I have been waiting for this video for 33 1/2 years.

Deep Purple at the California Jam in Ontario, California.

It was the second concert I ever attended. An all day outdoor festival held at the raceway. Somewhere around a quarter million people showed up. No one knows for sure how many got in for free. The crowd was amazingly well behaved and the show went on without serious incedent.

I won VIP tickets from a record store chain and got to sit right down front in a fenced off press area. Set apart from most of the crowd. I was there early and stayed all day right down front. The whole thing was filmed by ABC tv and had a lot of crowd shots from on the stage, but haven't seen myself on camera yet.

ABC tv hosted the event to provide for their show In Concert and excerpts of all the bands were shown over several weeks. And the televised segments were also broadcast on FM radio in an early version of simulcasting. I've had most of the audio ( radio broadcast ) on tape since '74, and six or eight years ago a cd of the headlining Deep Purple set came out. It included one song that the radio had skipped.

But now finally .... The DVD with every minute on stage plus bonus stuff. All the songs including several other ones the cd also skipped. With restored audio ( not bad ) and interesting extras.

As for the video, like I noted, the whole festival was filmed by ABC and parts were shown late nights, but that was before VCR's, so nobody had a copy. Actually the video is not too bad. Standard broadcast quality of the time, but very watchable.

The Deep Purple set is OLD School Metal at it's loudest. They were in the Guinness book as the worlds loudest in those days. I wore ear plugs.

Other groups were:

Black Oak Arkansas
The Eagles
Rare Earth
Earth Wind & Fire
Black Sabbath
Seals and Crofts
The Chambers Brothers
Emerson, Lake and Palmer


Who knows? Maybe I am on the camera. 33 years of waiting. I gotta get back and finish watching it.

Crank it up !!

Tonight I had to fend for myself. Kristie was away most of the evening. Fear not I had plenty of food stashed in the fridge. And I was able to spend the time expanding my knowledge by reviewing a well known, highly regarded, much watched educational film.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ( Special Edition )

I learned several useful factoids I need to share.

• Fact One: First off with the approaching Halloween season I learned that the best way to identify a witch is NOT from her appearance. No it is best to weigh her. If she weighs less than a duck then she must float. If she can float she must be made of wood which floats. If wood floats then she's a witch !!

?? Or something like that. ??

• Fact two: A really good French insult is "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"

• Fact three: African or European Swallow, doesn't really matter neither can carry a coconut. However like the guards that are concerned with the flight patterns of swallows, I have began extra outside studies. ( see below )

• Fact four : ( this is the most critical fact ) Be very afraid of Killer Bunnies. Should you encounter a Killer Bunny there is but one solution. The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch !

Here are the instructions for it's use.
"First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin.
Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less.
Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe......."

On no the 'Smiley Face' is 25

What is man kinds most lasting contribution to electronic messaging? I submit it is the 'Smiley Face' !!

:-)


Claimed to have been invented by professor Scott Fahlman of Carnegie Mellon University, he says he first posted it at 11:44 a.m. on Sept. 19, 1982.


Happy Birthday 'Smiley'


;-)

I have been Blogging a year !!!!!



Whoo Whoo


It's been fun.

I've made a lot of friends here.


Stay Tuned

Look maw there's two !!!

It is soccer time again. Last year seems to have only been a couple months ago.

Ashley ( the Monk ) is playing and Jackson ( Soccer Boy ) is on her team again too. In fact the team is mostly returning from last year. They finished in first place before so I expect them to shine. They renamed themselves however this year. The Pirates. Arrrr !!!

Tonight was actually the second game. I went to both and the first thing I noticed a year later is that the intensity is much higher. Last week they won their debut contest 7 - 4. Ashley scored two of those and Jackson made one. The other team really only scored 3 points, but got a goal free when the ball slipped from the goalie's hands on a throw. It had been raining slightly.

They lost tonight in a surprise upset. 3 to 4. I think it was a fluke because they really seemed better than that sounds. Oh well.

Next game they'll hit it hard.

Kristie and I hit Moe's Southwest grill before the game, but chickened-out on going by Sam's Club.

Here is the latest image. Lock the door and bar the windows.

It's just a tropical storm right now, but look at the projected path then remember the hot Gulf waters are like jet fuel to these things. Remember my family in Florida and my friends in Texas and Louisiana.

You Ring We Spring

I am not kidding that is the name of the bail bonding company O.J. used this time.
I can't make up stuff this good.

O.J made bail......Stand by your TV for the low speed chase

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

That means today is our chance to say Arrrr and wear snappy outfits like Capt. Jack. So today it's time to show you inner swashbuckler

The whole idea of Talk Like A Pirate Day started as a joke between friends in the 90's. Then Dave Barry got involved with a story and it took off from there. Add in the success of the Pirate movies and here we are. With an International Talk Like a Pirate Day (TLAPD).

Ahoy mates, hoist the m'sail and set a watch....there be Pirates in these waters. Arrrrr!

Thought

With all the different things going on in our lives it is easy to fall into a negative state and become a little discouraged. We tend to forget or overlook our many blessings.

God has blessed me more that I could ever repay. He has blessed me with an amazing Godly woman who is more than I could ever dream or hope for times 1000000000’s. She keeps me truly grounded and daily reminds me about true love with her actions and encouragements. He gave me a wonderful family, a mother and father who taught me about god’s love from birth. I have a nice home and transportation. More friends than I can count. God has let me see the beauty he created in many of the far corners of the earth . God has shown me so many things and I am blessed to be in a church that is on fire in love with Jesus.

I am reminded of the apostle Paul when he was in prison, he was making the best of it. Paul was a man persecuted for teaching about Jesus. He was thrown into jail but he was not discouraged at all. No he followed the teachings of Christ and even led the jailer and his family to the Lord. ( Acts 16 25-33 )

Every day we face hurdles. But using faith and communication with God we can meet the challenges and still find the blessings. We need him. Remember …God is in control…not me. ( Chronicles 7: 13-14, Acts 17: 24-28, Rev 1:8 )

People often ask me why I love flying so much.

Enough said !!

The past few days have been so very busy I have gotten behind again. Here is another catch-up post.

On Saturday night we watched the UGA football game with Kristie's mom and dad. Kristie's mom cooked steak, gravy and biscuits. "nuff said " GO DAWGS 35-14. The offence looked like a well oiled machine most of the time and the "d" surprised me. They are worthy to be called dogs.

I was on camera Sunday morning. It was an amazing service. Perry spoke on Baptism and over 300 came forward. That's more than 1000 in this series. My little sister surprised us by driving up from beyond Athens just at attend. She listens on the web every week.

After the morning services we all went over to the cafe at A.U.

We hooked up with Dan and Claudia, as well as Danny and Amanda.

Travis was there also. He looked like he was walking better. He had to return to Bethesda the first of the week for more treatment follow-up with the doctors there.

We then had just enough time at home to change and gather the picnic supplies. My mom and dad came over and we all headed to the celebrate Anderson concert. Rita Coolidge was the featured singer and I enjoyed her. She was a favorite of my dad when I was still living at home so I love her music. She still has what it takes.

When we returned home the light in the kitchen would not come on. I changed out the tubes but it must be the ballast . Off to the store when I find 5 minutes. No wait change that to 1 and 1/2 hours. Wally World is likely where I'll go.

Kristie and I scored VIP box seat tickets to the Clemson game yesterday. It pays to know people...pays even better to whine beg and shame them into tickets if it is the Bowden Bowl.
Really we did get to go. We have the chance to sit in the box seats once every year or so and always love it. Who wouldn't? Likely our next game tickets will be in the nose bleed section however, unless some of you feel generous..hint hint, wink wink! BTW it was a great game but the parking was the biggest mess I've ever seen there. Maybe they'll work it out by next week.

Kristie's car is still again in the shop. I think the oxygen sensor is bad.

It finally has rained enough to start the grass growing again.... Had to hop the trusty snapper. A well known tractor company has the slogan " nothing runs like a Deere . The never met my snapper.

Let's take stock here:

I have a Bad arm/ bad leg/ sore back. I am falling apart. Anyone got glue?

Breaking News

Pilot /Adventurer Fossett Missing

A Bellanca ( a small single engine plane ) flown by Steve Fossett is missing since Monday night,

Fossett took off Monday from a private airstrip on a ranch south of Smith Valley in western Nevada and didn't return as scheduled.

"The Civil Air Patrol is looking for him in a search being coordinated by the Air Force's Rescue Coordination Center in Langley, Va.

In 2002, Fossett became the first person to fly around the world alone in a balloon.

Three years later, in March 2005, he became the first person to fly a plane solo around the world without refueling.

He and a co-pilot also claim to have set a world glider altitude record of 50,671 feet during a flight in August over the Andes Mountains.

Fossett, 63, of Beaver Creek, Colo., was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame this past July.

Fossett said he plans to go to Argentina in November in an effort to break a glider record.