Bryan Thomas

1992 photo

Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, the "Mr. Haney" of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the "Mr. Ziffel" of the Senate Judiciary Committee

It sounds like the cast of "Green Acres" (or maybe "Hee-Haw" or some other silly variety show or sitcom) have infiltrated the Senate Judiciary Committee, or maybe it sounds like they're characters on a comedy LP from the '70s.

They should give him a parachute and a push

Arthur Adams 'Home Brew' (Fantasy 1975) Here's a review from Dusty Groove: An overlooked album of funky guitar! Arthur Adams was one of the many excellent west coast session players of the early 70s -- and if you check the notes on some of your favorite California soul albums, you'll find that you've probably heard his guitar an awful lot over the years! As with some of the other Fantasy albums of the mid 70s, this one gives a more obscure player a chance to step out in the light -- as Adams does wonderfully with smooth jazz funk production by Wayne Henderson, which brings out some great tonal colors in Adams' guitar playing. There's a bit of a New Orleans sound in the record, but the real feel is Fantasy Records jazz funk -- as you'll hear on the cuts "Chicago Sidewalk", "Bumpin' Around", and "That's the Way It's Gonna Be"

#OneAlbumADay; Time to listen to music. This slick-as-shit second solo LP by Adams is a great funk-soul platter that really flew below the radar. Dennis Coffee plays great guitar, but this album also features Joe Sample, Ronnie Laws, Wayne Henderson and more great studio session men. More: alt text

FUCK BLAKE TREINEN

I mean, seriously, can't he come in and throw strikes like a relief pitcher is supposed to do? WHY DOES HE ALWAYS GIVE THE OTHER TEAM A FEW RUNS TO EVEN UP THE SCORE? FUCK BLAKE TREINEN.

He looked safe to me

Nice to get notified when you're blocked (at least when I'm blocked) and then realize you won't have to deal with that person's bullshit on Bluesky, whatever it is

How many of those were arbitrarily censored as "adult content"?

The Wicker Man (1973) Directed by Robin Hardy starring Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland and Christopher Lee.

Britt Ekland's voice was dubbed in the cult classic The Wicker Man. In the 1973 horror film, Ekland played the alluring "Willow MacGregor," but her speaking and singing voice -- Ekland performed "Willow's Song" in the film -- was actually dubbed over by actress and singer Annie Ross. This was largely due to Ekland's strong Swedish accent not being suitable for the role of a Scottish woman. Bonus: Britt Ekland has recorded and released music, however, primarily in the form of singles rather than full-length albums. Her most well-known release is the disco single "Do It to Me (Once More With Feeling)" from 1979, released on Jet Records. "Private Party" (1979) was the b-side of the "Do It to Me" single.

She dated rock star Rod Stewart and later sued him. The couple was introduced in 1975 by actress Joan Collins and had a highly publicized relationship that lasted over two years, during which Ekland gave up her career to focus on their life together. After their breakup, she filed a $12.5 million palimony suit, though the case was later dismissed.

Ekland provided the French dialogue for Rod Stewart's hit song "Tonight's the Night (Gonna Be Alright)." In the song, a French-cooing female voice can be heard during the fadeout. This was Ekland's voice, as she is fluent in several languages, including French.

In the 1970s, Britt Ekland appeared in several notable films (and other projects) in addition to The Wicker Man and The Man with the Golden Gun. Her other works from that decade include: Get Carter (1971): Ekland co-starred with Michael Caine in this classic British gangster thriller, which helped solidify her sex symbol status. Percy (1971): A British comedy in which Ekland played the character "Dorothy Chiltern-Barlow." What the Peeper Saw (1972): Also known as What the Peeper Saw, this thriller features Ekland as a new wife who suspects her stepson of murder. Asylum (1972): This British horror anthology from Amicus Productions stars Ekland in the segment "Lucy Comes to Stay." Endless Night (1972): An Agatha Christie adaptation in which Ekland played the character "Greta." Baxter! (1973): In this drama, Ekland played the character Chris Bentley." The Ultimate Thrill (1974): An action film where Ekland portrayed "Michelle Parlay." Royal Flash (1975): Ekland played "Duchess Irma" in this historical adventure-comedy film. High Velocity (1976): An American-Filipino co-production action film featuring Ekland as "Mrs. Andersen." Casanova & Co. (1977)Ekland portrayed "Countess Trivulzi" in this Italian erotic comedy.

Happy Birthday today to actress, model & "singer" Britt Ekland, born October 6, 1942, Stockholm, Sweden!
She's best known for her roles as a Bond girl in The Man with the Golden Gun, and the British cult horror film The Wicker Man, among other films. I found some interesting trivia for the alt text.

Ah, a fan of The Martian! I didn't dig it so we disagree on that one, but we do agree on films he made in the '70s and '80s, for sure... but since then...well... he's also produced some TV shows I've enjoyed but I've found, personally, most of his projects are the very definition of "mediocre."

The director of Prometheus (2012), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), The Martian (2015), The Last Duel (2021), House of Gucci (2021), Napoleon (2023) and Gladiator II (2024) thinks Hollywood is "drowning in mediocrity."

He was cool, still finding his way around after years in prison. He wanted to burn a stick of incense in my apartment, which I thought was an odd request. And there were other weird little things, but mostly he didn't want to pay me to help him edit/write his memoir, so it was a brief encounter.

@jymn.bsky.social -- here's a post I did awhile back.

He came back from a month-long summer break on September 2nd, so I guess, a little over a month later, it's time to take some more time off.

I worked with Arthur briefly on his memoir, which he'd written while in prison. Just the first chapter, though.

Nearly 15 hours later and the Blue Jays and/or Trey Yesavage still aren't trending on Bluesky. Every third or fourth post I'm seeing in the Discover feed mentions one or the other or both. I'm seeing three different NFL teams or games trending, so maybe they just don't want to give it up for MLB.

Just a hint of mustache back then

Riding? That looks like hopping to me.

Strangers on a Train (1951)
Vertigo (1958)
The Birds (1963)

Now you need to teach him how to jump into a barrel!

Meic Stevens is a prominent Welsh singer-songwriter, often called the "Welsh Bob Dylan," who has made significant contributions to the Welsh music scene. He is a national treasure in Wales but is largely unknown elsewhere. While Stevens is a highly respected figure and pioneer of popular music within Wales, his work is not widely recognized internationally. His folk and psychedelic-infused songs are mostly sung in his native Welsh language, making his music particularly resonant and culturally significant within Wales. He abandoned a major record deal to sing in Welsh. After performing in London and mixing with well-known musicians, he was signed to Warner Bros., for whom he recorded the English-language album 'Outlander' in 1970. However, he made a conscious decision to return to Wales and focus on recording in the Welsh language to help establish a distinctive national pop music scene. In 2011, Stevens almost moved to Canada after reconnecting with an old girlfriend. Stevens had prepared to move to Vancouver to pursue his other passion, painting, after reconnecting with a girlfriend he had known in the 1960s. He played several farewell gigs, but ultimately returned to Cardiff by 2019, where he continues to live. He has influenced modern Welsh music. Stevens' unique psych-folk style has made a lasting impact on Welsh music. Contemporary bands such as Super Furry Animals and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci have cited his work as an influence. A testament to his importance, Super Furry Animals later made his song "Y Brawd Houdini" a regular part of their live sets.

#OneAlbumADay; A few years after I worked at Rhino Handmade, they put out this CD compilation by Welsh singer-songwriter Meic Stevens featuring his debut recordings for Warner Bros. circa 1970. He's often called "The Welsh Bob Dylan" (or Van Morrison, or compared to solo Syd Barrett). More: alt text

The original LP's famous die-cut showed a collage of images. It was so expensive and hard for Atlantic to manufacture that its creation delayed the album's initial release. The front cover and interior gatefold art both featured a surreal display of seemingly random images. Behind the cover art was a rotatable laminated card disc, covered with more images, including photos of the band members, which showed through holes in the cover. The distinctive cover was based on a suggestion of Jimmy Page’s that it should resemble an old-fashioned gardening seed chart. It was designed by Richard Drew, and the sleeve photographs were taken by fellow Leeds Polytechnic lecturer Martin Salisbury. At the start of the 1970s, Led Zeppelin had achieved a staggering Mount Olympus-level of success that very few bands enjoy in their lifetime. Their Atlantic contract had given them unprecedented control over their career, and sales of their first two albums were through the proverbial roof. They had become the #1 touring band in the world. By the end of April 1970, after playing nearly two-and-a-half hours each night on a brutal 27-date North American tour, they were beyond exhausted and Robert Plant’s vocal cords were so thrashed that his doctor warned of permanent damage unless he rested his voice. They had also been spat on, had guns drawn on them, and were heckled at airports and on planes. For their next album, Plant and guitarist Jimmy Page wanted a break from the madding crowds, in order to slow things down enough to be able to compose acoustic sides influenced by many British folk artists they both loved. Their recuperative rural retreat, a remote 18th-century Welsh cottage — where they spent nearly a month without electricity, heat or running water — later became part of the band’s mythic folklore.

Plant had loved this rural mountainous section of Wales from childhood, when his family had rented another humble hermitage in the area for their summer holidays, in the nearby Llyfnant Valley, sixteen miles further north and closer to the coast, near Tal-y-llyn. In May of 1970, Plant, his wife Maureen, their 18-month-old daughter Carmen, and the family dog Strider, were joined by Page, the guitarist’s girlfriend Charlotte Martin, and they traveled together to a remote cottage, which was owned at the time by a friend of Plant’s father. This isolated location was more that suitable for such an idyllic retreat, and it even had a name steeped in mythology of its own: Bron-Yr-Aur. The house sits alone atop a small hill in Gwynedd, Wales, nestled into a little valley on the edge of the Snowdonia National Park, near the River Dovey, in the north-eastern region of South Snowdonia. Page and Plant wrote two songs at the cottage which actually include Bron-Yr-Aur in their title, the first of which is the reflective “Bron-Yr-Aur,” a two-minute instrumental acoustic song played in a very calming finger-picking style by Jimmy Page. By six seconds, it is the shortest studio recording under the band’s name. The song wasn’t released until 1975 on 'Physical Graffiti.' It can be heard on the famous bootleg 'Live On Blueberry Hill,' on which Plant explains the origins of “Bron-Yr-Aur”: “This is a thing called ‘Bron-Yr-Aur’. This is a name of the little cottage in the mountains of Snowdonia in Wales, and ‘Bron-Yr-Aur’ is the Welsh equivalent of the phrase ‘Golden Breast’. This is so because of its position every morning as the sun rises and it’s a really remarkable place. And so after staying there for a while and deciding it was time to leave for various reasons, we couldn’t really just leave it and forget about it. You’ve probably all been to a place like that, only we can tell you about it and you can’t tell us.”

The other song with Bron-Yr-Aur in the title is a country blues-inflected hoedown called “Bron-Yr-Aur Stomp,” which features an unusually thick guitar sound, the combination of an open tuning and clever use of backward echo. John Paul Jones also received a writing credit for the song. Bron-Yr-Aur — which I’ve read and heard is pronounced “BRAWN-YAR,” but I’ve also seen it pronounced as “BRAWN-ARE-YARR”– has also been described as “a bucolic setting of gallows poles and highwaymen,” though we don’t know if that’s entirely accurate (we think not), based on what I’ve seen in photos of the cottage, like the ones you are seeing here. Maybe a hundred years ago there were gallows poles and highwaymen, but I’m guessing not so much anymore. The name Bron-Yr-Aur has a Celtic origin, and means “breast of gold” or “golden breast” in the Welsh language. The name provides a visual clue as to the way the rising sun shines upon the hills as it crosses the Dyfi Valley. When Zeppelin tour manager Richard Cole learned that Page and Plant had made plans to hide away from the world at this remote Welsh cottage, and he learned of it’s name, he is supposed to have said to Plant, perhaps apocryphally, "Bring back a couple of those golden breasts for me." Two Zeppelin roadies, Clive Coulson and Sandy MacGregor, were also invited to join them at Bron-Yr-Aur, according to one account I’ve read, in order to have someone there who could “take care of the domestic chores and ensure that the drudgery of cooking, cleaning, lighting fires and fetching water from the stream didn’t interfere with the serious business of strumming guitars and writing songs.”

I understand that you can get a good view of Bron-Yr-Aur while standing on a hill high above it, from the side of a public mountain road. It faces southward into the valley towards the town of Machynlleth, the nearest town, which is about two miles away in Powys, Wales. This town is accessible from the cottage by foot, descending along a sloping mountain road, but the road is so steep that there’s a sign declaring that the hill is unsuitable for motor vehicles. Apparently, once you’re up closer to it, Bron-Yr-Aur itself is immediately recognizable by its large Gothic style window on the front. It’s been described as being pretty rustic at the time Page and Plant were staying there, as it is even still — it has no electricity or heating, no bathroom to speak of, and no sewerage or running water. Candles and gaslights were used in the evenings, and water had to be fetched from the nearby stream. I’ve also read that the men all had to trek down to the Glyndwr Hotel, and to the Owen Glendower pub, in Machynlleth, in order to take a weekly bath during their stay. Staying at Bron-Yr-Aur was, as you might expect, provided Page and Plant with a much more relaxed writing and recording setting than what they’d experienced while recording 'Led Zeppelin II,' which had been recorded under a lot of stress — as the band was on tour in America at the time — at various studios along the way, including Mystic Sound here in L.A. During their stay at Bron-Yr-Aur, the beginnings of many additional Led Zeppelin songs — sometimes the completed versions as well — were created: “Misty Mountain Hop,” “Friends,” “The Crunge,” and “That’s the Way,” as well as the early stages of what would become their best known song, “Stairway To Heaven.”

Led Zeppelin released their third Atlantic studio LP, the imaginatively-titled 'Led Zeppelin III,' on October 5, 1970. This one marked a noticeable shift toward a more acoustic, folk-based sound, with some of their quieter songs mostly composed at a Welsh cottage called Bron-Yr-Aur.

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Oops, 13-7... crazy damn game

13-5 now in the 7th... still not trending