04/26/2016

The Purple One has left the building. Unbelievable. At the age of 57 the sudden passing of Prince Rogers Nelson strains credulity in a year that has already seen the losses of David Bowie, George Martin, Keith Emerson, Glen Frey, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner, Paul Bley, Phife Dawg, Pete Zorn, Nana Vasconcelos, Maurice White, Dan Hicks, Prince protégé Vanity, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Papa Wemba, Billy Paul, and Lonnie Mack. 2016 has been a tough year for music greats and it's only April.   In all honesty, as much of a shock as the loss of Prince is it didn't hit me nearly as hard as David Bowie's passing, artsy fartsy white boy that I am, but back in the '90s I was sufficiently inspired to record a minimalist Prince homage, ala Cream (the song is Prime Time Baby and can be found on the 'Music' page of this site). Whether you were tuned into Prince's groove or not, there's no denying that he was one of a very small, elite group of significant artists whose musical talent seems/seemed boundless—the true genius artists who write great songs, play a dizzying range of instruments, sing with expressiveness, passion and distinction, and know how to handle the technical aspects of the recording studio. It's a short list: Bowie, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Todd Rundgren, Prince... that's about all I can think of.
04/23/2016

Back home I am, Gentle Reader(s) after many a long mile logged by land, sea (or river), and air. They say that travel enlarges the mind, and though I have no doubt that They are correct in this assessment, travel can fatigue the mind and body as well. Particularly in the case of international travel when more than just a few time zones are involved. There is an eight hour time difference betwixt and between Santa Fe and Amsterdam and by the time I got home I was feeling every second of it. I like to think of myself as zipping and zooming energetically about the planet much in the manner of my ageless hero Tintin (there he is in effigy below, as purchased at the beautiful Tintin boutique in Brussels), but this trip did, in the end, manage to deal out a bit of an ass whuppin of the jet laggy variety. There were extenuating circumstances in the final chapter (I'll not belabor you with that), but for all of the beautiful things I saw and the adventures I had with Inky Mum it is always good to get back home again. Now that I think of it, it was remiss of me not to acquire an effigy of Snowy to go with my Tintin—I think I was distracted by the neato giant mushroom from The Shooting Star. Darn the luck—I'll just have to go back. [caption id="attachment_3139" align="alignleft" width="300"]Tintin getting ready to dash out the door! Tintin getting ready to dash out the door![/caption]
04/07/2016

Gentle Reader(s), Your Humble Narrator reports to you from the Nether regions of the Netherlands, currently abroad the good ship Skirnir sailing the river Rhine betwixt and between the towns of Nieuw Lekkerland and Lekkerkerk on our way to dock up at Kinderdijk. Quite the adventure it has been thus far, escorting the Inky Mum through the paces of international travel and visiting with Brother JB and the Warrior Princess in lovely Amsterdam. The cultural offerings have been coming fast and furious, the food and drink has been coming even fasterer and furiouser, and—generally speaking—a lovely time is being had by one and all. Amsterdam is a extraordinarily vibrant and beautiful city—not exactly a news flash—and Bro JB and the WP are prospering, I am glad to say. As for YHN, I have been prospering too, especially today after having achieving that most elusive commodity of international travel, the Full Night's Sleep.