Hiatus | 400 | Index

Brain Capacity is on hiatus.

Please check again later.

This post, my 400th entry to Brain Capacity, will be my last for awhile. I have really enjoyed posting my (non) thoughts here. The album and song spotlights have been my most regular type of entry. I've shared my love of all things related to the Beatles, ELO / Jeff Lynne, Guess Who / Bachman / Cummings and other classic rock heroes. I've also posted write-ups on cameras and cars; revealing posts about articles; occasional political rants; and many, many lists, including: dog names; TV stations in Illinois; electronics stores in Saskatchewan, Utah or Ireland; hospitals in New Zealand; cities in France and Argentina; KFC locations in Australia; scientific and cultural topics; Star Trek; and so many other useless subjects.

I originally planned to keep Brain Capacity running for a year. I have done that, with 10 preview posts in 2005, and 390 in 2006 – an average of just over one post a day. It has been swell. I am taking a bit of a break from posting for now. But beware ... I will return. Probably. Maybe.

As a way of noting all that I have posted here, I leave you with a complete index of all the posts to Brain Capacity.

1. That name again is Mister Plow! (12/19/2005)
2. My ELO includes Jeff Lynne (and my Guess Who includes Burton and Randy) (12/19/2005)
3. Child care plans (12/21/2005)
4. Kids these days (12/21/2005)
5. Bacon online (12/21/2005)
6. Calculus and driver's licences (12/23/2005)
7. Radio gaga - a first (12/23/2005)
8. This kind of trouble .... (12/23/2005)
9. Jeff Lynne Song Database (12/31/2005)
10. Happy Burthday Burton! (12/31/2005)
11. Imagine vanity plates (1/2/2006)
12. Preview (1/2/2006)
13. A$# 001 Beatles | Please Please Me (1/2/2006)
14. It's George Martin's birthday (1/3/2006)
15. S$# 001 Byrds | She Don't Care About Time (1/3/2006)
16. Icelandic female names (1/4/2006)
17. Words of wisdom (1/4/2006)
18. aPpLejAm (1/5/2006)
19. Dear Mr. Harper (1/7/2006)
20. Rock me gently ... on a weekend morning (1/8/2006)
21. A$# 002 Blue Rodeo | Tremolo (1/9/2006)
22. S$# 002 Guess Who | Of A Dropping Pin (1/10/2006)
23. Fun with phone numbers, part 1 (1/12/2006)
24. Fun with phone numbers, part 2 (1/12/2006)
25. A$# 003 Paul McCartney | Flaming Pie (1/16/2006)
26. Ringo's many all-starrs (1/16/2006)
27. S$# 003 Police | Dead End Job (1/17/2006)
28. The power and powers of 2 (1/18/2006)
29. Encryption (1/19/2006)
30. Icelandic male names (1/19/2006)
31. And or & (1/20/2006)
32. Ideas for a cold Saturday night in January (1/21/2006)
33. ccTLDs (1/21/2006)
34. Down to the wire ... (1/22/2006)
35. Music for the ballot box (1/23/2006)
36. A$# 004 Electric Light Orchestra | Time (1/23/2006)
37. S$# 004 Beatles | If You've Got Trouble (1/24/2006)
38. The numbers . . . (1/24/2006)
39. Lack of class (1/24/2006)
40. Dana Delany (1/26/2006)
41. Like no porpoise could ever do (1/26/2006)
42. Miscellaneous ramblings for January 27 (1/27/2006)
43. And Spock said .... (1/27/2006)
44. A$# 005 Beatles | Let It Be (1/30/2006)
45. Did I dream about these? (1/31/2006)
46. S$# 005 Eurythmics | When Tomorrow Comes (1/31/2006)
47. Travel to friendly Manitoba (2/1/2006)
48. Worth another viewing (2/2/2006)
49. Frown (2/4/2006)
50. Winter's not over yet (2/4/2006)
51. Definitely worth another viewing (2/5/2006)
52. A$# 006 Jethro Tull | Heavy Horses (2/7/2006)
53. S$# 006 Elton John | The Last Song (2/7/2006)
54. Arrival (2/7/2006)
55. I remember Beep (2/8/2006)
56. I got it for the articles ... really (2/9/2006)
57. Flying by the letters (2/9/2006)
58. An auspicious debut (2/9/2006)
59. Beep update (2/10/2006)
60. Expo 67 was cool! (2/11/2006)
61. Dividends with divs? (2/12/2006)
62. A$# 007 Roy Orbison | Mystery Girl (2/13/2006)
63. S$# 007 Bob Dylan | Positively 4th Street (2/14/2006)
64. Eating wood (2/15/2006)
65. TV stations in Illinois (2/16/2006)
66. Stop and go (2/17/2006)
67. Calculus gets a reprieve (2/17/2006)
68. Rock is his life (2/19/2006)
69. A$# 008 Traveling Wilburys | Vol. 1 (2/20/2006)
70. S$# 008 Traveling Wilburys | Nobody's Child (2/21/2006)
71. A fine SF TV writer (2/22/2006)
72. Traffic in the LA of 24 (2/23/2006)
73. It just all turned to merde (2/25/2006)
74. George Harrison's birthday (2/25/2006)
75. A$# 009 Bob Seger | Stranger In Town (2/27/2006)
76. S$# 009 Mike & The Mechanics | Word Of Mouth (2/28/2006)
77. More interesting articles (3/1/2006)
78. Some dog names, A - M (3/1/2006)
79. Dog names, N - Z (3/2/2006)
80. When there isn't much to say (3/5/2006)
81. Bad taste? (3/5/2006)
82. A graphic (3/5/2006)
83. A$# 010 Roger McGuinn | Live From Mars (3/6/2006)
84. S$# 010 Peter & Gordon | A World Without Love (3/7/2006)
85. Rules of Acquisition and other Trek minutiae (3/9/2006)
86. Today (3/10/2006)
87. Paul and Linda (3/12/2006)
88. Dana Delany turns 50 (3/13/2006)
89. A$# 011 Ringo Starr | Ringo (3/13/2006)
90. S$# 011 Ironhorse | What's Your Hurry Darlin'? (3/14/2006)
91. First time around - not for me ce soir (3/14/2006)
92. Another Beatles release coming (3/19/2006)
93. A$# 012 Guess Who | American Woman (3/20/2006)
94. S$# 012 Moody Blues | Question (3/21/2006)
95. A$# 013 Beatles | Rubber Soul (3/27/2006)
96. Finding the long weekend in spring (3/27/2006)
97. So what is up? (3/27/2006)
98. S$# 013 Beatles | Nowhere Man (3/28/2006)
99. This weird guitar (3/29/2006)
100. This update about that guitar (3/31/2006)
101. A preview of a bonus nugget (3/31/2006)
102. Recap of some music stuff (3/31/2006)
103. A$# 014 Jeff Lynne | Armchair Theatre (4/3/2006)
104. S$# 014 Electric Light Orchestra | Everyone's Born To Die (4/4/2006)
105. Articles during an anniversary (4/5/2006)
106. Long list of words (4/5/2006)
107. Words, rearranged (4/7/2006)
108. Town without Pitney (4/7/2006)
109. First Ever Brain Capacity Readers Poll (4/9/2006)
110. A$# 015 Joni Mitchell | Blue (4/10/2006)
111. S$# 015 Gene Pitney | That Girl Belongs To Yesterday (4/11/2006)
112. New Burton Cummings site online (4/12/2006)
113. 6fu (4/14/2006)
114. Dick vs Dick (4/15/2006)
115. What are you thinking right now? (4/16/2006)
116. Poll results (4/17/2006)
117. Linda Mac (4/17/2006)
118. A$# 016 George Harrison | Gone Troppo (4/17/2006)
119. S$# 016 Mary Hopkin | Turn! Turn! Turn! (4/18/2006)
120. It's not about the bra (4/19/2006)
121. bc1ta (4/21/2006)
122. Useless measurements (4/22/2006)
123. Frivolous and vexatious (4/24/2006)
124. Dumb business names (4/24/2006)
125. A$# 017 Beatles | Abbey Road (4/24/2006)
126. S$# 017 Beatles | Here Comes The Sun (4/25/2006)
127. Know fly list (4/29/2006)
128. Three's company (4/29/2006)
129. A word (4/30/2006)
130. A$# 018 Brian Wilson | Smile (5/2/2006)
131. Interruptus (5/2/2006)
132. S$# 018 Youngbloods | Get Together (5/2/2006)
133. Articles and a first (5/3/2006)
134. Action (5/3/2006)
135. Camera (5/3/2006)
136. Lights (5/3/2006)
137. Articles and a mayor (5/4/2006)
138. Tailfins (5/4/2006)
139. Strum and pick (5/4/2006)
140. The world's BEST soup? (5/6/2006)
141. How much bonus is the bonus? (5/7/2006)
142. A$# 019 The Move | The Move (5/8/2006)
143. A Macca playlist - just solo and Wings (5/8/2006)
144. S$# 019 Ian Thomas | Coming Home (5/9/2006)
145. Kiwi places to recuperate in (5/10/2006)
146. Articles and the TV reporter (5/10/2006)
147. Name that kid in la la land (5/10/2006)
148. Just because I like the elements (5/10/2006)
149. The original voyages (5/12/2006)
150. Five vegetables (5/14/2006)
151. Articles and the reactionary so-called therapist (5/14/2006)
152. Not even if you're desperate (5/14/2006)
153. A Macca playlist - no words (5/14/2006)
154. A$# 020 Byrds | Fifth Dimension (5/15/2006)
155. S$# 020 Chicago | Gone Long Gone (5/16/2006)
156. Vivitar (5/18/2006)
157. In the astounding years to come (5/20/2006)
158. Five fruits (5/20/2006)
159. A$# 021 Sarah McLachlan | Touch (5/22/2006)
160. S$# 021 Elvis Presley | Edge Of Reality (5/23/2006)
161. Bob's birthday (5/24/2006)
162. Sunrise and sunset in Stockholm during June (5/24/2006)
163. Articles and the rock star (5/24/2006)
164. Cities in France with more than 20,000 people (5/24/2006)
165. Looking back at the Opel GT (5/25/2006)
166. Birthdays today (5/26/2006)
167. Some airplane stats (5/26/2006)
168. 27 - 147 (5/27/2006)
169. best of tng (a baker's dozen) (5/28/2006)
170. There is a 14th (5/29/2006)
171. A$# 022 Beatles | With The Beatles (5/29/2006)
172. S$# 022 Split Enz | Six Months In A Leaky Boat (5/30/2006)
173. Members of the United Nations (5/31/2006)
174. Articles and the women of Star Trek (5/31/2006)
175. Dickens in Swedish (5/31/2006)
176. Eight condiments (6/1/2006)
177. Condiments or toppings? (6/3/2006)
178. Chapter 2 (6/3/2006)
179. Restaurants in Hilo (6/3/2006)
180. A$# 023 Buckingham Nicks | Buckingham Nicks (6/5/2006)
181. S$# 023 Alanis Morissette | Everything (6/6/2006)
182. Articles and another first (6/7/2006)
183. Adieu Billy Preston (6/7/2006)
184. Ringo on tour again (6/7/2006)
185. Who won that award? (6/7/2006)
186. GH bonus tracks – coulda, shoulda, didna (6/10/2006)
187. Macca playlists - span (6/11/2006)
188. A$# 024 Randy Bachman | Axe (6/12/2006)
189. S$# 024 Burton Cummings | With God On Our Side (6/13/2006)
190. Ringo's rendezvous with Rama (6/15/2006)
191. Who runs all those machines? (6/15/2006)
192. Math is still on (6/16/2006)
193. 10 digits (6/16/2006)
194. More housekeeping (6/16/2006)
195. Dying for business (6/17/2006)
196. When he's 64 (6/18/2006)
197. A$# 025 Burton Cummings | Heart (6/19/2006)
198. S$# 025 Randy Bachman | Our Leaves Are Green Again (6/20/2006)
199. 20062006 (6/20/2006)
200. 200 | summer solstice (6/21/2006)
201. three / drie (6/21/2006)
202. The contrabulous, fabtraptious film career of Troy McClure (6/22/2006)
203. LITMW remaster coming (6/23/2006)
204. Milestone of mediocrity in sitcom history (6/24/2006)
205. Lost (?) in translation (6/25/2006)
206. A$# 026 Beatles | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (6/26/2006)
207. S$# 026 Ringo Starr | Early 1970 (6/27/2006)
208. Randy and Burton tonight (6/27/2006)
209. Fine state of affairs (6/27/2006)
210. Space for Serena (6/28/2006)
211. ELO in the fall (6/29/2006)
212. Quarterly music recap (6/30/2006)
213. Save Studio 2 (7/1/2006)
214. Canada Day (7/1/2006)
215. Thunderball (7/2/2006)
216. A$# 027 Bachman Cummings | The Thunderbird Trax (7/3/2006)
217. S$# 027 Fludd | What An Animal (7/4/2006)
218. Unusual elements (7/5/2006)
219. Is it really? (7/6/2006)
220. It's Ringo's birthday (7/7/2006)
221. Have space suit, will write SF books (7/8/2006)
222. Some of my bad poetry, volume 01 (7/9/2006)
223. A$# 028 Murray McLauchlan | Gulliver's Taxi (7/10/2006)
224. S$# 028 Murray McLauchlan | Try Walkin' Away (7/11/2006)
225. Beep beep (7/12/2006)
226. Hippie hippie hooray (7/12/2006)
227. Jeannie the hip hippie (7/13/2006)
228. Monkees remasters (7/14/2006)
229. ~ and name mangling (7/14/2006)
230. Some of my bad poetry, volume 02 (7/15/2006)
231. Columbus was a moron ... and a villain (7/16/2006)
232. A$# 029 Blue Rodeo | The Days In Between (7/17/2006)
233. S$# 029 Prism | Young And Restless (7/18/2006)
234. Yashica FR (7/19/2006)
235. industriousness (7/20/2006)
236. What sucks? (7/22/2006)
237. Capricorn One (7/22/2006)
238. break / building (7/26/2006)
239. A$# 030 Lawrence Gowan | ... But You Can Call Me Larry (7/27/2006)
240. mac buffalo (7/28/2006)
241. S$# 030 Stan Rogers | Northwest Passage (7/28/2006)
242. Some of my bad poetry, volume 03 (7/29/2006)
243. University of Iceland (7/30/2006)
244. A$# 031 Beatles | Help! (7/31/2006)
245. S$# 031 Elton John | Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds (8/1/2006)
246. PS (8/1/2006)
247. My Jeff Lynne wish list for the years to come (8/2/2006)
248. Seek (8/3/2006)
249. Australian Capital Territory (8/4/2006)
250. A$# 032 George Harrison | Cloud Nine (8/7/2006)
251. S$# 032 George Harrison | I Don't Want To Do It (8/8/2006)
252. The title is longer than the post (8/9/2006)
253. The post is longer than the title (8/10/2006)
254. 58008918 (8/11/2006)
255. Lotus Europa (8/12/2006)
256. With a capital C (8/13/2006)
257. A$# 033 Paul McCartney / Wings | London Town (8/14/2006)
258. S$# 033 Paul McCartney | Sweet Sweet Memories (8/15/2006)
259. Pentax ME (8/15/2006)
260. The passing of a King (8/16/2006)
261. Keeping up with John Carter (8/17/2006)
262. = (8/18/2006)
263. Bacon tastes good (8/19/2006)
264. Asimov on religion (8/20/2006)
265. A$# 034 Electric Light Orchestra | Eldorado (8/21/2006)
266. S$# 034 Electric Light Orchestra | Don't Walk Away (8/22/2006)
267. Keef on lead vocals (8/24/2006)
268. 13 (8/25/2006)
269. no Zep or Doors (8/26/2006)
270. Representation abroad (8/27/2006)
271. A$# 035 Beatles | White Album (8/28/2006)
272. S$# 035 Beatles | Revolution (8/29/2006)
273. So many laws (8/30/2006)
274. 15 answers to creationist nonsense (8/31/2006)
275. Grease is the word (9/1/2006)
276. Zehrs (9/2/2006)
277. shift (9/2/2006)
278. New Byrds box set out this month (9/3/2006)
279. Contax RTS (9/4/2006)
280. A$# 036 Moody Blues | Seventh Sojourn (9/4/2006)
281. S$# 036 Tracey Ullman | They Don't Know (9/5/2006)
282. landlocked (9/6/2006)
283. Some of my bad poetry, volume 04 (9/7/2006)
284. Lunar peaks (9/8/2006)
285. Avengers (9/10/2006)
286. A$# 037 ABBA | Super Trouper (9/11/2006)
287. S$# 037 FM | Phasors On Stun (9/12/2006)
288. Not all over the world (9/12/2006)
289. ww on the www (9/13/2006)
290. His name is Earl (9/14/2006)
291. Thanks for the invitation … but no thanks (9/15/2006)
292. A heavy horse and a tumbling sky, brewing heavy weather (9/16/2006)
293. A$# 038 Bob Dylan | Blonde On Blonde (9/18/2006)
294. S$# 038 Big Country | In A Big Country (9/19/2006)
295. In my hands at last (9/19/2006)
296. So many laws, again (9/20/2006)
297. Expo blog (9/21/2006)
298. September 22 many years ago (9/22/2006)
299. Linda McCartney's birthday (9/24/2006)
300. 300 (9/25/2006)
301. A$# 039 Beatles | A Hard Day's Night (9/25/2006)
302. S$# 039 Olivia Newton-John | Suspended In Time (9/26/2006)
303. Third quarter music recap (9/26/2006)
304. Bachman at 63 (9/27/2006)
305. Apply for this job (9/28/2006)
306. Was it really that bad? (9/30/2006)
307. the hunt for warm October (10/2/2006)
308. A$# 040 Electric Light Orchestra | A New World Record (10/2/2006)
309. 56 years ago today ... (10/2/2006)
310. S$# 040 Beach Boys | Don't Back Down (10/3/2006)
311. KFC down under (10/4/2006)
312. Apply for these jobs too (10/5/2006)
313. Some of my bad poetry, volume 05 (a really short one) (10/6/2006)
314. Lopsided (10/7/2006)
315. unload / reload / shift (10/9/2006)
316. Mamiya M645 1000S (10/9/2006)
317. A$# 041 John Lennon | Rock 'N' Roll (10/9/2006)
318. S$# 041 Tragically Hip | Bobcaygeon (10/10/2006)
319. 10/10 (10/10/2006)
320. Know where these stores are (10/11/2006)
321. Some cities in Argentina (10/12/2006)
322. Some of my bad poetry, volume 06 (10/13/2006)
323. A$# 042 Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang (10/16/2006)
324. loudenklickenschplugen (10/16/2006)
325. S$# 042 Gerry Rafferty | Baker Street (10/17/2006)
326. Opel GT redux (10/18/2006)
327. Ugunja Community Resource Centre (10/20/2006)
328. Revisiting the original voyages (10/22/2006)
329. A$# 043 Byrds | (Untitled) / (Unissued) (10/23/2006)
330. S$# 043 Pink Floyd | Summer '68 (10/24/2006)
331. Dream of a midsummer night (10/26/2006)
332. Tangerines and Summilux; this is what they said (10/29/2006)
333. An interesting and useful blog (10/29/2006)
334. A$# 044 Beatles | Beatles For Sale (10/30/2006)
335. S$# 044 Janis Joplin | Move Over (10/31/2006)
336. New Macca DVD coming (10/31/2006)
337. Jeff Lynne IS an icon (10/31/2006)
338. Bachman Cummings DVD out this month (11/1/2006)
339. all you need is LOVE (11/2/2006)
340. camp SF (11/4/2006)
341. A$# 045 Elton John | The Captain And The Kid (11/6/2006)
342. S$# 045 Dolly Parton | Here You Come Again (11/7/2006)
343. gone (11/8/2006)
344. Biz (high tech) in three cities, in a triangle (11/9/2006)
345. NOC NOC … who's there? (11/11/2006)
346. A$# 046 Guess Who | Road Food / Power In The Music (11/13/2006)
347. S$# 046 Kinks | Days (11/14/2006)
348. The automotive quests of Mr. Tran's cousins (11/15/2006)
349. Got my DVD (1) (11/16/2006)
350. Articles 11: the return (11/17/2006)
351. George Harrison's musical genius (11/17/2006)
352. Chess - the game is afoot (11/19/2006)
353. A$# 047 Andersson / Rice / Ulvaeus | Chess (11/20/2006)
354. S$# 047 Bob Seger | In Your Time (11/21/2006)
355. Elaine Paige (11/23/2006)
356. Articles 12: a comeback? (11/24/2006)
357. CHUM top 100 for 1971 (11/24/2006)
358. Shore Leave (11/25/2006)
359. A$# 048 Beatles | Magical Mystery Tour (11/27/2006)
360. S$# 048 Eagles | The Last Resort (11/28/2006)
361. Long live the memory of George Harrison (11/29/2006)
362. Snows of December (12/2/2006)
363. Black Christmas (12/3/2006)
364. A$# 049 T'Pau | Bridge Of Spies (12/4/2006)
365. S$# 049 Blondie | Dreaming (12/5/2006)
366. Chewing off more than you can bite (12/5/2006)
367. Got my DVD (2) (12/5/2006)
368. Moon unit (1) (12/5/2006)
369. Moon unit (2) (12/6/2006)
370. Moon unit (3) (12/7/2006)
371. Moon unit (4) (12/8/2006)
372. Long live the memory of John Lennon (12/8/2006)
373. Another vote on same-sex marriage (12/9/2006)
374. A$# 050 Elvis Presley | Command Performances (The Essential 60s Masters II) (12/11/2006)
375. S$# 050 Who | I Can See For Miles (12/13/2006)
376. Airdrie, Alberta (12/15/2006)
377. Articles 13: the pop tart (12/15/2006)
378. Canadian MPs (12/15/2006)
379. Provincial and territorial legislators (12/16/2006)
380. UK MPs (12/16/2006)
381. A$# 051 Various Artists | Beautiful: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot (12/18/2006)
382. S$# 051 Gordon Lightfoot | Hey You (12/19/2006)
383. has my brain reached capacity yet? (12/19/2006)
384. Seeing Things (12/21/2006)
385. The rest of the remasters (12/22/2006)
386. Maltese Bippy (12/23/2006)
387. Rolleiflex SLX (12/23/2006)
388. A list of things (12/24/2006)
389. A$# 052 Beatles | Revolver (12/25/2006)
390. S$# 052 Mary Hopkin | Goodbye (12/26/2006)
391. Q4 music recap (12/27/2006)
392. Elizabeth Montgomery (12/27/2006)
393. Everybody loves Patricia Heaton (12/28/2006)
394. Places to stand, places to grow, in Ontari-ari-ario (12/28/2006)
395. Unlikely compilation (12/29/2006)
396. Leaders of SAG (12/29/2006)
397. Jeff Lynne at 59 (12/30/2006)
398. Penultimate day (12/30/2006)
399. Burton Cummings at 59 (12/31/2006)
400. Hiatus | 400 | Index (12/31/2006)

Burton Cummings at 59

Today’s birthday goes to Burton Cummings, who turns 59. Rock on, man.

It’s been great having him work with Randy Bachman again. There’s more to look forward to in 2007. Some completely new music would be most appreciated, but I’m not holding my breath.

Penultimate day

The word penultimate actually means "second to last".

So this day, December 30, is actually the penultimate day of 2006.

Jeff Lynne at 59

My music hero Jeff Lynne turns 59 today. Rock on, man.

It’s been great having ELO remasters streaming out once again. There’s more to look forward to in 2007. Some completely new music would be most appreciated, but I’m not holding my breath.

Jeff, I hope you have a great birthday, and a great 2007.

Leaders of SAG

There have been 24 people who have served as president of the Screen Actors Guild since 1933, including three women.

• Ralph Morgan - 1933, 1938-1940
• Eddie Cantor - 1933-1935
• Robert Montgomery - 1935-1938, 1946-1947
• Edward Arnold - 1940-1942
• James Cagney - 1942-1944
• George Murphy - 1944-1946
• Ronald Reagan - 1947-1952, 1959-1960
• Walter Pidgeon - 1952-1957
• Leon Ames - 1957-1958
• Howard Keel - 1958-1959
• George Chandler - 1960-1963
• Dana Andrews - 1963-1965
• Charlton Heston - 1965-1971
• John Gavin - 1971-1973
• Dennis Weaver - 1973-1975
• Kathleen Nolan - 1975-1979
• William Schallert - 1979-1981
• Edward Asner - 1981-1985
• Patty Duke - 1985-1988
• Barry Gordon - 1988-1995
• Richard Masur - 1995-1999
• William Daniels - 1999-2001
• Melissa Gilbert - 2001-2005
• Alan Rosenberg - 2005-present

Unlikely compilation

I never intended for the songs from the Song Spotlight to be a collection of songs. But I have made a playlist featuring the 52 highlighted songs. It's more than three hours of great music.

Places to stand, places to grow, in Ontari-ari-ario

Here's a list of municipalities in Ontario from the web site of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

Unfortunately, the list doesn't include interesting places that have been amalgamated out of existence (such as Walkerton or Freelton), or unincorporated places like Tin Cap, Staffa or Moltke.

• Addington Highlands, Township of
• Adelaide-Metcalfe, Township of
• Adjala-Tosorontio, Township of
• Admaston/Bromley, Township of
• Ajax, Town of
• Alberton, Township of
• Alfred and Plantagenet, Township of
• Algonquin Highlands, Township of
• Alnwick/Haldimand, Township of
• Amaranth, Township of
• Amherstburg, Town of
• Armour, Township of
• Armstrong, Township of
• Arnprior, Town of
• Arran-Elderslie, Municipality of
• Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Township of
• Asphodel-Norwood, Township of
• Assiginack, Township of
• Athens, Township of
• Atikokan, Township of
• Augusta, Township of
• Aurora, Town of
• Aylmer, Town of
• Baldwin, Township of
• Bancroft, Town of
• Barrie, City of
• Barrie Island, Township of
• Bayham, Municipality of
• Beckwith, Township of
• Belleville, City of
• Billings, Township of
• Black River-Matheson, Township of
• Blandford-Blenheim, Township of
• Blind River, Town of
• Bluewater, Municipality of
• Bonfield, Township of
• Bonnechere Valley, Township of
• Bracebridge, Town of
• Bradford West Gwillimbury, Town of
• Brampton, City of
• Brant, County of
• Brantford, City of
• Brethour, Township of
• Brighton, Municipality of
• Brock, Township of
• Brockton, Municipality of
• Brockville, City of
• Brooke-Alvinston, Municipality of
• Bruce, County of
• Bruce Mines, Town of
• Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan, Township of
• Burk's Falls, Village of
• Burlington, City of
• Burpee and Mills, Township of
• Caledon, Town of
• Callander, Municipality of
• Calvin, Township of
• Cambridge, City of
• Carleton Place, Town of
• Carling, Township of
• Carlow/Mayo, Township of
• Casey, Township of
• Casselman, Village of
• Cavan-Millbrook-North Monaghan, Township of
• Central Elgin, Municipality of
• Central Frontenac, Township of
• Central Huron, Municipality of
• Central Manitoulin, Township of
• Centre Hastings, Municipality of
• Centre Wellington, Township of
• Chamberlain, Township of
• Champlain, Township of
• Chapleau, Township of
• Chapple, Township of
• Charlton and Dack, Municipality of
• Chatham-Kent, Municipality of
• Chatsworth, Township of
• Chisholm, Township of
• Clarence-Rockland, City of
• Clarington, Municipality of
• Clearview, Township of
• Cobalt, Town of
• Cobourg, Town of
• Cochrane, Town of
• Cockburn Island, Township of
• Coleman, Township of
• Collingwood, Town of
• Conmee, Township of
• Cornwall, City of
• Cramahe, Township of
• Dawn-Euphemia, Township of
• Dawson, Township of
• Deep River, Town of
• Deseronto, Town of
• Dorion, Township of
• Douro-Dummer, Township of
• Drummond/North Elmsley, Township of
• Dryden, City of
• Dubreuilville, Township of
• Dufferin, County of
• Durham, Regional Municipality of
• Dutton/Dunwich, Municipality of
• Dysart, Dudley, Harcourt, Guilford, Harburn,
• Bruton, Havelock, Eyre and Clyde, United Townships of
• Ear Falls, Township of
• East Ferris, Township of
• East Garafraxa, Township of
• East Gwillimbury, Town of
• East Hawkesbury, Township of
• East Luther Grand Valley, Township of
• East Zorra-Tavistock, Township of
• Edwardsburgh/Cardinal, Township of
• Elgin, County of
• Elizabethtown-Kitley, Township of
• Elliot Lake, City of
• Emo, Township of
• Englehart, Town of
• Enniskillen, Township of
• Erin, Town of
• Espanola, Town of
• Essa, Township of
• Essex, County of
• Essex, Town of
• Evanturel, Township of
• Faraday, Township of
• Fauquier-Strickland, Township of
• Fort Erie, Town of
• Fort Frances, Town of
• French River, Municipality of
• Front of Yonge, Township of
• Frontenac, County of
• Frontenac Islands, Township of
• Galway-Cavendish and Harvey, Township of
• Gananoque, Town of
• Gauthier, Township of
• Georgian Bay, Township of
• Georgian Bluffs, Township of
• Georgina, Town of
• Gillies, Township of
• Goderich, Town of
• Gordon, Township of
• Gore Bay, Town of
• Gravenhurst, Town of
• Greater Madawaska, Township of
• Greater Napanee, Town of
• Greater Sudbury, City of
• Greenstone, Municipality of
• Grey, County of
• Grey Highlands, Municipality of
• Grimsby, Town of
• Guelph, City of
• Guelph/Eramosa, Township of
• Haldimand County
• Haliburton, County of
• Halton, Regional Municipality of
• Halton Hills, Town of
• Hamilton, City of
• Hamilton, Township of
• Hanover, Town of
• Harley, Township of
• Harris, Township of
• Hastings, County of
• Hastings Highlands, Municipality of
• Havelock-Belmont-Methuen, Township of
• Hawkesbury, Town of
• Head, Clara and Maria, Township of
• Hearst, Town of
• Highlands East, Municipality of
• Hilliard, Township of
• Hilton, Township of
• Hilton Beach, Village of
• Hornepayne, Township of
• Horton, Township of
• Howick, Township of
• Hudson, Township of
• Huntsville, Town of
• Huron, County of
• Huron East, Municipality of
• Huron Shores, Municipality of
• Huron-Kinloss, Township of
• Ignace, Township of
• Ingersoll, Town of
• Innisfil, Town of
• Iroquois Falls, Town of
• James, Township of
• Jocelyn, Township of
• Johnson, Township of
• Joly, Township of
• Kapuskasing, Town of
• Kawartha Lakes, City of
• Kearney, Town of
• Kenora, City of
• Kerns, Township of
• Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards, Township of
• Killarney, Municipality of
• Kincardine, Municipality of
• King, Township of
• Kingston, City of
• Kingsville, Town of
• Kirkland Lake, Town of
• Kitchener, City of
• La Vallee, Township of
• LaSalle, Town of
• Laird, Township of
• Lake of Bays, Township of
• Lake of the Woods, Township of
• Lakeshore, Town of
• Lambton, County of
• Lambton Shores, Municipality of
• Lanark, County of
• Lanark Highlands, Township of
• Larder Lake, Township of
• Latchford, Town of
• Laurentian Hills, Town of
• Laurentian Valley, Township of
• Leamington, Municipality of
• Leeds and Grenville, United Counties of
• Leeds and the Thousand Islands, Township of
• Lennox and Addington, County of
• Limerick, Township of
• Lincoln, Town of
• London, City of
• Loyalist, Township of
• Lucan Biddulph, Township of
• Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional, Township of
• Machar, Township of
• Machin, Township of
• Madawaska Valley, Township of
• Madoc, Township of
• Magnetawan, Municipality of
• Malahide, Township of
• Manitouwadge, Township of
• Mapleton, Township of
• Marathon, Town of
• Markham, Town of
• Markstay-Warren, Municipality of
• Marmora and Lake, Municipality of
• Matachewan, Township of
• Mattawa, Town of
• Mattawan, Township of
• Mattice-Val Côté, Township of
• McDougall, Township of
• McGarry, Township of
• McKellar, Township of
• McMurrich-Monteith, Township of
• McNab/Braeside, Township of
• Meaford, Municipality of
• Melancthon, Township of
• Merrickville-Wolford, Village of
• Michipicoten, Township of
• Middlesex, County of
• Middlesex Centre, Township of
• Midland, Town of
• Milton, Town of
• Minden Hills, Township of
• Minto, Town of
• Mississauga, City of
• Mississippi Mills, Town of
• Mono, Town of
• Montague, Township of
• Moonbeam, Township of
• Moosonee, Town of
• Morley, Township of
• Morris-Turnberry, Municipality of
• Mulmur, Township of
• Muskoka, District Municipality of
• Muskoka Lakes, Township of
• Nairn and Hyman, Township of
• Neebing, Municipality of
• New Tecumseth, Town of
• Newbury, Village of
• Newmarket, Town of
• Niagara, Regional Municipality of
• Niagara Falls, City of
• Niagara-on-the-Lake, Town of
• Nipigon, Township of
• Nipissing, Township of
• Norfork County
• North Algona Wilberforce, Township of
• North Bay, City of
• North Dumfries, Township of
• North Dundas, Township of
• North Frontenac, Township of
• North Glengarry, Township of
• North Grenville, Municipality of
• North Huron, Township of
• North Kawartha, Township of
• North Middlesex, Municipality of
• North Perth, Municipality of
• North Stormont, Township of
• Northeastern Manitoulin and The Islands, Town of
• Northern Bruce Peninsula, Municipality of
• Northumberland, County of
• Norwich, Township of
• O'Connor, Township of
• Oakville, Town of
• Oil Springs, Village of
• Oliver Paipoonge, Municipality of
• Opasatika, Township of
• Orangeville, Town of
• Orillia, City of
• Oro-Medonte, Township of
• Oshawa, City of
• Otonabee-South Monaghan, Township of
• Ottawa, City of
• Owen Sound, City of
• Oxford, County of
• Papineau-Cameron, Township of
• Parry Sound, Town of
• Peel, Regional Municipality of
• Pelee, Township of
• Pelham, Town of
• Pembroke, City of
• Penetanguishene, Town of
• Perry, Township of
• Perth, Town of
• Perth, County of
• Perth East, Township of
• Perth South, Township of
• Petawawa, Town of
• Peterborough, County of
• Peterborough, City of
• Petrolia, Town of
• Pickering, City of
• Pickle Lake, Township of
• Plummer Additional, Township of
• Plympton-Wyoming, Town of
• Point Edward, Village of
• Port Colborne, City of
• Port Hope, Municipality of
• Powassan, Municipality of
• Prescott, Town of
• Prescott and Russell, United Counties of
• Prince, Township of
• Prince Edward County, City of
• Puslinch, Township of
• Quinte West, City of
• Rainy River, Town of
• Ramara, Township of
• Red Lake, Municipality of
• Red Rock, Township of
• Renfrew, County of
• Renfrew, Town of
• Richmond Hill, Town of
• Rideau Lakes, Township of
• Russell, Township of
• Ryerson, Township of
• Sables-Spanish Rivers, Township of
• Sarnia, City of
• Saugeen Shores, Town of
• Sault Ste. Marie, City of
• Schreiber, Township of
• Scugog, Township of
• Seguin, Township of
• Severn, Township of
• Shelburne, Town of
• Shuniah, Township of
• Simcoe, County of
• Sioux Lookout, Municipality of
• Sioux Narrows-Nestor Falls, Township of
• Smith-Ennismore-Lakefield, Township of
• Smiths Falls, Town of
• Smooth Rock Falls, Town of
• South Algonquin, Township of
• South Bruce, Municipality of
• South Bruce Peninsula, Town of
• South Dundas, Township of
• South Frontenac, Township of
• South Glengarry, Township of
• South Huron, Municipality of
• South River, Village of
• South Stormont, Township of
• South-West Oxford, Township of
• Southgate, Township of
• Southwest Middlesex, Municipality of
• Southwold, Township of
• Spanish, Town of
• Springwater, Township of
• St. Catharines, City of
• St. Clair, Township of
• St. Joseph, Township of
• St. Marys, Town of
• St. Thomas, City of
• St.-Charles, Municipality of
• Stirling-Rawdon, Township of
• Stone Mills, Township of
• Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, United Counties of
• Stratford, City of
• Strathroy-Caradoc, Township of
• Strong, Township of
• Sundridge, Village of
• Tarbutt and Tarbutt Additional, Township of
• Tay, Township of
• Tay Valley, Township of
• Tecumseh, Town of
• Tehkummah, Township of
• Temagami, Municipality of
• Temiskaming Shores, City of
• Terrace Bay, Township of
• Thames Centre, Municipality of
• The Archipelago, Township of
• The Blue Mountains, Town of
• The Nation, Municipality of
• The North Shore, Township of
• Thessalon, Town of
• Thornloe, Village of
• Thorold, City of
• Thunder Bay, City of
• Tillsonburg, Town of
• Timmins, City of
• Tiny, Township of
• Toronto, City of
• Trent Hills, Municipality of
• Tudor and Cashel, Township of
• Tweed, Municipality of
• Tyendinaga, Township of
• Uxbridge, Township of
• Val Rita-Harty, Township of
• Vaughan, City of
• Wainfleet, Township of
• Warwick, Township of
• Wasaga Beach, Town of
• Waterloo, Regional Municipality of
• Waterloo, City of
• Welland, City of
• Wellesley, Township of
• Wellington, County of
• Wellington North, Township of
• West Elgin, Municipality of
• West Grey, Municipality of
• West Lincoln, Township of
• West Nipissing, Municipality of
• West Perth, Municipality of
• Westport, Village of
• Whitby, Town of
• Whitchurch-Stouffville, Town of
• White River, Township of
• Whitestone, Municipality of
• Whitewater Region, Township of
• Wilmot, Township of
• Windsor, City of
• Wollaston, Township of
• Woodstock, City of
• Woolwich, Township of
• York, Regional Municipality of
• Zorra, Township of

Everybody loves Patricia Heaton

I've been enjoying Everybody Loves Raymond reruns lately. It's quite an entertaining show. Patricia Heaton as Debra Raymond is really quite entertaining.

She can also really turn the heat on.

Elizabeth Montgomery

I've been watching some Bewitched on DVD. I always remark how great an actor Elizabeth Montgomery was.

Q4 music recap

Well, I have finished my year’s commitment to spotlight interesting albums and songs. In this final quarter of 2006, I’ve focused on some truly excellent music. Many of the selections are by my very favourite artists. I’ve also tried to introduce some diversity to my choices too, especially in the highlighted songs.

Album Spotlight

• A$# 040 Electric Light Orchestra | A New World Record
• A$# 041 John Lennon | Rock 'N' Roll
• A$# 042 Rolling Stones | A Bigger Bang
• A$# 043 Byrds | (Untitled) / (Unissued)
• A$# 044 Beatles | Beatles For Sale
• A$# 045 Elton John | The Captain And The Kid
• A$# 046 Guess Who | Road Food / Power In The Music
• A$# 047 Andersson / Rice / Ulvaeus | Chess
• A$# 048 Beatles | Magical Mystery Tour
• A$# 049 T'Pau | Bridge Of Spies
• A$# 050 Elvis Presley | Command Performances (The Essential 60s Masters II)
• A$# 051 Various Artists | Beautiful: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot
• A$# 052 Beatles | Revolver

Song Spotlight

• S$# 040 Beach Boys | Don't Back Down
• S$# 041 Tragically Hip | Bobcaygeon
• S$# 042 Gerry Rafferty | Baker Street
• S$# 043 Pink Floyd | Summer '68
• S$# 044 Janis Joplin | Move Over
• S$# 045 Dolly Parton | Here You Come Again
• S$# 046 Kinks | Days
• S$# 047 Bob Seger | In Your Time
• S$# 048 Eagles | The Last Resort
• S$# 049 Blondie | Dreaming
• S$# 050 Who | I Can See For Miles
• S$# 051 Gordon Lightfoot | Hey You
• S$# 052 Mary Hopkin | Goodbye

S$# 052 Mary Hopkin | Goodbye

Mary Hopkin followed up her 1968 smash hit Those Were The Days with Goodbye, released on March 28, 1969 on the Apple label.

Goodbye is a Lennon / McCartney song written by Paul. Mary's sparkling voice took the song to no. 2 on the UK charts (kept from the top spot by the Beatles' own Get Back).

It's a moving love song that really grabs the listener and tugs at the heart strings.

Please don't make me wait too late
Tomorrow comes and I will not be late
Late to day when it becomes tomorrow
I will leave to go a-way

Goodbye...goodbye...
Goodbye, goodbye, my love, goodbye

Songs that lingered on my lips excite me now
And linger on my mind
Leave your flowers at my door I'll leave them for
The one who waits behind

Goodbye...goodbye...
Goodbye, goodbye, my love, goodbye

Far away my lover sings a lonely song
And calls me to his side
When a song of lonely love invites me on
I must go to his side

Goodbye...goodbye...
Goodbye, goodbye, my love, goodbye

Goodbye is featured on the Mary Hopkin compilation album called Those Were The Days.

A$# 052 Beatles | Revolver

The Beatles had turned a corner with Rubber Soul. With Revolver, released in August of 1966, they ascended heights no other pop act has ever been able to match. Sgt. Pepper may have received more plaudits back in the 60s, but Revolver, the Fabs' seventh album, is equally deserving of the most effusive praise.

Just consider some of its laurels, as chronicled in Wikipedia:

In 1997 it was named the 3rd greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 2006 Q magazine readers placed it at number 4, while in 2000 the same magazine placed it at number 1 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2001 the TV network VH1 named it the number 1 greatest album of all time, a position it also achieved in the Virgin All Time Top 1,000 Albums. A PopMatters review described the album as "the individual members of the greatest band in the history of pop music peaking at the exact same time", while Ink Blot magazine claims it "stands at the summit of western pop music". In 2002, the readers of Rolling Stone ranked the album the greatest of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 3 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

So what is it that makes Revolver so great? Well, it should be obvious from a first listen, from the count-in of Taxman to the hypnotic psychedelia of Tomorrow Never Knows, that the shear talent in singing, songwriting, musicianship and recording innovation is probably the best you're ever going to hear ... from anyone.

George had really developed as a songwriter by 1966, and on Revolver, he contributes three excellent songs. Taxman is a resounding rocker that skewers the unfair British tax system; Love You To is a superlative melding together of Western and Eastern music; I Want To Tell You is another rollicking number, about the difficulty of expressing one's thoughts.

Paul's contributions to the album are particularly masterful. Good Day Sunshine and Got To Get You Into My Life are uplifting, soulful numbers. For No One and Here, There And Everywhere are among the best love songs Macca ever penned (and *that* is saying something), though the former is melancholic, whereas the latter is adoring.

Paul also wrote the song that Ringo sings on Revolver - Yellow Submarine. Is it merely a simple kids song? Is it a psychedelic anthem? Or perhaps a metaphor for the fishbowl environment that the Fabs were living in? Perhaps it's all of those, or not. That's part of the simple brilliance of YS; it can be whatever the listener wants it to be.

Paul's pièce de resistance track on the album is Eleanor Rigby, the sad and moving tale of a lonely lass. The song, as Wikipedia says, "is in modern Dorian mode, rather than the normal major/minor modes of popular music. It remains one of The Beatles' most recognizable and unique songs, with an eight-person string section working from a score by George Martin and its striking lyrics about the loneliness of old age, continuing the transformation of The Beatles started in Rubber Soul from a mainly pop-oriented act to a more serious and experimental studio band."

John's songs on Revolver are equally compelling. The trippy I'm Only Sleeping includes a backwards dual guitar solo by George. And Your Bird Can Sing and Doctor Robert are great psychedelic rockers. She Said, She Said chronicles John's (and Peter Fonda's) experiences with LSD.

But it's the album closer, Tomorrow Never Knows, that is the really creative piece of music on the LP. John's lyrics were based on the Timothy Leary's version of the Tibetan Book Of The Dead (and the title was one of Ringo's aphorisms), and he famously wanted the vocals to sound like a thousand monks chanting. Producer George Martin knew that was impractical, but through studio trickery was able to produce the quality John was seeking.

As Fab historian Mark Lewisohn wrote:

[TMK] was a heavy metal recording of enormous proportion, with thundering echo and booming, quivering, ocean-bed vibrations. And peeking out from under the squall was John Lennon's voice, supremely eerie, as if it were being broadcast from the cheapest transistor radio from your local market, and delivering the most bizarre Beatles lyric yet....

Ringo's drums carried a hypnotic and mournful thud. Paul's bass, hight up on the fretboard, matched Ringo note for mesmerising note. There was another eerily live Lennon vocal, a tambourine, one note of an organ playing continuously, two guitar solos, one fuzzed and played backwards, the other put through a Leslie organ speaker ... and a jolly honk-tonk piano. [And this was just after their first session for the song.] Coming less than three years after She Loves You, Tomorrow Never Knows reveals an unrivalled musical progression and the Beatles' willingness to first observe the boundaries and then smash right through them."

With tape loops and more effects added later, TMK would sound like nothing that any rock artist had ever released. Its recording also produced new innovations in recording techniques, such as artificial double tracking (ADT).

Revolver was such a departure that the Beatles did not even try to perform any of its songs on their final North American tour. The 14 songs in it, plus Paperback Writer and Rain, also recorded during those sessions, revealed that the Beatles had gone far beyond any regular three-chord rock 'n' roll band.

It's an understatement to call Revolver a masterpiece. It's way more than that.

Track listing:
1. Taxman
2. Eleanor Rigby
3. I'm Only Sleeping
4. Love You To
5. Here, There And Everywhere
6. Yellow Submarine
7. She Said, She Said
8. Good Day Sunshine
9. And Your Bird Can Sing
10. For No One
11. Doctor Robert
12. I Want To Tell You
13. Got To Get You Into My Life
14. Tomorrow Never Knows

A list of things

For some, this is the eve of Christmas. It's certainly a time to think about a number of things, like ... rational thought, human rights, bananas, M*A*S*H, coloured lights (can hypnoptize), apples, yellow submarines, the flush toilet, 1969 Chevrolet Camaro, popsicles, escalators, turkey dinner, kapok trees, Star Wars, equality of the sexes, the humane society in Saskatoon, surfboards and Beach Boys songs, igloos, toboggans, Jetsons reruns, the complete works of William Shakespeare (such as The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, The Merry Wives Of Windsor, Measure For Measure, The Comedy Of Errors, Much Ado About Nothing, Love's Labour's Lost, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant Of Venice, As You Like It, Taming Of The Shrew, All's Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, Or What You Will, The Winter's Tale*, Pericles, Cymbeline* King John, Richard II, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2, Henry V, Henry VI Part 1, Henry VI Part 2, Henry VI Part 3, Richard III, Henry VIII, Romeo And Juliet, Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Timon Of Athens, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet, Troilus And Cressida, King Lear, Othello, Antony And Cleopatra), latex paint, baseball, checkers, the Strand in London, the Northern Lights, any movie with Jane Fonda in it (including, but not limited to Walk On The Wild Side (1962), Sunday In New York (1963), La Ronde (1964), Cat Ballou (1965), The Chase(1966), Any Wednesday (1966) , Barefoot In The Park (1967), Barbarella (1968), They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), Klute (1971), Julia (1977), Coming Home (1978), Comes A Horseman (1978), California Suite (1978), The China Syndrome (1979), The Electric Horseman (1979), 9 To 5 (1980), On Golden Pond (1981), Rollover (1981), Agnes Of God (1985), The Morning After (1986), Stanley And Iris (1990), Monster-In-Law (2005)), the initial Hot Wheels cars ((Brabham Repco F1, Chaparral 2G, Classic '31 Ford Woody, Classic '32 Ford Vicky, Classic '36 Ford Coupe, Classic '57 Bird, Custom Charger, Custom AMX, Custom Continental, Custom Police Cruiser, Ford MK IV, Indy Eagle, Lola GT70, Lotus Turbine, Maserati Mistral, McLaren M6A, Mercedes-Benz 280SL, Rolls-Royce, Shelby Turbine, Splittin' Image, Torero, Turbofire, Twin Mill, Volkswagen Beach Bomb), Bonanza, Gilligan's Island, jello, six kinds of homemade jam (strawberry (freezer jam), raspbery, grape jelly, peach, apple jelly and blackberry), and other things....

If you celebrate this holiday tomorrow, have a nice Christmas. If you don't, have a nice day.

Rolleiflex SLX

The Rolleiflex SLX was a great step forward for the medium format cameras made by Rollei GmbH.

Introduced to the market in 1976 as a successor to the Rolleiflex SL66, the 6x6-format SLX featured several technical advances. Its compact body had a built-in motor drive. Lenses contained a leaf shutter with a maximum shutter speed of 1/500th of a second. The aperture and shutter were motor driven; one could sync with electronic flash at any speed.

The metering system had a shutter-priority auto exposure system, and it would also work on fully manual settings. The default viewfinder was waist level one, but interchangeable with a prism finder.

The SLX was manufactured from 1976 until 1979. Then a newer SLX 2 was introduced.

You can read about the SLX at PHOTOgraphical.NET or Mj;i.

Here are some specs from the latter site.

* First introduced in 1976.
* Camera type : 6 x 6cm leaf-shutter AE SLR camera
* Film : 120 roll film (12 exp.), 220 roll film (24 exp.)
* Standard lens : Planner f2.8/80mm (five-group, seven-element)
* Closest focusing distance : 0.9 m.
* Shutter : linear motor leaf shutter
* Shutter speeds : B, 30 - 1/500sec.
* Focusing : helicoid focusing
* Viewfinder : collapsible waist-level finder
* Focusing screen : split-microprism
* Exposure meter : full-aperture centre-weighted light reading AE,utilizing silicon photo-diode
* Film speed range : ASA 25 - 6400
* Power resources : 9.6V nickel-cadmium battery
* Film winding : auto-winding, winding speed / 0.7sec., continuous taking enabled.
* Frame counter : automatic-resetting, forward counting frame counter
* Body dimensions : 85 x 138 x 162 mm (with standard lens)
* Body weight : 1800 g. (1250 g. without lens)

You can also find more interesting stuff at Rolleigraphy and Rolleiclub.

(This is the last of my camera posts for this year. The observant among you may have noticed that I failed to write about the Mamiya / Sekor 1000 DTL on January 22, or the Miranda Sensorex on June 20. Also MIA are posts about the Fujica G690 and Mamiya RB67 Pro S, on unspecified dates. You're right. I messed up.)

Maltese Bippy

In 1969, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin had one of the hippest, funniest TV shows around - Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.

The tried to capitalize on this humour in the horror spoof flick The Maltese Bippy. Rowan and Martin play the producer and star, respectively, of naughty films, and they get involved with murders and missing treasure in a supposedly haunted house.

Unfortunately, the movie didn't work. It wasn't very funny and it tanked at the box office. I caught in on TV on December 23, 1977.

It's not available on DVD. You can read more about it on the Chroma-Noise site.

The rest of the remasters

If you check out Face The Music Online, you'll see that the rest of the ELO remasters are due out early in the new year.

Out Of The Blue and Balance Of Power will be issued on February 12 in the UK and February 20 in the USA. They'll each contain bonus tracks. You can hear a sample of one of the tracks, Latitude 88 North, at the site.

Seeing Things

Back in the early 80s, Seeing Things was my favourite Canadian TV show. It was a comedy drama about journalist who has psychic powers that help him get the story.

The show starred Louis Del Grande (who also created the show and wrote many episodes), his real-life wife Martha Gibson and Janet Laine-Green. It ran on CBC from 1981 to 1987, and 43 episodes were produced. In the 90s, Showcase reran the series.

The Unofficial Seeing Things Webpage features an episode guide and other info about the show.

Unfortunately, it's not available on DVD.

has my brain reached capacity yet?

Today is the first anniversary of Brain Capacity. In my very first post, I wondered aloud about an Ontario Ministry of Transportation public service spot that I saw on TV years and years ago. I'm no closer to finding any more info about it - my queries to MTO have gone unanswered - than I was 365 days ago.

Which just about sums it up about this blog too. I've posted lots of things. But I really have had nothing to say!

S$# 051 Gordon Lightfoot | Hey You

On his 1980 album, Dream Street Rose, Gordon Lightfoot brought a more laidback feel to his songs than he had on the rockier previous outing, Endless Wire.

Hey You, a track from DSR, is a fine example of the Canadian bard's songcraft. It's not a really well known song (certainly not as well known as the songs of the same name by Pink Floyd and BTO!) in Gords' canon. But I've always liked it since I first heard it 2½ decades ago. It's probably my favourite track from the album.

The song has a roots feel. There's nice interplay between Pee Wee Charles's pedal steel and the guitar work of Gord and Terry Clements. Gord's vocals on this positive - but in no way treacly - love song sound clear and confident.

Hey you, upon this ship of fools
I have found you bending your own rules
Thank you, I don't mind if I do
Dream a while of the lovin' that we knew

There was such a flaming time
I never will forget
It was all so easy then
This is my one regret

Hey you, my angel in blue
Mother Nature saved her best for you
Green grow the lilacs on the wall
Heaven help them, catch them as they fall

Hey you, angel in disguise
What is your angle what is your surprise
Hey you, fever that is mine
What is your game plan what is your design

Reality brings mystery
And ne'er the twain shall meet
And all of my wild horses
Cannot pull you off your feet

Hey you, angel on my mind
All around me til the end of time
Thank you, I don't mind if I do
Dream a while of the lovin' that we knew

There was such a flaming time
I never will forget
It was all so easy then
This is my one regret

Hey you, my angel in blue
I'm entangled, tell me what to do
Green grow the lilacs on the wall
Heaven help them, catch th em as they fall

Hey You is available on the Dream Street Rose CD.

A$# 051 Various Artists | Beautiful: A Tribute To Gordon Lightfoot

Gordon Lightfoot is Canada’s bard, and he's often compared to Bob Dylan for his ability to turn a phrase, tell stories and evoke images. Beautiful is an excellent 2003 salute to Gordon, performed by some of Canada’s most talented musicians.

Gord has always come across as an unpretentious everyman (albeit a very talented one), as album executive producer Colin Linden writes in the liner notes about the first time the two met and played together:

We sat and played for awhile, and I was awestruck by his presence. He was so “un-star-like”, but he had this intense, dignified charisma in every word he said, and in every note he played. He seemed as if he was born standing up to a cold wind, unbreakable, outlasting season after season.

The timelessness of his music is apparent on the tracks contained in the collection, performed by a diverse group of artists. The tracks span more than three decades, from his 1966 Lightfoot! up to 1998’s A Painter Passing Through.

All of the performances are very well done, but several stand out. The Cowboy Junkies open the album with their read of The Way I Feel, with Margo Timmins’ sultry vocal style caressing the metaphorical lyrics. I also like Ron Sexsmith’s performance of Drifters. A fine singer / songwriter himself, he certainly does the song justice.

Some of the rockier arrangements are excellent. Blue Rodeo, with Greg Keelor singing lead, do a great job of Go Go Round. The Tragically Hip give an earnest rendition of Black Day in July, and Blackie And The Rodeo Kings rock up Summer Side Of Life.

Lightfoot-contemporaries Bruce Cockburn and Murray McLauchlan are excellent on Ribbons Of Darkness and Home From The Forest, respectively. Murray’s arrangement, on which he plays piano and penny whistle, is particularly moving.

The two strongest performances, imho, are Maria Muldaur (the only non-Canadian on the disc) on That Same Old Obsession, and Quartette’s haunting delivery of Song For A Winter’s Night.

There’s also an original track called Lightfoot by Aengus Finnan. It’s a good song – though I would have instead included the 1969 Guess Who song of the same name instead (an early tribute to the man) - and rounds out this great tribute to superb singer / songwriter.

Track listing:

1. Cowboy Junkies | The Way I Feel
2. Jesse Winchester | Sundown
3. Ron Sexsmith | Drifters
4. Bruce Cockburn | Ribbons Of Darkness
5. Blue Rodeo | Go Go Round
6. Blackie And The Rodeo Kings | Summer Side Of Life
7. Connie Kaldor | If You Could Read My Mind
8. Terry Tufts | For Lovin' Me
9. Harry Manx | Bend In The Water
10. Tragically Hip | Black Day In July
11. Murray McLauchlan | Home From The Forest
12. Maria Muldaur | That Same Old Obsession
13. James Keelaghan | Canadian Railroad Trilogy
14. Quartette | Song For A Winter's Night
15. Aengus Finnan | Lightfoot