And From the Marathon Archives...

On this day, I've finished two marathons...

In 2008, Tippi and I finished Metacomet II, which began at Phelps Road in Suffield, and covered north to Route 57 and south to Route 20.  

Running time of 5:32:00.  

This was my 39th and Tippi's 13th completed marathon.

In 2009, Wuzzam joined Tippi and I at Tunxis II (South), which meant we ran from Route 219 to Satan's Kingdom, and also north to Roberts Brook I believe.  

Our time was 6:04:44.  

This was my 44th and Tippi's 15th marathon.

2.6-Miles at Cowles after my pre-operation physical.

Rock and Roll Heaven added two new members today, Dolly Parton and Tim Curry both at the 80-year old mark.

Dolly Parton 

Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean (January 19, 1946 – August 25, 2026) was an American singer-songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Dubbed the "Queen of Country", Parton was one of the most honored country performers in history, earning eleven Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, six Golden Globes and a Tony Award. She was also known for her cultural influence and philanthropy via Dollywood and the Dollywood Foundation. With more than 100 million records sold, Parton is among the best-selling music artists of all time.

Born into poverty in rural Tennessee, Parton wrote her first song at age six, performed regularly on TV by age ten, made her first recording a year later, and became a professional songwriter at sixteen. After writing songs for others, she released her debut album, Hello, I'm Dolly (1967), starting a nearly 60-year career. She released 49 studio albums and wrote more than 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper and an international success for Whitney Houston that sold 24 million copies worldwide), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", and "9 to 5".

Onscreen, Parton starred in 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), both earning her nominations for Golden Globe, plus Rhinestone (1984), Steel Magnolias (1989), Straight Talk (1992), and Joyful Noise (2012). 

Parton's music received gold, platinum, and multi-platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She logged 25 number-one Billboard country singles (tied with Reba McEntire for the most by a woman), 44 career top-10 country albums (a record for any artist), and 110 career-charted singles over 40 years. 

Tim Curry

Timothy James Curry (19 April 1946 – 25 August 2026) was an English actor and singer. He gained early fame portraying Dr Frank-N-Furter in the stage musical The Rocky Horror Show, reprising the role for its 1975 film adaptation The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Curry began his career in the West End production of the musical Hair (1968–1969). He went on to be nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical portraying the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance (1982) and King Arthur in Spamalot (2006–2007). His stage acting on Broadway garnered three Tony Award nominations, first for Best Actor in a Play as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Amadeus (1980–1981), followed by two nominations for Best Actor in a Musical for My Favorite Year (1992–1993) and Spamalot (2005).

Curry moved permanently to the United States in the late 1980s and began to appear more frequently in Hollywood film productions, including comedic roles such as Dr Thornton Poole in John Landis's Oscar (1991), the suspicious Plaza Hotel concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Jigsaw in Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996). Curry also appeared in action films, such as the John McTiernan-directed thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990) as Dr Yevgeniy Petrov, the 1993 adaptation of The Three Musketeers as Cardinal Richelieu.  He also starred in the 1998 direct-to-video film Addams Family Reunion playing Gomez Addams.

The Cast of Clue

As a singer, Curry released three rock-focused studio albums: Read My Lips (1978), Fearless (1979), and Simplicity (1981).

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, #51 through #60" 

... from that incredible Year in Music 1969!

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

51 Fairpoint Convention            What We Did on Our Holidays

52 Status Quo                            Spare Parts

53 Melanie                                    Affectionately, Melanie

54 Moby Grape                            Truly Fine Citizen

55 Tim Buckley                            Blue Afternoon

56 The Beatles                            Abbey Road

57 The Bob Seger System            Noah

58 Doors                                    The Soft Parade

59 Elton John                            Empty Sky

60 Led Zeppelin                            Led Zeppelin

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

2.4-Mile Hike with K2 in a fairly decent rain.  

We managed a bit of Farmington River Park in Bloomfield, along the river.

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 17th thru August 22nd:

Overall / Season                    Title                                    Original Release Date                        

• Episode 2.11 (35)         Excelsis Dei                           December 16, 1994
• Episode 2.12 (36)      Aubrey                     January 6, 1995
• Episode 2.13 (37)        Irresistibile                              January 13, 1995
• Episode 2.14 (38)        Die Hand Die Verletzt             January 27, 1995
• Episode 2.15 (39)        Fresh Bones                           February 3, 1995
• Episode 2.16 (40)        Colony                                    February 10, 1995
• Episode 2.17 (41)        End Game                              February 17, 1995
• Episode 2.18 (42)        Fearful Symmetry                   February 24, 1995
• Episode 2.19 (43)        Død Kalm                               March 10, 1995
• Episode 2.20 (44)        Humbug                                 March 31, 1995

Trip to visit parents today as well.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #20 for 2026...

"Last Exit to Brooklyn", a 1964 novel by American author Hubert Selby Jr.

The novel takes a harsh, uncompromising look at lower class Brooklyn in the 1950s written in spare, stripped-down prose.

Critics and fellow writers praised the book on its release. Due to its frank portrayals of taboo subjects, such as drug use, street violence, gang rape, homophobia, prostitution, and domestic violence, it was the subject of an obscenity trial in the United Kingdom and was banned in Italy.

Synopsis:

The stories are set almost entirely in what is now considered the Sunset Park section of Brooklyn; the location is widely misreported as Red Hook, where one story is set and parts of the 1989 movie were filmed. Last Exit to Brooklyn is divided into six parts that can, more or less, be read separately. Each part is prefaced with a passage from the Bible.

Another Day, Another Dollar: A gang of young Brooklyn hoodlums hang around an all-night diner and get into a vicious fight with a group of Army soldiers on leave.

The Queen Is Dead: Georgette, a sassy transgender prostitute, is thrown out of the family home by her homophobic brother and tries to attract the attention of a ruthless hoodlum named Vinnie at a benzedrine-driven party.

And Baby Makes Three: A story told by an unknown narrator about a couple, Suzy and Tommy, who have a baby out of wedlock, their wedding, and the baby's christening party which is quickly thrown by Suzy's parents.

Tralala: The title character of an earlier Selby short story, she is a young Brooklyn prostitute who makes a living propositioning sailors in bars and stealing their money. In perhaps the novel's most notorious scene, she is brutally gang-raped after a night of heavy drinking. She is left for dead in a vacant lot.

Strike: Harry, a machinist in a factory, becomes a local official in the union. He is a closeted gay man, he abuses his wife, and he tries to boast of his accomplishments and his high status to anyone who might listen to convince himself that he is a man. He gains a temporary status and importance during a long strike, and uses the union's money to entertain the young street punks and buy the company of drag queens and gay men. He is ultimately beaten viciously by the hoodlums from the opening chapter.

Landsend: Described as a "coda" for the book, this section presents the intertwined, yet ordinary day of numerous denizens in a housing project.

Bands and Individual Artists completed discography.

Completed all albums by the following Artists by July 31, 2026, exceptions noted:

• Alasehir

• The Dictators

• Clinic

• Felt

• Grant Hart

• Greg Sage

• My Bloody Valentine

• Steve Wynn

• Wipers

****

Did some reconnaissance in the Upper and Lower Spectacle Pond areas of Sandisfield, with some additional exploring done in Otis, Tolland and West Granville as well.

What Played in Ed's Head -- 

Music listened to for the time-period July1 through July 31, 2026:

EMG at St Francis for Left Leg, Hip to Shin.  

Electromyography (EMG) is a diagnostic test that evaluates the health and function of your skeletal muscles and the nerves that control them. It’s one form of electrodiagnostic testing.

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 10th thru August 16th:

Overall / Season                    Title                                    Original Release Date                        

• Episode 2.04 (28)        Sleepless                              October 7, 1994
• Episode 2.05 (29)        Duane Barry                         October 14, 1994
• Episode 2.06 (30)        Ascension                             October 21, 1994
• Episode 2.07 (31)        "3"                                         November 4, 1994
• Episode 2.08 (32)        One Breath                           November 11, 1994
• Episode 2.09 (33)        Firewalker                             November 18, 1994
• Episode 2.10 (34)        Red Museum                        December 9, 1994
• Episode 2.11 (35)        Excelsis Dei                          December 16, 1994

Financial Meeting in West Hartford for DLV and I.

Hike Cowles Park w/ K2, 1.7-miles.

And another member joined the Rock and Roll Heaven....

ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard passed today, age 77.

I can't say I listen to ZZ Top much, but they certainly were on the radio a massive amount during the 1980 to 1990 decade.  I am only familiar with the first four records, and all the singles from '76 thru '85.

ZZ Top Studio albums:

• ZZ Top's First Album (1971)
• Rio Grande Mud (1972)
• Tres Hombres (1973)
• Fandango! (1975)
• Tejas (1976)
• Degüello (1979)
• El Loco (1981)
• Eliminator (1983)
• Afterburner (1985)
• Recycler (1990)
• Antenna (1994)
• Rhythmeen (1996)
• XXX (1999)
• Mescalero (2003)
• La Futura (2012)

Hiking in Granville at NEFF / Phelon Forest.

3.5-Miles.  Old Trail lost to logging!

From the Marathon Archives...

Mahican Mohawk Marathon
August 15th, 2014
Florida, Savoy & Charlemont, Massachusetts

Mohawk, Savoy, Florida Marathon for Wuzzam and I.

Wuzzam and I ran the Mahican Mohawk Marathon in 6:43:30.  

We began and ended at Mohawk Trail State Forest in Charlemont, along the bank of the Cold River.

Our turn-around or midpoint was roughly at North Pond at Savoy Mountain State Forest.

This was my 53rd completed marathon.

Running through Stafford Meadow

 

Red Pine Plantation, set in 1930's..

Up through the Red Pine.

Wuzzam at the first crossing of the Cold River.

Bog Pond, a long-time favorite area of ours..

Burnett Homestead Cemetery in Florida..

Second crossing of the Cold River.

Visit Pop at the Farm in Adams, Mom in Williamstown.

Granville - Southwick Hike, 3.7-miles. 

Violent Femmes in Deerfield, with Andy and Jon.

Setlist:

• Prove My Love                         (Violent Femmes, 1983)            

• Promise                                    (Violent Femmes, 1983)     

• Breakin' Up                              (New Times, 1994)

• Country Death Song                (Hallowed Ground, 1984)           

• It's Gonna Rain                        (Hallowed Ground, 1984)         

• Blister in the Sun                     (Violent Femmes, 1983)              

• Kiss Off                                    (Violent Femmes, 1983) 

• Please Do Not Go                    (Violent Femmes, 1983)          

• Jesus Walking on the Water    (Hallowed Ground, 1984)                        

• Good Feeling                           (Violent Femmes, 1983)           

• Old Mother Reagan                 (The Blind Leading the Naked, 1986)      

• No Killing                                 (The Blind Leading the Naked, 1986)      

• I Held Her in My Arms             (The Blind Leading the Naked, 1986)                     

• Children of the Revolution       (The Blind Leading the Naked, 1986)   (T. Rex cover)

• Faith                                        (The Blind Leading the Naked, 1986)      

• Gimme the Car                       (Violent Femmes, 1983)        

• Black Girls                              (Hallowed Ground, 1984)   

• Add It Up                                (Violent Femmes, 1983) 

• American Music                      (Why Do Birds Sing?, 1991)   

• Gone Daddy Gone                 (Violent Femmes, 1983)        

Managed a 1.5-mile walk from the Venue back to Yankee Candle after the show.