I'd like to thank you, one and all for your support. Some projects I am working on have not left me the time to continue publishing yourdrum in a timely manner. I don't want to do a post every couple of days or so. I enjoyed it when I could post at least two or three times a day. I am leaving yourdrum up in the blogosphere, as I think there are many posts people could reference in health, green, music, art, design, etc.
Peace, Lloyd
Ray Lamontagne sings with a melancholy tinge in his voice but that's what heartbreak sounds like. His last album is getting great reviews. It's hard not to like Ray. He seems so sincere in misery and sometimes, just bursts right out of it.
"How do you follow a debut record that achieved out-of-the-blue grandeur on its way to selling a quarter of a million copies? For Maine’s Ray LaMontagne, it’s all about shaking up the formula, evading repetition and delivering the unexpected. Till the Sun Turns Black finds the introspective singer/songwriter complementing his folk-country ways with traces of strings and horns and spooky soulful background voices." Amazon
"Trouble" From Ray Lamontagnes's first album
"Punk house" a book of photographs of varied living environments by Abby Banks is Outsider Art, inside. The book documents the way some have chosen to live, to play music, pursue their art, philosophy and perhaps, to avoid the commercialism of America and the brain drain of strip malls, Walmarts, and the hundred and one homogenized sights along any route USA all to a punk music soundtrack.
"The “punk house” may come in any number of forms. The most common type is often where a large group of like-minded punks cram into a house usually intended to accommodate two or three people, resulting in low rent and, thus, extended hours of leisure for the residents to pursue their true interests."
"Punk House features anarchist warehouses, feminist collectives, tree houses, workshops, artists’ studios, self-sufficient farms, hobo squats, community centers, basement bike shops, speakeasies, and all varieties of communal living spaces. In over 300 images of fifty houses in twenty-five cities in the US, photographer Abby Banks finds the already weathered face of a seventeen-year-old runaway; the soft hands of a vinyl junkie (record collector); the mohawked show-goer; the dirty dishes in the sink; silk screened posters on the wall; and many other revealing glimpses of these anarchist interiors." Link
NY Times Review: Link
Via Cool Hunting: Link
You may remember Tarzan's tree house where Jane and Boy lived. It was a great swing to get up through the trees to the balcony of the tree house but well worth the effort. The tree house was so cool.
Here are 8 innovative tree house designs. It's never to late to live up on a tree. Link
This is the first Blogging Boomer Carnival for 2008. Visit our Blogging Boomer host for all the latest Boomer news - Like how to look and feel ten years younger and, oh, yeah, lose ten ponds. Link
The video below is an incredible view of traffic in India. It is unbelievable that there wasn't one accident.
Via Boing Boing
Sneakers have become a design art form. They are the visual identity of todays youth. You may be judged by what you wear on your feet. Here are examples of the many styles which have put the sneaker market into the creative flow. Best sneakers of 2007. Link
These three paintings appear on a wonderful new art blog - Right Some Good, published by Kirsten Anderson editor of Pop Surrealism: The Rise of Underground Art and owner of Roq La Rue gallery in Seattle.
You will find interesting tidbits about the artists and an intro to some new and old paintings that are amazing.
What I really like about Right Some Good is Kirsten's enthusiasm and love of art. She's not pretentious and doesn't talk in that sickening, superior academic art in the clouds style. She's very down to earth. Link
Via Boing Boing
Saatchi online is a very cool art site where artist post their work. You can browse, buy and chat with artists. Link
There is also currently an art show "AND WHO ARE YOU? WORK FROM SAATCHI ONLINE" at the
SARA TECCHIA ROMA NEW YORK located at 529 West 20th Street, between Tenth Avenue and Eleventh Avenue. The gallery is on the second floor. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 6pm. Link
Here are the top green stories of 2007 with photos. We know about Global Warming and our environmental problems. Here are the best articles depicting these situations and our attempts to deal with them.
Okay, our consciousness is raised.
I am hoping 2008 will bring the programs we need to counteract the effects of global warming.
I don't want to hear it's enevitable. Let's do something. Vote, Write your congressman and senators. Donate where appropiate. From Greenland to Gore. Link
Here's a big list of 55 movies coming in 2008. Some pretty good ones too.
I'm interested in films by Charlie Kaufman, The Wachowski Brothers, Doug Liman, Steven Speilberg, John Avnet working with De Niro and Pacino, a Chuck Palahniuk book - "Choke", Peter Jackson, Bryan Singer, Christopher Nolan, Tom Twyker, Spike Jonze , A new Bond, Clint Eastwood, David Fincher. There are also many good films by directors that don't have these directors track record and a few I just left off 'cause this list is getting too long. Check out 2008 best films: Link
The artist and director Julian Schnabel (Basquiat) has brought a remarkable film to the screen. It is in limited release. Don't miss it when it arrives in your city.
The Diving Belle and the Butterfly tells the story of Jean-Dominique Bauby who becomes paralyzed after a stroke and is only able to move his right eye. His remarkable adaption to his condition pushes the human spitit to new heights of resiliency. The film through teriffic camera work goes through Jean-Dominique Bauby's imagination and his past.
The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is getting great reviews and award nominations. The film has a very good soundtrack.
NY Times Review: Link
Trailer
Is America moving towards Facism? Is George Bush and the Republican Administration taking us to the edge?
Here's a video that shows the top ten signs if your country may be going Facist.
Who can't remember all the Motown hits from Berry Gordy's stable of amazing artists - Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Glaydis Knight, the list goes on.
Motown Hits of 1968 is out.
Various Artists The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 8: 1968 Link
1968 was a very tumultuous year - "James Brown's "Say It Loud (I'm Black and I'm Proud)" essentially erased the word "negro" from polite conversation, the Beatles spent the spring at an ashram overlooking the Ganges and much of the fall riding the six-minute "Hey Jude" up the pop chart, Sly & the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music" brought funk to more ears than anything before it, and it's hard to shake the feeling that maybe silly love songs aren't always going to cut it when you're watching reports on the Tet Offensive on CBS and your brother is in Vietnam. And so it was that a few of Motown's biggest hits in 1968 pointed in new directions: The Temptations took us on a gritty funk odyssey to "Cloud Nine", Marvin Gaye's harrowing, intense version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" finally saw release after a year and a half in the can, and the Supremes topped the charts with the social commentary of "Love Child." Link
The Temptations - "Cloud Nine"
Global Warming reached an awareness peak in 2007. Everyone knows aboout it. What are we going to do aboiut it?
Here are the top five videos on Global Warming in 2007 on You Tube. Link
Harvard Alumni stop giving money to an institution that doesn't need your money. Harvard already has 35 billion in their coffers and is giving financial aid to families earning as much as $180,000, And other schools might follow this example. Link
Harvard Alumni you might give money to people who are poor and need an education. The problem is worldwide.
Here are some Universities and organizations that need your help.
American Negro College Fund. Link
American Indian College Fund. Link
Poorest of the Poor Education. Link
Kanye West on Education
Bush - what a guy and you elected him, whoever your are. Let's not make the same mistake twice and vote a president who has his own agenda and not one representing the majority of the American people.
HILLARY CLINTON WOULD NEVER DO THIS, NEVER.
"Part of what troubled Bush about the legislation is that it would permit US troops to seek compensation for having been tortured by Saddam during the first Gulf War.
The provision that is causing problems would have allowed the victims of the executed Iraqi dictator Saddam to seek compensation in court, Democrats said. The Iraqi government has warned that former U.S. prisoners of war from the first Gulf War might cite this legislation in an attempt to get money from the Iraqi government's reported $25 billion in assets now held in U.S. banks, they say." Link
Bush vetoes Children's Health Insurance. Link
This Is Not America - David Bowie
This was a very exciting year for science and for monkeys. A Rhesus monkey was cloned to produce stem cells. Chimpanzees make spears for hunting. News from outerspace - A new planet may harbor life.
Here are the top ten Scientific breakthroughs. Link
Slash Films has compiled the best films of 2007 based on critics taste (Rotten Tomatoes) and audience votes(IMBD.) Here's the list: Link
This is a sweet rendition of "The Little Drummer Boy" with Bing and Bowie from Bing Crosby's last Christmas show in 1977.
Well, if your entertaining this holiday season or you want an excuse to get off the couch and whip up something to snack on during halftime. Here are some tasty treats.
"You want good food at a holiday cocktail party and you want to impress people? You don’t want a caterer, you refuse to heat up frozen food, and you want to show that your expertise extends beyond buying perfectly ripe hunks of cheese and juicy olives? Then think about doing some cooking.
Here is a collection of party foods that are as easy to eat as they are to make. Each can be produced in 20 minutes or less." Link
Boomers re-entering the job market or changing jobs will have to deal with a resume. Here are twenty-five things you should never put on your resume.
"Applying for a new job comes with its fair share of rejections, setbacks, frustrations and perhaps even lonely periods of unemployment. If you've been turned down for position after position, you could be getting desperate and may want to shake things up a bit so that your résumé will stand out from the piles of others stacked quietly in HR. Before you decide to get too creative, there are some rules to résumé etiquette that you should follow. Read below for the 25 things that you should never include on a professional résumé." Link
Wendy over at Gen Plus re-inventing 50 is a good source for info on the trials and tribulations of the Boomer Job market. Link
Men.style.com has a slide show of 16 cool eco-friendly things from the BP gas station above to a hybrid Porche to a green cafe in Brooklyn.
This also could be part of the obnoxious commercialization of green as in green dollars, you be the judge.
"Sure, it's dedicated to retailing liquefied hydrocarbons, but as far as gas stations go, BP's Helios House in L.A. is pretty darn environmentally friendly. In addition to its eye-catching design, the John Picard creation features several notable eco-themed innovations, including a roof that collects rainwater, a garden planted with drought-friendly greenery, and copious use of solar panels—even the bathroom tiles are made from recycled glass. There's also a cell phone recycling center to get rid of those landfill-poisoning handsets. The only thing missing? A bank of sockets to plug and recharge that electric car.
Helios House, corner of Olympic and Robertson, Los Angeles." Link
Wendy at Gen Plus reinventing 50 plus is hosting this weeks Blogging Boomer Carnival #50. This weeks articles cover marriage, jobs, gifts, retirement, boomer blogs, holiday jewelry and other articles of interest to baby Boomers. Link
Fly Geyser by Rodney Lough - Fly Ranch, Black Rock Desert, Nevada
This is one of eighteen winners of Nature's Best Photography 2007 now on display at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington, DC. More Photographs: Link
After being part of a Winter Storm which has dumped snow and ice on the Northeast, I like to lay back with some Ambient music. The release of Pop Ambient 2008 fills the bill.
"The new "Pop Ambient" compilation is full of the sound of the season: wintry, placid and subdued, but with that drowsily optimistic feel of a sunny snow-filled day. " Listen
"The term "ambient music" was first coined by Brian Eno in the mid-1970s to refer to music that can be either "actively listened to with attention or as easily ignored, depending on the choice of the listener"
Music Video from Markus Guentner, one of the musicians on Pop Ambient 2008.
"The nominations for the 65th Annual Golden Globe Awards, the precursor to the Oscars, have been announced for 2008. This year's selection has some promising choices, including plentiful mentions of No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, Juno, Charlie Wilson's War, and even Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. While the Golden Globes aren't exactly what we'll later see at the Oscars, they're a great set of awards that honor those who are sometimes forgotten by the Academy. The Globes will air live on NBC at 8PM (EST) on Sunday, January 13, 2008 from The Beverly Hilton in LA. Without further ado, you can catch the full list of nominees below." Link
Atonement with Keira Knightley and James McAovy leads the nominations with seven.
Atonement Trailer
One of my favorite films "Gone, Baby, Gone" only recieved one nomination - Amy Ryan for Best Supporting Actress. Gone, Baby, Gone deserves more recognition. It had terrific direction (Ben Affleck), acting (Casey Affleck, Ed Harris) and the story raised moral questions each filmgoer could dig into like a bowl of Boston Clam Chowder.
These are some of the scariest fish I have ever seen. They look prehistoric or maybe, they're just waiting for hindlegs to take over the earth. Link
This is a humorous video poking fun at Baby Boomers and, sadly enough, some of it is true.
It was sent to me by an old friend from Montana.
This weeks Blogging Boomer Carnival #49 is being hosted by Ann at Contemporary Retirement. A Boomer mate from the UK, who has some very seriously, positivley, interesting Boomer articles to share about: birth, death, jobs, Fashion, spirit, aspirations and much more. Link
Thinkspace gallery in Los Angeles has a unique show, Snow Angels by ten women. You can view some of the paintings here: Link
via Boing Boing
Maldives
Laos
Tunisia
Being an armchair traveler these are 53 spots around the world recommended by the NY Times, I probably won't be going to in 2008 - But I can dream: Link
"...Brad Pitt has been able to bring serious innovation to the Lower Ninth Ward -- this cool concept is becoming a serious reality. The Make It Right Project ("MIR Project") involves some of the most talented architects in the country, and they're building low-income, high-design, sustainable homes. More Designs: Link
"The actor is leading a project to build 150 affordable and ecologically sustainable homes in New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward. Link
Make It RiIgt Project: Link
A comprehensive timeline that illustrates Bush's assault against our rights, as well as Supreme Court decisions, and Acts of Congress that have occurred to limit our freedom. This is scarry. if the powers that be can coup another election. Well, Hello Fascism. Link
The Blogging Boomer Carnival is over at Reah's The Boomer Cronicles. The Blogging Boomer Carnivals covers a wide range of interests for Boomers from Nostalgia, Diet, Jobs, Relationships, Gadgets to just getting old and what that means. Link
I was on the Westside of NYC. I had just placed a large order for some Chinese takeout and was waiting outside the restaurant, when I saw a homeless woman whose face was hidden in rags, scavenging through a garbage can. I handed her some money and she looked up, smiled and thanked me. The woman had a light in her eyes, a glow which shot through me. I somehow felt I had connected to something much more than myself. The homeless woman and the act of giving, had helped me feel my own humanity.
NY Times Article on one person helping the homeless:
"The idea was born more than a month ago in front of a White Castle near a busy intersection in Downtown Brooklyn. It was a cold day, and Felix Middleton encountered a homeless woman sitting in front of the fast food restaurant. He wanted to help.
Mr. Middleton’s only experience with homelessness was years earlier, when he spent a night in a park after an argument with his longtime girlfriend. It was summer, and the weather was nice, Mr. Middleton said, but the experience was awful. He could only imagine the burden on those who had to endure the biting cold."
Link
I was a coffee addict. I needed my caffeine - At least 6 - 7 cups a day. I switched to organic decalf and I feel great. I no longer have that jittery caffeine hangover and I no longer need a cup to wake up, that was part of my addiction.
I have tried many organic coffees and Catskill Mountain Coffee is by far the best I've drank, and for men of a certain age, it doesn't run through you in a half an hour - you'll cut your night time wake up call by two thirds.
From the Coffee Addict blog. Link
"An acute overdose of caffeine, usually in excess of 400 milligrams (more than 3–4 cups of brewed coffee), can result in a state of central nervous system overstimulation called caffeine intoxication. Some people seeking caffeine intoxication resort to insufflation (snorting) of caffeine powder, usually finely crushed caffeine tablets. This induces a faster and more intense reaction. The symptoms of caffeine intoxication are not unlike overdoses of other stimulants.
It may include restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, flushing of the face, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular or rapid heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. In cases of much larger overdoses mania, depression, lapses in judgment, disorientation, loss of social inhibition, delusions, hallucinations, psychosis, rhabdomyolysis, and death may occur." Link
Here's what 18 experts say about caffeine addiction: Link
Here is a practical guide to tell the difference between Milfs and Cougars compiled by bachelors, who are often the ones, either pursuing or being pursued.
"They're older. They're more experienced. And, according to the current trend, they're dating younger. They're MILFs and Cougars. If you've had the pleasure of being in the company of one or the other (or both, you lucky bastard), you know what the buzz is about.
For you younger guys who don't, you're going to need to be able to spot them, understand their behaviors and safely navigate their stalking grounds. While there may be some similarities between the two, there are also some important differences. So in the interest of furthering your knowledge (and pursuit) of each species, here is your Practical Guide to MILFs and Cougars. Happy hunting" Link
There are ways to invest your money in companies that are promoting green and helping our energy crisis.
"Want to invest in a portfolio that focuses on clean and renewable energy providers? Take a look at the ETF, PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy (AMEX: PBW) based on the WilderHill Clean Energy Index, which has signifcant holdings in solar power companies, as well as other renewable energy products. An ETF is a basket of stocks that is traded on a stock exchange as one entity. You can buy and sell this basket of stocks just as you would a company's stock using the symbol PBW." Link
Kings of Leon new album, Because Of The Times, hasn't left my car cd player for days. The music growls at you and devours your brain. Very cool group.
Kings Of Leon: My Space Page - Listen to some great music: Link
"On Call" video from Because Of The Times: You Tube
Here's an older Kings Of Leon video.
California Waiting
Roger federer has been #1 for 200 weeks.
"The Swiss reached the summit of the men’s game on February 2, 2004, following his second Grand Slam success at the Australian Open (d. Safin).
And Federer shows no signs of relinquishing his position. Earlier this month he won his fourth Tennis Masters Cup crown in Shanghai." Link
Slow Mo of Roger's Forehand and Backhand
Roger's Top Ten Shots
The older I get the more medication I seem to need. I am prescribed pills I will never take. I take vitamins and supplements to help prevent the oncoming effects of age.
The drug companies are all about the dollar and they are strangling us with the prices they charge. In the coming election I will listen to what each candidate's position is on healthcare and specificly the highway robbery or drive-by shootings by the drug companies.
"When Sen. Bill Frist needed help in November for a quick tour celebrating the victories of newly elected Republican senators, he didn't have to look far. A Gulfstream corporate jet owned by drugmaker Schering-Plough was ready to zip the Senate majority leader to stops in Florida, Georgia and the Carolina Frist's political committee reimbursed the drugmaker $10,809, the equivalent of a first-class fare for the same trip on a commercial airline, as campaign rules require. The price, a fraction of the cost of a charter flight, was almost a wash for Frist; Schering had donated $10,000 to his committee in 2003-04. What he got was worth far more: the convenience, luxury and efficiency of flying on his own schedule." Link
Dr. Drug Rep - NY Times
"On a blustery fall New England day in 2001, a friendly representative from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals came into my office in Newburyport, Mass., and made me an offer I found hard to refuse." Link
Here's a very good opinion concerning anti-depressants and their harmful effects: Link
Hi-Fructose just hit the stands and is one teriffic art magazine of Low Brow, Outsider, Grafitti and Street Art.
"Featuring: Yoko D'Holbachie, the art and interview with Jonathan Weiner, up all night wih artist Jordan Crane, the subteranean art of Marion Peck , Audrey Kawasaki, Jason D'aquino, and the amazing sculptures of Ron Muek." Link
There are some amazing paintings and illustrations on the Fructose blog. Link
Via Boing Boing
Haale an Iranian-American sings Psychedlic Sufi music. She is influenced by her Persian ancestors and the sixties music of the Doors and the Velvet Underground."
"A combination of Jim Morrison, Nico, Edith Piaf, and Selma Hayek...Haale's voice was playful, sultry, and nuanced; she could wail over the din as well as coax a melody out of her breath... The 90-minute set seemed to pass in a blink." Metroland
Morning a new cd by Haale: Amazon
Haale live at Preservation Hall, New Orleans
Haale live at Joe's Pub, NY
Who doesn't get angry? If you believe these five myths about anger, perhaps you will choose to act out your anger with destructive behavior:
Five myths about anger:
Myth 1: Anger and aggression are natural for humans
Myth 2: Frustration always leads to aggression
Myth 2: Frustration always leads to aggression
Myth 4: Anger is always beneficial
Myth 5: A person’s anger is caused by others
Now here's what you can do about these myths: Link
There are horriific conditions in the Congo:
Girls as young as three and women as old as seventy-five have been raped and mutilated in Eastern
Congo. “Women are dying two types of death,” says Christine Karumba, Country Director, Women for Women International — DRC. “The two types of death are the physical and the emotional death. The physical death is where you are no longer alive to walk the earth, and the emotional death is where
you no longer see signs of hope and are dead inside.” Link
Victims of rape -How you can help
The [NYT] piece painted a horrifying portrait of mass rapes in war-torn Eastern Congo. According to the UN, 27,000 women were raped in the South Kivu Province in 2006, and “[t]he sexual violence in Congo is the worst in the world." These rapes are particularly brutal: "Many have been so sadistically attacked from the inside out, butchered by bayonets and assaulted with chunks of wood, that their reproductive and digestive systems are beyond repair," wrote Jeffrey Gettleman, the East Africa bureau chief of the Times. "'We don’t know why these rapes are happening, but one thing is clear,' said Dr. Mukwege, who works in South Kivu Province, the epicenter of Congo’s rape epidemic. 'They are done to destroy women." Link
Via Boing Boing
Ron at I Remember JFK hosts this weeks Baby Boomer Carnival #47 - A collection of interesting, informative and controversial articles from some of the best blogs of Boomer World. Link
Sometimes people become too enthusiastic with new ideas and create an environment that leads positive concepts to a negative reality. We have to watch that we don't become too dictorial in our actions but allow others to realize things for themselves even if it is a slow evolvement. Bring the message not the bootstrap.
This is a case of people becoming too green.
The Green Team
