March 29, 2008

Photo Blogs of Distinction

bus station
the SoHo Journal has included my other blog in its "Photo Blogs of Distinction" feature.

In the article, they say:

"We went sightseeing online today. There are a lot of engaging, compelling photography blogs out there. Here are a few of our favorites..."

and later, about the blog:

"These are indeed lonely, but in a beautiful way. Gorgeous images of small town Texas life. Good stuff if you’re missing the small town you left to come here to the big city. Check it out here.

And remember, these sites all have excellent links sections to allow you to spend even more time at work looking at pretty pictures that aren’t porn. Enjoy!
"

the Soho Journal discovered my photo blog through a link from Frank Jump's awesome Fading Ad Blog. Thanks, Frank! And thanks, Soho Journal!

March 28, 2008

"My One and Only Love"


I far prefer Sinatra's version of this, but this one is sublimely beautiful and exquisite, as well!

"My One and Only Love" was written by Guy Wood and Robert Mellin. The song was published in 1952. A version was done on the 1963 album John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman.

March 27, 2008

"Mack the Knife"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"Mack the Knife," or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer," is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928.

"Mack the Knife" was introduced to the U.S. hit parade by Louis Armstrong in 1954, but the song is most closely associated with Bobby Darrin, who recorded his version on December 19, 1958. In 1959 Darin's version reached number one on Billboard's Hot 100 and number six on the Black Singles chart, and it earned him a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.

Here is Oscar Peterson performing it:

Dick Clark had advised Darin not to record the song because of the perception that, having come from an opera, it wouldn't appeal to the rock & roll audience. To this day, Clark recounts the story with good humor. Frank Sinatra, who recorded the song with Dean Martin, called Darin's the "definitive" version. In 2003, the Darin version was ranked #251 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.

Ella Fitzgerald made a famous live recording in 1960 (released on Ella in Berlin: Mack the Knife) in which, after forgetting the lyrics after the first verse, she successfully improvised new lyrics in a performance that earned her a Grammy.


March 26, 2008

Henderson, Texas


I took these on at least two separate days, as the difference in cloud cover should make apparent.

henderson, texas
downtown

old bank in henderson
former bank building

opera house

bagley's pharmacy neon
bagley's pharmacy neon 2
washing & greasing
an old Sinclair service station

motel motel
main street, henderson
the white building in the center is the Masonic Lodge, c. 1884

henderson building facade detail
rusk county library
former M.E. Moses store

rusk county courthouse
Rusk County Courthouse, c. 1928 (Renaissance style)

thomas jefferson rusk statue on rusk county courthouse grounds
Thomas J. Rusk memorial; he is buried in our Oak Grove Cemetery

looking down fordall street
looking down Fordall Street at the Rusk County Courthouse

arnold bldg. no. 2 in henderson
According to a plaque, this is the Arnold Bldg. No. 2; it was added to the National Register of Historic places back in 1995. It's Art Deco details are well preserved.
another view of arnold building no. 2
henderson building with water tower
the palace theater
former Palace Theater, c. 1931 (Art Deco style)

ray pharamacy neon sign in henderson
mays-harris entrance
Old store entrance of the Wathen-Mays building, added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 1995

ren-ray pharmacy neon sign
Henderson's downtown is a small one, yet I somehow missed this last time I was there.
ren-ray pharmacy sign

March 24, 2008

R.I.P. Neil Aspinall

GETTY

"Neil Aspinall, the 'fifth Beatle', dies aged 66"


Another of The Beatles inner inner circle is gone. Neil Aspinall never got to write his memoir (as far as I know). He would have had some stories to tell! Aspinall was a childhood mate of Paul McCartney and George Harrison, attending the Liverpool Institute with both. He was with the group back in their Johnny and The Moondogs and The Silver Beatles days. No doubt there'd be no "Beatles" had Neil Aspinall not existed.

Aspinall and McCartney, circa 1968 (pic from)

He was a big part of The Beatles Anthology (behind and in front of the camera). In fact, based on what I read in The Longest Cocktail Party, Aspinall began amassing material for a Beatles documentary way back in the mid to late sixties. At that time, the title for it was going to be The Long and Winding Road, but I could be wrong.

March 22, 2008

"The Magnificent Seven"

From the Wikipedia entry:

"The Magnificent Seven" is a song and single by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was the third single from their fourth album Sandinista!. It reached number 34 on the UK singles chart.

The song was inspired by raps by old school hip hop acts from New York City, like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Rap was still a new and emerging music genre at the time and the band, especially Mick Jones, was very impressed with it. The song was recorded in April 1980 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, built around a bass loop played by Norman Watt-Roy of the Blockheads. Joe Strummer wrote the words on the spot, a technique that was also used to create Sandinista!'s other rap track, "Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)." "The Magnificent Seven" represents the first attempt by a rock band to write and perform original rap music, and one of the earliest examples of hip hop records with political and social content. It is the first major white rap record, predating the recording of Blondie's "Rapture" by six months.



May 28, 1983, US Festival appearance

March 21, 2008

Austin by day

friends
Maggie Mae's

frost bank tower in the morning
Frost Bank Tower

Some early morning neon at The Rio Grande:the rio grande neon in the morning light

austin neon
the rio grande neon sign
the onion newspaper dispenser
In a city like Austin, one can buy grab a copy of The Onion on nearly every downtown corner.
las manitas with neon signs on
SAVE Las Manitas!

avenue cafe neon sign lit
morning view of driskill hotel
The historic Driskill Hotel (c. 1886) with the Frost Bank Tower looming in the background
morley bros. ghost
Morley Bros.Drug Store ghost sign on Old Grove Drugstore building

another one of the old grove drugstore neon sign
the ritz theater, early morning
The Ritz (c. 1929) on 6th Street, early morning

centennial liquor neon sign
el patio mexican food neon sign
music legends artwork on the front of the varsity theater
Music legends of the old Varsity Theatre (c. 1936) down on The Drag

More artwork on the side:
varsity theater mural
full view of mural on former varsity theater
the castilian
My freshmen dorm, The Castilian

renaissance market mural
Renaissance Market on 6th Street mural

j & s koppel building
The J & S Koppel Building (1888), Congress Ave.

the robinson-rosner building
The Robinson-Rosner Building (c. 1892), Congress Ave.

phillips building
The Phillips Building (c. 1892, Victorian Romanesque revival) - was at one time Benson Motor Co., which sold Studebakers

studebaker ad on phillips building
joe koen & son jewelers sign in the sun
Joe Koen & Son Jewelers (since 1883) on Congress Ave.

state theater sign in the sun
State Theater (c. 1935) sign

calm before obama rally
The State Capitol building before the Obama rally

heroes of the alamo monument
Heroes of the Alamo monument on State Capitol grounds

confederate memorial on state capitol grounds
monument to the "Southern Confederacy" on State Capitol grouds

texas state capitol with blue skies
looking up at capitol