Ray Manzarek.. February 12, 1939 - May 20, 2013

The photo shows, from the left, Robbie Krieger, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore. Collectively, they were known as ‘The Doors’ and this shot of them appeared on the ‘Waiting For The Sun’ album.

 

Ray played keyboards, often doing the ‘bass’ parts, and did some vocals too.

Do I remember where I was the first time that I heard ‘Break on Through’? You bet the hell I do, as I remember where I was when I heard all of the other stuff that the Doors ever did.

In my opinion, they were the greatest band ever, and I still listen to Doors tracks now.

Life in the 60’s would not have been the same, so ‘thank you’ Ray, Jim, Robbie, John, and may Ray and Jim rest in peace together..

The dance we never had..

ILD - iue – DL

It Has Been Done Before..

First flown in 1929, the British airship R101 crashed in bad weather over France on the morning of October 5th 1930, killing 54 people. At the time, it was the largest aircraft in the world at 777 feet. Its sister ship, R100, was decommissioned a year later.

The lift gas was Hydrogen, lighter than air but a little volatile to say the least.

The hangar where these two airships were built still stands at Cardington, England.

Did aviators learn from this disaster? No, they did not. The Hindenburg, 808 feet in length and only shorter than the SS Titanic by 78 feet, was started in 1931, but due to financial problems was halted and not resumed until 1935. May 3rd1937 saw the Hindenburg burst into flames, 36 people losing their lives. It too was filled with Hydrogen, but only because Germany was not allowed Helium by the United States, the only source at the time. It remains today the largest aircraft to ever fly.

It was at this point where it appeared to dawn on the world at large that maybe airships were not the way to travel. Aviators did learn this time, but the dream stayed alive.

No piece on airships would be complete without mention of the Goodyear Blimp. There have actually been 300 made since the very first in 1911. The current fleet are roughly 192 feet long, and are used as advertising and photography platforms. They are Helium filled and there has only been one crash, I think.

So, have airships finally found their vocation? Is the dream of a large luxurious airship gone forever? No, it hasn't.

The picture below is an artist impression of the next generation 'lighter than air' aircraft. The general idea is that it will enable 250 people to drift around in consummate luxury, much like R101 and Hindenburg attempted to do years ago. The questions are these. Even though the airship will be Helium filled, would you really want to drift around in an airship larger than most International airport buildings? Would you feel safe watching this thing pass over your house? This is Thunderbird 2 on steroids, a floating 'Canary Wharf'...

60 Years Later..

First drawn as a sketch in 1947 by a Dutch auto dealer, it appeared as a panel van and bus in 1950, and as a camper in 1951. Utilizing the same engine and running parts as the 'Beetle', it was never going to be a racer, managing only 62 mph (100km/hr) in ideal conditions, but it was fuel efficient, incredibly tough, and very versatile.

Like the Beetle and Mini, it has remained almost timeless in its original design despite the fact that it has been around for many years.

This is the ubiquitous, world famous Volkswagen T2.

A National Icon? Almost..

Anybody travelling the highways of Spain will have seen one of these. It is a very large billboard advert for Grupo Osborne, wine and spirits producer. It has no wording on it because a law was passed some years ago banning roadside advertising, and the lettering was painted out. Later, there was a move to take all of them down, but after a 'spirited' campaign by the Osborne company where over 70% of people asked thought that they were a national icon, it was decided to leave them standing. They are the largest bulls anywhere, standing a little over 40' tall.

If over 70% said yes, that would indicate over 20% saying no. Most of the 20% and more live in the Cataluña region, where it has become the target of separatist groups.

Coal is in the news..

.. but for all of the wrong reasons. Coal mining, in fact any kind of mining, has always been a dangerous occupation, and we owe a great deal to the people who are prepared to do it.

Coal fuelled the Industrial Revolution, and is still the primary fuel used in the generation of electricity. A small coal fired power station can generate far more power than any other type. It is the most efficient fuel, and there is a huge stock of coal around. The problem is getting to it and then extracting it.

Coal is formed by the laying down of forests, fallen trees gradually covered over and compressed. By the very nature of where trees grow and the fact that they need a substantial layer of topsoil, the levels at which coal is found tend not to be too secure. Coal seams are trapped between what was once a relatively loose surface, and the extraction of coal renders the surrounding material back to its loose state quite easily.

Accidents are all too common in mines around the world, the fate of the six miners and nine rescuers in Utah and the one hundred and seventy two presently trapped in a Chinese mine adding to a long list of brave souls who risk their lives daily such that our lives are more bearable.

Below is a link to the mining history of just one small corner, but it will give you an insight into the lives of miners. Please take the time to look through the site, read the poems and stories of the miners from South Wales (Britain), whose lives reflect the life of miners worldwide.

http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/

A New Look..

What can be nicer than sitting in a park on a warm Sunday afternoon, or a walk in a forest, or watching the sun go down over an azure sea. Well, it's all about to change. As fossil fuel resources run low, and use of them becomes more of a criminal act due to their effect on the world's ecosystem, we have to find new ways to power our world.

Welcome to the new look Central Park and Brazilian Corn Forest. Yes folks, this is how everywhere is going to look. I just hope that yellow is your favorite color. If we can get enough corn planted quickly, our reliance on fossil fuel will be over, and we can worry about converting carbon dioxide to oxygen later. The trees do it now but there will be other ways for sure. Nobody will feel left out either, because there is a nice crop just suited to back yards, window boxes and hanging baskets called rapeseed, and it has the cutest little yellow flowers you ever did see.
For those of you who live near the ocean or desert, your world will not be so yellow, and people in mountainous regions may even get to keep a few trees. Give a big welcome to your new noisy neighbors. If anybody told you that a high pole carrying a generator and three very large variable pitch blades was anything other than noisy, they were having you on, but you have to admit that they do look very high tech.


For the fauna and flora that we have grown to love so much over the centuries, it's a time for a quiet adios. We loved it, but it is just no use to anything anymore. Anyway, all we have to do is subscribe to the History Channel, and we will be able to watch movies of forests and all of the animals in high definition.

So bring on the yellow, whooshing world. We have a gas tank to fill.

All steamed up..

There are two other pictures featured in this blog of the venerable steam engine. Mighty beasts, they once were, puffing and writhing, so alive in a way that few mechanical objects can match. The steam hauled express train is sight and sound to behold, especially when negotiating inclines, and thousands of people flock to railroad preservation sites all over the world, taking picture after picture, some still and some not so, of these incredible engineering masterpieces. Steam power carried people and goods to new frontiers, small communities growing into large towns at the points where the steam engine had to take on water and something to burn. The iron horse certainly earned it's place in history.


However, they were among the most inefficient machines ever made, consuming huge amounts of coal, wood and water. At every stop, the valve gear had to be oiled. They set alight trees, embankments and fields, and if the load was too great, they had often to be double headed and banked too. They were slow and incredibly dirty, blowing choking smoke, soot, and cinders across everything in their paths.

We have long forgotten the negative aspects of railroads. Diesel and electric engines flash through the countryside, color co-ordinated to the stock they pull, shiny, sleek, clean, much faster and more efficient than their forebears. We hardly notice them anymore, save for the warnings they sound as they approach crossings and stations, yet the sound of an approaching steam engine will still see people of all ages making their way to tracks to see it pass.