WTF !!! are you kidding,,, I saw this in a magazine this week on Holiday decorations.. The Magazine did not have such detail,,, but exactly what sorta loser are you that you need to read directions on this from the DIY page !!
Ask a KID - they already know how !! its in KID DNA,,, as we grown into adults we become stupid ! and you know what Ron White says,,, YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID !..
Step1 Test to see if you have 'packing snow,' which clumps together easily and isn't too wet. The snow must pack to make a snowman. Step2 Shape a handful of snow into a ball. Continue adding more snow and packing the ball until it's too large to hold. Step3 Place the ball on the snow in front of you and slowly roll it away from you. As more snow accumulates on the outside of your ball, pack the snow by pressing on it with your gloved hands. Step4 Roll and pack the ball over and over until it is the size you want for the bottom of the snowman's body. Step5 Repeat for the midsection and head. The bottom should be the biggest ball, and the top should be the smallest. Step6 Pack some extra snow between the layers to make them stick together. Place sticks down the center where the sections meet if your snowman is having trouble standing erect. Step7 Give the snowman a face. Use coal, rocks, buttons or anything dark and round for the eyes. A horizontal stick or twig will make a good mouth, and a carrot is fine for the pointy nose. If you don't have a carrot, a banana or a candy cane will do the job. Step8 Cover the top of his head with an old plant for hair, or give him a knit hat to wear. Top hats will blow away unless secured. Step9 Add arms, legs and other accessories. Push sticks into the sides of the middle section and hang old mittens on the ends, then place boots at the bottom for legs. Also consider adding items such as a shirt, a scarf or sunglasses.
Greetings,,,, for those in the Hudson Valley tune into WDST for their playing of Alice's restaurant,,,,
Those around the world on the WEB ,,, you can go to WDST.com and "listen Live" - the times listed are Eastern US standard time.....
and here is the WKRP "Turkey Drop" episode,,,, you can fast forward it out to ~1:30 when Johnny Fever sends the Broadcast out to Les Nessman,,, very funny !
With Thanksgiving right upon us,,, Let's remember days past,,,,,,,,,,,,
In My House ... the morning of Turkey day is not the Macy's Day Parade,, but THE LAST WALTZ, and Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant,,
The Last Waltz was a concert by the Band held on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Billed as a "farewell" performance after 16 years of touring, the concert saw The Band joined by more than a dozen special guests, including Paul Butterfield, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood and Neil Young. Martin Scorcese's films documented that Final Performance. and unlike Other breakups,,, THE BAND never performed together again,.. These were the guys that were with Dylan in the days when he - Dylan - moved from Acoustic folk music to electric,,,and began to get boo'd - especially at the Newport Festival,,, it was THE BAND that provided Most of the ELECTRIC - to Dylan's Electric concerts... And the Band is credited for changing American Music and influencing artists in the late 60's early 70's with their Album "Music From Big Pink" - Big Pink being the y house they all lived in in Woodstock...
We in the Hudson Valley have been lucky enough to see some of the guys over the years perform (as they live ) locally,,, Although there was an article last week that Garth Hudson showed up at Levon's Midnight Ramble, and that was a big deal. You used to be able to see Rick Danko play at Tinker Street, and the Joyous Lake - both in Woodstock,, and he was on occasion joined by Levon or Garth.
So ,,, Richard Manuel took his own life in 1986, Rick Danko passed on Dec 10th, 1999 of Hard living,,, Robbie Robertson is still making music, but has never really reconnected with his Band Mates,,, Garth Hudson lives near Woodstock, and we have seen him and His Wife Maude on occasion,,, recently joining Cowboy Junkies at the Bearsville Theater, Levon Helm - Woodstock resident, Performs Weekly at his Midnight Ramble,, and his CD of last year "DIRT FARMER" won a Grammy. Seeing Levon at the Village Green in Woodstock, or having Lunch at Taco Juans, or a Coffee at Bread Alone in not an uncommon site,,, After Beating Throat Cancer, he has refound his musical Life .. and is turning into an American music legend. So here is a Video from the LAST WALTZ,, there are many others posted - so check 'em out! - you can go get the Full DVD of the Last Waltz on DVD or BLU Ray!!! -
Now - at About noon time on Thanksgiving day,,, Both WDST or WPDH will be playing this version of Alice's Restaurant,,, WE have always listened to ARLO,,, Now probably not many children these days would know the GROUP W bench,,, but mine do,, and I hope that their exposure to Arlo has helped to make them aware of the past,,and that they will be listening to Arlo with their Kids, and that part of our family history is then passed to the next generations,,,and we hope that they will live in a time of PEACE and that singing is a way to End War..
but for now let's just listen to Arlo and make sure that you are singing along when he gets to the Part of "you can get anything you want at Alice's restaurant" cause as Arlo says "You got to sing loud if you wanna Stop War and stuff"
I want them to stop looking to me for answers, begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. I want my privacy.
With the Thanksgiving holiday nearly upon us,,, I am reflecting on issues of the past, and bringing them into the present day..
This story appeared on CNN.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even before this year's sharp economic downturn, the Agriculture Department reported Monday.
Talk about disgusting,,, 700,000 children,,,?? what the hell kinda nation are we ? These are our children after all,,, regardless of circumstance,Race, color, social-economic background,, ,, "they" (the children) did not ask for it,,THEY were born into it,, and victims of IT ..
Back in the early 70's,, Harry Chapin , at the bequest of Bill Ayres... started to raise money and awareness of the Needs of the hungry people in America,,, Millions were raised, and W.H.Y. has branched out into many different organizations, in most/all the major cities around the country,,, even though most folks thought that the Organization would die, when Harry died in an auto accident in 1981. However , his family and fans kept it going, and unfortunately the need is greater today then almost at any time in the past. If you saw Harry play back in that day , it was most likely a Benefit show,,, about 75 % of his shows were and toured over 200 days a year ! Harry would always remind you during the concert about why you needed to contribute,,, with facts on how many children were going to sleep that night hungry,, how 25% of the canned Dog and Cat food sold, was sold to senior citizens that ate it themselves,,, or just what good did Food drives do for Holidays ,,, cause "What the hell were those folks gonna eat the day AFTER Thanksgiving" ??!!!??
So, with Harry's birthday just around the corner - December 7th,,I ask that after you read this BLOG that you go to the store and buy food to donate, or clean out your Pantry, and give that food away. Think Globally and Act locally is VERY appropriate here. There are more folks than you know right in your own communities that need your help. Just think of those Children ....
PART II - Harry Chapin
There are those artists that do not translate to Canned media,,, that their Voices, and Musical talents do not come across on a record, or CD. That they are so much more LIVE then recorded,,, kinda like a "picture" of the picture of the Mona Lisa,,, it does not translate - so to Speak,,, Harry was one of those performers. He did not come across on studio recordings anywhere near what you got seeing and hearing him LIVE. His presence on STAGE was electric. I was fortunate to see him many times,, at the "Chance" with and without his band,,, SPAC,, Rockland Community College, and a few times at what is arguably the worst concert location,, Mid-Hudson Civic center. however, I will try to relate the tale of one VERY special night.
it was a Fall Concert for the Benefit of WHY. You were asked to Bring canned food to donate, and that the proceeds from the concert were going to the WHY organization. Harry walked on stage alone,, although the entire bands instruments were there. As he spoke, HE could not, his voice so hoarse it was barely a whisper. He told us - he could not sing... but as it was a benefit,, he did not want to cancel the show,, and that his brothers Tom, and Steve would sing the songs,,, and that his band - Doug Walker, Howie Fields, BIG John Wallace, and I think it was Yvonne Cabel on the Cello .. were all there,, BUT - anyone who wanted their Money back could get a refund by returning the ticket to the Civic Center.
His brothers never got the chance to sing.... the Audience - we sang every word of every song,,,It was the most amazing show ever! They Played for over Two hours.. Then for the 1st Encore, they came out and did "Mail-Order Annie" Harry Started that one, actually just speaking the words,, but playing the harmonica as the Audience finished the Song,,, the 2nd Encore was Harry alone, clearly with tears in his eyes.. and his band watching from the side of the stage, he sat on the edge of the stage,,, he said "shhhhhhhhh" and Did an acapella version of "You are the only Song" - you could ave heard a pin drop until the Thunderous Appaluse at the end !
I doubt if anyone asked for their Money back,,, Harry, the band the road crew, sound guys - were all at the Exits as the Audience left the Civic Center.. to shake hands,,, You CANNOT get that from an effing Recording !!
SO here are a few from Harry,,, Remember him, donate food to those who are less fortunate,,, Pay it Forward ... If you check YOUTUBE there are many other selections from Harry Chapin, Mr. Tanner, Story of a Life, and Better Place to be,, but I'll let you find them on your own,, , if you never saw him,, maybe you can get a bit of what kinda Energy he brought, and if you had seen him you can .....Remember when the Music....................
W.O.L.D.
Harry started shows with this song,,, as he would come out alone, and add the pieces as the song went along...
All right , you talked me into another one
Mr Tanner,,,, Music was his life,,,it was not his lively hood,,, it just made him Whole.....
Those who do not Learn from history are Doomed ,,, well doomed to repeat it !!
The Proposed Bailout of GM is not w/o precedence,,, back in the day,,,, Lee Iaccoca persuaded Congress to Bailout Chrysler,,,, Tom Paxton wrote a very pointed song about it called "I am Changing my Name to Chrysler" - Arlo Guthrie covered that on the Precious Friends LP with Pete Seeger,,, and Arlo - as he is known to do,,, updated that tune to be "I am changing MY name to Fannie Mae " !! I have included Both the Chrysler, and Fannie Mae versions below.,...you enjoy ,,,, and - ain't you kinda glad that I'm in debt to you" ??
And,,,,if you wish to review what the Chrysler bailout looked like ,,, check the link,....
Every person has with in them the ability to do GREAT things ,,, if that is Climbing mountains, completing a Tri-Athalon, running a Marathon, flying a plane, swimming the English channel, or simply living in their life,,
This touch-stone is CHALLENGE.
At times the day-to-day struggles of Modern life impede on our ability to see the big picture, to see our impact on others, and on the earth. They talk Carbon footprint,, but our lives impact those around us more than just by what toilet paper and counter cleaner we use,,, We are , at times, too close to the picture so to speak to see it,,, and we should not discount our lives,, each has done great things,,, and continues to do great things. Raising children, continuing a friendship, sustaining a Marriage, all things to be proud of every day,,, PREACHING ON : do not think that your influence is lessened because you are not the CEO of the company, or a Doctor, Lawyer, Actor, Actress, Music star, Dancin for the Stars, etc,,, and we should not let others make us feel less important than we KNOW we are !! Each life Carry's its own importance,, to us, to those close to us,,, DO a "Its a Wonderful Life" - think where thing would be with out you ... How would others react,, who would really miss you?? See - told you that your impact , your GLOBAL footprint is far reaching,, and should be valued -if by no one else - BY YOU ! PREACHING OFF: From the Funeral Scene - The Big Chill "Are not the satisfactions of being a good man among our common men great enough to sustain us any more? Where did Alex's hope go? Maybe that is the small resolution we can take from here today. To try to regain that hope that must have eluded Alex."
warning!! Borrowed thoughts, !! I think about my Parents generation , the satisfactions of being a good man was enough to sustain them. I watched that sense of satisfaction start slipping away in my generation,, and now into my children's it seems to be utterly gone.
This America no longer supports such satisfaction. We have created a place that is very hard to walk through with grace. Perhaps "how" can be answered better once WE as Americas reestablish identity for ourselves, for it is difficult to be a part of something greater than yourself when you have no idea what that something is.
SO Walk on,,,
Head up high,, not looking down at others but holding our selves up... and ..
WHY NOT SMILE !!
BTW.,,, search around YOUTUBE for a live version,,, Mike and Mike do this with just an acoustic Guitar, its a great moment in REM's live shows
Zepplin was seriously huge back in the day as they say,,,everyone had a Led Zep LP and ZEPPLIN Music was supposedly good at gettin Girls "in the mood" .... anyway ,, what ever your Opinion of the Band - Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones, and the late, John Bonham,,, they were a huge commercial success and did - IMHO - make some great music,,,
These two videos for today are mostly Page and Plant -
Gallows Pole is this one,,
That instrument being cranked is a Hurdy Gurdy. aka "wheel fiddle",,
and this one with Alison Krauss and Robert Plant ,,, Gone, Gone, Gone
Oh boy - so two unique subjects today,,,,THAT web counter that I stated did not work on my BLOG ,,, is working,,, I did step one,,, Signing up for and registering that Blog with the "SITE METER" folks,,, That said I needed to do a 2nd part of the installation and embed the METER into the BLOG WEB PAGE ! DOH !!! It is working, and there are actually a few hits on this page ,,, SO I feel better about not always "talking" to my self,,, The next goal is already realized as someone ACTUALLY commented on a few of my Posts !!! I am Ecstatic !! You, who ever the hell you are, are now in BIG effin trouble,,, as I now have a new found Exuberance in writing , thinking that THE undefined YOU - might just be reading and "playing along" - so to speak !! SO - get ready for more and continued Dribble !!
I said I had two subjects,,, so the olde saying "if you have your health - you have everything" well I do not know about have everything crap,,, but,,, yoowwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeee My G.D. leg is killin me,,,,
I think this is the Hamstring muscle the one that goes right up into what can only be described as the "ASS" muscle !!
No way I can run with the leg like this,,,, I think right now , the Turkey trot is definitely in Jeopardy (FU Alex Trebek) and maybe the WDW Marathon ,,,, Shhhh,,, I cannot bear to say that out loud,,, although I am better today then yesterday,,, that Hammy feels horrible,,, I guess I am hoping that there is no tear,,, only strained ,,,, started with working on the floor, and really got Bad (I am a little fuzzy on this good - bad thing ) on Monday's 7 miler,,, I knew I felt too good going out,,, clicking off at 8 1/2 min / mi - fast for me - and I should have stopped when it started to hurt badly coming back,,, BUT no,,, MACHO ME = ASSHOLE,,, and now I can't even jog @!!! ....DAMN !
Greetings,,, THE FUTURE ??? what is out there waiting for us ?? Long term or short time? No one knows,,,, Even those with grandiose plans have not a friggin clue,,, you could get trampled by a Cement Mixer, or win the Lottery.. It is part of what makes living exciting,,, and yup sometimes frustrating,,,, We do not get a Delorean to go back and forth with,,, I kind of wonder if we had one would we want to know ?? Really?? Think about it,...If our actions beget certain ends, and those actions be changed - do the outcomes differ... or is it FATE ???
Say "Crystal Ball" reading becomes a Science that is 99 percent accurate,,, Tarrot cards really for tell our Futures,,, what the Heck fun is that,,,, Is it not the wonderment of the unknown that keeps us moving forward, that keeps us living for today and dreaming of the tomorrows???
That we plan and hope and look forward to events, hoping that our best laid plans come to pass - hey that's all part of Living,,,, and adjusting tho what life has to offer is sometime hard to see as normal.,, but how we react to what happens to us is as important as what happens to us,,, SO put your Magic 8 Ball away,,, stop reading those stupid Horoscopes,,, and live as if this was it ! Easy to say , hard to do,,, Live in the present and plan for the future,,,,
So .. All my life's a Circle,,,............. Much more later,,,,
Yup,.that's Mark Knoffler,,,, If you don't have this CD ,,, GET it !!
OLD one... Back in the DAY - with Andrew Gold, Kenny Edwards, Russ Knuckel, Leland Sklar, and a guy from Pleasant Valley ,,, Brock Walsh
and a bonus,,,, Zevon song - Hasten Down the Wind....
OK,, you talked me into a 3rd,,,, Someone to Laydown beside Me,,, On the Piano Danny Grosch - passed of Liver Cancer years back - and of Course WADDY on the guitar ..
Greetings,,, or MAYBE not,, as you will see , and read,,, This post is a strange-o one.
So, Let's get at it,,, I have enlisted the services of a WEB counter, specifically SITE METER, that does some fancier things for you than just count visits to your site,,, things that a Plain Vanilla COUNTER at the page bottom does cannot do... ,,,
BTW as of today there have been 1184 hits to the Celery Consciousness page..
BUT - that said - SITE METER says Zip, Zero, NADA, None !! The Data from the Site Meter is pasted in below,,, This means essentially - that I have Blogging to myself for these past months , the only visitor is MY BLOG IS ME !! Jesus what a sorry state,,, what does that say about me ?,,, my personal relationships? My Communication Skills?? I will tell you what it means,,, and does not mean,,, IT does not mean $hit !! It means that the Site meter - although a fine piece of software, and an outstanding application, is not picking up all the traffic to my BLOG !! and that I will go on Blogging, and Posting if for no-ones enjoyment other than MY OWN !! So you - Constant Reader - You can keep coming back for more , and I will continue to add new stuff to keep YOU ,,,, Ahhh ME ,,, Amused ,,, BTW --- Thanks for Visiting !!!
Site Summary VISITS
Total = 0 Average Per Day = 0 Average Visit Length = 0 Last Hour = 0 Today = 0 This Week 0
Would you think they need to add the additional ZEROS to the AVG per day,,and Avg Visits,, after they tell you that the TOTAL hits is ZERO, I GET IT ALREADY ! That's just rubbin my nose in it - am I right???
This video is one of my NEW Favorite songs,,,, Played in the Background on HOUSE.. I was in the Episode 97 SECONDS,,, The guy in the Wheel chair dies because Thirteen does not ensure he takes the Pills,, and his dog dies with him because the dog eats the pills,, and it the one where the kid was in the head on accident, and DIES for 97 seconds,, and he tells House that it was the Best 97 Seconds of his life,,,you enjoy this one,, its Alanis Morrisette - NOT AS WE..
and A Pearl Jam offering,,, "Off he Goes" - you have to love the line,,, "Nothings changed but the surrounding Bullshit... That has grown",,
And finally,,, sorry about all these,,,, but on the way to pickup my morning Production reports off the Copier,,, I saw a calendar in the dumpster in the Hall,,
A Vangogh calendar,,,, opened to "Starry Night", and was immediately reminded of "VINCENT" .... so ..................
Well,, OK,, hang on now,,, I was thinking more along the lines of HARP Players !! John Popper, Elwood Blues (aka Dan Akroyd), etc,,,
I am reminded - just recently - that there are Players, and then there are players,,,, I need to list out several that I have had the pleasure of hearing over the years,,,,along with Popper, and Ackroyd,,there is,, James Montgomery, South Side Johnny Lyon, Delbert McClinton, John Sebastian (who knew), Robbie Dupree, And as these gentlemen are difficult to separate,,, others like Arlo Guthrie, Dylan, Neil Young play the harp to accompany their music,,, there are IMHO a few that are GODS in this category,,,, I have had the privilege to hear BOTH James Cotton, and Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz.
Magic Dick played for years with one of My favorite bands,,, J. Geils Band,,, and to this day , I have all of "FULL HOUSE" and "BLOW YOUR FACE OUT" on my I-pod,,, even though my wife says "hey that's old music !" ,, "we had that on a Record - 30 years ago, and you would play it on the T-bird's 8 track player when we were dating"... well then call me an old man that still plays the music too Freakin loud and sings along with the band. That "Blow your Face" Record had a footnote actually pressed into the Vinyl at the center "MADE LOUD TO PLAY LOUD".. So Magic Dick's version of "WHAMMER JAMMER" rocks to this day,,, if you listen to that and do not tap your feet, or bob your head , or get up and dance..- call the paramedics- you must have passed away !!
Now,, the Master, James "Super Harp" Cotton, this man , now 73 years old is still rockin - you can catch him at BB King's in NYC on Jan 17th ! http://www.jamescottonsuperharp.com/
I have seen James play at "The Chance" and met him back stage there many years ago,. At Dutchess college where James Montgomery opened for him,, and then Cotton came out and just blew the roof off the building for 2 hours.,,, and then years later in Pawling - at the Town Crier..He has no voice,,, a problem , possibly Cancer , took most of that,,, However, none of that seems to have slowed him down. He is a legend in the Blues community, Played with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin Wolf,, and received a Grammy for his work on HARD AGAIN , a 1977 recording by Muddy Waters that was produced by Johnny Winter, who played on the recording with Pine Top Perkins, and BIG EYES Willie Smith.
These men - Magic Dick, James Cotton - were instrumental in forming the basis of this young white man's music background,, The Blues - at least played the way way these guy play it is the greatest music in the world, and the Basis for what we all know today to be Rock & Roll Music,, I have included Videos below of Both,,,and I hope you will use the WEB and YOUTUBE to explore more of their music, as this is real Genius
