John Gorka

Here's more about another folk singer that's a favorite of mine, John Gorka.

This is a song he wrote called Branching Out, and it's supposed to be a song written by his guitar, back when it was a sapling.

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Thanksgiving was great, but I have to get out and get some things done, so that's all for today!

More information later!

Have a great holiday weekend!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

In honor of Thanksgiving, for all you Arlo Guthrie fans out there (like me) I'm giving you a chance to hear a slightly updated version of that Thanksgiving classic, Alice's Restaurant Massacree. The whole thing is only available in three parts, so you'll have to click on the next one when the previous one stops. Sorry.










There's an even more updated version of this where Arlo talks about touring the Pentagon, and discovering that they are manufacturing and distributing arcade games to teach the next generation of Americans how to fly fighter planes and fight in a war!


And then there's the Multi-colored Rainbow Roach Affair, which is not related to anything but a weird story.


I tried to find them both for you, but couldn't.


And if you are an Arlo Guthrie fan, I'm sure you've heard the Motorcycle song. But you may not have heard his story of the significance of the pickle. So, here it is, just in case you didn't understand about the pickle.






He was such a cutie!

Here he is doing Stevie Goodman's City of New Orleans:





You can listen to Coming into London on You Tube if you want, too. Who says Arlo only did folk?


For those of you who love the blues, Saint James Infirmary was one of his best. The acoustics of the place they did this were kind of echoy, but it still has heart!


One of my favorite memories of Arlo, though was one night he and David Bromberg showed up after their local gigs on the Gene Shay show. The two of them got to playing a risque tune, and had an impromptu competition to see who could make up the raunchiest lyrics to it on the spot. They were supposed to be off the air at midnight, but it ran 20 minutes over because everyone was having so much fun! And being so rowdy!


This is the song they were doing. Here, David is playing with Jorma Kaukonen.




And the two of them aren't trying to make up off-color lyrics like David and Arlo were doing that night.

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To give you something else to hope to be thankful for, here's some info on a contest by Berroco, where you can win all the Barbara Walker stitch dictionary books! Click the link in the sidebar on the right.

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All this is my Thanksgiving present to you!


Now, tell me what you're thankful for this year!


Happy Thanksgiving!

Steve Canyon is Coming Back!

I woke up this morning, and was just about to turn over and go back to sleep, when the phone rang. It was John, in his sweet, loving, ever-so-nice way giving me a shove, and getting me going on the cover of Volume 3 of the complete Steve Canyon on DVD. He had lots of ideas about the cover(s). I was half asleep when I talked to him, so I hope I can remember it all. "F-104" keeps running around my head. I'm not entirely sure why at this point, but I already found some great photos of them on the internet!

I wound up getting up and staggering around for a while (which is usual for me when attempting to wake up) and trying to get ready for the day and all the stuff I have to do, especially with the addition of the finishing the cover (at least the front cover) by tomorrow sometime.

John has had a lot of things to do in real life as well as stuff to do to get the video ready for DVD. You can read a bit more about it on his website, here.

He also mentioned something about selling DVDs on Amazon again. After looking around on Amazon, I find that he's right (he always is). Very soon, you will be able to buy Volume 1 of the Steve Canyon DVDs on Amazon. It's listed as "currently unavailable," but you can find it here, and it will be available soon.

And, yes, that is my artwork on the cover! I'm excited!

So, this is going to be a short post because I have all the aforementioned "stuff" to do.

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For all you science fiction fen out there, here is something really neat!

Somebody made a cake in the shape of a cylon head, and it has a light that really lights up, and that tracks back and forth! See lots more about it, including a video here. You really have to see this!

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News in on Flash Forward! I don't know about you, but I've been feeling that Flash Forward has been bogging down.

In fact, last week it was up against two shows that I really wanted to watch, and it lost the DVR lottery, at least as far as I'm concerned. If it was on a different night (like Tuesday, which has no SF regularly scheduled, or even Wednesday, when the only thing is some fantasy in the form of Eastwick, I'd still love to watch it. But no, they pitted it against the best night of TV all week, and it's losing the battle due to being far outclassed.

So, click the link to find out more.

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Do you want to find out the real reason behind the mask that Darth Vader wore? Check out an interview with Ralph McQuarrie about how the whole helmet thing actually came into being.

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I have to make a quick trip to the grocery store and then do laundry and then work on the cover, and it's dark already, so I'm going.

Tomorrow there will be a Thanksgiving post, and then nothing will be posted on Thanksgiving itself. Black Friday is iffy, but I'll try to get a post up.

Let me know what you're thankful for, and I may include it in the Black Friday post!

So, Happy Thanksgiving in advance!

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Addition:

A friend posted this on Facebook:

There will be no Nativity Scene in Washington, D.C. this year! The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a Nativity Scene in the United States' Capital this Christmas season. This isn't for any religious reason. They simply have not been able to find Three Wise Men in the Nation's Capital. A search for a Virgin continues. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

Shifting into High Gear for Christmas

Sorry! I feel like I've been neglecting you, but I'm shifting my previous efforts toward Christmas into high gear. We have only about a month left until then, which for knitters and crafters is getting to be last minute.

I'm also preparing a Thanksgiving post (which will go up on Wednesday) about some of my favorite Thanksgiving stuff. I'm putting it up on Wednesday because there are some people who will be away for the holiday, and I want to give them a chance to see it before then.

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I finished an absolutely gorgeous hat for someone last night using the Bernat Alpaca yarn in lavender.

It's just a little darker than it looks on my screen in that photo. The color is soft and beautiful, and it feels just as soft and cuddly, with just a little bit of fuzzyness. I really don't like yarn that's this thick as a general rule, but I love this yarn, and especially this color. They also have a plum color that's to die for, and a beautiful denim as well as other colors.

Considering that it'll be a Christmas gift, I'm going to take a picture (although not today: it's raining outside and dark in here), but that will not be available until after I give it for Christmas. Sorry, you'll just have to wait along with the recipient, and I'm not saying who that will be. I have finished knitting the hat, but although it fit my head snugly when I tried it on while I was knitting the critical part, now that it's finished, it feels a little loose, so I'm going to get some thin elastic cord and weave it through the area where a hat band would be to make it a bit more snug, so it's not completely finished. The hat is completely original, specifically for the person it was made for! And did I mention how beautiful it is? I may make a similar one for myself!

I'm busy making a hood out of the same stuff, for the same person. Then, I'm not sure if I'll make mitts or mittens to go with the set. I'm also considering the possibility of making a scarf in a way that will drive any knitter nuts trying to figure out how I did it. But I haven't made any decisions yet, except for what I'm already knitting.

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Some of the networks have thrown out their normal scheduling completely for the duration of Thanksgiving week, with SyFy leading that parade. They're having movies on instead of their normal daytime rotation all this week, with only James Bond movies on during Thursday and Friday. In a few cases, they're putting on movies that I previously wouldn't have expected from SyFy, so maybe they are trying to change their programming a bit. I personally thing they could stick to science fiction and fantasy and still expand their borders tremendously. Case in point, Grendel will be on again soon, specifically, Saturday at 11am (here), and on Sunday, we'll have the complementary Beowulf. I still can't figure out how someone could take such a timeless classic, and destroy it as thoroughly as they did in those two films. They beg to be on MST3K! The only was these films would be watchable is if you watch them with friends and either supply MST3K-like remarks or have to drink a shot every time Grendel uses his "scud missle."

There are some new episodes on tonight on Heroes (NBC), The Big Bang Theory (CBS), and Castle (ABC) as well as the usual Monday night line up of four reruns of Ghost Whisperer (SyFy) tonight.

Tomorrow, we have only one new SF entry, V, which will be the last new episode shown this year. Read about it here.

For the overall outlook of science fiction on TV this week, check this out!

And don't forget to check your local listings for The Legend of the Seeker, which is the only worthwhile sword and sorcery on TV right now. I'm seeing it locally on the CW on Sunday nights, but it may be different where you live, and they keep moving it around, so you may really have to look. Saturdays and daytime weekend TV have not been immune from this enjoyable series, so check it out.

Although they usually show the episode from the week before, and then a new episode, last week they showed the episode from the week before and then repeated it again immediately afterward. I was hoping they'd catch this, and show the new one they should have shown last week along with the next one, but they have definitely skipped an episode, and a whole new character has shown up and we don't know why. But they are doing reruns, so maybe we'll get to see the missing episode for the first time during the reruns.

Have a great evening!

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Addition:

Today is the 46th anniversary of the showing of the very first Doctor Who episode!

Happy birthday, Doctor Who!

TGIF!

I've had a week full of getting up early or earlier than usual, and I just want some sleep!

For all you knitters out there, here's a collection of great patterns to make Christmas gifts. These are, for the most part, smaller projects that have lots of WOW appeal. If you don't see what you like, click on one anyway because each project has photos of other projects below it that are good ideas. One of the links is messed up, but if you click random other links, you'll find it below the featured pattern.

If you dig a few layers under all the links they provide, you'll find the Cinchy Hat, which I think would look great in a solid color, too.

Oh, and there are other pattern links on the side. I like this page so much that I'm putting a link to it in the sidebar.

There are only 35 days until Christmas!

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For any of you that live in the LA area, there's a Serenity and Firefly convention this weekend! There will be stars from the show! Enjoy! I envy you!

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I went to the Comcast meeting yesterday. It was basically to sell stuff to the people here. The representative didn't know anything about TiVo for use with Comcast.

She said I had to call and talk to a representative over the phone. I did exactly that, and found out that if I trade in my Scientific Atlanta DVR for the newest Cisco model, I'll get a more reliable box, and a hard drive that's several times larger! Since the box is free, I'm leaning toward that option at the moment.

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The usual (mostly) Friday night line up is on tonight. We have a new Ghost Whisperer and Medium on CBS, new Sanctuary and Stargate Universe on SyFy, and new White Collar and Monk on USA. That should keep your DVR busy!

Have a great Friday night and a wonderful weekend!

The Prisoner is Over

The Prisoner finished up last night. This link has lots of spoilers in it if you haven't seen it yet. And if you haven't seen it yet, it'll be rerunning starting on 29 Nov. Check local listings. I think it's worth watching.

It's very different from the original Prisoner, and I didn't like it at first because of that. The original Prisoner was about the dehumanization caused by modern life, and about someone who fought back.

In a way, the new Prisoner is a prisoner, too, and so are the people in the Village, but for very different reasons. I think it would have been much better if they hadn't copied the name and some of the conventions of the original.

If you haven't seen it yet, I recommend that you DVR, TiVo or tape it. Once you see the ending, you're going to want to watch the whole thing again, and you're going to find that it's a very different story the second time around.

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Yesterday was my dentist's appointment. I had three caps on my front teeth, so I thought I knew what I was in for this time around, but I didn't.

When I got the first three caps (two around '79 or '80, and one about a year later), they took an impression, cut down the teeth, and did another impression, then put on temp caps in one visit. The stuff from the dentist went to the lab, and when the finished caps came back I had a second visit where they installed them.

This time, in the first visit, they took an impression, removed the cap that was broken and that they intended to replace, cut down the tooth that they were replacing, took another impression, broke another cap, did two more impressions and installed temp caps.

This second visit was not to put in permanent caps, it was to clean up the part of the tooth that was under the cap that broke. When they replace a cap, there's old cement or glue that was used to hold on the previous cap, and they have to get it ready for the new one.

I have another visit scheduled for the first of December to do impressions for the finished caps. There will be another appointment for checking the metal part of the caps. If everything is OK at that point, they will go back to the lab and have the porcelain part applied. If it's not OK, there will be another visit. Then, finally, I will get the new caps.

I told the dentist "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!" He said it would be close, but I might get them in time for Christmas.

So, I have at least three more visits before I'm done, maybe four. I will be so happy when it's all done!

When I got home yesterday, after all this, I was so tired, having gotten up at 7am to be able to get on the bus at 9 for my appointment at 10. I took a nap, but there was something wrong with me all day. I didn't seem to be able to actually do any one thing for more than 15 minutes without wanting to stop and do something else. I was still so tired I wanted another nap, and didn't seem to be able to do that right, either. I finally did take another nap and eventually started feeling better by evening. Can Novocaine cause something like this?

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The apartment place stuck a notice in the door today saying that the USDA food program (which I'm eligible for and still signed up for) will be delivering food on Thursday (tomorrow), and that there will be a small, frozen turkey for each person!

So, after the apartment place just gave me a new stove with a new oven, the government is now giving me something to put in it! I guess it's kind of a "chicken in every pot" deal.

I'll be having Thanksgiving with Holly, Robin and all the friends they've invited. Everett and Jeff will be there, plus another guy I swear I don't know but Holly says I do, plus someone I don't know from Ireland. I'd love to find out more about Ireland from someone who grew up there! So, aside from the fact that Robin's a world-class chef, there's lots of reason to look forward to Thanksgiving.

And I haven't even mentioned all the good things there are to look forward to. I haven't seen their new 52 inch TV, and I'll not only get to see it, but Holly says we can pick out which BluRay movies we want to see! As if that wasn't enough, Holly won't feel like driving me home afterward, so she's planning on giving me the car keys and sending me home in their car. I'll bring it back later in the weekend, but they usually don't want to do anything or go anywhere on Black Friday, so the car will probably go back on Sunday.

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Just before I pick up my Thanksgiving turkey, there is a special meeting for people who want to talk to a Comcast representative, and boy do I want to talk to someone. We had a "weekly test" yesterday afternoon, and again today around one pm. They are disgusting in so many ways! I have to bring along the book where I've been writing everything down.

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In knitting news, the beautiful lavender Alpaca yarn arrived on Monday! I'm not really ready to start working on it yet, but it'll be good to have it here when I'm ready for it. The color is soft and subdued, and the fiber itself feels so good! I had planned to make a hat, wimple mitts and maybe a second hat or something, but since I can't start yet, I'm also entertaining ideas about what I could make instead. I don't think the person I'm using it to make something for will want a vest, but I'm thinking about that. Is there enough for a sweater, maybe? That might work.

I've gotten far enough down the wimple from the top so that I need to start to increase, but I haven't planned that far ahead, so it's on a temporary hold while I think it over and decide how I want to proceed. I not only have to plan for the rest of the wimple, but also have to plan how I'm going to do the hat to go with it, and think about if I'll make a second hat or mittens to go with all this and the mitts.

Decisions, decisions.

In the meantime, I'm finishing up the second sleeve of the slinky ribs sweater. I expect to finish the sleeve tonight, and then the only knitting left on it will be the finishing on the pockets. That will leave weaving in ends, blocking, and sewing down the pocket flaps to finish it completely.

It's rapidly becoming apparent that there is too much knitting and too little time before Christmas! There are only 37 days! Less if you have to mail a present to anyone!

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Tonight, we do not have another episode of Eastwick! I did a little checking, and there will be one available next week, the evening before Thanksgiving!

And that's all the SF/fantasy TV viewing news available for tonight, sadly.

Have a great evening!

Be seeing you!