One Big Big Bird

Along with 18 pound horses and hippopotamuses (or hippopotami), this Big Big Bird, Diatryma, lived in The Pacific Northwest before us. Its prints were found along the Green River, just a couple of blocks from the house where I grew up.

It's probably just as well Diatrymas are no longer around. Can you imagine turning a corner and bumping into this fella?

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Space Needle Concept Art

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Phil Spector: Life without wigs

This is probably the last we'll hear of Phil Spector--the legend behind "the wall of sound." There is no question he made major contributions to pop music--and even changed the way it was made. I never really forgave him for what he did to The Beatles "Let It Be" album, which McCartney later re-released (as "Let it be...naked"), stripped of its strings and choral work . He made a mess of The Ramones' "End of the Century." On the other hand, he did produce the excellent megahits "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison, as well as his No. 1 triple album "Concert for Bangladesh." And John Lennon's hit album"Imagine" (clearly Harrison were fans of his work, while Macca was not). And then there is all his great mid-sixties music, from the Righteous Brothers "Unchained Melody" to "Be My Baby" to Ike and Tina Turner's great but monumental flop "River deep and mountain high."

Spector stated on more than one occasion his philosophy of making albums. All you had to do was come up with "two hits and ten pieces of s**t".


In these photos, you see some of the hair styles fabled Phil Spector wore during his protracted murder trial in Los Angeles (which, with massive breaks, ran from May 2005 to May 29, 2009. Spector was sentenced two weeks ago to 19 years to life in prison for the murder of the actress Lana Clarkson, who was shot through the mouth in the producer's home, in 2003.



This mug shot of Phil Spector released Wednesday by the California prison system unveils Phil with his wigs confiscated. The mug shot, of a bald-headed Spector with long stringy hair on the sides, was taken on June 5 as part of the prison intake system.
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What do you like most in a woman? e-Harmony lays down the law

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List: The rules of combat

This is a combination of several of the rules of combat floating around on the net....

The easy way is always mined.
Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.
The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly
fire.
If it's stupid but works, it isn't stupid.
Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
A Purple Heart just proves that you were smart enough to think of a plan,
stupid enough to try it, and lucky enough to survive.
Don't ever be the first; don't ever be the last; and don't ever volunteer to do
anything.
Five second fuses only last three seconds.
It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
Recoiless rifles aren't.
Suppressive fire won't.
Never draw fire, it irritates everyone around you.
When in doubt empty the magazine.
Never share a foxhole with someone braver then you are.
Your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
If you can't remember, the claymore is pointed toward you.
If you are forward of your position, the artillery will be short.
The enemy diversion you are ignoring is the main attack.
The important things are always simple.
The simple things are always hard.
If you're short of everything except the enemy, you're in combat.
Incoming fire has the right of way.
No combat-ready unit was ever passed inspection.
No inspection-ready unit has ever passed combat.
Teamwork is essential. It gives them other people to shoot at.
If the enemy is in range, so are you.
Tracers work both ways.
The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support.
When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose ... they are both right.
The bursting radius of a grenade is always one foot greater than your jumping range.
The only terrain that is truely controlled is the terrain upon which you are standing.
The law of the bayonet says the man with the bullet wins.
REMF's (Rear Echelon Mother Fraggers) are everywhere.
The best tank killer is another tank. Therefore tanks are always fighting each other ...& have no time to help the infantry.
Precision bombing is normally accurate to within +/- one mile (...or so).
Don't look conspicuous, it draws fire.
Cluster bombing from B-52s and C130s is very very accurate. The bombs always hit the ground.
Perfect plans aren't.
The side with the fanciest uniforms loses.
Professionals are predictable--it's the amateurs that are dangerous.
Armored vehicles are bullet magnets; a moving foxhole that attracts attention.
No plan survives the first few seconds of combat.
Expending material in combat is easier than filling out Graves Registration forms -- Ammo is cheap; your life isn't.
Just because you can't see the enemy; don't for a minute believe they can't see you.
The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: When you're ready for them. When you're not.
If your attack is going well, you've just walked into an ambush.
Anything you do can get you shot, including nothing.
Make it tough enough for the enemy to get in and you won't be able to get out.
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Witnesses tangle with lawyers, from "Disorder in the American Courts"

These quotes are from a book, "Disorder in the American Courts" -- actual transcripts of things people said in court.

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: He's twenty, much like your IQ.
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shitting me?
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Getting laid
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORN EY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Take a guess.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Unless the Circus was in town I'm going with male.
_____________________________________

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All of them. The live ones put up too much of a fight.
_______________________________________

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: If not, he was by the time I finished ..
_________________________________________

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Are you qualified to ask that question?
______________________________________

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy ?
WIT NESS : No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
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The Six Million Dollar Man and a Sasquatch fight it out...with an excellent dénouement

Thanks to Jeff Clinton for passing along this nugget



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drawing: 16 heads

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Jerry Garcia/The Grateful Dead play Peggy O ( Fennario)

This is a touchingly fragile 1994 video clip of a long time staple. Jerry tune . .as it turned out, Jerry would barely live another year. Here he is, halting in his vocals, and tentative on the guitar--which actually turns out to be a rambling, and elusive, but great, solo. Maybe this video means more to people who watched the entire arc of his career, but I think it stands on its own, fandom and cultural baggage aside, as a great American musician playing a roots folk song...


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Lyrics to the traditional sea shanty "What do we do with a drunken sailor?"

What Shall we do with the Drunken Sailor
What shall we do with the drunken sailor
What shall we do with the drunken sailor
What shall we do with the drunken sailor
Early in the morning

(chorus)
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Hoo-ray and up she rises
Early in the morning

Shake him take him try to wake him . .

Give him lashings with a rope end .
.
Bathe his wounds with salty water . .

Sling him in the long boat till he's sober . .

Pull out the plug and wet him all over . .

Put him below until he's sober . .

Get a hose and wet him all over . .

Shave his tummy with a rusty razor . .

Send him up the crow's nest until he falls down . .

That's what we'll do with the drunken sailor . .
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digital art: The Mask

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It's moments like this when I love Twitter

This is a classic, and the Boston Police response is a gem.



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