Endangered Species

Here:

With less than four months to go before leaving office, the Bush administration has proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act that would end mandatory review by independent federal scientists. Under the proposed Bush rule, government agencies would be given the authority to "self-consult" when seeking approval for projects that could harm rare and threatened wildlife or their habitat. This plan would erase essential checks and balances between government agencies that have worked effectively for 35 years.

The Endangered Species ProgramList of Endangered Species in North AmericaMP3: The Meters - Darling, Darling, Darling

Thank God For Brian Cohen

We're all bummed we didn't go the Dead show/Obama Fundraiser in State College. But at least we got Brian Cohen. Thank God for Brian Cohen.Here:

Brian Cohen, 32, of Wolcott, Vt., drove 10 hours to catch the show. Cohen said he supports Obama but would have attended regardless."Obama is really trying to be a good person, which is what Deadheads try to do," said Wolcott, coining the phrase used to describe the Dead's legion of fans. "We try to change the world and be good people, change the world by being good people."

We're also bummed we missed this yesterday.MP3: Grateful Dead - Mason's Children

The Chattooga

From The Chatooga Conservancy:

On May 10, 1974 the United States Congress voted to include the Chattooga River as a component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System....The Chattooga River originates in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina at the base of Whiteside Mountain, a massive 4800 foot granite monolith on the escarpment known to the Cherokee as the “Great Blue Wall.”

Wild & Scenic Rivers Act (October 2, 1968):

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes.

Youtube: Dueling Banjos

Brainwaves

John Moe: I was walking around some of your instruments earlier, and I saw something called a "Brainwave Monitor."Elliot Bergman: Yes, this is one of our most unusual instrument and one of our most dangerous as well. It's some sort of quack medical device, and I found it at a thrift store for a couple dollars. It makes a shrieking sound when you plug it into an amplifier.It looks like a little guitar pedal, and you can plug in a diode that you would, theoretically, attach to your head and monitor what's happening in your mind. It's slowly transitioning from medical device to musical instrument.HereMP3: Nomo - Brainwaves (Live On Weekend America)

Cowboy Poets

The desert swims like a silver seaIn the light of a big full moonAnd strong and clear there comes to meThe lilt of the first guard's tune.Fire camp is burning bright,Cook’s got more wood than he needsWe’ll be telling some awful tales tonightOf races and big stampedes.I'm getting too old for that line of talk:The desperados they've known,Their wonderful methods of handling stockAnd, the fellows they have seen get thrownWhat's that I see walking fast?It's a horse that’s slipping through.He is trying to make it out through the pass:Come mighty near doin' it too.Get back there. What are you trying to do?You have no chance to bolt.Old boy, I was wrangling a bunch like youBefore you was even a colt.- From "The Old Night Hawk" by Bruce KiskaddonCowboy Poets trailerCowboy Poets in full from the amazing Folkstreams

Super 8 Boy Scouts

"Boy Scout Troop 506 went to summer camp for a week on Catalina Island. This week was one of the highlights of 1977. We earned merit badges, swam, and jumped off a rock into the ocean. We took the Catalina Island ferry from San Pedro. Then hiked from Isthmus Cove north to the camp." Here"July 1976 Boy Scout Troop 506 (La Jolla California) week-long backpacking trip in the Sierra Nevada. Hike originated in Mineral King, to Sawtooth Pass over the Great Western Divide, into the basin of Big Five Lakes, Little Five Lakes, and back west to Columbine Lake, returning to our starting point. The adult leaders are Paul Vellum and Mr. John Gilliland. I was age 12 when I shot this 11-1/2 minute Super 8 film." Here"I don't really remember this particular trip. But since I filmed it I must have been there. Each year during a holiday weekend in February, it has been and continues to be the tradition for Boy Scout Troop 506 (La Jolla, California) to canoe a 15 to 30 mile reach of the lower Colorado River. Some years the trip is Black Canyon-Lake Mohave. Other years it's Park Moabi-Topoc Gorge-Lake Havasu, and in the 1970s, it was usually Walter's Camp-Picacho-Fisher's Landing, a favorite of the late Sid Lubin, Scoutmaster of Troop 506 in the 1970s." HereMP3: Willie Nelson - Devil In A Sleeping BagMP3: Tom Petty - Anything That's Rock N Roll

Pendleton

Pendleton Wikipedia:

...In 1895 the mill was enlarged and converted into a textile mill and in 1896 began making Indian blankets—geometric patterned robes (unfringed blankets) for Indian men and shawls (fringed blankets) for Indian women in the area—the Umatilla, Cayuse and Walla Walla tribes. That business eventually failed and the plant stood idle until it was purchased by the Bishop family. When the Bishop family took over the plant they built a new plant with the assistance of the town of Pendleton, which issued bonds for the construction of the plant.The family resumed the production of Indian blankets and introduced new designs, colors, and patterns to their product line. They also changed the construction of the mill's Indian blankets. Prior to 1909 the blankets had round corners. The Bishop blankets featured square corners. Pendleton round corner blankets are highly coveted by vintage Indian blanket collectors. The company expanded their trade from the local Indians to the Navajo, Hopi, and Zuni peoples of the American Southwest. The Pendleton blankets were not only basic wearing apparel, but were standards of trading and ceremonial use.

Pendleton OfficialBlankets awaiting transformation into jacketsCowboy & IndianVintage Pendleton on EbayMP3: Dennis Linde - I Don't Want Nobody 'Ceptin You

Cruisin The Hills

Many many winters ago, I was driving my friend, Tim, through the hills of Barrington, Illinois in my forest green Jeep Cherokee. We were sixteen and I had recently stolen Joni Mitchell's Blue from another friend's dad's record collection and was playing it constantly. I played it from the second I woke up to the second I fell asleep. I played it in my room and, when I had finally bought it on CD, in my car as well. I had also started getting really focused on matching Joni's high parts with my own prepubescent voice. (Late bloomer.) Tim didn't know that I had been doing this and, to his amusement, found out that day in the car."Dude, WHAT was THAT?"This wasn't on Blue, but I hope y'all sing along anyway.MP3: Joni Mitchell - Cactus TreeYoutube: Joni Mitchell - Cactus Tree

Wiley Shelter

If you take the Metro North towards Wassaic on the weekend, it'll drop you off at a little bench in the woods so you can go camping. But you know that.If you leave the bench and go west on the Appalachian Trail, you'll hit the Telephone Pioneers shelter in about 4 miles. If you go east, you'll hit the Wiley Shelter in about 6. There are lean-tos past both of these, but these are the closest places to lay your head after you get off that big gray speeding bullet.If you decide to hike towards the Wiley Shelter, you'll go through twenty minutes of a cattle farm until you reach the thin forest. If you happen to be wearing your Mets hat, be sure not to pull any Mitch and Norman type escapades. And keep your eye out for wild turkeys. From there, follow the white blaze for about 5.5 miles until you come across Wiley. Tons of places to set up a tent, a well with freezing cold water, and the faint sound of the Metro North's horn make it a hell of an overnight. Especially during this time of year when you can remember what it feels like to actually need a fire.MP3: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Long As I Can See The Light

Howdy Friends

Talking Points Memo has a new Obama Radio Spot in Virginia:

Howdy, friends.This is Ralph Stanley, and I think I know a little something about the families around here.Barack'll cut taxes for everyday folks — not Big Business — so you'll have a little more money in your pocket at the end of the year.I also know Barack is a good man. A father and devoted husband, he values personal responsibility and family first.

MP3: Ralph Stanley - East Virginia BluesMP3: Ralph Stanley - Old Daniel Prayed

Blue Buttons

From here:

Blue Buttons are not true jellyfish, but are Chondrophores. These are actually colonies of polyps. In other words, they are like a tiny colony of animals. Each animal contributes something different to the colony. Some form the central disk, while others form the tentacles. Blue buttons exist in colonies, and mass beachings frequently occur since they are at the mercy of the wind and water currents. Blue buttons generally measure 1.5 inches across or less, and are generally dark blue or turquoise in color, although a lemon-yellow color variant sometimes occurs.Blue buttons, like the Portuguese Man of War, and the By-the-wind-sailor (velella velella), are not true jellyfish, although they are closely related. They are all in the same phylum (cnidaria).

Well, it looks cool.MP3: Michael Hurley - Blue Driver (Thx Justin)Because you're sweet and lovely, I love you.