Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #22 for 2026...

"Backflash", Parker #18, by Richard Stark".  Published 1998.

Two walks, 0.65-miles each;  total 1.30-miles.

Mom's Birthday Today!

Walking Plan:

                            3 x 0.5-miles, 1.5-miles.

ArchaeoEd Podcast

Get ready to embark on a time-traveling adventure with legendary archaeologist, Dr. Ed Barnhart!

Let's unearth the stories of the awe-inspiring civilizations of the Americas. 

These are the tales that only get a fleeting mention in western history books.

ArchaeoEd, S5E4 "Teotihuacan"

Episode 5.4 - "Teotihuacan. S5 E4" - ArchaeoEd

Teotihuacan was the most important city in all of ancient Mesoamerican history. Despite almost 200 years of archaeology there, there's a whole lot we don't understand. Join Ed for a discussion of what we know - and still don't know - about Teotihuacan.

Walking Plan:

                            2 x 0.5-miles, 1.0-miles.

From the Archives...

Pisgah Marathon

September 14, 1999 - Winchester & Chesterfield, NH

I raced and completed the Pisgah Marathon today (50km), in 5:47:30.  

Ran the majority with the Bandit, throughout a beautiful park in New Hampshire.  

This was my 22nd finished marathon.

Walking Plan:

                            3 x 0.5-miles, 1.5-miles.

From the Archives...

Mt Washington State Forest Marathon - September 13, 2005

 Riga Plateau, South Taconic & Appalachian Trails, MA, NY & CT

I completed my 31st marathon at Mt Washington State Forest, with the Riga Plateau, Appalachian Trail, and South Taconic Trail thrown in for good measure.  

I had Tippi and Wuzzam along for the day, which set a record for high temperature unfortunately for us.  

This was Tippi's 5th completed marathon.

Our time was 5:10:41, which shows we were really running pretty hard.  

The lack of water on the trail was a real concern for me, with Tippi.  

Luckily, the stream at the bottom of Bear had plenty, and from there on we were set.

Wuzzam looked absolutely beat climbing and coming down off Bear.  

He needed the stream to cool off in as much as Tips did.

Rock and Roll Heaven..

Eugene Richard O'Connor (February 18, 1955 – September 13, 2026), known professionally as Cheetah Chrome, was an American musician who achieved fame as a guitarist for Rocket from the Tombs and the punk rock band Dead Boys.

The Dead Boys were an American punk rock band from Cleveland, Ohio. The band was among the first wave of punk, and regarded by many as one of the rowdiest and most violent groups of the era. 

They were formed in 1975 by vocalist Stiv Bators, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Zero, bassist Jeff Magnum, lead guitarist Cheetah Chrome, and drummer Johnny Blitz—the latter two having splintered from the band Rocket from the Tombs. 

The original Dead Boys released two studio albums: 

• Young, Loud and Snotty
• We Have Come for Your Children.

It's been a while since we last watched the X-Files.

Originally, we watched the series live, as it was broadcasts, beginning in 1993.  Episodes were broadcast on Fridays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time for the series' first three seasons; the following six seasons aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time.  

This was must-see TV for us during these nine-years.

When JC was old enough, we revisited the series, watching on dvd. This would have begun somewhere about 2005, or slightly later by a year or two (at the most).

Since we completed that second run of viewing, X-Files has only really existed in our memories, with the exception of the two later seasons running January 24, 2016 to February 22, 2016 and January 3, 2018 to March 21, 2018.  These were Season's 10 and 11.

So, with some TV-Time available for the upcoming months, and nothing new really drawing us in, what better opportunity than revisiting old friends Scully, Mulder, Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man, the Lone Gunman "Byers, Frohike, and Langly", Doggett and Reyes.

I will keep a log of episodes watched and progress, as we journey through over 200 episodes!  

September 6th thru September 12th:

Overall / Season                    Title                                     Original Release Date            

• Episode 3.11 (60)          Revelations                              December 15, 1995
• Episode 3.12 (61)          War of the Coprophages                      January 5, 1996
• Episode 3.13 (62)          Syzygy                                              January 26, 1996
• Episode 3.14 (63)          Grotesque                                      February 2, 1996
• Episode 3.15 (64)          Piper Maru                                      February 9, 1996
• Episode 3.16 (65)          Apocrypha                                      February 16, 1996
• Episode 3.17 (66)          Pusher                                              February 23, 1996
• Episode 3.18 (67)          Teso Dos Bichos                                    March 8, 1996

Trip to visit parents today as well.

Having been born in 1962, and liking and listening to music from the early sixties onward, I thought it might be fun to attempt a listing of my favorite albums each year since birth.

The initial post for this series of ideas began on December 26th, 2023.  You can look it up....

This time, I present my "Top Albums released in 1969, #71 through #80" 

... from that incredible Year in Music 1969!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

71 James Gang                            Yer' Album

72 Blue Cheer                            Blue Cheer

73 Savoy Brown                            Blue Matter

74 Ten Years After                    Stonedhenge

75 The Byrds                            Preflyte

76 Steve Miller Band                    Brave New World

77 Fleetwood Mac                    English Rose

78 Taste                                    Taste

79 Joe Cocker                            With a Little Help from My Friends

80 Alice Cooper                            Pretties for You

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the Marathon Archives:

Notchview Marathon - September 10th, 2007
Windsor, Plainfield, Hawley & Savoy, Massachusetts

Tippi and I finished the Notchview Marathon.  

We ran from Notchview Reservation into Dubuque State Forest, then to Savoy Mountain State Forest.  

We got crushed by a heavy rainstorm for the last 3-miles.

This was my 37th completed marathon, and Tippi's 11th.  

All in all, I was not in fantastic shape but the year was winding down, and the run was incredibly enjoyable.  

Missing a turn shortly after Windsor Jambs, continuing on the dirt road for a bit, didn't count as a positive.

Looking at the map, we passed Windsor Pond, Crooked Neck Pond, and Hallockville Pond along the journey.  

Meadow at Notchview 

Tippi on the Jambs Trail.

Windsor Jambs.

Alert, as always.

Jambs, with Tippi on the ledge, upper right,

 

Left Hip Replacement today...  hoping for the best! 

"High Points" along trails during August, 2026... 

• Blueberry Hill, Phelon Forest (NEFF), Granville, MA

• Phelon Memorial Forest in Granville, two trailheads on North Lane take you to the summit of Blueberry Hill with long views to Russell, Sweetman Mountain, Mount Tom and the Holyoke Range. Perched up above Cobble Mountain Reservoir the trails here are spectacular for bird watching and is a popular hawk watch destination. More than 1,000 acres are conserved by the New England Forestry Foundation. 

• The property’s 1,487-foot summit allows visitors to see into five different states on clear days, and it becomes an even more awe-inspiring spot during seasonal raptor migrations, when birders and field biologists settle into the hillside to count birds and watch a wonder of the natural world unfurl. Hawks like the Broad-winged Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk make up the bulk of the hill’s sightings, and birders on the hill once counted 2,406 migratory Broad-winged Hawks on a single day.

From the Marathon Archives... a pair of beauties!

 

Dunbar - Whitcomb - Jambs Marathon
September 7th, 2014
Monroe, Florida, Savoy & Windsor, Massachusetts

Dunbar - Whitcomb - Jambs Marathon for Wuzzam and I.

Wuzzam and I conquered Dunbar-Whitcomb-Jambs in 6:21:34.  This expanded from an old run the Bandit and I did on a few occasions, from Whitcomb Summit to Windsor Jambs.

This time, we began at Dunbar Brook in Monroe State Forest, and ventured out a new snowmobile trail to the windmills to Whitcomb Summit, over Crum Hill, over Flat Rock Hill and the old Viewing Platform for the Hoosac Tunnel, crossed the Cold River on an obscure grown in path, past Savoy Mountain State Forest at North Pond, past Bog Pond, over Lewis Hill and Borden Mountain, through Windsor Bush into Windsor State Forest and the Jambs.

Outstanding day with outstanding sunny weather.  This was my 54th completed marathon. 

 Unfortunate Windmill site.

The Elk Monument at Whitcomb Summitt.

Viewing Platform for the Hoosac Tunnel construction.

View from Flat Rock Hill with Greylock in view.

 

Crossing of the Cold River.

Stone Carving on rock, obscure path.

Bog Pond.

The Dunham Lot, off Tannery Road.

We are getting close!

The Jambs!

Dwarf Forest and the softest ground-cover imaginable.

Curly's Marathon
September 7th, 2008 - Pittsfield, MA

Curly's Marathon was held in Pittsfield State Forest, and it was a beautiful day to run.  

I made the mistake of wearing old shoes rather than a new pair I had just purchased, and it was a very poor decision. 

The pain in my feet and lower legs was incredible for the last 6 or 8 miles, and I was lucky to finish in 5:54:36.  

This was my 40th completed marathon.  

My dad ran the Half-Marathon option as well.

2-Miles in Granville, NEFF-Phelon Forest.  A new trail spur to explore! 

It's been a while since we last watched the X-Files.

Originally, we watched the series live, as it was broadcasts, beginning in 1993.  Episodes were broadcast on Fridays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time for the series' first three seasons; the following six seasons aired on Sundays at 9:00 pm Eastern Time.  

This was must-see TV for us during these nine-years.

When JC was old enough, we revisited the series, watching on dvd. This would have begun somewhere about 2005, or slightly later by a year or two (at the most).

Since we completed that second run of viewing, X-Files has only really existed in our memories, with the exception of the two later seasons running January 24, 2016 to February 22, 2016 and January 3, 2018 to March 21, 2018.  These were Season's 10 and 11.

So, with some TV-Time available for the upcoming months, and nothing new really drawing us in, what better opportunity than revisiting old friends Scully, Mulder, Skinner, Cigarette Smoking Man, the Lone Gunman "Byers, Frohike, and Langly", Doggett and Reyes.

I will keep a log of episodes watched and progress, as we journey through over 200 episodes!  

August 30th thru September 5th:

Overall / Season                    Title                                     Original Release Date            

• Episode 3.03 (52)          D.P.O.                                       October 6, 1995
• Episode 3.04 (53)          Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose            October 13, 1995
• Episode 3.05 (54)          The List                                              October 20, 1995
• Episode 3.06 (55)          2Shy                                                      November 3, 1995
• Episode 3.07 (56)          The Walk                                               November 10, 1995
• Episode 3.08 (57)          Oubliette                                                November 17, 1995
• Episode 3.09 (58)          Nisei                                                      November 24, 1995
• Episode 3.10 (59)          731                                              December 1, 1995

Trip to visit parents today as well.

4.1-Mile Hike in Granville, NEFF-Phelon.

Haircut in afternoon. 

What Played in Ed's Head -- 

Music listened to for the time-period August 1 through August 31, 2026: