Second Question of the Day

The answer to the second question of the day: what inventions would you take back to Roman times if you had the chance, is as follows.

Remember they had no electricity so most of our stuff would be useless, but here are some things I think would work.  Bicycles - they might be a bit rough, particularly in the tire department, but they had some pretty good engineers and also jewelers who could make the chain.  Then there would be wind boards.  Just think of a regiment of centurions sailing across the Mediterranean on windsurfers! 

I think we know a lot about hygiene which would be worth passing on.  The propeller would no doubt ease the efforts of all those galley slaves and finally, make the Olympic games licensed and take a cut of the concessions!  The last one was from a business friend of mine.

Leslie Nielson

I was very sorry to hear that the comedic actor, Leslie Nielson, had just died.  I had occasion to meet him once.  It was quite momentous.

I was traveling back from Chicago to Los Angeles and the plane stopped at Denver where we had some sort of A/C problem.  As a frequent flyer with Continental in those days, I was sitting up front and although everybody was made to stay in their seats we privileged few were allowed to sample the wares of the Pub, which Continental had in those days just behind the first class section.  It was here that I met the actor, and I'm afraid we discovered a weakness for drink in each other.  We took full advantage of the delay and subsequent opportunities on the flight back to L.A.

We were still hard at it by the time the wheels touched down at LAX and when I arrived home, where my mother-in-law was visiting, she said to Yvonne: "Does he always come home in that condition?"

Design

Earlier in the month, I stated that I was going to change the design of the blog once a month.  Well, having looked at the options I've decided to do this less often and make it once per season.  I don't know about you, but once I've become used to the way a periodical looks I rather resent the publishers changing it.  So as I am most anxious not to cause any resentment here, it's going to be four times a year rather than 12.

I have heard from a number of you that leaving a comment on a particular post is not easy.  From a cursory look it seems that if you click on the orange word "Comment" a new page pops up and you can then write your comment.  I'll try and do this myself via Yvonne's computer and see how tough it is, and report later.

Sunday's Column - Motorcycling

Sunday's column was about the joys of motorcycling and the fact that last month was my 18th anniversary of indulging in this occupation.  I've already covered the subject in a previous blog post so there is no need to go over old ground.

These are pictures of my spare motorcycle.  It's a 1975 Yamaha 650, and it's under wraps in the garage.  I haven't ridden it for about six years but I know it's there and it is waiting for when I can't heft the big Harley.

I took the pictures against some inspired graffiti in Santa Monica years ago.You can read the entire column at http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels/ci_16725242

Music Track for Nov 29th

After last's weeks Lady Ga Ga, it's not a hard leap to put on Amy Winehouse for today.  I'm sure she's had some problems but nonetheless selecting drugs and bad behavior can't have done a lot for her career or her life.  It seems such a shame that when someone has a voice that can belt out the blues like she can that there has to be bagage to lug around.

So if you can put the difficulties behind you this is one of her best songs and videos.  Back to Black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1evzhSast8

Devil Winds

I keep thinking we've dodged the fire season up here this year.  But Mother Nature likes to play games with  us and the evil devil winds were blowing hard again last weekend.  Is there no end to them?

Known as the Santa Ana's, their name is more likely to be a derivation of Vientas de Satan or winds of Satan - Satana's.  But as we have a city here in Orange County called Santa Ana it's become the pronunciation.  So Santa Anas they are.

The fact is that normally at a very warm time of the year, usually in the autumn, the winds blow back to front - i.e. from the east to the west rather than from the Pacific.  After long hot summers these winds dry things even more and fan flames that crop up.  The winds also seem to drive certain people crazy, and that includes arsonists.  But the winds this year are late and coming from the cold interior so maybe we can escape after all.

Happy Thanksgiving

I would just like to wish all my dear American friends the very best Thanksgiving!

Don't eat too much!

Snow Ploughing

Long ago I read a very amusing article about a fellow who had moved to Minnesota.  He began a long ranging feud with the man who drove the snow plough,  No matter how hard he tried he could not stop him from piling up a huge berm across his drive.  Now I live in a ski resort, and we do have storms through, and they leave snow behind them, and the drive has to be cleared.  And we have drivers of snow ploughs, who seem to delight in leaving a huge berm across the driveway, usually just after we've cleared it.  He is known in the family as "That Bastard!"  Believe me there is nothing more irksome than having to dig out a three feet pile of ice, snow and other debris that these snow ploughs can leave behind them.

We had a storm come through over the weekend and it left about five or six inches on the ground,  I brought out my newly serviced snow plough and cleared the driveway - just as That Bastard came around the corner with his huge machine.  I went to the edge of the drive to make some sort of protest, not that it's ever worked before.  But as he reached me, he pulled a lever and a big metal guard came down to protect the opening of the drive from the plough; he lifted it up again as he went along and I almost became misty eyed.  Ain't technology wonderful!

No Smoking!

Today is National Smoke Out Day; or in other words No Smoking!  I shall abide by the strong advice and not light up, but that's easy for me as I haven't indulged in the wicked weed since my last "fag" on December 31st 1982.  It was a wonderful day for me as I had been seriously addicted for the better part of 30 years.

I first lit up when I was 15; a friend and I spent our pocket money on a packet of ten Red and Whites - a brand that has long been absent from tobacconist's shelves.  We took our illicit wares to Cassiobury Park in Watford and smoked two each.  We then divided up the rest for the week.  This practise was repeated for a long time.  I liked smoking and tried everything - cigarettes (fags!) pipes and cigars.  I didn't care that it was bad for you, but slowly the evidence was so overwhelming that it gnawed at me and I had to stop. 

Funnily enough all the men in my family smoked, but none of the women did.  And none of them was effected by the habit, including my great grandfather who died at aged 94.  The doctor said if he hadn't smoked he would have lived a lot longer - Good Grief!

First Question of the Day

Last week I mentioned two questions that were interesting to pose at dinner parties.  The first is which two people - one alive and one dead - would you most like to have dinner with?  The other is what inventions would you take back to Roman times if  you had the chance.

Here is my answer to the first question - the next one I'll reveal next week.

The two people I would most like to have dinner with are The Queen, and also Hitler.  The former has been on the throne since 1952 (crowned in 1953) and her knowledge of recent history must be enormous.  Just think of the people she's met.  I also quite like corgis.  I'd have to write down a list of questions beforehand so I didn't forget anything.

As for Hitler, well I'd just like to ask him: What the hell were you thinking?

What are your two candidates?

Sunday's Column - Sturges Theater

Sunday's column was about the second theater that we have in the city of San Bernardino.  I was surprised that we had two as the city has declined dreadfully over the last couple of decades.  It all went pear-shaped after the closure of the Norton Air Base in the nineties.

The Sturges Theater Built in 1926

The Sturges Theater is located close to the California Theater of the Performing Arts and I had images of brawling thespians after long Saturday night shows.  The Blue Man Group versus Forever Plaid (A tribute to the guy groups of the fifties!)  The producer I met however told me that all was peaceful with both institutions.  You can read the entire column at  http://www.sbsun.com/trevorstravels

Perhaps with two such places putting on live theater, it will help the city to once again claim some growth.

Music Track for Nov 22nd Lady Ga Ga

I have to admit I like Lady Ga Ga.  This is probably her most famous track - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrO4YZeyl0I  I do have to wonder however what you would talk about on a dinner date.  There is an annoying little ad at the start of the video and the video is pretty bizarre.  But her voice is wonderful.

Wedding Bells

The U.S. news is full of the engagement of William and Kate.  It's almost as if they borrow the English Royals when they have the need of a bit of pomp and circumstance.  I tried hard to avoid it all when Charles and Diana were married - I was in the UK at that time and had no idea I would be living in California within the year.  Naturally it was impossible to ignore and I saw bits of the ceremony and aftermath on TV.

Now we have the next generation - they seem nice young people.  They also make Charles and Camilla look extremely stodgy by comparison.  I think Charles needs to leave off the hand made clothes and try a couple of off-the-shelf jobs.

Maybe it's time for the U.S. to get their own royalty as they seem so obsessed with the House of Windsor.  I always thought Teddy Kennedy would have made a first class king - he had the appetites, and it would have given him a decent job at last.  But he's gone now.  How about Bill Clinton - he'd look good in ermine.

Pacific Standard Time

Considering that I did all that flying around the world, and also back and forth across the U.S.A. for so many years, I'm rather appalled at my inability to adjust to a slight time change of one hour.

Yes, it's that annoying clocks-go-back-an-hour time of the year.  It also is the precursor of winter, but I can deal with that in a place that has 300 days of sunshine a year.

I used to come off flights and go straight to the office the next day and stamp out a few fires.  Granted I used to feel a little groggy, but I was quite functionable.  But this stupid one hour stuff has me awake even earlier than most old men; and I find myself slinking out of the bedroom well before 6, leaving S.W.M.B.O. still sleeping.  Then the computer beckons earlier than usual.  No wonder I'm exhausted by 9:00 p.m.!