A little music, please!

I think that music is a big part of most people's lives.  Usually, more that they realize.  For me I've always liked music, though I have no particular talent at it.   In my family the music gene missed me. This is an old video of my ex-wife's youngest son that she says looks a lot like me makin' some music.

And my nephew, Trevis,an accomplished pianist/organist on the accordian early on.

This play list will be up dated, check back occasionally.

Old Tucson

When I was but a wee lad my grandmother (We called her Ma, she thought she was too young to be a granny.) would take me to the movies at the Carolina Theater while my uncle, who had the car, played pool and drank beer in the pool hall next door. There we'd sit in darkness of the theater and watch the guys in white hats bring law and order to the old west.

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the place where much of that movie magic was created, Old Tucson Studios, Arizona. It was built as a movie set but with the demise of the western film it is now a popular tourist attraction. Tourists can ride the train, visit the saloon, see a gunfight and enjoy the old west the way it was in the movies.

And now, about our visit.  We arrived a little before one o'clock in the afternoon on a beautiful day after navigating a crooked mountain road to reach the attraction and were at first taken aback by the seemingly dozens of those big yellow buses.  Yep, the kind that haul school children. Upon entering the gift shop where you buy your ticket we found out more bad news.  Not only would the place be covered with screaming kids but it would close at two o'clock.  I complained that that wasn't mentioned in any of the promotional literature, but that didn't change closing time.  After a meeting of the minds we decided to check it out anyway.  Our discussion with the lady selling tickets did result in a half-price ticket.

As you walk into the town it's just like in the old western movies.  But then it should feel that way.  It is a movie set.  We wandered around checking out the various buildings.  Many have signs telling what movies they appeared in. Many were John Wayne movies.  But my favorite was the sets used in the television western, The High Chaparral.  I did have visions of Linda Cristal while snooping around the ranch house as seen above photo an the lower left. This was one of my favorite westerns. It was different somehow.  Maybe... it was the music.

As you see the intro to The High Chaparral is quite different from the intro to most TV westerns. On the right is a video of the gunfight entertainment at Old Tucson.  This was a skit based on the TV series The Wild, Wild, West. It was professionally done with great sound including that old movie music.  The stunts were impressive also.

Were it not for all the tourists, it would be easy to imagine yourself walking out in that wide main street with a six-gun at your side.  And beside you would be The Duke, or Coop, or Matt, or Wyatt.  But screaming kids and fiberglass buildings would bring you back to reality.

There was one thing that really spoiled the illusion...NO HORSES!

I am happy that we were able to spend and hour or so in Old Tucson.  Sure made me think of Ma...and Linda Cristal.

• Our Picasa album has more pictures.
• Old Tucson Studios is unbelievably near the city of Tucson, Arizona.
• For a look at another version of the Old Tucson Video click on it.

Freaky Flyers

We recently visited the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. With over three hundred aircraft on display it is one of the largest aircraft museums in the world.  Exhibited are the fastest, SR-71, and some of the slowest, Scheibe, but I have decided to show some of the most unique, weird, freaky, or ugly.

The small yellow biplane was constructed to capture the title of "The World's Smallest Airplane".  The Starr Bumble has a wingspan of 6'-6" and is powered by a 85 horsepower engine.

The North American F-107 which never went into production has a unique design with the air intake over the cockpit because the Air force wanted a plane single engine attack plane with a bomb bay as opposed to bombs on pylons outside the fuselage. However, the F-107 design was not adopted. The Air force chose the Republic F-105. 

The aircraft pictured third from the left on the to row is a cargo plane designed and built by Budd, the BR-1 Conestoga.  Budd is well known a a manufacturer of subway cars.  The same technology is used in the manufacture of this aircraft.  Stainless steel is welded together as opposed the the normal technology of riveted aluminum.  The government was concerned about a shortage of aluminum and was investigating an alternatives.  Only a few of the planes were built and they saw service as commercial cargo carriers.

Lastly is the C-119.  These were produced in great quantities but I have chosen to feature this one because of the jet engine attached to the top of the fuselage  for additional lifting power. The C-119 was featured in both versions of the film "Flight of the Phoenix". This had the Pratt and Whitney "corn cob" engines.

On the next row we find this small airliner with pusher engines and a canard wing up front. The Beechcraft Starship, although very innovative with  pusher design and pressurized cabin, was a commercial failure.

Next is the Fairey Gannet.  A quit unusual appearing aircraft.  The bulges for electronic warfare equipment don't give it many points for beauty.  It's powered by a turbo-prop engine with contra-rotating propellers.  This aircraft is usually recognized as the most unattractive airplane ever built.   Simply put...it's ugly!

No one can dispute less than pleasing appearance of the Aero Spaceline 377-SG Guppy.  Built to carry out sized equipment it has spawned other oddly shaped aircraft to carry unusual payloads.

Lastly, is the Bell P-63 Kingcobra.  It is an up scaled P-39. Although it is sleek and attractive I've included it because of it's unique engine placement.  The 12 cylinder Allison is mounted behind the pilot.  Also note the cannon barrel protruding through the propeller hub.

View all the aircraft and more at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - The Last in the Series

We watched this final chapter in the trilogy of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo movies last evening. It was a fitting conclusion to the story of an abused and used Swedish girl. Like the first film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it was violent and sexually explicit. But neither the violence nor sex is gratuitous. The film does have a certain "Swedishness" about it. I can't actually define "Swedishness" but having recently watched several Swedish films there is a similarity. This film has more characters than the previous films and it is more difficult to separate the "good guys" from the "bad guys" and I sometimes find it difficult to follow the action while reading the subtitles. I know the first in this series is being remade in America. But I don't believe it can be made better.  The Swedish films have good stories with good acting and are very well made films.

If you like thrillers with action and a Swedish flavor you can't go wrong with: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's nest.

New Things for the Road

As usual we try something different on the road and this trip to Phoenix was no different. Most notably were our new carry-on bags from Rick Steves.  They're made of tough nylon and have compression straps to let you insure that the bag meets the dimension regulations for carry-on baggage. The bags have a number of convenient zippered pockets.  There are two carrying handles for easy carrying and hidden back straps to configure the bag as a backpack.  Carrying it as a backpack is great for carrying the bag over greater distances and it frees up both hands.

Our contracts had run out on our cell phones so we opted to replace them with "smartphones".  The LG Vortex phones aren't  the top of the line but serve our needs well. We have Internet access via wireless or Wifi which makes it easy to communicate by voice or text.  Posting to our Facebook and blogs is easy also.  The camera takes good pictures and video and the GPS feature makes it easy to find your way in unfamiliar territory.  It certainly directed us to a Safeway to buy the ingredients for banana pudding.  There are thousands of applications available and I'm sure we'll find others to meet our needs.  And, incidentally, the sound quality is good too.

We try to get the most "bang for our buck" when visiting attractions while traveling.  One thing we have found is that many cities via their tourism organizations publish discount booklets or pamphlets.  The way this usually works is that you buy the booklet for a set fee and it includes such things as reduced admission tickets or "buy one, get one free" offers. The more attractions you attend, the more money you save.  In Tucson, our discount booklet paid for itself after the second attraction we visited. It's about being thrifty and getting maximum value for your travel dollar.