Joe G

I think there are two main species, at least according to my ears, in this area. It's pretty tame in comparison to what you guys are describing. It's a constant where there are trees, but not overwhelming, and the main ones you hear are not unpleasant sounding. Kind of a high pitched whine or drone (though there's no real center pitch that you can actually discern), very smooth, and almost electric sounding.

Wait a minute; aren't we at Blues Alley that day?

Julielyn asked me to post this letter here: Dear Friends - The big weekend has finally arrived!!!! I fly out of Detroit tomorrow morning for Washington state to start riding all 210 miles at 6am on Friday morning. Chelsea and I have lots of mixed emotions about this ride. Mostly it's pride, nervous anticipation, and a gung-ho attitude that we can do it!! This past week I've been dealing with kidney stones. I hope that by Friday morning they'll be gone. Chelsea's been dealing with a skin infection on her neck, and we both think that our bodies have a cruel sense of humor. :-) The big news --- we've raised $20,395 and we've been told to expect more between now and October, when all final donations are due. Broken down, I've raised $15,600, and Chelsea's at $4,795, which means that both of us have surpassed our personal goals! Thank you for helping us get there! Keep track of us each evening as we'll be blogging (web-logging for you non-Internet types) our rides each day at www.myspace.com/julielynrides and then just click at the top on "My Blog". Consequently, we won't have access to internet (we'll be updating by phone) so between Thursday and Monday when we return, please keep the emails to a minimum so my InBox isn't flooded. Thank you again soooooooo very much! In health and happiness, ~Julielyn

A very enjoyable actor. I remember him years ago doing a bit on Letterman called "A Cop on the Edge". Had me in stitches when he pointed to Dave and barked, "Hey you! Pretty boy!" His part in Godfather II was excellent.

Yep, I'm hip to that.

Xentel is a little more high profile than that, though they have had some legal actions taken against them, according to a Google search I did. I can't imagine getting more calls than I already do.

Best of luck. I hope you find yourself feeling strong everyday out there. And have fun!

Yep.

They are a paid fundraising company, so they call asking for donations for everything from firefighter and police associations, to breast cancer research. I have my own charitable interests which I'm supporting, and am really tired of getting a plea everyday.

This company calls me probably 4-5 times a week. I finally found their website, and on the contact page was this address: dontcall@xentel.com I sent a request to be removed from the list. We'll see what happens.

One of my all-time favorites. I'm always interested in what he's doing next.

That's what I might have said, if I knew what the flip I was talking about. I think the idea here (correct me if I'm wrong) is that the opening page should invite you to browse further, rather than lay everything out at once?

An absolutely gorgeous morning here. Highs in the 70's, low humidity, clear skies. The coolness in the air tells me that fall is just around the corner...

Tell him "hello" from the organissimo gang!

Oh for cryin' out loud. I've been waiting forever to see Rosenwinkel, and then he books into Chicago the week I'll be in Denver.

Ouch - a couple of critical barbs in there! Comes with the territory. Congrats on even getting in there - something we weren't able to do.

I thought she looked like a wonderful natural beauty on that Vanity Fair cover a few months ago. No big deal, though.

To answer the question, I have never seen that. I have see a blue jay go after a squirrel, and I've seen a grackle come after me. Bye bye blackbird!

Hummingbird Moth is the common name. Haven't seen one in many years. They are trippy.

http://www.johnnyoneal.org/index2.html Johnny was the headliner Saturday night at this year's Old Town Jazzfest, in Lansing. What an amazing player and singer! In the trio with him were two excellent Lansing-based musicians: bassist David Rosin and drummer Randy Gelispie (note to randissimo: Randy says "hi" - to the cat he calls "Martian" ). But the best part was the hang afterwards in the green room. To the delight of myself and about 4 or 5 others, Johnny and Randy held court for about 3 and 1/2 hours, telling stories about all the greats with whom they've worked: Monk, Ray Charles, Ray Brown, Milt Jackson, Wes, Blakey, etc., etc. etc. You don't hear that kind of shit everday.

Here's another page on the Cat Concerto which you might find interesting: http://www.gimpelmusicarchives.com/catconcerto.htm

1. Might be Liszt - Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 That's all I've got. Edit: The Cat Concerto

Never let it be said that we weren't willing to halp. :rsmile: