Southern Ohio writer and artist

I've recently been following the posts of Julie Zickefoose on http://www.juliezickefoose.com/index.php and her blog - http://juliezickefoose.blogspot.com/ - with much interest.  Her tale (told over several postings) of the two bats that came into her care was most delightful.  The story she told of Benson the Box Turtle was at first sad, but the conclusion was heartening - I hope she catches sight of Benson now and then on their shared bit of Southern Ohio.

Blessings,
Thorne aka
Michael Dorn

Space Fest @ National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

From: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force [mailto:nationalmuseum.mup@wpafb.af.mil]
Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 2:01 PM
To:
Subject: Reminder: Space Fest

EVENT REMINDER Dear Michael,  From running a 5K to gazing at stars, from meeting astronauts to viewing rarely-seen space-related artifacts, Space Fest 2012 is sure to engage all ages. A variety of "out-of-this-world" experiences will take place at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on May 11-12. Bring your family and friends for this exciting, entertaining and educational event! Mark your calendar for Space Fest   DATES & TIMES: Friday, May 11, 2012 5-11 p.m. Saturday, May 12, 2012 9 a.m.-3 p.m.  LOCATION: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force 1100 Spaatz St., Dayton OH 45433 Driving directions MORE INFORMATION: Space Fest Web page Download an event flyer More upcoming events Mark your calendar for these outdoor aviation events: June 29 · Freedom's Call Military Tattoo Summer 2012 · NASA Crew Compartment Trainer arrival Aug. 31-Sept. 2 · Giant Scale Radio-Controlled Model Aircraft Air Show Click here for a complete list of  museum events

Forward email |   Privacy Policy. National Museum of the U.S. Air Force | 1100 Spaatz St. | Wright-Patterson AFB | OH | 45433

A Day off...?

Columbus OH                                                                                                     May 2nd, 2012

So I took the day off work today, to handle several small projects that have been needing completion.   I worked on my ADF Dedicant writing until about 11 AM and then started to assemble the items requiring delivery.

Sunday had been the Three Cranes Grove public Beltaine ritual at Blendon Woods Metro Park in the Sycamore Reservable Area.  A wonderfully sunny day (especially compared to the previous day), truly a most sublime day to mark the change to the Light Half of the Year.  As we Cranes do, donations are accepted at public rituals for contribution to various charities; Beltaine being when we collect for Nature Spirits (Donations are taken to Pets without Partners - http://www.petswithoutparents.net/ ).  There was a nice pile of items (pet food, cat litter and accoutrements plus grooming items) which needed to be delivered and so I (Thorne) wound up volunteering to deliver said donations.  Additionally there were a smattering of canned food items which will be donated to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

We (my sweetie and I) have been holding several burnt-out light bulbs (both incandescent and flourescent), a couple of expended 1-lb propane bottles and a lunch bag full of batteries through the winter that require special handling in their disposal.  The Solid Waste Agency of Central Ohio (SWACO) http://www.swaco.org/ offers a disposal location for items such as these, but it has limited hours of accessibility.  Wednesday from 12 noon to 5 PM being one of those blocks of time.  The location is in the industrial area just South of the Ohio State Fairgrounds on 8th Ave, it is best approached from 11th Ave as there is no signage indicating the location facing South or West (the direction I arrive coming from 5th Ave on Corrugated Way).  Finding the location, I was greeted kindly almost before I completed exiting my vehicle.  Verifying that all items were accepted at this location, I was able to proceed to Pets without Partners after double-checking the address with our Grove Scribe.

My route was a convoluted one due to the seeming overnight blooming of orange barrels marking roadwork, but filled with interesting observations.  Heading North to 11th Ave, I made a right-hand turn and then a left onto Clara St to cross over to 17th Ave, passing the storefront of Auddino's Italian Bakery http://auddinositalianbakerycolumbusoh.com/  - home of Fried Croissants and much of the bread items used in local restaurants.  Yummy!

Further along my travels on Indianola Ave. I noticed that Studio 35 Cinema and Drafthouse http://www.studio35.com/ is announcing "The Avengers" Thursday at Midnight on their marquee.  This will be their re-opening film after being closed for renovation.  Check out other entries on their website for more options from this wonderful resource.

Well there you go, I have run out of words to purvey.  I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and will let me know if I need to quit or continue...

ColumbusUnderground.com 
has a list of local Farmer's Markets that will be open over the summer.

John Ruskin

I have a quote from John Ruskin hanging in my work cubicle and really hadn't heard of him previously.  So far this week, he has popped up on "What do you know?" and a web search.  Hmmm, guess I need to do some research on the English poet.

I'm saving this here as a means of jogging my memory to do this -

personal finance

By Alan Henry

Mar 27, 2012 4:30 AM

 

from Lifehacker - 

Double-Check Your Bill Every Month to Avoid Fees for Unwanted "Services"

It may seem like common sense at this point that you should thoroughly review your bills every month before paying them, but in an age of automatic bill payment where our expenses are paid without us ever seeing the statements, the blog Five Cent Nickel explains why we should look at our statements, even if they're automatically paid: most companies consider it the customer's responsibility, and aren't afraid to say so.
The post was inspired by the author's upgrade to a new iPhone 4S back in January, at which time an AT&T rep must have signed him up for everything from roadside assistance to lost phone insurance. Unfortunately, because he hadn't been reviewing his bill every month and the full amount due is automatically deducted from his checking account, it wasn't until his March bill that he caught the new charges. He managed to get out of the plans and get the back fees refunded, but not without a snide comment from the customer service rep reminding him that AT&T considers it the customer's responsibility to review their statements and notify the company if there are any inaccuracies.
It may sound unreasonable, but most companies operate this way, and aren't afraid to tell you so in their documentation, when you call them for help, or on your bills and on their web site. The moral of the story is that even if you have your bills automatically paid, it's worth sitting down for a few minutes every month and reviewing your paid statements, just to make sure you didn't pay a fee or new charge you weren't anticipating—if you catch something, call the company right away.
Do you review your bills every month before you pay them? Do you use automatic bill payments and never see the statements? Share your money management tips in the comments.

From Twitter -
Experience Columbus ‏ @ExpCols

Fairy Gardens & Leprechauns: April 7, 2012 / Ohio Herb Education Center The class will bring fairy tales to life... http://tinyurl.com/cf3ljzz

BioFuels boost urged by US Navy Secretary

Bloomberg.com
March 20, 2012 By Benjamin Haas, Bloomberg News
U.S. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said he’s working to boost use of biofuels and other forms of renewable energy by the armed forces because falling behind on the technology raises security risks for the nation.
“The risk is that other countries get ahead in those technologies, and they’re producing the jobs and not us,” Mabus said at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in New York today. “I don’t want to trade oil from overseas for biofuels from overseas. I don’t want to fall behind.”
The Navy spends $45 billion a year on fuel and is considering ways to use renewables as an alternative to oil. Each $1 increase in the cost of a barrel adds $31 million to the Navy’s energy bill, he said. The Navy will use a 50 percent blend of biofuels at war games near Hawaii in July, Mabus said.
“We’re absolutely confident that if we bring a market here, biofuel costs will come down and become competitive with fossil fuels,” Mabus said.
The U.S. imports about half its oil from overseas, according to the Energy Information Agency.
“We’re trying to drive down our exposure to energy-price fluctuations,” Mabus said. “We’re only doing this to be better war fighters.”
U.S. Navy Wants To Increase Use Of Biofuels By Armed Forces

Iowa's historic Surf Ballroom is 'a temple of rock 'n' roll'

Iowa's historic Surf Ballroom is 'a temple of rock 'n' roll'

		Post reply 12:58 PM (5 hours ago)
	CLEAR LAKE, Iowa – At 1 a.m. Friday, a handful of people will gather under a waxing moon on a gravel road about 5 miles north of here. As they listen to Don McLean lament "the day the music died" in his 1971 song American Pie, they'll walk, as they do every year, to the site of the plane crash where singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper died a few minutes after 1 a.m. on Feb. 3, 1959. At a memorial in a farm field, the fans will say a prayer and sing a couple of songs. "We give thanks for the lives of these people that brought us all together and thanks for the music," says Paul King, 66, a retired businessman from Northampton, England. He is a member of the British Buddy Holly Society and has made 24 pilgrimages to Clear Lake, including 17 for anniversary celebrations. The after-midnight procession is the culmination of an annual celebration of the legacy of the three young rock 'n' roll singers and the survival of the Surf Ballroom, the venue in this town of 7,777 where they performed their final show. The Surf, built in 1948 — after its first incarnation across the street on the shores of Clear Lake burned down a year earlier — is a shrine to the 1950s and the early days of rock music. It has its original ticket window, wooden dance floor and booths and a meticulously restored seashore-and-palm-trees motif. Faux clouds still roll across the black ceiling. The ballroom, which will be packed this week during the annual four-day commemoration of the Winter Dance Party that brought the three young stars to town 53 years ago, has been designated a historic landmark by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was listed last year in the National Register of Historic Places. It is, says Jay P. Richardson, The Big Bopper's son, "a temple of rock 'n' roll. If you want to pay your respects to Elvis, you go to Graceland. If you want to pay your respects to Dad, Buddy and Ritchie, you go to the Surf Ballroom." Once a hot spot Clear Lake is a summer vacation hub in the middle of farm country, a two-hour drive from Minneapolis or Des Moines, the closest big cities. It's the sort of place that's bypassed by many national acts now, but in the days before everyone had TVs, musicians regularly toured small towns by bus, drawing capacity crowds from miles around to places such as the Surf. The original ballroom, built in 1934, hosted all the famous acts of an earlier era: the Glenn Miller Orchestra, Count Basie, Lawrence Welk. By 1959, the new Surf was rocking. Karen Spratt, 69, grew up on a farm near Clear Lake. "We milked cows twice a day and had a radio in the barn," she says. "We learned all the words and sang along. My idols were Buddy and James Dean." She was barely 16 when the Winter Dance Party came to the Surf, but her mom said she could go. Admission was $1.25. It was, she says, "a fantastic night." When she heard about the crash the next day, "we all cried. How could they be gone?" Holly, the headliner, Valens and The Big Bopper had been touring the Midwest by bus. Dion and the Belmonts and Frankie Sardo also were on the bill. Holly was not accompanied by the Crickets, his original backup band. Instead, Waylon Jennings and Tommy Allsup shared the stage with him. The lineup included some of the hottest performers of the day, Allsup says. "Elvis was in the Army in Germany, Little Richard had retired … and Jerry Lee Lewis was at the bottom of his career," he says. "There weren't that many rock 'n' roll stars running around." Holly's hits Peggy Sue and Rave On were radio staples. Valens' La Bamba was a Top 40 hit in 1958 and the Bopper's Chantilly Lace was released that summer. The Surf was sold out that night to its capacity of about 2,000. In his 2011 book Dion: The Wanderer Talks Truth, Dion Dimucci described what happened. Holly, he wrote, decided he couldn't take another night on the tour bus and chartered a plane to fly to Moorhead, Minn., for the next stop on the tour. The small plane had four seats: room for the pilot, Roger Peterson, and three more. In the dressing room, Dimucci wrote, a coin was flipped to see who would fly with Holly and who would ride the bus. DiMucci and The Big Bopper won, but DiMucci opted out after he was told the flight would cost $36 each. "I said to Ritchie, 'You go,' " he wrote. The plane crashed minutes after takeoff; all four men were killed. Light snow was falling as the plane took off. Investigators concluded the crash was caused by poor weather conditions and pilot error. 'Not a sad place' Bill Wobbeking was at the Surf that night. He had just turned 18 and was attending college in nearby Mason City. After the show, he and a friend talked about Holly's performance. "We kept saying over and over, he's better than Elvis," says Wobbeking, 71, a retired bank controller who lives in Urbandale, Iowa. He has attended several reunions at the Surf and says it's a joyful place. "My last memory of being in there that night was a happy time," he says. But Wobbeking can't bring himself to visit the crash site. Bob Hale, who was a radio DJ in 1959 and emceed the Winter Dance Party, has tried to walk into the field to the crash memorial, but he had to turn back. At the Surf that night, he says, Holly asked if he could touch Hale's pregnant wife's belly. They talked about Iowa's tough winters, and Holly promised he'd come back in the spring to perform and go water skiing and swimming. "As he was getting into the car to go to the airport," Hale, 78, who lives in Park Ridge, Ill., recalls, "he said, 'I'll see you in the spring.' " Richardson, who was born a few weeks after his father's death, first visited the Surf in 1988 and met Maria Elena Holly, Buddy's widow, and Valens' siblings. "I never realized my father had the impact he had until I went to the Surf," he says. He first performed there in 2000 and will host this week's events. "It's not a sad place to me," Richardson says. "The Surf is the last place I know my father was having a good time." He recently loaned some artifacts to the Surf's museum, including his father's brown leather briefcase engraved with the initials "J.P.R." It was recovered from the crash site. Restored to glory The Surf went through difficult times after the events of 1959. A succession of owners and managers neglected it and some skipped town leaving unpaid bills, says Jeff Nicholas, president of the North Iowa Cultural Center and Museum, the non-profit group that has managed the ballroom since 2008. Over the years, the iconic pineapple murals in the lobby — a symbol of hospitality — were covered by wood paneling and carpet. When it rained, trashcans were arrayed on the dance floor to catch leaking water. In 1994, the Dean Snyder family, owners of a Clear Lake construction company, bought the ballroom and began restorations. The Surf hosted 40 concerts and events in 2011, including shows by 16 nationally known artists, and the annual February commemoration brings about $2 million to the area, says Nicholas, who owns the farm where the plane crashed. "There just seems to be a mystery and a magic" about the Surf and its place in music history, Nicholas says. He once encountered a man standing near the crash site with tears rolling down his face. "Lots of memories," is all the visitor would say. A few weeks after the crash, a pistol that had belonged to Holly was found near the site. In 2007, Richardson asked that his father's body be exhumed to resolve questions about whether the gun was discharged during the flight and whether The Big Bopper, whose body was found further from the wrecked plane than the other victims, had survived and tried to seek help. The autopsy found that The Bopper died on impact and found no evidence of gunfire. Nicholas says he gets goosebumps every time he walks into the Surf, and executive director Laurie Lietz says, "I come in every morning and I say, 'Good morning, boys.' Every morning. The Valens family swear they feel Ritchie's presence here." 'Beyond nostalgic' Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top felt the history of the Surf when his band performed here for the first time in October 2011. "To see it and walk through it was really a treat," he says. "It's a period-perfect piece of unintended leftover architecture. There's something beyond nostalgic about it. There's something quaint that is a standing reminder of the way things were." ZZ Top left with a Surf souvenir, Gibbons says: a vintage candy-striped popcorn machine on wheels. "It's now in our recording studio in Houston," he says. This year's Winter Dance Party, which begins Wednesday, features concerts, dance lessons, memorabilia and art shows and a bus trip to the memorial site. Allsup will perform, and Pat Boone is the headliner. King and other Surf fans who created a music scholarship fund in 1999 plan fundraising events. "I can't wait," says Jack Dreznes, 63, a Chicago record store owner who serves on the scholarship board. "It's the music and the camaraderie of the people who love the music. It's fun music, it's innocent music, it reminds us old-timers of our youth." Terry Stewart, president of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, says everyone should visit the Surf. "It is living history," he says. "The music didn't die." Allsup, who stood beside Holly onstage that fateful night and will stand in the same place this week, agrees. "The music lived," he says. "The guys died, but their music lives on and on."

Etta James

She was one of the first R&B artists I became aware of and found her influences often influenced other artists that I admired as well.


Some of Etta James' lesser known masterpieces.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/justmusic/qUwxB3XcC8Q/2_ofknKQKvkJ

Thank you Lady - for all the joy and sorrow you have shared with the World; because joy shared enhances joy and sorrow shared lessens the sorrow.  You will be missed.