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.

Bear Hole with K2, 3-Miles.

From the archives....

Hallockville Pond Marathon

August 11th, 2005 - Hawley, Massachusetts

Today I completed my 30th marathon.  

Locale was Dubuque State Forest and we named the event the "Hallockville Pond" Marathon.  

For company, I had Wuzzam being his norm good sport, and Tippi with her normal determination.  

Old Farmer Tom met us along the Notch Trail on bicycle, and enjoyed a few miles with us.

This was Tippi's 4th completed marathon.  Our time ended up at 5:21:16.

2.6-Miles at Bear Hole, right around 1 p.m. in the heat. 

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 3rd thru August 9th:

Overall / Season                    Title                                    Original Release Date                        

• Episode 1.18               Miracle Man                          March 18, 1994
• Episode 1.19               Shapes                           April 1, 1994
• Episode 1.20               Darkness Falls           April 15, 1994
• Episode 1.21               Tooms                           April 22, 1994
• Episode 1.22               Born Again                           April 29, 1994
• Episode 1.23               Roland                                   May 6, 1994
• Episode 1.24               The Erlenmeyer Flask           May 13, 1994
• Episode 2.01 (25)        Little Green Men                   September 16, 1994
• Episode 2.02 (26)        The Host                           September 23, 1994
• Episode 2.03 (27) Blood                                    September 30, 1994

Visit to Pop in Adams and Mom at Williamstown.

And, Rock and Roll Heaven claimed another today...

Gary Dwyer, the founding drummer of the influential Liverpool post-punk and neo-psychedelic band The Teardrop Explodes, died on August 9, 2026, at the age of 66, following a nearly two-year battle with leukaemia.

Dwyer was part of the band’s original 1978 lineup alongside singer and bassist Julian Cope, guitarist Mick Finkler, and keyboardist Paul Simpson, formed in Liverpool under the management of Bill Drummond and signed to his Zoo label. The Teardrop Explodes became a key act in Liverpool’s emerging post-punk scene, helping bring psychedelic elements back into mainstream British rock and pop alongside contemporaries including Echo and the Bunnymen. The band’s debut album, ‘Kilimanjaro,’ received widespread acclaim, and their single “Reward” became a UK Top Ten hit, cementing the band’s place in early 1980s British new wave.

Dwyer remained with the band as it evolved through further lineup changes and later played drums for The Colourfield, continuing to work within the Liverpool and wider UK post-punk and new wave scene for years afterward.

Rock and Roll Heaven....

Randy Burns Passed today.

Randall R. Burns (April 14, 1948-August 8, 2026) was an American folk singer, songwriter and guitarist who recorded several albums in the 1960s and early 1970s, when he performed with the Sky Dog Band. He has continued to perform and record occasionally.

He was invited to record for ESP-Disk Records by label owner Bernard Stollman, and released his first album, Of Love and War, in 1967.

After returning to New Haven, Burns started a band, The Morning, who performed locally but then split up. Back in New York, Burns then formed a psychedelic band, the Sky Dog Band, comprising Burns (vocals, guitar), Mat Kastner, Bruce Samuels, and John O'Leary. With engineer Herb Abramson they recorded Burns's second album, Evening of the Magician, released in 1968. Burns wrote all the songs and the album is described at Allmusic as " a minor classic of acid folk". 

For his third and final ESP-Disk album, Song for an Uncertain Lady (1970), Burns retained the Sky Dog Band, but the music showed an increased country music influence. Although Burns and the Sky Dog Band performed regularly around Greenwich Village, and toured nationally, none of his records were commercially successful.

Continued with beginning hiking, again at Cowles, 1.8-miles.

Warm day, 90's, but a nice 1.3-mile walk at Cowles Park. 

"High Points" along trails during November, 2025... 

• Laurel Hill - Wilcox Park, Bloomfield - Tarriffville, CT
• Sodom Mountain, Southwick, CT

Bands and Individual Artists completed discography.

Completed all albums by the following bands between January 2026 and June 30, 2026, with shortened discography exceptions noted:

• Aimee Mann & Til Tuesday

• Bardo Pond, 500 Mg, Hash Jar Tempo & Alumbrados

• Beverly

• Black Mountain

• Blondie

• Blue Orchids

• Blue Oyster Cult (through "Agents of Fortune", 1976)

• Butthole Surfers

• Crocodiles

• Crystal Stilts

• Captain Beefheart

• Canned Heat (through "Vintage", 1970)

• Clinic

• Comets on Fire

• Country Joe and the Fish

• Cramps

• The Damned (through "Anything", 1986)

• Darker My Love

• The Dead Boys

• Dead Meadow

• Dead Moon & Pierced Arrows

• Devo

• Donovan

• Echo and the Bunnymen

• The Fall

• Family

• Felt

• Galaxy 500

• Gang of Four

• Geese

• Graham Parker (through "Deepcut to Nowhere", 2001)

• Grand Funk

• Grant Hart

• House of All

• The Jam

• Jesus and Mary Chain

• Kustomized

• Led Zeppelin

• Lift to Experience

• Lorelle Meets the Obsolete

• Marine Girls

• John Martyn (through "Well Kept Secret", 1982)

• Dave Mason (through "Mariposa de Oro", 1978)

• Mazzy Star

• McCarthy

• Mink DeVille (Willy DeVille)

• Minor Threat

• Mission of Burma

• Moonrises

• Morgan Delt

• Motorhead (through "Orgasmatron", 1986)

• My Bloody Valentine

• Nova Mob

• The Only Ones & Peter Perritt (solo)

• The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

• The Paper Ornaments

• The Peoples Temple

• Pretenders

• Pretty Things

• Greg Sage

• The Saints (through "Nothing Is Straight in My House", 2005)

• Siouxie and the Banshees

• Six Organs of Admittance

• The Smiths

• The Stranglers (through "Feline", 1983)

• Sun City Girls

• Swell Maps

• Teardrop Explodes

• Thin Lizzy

• Doug Tuttle

• Velvet Underground

• Tom Waits

• Uriah Heep (through "High and Mighty", 1976)

• Van Cougar

• The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band

• The Wipers

• Wolf People

• Warren Zevon

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, S5E2 "El Dorado - Fact or Fantasy?"

Episode 5.2 - "El Dorado - Fact or Fantasy? S5 E2" - ArchaeoEd

When it comes to lost ancient cities that everyone wants to find, El Dorado runs a close 2nd to Atlantis.  Did it really exist?  Join Ed as he tries to unravel 500 years of stories and expedition accounts.

The Marathon Archive

Blast from the Past...

On this day in 1996 I completed my 12th marathon.  

My route took me along the Appalachian Trail, from Salisbury, Connecticut into Massachusetts.  

My turnaround point was at the summit of Mt. Everett.    

My time on the trail was roughly 6:27:53, which included a break for a lunch at Everett.

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!  

July 27th thru August 2nd:

Overall / Season                    Title                                    Original Release Date                        

• Episode 1.7                Ghost in the Machine            October 29, 1993
• Episode 1.8                 Ice                                        November 5, 1993
• Episode 1.9             Space                                   November 12, 1993
• Episode 1.10               Fallen Angel                         November 19, 1993
• Episode 1.11               Eve                                       December 10, 1993
• Episode 1.12             Fire                                       December 17, 1993
• Episode 1.13             Beyond the Sea                    January 7, 1994
• Episode 1.14             Gender Bender                     January 21 1994
• Episode 1.15             Lazarus                                 February 4, 1994
• Episode 1.16             Young at Heart                      February 11, 1994
• Episode 1.17             E.B.E.                                    February 18, 1994

Visit to see the Folks, and a stop at Balanced Rock State Park in Lanesboro on the drive home.

From our old friend Henry....

“A man’s ignorance sometimes is not only useful, but beautiful, while his knowledge, so called, is oftentimes worse than useless beside being ugly. Which is the best man to deal with, he who knows nothing about a subject, and what is extremely rare, knows that he knows nothing, — or he who really knows something about it, but thinks that he knows all?”                        

                                    ― Henry David Thoreau, quote from Walking

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #19 for 2026...

"Comeback", Parker #17, Richard Stark (a/k/a Donald Westlake), published in 1997.

From a GoodReads Review:  "...After Butcher’s Moon (1974), which in a way seemed like a series-ending #16 Parker book, bringing together many characters from previous books, with a slam bang finish, Stark stopped writing Parker novels. His buddy Lawrence Block in his introduction tells us that Stark attempted various novels over the years, and they never worked. But get this: After 23 years he got an idea and it gradually came together, resulting in Comeback (1997)—yup, that’s the only acknowledgement that Parker had gone away at all! And he hasn’t aged a bit. And Stark would write seven more Parker books until his death."