JamesSavik

I guess like everyone I discovered Nifty and dismissed it as icky. I did discover Driver's the Quarry there so it wasn't a total waste. My next story site was CrvBoy where I discovered Kit and CP Lyton's work. Branching out, I found Deweywriter, Drake's Tales and the Eggman's Glass Onion all about the same time. They kept me busy for a while. Someone was kind and introduced me to Awesomedude which is a real gem of a little site. I do love my favorite sites- I cried when the Glass onion shut down. Drakes Tales is also gone but you can still find them on the internet wayback machine- something you'll want to know about. My last major discovery was gayauthors.org whilst looking for Comicality's work. Dom's stuff was a happy discover as were about 20 other writers that are hosted here. My humble stories are posted at Awesomedude.com, Deweywriter.com and the Talon House: AD simply because they asked nice, Deweywriter because Dewey is like my sensei and the Talonhouse because it's the home of my editor Jan. I'm not hosted at GA because I don't fullfill the requirements YET but I eventually will. They've tried to recruit me and my answer will have to be for now- when I'm good enough and ready for this league, we'll both know it.

Just use the hot link in the first article to get there. You have to register at digg.com but its nonobtrusive. I often scan DIGG for GLBT issues. From an old thread: punkkid- I don't care what you say kissing another guy would be gross. jamessavik- You must not be doing it right. punkkid- &^%$#*& otherfillow: Somebody isn't getting any...

Look closely at the second picture- it shows where our solar system is in reference to other galactic features.

Do we have any Digg fans here at GA? If so, I'm trying to carry of flag to the GA blogs to the digg frontpage. :sword: Please digg this article: The New Face of our Galaxy If we get 100+ diggs, it will help pump up our traffic and may get some new blood into our forums. Articles with pretty pictures can get lots of diggs. Live long and prosper, James

The good people working with the Spitzer space telescope have made a huge discovery. Spitzer sees in a number of bands of the infrared spectra some of which have never been possible to explore before. Our atmosphere absorbs a large chunk of the infrared spectra- specifically microwaves. Spitzers position high above our atmosphere allows it to see and explore things that human eyes simply can not and have only now begun to have the ability to explore. Our understanding of our own home galaxy is tenuous at best. From inside the galaxy, it is difficult to tell the shape and for of the galaxy as it would appear from the outside. We've known for some time that our galaxy is a spiral. We can see the spiral arms with optical astronomy. For many years when astronomers have looked for a model of our galaxy, they would very likely cite M31 or the Andromeda galaxy. Andromeda is a big, well behaved spiral galaxy relatively close and easily observable from earth. The discovery that is probably going to boot Andromeda's place in the textbooks is the Milky Way's Bar. A galactic bar is a feature found in young spiral galaxies and is thought to be caused by instability caused by uneven mass distribution. As a barred spiral ages, this feature slowly disappears and the spiral begings to look more like our old friend the Andromeda galaxy. This is our new vision of the galaxy and our new found bar. So what is our new galactic model? Here's NGC 1300 which will probably replace Andromeda as the galaxy that most looks like the Milky Way as we now understand it.

I don't know. Southern families aren't exactly forthcoming about such matters. I suspect because there are parts of the family that seem to avoid other parts so we can't for a union or something.

They are all beautiful if you look closely enough.

The problem was Microsoft update which happened to be a malware removal tool. As far as computer security goes, I believe in defense in depth: Hardware firewall at the router, software firewall, Anti-virus and anti-spyware. It works pretty good. The problems I've had are more related to integration than invasion. I prefer it that way.

User of the popular free firewall Zone Alarm may be disconnected from the net today. A Microshaft update disagree with Zone Alarm which completely shuts down all connectivity. You must disable Zone Alarm by right clicking on the zone alarm icon in the system tray. A menu will come up- pick disable zone alarm. Internet connectivity will return immediately. Got to www.zonealarm.com- details on how to fix zone alarm problem are on the front page. If you have friends that use zone alarm, please call them as an email just won't do today.

Led Zeppelin part 1 is up. If you prefer, you can visit my site at: http://classicrockprofiles.blogspot.com/ << cut and paste into your browser address bar Be sure to bookmark my site and visit often.

When I went to a shrink, I knew that I needed it. My PTSD was getting very bad- dangerous, with flashbacks. I was so used to not sleeping and having horrible nightmares, I didn't even think to mention them until she asked. Although I'm a lot better, it's still not a good idea to try to wake me by putting your hands on me. I still can't sleep the night in the same bed with another person and that has caused a lot of complications when it comes to relationships. Who wants to wake up with a psycho trying to kill them.

Led Zeppelin Widely regarded as the first heavy-metal band, Led Zeppelin was called the heaviest band of all times and the biggest band of the 70s by Rolling Stone Magazine. Led Zeppelin has had over 300 million records sales worldwide and all of their albums have made it to Billboard magazine's Top Ten. They are ranked number one on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. Led Zeppelin formed out of the dissolution of the old super-group the Yardbirds. Jimmy Page had been playing bass for them since 1966. The Yardbirds gradually disintegrated due to burnout but they still had contractual obligations to tour. Jimmy Page formed the New Yardbirds around himself and the old Yardbirds drummer. Robert Plant was eventually tapped as lead singer, John Bonham replaced the old Yardbirds drummer and John Paul Jones tried out and became the interim groups bassist. The New Yardbirds were formed and finished off the required touring schedule. Everyone could see that this was no mere scratch band and a special chemistry was evolving. The origin of the band's naming, has become almost legendary. Keith Moon and John Entwistle suggested that a possible supergroup containing themselves, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck would go down like a lead zeppelin, a term Entwistle used to describe a bad gig. The group deliberately dropped the 'a' in Lead at the suggestion of their manager, Peter Grant, to prevent "thick Americans" from pronouncing it as "leed". 1 Their manager Peter Grant signed a $200K deal with Atlantic Records sight unseen in Oct. 1968 and Led Zeppelin was born. They began touring almost immediately in the US and the UK befor their first album had even been pressed. Released in Jan. 1969, their first self titled album Led Zeppelin became a pivitol album in the creation of heavy metal. Good Times Bad Times Dazed and Confused Led Zeppelin II established Led Zeppelin as no mere flash in the pan and as a genuine super-group. It was even more successful than their first album hittin #1 in both the US and the UK. Whole Lotta of Love Led Zeppelin III was a departure from the hard driving metal sound of their first two albums. The electric was replaced by acoustic and the blues influence was replaced by folk. Only in this case Led Zeppeling pulled it off beautifully with another trans-Atlantic #1 hit. Immigrant Song Since I've Been Loving You Led Zeppelin IV or "the Runes Album" is a classic album by anyones definition. Black Dog Stairway To Heaven ____________________________________________________________________________ 1- Wikipedia, Led Zeppelin

Ladies & Gentlemen this weekend: Led Zeppelin

Just published the Beatles 66-70 Enjoy. Look for a a couple of new features to appear soon.

Bah- I know you Canadians- there may be snow on the roof but there always a fire inside.

happy birthday my friend and in my humble opinion one of the very best up and coming authors. If I were rich I would give you a huge grant so you could write all the time. If you haven't read Leaves & Lunatics and Lakia, shame on you. Leave now and don't come back until you are done.

It can't be me. I'm pretty sure that the Beast in a thong is a sign of the apocalypse.

Who are our Go-Go boys????

Isn't that when Dom finished up Desert Droppings?

Went ahead and published the first half of the Beatles profile. Enjoy!

In August 1966 Revolver which debuted at #1 and stayed there for 7 weeks. Eleanor Rigby Good Day Sunshine In June 1966 the Beatles released Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band which debuted at #1 for 27 weeks. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends When I'm 64 The White Album was released in Nov. 1968 and marked the start of the Beatles psychedelic phase with tracks like Helter-Skelter and Revolution #9 and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Back in the USSR Dear Prudence While My Guitar Gently Weeps Helter-Skelter Revolution #1 Yellow Submarine was released in Jan. 1969 but only made it to #3 on the charts. Yellow Submarine All You Need is Love Abbey Road was released in Sep. 1969 and was #1 for 17 weeks. Come Together Here Comes the Sun She Came in Through the Bathroom Window The last of the Beatles albums was Let It Be released in April 1970. Let It Be Get Back ____________________________________________________________________ The Beatles have numerous compilations but two of the Best are the so often called the Red and Blue Albums. The "Red" Album was a compilation of the biggest hits from 1963-66. The "Blue" Album is a compilation of the biggest hits from 1967-70.

The Beatles The Beatles first formed in Liverpool, England ~1957 by a quartet of school chums. At first they were the Quarrymen, then the Johnny and the Moondogs" and finally the Beatles in honor of Buddy Holley and the Crickets. Primarily consisting of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals) throughout their career, The Beatles are recognized for leading the mid-1960s musical "British Invasion" into the United States. The Beatles played clubs in England and on the continent from 1960-62 when they finally got a record contract. Their first two singles were Love Me Do and Please, Please Me- both of which blew up into number one hits in both the UK and the US. From there, thier career went into afterburners and everthing they touched went triple platinum. The Beatles first full length album was released in March 1963: Please, Please Me went to 1 for 30 weeks in the US and the UK. I Saw Her Standing There Please Please Me Twist and Shout Their second album was With the Beatles released in Nov. 1963. Please, Please Me was number 1 on the US/UK charts for 21 weeks. All My Loving Please Mr. Postman In 1974 the Beatles released A Hard Days Night which went #1 on the UK/US charts for 21 weeks. A Hard Days Night Can't Buy Me Love Beatles for Sale was released in Dec. 1964 and hit #1 for 11 weeks. Eight Days A Week I'm a Loser Help! was released in Aug. 1965 and went to #1 for 11 weeks. Ticket to Ride Rubber Soul was released in Dec. 1965 and went to #1 for 8 weeks. Baby You Can Drive My Car Norwegian Wood Michelle

As long as necessary. Snowie's suggestions were pure gold. Here's how it works. About once a week (depending on how busy I am) I'll do a profile. Something listed or requested. Beatles are next- I've already started with them. I will list the groups ORIGINAL albums- NOT compilations or re-releases with additional content. I will have links to Google Albums (feature just added) so you can see the track list. I'll display the album art and give a couple of links to videos on utube or perhaps elsewhere for a representative sample from the album. Compilations: when a group has a massive catalog like the Beatles, I will list recommended compilations BUT only those that I own, are critically acclaimed and worth the trouble like the Beatles Red and the Blue albums. Oh and don't be shy- leave a comment: a story or a memory stirred by seeing or hearing a song that you haven't heard since Nixon was president. Nixon! Gah! I must be getting old.

Over the weekend I launched an experiment in my blog called the Cultural Enrichment Series. The idea is to do a profile of classic rock bands using images, and videos available from U-tube. It is designed to give users some idea of which albums are which, their contents and whether or not they might like to buy it. My prototype came . You can check out my work on the Doors in my latest blog entry. My response to this both in public and private has been overwhelmingly positive. My next profile? Why the Beatles of course. Let me know about other bands that you would like to hear about. They don't have to be "classic" groups per see but the more obscure, the more difficult it will be to find material for them. Sample from this weeks entry: LA Woman by the Doors Upcoming profiles: the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rush, Jimi Hendricks, the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck for starters.

Screw 'em. I'll be having a Mickey D's sausage and biscuit for breakfast...