Jurassic Elvis

Technically speaking, this week's title should be Cretaceous Elvis. But that's not nearly as catchy if you ask us. And, hey, don't just ask us, ask anyone. When people vote for The King of Dinosaurs, there is only one candidate. There can be no debate: the biggest rock star in the panoply of terrible lizards is...

Click on image for best results!

Note: this represents just a small sample of T.Rex images in the TSG archives.  Time and space considerations prevented us from displaying more pics from our dinofiles.  We originally hoped to include a snapshot of Sue, but finding that photo CD proved to be harder than we expected.

Update: still can't find the photo CD w/Sue, but I did unearth this:

And, this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fp3HGtxlgA

Too Lazy To Send Out Christmas Cards

Yeah, so you can stop looking expectantly at your snail mail portal...TSG has gone totally digital this year. We're pushing our Season's Greeting right at ya, right here, right now. (Note: as usual, our tools let us down a bit with this project...we're blaming Windows Movie Maker for the out-of-sync music.)

Soundtrack trivia: the Who-ized JTTW/JB mashup is performed by The December People, from the album "Rattle And Humbug". The DP is led by the godfather of Silicon Valley's Prog Rock scene, Robert Berry.

Have a great holiday, everyone!

It Had To Happen Sooner Or Later

CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS
* Public Swimming Pools/Maintenance and Operation*
65545. Pool Closure

• Unhealthful, unsafe or unsanitary conditions include, but are not limited to, the failure to meet clarity, disinfection, pH, safety or bacteriological standards.
• If, in the opinion of the enforcing agent, a pool is maintained or operated in a manner which creates an unhealthful, unsafe, or unsanitary condition, the pool may be closed by the enforcing agent. Such a pool shall not be reopened until correction is made, and upon specific written approval of the enforcing agent.

In the past, we've documented several dire episodes in the life of our sadly neglected cement pond.  Here at Les Aras D'ermitage, the owners have spared, oh, I'd say a lot of expense in the upkeep(?) of ye olde catfish hole. As usual for this time of year, a pile of rotting leaves had begun to form at the bottom of the pool, which happened to coincide with a visit of the health inspector-type person.  What ensued was a discussion with our well-meaning  (but clueless in the pool mtce department) manager...and the posting of our little sign.

Knowing the high value the owner places on such matters, TSG fears the pool might not open ever again. The well-meaning manager revealed to us that the owner thinks the pool is a giant hassle--it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine them closing it down altogether.  That would be a sad day, because it would mean that we'd have to find someplace new to live.

Stills From SpɹO˥ ┴S∀Ǝ⅄

What won't we think of next?  That question might have crossed your mind, and you'd be right to ask. Sometimes even we don't know what we'll think of next. What a way to live, eh?

This week we'd like to share a few stills from a movie we watched last night with a most interesting title.  It was called Gentlemen Broncos. "Yeah," you're probably saying to yourself, "so....?"

Wait for it...we're getting there....what was even more interesting was the name of the story- and film-within-the-film.

Yep, we're talkin' about Yeast Lords this week, friends. (or, to be more precise...

Yeast Lords: The Bronco Years

Bronco is the main protagonist, played with aplomb by Sam Rockwell. (As you've never seen him before!*) Sam's Bronco is minus a nad, he nibbles on unappetizing beef by-products with "yeast-like properties", and fights off missile-equipped flying deer with a stream of pink vomit!

What more could anyone want?

NOTE: TSG is not, by any means saying that Gentlemen Broncos is a "good" movie. But we don't see Yeast in the media every day. In this particular case, maybe that's a good thing.

*Actually, come to think of it,

his performance reminded

us a little bit 

of Zaphod Beeblebrox

Going To The Bathroom w/TSG

Now don't get all freaked out about the title. You should know by now that we wouldn't take you to just any bathroom. We're talking about the most famous bathroom in California, if not the West.  Nothing but the best for this blog! 

Due to a mis-programmed alarm clock, we found ourselves on the road WAY too early last Sunday morning.  Thus we were not able to fulfill our dream of having biscuits and gravy at the Madonna Inn. The Coffee Shop was closed unless you happened to be a CHP officer (you can see them in the back of the counter area), so we set off in search of the famous men's room.

This was our first visit to the Madonna Inn.  After all these years of driving past--en route to points north or south--we show up to an empty roadside attraction. (Except for the pre-dawn Chippie crowd, that is.) No food or java for non law-enforcement types, but it was cool to wander around and have the run of the place for a few minutes.

Note: Instead of biscuits and gravy, breakfast ended up being a banana nut muffin and some bad 7/11 coffee.  Oh well, that's life on the road for ya (...and we wouldn't have it any other way!)

Seen between 3600 & 5145 El Camino Real, Atascadero, CA

 

The Central Coast hamlet of Atascadero is famous(?) for it's largest employer, which would be the all-male, maximum-security state hospital.  Unfortunately, TSG did not have time to visit the venerable institution during our stopover.

MooNiE harasses hapless helper

When you can't think of anything to blog about, you can always post a video clip of a guy hanging on a rope and making strange noises.

Wild About Harry

Harry and Friends

3 Things I Learned From Watching

Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)*

1. Mickey Dolenz once got a late night call from Harry,who wanted to go out and party. Mickey didn't remember much; "I woke up three days later in a massage parlor in Phoenix!"
2. Harry recorded an entire album of Randy Newman songs to showcase his friend's songwriting talent.
3. Harry's funeral was on the day of the Northridge Earthquake.  In between the aftershocks, George Harrison led the mourners in a graveside rendition of  "You're Breaking My Heart".

*The "new" DVD biography was released a couple of weeks ago.  The film has been languishing on the shelf for the last few years, but it's out now, and really worth watching.  A  big Thumb's Up from The Shouting Grasshopper.

A Crash of Rhinos

Dull and magnificent at the same time, these agglutinated-haired beasts are one of our favorite odd-toed ungulates. Rhinos everywhere, we salute you, we wish your kind long life and prosperity!*

Interesting trivia: The name "White" Rhino is actually a mis-translation of the Dutch word "wijd". "Wijd" is the Dutch word for "wide", referring to the width of the rhino's mouth.

*Yes, we realize the ratio of

stuffed rhino head photos here

 is somewhat contradictory 

 to our pro-rhino position.

Oh well, that's blogging for ya. 

BS HALLOWEEN

Five of the most horrifying minutes you will ever experience: waiting for the torture of this video to end.

The small faces

You gotta love face recognition software.
I'm surprised and amazed to spot Syril Astrahan in there...ha!

Toad In A Hole...Huzzah!

Frog On A Hog...nope.

Tadpole In A Pond...nope.

Toad On A Lawn...nope.

Now this is more like it! Here we have a Toad In A Hole, our most favorite-est RenFaire treat. A delicious flaky pastry with a scrumptious sausage filling. It's been years since we've made a pilgrimage to Willingtown, but we're pleased to announce that the TIAHs are as tasty as ever. This particular specimen was almost entirely devoured before we thought to take a picture of it!

CORPORATE HOGWEED ALERT!!!

Turn and run!
Nothing can stop them,
Around every river and canal their power is growing.
Stamp them out!
We must destroy them,
They infiltrate each city with their thick dark warning odour.

They are invincible,
They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering.

Long ago in the Russian hills,
A Victorian explorer found the regal Hogweed by a marsh,
He captured it and brought it home.
Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge.
Royal beast did not forget.
He came home to London,
And made a present of the Hogweed to the Royal Gardens at Kew.

Waste no time!
They are approaching.
Hurry now, we must protect ourselves and find some shelter
Strike by night!
They are defenceless.
They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom.

Still they're invincible,
Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering.

Fashionable country gentlemen had some cultivated wild gardens,
In which they innocently planted the Giant Hogweed throughout the land.
Botanical creature stirs, seeking revenge.
Royal beast did not forget.
Soon they escaped, spreading their seed,
Preparing for an onslaught, threatening the human race.


Mighty Hogweed is avenged.
Human bodies soon will know our anger.
Kill them with your Hogweed hairs





 (Banks/Collins/Gabriel/Hackett/Rutherford)

Big score at the Freebee Tables™ !

The Freebee Tables™ are a unique feature here in the Hermitage Arms community. It's a tradition that makes a lot of sense when you think about it, considering the transitory nature of renters.  The Freebee Tables™ (show below, disappointingly devoid of free stuff at photo time*) are where tenants donate all kinds of trash and treasure; from home-grown produce to magazines and calendars to snack food of indeterminate age to antiques that might actually be worth something.

Recently, TSG acquired several items worth mentioning, and we thought we'd take this opportunity to show them off.

First, we have this set of early 20th Century apothecary jars.  They were subsequently [re-] donated to E. Linton for use in an art project:

The next artifact, manufactured about 50 years later, is this desktop item from 1956:

And last but not least, is this nearly mint-condition book on perhaps our favorite airplane ever:

Not a bad haul, not bad at all.

Now, here's the twist: these 3 items were donated to the Freebee Tables™  by people named Dave. (Dave Whitver used to own the Connie book, and the Paper Welder & Jars belonged to Dave Forgothislastname. 

*That computer table is up for grabs, though.

A Simple Pen (or is it?)

So, we were digging through the archives, in search of something entirely unrelated to this particular post, when we came across this:

Hmmm...a non-descript (except for some kind of tape wrapped around it's barrel) PaperMate Extra Fine Plastic Point pen.

Well, the tape is on there for a reason...because the pen was used to sign an autograph and we wanted to keep it for posterity.

Yep, there it is, being used to sign a pamphlet of some kind...

Zooming out a little, we see that the autographer (is that a word?) happens to be Billy Crystal. And, if we zoom out a little more, you can see another reason that this isn't just a simple pen...

The locale might not be immediately recognizable, possibly due to the fact that it no longer exists. It's the top of the World Trade Center (South Tower).

And no, we don't have BC's autograph on display here because we didn't ask for it. Me 'n' Ed were either too hip (or more likely, too shy) to approach Mr. Crystal.  What happened is that the kids in the foreground didn't have a writing implement, so they borrowed one from my brother. Fortunately, we had the presence of mind to snap a pic of the transaction.

Somehow, having the pen and the photo is a little bit cooler than a mundane scribbled missive from the (then) SNL star.

Bzzzzt! Time's up, pencils down!

The Answer is: Al Kooper

Better luck next time,

and

thanks for playing!!

ps: for further reading,  I recommend both

Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards

&

Mid-life Confidential: 

The Rock Bottom Remainders

Tour America with Three Chords

and an Attitude

NAME THIS OBSCURE (BUT LEGENDARY) ROCK STAR

(Seen a couple of weeks ago during our visit to HA)

No, we're not talking about Uncle Walter--although he certainly is a legend. We're talking 'bout the guy with the hair and the sunglasses. Looks like he's holding a gun. Wants more cheese on his pie. Yeah, the guy on the right.

Who is he?  (Bonus points if you can tell us his connections with The Who and Stephen King.)

Fabulous prizes may be in the offing, so get your answers in soon!

ROAD FOOD 2 -- Healthy Choices

Here at TSG, we don't want to leave readers with the wrong impression. The Road has good things to eat that are good for you, too. There were many produce stands open on the way home through the central valley this past weekend. Fact is, you can pick up some lettuce up for free if you know where to look (in this case near the mouth of the Salinas River).

ROAD FOOD

Let's face it, when you're on the road, you don't always have time to eat right. Just remember to vary your meal choices to increase your chances of getting any nutritional value whatsoever.

 (Not pictured:

pizza,

biscuits & gravy,

waffles,

assorted chip-type items, 

triple-decker club sandwich,

or chocolate malt)



(Hmmm.  I'm sure
there must have been
a salad and diet coke 
in there somewhere...)

KHAAAAAAANNNNN!!!

 

(Images from The Tech Museum's Khan exhibit/West Coast BB Archives)