text:
Having completed Mountain Designs Geoquest and Wildside AR successfully in 2017, XPD Bay of Fires, Tasmania was next on the AR bucket list for the team consisting of Alina McMaster who was a member of AROC at the very first XPD in Broken Hill 15 years ago; Cass Kimlin two time XPD finisher Townsville 2015 and #ARWS World Champs Shoalhaven 2017; Gina Dunsdon two time XPD finisher Flinders Ranges 2013 and Townsville 2015; and myself, Kim Beckinsale two time XPD finisher – Tasmania World Championships 2011 and Flinders Rangers 2013 as a member of the winning team Mountain Designs. Our goal for this XPD was to complete the full course successfully, which meant finding every single CP, as an all Australian women's team, having fun and enjoying the great scenery Tasmania has to offer along the way! We certainly had a wild time out there, so here are some of the highlights of our adventure proudly flying the flag for #MountainDesigns the iconic Australian outdoor adventure gear brand!
HQ & Registration-St Helens
St Helens was a pretty cool spot for HQ as it was right on the water and the place we stayed certainly captured the ocean views perfectly. Pre-event registrations and checks were at the community hall and as usual a hive of activity, with gear checks, navigation checks, first aid, safety and environmental talks taking place, while we mingled with some of the other Aussie and international athletes also preparing for this epic event. We were excited not to have to do a competency paddle, however did take the time to work out the best set up in the CTR Spirit Kayaks we would be using in the event.
The Lockdown – Short
event briefing before the course is revealed and planning begins.
|Navigation Checks
|Jarad Kohlar helps us with Kayak Set Up
|Cass and Kim take boxes down to HQ after registrations
We received our logistics planner 7 days prior to the start however we only received the maps just 2hrs before we were to board a bus to a mystery location. So, it was certainly a bonus to be provided with 2 sets of water proof maps and instructions with each leg clearly labelled across the 24 or so maps, however, it was a real challenge to try to do course planning in such a short time. Anyway the most important thing we did do was get Alina to draw north lines on the maps indicating the declination for magnetic north, as Gina worked on logistics and Cass and I completed some very basic highlighting of CP's and proposed routes. Conditions for racing were absolutely wild with severe gale-force NW winds forecast, this meant that Leg 1 & 3 Ocean & Bay Paddles had to be cancelled. We were told we would start at a mystery location on Trek Leg 2. In what seemed like just minutes our planning time had dwindled to seconds and it was jackets on as we gathered our gear and boarded the busses for a wet and wild start to #XPD Bay of Fires 2018.
Start Leg 2 Trek – St Helen's Point 16km
Start Leg 2 Trek – St Helen's Point 16km
The mystery location was in the sand dunes north-east of St Helens however, to get the first CP teams were challenged to work out their exact location. We could do this and after the mayor sounded the starting horn we found ourselves running just behind the Tri Adventure Antelopes...being able to move fast here was a bonus as we had about 4 teams all looking for the same CP's on stakes in the dunes! Soon we were coasteering and settled our speed down as the field started to spread out, despite the wind and rain we enjoyed this leg and within 2 hours were at the TA ready for Leg 4.
Leg 4 MTB – Flag Staff Hill 22km
It was bucketing down with rain and the wind was almost blowing us sideways off the road as we started the leg, so in a way we were relieved to hit the hills in the bush. CP 6 was on a tower, so we were treated to hike a bike number 1, then our route choice to CP 7 involved both a down hill hike a bike and then a steep hike up, oh well at least we were in the right spot! A flat tyre at that point put us back a bit and tested our team work skills, yet soon we were one again riding some pretty steep forestry trails towards CP 10 the final CP on this leg. We thought our route choice was not great, however arrived at the TA in around 4th spot!
Leg 5 Paddle – Scamander River 13km
The sun was now shining on and off, so conditions were looking good for our first paddle of the event. The TA was in a nice sunny spot and it looked like we would finish the paddle in the light, so jackets on but no extra paddle gear was really required. This paddle on the Scamander River I had previously done in the Mark Webber Challenge, so it was somewhat familiar as we got going and I remembered we did not want to get sucked into the lake, so hugged the left bank. There were a few portage possibilities however as we could not tell the difference between private property and forestry we opted to stay in the boats and paddle. Just towards the end the water seemed to run out so it was a bit of a boat drag up to the TA, however we were excited to see some familiar faces at the TA – Steve, Shan & Dyson, however not too much time to chat as the light was fading and we wanted to get out on the bikes!
Leg 6 MTB – Up to the Midlands through St Mary's 65km
We had two routes drawn and decided to have a look at the short option as we got about 1k out from the TA, and as it looked good we took it. There were many contours on the map and it was a steady climb up to the next CP so Cass and I got the tow ropes out and Gina and Alina hooked on. This was such a great way to keep us all together early in the race. After more than an hour we were in complete darkness and found ourselves heading to CP12 which was in a cemetery, we got a bit of a fright when Mike (media) and Igor (Race Referee) popped up out of nowhere. We had a chat posed for a few photos and then we were off again. We passed through St Mary's in a flash, and as it was well into the night no shops were open! As we headed towards the Break O Day Forest things were getting a little funky, as you can see by our tracker! The track we were on seemed to come to a dead end, we had a little look but could not see anything, so we went back and took what looked like a forestry track which we hoped may join up, however after about 2.6km of winding around all over the place we went back out to the road and had another look for the track we were after, again we saw nothing so went back to the forestry trail and tried another track which veered off early! Nothing seemed right, however we then saw another team's lights in the distance, and by the speed they were travelling it looked like they were on the track we were looking for…..so we just walked cross country in their direction. They told us the track was very indistinct and you had to cross a fallen bridge….mmmm we did not even see that! Oh well, we kept on moving towards CP 13 which we did as an out and back. It looked like a long way to travel, however as the CP had been changed I thought the tracks further up may have been a little weird, so the long way around worked well for us, and apparently, we made up time we had lost earlier! I must say in the dark with a 1:50000 map it was really hard to read the contours…..Cass and I prepared the girls for some awesome downhill, however it turned out to be a climb! We eventually made it to the top of the climb and were rewarded with a wicked descent down to the Esk Highway into the TA at Fingal. Here we had a compulsory bike wash prior to entering the community hall.
Leg 7 Paddle South
Esk River 38km
|Our route Leg 6 from St Marys to CP 13 and onwards
We were told in the briefing that instead of paddling to the first CP we would have a 5km trek with our paddle gear, and we would find the kayaks at the CP. So, the instructions at the TA were to follow a farmer's track until you hit the road. To find the farmers track you had to go past the old Gaol but not past the Police Station as that was OOB. Instead of getting straight into it, the team decided to take a 20 minute sleep, I must say this was really a bit of a disaster, as we just ended up wasting lots of time, as we slept after we had had a good feed of Back Country Cuisine, and then the TA just seemed to be really noisy, so for 20 minutes rest, we were in the TA for more than 1hr 30. Anyway, it was a long race and we soon got our paddle gear sorted and set off looking for the farmers track! Well it was more like a wombat trail beside the river and as we did not want to be OOB we stayed near the river way too long, we took turns at bashing through the bush and eventually came up out onto some open land. We had been walking for over an hour and thought we must be almost 5km…..however nothing on the map seemed to make sense. The track to the kayaks must be obvious as they should use it to get the boats down to the river. As the sun was beginning to rise we started to try to work out the features on the map by looking around us and we headed for the train line. Cass then looked at the map and we realised the map was 1:50000 and not 1:25000 as we had thought, meaning out trek was more like 10k. So that was a huge relief and soon we found ourselves on a big farm road taking us all the way to the road to the kayaks and CP 15. There were a few other teams around us by now and we were ready to get paddling. The water levels were pretty low most of the time so it was very slow going, yet the little rapids did make it quite fun and exciting…..as did the wind…..NOT! Well as the day went on the wind got stronger and stronger and when we were on the open wide sections of river we would see these massive wind squalls heading right for us and we would just have to brace and keep paddling strongly. I had my map in my leg and the wind just blew it away…..Lucky we had 2 maps and Cass had hers in her pocket! I thought the wind in Coast to Coast was strong…. but compared to this that was nothing. Alina was doing as awesome job steering and Cass and Gina were following our route through the low branches and trees. We even had to get out quite a few times and carry the boats hundreds of meters to find water to paddle in. It was hard to work out where you were exactly however luckily there were two bridges about the ¾ mark and then a bridge to paddle under right at the finish. At around 4pm ish we arrived at the TA in the tiny little town of Avoca, a little wet and cold as both kayaks were caught in a tricky little rapid just 1k out from the finish, meaning we all went for a swim!
Leg 8 Trek Avoca Stacks Bluff Ben Lomond 43km
We were quick to get off all our wet clothes and get into our trekking gear, and made use of the hot water at the TA to cook up some Back Country as well as cup of soup for instant warming ! We were wide awake following our refreshing swim so keen to get out onto the trek and make the most of the little daylight hours. This trek ,while only 43 kms, was set to take us 22-24 hours so we knew it must be hard as we were also going up into freezing cold alpine country so we opted to take our Mountain Designs Down Jackets aka puffy puffer jackets! We managed to get CP 17 in the light and made the most of the fading daylight as we climbed and contoured around rocky boulders on our way around and up to CP 18. The navigation to this was really tricky once it got dark so we just took it pretty slow and steady…..think were looking pretty good as we paced our way up to CP 18 and got it bang on! I made a slight nav error after 18 by bearing a little too far to the left down a steep spur, so when we crossed what I thought was the creek we had to cross, it was actually just a gully. This meant that as we walked up the next spur it did not keep going up. We had a team discussion here about what we could have done, and how to recorrect. Alina was great at getting us to re orient our maps and we put the brains trust to work! We did a reverse 180 bearing back to the gully, so followed this down to Storeys Creek and as it was massive, we were pretty sure we were now in the right place. Next it was up to a high point on the map, so as we climbed we found many teams looking for an old tram line, we thought however we were nowhere near that at all, so we just kept going up trying to follow the ridgeline in the night. We found this a little tricky and for some strange reason we found ourselves feeling like we had to go in the wrong direction…. we were tired now as it was the 2nd night out. So, we stopped and got the brains trust together again and re-evaluated our position, as we were up really, really high! We thought if we follow a certain bearing for 150m we will hit the track that connects the tram line, if we are where we want to be right now. We did this and bingo…. we found the track….and remnants of an old man-made feature such as a tram line, however it was vague and did not seem to be safe to follow to the CP, so we hiked up the track and took a bearing to CP19. We got it bang on, hiked back up to the track and stopped for a 2 hour sleep. I had carried a sleeping bag and the other girls bivvy bags, so they rugged up and we all then somehow slid under or into the Bothy Bag……we had an awesome sleep!
We were soon up, it was now somewhere between 2 and 3am, it was pitch black as we hiked through the old mining town of Rossarden up to CP20, the shoe clean spot on an old oval. Here we came across two other teams who had also had a sleep. The timing worked out perfectly as the next section of the trek was the most difficult as we headed up 'Stacks Bluff'. We were on a fire trail for a few kilometres which turned into a non-existant track marked with red high vis markers on trees and cairns, just as the sun was rising making the travel a little easier. It got steeper and steeper and soon we were above the tree line hiking up glacial moraine up through a tiny gap in the bluff! We were in awe of the view and stopped to get a few photos! We were very thankful at this point that we had helmets on as just as we got to the steep sections two other teams caught us and were a little less cautious on this section than us, it was risky business up there and one slip or fall could have sent big rocks falling. We veered left and let them get ahead, soon we reached the top and wow, what a view, we were now in the alpine country of Ben Lomond, and there was ice underfoot….it must have been cold!
There was a trail marked on the map that we were trying to follow and it seemed to be marked by cairns, however this soon disappeared and we were just walking in water up high on the plains with the craggy peaks behind us. I just used the compass and the features around us to try a work out a route as there was no clear track, and using a 1:50000 map many of the rocky features we could see, were not significant enough to register on the map. Soon we could see a major watercourse and headed for that as it was in the perfect spot, however travel was very slow. At some point, Cass noticed the map said that there was no actual trail and that it was a cross country ski route, I unfolded my map and saw the same writing!
|We did a great job at following the proposed course!
Oh well, however I decided to try to follow that line anyway as it seemed to go exactly where we wanted to go. Eventually we got down to a lake and it was about 500m long, so I timed how long it took to walk that far……it was about 10 minutes for 500m, so 20mins/km so we were lucky to be travelling at 3km per hour, as there was some very amazing moss and vegetation that we had to be careful not to step on as well. I must say that if it had not been so wet and there had not been so many thigh-height prickly bushes, this trek would have been so much more enjoyable, it was beautiful but very tough, and despite good sunny conditions it was freezing up there as we had jackets, buffs and hoods on for most of the day.
|Kim still hangs onto that map
|Wild Women approaching CP 21
|Pretty excited as we are almost there!
It seemed an eternity to get to the ski-field end of the map, and I took the girls up high to the right side of the plains on the edge of the bluff to travel on rocks rather than in the wet scrub, and despite it being a little longer it was faster travel, well until we hit a bigger set off craggy rocks! Here just around the corner we were spotted by the media (David Barlow) who had been up there all day…. we posed for a few photos and headed for the now visible ski poles and the little village on Ben Lomond. CP21 was at the community shelter, where again we posed for a team shot after disposing of our human waste that we had to carry with us off the trek. We saw Jan (media) and Igor here again at the CP as well as Dyson who had called out to us earlier from a rocky outcrop up high on the plains. We were in great spirits as we headed along the ski trail which too us to the TA at CP22 Carr Villa a little ski hut, and even better it was all mostly downhill! At the TA we could get boiling water and inside it was warm and cosy, however outside in the sun where we were getting our bikes ready for the next leg was also a very nice spot to be.
|On the trail down to Carr Villa
|Cass leads the charge.....click on the video for more action
Leg 9 MTB Tin Trail - Mathinna Forest Reserve & Blue Tier to Weldborough 115km
The light was beginning to fade as we headed down off Ben Lomond for this epic bike leg, we were all feeling good and ready to hit the hills, we put plenty of warm clothes on for the descent and Alina lead the way setting a cracking pace at the front. Once we got on the flat I think someone must have needed a rest as we stopped for a 5-minute snooze on the side of the road, just before we headed up into the hills towards the Mathinna Forest Reserve. Off the bitumen and onto the dirt and soon we were off the bikes and walking…. not sure if it was that steep or if we were just tired from being out racing for more than 48hrs! Up we went then down towards CP23 which was in a creek and as we headed towards the little town of Mathinna….it was dark and cold when we punched CP24. I was extremely cautious as we left this CP as it looked like we were headed into forestry, we made one wrong turn early just because we were going to fast…. but I managed to call the girls back. Then when we headed up a trail heading towards Diggers Hill Road, the bearing just did not seem right, so I thought maybe the trail is not going to go through….so a quick scan of the map showed a possible alternate route up Mathinna Falls Road, so we back tracked and took a gamble. I was motoring at the front, just wanting and hoping that it was all going to work out, not noticing the girls were falling asleep behind me. I pushed us on again after a mini nav error and everything seemed to be working out. So, I promised the girls we would have a sleep once we got out onto Diggers Hill Road. We got there at the same time as another team had who had been with us when we turned around, it seemed that either way was tough….so nothing gained nothing lost - all good, so we rode about 2km and had a 2 hour sleep. It was now around 2 o'clock in the morning and we were headed for CP25 – St Columbus Falls, unfortunately we could not see much in the dark, but finding the CP was easy.
We were then headed towards the Pyengana Cheese Factory, but it was obviously closed. We were now making our way towards the famous Blue Tier MTB Trail but had a big climb in front of us…. from the Tasman Highway it was 7km to Lottah then another 4km up to Poimena to the trail head and it was pretty much all up hill. We paced ourselves well by riding, walking and even took another 5-minute sleep before the top so we would hit the downhill single-track alert! Alina had ridden the trail before so we put her in the lead, and we enjoyed the descent immensely, even though I must say it is a bit challenging riding single track with a map board, but at least I didn't really have to try and navigate. As we descended the sun started to come out and it was full daylight by the time we exited, we saw Alina's friend and former race partner Kris Clauson out for an early ride and our Tri Adventure Supporters (Steve, Shan & Dyson) as we approached the TA at the Weldborough Pub. Unfortunately, the pub was not open for breakfast but the volunteers (Michele Krome & Linda Davis) had HOT Water for us. I was also surprised to see some of our good friends holidaying in Tassie had been following the tracking and popped out to see me on course – Thanks Sue & Zeg! We shared Back Country and coffee as we packed our bikes and prepared for another trek.
Leg 10 Trek Rattler Range 25km
On paper this trek looked straight forward, however the reality was we were most of the time searching for pink tape on unformed trails. We travelled along roads and trails for about 4k before hitting the pink tape where we were also greeted by the media team who took a short video of us wild women deep in the ancient forest. We were happy to stop and chat and this put us in great spirits for the rest of the trek.
|We stopped for a quick chat to the media crew!
|Cass looking focussed on the task!
|On our way to CP28
CP28 was a big tree in a forest full of big trees, however a after a bit of a grid search we got it and made our way back to the taped trail which took us up to Rattler Hill. We took a few pictures at the Trig Point before heading off looking for the trail which would take us to the next CP. Not sure what happened here but we overshot middle peak and ended up about 500m to the SW of where we should have been, so obviously nothing was looking right when we tried to find the trail. I made us all walk back up high so we could see the trig point of the Rattler Hill and the brains trust had a look at the map and we realised our error, so we walked up onto the top of the ridge and got back on track.
|Rattler Hill Tri Point
|Gina, Alina & Cass dance on Rattler Hill!
At CP 29 we had a shoe clean and then we were looking for pink tape marking a trail, however it was not that easy to find…. however, we eventually did. Looking at the map this next section of pink tape was going to be around 8-10 km and was going to be slow travel, so I put Gina in the front to set the pace and look for the tape. She was on fire and we got through this part of the leg in good time, enjoying the amazing scenery and interesting moss in thick forest that looked like we were in the snow. It was still light as we started to approach Ralphs Falls, we punched CP and headed to the TA just as it was starting to get cold and dark. The volunteers at the TA had the fire going in a little shelter so it was really warm, however I did not go near it in fear of the body wanting not to go out again. Alina's dropper seat post had a bit of a spack-attack and we had a bit of a tough time getting all the parts back together, but after a while we were all set, well fed and ready for the next leg.
|Looks like we are skiing!
|Kim is amazed at this moss, as it looks like bleached coral.
|Alina punches CP 30 at Ralph Falls
|Wild Women and Ralph Falls in the background
Leg 11 MTB Ralphs Falls to Musselroe Bay 100km
This map was a 1:100 000 map and covered two A3 sized pages, so I said to Cass that she could lead with fresh young eyes as I know I would struggle to read a thing in the dark. As we took to the road we had very steep 12km descent…. here Alina had two potoroos literally run between her wheels, skid down the hill for a bit then run out the other side…. not sure how she stayed upright! It was not long before we were in the town of Ringarooma, like all the other little towns we had visited …. nothing was open……not that we needed anything! Again a few of the girls were a little tired so we took a 10 minute break on the side of the road…. Gina was the timekeeper. It was cold and we probably were not moving all that fast as we made our way on mainly roads to the next CP in the town of Winnaleah. We punched CP33 and then used the balcony of the pub as our two-hour sleep spot. We snuggled up in the Bothy Bag again and enjoyed some well-earned rest and sleep as after all it was our 4th night out. After our sleep we headed off again now heading towards the coast along Old Port Road, it was an old bumpy undulating fire trail taking us around Mt Cameron. Here we were looking for CP 34 on a track/creek junction coming off Wedge-tail Peak. Our plan was to count the creek lines as we travelled in an easterly direction – Shallamar Creek, Vicareys Creek, Hardwickers Creek, Ruby Creek and then the one we were after. However, we got sucked up the main trail into a school camp which caused some confusion, but then we headed back and found the trail literally in the three we had crossed. Soon Cass spotted the CP on the left and we thought we were ready to get out of the forest. Cass was struggling to stay awake and Gina was helping to keep here alert, but we soon decided to stop and rest 5 minutes as it was obvious the track we were looking for was not there! Up and going again my map-board broke and Cass took the opportunity for another sleep while Alina and I tried to use the gaffer tape I had in my mandatory gear bag to fix it. It turned out that the exit trails we had hoped to find were not there and we ended up coming out of the forest on a major road South of the town of Gladstone, luckily, we worked this out so we were headed the right direction down into the town. Notes on the map said this was the last shop on the course, and we were in luck as it was open at 7 o'clock in the morning. We enjoyed coffee and hot pies before heading the final 20km or so to the Musselroe Beach TA! It was overcast and windy as we packed up our bikes and prepared for the next leg.
Leg 12 Coastal Trek
Musselroe to Policeman's Point via Bay of Fires 38km
|Hot pies and coffee tasted pretty good!
|Cape Natuariliste
|Picnic Beach CP
|Girls - On the beach
|Gina - Bay of Fires
|Girls on the Rocks - Bay of Fires
As we passed the last of the red rocks, the sand seemed firm and we started doing some running intervals, 3 mins jog and 2 mins walk. Alina thought we would be doing 12 reps but it only took us 5 to get to the Kayak Challenge and the TA. Here we had 1 kayak and 2 PFDs on each side of the water way and had to get all the team across leaving one kayak and 2PFD's on each side. We had two all-male teams coming up behind us, so we got to the crossing first and just got into the TA ahead.
|Alina dropped of Gina on the other side
|Alina came back for Cass.
By now we knew we were going to finish the race, we had come into the TA in 6th place – 4 mixed teams and 1 all male team ahead of us; but our focus was not on racing but finishing for some reason. We made sure we ate and put on clothes that would keep us warm before we left the TA, our friends and supporters were there to cheer us on which was lovely, we knew we would see them next at the finish line, but we just had to get there. As the light was fading we set off across Anson's Bay to Shark Bay Point where CP 39 was located, one of the male teams had passed us and we could see them in the distance, it was windy and choppy, but we were fine as we had all the right gear! I got out and punched CP39 and soon we were headed SW across the bay towards the Anson's River, now it was dark, so we had the glow sticks illuminated and used the AyUp's sparingly as we paddled up the spooky river. We were passed by the second all male team as we stopped to get some coke to wake up and at the same point felt like I was dying in the front of the kayak with stomach cramps (had just eaten too many chips with too many numbers). Eventually we made it to the end of the paddle and geared up for the final ride to the finish line. Jarad Kohlar was manning the TA and seemed excited that we were doing so well.
Leg 14 MTB The Final Ride to St Helens 35km
All geared up in our Wild Women cycle gear we set off for what we thought to be the short ride home. We thought just 25km…. but after we were out there for a while I asked Gina…. how far is this??? She said 35km, so instead of 10km to go we had 25! Oh well Alina then said Kim, I wonder if you will get to see a wombat, this is your last chance…. then no kidding we saw 10…. we tried to stop and get photos but they did not work! We were singing away loudly in the middle of nowhere as we were fighting to stay awake as it approached midnight! Soon we crossed the Georges River which meant just 5km to go! Then we saw a sign St Helens 3km…. we were excited to be approaching the finish! At 12.05am we made the final turn into the St Helens Sport Complex and crossed under the finish Arch of XPD bay of Fires, as one healthy and happy Team of Wild Women. Sorry to our supporters for making you stay up so late…. we just wanted to enjoy the final legs of the course!
We sat and enjoyed pizza and champagne on the finisher's lounge as we
retold some of our favourite most interesting times out there, then were taken
home to our little house to enjoy hot showers, more pizza and champagne!
Mountain Designs Wild Women – Kim Beckinsale, Cass Kimlin
Gina Dunsdon and Alina Mc Master finished in 8th position overall in
a time of 109 hours 20 minutes and 55 seconds and were awarded 1st Female
Team in XPD Bay of Fires 2018.
Thanks to all our supporters and followers out there who
either saw us on course or were back at home watching our dots, you certainly
helped to keep us going in the right direction…. well most of the time!
|Mountain Designs Wild Women...all smiles at the finish!
|.....and we did it all just for this!
|Mountain Designs Wild Women - 1st Female Team XPD Bay of Fires 2018
Thanks to our major sponsor Mountain Designs for all the amazing gear we used during the race, we certainly managed to cope well despite some pretty challenging weather conditions, and we look forward to testing out some new gear as the brand geos through a period of change.
Also, thanks also to our other major sponsor Ay-Up Lighting Systems; we certainly made the most of the darkness only having 6hrs sleep in 40hrs of dark times, there rest of the time the Ay-up lights were helping us to find our way.
Finally thanks to Tri Adventure for also supporting Mountain Designs Wild Women and women's adventure racing in general. If you want to get into adventure racing or just want to improve your fitness in the great outdoors, well please look up www.triadventure.com.au as there is plenty of great support and a super friendly environment to get you started or keep your adventures alive!
Next up for Mountain Designs Wild Women is the Rogue Raid in May, followed by Geoquest in June and Hells Bells in September, these events are part of the Adventure 1 Series.


text:
Romeo And Science
-the future is ours-
This Channel(Romeo And Science) includes creative and innovative ideas based on some bottle craft and Polystyrene craft (best from waste) useful to people, especially school and college projects. You can watch awesome Electrical Projects with the help of Motor, LED and switch etc. useful to daily life. Also, I have made some video of physics working model for science exhibition.
"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found."
more videos for:-
Subscribe to my channel:-Romeo And Science

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Complaint for Divorce (sometimes referred to as the petition for divorce) : The document filed with the court that initiates the divorce proceedings.
Discovery: The formal process in litigation in which the parties exchange documents and information. In divorce proceedings, discovery is the stage when each spouse requests from the other spouse copies of all documents and information pertaining to their marriage. This information includes, but is not limited to, copies of bank and credit card statements, mortgages, deeds, and other financial interests, as well as all records pertaining to the children. This is usually a lengthy and expensive process. While formal discovery does not take place in mediation, the parties will exchange all documents and information that is required for each to be satisfied that he or she is making fully informed decisions.
Judgment of Divorce: The document or decree that is signed by the judge granting the divorce between the parties. Uncontested Divorce In an uncontested divorce, the parties have reached an agreement and do not contest any of the issues related to the marriage. Equitable Distribution The process of dividing fairly the marital property owned by the parties. Equitable does not mean equal and this often confuses people. "Equitable" division of the property can depend on a number of factors. In NJ, the factors considered by the court are identified in New Jersey Statutes 2A:34-23.1.
Litigation: The process in which one party sues another and seeks resolution from a court.
Memorandum of Understanding (also called an "MOU"): This document identifies the terms that were agreed to in divorce mediation. Once you and your spouse agree to the terms of settlement, a Memorandum of Understanding is drafted. Once the parties agree on the MOU, each spouse is provided two copies; one for themselves and one for his or her review attorney.
Participation Agreement: The Participation Agreement is the contract that is signed at the first meeting by you, your spouse, and the Collaborative Professionals involved in your case. It sets out the expectations of everyone involved in the collaborative process – to engage in the collaborative process openly and transparently and to resolve your issues through negotiation and cooperation. One of the most important provisions of the Participation Agreement is the agreement to stay out of court. If you choose to go to court before reaching a settlement, you must start over with new attorneys and new experts, and those that you used during the collaborative divorce process cannot contribute to your new case in any way. The underlying philosophy is that by removing the threat of court, parties will negotiate more openly, honestly and efficiently. The Participation Agreement expressly states this.
Another important provision of the Participation Agreement is confidentiality. The New Jersey Family Collaborative Law Act protects the confidentiality of communications made as part of the collaborative law process. If a party terminates the collaborative process, neither can use any of the communications in subsequent litigation without the express, written consent of the other party. Also, neither party can use any of the communications of the other collaborative team members with their consent. Protecting the confidentiality of the process encourages open and frank settlement discussions, which inevitably will lead to a resolution. Who signs the Participation Agreement?
The parties and every collaborative professional involved in the case signs the Participation Agreement. Not all professionals sign at the same time. At the first meeting, the parties and the attorneys will review and sign the agreement. If the parties have already engaged a divorce coach, financial advisor, or some other neutral professional, then that professional will also need to sign the Participation Agreement at the first meeting. Most commonly, though, the other professionals will add their signatures to the Participation Agreement as they join the collaborative team.
It is important that you read the Participation Agreement closely, and review it with your attorney. Any questions or concerns should be addressed before you sign it. It is a contract and you will be bound by its terms. Be certain to retain an experienced, collaboratively trained attorney that will guide you through the execution of the Participation Agreement and help you navigate the collaborative law process.
Residency Requirement: A party may file for divorce in New Jersey if the grounds for divorce occurred in New Jersey. One of the parties must have lived in New Jersey for at least one year at the time of the filing of the Complaint. The only exception to the one year residency requirement is a filing based on the grounds of adultery, which has no residency requirement.
Settlement Agreement (also known as a Property Settlement Agreement or a Marital Settlement Agreement): This is the final contract between the parties. If you enter into a Settlement Agreement, then you will not need a trial, i.e., a judge will not determine the terms of your divorce because all of the issues are addressed in your Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement must be submitted to the court with the Complaint for Divorce so that the court knows that all of the issues between the parties have been settled. At the time of the divorce, the Settlement Agreement may be incorporated into the Judgment of Divorce. This creates an enforceable judicial order instead of just a contract.
Uncontested Divorce Hearing: the hearing that is scheduled and takes place after you have entered a Marital Settlement Agreement at the conclusion of which the Judge grants your divorce. The actual hearing (the amount of time you are before the Judge) is very short. During the hearing, your attorney (or the judge if you do not have any attorney) will ask you questions about the marriage, your residency and the settlement agreement. All of the questions are straightforward and easily answered once you have a final settlement. It is also during this hearing when you can request to resume your maiden name if you so desire.
Wilson Family Law LLC
667 Shunpike Road, Suite 5
Chatham, NJ 07928
Office: 973-520-4275 Mobile: 973-202-2823 Fax: 973-756-4075
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: wilsonfamillylawllc.com
Copyright 2017. Wilson Family Law LLC. All rights reserved. The content of this website is for general information purposes only. It is not intended to give legal advice, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. For this reason, you should not send any confidential information until an attorney-client relationship is formally established.


text:
« 檜瞪啗樓 »
colonel Martindell, on the possession of Regowley.
Head Quarters in Bundlecund, Camp
before Adjyghur, Jan. 25th, 1809
DETACHMENT ORDERS BY LIEUT." Colo Nel MARTINDELL.-The commanding officer regrets, from the great press of public business, he has so long been detained from performing a most pleasing part of his duty, to return A is best thanks, so justly due to the whole of the troops who were employed in the assault of the fortified hill of Regowley, on the 22d instant,-and to express his entire satisfaction at the gallant conduct and zeal displayed by them on that occasion. The promptitude with which the troops proceeded to the attack, the persevering toil with which they encountered opposing obstacles, the intrepidity with which they ascended the hill, under a most galling fire, and the steady courage they displayed in the assault of so strong a position, and so obstinately defended, are circumstances, which call for the most unqualified admiration and praise. To lieutenant-colonel Lawtie, majors Kelly and O'Halloran, and to captains Hare and Midwinter, who conducted the principal columns of attack,-and to lieutenant Baddely, who volunteered with the party of pioneers, the commanding officer feels most deeply indebted for their gallantry and conduct, and equally so to every officer and soldier employed, for the persevering zeal and bravery they so conspicuously displayed; while the skill with which captain Brook and his officers directed the fire of the artillery, to cover the troops in the assault, claims his highest approbation. To captain Wilson, likewise, who volunteered his services, and attended lieutenant-colonel Lawtie during the action, every praise is due. Although major Nuthall, with the 3d cavalry under his command, could not, from
the nature of the assault, with the
exception of the gallopers attached to his corps under lieutenant Barlow, be employed any further than as a coyering party to the assailants, still the
commanding officer feels very much indebted to him and his corps, for the zeal and alacrity with which every position was taken up, and to lieutenant Barlow and men attached to the gallopers, for his well-directed fire in covering the right attack. It is not without deep regret, the commanding officer, in appreciating the important and successful issue of the assault, laments the loss of the brave men who fell so gloriously in the cause, and in which they so nobly sustained the honour and name of the Bengal army. The commanding officer has already had the pleasure of reporting the meritorious exertions of the troops to his excellency the commander-in-chief, and requests lieutenant-colonel Lawtie, commanding the 18th regiment, major Kelly, commanding the 4th light infantry battalion,- captain Midwinter, who commanded the detachment of the 2d battalion 1st regiment N. I– captain Brook, commanding the 3d regiment of native cavalry, and lieutenant Baddely, commanding the pioneers, will explain to their native officers and men, his marked and entire approbation of their conduct." Fort William, February 11– The right honourable the governorgeneral in council is pleased to direct that the following extracts from letters from colonel Wallace, commanding the subsidiary force of Poona, containing a report of the proceedings of the detachment under his personal command in the pursuit of the remains of the predatory force, lately attacked and dispersed by the detachments under lieutenant-colonel Doveton, and the satisfactory intelligence of the seizure of the persons of two of the principal leaders of that force, be published for general information, together with the expression of his lordship in council's high approbation, of the zeal and judgment manifested by colonel Wallace, in conducting the pursuit of the remnant of the predatory force under Daudin Khaun, and Wauhid Alli Khaun Bungush, and in the arrangements which led to the apprehension of those chiefs, and the
final dispersion of their remaining followers, and of the alacrity and perseverance of the officers and men of the detachment in the execution of this important service. Extracts from a letter addressed to colonel Barry Close, resident at Poona, by colonel Jollace, dated at Ranipoor, 24 miles N. IV of Copreis, 10th January, 1800. On the 2d instant, I left A mulnair with the whole of my detachment, the portion of it, which I had left in the rear, on advancing to that place, having joined me the preceding day. On my arrival on the 3d instant, at Scindkair, I found the report that Bangush had halted there, the whole of the 29th ultimo, the day after his defeat at Amulnair, to be correct, and that he had, before morning, thence collected a party of about 500 horse ; I likewise learnt, that from Scindkair, he had made one march to Nunderbar, where he had arrived the 30th in the evening. On the 4th I moved to Dundarcha, which is within one long march of Nunderi. and hearing the Bungush still continued at the latter place, where he was recruiting and equipping his party by plunder, I had determined to move the same night, with a light detachment, to attack him. Just in time, however, I heard of his having left Nunderbar, and broceeded in the direction of this place, (Ranipore) in consequence, I moved on the 5th instant to Capreil, on the Taptie, and receiving intelligence that Bungush was encamped at Oomrall, about twenty-four miles in om me in a N. W. direction, I matched at six o'clock that evening, and at break of day on the 6th, I arrived at the ground of his encampment, when, however, I was disappointed by finding that he had a few hours before quitted, and fled into the Dewdabawa Ghaut. There I immediately followed him, and after a distant skirmish with a few of his horse, that retir-d into the Ghaut as our troops advanced, took up a position at the entrance into it, which pre
cluded the possibility of his agaia returning into the plain. In occupying this position, our trocps were, for a considerable time, fired upon, from the Jungle at the foot of the Ghaut, by Bungush's followers, but principally by armed men in the employ of Beem Sing, a petty Rajah, who commands this pass, without, however, suffering from its effects. To this Rajah, who is nominally a subject of the Poona state, I had made a communication, on the first report of the probability of Bungush taking refuge with him, but am doubtful whether it reached him before that Sirdar's arrival. I, however lost no time in again calling tipon him to seize and give up to me, the rebels lic had received into the hills and strong holds, and in threatening him with the consequences of a non compliance with my desire. This has led to a parly between us, which I pretir confidently expect to terminate in the entire destruction of Bungush's remaining force. Daudin Khoo and Pelewaun Khan, are with Bungush. Janideo, a nephew of My put Rao Holkar, who was with the rebels, has, it is said, received protection from the head man of Telloda, a village close to this. I shall endeavour to ascertain the truth of this report, and to get hold of him. Of Myput Rao
Holkar himself, I yet know nothing
certain, but from what has reached me, I am-led to think that he is concealed in Cadish, near Soneghar. The whole of my detachment is now assembled here. The Ghaut, now in my front, is accessible only to led horses, and possesses such natural strength, that when defended by a few men, a passage through it cannot, I fancy, be forced by any number of troops. All the passes in its vicinity, except the Berwanch, which is said to be passable for carriages, are of the same description, and they are all defended by innumerable bodies of Bheels, and by a few Arabs and other armed men
in the pay of the petty chiefs, who
reside in the hills, and command the roads through them. £rtract from a letter from colonel IPallace, to lieutenant-colonel Doveton, dated at Oomral, the 17th of January, 1809. Having expected, for these several days past, that I should obtain possescion of the persons of Bungush and
Daudin Khan, I delayed writing to you
until I could inform you of that event. Tais I am happy now to have in my power; those two Sirdars having been last night delivered up to me by Beem Sing, the Beel Rajab, whorn, in my last letter, I mentioned to you, and who, by representations, was induced, on the 10th instant, to attack their remaining force, which he effected with the completest success. Almost the whoe of their party were, with themselves, made prisoners, and deprived of their horses and arms. Pelewaun Khan, however, with about 100 others, escaped, and by swimming the Nerbudda, which was then unfordable, secured a retreat. Published by order of the right honourable the governor-general in council. N. B. EDM on stone, hief Sec. to the Govt.
mations were concluded, the president of the college council presented to the right honourable the visitor, the several students of the college, who were entitled under statute VIII, to receive degrees of honor, as well as, successively, the whole of the students, who, at the late examination, had been found qualified to enter upon the public service; and had consequently obtained permission from the visitor to quit the college under the rule contained in section II, regulation III, 1807. The president read the certificate granted by the council of the college to each student, in pursuance of the above statute, specifying the proficiency which he had made in the prescribed studies of the college, and also the general tenor of his conduct, with the amount, if any, of the debt contracted by him during the period of his attachment to the college. When the certificates had been read, the visitor presented to each student, entitled to receive a degree of honour, the usual diploma inscribed on vellum, and at the same time expressed the satisfaction which he felt in conferring it. - The students, on whom the right honourable the visitor was pleased to confer a degree of honour on this occasion, and the languages, for their high proficiency in which the degrees of honour were respectively conferred, are as follow: George Sotheby, Persian, Arabic, nd Hindoostanee. James Furneaux, Persian and Hindoostanee. Henry Sargent, Hindoostanee and Bengalee. William Forrester, Persian and Hindoostanee. George Tod, Persian & Hindoostanee. Robert Henry Tulloh, Persian and Hindoostanee. The honorary prizes and medals, adjudged at the late public examination, were distributed, by the president of the council, to the following students: George Sotheby, as per annexed report, and a medal of merit, adjudged in the 2d term of 1808, for proficiency in Arabic.
Wilder. 9, Moore. 10, Brown. 11, Macleod. 12, Barlow. 13, Lyon. 14, Robertson. 15, Tucker. 10, Harding. - Thi, a Clarr. 17, H. Sotheby. 18, Davidson. 19, M.Intosh. 20, Kennedy. 21, Jennings. 22, Harrington. 23, Blagrave. 24, A. C. Barwell. 25, Monckton. Fourth Class. 26, Mackenzie. 27. Magniac. 28, Mortlock. 29, Pond. 30, Sparks. 31, J. J. Fraser. 32, Smelt. 53, Bird. 34, A. C. Fraser. 35, Weilesley. 36, Calvert. Fifth Class. s7, Tytler 38, F. C. Smith. 39, E. J. Smith. 40, Fane. 41. Hunter. 42, Curtis. 43, Belli. 44, Innes. 45, Scott, 46, Grant. 47, Russell. 48, Whish.
Petrie, Lewin, Melville, Nisbet, declined examination ; J. Trotter, and A. Trotter, Drew, sick; Forde, Barwell, attended, but retired after the oral examination.
Mr. Tulloh, who was prevented by sickness from attending on the day of examination, was separately examined on a subsequent day, and found to have made proficiency such as to entitle him to a place in the first class. BENGALEE.
First Class.
1, Sargent, books, value 500 rupees, and medal.
Second Class. 2, Forrester, medal. 3, Monckton. 4,
Mr. Tulloh was prevented by illness from attending the examination, but is stated by the professor to have made proficiency, such as to entitle him to the second class.
MAHRATTA. 1, Sargent, medal.
G. Sotheby. Whish, declined examination.
1, Blagrave, N. B. obtained the first prize last year.
2, Tulloh, books, value 200 rupees, and medal.
8, Grant, medal. 4, Barlow.
5, Sotheby, H, 6, Forrester,
Mortlock, for their proficiency in the Hindoostanee language, and to Messrs. Tod and Furneaux, for their proficiency in the Arabic. Garrison Orders, by the Right Hon. the Governor General, February 23. In consequence of the lamented decease of major-general Sir George Braithwaite Bonghton, bart. by which melancholy event, his Majesty has lost a very valuable and zealous officer, it becomes the painful duty of the right honourable the governor-general to direct the last tribute of military honours to be paid to his reInlal ins. The funeral party to be composed of his Majesty's 14th regiment, and the governor-general's body guard, and to be commanded by major-general Sir Ewen Baillie, who will be pleased to give such further instructions as he may judge necessary. Minute guns to be fired, when the procession commences, until the corpse shall be interred; during which time the garrison flag is to be lowered half mast.—All offices, off duty, are directed to attend. Garrison Orders, by Major-General Sir Ewen Bailie." His Majesty's 14th foot, to be under arms this evening at four o'clock, and to attend the funeral of the deceased, major-general Sir Geo. B. Boughton, furnished with three rounds of light cartridges, and lieutenant colonel Watson will give th


text:
the answer to all of our problems
on September 6, 2015
Chapter: Heart and Brain
I read this while finishing a tub of ice cream.
The keys.
Man I saw them… that cracked me up
You must log in to post a comment.
©2011-2020 The Awkward Yeti LLC Powered by WordPress with ComicPress


text:
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself (with bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen)
- $36.99
- $36.99
Publisher Description
The path to your professional success starts with a critical look in the mirror.
If you read nothing else on managing yourself, read these 10 articles (plus the bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen). We've combed through hundreds of Harvard Business Review articles to select the most important ones to help you maximize yourself.
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself will inspire you to:
Stay engaged throughout your 50+-year work lifeTap into your deepest valuesSolicit candid feedbackReplenish physical and mental energyBalance work, home, community, and selfSpread positive energy throughout your organizationRebound from tough timesDecrease distractibility and frenzyDelegate and develop employees' initiative
This collection of best-selling articles includes: bonus article "How Will You Measure Your Life?" by Clayton M. Christensen, "Managing Oneself," "Management Time: Who's Got the Monkey?" "How Resilience Works," "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time," "Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform," "Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life," "Reclaim Your Job," "Moments of Greatness: Entering the Fundamental State of Leadership," "What to Ask the Person in the Mirror," and "Primal Leadership: The Hidden Driver of Great Performance."
More Books by Harvard Business Review, Peter F. Drucker, Clayton M. Christensen & Daniel GolemanSee All
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership (with featured article "What Makes an Effective Executive," by Peter F. Drucker)
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Emotional Intelligence (with featured article "What Makes a Leader?" by Daniel Goleman)(HBR's 10 Must Reads)
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing People (with featured article "Leadership That Gets Results," by Daniel Goleman)
HBR's 10 Must Reads on Change Management (including featured article "Leading Change," by John P. Kotter)
Finance Basics (HBR 20-Minute Manager Series)
The Harvard Business Review Manager's Handbook


text:
Lucknow: Taj Mahal, one of the World's Seven Wonders, has found no mention in an Uttar Pradesh government's tourism booklet on key attractions in the state.
The 32-page glossy booklet titled 'Uttar Pradesh Paryatan-Apaar Sambhavanaayein' (UP Tourism-Unlimited Possibilities), which has the iconic Ganga Aarti of Varanasi as its cover image has been printed to promote the tourist spots in Uttar Pradesh, but surprisingly the most prominent and popular one is missing.
Interestingly, one page of the booklet has also been dedicated to the Gorakhnath temple, of which UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath is the presiding priest.
The booklet was released in Lucknow at a press conference on World Tourism Day by UP's tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi.
But later, after reports in a section of the media regarding the Taj Mahal, the state tourism ministry issued a press release detailing a number of projects it had initiated for the Taj Mahal and areas around it.
According to reports, the UP government had proposed a slew of tourism projects worth Rs 370 crore, around half of which is meant for the Taj Mahal and its surrounding areas.
The proposal for the projects have been prepared in consultation with the World Bank and submitted to the Union government for approval, which is expected within the next three months, the release read.


text:
KEEPERS: 2017 Dynasty Reload—3B
This is the fourth installment of our annual off-season series aimed at helping keeper league (KL) and dynasty owners address needs over the next 3-5 years. Each week we will examine a position, and note players and prospects who 1) are likely available in your league; and 2) we think have a good shot at earning double-digit R$ sometime between 2017 and 2019.
Stable, established contributors are more difficult than ever to acquire, be it by trade or off your league's free agent list. This is even more valid for rebuilders with little excess talent to barter, and particularly relevant with respect to position players in deeper leagues.
We'll attempt to identify the best and most MLB-ready of both marginal producers and legit prospects with upside, some with little to no MLB track record. And of course context matters—in terms of opportunity, risk, health, age, price and productivity time-line. Our filter uses the following criterion:
- Player must be growth-age—27 years old—or younger as of April 1, 2017
- Player must have earned less than $10 in a 5x5 format during 2016
- Player must have 100+ AB above A+, AFL experience, or 5 years in professional foreign ball
Links to previous positions: C | 1B | 2B
As at most positions, newcomer strength at third base has been cyclical. And after clicking on six $10+ breakouts in 2015, we could come up with just five potential candidates for our 2016 list, of which only Jake Lamb and Nick Castellanos met our R$ target. With respect to Joey Gallo, Colin Moran and Giovanny Urshela—none of whom we were particularly excited about in terms of 2016 production—were given an extended opportunity, nor did they deserve better given their minor league performance. Brandon Drury worked out nicely as our only missed-the-cut click, earning $13 playing all over (and now ticketed for 2B in 2017). We also mentioned and projected all of double-digit earners Javier Baez, Eugenio Suarez, Travis Shaw, but all at different positions. All of these names eventually played at least 20 games at third base, again pointing out the value of versatility.
The good news now is that this year's third base list offers more upside than 2016. And once again, names with eligibility/expectations at other positions in this series—including but not limited to Wilmer Flores, Joey Gallo, etc.—could qualify and thrive at third base if the breaks go that way.
After setting up huge expectations by destroying the high-minors (.986 OPS, 20 HR, 47/38 BB/K over 314 AA/AAA AB), Alex Bregman (3B, HOU) struggled in his first 10 MLB games (2-for-38) before turning things around. And he didn't a hit an MLB HR until his 21st game. Bregman ended up batting .264, earning $5 largely fueled by AB at the top of the HOU lineup. But from August 16—the date of his first HR—on, Bregman finished the season going 40-for-124 (.323 BA) with 8 HR and a .600+ Slg. His pedigree, minor league plate skills and ability to adjust suggest that we're likely to see a continuation of this late surge as opposed to regression. If the Bregman owner in your league is asleep, this could be your only buying opportunity barring injury, because Bregman is on the verge of becoming a star.
Jeimer Candelario (3B, CHC) is our above-the-cut 3B sleeper, with opinions dependent on when one saw him play in 2016. Our own Chris Blessing watched Candelario during his 1H stuggles (.219 BA over .210 AB) in the Double-A Southern League—and was low man on the recommendation scale at our recently-concluded First Pitch Arizona Forum. Others saw Candelario adjust and thrive in a surprising Triple-A promotion thereafter, where he posted a .333/.437/.542 line with 9 HR and a 38/53 BB/K over 264 AB. All agree that the switch-hitting Candelario has the plate skills, pop and just enough glove to man an infield corner; the question is when and for whom? Blocked in CHC, the 23-year-old Candelario needs a trade to see an extended MLB gig. Now given his spot on the 40-man-roster and 630 AB in the high minors, the odds are likely that this happens at some point in 2017.
In a mild 2016 surprise, Cheslor Cuthbert (3B, KC) earned $9 in 2016, filling in for injured Mike Moustakas and posting a .274 BA and 12 HR on 475 AB. Despite an 80% ct%, a .248 xBA and sub-par power metrics (88/74 PX/xPX) suggests that Cuthbert's immediate ceiling is limited—and both a healthy Moustakas along with a charging Hunter Dozier seemingly leave him with nowhere to play. But Cuthbert is taking 2B reps now, and Moustakas is an FA at the end of 2017, if the Royals don't move him before then. A decent defender, Cuthbert has always had good minor league contact and better patience than he showed in KC— and he was hinting at a little more pop just prior to his 2016 call-up. He's unlikely to soar in 2017, but now just 24 years old, Cuthbert is now a good bet to at least get more opportunities somewhere over the next few seasons.
Ryan Healy's (3B, OAK) surprise $9 2016 half-season (.305 BA, 13 HR in 269 AB) has left plenty of questions as to where he goes from here. On the plus side Healy entered last off-season determined to generate more power by altering his hitting mechanics—and a combined career-high 27 HR between Double-A, Triple-A and OAK say he was wildly successful. Ironically, at the same time he was able to produce a career-high BA as well, and hold a lofty .300+ mark in his MLB debut. Our peripherals suggest that it won't get any better than this. Fueled by a 35% h%, Healy outhit his xBA by 32 points, and neither a 4% bb% nor a 102 xPX are too optimistic about plenty of 20+ HR seasons to come. That Healy pulled 12 of his 13 HR to the left of second base further suggests that this isn't a plus power profile, and that MLB pitchers may adjust. Still, Healy is a capable performer who now owns the OAK third-base job. He's earned plenty of near-term rope, giving him a good shot at upping his R$ over a full 2017 season.
Having yet to see his first high-minors AB, Yoan Moncada (3B, CHW) received a mention in our 2B below-the-cut line last winter. Now a year later, Moncada has ripped through A+ and Double-A with an aggregate .294/.411/.511 line over 405 AB. The 15 HR at a young age (21) offered glimpses of Moncada's power upside while reaffirming his outstanding patience (72 BB) and plus-plus running game (45/12 SB/CS) from 2015. Contact (124 Ks) has become a tougher hurdle at the higher levels, as was emphasized in a 12 K, 4-for-17 late-season debut in BOS. But while Moncada will likely begin 2017 again in the high minors, his refined skills and explosive athleticism make him as close to a can't-miss prospect as there is today. Now out of BOS and with CHW, Moncada could resurface at 2B or even the OF, depending on the White Sox' needs. Even if the contact and BA lag for a while at the MLB level, don't be surprised to see him earn $10+ on his legs alone, whether that happens in 2017 or beyond.
On the heels of his breakthrough rookie 2015, Miguel Sano (3B/OF/DH, MIN) struggled through a lost season and still managed to earn $9. Obviously his value was again driven by tremendous power (25 HR, 172/157 PX/xPX) and willingness to take a walk (11% bb%). But Sano struggled early defensively with a move to the OF, and throughout the season with injuries, including hamstring, elbow and back woes. A return to his old position coupled with the non-tender of Trevor Plouffe looks like a vote of confidence (even though he could well end up at DH), and better health will almost certainly mean a return to double-digit R$. But that .236 BA and just a marginal uptick in Sano's sub-60% ct% raises legitimate questions as to his ceiling from here—particularly if he struggles defensively at third base. If you're a believer in an injury-free Sano's ability to make better contact and his 40-HR upside, your purchase window is open.
Missed our cut, but worth watching:
Christian Arroyo (3B, SF): Posted just a .274/.316/.373 line with 3 HR over 474 AB while young (21) for Double-A and in offense-stifling home venue (.315 BA on the road). Better pitch selection would help excellent contact. Split 2016 time between three infield spots; could debut as MLB utility in 2017.
Matt Chapman (3B, OAK): Power-and-patience combo (36 HR, 68 BB) leaped forward in 589 AB between AA-AAA—but so did the strikeouts (173). Outstanding defensive upside, only contact stands in the way of an MLB career.
Yandy Diaz (3B, CLE): Power-challenged Cuban import offers plate skills and defense, showed all of this in .318/.408/.446 (9 HR, 71/86 BB/K) performance in 444 AB between AA-AAA. 25-year-old took some OF reps in 2016, now seeks utility role in CLE.
Hunter Dozier (3B/OF, KC): Older (25) prospect retained patience, finally unlocked power with first 20+ HR season as BA rebounded to .300 level between AA-AAA. Contact—123 Ks in 486 AB—still fuel skepticism. Blocked at 3B in KC for now, took some 2016 OF reps at AAA and KC.
Rafael Devers (3B, BOS): 19-year-old LHB with advanced hit tool, bat speed and power projection fought through 1H struggles to hit .326 in 267 2H in full-season A+ debut. Improved defensively, though MLB position remains in question. Ceiling merits a mention despite zero high-minors AB.
Ryan McMahon (3B/1B, COL): 21-year-old LHB with good power and patience struggled to .242/.325/.399 line (12 HR, 466 AB) in first Double-A effort. Strikeouts (161 of them) remain an ongoing problem, though Coors Field can minimize their effect. Work-in-progress defender with strong arm, now playing some 1B.
Jefrey Marte (3B/1B/OF, LAA): Bench utility is his likely upside, but $7 2016 was a mild surprise, particularly improvements in contact, HctX and vs. RHPs. 2016 gains and power (15 HR, 135/109 PX/xPX in 258 AB) makes him a reasonable end-game/roster pick in deep leagues.
Colin Moran (3B, HOU): Disappointing season from former first-round pick and pure hitter. Strikeout suddenly became an issue, fueling career-worst .259 BA. No follow-through on 2015 2H power uptick. Kept most of his patience, but 24-year-old might need a change of scenery to become viable again.
Renato Nunez (3B/OF, OAK): 22-year-old hit 23 HR—his four-year average—in first Triple-A shot; now mashing (10 HR through 106 AB) in winter ball. But poor pitch selection, .228 BA and 31/119 BB/K over 505 AAA AB say he'd be an MLB liability right now. Average defender now getting some LF time.
Rio Ruiz (3B, ATL): Fast-rising LHB with solid patience and .265 career BA has yet to develop power projected by some. Strikeouts spiked to troublesome levels at Triple-A (116 Ks over 465 AB). Still young (22), but knocking on MLB rebuilder's door after 885 high-minors AB.
Nick Senzel (3B, CIN): 2016 1st-round pick and polished college bat showed off in his professional debut, posting .329/.415/.567 line with 32 BB, 7 HR and 15 SB over 210 AB. Fast-mover potential.
Glossary Primer.


text:
Horror: The Airplane Bathroom
No one likes to talk about how horrible airplane bathrooms can be. They are small and according to Bloomberg, they are getting smaller. They are airless. They are dirty after a long flight. Soap, toilet paper and even water can be gone. Some are so small that disabled women or larger
women cannot use them. On some American flights, says Bloomberg, the bathroom is only 22.1 inches across at the passenger's chest level when seated.
So what is the best way to deal with this nasty necessity.…
Gifts to buy for yourself
Longchamps carry on bag in a dark but 'cool' color. If you buy in a duty free shop, you pay a bit less $145 vs $120?. Choose the style that has handles long enough to put over your shoulder. That style in its smallest incarnation cannot be locked ( a good idea if you sleep on the plane and don't know your seat mate). Best prices are going to be when currencies are low compared to the US: Mexico City for our Mexico trips, any Euro denominated country like France or Italy for our trips there.…
What I learned when caught in a dangerous riot
Yes I was in a dangerous riot along with a member of our group. Here is what happened and what we learned. We decided to follow pedestrians all walking in one direction. Perhaps there was market? festival? parade? We ended up facing a large square, empty except for a line of men and women. Was this a parade? We quickly noticed another line moving forward; it was one of armed police. It took a moment to realize there was going to be a confrontation.…


text:
Hello there! Our song this week is Johnny B. Goode. It is one of the greatest, most iconic rock 'n roll songs. We will review the original 1958 version by Chuck Berry, and we will discuss covers by The Beach Boys and by Jimi Hendrix. Finally, we throw in some "bonus video" of the song from the movie Back To The Future.
Chuck Berry, Johnny B. Goode:
Charles Anderson "Chuck" Berry has recently turned 90. His status as a rock 'n roll pioneer is so important that John Lennon once said, "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
We have covered Chuck Berry in previous blog posts. We reviewed his song Back in the USA (and the Beatles' song Back In The USSR); also Chuck's song Sweet Little Sixteen (and the Beach Boys Surfin' USA, which is the same tune); and Chuck's first hit Maybellene.
Chuck grew up in St. Louis and became interested in rhythm and blues, admiring both the guitar style and the flamboyant showmanship of blues guitarist T-Bone Walker. Berry began performing with a trio headed by pianist Johnnie Johnson.
Below is a photo of a young Chuck Berry with his electric guitar.Embed from Getty Images
At the suggestion of blues great Muddy Waters, Chuck auditioned for Leonard Chess of Chess Records. At the time Berry was interested in rhythm and blues, so he tried out some blues songs for Chess. However, Chess Records had an incredible stable of blues musicians such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, and so had little use for Chuck's blues offerings.
In 1955 during a rehearsal with Chess Records, the producer heard Berry goofing off with fellow bandmates between takes. When asked what he was playing, he said it was a variation on a country song, Ida Red, that was performed by Bob Wills' western swing band. When performing, the Johnnie Johnson Trio occasionally mixed country songs into their playlist of blues and ballads.
In one of those critical moments of serendipity, the producer urged Berry to try a rocking song in the spirit of Ida Red. Chuck sat down and wrote a new set of lyrics. This became his first hit record Maybellene, which made it to #1 on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues charts.
Maybellene established a formula for a string of Chuck Berry hits. They all featured Chuck's rapid-fire lyrics that painted a vivid word-picture. This was combined with his signature rock guitar riffs, which were meticulously copied by generations of budding rock guitarists. The early Chess recordings also featured Johnnie Johnson on piano, and blues great Willie Dixon thumping away on his upright bass.
Another trademark of Chuck Berry performances was his showmanship. Chuck would move across the floor with nifty dance steps, swing and sway back and forth with his guitar.
Early on he added his signature move, the duck-walk, shown in the photo at left. For that move he would hunch over with his guitar stretched in front of him; he would hop on one leg while swinging the other leg forward.
Chuck Berry wrote Johnny B. Goode in 1955. The song describes a young lad from the Southern countryside, living in a log cabin, learning to play guitar, and listening to his mother's dream that he would become famous.
Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play a guitar just like a ringing a bell.
Go go, go, Johnny, go, [4x]
Go, Johnny B. Goode
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Or sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.
Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade,
Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made.
The people passing by, they would stop and say,
"Oh, my, but that little country boy could play!"
The song was highly autobiographical. First off, Chuck was born at 2520 Goode Avenue in St. Louis. Second, the original lyrics referred to "that little colored boy," but Berry changed the lyrics to "that little country boy" to appeal to both black and white audiences.
As with many Chuck Berry tunes, Johnny B. Goode is justly famous for its great guitar riffs. Many of his songs feature guitar licks invented by Chuck; however, in this case, the major "Johnny B. Goode" guitar riff was borrowed note-for-note from a solo by Carl Hogan, the guitarist for Louis Jordan.
Before it was recorded, Johnny B. Goode was one of the main songs on the playlist of the Johnnie Johnson Trio. However, when it was recorded at Chicago's Chess Records Studios, the pianist was not Johnson but Lafayette Leake. This is evident from the fact that Johnnie Johnson's piano playing was generally a straightforward rhythm backing, while Leake is a significantly more flamboyant musician.
Here is Chuck Berry "performing" his song Johnny B. Goode.
I put "performing" in air quotes, since Chuck is not actually giving a live performance; he is simply lip-synching to the record. However, it's just wonderful to hear those iconic guitar riffs, and to see Chuck sporting his trademark Gibson ES 350T guitar.
Chuck does give us a couple of his patented dance moves. In one move, he squats down and then stands back up. Unfortunately, the camera is focused only on Berry's upper body at this time. Chuck also shows off a move where he spreads his legs progressively wider apart, until he's doing the split; then he straightens himself up while holding his guitar directly in front of him in a suggestively phallic manner.
Now, let's show another clip, this one a truly live performance.
Here, Chuck plays Johnny B. Goode live in 1958. In a previous blog post, we showed Chuck Berry playing in Paris. I believe this may be another clip from the same concert. Males in the audience are generally dressed in coat and tie, and despite the fact that the beat is nearly irresistible, the audience remains stationary, hardly even clapping for most of the song.
In this song, we also see a common feature of Chuck Berry performances. In order to save money, Chuck frequently toured without a backing band. He would simply hire local musicians to accompany him.
When he was lucky, Chuck would get a group who were familiar with rock 'n roll, and could play along with him. However, frequently he ended up with jazz combos, or 40s-style big bands. They might be talented musicians, but often didn't know the first thing about rock 'n roll.
And Chuck didn't help, as he expected the musicians to simply follow his lead. In some cases, the band didn't even know what key a song would be played in; so the results could be disastrous. But it's great to see Chuck reprising his great guitar solos.
Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones commented that, after his initial hits, Chuck continued to release effectively the same song over and over again. It's true that Chuck Berry's biggest hits contain many re-cycled elements. But heck, Chuck invented this stuff – so why not stay true to a proven formula?
Johnny B. Goode has become one of the most famous rock 'n roll songs. It has been covered a couple hundred times, by musicians such as Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, French rock star Johnny Hallyday, Elton John, and George Thorogood.
Over a ten-year period, Chuck Berry charted a number of hits that established him as one of the great pioneers in rock music. Chuck also had a keen understanding of the irony that, as a 30-year old black ex-con, he was writing songs and selling records primarily to an audience of middle-class white teen-agers.
But Chuck's lyrics were really terrific, and songs like Sweet Little Sixteen or School Days effectively conveyed to his teen audiences the joys and frustrations of growing up in America.
Alas, in 1962 Chuck was convicted of violation of the Mann Act (transporting a minor across state lines for sexual purposes), and served 18 months in jail. The Mann Act had racist implications, as it was frequently enforced against black men involved with white women.
Chuck resumed his career once he got out of jail, but his records had less commercial success than before. And paradoxically, the British Invasion put a real dent in his record sales. Chuck was understandably bitter over the irony – groups like the Beatles and Rolling Stones, who adored Berry and covered many of his records, were threatening to put him out of business!
However, even though artists like Chuck Berry and Little Richard saw their record sales decline, they remained in great demand on tour. So they managed to stay afloat financially in those difficult times.
Over the years Chuck Berry has received virtually every honor in the field. He was a shoo-in for induction into the 1986 inaugural class at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. One of the comments in his Hall of Fame bio was that he
"laid the groundwork for not only a rock and roll sound but a rock and roll stance."
How true! Chuck also is ranked fifth on the Rolling Stone list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
The Beach Boys, Johnny B. Goode:
The Beach Boys were one of the greatest rock and roll groups in history. They were formed in 1961 in California, and initially were primarily a family band. The three Wilson brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl teamed up with cousin Mike Love and family friend David Marks. They were initially known as the Pendletones, named after the Pendleton wool shirts popular with California surfers.
In an earlier blog post, we discussed the Beach Boys' song Surfin' USA, which used the same tune as Chuck Berry's Sweet Little Sixteen, but which replaced the list of cities in Chuck's tune with a catalog of surfing hot spots.
At first the Beach Boys were just a singing group, with the instrumental work provided by studio musicians. However, the brothers gradually became proficient on various instruments – Carl on electric guitar, Brian on bass and Dennis on drums. David Marks left fairly early and was replaced by Al Jardine. Jardine, together with Mike Love and the three Wilson brothers, made up the best-known Beach Boys lineup of the 60s.
The Beach Boys soon replaced their wool Pendleton shirts with a classic combination of striped shirts and white pants, as shown in the photo below. L to R: Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson, Al Jardine, Dennis Wilson, Mike Love.Embed from Getty Images
Early on, the Beach Boys were managed by Murry Wilson, the father of the Wilson brothers. However, it became clear that Brian Wilson was the brains of the outfit. Brian wrote the songs, oversaw the productions, and began taking control of all major decisions. In sharp contrast to Brian's brilliance, Murry showed truly awful instincts regarding the group's musical directions and financial decisions. Once Murry was ousted as the group's agent, Brian took charge.
In late 1964, after suffering a panic attack on an airplane flight, Brian stopped touring with the Beach Boys. Thereafter, he did all his work in the studio. So videos like the Shindig! clip, showing Brian Wilson performing live with the Beach Boys, are relatively rare, and almost non-existent after 1964.
Here are the Beach Boys in a live performance of Johnny B. Goode. This was filmed on Dec. 23, 1964 for the ABC series Shindig! Mike Love and Brian Wilson share the lead vocals, with Carl on lead guitar, Al Jardine on rhythm guitar and Dennis playing the drums.
What do you think? My reaction is that the Beach Boys are simply adequate on this Chuck Berry cover. Although Brian Wilson loved the early rockers like Chuck Berry and Little Richard, this isn't really their trademark style. Furthermore, it seems to me that the boys are still trying to master their instruments. But it's great to see the band in a rare live performance including Brian.
Let me interject a few words about Shindig! It aired on ABC for two years from 1964-66. Initially, it was brought in as a replacement for Hootenanny, when the folk music craze crashed at the start of the British Invasion.
Shindig! was impressive in a number of ways. First, they always insisted on live music – none of that lip-synching you got from Dick Clark! The show featured a dance troupe (their most famous dancer became actress Teri Garr), and also a house band called the Shin-Diggers.
Many of the best West Coast session musicians, who would later become known as the Wrecking Crew, appeared with the Shin-Diggers. The group included Billy Preston, Glen Campbell, James Burton and Leon Russell. In the early days when Brian Wilson was unable to travel with the Beach Boys, Glen Campbell would often fill in for him on tour.
Once the Beach Boys mastered their instruments, they became the kings of surf rock. Their vocal style, stimulated by groups like the Four Freshmen and by harmonies borrowed from barbershop quartets, is impressive and very creative.
Carl Wilson's guitar licks were a close copy of the surf guitar stylings of musicians like Dick Dale. No one could touch the Beach Boys when it came to surf pop. Even their major competitors like Jan and Dean, or Ronnie and the Daytonas, would often score hits with tunes written by Brian Wilson.
Brian Wilson was a musical genius. His writing was incredibly creative; and he pioneered a number of innovative studio techniques. Brian worked closely with the Wrecking Crew studio musicians, and his work became progressively more complex and novel. All of this culminated in the Beach Boys' seminal 1966 album Pet Sounds.
That album is now considered one of the greatest pop albums of all times. In addition to extremely sophisticated vocal harmonies, recording techniques and instrumental arrangements, the album also incorporated a number of unique sounds – sleigh bells, bicycle horns, barking dogs.
On the Pet Sounds album, Brian shared deeply personal experiences and thoughts. The other Beach Boys simply showed up to record their vocals, did not play instruments on the album, and had essentially no input into the project.
Unfortunately, Brian Wilson found himself under terrific strain. A combination of drug-related and mental health issues made Brian withdraw more and more. Brian was able to oversee one more record – the stunning, extraordinarily complex 1966 single Good Vibrations. However, that project took an exceptionally long time to complete, for what was at the time an unprecedented cost.
Eventually Brian became unable to function normally; as a result, he was unable to complete his next album concept, Smile. That project eventually became the most controversial and anticipated 'unfinished album' of all time.
Another piece of bad news was that Pet Sounds did not sell as well as the Beach Boys' earlier albums. The more esoteric and challenging songs from Pet Sounds did not attract the widespread youth support that the group experienced with their earlier surfer songs. Pet Sounds was a critical success but a commercial disappointment.
Brian Wilson's drug and mental health issues led to a subsequent mental breakdown. Eventually Brian became a patient of a highly controversial psychotherapist, Eugene Landy.
Did Landy's unconventional treatment methods get Brian off illegal drugs and get his weight under control? Or was Landy a dangerous control freak whose treatment methods may have actually exacerbated Wilson's condition, and who was unprofessionally enriching himself at Brian Wilson's expense?
Given the vehement criticism of Landy and his methods, Brian Wilson himself has been surprisingly positive about his former therapist. "I still feel that there was benefit. I try to overlook the bad stuff and be grateful for what he taught me."
Jimi Hendrix, Johnny B. Goode:
Jimi Hendrix is generally considered the greatest rock guitarist of all time. He was born in Seattle, and was a shy, introverted youth who spent considerable time in foster care as his parents were both alcoholics who became violent when they were intoxicated.
As a youth, one of Jimi Hendrix's prize possessions was a ukulele with just one string. Jimi taught himself to play a few songs, and in 1958 got his first guitar and practiced learning the guitar parts to famous rock 'n roll songs.
Below is a photo of Jimi Hendrix performing at Royal Albert Hall, in Feb. 1969.Embed from Getty Images
After being discharged from the Army, Jimi moved to Nashville, where he performed at a number of black venues on what was known as the Chitlin' Circuit. He also worked as a session musician for artists such as Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke.
In 1964, Hendrix moved to New York and began frequenting clubs in Harlem. He was hired as a guitarist with the Isley Brothers backup band, and later worked with Little Richard's backup band, The Upsetters.
Hendrix had trouble in both bands, as he persisted in showing off his flashy guitar techniques when he was supposed to be working in the background for the star vocalists. So he assembled his own band and began performing in Greenwich Village.
There, Hendrix caught the eye of Chas Chandler. Chandler had been the bass player for the British Invasion group The Animals. Upon leaving The Animals, Chandler was looking for groups to produce.
Chandler brought Hendrix to London, and hooked him up with guitarist Noel Redding, who agreed to play bass with the group, and drummer Mitch Mitchell. They formed the Jimi Hendrix Experience.
The group rehearsed for a couple of weeks in fall, 1966, and were ready to go. Their first performances must have been phenomenal, because in November 1966, when the Jimi Hendrix Experience appeared at London's Bag O'Nails Club, the audience included
Eric Clapton, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Brian Jones, Mick Jagger.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience had three hit singles in the U.K. – Hey Joe, Purple Haze, and The Wind Cries Mary – before they ever released an album. Their first album, Are You Experienced, was released in the U.K. in May, 1967. The cover of that album is shown at left.
While I was a graduate student at Oxford in the mid-60s, a friend of mine named Royal Hutchinson had amazingly good taste in rock music. Through Royal, I was introduced to Cream, The Doors, Jeff Beck – the latest in hard-rock music. I became aware of several new groups very shortly after the release of their first albums.
I remember vividly hearing the first Hendrix album Are You Experienced in the middle of 1967. Shortly afterwards, Royal told me that some friends of his were going to London to see Jimi. Did I want to come along?
"Well," I told him; "I am now married, and working on my PhD thesis research. I just would not have the time for it." However, the truth was – Jimi Hendrix was just too weird for me.
At that time, I was simply not prepared for the jarring elements of this guitar band. Although the music was astounding – how could all this sound emanate from just a trio? – I found the feedback, distortion and unfamiliar technical effects disconcerting.
While a graduate student, I saw a fascinating and mind-boggling number of live concerts; however, I am haunted by artists whom I failed to see. There is probably no one I regret missing more than Jimi Hendrix, right at the beginning of his amazing and tragic run.
Here is Jimi Hendrix live at the Berkeley Community Center, from a concert on May 30, 1970. This was part of the U.S. leg of Jimi's City of Love tour, where Jimi appeared in a trio featuring Billy Cox on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums.
OK, neither the audio nor video are of high quality. However, you can catch Jimi's genius at work. You can see Jimi playing his Fender Stratocaster in his usual style – he turned the guitar upside down, allowing him to play left-handed.
You can see the mind-boggling chords, and his astonishing finger-work. If you watch carefully, you can see his right thumb wrapping around the neck of the guitar to play some of the notes.
Jimi does not so much 'cover' Chuck Berry's iconic tune, but he transforms it. You can see several of Jimi's trademark innovations: the creative use of extreme feedback; and playing the guitar with his teeth. Jimi finishes up with a blistering, searing virtuoso run on the guitar. I just have to say – wow!
The Jimi Hendrix Experience lasted for three mind-blowing albums. His other two albums were Axis: Bold As Love (the album cover, showing Jimi and his bandmates as various incarnations of Vishnu, is shown at left), and Electric Ladyland. After that, the trio broke up at the end of June 1969, due to personal differences.
It must have been difficult to deal with Jimi's personal habits. On the one hand, he was a perfectionist; insisting on numerous re-takes, constantly working on technical effects and trying out new innovations.
At the same time, recording sessions were apparently a complete shambles. Jimi would invite his friends around, and what was supposed to be dedicated studio work would frequently resemble a giant party.
By the time of the Woodstock Festival in August 1969, Jimi Hendrix was the highest-paid rock musician in the world. However, having split with his "Experience" band-mates just two months ago, Hendrix arrived with a motley crew of musicians whom he called 'The Band of Gypsys.' They had only performed together for a couple of weeks.
As a result, Jimi's performance at Woodstock involved mainly long, rambling solos by Jimi, with little input from his fellow musicians. But one of those solos was Jimi's iconic performance of the Star-Spangled Banner.
Jimi appeared on stage wearing a white leather jacket covered with blue beads and sporting a fringe, with a red scarf around his head, as shown at left. His Star-Spangled Banner featured
copious amounts of amplifier feedback, distortion, and sustain to replicate the sounds made by rockets and bombs.
Hendrix's performance of the national anthem was a sensation, and would become one of the most remembered elements of the blockbuster documentary film Woodstock. Pop critic Al Aronowitz of The New York Post wrote:
"It was the most electrifying moment of Woodstock, and it was probably the single greatest moment of the sixties."
The Band of Gypsys produced a single double album and then disbanded. Hendrix then assembled a new trio, with bassist Noel Redding from the original Jimi Hendrix Experience replaced with Billy Cox. In mid-1970 the group commenced the City of Love tour, from which we saw the video clip of his Berkeley performance.
In September the City of Love tour had reached Europe. Hendrix spent the night of Sept. 17 with girlfriend Monika Dannemann. Dannemann testified that they had a bottle of wine, visited some friends, and returned to her apartment.
The following morning, Dannemann found Hendrix unconscious and unresponsive. He was taken to a hospital, but pronounced dead early that afternoon. A post-mortem autopsy revealed that Hendrix had died of asphyxia while intoxicated with barbiturates. It was later determined that Jimi had taken 9 of Dannemann's prescription sleeping pills; this was 18 times the recommended dosage.
What a tragic, untimely loss! Although Jimi Hendrix only performed as a solo artist for about five years, his contributions were simply mind-blowing.
Hendrix was constantly discovering creative ways to harness technology with his guitar. In order to maximize the feedback and distortion, he would turn up every knob on his Marshall amplifiers to the highest level; this became known as the "Hendrix setting."
He pioneered the use of pedals to create special effects, such as the wah-wah, Fuzz Face and Octavia pedals. Jimi also employed a Uni Vibe phase shifter, in order to simulate the modulating effects of a rotating Leslie speaker.
Jimi Hendrix was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Rolling Stone magazine voted Hendrix #1 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, and also Guitar World ranks him as the top guitarist of all time.
One strange note – in Aug. 2016, Jimi Hendrix was inducted into the R&B Hall of Fame. WTF – what took them so long??
"Michael J. Fox," Johnny B. Goode:
Just for fun, here is "bonus video" from the movie Back To The Future. I consider this 1985 sci-fi comedy film to be incredibly creative and enjoyable. At left is a poster advertising the first Back To The Future movie.
Michael J Fox, who plays the lead character Marty McFly, travels back in time with his friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd. The 17-year-old McFly returns to 1955, a time when his mother was also 17.
Below is a photo of Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd, appearing in a subsequent TV series Spin City.Embed from Getty Images
A crucial plot element in Back To The Future is that in 1955, Marty needs to re-unite his mother and father, so as to avoid disrupting the space-time continuum, and to allow Marty to be born.
As part of the action, in this video clip Marty "plays guitar" with a fictitious band, Marvin Berry and the Starlighters, at Marty's mother's Nov. 1955 high school prom.
I put "plays guitar" in air quotes, as Fox is not actually playing guitar or singing. He is simply lip-synching to vocals by Mark Campbell, and miming the guitar-playing of Tim May.
However, the video clip contains many of the tongue-in-cheek conceits from the wonderful script by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis. First, Fox introduces the song as "an oldie." Of course, since Johnny B. Goode was released in 1958, none of the audience would ever have heard it.
Second, during Fox's performance, Marvin Berry is seen phoning his cousin "Chuck," and apparently providing Chuck Berry the inspiration for "his new sound." Finally, after initially playing a straight cover version of the great Chuck Berry tune, Fox then segues into a thrash guitar solo straight from the 80s.
McFly shows off some extreme feedback, the finger-tapping guitar work popularized by Eddie Van Halen, and other heavy-metal effects. Eventually, Fox realizes that the entire audience have stopped dancing and are staring in bewilderment. He tells them "Well, maybe you guys aren't ready for this … but your kids are gonna love it."
A couple of trivia notes here. First, the idea for the script originated with Bob Gale, who found his father's high school yearbook and realized that his dad was president of his graduating class. Gale recounted to Zemeckis "If I returned back in time to my father's high school class, we probably would have nothing in common." From this premise, Zemeckis and Gale constructed a story about a youth traveling back in time to his mother's high school days.
The movie Back To The Future is one of the classic movies of the 20th century. Thus, it is fascinating that the film script was rejected by nearly every major studio. The original studio, Columbia, felt that the film was "cute and warm," but not sufficiently sexy.
All other major studios rejected the film. Finally, Zemeckis and Gale approached Disney.
"They told us that a mother falling in love with her son was not appropriate for a family film under the Disney banner," Gale said.
After Zemeckis' film Romancing The Stone became a box-office smash, he had sufficient clout to re-negotiate filming of Back To The Future. Eventually, Columbia Pictures made a deal with Universal Studios. Columbia needed approval from Universal to launch a comedic re-make of the classic 40s film Double Indemnity. So, in return for Universal giving them the rights to Double Indemnity, Columbia traded Back To The Future to Universal.
Back To The Future was such a mega-hit that it is nearly impossible to imagine it without its two major stars, Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd. Thus is it striking that the movie might not have included either Fox or Lloyd.
John Lithgow was initially envisioned for the role of Doc Brown, but Lloyd was substituted when Lithgow was not available. Although Michael J Fox was the obvious choice for Marty McFly, actor Eric Stoltz was substituted when the producer of the TV series Family Ties refused to allow their star Fox time off to make the movie.
Eventually, it was realized that Stoltz was not the appropriate actor to play McFly, and Michael J Fox was given permission to make the film. And the rest is history.
Source Material
Wikipedia, Johnny B. Goode
Wikipedia, Chuck Berry
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chuck Berry bio
Wikipedia, The Beach Boys
Wikipedia, Back To The Future
Wikipedia, Michael J. Fox
Wikipedia, Jimi Hendrix