Update [9/23/20]: Thanks to a reader’s comment on this post, I’ve been able to add a new chapter to the ARCO artwork saga. This time, it’s focused on corporate art from ARCO’s presence in the Chicago area. Read about it here. Alert Gazette readers may recall that last year I wrote about ARCO’s corporate artwork collection… Continue reading Atlantic Richfield’s Corporate Art Collection – An Insider Look[back]
Hands-on Review: DBPower Portable Jump Starter
My tenure as a boy scout was pretty short (even counting the preposterous time I spent as a Sea Scout in landlocked Fort Stockton), but the “be prepared” mindset stuck with me. I’m blessed/cursed with an imagination that places me in the most disastrous alternatives of any given scenario, and the fact that one of… Continue reading Hands-on Review: DBPower Portable Jump Starter
Elk in West Texas? Yep…and we can prove it!
The 50-mile stretch of US Highway 385 between Fort Stockton and Marathon, Texas, has always been one of my favorite drives. If you encounter five other vehicles during the trip, it’s a heavy traffic day. It’s a perfect showcase for the desolate grandeur of the Trans-Pecos region of West Texas, winding through some of the… Continue reading Elk in West Texas? Yep…and we can prove it!
Rooftop Serenade
Lately, this is what we’ve been hearing, coming down our chimney and serenading us, unbidden. Your browser does not support the audio element. If you live anywhere in North America, you no doubt recognize the random stylings of Mimus polyglottos, otherwise known as the Northern Mockingbird (although the georeference seems superfluous since there’s no Southern,… Continue reading Rooftop Serenade
Captured by The Highwaymen
As I drove home after work yesterday, Mojo Nixon was interviewing Mickey Raphael on Sirius XM’s Outlaw Country channel. I’m not a big fan of Nixon’s work, nor do I usually listen to anything but music in the car, but I was intrigued by the subject matter. It seems that a new boxed set of… Continue reading Captured by The Highwaymen
Attraction Satisfaction
Perceptive Gazette readers will recall our recent traumatic bicycle wheel failure, which necessitated the replacement of both wheels on our recumbent tandem (the rear wheel failed, but we also replaced the front one out of an abundance of caution as well as to make sure the two matched). I’m happy to report that after a… Continue reading Attraction Satisfaction
Unintended Consequences: The Exciting Sequel
A parody logo I made up is getting more attention than the real thing, and the logo owners are not amused.
Bird Talk
First, listen to this: Your browser does not support the audio element. No, that’s not Donald Trump’s mating call*. It’s the dulcet tones of the Black-crowned Night-Heron, a bird that I have heretofore never seen, but one appeared on the banks of our neighborhood pond a fortnight ago. MLB and I were out for a… Continue reading Bird Talk
Good Customer Service > Bad Wheel?
The rear tire went flat on our recumbent tandem during a ride a couple of weekends ago. This wouldn’t be unusual except we never have flats. Well, except for that one time. Oh, and that other time. Anyway, it’s rare that we get flats, because we run Kevlar-belted tires with heavy duty tubes on a… Continue reading Good Customer Service > Bad Wheel?
Ten Cover Songs Worth Checking Out
One measure of the success of a song is the number of cover versions it spawns. A great example is the multi-Grammy-winning Uptown Funk. I didn’t bother getting an exact count, but the iTunes Store shows page after page of remakes (including inexplicable ukulele and violin renditions, and multiple acapella arrangements by college groups) of… Continue reading Ten Cover Songs Worth Checking Out