X is for Xena: Warrior Princess

OK,
I have already done Xena: Warrior Kitten, and Xena the planet. I guess it is time to cover the inspiration behind them.

I admit, I was not a fan of "Xena: Warrior Princess" when it first aired on TV in 1995. My preconceptions were that, as a syndicated show, it would not have the same "quality" as a network show. I also pictured it as a dumb, exploitative, cartoonish action show, that probably demeaned women, men and anyone with a whit of intelligence.

I probably would have been more open to viewing it if I had known at the time that X:WP was the brainchild of Rob Tapert and Sam Raimi. They were involved in some quirky TV and movie productions that I very much enjoyed: the outstanding "American Gothic", "Mantis", the "Darkman" movies, and others. Later, I became familiar with their other projects: the "Evil Dead" series, "The Gift", "A Simple Plan", and of course, the "Spiderman" franchise.

Anyway, when I finally did stumble upon this show while channel surfing, I was surprised by its humor, its characters, and the way it mixed ancient mythology with modern sensibilities. The first episode I caught was a riff on the "Groundhog Day" movie with Xena repeating the same day over and over. Soon after came "The Bitter Suite", a cross between opera and thirties musicals. This was followed by "One Against an Army", where Xena repelled the entire Persian on their way to Athens, while protecting her friend and companion, Gabrielle. I was hooked.

This show's stories ranged from melodrama, to farce, to action, to epic - while always staying true to the characters and their relationships. The writers and producers kept their tongues firmly in their cheeks, adding the trademark "whoosh" sound to every flick of a sword, a finger, or turn of head. They even pulled off a Jerry Springer style documentary, with reporters following Xena and Gabrielle with hand held cameras, doing ambush interviews, trying to expose the "true" relationship between the warrior princess and her faithful sidekick.

"You Are There!"

The lesbian community quickly embraced the show, although the relationship between the main characters was never explicitly defined as a sexual one. But, how many shows - how many action/adventure shows, could feature a full hour of gritty sword fighting good-against-evil action with out a single male character. Xena did this several times, with female villains as deliciously evil as any male outlaw.

Of course, besides the writers and producers, Lucy Lawless's portrayal of Xena, and Renee O'Connor's Gabrielle made the show something special. Before Xena became a do-gooder, she was very, very bad, and Lucy always had a playful glint in her eye when bad Xena would slit a throat or betray a friend. Strangely, good Xena had that same look when she went fishing. Another wonderful twist in a wonderful show.

W is for Wintering (on Mars)

While all of us in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying the promise of a warm new Spring, the Mars rover Spirit is facing a long cold Winter in the Southern Hemisphere of the harsh red planet. The NASA-JPL team has been maneuvering the rover to find a nice spot with sunny Northern exposure in order to help Spirit's solar panels to keep its batteries charged through months of diminished sun light.
Spirit has survived for well over two years on Mars, way beyond the 90 days that mission planners deemed the minimal operational time to be considered successful. Over this time, the robot explorer has transmitted many thousands of photos, along with other scientific data and measurements. Along with its twin Opportunity, still roving the other side of Mars, Spirit has to be considered one of the most rewarding planetary explorations ever.
Spirits Winter home

But Spirit has begun to show signs of wear and tear. The motor for its right front wheel has ceased to operate, and the rover now moves mostly in reverse, using its 5 good wheels and dragging the 6th. Still, Nasa expects to continue taking pictures, sampling the soil, examining the atmosphere, and taking other measurements, even if the low light allows it to work for just a few hours each Martian day.

Robot foot prints

V is for Venus

The European Space Agency's Venus Express arrived at its destination on April 11. During the next couple of months, the explorer's orbit will be fine tuned before beginning it's full scientific mission.

This early image shows Venus's cloud cover appearing like a fuzzy tennis ball. Scientists were surprised at the level of detail that they could see, even at great distances. Later pictures may offer 100 times as much resolution.

Infrared wavelengths show amazing detail in the planet's atmosphere. I am looking forward to even more spectacular images in the future.

Photos courtesy of ESA

U is for Ugly

While watching the Yankees lose a game with poor deranged Yankees fan Bob DeBellis, I remarked that Randy Johnson was one of the ugliest men in baseball. While it is true that he has less offensive facial hair now, the pinstripes do not turn him into a handsome man.

This brought to mind a couple of other ugly things, with the emphasis on the ugghhh.

The Pontiac Aztek - no wonder GM is in such sad shape.

A Business Week article includes one driver's comment that it looks like a giant grasshopper wrapped up in caution tape (it was a bad shade of yellow.) GM product boss Bob Lutz has quipped, "We'd fire the guy who greenlighted the Aztek if we could find anyone willing to admit it."


Ugli fruit - actually a variety of tangelo, this citric monstrosity deserves its name.

As always, I welcome your suggestions for the Ugly Hall of Fame.

Mom

I'll always remember my mother reading a book - a mystery, or one of the many Harlequin romances that she zipped through; in a chair at home or in a sweatshirt, bundled up at Selkirk Shores enduring a cool July on Lake Ontario. I loved our trips to the little Hyde Park public library, and I loved to hear her talk about the far away places that she read about.

I can also still she her serving up one of her exotic home cooked meals. There were the 5 minute steak sandwiches, the goulash, the tuna noodle casseroles, and wonderful meatballs hand formed with loving care. I remember sitting at our kitchen table, listening to the weather on the radio (hoping for a snow day), while she made us oatmeal or cream of wheat for breakfast. I know she looked forward to those summer camping trips, when my father would do most of the cooking and she would have more time for reading.

I can still see her working at our school cafeteria, minding the phones at the rectory, or working the polls on election days.

I remember trips to the Grand Union, the A&P, the laundromat. I can still recall her taking me to the doctor to get stitches in my foot, or for a painful ear infection. When I was an altar boy she would take me to the 6:00 AM weekday masses when I was scheduled to serve.

In college, she would send letters, with checks enclosed. She never forgot a birthday, a graduation, or anniversary. Our kids would get cards at Christmas, Easter, even Halloween. She loved my wife, and all of her children's spouses, like her own children (though I still suspect that she liked Marsha more than me).

I know that she and my father made many sacrifices to put their four children through Catholic elementary school, high school and college, but I never heard her complain about not having some luxury or other. She was content to know her family was well and her loving husband was by her side. All she needed was a good book to read.

T is for Terri Hendrix

We listened to Terri Hendrix CDs all day as we road from New Jersey to New York. Our mood was more subdued than expected, but Terri's music seemed to fit somehow. We had been looking forward to this trip for a month now, ever since Marsha spotted the show in Amenia NY on Terri's web site. I wore my favorite t-shirt for the occasion, the one with The Terri Hendrix Experiment on the front, and Own your Own Universe on the back.

You gotta live with passion
love with the same
hold the key to all your chains
and keep my name on your mind
and my number in your wallet
for when you got the time

You've got to own your own universe
roll in the grass and kiss this earth
and keep my name on your mind
and my number in your wallet
for when you got the time

Wallet

written by Terri Hendrix
©1997 THM Music (BMI)

We arrived early at the Silo Ridge Country Club in Amenia, and continued to listen to CDs while we waited in the parking lot for the pre-show buffet. The golf course looked beautiful, nestled between the steep hills near the Connecticutt boundary. It was a small venue, a convenient stopping point for Terri - between her show the previous night in Albany, and the workshop she was giving the next day at Boston's Berklee College of Music.
We walked into the banquet room where the buffet and concert were taking place, and there was Terri setting up on the small raised platform that served as the stage. She walked past us carrying a box of CDs and T-shirts and gave us a big hello. I don't know if she noticed my shirt at the time, I think she is just friendly to everyone. We said hello back, and I think the smile never left my face for the rest of the night.
After the buffet, John Hermans of Border Line Productions, introduced Terri and Lloyd Maines. He and his brother have worked to bring quality musicians (especially Texans) to this part of the world. Then Terri and Lloyd went to work, with Terri singing and playing guitar, papoose, mandolin, and a variety of harmonicas. Lloyd added some backing vocals and played guitar, steel guitar, and papoose. They opened with a song that they co-wrote, It's a Given.

every single color fades into the other
every time that we say goodbye
you're my compass in the dark
you guide my heart
as my dreams solidify

It's A Given
terri hendrix (thm music, bmi, admin. by bug music)
lloyd maines (artmob music, bmi, admin. by bug music)

The musicianship was incredible, as were the songs and the stories that introduced them. Lloyd claimed that Terri chose him to accompany her, over some young stud guitarist, so she could benefit from his AARP discounts. He proudly displayed a picture of his grand kids on his quitar, and showed off the tatoos of their names on each arm (he wanted his grand kids to think he was cool when they became teenagers).

Lloyd, showing off the grandchildren

They played a mixture of songs both written by Terri and by others. She included a new song inspired by Marion Williamson, who gave her guitar lessons and taught her how to milk goats. I believe that it is called Acre of Land, and it is about making the most of what we are given. Terri said she learned that "you can stew or do", and then she sang what she said was the children's version of this song, Get Your Goat On, with eveyone joining in on the chorus. She then talked about hearing a recording of Woody Guthrie saying that songs should lift people up, not put them down. She showed everyone how to make the "bbpppp bbppppp" engine sound to help her sing the Car, Car song. Terri talked about how how relevant Woody's words still are and then did one of his songs about the migrant workers who pick vegetables, hops, and the grapes used to make our wine.

Terri's papoose, guitar and mandolin. Lloyd said that mandolin players spend half their time tuning, and half their time playing out of tune.

During the intermission, Terri sat at the small table at the back and sold t-shirts and CDs. Marsha bought me a new shirt, and ordered another, and got me a autographed copy of "Celebrate the Difference". We told her we were looking forward to seeing her in Philly this summer; she said she is working on the children's show that she will be doing at the Philadelphia Zoo. (I beleive she said she was trying to figure out how to do a live version of Nerves).

The rest of the show was equally wonderful. She sang My Own Place that I had requested, and a very touching version of The Ring. This is a song about her fathers devotion to her mother that certainly struck a note with me.

For my mother
He made a ring
For my mother
He’d do most anything
A quiet man
With words unspoken
Proved his love could not be broken
Out of a half dollar
My father
Made my mom a ring

The Ring

Terri Hendrix

She included a lot of down home, fun songs that covered topics from overly amorous dogs, to fishing, to the wanna-be cowboys who buy a big hat but eat quiche and throw a ball like a girl. This set featured some terrific harmonica playing, as well. Lloyd said that all blues harp players need a good nick name, and he was trying to decide wether Terri's should be Blind Lemon Pledge or Blind Lemon Meringue.

Terri's Harmonicas

We were both impressed with Terri's spirit and generosity. She was gracious to everone, even the wacky couple from New Jersey. We look forward to seeing her again, soon.

I'll leave you with some of the lyrics from the very last song that Terri sang that night.

There are people I’ve loved
That I’ve lost along the way
We’ve drifted apart
Or they’ve been called away
I hold them so close
In my heart here tonight
They’re dear to my heart for all time
They’re dear to my heart for all time

I’m taking a moment to pray for my friends
A handful of people on whom I depend
Our pathways are different
But I love them no less
I’m hoping their sorrows you’ll mend
Tonight I pray for my friends

Prayer For My Friends

Jeff Barbra & Sarah Pirkle

S is for Saturn's Rings and Moonlets

The Cassini spacecraft that has been orbiting Saturn for two plus years now has made a number of significant discoveries. The latest sheds light on the amazing ring system. Scientists have debated the origin of this phenomenon, and how the various rings maintain their integrity. Earlier discoveries included tiny moons (4 to 19 miles wide) that cleared out spaces between some of the rings, and kept the boundaries defined. Now, tinier moonlets have been identified.

The newest announcement indicates that in addition to the majority of the rings particles (I say particles, but they range from a half-inch diameter to the size of a small house), there are larger, intermediate sized objects smaller than the shepherding moons. These moonlets have the diameter of a football field (100 meters); too small to clear a path, but large enough to cause disturbances or waves in the rings. Scientists estimate that there are about 10 million of these objects - it is amazing just how big these rings are!

The moonlets can leave propeller shaped wakes as they travel amongst the smaller particles. Many believe that their existence is further proof that a much larger moon was broken apart to become the spectacular band that orbits Saturn today.

This is just the latest Cassini discovery. The distant probe has also performed some spectacular science on Saturn's many moons. One was recently discovered to have volcanoes that spout water and ice. More to come!

R is for Ray Davies

We took the Patco train from NJ to downtown Philly, and then hopped on the Market Street line and road it to the last station on the other side of the city. That is where the old Tower Theater in Upper Darby hosts a variety of concerts and shows. I told Marsha on the train that I hoped Ray would play a lot of songs off of his new album, because I enjoyed them so much. Besides, can't he be tired of playing "Lola" for the 1001 time?

I have been a fan of Ray Davies and The Kinks since 1970, and my appreciation for his work has only grown over time. Ray's songwriting, along with bother Dave's raucous guitar playing, has influenced generations of bands, from The Who to Blur. They are credited with inspiring heavy metal, punk, and much of today's Brit pop. So it was exciting to have Ray Davies put out a solo album after all this time.

We had great seats, about 10 rows back from the pit, among a few thousand other Kinks fans. Ray was as energetic as ever, opening up with a loud rendition of the punk flavored "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" (1966). He continued with a number of other old rockers, giving them a freshness and enthusiasm the belied the age of both songs and singer. The first group of tunes culminated with a searing rendition of "20th Century Man ". When it was over, Ray remarked with a little surprise in his voice, "I was angry, wasn't I?".

This is the age of machinery,

A mechanical nightmare,

The wonderful world of technology,

Napalm, hydrogen bombs, biological warfare

He then transitioned from "angry rocker to serious singer-songwriter" with an acoustic medley of songs from Village Green Preservation Society, including "Village Green", "Picture Book", "Animal Farm", and "Johnny Thunder". Somewhere along the way, Ray remarked that he is proud of all these old songs. I realized that instead of being tired of playing tunes from forty years ago, he feels about them like his children. They are a part of his life, indeed many are at least partly autobiographical, and they deserve their due.

Ray also played a number of songs off of his new album, Other People's Lives, including The Tourist and The Getaway (Lonesome Train), both inspired by his stay in New Orleans (before Katrina). He often added some commentary about individual songs, which he has often said are like little plays. He talked about how one of his older sisters inspired "Oklahoma, USA", from Muswell Hillbillies; searching to escape her dreary life at the movies.

All life we work but work is a bore,

If life's for livin' then what's livin' for.

Later, Ray performed "A Long Way From Home" from Lola, and talked about writing it as a warning to his brother Dave not to get to carried away with fame and fortune. The brothers always had a love-hate relationship and rivalry which carried over into their music. Certainly, one short coming of the show was the absence of Dave Davie's guitar and backing vocals. The band played well enough (and loud enough), but lacked Dave's unique sound.

You've come a long way from the runny-nosed and scruffy kid I knew
You had such good ways
. . .
Now you think you're wiser because you're older and you think
That money buys everything
And you think you need no one to guide you
But you're still a long way from home.

Ray talked about being turned down by every record label when they were first getting started. One music executive told them they sounded "too working class" and that the guitar sounded like a barking dog. He then broke into a blasting version of "You Really Got Me".

The show also included a number of sing alongs, something Ray has always done to draw the crowd into the show. Everyone joined in on "Set Me Free", "Sunny Afternoon", "Low Budget" and the encore, "Lola". Throughout the show, Ray played rhythm and acoustic guitars as well (or better) than ever. After the second encore he stayed a few moments to shake hands and chat with the fans up front. And we road home on the trains, ears still ringing with both the great old songs and the exciting new ones.

Here is my best recollection of the set list - I may have missed a few:
I'm Not Like Everybody Else
Set Me Free
Till the End of the Day
Tired of Waiting
All Day and All of the Night
20th Century Man
Village Green
Picture Book
Animal Farm
Johnny Thunder
Dead End
Sunny Afternoon
Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)
After the fall
Creatures of Little Faith
The Tourist
A Long Way from Home
Oklahoma, USA
London Town
The Morning After
My Next Door neighbor
The Stand-up Comic
Low Budget
You Really Got Me
Lola