Hollywood Blues

A few months ago, Ben Affleck gave an interview where he said the movie industry was in deep financial trouble. He said (on the average) a good movie costs at least 25 million dollars to produce. They need another $25M for marketing. Then $50 million goes to the outlets like movie houses and streaming platforms (like Amazon Prime, Apple +, Disney +, YouTube, Netflix). That’s 100 million dollars just for a movie to break even. Very few movies make that much. Many Hollywood movies currently operate in the negative.

My take: The Good the Bad and the downright Ugly

My first inclination was to save the Hollywood industry that we all grew up with: remembering the wonderful fairy tales that inspired our young minds … stories that made us fall off our seats with laughter … stories that made us afraid of the dark … stories that dug up conspiracy theories and made us aware of social injustice. Sadly, this same institution also influenced our taste for violence, illegal drugs, pornography and other addictions. There was good and bad.

Hollywood propped up screen idols to be worshiped. Despite their many intellectual and moral deficiencies, just because they identified with our emotions, we thought we knew them. They dictated what was cool and what was beautiful. We valued their opinions about the silliest things. When they said this soda pop was the “real thing” we just had to taste it in “real life.” The egos got the better some of them. When they threaten to leave America if their political candidate loses … shouldn’t we just insist that they do leave us alone?

Remind me again why we need to preserve the movie industry? Is it worth rescuing the royal infrastructure of filmdom? If you find yourself flipping through a gazillion movie choices streaming online, perhaps not. Are you frustrated with the explosion of low creativity and formulaic productions brought to you by a committee of businessmen? How many Star Wars episodes do we really need? Good movies are hidden like needles in a haystack. Even award-winning movies have lost their glitter.

I recently watched the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi, Total Recall and boy, did I have a total recoil at the terrible acting and laughable special effects — “Git aut! Git aut of hear!” You could tell when the plastic faces replaced human skin. Eyes popping out and stop-motion animated bodies melting into bones were downright amateurish. But thirty six years ago, we believed it and it won Best Visual Effects. We wanted to believe it just as the audience of the 30s wanted to believe in King Kong climbing up the Empire State building. Simple effects for simple times. Film making is constantly changing.

The reasons for the fall

I already mentioned streaming platforms like Netflix. That’s one big factor. Humongous TV screens with their souped-up audios make eating popcorn and watching at home more comfortable and convenient than going to the movies. Plus, if the movie sucks, you don’t have to agonize until the end. You can simply switch to another movie. Don’t think Paramount gets paid enough when you rent their movie. Keep in mind they still have to pay a percentage to Netflix to compete with the same movie currently showing at the movie house.

Good or bad, ABC/Disney tried to sell the WOKE mentality to us. It didn’t work. They lost millions. The president was replaced. They now know we are not a captive audience. They are not as powerful as they thought.

Today’s technology has allowed the couch potato (yes, that one!) to create his own movies in the living room. We all know it’s nearly impossible to distinguish AI from actual footage. Sorry celebrities, sorry studio set designers, sorry miniature prop men, sorry stunt men, sorry makeup artists, sorry movie theme musicians, sorry extras … we don’t need your services anymore.

“You mean we actors, don’t need to ‘kiss up’ to the movie moguls anymore?”

“Nope!”

“Doesn’t the union protect us?”

“Who needs the Union? They don’t have the monopoly anymore.”

“But I’m unique! My voice, my looks, my …”

“Nah! AI can mimic all of that. You can’t copyright your talents. And, even if you can, we’ll just create a BETTER you.”

When you see the big stars advertising for small companies, you know they are desperate for a job. When you see the Hollywood reporters hype innocuous scandals, you know the reps are struggling for relevance … to survive.

Time to let the horse go

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” — Henry Ford (allegedly)

Although Ben Affleck and I may paint a dark picture of Hollywood, I believe there is a Yellow Brick Road to the MODE of storytelling. The old factories will soon die but the imagination among millions of new creators will eventually replace and improve exponentially as AI technology matures. That one amazing movie done by a little kid is waiting ’round the corner. Indeed, when you wish to become a star, makes no difference who you are. Anything your heart desires will come to you.

Hollywood served its purpose but it’s time to grow up. Let the creativity begin!

Of course, this is just me.

TGIF people!

Quotes of the Week

“We need Storytelling. Otherwise, life just goes on and on like the number Pi.”
— Ang Lee

“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”
— Jean-Luc Godard (French film director)

“The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder”
— Alfred Hitchcock

“We don’t make movies to make money, we make money to make more movies.”
— Walt Disney

“LA, the city where everyone’s constantly waiting for their phone to ring, and I’m part of it.”
— Daniel Ruczko

“A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end… but not necessarily in that order.”
— Jean-Luc Godard (French film director)

“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.”
— Proverbs 22:9

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
— Collosians 3:23-24

Memes of the Week

Send me your jokes & memes so I could share them with the rest of our TGIF family. This week, we thank Norm of Encino CA, Barbara of Colorado, Brian of San Francisco, Ben of Georgia and Wally of Colorado..

I found these:

I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.

SUBSCRIBE

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The world’s highest tropical mountain range, the Cordillera Blanca, (White Range) triumphs the continent in north-central Peru in the Ancash region. The Huascarán National Park that contains most of the range is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers 3,400 square kilometers. The mountain range itself is 200 km long and 21 km wide.

Unique plants abound, like the high altitude orange-rust paper bark trees. One can be viewing tropical plants and then lift one’s gaze to some of the park’s 27 snow-capped peaks above 6,000 meters, and perhaps an Andean Condor. Among the peaks is the highest mountain in Peru, Huascarán, 6,768 meters. The Llanganuco lagoon in the photos, one of hundreds of lakes in the park fed by over 660 tropical glaciers, is 3,860 meters high. If you’re coming from low altitudes and haven’t acclimated, take it slow and easy, as even that height, well over twice as high as Denver, can feel taxing on a slope. For those acclimated and up for it, there are multiple hiking journeys, from several days to ten or more.

Among the mountains is Artesonraju, the model for the current Paramount logo that in 1953 replaced the 1914 model based on the Utah mountain Ben Lomond. No word on if the Ellisons will change Paramount’s logo to the crumbled White House East Wing.
What are tropical mountain ranges? They hang their hats between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, maintaining a monthly average temperature of 18 or more degrees C. Plenty of rainfall and cloud moisture, and distinct vertical life zones, from rain forests to upper tree lines as high as 4,000 meters.

To travel to the park from the town of Huaraz, visitors traverse a valley that was devastated by the 1970 earthquake that killed 30,000 people in the initial avalanche alone, climbing to 70,000 in related disasters. In a couple photos you can see a distant statue of Christ in the town of Yungay, now a national cemetery as it was impossible to reach victims. Some boulders carried in the avalanche weigh up to 14,000 tons. The 7.9 quake severed part of the north peak of Huascarán Mountain, powering the avalanche. Another photo, of a garden, also shows the distant break in the ridge where the avalanche roared through. It is difficult to imagine but it traveled 16 km in three to four minutes, the main mass going as fast as 335 km/h. The leading edge may have been 450 km/h, with airborne projectiles, multi-ton rocks, flying as fast as 1,100 km/h. To hear and see it coming must have terrified, though briefly, then over like being shot by God. The few survivors were those, like a class from a girls school on an outing, who happened to be graced by being up higher in the valley, watching their world disappear forever.

Peru’s beauty is without peer. However, its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire carries the potential for cosmic rug jerks in parts of the country. On a smaller scale, it’s not uncommon to reroute or change destinations in the area due to frequent landslides. Fortunately there are many choice options. This all conveys a sense of precarity, one that is growing in one aspect or another throughout much of South America.

For more information, visit the tourism department.

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It all began with the French New Wave, which inspired the British New Wave’s Kitchen Sink Realism, New German Cinema, Japan’s New Wave, the Hollywood Renaissance; it seemed to be everywhere.

Background

The Australian film industry almost collapsed by the early 1960s, but The Gorton (1968-71) and Whitlam governments (1972-75) saved it from extinction with the funding of film production and the training of film makers through the Australian Film, Television and Radio School, which created a new generation of Australian filmmakers who were able to bring their visions to the screen. The 1970s saw a revival of the Australian film industry, producing almost 400 films between 1970 and 1985, altogether more than the entire backlog of Australian films.

The Australian New Wave was a period of resurgence, beginning in the early 1970s and lasted until the mid-late 1980s, which also led to Ozploitation, a film genre by the exploitation of colloquial Australian culture.

For me, as a young film student in Seattle, the precursor to the Australian New Wave began not with an Australian film director, but rather the English director, Nicholas Roeg. In his 1971 film Walkabout about two Anglo-Australian children, one a teenager and her much younger brother, who had lived a comfortable city life, but were abandoned by their father who had committed suicide on a road trip deep into the Outback. Struggling to survive in this unbearably hot and harsh terrain, they are saved by a young Aboriginal man, who is on a ‘walkabout,’ a rite of passage for Aboriginal males on the cusp of manhood. He teaches them to eat lizards, find water and hunt for lizards and wild game. The role is played by David Gulpilil, who at the time did not speak a word of English, which added to the film’s authenticity. The controversial nude swimming scene with Jenny Agutter still raises eyelids today. It is her rite of passage of emotional freedom.

KEY FILMS AND DIRECTORS

Peter Weir

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a 1975 Australian mystery directed by Peter Weir from a screenplay by Cliff Green, based on the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay. The plot involves the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic at Hanging Rock, Victoria on Valentine’s Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community. One of school girls is never found, and, the ones which were, are mystified, unable to explain what had happened.

The film stars Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Vivean Gray and Jacki Weaver, who reappears on screen decades later as a middle-aged crime boss in the Australian drama, Animal Kingdom, then in Hollywood’s Silver Lining Playbook.
Weir’s protagonists are generally outsiders in their own worlds, characters out of place, facing danger, uncertainty or betrayal. These figures often undergo a loss of innocence or spiritual awakening, where the camera captures their subjective states through oneiric compositions, distorted sound, slow motion, and unconventional lighting. His cinematography is atmospheric, almost bordering on surreal, creating a sense of place that becomes essential to the narrative.

Picnic at Hanging Rock was a commercial and critical success and helped draw international attention to the then-emerging Australian New Wave. It is considered one of the most iconic and defining films of the New Wave.

Other notable Peter Weir Australian films: The Last Wave (1977), The Plumber (1979), Gallipoli (1981).

Fred Schepisi

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is a 1978 Australian drama film directed, written and produced by Fred Schepisi, and starring Tom E. Lewis, Freddy Reynolds and Ray Barrett.The film also featured early appearances by Bryan Brown, Arthur Dignam, and John Jarratt. It is an adaptation of the 1972 novel The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith by Thomas Keneally.

The story is about an exploited Aboriginal Australian who commits murder and goes into hiding. It is based on actual events.
The cast, a mix of professional actors (most of them white actors) and amateurs (most of them Aboriginal actors), was described by Pauline Kael as “a triumph of casting and coaching.”

Schepisi frequently sets his plots in a historical or cultural context, with precise attention to period detail. This is evident in The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1970s Australia), where he integrates authentic locations, costumes and social atmosphere to immerse the audience. His work often explores themes of redemption, isolation, and the human condition.

Bruce Beresford

Breaker Morant is a 1980 Australian biographical war drama film directed by Bruce Beresford, who also co-wrote the screenplay based on Kenneth G. Ross’ 1978 play of the same name. It stars Edward Woodward as the title character, Lt. Harry Harbord Breaker Morant, along with Jack Thompson, John Waters and Bryan Brown.

It is about a 1902 court martial of lieutenants Morant, Peter Handcock and George Witton, one of the first war crime prosecutions in British military history. Morant, Handcock, and Witton, Australians serving in the British Army during the Second Anglo-Boer War, are accused of murdering captured enemy combatants and an unarmed civilian in the Northern Transvaal. The film covers the exploration of the Nuremberg Defense, the politics of the death penalty and the human cost of total war. As the trial unfolds, the events in question are shown in flashbacks.

The film won ten 1980 Australian Film Institute Awards including: Best Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Leading Actor (for Jack Thompson) and Best Supporting Actor (Bryan Brown). It was also nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Adapted Screenplay.

Breaker Morant remains the movie with which Beresford is most identified and has “hoisted the images of the accused officers to the level of Australian icons and martyrs.” In a 1999 interview Beresford said Breaker Morant “never pretended for a moment” that the defendants were not guilty as charged. He had intended the film to explore how wartime atrocities can be “committed by people who appear to be quite normal.”

Beresford films showcase their ability to evoke empathy and provoke thought, often blending intimate personal stories with broader social or historical contexts. His camerawork is often unobtrusive, allowing performances and story to take center stage. This is particularly evident where music, setting or period detail enhances the emotional tone.

Other notable Beresford Australian films: Don’s Party (1976).

George Miller

Mad Max is a 1979 Australian dystopian action film directed by George Miller in his directorial debut, who co-wrote the screenplay with James McCausland, based on a story by Miller and Byron Kennedy. Mel Gibson stars as “Mad” Max Rockatansky, a police officer turned vigilante in a dystopian near-future Australia.

Filmed on a budget of $400,000, it earned more than $100 million worldwide in gross revenue and set a Guinness record for most profitable Australian film of the year. The success of Mad Max has been credited for further opening the global market to Australian New Wave films.

Mad Max became the first in the series, giving rise to three sequels: Mad Max 2 (1981), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).

In the original 1979 Australian version, Mel Gibson spoke with a thick Australian accent. But for the American release it was redubbed with American voices to make it easier for U.S. audiences to understand. The U.S. dub also replaced Australian slang with American equivalents (e.g., “Oi!” became “Hey!”, “very toey” became “super hot”) and altered some sound effects.

George Miller’s style is defined by spectacular, practical filmmaking, archetypal narratives, thematic duality, and genre flexibility, all underpinned by a consistent empathy for his characters and a belief in cinema as a universal storytelling medium.

Philip Noyce

Newsfront is a 1978 Australian drama film directed by Phillip Noyce, and starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown. The film is shot in both black and white and in color, incorporating actual newsreel footage.

Newsfront is about newsreel cameramen who are committed to finding compelling footage of newsworthy events. The film begins in 1948 and ends in 1956, when television was introduced to Australia, and follows the destinies of the cameramen’s quest within the context of sweeping social and political changes in their native Australia. I learned a lot.

Noyce often combines tight, tension-filled sequences with vivid environmental settings; urban landscapes, natural backdrops, or period-specific locales. He integrates action with deeper narrative exploration, ensuring that even the most spectacular scenes serve the story.

Gillian Armstrong

My Brilliant Career is a 1979 Australian period drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong, and starring Judy Davis, Sam Neill, and Wendy Hughes. Based on the 1901 novel of the same name by Miles Franklin, it follows a young woman in rural, late-19th-century Australia whose aspirations to become a writer are impeded first by her social circumstance, and later by an early romance. My Brilliant Career was released in Australia in August 1979 and later premiered in the United States at the New York Film Festival. It received significant critical acclaim, and was nominated for numerous AFI Awards, winning three, while Davis won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. In the United States, it received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Film.

The film is regarded as being part of the Australian New Wave, as well as a piece of feminist cinema.

Armstrong’s work consistently explores women’s inner lives, relationships and the choices that shape their identities. While often associated with feminist themes, she emphasizes portraying complex individuals rather than making intentional political statements. Her films are anchored in emotional truth and psychological depth, noted for sharp story sense, meticulous design, and a strong sense of rhythm. Armstrong often uses period authenticity in historical settings, grounding her work in real locations and authentic period detail. Her visual language brings attention to music, lighting, and mise-en-scène that enhances the narrative.

The Road to Hollywood

Due to their success in Australian cinema, this led to the road to Hollywood, for big money and budgets, and bigger screen goers, many unaware that the Australian New Wave even existed.

Here are a few American films directed by these Australians:

Peter Weir: The Year of Living Dangerously, Witness, The Mosquito Coast, Dead Poets Society, Green Card, Fearless, The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Fred Schepisi: Barbarosa, Iceman, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, Six Degrees of Separation

Bruce Beresford: Black Robe, Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies

George Miller: Lorenzo’s Oil, Babe, Witches of Eastwick

Gillian Armstrong: Little Women (1994), Starstruck, The Last Days of Chez Nous, Mrs. Soffel, Charlotte Gray

Phillip Noyce: Dead Calm, Clear Present Danger

Stay tuned for the New Zealand New Wave.

The post There was once a New Wave heard around the World: Australian Cinema appeared first on Traveling Boy.

With incredible stories to tell, the remarkable roadway is as earthy as a blues singer, as touched by fatigue as an aged opera singer, and as wonderfully passionate as a Hollywood diva, and conveys surprising charm around its every bend.

Tagged “The Road of Dreams,” “The Main Street of America,” and “The Mother Road,” as portrayed in John Steinbeck’s novel “Grapes of Wrath,” the currently dubbed Historic Route 66 offers astounding possibilities for folks with a sense of discovery and those willing to relinquish freeway clutter and the monotony of Interstate Highways.

The great pathway, a long silk ribbon leading to a gleaming pot of gold in the far distance, was established in 1926 extending from Chicago to California, a whopping 2,448 challenging miles of sweeping scenery. Originally ending in Los Angeles the highway was later extended to Santa Monica, and, according to historians, entirely paved by 1937.

Winding through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, Route 66 was the first ever United States transcontinental highway, and from its launch was the legendary setting for overflowing sagas of broken dreams, and innumerable tales of first-person adventure encountered along the lengthy journey. During the Great Depression of the 1930s and the devastating Midwest drought that created the Dust Bowl, when countless families lost their farms and homes and in desperation turned to migrant work, Route 66 became their paramount prospect for a new beginning.

Last Chance gas pump

The highway beckoned like a mischievous rascal, yet despite the prospects of a difficult journey, travelers shared lofty expectations and hoped for a touch of luck and an opportunity to find work and some palm-laden sunshine out west.

The popular catchphrase “California Here I Come,” was ringing on the lips of Route 66 travelers as they cautiously maneuvered overloaded vehicles not up to the task, discovering that gas stations are not always conveniently located, that flat tires and boiling radiators were a given, and that blazing neon-lit hotel signs glowing like beacons in the night all too often included the ominous and unwelcoming “No Vacancy.”

California’s 286 miles of Route 66 meandering through San Bernardino County can capture the hearts of those with a bit of imagination. The county, with an area of 20,105 square miles, is the largest in the United States by area, larger than 71 different sovereign nations. History buffs with camera in hand, and a tank of petrol, can enjoy the awaiting nostalgia, and experience an era of Americana that remains an enduring legend.

With much of the vast landscape, rolling hills, lingering night sky, and enormous horizons locked in the remarkably unchanging California time capsule, one can picture the original travelers negotiating San Bernardino County and hear the humming whirl of a million tires. Today, large numbers of Historic Route 66 aficionados, as well as club members from the United States, Holland, Germany, and the California Historic Route 66 Association, are reliving Route 66 history and the captivating highlights.

Through the 1960s weary travelers from the east were ecstatic upon arriving at Needles, the first California Route 66 stop. A proud town of 5,000 residents established in 1883 on the Arizona border and now bypassed by the Interstate Highway, Needles is lined with buildings from the first half of the 20th century, and was a location for the 1940 movie, Grapes of Wrath, and the popular Route 66 television series.

Eleven miles southwest of Needles at the Moabi Regional Park tucked away on a Colorado River channel adjacent to Route 66, Pirates Cove Resort & Marina hosts a large Historic Route 66 sign on the original signposts. Nearby is the trusty Old Trails Arch Bridge, a pathway across the Colorado River for dust bowl immigrants and other travelers from 1916 to 1947. Converted to support a utility line, the bridge remains in use today.

Opened after the heyday of the Mother Road, the resort, a large family-style RV and boating destination, is an opportune pause for today’s Route 66 travelers, offering narrated boat trips on the Colorado River, nature walks, dining opportunities, and exclusive, five-star, kitchen ready, river-front accommodations.

The Kelso Depot Visitor Center was once a booming center for the Union Pacific Railroad during the time of the mighty steam engines. Today it is a designated U.S. Historic District located in the 1-6-million-acre Mojave National Preserve, a fascinating side excursion via I-40 and Kelbaker Road, and a shard of a desert ghost town. The depot, circa 1924, has museum exhibits, historically restored rooms, café, theater, bookstore, and an amusing outdoor, freestanding jail, perfect for the over-served ruffians of the day.

Southwest of Kelso off Kelbaker Road, the Kelso Dune Field, covering 45-square-miles, rises some 650-feet into the sky. Accessed by a three-mile gravel road, the wind-swept dunes, at times, can be heard singing a timeless, wordless and unending desert song.

Returning to Route 66 via a thirty-minute drive to Amboy, population eight, today’s travelers can stop by Roy’s Café (named for one of the owners), an historic landmark in Route 66 lore, noted as the only food, lodging, and gasoline stop for miles in the eastern part of the Mojave.

Visitors can sit at the original 1940s lunch counter, enjoy Roy’s famed Route 66 Root Beer, and feel as if the Mother Road is giving you an endearing embrace. The lone gas pump is a bit ragged around the edges, while across the highway a small post office mails “wish you were here” postcards stamped Amboy.

A few miles west the Pisgah Crater and the 6,000-year-old Amboy Cinder Cone Crater, emerge on the horizon. Further down the highway is the famed Bagdad Café, popular with Europeans who descend by the busload. Sometimes it is frivolous French tourists beset with the celebrated café’s awesome ambience, who pose for pictures as if in the throes of a Paris fashion shoot. Other days German fills the air, or the sibilant lisp of Castilian Spanish. Prince Albert of Monaco, forgoing a bus, also has memories of the Bagdad Café.

The 1988 cult film Bagdad Café, borrowing characters from the café and starring Jack Palance, was filmed here creating yet another chicken-and-egg conundrum: Was the café chosen because it already gave the appearance of an uproarious movie set, where anyone from Elvis to Bogart could be standing around enjoying the place? Or did that look rub off on it during filming? Either way, it has a Hollywood look all its own.

Walls are plastered with travel memorabilia from every corner of the world. Hundreds of hats line the ceiling while an old jukebox on its last legs is willing to play after a kick or two, just loud enough to be heard over the noisy floor fan working hard to cool a few tables.

Barstow, a 30-minute drive from the Bagdad Café, is another Route 66 bonanza.

A bypassed desert jewel, the tree-lined roadway runs smack through downtown past 15 huge wall murals and the site of the fascinating Route 66 “Mother Road” Museum tucked away in the historic Casa del Desierto Harvey House, dating to 1911.

Visitors can pick up a t-shirt and browse among the exhibits. Near the west end of town the Route 66 Motel, one of the oldest motels in the city, in keeping with the era, has rusted vintage cars and Route 66 memorabilia decorating its yard.

The first sight of The Bottle Tree Ranch, 20 minutes from Barstow, etches itself in the memory as an outrageously whimsical vision of life on the other side of somewhere. Friendly owner Elmer Long created a forest of 200 one-of-a-kind bottle trees using a mish-mash of junk yard treasure items such as typewriters, pistols, telephones, deer horns and road signs including one that reads Route 66, Bagdad, CA 1893.

Greeting visitors after the short drive to Victorville is a large sign reading, “Old Town – Route 66.” Nearby is the celebrated, five-star, Route 66 Museum, noted as one of the largest and most complete museums on the Mother Road.

The museum showcases everything from a 1966 Volkswagen and classic teardrop trailer, to old Pepsi machines, juke boxes, signs reading “Gas, 18 Cents,” and joyful memories of Route 66’s glory days and driving holidays. Sharon Foster, a Museum Board Member said, “Admission is free, there is parking for everyone, and remarkably, 60 percent of our visitors are international.”

The historic discoveries along Route 66 are endless. The notable 1949 Wigwam Motel, 42-miles from Victorville, on the border of Rialto and San Bernardino, was depicted in Disney’s Pixar film, Cars, along with Route 66 and Roy’s Café. At the Wigwam nineteen 30-foot-high teepee-style accommodations created for Route 66 travelers of concrete and stucco live on.

The Mother Road, sharing its name with Foothill Boulevard runs through the heart of Rancho Cucamonga past Vince’s Spaghetti Restaurant, a family tradition since 1945, serving spaghetti and meatballs to eager diners on Saturdays.

Though Ontario is a few miles south of the original Route 66 route, the city celebrates Route 66 with the Route 66 Cruisin’ Reunion Festival. For three days each September several thousand classic cars are on display along with 16 rotating bands, dancing and food stands.

Those with a clamoring for a taste of olives can tour Ontario’s world-renowned Graber Olive House producing olives since 1894. Located on 4th street, Graber has been awarded numerous honors with their hand-based equipment. There is not a computer to be seen and family members reside here helping to create a friendly feel in the packinghouse.

A couple from Chicago enjoying their second Route 66 journey and the classic car festival in Ontario remarked, “The future is somewhere ahead, the moment is now, but nostalgia is forever.” It is the perfect motto for Route 66 travelers young and old.

When You Go

County of San Bernardino, California; www.sbcounty.gov/

This article was originally published April 2017.

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Poetry Night

I listened to poetry readings at an art gallery in a predominantly Mexican community. It was curiosity that pushed me to attend because I had never been to a poetry session before. However, I didn’t expect to be immersed in so much Mexican culture. I saw a side of Mexican Americans I had never noticed before. Their pride for their humble roots reminded me of the Filipino culture which (like Mexico) was greatly influenced by cruel Spanish colonialism for 300 years.

The emcee was a tall 300 pounder who announced it was his birthday to the cheers of the crowd: “Since it’s my birthday, I can do anything I want.” He wasn’t kidding. He started the ball rolling with 20 minutes of his own poetry … at least that’s what he called it. In fact, 75% of the evening’s so-called “poets” put words together that didn’t sound like poetry to my critical mind. They were thought patterns in prose disguised as poetry. Maybe I’m old school but poems (in my book) should rhyme or should follow a certain discipline … a pattern or a cadence. Edgar Alan Poe, Robert Frost, Shakespeare — their works are poetry. The disciplined 17-syllabled Japanese Haiku is poetry. Even song lyrics can be poetry — just like the works of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, and Sondheim. Poems should tickle my creativity and make me marvel at the craftsmanship of word combinations. Do you agree? Amateurs should call it “prose” but not “poetry.” No need to elevate their word collection to what it is not.

It was mostly amateur night for 3 hours. One reader after the other recited their favorite original poems in their vastly different styles and personalities. Quite a few of these “closet writers” never even made eye contact with the audience. You could tell they pushed themselves to go up on stage. I do applaud their determination.

It wasn’t a total loss. There were some good presenters.

• One lady who had lived in Indonesia for 2 years danced Indonesian style as she delivered her piece about losing her favorite sandals. I confess I was mesmerized by her gracefulness.
• Another guy, a young father, talked about his name. He got his name from his Dad whom he had never met. He could have changed his insignificant name but he was determined to make something of himself so his name would begin a new meaning for generations to come. (Sounds like an article I wrote a few weeks ago — he even had the same title).
• There was an accomplished author who had written a few self-published books. Her poems were in English and in Spanish. It was obvious she had command of the language. Her final piece was political. She hated the establishment and especially how ICE was snatching her people. I may not fully agree with all she said but I can certainly empathize with her frustration.
• A bald-headed homosexual shared the prejudices and the difficulty of coming out. He is happy that there is less hostility now. He enjoys celebrating in gay parades but he knows he will never be fully accepted. He believes that full acceptance will only come when he gets to heaven. Hmmm.
• One young lady said she attends a Protestant church. In her next breath she said she had a live-in partner. Another hmmm.
• “And now a word from our sponsor!” — An elderly muralist went onstage. But instead of reciting a poem, he bragged about landing a mural job. Hmmmm.

Note to self: Never give the mic to an emcee celebrating his birthday. This guy shared more than I cared to hear. He called his whole family to go up on stage and introduced each one (including his mother). Nice family but … really? Well, at least he was proud of his family.

Then it dawned on me that I was an outsider in a private party. Everyone was familiar with everyone else. I was a gate-crashing snob! Who was I to criticize their culture? Who was I to impose my standards on them? These people were sharing their creativity in their own way. They understood each other. I was viewing America from their vantage. Suddenly, the dreary black and white movie switched to an admiration for the marvelous colors of their culture as the Pocohontas song played in my head.

As this mini-AGT (America’s Got Talent) was coming to a close, I thought it was time to leave. But the emcee told me that a band was the finale of the evening. Music! Oooh … I stayed for that.

Three men went up on stage dragging their instruments – a huge stand up bass guitar, a regular guitar, and a washboard percussion thingamajig. The lead singer introduced the band in his deep guttural voice. Then they sang some old obscure country song which reminded me of Johnny Cash. Not really my style but they were good. After their first rendition, they said (since we loved it so much) they would be doing more songs from the 40s and 50s. Excuse me? Country Music Oldies in a Mexican Cowboy style?!?! No way, Jose! That’s when I darted out the exit. There’s only so much diversity lessons a stranger can take in one day. Hasta la vista, baby!

TGIF people!

Quotes of the Week

“Más vale llegar tarde que feo.”
Translation: Better to arrive late than ugly.
— Anonymous

“Our diversity is our strength. What a dull and pointless life it would be if everyone was the same. “
— Angelina Jolie

“When we’re talking about diversity, it’s not a box to check. It is a reality that should be deeply felt and held and valued by all of us.”
— Ava DuVernay

“They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them because they’re all the same.”
— Kurt Cobain

“Some people are wise. Some people are … otherwise.”
— Anonymous

“So many people these days are too judgmental. I can tell just by looking at them.”
— Anonymous

“Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the LORD comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.”
— Isaiah 49:3

“Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.”
— Lamentations 3:32

Video of the Week : James Bond 0070

Thanks to Art of Sierra Madre, CA

Memes of the Week

Send me your jokes & memes so I could share them with the rest of our TGIF family.
This week, we thank Art of Sierra Madre, CA, Norm of Encino CA, Barbara of Colorado, Kevin of Tennessee and Donna of NYC.

I found these:

I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.

SUBSCRIBE to the TGIF Weekly email blast. Be the first to receive the Jokes of the week.

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The man has spent a lifetime making music, or what he likes to call “traditional blues, the way it was played, the way it was made.” He has circled the globe, recording and performing with some of the most legendary names in the blues genre; yet his road can be traced right back to his roots in Mississippi.

I’ve had the privilege of sitting down with John on several occasions and I’ve always been amazed at his unlimited energy and drive. This time we spoke just prior to a show in San Diego and the conversation included his road, his music and the debut of his own daughter, Aliya; and the next generation of blues.

Is it true that you made your first instrument, a diddley bow?  “Yeah, I did.” John says. “I used some wire that came out of my grand mama’s broom or sometimes we’d burn up a car tire and get the wire outta’ there. That was the best one, the best one to make a diddley bow out of. But my uncle and cousin had one made up already and I learned from that until I started making my own. It was just one string and you’d nail it to the house or wherever you could nail it and use a bottle to get sound out of it and that’s where I started from, you know?”

Tell me about your first musical memories or when you first heard the blues? “My grandma’s record collection is where I first heard the blues and stuff like that; it was from a record, yeah. We had 78s and 45s. I had a cousin that lived down the hill from me, she had a wind-up phonograph. So my cousin had it and I’d get up in a chair like this, so I could reach it and play it. I’d play Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters. Get in that chair and wind it up and listen to it play those 78 records. Muddy Waters, ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’ John Lee Hooker…” (John breaks into song) ‘…my baby got somethin’ I sure do love…my baby got something.’”

Being from a share cropping family, you grew up working? “I did, yeah. We couldn’t go to the fields until we got twelve years old, I started in the field then. But picking cotton and stuff wasn’t my…I never wanted to do that kinda’ stuff, I wanted to play guitar and be a musician. I didn’t think I could do good picking cotton or pullin’ corn; too rough for me. But I did it, yeah.”

Do you remember the first time you actually played on a guitar? “Uh, I was about three or four years old. I had a cousin who had one, it was an acoustic guitar but I don’t remember what the name was, I was too little to know. I couldn’t read then, I was too young.” But you knew you wanted to play it. “I wanted to play guitar, all my life I wanted to be a musician.”

You leave Mississippi for Chicago in 1963. “I came to Chicago when I was eighteen years old. It was great! Music was everywhere, comin’ all out of people’s houses, bands playing and rehearsing in houses. When I was growing up in Mississippi I thought all those guys that were singing the blues back then were up in blues heaven; thought they’d passed. But when I got to Chicago I found out this is where they all was…in Chicago.” (laughing) “Howlin’ Wolf, Jimmy Reed…all those guys were in Chicago.”

Talk a little about Maxwell Street. “In 1963 I used to go down there all the time, every Sunday. I used to see a guy named One Arm John (Big John Wrencher) and I knew him really well, I couldn’t figure out how he could blow that harmonica with one arm, but he was a good harmonica player. And you’d see Muddy Waters down there and John Lee Hooker. I just wasn’t familiar with all these guys because when I was in Mississippi, I was familiar with Lightnin’ Hopkins and Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup… all the old guys, Big Bill Broonzy.”

The clubs and bars in Chicago in the 50s and 60s were pretty rowdy places to play. “Yeah, it was insane. They’d be fighting in there or they get drunk and some of the men would get jealous because some other man was talking to his woman. I remember when Little Walter played, he was a handsome dude and the women were crazy about him, so there’d be a fight even before the show was over. Little Walter was crazy.”

Snooky Pryor told me about a place called the ‘Bucket o’ Blood’ you ever play there? “I remember that. There was a place called the ‘Bucket o’ Blood’ and we weren’t allowed to go in there. My friends…it was in Chicago and my buddies, you know I’d hear them talk about the Bucket o’ Blood and I knew where it was, but I was too afraid to go in there!” (laughing)

When you listen to John Primer’s blues, you hear influences from the Delta, there’s some funk and R&B as well. How do you get all these styles to flow through your music? “I learned when I started to play guitar and I kept learning when I came to Chicago. See, when I grew up I came up with all that music. All the blues, the old-time blues they were creating back then, everybody was playing it. That’s why I know so much old blues from way back. I’m just like an elephant; I don’t forget nothin’…I remember! I could play the blues when I was down in Mississippi but when I came to Chicago I studied all types of music.”

‘She Do the Right Thing All of the Time’ – John Primer

Tell us about your association with Sammy Lawhorn? “I got the chance to play at Theresa’s Lounge with him. I didn’t know nothin’ about Sammy and I started working at Theresa’s in 1972 and Sammy was the guitar player ‘cause Muddy had fired him. He played with Muddy for 15 years. He fired him because he’d always go onstage and get drunk and be playing, you know? He’d get drunk at Theresa’s when I got down there, he’d get drunk and I’m a rhythm guitar player and that was the worst time. When he’d get drunk, I was so nervous and scared, what am I gonna’ do?”

What did you learn from that relationship? “Oh man, I learned…7 years. He (Lawhorn) told me, ‘learn what I play, but you can’t be me.’ Learn what I play, but I won’t be here forever and you’ll be playing this. I started learning slide by listening to him.”

You worked at Theresa’s Lounge for seven years? “Seven years; seven nights a week!” With Junior Wells and Sammy Lawhorn, that’s crazy. “Yeah, Junior Wells and Sammy Lawhorn. I’d just stay in the back and watch people drink and get drunk.” (laughing) “…drinking whiskey and stuff. All the musicians hung out there, Willie Dixon, sometimes Muddy Waters came through there, Louis Myers and the Four Aces, Johnny Winter and Mike Bloomfield. They all came out and hung out there and played. I learned a lot down there. But I played with Louis Myers and Dave Myers, the Four Aces, Fred Below all those guys would come down there and play sometimes.”

How did your association with Willie Dixon’s All-Stars come about? “I was playing at Theresa’s and Willie Dixon came down and I’d be singing all the Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters stuff. I was lookin’ who is this big guy sittin’ there? I didn’t know who he was. In 1979 he needed a guitar player to go to Mexico.” (Willie Dixon’s All-Stars) Primer in his best low growl Willie Dixon impression… ‘Hey, I like the way you play. You know my stuff and I need a guitar player to go to Mexico, you interested?’ I said Yeah! ‘Do you have a passport?’ I said no. ‘Tell you what, I’ll be by your house on Monday and we’ll go downtown and get you a passport. You got any money?’ I said no. A passport cost $80 bucks, man. ‘You can just pay me.’

That late 70s All-Stars tour had some talent. “Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, Big Bill Broonzy, the guy that had the guitar strings all tied up there.” (laughing) “Larry Davis. That’s when Muddy heard me play…with them. Before they came up to play, Muddy and Dixon were back there talking and Muddy ask him (Primer in his best Muddy impression) ‘who-who’s that young man…playing that guitar…up there?’ (Primer does Dixon’s growl) ‘That’s John Primer…he works down at Theresa’s.’ Muddy responded, ‘That man sure knows my music.’ So, in 1980 when Muddy’s band quit, he called Willie Dixon and asked for me.”

You worked with Muddy till he passed? “Yeah,” John says. “About two and a half years.” From listening to Muddy when you were a child, then getting that call to come play with him…I just can’t imagine. “It was my dream; I had a dream when I was in Mississippi at about 14 years old about playing in Muddy’s band. So my dream came true. I was jumping for joy when they came down there and got me. Mojo Buford came down there.” Primer in his best Mojo impression… ‘Muddy needs a guitar player, he sent me down to ask you, did you want to join the group?’ “What? Man, I jumped for joy. Lovie Lee playing piano, Jessie Clayton was the first guy to play drums but he didn’t want to go out of town, he didn’t want to leave his wife. So I took Lovie Lee and we went and got ‘Killer’ Ray Allison and a guy named Rick Kreher; Rick is playing on my CD, ‘Hard Times.’ The last guitar players to play with Muddy Waters…was Rick and me. So, I gotta’ chance to play with Muddy, man. I was full of joy; I didn’t even go to sleep that night, waiting for Mojo to come get me.”

There are so many people that you’ve played with, but I gotta’ ask about playing with the Stones and Muddy at the Checkerboard Lounge…that’s just wildness. “That one video, it helped me out, a lot.” John remembers. “People didn’t really recognize me too much when I was playing with Willie Dixon but when I got with Muddy Waters; it really put the icing on the cake for me. The thing I learned from Willie Dixon was how to write blues. I try to write the blues the same way he did. He was a great writer and bluesman, he was the greatest. So that’s the way I try to be, I just try to keep it traditional and keep it real so the young generation can know what it was because a lot of them haven’t ever heard it before…so they can keep the blues alive for the future, you know? That’s my plan, yeah.”

Muddy Waters at the Checkerboard Lounge with the Rolling Stones. “Baby Please Don’t Go.’

You also played on James Cotton’s ‘Take Me Back’ album.(laughing) “Aw man, James Cotton was something else, man. When he’d come back in town, that’s where he’d come; Theresa’s! And they’d hang out all night and be out until daylight…Whiskey and Cocaine. I toured with him all over, Phoenix, Denver he was trip, man.”

Then came the Holt’s… “Magic Slim! It was right on time for me ‘cause Slim was another guy like Muddy; workin’ hard, a workin’ man and workin’ all the time. Thirteen years.”

Let’s talk a little about your current band and the fact that it now occasional features someone very special singing with you. “My daughter, Aliya.” You can see John’s eyes light up when he speaks of her performance in San Diego a year or so ago. “It was her debut.” He grins. “She’s was learning how to play guitar and she’s doing good. She wouldn’t tell me but she came home and told her mom, ‘I don’t want to play guitar, I want to sing! And I think I want to sing the blues. I want to be just like dad and play music, something everybody loves.’ He’s smiling again. “She can sing.” He beams. “We used to take her on tour with us everywhere…she was two or three years old and traveling around.”

Well, let me ask you Aliya…what’s it like playing with your father? She smiles, “It’s crazy!” They both laugh. “You can’t really explain it, just the major opportunities that I have. That I was born into automatically…”

You literally grew up on the road, touring with your mom and dad. “Yeah, I was in Turkey when I was three years old, I don’t even remember. But I started out touring with them way back then so it’s always been a major part of my life. I’ve always been around the music business, so it just seemed natural that I’d want to continue that.”

Although your debut on stage is relatively new, you already have studio session work on your resume, appearing on a couple of different albums. Guest vocalist credits on a Bob Corritore project and two of your dad’s records; ‘The Soul of a Blues Man’ and ‘Hard Times.’ That’s an awesome way to kick-start a career. “Well, when I was working with Bob Corritore, it was kind of crazy and chaotic just getting to the studio. Dad and I had just gotten off the plane…we had travelled to Arizona, got off the plane, got into the studio, recorded, got it done and got out of there…and that was my first experience.” Welcome to the life of a musician. “The guys are such pros and they make it seem so easy and natural. It was such a fun time and it didn’t seem like work at all.”

You sang lead vocals on the song ‘Tough Times.’ “We were in the studio with just me and my mom and my dad and all of us just hanging out, so that was just really low-stress, easy and fun for me to do. I really, really enjoyed it.”   

John and Aliya Primer ‘Tough Times.’

John, as you look down the road do you see a future with blues in it? “Well, I hope people will pay more attention to the blues, just to see what it’s all about. There’s not many people around now playing the real stuff. You can put whatever you want into the blues and I say this all the time, you cannot change the blues. You can add rock and roll players and call it blues. It’s not the real blues, but I like what they do and I’ve got nothing against it because… they’re keeping the blues alive! So I give them the respect.”

And if you had to describe John Primer’s blues. “It’s the traditional blues, the way it was played, the way it was made. That’s the way I play it. I don’t try to change it. Not just blues, but all music has got to have a feeling. My feelings come from hard times and hard living and that’s the way I play…from my heart. Everything you see me playing on stage is going to be real close to the original stuff.”

The post John Primer – Generational Blues appeared first on Traveling Boy.

Do You Hear the People Sing?

Raoul’s 2 Cents. August 7, 2026

Please move on to the jokes if you don’t want to ponder.

I am sorry if I will sound like an alarmist today but I need to share something seriously wrong in the world. I think this is necessary for the sake of protecting civilization as we know it. Of course, this is just my humble opinion. I invite criticism. Tell me why you disagree. Enlighten me. I welcome dialogue.

Unless you have been living in a cave, I’m sure you’ve heard of the invasion of 50,000 able-bodied male Sunni Cueta Muslim “migrants” (I think “terrorists” is the more apt word) who crossed from Morocco to a defenseless Spain a few days ago. How about the millions of unwanted immigrants into the rest of Europe these recent years? Notice that these migrants don’t “migrate” to the countries that have already established the failed form of government they are clamoring for. Instead, they want other countries to conform to their radical standard of government. This is a planned attack. And the longer we are indifferent to this uprising, the stronger they become.

It’s an organized, well-coordinated urban insurrection. Someone or some people are sponsoring this. Don’t be fooled just because they aren’t wearing war uniforms.

The U.S. is not exempt from this 11 million influx of illegal immigration. And politicians protect them. Deep-seated corruption has been exposed and the criminals have lost their funding and are desperate to weave out of prison and reclaim their position of power. They know this upcoming November election is their final bastion. If they lose the election, they are cooked. That’s why they are propping up ultra radical communists and jihadists. They have and will insert illegal ballots. They have nothing to lose. They are hoping you do nothing.

What set off my alarm were several people who voiced their concern and an article posted on Facebook which prompted a lot of questions. CLICK HERE for a copy of that article.

May I share my own guideposts?

• Don’t let the political party labels blind you. Corruption is in both sides. Dig deep and common sense will help you identify the better politicians from the scoundrels with selfish interests. Is it beneficial for all or just them? Notice the hypocrisy when they accuse others of their own crimes.
• Identify the lowly puppets who are just mouthing prepared lines. Be more watchful of the more sinister and dangerous puppet-masters.
• The billions of stolen dollars hurts everyone including the people who support the criminals. It behooves me why people protect the criminals who are stealing from their own people.
• Don’t rely on a single news outlet. Many news networks are filtered by management … some of them have been paid off — they suppress and omit the truth to fit their narrative. When cornered without a legitimate defense, they change the subject and think people are too dumb to notice the switch.
• Don’t take stories at face value. Some spread the news before confirming. Some spread conscious outright lies. Check the sources. Engage in constructive dialogue. The goal is not to belittle and prove one is right but to understand, clarify and (if possible) discover the truth together to preserve the friendship.
• What’s crystal clear to you may not be crystal clear to them. What’s crystal clear to them may not be crystal clear to you. Offer a lot of grace and patience.
• Lastly, after hearing both sides, vote for the lesser of the two evils. There is no perfect politician. Don’t get bogged down by personalities. He/she may be a narcissist but some narcissists may be the best person for the job. JFK was a womanizer but he was the best man to dismantle Russia during the Cuban crisis.

What I really don’t understand is how short-sighted some of these criminals are. They want power, they want money and they think the world will survive the destruction they will cause. They are like billionaire Mark Zuckerberg who built a multi-million dollar shelter to survive a holocaust. Listen, Zuck, what’s the point in being the lone survivor in a barren world? Looking further, what is the end game? What’s the point in destroying civilization? The puppets, the puppet masters, their money — none of that will survive. Guess who wins? Enter the spiritual world. It’s real.

3 Examples of Spiritual Warfare

In the book of 2 Kings, chapter 6, the King of Aram sent out chariots and horses at night to surround a city and capture Elisha the prophet. When Elisha’s servant woke up, he saw the hostile army and was afraid. But Elisha was not daunted. When Elisha prayed for the servant’s eyes to open up the spiritual world, the servant saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around them. Look it up and revel at the peaceful ending.

Pastor T (from my first church) shared his story of his angelic encounter while he was visiting Russia back in the 80s. He sensed he was being followed and was about to be captured. Suddenly, a taxi driver pulled up beside him and told him to get in. Pastor T had no time for questions … besides, he had no other alternative. As they sped away, the driver told him he was sent to rescue the pastor. After he dropped him off in a safe place, the car vanished.

Mr. Y (a close missionary friend of mine) was in China. For about 3 months he was having problems breathing in the middle of the night. He thought it was a health issue. Then one night, he closed his eyes pretending to be asleep on his single bed. At 1 AM he felt someone come up on his back side. That entity started hitting his back. At first it felt like a good massage. Then it started to choke his throat. Immediately, he prayed and cast the demon out in Jesus’ name. The demon stopped and didn’t return. Many years later (2 years ago) Mr. Y was stationed in a new area. Exhausted, he forgot to pray so that first night he was attacked again by a similar choking demon. He prayed and he fasted and the demon has not returned. Mr. Y is encouraged knowing that his mission is important enough for demons to bother him.

Conclusion

The battle is not between political parties. It is the preservation vs. the destruction of civilization. Ultimately, it is a spiritual battle — which means prayer is essential for victory to happen. If we can open our eyes like Elisha’s servant, we will see that we are not alone.

“What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be successful against us?” — Romans 8:31

TGIF people!

Quotes of the Week

“My girlfriend is an angel because angels don’t exist and neither does my girlfriend.” — Anonymous

“I wonder if my guardian angel and my future husband’s guardian angel are in a group chat trying to coordinate.”

— Anonymous

“I firmly believe that at this point my guardian angel is just eating popcorn and watching the drama.” — Anonymous

“We, the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have now done so much for so long with so little, we are now capable of doing anything with nothing.” — Unknown

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

“Do not be afraid… those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed… ‘Open his eyes that he may see.’ And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and Elisha saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around him.” — 2 Kings 6: 16-17

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” — Romans 12:21

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood… but against spiritual forces of evil.” — Ephesians 6:12

Memes of the Week

I found these:

I collaborated with my friend and jokester,Terry Cassel for these below.

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The post The Angelic Wife appeared first on Traveling Boy.

Someone in FaceBook posted these observations below. Do you agree or disagree? Please share your thoughts.

As I had my morning coffee, I realized that everything is about to change. No matter how I vote, no matter what I say, something evil has invaded our nation, and our lives are never going to be the same.

I have been confused by the hostility of family and friends. I look at people I have known all my life–so hate-filled that they agree with opinions they would never express as their own. I think that I may well have entered the Twilight Zone.

You can’t justify this insanity. We have become a nation that has lost its collective mind!

• If a man pretends to be a woman, you are required to pretend with him.
• Somehow it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America.
• Russians influencing our elections are bad, but illegals voting in our elections are good.
• It was cool for Joe Biden to “blackmail” the President of Ukraine, but it’s an impeachable offense if Donald Trump inquires about it.
• People who have never owned slaves should pay slavery reparations to people who have never been slaves.
• People who have never been to college should pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans for their degrees.
• Immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you’d better be able to prove your dog is vaccinated.
• Irish doctors and German engineers who want to immigrate to the US must go through a rigorous vetting process, but any illiterate gang-bangers who jump the southern fence are welcome.
• $5 billion for border security is too expensive, but $1.5 trillion for “free” health care is not.
• If you cheat to get into college you go to prison, but if you cheat to get into the country you go to college for free.
• People who say there is no such thing as gender are demanding a female President.
• We see other countries going Socialist and collapsing, but it seems like a great plan to us.
• Some people are held responsible for things that happened before they were born, and other people are not held responsible for what they are doing right now.
• Criminals are caught-and-released to hurt more people, but stopping them is bad because it’s a violation of THEIR rights.
• And pointing out all this hypocrisy somehow makes us “racists?!”

Nothing makes sense anymore, no values, no morals, no civility and people are dying of a Chinese virus, but it is racist to refer to it as Chinese even though it began in China.

We are clearly living in an upside-down world where right is wrong and wrong is right, where moral is immoral and immoral is moral, where good is evil and evil is good, where killing murderers is wrong, but killing innocent babies is right.

Wake up America, the great unsinkable ship Titanic America has hit an iceberg, is taking on water, and is sinking fast. The choice is yours to make. What will it be? Time is short, make your choice wisely!

The post An Upside Down World appeared first on Traveling Boy.

After a 60-minute cruise across the San Pedro Channel, we spotted the rugged island’s iconic round Catalina Casino and its tiny harbor full of colorful boats. We had made it to Catalina and our getaway to The Avalon Hotel was before us. Our journey to the island began aboard a Catalina Express high-speed catamaran, slicing smoothly through the deep blue water. After disembarking, we walked 15 minutes through town to the hotel, where we found a property so idyllic and charming, it reminded me of a Hallmark movie set.

A Masterclass in Cozy Design

The hotel blends the charm of a European seaside boutique with the warmth of a cozy bed-and-breakfast, greeting you with rich, beautifully hand-carved African teak wood wrapped around the lobby. After a warm and friendly greeting from the front desk, we checked into suite 206. Inside the room, we found a masterclass in efficiency. Built-in storage drawers offer tons of luggage space, and a clever office desk nook provides a dedicated workspace without crowding the room.

The sleeping arrangements are brilliantly flexible: a big, comfy queen bed anchors the space, supplemented by a cozy, fold-down Murphy bed. In the bathroom, old-fashioned black-and-white checkered tile floors add vintage luxury to the bathtub and shower combo.

One of the first things that struck us upon entering the room was the ocean view taking up the balcony door windows. From this vantage point, we could see the historic Catalina Casino and boats bobbing in the crescent-shaped harbor. Some people actually live and stay on those anchored boats, waking up over the water and literally swimming straight to the beach each day. Once acquainted with the room, we climbed up a couple flights of hotel stairs to a hidden rooftop paradise. This guest-only escape offers tables, chairs, and complimentary drinks, boasting panoramic views of the island and ocean.

The Charm of a Car-less Community

Location is everything, and the hotel sits just one block from the main drag. Like the rest of town, everything is within walking distance. A quick stroll from the hotel leads straight to the sand, where a roped-off beach area provides a safe haven for the kids to play. While here, we rented inner tubes and the kids zoomed in and out of the gentle waves and then built sandcastles. For lunch, we walked a couple blocks to Vons market and picked up some chicken and sandwiches from the deli. We then enjoyed a picnic on the beach.

After lunch, we explored town and one of Avalon’s most unique quirks: its vehicles. Because the city strictly limits the size and number of vehicles allowed on the island—resulting in a decades-long waiting list for a standard car—residents rely heavily on micro-vehicles. Amidst the sea of golf carts, Japanese Kei trucks stand out.

These tiny, 660cc-engine workhorses are imported directly from Japan. They are prized by locals because their narrow frames easily navigate Avalon’s tight, steep streets while legally bypassing standard vehicle size limits. My son and I love small trucks, and getting to look at them was one of the main reasons we came to the island.

To make our walks a little sweeter, we made a daily stop at Lloyd’s of Avalon for ice cream. Centrally located on Crescent Avenue, this legendary sweet shop has been a Catalina institution since 1934. The shop even holds a famous piece of Hollywood lore: a teenage, pre-fame Marilyn Monroe—then still known as Norma Jeane Dougherty—worked a part-time job right behind the counter during WWII.

Kelp Forests and Local History

The next morning, we headed down to the hotel’s patio for complimentary breakfast. Here, in a garden-like setting surrounded by a trickling fountain and a peaceful koi fish pond, we enjoyed fresh homemade pastries, hard-boiled eggs, toast, bagels, juice, and coffee.

We then took a glass-bottom boat tour out to Lovers Cove Marine Preserve, which offered a window into Catalina’s crystal-clear waters. Looking through the viewing panels, the ocean floor came alive with thick, towering amber kelp forests. Bright, neon-orange Garibaldi—California’s official state marine fish—darted through the kelp alongside schools of striped Opaleye, silver Kelp Bass, and camouflaged Calico Bass.

Back at the hotel, the rooftop deck provided the perfect spot to unwind and read up on the building’s history. The Avalon Hotel stands on ground steeped in island lore, built on the site of the original 1920s Catalina Hospital. Reimagined as a boutique hotel, it preserves the classic Craftsman architectural style that defined early 20th-century California coastal living, blending historical preservation with modern comfort.

Reading about the island, I learned that chewing gum magnate William Wrigley Jr. bought the island in 1919 and shaped it into a premier destination. He even brought the Chicago Cubs here for spring training. Beyond Avalon’s town limits lies a wild interior managed by the Catalina Island Conservancy. This backcountry is famous for its wild American bison. A movie crew originally brought 14 bison to the island in 1924 for a silent film shoot. When the production ran out of money to herd them back, Wrigley allowed them to stay. Today, a managed herd of about 150 bison still roams the golden hills. Visitors can explore this rugged side of the island via classic inland motor tour buses or rugged, open-air 4×4 Humvee eco-tours that climb up to the 1,500-foot peaks.

Scaling the Hills

Our next adventure was renting a golf cart. This is the island’s primary mode of transportation for locals and tourists alike, making the roads feel like a whimsical, slow-moving parade. Driving up the steep, winding hills reveals beautiful homes precariously perched on the cliffsides, alongside even more hidden tiny vans and utility trucks tucked into narrow driveways. Along the ridges, we encountered mule deer grazing by the roadside. These deer are not native either; they were introduced to the island in the 1930s to encourage tourism and have since completely adapted to the rugged terrain.

Local Flavor at The Lobster Trap

For dinner, we discovered a beloved island landmark tucked just off the main waterfront: The Lobster Trap. Stepping inside, the restaurant immediately wraps you in a lively, casual, and unapologetically maritime atmosphere. A giant replica fish hangs proudly from the ceiling, flat-screen TVs show sports games, and the energetic chatter of tourists and locals creates a welcoming, family-friendly hum. The extensive menu has plenty of crowd-pleasers. The kids kept it simple and completely cleared their plates with orders of golden chicken nuggets and a classic, juicy grilled hamburger. I opted for their signature lobster roll sandwich, featuring a perfectly grilled bun packed with chilled claw and knuckle meat tossed in a creamy, subtle tarragon sauce. It was the ultimate, authentic bite of coastal comfort food to fuel us after a long day of exploring.

Riding in Style with Catalina Express

The following morning, we said goodbye to The Avalon Hotel and boarded the Catalina Express. Upgrading to the Commodore Lounge granted us priority boarding to skip the lines and sink into spacious, leather-trimmed seats inside the exclusive upper-level cabin. With complimentary drinks and snacks in hand, we relaxed in quiet luxury on the smooth ride back, watching Catalina Island slowly dissolve into the ocean mist.

For more information on staying at The Avalon Hotel, visit The Avalon Hotel or call 310-510-7070. For more info on getting to the island, visit Catalina Express at Catalina Express or call 800-613-1212.

The post A Storybook Getaway to The Avalon Hotel on Catalina Island appeared first on Traveling Boy.

Each summer, the countryside of northeastern Italy is transformed into a golden sea of sunflowers, where sun-kissed fields, quiet villages, and timeless landscapes celebrate the beauty of the season.

There are few sights more uplifting than a field of girasoli (sunflowers) in full bloom. Across the countryside of northeastern Italy, vast carpets of golden blossoms stretch to the horizon, their radiant faces following the arc of the summer sun as if performing nature’s oldest dance. It is a spectacle that lasts only a few precious weeks, yet leaves an enduring impression on all who encounter it.

From late June through July, the fertile plains of the Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia burst into colour. Quiet country lanes weave between fields ablaze in varying shades of yellow, where towering blooms stand shoulder to shoulder beneath cloudless skies. The landscape seems to shimmer in the warm afternoon light, framed by vineyards, orchards, and the distant silhouette of the pre-Alps. Here, the pace of life slows, inviting travellers to linger and savour one of Italy’s most enchanting seasonal displays.

The provinces of Padua, Rovigo, Verona, Udine, and Pordenone are among the region’s finest places to discover these golden landscapes. Sunflower fields often appear unexpectedly beyond ancient farmhouses, beside centuries-old churches, or along winding roads lined with poplar trees. Whether viewed from a bicycle, a passing train, the window of a leisurely drive, or the absolute best way, on foot, each panorama feels like a living painting, rich with colour and light.

Photography enthusiasts, like me, are drawn to the fields during the “golden hour,” when the late afternoon-into evening sun embraces the blossoms in a warm amber glow. Against deep blue skies, the vivid yellow petals create striking contrasts, while morning dew adds a delicate sparkle to the broad green leaves. It’s no wonder these landscapes have become a favourite subject for artists and nature lovers alike. Vincent Van Gogh found the sunflower to be the perfect subject for his thick, impasto brush strokes.

Although admired for their beauty, Helianthis annuus are first and foremost an important agricultural crop. Introduced to Europe from North America in the 16th century, they thrive in the warm summers and fertile soils of the northeast, and elsewhere around the Bel Paese. Today, they’re cultivated for their nutritious seeds and premium cooking oil, while also supporting biodiversity by providing nectar for bees, butterflies, and countless other pollinators. Their deep roots improve soil structure, making them a valuable part of sustainable crop rotation.

The sunflower’s Italian name girasole, literally “turns with the sun,” perfectly captures its enduring fascination. While young plants follow the sun’s movement across the sky, mature blooms settle facing east, greeting each new dawn. This simple natural phenomenon has inspired artists and poets for centuries, symbolising optimism, resilience, and the promise of brighter days.

Exploring these golden landscapes is one of the quiet pleasures of an Italian summer. Stop at a village café for an espresso, browse a local market overflowing with seasonal produce, or visit a nearby vineyard where crisp white wines, floral rosè and elegant reds reflect the character of the surrounding countryside. Many of the region’s prettiest villages are only minutes from the sunflower fields, making it easy to combine nature, culture, and cuisine in a single day.

For a few fleeting weeks each year, northeastern Italy is painted in shades of gold. The girasoli bloom, gently rotating toward the light, transforming ordinary farmland into extraordinary scenery. They remind us that some of Italy’s most memorable experiences are found not in famous art-filled museums or bustling piazzas, but in the quiet splendour of its countryside, where summer, sunshine, and nature come together and turn in perfect harmony.

The post Chasing the Sun: Northeastern Italy’s Fields of Girasoli appeared first on Traveling Boy.