Dog Days

According to the National Weather Service: The “dog days of summer” is a phrase used to describe the hot and humid days of summer. It can be traced back thousands of years to the days of the Roman Empire. It refers to the dates from July 3 through August 11, which is 20 days prior and 20 days after the star Sirius rises and falls in conjunction with the sun. Sirius was known as the “Dog Star,” because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog).

The name Sirius comes from an ancient Greek word for “scorching” or “glowing.” Plus, Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth, and it’s visible from both hemispheres. Also, it’s the brightest star in the evening sky during the Northern Hemisphere winter... Sirius is behind the sun as seen from Earth during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Then, in late summer, it appears in the east before sunrise, near the sun in our sky. ... And then, it traveled across the sky with the sun all day. Thus, early stargazers might have imagined a double-whammy from Sirius and the sun caused the hot weather.

Afternoon folks!

Well, it's something of a grab bag this week. I didn't really have a plan and these are the records that were clean, ready and digitized this week.

So here we go, we've got a James Cotton Band album from the late disco/soul era followed by a very early Charley Musselwhite album with Harvey Mandel on the guitar. Then there's a Tony Joe White album with his big hit (Polk Salad Annie) followed by a later Roy Buchanan album from near the end of his career. After that there's a later period Flying Burrito Brothers album with Gene Parsons (Byrds) and Sneaky Pete Kleinow on steel guitar. Following that there's a Climax Blues Band album from the early part of their more mainstream success period. Then we've got some alt rock from The Beat Farmers and some rock and roll from Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends (including Keith Moon, Ritchie Blackmore and Noel Redding) with a terrible title track, but the rest of the album is good rock and roll. We finish up with Dr. John performing solo piano pieces.

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
Pablo Picasso

I hope the week has treated you well. I am busy with outside summer work and highly appreciative of the contribution of C99 members who keep these Saturday Open Threads active with dialog and music.

Work, pressure, finding both relief and release...

We are back in the Texas Hill Country. I had the 27th and 28th clear from court, so we got gone!

I have friends who travel the world, or to a place as little as 50 miles away, to just get away from their daily grind.

Now, you can get away by turning off your TV, your NPR radio broadcast, and breaking up with that lover/spouse who turns out to be a test in your anger management course. (Most of my divorce cases fall into that category.)

We need a break from the pervasive propaganda, the demands, and laws that constantly control our behavior.