tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10620475043624431402024-03-05T20:27:40.485-08:00It's here.Music. Motorsports. Aerospace.Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-55409259027529644332017-09-26T09:08:00.000-07:002017-09-26T09:13:15.777-07:00A Fundamental Distinction – NASCAR and The Ongoing Flag Protests<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEdV2jtwqeUco-jgTdr1P7NYx-z0mBijjfoiZsdGJ8G9gal3Bl8o6ySiWweeYLrOzaBhfIk6m5t2w-L-I_WZqLPwPuLfxQUl1M3JOB3Sr2jACgafhb13Q6ukpbGrtSfakB_QVq6Kbxos/s1600/NASCAR+Flag+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="922" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjEdV2jtwqeUco-jgTdr1P7NYx-z0mBijjfoiZsdGJ8G9gal3Bl8o6ySiWweeYLrOzaBhfIk6m5t2w-L-I_WZqLPwPuLfxQUl1M3JOB3Sr2jACgafhb13Q6ukpbGrtSfakB_QVq6Kbxos/s400/NASCAR+Flag+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(Gregory
Shamus/2014 Getty Images)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In
the wake of reading many of President Trump's tweets I find myself
outraged, or disappointed, or embarrassed, or knowing more fuel has
been added to a growing fire that seems to be threatening national
unity from these days on. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Such
was the case with one specific example of the president's tweets
among the tantrum of outbursts he directed at sporting events and the
protests that took place at these events over the weekend:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So
proud of NASCAR and its supporters and fans. They won't put up with
disrespecting our Country or our Flag - they said it loud and clear!”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
president, as he often does, is either displaying ignorance of how
things work or is willfully distorting the depiction of a situation
in the hopes of using it to his benefit – not to mention the
stereotyping of all NASCAR fans as inevitably being members of the
Trump base.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0RqatTYEkhjUDsoBtBwdpyZ2stp7Vl5RoCijQm6cwnBMtOe_Hf_oX4iXuBSD4OAG4BtMDWshCfyxizcSDclXDVSha-lIr8vJX_27Emyx8u9Nt9S072AQpHue6ZOA2Wtt_er3p5eDyY8/s1600/NASCAR+Flag+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="800" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD0RqatTYEkhjUDsoBtBwdpyZ2stp7Vl5RoCijQm6cwnBMtOe_Hf_oX4iXuBSD4OAG4BtMDWshCfyxizcSDclXDVSha-lIr8vJX_27Emyx8u9Nt9S072AQpHue6ZOA2Wtt_er3p5eDyY8/s400/NASCAR+Flag+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The national anthem plays at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, July 2017. (Jasen
Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To
his great credit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was bold enough to quickly respond to the president with a tweet
of his own, referencing President John F. Kennedy:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
“<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">All
Americans R granted rights 2 peaceful protests - </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Those
who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution
inevitable-JFK”</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To
be honest, Earnhardt is in a position where he can afford to speak
out. With his competitive career coming to an end and his popularity
fundamentally established, the risk to his brand is smaller. For
everyone else in NASCAR, participation in the sport is governed by
economic realities.</span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWyVtfC01o_88EsdTVwDgvWA6kU1Yalfnebc79qnVMDWbv45hRCs4M-XVf90ZqM78NQohpg9heh_1EZAsJR85d-2x3_QdERIRXyqVXP5NP-jOS2Z_63vj0R7MF4RNrQH4uSc4oX4xVng/s1600/NASCAR+Flag+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="900" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIWyVtfC01o_88EsdTVwDgvWA6kU1Yalfnebc79qnVMDWbv45hRCs4M-XVf90ZqM78NQohpg9heh_1EZAsJR85d-2x3_QdERIRXyqVXP5NP-jOS2Z_63vj0R7MF4RNrQH4uSc4oX4xVng/s400/NASCAR+Flag+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dale Earnhardt Jr. before the September 24 race in New Hampshire. (AP
Photo/Charles Krupa) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
32 teams of the National Football League are generally owned by a
single person, with the teams operating under the league's rules and
benefiting from financial structures designed to generate profits to
the league and team ownership.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">NASCAR
presents a totally different operating structure. From NASCAR's
inception more than five decades ago, the teams that compete at
events are independent entities. They are responsible for their own
operating costs, which – whether it be local short track drivers or
top competitors racing on the longest superspeedways – means
generation of sponsorship income is the lifeblood of the sport.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
absence of any organized protest at the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup
Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last weekend was not a
thumbing-of-the-nose at the NFL athletes who exercised their rights
to protest, nor was it an angry disagreement with the increasingly
frank criticism of President Trump's behavior and domestic policies
from players in the NBA.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Rather,
it boils down to a simple, age-old racing rule: don't piss off the
sponsors. Until the unimaginable day comes when that rule becomes
insignificant, expect business-as-usual among everyone involved in
NASCAR.</span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-84038384717824650942017-09-19T09:43:00.002-07:002017-09-19T11:47:50.746-07:00The 260 MPH Street Car<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Bugatti's
Veyron blew fresh winds of performance into the rarefied air of the
supercar class upon its release in 2005. But now the manufacturer has
gone above and beyond with the astonishing new Chiron.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYAAZO1LIJn_dTYSI-OodLey_HWnkPr2I9p8bvQb1uSXw10qFZW4PSkkhS062fc6BoOCD3h6KlnyEDtOh3bOcbWsGTG_7rIKQsuGnRBPNSf2oPte_D2BskzH8n5XHcT1wpneBtOvM25I/s1600/Bugatti+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="882" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYAAZO1LIJn_dTYSI-OodLey_HWnkPr2I9p8bvQb1uSXw10qFZW4PSkkhS062fc6BoOCD3h6KlnyEDtOh3bOcbWsGTG_7rIKQsuGnRBPNSf2oPte_D2BskzH8n5XHcT1wpneBtOvM25I/s400/Bugatti+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
Bugatti Chiron, as seen in a promotional video.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">To test
drive this latest mind-bending definition of “supercar,” Bugatti
turned to Juan Pablo Montoya. Of course, Montoya is no stranger to
going fast. A winner of races in vehicles ranging from NASCAR stock
cars to Formula 1 creations, Montoya's trophy shelf bulges with
hardware collected at elite events including the Indianapolis 500,
the 24 Hours of Daytona, and the Grand Prix of Monaco. But despite
all of that imposing experience, Montoya had barely eked past 250 mph
in an Indy car to set his personal speed record – until he slipped
behind the wheel of a certain French street car last month.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrpwVXLaFrY38yWmzI19Hj0VzBseF_qN-0HA-JjmAFwFfh_BCLg6MCOh-e02_FchFVKKR8TmsfJL4f8j413BpT-rjO2jg9t3rAx4Ru5dkBHC5Vt27I5rbb9OHQPAIkJExkRJrcEyPNyI/s1600/Bugatti+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="654" data-original-width="1174" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrpwVXLaFrY38yWmzI19Hj0VzBseF_qN-0HA-JjmAFwFfh_BCLg6MCOh-e02_FchFVKKR8TmsfJL4f8j413BpT-rjO2jg9t3rAx4Ru5dkBHC5Vt27I5rbb9OHQPAIkJExkRJrcEyPNyI/s400/Bugatti+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Juan
Pablo Montoya can expect quicker trips to his local Wawa if he
continues to have a Chiron at his disposal.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Montoya
deployed the Chiron's four sequential turbos to propel himself to a
cruising speed of 260 mph. Perhaps even more impressive, Montoya set
a new record for zero-to-400 km/h-to-zero in under 42 seconds. Yes,
that's from a standing start to 249 mph and back to zero in just over
half a minute. The Chiron will haul itself from zero to 60 mph in
just over two seconds, but it can stop almost as quickly as it
accelerates.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">A
beautifully-shot, dramatic video of Montoya's feat while driving the Chiron can be seen here:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PkkV1vLHUvQ/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PkkV1vLHUvQ?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Clearly,
this latest dream release from Bugatti is setting new standards. And
it's so affordable! The Chiron will sell for less than $3 million.
Delivered.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-65955082883484746682017-09-06T07:31:00.000-07:002017-09-06T07:31:30.277-07:00Murray Lerner: The Right Place at the Right Time<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The work
of Murray Lerner, who passed away yesterday at the age of 90, is
familiar to almost all fans of Jimi Hendrix, even if his name does
not instantly ring bells of recognition.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bXlr1FJQenbKyQbSwGug_HWRW-Ur3FE0T3SlnqhgX95t_jcl86aK5x3T4qHPjGlfpX4vObDkjEywtuAooZkCUY8KuiqgEr84LNhht5jK6vFqpzh-4WNyakbH3HhRUItaoNFKFa_-jys/s1600/BWA+Murray.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="594" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9bXlr1FJQenbKyQbSwGug_HWRW-Ur3FE0T3SlnqhgX95t_jcl86aK5x3T4qHPjGlfpX4vObDkjEywtuAooZkCUY8KuiqgEr84LNhht5jK6vFqpzh-4WNyakbH3HhRUItaoNFKFa_-jys/s400/BWA+Murray.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murray Lerner, documentarian of rock history.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Through
the success of his film about the Newport Folk Festival titled
<i>Festival</i>, Lerner was brought on board to document the preparation and
staging of the 1970 Isle of Wight rock festival.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
festival drew a larger crowd than Woodstock, which had taken place a
year earlier. But as might be expected when 600,000 people descend on
a small island off the coast of England, problems were bound to crop
up. Lerner's <i>Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival</i> offers a
fascinating account of the festival, capturing everything from Joni
Mitchell's on-stage meltdown to mercurial festival staff member Rikki
Farr's high-strung dealings with just about everyone he came in
contact with.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fortunately
for rock history, Lerner armed his small crew with plenty of film. As
a result, Lerner's name is associated with quite the array of titles,
all rooted in that single late summer weekend in 1970: <i>Listening To
You: The Who At The Isle Of Wight Festival, Nothing is Easy: Jethro
Tull at the Isle of Wight, Miles Electric: A Different Kind of Blue,
The Birth Of A Band: Emerson,Lake & Palmer Isle of Wight 1970,
The Moody Blues: Threshold of a Dream: Live at the Isle of Wight
Festival 1970, Leonard Cohen: Live At The Isle of Wight 1970, Taste:
What's Going On Live At The Isle of Wight 1970.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYFnzamKcHZr9PbkirsKU5OAVja2zadc5moVm90_hpymm6RetSTCyO48pYMdz1RrFjArB39N8_TzyGaWoL8xmgUVyu6l6Flrct07HXtpVbsTQE_vtp0zetuTfAB50wFFXEl-hztoZ-A0/s1600/BWA+Screen+Grab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrYFnzamKcHZr9PbkirsKU5OAVja2zadc5moVm90_hpymm6RetSTCyO48pYMdz1RrFjArB39N8_TzyGaWoL8xmgUVyu6l6Flrct07HXtpVbsTQE_vtp0zetuTfAB50wFFXEl-hztoZ-A0/s400/BWA+Screen+Grab.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jimi Hendrix on stage at Isle of Wight. To the right of Jimi's Stratocaster headstock Hendrix road crew member Howard Parker, aka "H," observes the troubled set.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Hendrix
fans first saw Lerner's documentation of Jimi's performance excerpted
on VHS and LaserDisc titles like <i>Jimi Hendrix: The Great Pop
Festivals</i> and <i>Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight</i>. But it wasn't until
the 2002 release of <i>Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of
Wight</i> that an accurate assessment of Jimi's full set could be made.
The fascinating documentary allows viewers to watch as Jimi struggles
his way through one of his longest sets ever, complicated by repeated
technical difficulties ranging from recalcitrant effects pedals to
festival security walkie-talkie conversations being picked up by the
amplification chain and broadcast to the audience. As a Hendrix
performance, Lerner's film offers moments of typical Jimi brilliance
rising above the shambles.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBjRCuqk9M4sInvhFV7cc-ZpFUFLqMfb9ois0Jgm00SvavytLC4lnmw13LeEg9hjb1t1ocQDOVjyXsuazgwRAiZUhLWy3W4V6MyfwpCZnde6bJWsgd5ID2Y_fxCeeT_iZily9jOlH2u0/s1600/BWA+Title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="604" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgBjRCuqk9M4sInvhFV7cc-ZpFUFLqMfb9ois0Jgm00SvavytLC4lnmw13LeEg9hjb1t1ocQDOVjyXsuazgwRAiZUhLWy3W4V6MyfwpCZnde6bJWsgd5ID2Y_fxCeeT_iZily9jOlH2u0/s400/BWA+Title.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screen image from the film trailer depicts an aerial view of the 600,000 people gathered in the summer of 1970.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">When
<i>Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix at the Isle of Wight</i> was released,
Murray Lerner appeared at Philadelphia's Prince Theater for a
screening of his new film. Afterwards, I had the opportunity to talk
to him about Hendrix's set and the festival experience in general. He
was thoughtful and humble, characteristics that no doubt contributed
to his ability to capture those critical moments that make so many of
his films stand out.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Variety</i>
obituary of Murray Lerner:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://variety.com/2017/music/news/documentary-filmmaker-murray-lerner-60s-70s-music-dead-new-york-1202546989/" target="_blank">variety.com 2017 documentary filmmaker murray lerner</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Video
interview with Murray Lerner:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YeQFdsItiE" target="_blank">youtube.com interview</a></span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-44690294454621854222017-08-31T07:17:00.001-07:002017-08-31T07:17:35.686-07:00Finding Lonnie Youngblood to Talk Jimi Hendrix in a Pre-Google World<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I was
recently added to a Jimi Hendrix online group, and looking at the
list of members I was startled to see how many were associates of or
had crossed paths with Jimi himself.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
reminded me of my efforts – undertaken more than two decades ago –
to find and interview Lonnie Youngblood. Lonnie's name was linked to
Jimi's through a number of releases documenting – many might say
exploiting – early studio sessions the two men had shared in New
York City.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXQkjdIkPTNarMc5atZDk6RBWCvTM5RYrP150bAL9sPD5QNiVFFNHsK49HHN1W17RURR4bEECZmYuUrVLf10BiSlxlj03yQHCkX5x49snzcP0trM-By4e5BvguENUHfUMc8RwE0Vt8pA/s1600/Maple+Records.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXQkjdIkPTNarMc5atZDk6RBWCvTM5RYrP150bAL9sPD5QNiVFFNHsK49HHN1W17RURR4bEECZmYuUrVLf10BiSlxlj03yQHCkX5x49snzcP0trM-By4e5BvguENUHfUMc8RwE0Vt8pA/s400/Maple+Records.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Just one
of the many albums from the 1970s and 1980s linking Lonnie Youngblood
and Jimi Hendrix. More recently, Youngblood appears on </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>People,
Hell and Angels</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">
and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>Martin Scorsese
Presents the Blues: Jimi Hendrix</i></span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Like
many musicians of the early to mid 1960s, Youngblood had little
control over his own recordings. And once Hendrix attained stardom,
the Youngblood tapes on which Hendrix had played were released on an
avalanche of albums and later CDs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Though
I'd been traveling in Hendrix realms since first seeing Jimi play in
1969, I couldn't recall ever reading an in-depth interview with
Lonnie. So, being curious about the relationship between Lonnie and
Jimi and the circumstances of their recordings, I decided to find
Lonnie and tell his story.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Now, in
2017, it would probably take about ten minutes to track down anyone.
But back in the mid-1990s – pre-Google, and do you remember
Netscape Navigator? - it was considerably more challenging. After
exhaustively following leads, I found Lonnie's name associated with a
music event that had recently taken place in Newark. After contacting
the promoters of that gig, it opened up a path that eventually led to
Lonnie's phone number.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4jYvS0fFUpEvNYTccLkvffoPw7XdWjIH8DMnCs_-PQoCXxCViP-y5vhcMvLK9cxhG1kyfDiqnHeFieXY3R6M-4kigI_0g3ZIvoz77_ZnMsW5MGByIGXlkpOSDx2Y7gkOqGunPLxMsiA/s1600/LonnieYoungblood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1088" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis4jYvS0fFUpEvNYTccLkvffoPw7XdWjIH8DMnCs_-PQoCXxCViP-y5vhcMvLK9cxhG1kyfDiqnHeFieXY3R6M-4kigI_0g3ZIvoz77_ZnMsW5MGByIGXlkpOSDx2Y7gkOqGunPLxMsiA/s400/LonnieYoungblood.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Lonnie
Youngblood at one of our interview sessions in 1996, outside the
landmark Harlem destination Sylvia's.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">We met
in Harlem several times, and Lonnie's story was fascinating, not even
taking his association with Jimi Hendrix into account. It was the
tale of a musician working in the trenches, determined to make it.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you
don't know much about Lonnie Youngblood or that era of music, please
take some time to follow this link to the articles page of my website
and read the conversation with Lonnie:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.loudfast.net/frankarticles.html" target="_blank">Frank's Articles and Interviews</a></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-10306812872921079042017-08-29T08:29:00.001-07:002017-08-29T08:32:08.127-07:00Increments in Stealth<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This
weekend, I had the opportunity to witness several passes over
Delaware's Dover Air Force Base made by a B-2 Spirit, more commonly
known as the Stealth Bomber. The aircraft's presence was certainly a
highlight of the <i>Thunder Over Dover</i> airshow.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTSFwUVCjAyr8mrLC8bDhkHAQ95DYLTt4rYqmkqHm4b2OjyUZJ6W_2vWCEscL6oJONwbdiz6wsqhyphenhyphen91XM6GbdY76YmWwQE2HKm41IBuhvSqdBaPHOL26Ah6pz-hwGgjnTSN3CrWDKqoc/s1600/B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1516" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTSFwUVCjAyr8mrLC8bDhkHAQ95DYLTt4rYqmkqHm4b2OjyUZJ6W_2vWCEscL6oJONwbdiz6wsqhyphenhyphen91XM6GbdY76YmWwQE2HKm41IBuhvSqdBaPHOL26Ah6pz-hwGgjnTSN3CrWDKqoc/s400/B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Northrop Grumman B-2 "Spirit of California" over Delaware, August 26, 2017.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I have
always been fascinated by the realm of secret aircraft development,
to the extent of climbing Nevada's Tikaboo Peak so I could see the
notorious Area 51 with my own eyes – while creating a promotional
video for my band at the time, Third Stone Invasion. I've also read a
number of books about the famed Lockheed Skunk Works, where
revolutionary planes like the SR-71 Blackbird and F-117 Nighthawk
were developed in need-to-know secrecy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAnK_YFH8dn0GlV9f-K9LXAmYiyzK-moLYkL75c7j8SgijgFmn-inr7W3_LmFETCB6EiC1Md2Zg567Y8G_2hCw6Bzze7vdQnzTh-TvpajaKusSJ-EFREmVC5yqiqACC62N_JRARM3C2o/s1600/Skunkworks+Legend.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="484" data-original-width="643" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhAnK_YFH8dn0GlV9f-K9LXAmYiyzK-moLYkL75c7j8SgijgFmn-inr7W3_LmFETCB6EiC1Md2Zg567Y8G_2hCw6Bzze7vdQnzTh-TvpajaKusSJ-EFREmVC5yqiqACC62N_JRARM3C2o/s400/Skunkworks+Legend.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commemorative artwork depicting the top-secret glories of the Skunk Works' past.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
problem with those books is that they all tend to feature the radical angles of the F-117 on
their covers. Understandable, as the F-117 stealth attack aircraft is one of the wildest-looking
planes to ever fly. But state of the art? Consider that the F-117 has
been retired from service for almost a decade.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As the
ominous B-2 flew over my head the other day, I couldn't help but
wonder, “What's next?” After all, this specific aircraft was the
<i>Spirit of California</i>, the second B-2 to enter into service. That
happened almost 25 years ago.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">It had
been some time since I'd looked into developments in this realm, so
spurred on by my B-2 encounter I wanted to find out if there was
speculation about military aviation being on the verge of wild, radically
intimidating new designs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikF0PCaNXREcEUq2NHa8noSgos5huTbHwdRHIij3ymrfhLqwc3tYqHcIz59JykwU0f4se1xaW8wqInsoK8a4X2LhSQVF9Kutc0skgpXDDOPq70nzuJXhX_Bn9B-60Pd5ca260pPGoF8oA/s1600/Lockheed+Video+Grab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="944" data-original-width="1600" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikF0PCaNXREcEUq2NHa8noSgos5huTbHwdRHIij3ymrfhLqwc3tYqHcIz59JykwU0f4se1xaW8wqInsoK8a4X2LhSQVF9Kutc0skgpXDDOPq70nzuJXhX_Bn9B-60Pd5ca260pPGoF8oA/s400/Lockheed+Video+Grab.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Screen grab from a 2014 promotional video created by Lockheed to call attention to Skunk Works activities.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">What I
found was evidence of highly-advanced but incremental progress. The
emergence of the F-117 after growing familiar with the planes of the
1950s, 60s, and 70s was startling. But a similar aesthetic shock does
not seem to be in store. Lockheed, now publicly promoting its Skunk
Works with its very own website - <a href="http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/aeronautics/skunkworks.html" target="_blank">Click here to visit Skunk Works website</a> -
presents a video in which the concept of “collaborative systems”
is stressed, combining manned and unmanned aircraft. Several of the
concepts seen in the video call to mind the spooky shape of the B-2.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gs3tlax0MTGTLSjod4oAj6Ms2pEIP-3Ej5jM5VmFJfg-IDA80gDJaNjTInLmAQUfj8txzemtChogH1vGEsf0kR_Z7RJBd0FF25DpZC9gPRZ3NzMGrQcMjINFpSztw5uiN2Dx6eVWP0w/s1600/Artist_Rendering_B21_Bomber_Air_Force_Official.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gs3tlax0MTGTLSjod4oAj6Ms2pEIP-3Ej5jM5VmFJfg-IDA80gDJaNjTInLmAQUfj8txzemtChogH1vGEsf0kR_Z7RJBd0FF25DpZC9gPRZ3NzMGrQcMjINFpSztw5uiN2Dx6eVWP0w/s400/Artist_Rendering_B21_Bomber_Air_Force_Official.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artist conception of the B-21 Raider, with the "21" reflecting the 21st Century.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">As for
the B-2 itself, its successor is to be the B-21 Raider, both aircraft built
by Northrop Grumman. The B-21 is expected to enter into service in
2025, while B-2s will continue to be flown well beyond that date.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Surely
there are amazing technologies lurking beneath the skin of the B-21,
but what's most interesting on the surface is how much it looks like
the B-2. It seems that in this case, they got it right the first
time.</span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-89500387237852138522017-08-25T07:00:00.001-07:002017-08-25T07:00:43.970-07:00An Unwelcome Truth<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4anhUN8uvGF-ZVXLfnm6l7PtQZLmLlBu8VfKrSMIBlC5aiZC0sZb0-wgVoso7m3AM1xtTzQrN9A4Lcl8WMFcgFnGc8OCZV09WopHer_9JRvet_WdyA69vOTmGagaOXTOwKxYkdR6AsM0/s1600/08182017+Dale+Jr+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="922" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4anhUN8uvGF-ZVXLfnm6l7PtQZLmLlBu8VfKrSMIBlC5aiZC0sZb0-wgVoso7m3AM1xtTzQrN9A4Lcl8WMFcgFnGc8OCZV09WopHer_9JRvet_WdyA69vOTmGagaOXTOwKxYkdR6AsM0/s400/08182017+Dale+Jr+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disappointing finishes have become all too common for NASCAR's most popular driver.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If
you follow motorsports even casually, no doubt you're at least well
aware of – if not yet sick of hearing about – the impending
retirement of Dale Earnhardt Junior in the wake of his
concussion-plagued 2016 season.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I
don't fault Dale Jr. for wanting to get out the car with his head
intact. And I'm sure NASCAR, while displeased upon receiving the
news, was grateful for a full season of retirement-based media
attention and marketing opportunities – financially lucrative
aspects not bestowed upon the powers that be in F1 when champ Nico
Rosberg essentially announced, “I'm outta here – right now!”
after the 2016 campaign went his way.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But
the official Dale Jr. lovefest recently took a slight detour after
Kevin Harvick, a real racer who clawed his way up the NASCAR ranks,
made his feelings known about Dale Jr.'s career, one that has
averaged just over a single win per season. Harvick said on his
Sirius XM radio show that Earnhardt “<span style="color: #222222;">hasn’t
been anywhere close to being our most successful driver. When you
look at other sports – you look at basketball and you look at
football and you look at their most popular (athletes), they’re
also right on the top of the list as their most successful
(athletes).</span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0.21in; margin-top: 0.21in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">“<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So
for me I believe that Dale Jr. has had a big part in stunting the
growth of NASCAR because he’s got these legions of fans and this
huge outreach of being able to reach these places that none of us
have the possibility to reach. But he’s won nine races in 10 years
at Hendrick Motorsports and hasn’t been able to reach outside of
that.”</span></span></span></div>
<div style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0.21in; margin-top: 0.21in; padding: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I had no
problem with Harvick's comments, and think the outraged backlash over
his remarks glosses over the facts. Harvick was referring to game
changers like Wayne Gretzky or Michael Jordan. Dale Jr. seems like a
super-nice guy, but if you're going to measure a career on
bottom-line numbers, this member of the Earnhardt family ranks as
mediocre in the pantheon of great drivers. He's always had top
equipment, but not top results. And this farewell</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> season has been particularly</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> awful: he limped home to a 23</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> place finish
this weekend at Bristol, contributing to a season-to-date average
finish of 21.7.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzdaemr6WuXG0LtPqXq2irlu7Uzrlowg3d9e65Y3yT8IdSZHDq2aaWbaypozi2JV8jT6JIZ2rQadrbDTbu17DqEXMgAsTvg98LdtryHnk7EKpb97LX58O21V86LP6yavdopb5e5DvsJg/s1600/08182017+MPD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="922" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmzdaemr6WuXG0LtPqXq2irlu7Uzrlowg3d9e65Y3yT8IdSZHDq2aaWbaypozi2JV8jT6JIZ2rQadrbDTbu17DqEXMgAsTvg98LdtryHnk7EKpb97LX58O21V86LP6yavdopb5e5DvsJg/s400/08182017+MPD.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dale Jr. (right) claiming one of his 14 popularity awards. Bill Elliott still holds the record with 16.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It's all
just more proof that the NASCAR title of most popular driver
certainly does not equate to performance. After all, before Dale's
umpteen years with the title, there were a number of years when Bill
Elliott was most popular while ending a career that was fairly far
removed from the glory days of “Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.”
In fact, it was nine years between Elliott's last win and his last
race, many moons that were far from awesome.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Dale
announced that he found Harvick's comments to be “hurtful.” Of
course, there was a time when such hurt would have been addressed in
a more physical manner, out behind the haulers in the garage area.
Ah, but those days – like the memories of the career of Dale
Earnhardt Senior – are simply fading deeper and deeper into the
mists of time.</span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-78196249519451388552017-08-20T08:58:00.001-07:002017-08-20T12:18:09.164-07:00Charting Out the Third Stone<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">With
today marking the 40<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the launch of
Voyager 2, I was reminded of the vaguely controversial decision at
the time to include a detailed stellar map of exactly where our
planet is located.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6FsdFrihn1aWPT-InfJAnvtVYCUlH1sBZfQGUwGLcr7wdT2kwpShI6eow3K3jpuVWzrVklHyXZTlcnjujhW29UOb4MHv8gvE5DKWTDh5i3m7YYIgQ5GXQQDlNDF2dHj9iiI8c_hBmRg/s1600/Voyager.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="685" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ6FsdFrihn1aWPT-InfJAnvtVYCUlH1sBZfQGUwGLcr7wdT2kwpShI6eow3K3jpuVWzrVklHyXZTlcnjujhW29UOb4MHv8gvE5DKWTDh5i3m7YYIgQ5GXQQDlNDF2dHj9iiI8c_hBmRg/s400/Voyager.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">How to
find the third stone...</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Of
course, the hope was that friendly aliens might listen to the gold
albums of earthly music also stowed aboard Voyager 2 and its sister
craft Voyager 1, decide we sounded like a pretty cool civilization,
and fly on over for an in-person greeting. Other people, however,
feared that this map would lead directly to an alien invasion,
brought upon ourselves thanks to our friendly outreach.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmFIyH3AY1o-gzcrwZImntTMKhsoZo3gmpNGUfnHpNqiY-DQZeEClRzYFyorFCJhBfFjHcAsTpG7OidnRUOBeOh67KtxJD-TA6SWYv5b0Sb1TXqmHcZGP7Au-JCtXLk5MdUffIVD-iHw/s1600/JimiStudioCokeCan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="331" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmFIyH3AY1o-gzcrwZImntTMKhsoZo3gmpNGUfnHpNqiY-DQZeEClRzYFyorFCJhBfFjHcAsTpG7OidnRUOBeOh67KtxJD-TA6SWYv5b0Sb1TXqmHcZGP7Au-JCtXLk5MdUffIVD-iHw/s400/JimiStudioCokeCan.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Jimi's
map was sound.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Jimi
Hendrix had already addressed the matter on his debut album, <i>Are You
Experienced</i>, via the song "3rd Stone From the Sun." And
walking in Jimi's footsteps – as almost all guitarists do – I
once had the opportunity to interpret this amazing song.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvhexFu-ebx_gAc_y7e1264G8iBTrOBruvll8o_pqS7hQMYnni1oc_KlmtIvsLDN7t5RwrlpL1yDA2M6zWDP0QceXALIgQd0oJ4vse2V5Yf8sx7NDEkZgxadkbTxnpnO-l8vFn1OLSBA/s1600/3SIPromoPhoto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="1460" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHvhexFu-ebx_gAc_y7e1264G8iBTrOBruvll8o_pqS7hQMYnni1oc_KlmtIvsLDN7t5RwrlpL1yDA2M6zWDP0QceXALIgQd0oJ4vse2V5Yf8sx7NDEkZgxadkbTxnpnO-l8vFn1OLSBA/s400/3SIPromoPhoto.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Third
Stone Invasion promo photo, J-Bird Records.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">In 1998,
my metal band, Third Stone Invasion, were label mates with The Who's
John Entwistle and Billy Squier on J-Bird Records, a label that had a
brilliant vision to market via the Internet - about two years too
early. As a result, our concept album about the alien intervention on
Earth sold terribly but got great reviews. I guess if you get
favorably compared to Sabbath and Led Zep it's at least an artistic
success. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The CD
ended with one of my proudest musical moments, this cover of Jimi's
"3rd Stone From the Sun." Jimi's song depicts an alien
visiting Earth and deciding to do away with annoyances like "surf
music" - though the visitor does find a "cackling hen"
to be interesting (this set-up takes up roughly the first 1:20, at
which point the serious sounds kick in).</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVP3nopQwhhUBXC8OfwVPt0GY0s0upC2OifqyuS5rHZ5PVCHXmfjW3-CoK3MbO7Yiap3HkAZ-7Ghke0BM4KQ7eoSv49rGB0owSyBUxAls5U6-WmaLILdEIHzx1e0R4X-QwzXAddFaRbto/s1600/RFStudio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="343" data-original-width="271" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVP3nopQwhhUBXC8OfwVPt0GY0s0upC2OifqyuS5rHZ5PVCHXmfjW3-CoK3MbO7Yiap3HkAZ-7Ghke0BM4KQ7eoSv49rGB0owSyBUxAls5U6-WmaLILdEIHzx1e0R4X-QwzXAddFaRbto/s400/RFStudio.JPG" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Guitarist
Rick Farnkopf prepares to answer the mixing call: All hands on the desk!</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">We mixed
this on-the-fly in the old-fashioned, pre-mixing-automation manner -
engineer Rick Statkus, my co-guitarist Rick Farnkopf, and yours truly all
reaching around each other to ride the faders on 24 tracks at once.
It was a complex mix and putting it together was a lot of fun - but
exhausting! I've been asked what makes the alien ship landing and
takeoff sounds at the track's inception? Pulsing away under effects
maestro Mitchell Mercurio's recitation of Jimi's words is simply a
chain of guitar effects (including a Roger Mayer Voodoo-Vibe) with no
instrument input, being run through a fully-flat-out 5150 amplifier
half-stack. Even with no guitar in that effect chain, it was about
loud enough to kill ya... It's heard again at the end under the words
of Ronald Reagan briefly mentioning aliens, and then it's up from the
skies, so to speak. Enjoy!</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Click below to listen:</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/QdJl8cs6nFs/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QdJl8cs6nFs?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-83268381719867093352017-08-18T14:35:00.000-07:002017-08-20T12:18:21.392-07:00The (so far) Endless Journey...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_jf0Yg59MsXgPtqZdNnQToB6Y2vVY4Y5lhl1xjjAAy8WG3K4CrCN5jn-oW5pf_UV88lC7M-oQ_ZtooTmhs3NAMnxzPY0T-CfO7_p8Q6OL-4WWksqHhK3lVryjQREpulZ2efkhWfidnQ/s1600/08182017+Voyager_launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1160" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_jf0Yg59MsXgPtqZdNnQToB6Y2vVY4Y5lhl1xjjAAy8WG3K4CrCN5jn-oW5pf_UV88lC7M-oQ_ZtooTmhs3NAMnxzPY0T-CfO7_p8Q6OL-4WWksqHhK3lVryjQREpulZ2efkhWfidnQ/s640/08182017+Voyager_launch.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Voyager 2 begins its first mile of billions to follow, August 20, 1977.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">At
a time when American society seems to be seriously fractured, it
can't hurt to look back at a period of time when there was far
greater national unity – and a greater thirst for knowledge.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">On
August 20 – this Sunday – NASA and the scientific community will
be celebrating the launch of Voyager 2, the research vehicle that has
now left our solar system and has covered over 11 billion miles.
Voyager 1 launched three weeks after Voyager 2, but due to its
trajectory it has wracked up an astonishing 13 billion miles.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Five
years ago, on August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 became the first human-built
vehicle to enter a region previously thought to be unreachable:
interstellar space. Voyager 2 is also now nearing the boundary of
interstellar space. Amazingly, 40 years later the instruments on both
of these explorers continue to function.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymn6GWWAwwKvsEL-fU5vU2SEDaRkYu3kDfJN1f2yn5glvuMzNhQv_RSxlzjdD711ir8igmBGq1mmyApEtENNH0A3kB5PHhCsAPVH-q8t7RL8SRaDR0NcH8npItdD1Xc29RBCPwmhV3eM/s1600/08182017+Voyager.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1147" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiymn6GWWAwwKvsEL-fU5vU2SEDaRkYu3kDfJN1f2yn5glvuMzNhQv_RSxlzjdD711ir8igmBGq1mmyApEtENNH0A3kB5PHhCsAPVH-q8t7RL8SRaDR0NcH8npItdD1Xc29RBCPwmhV3eM/s400/08182017+Voyager.bmp" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Voyager 1 looks toward home in this artist depiction showing planetary orbits.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The
written word fails when it comes to the achievements of these
spacecraft, so take some time to absorb their greatness on Wednesday,
August 23 when PBS broadcasts a special program titled, “The
Farthest – Voyager in Space,” airing at 9 p.m. EDT.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Of
course, expect to learn about the creation of the famous “Golden
Records” - albums intended to charm alien ears with music ranging
from Mozart to Chuck Berry, should interstellar travelers come upon a
Voyager.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">So
much focus is being showered upon Monday's total eclipse, which truly
is a monumental event. But this PBS tribute to Voyager will celebrate
our ability to take active steps to find new discoveries, rather than
sitting back and simply observing natural phenomenon. </span>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Let's
all hope that soon our nation will regain some sanity and return to
using science in the realization of achievements driven by curiosity
– the urgent sense of purpose we once had.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-73827902650405906212017-08-18T10:24:00.001-07:002017-08-18T10:24:28.253-07:00Lessons learned moving under one roof...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgoRfR25gUi9mO60mrvAAc5pIOQIqtqnbf4MOEZHZMdyXoS0o0NIG9Yre2u6UvBXHh5qe2I0PI8bLDLfSmI_ZZHj8xJdtsyxE2B1wfNi4Dn7BGe4yUuWfcGnXzWAzlRMEM0nWRK4iFes/s1600/Header+Composite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="532" data-original-width="935" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvgoRfR25gUi9mO60mrvAAc5pIOQIqtqnbf4MOEZHZMdyXoS0o0NIG9Yre2u6UvBXHh5qe2I0PI8bLDLfSmI_ZZHj8xJdtsyxE2B1wfNi4Dn7BGe4yUuWfcGnXzWAzlRMEM0nWRK4iFes/s400/Header+Composite.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If
you're a follower of any of the three blogs under the loudfastblogs
umbrella – Aerospace Perceptions, The View From the Pits, Frank
Blank Music – you've had nothing new to read since the year 2015
was on the verge of arrival.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Leading
up to that moment – and in the days since – my writing efforts
were by necessity hijacked by two book projects. One was the
realization of a full-color, hardback anniversary edition of my book <i><b>Iron Fist, Lead Foot: John Coletti and Ford's 'Terminator.'</b></i> The
other, finally nearing publication after five years of work, is<b><i> Modern Listener's Guide: Jimi Hendrix</i></b> with a foreword by Derek
Trucks and an afterword by John McLaughlin.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">While
the idea of three blogs on three topics made perfect sense to me, in
practice the act of writing three blogs on three topics took up an
amazing amount of time. And yes, that should have been obvious from
the beginning.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">So now,
in 2017, and with time for writing things other than books on the
horizon, I am bringing my love of music, motorsports, and aerospace
under one blog title – and you're looking at it. This will include
in its archive all of the posts written for the three separate blogs.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">I hope
you'll stop by often because of a shared interest, and perhaps find a
new one. Onward!</span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-34011049267154396362014-12-27T07:13:00.000-08:002017-08-20T12:19:16.482-07:00Parking a blog...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZk_9Js2nU6pq97UmyH6cQSiNpDqsiGSR5-YdfEFzRDViPMxICwlLirvV7qt0Jre5yaUuL4bEzP8S14UxxzZcRLDGISNeWg9Zkxygr50RpN4Lq1aUltmUphZNMsPv-d95YFJuKxqndaE/s1600/free-covered-parking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguZk_9Js2nU6pq97UmyH6cQSiNpDqsiGSR5-YdfEFzRDViPMxICwlLirvV7qt0Jre5yaUuL4bEzP8S14UxxzZcRLDGISNeWg9Zkxygr50RpN4Lq1aUltmUphZNMsPv-d95YFJuKxqndaE/s1600/free-covered-parking.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div>
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Readers with a discerning eye - or at least readers capable of performing date calculations - may have noticed that fresh content has been somewhat… <i>sporadic</i> around here. Sad to say, that’s what happens when two book projects, multiple musical efforts, and a host of Internet-related assignments all barge their way to the top of the prioritization list. My interest in the LOUDFASTBLOGS network subjects remains keen, so revitalization is just a question of time. How soon? Time itself will tell. But keep an eye out here - as Joe Strummer once wrote, the future is unwritten…</span></div>
Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-49630954395416781632014-06-20T10:43:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:23.783-07:002011 in 2025?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 1970s American TV viewers were captivated by a program titled <i>Marcus Welby, M.D.</i> In the near future, the space community may be equally enthralled by a small asteroid known as “2011 MD.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZyH3KXJe_r4OJVCFcqi-mUgbe9c9eg9vdMp0aEzJiCsRyWdxqQAxy0mdAVjJPrmj3u9bvA_6UEl8yHg85ibZxIe0NbGf5T-cNrabW0cEtsMr9kHiT-nDB07tQ64RwJruC4zi6Bs8WjQn/s1600/2011MD+Via+Spitzer+Space+Telescope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzZyH3KXJe_r4OJVCFcqi-mUgbe9c9eg9vdMp0aEzJiCsRyWdxqQAxy0mdAVjJPrmj3u9bvA_6UEl8yHg85ibZxIe0NbGf5T-cNrabW0cEtsMr9kHiT-nDB07tQ64RwJruC4zi6Bs8WjQn/s1600/2011MD+Via+Spitzer+Space+Telescope.jpg" height="245" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2011 MD in all its infrared glory, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Launched in 2003, the SST was the last of NASA’s Great Observatories and the only one of the four not carried to space by Space Shuttle. Instead, a Delta rocket carried the SST aloft. </span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 20-foot rocky celestial inhabitant – estimated to be either a collection of smaller rocks or a single rock – is being studied as a candidate for retrieval and subsequent investigation. It’s path through the solar system has brought it as close as 7500 miles from our planet.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The study is all part of an ambitious plan that will hopefully be ready to get off the ground in just over a decade. The first step: use a robotic spacecraft to capture a small asteroid – like 2011 MD – and bring it to a new home, in orbit around the moon.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgrG0li81ZjnM9s16wf7IotUd_UOTf3ueptpqtW2n0pS7ErFdxPd4SVp0w51ukAxnkLWrPBVwliyUE9srpanazT9FO4sBAQpn8bh4c2lPAq3R9goBSY_3o_T2vD9kfMru_8haffr4ip2y/s1600/arm-optiona-capturing-asteroid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYgrG0li81ZjnM9s16wf7IotUd_UOTf3ueptpqtW2n0pS7ErFdxPd4SVp0w51ukAxnkLWrPBVwliyUE9srpanazT9FO4sBAQpn8bh4c2lPAq3R9goBSY_3o_T2vD9kfMru_8haffr4ip2y/s1600/arm-optiona-capturing-asteroid.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NASA conceptual planning image of a robotic asteroid capture mission underway.</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once there, astronauts could journey to the newly arrived visitor for detailed analysis of its origins and composition, shedding light on some of the fundamental questions about our solar system. Of course, getting humans to the moon calls for realization of the Orion vehicle and Space Launch System rocket programs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This type of mission is one of the benefits of the rise of commercial space endeavors, providing NASA with the freedom to focus on exploration.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For more, visit NASA’s Asteroid Initiative site: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/asteroids/initiative/" target="_blank">NASA A.I.</a></span></span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-74361404283122568252014-06-20T09:52:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:50.936-07:00Ruminating on Rubber Soul<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This morning I listened to the 1965 album <i>Rubber Soul</i> by The Beatles (you may have heard of them). Curious album title, that…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHf_Yg7mo3jx6xlJuVutfvg7H0YXJYhAS2f6r9Cfd_UseXj-1RZOIDfX-zNwOCz2SDuHXmz8G6cge0uS5tigAKmu7-cbbzc6k2NypXVT-DjbxfBkAvkJlGMV1rmfEPfkwNi1u7cAsfc0/s1600/rubber-soul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwHf_Yg7mo3jx6xlJuVutfvg7H0YXJYhAS2f6r9Cfd_UseXj-1RZOIDfX-zNwOCz2SDuHXmz8G6cge0uS5tigAKmu7-cbbzc6k2NypXVT-DjbxfBkAvkJlGMV1rmfEPfkwNi1u7cAsfc0/s1600/rubber-soul.jpg" height="400" width="396" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rubber Soul cover, US stereo edition.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From the vantage point of 2014 it’s easy to take this collection of music as something that seems to have always existed – but it’s more interesting to put it in the perspective of where in the band’s career timeline it was created.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the songs generally credited to Paul McCartney remain focused on matters romantic – and masterful displays of pop-craft they often are – John Lennon’s words begin to show the first signs of a new direction for the band and a changing attitude for him. “Norwegian Wood” brings a much more adult take on relationship complexities than the cut-and-dry characterizations that inhabited earlier songs. And in “The Word,” when Lennon announced “<span lang="EN">Now that I know what I feel must be right, I'm here to show everybody the light,” he set a course that he would follow for the rest of his life.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN"><br /></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1IJuI0R6jec1fRAoiWS8OU-AU4cLuB86svUoJPN7yZCaB1BfW6vYIpeO554q46VG-_lz3YEhd3m3El8h4IZgDdnK-x-1RyOW_GieeVBRx6_WcSDJYdzo2RLNYlzBa6UXq9z8mchn9TU/s1600/rubber-soul-session.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic1IJuI0R6jec1fRAoiWS8OU-AU4cLuB86svUoJPN7yZCaB1BfW6vYIpeO554q46VG-_lz3YEhd3m3El8h4IZgDdnK-x-1RyOW_GieeVBRx6_WcSDJYdzo2RLNYlzBa6UXq9z8mchn9TU/s1600/rubber-soul-session.jpg" height="188" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The band recording <i>Rubber Soul</i>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN"><br /></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">George Harrison displays a darker lyrical approach as well, noting in “Think for Yourself” that “I left you far behind, the ruins of the life that you have in mind.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The shimmering production and spirited performances that abound in <i>Rubber Soul</i> seem like a seamless and logical progression from the album’s predecessor, <i>Help!</i>, arriving quickly on its heels. But the album also offered clues that things were changing. No one could have imagined just how much.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-52551148113695418972014-06-20T09:48:00.000-07:002017-08-20T12:19:28.583-07:00The blog awakens...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP4zcdIBQgm9scnGDFzA_fWySJ3lJHbJwwAzWZr6d16vmvvMRfgwn8r88ZRcjX3E-dPMMszzqiQSZx2eZocXQu96aNCzoGXAC0cjmcEvt7Qgj-PgVWGQpuiH42lusTFk7EuyhP7Ldhcc/s1600/BlogAwake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPP4zcdIBQgm9scnGDFzA_fWySJ3lJHbJwwAzWZr6d16vmvvMRfgwn8r88ZRcjX3E-dPMMszzqiQSZx2eZocXQu96aNCzoGXAC0cjmcEvt7Qgj-PgVWGQpuiH42lusTFk7EuyhP7Ldhcc/s1600/BlogAwake.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...after extended slumber.</span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-41478512093658103392014-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:58.878-07:0021 Years On...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwm75WRqpTH3ll0um5iRPmQ3eLAqE52Wkvo88yPn4r8zcDZipufh0M5aLV61_HLY_T-YzDsN1DKaiASNXs8WkOtDn6PtmEptLIhe8dpP0oQQDU8QAteKgmDDDy53AxRa4RfHxTF7Xsnc/s1600/AlanKulwickiFCMScan2Sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwm75WRqpTH3ll0um5iRPmQ3eLAqE52Wkvo88yPn4r8zcDZipufh0M5aLV61_HLY_T-YzDsN1DKaiASNXs8WkOtDn6PtmEptLIhe8dpP0oQQDU8QAteKgmDDDy53AxRa4RfHxTF7Xsnc/s1600/AlanKulwickiFCMScan2Sm.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This photo is of Alan Kulwicki Racing crew chief Paul Andrews, owner/driver Alan Kulwicki, and yours truly at the team‘s shop in North Carolina. 21 years ago today, Alan was killed in a plane crash flying to a race in Tennessee. Without going into a ton of detail for those who may not be familiar with the tale, Alan owned an under-funded team racing against multi-car teams with huge budgets. He believed in his own team and turned down a big paycheck offer to drive for Junior Johnson. In 1992 Alan and his team overcame staggering odds to compete for NASCAR’s championship. He embraced the underdog role and even changed the name on his cars’ front bumpers from “Thunderbird” to “Underbird.” With meticulous planning in what many consider to be NASCAR’s greatest race ever, Alan won the 1992 championship in the season’s final event by a single point. He beat out Junior Johnson driver Bill Elliott in the ride that could have been Alan’s. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will always feel lucky that I got to know him, and his dedication and determination serve as inspiration to me to this day. </span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-61790448406995545562013-11-16T07:53:00.000-08:002017-08-18T11:50:50.982-07:00What a difference four decades make...<br /><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The first time I ever saw Tony Joe White was May 1, 1971. I hated him.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> White had the unenviable task of joining Spirit in opening for Jethro Tull, now at the peak of their powers just days after the release of <i>Aqualung</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I, along with many others in Philadelphia’s packed Spectrum, had little time for some dude playing music about swamps and looking kind of like he’d just emerged from one, especially when Martin Barre was waiting in the wings ready to unleash that six-note onslaught that heralded the title track of the new Tull LP. White did not go down the worst of any opening act I saw at the Spectrum; that dubious honor was presented a few weeks after this show, to LaBelle as they crashed and burned in a storm of boos before The Who claimed the stage during the <i>Who’s Next</i> tour. But the crowd did not exactly embrace White in a warm hug of good cheer.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Yesterday, just over forty years later, I saw Tony Joe White for the second time. What a difference a few decades make.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z7N74dtkPjPPbT3bDHfzxOgaRvOFqKmb-9xZjD53IxOpip0Fd5DzZ_RGFegyGgcKGLjgTEwqlCQpZ3iH5I60ojMcv-xKJX4iEjbisddLCpEEXdzFX9R0EticP3h38wQQneBY180eLzc/s1600/tony_joe_white_-_hoodoo_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3Z7N74dtkPjPPbT3bDHfzxOgaRvOFqKmb-9xZjD53IxOpip0Fd5DzZ_RGFegyGgcKGLjgTEwqlCQpZ3iH5I60ojMcv-xKJX4iEjbisddLCpEEXdzFX9R0EticP3h38wQQneBY180eLzc/s400/tony_joe_white_-_hoodoo_sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tony Joe White's 2013 release on Yep Roc Records.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Backed only by drummer Fleetwood Cadillac - yep, that’s how the Mississippian was introduced - White took the stage at Philadelphia’s World Café Live for the weekly WXPN Free at Noon concert series and got things off to a rousing start by discovering his amp was not on. But years of stage experience saw White coolly apprise the folks in front of him - and those listening around the world - about the issue and its resolution.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> “Alright - Friday!” White announced in his thick drawl, “A little mid-day swamp…”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHe5D0tP3oDCB3OM3YUAuD9W45x4nkAQw8Z0a8DmZXoBIGYc9pOoVgrsQTXa9Cv2WAEvHq1xEdKBSAv3eigjTcOoGC52Gp7cHpvJncjbEbu2yR4YjN0hE3Img8_vV-X68P79ogYeCpp50/s1600/IMG_5110.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHe5D0tP3oDCB3OM3YUAuD9W45x4nkAQw8Z0a8DmZXoBIGYc9pOoVgrsQTXa9Cv2WAEvHq1xEdKBSAv3eigjTcOoGC52Gp7cHpvJncjbEbu2yR4YjN0hE3Img8_vV-X68P79ogYeCpp50/s400/IMG_5110.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A man in black - Tony Joe White on stage at World Café Live.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> For the next forty minutes White held the crowd spellbound, his worn Stratocaster emitting notes that led down twisting paths of the blues, backed by Cadillac’s simple but sympathetic drums. White’s tales of hoodoo, voodoo, and a disappearing Southern life were nearly croaked out in a conspiratorial voice that gave the impression the tales were being told just for your ears alone. And no-one could stop listening.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> That I found White so mesmerizing this time is a direct by-product of the fact that my musical tastes haven’t refocused over the years, they’ve simply widened to now embrace swamp rock, Tull, and far too much else.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> But I’m glad I had the chance to test that theory.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tony Joe White’s Free at Noon concert can be heard at the following Web site; simply scroll to the bottom of the page and look for the Free at Noon stream for November 15, 2013:</span><br /></span></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div><span lang="EN" style="font-size: x-small;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><a href="http://www.xpn.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Tony Joe White live on Free at Noon, November 15, 2016</span></a></span></div><span lang="EN"></span><br />Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-61558766884403212042013-10-09T09:41:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:51.002-07:00Hi-hat of the gods...<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion was welcomed warmly to the United States last night by a full house at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope PA. The large audience was attentive and applauded in all the right places during the two sets, and the musically brilliant but notoriously combative Baker was appreciative of the reception.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Now 74 years old and in constant pain from a degenerative spine condition, Ginger still displayed the form that influenced a tide of rock drummers. Characteristically, Baker’s relentless hi-hat creates a pulse for every song. The stylistic aspect, so prominent during Baker’s ground-breaking years with Cream, was soon passed down to a second wave of drummers powering 1970s hard rock bands ranging from Mountain to Cactus.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QP2TMDFljeR9NnkSYVxGC49zGv_uRDe0yF5wX9fIFpO6RsjMaaCTAgXoA7stC-WmX7TSJX44lwUioRvby6L_34a3XW1hFFjyWyGz7MMXYqiquXz4FEYHezgI0D1hbKashZoXn0iO0e0/s1600/GingerAtRonnieScotts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2QP2TMDFljeR9NnkSYVxGC49zGv_uRDe0yF5wX9fIFpO6RsjMaaCTAgXoA7stC-WmX7TSJX44lwUioRvby6L_34a3XW1hFFjyWyGz7MMXYqiquXz4FEYHezgI0D1hbKashZoXn0iO0e0/s400/GingerAtRonnieScotts.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jazz Confusion on stage in London earlier this year.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://youtu.be/OfP-qe5nqDs" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">YouTube Video of Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion encore, October 8, 2013</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">That Baker has a legion of rock disciples, of course, has always annoyed him, for Ginger considers himself a jazz drummer.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">And that’s certainly the style that Jazz Confusion deftly works through, covering material ranging from a Sonny Rollins tune to a bluesy check-in via a composition written by the late Cyril Davies, a Baker cohort in the early 1960s. With Baker and Ghanaian percussionist Abass Dodoo merging swing with African rhythms, an energetic foundation supported bassist Alec Dankworth and saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis. Ellis, long-time sideman with James Brown during Brown’s most fertile creative period, took lengthy solos that varied intensity with playfulness. Dankworth held the low end, partnering with Baker and Dodoo to support Ellis but also stepping forward with dexterity for his own moments in the spotlight. No surprise that Dankworth should shine: he’s the son of the late horn player and composer John Dankworth and wife Cleo Laine, the only singer nominated for Grammy Awards in jazz, classical, and pop categories.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">At one point Ginger said, "I'm 74 years old and have a number of physical infirmities, so I apologize if I can't play what you want to hear." It was an entirely unnecessary apology. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-7015535171266518152013-09-11T09:54:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:51.022-07:00About Sound and Vision<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">When Tin Angel opened on Philadelphia’s Second Street corridor, it brought the concept of an intimate venue with an emphasis on good sound and clear sightlines to a music scene that was in dire need of such a venue. This type of concert experience has since been expanded upon by area stages such as Milk Boy and other coffee shops – although the listening frequently requires tuning out espresso brewing and assorted low-level hustling and bustling.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">A few months ago a new, easily-accessible venue opened just up the Northeast Extension in Quakertown with a series titled Parlor Concerts at McCoole’s. The debut artist was John Hammond, but word of that event or the series’ existence didn’t seem to spread to very many Philadelphia ears. In fact, when I received a “what’s new” email from the great guitarist Bill Frisell listing a “Parlor Concert” in Quakertown, I was sent off to Google to figure out exactly what that was. I’m glad I did.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCV3HI8XFsU3dVFpZ_X2KTxLU32DJ5DCsHacnrpwepy9oLiIvBNUG_Fg4maSnp_c4HpZqmMJwym-JqMoxaTcATNDcYtR6owUdn_5WDvfP6xPNNU3w3Q6G3l9tgDFNCCrKWpX6bPYVGy8/s1600/Mcooles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZCV3HI8XFsU3dVFpZ_X2KTxLU32DJ5DCsHacnrpwepy9oLiIvBNUG_Fg4maSnp_c4HpZqmMJwym-JqMoxaTcATNDcYtR6owUdn_5WDvfP6xPNNU3w3Q6G3l9tgDFNCCrKWpX6bPYVGy8/s400/Mcooles.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An exterior view of part of the McCoole's complex, with the Arts & Events Place to the left.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The Parlor Concert series takes place at McCoole’s Arts & Events Place, adjacent to McCoole’s Red Lion Inn, located just east of Route 309 on the main road into Quakertown. Essentially, the McCoole’s complex is a series of related buildings rescued from decay by Jan Hench, who after establishing a highly-regarded restaurant and tavern began including artistic endeavors in her vision.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Bill Frisell’s September 8 concert took place in the very intimate upstairs theater, which seats just under 200 listeners. How intimate? The set ended with Frisell, still on stage, conversing with the audience and booker Tom Malm about how impressed he was with the venue, and his desire for a return engagement as soon as possible, perhaps with one of his band projects.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyezqK0FVxlTBFbBf1BLwdpQuWAJ-A_-FtxUtPExUOkwUsWzBGNtphtFmDdhp2CgN4QlGIkbvoZAWt5gUoZEityczX_wfiix12X7KBiLrsXQ6a5vZY-LMzZnu7inTA1dNMoS2RRLJOn0/s1600/BillFrisell09082013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyezqK0FVxlTBFbBf1BLwdpQuWAJ-A_-FtxUtPExUOkwUsWzBGNtphtFmDdhp2CgN4QlGIkbvoZAWt5gUoZEityczX_wfiix12X7KBiLrsXQ6a5vZY-LMzZnu7inTA1dNMoS2RRLJOn0/s400/BillFrisell09082013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bill Frisell alone on the stage, September 8, 2013.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sunday night, though, was all about Frisell as a solo artist. Using a series of guitar effects to craft loops or sonic-grabs of pedal tones, Frisell’s astonishing grasp of chord voicings and scales was readily apparent. After moving from an airy improvisation on into the traditional and familiar patterns of “You Are My Sunshine,” Frisell coaxed the melodies from every position on the neck of his well-worn Telecaster, subtly changing the sonic character of each progression. An equally impressive aspect of the guitarist’s approach is his fearless use of abrasive tones, which characterized one cacophonous passage before suddenly resolving into a beautiful, haunting medley rendition of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “In My Life.” It’s a gifted solo talent who can take an audience on such a wide-ranging musical journey, but Bill Frisell regularly accomplishes that feat – it just usually happens in front of much larger audiences. To see and hear it within such personal confines was a rare experience.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The next event on the parlor concert horizon is October 25 with Jim Lauderdale, who like Frisell is a Grammy winner. Lauderdale has had an illustrious songwriting career and has worked with artists ranging from Lucinda Williams to Elvis Costello. His date is followed by a number of other shows on the venue schedule.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And about that return visit by Bill Frisell? There’s a poll up right now at the following link to determine which of Frisell’s many projects is drawing the most listener interest: <a href="http://www.mccoolesconcerts.com/contact-us.html">http://www.mccoolesconcerts.com/contact-us.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Hopefully more music fans from the Philadelphia area will make the quick drive north to share in this experience when it happens.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-63110885046044557402013-09-10T09:07:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:23.824-07:00A New Spatial Reality<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the late-1990s film <i>Gattaca</i>, employment by the space agency named in the film’s title is a highly-prized future profession. The film’s plot is based on obtaining a coveted crew slot on a mission to Titan, one of the moons orbiting Saturn. The film’s launch images convey the beauty of liftoff, but also a sense that here in the future, the sight of rockets arcing into the skies above population centers is a symbol of progress attained.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSGFkogJJMvv0oF97G9Gi86SLuLmtZPFb8h5GbP4K7Xk9rwI5egwFnb-fQ9pNTP1IOZC8CtHULZeeksIo3S2ZQenGIEzWlg8y7fGxkiWyDWqPYpxRo1kZ-HXfMq-A3l1QwLEwitvAnRPq/s1600/Gattaca.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYSGFkogJJMvv0oF97G9Gi86SLuLmtZPFb8h5GbP4K7Xk9rwI5egwFnb-fQ9pNTP1IOZC8CtHULZeeksIo3S2ZQenGIEzWlg8y7fGxkiWyDWqPYpxRo1kZ-HXfMq-A3l1QwLEwitvAnRPq/s400/Gattaca.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Off to a Saturn moon in <i>Gattaca</i>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For many years significant spaceflight missions originating from United States soil began their climbs “uphill” from launch pads in either Florida or California. But now, reflective of the <i>Gattaca</i> imagery, the launch site palette of 2013 is expanding.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Proof of this was easy to spot the night of September 6, when the night skies of the 11 o’clock hour were brightened by a Minotaur V rocket accelerating to a velocity approaching two thousand miles per hour, passing through an area of maximum dynamic pressure 38 seconds after leaving the launch pad.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0s0GZEbCCBOKp9BzkFmAU1uBPcKIdV4LWZsXX8PorkZA5veXoUGZ2L7-fB0SLfk_Ol-ODmq-Yshg2MctUpjIM4YP2jBuZfI0eYSsGnbcwatbUHb0__0WuRBmsr8FeXDuF4Gt19PsDGY4/s1600/09062013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-0s0GZEbCCBOKp9BzkFmAU1uBPcKIdV4LWZsXX8PorkZA5veXoUGZ2L7-fB0SLfk_Ol-ODmq-Yshg2MctUpjIM4YP2jBuZfI0eYSsGnbcwatbUHb0__0WuRBmsr8FeXDuF4Gt19PsDGY4/s400/09062013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The rocket's red glare over Manhattan, September 6, 2013.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Minotaur – bearing the eight-foot-tall Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) lunar studies vehicle – began its sojourn over the Atlantic Ocean not from venerable Kennedy Space Center or Cape Canaveral, but from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in coastal Virginia. Though Wallops has been the site of origin for several significant launches in recent years, the tremendous visibility of LADEE’s journey to the moon – easily seen by millions in the densely-populated Mid-Atlantic region – has brought a new focus on Virginia’s spaceflight activities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdD6qNBtRqM6fpi0OGGPozxNbGvzXbNOo8LZsGiKpJJQ6yNcEe8EVqxxUktKvudzPh1WNLoRObMdbMbMH_tvzNO2PzhQIGC8pKANu-VEih73ePMjk81pjMxsRs22zIEThFr6pxopIZ8V5U/s1600/09042013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdD6qNBtRqM6fpi0OGGPozxNbGvzXbNOo8LZsGiKpJJQ6yNcEe8EVqxxUktKvudzPh1WNLoRObMdbMbMH_tvzNO2PzhQIGC8pKANu-VEih73ePMjk81pjMxsRs22zIEThFr6pxopIZ8V5U/s400/09042013.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Virgin Galactic test flight over California's Mojave Desert, September 4, 2013.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Further to the west, operations are intensifying at Spaceport America, located in a New Mexico desert basin. This will be the operational inception point of Virgin Galactic’s suborbital passenger venture. Earlier last week, Virgin Galactic took another big step toward launching six-passenger crews into space with another successful test flight, this one taking place over the Mojave Desert. Spaceport Abu Dhabi is in the planning stages, although in truth the simplified launch methodology being employed by Richard Branson’s firm could be supported by myriad sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With increasing launch frequency on the board – including Orbital Science’s first attempt at an International Space Station resupply mission scheduled for a Wallops liftoff on September 17 – perhaps the future depicted in films like <i>Gattaca</i> is finally dawning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-45772402005497322282013-08-27T16:05:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:51.044-07:00The Night I Outlasted Yoko Ono<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite being a geezer, by late August I am usually deep into my annual marathon training program. But a fractured foot six weeks ago has left me humbled in the basement, logging hours on a stationary bike until I can return to ground pounding.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tonight, I scheduled a 30-minute bike session and grabbed my headphones, CD player, and The Plastic Ono Band’s <i>Live Peace in Toronto 1969</i>. I had this album soon after it was released, when I was in high school, but despite my Cream fixation and the album’s inclusion of Eric Clapton on guitar, I never made it all the way through both sides once I encountered the dreaded and legendarily-unlistenable Yoko cuts.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSmAahljYNkBu7tQSUerJ-3zdZcp-4U-skebvleFLJE_9QkMM2OGXsv7AnLrcSLQ5qyGXoXYVGs1GSDtZO6nSb5aSy0nb0HSZeFTBdoVVPjD1ihwkEAgCnJfNsIr5nJOg3_oZDg9-tlU/s1600/Live+Peace+in+Toronto+1969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSmAahljYNkBu7tQSUerJ-3zdZcp-4U-skebvleFLJE_9QkMM2OGXsv7AnLrcSLQ5qyGXoXYVGs1GSDtZO6nSb5aSy0nb0HSZeFTBdoVVPjD1ihwkEAgCnJfNsIr5nJOg3_oZDg9-tlU/s400/Live+Peace+in+Toronto+1969.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Damn straight - make mine the audiophile version!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Who knows why I selected this disc tonight - hell, who knows why I bought it a few weeks ago - but I recall clearly thinking, “I’m only on the bike 30 minutes, I’ll be done before Yoko gets warmed up.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But as I got underway, I felt the taunting of that young Japanese woman all those decades ago. The decision was boldly made: my 30-minute ride just got expanded to 39 minutes.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it’s the years I logged in training with unconventional female singers like Nina Hagen and Lydia Lunch, but each atonal bleat uttered by Yoko only made me pedal harder and faster. I refused to lose!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGYYSHECJ-bLvODjPHK7G9oAxvrAi_n6l4X2ajAOp7yef37PDomG96bp3LJHnPNos5D1MRRfblyFuELn_xf_9BshRKATCG4Ho06McHy1euUVCUU6lS4ykiL02h-_D7IBSREfD-046OE0/s1600/Yoko+and+John.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtGYYSHECJ-bLvODjPHK7G9oAxvrAi_n6l4X2ajAOp7yef37PDomG96bp3LJHnPNos5D1MRRfblyFuELn_xf_9BshRKATCG4Ho06McHy1euUVCUU6lS4ykiL02h-_D7IBSREfD-046OE0/s400/Yoko+and+John.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hit me with your best shot, Yoko! You don't scare me...</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mercifully, it came to an end with me drenched in sweat upon hearing the final utterance of, “Give peace a chance…” But I was triumphant! I heard every second, every note - and, since I’d masochistically purchased the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Ultradisc II gold disc version of this release, I heard it in the best possible sound quality!</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Next workout: Lou Reed’s <i>Metal Machine Music</i>…</span></span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-74385776446561770302013-07-02T18:34:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:58.905-07:00A matter of trust...<br /><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lewis Hamilton was leading the British Grand Prix on Sunday. Starting from the pole in his home race, Hamilton had a good start to the event, fending off any early challenges to his lead. Now, just a few laps into the race, the British driver was settling into his groove – hitting his marks on corner entry, taking care of his tires. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But one of his Pirelli tires had already had enough. With a shocking force, Hamilton’s left-rear tire exploded in a hailstorm of tire compound and carbon fiber shards knocked from the Mercedes’ body. Without warning, the race leader was limping to the back of the field.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0d7QK2N9JNEutkU74Ybccdxl1KiCwbf2YrkB9ki8t6PEoTIG9yvSlHAqM_NTUiW2JJOXe12QBiocaMkqdVbuONwe1_c74CRmYt1opIF5TmDmNlyTlEXTMsrJUpIekYZE3aT5Bzhq9BDc/s800/07032013a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0d7QK2N9JNEutkU74Ybccdxl1KiCwbf2YrkB9ki8t6PEoTIG9yvSlHAqM_NTUiW2JJOXe12QBiocaMkqdVbuONwe1_c74CRmYt1opIF5TmDmNlyTlEXTMsrJUpIekYZE3aT5Bzhq9BDc/s400/07032013a.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lewis Hamilton struggles to maintain control seconds after his left rear tire exploded just seven laps </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">into the British Grand Prix.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shockingly, the exact same left-rear-tire failure happened moments later to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. A handful of laps later the same fate befell Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne. Soon after, McLaren’s Sergio Perez joined the left rear epidemic. So grave was the situation that F1 race director Charlie Whiting was on the verge of stopping the race altogether.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For a driver to succeed in any form of motorsports, tires are the most important bond between man and machine. When that ultimate trust is cast into doubt, performance can’t help but suffer. No component of a modern-day race package is as critical as the tires.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s bad enough when a sole provider has problems with tires designed to support an entire series, as is the case with Pirelli and F1. It’s worse when there’s a tire war.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyone who drove in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series in 1994 likely has dark memories of that season. Hoosier Racing Tires had been successful in grassroots racing across the country. And after successfully providing tires to the Busch Grand National Series for three years, Hoosier stepped up to NASCAR’s premier racing series in 1994, the small Indiana company going toe-to-toe with Goodyear. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The goal of a sole provider is to offer competitors a safe and reliable tire; companies in a tire war must takes chances with formulations in a quest for an edge on the track against a corporate competitor. Reliability can take a back seat to the search for that extra bit of performance. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMwjIonG1uW88nd1uCQYbCuUnoTYC3u-3N4DABhiYGmFE3lQSLOBhglkTBw8fNYBuc9IL0_HG6opvTZcm6vxjrK2P8maJVL2tvjrTYgCVYGu-AtcVP-HF_93dOWOLI8WS-FuYZA7LhVg/s675/07032013b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmMwjIonG1uW88nd1uCQYbCuUnoTYC3u-3N4DABhiYGmFE3lQSLOBhglkTBw8fNYBuc9IL0_HG6opvTZcm6vxjrK2P8maJVL2tvjrTYgCVYGu-AtcVP-HF_93dOWOLI8WS-FuYZA7LhVg/s400/07032013b.jpg" width="331" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Geoff Bodine was the most successful driver for Hoosier’s Winston Cup program, earning three victories in 1994.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There was an air of tension in the garage area, as drivers were forced to choose sides, aligning with Leo Mehl in the Goodyear camp or casting their lot with upstart Bob Newton and Hoosier. Geoff Bodine chose the latter, becoming the flagship for Hoosier with the team that had been founded by the late Alan Kulwicki. And though Bodine charged to three victories that season, what many fans recall are the numerous crashes throughout the year resulting from tire failures. Economic realities eventually drove Hoosier back to the racing series that initially sustained the company, but not before drivers for both companies had some unfortunate accidents from blowouts and cut tires.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TSaQFX_xxQktoKcS1vTcb6cmCWKVPipDLYChSHsnGYnt_hmyqlNcrn-QoNuySuwFcjH8-fy5v_EGM0UBDxVB0bJf7Qnx9a99t5-6cprS-pSHlnuP_b-GKaTAqFc8k2YBIhzepg_kGj0/s1000/07032013c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3TSaQFX_xxQktoKcS1vTcb6cmCWKVPipDLYChSHsnGYnt_hmyqlNcrn-QoNuySuwFcjH8-fy5v_EGM0UBDxVB0bJf7Qnx9a99t5-6cprS-pSHlnuP_b-GKaTAqFc8k2YBIhzepg_kGj0/s400/07032013c.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mark Martin won the last race of the 1994 season, but emerged from his Thunderbird </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">frustrated about the tire war.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Things that make tires fast make them less safe – there’s no getting around that,” said Mark Martin after the season. “I’m really proud I lived to talk about the ’94 tire war. It’s not worth it, man…”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ken Schrader once told me about a crash he experienced after a tire failure at nearly 200 mph while thundering around Talladega Superspeedway. “Everything just slowed down,” he recalled. “As I climbed the banking, I had plenty of time to think, ‘This one’s going to hurt…’” </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can’t imagine a more helpless feeling for a race car driver.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fGlgJPVRhyphenhyphenGzNylTEbrMzXlpnSnDiOH092HMUwlN5Th20w-yBsOK3S_TcA5nEKy4X5XjuEN3jjQXVUycQf8GnQgnwyvGYrazIA3UkACyg65UOdxlA_7b5paRdXnkbZgf-YxHTQb55nM/s642/07032013d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9fGlgJPVRhyphenhyphenGzNylTEbrMzXlpnSnDiOH092HMUwlN5Th20w-yBsOK3S_TcA5nEKy4X5XjuEN3jjQXVUycQf8GnQgnwyvGYrazIA3UkACyg65UOdxlA_7b5paRdXnkbZgf-YxHTQb55nM/s400/07032013d.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN">A trailing Kimi Raikkonen takes evasive action – at nearly 200mph – to avoid the debris </span><br /><span lang="EN">hurled into the air and across the track Sunday at Silverstone in England.</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The world of F1 was very lucky the all drivers who experienced tires failures last weekend were able to maintain control of their cars – and that the cloud of debris as the tires let go did not cause a catastrophic crash for a competitor following close behind. The pressure is on Pirelli to find out what has gone wrong – and with the F1 cars taking to the track tomorrow for the first practice session of this weekend’s German Grand Prix, time has almost run out.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /> </span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-36302259155528445182013-07-02T09:09:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:23.889-07:00Failure is not an option...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; line-height: 115%;"></span><br /> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last night’s explosive crash of a Russian Proton rocket attempting to launch three satellites into orbit dramatically pointed out a fundamental difference between the U.S. and Russian space programs: Russian rockets do not contain Flight Termination Systems.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGmYDj0AlBhjG-Sp1JeVHZVb3UN2LsI9B18D1JXabUIUbzOAu66E3KA7iS6kSHdiexyy7M7PAXFIwIEGAedcQfvCRJ0hmII1izFlfdpAellkB-9ZwVpxZlVN45CF3TM1XiUDYoJlJN5d6/s1071/07022013Uncontrolled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="268" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoGmYDj0AlBhjG-Sp1JeVHZVb3UN2LsI9B18D1JXabUIUbzOAu66E3KA7iS6kSHdiexyy7M7PAXFIwIEGAedcQfvCRJ0hmII1izFlfdpAellkB-9ZwVpxZlVN45CF3TM1XiUDYoJlJN5d6/s400/07022013Uncontrolled.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Uncontrolled destruction: last night's chaotic Proton launch.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For the United States programs, keeping launches within their specified safe flight launch corridors is a primary concern. Depending on population density, two methods of terminating a launch can be used. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One method, utilized in cases where the potential for harm on the ground is deemed to be low, essentially involves cutting off the fuel to the propulsion system and letting the vehicle fall.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other involves the utilization of explosives to destroy the vehicle in flight. The goal, of course, is to prevent a massive rocket from wandering off on its own trajectory – as the Proton did last night – but also to ensure that as much as possible of the rocket’s fuel is destroyed or consumed in the atmosphere.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBNg19Z4oUVNxJZfClCaogRKj9FtqK_-FYjjyclbbH9w-9vZ-w8XcNgnTJLms6OJC55JeRprJgkbHppbMIRTfcWWkqjuLMevHbK4R1KLpFY2LHth8urLciZMZ46WXZpjMGeX1oc555VCM/s1431/07022013Controlled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="243" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWBNg19Z4oUVNxJZfClCaogRKj9FtqK_-FYjjyclbbH9w-9vZ-w8XcNgnTJLms6OJC55JeRprJgkbHppbMIRTfcWWkqjuLMevHbK4R1KLpFY2LHth8urLciZMZ46WXZpjMGeX1oc555VCM/s400/07022013Controlled.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Controlled destruction: a Titan IVA is safely brought down in the wake of catastrophic guidance problems.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the more spectacular examples of a termination system in action occurred on August 12, 1998, when a huge Titan IVA rocket was detonated off the Florida coast 41 seconds into flight. It was later determined that an electrical short caused by faulty insulation on a wire began to cause problems as normal launch vibrations shook the Titan. The guidance computer went offline, came back on, and attempted pitch and yaw maneuvers that exceeded the structural capacity of the Titan. Within moments, with the rocket at an altitude of 20,000 feet, explosive charges ignited which brought the flight to a safe – but expensive – conclusion.<o:p></o:p></span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcN-Ehm85pV7UNEaUCjPnBfwfNaOWhXOTjDzy6c2afU88bi_EGr949n9jdPY53FA3JJKZErc3852M_ORxsNB7EGuKodOCiMo-xEHo4nOSuQlgHclOxq85A3xLkdpqekNAGNZQZ6LR26A1M/s575/07022013RCC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="267" oya="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcN-Ehm85pV7UNEaUCjPnBfwfNaOWhXOTjDzy6c2afU88bi_EGr949n9jdPY53FA3JJKZErc3852M_ORxsNB7EGuKodOCiMo-xEHo4nOSuQlgHclOxq85A3xLkdpqekNAGNZQZ6LR26A1M/s400/07022013RCC.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Logo for the group charged with ensuring a rocket doesn't land in your backyard.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Range safety and flight termination standards are a shared concern for all U.S. launch operations. Indeed, the Range Commanders Council has compiled a near-500-page Flight Termination Systems Commonality Standard that addresses these issues. You can explore the topic in detail right here: </span><a href="http://sites.wff.nasa.gov/code803/Misc/319-10FlightTerminationSystemsCommonalityStandard(Public%20Release).pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Flight Termination Systems Commonality Standard PDF</span></a><o:p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At no time does the job description of the Range Safety Officer become more difficult than when the flight is manned. It’s a topic no one liked to think about, but having witnessed shuttle launches from as close as media were allowed, I can attest to the fact that an out of control shuttle stack would have been be an entity of nearly unfathomable force. Which is why both the external tank and solid rocket boosters of the assembly carried termination systems – though the orbiter itself did not. This aspect of the system only came into play once: in the moments after the tragic destruction of Challenger, the Range Safety Office bore the responsibility of destroying the two solid rocket boosters that had continued to fly on after the initial explosion. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knowing that the Russian rockets do not carry such termination systems would likely have me thinking twice about attending a Proton launch – especially since this is the fifth failure of this launch system in two-and-a-half years. A 19-story rocket that weighs over 1.5 million pounds with a mind of its own? That is a scary thought…<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-90109436873851933202013-06-17T09:36:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:51.066-07:00Men of wealth and taste…<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFvm97C6EiwIFxdKqvIebNiCkeNHqngOi3SlPdsgtWR-hPv6dzEiV06ApfmhNrDFePaznWTnfVDZN_SnliANjMSulGpbc1LgmWKbSyx_Y4EMWt4dAse3zDy623TdQ9I86esP4Lm2JReE/s1600/StonesSebastianKruger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCFvm97C6EiwIFxdKqvIebNiCkeNHqngOi3SlPdsgtWR-hPv6dzEiV06ApfmhNrDFePaznWTnfVDZN_SnliANjMSulGpbc1LgmWKbSyx_Y4EMWt4dAse3zDy623TdQ9I86esP4Lm2JReE/s400/StonesSebastianKruger.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Rolling Stones today, by Sebastian Krüger: </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span></u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"></span></span><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue;"><u></u></span></span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastian-Kr%C3%BCger/193380194027333"><u><span style="color: blue;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span lang="EN">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sebastian-Kr%C3%BCger/193380194027333</span></span></span></u></a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Much of the focus on the Rolling Stones’ “50 & Counting” tour has zeroed in on tickets selling for prices north of $500 - and pit access for double that. What gets ignored ticket-wise is something that serious Stones fans have been well aware of: it’s been fairly easy to obtain $67.00 tickets (add $18 for the ticket vendor “convenience” and “processing” fees) through links on the band’s web site. And they’re not just rafter seats, as a percentage of them are lower level and pit tickets, randomly distributed when picked up at the venue. In fact, it’s probably not too late to land tickets at this price for the final three United States gigs tomorrow night and Friday night in Philadelphia, and a week from tonight in Washington D.C.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the ticket “controversy” is a distraction from some simple truths.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimROxPuNBpBVq5rVGj2bVHyqwyTPBxXkgdDwbLIJoDNcoZtdnt2XG3_f87MK7y9KIF-hFPF7oACerAk1QEsei6NFKSI4_TtlFLHQPa_AY3QBnF_n6lJzRhKxbojrEt1VRWSXBi1D-k-j8/s1600/RollingYoung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimROxPuNBpBVq5rVGj2bVHyqwyTPBxXkgdDwbLIJoDNcoZtdnt2XG3_f87MK7y9KIF-hFPF7oACerAk1QEsei6NFKSI4_TtlFLHQPa_AY3QBnF_n6lJzRhKxbojrEt1VRWSXBi1D-k-j8/s400/RollingYoung.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two years down, 48 to go…</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 50 years that rock and roll bands have been in existence, two are recognized as the foundation of everything that came after: The Beatles and the Rolling Stones. One of those two played their last show more than four decades ago; the other plays Philadelphia tomorrow night.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe because they have worked so hard since 2000 it’s difficult to put their legacy into the proper perspective. Tour after tour, playing clubs, theaters, stadiums, recording albums, putting out films - they’ve been around and so visible that it’s easy to take them for granted.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don’t.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the next three shows are not the final Stones American shows, there will not be many more down the line. A cross-country major slog of a tour? Those days are definitely gone. If they come back at all, expect a short itinerary at an easy pace, much like this current journey. But that return visit is a colossal “if” at this point.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAW9ypjFzvg7zSQ1DAQ2O9K9hasgo3H5OV2d-fhX52mfVG7CKqSZiCVfim_ZjyjAX8QnpJsU9Aq7wGws6qnD9w_coCQrF7DZEsjp3-jDR7XXTJUvAjGS7sd7tJT_8HUg4ENNBvlZPv2U8/s1600/Mick+and+Keith+proper+conditioning+for+the+dangerous+times+ahead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAW9ypjFzvg7zSQ1DAQ2O9K9hasgo3H5OV2d-fhX52mfVG7CKqSZiCVfim_ZjyjAX8QnpJsU9Aq7wGws6qnD9w_coCQrF7DZEsjp3-jDR7XXTJUvAjGS7sd7tJT_8HUg4ENNBvlZPv2U8/s400/Mick+and+Keith+proper+conditioning+for+the+dangerous+times+ahead.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mick and Keith: proper conditioning for dangerous times ahead.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For now, take some time to ingest the miracle that <i>fifty years</i> down the road, this is still a working rock and roll band - and a damn fine one. Their days of danger may be in the drug-clouded past, but the songs they crafted then still offer a musical pipeline directly into that ominous era. And the Rolling Stones circa 2013 have labored hard in preparation for this set of dates to make sure they’re up to the task of conveying the darkness at the heart of “Street Fighting Man” and “Midnight Rambler.”</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhcWPiTrRePeN5nFRouLTqdmyM6wHzc79PLUhhVJ6gvr32BZxwnHfY6-w8Aa3ZX7TLzYo8tMjWB1u23pSqTcF4pv1O22ksf5OVOPrezVKOoAvhvlFpTVBwd1vRaSKfxuY252xQWJF3O4/s1600/Mick+and+Keith.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhhcWPiTrRePeN5nFRouLTqdmyM6wHzc79PLUhhVJ6gvr32BZxwnHfY6-w8Aa3ZX7TLzYo8tMjWB1u23pSqTcF4pv1O22ksf5OVOPrezVKOoAvhvlFpTVBwd1vRaSKfxuY252xQWJF3O4/s400/Mick+and+Keith.bmp" width="272" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Said Keith, "Mick is my wife, but we can't get divorced." ‘Til death do us part.</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sure, this tour has had the occasional dubious moment. Mick Jagger seems to have an obsession with appearing current, which accounts for tour guests that have included Katie Perry and Taylor Swift. And not every note played in a two-hour-plus set is going pack a sonic wallop. But with guitarist Mick Taylor providing a link to the days of exile, and Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood weaving their guitars into a characteristic propulsive surge, this is still a band that can conjure up a vital sound that is uniquely <i>theirs</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, rather than dwelling on the business aspects of tour grosses and number crunching, let’s put the Rolling Stones in the perspective of their musical legacy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give ‘em their respect. They’ve earned it the hard way.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-72264516952322091532013-06-11T09:29:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:23.914-07:00Losing the race?<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The news of today’s launch of a Chinese rocket propelling three astronauts into orbit took many Americans by surprise. And it’s not just this mission; the fact that China has had an orbiting space module above Earth for nearly two years – <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Tiangong 1</i> - is not widely known among the American public.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_77hbjWALFWZJeiPRFZvBB2lnPYgPPzEM_TVALxMEcDHXMbB5CPPx7nGB2BpSY91ljJNI7PJHa2F7MwV7Iu_-n0bIOiHYJC6i7bWbd7R9G9WS2wssN-GByxx9Ya_9bJBvjsSpzKWDz3ch/s1600/06112013tiangong-1-exhibit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" cya="true" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_77hbjWALFWZJeiPRFZvBB2lnPYgPPzEM_TVALxMEcDHXMbB5CPPx7nGB2BpSY91ljJNI7PJHa2F7MwV7Iu_-n0bIOiHYJC6i7bWbd7R9G9WS2wssN-GByxx9Ya_9bJBvjsSpzKWDz3ch/s400/06112013tiangong-1-exhibit.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A scale model of the <em>Tiangong 1</em> module. National pride is a key motivator of the Chinese space program.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the Chinese space program is building momentum – quickly. The current flight is the fifth manned mission, coming on the heels of a busy 2012 that saw more than a dozen Chinese launches aside from their manned efforts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the attention of the American public has been focused on the need for our astronauts to buy passage on the Soyuz spacecraft in order to reach the International Space Station, China has made a national commitment to its space program.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xmVgp85TcPBSJdzJwMUn-j73N-UU9L4nA8CTzCsKFHAbV9ViNr_Os0pUcDKjNelviUXCWYI5sQ_09_SpxDQalCpPYZeCETY_EEomB4650RWY7uUYybC-DyyFzpG9MDJ3JJhwEFP6-ax2/s1600/06112013china_space_launch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" cya="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xmVgp85TcPBSJdzJwMUn-j73N-UU9L4nA8CTzCsKFHAbV9ViNr_Os0pUcDKjNelviUXCWYI5sQ_09_SpxDQalCpPYZeCETY_EEomB4650RWY7uUYybC-DyyFzpG9MDJ3JJhwEFP6-ax2/s400/06112013china_space_launch.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Todays's launch of the Shenzhon spacecraft in the Gobi desert, initiating China's fifth manned mission.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are the implications of the rapidly accelerating footsteps of the Chinese space program? Well, as we’ve seen all too long ago, a focused national program can get you from ground zero all the way to the moon in just a handful of years.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, the motivation for that particular space exploration pace was a desperate rivalry with the Soviet Union. Currently, our one-time rival’s space program is our only access to orbit – ironic to say the least.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6P-ukpb6rakBzBxQES_LIGVM_kJIVFTvAzwopBYUBnMw-aJv7wr8S8lmQ8TFRMqp0_rUN4xkOMcw8Y5Nmoi7etya_u1lyNa5NoeSSPLEFP8t33_Deeo2p5xWYEYHYeP8USI_KqyfTuh5/s1600/06112013Crew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" cya="true" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI6P-ukpb6rakBzBxQES_LIGVM_kJIVFTvAzwopBYUBnMw-aJv7wr8S8lmQ8TFRMqp0_rUN4xkOMcw8Y5Nmoi7etya_u1lyNa5NoeSSPLEFP8t33_Deeo2p5xWYEYHYeP8USI_KqyfTuh5/s400/06112013Crew.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The crew of the current mission includes China's second female astronaut. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Is there something familiar about those colors?</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But the big question is this: are we comfortable letting China – a country growing ever more competitive in the world economic markets, decidedly a military super power – take the lead in space? Their program is still building a foundation, with nothing as complex as our mothballed Space Shuttle or as monumental as our storied lunar journeys. Yet one thing is clear: they are dedicated to making progress, and major steps can be taken in a short time.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkHi1TO88mh7mp8NnxRXCV2mSFAUtCSz4D5BLLelYpLimLAnuhEAXsUDB7maAtCGBqdZprEEul5d2CcDylHOifvqbuwWHDrRrQFuQVB7Pc7RULmgQyfp6vKOBVAhVJIOhh7WooJmUV1l_/s1600/06112013china-space-station-design-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" cya="true" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkHi1TO88mh7mp8NnxRXCV2mSFAUtCSz4D5BLLelYpLimLAnuhEAXsUDB7maAtCGBqdZprEEul5d2CcDylHOifvqbuwWHDrRrQFuQVB7Pc7RULmgQyfp6vKOBVAhVJIOhh7WooJmUV1l_/s400/06112013china-space-station-design-art.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">China anticipates expanding its space station to this expansive degree - in less than seven years.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps this is the time for new space race – maybe not one that plays out as a drama driven by the threat of a nuclear arms race, but one chasing global economic opportunities. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The decision must be made soon. Playing catch-up is not a desirable position. And it’s all too clear that China is not going to wait.</span></div>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-11280448910259252812013-05-17T20:35:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:51:58.923-07:00Dick Trickle: The Racer<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As the Sprint Cup Series prepares for what is arguably its splashiest and most over-the-top weekend, it’s ironic that it comes so soon after the news of the death of Dick Trickle. Splashy and over-the-top? Those are the last words that would be used to describe Trickle. In fact, only one word really fits: racer.</span><br /> <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNiEViXJWxJG6XSJsN8tnZisOpFhoJI97PS-mW_KOhzKxwhfLcADhM0KLa0IoZZIWSqJwtKP_ZnJdXA_81solE9qYrluD2R8SIkN5n7gANWFSQxsoRCOppPYYmlQVFXJszE17fZFiNcQ/s1600/DTYoung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNiEViXJWxJG6XSJsN8tnZisOpFhoJI97PS-mW_KOhzKxwhfLcADhM0KLa0IoZZIWSqJwtKP_ZnJdXA_81solE9qYrluD2R8SIkN5n7gANWFSQxsoRCOppPYYmlQVFXJszE17fZFiNcQ/s400/DTYoung.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bud Koehler and young Dick Trickle, two Midwest short track legends.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Before he arrived in NASCAR’s Winston Cup competition, Trickle had raced for decades – yes, decades – in a host of racing series beginning in his native Wisconsin: ASA, ARCA, USAC, and many more letter combinations that only local fans would recognize. He won titles, track championships, and literally dozens of races a year, always struggling to keep his operation afloat and funded.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgjDwU8DclJyEcntoiRX_AYXUJkVtZlDecUQz-fNhc1CwoMGCXGOU9_q8ztIOBE7YBpdkdwVrRDnOtp66ma7VnwEsfSs_Gc1vLMRTXoKnVIcL7wqnW54LBwMRce5ocK0jCMIDYteUH8o/s1600/DTROY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikgjDwU8DclJyEcntoiRX_AYXUJkVtZlDecUQz-fNhc1CwoMGCXGOU9_q8ztIOBE7YBpdkdwVrRDnOtp66ma7VnwEsfSs_Gc1vLMRTXoKnVIcL7wqnW54LBwMRce5ocK0jCMIDYteUH8o/s400/DTROY.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">NASCAR Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year Dick Trickle.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His big break into NASCAR’s top series came when he was nearly 50. Think about that for a minute – can you imagine someone entering Sprint Cup competition in 2013 in their late forties? Unthinkable! And yet it happened, with Trickle wheeling his way to the rookie of the year title in 1989, beating out a tough young Jimmy Spencer for the honor. Trickle manned the cockpit for the Stavola Brothers that season, eventually moving on to drive for Team III, Butch Mock, Larry Hedrick, and the legendary Junie Donleavy.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTFcyR1j2Brf8dsxMWapbxgi4AxMGNyclZ9fD7BY6s6inK8sEJr8tOH7EZGcBL2LPlxe-EQCkxss_kjWQzIxEHiLAvpCyFL_AtcAP_HoYrMKE_XQg1fsgUX0zcz6eVhsn2sUlLzY2rlk/s1600/DTBusch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoTFcyR1j2Brf8dsxMWapbxgi4AxMGNyclZ9fD7BY6s6inK8sEJr8tOH7EZGcBL2LPlxe-EQCkxss_kjWQzIxEHiLAvpCyFL_AtcAP_HoYrMKE_XQg1fsgUX0zcz6eVhsn2sUlLzY2rlk/s400/DTBusch.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A true racer, once Trickle had reached Winston Cup racing he still competed in Busch Grand National series.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Trickle never struck gold in Winston Cup, and considering his cars were seldom fielded by the best-funded teams his three third-place finishes, his pole at Dover, and a victory in the Winston Open at Charlotte amounts to a successful campaign.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Dick Trickle didn’t spend much time in the Winston Cup victory lane, but he became a fan favorite. Real race fans recognized the gritty determination built by years and years of short track competition out of the limelight, and embraced Trickle upon his arrival in the top stock car series. But even when he arrived in Winston Cup racing, he remained true to who he was – I can clearly remember seeing an in-car camera capturing Trickle as he lit up a smoke while cruising around under a yellow flag. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rest in peace, Dick…</span><br /> </span>Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1062047504362443140.post-60973101669083125372013-05-12T07:58:00.000-07:002017-08-18T11:50:51.089-07:00A Sorry State...<span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Todd Rundgren’s career has occasionally been characterized by unexpected musical left turns. He's creatively migrated from the wistful balladeer of “Hello it’s Me” to the fusion-leaning leader of Utopia V1, and then on to the creator of harder rock with the latter Utopia followed by a return to solo experimentation. So it was really no surprise when Rundgren announced a new turn with the impending arrival of <i>State</i>, a journey into electronica. What was surprising was the totally lackadaisical, technically-deficient performance given by Rundgren at Philadelphia’s Trocadero last night.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ensconced upon a high platform center stage, with ex-Tubes drummer Prairie Prince manning an e-kit stage right and flanked to the left by long-time tour guitarist Jesse Gress, Rundgren stood surrounded by electronics and one electric guitar. Over his head a microphone hung down, and prominent lighting rigs constantly shot beams of color into the crowd.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0u1ZGeOKCKMgL9Ao2NM30zUKVyE2AaTW6nL_yZ6b4HOOfmKCFhprCNnkNH2U2BjuUXUb0ez0PcW2oa0B-VB9z0-gG0faF3V5E9KB08rDvo_qQnimXQd2K9S3le0te_xG6IK-xtyZTDc/s1600/Todd.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0u1ZGeOKCKMgL9Ao2NM30zUKVyE2AaTW6nL_yZ6b4HOOfmKCFhprCNnkNH2U2BjuUXUb0ez0PcW2oa0B-VB9z0-gG0faF3V5E9KB08rDvo_qQnimXQd2K9S3le0te_xG6IK-xtyZTDc/s400/Todd.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Todd towers over the Trocadero.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rundgren opened with the first track on <i>State</i>, “Imagination.” It’s a curious song for an album that is described by its creator as electronica - a heavy, lumbering rock song that brought the most focus to the evening. Thereafter, as Todd attempted to propel himself into something resembling the current dance world, it was one embarrassing moment after another. A number of shows into the tour, Rundgren seemed to have little feel for what he was attempting to convey. A lack of communication with Prairie Prince was obvious, while Gress’ playing was far more assured than Rundgren’s tentative and only-occasional guitar work. Rundgren also seemed to be having continual difficulty with his main vocal microphone. Worse by far was the fact that, a number of shows into the tour, Rundgren seemed to have little control over his own electronics, which were responsible for the bulk of the sound. Parts stopped or started at inappropriate times, and a common sight last night was Rundgren bent over, staring through his sunglasses at one recalcitrant device or another.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kraftwerk is often criticized for cold and unfeeling performances. I disagree, but I think everyone who has heard them would agree that their precision is unwavering. Had last night’s Rundgren show been one by Kraftwerk, heads would have been rolling in Düsseldorf.</span></span><br />Frank Moriartyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627860300871020517noreply@blogger.com0