a wine for this month...

http://www.vampirewine.com/vampireVineyard/index.html

The Shaggs On Broadway!!!!

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/09/30/theater/reviews/30shag.html

If you don't know who I'm talking about, I can't explain it. You just gotta experience a Shaggs record...
(Thanks for the link, Ed!)

Southside Johnny downloads

http://www.southsidejohnny.org/newrelease/multimedia/audio/index.htm

You can now get a couple of free downloads of Soutshide Johnny songs at his website. Solid R&B...

Replicating Robots (maybe)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/09/0928_050928_robotcopies_2.html

I may ahve misunderstood, but this doesn't seem quite impessive enough to me. I'm wondering if we'll be able to create a truly reproducing machine.

Remember, this is when you can catch up on all the horror movies on TV!

http://www.tv-now.com/stars/horror.html

http://www.tv-now.com/stars/scifi.htm

Only One More Day Until Gothtober!

http://www.gothtober.com/

Celebrate! 'Tis The Eve Of The Black Month!!!

http://www.halloweenonlinemagazine.com/party/party1-1.html

The Cthulhu Chick Comic Story

http://esr.ibiblio.org/index.php?p=135

A Classic!

Denmark VS Santa!

p://uk.news.yahoo.com/28092005/323/santa-gets-compensation-air-force-kills-rudolph.html

Plan 9 & Mike Nelson on DVD!

The next movie Legend Films will release in colorized form, featuringcommentary by Michael J. Nelson, is the legendary "Plan 9 From OuterSpace."But as they complete the project, Legend is inviting fans to bid for achance to be a part of it. From Sept. 29 through October 5, the companyis sponsoring an eBay auction that will give winners a chance to havetheir photo or name inserted digitally into the movie.In one auction, you can bid to have you photo displayed on a bedroomwall frame during the infamous Bela Lugosi attack scene. In another, the winning bidder will have his or her name engraved on tombstone in acemetery scene. The resulting DVD will go on sale on Legend's Web site in December, andwill hit store shelves in 2006. In addition to Mike's commentary track,other special features will include "the lost Plans 1-8" (whatever thatmeans) "never-before-seen home movies of Ed Wood in drag." Wow. For more info, visit

www.legendfilms.net

neat article on the Archive of Psychology

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/27/health/psychology/27muse.html?ex=1128571200&en=ee656d3f07eaa670&ei=5070&emc=eta1

This sounds very neat to me.

Weird map quirks on Google

http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlcat12/Strange-Map-Quirks.htm

Some of these are pretty strange, and intersting...

Lobster vending machine

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000460060473/

Remake of the Creature From The Black Lagoon in the works

http://www.the-reelgillman.com/news/remake.html

Happy Birthday Thomas Nast

http://www.thomasnast.com/
THE most famous political cartoonist - and one of the creators of the modern Santa Claus.

Happy Birthday Sam Adams!

One of my heroes...

http://www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/ADAMS2.HTM

my home computer is on the fritz..

So I probably won't be posting much in the next day or two...

neat music resource

http://www.lysergia.com/AcidArchives/index.htm
For all you acid/garage rock lovers...

new electornic reprint of a Victorian Halloween book

http://www.victorianhalloween.com/spooky.html

the cheerios effect

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9425907

Space Elevator News

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9454786/

Assassin Dolphins On The Loose!

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1577753,00.html

It's Astounding...

The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered on this date in 1975. I've not been to see it in years, but it was always a fun night at the Key Theatre. The best show of all was at the little movie house up in College Park by the University of Maryland. Motorcycles, streakers, drunks, beer bottles flying through the air - a wonderfully depraved evening.

http://www.rockyhorror.com/

http://www.towson.edu/~jbaker/rockytheaters/theater.html

http://www.rockyhorror.com/proplist.html

The Locals: http://users.cjb.net/notyetknown/index.html

Roman Numeral & Date Conversion site

http://www.guernsey.net/%7Esgibbs/roman.html

Neat!

Halloween Radio!

http://www.neverendingwonder.com/

http://www.live365.com/stations/webslingingirl

http://www.live365.com/stations/liveontheinternet

http://www.live365.com/stations/halloweenradio

http://www.live365.com/stations/otr_poe

http://www.live365.com/stations/ozrock

http://www.live365.com/stations/djhalloween

http://www.live365.com/stations/nobodyrecords

new movie (possible Illuminati/Discordian connection?)

http://jam.canoe.ca/Movies/Artists/C/Carrey_Jim/2005/09/22/1230718.html

Take a sad song, and make it better...

Hey Jude hit #1 on this date in 1968. That's 37 years ago, old timers...

HappyBirthday Jim Henson!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Henson

Happy Anniversary Rocky & Bullwinkle!

Their show premiered on this date in 1961. Great stuff! Who can forget the Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayam?

http://www.toonopedia.com/rockbull.htm

http://www.rockyandbullwinkle.com/jwt/

http://bullwinkle.toonzone.net/

Awww, how cute...

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=TYV12508#LargeImage

Hound of Tindalos plush...

Happy Anniversary, Butch & Sundance!

The film of Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, (one of my faves) was released on this date in 1969. One of the most charming movies that I know of. The bicycle scene is a classic. If you aren't a Baby Boomer, this film will help you figure us out.

The Dracula Festival!

http://www.rosenbach.org/programs/rtb/rtb05.html

Happy Birthday BRUUUUUUCE!

http://www.brucespringsteen.net/devilsanddust.html

http://www.backstreets.com/

http://greasylake.org/

Tying Faith between our teeth...

the cutting edge of Ninja disguises...

http://eatliver.com/i.php?n=671

Science!

http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/050919a.shtml

(I'm sorry, but anytime I see an article about scientists creating glowing green hamster sperm, I just have to post it...)

neat article about ants & "devil gardens"

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-09/su-ane091905.php

Paul may be the Walrus, but John is the Peacock!

http://entertainment.iafrica.com/music/news/489685.htm

Happy Birthday Prof. Kingsfield!

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002144/

Amazing Bionic Technology

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/medicine/6123dc8a25076010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

unusual music and instruments

http://www.oddmusic.com/

Count Gore Returns To D.C.!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2005/09/12/DI2005091200917.html?referrer=emailarticle

(Thanks for the heads up about this, Sean!)

my new Fall wardrobe

http://www.stopabductions.com/

Marines in Spaaaace!

http://www.defensetech.org/archives/001815.html

Bunny!

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1541732.html

Happy Birthday Jay Ward!

Linda and I have been watching DVD's of his series - Fractured Flickers. It doesn't always work, but the guy was ahead of his time in many ways.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Ward

http://www.toonopedia.com/jayward.htm

the cutting edge of euthanasia

http://allafrica.com/stories/200509140553.html

the cutting edge of Talk Like A Pirate Day...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1782646,00.html

the political history of bowel movements and urination

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1782828,00.html

VERY Weird Disaster Synchronicity

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/research/1282151.html

Popular Mechanics basically predicted a Katrina-like event on 9/11/2001!!!

Wisconsin controls our dreams!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=362101&in_page_id=1774

neat cloud pictures

http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/june2004hastings-mammatus.html

Shocking!

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200509/s1461751.htm

Dune Tunes

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8014

Tres Weird.

ARRRR, Matey!

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Shivver Me Timbers, Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

We're Back from Doug Stock!

We went up to DougStock - an occasional celebratory party hosted by our friends Doug and Patricia (Thanks folks!) in Vermont. Peter went up with us and we had a great time. The community of Fair Haven is right out of a New England travelogue. We stayed at an Inn called the Marble Mansion, a great pile of a Victorian home that's within walking distance of the main festivities, (http://www.marblemansion.net/). Doug and Patricia had invited all of their friends from the four quarters. People came streaming into town, (I understand that New York State Throughway was closed, man!). The weather was always threatening, due to the nearby hurricane. But Peter and I led the crowds in a chant of "No Rain! No Rain!" and that kept the storm at bay. The music and the company were great. We got to meet Doug and Patricia's new daughter Zoe. Chris and Mariela came down with their kids Marcello and Alexsandro too. It was the first time we'd met any of the children. Things started up Friday night with a nice dinner out and a tour of the house. It was a fascinating structure - a former pre-Victorian era barn. Later additions added new rooms and angles, creating a sinister maze, hinting at dark secrets and forbidden spaces.
The next day started early, there was to be an Apple Festival taking place directly across the street from our Inn that was cancelled at the last minute. Vermonters are a hardy people, used to dealing with inclement weather. So, I cannot believe that the roiling storm clouds were the reason for the festivities not taking place. No, I suspect that we, the presence of outsiders, were to blame. The Fair Haven Apple Festival is quite clearly a pre-Christian fertility and harvest cult rite. Each Autumn, when the stars and Moon are aligned, a young lad from the village is selected by the elders as that year's symbol of the apple harvest (my occult intuition tells me that their proper title is probably the "MacIntosh King"). After a year of enjoying the best food, housing and selection of local maids, this person is put to death - sacrificed to assure the next year's harvest and general welfare of the village. I noticed that the village square has a small stone altar at its center. Clearly, its purpose is to tie the victim down across it, drive an obsidian knife into their chest and extract their heart. Blood from the still-beating organ is squeezed upon the ground, guaranteeing the fertility of the land for next year. Then, each of the villagers lines up with a small silver cup to receive a few drops from which they drink for personal protection and success in the coming year. A new MacIntosh King is selected, and the whole process beings again, as it has since antiquity.
Clearly, this ceremony is to be hidden from outsiders, and I am positive that is why it was cancelled while we were there. But as we were driving off, I felt sure that I heard the callings of sinister drums...
At any rate, later on Saturday, the festivities at DougStock proceeded apace. Great friends and conversations, music and food. It was a wonderful day. In fact, the comparisons to Woodstock were uncanny. There was drug use, (I'd taken my prescription of Lipitor earlier) as well as nudity (Zoe lost her shirt some time during the festivities). A very successful Happening!
This morning we reluctantly left Vermont to return to Byzantium. I'm happy to say that the ride was uneventful, with one notable exception. We were driving along Interstate 287 in New Jersey and needed to get some gasoline. Now, the state already has a rough reputation; but apparently it feels that it's just not quite bad enough. What New Jersey does is put signs up at each exit announcing that there's a gas station there. For most of us, this would strongly imply that there's a gas station right off the highway. But for Jersey it merely means that if one exits here and travels enough days, one might possibly spy a station at some point, (a condition which exists for any highway exit on earth - even Timbuktu). I was misled several times into leaving the highway with promises of gas that simply weren't true. After several failures to locate a station (after having been promised same by the highway signs), I gave up leaving the road until I could actually see a pump. Ridiculous.
But that is a minor quibble, we had a great time, and look forward to the next Gathering of the Tribes...

Off to Dougstock!

We leave for Vermont tomorrow to attend DougStock! Will begin posting again on Monday. Be seeing you!

Happy Birthday Fee Waybill, You White Punk On Dope!

http://www.thetubes.com/waybill.htm

http://www.the-tubes.com/



To have seen the Tubes in their heyday, (the mid 70's), was to experience a touch of Weimar. Loud, raucus, obscene, decadent, and verging on total chaos; a Tubes concert was what happened when you blended cabaret, rock'n'roll, snarling satire and sophomoric humor into one big vat of inappropriate entertainment. Gods, what a night!
They've calmed down quite a bit since then, I'm afraid. But be aware that once Giants Walked The Earth...

Happy Birthday Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

http://www.elvira.com/

Happy Birthday von Steuben!!!

I'll be offline this weekend, so will take this opportunity to mark one of my heroes birthdays - Friedrich von Steuben. One of the saviors of the Revolution; a man who masked a real idealisma nd hoep for this country behind a mask of brusque professionalism.

http://www.rebelswithavision.com/friedrichvonsteuben.com/

http://www.anoca.org/he/army/friedrich_von_steuben.html

You know how to put out birthday candles...

Just put your lips together...and blow....

Tomorrow is the birthday of one of my fave actresses, Lauren Bacall! Linda and I actually got to see her perform many years ago at the Kennedy Center in Woman of the Year - she was great. Smart, unbelievably sexy and strong - Betty had it all (to paraphrase Bertie Higgins...). Her scenes with Bogey in To Have & Have Not are some of the steamiest in history, it's no wonder that they married. She is just so cool, I've never seen her play a bad part.

http://www.laurenbacall.com/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000002/

http://themave.com/Bacall/

Card Stacking

http://www.cardstacker.com/gallery.html

Unbelievable stuff here...

Joe Cartoon available on DVD

http://www.joecartoonshop.com/

Happy Birthday Torgo!!!

A compellingly weird evil henchman...

http://www.torgo.org/torgo/

http://www.answers.com/topic/john-reynolds-actor

Halloween is getting closer...

Here are some regional haunts and attractions (some of these sites have yet to be updated for 2005:

http://www.themonstermaze.com/

http://www.calleva.org/mhf/mhf_main.htm

http://www.goatmanhollow.com/

http://www.hauntedhouse.com/search/Haunted_Attraction_Directory/_USA_,040All_50_States,041/Virginia/3367.html

http://www.darkwoodmanor.net/

http://www.frontroyalfire.com/hayride.html

http://www.wickedwoods.us/intro.html

http://www.coxspoint.com/dir.htm

http://www.johnedwardscemetery.com/Show05.html

Awwwww...

http://beedogs.com/index.htm

People Often Ask Me How I Keep My Skin So Youthful Looking...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1568467,00.html

Happy Birthday to Clayton Moore - THE Lone Ranger

One of my earliest memories is watching him and Jay Silverheels right the wrongs in the world. No one my age can hear the William Tell Overture and not also hear "Hi-Yo Silver, Away!". RIP, Masked Man...

http://members.tripod.com/~ClaytonMoore/

http://www.celebhost.net/claytonmoore/

http://nimst.tripod.com/cgi-bin/UC1.html

The Urban Dictionary

http://www.urbandictionary.com/

Power Pop Lives!

Left Banke - http://leftbanke.thefondfarewells.com/

Five Americans - http://www.fiveamericans.com/

Cryin Shames - http://www.cryanshames.com/

Cheap Trick - http://www.cheaptrick.com/

Cowsills - http://www.cowsill.com/

Dwight Twilley - http://www.dwighttwilley.com/

Big Star - http://www.frontlinearts.com/bigstar/

Rubinoos - http://www.marturo.com/rubinoos/

Marshall Crenshaw - http://www.marshallcrenshaw.com/

Smithereens - http://www.officialsmithereens.com/

Tommy Keene - http://www.tommykeene.com/

Records - http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Basement/9017/home.html

Katrina & The Waves - http://www.katw.com/

Bangles - http://home.att.net/~BanglesCom/

Scrambled Eggs

"Yesterday" was released on this date in 1965 - 40 years ago. We're getting old, Comrades.

I love pool trick shots

http://www.alldumb.com/item/15015/

Zombie Pumpkins!

http://www.zombiepumpkins.com/

A neat site devoted to pumpkin carving.

interesting article on the Navy's newest design for Destroyers

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/006/019viwzt.asp?pg=2

Happy Defenders' Day!

http://www.nps.gov/fomc/OldestHoliday/OldestHoliday.htm

http://www.bcpl.net/~etowner/ssbintro.html

Happy Birthday H.L.!

I have a LOT of political and social problems with Mencken. But he's still one of my favorite writers and satirists.

http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/H._L._Mencken

http://www.io.com/~gibbonsb/mencken.html

http://www.mencken.org/

It Don't Come Easy...

Ringo replaced Pete Best on this date in 1962...

Come Saturday Morning...

I suppose I've always been a little off kilter (I can see the nodding heads as I write this). Some folks associate personal beginnings with January First. And others will identify it with Spring. But for me, it's around this time of year. I'm sure it's because of the memories of school starting in September. You meet new people and situations, etc., etc. It's another plunge into life. (Another little irony in my life - how something that I'm at best ambivalent about continues to influence me.) I'm a little curious to see if any of you have been similarly imprinted.
At any rate, as I hobble into middle age, I still feel these little tugs every September as if I were about to start some new year at school, with all the attendant adventures. One of these little thought forms centers around the now old movie and book- The Sterile Cuckoo. Each has its strengths, although I prefer the film. Liza Minnelli was nominated for an Oscar for her performance and should have gotten it. My understanding is that this is the film role she is most proud of - and it should be . She is simply magnificent and unforgettable. To make a long and interesting story as short as possible, this is all about a college romance, (starting about this time of year). It is so accurate in so many ways. One won't necessarily identify with each of the characters and/or situations. But the whole thing rings true, nevertheless. It captures the weirdness, the embarrassment, and the sweet awkwardness of the times. And although some folks hate the soundtrack, I've always been a fan of the Sandpipers work here. They too capture a certain innocence that makes the film that much better and identifiable. I won't go into long detail here, I don't think I'd successfully convey how neat either book or film are. You'll just have to check 'em out yourself.
As I type this, I've a feeling that I'm addressing two audiences - those who know what I'm talking about, and those who never will. To the latter group, I can only say that it's another of those little building blocks that you've missed out on, (perhaps to your detriment). To the rest, it's interesting recalling those events in our lives, even valuable, yet we must move on. But we will remember, long after Saturday's gone...

nice site devoted to The Twilight Zone

http://www.twilightzone.org/index2.html

for the kiddies...

http://www.creepylittlestories.com/stories.html

Creepy Little Bedtime Stories.

the physics of spaghetti

http://www.thothweb.com/article1193.html

Ant City!

http://gulpz.blogspot.com/2005/08/ant-city.html

hi-tech one man band

http://mcrorie.net/

HUGE new army aircraft

http://www.gizmag.com/go/4538/

I am the Walrus...

strong beer...

http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=9611699&src=eDialog/GetContent

The Cutting Edge of Crochet

http://www.patriciawaller.com/images.html

(Thanks for the link, Nick!)

Alert Ringo!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/scotland/4225010.stm

Happy Birthday Otis!

My fave R&B singer...

http://www.otisredding.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Redding

http://www.alwaysontherun.net/otis.htm

fascinating technology

http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1903892005

Happy Birthday Inspector Clouseau!

http://www.petersellers.com/

Get A Life!

Star Trek premiered on this date in 1966...

Super Hands

http://www.wimp.com/hands/

Cow Fight!

http://www.wimp.com/cowfight/

Tee Hee!

The Target Shooter

http://www.alldumb.com/item/14528/

Amazing.

Fractured Flickers Lives!!!

And it's availabe on DVD from Amazon! One of my favorite shows when I was a kid. Created by the genius, Jay Ward*, it took old silent movies and dubbed in new dialogue from such Ward stalwarts as Paul Frees and June Foray. It's hosted by Uncle Tanoose himself, the brilliant and under-rated character actor, Hans Conreid. I've literally waited decades for this - I'm so happy!


*Creator of Rocky & Bullwinkle and George of the Jungle

Happy Birthday Buddy Holly!

http://www.buddyholly.com/bh/index.html

Essential...

Stop yer Sobbin', and have a Happy Birthday Chrissie!

http://www.chrissiehynde.com/bio.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrissie_Hynde

prepare for Chemical Warfare the Old Fashioned Way!

http://www.thememoryhole.org/mil/cbr/tactics_technique_cw.htm

(Thanks for the link, John!)

the cutting edge of clothespins

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/1/hi/technology/4218586.stm

Happy Birthday Lafayette!!!

http://www.marquisdelafayette.net/

(Another of my faves...)

RIP Little Buddy

Bob Denver just passed away, I've heard. It's childishly simple to make fun of his career. But I was always a fan. Maynard G. Krebs is the Ur-Slacker of our times. As to Gilligan's Island, it, (along with the much maligned Green Acres) is vastly under-rated. Others have written about its virtues, so I won't belabor them here. But I will repeat something I tell everyone who scoffs at the show's importantce. NO ONE knows all the words to our National Anthem, but EVERYONE knows the words to the Gilligan's Island theme song.

Happy Birthday Bob Newhart!

http://www.alstewart.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Newhart

Subtle and brilliant, master of the one-sided conversation.

Time Passages...

http://www.alstewart.com/

Happy Birthday Al Stewart, (one of my fave pop artists). I know of no one else who can weave historical narratives into successful tunes. Whether it's the cafe society of the 1920's, Guderian's campaign in Russia, the quatrains of Nostradamus, or the splits in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Al can take it and make an intriguing song about it.

Happy Labor Day!

http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

a site devoted to English accents and dialects

http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collections/dialects/

Pretty neat recordings and notes.

English As She Is Spoke

http://crossroads.net/honyaku/easis/

Free!

The Treaty of Paris was signed on this date in 1783, ending the Revolutionary War.

http://earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/paris/

It Was The Third of September...

The Temptations' song, Papa Was A Rolling Stone, took place on this date.

World Fantasy Con info

http://www.worldfantasy.org/2005/

Mini Santa Cthulhu Plush!

http://www.entertainmentearth.com/prodinfo.asp?number=TVY12513

the lightbulb commercial

http://www.alldumb.com/item/13940/

manipulating smoke to look supernatural

http://ghoststudy.com/monthly/jul05/chinaman.htm

Your Pimp Name

http://www.playerappreciate.com/pimphandle.asp

Grasshoppers, and Parasites, and Suicide...

Very strange...

http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7927

more news on sonic weaponry

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,68732,00.html?tw=wn_story_mailer

new Mythos collection

http://www.hippocampuspress.com/

Dr. Syn books online!

http://jordanna.net/fan/syn/

For all fans of the Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, (my fave Disney film)

more neat TV stuff

With Autumn approaching, many stations will start to broadcast a lot of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror films. Here's some neat websites to monitor:

http://www.tv-now.com/stars/scifi.htm

http://www.tv-now.com/stars/horror.htm

Travel Channel Spookiness

http://travel.discovery.com/convergence/hauntedtravels/hauntedtravels.html

new Halloween tune

Musicians record spoof for UNICEFMusic News By UPIAug 26, 2005, 19:00 GMTNEW YORK, NY, United States (UPI) --
Beck, Sum 41, Sloan, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sonic Youth were among artists that recently recorded a charity record spoof to benefit UNICEF."Do They Know It`s Halloween" is a takeoff on other celeb musical efforts to raise money for different charities, gigwise.com reports.Under the name "North American Halloween Prevention Initiative" the artists described their record as "an epic journey into the pulsating heart of fear. It is a rallying cry to stamp out this most scary of holidays."Organizers said they were inspired by frustration with other benefit songs` misguided, somewhat patronizing attitude and Western-centric worldview, gigwise said.New York`s Vice Records will release the single Oct. 11.

Fall Foliage Cams

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/fallcolor/cams.html

nice online book about the history of Halloween

http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/boh/index.htm

Count Gore interviews Bruce Campbell!

http://www.countgore.com/Rack.htm

Book of Revelations

http://www.wftv.com/news/4918717/detail.html?treets=orlc&tid=2654358485813&tml=orlc_strange&tmi=orlc_strange_1_10000009012005&ts=H

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Comrades,

We’re back! It was a good trip, one of the best we’ve had; with a very nice family reunion (Thanks Dolores!) and lots of sightseeing and shopping too. For those interested in the minutiae of my life, feel free to read on…
We had a nice flight to Denver, rented a car and drove up to Ft. Collins to visit my cousin Nanette and her family. We spent a wonderful evening telling ghost stories and recounting past family exploits and characters, (my Uncle Chuck is worthy of a small book). It was great (thanks gang!). We also went up there because we just like the town. Ft. Collins is a mid-sized place and one of those areas where I feel very comfortable. We’ve been viewing it as a possible retirement destination. It has a nice downtown with an excellent brew pub (CooperSmiths - http://www.coopersmithspub.com/). One problem – we stayed at the Days Inn while there. Don’t do that. It makes the Black Hole of Calcutta look like Versailles Palace. I think only massive inoculations of CooperSmiths’ pale ale preserved us from the disease, vermin and psychic corruption that seethed throughout the place
Our original plans were to take the Interstate over to the Western Slope but a huge rockslide had closed most of it down, (they don’t call these the Rocky Mountains for nuthin’). So we “detoured” through one of the prettiest places we know, Rocky Mountain National Park. The weather and drive were perfect and we made good time all the way down to my Mother’s old hometown, Fruita. On the way we saw a new sight – a brush fire right by the road being fought by planes dropping chemicals on it. After avalanches and flaming death, we could hardly wait for the next plague (rain of toads?)!
Fruita is right next to the bigger town of Grand Junction, and we spent a day or so shopping, strolling around my old haunts and wine tasting (the area just East of Junction is the Bordeaux region of Colorado…); and most importantly, hanging out with all my cousins. Those of you who’ve known me a long time know how important my times spent in Colorado with my cousins have been to me. Someday I’ll write about ‘em in detail. Suffice to say, it was great seeing everyone and talking about old times. It is one of my favorite things to do, and one event ending simply means I start planning and/or hoping for the next time.
Fruita has gone so far as to have just opened up a brewpub. Judging by our experience, I suspect it has already gone bankrupt by the time you read this. I confess I’ve never been in a place so reluctant to actually take an order and then get it to the table. Plate tectonics move faster than the staff there. I only got ONE BEER that night. ONE BEER! I didn’t even try to get a second, I had checked with the weather channel earlier and it clearly said that Hell hadn’t frozen over and I knew that that was the only indicator that the staff would be capable of handling a second round during my lifetime. Oh well.
The next day was the “official” Cutler family reunion (my Mother’s family), beautifully organized by my cousin Dolores at a little meeting hall outside of Fruita. A happy and relaxing day. About thirty of us were there, with the usual picture taking, family stories, and just simple connecting. Afterwards, a bunch of us continued the party at a restaurant in Junction. A perfect day.
The next day, we went South to the town of Montrose to continue visiting with some of my cousins who live there, (or were staying there during the Reunion). Another perfect day just hanging out, (Thanks Rob, Renice, Lynnae, and Nanette!).

The next morning began the serious stuff: shopping. The next nine days were spent touring more old haunts. Linda herself drove across the Million Dollar Highway (I’m so proud!). The first time she’d ever been on it, (I was driving), she was a little intimidated, (it’s one of those wonderful mountain roads where there are places with no shoulder and a sheer 1000 foot drop if you make any mistakes). Now, she drives it like a pro! We hit Ouray, Silverton, Durango, Dolores, Cortez, and then went down to Four Corners and into New Mexico while hitting Farmington and Gallup and all the trading posts in between. Found some very nice pottery on the way (we try to collect a particular style called Storytellers, next time you’re at Blau Manor check ‘em out on the fireplace mantle). This process is always a little weird for me, because one is frequently purchasing items of great beauty from people who pretty much live in poverty. I’m never quite comfortable with the juxtaposition.
We continued on to Santa Fe, a city I have mixed feelings about, I confess. It’s very pretty, the Old Town is impressive and if I were a millionaire filling up a Western style home with art this would be the place I’d go, I suppose. But it is pretty much out of our price range, and the town seemed kinda full of folks a little too rich, spoiled and other-worldly for my taste. Our first night out, we ate at a nice mid-scale Mexican restaurant in Old Town. The table behind Linda had a couple who announced to the waitress that they didn’t like tequila, and then proceeded to order a variety of Margaritas, each of which they sent back because they didn’t “taste right”. I only wish the poor waitress ended up serving them a glass of her urine with a lime stuck in it to see if perhaps that measured up to these gastronomes. Sheesh!
Meanwhile, behind me sat a family. Each time a new course was served, the mother would whip out a pendulum and let it swing over the plate, finally announcing that it was acceptable to eat, (I’m not making this up). Presumably, their eating habits, and the rest of their lives, are dependent upon air currents. God knows what would have happened if a breeze from the air conditioner had blown by. If only I’d had my Tarot deck with me I’d of shot the Death card onto their guacamole salad and watched the ensuing heart attacks. Wieners.
The other disturbing aspect of Santa Fe is the road layout around Old Town. Most guide books will tell you that it was put in place by the Spanish, but I can see the signs, and no for a fact that it is much older, representing a Cthulhlian nightmare maze based on non-Euclidean geometry. Roads change name with no warning, curve menacingly away from where one wants to be, etc. etc. The map we had was useless. It missed whole streets and blocks. Clearly, it had been designed by cartographers hired away from Stalin during the Cold War, creating inaccurate maps to mislead invading enemies. After several disastrous voyages, I ignored the map and relied on instinct to get around, (fortunately, years of practical and theurgic study have given me an excellent sense of direction as well as putting my mind in direct contact with the earth’s mystical currents and energies. I call this ability Blau Shui). We had no further problems.
We ended our trip in Albuquerque, one of the grittier cities I’ve been to. Nevertheless, the Old Town there is a little more low key and to my taste. It was a nice low key ending to a fun trip. Time to daydream about the next time…

p.s. Thanks to all my cousins for a wonderful time!