A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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The very first song I learned on guitar was this opening riff from “Secret Agent Man” by Johnny Rivers.
It’s a simple riff and can be played on just the upper two strings of the guitar. I was only five or six at the time, but I played it on both my brother Houston’s sunburst guitar from Sears and my sister Susan’s ukulele. I didn’t know any other chords, but I could play that riff. I had vague memories of it being associated with some TV show.
Fast forward a half-century…
Laura and I like classic films and we especially like it when we have the opportunity to see these films on the big screen. Our first experience was back in 1991 when we were able to see Casablanca in a theater in Tucson. In just the past couple of months I’ve seen The Princess Bride and the original Blade Runner in the theater. So when we saw that the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo was showing at the Lincoln Theater in Mount Vernon, we had to attend.
Have I mentioned how jam-packed crazy this past weekend has been? Friday I accompanied Glynda to Prosperity where we closed on the sale of the second home in my parents’ estate, then celebrated with dinner downtown. Saturday I spend the day exploring York County with Alan, and early Sunday morning I attended SC Comicon with Chip and his family. Yet, Sunday wasn’t over. I left straight from Comicon and headed downtown for the Our World Festival.
Certain annual events are marked by sightings, such as the return of the swallows at Capistrano, the blue fireflies returning to the Piedmont, etc. In this case a Friday night sighting of the Batmobile driving down Main Street marks the return of the South Carolina Comicon.
If you Google the phrase “Coporate Music” (as I did) you get links to royalty-free music clips with an industrial/business feel. Either that, or you get links to diatribes blasting mass-produced pop music. However, my use of the word “corporate” is more like how we use the phrase “corporate worship“, an act of cooperation in the production of music. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to have several posts about such corporate acts of music, from organized groups to spontaneous jam sessions.
It had been a busy, trying week for both of us. Sunday provided the distraction we so desperately needed. Laura and I took part in the Bulldog Fun Run with the Upstate Minis.
Last night marks the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of Star Trek. It premiered on September 8, 1966. I watched a few minutes of that opening episode, but already had evening obligations to tour a cemetery with Dwight Moffit (more on that in another post.) So, tonight, even though I’m on the road for a paddling trip, I’m going to hit the hotel’s wifi and stream that first episode, “The Man Trap,” and reflect on fifty years of Trekhood.
Anna has been trying to get me to go trampolining with her and Ethan. This morning I didn’t have any pressing duties or appointments, so I decided to go. We spent a fun hour with an intense workout at Gravitopia. Gravitopia is located off of Butler Road, near the dreaded part of Woodruff Road that … Read More “Defying Gravity” »
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, everyone knows that the latest movie in the Star Wars series opened last week. To say there was been hype would be a HUGE understatement. Coming out before Christmas, just about all of the stores were stocked with movie merchandise, and there were lots of advertising tie-ins.
The problem, of course, is that a movie might not live up to the hype. It could be as bad as, say, the Phantom Menace. Many fans were holding their breath, me being one of them. Despite the hype, bad things could happen.
NOTE: I’m just now getting around to completing this post. This has been a very busy week.
Gallabrae – rhymes with Gallifrey, for the Whovians out there. It’s a made-up Gaellic term that’s supposed to mean “bold and daring” and “beautiful highlands.” It’s also the name that has come to symbolize the Greenville Scottish Games at Furman University. This year was the tenth anniversary of the games.
I hadn’t planned to attend the games this year. However, Laura’s plan for the day was to relax and read at the house. She needed the down time, but I’d been working around the house all week. I decided to head on up to Furman for the games.