WA2K Radio is now on the air

That was Spike Jones, hbg? My goodness, I would never have known that. Love the Charlotte Church version, Canada. Thanks.

Here's a clip of another lullaby. Saw this George at The Embers in New York City and The Don Shirley trio was there as well. Things are a mite slow in our little studio. We're having the system debugged. Wish we could have listened to the entire thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g_hEGYpBoI&feature=user

It may not be midnight, but it seems like it to me, so I am following Urs off to bed with this song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS_VlIhKn6c

Goodnight, all.

From Letty with love

Summer Wine

(NANCY):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things

(LEE):
I walked in town on silver spurs that jingled to
A song that I had only sang to just a few
She saw my silver spurs and said lets pass some time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NANCY):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Ohhh-oh summer wine

(LEE):
My eyes grew heavy and my lips they could not speak
I tried to get up but I couldn't find my feet
She reassured me with an unfamiliar line
And then she gave to me more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NANCY):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine

(LEE):
When I woke up the sun was shining in my eyes
My silver spurs were gone my head felt twice its size
She took my silver spurs a dollar and a dime
And left me cravin' for more summer wine
Ohh-oh-oh summer wine

(NANCY):
Strawberries cherries and an angel's kiss in spring
My summer wine is really made from all these things
Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time
And I will give to you summer wine
Mmm-mm summer wine

Music & Lyrics: Lee Hazelwood

Good morning, WA2K listening audience.

Hey, Rex. Nice to see you back and thanks for the Lee and Nancy song. The only one that I have heard by that duo is "Some Velvet Morning".

Well, folks, today is Groundhog day. Wonder if that little rascal saw his shadow?

Also, y'all, today is Stan Getz's birthday, so first let's listen to a great jazz song by him and then a little funny about the shadow animal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-2uBeMgV4I

and now, one from the "pork de terra"

The Ballad of Punxsutawney Phil
Tune = The Ballad of Jed Clampett (The Beverly Hillbillies theme)
© 1988 by Don Halley

Come and listen to a story 'bout a groundhog, Phil
He sleeps throughout the winter to escape the bitter chill
And then one day on February Two
He's up from the ground, and here's what he will do
Open his eyes - Look around - Prognosticate

Well the next thing y'know, ol' Phil's a media star
Camera crews and newsmen come from near and far
To Punxsutawney town in the middle of PA
To determine whether winter will go or will it stay
Six more weeks - Maybe longer - In Minnesota

A shadow means a longer nap for Phil and all his kin
They begin to huddle up and start a new sleep-in
But you and me we just can't sleep throughout the winter here
So have a heapin' hopin' the shadow won't appear

Stan Getz
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Birth name Stanley Gayetzky
Also known as "The Sound"
Born February 2, 1927(1927-02-02)
Origin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died June 6, 1991 (aged 64)
Genre(s) Jazz, Bossa Nova, West Coast jazz
Occupation(s) Saxophonist
Instrument(s) Tenor saxophone
Label(s) Verve Records
Associated
acts João Gilberto, Tom Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Charlie Byrd

Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia - June 6, 1991 in Malibu, California), usually known by his stage name Stan Getz, was an American jazz musician. Known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, Getz's prime influence was the wispy, mellow tone of his idol, Lester Young. In 1986, however, Getz said: "I never consciously tried to conceive of what my sound should be..."




Life and work

Stan Getz was born on February 2, 1927 in Philadelphia. Stan's younger brother Robert was born in 1932. His parents were Ukrainian-Jews who immigrated from the Kiev area in the Ukraine in 1903. The family later moved to New York City for better jobs. Stan worked hard in school receiving straight "A's" on average and finished 6th grade close to the top of his class. Stan's major interest was in musical instruments, and he felt a need to play every instrument in his sight. He played a number of instruments before his father bought him his first saxophone at the age of 13. Even though his father also got him a clarinet, Stan instantly fell in love with the saxophone and began practicing 8 hours a day. In 1941, he was accepted into the All City High School Orchestra of New York City. This gave Stan a chance to receive a private, free tutor from the New York Philharmonic, Simon Kovar - a bassoon player. He also began to spend more time playing the saxophone. He eventually dropped out of school in order to pursue his musical career, but was later sent back to the classroom by the school system's truancy officers.

In 1943, he was accepted into Jack Teagarden's band, and because of his youth he became Teagarden's ward. Getz also played along with Nat King Cole and Lionel Hampton. After playing for Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, and Benny Goodman, Getz was a soloist with Woody Herman from 1947 to 1949 in 'The Second Herd' and he first gained wide attention as one of the band's saxophonists, who were known collectively as 'The Four Brothers', the others being Serge Chaloff, Zoot Sims and Herbie Steward. With Herman, he had a hit with "Early Autumn" and after Getz left 'The Second Herd' he was able to launch his solo career. He would be the leader on almost all of his recording sessions after 1950.

In the 1950s, Getz became popular playing cool jazz with Horace Silver, Johnny Smith, Oscar Peterson, and many others. His first two quintets were notable for their personnel, including Charlie Parker's rhythm section of drummer Roy Haynes, pianist Al Haig and bassist Tommy Potter. A 1953 line-up of the Dizzy Gillespie/Stan Getz Sextet featured Gillespie, Getz, Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Max Roach.

Returning to America from Europe in 1961, Getz became a central figure in Bossa nova. Along with Charlie Byrd, who had just returned from a U.S. State Department tour of Brazil, Getz recorded Jazz Samba in 1962 and it became a hit. The title track was an adaptation of Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Samba de Uma Nota Só" (One Note Samba). Getz won the Grammy for Best Jazz Performance of 1963 for "Desafinado".

He then recorded with Tom Jobim, João Gilberto and his wife, Astrud Gilberto. Their "The Girl from Ipanema" won a Grammy Award. The title piece became one of the most well-known latin jazz pieces of all time. Getz/Gilberto won two Grammys (Best Album and Best Single), besting The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night, a victory for Bossa Nova and Brazilian jazz. Unfortunately, Getz' affair with Astrud Gilberto brought an end to his musical partnership with her and her husband and slowly he began to move away from bossa-nova and back to cool jazz. Even while still working with the Gilbertos, he recorded Nobody Else But Me an album of straightforward jazz with a new quartet including vibraphonist Gary Burton, but Verve Records, wishing to continue building the Getz brand with bossa-nova, refused to release it. It eventually came out 30 years later, after Getz had died.

In 1972, Getz recorded in the fusion idiom with Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke. This group, without Getz, went on to be the famous Return to Forever, and many of the pieces including "La Fiesta" remained in their repertoire. In this period Getz experimented with an Echoplex on his saxophone, for which critics vilified him. He eventually discarded fusion and "electric jazz", returning to acoustic jazz, while at the same time gradually de-emphasizing the Bossa Nova, opting for more esoteric and less-mainstream jazz. He had a cameo in the movie The Exterminator (1980).

Towards the end of his life the now drug-free Getz had another creative peak with a group including the pianist Kenny Barron, whom Getz described as "my musical other half".


Private life

Getz married Beverly Byrne, a vocalist with the Gene Krupa band, on 7 November 1946; they had three children together: Steven, David, and Beverly.

Getz became involved with drugs and alcohol while a teenager. In 1954, he was arrested for attempting to rob a pharmacy to get a morphine fix. As he was being processed in the prison ward of Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Beverly gave birth to their third child one floor below.

Getz tried to escape his narcotics addiction by moving to Copenhagen. He married Swedish aristocrat Monica Silfverskiöld on 3 November 1956 and had two children with her: Pamela and Nicolas. In 1957 Swedish girlfriend Inga Torgnér gave birth to a son Peter. Stan divorced Monica in 1987.

Zoot Sims, who had known Getz since their time with Herman, once described him as 'a nice bunch of guys', as a consequence of the wide behavioural range of which Getz was capable. In the final stages of his life Getz was able to end his addictions.

Getz died of liver cancer in 1991. In 1998 the 'Stan Getz Media Center and Library' at the Berklee College of Music was dedicated through a donation from the Herb Alpert Foundation.


Quotations regarding Getz

" Flawless technique, perfect time, strong melodic sense and more than enough harmonic expertise, fabulous memory, and great ears. Add a superb sense of dynamics, pacing, and format. Top this off with a sound of pure gold and you have Stan Getz. "

?- pianist Lou Levy
" We'd all play like that . . . if we could. "

?- John Coltrane
" I never consciously tried to conceive of what my sound should be...I never tried to imitate anybody, but when you love somebody's music, you're influenced...I really don't know how I developed my sound, but it comes from a combination of my musical conception and no doubt the basic shape of the oral cavity... "

?- Stan Getz
" People think that I play effortlessly. I remember doing a record date with Bill Evans and afterwards he said to me, you make it sound so easy but when I get right up next to you you're working hard and making it sound easy! "

?- Stan Getz

Tom Smothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Thomas Bolin "Tom" Smothers, III (born February 2, 1937) is an American comedian, composer and musician from New York, New York.

Tommy Smothers is best known as half of the musical comedy team The Smothers Brothers with his brother, Dick Smothers. Tom was portrayed as the "dumb one".

The brothers graduated from Redondo Union High School in Redondo Beach, California, Los Angeles, California, where Tommy was a state champion gymnast in the parallel bars. They attended San José State University.

The brothers have appeared on numerous television shows since the mid 1960s, and even hosted two shows, The Smothers Brothers Show from 1965-1966, and The Smothers Comedy Brothers Hour in 1967.

Tom Smothers negotiated creative control over the CBS show. The documentary Smothered describes how the brothers (particularly Tom) fought CBS censors to sneak in references to religion, recreational drugs, sex, and the Vietnam War. Smothers is widely quoted as saying: "The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen." He and others have implied that the brothers' oppositional politics lead to their show's demise. Tom also admits that politics sometimes took precedence over humor.

Smothers is also the owner of Remick Ridge Vineyards in Sonoma County, California with his wife Marcy and two children, Riley Rose (b. 1996) and Bo (b. 1993).

In motion pictures, Tom Smothers portrayed corporate-executive-turned-tap-dancing-magician Donald Beeman in one of Brian De Palma's earlier films, Get to Know Your Rabbit (1972). He later portrayed Spike in Serial (1980).

Currently, he can be found in commercials promoting River Rock Casino in Geyserville, CA.

Farrah Fawcett
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Birth name Ferrah Leni Fawcett
Born February 2, 1947 (1947-02-02) (age 61)
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
Spouse(s) Lee Majors (1973-1982)
Domestic partner(s) Ryan O'Neal 1982-present
Children Redmond O'Neal (b.1985)
[show]Awards
Emmy Awards
Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries/Movie
1985 The Burning Bed
1990 Small Sacrifices
Nominated: Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series
2003 The Guardian
Golden Globe Awards
Nominated: Best Actress - Drama Series
1977 Charlie's Angels
Nominated: Best Actress - Miniseries/TV Movie
1985 The Burning Bed
1987 Nazi Hunter: The Beate Klarsfeld Story
1988 Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story
1990 Small Sacrifices
Nominated: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1987 Extremities

Ferrah Leni Fawcett (born February 2, 1947) is an American actress. She became a noted pop culture figure and sex symbol of the 1970s and into the 1980s, shaping the landscape of fashion and pop culture.





Biography

Early life

Fawcett, the younger of two daughters, was born in Corpus Christi, Texas,[1] the daughter of Pauline Alice (née Evans), a homemaker, and James William Fawcett, an oil field contractor.[2] As a child, Ferrah (later changed to "Farrah") displayed a natural athletic ability which her father encouraged. She attended John J. Pershing Middle School in Houston, Texas, a school which is now the magnet program for fine arts, and graduated from W.B. Ray High School in 1965. She attended the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.


Career

The late 1960s and early 1970s saw Fawcett doing commercials and TV guest spots but she still sought that big breakthrough role that would launch her career. In April 1976, a poster company Pro Arts Inc., that had started out making anti-war posters, started to hear about a young up-and-coming beauty named Farrah Fawcett doing Wella Balsam shampoo commercials.[3] They got in touch with her agent at the time, Rick Hersh, and arranged a photo shoot. Fawcett arranged to have Bruce McBroom, a freelance photographer that she worked with before, to do the shoot. McBroom took the pictures at Farrah's poolside Bel Air, California home. For the back drop, McBroom used the ratty old Indian Blanket covering his '37 Chevy car seat.[4]

On September 22, 1976, the first episode of Fawcett playing the character Jill Munroe in the TV series Charlie's Angels was aired. Around the same time, her swimsuit poster was released. It went on to sell a still-unrivaled 12 million copies and she became known for her tousled mane, beautiful smile and enviable figure. Charlie's Angels went on to become a huge hit but after just one year Fawcett left the show. As settlement to a lawsuit stemming from her early departure, Fawcett appeared three more times as a guest star in each of seasons three and four. She was replaced on the show in 1977 by Cheryl Ladd (who portrayed her younger sister Kris).


Fawcett achieved critical praise and the first of three Emmy Award nominations as a serious actress for her role as a battered wife in the 1984 television movie The Burning Bed. She also won acclaim in the stage and movie version of Extremities, in which she played a rape victim who turns the tables on her attacker. She then played a predatory role in another miniseries, Small Sacrifices, receiving a second Emmy nomination. Her third Emmy nomination came in 2004 for her work in The Guardian. Fawcett has been nominated for several other awards as well a Golden Globe and ACE awards.

Fawcett, who resisted any nudity in films or magazines through the 70s and 80s, caused a major stir by posing nude in the December 1995 issue of Playboy, which became the best-selling issue of the 1990s, with over 4 million copies sold worldwide. She later posed for the July 1997 issue (aged 50), which also became a top seller, and appeared fully nude in the 2000 Robert Altman movie Dr T and the Women.


Personal life

Fawcett was married to Lee Majors, star of The Six Million Dollar Man, from 1973-1982, though the two separated in 1979; during this time, she was known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors. From 1982-present, Fawcett has been involved in a committed relationship with her longtime boyfriend, actor Ryan O'Neal; they are still dating, on and off. The relationship produced one child, Redmond, born in January 1985.

On June 5, 1997, Fawcett received some negative commentary after giving a less-than-coherent interview on The Late Show with David Letterman. It was speculated that her rambling, incoherent manner was the result of drug abuse. Months later, she explained on the Howard Stern Radio show that her rambling was in fact just her way of joking around with the television host. She also insisted that what looked like random looks across the theater was just her looking and reacting to the fans in the audience.

In the first half of 2006, Fawcett suffered several personal losses including the deaths of her agent Jay Bernstein, and mentor Aaron Spelling; she was also still recovering from the loss of her mother, "Polly." In August 2006, Fawcett took part in the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner, where she appeared to have difficulty telling her jokes, seeming frazzled or incoherent at times. One snarky presenter, Jeffrey Ross, asked Betty White to "explain the jokes to Farrah."


Cancer

On October 4, 2006, it was revealed that Fawcett had anal cancer, and was undergoing treatment, including chemotherapy and surgery.[5] Thus, a possible Charlie's Angels reunion was put on hold.

The Associated Press wire reported on her 60th birthday that Fawcett was now cancer free.[6] Fawcett said in a statement, "This is an extraordinarily happy day for me and my family. I hope that my news might offer some level of inspiration to others who unfortunately must continue to fight the disease." [7]

Fawcett celebrated her 60th birthday with boyfriend O'Neal with the news that she was cancer-free. After the party, O'Neal returned to his home where a fracas occurred between him and his son Griffin. The actor was subsequently arrested for allegedly threatening his son with a gun.[8] Prosecutors declined to charge Ryan O'Neal with assault with a deadly weapon, as of May 25, 2007.[9]

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007, it was reported that a malignant polyp was found in the area where Fawcett had been treated for the initial cancer. Doctors contemplated whether to implant a radiation seeder (which differs from conventional radiation) and is used to treat other types of cancer, but decided against it and planned to pursue aggressive conventional treatment. Fawcett, however, rejected the notion of more chemotherapy and radiation, which she had not handled well previously and chose to travel to Germany (with O'Neal) for an experimental cancer treatment.[citation needed] In January of 2008, it had been reported that this treatment in Germany has been, or continues to be, filmed for a possible reality television show.

Christie Brinkley
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Born February 2, 1954 (1954-02-02) (age 53)
Monroe, Michigan, USA
Occupation Supermodel
Spouse Jean-François Allaux (1973-1981)
Billy Joel (1985-1994)
Richard Taubman (1994-1995)
Peter Cook (1996- )
Children 3

Christie Brinkley (born February 2, 1954) is a former American supermodel.





Early life and career

She was born Christie Lee Hudson in Monroe, Michigan, USA[citation needed], even though she has claimed to have been born and raised in California.[citation needed]. Majoring in art and graduating in 1972, Christie attended Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California. In the early 1970s, she and her family lived in the Bel Air hills. She was educated at le Lycée Français de Los Angeles and worked in Paris as an entry-level illustrator.

In 1976, she signed a contract with cosmetics giant Cover Girl, which they continued to renew for twenty years. A few years after Cover Girl ended their contract with Brinkley, they again signed her on as a model with ads in magazines and commercials for mature skin products in 2005. She appeared on the cover of three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues (1979 - 1981).

Brinkley appeared as "The Girl in the Ferrari" in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation in 1983, a role she reprised in the 1997 sequel Vegas Vacation (though in Vegas Vacation her character was cast as "Woman in Ferrari".)

She is currently a pitch person for a line of home fitness equipment sold on cable TV infomercials.


Personal life

Brinkley had a romantic relationship with Olivier Chandon de Brailles, heir to the Moët-Chandon Champagne fortune. Chandon died in 1983 in an auto racing accident. The two first met in 1972 at Studio 54 in New York City at a party promoting a calendar in which Christie appeared.

Brinkley has been married four times. Her first three marriages were to artist Jean-François Allaux (1973-1981), musician Billy Joel (1985-1994) and developer Richard Taubman (1994-1995). Her fourth husband is Peter Cook, an architect, whom she married in 1996. Brinkley filed for divorce from Cook in the summer of 2006.

Brinkley has three children: daughter Alexa Ray Joel (b. January 1, 1986) with Joel, son Jack Paris (b. June 2, 1995) with Taubman, and daughter Sailor Lee (b. July 2, 1998) with Cook. She is a supporter of animal rights and long time PETA member. She has spoken out against the Ringling Brothers Circus on behalf of PETA.

After hurting her back while on a ski trip in Aspen, Colorado, in December 2006, Brinkley was forced to undergo emergency back surgery in February 2007 since the injury had worsened in the days preceding the surgery.[1]

Brinkley is an avid fan of the New York Islanders. In 2007, she showed her support for the team by writing a blog for NHL.com and filming a commercial for the Islanders. [2]


Songs

The song, "Uptown Girl", was written about her by her then-husband, Billy Joel. It was conceived as Joel wondered aloud how Christie Brinkley could wind up with a guy like him.

The songs "All About Soul", "Blonde Over Blue", "Shameless", "A Matter of Trust", "Christie Lee" and many more were also written by Joel with Brinkley in mind.

Well, guess it's time to punish you.


1. Two antennas met on a roof, fell in love and got married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent.

2. A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

3. Two peanuts walk into a bar, and one was a salted.

4. A dyslexic man walks into a bra.

5. A man walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says: "A beer please, and one for the road."

6. Two cannibals are eating a clown. One says to the other: "Does this taste funny to you?"

7. "Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.'"
"That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome."
"Is it common?"
"Well, It's Not Unusual."

8. Two cows are standing next to each other in a field. Daisy says to Dolly, "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe you," says Dolly. "It's true, no bull!" exclaims Daisy.

9. An invisible man marries an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at either.

10. Deja Moo: The feeling that you've heard this bull before.

11. I went to buy some camouflage trousers the other day but I couldn't find any.

12. A man woke up in a hospital after a serious accident. He shouted, Doctor, doctor, I can't feel my legs!" The doctor replied, "I know you can't - I've cut off your arms!"

13. I went to a seafood disco last week...and pulled a mussel.

14. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

15. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!".

16. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.

17. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why," they asked, as they moved off. "Because", he said, "I can't stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

Good morning, hawkman. Thanks for the great celeb bio's and the funny puns. "A dyslexic man walks into a bra?" Love it! hmmm, that reminds me. Haven't seen the dys nor Diane here in quite some time.

Here's a great video of classical gas and famous paintings that are fleeting. This one is for and from The Smothers Brothers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ig6e68iGU8

Can any of your listeners out there in radioland tell me a good link where I can get guitar chords for "Girl Talk"?

A favourite of mine, especially when sung by Mel Torme.

Links to details of other good old standards would be equally gratefully received.

Thanks

McT

I like "Deja Moo".

Good morning WA2K.

Thanks for the link on "logging in", Letty. I can't remember whether I ever notified A2K of a change in my email address so I sent a message to the Help Desk this morning.

Matching Bob's bios:

Sukiaki
English translation


I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Remembering those happy spring days
But tonight I'm all alone

I look up when I walk, counting the stars with tearful eyes
Remembering those happy summer days
But tonight I'm all alone

Happiness lies beyond the clouds
Happiness lies above the sky

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

whistling

Remembering those happy autumn days
But tonight I'm all alone

Sadness hides in the shadow of the stars
Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up when I walk so the tears won't fall
Though my heart is filled with sorrow
For tonight I'm all alone

Welcome back, McTag. I can hear a melody in my head of the song Girl Talk. It's all done in a minor key, I think. Couldn't find Mel Torme, but I found this. Hope it's the correct one.

http://www.rhapsody.com/julielondon/wildcoolswingintheartistcollection/girltalk/lyrics.html

Hmm, back later to acknowledge the puppy and edgar. Having a wee bit of trouble.

Ok, Things seem to be in tune right now.

Raggedy, glad that I could help, puppy, and thanks for the great quartet, PA.

edgar, Don't you love that song? The only way that I could get satt to help is by doing a few notes of the melody line on a virtual piano keyboard. Frankly, I have no idea why I even knew that song. Odd, no?

Incidentally, folks, heard from hebba today. He is well but having some pc problems of his own.

McTag, be sure and let us know if those are the correct lyrics and piano chord changes to Girl Talk. That will bug me until I find it now.

Aside from the fact I love Sukiaki, because it is a wonderful song, and well done, I have another great memory of it. When the destroyer I served on took us to Japan, in 1964, one heard it played incessantly. It helps me relive those experiences most graphically.

Wow! edgar, I had forgotten that you were a vet. Amazing, Texas.

Let's listen to Sergio Mendes play Girl Talk. I think I have a different melody in mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywNQ9AbV1fw

This weekend marks the height of carnival season in Germany - called Fastnacht, Fasnet, Fasching, Karneval depending on where you are.

In our area, it's the Swabian Alemannic Fasnet which is a very old tradition. There are 'processions' and traditional events all over the place. The people taking part wear traditional costumes and masks, very often also bells. This is to chase away the bad winter spirits.

This gives you a glimpse what it looks like - this video was shot in Tübingen close to where we live. You can see the typical musicians of the 'Guggamusik', old masks, witches and some glimpses of Tübingen which is an old and famous university town.

It will all end on Ash Wednesday...

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=wzLgFpSFVIA

Great video, Urs. You Germans know how to have fun. I did get a smile from seeing that child trying to escape the man in the scary mask. Loved it.

If I'm not mistaken, I think that Feb. 5th is Mardi Gras. (French for fat Tuesday)

Today is also my parents wedding anniversary. My oldest sis has all the pictures, but in my mind, I can see them standing on the veranda of the house in which they were married. Mamma was wearing a beautiful hat with a large brim, and Daddy was whistling and wearing his WWI uniform.

Strange, the imagination of the human mind.