Bob Ross

I've always enjoyed watching Bob Ross knock out a painting but PBS doesn't carry him anymore. Good news; there are a lot of his shows on YouTube. Here's one. Use full screen mode to get the best view.

When I'm 64

     The MonaLisa Twins put a nice touch to a lighthearted Beatles song.

Mr. Blue

From my old pals Sha Na Na. I think this guy's name is Donny. He usually wears wraparound sunglasses. I used to be that slim.

Neither Rain Nor Snow...

We've had neither rain nor snow here for a long time, so those aren't excuses for an envelope taking 27 days to reach me from far off Portland, Oregon. Maybe gloom of night was the culprit. Still, a 9 X 12 envelope with metered postage took from July 21, 2017 until today, August 17, to get here. I can drive to Portland in a little over two hours. The contents of the envelope were copies of someone's apazine (small personal fanzine) that went into a larger mailing that was sent out over two weeks ago. Therefore, what was in the envelope is no longer useful or needed.

The USPS should refund the sender his $1.61.

If I Fell

     Another nice arrangement from my faves, The MonaLisa Twins.

Don't Worry, Baby

      One of my favorite Beach Boys songs rendered by a lovely lady with an excellent voice.

Remembering Glen

     Glen Campbell passed away recently and in his honor I'd like to share this song, which he had a big hit with way back when. The guitar solo alone is worth the price of admission.

The MonaLisa Twins

     I've been listening to this duo for months and I'm glad I have the chance to give them a wider audience, even if that audience is the five people who read this blog. Mona and Lisa Wagner are from Austria and are roughly 20 years old. They are twins and they grew up appreciating music from the sixties--Beatles, Stones, etc. They've recorded a lot of cover versions of songs from these groups and they are very good. Here's one example, and you can find a bunch more on YouTube.

     The blonde is Mona and I've already pledged my troth to her. Sorry, guys.

     By the way, this was recorded at the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles got their start.

So In Love

     If this is successful it means I've leaped a high hurdle in my low tech life. Here is Johnny Contardo of Sha Na Na singing So In Love.

The Oregon Modelers Society Swap and Sell

     On Saturday, August 5, I attended the Portland Modelers Society Swap and Sell with my Portland friends Dave "Evan" Lewis and Brian "Tough Jim Gaston" Trainer. Charley Gordon, of Stayton, OR, met us there. The above photo, by Daryl Johnson, serendipitously captured all of us in close proximity. That's me on the right with the blue shirt and broad shoulders. Dave is in the hat, Brian is next to Dave, and Charley has his back to both of them. A good time was had by all. They even fed us for free.

     Good to see you all, gents.

Fathers Day

My father, Robert David Napier, when he was a Navy man.  Hard to believe he's been gone for 40 years. He was good to me. Taught me to fish and bowl, and played catch in the back yard. Thanks, Dad.

Kit of the Day

     An Aurora hot-rod dedicated to our Indigenous Peoples. You can buy-it-now for only $130 on eBay, but keep in mind it's missing a few parts.
     This is a real oddball not only for its content but for the awful artwork on the cover. Aurora usually had excellent box art but this looks like it was done by a precocious high school kid.

Anyone We Know?

An anonymous friend suggested this might resemble someone who had a bad day last November. Or maybe it's just an hysterical pulp cover. I make no judgment.

Remember Pearl Harbor

Yesterday I read a blurb in the paper about the attack on Pearl Harbor on this day in 1941 and it didn't even hint at who perpetrated the cowardly deed. I fear the Day of Infamy stands a good chance of being forgotten by a nation whose schools don't want to teach anything that might offend a special interest group, and there are special interest groups for everything under the sun.

But I won't forget even though I wasn't born when it happened. I hope that if anyone reading this post doesn't know why we need to remember Pearl Harbor, he or she takes a few minutes to look it up.

Happy Birthday, Kristine

     Happy birthday and much love to my baby girl. A sweeter young lady would be hard to find.

Happy Birthday, Uncle Georgie

     This is the 177th anniversary of the birth of George Armstrong Custer, famed Civil War hero and less successful Indian fighter. Garryowen in Glory!

188

I weighed myself this morning and I was 188 pounds. A few days ago I was 190 and I vowed to get below 190 before my birthday. I didn't expect it to happen right away, but I'm delighted. See, I was always a slender kid (as in skinny) and a slim young man. In middle age I started gaining weight, probably because my job didn't involve a lot of physical activity anymore, and a bad back kept me from doing anything strenuous.

At one point I recorded a peak of 228 pounds--way too fat for my bone structure.  I chipped away at that: 215 for some years, 203, 195 for a long time, 193, and now 188. Ideally I'd like to hit 180. And if I could reach 175 it would be better than ideal. We'll see.

                               That's me on the left as a senior in high school. all 145 pounds of me.

Ed Gorman

     As many of you know, Ed Gorman succumbed to cancer recently after a long and difficult struggle. His generosity, wisdom, and talent are all first rate and he leaves a gap that won't be filled.

     Patti Nase Abbott has asked people to share some stories about Ed on their blogs, or hers, for Ed Gorman Day on November 2, which would have been his 75th birthday. Where I live there is still an hour left on the second so I'll do my usual last-minute job and tell you a few things about Ed and me.

     Like so many of his friends, I never met Ed in person. He didn't go to conventions even though I encouraged him to. No, that's not for me, he would say. That's a pity, because an hour hearing him talk to a good interviewer would have been better than just about any panel you can think of. Ed was very forthcoming about his wild juvie years and his alcoholism, both of which he left behind. Whether they helped inform the person he became or if he was that person all along, I cannot say. I would guess the latter.

     Ed was a huge, underappreciated talent. Whether it was a mystery, Western, thriller, or horror novel, he always managed to assign great humanity to his characters, even the lowest of them. When he'd write on his blog it was easy to see the goodness in him, and I always envied his strength of character.

     When I was publishing Mystery & Detective Monthly from 1984-2003, Ed was a staunch supporter. He wrote a column for me every so often lauding a writer from the past. After reading one of them I called Ed and mentioned it. He praised the writer profusely. "Great," I said, "but what's his name?" Ed wrote the entire piece without naming the man. He was taken aback at first but we had a good laugh about it.
     When Ed had the idea to start Mystery Scene he asked me to mail the sample issues with MDM. They were only four pages so I said sure, but if they send me over my postage limit I'd like to be reimbursed. He agreed. We're talking very few dollars here and in retrospect I wish I hadn't taken any of it. When Mystery Scene became a full fledged magazine Ed comped me a subscription, and for years after he gave it up I still got issues. I sent him MDM in return.
     Ed instituted The American Mystery Award and in 1988 I got one for Best Fanzine. Unfortunately, some bad things were happening in my life including not being informed that I'd won. I was less than gracious in my remarks in that month's MDM and I got a stern letter from Ed's co-editor, Bob Randisi, telling me where to go. He was right.
     I called Ed to grovel and offer my apologies and explain why I was in such an awful state ("It was a woman..."), but Ed just brushed it off. Years later, when I told him I was reading Westerns, he sent me a box of his.
     I wish everyone could be that forgiving and magnanimous.
     A lot of people credit Ed with helping them become published authors. I don't know for sure, but I may be in that lot. I know he asked me to write an article about mystery fanzines for The Art of Murder, but I don't know if he had anything to do with Five Star Press publishing my books. I like to think he did because his approval would mean a lot to me.

    Good-bye, Ed. You were unique.

Look Who's 27

It hardly seems like it's been 27 years since Stephanie entered the world and my life, but the calendar doesn't lie.

Happy birthday, Steph. Lots of love.

Such a Deal

A few days ago I won an eBay auction with a bid of one penny. I'm amazed no one else bid on this item. I know what you're thinking, they made up for it with an outrageous postage fee. No, not really. The item is coming from Canada and I knew it would be higher than our domestic rate, but not by too much. I was given a choice of five different classes of mail from a low of $16.65 to a high of $107. I chose the low. So I paid a total of $16.66 for an item that recently sold for over $30 on an earlier auction.

The item in question is a small plastic shelf made by Bachmann, who made the Birds of the World model kits in 1959-60. I have all of the bird kits and thought it would be nice to have the official shelf for them. Since there are 22 birds and room for only three, maybe four, on the shelf, it doesn't solve all of my display problems, but on its own it's a nice piece to have.

Pictured at right is the parakeet kit in blue. They also provided paint to make it in green. I've done both. The kits are really neat. They're life size and very realistically rendered. When I was in the sixth grade and some of our relatives visited, my cousin Georgie and I each built and painted a bird. A goldfinch for me; a scarlet tanager for him. The kits make a nice link to the past.