Monthly Archives: January 2020

The Folk Boom That Followed “Tom Dooley” (1958)

The folk songs that charted on the top 20: (highest chart ratings, other than by the Kingston Trio) “Greenfields”, Brothers Four, #2, May 1960 “Michael”, The Highwaymen, #1, Sept. 1961 “If I Had a Hammer, Peter, Paul and Mary, #12, … Continue reading

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Yikes! Ye Olde Swimming Hole!

Edm. city council is grasping at dumb-ass straws again with the proposed swimming hole at Hawrelak Park. Another potential failure to go along with all the other harebrained schemes: gondola, funicular, expanded LRT with no rider parking, bridges that crumple, … Continue reading

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End of an Era: Bob Shane Passes, 85.

concert book of the original trio 1958-1962: left to right–Bob Shane, Dave Guard (died 1991), Nick Reynolds (below, died 2008) (concert program of 2nd KT version: quavery-voiced new guy on left: John Stewart (who later had hit singles “Daydream Believer” … Continue reading

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The Three Keys/Guides to Individual Life

relative to survival, success, growth, and self-fulfillment: Consciousness Attitude Personal Choices (based on the above 2)

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The Two Basic Basics Throughout a Human Life

Healthwise: diet and exercise.

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Re. glorious Brave New World medical e-technology,

don’t bet the farm on it in terms of immediate helpful help in case of a stroke, heart attack, or the like. Your best bet is still for you yourself to physically get to a hospital pronto.

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Before It Happens Tonight:

re. the 2 satellites due to collide at 4:39 pm 560 miles over Pittsburgh. An oldie I wrote about Skylab which fell apart over the Pacific Ocean in 1979, with apologies to William Blake: Skylab, Skylab burning bright Chunks are … Continue reading

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“The Grapes of Wrath” (1940; 2004 remastered DVD)

(the original wrap-around look of Steinbeck’s first edition) Social realism in American literature and film made a major uptick with the release of John Steinbeck’s 1937 The Grapes of Wrath and the 1940 film version, the latter which looks terrific … Continue reading

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Edmo Gondola Madness

Sure will be fun riding the gondola from October to March! Given the funicular freezes and is not working much of the time, how often is this likely to happen to a frozen gondola inaccessibly stuck over the river valley? … Continue reading

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A Poverty Memory

Watching the 1940 film classic of Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath is a truly ‘downer’ experience about how poor farmers were in the midwest during the Dirty Thirties Great Depression. Hard to believe times were ever so tough, brutal, and … Continue reading

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