Changes: January 28, 2011

Hey, readers …

As of today (January 28, 2011), I’m making some serious changes in this blog:

• First, the theme is changing. Instead of being rock-oriented, this blog will be designed to work with you to find answers to situations or thoughts that bring you down or, simply, just “puzzle” you.
  Since I have another blog that digs into rock and roll, I can free up this one for that purpose.
  So whatever might be on your mind or in your heart, remember that you have a friend here who’s willing to help by sharing resources, talk over ideas … or just listen, okay?
  To get this started, you can either leave a message in the “comments” section or email me at this address and we’ll start working on whatever’s on your mind.
  Together.
  Because, after all, we can all use a helping hand sometimes, right?
• Secondly, I’ll also be including helpful news, articles, tips and inspirational snippets along the way — again, to lend that helping hand.
• Thirdly, it’ll be updated once a week (by Sunday night) unless someone has a pressing matter; then it’ll be updated within 24 hours of receiving your request.

So let’s work together here for a better you, me, them and future …

Let me know what you think, alright??

A Different Look … and A New Start

Today marks a brand new start for this blog and the Electric Eagle himself.
Whilst I am now a music publicist and journalist, I’ve resurrected this blog because there are things that need to be discussed … issues that need to be faced nose-to-nose … and plenty of rock for all of us to boogie to.
So, until Jan.4 (or thereabouts), 2011, I’m gonna be running some “test” posts on here … and then we’ll be opening up full steam, okay?

Oh … and it ain’t all gonna be about music (got another blog for that, found here). We’ll be talkin’ about the stuff that’s on baby-boomers’ minds as a whole. For those of us who still have ‘em, anyway …

So stay tuned … we’ll be gearing up in about 24 hours …

Eagle 1, THE FORE 286

This is a new beginning, yardbirds … and, as you can see by the shape of the old nest, it’s in need of a re-no-VAY-shunn!  But I”ll be adding the blogroll (perhaps with butter) and a few other goodies as time goes on.

Whilst this Eagle has been in flight over the past few months with work up to his beak, the UK sensations, THE FORE, have been going from strength to strength, rocking the airwaves and the interweb with the grooviest sounds since The Beatles (and you do remember them, don’tcha?).
But there’s more on the ForeFront than when we last met:

• Their boss lead guitarist — a guy that’s gonna keep Clapton lookin’ over his shoulder — Matt Hardy and his wife, Victoria, have welcomed a new little boy to the world! Both mum and child are doing fine … but it may take some time before Matt gets off Cloud Nine! lol
• Dynamic drrrrrrrummer Simon Thompson and bass player/songwriter extraordinaire Spencer Hannabuss are both planning to “take the plunge” with their respective sweethearts (both very lovely ladies.  Seems the lads know how to choose the best …).  Now, when I get more info on the big days, I’ll letcha know …
• Spencer and the fab rhythm guitarist/songwriter/personality-personified Nathan Persad have created a different group as well!  Sort of a mix of Electric Light Orchestra (but with much more attractive members!) and their “home” band, The 286 is absolutely dynamite!!  With violins, cello and keyboard augmenting some fantastic songs, they’re definitely a “must-hear”!
• The Fore has a brand new single coming out shortly — and, from the way fans are reacting when the lads play it live, it’s gonna be a biiiiiiig hit for the four Fore!  It’s called I Think You’re Pretty and was written by the multi-talented Nathan.  When it goes on sale, make a point to get it … because (and I’ve already heard!) it’s solid GOLD!!

Now, I mentioned work a moment ago.  Actually, when you’re writin’ about the best of rock-and-roll, it isn’t “work” at all … it’s an “honour”.
And, awhile back  and with the blessings of his lovely wife, I continued my friend, Lloyd Thaxton’s, webside legacy by re-opening his famouse  Mouse Clique (patent not pending).
If you remember the Pied Piper of Pop — or even if you don’t but wanna catch the true spirit of rock & roll, Sixties’ style, just come on over to The Mouse Clique and join up (bring your own cheese, though). You’ll have a blast!
We’ve also got a book in the works in Uncle Lloyd’s memory (he passed away a couple of years ago) and well as a possible TV documentary.

Meanwhile, this bird (whom, by the way, the great UK songwriter, Ron Ryan, has nicknamed the Steam-Powered Buzzard!) also works write-ups for two studios and does a bit of audi0 for another one.

Anyway … you’re gonna be hearing a lot more about The Fore here at the renovated and re-opened “Electric Eagle” blog.   Natch, we’ll have other stuff to report, whether it’s rock-related or not.

Annnnnnnnd, we’re gonna be here at least every other day to update it all … so stay tuned …

Toyota’s New Electric Car

Toyota is bringing a small, electric city car concept vehicle to the Detroit auto show, where it will appear alongside the redesigned Prius hybrid.

No one’s saying much about the car other than confirming it’s purely electric and smaller than a Prius. “It’s a concept we are bringing to the show basically to confirm our interest in electric vehicles,” spokeswoman Jana Hartline says.

The Japanese automaker, which expects to post its first operating loss in 70 years, could introduce EVs as early as 2010.  At that time (now, get this:) it also wants to roll out the first plug-in Prius hybrids as part of its campaign to move beyond oil.

What we in the states would like is to see an electric version of the iQ city car coming to the United States. The iQ (pictured above, left) is a good candidate for electrification — small, light and cute as hell. There’s plenty of room under the hood for an electric motor, though the back seat would probably be tossed aside to make room for the battery.

That’s what BMW did with the Mini-E electric runabout. Lets just hope Toyota doesn’t follow BMW in charging $850 a month for its EV.

And a New York City man has designed a calendar that’s gonna drive Bubble Wrap fanatics popping-mad!

Stephen Turbek is selling a poster-size calendar covered with the plastic bubbles. Customers can pop a bubble each day to mark the passage of time (in other words, like you’d mark off a regular calendar).

He says he’s sold thousands of Bubble Calendars.   You can find a handmade calendar with paper backing online for $30, and a plastic version costs $50.

Turbek says it makes a perfect gift for obsessive people (remember: his words, not mine!) as long as they don’t pop the whole year on the first day they get it.

Great News For The Lungs

Lungs have been successfully “reconditioned” to make them suitable for transplanting, a team of Canadian doctors has claimed.

Up to 80% of donated lungs have sustained damage during death or intensive care treatments.

The team from Toronto General Hospital was able to keep lungs stable outside the body long enough to repair them.

“This has allowed us to progress from preserving donor lungs to actually being able to repair some of the injury before transplantation,” according to Dr Marcelo Cypel, a transplant specialist at Toronto General Hospital. “And we have done this using a unique strategy on donor lungs outside the body.”

The Toronto XVIVO Lung Perfusion System technique involves pumping a bloodless solution containing oxygen, proteins and nutrients into the damaged donor lungs, which are protected in a special chamber. This allows the surgeons the opportunity to assess and treat injured donor lungs, while they are outside the body.

A British team, at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester, are using a similar technique. They only allow the donor lungs to remain outside the body for a maximum of two hours, and use the time to assess in detail whether or not they are suitable for transplant.
However, the Toronto team, working with a company called Vitrolife, keeps the lungs for up to 12 hours.

So far four patients in Toronto have received lungs treated using this technique, and all have done well. Three were given donor lungs which already met transplant standards, but which were improved by the team. The fourth was given lungs which were not suitable for transplant before the XVIVO technique was used on them.

A SHORT, QUICK ASIDE

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Day, but here’s a reminder that, in less than one week, we have a fantastic gift yet to be received:  that of a brand new year!
But not just any ‘new year’.   You all know the significance of the inauguration, meeting the challenges we’re facing at home, the prospect of finally seeing an end to this war in Iraq, and more.
As we see the positive and significant changes and modifications taking place nationally and globally this coming year, why not make it a resolution to provide the same for ourselves individually?

Now, if we stick to that “resolution”, we’ll have given ourselves a gift that’ll pay some tremendous dividends all year long!

Okay … more in less than 24.  So remember:

‘When ya feel the shadow crossing, the Eagle’s in the air …‘

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

How To Know When Santa’s Coming

Santa Claus may be able to fly around the world in a sleigh, but even he can’t cross North American airspace without NORAD (North American Air Defense Command) knowing about it.
For more than a half-century, this joint American-Canadian venture that keeps this continent safe against aerial attack has used its technology to follow Santa’s journey and provide real-time updates on his location to children worldwide.

The North Warning System, a network of 47 radars strung across the continent’s northernmost frontier, tells NORAD when St. Nick takes off from the North Pole. Infrared satellites track the jolly old elf’s flight path once he’s airborne.
“The satellites actually pick up an infrared signature from Rudolph’s nose,” Navy Lt. Desmond James says.

Once he touches down, a little-known network of surveillance cameras called “Santa Cams” transmit images of Santa making deliveries. This network went online 10 years ago,
and NORAD officials swear it’s used only on Christmas Eve.

HOW IT STARTED

Sears-Roebuck had put an ad in the local paper listing Santa’s phone number, but the number was misprinted. Instead of ringing the department store, it rang a national defense operations center.
A technician got the first call, and rather than being a Scrooge, he told the tyke, “Let me check the radar.”

A tradition was born.

In the half century since, NORAD has expanded and updated the program, which provides updates in seven languages. “We added the online component ten years ago,” James says. “And today, Google software outputs images from the Santa Cams, and Google Maps and Google Earth, we can track Santa Claus’ trajectory.”

Now your child can keep an eye on where Santa is, and if he’s close to your house. Just click on the noradsanta.org website.

Okay … we’ve got more comin’ up in less than 24 hours. So keep it right here, and remember …

When ya see the shadow crossing … the Eagle’s in the air!”

New Use For Cell Phones?

A NEW USE FOR CELL PHONES?

A new 007-esque cellphone hack could bring cheap, on-the-spot disease detection to even the most remote villages on earth.

Using only an LED, plastic light filter and some wires, scientists at UCLA scientists have modified a simple cellphone into a portable blood tester capable of detecting HIV, malaria and other illnesses!

As it stands, blood tests require either humongous machines that cost nearly a million bucks or technicians who identify and count cells manually under a microscope. Of course, these are slow, expensive processes — but, soon, they could be things of the past.

UCLA researcher Dr. Aydogan Ozcan images thousands of blood cells instantly by placing them on an off-the-shelf camera sensor and lighting them with a filtered-light source (coherent light, for you science buffs).

The filtered light exposes distinctive qualities of the cells, which are then interpreted by Ozcan’s custom software. By analyzing the cell types present in a much larger sample, a more accurate diagnosis can be made in a matter of minutes. No more sending blood away to a lab and waiting days or weeks for the results.

Can you imagine the good that’ll do — especially in time (as well as lives) saved? It’s amazing what man can come up with …

CHRISTMAS MEWS

On The Airliner Crash

We’ve all been following the story of the airliner that veered off a Denver airport runway, burst into flames — and nearly broke apart! Well, firefighters said earlier today that it was a miracle that no one was killed.

There’s still no word on the cause of the crash, though FIAA investigators have been on the scene since early this afternoon.
But we do know that the entire right side of the Boeing 737 was burned in the Saturday evening accident and melted plastic from overhead compartments dripped onto the seats!

“It was a miracle … that everybody survived the impact and the fire,” Bill Davis, an assistant Denver fire chief assigned to the airport, said. “It was just amazing.”

A crack went around much of the fuselage, and the left engine had broken off and was found about 30 feet away. The plane came to a rest about 200 yards from one of the airport’s four fire stations. Passengers (who left the plane on emergency slides) walked out of the ravine in 24-degree cold and crowded inside the station.

Thirty-eight people were injured, and the two whom you’ve heard were in “critical condition” were upgraded earlier today — one to “serious,” one to “fair”. Fewer than seven people were still in the hospital Sunday morning.

Apparently, the plane hadn’t started taking off, but went off-course almost 700 yards from the runway’s end. It came to rest in the snow-covered ravine. At the time of the accident, the weather was cold, but it wasn’t snowing.

Again — and, this, according to the professionals — it’s a miracle that none the passengers died in the crash.
And what better time for a miracle than at Christmas, huh??

Well, that’s all for this post. Of course, comments are always welcome (btw, I’m gonna address some of those comments at the first of the week.). So, until tomorrow, remember:

“When you see the shadow crossing, The Eagle’s in the air …”

It Was Expected (but it STILL hurts …)

To most of us, there was no doubt: The pitiful little remains in the bag they found near the Anthony home were those of little Caylee. And, this afternoon, word from Orange Country ME Dr. Jan Garavaglia, proved us right …
Nonetheless, it still tore everybody up; not just the deed, but that it was an innocent, two-year-old (at the time of her abduction) child who was cruelly murdered at the hands of …

who, exactly?? That’s what we’re waiting to find out from investigators. As it stands now, it appears Tot Mo — er, biological mother Casey Anthony is the sole killer; but will the results show an accomplice? Were her parents, boyfriend(s) — anyone else involved?

Stay tuned for the latest on this case, which is developing more turns than a pretzel …

BLAGOJEVICHIN’ Didja see that half-cocked “announcement” made by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (he of “Honest Roddy’s Used Senate Seat Emporium”)?
Man, that sucker could fake his way outta anything! Oh, I know … he sounded sincere, but … well, did anybody think to check out his body language while he was talkin’?

He was hopping and twisting around like he was in severe need of a bathroom break! His eyes looked like those of a kid whose mom had just caught him with his hand in the cookie jar!
Now, news reports have already told of his impulsiveness and anger (including choice ‘&*!@’ words at times), so how can anybody buy his excuses?

Legally, the state Senate can still proceed with impeachment hearings against him. For the sake of the state’s political reputation, it’s the least they can do.

THERE AUTO BE SOME RELIEF NOW

The recent bail-out of the General Motors and Chrysler Corporations (it was also offered to Ford, but they said [bless 'em] they didn’t need it) can (I said “can) mean a boost for other companies as well.

AK Steel in Ashland, Kentucky had to lay off hundreds of workers, due in part to the flagging auto industry; Firestone, Goodyear and other tire and rubber plants, the same; glass manufacturers, parts warehouses, etc. — many of whom have had to go “belly-up” (if only partly) due to the near-demise of the car crunch — may benefit from the effects of this bail-out (as long as GM/Chrysler keep their part of the bargain).

So, though the price tag is still pretty steep, maybe it’s providing a little “light at the end of the tunnel” after all!