The story behind the mad leaping aquatic cat in the raft

This is a photo that has been circulating on the 'net in the last few months. I've received it a few times.

Who brought the cat, and why is she jumping out of the boat? As it turns out, she wasn't. As so often happens, a picture too good to be true, isn't. According to Snopes.com, who have also received the photo, "The picture is a humorous digital merging of a picture of three somewhat frightened-looking kids on a bouncing raft with another image taken from a collection of "airborne cat" photos." Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

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Painting: "He got caught in the spotlight"

click the image to enlarge
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Lyrics to Peter Rowan's (and Old And In The Way's) Panama Red

Panama Red was performed by Old And In The Way, a bluegrass group of David Grisman on Mandolin, Jerry Garcia (on banjo), Vassar Clements on Fiddle, Peter Rowan, and John Kahn on bass. Old And In The Way helped revitalize and popularize bluegrass. These records are still some of my favorite bluegrass. I remember some of those days when Panama Red would show up in town.



Panama Red
by Peter Rowan


Panama Red, Panama Red
He'll steal your woman, then he'll rob your head
Panama Red, Panama Red
On his white horse, Mescalito
He come breezin' through town
I'll bet your woman's up in bed with
Panama Red

The judge don't know when Red's in town
He keeps well hidden underground
But everybody's acting lazy
Falling out and hangin' 'round

My woman said, "Hey Pedro
you're actin' crazy like a clown"
Nobody feels like working
Panama Red is back in town

[chorus]

Everybody's looking out for him
'Cause they know Red's satisfies
Little girls love to listen to him
Sing and tell sweet lies

But when things get too confusing, honey
You're better off in bed
And I'll be searching all the joints in town for
Panama Red

[chorus]

Old And In The Way Recordings: 1 Oct 1973 Breakdown; 8 Oct 1973 Old And In The Way

New Riders of the Purple Sage Recordings: 1973 The Adventures Of Panama Red; 1975 Live On Stage; 13 Jun 1975 Armadillo World HQ; 1982 Live (1982)
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The Greatest Story Ever Told - Lyrics by Robert Hunter-Bob Weir-Mickey Hart

The Greatest Story Ever Told


Moses come riding up on a quasar
His spurs was a-jingling, the door was ajar
His buckle was silver, his manner was bold
I asked him to come on in out of the cold
His brain was boiling, his reason was spent
Nothing is borrowed, nothing is lent
I asked him for mercy, he gave me a gun
Now and again these things just got to be done

Abraham and Isaac sitting on a fence
Get right to work if you have any sense
You know the one thing we need is a left-hand monkey wrench

Gideon come in with his eyes on the floor
Says, "you ain't got a hinge, you can't close the door"
Moses stood up a full six foot ten
Said "you can't close the door when the wall's caved in"
I asked him for water he poured me some wine
We finished the bottle then broke into mine
You get what you come for, you're ready to go
And it's one in ten thousand done come for the show

Abraham and Isaac digging on a well
Mama come quick with the water witch spell
Cool clear water where you can't never tell
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Poem: I'm agnostic about atheism

Credit for the images of the Horsehead nebula goes to NASA. Click to enlarge.


Scientists say
When a star is born,
Pandemonium reigns

In a cosmic soup
Of emission nebulas, hydrogen, dust nebulas,
Dark absorption nebulas of dust,

And other stars that spawn and explode.
After tens of millions years more,
The gas and the dust disperse

And an open cluster
Of survivors
Remain.

The stars rotate and revolve
And shimmy and shake
At their own pace.

Billions and billions
Of stars and planets
Largely steer clear

Of one another,
Forging patterns
And rhythms in the cosmos.

The stars sing, the planets hum,
And you wonder why
I'm agnostic about atheism.
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Painting: The Explosion

Click to enlarge The Explosion
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Compensation for alien abduction victims?

A German attorney has decided to bolster his bottom line by filing state compensation claims for people who believe they were abducted by aliens. Jens Lorek bases his claims on a German law that compensates kidnap victims. . .Terrestrial kidnap victims.



"There's quite obviously demand for legal advice here," Lorek told Reuters by telephone. "The trouble is, people are afraid of making fools of themselves in court." Click here to read the Reuters story.
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Digital painting:

Speaker Hastert Failed To Act On Page Scandal Because He Was 'Intimately Linked' To Foley

According to Capitol Hill sources, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert failed to act on the Mark Foley matter because he was engaged in a sexual relationship with the Representative.

"Yeah, it's true," an aide to a mid-west congressman admitted to All This Is That. "The Speaker has apparently been putting the wood to Mark Foley for a while now. And when this whole mess came up, it was a little awkward. To say the least. But not as awkward as it would become."

"One of the Speaker's aides told me," he continued. "It was rumored all over The Hill. And let's face it, you're a lot safer having sex with a congressman than you are with a pickup or escort, or intern. Whatever. No way in hell will the Congressman out you."

"You're just not going to
bust someone you've
been schtupping are
you? "

Another aide said "Yeah, Hastert sat on his hands when he heard the Foley stories. It was a conflict of interest. You're just not going to bust someone you've been schtupping are you? Anything other than benign inaction would have brought Hastert down too. Somehow when the whole thing blew up last week, Foley went down like a good soldier. He could have taken the scorched earth option. . .and he didn't."

A former aide to Speaker Dennis Hastert told All This Is That "What saved Denny's ass is that the the mid-terms are so close. Half the Hill knows why he let the Foley matter slide, but if they do anything at all it's means we lose a few more seats. . .and, as you know, we no longer have seats to lose. Foley doesn't have anything to lose, but then do you really want to advertise the fact that the Speaker's been rogering you?"
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Schematic of the November 7 mid-term elections

click image to enlarge
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Once You Get A Taste Of Rick Danko. . .

Click the ad to enlarge. . .

If you want to see Rick Danko performing (and you should!) It Makes No Difference in The Last Waltz, click here. Of course, you'll also get to see Garth Hudson step away from his Lowery organ and play a wonderful solo on his curved soprano saxaphone...
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One Month From Today, We Will Throw The Bums Out!

Click the image to enlarge
And don't forget to vote
On November 7th!
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