I've spent a lot of time recently with the Stumble application and can now recommend it to anyone who is curious and has the time to indulge in random websurfing. I have had just one problem: If I am on Stumble for any length of time in Windows Explorer 8 there will be a hangup and while Stumble still works, getting the browser to close, at least on my PC, requires a three-fingered salute. So there is possibly a bug in there somewhere.
Another important note: Stumble does not normally call up websites that have nudity or pornography. You can set your filters to allow these images if you want, but I am not sure that such selection is reversible. Stumbles filters give you a wide range of topics to select so that you get mostly websites that may have something of interest to you.
Using Stumble has led me to some amazing photographs, especially from the various space agencies that post pictures from Hubble and the other space telescopes. Also, I have found a great many historical photographs, inspiring photographs of Earth's many landscapes and animals, and more thought provoking websites than I ever imagined. There is a feature that allows you to share your stumblings with most social networks, too.
With anything you get from the web, you'll need to cross check for credibility and make sure you have an antivirus/spybot working for safety as some bad things can and do get through even the most protected sites.
You can get the Stumbleupon toolbar here: http://www.stumbleupon.com/download.php
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Thursday, June 3, 2010
My Favorite Song
I'm writing this as I listen to my latest play list and I've come to the conclusion I don't have a favorite song.
When your play lists contain upwards of 1000 tunes, some of which are the same song by different artists, you don't have a favorite. I can't even narrow songs down to a favorite by a single artist. Or genre. Or any other parameter I can think of.
For me, there is no "best ever" song or artist. I've lived over 71 years now and seen music go from big band swing through the current trash that is called popular music and it seems to me that saying there is one or ten or a hundred all-time greatest songs is a waste of time. There's just too many to decide one ranks over another. I will exclude just about anything done in rap/hip hop since its beginning. I just don't like it so I don't listen to it and cannot in fairness say I have any favorite. Besides, I don't think this kind of music is written to have a lasting quality. Today's country music has the same problem and in my judgement will probably never have a classic again.
What gets on my list must have a classic feel to it, something that will be playable 30 or 40 years from now and will have new listeners and be recorded by new artist of the time. The Internet has shown me that there are new young artists out there singing swing numbers, standards, and covering the oldies of rock and roll. Not long ago I was worried that the music I grew up with would die, but that is no longer a concern. When current composers don't provide the quality then the artist goes back to an older generation and finds something good to record and makes it his/her own. Michael Buble and Josh Groban are just two fine examples of this.
The real problem is that radio just doesn't play anything that isn't current top 40. This is a poor business model, to my way of thinking. But, then, I'm not trying to make a buck in radio. Personally, I won't be limited to just 40 songs that will disappear forever in a few weeks. No, I want the top artists and songs all they way back to the cave. Fortunately, since the invention of the recording process we can all still enjoy the likes of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra (who were active most of my life) and the old country sing of Mother Maybelle, T. Texas Tyler and Hank Senior. Yes, there are artists and songs from before the folks I just mentioned that I like including Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and Enrico Caruso. Although we can't get an original from Beethoven and Mozart, we have the great orchestras of the world that can bring us some damn good interpretations of their compositions. The oldest song in the English language is supposed to be "Greensleeves", a piece known and used by Shakespeare. It is still done today, both in its original words and, at Christmas, as "What Child is This". Five hundred plus years and still being performed. That's staying power! But, then, a truly good song will never die.
Though Latin isn't used much anymore, Gregorian and Anglican chant still is and at least for Gregorian Chant you get a date even older than "Greensleeves". May not be for everybody, but it has its moments.
By they way, have you noticed where Christian music is today? Nobody is doing Gospel or writing it for that matter. Just continuously repeating Bible quotations to a background of noise thought to be music. Called "praise music", it seems its purpose is to stir up the congregation to what ever is preachable. It comes across to me as rabble rousing and I don't like it much. And when they run out of the good quotes about peace and love they'll be stuck with the less appealing verses about war, rape and genocide. Look out when that happens. Jihad, anyone?
In summary, I won't be bound by genre, a mere 40 mindless tunes, or anything else. There is just too much beautiful music of lasting quality to limit myself to a short list of favorites or to one single all-time greatest (that doesn't exist, anyway).
Have a good day, a good night and a very good tommorow.
When your play lists contain upwards of 1000 tunes, some of which are the same song by different artists, you don't have a favorite. I can't even narrow songs down to a favorite by a single artist. Or genre. Or any other parameter I can think of.
For me, there is no "best ever" song or artist. I've lived over 71 years now and seen music go from big band swing through the current trash that is called popular music and it seems to me that saying there is one or ten or a hundred all-time greatest songs is a waste of time. There's just too many to decide one ranks over another. I will exclude just about anything done in rap/hip hop since its beginning. I just don't like it so I don't listen to it and cannot in fairness say I have any favorite. Besides, I don't think this kind of music is written to have a lasting quality. Today's country music has the same problem and in my judgement will probably never have a classic again.
What gets on my list must have a classic feel to it, something that will be playable 30 or 40 years from now and will have new listeners and be recorded by new artist of the time. The Internet has shown me that there are new young artists out there singing swing numbers, standards, and covering the oldies of rock and roll. Not long ago I was worried that the music I grew up with would die, but that is no longer a concern. When current composers don't provide the quality then the artist goes back to an older generation and finds something good to record and makes it his/her own. Michael Buble and Josh Groban are just two fine examples of this.
The real problem is that radio just doesn't play anything that isn't current top 40. This is a poor business model, to my way of thinking. But, then, I'm not trying to make a buck in radio. Personally, I won't be limited to just 40 songs that will disappear forever in a few weeks. No, I want the top artists and songs all they way back to the cave. Fortunately, since the invention of the recording process we can all still enjoy the likes of Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra (who were active most of my life) and the old country sing of Mother Maybelle, T. Texas Tyler and Hank Senior. Yes, there are artists and songs from before the folks I just mentioned that I like including Eddie Cantor, Al Jolson and Enrico Caruso. Although we can't get an original from Beethoven and Mozart, we have the great orchestras of the world that can bring us some damn good interpretations of their compositions. The oldest song in the English language is supposed to be "Greensleeves", a piece known and used by Shakespeare. It is still done today, both in its original words and, at Christmas, as "What Child is This". Five hundred plus years and still being performed. That's staying power! But, then, a truly good song will never die.
Though Latin isn't used much anymore, Gregorian and Anglican chant still is and at least for Gregorian Chant you get a date even older than "Greensleeves". May not be for everybody, but it has its moments.
By they way, have you noticed where Christian music is today? Nobody is doing Gospel or writing it for that matter. Just continuously repeating Bible quotations to a background of noise thought to be music. Called "praise music", it seems its purpose is to stir up the congregation to what ever is preachable. It comes across to me as rabble rousing and I don't like it much. And when they run out of the good quotes about peace and love they'll be stuck with the less appealing verses about war, rape and genocide. Look out when that happens. Jihad, anyone?
In summary, I won't be bound by genre, a mere 40 mindless tunes, or anything else. There is just too much beautiful music of lasting quality to limit myself to a short list of favorites or to one single all-time greatest (that doesn't exist, anyway).
Have a good day, a good night and a very good tommorow.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
22 March 2008
Naples, Italy. Well, as you can tell, I am several days behind. I'll try to reconstruct the last few days for you.
I picked up the rental car on time, thanks to my wife, and was able to be on the road by 0730, 3/16. Got to Atlanta about 1245 same day and turned the car in. This is where the day fell apart!
Since I was lugging two suitcases totaling more than 60 pounds and a backpack the seemed to weigh just as much I went straight to the check-in. THAT'S WHEN I FOUND OUT I HAD BROUGHT MY OLD, EXPIRED PASSPORT.
I was devastated to say the least. I had checked and double-checked everything and had carried the passport for three days to make sure it didn't get lost or misplaced or forgotten.
I mean, it had my picture and everthing, including two neat hold punched it the cover. Those punches should have tipped me off that something was amiss but I totally missed the clue.
There was no way to get back to Mobile and return to Atlanta and catch the 1820 flight. The attendant gave me some hope by suggesting I call World Perks and reschedule the flight for
3/17. Well, after four different phones and four different calls World Perks was about to reschedule me and I crashed again. They needed a pin number, which was my son's who, of course, was in Naples in a different time zone where it was the middle of the night (I thought).
So I called home to mama fully expecting to be jumped on for such a bonehead mistake. Fortunately for me mama was in an understanding mood and she calmed me down, took charge and through several phone calls was able to reach my son who took over and got the resk-ed fixed in just a few minutes.
Mamma and Jerry met me in Opelika that evening with my real, official and up-to-date passport. I had had to rent another car to get to Opelika and back to Atlanta the next day plus a stay over in a motel. All-in-all I figure the cost of this mistake would have allowed me to fly from Mobile to Atlanta. However, it would not have fixed the passport problem.
Anyway, thanks to some wonderful family, the mistake was fixed, I caught the same flight the next day and was in Rome for pick-up on time, just one day lost.
Got to Naples around 1530 due to the non-existent speed limits in Italy. Got mucho hugs from the William and Jasmine and the fun of picking Alexander up at the Child Development Center. He recognized my right off which was marvelous for me as I didn't think a four year old would have memory like that. He has been happy to see me, as have the other two, and that makes me feel great.
On 3/19 we just took care of some local stuff of no importance to this report.
Next day, 3/20, we went to the Museum Nazionale, the one that has the stuff from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Got some good pictures of fabulous art and the pleasure of seeing it for myself and touching some 2000 year old treasures. A very good day despite the cool and wet weather.
Drove over to Castel St. Elmo on 3/21. All the time I had been driven around Naples I complained that some of the best views were from the highway and that there was no place to pull off and take pictures. I think Castel St. Elmo is the reason. The view is spectacular in all directions. Looking out across the city you can immediately spot 15 to 20 church domes and, of course, the ever present and ominous Mt. Vesuvius. You can also see where brave souls have built homes up the side of Vesuvius. There are evacuation plans should Vesuvius grow active, but anyone left behind is probably doomed from ash, pyroplastic and earthquake. Neapolitans are fairly blase about it, which I find typical of their character.
We were supposed to on an Easter Egg Hunt today, 3/22, but its forecast to rain all day so we will probably just hang out at home. Charles wants to finish setting up his PC peripherals and today is a good day for that. Maybe if the weather breaks this afternoon we can get down to the waterfront. There's some parks and castles down there that I need to see.
More tomorrow, next day at latest.
end
I picked up the rental car on time, thanks to my wife, and was able to be on the road by 0730, 3/16. Got to Atlanta about 1245 same day and turned the car in. This is where the day fell apart!
Since I was lugging two suitcases totaling more than 60 pounds and a backpack the seemed to weigh just as much I went straight to the check-in. THAT'S WHEN I FOUND OUT I HAD BROUGHT MY OLD, EXPIRED PASSPORT.
I was devastated to say the least. I had checked and double-checked everything and had carried the passport for three days to make sure it didn't get lost or misplaced or forgotten.
I mean, it had my picture and everthing, including two neat hold punched it the cover. Those punches should have tipped me off that something was amiss but I totally missed the clue.
There was no way to get back to Mobile and return to Atlanta and catch the 1820 flight. The attendant gave me some hope by suggesting I call World Perks and reschedule the flight for
3/17. Well, after four different phones and four different calls World Perks was about to reschedule me and I crashed again. They needed a pin number, which was my son's who, of course, was in Naples in a different time zone where it was the middle of the night (I thought).
So I called home to mama fully expecting to be jumped on for such a bonehead mistake. Fortunately for me mama was in an understanding mood and she calmed me down, took charge and through several phone calls was able to reach my son who took over and got the resk-ed fixed in just a few minutes.
Mamma and Jerry met me in Opelika that evening with my real, official and up-to-date passport. I had had to rent another car to get to Opelika and back to Atlanta the next day plus a stay over in a motel. All-in-all I figure the cost of this mistake would have allowed me to fly from Mobile to Atlanta. However, it would not have fixed the passport problem.
Anyway, thanks to some wonderful family, the mistake was fixed, I caught the same flight the next day and was in Rome for pick-up on time, just one day lost.
Got to Naples around 1530 due to the non-existent speed limits in Italy. Got mucho hugs from the William and Jasmine and the fun of picking Alexander up at the Child Development Center. He recognized my right off which was marvelous for me as I didn't think a four year old would have memory like that. He has been happy to see me, as have the other two, and that makes me feel great.
On 3/19 we just took care of some local stuff of no importance to this report.
Next day, 3/20, we went to the Museum Nazionale, the one that has the stuff from Pompeii and Herculaneum. Got some good pictures of fabulous art and the pleasure of seeing it for myself and touching some 2000 year old treasures. A very good day despite the cool and wet weather.
Drove over to Castel St. Elmo on 3/21. All the time I had been driven around Naples I complained that some of the best views were from the highway and that there was no place to pull off and take pictures. I think Castel St. Elmo is the reason. The view is spectacular in all directions. Looking out across the city you can immediately spot 15 to 20 church domes and, of course, the ever present and ominous Mt. Vesuvius. You can also see where brave souls have built homes up the side of Vesuvius. There are evacuation plans should Vesuvius grow active, but anyone left behind is probably doomed from ash, pyroplastic and earthquake. Neapolitans are fairly blase about it, which I find typical of their character.
We were supposed to on an Easter Egg Hunt today, 3/22, but its forecast to rain all day so we will probably just hang out at home. Charles wants to finish setting up his PC peripherals and today is a good day for that. Maybe if the weather breaks this afternoon we can get down to the waterfront. There's some parks and castles down there that I need to see.
More tomorrow, next day at latest.
end
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Postscript to 15 March 2008
Watch for photos as I have a new cameral with multi-gigabit capacity and the good ones will be posted either here or on Picasa.
end
end
Extended Vacation in Naples, Italy and Morocco
15 March 2008 - Making preparations to depart for Naples, Italy tomorrow. Getting all my stuff packed and double-checking to make sure I have it all and that I really need it. Leaving Mobile by rental car for Atlanta where I'll fly out around 6:20 p.m. to Naples via Amsterdam. Could have gone thru Paris, but that last three times I was in Paris I had too much hassle and was not treated very well by the locals.
This will be my third trip to Naples and I intend to revisit some of the places I've already been to; but mostly I want to investigate the Naples area as there was not enough time on my other visits to really dig into this enchanting city. I haaven't been able to get to Capri, Ischia or Sicily yet and I've put a high priority on these three places. I especially want to see Sicily because my son has already made a visit and his pictures from there have really got me keyed up.
The Morocco part of the vacation is also a return trip, but there's a little more time scheduled to visit some of the more exotic cities. Too, the fact that my son's family own property there now and will provide more or less free housing should make it an exciting and thrifty tour. Unfortunately, Rida and Redoune won't be there to take care of me. But Suffien is of an age now that he'll make a good standin. Last time I saw him he was only 7 or 8 years old. My son has a place on the beach about 20 miles south of Casablanca that is 75 to 100 yards from the Atlantic.
Won't post anything tomorrow as I'll be flying till noon or so on the 17th., and dragging out the laptop in the one layover I have already sounds like too much bother. Then there is the drive from Rome that will put me in Naples around 2 or 3 p.m. local. I'll have to rest a bit, I'm sure, what with jet lag and all. But I'll be making notes to help me with my next post, sometime the evening of the 17th. or morning of the 18th.
Looking forward to tasting the local wines and getting to know lemoncello better.
end
This will be my third trip to Naples and I intend to revisit some of the places I've already been to; but mostly I want to investigate the Naples area as there was not enough time on my other visits to really dig into this enchanting city. I haaven't been able to get to Capri, Ischia or Sicily yet and I've put a high priority on these three places. I especially want to see Sicily because my son has already made a visit and his pictures from there have really got me keyed up.
The Morocco part of the vacation is also a return trip, but there's a little more time scheduled to visit some of the more exotic cities. Too, the fact that my son's family own property there now and will provide more or less free housing should make it an exciting and thrifty tour. Unfortunately, Rida and Redoune won't be there to take care of me. But Suffien is of an age now that he'll make a good standin. Last time I saw him he was only 7 or 8 years old. My son has a place on the beach about 20 miles south of Casablanca that is 75 to 100 yards from the Atlantic.
Won't post anything tomorrow as I'll be flying till noon or so on the 17th., and dragging out the laptop in the one layover I have already sounds like too much bother. Then there is the drive from Rome that will put me in Naples around 2 or 3 p.m. local. I'll have to rest a bit, I'm sure, what with jet lag and all. But I'll be making notes to help me with my next post, sometime the evening of the 17th. or morning of the 18th.
Looking forward to tasting the local wines and getting to know lemoncello better.
end
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