New arrival!

This morning at 6:52 am we welcomed our new child into the world!

His name is Van Patrick. He is 8lbs 13.2 oz, and 23.5 inches long. He is about 1 hour old in the picture.

HUZZAH!!

WELCOME BACK, POTTER

Enjoy.

Coolest Belt Buckle ever!

I got my new belt buckle the other day I won on eBay. I love it! I had to retire my old one (VW Beetle) as it broke after 15 years. THis is an awesome replacement, and I have wanted one for a long time. Wheels look goofy, but what the hell...

Not a one. Nay nay nay.

ONly Mel Brooks could turn something like the Spanish Inqisition into a Busby Berkley style musicql number complete with synchronized swimming.
THis is one of my favorite movie clips ever, so I thought it would be a good post for a Friday. Enjoy.

Album Covers: After Bathing at Baxter's

Last time I posted a cover by Jefferson Airplane founder Paul Kantner. This time it's a cover by the band itself...Jefferson Airplane. 1967's After Bathing at Baxter's was the follow up to their breakthrough record "Surrealistic Pillow".

After having chart the topping hits "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" the band took a step away from the mainstream and decided to to make an album the way they wanted, and were given full artistic freedom on the record. The result is a album that is fun to listen to as it sprawls all over the place, and captures the experimentalness, and newness of the times. The record executives must have literaly crapped themselves when they heard some of this album like the psychedelic mash-up "A Small Package Of Value Will Come To You Shortly", the piece inspired by Joyce's "Ulysses" titled "ReJoyce" (a track which really showcases the incredible bass playing of Jack Cassady) and the nearly 10 minute instrumental "Spare Chaynge". The album itself is divided up into 'suites', each containing 2 or 3 tracks.
The cover, which depicts the house at Foulton St. where the Jefferson Airplane lived, was done by cartoonist Ron Cobb. He made the house into a most insane flying machine, and from the first time I saw this cover when I was 12, I knew it was something I had to hear. As a result it has been one of my favorite albums, one I have enjoyed for 20 years now, and it still sounds just as exciting to me as it did the first time I heard the feedback intro to "The Ballad of You and Me and Pooneil".

Here's a few tracks from the album to enjoy:
Wild Thyme(H)- Jefferson Airplane

Rejoyce- Jefferson Airplane

Also in my Box widget on the side of my blog is the tune "Young Girl Sunday Blues" also from this album.

Watery Tarts

Granted they're not hurling scimitars about, but here are two very beautiful pictures I found over at Shorpy's.

These beautiful pictures were both taken by Toni Frissel. The first is taken in 1947 at Weeki Wachee Springs, FLA, where they have a "mermaid" show. I'd love to make a stop there someday. It was also featured as the cover of "Undercurrent", a 1962 Jazz album by Bill Evans, and Jim Hall. (making this a partial album cover post!)

Shorpy's photo blog is a great site, and I urge you to visit it if you are a fan of vintage photo's. I especially love the old railroad ones on there, but it's just an incredible site overall.
The second, taken in 1939 in the dolphin tank at Marineland in FLA, and was featured in the Oct. issue of that year's 'Vogue' magazine.

Jet Pack! The future is getting less sucky!

From SciFi

"Nothing says "the future" quite like jetpacks. Well, guess what, bub? The future is now. Don't believe me? Just check out that video above! No, that isn't from a movie, it's a real test of Jetpack International's new product. Their product: jetpacks, unsurprisingly.

Sure, it can only fly for 3 minutes, but what a 3 minutes! For your $250,000 you'll get your very own jetpack as well as training in how to not kill yourself with it, which seems pretty important. Those 3 minutes not enough time for whatever you've got planned, they've got a more impressive version coming soon: 19 minutes of flight time, a range of 27 miles, and a $200,000 price tag. Yeah, it's probably worth waiting for that one. Sure, its expensive, but can you really put a price on the future? — Adam Frucci"

The numbers are correct. The reasons for the price difference:
1. Second generations of new technology are always cheaper than the first generation after the designs are better refined and supplier costs are optimized.
2. The 19 minute flight time jetpack is based on a design that uses Jet-A fuel instead of hyrogen peroxide as the oder models do. So the different technology must translate into lower overall costs.

all I know is the house in the video kicks ass!

An old painting

I'm feeling too lazy to write (or do much of anything else after working a 12 hour day yesterday) So here is an one of my paintings. I painted this over the course of almost 10 years. I sketched it on Thanksgiving day 1997, and worked off and on until I finished it at long last. It is the first in a series I have planned of mermaids. (I posted "Arctic Mermaid" this winter) This one is "Reef Mermaid" and the life in it is indigenous to the Caribbean. I had originally planned to put a lot more fish in it, but I reached a point where I just wanted to be done working on it. Maybe someday I will return to it, but for now, there it is. Hope all your fingers are intact after the 4th.

Big Country - In a Big Country

I have had this song stuck in my head for a while now, just thought i'd take the chance to get it stuck in someone elses...

cheers.

Historical Lunatic

Huh. Didn't see that one coming. Although in my defense, I did declare myself to be the Duke of West Tremont a few years back. ( I thought to declare myself King would be a little full of myself, so Duke it was!)


Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.