The Royce Files

Came accross a banjo tutor online that looks interesting- The How and Tao of Old Time Banjo . I once had a banjo but felt I would never learn it well enough. I returned it and got a mandolin. The rest is history. Although I would like to find a banjolin .

I n my search for connectivity in the vast plains I find some recourse in rediscovery. In this case, using the obiqteous tool Google I found a former collaborator SvenErik O . Our collaboration included a concert choir and an advant garde musical improvisation of the children's book "Nobody Plays with a Cabbage." Not much else. In all these years how did he become a music critic and be part of such a diverse set of bands? I wonder if he just put out a book where he critiques all the bands he was a part. Let me see if I can remember any...I can only remember the Lamplighters which also featured future indy filmster Brent Roske. Sven was also in dozens of jazz combos a fact which explains my code name for him: Jazz . He and numerous others were added to the nascent edition of the Royce Files at Meow Meow Moo U . There was even a guy known as Jazzmaster and another as Jazzmaster Jr. I knew SvenErik a bit more during the concert choir years. I've got a few picts from a...

O nce again I have been able to track down the elusive Fredrick J. Ostrander Esq. Here in this photo he appears to be sporting a contented hunger and an unsatisfiable desire to be on Law and Order . He does share some similarities with Jerry Orbach. Anyway I found him without distinction on this page . I did note he was around one of the Usual Suspects, a close network which Fred had developed in and after college. If you find the trail of the Usualy Suspects you will find a bread crumb trail to Fred. It's too bad I did not follow up on this theory until now. Nevertheless, check out the sorely outdated O-Files .

It appears that Bono has come out in support of the Bible, albeit the The Message concoction, but the Bible nonetheless. Here's what he had to say: "...there's a translation of Scriptures -- the New Testament and the Books of Wisdom -- that this guy Eugene Peterson has undertaken. It has been a great strength to me. He's a poet and a scholar, and he's brought the text back to the tone in which the books were written." He could be the next J.I. Packard.

Perusing the usual suspects of my inquiry I found a somewhat intriguing view of the new Superman film . And the "American Way" bit, well I'm glad that is done away with. Not that I would not like to go mano a mano with the Green Lantern (I'd have plenty of yellow things in my arsenal as well as some wood.) but the "American Way" is so ambiguous these days. It is manipulated by politicians and imposters. I'd even bet truth and justice are seen in different ways too. Maybe we need a Superman to set us straight on truth and justice.

"New York Times! Who are you supposed to trust anymore?!"- Arthur Korman, The Goodbye People by Herb Gardner Yah, like who are you going to trust! Well in an odd course of events I am feeling the New York Times. Really. I have subscription (or should it be perscription) to the Times. It all began a few weeks ago. I was home and I answered the phone. I knew from the pause it was a telemarketer. But I stayed on. As it turned out I got a few weeks free of the Times way out here in the Plains. I had sympathy for the Asiatic English speaker struggling to pronounce my name and that of where I live ( I live in Nut Decoder, duh!). I said yes and now the New York Times arrives on my porch everyday. I thought I'd hate those New York Times. However, I have found them informative and unique albeit I can see the bia occasionally. Ah, feeling those New York Times once again.

I was among the approximately 1 billion viewers who tuned into the World Cup Final (presented by Adidas of course not Landscapes by George) between France and Italy. Weeks before I had written that these 2 sides should go home mainly because they were aged players. Typically writing off an aging squad is fairly accurate. Costa Rica and perhaps Croatia were in those categories although I had them go through to knock out. Pity me for knocking the French and the Italians. They definitely proved that things do get better with age (that is if you were good before). The French and Italians were at for 90 minutes and 30 minutes of overtime. The French squad looked good going into the overtime period with the score deadlocked at a goal apiece. The Italians were clearly tired but France failed to connect with the back of the net- Buffon remained impenetrable. Then came the head butt that sent France's chances down the tubes. It was an unlikely move for the usually sedate Zindane. It was...

I decided to spend a portion of my holiday [thanks to the the founding fathers ] pioneering a new outdoor activity- bikepacking . Bikepacking is sort of like touring with a full load over a diversity of terrain. My perferred terrain- Chippewa National Forest. The national forest system has a plethora of roads, paths, and dead ends that would entertain or punish daring bikepackers. On this trek I was both entertained and punished [or as Boss Nass would say "Pew-nished"]. I found some real wild open places, glimpsed a few bald eagles, cooked some good meals, and biked a myriad of miles. The punishment I found was in trying to escape the vicious black flies . A constant swarm followed me almost the entire time. I can't out pace them, they followed right behind in their ranks. This is the worst black fly epidemic I have ever experienced. I knew I should have brought the citranella. This certainly was a lord of the flies experience.