2 hour season finale in less than 15 minutes...(tick, tock, tick, tock)

We know that Jack will make it because FOX has said
they are already to start working on next season.
So......who will NOT make it to next season?

Keith Urban returned to St Paul Thurs. evening

Photo: Tom Wallace, Star Tribune
Please use the URLs below to view photos & video,
along with a typical local-yocal concert review from
the St Paul Pioneer Press. (I thought one was enough)
http://www.xcelenergycenter.com/videoplayer.jsp?IS_PLAY=Y&MM_FILE_ID=128
http://www.xcelenergycenter.com/photogallery/gallery.jsp?SECTION_ID=52
http://www.twincities.com/entertainment/ci_12375532?nclick_check=1

THE BASICS: 2 hour show, which included a 2 song encore.
I have always wanted to get a dose of Keith Urban guitar
fretboard wizardry. Well, I got it! At times, even jaw-drop good!

Enjoy the links!

-steve

Mission accomplished (cont.)

Mission accomplished ! (ROUND ONE)

A nice road trip to

SE WI. It's always
enjoyable visiting
the old stomping
grounds, even
though I really
don't STOMP
much anymore.

The blue-haired
woman running
the greenhouse
had no clue about
the righteous history
of this particular
strain of pepper,
so I brought her up-
to-speed. (she got
my best pepper-rant)




I ended up giving some plants to all three of
my daughters, and my brother Jerry who I
knew would be absolutely thrilled to get his
hands on some of these.

The plants transplanted nicely and are on the deck hardening
to their new environment as I type this. It's kind of cool &
blustery today as a cold front has just plowed through.
ROUND ONE is well underway!

A pepper run to SE Wisconsin!

Beaver Dam Pepper
A Hungarian heirloom local favorite brought to Beaver Dam,
WI by the Joe Hussli family in 1929 (my Great Uncle- RIP).
Elongated 5 to 8 inch slightly wrinkled peppers have excellent
flavor with flesh that's crunchy and mildly hot when seeded.
It gives a nice zip to sandwiches, stuffed peppers and salsa.
The 15 to 18 inch plants yield an amazing number of
fruits that ripen from lime-green to red.

Last year I was able find my plants right here in Minnesota. Sadly,
the grower who mailed my plants to me thru the US mail last year
passed away earlier this year. His family has canceled their mail
order program for this growing season.

This means road trip to south eastern Wisconsin early Tuesday
morning, arriving in Beaver Dam around 9 am. Of course,
this also means that I should be able to surprise some family
and friends.

Hmm?? I better take at least 1 guitar, too!
(I feel a jam-session coming on)

-Steve

it's OFFICIAL.....my acoustic guitar HERO is coming to town

I have now lived in SE Minnesota for almost 6 years, moving here
from the Valley Of The Sun, Mesa, AZ (metro-Phoenix). One of
the first things I did after the dust settled was investigate the local
music scene. Before I knew it I was standing in the office of the
director of Rochester Civic Music. Director Steven Schmidt afforded
me almost an hour to state my case as to why it would be prudent
to book Monte Montgomery to his summer concert line up. I
explained to Mr Schmidt what a 'Montiac' is (self proclaimed fan),
and how his fan base has a history of traveling great distances.
He listened intently to my rant, and a CD of Monte 'bootlegs' I
had prepared. Many of the bootleg offerings were recorded directly
off the soundboard from various small, Texas venues & clubs.
Those same bootlegs were gifts from other hell-bent Montiac's who
were equally affected by Monte Montgomery's amazing talents and
virtuosity. Despite my fanatical enthusiasm and effort to get my foot
in the door, I saw nothing positive become of that initial effort, but
remained persistent, none the less.

Each new year since my original 'rant' I would send reminders to
Mr Schmidt...to no avail! Finally, a management change for Monte
would prove to positive, not only for Monte himself, but In addition
to sending annual reminders to Mr Schmidt, I would also send a
reminder to Monte's management to consider looking at Rochester,
MN as a viable stop on a summer tour. Plain and simply, this
community has an excellent city-run program that brings quality
entertainment to town throughout the calendar year. Well, I believe
the stars and planets have aligned sometime earlier this year,
as the news came down the pike from Pollstar.com that Monte
Montgomery would be performing 'Down By The Riverside' in Mayo
Civic Park in late July. After numerous e-mails back & forth with the
Rochester Civic Music staff, and a little patience, the official word
arrived yesterday via the OFFICIAL Rochester Civic Music website.

Monte Montgomery still brings people together from afar. Even
though YouTube is saturated with his material, seeing this guy
perform LIVE and in living color is still a special event for any
'Montiac'. We Montiac's tend to look around at his shows for
the 'slack-jaws', and the looks of amazement and perma-smiles
that seem to be very prevalent at a Monte Montgomery
performance. I myself was inspired to learn to play guitar because
of Monte Montgomery, period! (end of story). Actually, that in
itself is a story in itself, so I'll save that one for another day.

In closing, please investigate more for yourself on
Monte Montgomery. Perhaps he will inspire you, as he has
inspired me!

http://www.riversideconcerts.com/concerts/event.aspx?eventid=4621
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfQxGkM7Kk8
http://www.montemontgomery.net


-Steve

WARNING: Some may find the following image disturbing

OK......so I've taken a few days away from this blog.
I was so in[[[[ SHOCK ]]]]]] I found it hard to find
a topic that would be interesting, so I stayed away.
It's like.........another confirmation that Bazzar-O-World
is here! We're living it! I mean really..it is, we are!
I could make a list to prove my point.
I'm now wondering if I should go out and buy I telescope
so I can personally monitor whether the killer asteroid or
comet is near. I'd like to know. I have the astronomical
skills and abilities.

But wait......wheeww! That was close! Looks like it's NOT
going to happen. However, I still stand by my claim that we
have entered a very unusual point in time. I may go out
and buy a scope anyway. Yet another Bazzaro day in the
political world, too........but I'll behave today!

C'ya!
Steve

you know how sometimes you can go nuts! ??

well...that was the deal with this song! Sometimes BLIPVILLE
http://blip.fm can drive a person nuts! A few of us were on a
Fleetwood Mac rampage late Monday evening. I got sick of posting
covers, so I had to get this posted pronto! Sometimes music does
that to me...that's why I love it! Quite frankly...it doesn't get better
than this! ~SONG BIRD~

Enjoy!
-Steve

Gov Tim Pawlenty speaks at Tax Cut Rally 05-02-09

This, one of the highlights to an outstanding event on the MN
Capitol grounds on Saturday. Gov Pawlenty was clear, concise
and humorous to drive home his point; his veto pen is ready!

May 2nd Tax Cut Rally-Capitol steps-St Paul, MN

One might think that Minnesota's formal
Tea Party Protest was late since Saturday's
date was May 2nd. Not the case. A formal
Tea Party was held on April 15th, just as
yours was. Today's event was something
separate from that; a follow-up of sorts.
Today's event was the annual Tax Cut Rally.
Again, ANNUAL! Several thousand concerned
tax payer's turned out on this beautiful early
May Saturday to put an exclaimation point to
the Tea Party's of April 15th.

Yes, it is routine for like-minded Minnesotan's
to demonstrate annually as legislators will
sometimes work through the weekend on the
State's budget. That was certainly the case this
past weekend as MN Gov.Tim Pawlenty helped
lead the chants from the lawn of the capitol
building. Mr Pawlenty promised that his "veto pen
was ready"! Other noteable speakers included
US Rep Michelle Bachmann (R), and local
talk-radio host Jason Lewis who was
instrumental in the organizational and
promotion of this annual event.
Lewis was also considered keynote speaker
for the event.


--We "Right Wing Radicals" (as Janet Napolitano
would have it) made the TV news on ABC. (see video)
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S911377.shtml?cat=1

--You might remember Congresswoman
Michelle Bachmann from this monumental grilling! (see video)

US Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN)

--Steve Richards PhotoStream from the
05/02/09 Tax Cut Rally
http://www.flickr.com/photos/trainwreckradio/show/

Right Wing Radicals? WATCH THE VIDEO !!

I awoke to a pleasant
surprise this morning.
The ABC television
affiliate in the Twin
Cities, KSTP was the ONLY
mainstream television media
to make any mention of
yesterday's Tax Rally on
the Capitol lawn in St Paul.
I'm actually in the video.

I'm the guy wearing the sign on my chest that says "Right
Wing Radical". That statement is a sarcastic response to
the recent statement by Homeland Security Chief Janet
Napolitano that certain elements from the "RIGHT"
will be closely watched. WATCH THE VIDEO!
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S911377.shtml?cat=1

holy crabcakes Batman!

I always look forward to opening my e-mail
when I notice that my friend Kylie from
Australia has dropped me a line. Often she sends
stuff like this. Australian's obviously know that
mother nature has bestowed upon them some very
unusual inhabitants to their corner of the world.

COCONUT CRABS (Birgus latro)
Fancy putting the bins out and finding this

Coconut Crab (Birgus latro) is the largest terrestrial arthropod in
the world. It is known for its ability to crack coconuts with its
strong pincers in order to eat the contents.

It is sometimes called the robber crab because some coconut
crabs are rumored to steal shiny items such as pots and silverware
from houses and tents.

The second photo gives you a good idea of how large these crabs
are - a coconut crab is seeking food from a black trashcan.


The coconut crab is a large edible land crab related
to the hermit crab, and are found in the tropical
Indian and Pacific Oceans .
They eat coconuts for a living! How would you
like to be on an island and come across a crab
that is more than 3 feet from head to tail and
weighs up to 40 pounds, with a pair of large
pincers strong enough to open coconuts!
They can climb trees too, but they only eat coconuts
that have already fallen to the ground. Coconut crab
meat has been considered a local delicacy.

Common sense people, common sense!

Computer artwork of an H1N1
influenza A (flu) virus.
In the particle's lipid envelope
(purple) are two types of protein
spike, haemagglutinin (H) and
neuraminidase (N), which
determine the strain of virus.
These are used for recognizing
and binding to the host cell
(Image: PASIEKA / SPL)


Any questions? Do YOU understand the terminology?
WASH YOUR HANDS.........STAY AWAY from large
groups of people who YOU believe would be a potential
risk, then WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN!
COMMON SENSE PEOPLE!

the 'SQUEAL OF APPROVAL'

The Movie above always gets listed on my top-ten
list, or my top five list, or any list in which I'm asked
to list such favorites. I'm revisiting this chapter of my
life only because I seem to be in a general reflective
mood as of late, and I'd like to share it with you!

During my five year US Navy commitment
(Oct 75' thru Oct 80') I had the distinct pleasure
of being attached to Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84),
a sea-going F-14 Tomcat Squadron based out of NAS
Qceana in Va Beach, VA.. VF-84 was part of Carrier
Air Wing 8, assigned to the USS Nimitz-CVN 68.
My actual technical area of expertise (or billet) was
that of an AMH; Aviation Structural Mechanic -
Hydraulic Technician, and Line Division Plane Capt..
To simplify, I was a jet mechanic who worked on the
flight deck supervising the efforts of those who inspect
the planes before, and in between flights.

My 5 seconds of fame actually occurs during the rigging of
the aircraft barricade, a device on the deck of the carrier that
is used for the emergency landing of aircraft. Be that as it may,
the only way you would be able to tell that it was me was if I
was there next to your TV pointing it out to you during the movie.
Not what I would call a defining moment in cinematic history.

The TBS Super Channel used to feature this movie back in the
80's & 90's, but hasn't done so recently. Now, it has more of a
'cult-following' than anything else, especially among those who
were somehow affiliated with the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, which
has formally been retired.
Never had I ever imagined I would have been affiliated with an
aircraft that was discontinued! YIKES!

Use the links below to investigate more for yourself. If you're
ever in one of those "what shall I watch moments", or if you
enjoy collecting movies, check out this one. As I said, it gets
a BIG thumbs-up, and the TrainWreckRadio 'Squeal Of Approval'!

http://scififantasyfilms.suite101.com/article.cfm/scifi_movie_the_final_countdown

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080736/goofs

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9907E0DE1538F932A3575BC0A966948260

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800065126/info

just scored FRONT ROW !!

Well......despite the unemployment, and the scaled-back approach
to getting my ya-ya's out, the summer concert season just might
turn out OK. Lotta holes though!
Scoring front row seats for Little Big Town today at least helps the
overall picture. Rock-On HIPSTERS! Maybe I'll see YOU on the
summer concert circuit!

-Steve
MARCH 09 : Above, March 21st - Little Big Town - Prior Lake, MN
APRIL 09 : March31st-April 1st - ZZ TOP Vh-1 Story Tellers - Chicago, Il
MAY 09 : Upcoming, May 14th- Keith Urban - Excel Energy Center - St Paul, MN
JUNE 09 : ________?__________?_________?__________
JULY 09 : Upcoming, July 26th - Monte Montgomery - Mayo Civic Park, Rochester, MN
AUG 09 : Upcoming, Aug 7th - Little Big Town w/meet & greet - Albert Lea, MN
SEPT 09 : ________?__________?_________?__________
OCT 09 : (RockTober)?__________?_________?__________