Monday, August 8, 2011

Retro: Kimmer

Retro: Kimmer

Link to Retro: Kimmer

BRIXTON KEY SAN FRANCISCO CHARLIE SIX READING

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 09:46 PM PDT



Fun reading "Charlie Six" in Jack Kerouac Alley, North Beach, San Francisco

From the Author:

I had great fun reading from "Charlie Six" in Jack Kerouac Alley, next to the fabled City Lights Book store in San Francisco's North Beach, last Thursday, August 4. It was amazing to look out into a ton of smiling faces. Some were friends, some were people I'd seen around, some I recognized from Facebook, lots were total strangers.



I read the "Howl" chapter from Charlie Six, it was really a hoot with people laughing at Charlie's antics. At one point everyone clapped, and I lost my place, it was such a great feeling after three years of work to see people enjoying my writing.



Right after I'd finished, people were asking me if I'd be doing any more street readings, it got me to thinking spontaneously, and I told a young lady that I would indeed be doing more street events. I'm lining up suitable alleys right now, and thinking Sausalito, Berkeley, the alley where Michael Zagaris shot the "Charlie Six" cover, Point Reyes in Northern Marin, and then Seattle and Portland, before going down south to Los Angeles and San Diego. There must be cool alleys all over the West Coast. Any ideas. I'd love to hear from you.

Fun party afterwards in Spec's Adler Museum across the street in William Saroyan Place, lots of drinks, champagne, books to sign, and the best surprise of all, my neurosurgeon, Dr. Peter Weber, turned up to introduce me for an impromptu reading in the bar. "He went into surgery as Mark and came out as Brixton."



Peter is a funny guy and brilliant surgeon. He definitely saved my life, when I had two aneurysms burst in my frontal lobes, a dozen years ago.

It was a fantastic evening. Thank you to everyone who was there, and for those who weren't, I'll be seeing you in an alley somewhere soon.



Brixton Key's Charlie Six

WhereIsCharlieSix.com


415-309-8261



MEDFORD LAKES NJ ANNUAL CANOE CARNIVAL

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 08:01 PM PDT



My friend Jim was telling me the other day about this very unique canoe parade that happens every year in Medford Lakes NJ. They have been creating these huge canoe floats since the 1940s. Jim also told me about the log cabin rules in Medford Lakes. All the buildings and houses are log cabins. Even if they tear down an old house they rebuild it as a log cabin... Read More

I want this log cabin please.... and I'll happily move to Jersey!



HERE ARE THE WINNERS


Medrock Lakes Float

Kimmer,

These are pictures of 'Mardi Gras' night in Medford Lakes, the night before Canoe Carnival. Houses on Lower Aetna Lake light and decorate for the numerous people that canoe around at night getting previews of the floats participating in tomorrow's Canoe Carnival. A live rock band also travels the lake for several hours.



The giant fish with rod and reel under construction is by the float group "On The Rocks". It will set sail in less than 24 hours. The completed float "Boogie Shoes" is by the group "Scrub Pines" The float groups usually have 20 -50 members. Most floats have lighting, music, and animatronic and/or live characters. They must be built on a platform supported only by two 17 foot canoes, which must then be propelled entirely around the lake by a maximum of two paddlers.



This year is the Carnival's 80th Anniversary. The theme is 'Around The World'. Canoe Carnival was originally held on the night of the first full moon in August. Now it is held on the first Saturday in August. At its peak of popularity it's estimated that 25,000 people watched. Current crowds number around 5 - 8,000. In the past up to 40 floats participated. This year 18 are entered. .

There have been several accidents and sinkings over the years, but no serious injuries. One carnival years ago was hit by a fierce thunderstorm, resulting in 22 floats sinking. Two years ago there was a severe storm the night before the Carnival. Most floats were damaged and several sank. Prizes are awarded in various categories. The judges' only qualifications are that they live outside Medford Lakes and have never seen a Canoe Carnival before.

These photos are from Saturday night. The floats shown are Yellow Submarine, Boogie Shoes, A Night in Venice, Flintstones and Reeling in the Years.
The shots of the women getting off of Boogie Shoes gives a good idea of the size of the float. Reeling in the Years is one of the floats that crashed and couldn't make it around the lake. There are a couple of damage shots and you can see how big it is from the people standing in front. It is supported only by two 17 foot canoes.

Jim B



One of the highlights of the Medford Lakes experience is the annual Canoe Carnival held on the first Saturday in August. Everyone looks forward to this time where the community comes together to celebrate the uniqueness of Medford Lakes and enjoy the fellowship of family and friends in a Mardi Gras type of atmosphere, culminating in a parade of canoe floats on the water.



There are a lot of preparations and planning leading up to this event, including the campaigning and voting on the King and Queen of the Canoe Carnival and the Court. They will be appearing on one of the procession of floats that will embark from their docks at dark, when the signal to begin is given. Kids and people of all ages are always fascinated by the creativity and ingenuity that goes into the making of the floats.



Medford Lakes NJ USA Canoe Carnival 2010 Photos

Thanks JB!! XXOOK



ANOTHER JFK CONSPIRACY... SECRET JACKIE TAPES REVEALED

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 05:15 PM PDT


Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis

Jackie Onassis believed that Lyndon B Johnson and a cabal of Texas tycoons were involved in the assassination of her husband John F Kennedy, 'explosive' recordings are set to reveal.

The secret tapes will show that the former first lady felt that her husband's successor was at the heart of the plot to murder him.

She became convinced that the then vice president, along with businessmen in the South, had orchestrated the Dallas shooting, with gunman Lee Harvey Oswald – long claimed to have been a lone assassin – merely part of a much larger conspiracy. Read Full Story




JACKIE WILSON: NO MORE LONELY TEARDROPS

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 01:24 PM PDT



Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history.

Gaining fame in his early years as a member of the R&B vocal group Billy Ward and His Dominoes, he went solo in 1957 and recorded over 50 hit singles that spanned R&B, pop, soul, doo-wop and easy listening.



During a 1975 benefit concert, he collapsed on-stage from a heart attack and subsequently fell into a coma that persisted for nearly nine years until his death in 1984. By this time, he had become one of the most influential artists of his generation.

A two-time Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee, Jackie Wilson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jackie Wilson #68 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. JACKIE'S FULL BIO ON WIKI



Last week I met a young photographer Claire Minneboo. Claire and I have a lot in common... I mentioned to Claire that Jackie Wilson was buried in Westlawn Cemetery in Westland, MI.



Claire happened to be out that way yesterday and shot these new photos of Jackie's really nice head stone. The plot was pretty over grown so Claire and her Mom weeded the plot and made it beautiful for the amazing Jackie Wilson..... Claire is such a great person...



Wilson launched his solo career in 1958 with the singles "Reet Petite" and "To Be Loved," both written for him by a pre-Motown Berry Gordy, Jr., back when the latter was a struggling songwriter. A great collaboration was born between Jackie and Gordy.

While playing Dick Clark's oldies show at the Latin Casino in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Jackie suffered an on stage heart attack while singing "Lonely Tear drops". He went into a coma, suffering major brain damage and was hospitalized until his death at the age of 49.

Thanks so much Claire great job! XXOOK

SHOT IN THE HEART: MIKAL GILMORE

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 10:37 AM PDT


Author and Music Writer Mikal Gilmore

Mikal Gilmore is a journalist and music aficionado who has written for Rolling Stone magazine since the 1970s. His first book, Shot in the Heart, is a National Book Critics Circle and L.A. Times Book Prize-winning memoir about his older brother Gary, the first man to be executed in Utah after pleading guilty to murder.


Gary Gilmore

Mikal 's book is an in depth look into his family's dysfunction. Mikal is the younger brother of Gary Gilmore who perhaps was the most famous prisoner ever on death row. Gary opted to plead guilty and then face a Utah firing squad... Many officials, politicians, and human rights personnel fought to stay Gary's execution.

Honestly I could not put this book down.... lots of readers thought Mikal's book was too dark or depressing. Mikal is such a great writer that you really are with him through his childhood until the death of Gary. This book is not for the faint of heart...but I found it fascinating and I was so happy to "meet" Mikal on Facebook...

Here is a great excerpt on You Tube.




TED BUNDY'S BLOOD/DNA SAMPLES FOUND....

Posted: 08 Aug 2011 07:15 AM PDT


Ted Bundy on trial in Florida

Twenty-two years ago violent serial killer Ted Bundy was put to death by electric chair in Florida. In the end Bundy was grasping at straws trying to bargain information on other possible victims in a vain attempt to stall off his execution.

It did not work... Police and Prison officials were not swayed by Bundy's arguments. After sitting on death row for about 10 years Bundy was put to death.

Good news this month for the families of many other cold case victims across the country. In Florida 2 test tubes of Bundy's blood has turned up. The forensic people say the blood is still good even though it is 30 years old... Utah, Wshington, Colorado and the FBI now have the samples and are researching data bases for other possible Bundy victims.



From Chicago Bundy traveled by train to Ann Arbor, Michigan. There, on January 1 in a local tavern, he watched his alma mater UW defeat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Five days later he stole a car and drove to Atlanta, where he boarded a bus and arrived in Tallahassee, Florida on January 8.

He rented a room under the alias Chris Hagen at a boarding house near the Florida State University (FSU) campus. Bundy later said he initially resolved to find legitimate employment and refrain from further criminal activity, knowing he could probably remain free and undetected in Florida indefinitely as long as he did not attract the attention of police.

However, his lone job application, at a construction site, had to be abandoned when he was asked to produce identification. He reverted to his old habits of shoplifting and stealing women's wallets from shopping carts. Read more on Bundy Wiki

Not many people know that after Bundy escaped from jail in Colorado... he made his way to Chicago and then to my town... Ann Arbor... it was winter in Michigan and Bundy found his way to warmer Florida.. Many think that Bundy picked Florida on purpose as it is a Capital Punishment state. Sort of a "Suicide by Cop" kind of thing...

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