Another trip down memory lane. My Grandmother Barer with her brother, sister, niece, brother-in-law, etc and I am in back on the right. My sister Debbie is in front. This was taken in August 1970 at the Walla Walla Country Club. Sadly, only 4 of us in this picture are still around. 

Katrina Strikes the Gulf Coast

We should all send our thoughts, prayers, and well wishes to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Truth or Witchhunt

You may remember I give a quick holler to Lance Armstrong a few weeks back on his astounding accomplishments. No sooner had we finished celebrating, when he is back in the papers again. Lance has been dogged by steroid accusations for years and a so-called tabloid paper in France says that it has a smoking gun. Apparently a urine sample from 1999 has been tested and turned out positive for EPO. There were no means of testing for that chemical at the time the test was administered.
When I read the story, my eyebrows raised but upon reading further stories off MSN, certain French race officials have had it in for Armstrong for years. Now don't get me wrong, if Armstrong had ban taking a banned substance and it is proven, he should face proper punishment. But so far the story is that Armstrong's victories have embarrassed the nation so much and the fact that he is a cancer survivor from a nation that largely does not embrace cycling and has won 7 times in a row has them in a lather. The fact that they went this far and this amount of time shows that this is more than investigative reporting. This is an attempted smear and an attempt to ruin a man's reputation by throwing enough things to the wall in a hope that something will stick.

The Gasman Cometh

Mike Gastineau is the antithesis of a radio talk show host. He is not a "know it all" . He does not insult his callers, and he does not come across as having an inflated opinion of himself. Perhaps that is why he has been afternoon drive host for Sports Radio 950 KJR AM for over 15 years, almost 2 lifetimes in the world of big city radio.
On a station that has bikini contests, shouting hosts and the usual talk radio blather, you can listen to the Gas Man and learn a little about what is going on in the Seattle sports scene. You can hear Mike weekday afternoons from 4:00-7:00.

Pat shoots off his mouth

Pat Robertson is in constant contact with the Lord. The Lord tells Pat to make television his worldwide pulpit. He tells Pat to have every household in every small town send him a check because it takes money to spread the word throughout the world. He tells Pat to tell the US Government to take out a South American dictator. Say what?!
Earth to Pat--Venezuela is a major supplier of oil to the US. Bush to Pat, "we can not have you making remarks like that on your show.
Pat Robertson says, "gee, I never said anything like that on my show". Later, I'm sorry.
Is Pat Robertson really sorry? I've course not. It is just his way of backing out of the trouble that he has made. While I never believed in what televangelists say, I always respected their resilience and the fact that they stuck to their "guns" (so to speak), Pat may speak with the Lord, but that takes second stage to when the US government speaks to him.

Robert Moog passes away

I had never heard of Robert Moog until this morning but I had heard of his contribution to the Pop music scene. I read of his obit in the Seattle Times today.

Robert Moog passed away last Sunday of a short illness in Asheville North Carolina, at the age of 71. He had been research professor of music at the University Of North Carolina. It was said that he was to the synthesizer, what Les Paul was to the guitar. When his instument hit the market, there were synthesizers that were in use, but his stood out for it's versatility and portability.
The Moog Synthesizer was an integral part of the psychedelic music of the 60s and technopop music of late 70s and 80s.
Although Moog traveled in the circle of rock stars, he thought of himself mostly as a technician. He received an engineering degree from Cornell University.

Just a little change

I have changed the comment settings so that you can comment without registering.

Sunday on the Lake

Deb has been talking all summer about patching up the inflatable boat and by golly we finally did it. We went out on Lake Wilderness, a glorified mosspond in the middle of Maple Valley that begins in the town's Largest park and community gathering place Lake Wilderness park. It is also close to Lake Wilderness elementary School and the Lake Wilderness Shopping Center. The Lake is about a mile and a half from our house.
We patched the boat at Lake Wilderness Chevron (of course) and went out on our way. We were out on the Lake for a couple of hours when we noticed, the patch was leaking. This boat and the patch job were just as low tech as Lake Wilderness itself.
I could make this post more exciting by conjuring up a dramatic race to the shore or some heroic rescue, but we easily got the boat in and figured it may be time to invest in a better marine vessel.

Lauren Jackson is the Star and star attraction of the Seattle Storm. Last year LJ and Sue Bird lead the WNBA that brought the city of Seattle it's first professional championship since 1979. This year, the Storm has struggled to stay in playoff contention (WNBA is played in the summer) but LJ is second in the league in scoring, assists and tied for the lead in double doubles (games in which she is in double figure in both scoring and assists) she represented her native Australia in the 2004 Olympics and was in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition. LJ is difinitely a class act for Seattle. 

A Ray of Sunshine

The Seattle Mariners season has been as dismal as the Seattle weather in June. To say we have been playing like a Triple A club would be far too kind. But like a rainy day, a little sunshine has shown through in Felix Hernandez. Hernandez pitched at the Mariners farm team in Tacoma most of this season, he is only 19. He was called up in late July and has been nothing short of brilliant. He has a 98 mile an hour fastball and a variety of pitches. You would need a microscope to see his Earned Run Average. Hopefully Felix Hernandez can develop into one of the great pitchers of the decade.

From last January, Deb and I went to Governor Locke's farewell party. Here I am with Locke and his wife Mona. 

Another flashback for you. This was taken in 1949. I saw a print in a little store near Cannon Beach a few years ago and had to buy it. It is Main Street in Walla Walla, taken near where B.Barer And Sons was, looking East. A rather poignant picture since the Roxy Theatre and the Spiral of the "Stencil Building" have met there demise. The Roxy Was still standing when I was little but had been vacant for years. Lutchers would later become PE GE's and in 1973, was the scene of a tragic fire. There is now a statue there honoring firefighters.

Wishing Mike Cameron a speedy recovery

When the Mariners had to do the unthinkable and trade Ken Griffey, Jr, they acquired a man very few people around here had heard of. Mike Cameron arrived from the Reds and proved that he was a great player himself making spectacular catches and driving balls out of the park. He quickly won over the hearts of Mariner fans like myself.
Last year Cameron left the Mariners and joined the New York Mets. I was sorry to hear that he was injured today as he collided with Centerfielder Carlos Beltran as they tried to catch a fly ball. Mike suffered a broken nose and both cheekbones were also broken. He had to be taken to the hospital, Beltran left the game but was uninjured. I wanted to take the time to wish Mike Cameron a speedy recovery!

Centerfielder Mike Cameron was my favorite Mariner for 3 years.  

Sheryl Crow "Come On America" DVD

I have discovered that Sheryl Crow is old enough to be Britney Spears' Mom, but you would never know by watching her in concert. She brings an energy to her show that ignites her audience. Crow's style seems like Greenwich Village meets Nashville. Some of her songs hasten back to the folk era of the 60s, while her star spangled outfit and her drawl seem to spell C And W. She plays both acoustical and electrical guitar, her music is catchy in live performance and the words are very literate. She is pretty in a natural way and seems like someone you would want as a friend. I would have no problem with buying a CD or watching her in concert.
Sheryl Crow started her career as a back-up singer for Michael Jackson. The "Come On America" dvd is from her 2003 tour. You can find more information at www.sherylcrow.com

Who took this turn down memory lane? Camp Solomon Schecktor in the summer of 1972, if you look at the gentleman in the striped shirt, I am standing second to the right. Camp SS is near Olympia and had campers from the bay area in California,Vancouver, Portland, Spokane and Seattle. I think I represented Walla Walla very well.

Spokane And The Wild Wild West

The State of Washington is essentially anchored by two cities that are polar opposites. Seattle is very Liberal, and Spokane, very Conservative. For years Spokane has been a rather disfunctional city as the economy and bad decisions on the part of it's leaders has taken it's toll.
Enter Jim West, he had just retired from a stint as one of Spokane's state senators. Jim was an endless advocate for family values, although it was laughed out of the legislature, he attempted drafted a bill outlawing teenage sex! In Olympia Jim opposed all gay rights legislation with a passion unseen from even any legislator east of the mountains. But now it was time for Mr. West to move on. He wanted to clean up the mess in his home town, he wanted to be the Mayor of Spokane. He succeeded.
All seemed right when West was elected. He knew his hometown was in trouble and he worked to bridge the differences that were holding it back. Even the Seattle press was recognizing that he was performing the job. Then an A bomb hit.
The Spokesman Review was seen by most literate people in the state as little more than a home town "rah-rah" paper for the cities power elite, but it's reporters thought they had a line on a shocking secret. They set up a sting on Mayor West. They caught him on a gay chatroom. In Spokane, that might not be considered appropriate behavior from a man who was once a sheriff's deputy, and a Scoutmaster. He was not only chatting, he was offering city jobs, at least according to the press that I have read. Caught red handed, he admitted to being gay and the battle started.
Nobody is on Mayor West's side. His apeal was to people who wanted Spokane to be forever Mayberry. The left is angry for his hypocrisy. He has lost support from the City Council. He has lost his city. But Mayor West is staying on the job.
It is time for Jim West to put his city first. It is time for him to step down.

My Brother Steve and his squeeze Dawn enjoy a laugh in our backyard.  

Tod Goldberg
He'll make Monday
your favorite day of
the week.

Goldberg vs Scott

If you watch the E Network, you will note that lately a couple shows shows have roasted hollywood celebrities. My second cousin, Tod Goldberg has decided to roast the fans! Yes, armed with a poison pen and an acerbic wit, Tod has declared war on middle America and the results are absolutely hilarious.
Walter Scott is the pen name for Ed Klein, a former editor for the New York Times and character assassin of former first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mr Klein gets 300k a year helping enquiring minds (if you can call them that) find out the inside scoop on Britney, Cameron, Paris and the like for Parade Magazine, That supplement we mindlessly read in the Sunday paper.
Since Monday is my least favorite day of the week, I rely on Tod's column to put me in the right frame of mind. You can click his link on the left side or go to www.todgoldberg.typepad.com

Music At the Zoo

Last night Deb and I, along with our families, went to the Seattle Zoo to watch the band Carbon Leaf. I had not heard of the band, amazing since I used to pride myself on my knowledge of the Rock music scene.
We have been going to Zoo concerts for years. They are held in amphitheatre, there are no lights or seats, but you can you can bring chairs, blankets and food. The concerts are always over before dark, so you really get a nice atmosphere.
The band was excellent and the atmosphere was perfect. I definitely would like to find out more about this group. I understand they get play on "The Mountain" (103.7fm in Seattle), as it was the sponser of this year's concert series. Carbon Leaf is from Ireland, they play acoustical rock, with folk influences. Music that you may hear on a college campus radio station.

Exciting New Link

For the first time in a couple of months, I have added a link that the sports minded readers (or should I say, reader(s)?) can check out. David Locke, evening voice on Sportsradio KJR 950 has a sports blog where he can express his views on the Seattle Pro sports scene as well as numerous national stories. Although I don't always agree with Dave and have in fact found him downright annoying at certain times. He is intelligent and articulate and even has a couple of connections to the family. He broadcasts for the Seattle Storm and does commentary for the Seattle Super Sonics of which Stan is one of the owners, and in a more indirect way, he is in the spot in the KJR line up once held by Burl when KJR was "rock and roll" in the 70s. OK that's a reach but do check out Dave's sight.