ED

I wish there was some way I could capture this and post it... I was just cruising MSNBC's video selections and the story about the Congressman from Florida sending inappropriate e-mails to a 16 year old boy popped up first - but not before an advertisement for medication for erectile dysfunction.

You don't supposed they did this intentionally?

Hi Ho

~j

Fall Color

It's that time of the year when Mother Nature provides us with the most vivid colors.

The leaf peepers are arriving like the swallows at Capistrano and the Fryeburg Fair starts tomorrow.

~jeb

Where the Heck Have I Been?

We did come home from Canada. And, I had hoped that I would be blogging almost daily from the Maritimes. But life got very busy after I returned and work occupied all of my time.

I heard from an all college friend (I was almost going to say "college chum" - eeek!) who was involved with me in a loose band of "hippie types" at St. Francis College. We called ourselves "Treaty Stone" and our main claim to fame was the fact that for about six years we hosted a series of "folk festivals" on campus. They were usually on a Friday night and drew a nice size crowd who drank cheap wine and cheese and crackers while we watched and listened to each other play guitars and attempt to sound like the leading folk rockers of the time.

My own specialty was doing covers of Stephen Stills. I parted my hair down the middle and tried to perfect that slighty pre-nasal, Texas voice. It all seems rather silly now, but we had fun at the time.

Many if not most of the "musicians" continued to play and I even enjoyed a brief stint doing the bar scene in Brooklyn and at some other similar college affairs. In the early 80s I even was involved with a musical duo and we played in bars in the Mount Washington Valley of NH. That too was short lived as I moved away and basically lost interest.

Now all of my music is played at the 5:30 Saturday Mass at St. Mary of the Assumption here in Augusta. I think my skills have actually impoved over the years.

So, I responded with some enthusiasm when John Kiely contacted about a reunion of Treaty Stone. In all of the excitement of nostalgic replay of the past, I offered to create a website for the affair and have just starting collecting stuff for what will likely be a blogged site. This will allow for multiple users to access and update the information and unlimited resources for posting images and other files. So, stay tuned.

~jeb

Hanging Out in NB

On Wednesday we made the trip south to Houlton from PI and crossed over into New Brunswick, Canada. The weather was beautiful, albeit at bit cool. The clouds had that “wintry” appearance and the brisk northwest wind had a taste of autumn.

We took Canadian RT 2 to Fredericton and much of this road is under construction. The Canadians apparently anticipate that the Americans will be sending more business up through Maine and have the superhighways ready for all the added traffic.

Fredericton is a happening’ place with lots of new development and people plus a great historic downtown. The main attraction downtown is an 18th Century garrison which now provides places for lots of tourist activities and shopping. The Canadians are masters at tourism. Every town, no matter how small, has some historic and tourist related attraction; all the information is published in full color tourism brochures provided by the provincial government and free to tourists. The US could learn a lot about tourism from the Canadians.

One of the neatest attractions in beautiful downtown Fredericton is the Lord Beverbrook Art Gallery which contains three masterpieces by Salvatore Dali. This summer they are also boasting an exhibit of Rodin sculpture. It is absolutely amazing that a small city like Fredericton could have a treasure like this. With a population of under 50,000 the town has a nice feel and good combination of things to do and places to see.

We hit the Mactaquac Provincial Park and played golf on Thursday. A splendid 18 hole course with beautiful views of the Mactaquac dam and hydroelectric facility. The dam holds back the St. John River which flows from northern Maine to empty in the Bay of Fundy in St. John, NB. Good golf – I shot a 104.

~jeb

Hanging out in PI

I've been hanging out in Presque Isle, ME since Sunday as the first leg of my golfing vacation with my friends Bob and Kathy. Bob and I played PI Country Club yesterday in the rain. It was cool in the temperature sense but we didn't get too wet.

The course was in excellent condition and relatively empty. I shot a 105 which is good for me and didn't lose any golf balls; a rarity.

Today we played one of the most unique golf course in the world. Aroostook Valley Country Club actually straddles the Maine/New Brunswick border. That's right, the course runs through the U.S. border with Canada and there are no customs stations or guys with walkie talkies in site.

AVCC was built during Prohibition and has the club house in Canada so the locals could come over and play golf and drink legally. People still do. I shot a 106 and lost two golf balls. The course is much more challenging than PICC and very slopey...not sure if that's a word. There is a lot of slope which basically means there are lots of hills and valleys.

After our round and a couple of Alexander Keith's on the deck, we drove over to Perth, NB and had dinner at York's Dining Room. York's is also rather unique because it has a "fixed price" menu that includes everything from soup to nuts as well as an opportunity to sample one of the other items on the menu. Good food and lots of it. We always make a stop at York's when were in The County.

Tomorrow we move on to Fredericton, NB and plan to play three different courses there. See you later.

~jeb

Beta

I just switched over to Blogger beta and re-set the template. It deleted some of the customization I had on the page. We'll see how this works. Taking it for a spin...

~jeb

Mystery Beast

It must have been a slow news day today.

The buzz was regarding a strange "mystery beast" that was killed in the western Maine town of Turner. Apparently for 15 years the locals have reported seeing a strange beast and now question if this is the "monster."

The Animal Control and State Wildlife people think its a mix-breed dog. This thing looks like it has human teeth!

Here's the news report

~jeb

Fall is in the Air? Maybe

When you live in Maine, you get use to long winters and short summers. About ten days ago we were all crying about the excessive heat and humidity, the dew points, the oppressive conditions. We had forgotten momentarily where we live. We forgot that old adage about New England: "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute!"

I never really gets hot in Maine. I think the all time record in Portland was 102 and I can only remember twice in the last 30 years when it was at the century mark. We also know that August is one of the greatest months in our state because every year, just about now, the middle of the month, we get that first blast of sweet Canadian air, dry, and crisp.

So, it came as no real surprise when I ended up closing the windows last night after a particularly wild thunderstorm. I had missed the storm in July when the trees were blown down, but this one was up there in severity including strong winds, small hail and, as the weathermen like to say, frequent lightning. It was very concentrated and lasted only about 30 minutes. But the temperature dropped about 10 degrees in that short period and never recovered. It was a right bit nippy last night!

But, it was perfect sleeping weather and I woke late and refreshed.

Ah, Maine!

Here's a little picture of the fuschia on my porch after the thunderstorm, as well as the rainbow that followed.

~ j

Coffee Break No More

I was saddened to read an obituary in today’s Maine Sunday Telegram about the passing of Margery Eliscu. I am actually surprised the newspaper didn’t have a featured story about Marge, but perhaps they are working on that now.

Marge wrote a weekly column in the MST which I must admit to enjoying on many occasions. Like me, Marge was born in New York City and, according to the obituary, grew up out on “the Island” – Long Island, NY for those of you not from the area. Also like me, Marge fell in love with Maine and came with her husband Larry to live here permanently in 1970, which interestingly is the year I first came to Maine and fell in love.

For 20 odd years, Marge penned the Coffee Break column which was a short personal reflection of her times and activities. In it, we regularly heard stories about Larry, their children, grandchildren, and particularly her daughter, “Kathy-the-nurse.” Her column had an Erma Bombeck quality, but it was always with a Maine flavor and I looked forward to reading her entry each week where she would sometimes rant about something; but always in good style and with lots of humor. In some ways, Marge wrote the first Maine blog, as her commentary had the same tone often found in blogs – but without all of the techno stuff. She was a writer ahead of her time.

I suspected something was not right when after a short hiatus early this year, her returning column referred to some medical issues which in typical form she dismissed in importance.

Then in July, the column disappeared completely and only a short note was found indicating the column would be gone “until further notice” or with some other ominous wording. I kept watch each Sunday following, hoping for the return. So, I guess I was not really surprised by the obituary today.

It looks like Marge Eliscu lived a long, full and happy life right to the end and was surrounded by her many friends and family. There are a couple of references in the obituary suggesting how Marge would like to be remembered:

“In her last days, her daughter Kathy (the nurse) asked if she had any wishes. ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that everyone should be happy and well.’

“In Marge’s memory, it is requested that everyone who reads this hug their loved ones and laugh together!”

Consider it done, Marge.

~jeb

Brooklyn in Maine

There is a "Brooklyn" in Maine, but it's spelled Brooklin. Located downeast near Blue Hill, it's a lovely area. I think I've passed through it once; quite remote.

But the picture in last Friday's Kennebec Journal was the other Brooklyn, the real Brooklyn, the place of my birth. Why it was included in a story about "housing starts" and a title "Big ticket durable goods orders rise" is beyond me. But the picture was interesting nonetheless.

This picture of Grand Army Plaza is not far from where I grew up in Clinton Hill. Not included in the picture, but just to the right of this scene is the main branch of the Brooklyn Public Library where I spent may hours in my youth. In fact, we often took the Vanderbilt Ave bus (Route B69?) up Vanderbilt to GAP and then crossed in this very cross walk pictured. It is also right next to Prospect Park, the greatest urban park in the world (sorry Central Park enthusiasts).

The building shown in the picture being build is on an open lot which I remember being there as far back as the early 1960's. It's hard to believe that it has remained open all this time. But then again, this section of Brooklyn has seem more deterioration than building growth - until perhaps the last 10-15 years. Glad to see the neighborhood is growing in a positive direction.

~jeb

Congratulations Tiger

Congratulations, Tiger Woods - 2006 Champion of the British Open

Freedback

Bloglines is looking for some feedback (codeword: "freedback") on their service and have asked folks to blog their comments. So this entry is in response to that request.

Bloglines is great.

For those who don't know what Bloglines is (are?), basically it is a RSS aggregator that allows you to track and read various feeds. When Bloglines was first introduced, the primary source of RSS feeds were blogs. Now, many websites are providing RSS feeds including news services, weather and sports sites. So, Bloglines now becomes even more valuable since you can track lots of information on one page quick and easy. Also, because the application is web-based, you can use any browser, from any computer, to check your "lines." A great advantage. And, of course you may organize your feeds into catagories and even share them with others.

I've used several aggregators before Bloglines, but stopped looking once I found this service.

And, did I mention it was free?

~jeb

The Clean-Up

It didn't take long. The trucks and chainsaws have been rumbling and buzzing all day.

~j

No Wicked Witch - But Ding Dong Anyway

I need to get the song correct:

Dorothy:
"It really was no miracle, what happened was just this....
The wind began to switch,
the house to pitch.
And suddenly the hinges started to unhitch.
Just then the Witch,
to satisfy an itch,
went flying on her broomstick thumbin' for a hitch.

Munchkins:
And oh, what happened then was rich.
The house began to pitch,
the kitchen took a slitch.
It landed on the Wicked Witch in the middle of a ditch.
Which was not a healthy sit-
uation for the Wicked Witch..."

More pictures on the KJ Newpaper site. The E/PRO building and the Capital Buffet are all within 200 yards of my house.

Also in that article is a quote from my next door neighbors who were here with the winds flew (their's is one of the porches you see in my photos below). Here's the quote:

Laurette McGuire, of Old Winthrop Road in Augusta, said she lost four large poplar trees in her yard as the wind and rain kicked up very quickly -- almost out of nowhere, she said.

" 'Oh my Lord,' I told my husband," McGuire said. "It looked like a tornado, so I told him, 'Let's hit the decks,' you know? The trees were just lying down like dominoes on the ground. And, of course, there I was trying to rescue my plants on my deck. My husband said, 'Get in here, you ding dong.' So I did."

More pictures coming of the cleanup....vroom, vroom.

~j

A Mighty Wind

I wasn't home when the "House began to pitch, the roof to hitch..." And there were no dead witches anywhere to be found. But these trees didn't make it.

Hot Fun in Summertime - Not!

Those who know me know I am not a fan of hot sticky atmospheric conditions. The primary reason for moving from NYC to Maine nearly 30 years ago was to find someplace that was cold most of the time. Until this past decade, Maine fit the bill.

Thanks to Mr. Bush and his conservative cronies, the consequences of Global Warming are becoming quite evident.

Last winter was one of the mildest on record with limited snow and temps never going below zero farenheit here in Augusta. This had been preceeded by the wettest year (2005) on record and followed by the wettest spring (2006) on record. Flooding caused havoc in the southern part of the state and the months of May, June and now July are recording excessive amounts of rain.

The ocean temps off of Portland - which by the way are reported every evening on the local weather - are running in the low to mid 60's, That is totally unheard of in these parts of the world. In a "regular" winter, the ocean temperature off Portland gets down to the very low 30s. Sometimes it even crosses over to below 32.

In the "good old days" the locals tell us the bays would always freeze and that you could often walk across Portland harbor to South Portland. Mind you, that was a very long time ago.

But seriously, I can remember many summers in the 1970s and 80s when you really could not go into the ocean off the coast of Maine until late July when the temps got into the high 50s. By comparison, the ocean temps in Florida are in the 70s in the winter and much higher in the summer. Maine is simply not a place where you spend a lot of time swimming in the ocean except in the southern most reaches of the state, and even then always for brief periods of time.

Being a bit of a weather buff (I believe all true Mainers are), I've made it my business to follow the various statistics. My family in NYC loves to kid me about this by asking if the tide is coming or going; something I almost always know. So, I predicted that this summer in Maine was going to be hot and damp. So far I have been correct. And, the predictions for this weekend are HHH. Ugh!

While Maine is the nation's Vacationland - at least according to our license plates - there is not much escape from the summer heat unless you own a camp on a lake or a place near the ocean. In central Maine, there are limited swimming pools and public beaches. The nearest is in Jefferson about 20 miles away and usually crowded beyond belief when it gets this hot.

So, crank up the A/C - thank God I have A/C - and look forward to the fall. Thankfully, it should be here in a few weeks.

~jeb

Omar Ricardo and His Many, Many Women

I just got back from Johnson Hall in beautiful downtown Gardiner where I witness the featured performance by the legendary, Cuban ex-patriot Omar Ricardo.

What a show!

How can one describe Omar Ricardo? With the phrasing of Sinatra, the sexiness of Tom Jones, the power of Bobby Darin, and the talent of Elvis, Ricardo is a force to be reckoned with. Awarded the American Freedom Medal by President Reagan in 1983, Omar Ricardo is the greatest Cuban exported talent since Ricky Ricardo (rumored to be distant cousin).

From the Johnson Hall’s website, you can read the citation from President Reagan:

"Omar, your long, sometimes painful journey here from the collapsing casinos of Havana and the clutches of Castro's Communism was the very salvation of sensational Las Vegas showmanship. Your example has inspired untold millions of washed-up has-beens, outmoded amateurs, and penniless social ciphers to follow you into the ranks of show-biz luminaries who make life so worthwhile…

"Fellow Americans, this little mother pulls more weight with your President than an entire twenty mule team. It is with pride and pleasure that I present you, Omar Sanchez y Sumadre Diaz de Ricardo with the American Freedom Medal. Thank you, Omar. You are a beacon in a dark world.”

I am blessed.

For those who could not be there, pictures and a video (Warning: 52 MB) are available on the website of the Gaslight Theater.

~jeb

Hurray for Bill

The news this week that Microsoft (MS) co-founder Bill Gates was leaving MS to spend more time with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation should not really come as a surprise – in spite of what the national news media thinks.

It was either a slow news day on Thursday when NBC Nightly News heralded the news as their lead story, or they have not been paying much attention.

The Gates Foundation is of course well known here in Maine for funding a number of projects associated with everything from public libraries, to Maine’s Promising Futures, to the George Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute (and Great Maine Schools project) to laptops in schools.

Despite Apple Computer’s foothold with the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (MLTI), Gates and his dollars have been extremely beneficial to the schools and citizens of Maine. I just wish the Apple Nuts would appreciate this as well.

So, good luck Bill and Melinda. And, thank you!

~jeb

My DaVinci Code

Can you handle one more review of the film, The DaVinci Code?

Good.

I liked it.

I suppose there is are few people on the planet who have not heard at least some of the hype about this book and new movie. Probably most of the information out there is distorted to some degree. Having personally not read the book, only reading countless reviews and op pieces, seeing the movie, and viewing umpteen "unlocking" videos and specials on The History Channel, I guess I was pleasantly surprised to find the movie, and story, more compelling and interesting than I had expected.

Yes, from all of these other sources, all of the "mystery" and suspense of the story line was already well known and I did find myself predicting correctly the outcomes and even some of the dialogue (not a very difficult task). But, I clearly enjoyed the action and pace of the film and found some degree of suspense after all.

I actually received a copy of the book when it first came out and was quickly rising to the top of the NYT's best sellers list. Around the same time I discovered the first "debunking" website which even included a game element of having to search through "clues" to find additional "facts." So, I was a skeptic from the beginning and figured I would save myself from the chore of reading the book. I lent it to some friends who read it, loved it, returned it and then sent it off to other friends who have read it, loved it and not returned it. I'm not sure I have any interest in reading it now except that the movie is confusing in the story.

Now for the review of the film. As noted, I liked it. I thought the acting was better than I expected. Tom Hanks did not deliver his most striking performance and understandably did not appear to be very enthusiastic with the character. I agree with the mainline critics that the little girl Audrey Tautou who plays the female lead character Sophie Neveu, was pretty poor.

My favorite character - played by an actor whom I believe is quite masterful in his own right - was the hero/villain Sir Leigh Teabing played by Ian McKellen. Delightful. Most will recognize him from the X-Men and The Lord of the Rings movies, but clearly one of his best performance in recent time was as James Whale in Gods and Monsters. Go rent that movie.

Decent performances were provided by notedFrench actor Jean Reno superb in The Professional (a.k.a. Leon) and Paul Bettany playing the evil monk Silas.

So, if you are looking some something decent in the theaters these days, check out The DaVinci Code. I think you'll like it better than the critics.

~jeb

Memorial Day

Not sure if it's appropriate to wish someone a "Happy Memorial Day." Being a bit of a solemn occasion, perhaps "happy" is not the correct word.

I always think of my Dad on this day. Like most of his generation (a.k.a. The Greatest Generation), he served in the U.S. Army during WWII. But he also was a Special Agent in the FBI, so I guess you can say he served his country for pretty much his entire life.

Memorial Day in Douglaston, Queens (NY) where he lived from 1972 till his death in 1996, was the occasion of an annual parade that always drew large crowds from all over the borough and I believe remains one of the largest, if not THE largest parade in that part of the city. When I lived there from 1972 to 1978, I became involved with the Little Neck-Douglaston Volunteer Ambulance Corps as an EMT. And, every year on Memorial Day, we would put on our dress uniforms and march proudly in the parade. Heck, they even have a website for the parade!

So, the flag is flying on my porch in Augusta. The day is hot and steamy - perhaps an omen for a hot, sticky summer - we're overdue. And I'm thinking of "my old man."

Happy Memorial Day.

~j