Big Leather Couch

For all the results, check out TRAVIS of "Trav's Thoughts", because NO ONE does a DWTS recap like our buddy Travis...

So, I promised to participate in Roger's Photo Contest more and today I shall...at the same time many of my friends play along with this "Looking At The Sky On Friday" thingy that Crazy Working Mom hosts, and I had a shot I took a few weeks ago, so I thought I would show you that also...

So I decided HECK-A-DOODLE!, let's just do Freakin Friday Fotos! (Maybe I need to do some sort of graphic for this, but HECK-A-DOODLE! I just did not have time today...)

Click on the graphics to get over to the sites and see what others are doing...(and click on the photos to see them larger...)

First off...Sky shot, taken a few Sunday's ago. It had poured all morning and I had to go out to the store for something or other and when I went in, it was still raining...by the time I came out, the sun was beginning to shine and this is what the sky looked like...right off the cell camera...

I toyed with the colorization a tad to give it more of an artsy feel...hope you likey...

And, of course, I could only play
one song with that...

ENJOY...



Have a most wonderful weekend.

Be back on Monday with another Tuneage Tutelage - New Music Monday!

If you LOVE Dancing, then head over to TRAVIS'
for a complete look at last night's program.

Week #15 - Week 3 for Roger's Creative Photography Contest...click on the banner above if you want to learn more and enter or just feel like sliding around the Bloggosphere and checking out some really fantastic photos...

Ralph over at AIRHEAD 55 has also been scanning recently and he has come up with some incredible family memories...Picking through my photos as I scan them from slides and prints I am also finding some incredible memories...

This is from the mid-80's..I have used this here on The Couch before, but never for Roger's Contest, so I thought I would give it a spin...

Taken with my 200mm zoom, I was about 100 feet from this gentleman. He is a 'man of the streets' and the thing that caught my eye was his eyes... straight from the camera, no enhancements...

Hope you enjoy...

It was not easy picking the winners of this weeks NEW MUSIC MONDAY CD winners...

I am trying to spread the wealth and will continue to do so...That said...I had three newbies all interested in Ms. Richey...so I wrote down the names and put them in a cup and had a co-worker select the name of the winner and it is...Mr. Jeff of "A Word In Edgewise" send me your snail mail and Kelly Richey is on the way to you Sir.

For the Ryan Calhoun CD, we had three previous winners all express interest. Well, our puppy friend Meri did also but she does not share snail mail info, so she was eliminated...again, I wrote the three names down and had the co-worker select the name...the winner is...Bud of WTIT Tape Radio. The CD will be on the way Sir.

Congrats to both. We have a stack of CDs we are listening to and will be featuring two (maybe even three) next Monday.

When I went to Vegas, I sat next to a gentleman who is a pilot for NWA...we struck up a conversation and it turned to music - SHOCK - and it turned out he is a collector of live bootlegs also. On the way to me is a bunch of Allman Brothers shows, and I am psyched! I also just put in my order for the show Nancy and I saw in Tunica and will share some of that when it arrives...

Let's leave with some of my favorite music...this is Mr. Clarence Carter, from the DUANE ALLMAN ANTHOLOGY VOL. 1 collection..."Road Of Love"

And now to announce the winner of the AC/DC "No BUll - The Director's Cut" DVD. A number of you shared your reason for being awarded this prize in various degrees of humor and sincerity...I LOVE IT ALL! I hope I can continue to share the new and old music and obtain the give-aways when I can.

That said...

LIKE IT HAD TO BE SAID AT ALL?!?!?!?! GET ON WITH IT!

I will if you allow me to do so...This comment was the only one that included lyrics...and how can you not reward lyrics!

Hey if you let me win it, I will award you #1 again "NOT" lol! Whoever you chose will be very deserving of winning it, although a fan I have every album and they made, so I guess I'm gonna ride onnnn ride onnnn ride onnnn! ;D

So, ROGER...congrats my man...a true fan of AC/DC and we get a mini-concert to boot, your comment is the one this time. Send me your snail mail and I will get it out to you.

Thanks again for participating everyone!

Another day closer to seeing the greatest band still on the road today, in my humble opinion. Honestly, if you have a chance to see the Allman Brothers, take it. This lineup with Warren Hayes and Derek Trucks taking on the Dickie Betts/Duane Allman roles is as close to the original as it comes.

I keep thinking about putting bits and pieces of info out there now on this band and their history, but do not want to water down the Tuneage Tutelage for next week.

Nancy is on her way back from Durham and training...OH, did I tell y'all she got a new job! YUP...a better company, a better product to sell, a better life...I am so excited for her! She will work out of her home and have some more traveling to do, but the benefits are great and the incentives are attainable...OH and significant others are included in the incentives! WOO!

It appears they have canceled the Presdential debate for this Friday so that Senators McCain and Obama can get involved with the 'fixin' of our economy'...

I also heard they are unsure if the debate will be rescheduled because the timing is so tight. I deplore this. I insist they have a debate and there better be a Vice-Presidential debate also.

These are the times when the candidates must speak to the issues and not to the 'happy thoughts' they try and hypnotize us with...I am also curious is the $5,000,000 shelled out by Ole Miss will be refunded. The campus has been turned upside down the last few weeks with students inconvenienced as part of the campus were posted as unavailable. There were Secret Service undercover agents in "The Grove" - where the greatest tail-gating party in the world occurs (right Nancy!?!).

There have been undercover agents on campus for weeks, blending into the student body Now at the last second, it is canceled.

Reschedule gentlemen...reschedule.... See I posted last night when I had heard bits and pieces...now I know it is Senator McCain who can not multi-task...who has asked for a delay...He can't multi-task??? He wants to be President????

I THINK NOT!

And I really think you will hear an announcement that McCain will ask the date to be changed to the same day as the VP Debates were to be held, with a suggestion that the VP debate be canceled and the Presidential debate held instead...

My NY Yankees are out of the playoffs for the first time in 13-years. The longest streak by any team ever. The addition of the Wild Card certainly makes that kind of number more attainable, but no one else has done it but them.

This will be the first year that Derek Jeter does not play in the post season, a remarkable achievement in itself. Now, granted, he had a 'sub-par' year himself. Oh and BTW, sub-par for Mr. jeter is a .301 batting average, 11 home runs and 69 RBIs. The last number is where it hurt us this year.

There is talk that he has been hurting since being hit in the hand by a pitch earlier in the season and he has been asked about it many times. His response is always the same..."Everyone plays hurt during the season".

Class and Dignity...even if you hate the Yankees it is tough to hate a player like Mr. Jeter and be assured, he will be back with a vengeance next year.

OK, going back to the second band Greg & Duane recorded with (the first was called The Allman Joys and there is some music out there, but it is difficult to find), this is Hourglass...the song is "Been Gone To Long"...the record company wanted Greg and 'muted' the talent of the band during the recording of their two albums.

This was not included on the albums, but appeared on Duane Allman Anthology II.
When I digitized this, I lost some of the lower register in the beginning...Going to have to re-digitize that whole album I think....

ENJOY...

Week #9 for Roger's Creative Photography Contest...click on the banner above if you want to learn more and enter or just feel like sliding around the Bloggosphere and checking out some really fantastic photos...

Back to the early '80's...New York City...Beacon Theater...Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Cassidy...HOT TUNA ACOUSTIC!

I had a seat off center stage about 15 rows back. In those days, they did not hassle for cameras...so I had my A-1 and the 80mm-200mm zoom.

This is the picture as it is today after many years of being in a frame. I need to go through all of my negatives - after I digitize all my music and scan all my photo-prints to digital and slides that is. (All will enlarge by clickity-clicking)

Then I decided to smooth out the background and darken it
to allow Jack and Jorma to show better.

After that I decided to play with my new toy GIMP
(I am beginning to like it Roger...)

and colorized from the second shot...First in Yellow
Then to Blue
Then To Red
Then I added what is called a "Supernova" effect to the shot
Finally, I added "Ripple" (reminds me of a few concerts I saw in the day! LOL)

Well...hope you enjoyed a little Creative Photo Contest Photo Manipulation...
or as I like to call it...
CRE-PHO-CON-PHO-MANI....


What else goes with pictures of Jorma and Jack, but music by Jorma and Jack...

First electric Hot Tuna...live September 12, 1989, The Ritz in New York City with "Walking Blues"


Next, From the LIVE AT SWEETWATER album, from 1992 this is "Genesis"...


Finally, acoustic Hot Tuna from a great concert, December 13, 2000 at the Fox Theater in Bolder, Colorado, it is "Hesitation Blues"...

Week #8 for Roger's Creative Photography Contest...click on the banner above if you want to learn more and enter or just feel like sliding around the Bloggosphere and checking out some really fantastic photos...

This was taken back in 1986. At the time I was selling printing for a NY company and one of my accounts was Rockefeller Center Management Company. They managed the entire Rock Center complex. One of their products was a monthly magazine that I printed.

One month they announced a contest that entailed people submitting their photographs of the Rockefeller Center complex and the winner would get the cover of the publication.

As I was working with them, I could not submit a photo under my own name. I had spent a few days at lunch wandering the complex and shooting many different objects (including the reflection photo I used in THIS POST).

The photo below is the one I submitted. When I sent it in I used my brother in laws name and home address.

During a meeting one day, the clients were going through the submissions and showing me the group that were finalists. I held my tongue as each person made their comments and selected their favorite.

When the final result was agreed upon I smiled, as they had selected my entry.

I went into the office of my main client along with their creative director and let them in on my secret. They got a big laugh out of it and insisted that I still win.

So, what you see is actually scanned from the cover of the magazine.

It is the ball of flame that Prometheus holds in his hand as he guards over the ice ring there in Rockefeller Center. I have added a photo below to show you the full statue in case you are not familiar with it.

Click on the banner above to learn more about Roger's Creative Photography Contest...

This week I am submitting a shot that I have creatively enhanced using Adobe Photoshop.

I took the original scene, shot in the Pocono Mountains during the fall. I enhanced the colors to give more contrast to the shot.

Then I went into the filters area of Photoshop and played some.

Below is the result...Hope you like it:
(All should enlarge when clicked on - including the one from yesterday)

This is the original shot:

This is the original after I added contrast, so you can see the difference:

Now, about yesterdays RUBY TUESDAY submission. A couple of people said they say the 'dog'...many did not...So, I have gone in and traced where I see the dog barking...

Now do you see it, or am I still one peanut shy of a box of Cracker Jacks?

From THE BEATLES ANTHOLOGY 3 album which was released in October 1996. It is special as it includes rarities and alternative tracks from the final two years of the band.

It ranges from the initial sessions for the THE WHITE ALBUM through the last sessions for LET IT BE and ABBEY ROAD in 1969.

A third John Lennon solo demo entitled "Now and Then", patched up by the three surviving Beatles, was supposed to be released on the album, but was deleted at the last second because of a buzzing noise which could not be removed from the recording.

Two for you...the brilliant George Harrison composition "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", this is a mellower version of the song compared to the version they released. Personally, I have always enjoyed this one more. Strangely, this was the "Demo" version of the song, which George recorded to allow the other band members to hear.