Swingingest Christmas (Oodles Of Doodles CCVII)

I've been agonizing for months now over what to share out first for Christmas 2006. I finally decided just this morning that this record had to be it. It's got all sorts of things about it that I love to share here at Ernie (Not Bert). First, it's one of those records that's just hard as all get-out to find. I nearly dropped it when I first picked it up and realized what it was this past summer. It was at a Goodwill store in Englewood, FL, among a bunch of other mildly interesting stuff. Having never seen one in the flesh, I really had to look at it well to understand what it was. In case you don't know either, let me explain it. This is a various artists LP from 1959. What distinguishes it from the others is that one of the artists was Esquivel, who arguably had a bigger career during the Space Age Pop revival of the nineties than he did in the fifties and sixties. The other artists include Ray Martin, Mimi Hines and The Skip-Jacks.
What else is there to love about this album? Well, you get one of those RCA Victor tags that I love so much. Oddly enough, this is one of the few taglines that they repeated in their series. I shared another Merry Christmas tag with you back on the opening day of Christmas In July. (I see that I also mentioned this record, and wished for it. I guess Santa came early this year.)
Can it get much better? Of course it can. There's a doodle on the back! A sort of a Santa-themed cuckoo clock motif, where Santa and your mother hook up right at midnight. And if you look closely, someone sees Mommy kissing Santa Claus.

So all of this adds up to the perfect start to the Christmas Share-A-Thon for 2006. The only problem is that parts of this record have been released on CD. Several years ago, they took the Esquivel solo tracks, as well as the tracks on which he backs the Skip-Jacks, mixed in some LP tracks that had a holiday theme, added a rather merry non-holiday B-side, a couple of tracks by a famous swing-revival DJ featuring a voice-over from the bed-ridden Esquivel, and called it an Esquivel Christmas album. It's short, but great. So that means I can't share 6 of the 12 tracks with you. Trust me, the remaining six tracks are well worth your time. The remaining tracks all feature Ray Martin And His Orchestra, and most of those feature lead vocals by Mimi Hines. She does a great job using several different voices to make each song sound a little different. After all that build up, are you ready to download The Merriest of Christmas Pops (RCA Victor LSP-2032, 1959)? Go get it, end enjoy!

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! Same as last year, we're celebrating by sharing out pretty much the only Thanksgiving-themed track we know of, Spencer Ross-Thanksgiving Day Parade (Columbia 4-41532 7" 45 RPM single, 1960). This upbeat march is a great way to officially kick off the 2006 Christmas Share-A-Thon here at Ernie (Not Bert). It's going to be bigger and better than last year, with all your old favorites, plus more new stuff than you can shake a stick at. So as soon as you've eaten that last little bit of turkey, drop by and see what we have to offer. You won't be disappointed!

More Of The White Stuff

Those of you who experienced the Christmas Share-A-Thon last year at Ernie (Not Bert) know that I always tried to get two shares up a day. I didn't always make it, and sometimes all I could throw up was a single with two measly tracks, but I tried. So this year I intend to keep up that tradition. When possible, I like to have a theme as well, and since the holidays really haven't started yet, our theme has to be something else. And since I have a second album for skiers, here it is, making our theme 'Skiing'. This LP doesn't have the humor of our previous share, but it's got some decent tracks. The style is 70s country-rock. Think Eagles, or something similar. Maybe not as good, but you get the idea. Please download and give a listen to Six Family Mountain-Takin' A Ride With The Wind (National Ski Patrol NSP-1001). I think I shared the doodle from the back of this LP with you sometime last year... Oh, and what's with these two LPs both having a slangy contraction in their title? Curious...

The Colors, The Colors!

I'm starting to go loopy. I've recorded so much vinyl lately, it's all started to run together, but not into a black soup. Instead, it's a colorful kaleidoscope of different wavelengths, sound waves morphing into light waves. It's all so trippy...

'Twas The Day Before Thanksgiving (Oodles Of Doodles CCVI)

I can't wait anymore. Everybody is already posting their Christmas music, and I'm feeling left out. But you aren't supposed to have anything to do with Christmas until the afternoon of Thanksgiving, right? So, how about if I cheat a little and share out a non-Christmas album? Something that fits into the winter theme, but doesn't involve any holiday at all. So, how about a folk album about skiing? Yep, here's a great LP all about how great it was to go skiing in the 60s. There's some very dated terminology in here, but I'm sure you'll get the point. I only ever went skiing once (if you want to call it skiing...) and I often know what he's talking about. I had to think about Round Bottomed Bogners for a minute, but I figured it out. Oh, and there are some great little doodles around the edge of this LP that to me look like the Schmoo, but your mileage may vary. So please, download and enjoy this, the first share of the season from Ernie (Not Bert): Ray Conrad-The Cotton-Pickin' Lift Tower And Other Skiing Songs (Prestige International INT 13039) !

The Week Of Thanksgiving

Welcome to the week of Thanksgiving. I am giving thanks for the fact that I only have to work three days this week! Hooray! By a strange coincidence, the picture this week was taken on Thanksgiving Day last year. These white ibis were hanging around the small pond in my aunt's back yard last year while my family was gathered to celebrate the holiday. How's that for a coincidence?

Can You Believe Your Ears?

I found this neat-o 7" EP last week, and I've been wanting to share it ever since. This is Hearing Is Believing (RCA Victor SRA-7-1, 1954). I saw a full size LP with this cover once, but it was in terrible shape so I passed. Now I have the 7", which to me is a little cooler than the full size record, even if it is shorter. I won't bore you by sharing out the audio on this record, it's mostly classical stuff, as recorded back in the 78 RPM days and the "New Orthophonic" recordings, albeit in mono. The date on this is 1954, so stereo as we know if was still three or four years away. Anyhow, I just love that little guy with the big ear. Maybe his other ear grew to similar proportions after the advent of stereo. I threw in an image of the flip side below, in case you want to read up on how High Fidelity is your friend.

Christmas Is Coming

Just a quick note to brag about the fact that I reached over 1000 recorded Christmas tracks today. That's just for this year, by the way. Since starting sometime in June, I've gotten 1006 tracks recorded from vinyl. I think I shared out 112 of those back at Christmas In July, and there were 12 or so from the Mike Douglas LP. All the rest are either things I wanted for my own listening pleasure or things I want to share during the holiday season. So stay tuned, you won't be disappointed!

Moon Over LA

I've been remiss in not posting more of my few shots from LA. (For that matter, I still have lots of pictures from Ohio that I wanted to share, but haven't yet. (Even worse, I drove four hours to Palm Beach today, didn't take any pictures, then drove back four hours. What's wrong with me?)) Anyhow, the picture above is the moon rising over LA when I was out there. I guess the smog acted to give it the incredible color you see here, which is usually only present in full moons, and then only when it first comes up over the horizon. I tried to get some of the many planes that were buzzing about into this shot, but those didn't come out. The planes were stacked up over LAX waiting for clearance, as many as 10 at a time were visible from my vantage point, all lined up in neat little rows.

The Middle Of November

So, where am I today? Unfortunately, I'm back in Florida, which really isn't a bad thing I guess. At least you get a new calendar page to look at. Unfortunately, it's a Dead End. But what a view! This happens to be in Siesta Key Village, a small city on the island of, you guessed it, Siesta Key, Florida. The little road I was on wasn't much more than a sandy strip of old, crumbled asphalt.

Seven Miles Up

Here's another amazing view I caught from the plane on my way back from LA. I haven't figured out exactly where this is yet, but it's from well past Lake Mead. I'm guessing Utah, maybe. Anyhow, it's a populated place, as evidenced by the small marina in the left center of the shot. The lake is obviously created by some dam downstream, so in theory I should be able to find it. We'll see.

The View From Above

When I saw this scene from the air, it took me a while to believe what I was seeing. After taking the picture, bringing it home and comparing it to what I saw on Google Earth, I was sure of what I saw. On the flight back from LA, via Kansas City, we passed right over Lake Mead, and if you look closely near the center of the picture, that's Hoover Dam, the same site I brought you after my trip to Las Vegas back in June. What are the chances we'd fly right over this? I only wish the picture could be better. What you see above is after I spent half an hour in Photoshop cleaning and tinting, and as you can see, it still looks pretty poor.

Flying Rocks From Outer Space

Hooray, I'm back from LA! What a hectic two days. The best part of the trip turned out not to be the time I spent on the ground, but the time I spent in the air. It's a beautiful country from seven miles in the air. The most amazing thing I saw was totally unexpected. I was sure I would see mountains and valleys, rivers, streams and canyons, but I had not expected to see a meteor crater. But that's exactly what it was. That's the Barringer Meteor Crater, located just off I-40 near Flagstaff, Arizona. I spotted it just before the pilot came on the intercom to mention it. He mentioned the 50,000 year old crater, and noted that it had barely missed the neighboring I-40. Ha, that's funny stuff. Anyhow, it's not the best picture in the world, since I shot it through three levels of plastic in the airplane window. (Would it hurt them to clean those windows once in a while? Honestly...) Stay tuned for more shots from Air Ernie!

It's A Plane!

Hey, hey, I'm in LA. This photo brought to you by Southwest.com!

Goin' Back To Cali

Tomorrow morning I have to get up at 3 am to catch a flight to Los Angeles, California. Yep, I'm headed for the City of Angels. I'll be there for 24 hours and 15 minutes. It's a business trip, and that's all the time I could get. I don't know if I'm going to be able to squeeze in any picture taking, but I hope so. I went to California three years ago for a wedding in Berkeley, which I turned into a sort of mini-vacation. That's when I spent most of a day driving through the Marin Headlands, and where I got the shot of the Golden Gate above. I still have friends in the area, and I hope to get back someday. Looking at the pictures I took back then, I wonder what I could do now, with more experience and a better camera. Someday...

November Marches On

The page for this week is a rather nervous-looking box turtle. I found this guy at Joan Durant Park on Longboat Key here in Florida. He was minding his own business until I grabbed him and took his picture for about 10 minutes, which I'm sure just ruined his day. I saw something on TV the other day about how to tell male and female box turtles apart, but I don't remember the way it went. Something about the color of their eyes...

1 x 10^5

Well, I finally made it. I got my 100,000th hit today. It's taken about a year and a half, with a full 40,000 of them coming during last December's Share-a-thon. Thanks to everybody who has helped me get here, and here's to 1,000,000 more!

When I Die And They Lay Me To Rest

You gotta go where the pictures are, and in this case, the photo was in a cemetary. I think I have a shot of this same cemetary from my January trip, but I can't find it right now. This was in some little town in Ohio who's name escapes me. It's a weird little intersection where 5 or 6 roads come together. I'll have to look it up. Northfield, I think that's it.

November Begins

First day of the month, so you get a weekly calendar page in addition to the monthly page I just shared with you. And again, we're in the city of Cleveland. This time the picture is the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, located in Public Square near the base of Terminal Tower. When I was here a couple of weeks ago, there was massive construction going on around the monument, so you couldn't actually get very close to it.

November 2006

Welcome to November! And that means a new calendar page. Here's another view of the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland. Don't mind the construction equipment down below the round part, I'm sure the rumors of the building falling into Lake Erie are exaggerated.

Happy Halloween-Again!

Happy Halloween from the friendly vultures at Lake Myakka!

The Day Before Halloween

Here's a photo of the full moon behind a spooky old tree I promised you the other day. Pretty nice picture for the day before Halloween, don't you think? This picture seems to pre-date the blog, which explains why I haven't shared it with you before.

Rats With Racing Stripes

Did I show you this guy already? I don't think so. Ohio seems to be overrun by these rats with racing stripes. Or, if you prefer, chipmunks. They are certainly fast! I got few pictures where they are standing still. And they don't let you get close at all. I shot this guy from six feet away or so, then had to crop the picture quite a bit.

The End Of October

For the last few days of October, here are some fall gourds. I shot these in Ohio sometime last year. They were plentiful during my trip this year, too. They love their fall up there!

Deer Me

I saw plenty of deer this time in Ohio. There were some on the way in from the airport, some in people's yards, and these in the woods at Bedford Reservation. There was a third one in there somewhere, but he didn't make it into this picture. Well, she didn't, I mean.

Daybreak

After days and days of rain and snow in Ohio, this was the sunrise on my last morning there. I think maybe they were happy to see me go. And there are those crummy power lines, again!

Upon Further Reflection...

I don't know the name of either building you're looking at, but the reflection in both is Cleveland's Terminal Tower. I'm a sucker for these reflection photos. I'm not sure why...

Gorge-ous!!!

As promised (about 60 seconds ago), here's another shot from the Brecksville Reservation, a natural area set aside as a nature preserve by the city of Brecksville, Ohio. This is a the gorge through which the Chippewa Creek flows. The stone bridge you see in the background carries Route 82 (which is also the road that goes across this bridge). I shot over 100 different views of this gorge, during 5 different visits during my almost two week stay. I wanted to get just the right light, and just the right trees, as well as some blue sky. I don't think I got everything I wanted in any one picture, but this is close enough.

Massed Mushrooms

I'm still working on all my pictures from Ohio. The grand total was something close to 4800 shots, so I have plenty of them to go through. This mass of mushrooms was sprouting from a fallen tree in the Brecksville Reservation. This may well be my new favorite spot in the Cuyahoga Valley, or at least one of my favorite. There are miles and miles of trails to wander, small streams to ford and even gorgeous gorges to shoot. Oh, and black squirrels, too. I'll get you up pictures of all those things, I promise.

Unnecessary Closeup

Zoom is your friend.

Speed Dolphin

There must have been four or five of these dolphins at the beach today, but man, are they fast! This was the best I could get.

A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

I just wanted to point out that not all my days in Ohio were beset with rain and snow. I shot this on my first Saturday in town. I'm not sure of the name of the place, but it's down in the Cuyahoga Valley, right next to Szalay's, which if you know what I'm talking about, then you know right where this is.

Kestrel Konfusion

I hear you all asking "What did Ernie shoot today?" and I have the answer right here. I was visiting my parents house, picking up my cat (she stayed up there while I was in Ohio). I was about to leave when I hear some bird commotion going on out in the pasture. I saw a small bird flying up and down, up and down, squawking and crying like crazy. After watching for a few seconds, I grabbed the camera and started heading in that direction. Naturally, as soon as I had the camera in my hands, the activity stopped. I walked slowly towards the trees where the action had taken place, and as I got closer, the hawk above took off out of the tree. I'm not sure if it's a red-shoulder or a red-tail. The red-shoulders are much more common, and my parents have seen them around, but the guy above looks suspiciously like a red-tail to me. But either way, I was surprised. I was quite far away from him, so what you see is a very tight crop of a much larger picture, as are all the ones I'm sharing tonight. If anybody wants to chip in and get me a larger lens, please feel free. Anyhow, I followed this guy into the trees, and kept shooting. It wasn't until I got the pictures onto the computer tonight that I realized he was a different bird than all my other shots.

When I shot this picture, I thought it was the same bird as earlier, but you can see that it's not. Look closely, and you can see this is a much lighter bird, and it's actually much smaller. Looking closely at the 100 or so shots I squeezed off, I believe this is an American Kestrel, which would make it the first time I've seen one of those in the wild. The giveaway is the bands of dark feathers on the face, as well as the small size. I only wish I could have gotten closer, because in good light, those bands on the face are blue!

Maybe this shot of the Kestrel on a fence post will give you a better feel for his size. He flew from post to post for quite some time, perhaps scanning the grass for some prey. I was trying to slowly get closer the whole time, but probably never got closer than 100 yards or so.

When he got tired of hopping from post to post, he flew into a large dead oak tree on the other side of the fence. I couldn't get any closer at this point, so he stayed still longer. I've shown you this tree before, with a beautiful full moon behind it. (Well, I thought I had, but I can't find the post. I'll have to dig up that picture for you.)

From my far away vantage point, I could see other specks moving around my bird. I couldn't tell what they were, other than they didn't act like the kestrel. Looking at my pictures, I figured out that they were blue jays. You can see the one I caught on the wing at the upper left of this shot. Look close and you can tell he's certainly blue.

Here's a shot of another blue jay in flight. The color here is really evident. I wish I could get in-flight shots like this when I'm closer. Gotta work on getting that longer lens. Anyhow, what I finally decided happened was that the kestrel had spotted the bigger hawk in a tree, and was trying to scare or intimidate him. That was the behavior that initially drew my attention. The big hawk wasn't scared until I got closer, then he took off and flew away. The kestrel then probably returned to the area to hunt. My eyes weren't good enough to spot the difference in the field, but the camera was, thank goodness. This is all terribly exciting, isn't it?

OH To FL (+40)

Hooray! I finally made it back to Florida today. I think it was just a little above 40 when I left Cleveland, and it was almost 80 when I landed in Florida. As expected, as I was leaving Cleveland, the clouds were blowing away, the sun was coming out, and blues skies were breaking out all over. After landing in Tampa, there was nothing but blue sky. I put the top down and drove too fast all the way home. However, I did notice a distinct lack of red trees here in Florida. I wonder why that is. For the next week or so I hope to bring you highlights from my trip to Ohio. There's plenty of stuff I shot that I didn't share during the trip, so stay tuned!

Elvis Is Alive And Well And Living In NE Ohio

So here's the setup. I'm in Ohio, it's late in the day, I'm at work, walking from one building to the other. It's wet, cold, windy, downright miserable. There is a truck backing in to unload some material. As I'm walking by, the driver gets out, walks by, nods his head at me, and goes inside. I do a double take. The driver is Elvis. Wha-huh?!?! I keep my mouth shut, thinking the cold has finally gotten deep into the recesses of my brain. I walk inside and comment to the first person I see, "I just saw Elvis." They respond "Yeah, the truck driver", like they already knew this. I still can't believe I saw what I saw.

The next day, I happen to mention several times that I saw Elvis, and everybody knows about him. I'm thinking, this is national news, someone alert Soledad O'Brien! So then today, my Nextel goes beep. I answer, and someone says Elvis is back. I run out of the meeting I was in, out the back of the shop, past the truck at the dock, and into the shop. Sure enough, there's Elvis, chatting away, waiting for his truck to get loaded. Turns out, the guy is an Elvis impersonator, and he really takes it seriously. Nicest guy you could hope to meet in a dark alley at Graceland, too. The shot above is him with my buddy Cliff that I've been working with while I'm here in Ohio. I don't think I need to tell you which is which. Anyhow, he's got a website if you want to check him out. I'm thinking that I may keep my eyes open for Jimmy Hoffa and the Easter Bunny tomorrow. I might get lucky on my last day in the great white north.

Here Comes The Bride

Every time I tried to post a picture to my blog this weekend, the system was screwy. So that's why you didn't see any new pictures. But I assure you, I was out there, shooting away. My trip was extended by a few days, so I'm still in Ohio, where temps are in the mid thirties, and they are predicting rain and snow flurries for the next few days. Hooray. I took this shot Sunday, when it was completely overcast, with intermittent rain, but that didn't stop me, and about a dozen other photographers I bumped into, from shooting the fall colors. This is Bridal Veil Fall, located in the Bedford Reservation at the north end of the Cuyahoga Valley. This stream flows into Tinker Creek, which is the largest tributary of the Cuyahoga.

The Last Full Week In October

Are you tired of the Ohio pictures yet? How about a nice beach scene for a break? This week's calendar page is a shot of sunset at Venice Beach, I think, taken right before the Christmas boat parade last year. I was pretty excited that I was able to catch the moon in there as well. That's just icing on the cake.