 70s. My grandparents passed on as did some of the friends. I had moved on and was too far away to make it "home" and back in the time I had, and ... time passes on; life ... and death ... happens.
"Black Friday" wasn't really a thing back then; certainly not the nightmare it has become. By Monday, the town Christmas decorations were in place and my world and its surroundings concentrated on the coming holidays (school's out!)
Sometimes, during the holidays, I wish I was 12 again ...
Continue reading →The Iridium Layer
That thin dark layer ...
"The iridium layer is a thin layer of rock found at the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary, characterized by an unusually high concentration of the element iridium. This layer is significant because it is believed to be evidence of a massive asteroid impact that contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs and about 70% of all other species around 66 million years ago."
Happy Turkey Day
In spite of everything, there is much to be thankful for.
A Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Late Season Apples
The leaves are gone, so are the soft, warm summer days. Frost has made the remaining hangers-on soft and mushy; the last fresh food of the season for some of the wild critters. The new shoots of spring are far in the future - the worst of winter is yet to come.
Continue reading →