by the sea

the cover of the rolling stone

Your five minutes of fame begin now!

the lonely bull

It's breeding season at the San Simeon elephant seal rookery and there are a lot of lonely bulls!

car eyes

Headlights of old cars look back at you!

sista monica video jukebox

Do you like the blues? I saw Sista Monica in concert a few years ago and she brought the house down. She can get down there with the best of them. Watch and listen and I think you will agree.

Find out more about Sista Monica here .

bob dylan video jukebox

simon and garfunkel video jukebox

have you ever been trapped in a drive-thru?

This is an offbeat music video by Weird Al Yankovic. It's not to everybody's taste but I enjoyed it.

judy collins video jukebox

From the early 60s to this day Judy Collins has always moved people with her gentle songs.

man in black video jukebox

"Hello, I'm Johnny Cash" is the way the Man in Black began his concerts. Over a 50 year career he had many hits including Ring of Fire and I Walk the Line . As a testament to his popularity he sold over 90 million albums during his lifetime.

Just before Johnny Cash died in 2003 he wrote and performed what I think is one of his best songs - Hurt

harry chapin video jukebox

My wife and I saw Harry Chapin perform at the Circle Star theater in Redwood City,CA, in the late seventies. This theater in the round had a rotating stage which made it great for seeing the performance from any viewpoint. I remember Harry was about 45 minutes late for the performance when suddenly he ran down the aisle in tattered jeans and guitar in tow. He hopped on the stage, sat down on a bar stool and said "I'm sorry I'm late, but now I'm gonna sing my &#! for you"! And he did! He gave a high-energy performance that covered his hit songs like Taxi,and Cat's in the Cradle to some of his lesser known songs like Mr. Tanner and A Better Place to Be. Of special note was the band's performance of Life is a Circle on the rotating stage.

Sadly, Harry Chapin died in a car crash in 1981. His music and his advocacy for fighting world hunger is missed.

amazing grace video jukebox

Some great musicians sing Amazing Grace. My favorite is Judy Collins, but Lee Ann Rimes also gives a great contemporary performance. And how about the Blind Boys from Alabama singing Amazing Grace to the tune of House of the Rising sun or Amazing Grace in the Cherokee language?

scooter the blue fronted amazon

Introducing Scooter the blue fronted Amazon


This is Scooter, a Blue-Fronted Amazon parrot. He's about 28 years old and has been with our family for most of his life. Our children have grown up and started families of their own, so he finds it much too quiet here. His cage is by a sunny window looking out at the front yard so that he can keep an eye on what's going on in the neighborhood. A fairly good watch bird, he lets out sounds at the approach of strangers that are different from his sounds at the approach of friends and really raises the roof when he sees our grandchildren getting out of the car. Although he likes to be around most children, our grandkids have a special place in his heart, as does the daughter in whose bedroom he sometimes stayed when she was growing up. (She now has a parrot of her own -- a Moluccan Cockatoo named Peaches.)

After children, his favorite things are showers, music and having his head scratched. He also likes to watch TV and seems to pay special attention to the Food Network. And speaking of food, he always expects to get a little something extra when we have our meals and clucks at us until we give him something. I am sorry to say that his favorite treat is scrambled egg.

Though Scooter can be pretty good with sound effects, he's not a great talker. Sunrise and sunset are usually greeted with enthusiastic noise, and anyone who laughs or sings around him almost always inspires him to join in. He coos, crows and trills in response when someone talks to him, mimicking a conversation. He likes to have the last word.

leonard cohen video jukebox

Leonard Cohen is a Canadian songwriter,singer,poet and storyteller. Leonard is different and I like that. What do you think?

dave allen video jukebox

Dave Allen (1936-2005) was one of the funniest stand up comedians ever. Always a great storyteller, his only props were a cigarette and a glass of whiskey. Enjoy some of his funniest clips from You Tube.

abigail washburn video jukebox

Abigail Washburn is a great singer and banjo player. She is equally comfortable singing in Chinese or English. Perhaps the only time she is uncomfortable is when she is without her banjo which she considers to be a required fashion accessory.

Abigail Washburn is currently a member of the Uncle Earl and Sparrow Quartet's band.
She has also performed with the Canadian Duhks band.

uncle earl video jukebox

The musical group Uncle Earl is not what you might think. It's an all female band that plays a lot of old-tyme music with a contemporary flair.

I saw these g'Earls, as they like to be called, in concert at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House in Berkeley recently. They all are very talented ladies who can write, sing, play instruments and even clog on occasion.

Speaking of clogging, checkout the first video below. It's a recently released one showing the g'Earls participating in some mean Kung Fu clogging!




If you enjoy these videos, I'm sure you would like Uncle Earl's new Waterloo,Tennessee CD