About 4 years ago, Chris and I went to Paris together. There are a couple of places that we had both been to but not together. At the time, Paris was one of them. While there, we did some of the customary tourist stuff but mostly sat in cafes and restaurants and watched the city revolve around us. Well…it felt like Paris was revolving around us. It was a memorable holiday.
The following photograph is, of course, the Eiffel Tower. While it’s not a first rate effort, I manipulated it in Photo-Shop so that it had the appearance of a 1930’s postcard where the color was added. It’s the most famous metal structure I could think of and as a result, it’s this week’s entry for Photo Hunter.
This is an incredible Mad Max-like shot of the Oakridge mobile home park that was ravaged by the California wildfires. As always, you can double click the photo for a closer look.
Most of the homes in the Oakridge mobile home park, which reportedly had 600-800 homes, lie in ruins after burning in the Sylmar Fire on November 15, 2008 in Sylmar, California. The fire began last night and was fueled to more than 2,600 acres by strong erratic winds in excess of 70 miles per hour which kept firefighting aircraft grounded in the morning. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Yeah. That’s right. It’s going to be an upbeat Aye Wonder Tuesday. If you don’t like it, I would suggest leaving now! For too long, I have been like a dog with his tail dragging along in the dirt. After awhile, it gets depressing. Who wants to come back every day to a website that makes them depressed? I know I don’t. Sure, a healthy dose of realism is good because it can prepare you. But today we’re serving up cocktails, pom poms and dancing girls. It’s attitude adjustment time because if you really want to see a change in the economy and life in general, you have to be confident. You have to have confidence that things will turn around, that life will stop dealing from the bottom of the deck, that there are blue skies replete with rainbows. Today, we are kicking ass and taking names.
How’s that? Good start? We begin…positively.
☞About 21 months ago, I quit smoking. It’s a vile habit that I picked up when I was a teenager and one that I couldn’t break for the longest time. There wasn’t any specific thing that caused me to quit. I felt fit and fine. It was more about taking control. But as a result of quitting, I lost control of something else, my eating habits. Everything tastes so much better when you’re not smoking. Over nearly two years of a reintroduction to my taste buds, I went from fine and fit to fair and flabby. I gained 35 pounds. (There it is, out in the open.) I am 6 ft 2 inches tall but 35 pounds cannot be hidden. In the last month, I have lost 12 pounds of the original weight gain. I am a walking, talking, Nutri-System eating machine. Thanksgiving is a test that I am ready for!
☞Nunchuck are a martial arts weapon that look like two pieces of wood on each side of a piece of chain. In several states, they are prohibited by law in much the same way that guns are. Recently, Nokia introduced a television ad in Asia showing Bruce Lee playing ping pong with his nunchuck. This is an insane one minute video that is must see TV.
☞Speaking of positive thinking, while I am not a fan of touchy-feely, self-help books and videos, this short film from The Secret has a really great inspirational message. Try watching it once in awhile when you get up in the morning. It gives you perspective and a nice jump start to your day. That’s what I think anyways.
☞I don’t know Gary Ackerman, Democratic Congressman from New York but after this exchange with the losing (not calling them big anymore) three CEOs of the auto makers from Detroit, I wanted to buy him a beer. “There’s a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hands. It’s almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high-hat and tuxedo. . . . I mean, couldn’t you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here?”
Yes, he was grandstanding but that is some funny stuff; jet-pooling, indeed.
By the way, was the head of the United Auto Workers at that meeting before Congress? It would seem they would have something to answer to also.
☞I have two songs for you this week. The first one is from a Madison, Wisconsin band called Pale Young Gentlemen. It’s a lovely piece of indie pop that is beautifully unpretentious. I hear a distinctly British sound to them, almost an early seventies Kinks timbre but I don’t think they have ever been to Britain. The song is Marvelous Design. The second song is by Damon Aaron and it’s called Clouds from his Highland album. I think Highland is one of the year’s best albums. It’s very difficult to pigeonhole. There’s a soul, folk, electronic, reggae vibe that’s so incredibly different than anything I have ever heard. Michael Franti’s Songs from the Front Porch is the closest comparison. Let me know what you think.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
☞It seems that I have been getting a few less visitors to this site though peculiarly, more and more of you have reached to say that you like Aye Wonder. At your convenience, please tell me if you like what you see here and what you don’t like. I use the site as a way to empty my desktop but I do want you to enjoy it too. And improvement is what we’re all after isn’t it?
☞This just in: Somali Pirates are in discussions to acquire Citigroup.
☞According to UK’s the Guardian, the literary world’s most dreaded honor is the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award. This year, as always, 10 writers were nominated with the winner yet to be announced. It’s doubtful that they could top last year’s award winner. Norman Mailer was given the “honor” posthumously for his defining prose that a character’s penis was “as soft as a coil of excrement.” Thought I would share that with you.
Good Lord.
☞Let’s end with a big finish, the Aye Wonder quote of the week. In the interest of staying positive, having confidence in the future and having fun again, I present to you this quote from the famous philosopher, Broadway Joe Namath, former quarterback for the New York Jets.
When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.
I am not going to sugar coat this. I am scared out of my mind about what is going to happen to this country over the next decade. We are now in the process of making an incredibly painful transition from an economy built on credit to one built on cash. This will be a long drawn out process where you will see failure after failure in our banking system. If Citi can have issues so too can Bank of America and Wells Fargo. We are nowhere close to this being fixed and done. In the past couple of months, I have heard several of my friends optimistically and hopefully say that it will get better in late 2009. This is wishful thinking at best.
Imagine if you were the head of a foreign government that bought our bonds. Are you going to put your money into a country that has a trillion dollar deficit? Would you really buys bonds from a country where every one of their financial institutions is in trouble or has failed? Some think that America’s work ethic and resourcefulness will carry us out of this recession because it has in the past. I believe that but the hole we have dug for ourselves is deep and will require time to refill.
When I started in the money management business in 1985, I was always optimistic. You couldn’t find a more bullish person in America. It lasted for 20 years. In 2005, I told Christine that I was worried. I was worried about a collapse in home prices that what would put incredible pressure on our financial institutions and our citizens. We were clearly over built and over borrowed. One of the drivers for this was the Baby Boomers. The Baby Boomers are the largest demographic group to ever move through any society in the history of the world. They bought, they bought and then they bought some more. Then, they started turning 65 and they wanted to sell. But to who? Who was going to provide the demand? Which group had the numbers…and the money. I have a home on Cape Cod that is our summer place. We have been there for 15 years. I’d love to sell this home and lower my living expenses. The chances of selling my Cape house? Zero. The other side of the economic market was just as grim. For a long while, we were lending money to a laborer making $42,000 a year in order that he/she might buy a $750,000 home. This “new” math won’t work.
Peter Schiff, the President of Euro Pacific Capital has been saying many of the same things that I have been saying. Two years ago, Schiff was eviscerated by Fox News for making projections that at the time seemed outlandish. Today, Schiff is lauded for his insight. If you watch this video be prepared to be depressed. This is Schiff’s latest thoughts and they are not reassuring. Just remember: forewarned is forearmed.
Like last week’s Photo Hunter, this picture is also from St Andrews, Scotland. The bench and the building belong to the Royal and Ancient Golf Glub of St Andrews (R&A). It sits directly behind the first tee of the Old Course. The window above the bench shows the reflection of a setting sun over the Old Course. It’s my favorite reflection shot at my favorite place.
I look at this photo with great melancholy. It seems now like my 47 year run of visiting the UK will stop this year. I can’t even believe I said it. If anything changes I will keep you posted.
No matter where you live, you can’t escape bad weather. All of us can remember a scary rain storm accompanied by vicious thunder and lightening, a devastating hurricane or an incapacitating blizzard that made an indelible mark in our memory. The following video is a cyclone that hit Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. I have never seen rain like this. At around the 1:30 mark all hell breaks loose and by the end, golf ball sized hail drives the filming group inside. As Mum used to say, “it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt!”
In the United States when you ask a young boy what he wants to be when he grows up, the answer is the expected: “I want to be an Astronaut, Cowboy, Fireman or the President of the United States.” Maybe you’ll get the odd outlier who says he wants to drive a truck or something similar but those are the professions of choice at age 5. I’m guessing that in England the response is quite a bit different. I can even imagine that most young boys say that they want to be a singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band. How else could you possibly explain the stories of Paul Carrack, Paul Rodgers and Tony Burrows. Even the Stones knew in 1965’s December’s Childrens (And Everybody’s) that it is The Singer Not the Song. Leave it to Jagger to understand that.
Although he began recording in the 70’s, Paul Carrack enjoys a successful solo career today. His 2003 album, It Ain’t Over, is a gem. But long before Carrack decided to pursue a solo career he was a voice for hire. He sang the megahit How Long for the one hit wonder band, Ace. You could also hear Carrack’s vocal on Mike and the Mechanics songs like The Living Years and Silent Runnings and Squeeze’s best remembered hit, Tempted. He also sang for Roxy Music but there were quite a few egos in that band and Carrack slipped into deep background.
Paul Rodgers’ career path was similar to Carrack’s but he was much more of a creative influence in the bands he was a member of. His guitar playing and songwriting were only exceeded by his vocals for the bands Free, Bad Company, The Firm, The Law and now as a replacement for the departed Freddie Mercury, Queen. I’m certain that you can imagine Rodgers’ vocal in your head for All Right Now, Feel Like Makin’ Love and Radioactive. To this day, Paul Rodgers has one of the greatest and most distictive rock voices in history.
The story that interests me the most is the Roman candlesque career of Tony Burrows. He was truly a voice for hire. He wasn’t the man for the decades of the 70’s, he was the man for 1970. You likely have heard of Paul Rodgers and Paul Carrack but Tony Burrows is another story all together. Tony Burrows is the answer to one of the greatest trivia questions in music.
Who had four top 10 hits on the UK charts at the same time with four different groups?
These songs were all hits in the US. In 1970, Burrows charted with the preposterous novelty tune, Gimme Dat Ding singing for a band called the Pipkins. He also reached a wide US audience with the AM hits, Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes) by Edison Lighthouse, The Brotherhood of Man’s United We Stand and finally, The White Plain’s hit, My Baby Loves Lovin’. Tony Burrows was a one hit wonder four times and all at the same time! None of these bands went on to chart another song. And for Burrows, he captured lightening in a bottle one more time. This time it was for yet another band and another one hit wonder, First Class and their number 4 hit, Beach Baby. Tony Burrows never charted or recorded again.
It’s the singer not the song.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
For me, it’s hard to believe that 2008 is NASA’s 50th anniversary. In that time, their scientific and technological feats are legendary. NASA’s latest launch, the Space Shuttle Endeavor on mission STS-126, took place at night. If you are the least bit fascinated by NASA’s remarkable programs visit their site here for more on Endeavor’s mission and the history of the organization.
Here is this week’s PDB Picture of the Week, the night time launch of the Endeavor. As always, double click for the full image.
Ouch. I bowled in a charity event for Celtic’s Captain Paul Pierce last night and before I knew it, it was 1:30 AM. Despite the late end to the day (or early start to the next), I feel great. Moreover, I feel like a million dollars…in pennies. Still, it’s Aye Wonder Tuesday and I need to make some sense of the jumble of thoughts rattling around in my head, though it could be something else rattling around. Ah well, let’s just get this thing jump started.
☞One of the greatest underrated pleasures is reconnecting with an old friend. I did that yesterday and it seemed (to me) like no time had passed at all. If you really want to kick start your day, pick up the phone and reach out and touch an old pal.
☞Does it seem to you like the Obama transition team is well organized and dug in deep on their due dilligence for cabinet and administration posts? It does to me. I don’t remember this much thought or work going into the last 3 Presidents’ pre-inauguration transition.
☞Everyone wants to bail out the big three automakers. I don’t think it’s a good idea. Yes, there are jobs at stake but keep in mind there are two automobile industries in the United States, one is in Detroit and the other, in the South. The Southern automakers are making Toyotas and Hondas and BMWs without a union and without being in financial trouble. Maybe letting the big three fail is the only way to get them to be competitive. You may have heard that the head of the United Auto Workers said they will not offer any concessions. That hardly sounds like the kind of talk that would make me think that bailing them out is a good idea. Am I wrong?
☞How ’bout those Goldman Sachs execs huh? Seven of its top executives made the magnanimous gesture to forego bonuses this year. Ahem. These 7 executives each made over $20 million in 2007. At least four of them made over $55 million. By the way, when the Treasury department had a meeting about saving AIG, there was one investment bank represented at the meeting. Yes, it was Goldman Sachs. And guess who owed Goldman $20 billion? Foregoing bonuses? Puh-lease.
☞Geez, I am depressing myself today. What about the Aye Wonder song of the week? Probably a good time for that right now. OK, first this disclaimer: usually, I hate remakes, especially entire albums of remakes. Case in point, Rod Stewart singing the standards is, for me, ridiculous. He adds nothing to the original interpretation. Today, though, I give you the exception. Seal’s new release is a tribute to some of the great soul singers and songs. You wouldn’t think Seal could add much value to Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come but he does. One of my favorite’s on the album is Seal’s rendition of Al Green’s I’m Still in Love With You. Hope you like it too.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
☞Can you believe it’s all about Hillary? Again.
☞Beagles are great dogs. They have the most amazing disposition. They are friendly and great with kids but if you can’t let the dog out (hey, I think that’s a song), you likely will have issues. They love being free and this hilarious video will give you a sense of their personality.
☞Oxford University recently published its list of the top ten most overused and irritating phrases. As a public service to you, dear reader, I will present them to you here.
At the end of the day
Fairly unique
I personally
At this moment in time
With all due respect
Absolutely
It’s a nightmare
Shouldn’t of
24/7
It’s not rocket science
As usual, the BBC felt the need to weigh in and produced its own list of irritating and overused phrases. You can see them here, at the end of the….sentence. Many of these are indigenous to the UK but you’ll get the idea.
☞I read today that President-elect Obama has a serious addiction problem. He loves his BlackBerry. But as President and because of security issues he will no longer be allowed to send emails. George Bush hasn’t sent one in 8 years and reportedly is looking forward to that “pleasure” again. You have to wonder if he has any friends left to email.
☞Given how long it took to write this today, I feel that Lord Byron must be the AWT quote of the week when he said:
Man, being reasonable, must get drunk; the best of life is but intoxication.
Aye Wonder (slowly today)
And hope you wonder for both of us today!
10 visitors online now 10 guests, 0 members Max visitors today: 11 at 12:47 am UTC This month: 19 at 03-12-2010 10:56 am UTC This year: 28 at 01-21-2010 10:38 am UTC All time: 28 at 01-21-2010 10:38 am UTC
About 4 years ago, Chris and I went to Paris together. There are a couple of places that we had both been to but not together. At the time, Paris was one of them. While there, we did some of the customary tourist stuff but mostly sat in cafes and restaurants and watched the city revolve around us. Well…it felt like Paris was revolving around us. It was a memorable holiday.
Your say