LINDA RONSTADT: THE SOUND OF MY VOICE DOCUMENTARY IS FABULOUS

I rented Linda Ronstadt : The Sound of My Voice this am and it is fabulous..it is sad that Linda has Parkinson's disease and no longer can sing, but...the amount of music she has created will live on forever. I don't think she knows that she is LEGEND.... I love Linda!!

A musical biography of one of the most successful female singers - and one of the most successful recording artists - of all time. Featuring Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, and more.

The movie is up for rent on Amazon or if you are more patient than me, it will be broadcast on CNN New Year's Day 2020.  ☆☆☆☆☆

THE ICEMAN RICHARD KUKLINSKI CAPTURED DEC 17 1986

The "Iceman" Richard Kuklinski, a suspect in several murders, is arrested by undercover agents at a truck stop off the New Jersey Turnpike, marking the culmination of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms’ “Operation Iceman.” Kuklinski had sealed his fate when he showed operative Dominick Polifrone how to poison a person with cyanide.

The first murder authorities were able to link Kuklinski to was that of George Mallibrand, whom he shot over a debt in 1980. He then stuffed Mallibrand’s body into a 55-gallon drum in Jersey City. In July 1981, Kuklinski’s partner, Louis Masgay, mysteriously disappeared on the eve of an illegal business transaction, but there was no evidence linking Kuklinski to the incident.

When his body turned up in September 1983, authorities determined that Masgay had been shot in the head and kept frozen since the day of the disappearance; his body was then dumped two years later.

In 1982, Kuklinski joined Dan Deppner and Gary Smith in a scam to steal cars. But because he apparently believed Deppner and Smith to be inept crooks, Kuklinski decided to kill them in order to protect himself. In a northern New Jersey hotel, Kuklinski poisoned Smith’s hamburger and then stuffed the dead body under the bed. Despite the fact that other guests had rented the room in the meantime, Smith was not discovered for four days.

In May 1983, a plastic bag containing Dan Deppner’s body was discovered near a tree in northern New Jersey. Because he was believed to have died from cyanide poisoning, police were convinced that Kuklinski was behind the series of murders, and they decided to institute a sting operation. Kuklinski was later taped discussing cyanide’s efficacy as a murder weapon, saying “It’s quiet, it’s not messy, it’s not noisy… You can spray it in someone’s face and they go to sleep.”

At his trial in 1987, Kuklinski argued that Smith and Deppner had not been killed with poison. Indeed, it is difficult to prove murder by cyanide since the poison leaves few traces behind. Nonetheless, the prosecution managed to prove Kuklinski’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He later confessed to killing Louis Masgay. Kuklinski died in 2006.

 

THE SUN: IMAGINATION AND ENTHUSIASM

If you find yourself worrying about stuff, or you're being at all negative about how things may turn out, STOP right now and SWITCH your focus.

Happiness is a state of mind! It sounds cliché, but it's true. If you want to feel happier and more positive then you must focus on something that makes you feel happy and positive. Come on, there's always SOMETHING to be happy about!

Approach your life in this way and your whole demeanor will change. You'll begin to attract good news, happy circumstances and more positive people.

CLEVE HATTERSLEY OF GREEZY WHEELS HAS A NEW RETRO BIO BOOK!

This is my new favorite book! Cleve is a fun /snarky guy to hang out with for the Holidays. I wish I could have followed him around back in the day..

GreezyWheels.com:

By his own admission, Cleve Hattersley stumbled through a life of adjacent stardom. Best known as the leader of Greezy Wheels, the house band of the Armadillo World Headquarters, the Austinite's memoir offers a long, strange trip across America's countercultures, like a Beat Forrest Gump. Serendipities range from sublime (Jimi Hendrix auditioning at the Night Owl in NYC) to surreal (living across the street from the Manson family in the Haight), with the author marveling at his dumb luck most of all. And yet, it's Hattersley the hustler who positioned himself in Greenwich Village in the early Sixties, at the Fillmore on the West Coast later in the decade, in Austin's progressive Seventies, and in running the Lone Star Cafe back in NYC through the cocaine-fueled, cameoed Eighties.

The songwriter's narration is as erratic as an after-hours, smoked-out jam session, jumping from his prison stint for smuggling pot to running Kinky Friedman's political campaigns with an anachronistic nonchalance, but his informal and gossip-spilling telling never fails to entertain. Beyond the anecdotes, Hattersley's life seems to be a testament to saying yes but keeping your shit together enough to get out alive and, maybe more importantly, maintain a helluva a story to tell.

Buy the book below!

Life Is A Butt Dial: Tales From A Life Among the Tragically Hip

Meeting James Brown was one of the highlights of his career. Booking the hardest-working man in show business was a major coup, something he dared not believe possible. Brown’s career had sagged a bit, and he needed to make some noise in New York City. “He was one of those guys who wasn’t just the center of the room when he walked in; he was The Room,” says Hattersley.

Hattersley’s greatest childhood hero was Mickey Mantle. Besides having been born on his birthday, he played for his favorite team, the New York Yankees. When he finally met Mantle at the Lone Star Cafe, he had nothing for him to autograph. As Mantle and Billy Martin wobbled into the revolving door (and Mantle had to rotate through the door twice, before finding his way in), Hattersley could tell it might be best to take them upstairs to the closed-off area.

With these and many other tales from years gone by, LIFE IS A BUTT DIAL will fill mature readers with a sense of nostalgia for the freewheeling ‘60s and ‘70s and give younger readers a connection (education!) to those turbulent times.

About The Author

Cleve Hattersley is a member of the Austin Music Hall of Fame with his band Greezy Wheels, which recorded two albums on London Records and served as the house band of Armadillo World Headquarters in Austin, Texas. He managed the Lone Star Cafe and Blue Note Jazz Club in New York, and traveled the world with Kinky Friedman.

US POSTAL SERVICE TO ISSUE NEW BEAUTIFUL PRIORITY STAMPS!

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Postal Service has revealed two additions to the 2020 Stamp Program: Big Bend and Grand Island Ice Caves. Both stamps will be released on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020. There will be no national first-day-of-issue ceremony for these stamps. Details on obtaining first-day-of-issue cancellations will be announced in a future Postal Bulletin issue.

These stamps are a convenient way for customers to pay for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express Flat Rate shipping with a single stamp. Priority Mail is a fast domestic service that includes flat rate shipping in one, two or three business days based on where your package starts and where it’s being sent. Priority Mail Express is the fastest domestic service, with limited exceptions; available 365 days a year, with a money-back guarantee and delivery shipping to most U.S. addresses, including PO Boxes.

Big Bend
With this Priority Mail stamp, the Postal Service celebrates the beauty of the Big Bend region in West Texas, where river, mountain and desert ecosystems coexist in its vast expanses. The stamp art depicts the Rio Grande flowing between the sheer limestone cliffs of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.

Grand Island Ice Caves
With this new Priority Mail Express stamp, the Postal Service celebrates the winter beauty of the Grand Island Ice Caves in Lake Superior. Located near Munising on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Grand Island is marked by massive sandstone bluffs. Impressive in any season, the bluffs are especially dramatic in winter when lake water seeps into the crevices and caverns, forming magnificent ice curtains and icicles that hang like stalactites from ceilings. The stamp art features a colorful illustration of how one of these ever-changing ice caves might appear from the inside looking out toward the west at sunset. Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp with original art by Dan Cosgrove.

THE WORLD: YOUR HEART'S DESIRE HAS ARRIVED AT LAST!

Mystic Faerie Tarot

A major element of happiness is wholeness - the sense that everything is working together in harmony. Not in a static way, but with dynamic balance. Involvement is also important. To be happy, we must feel connected - engaged with what is around us. There is also accomplishment - knowing that we have goals and are moving toward them successfully. When all these elements come together, we feel fulfilled and blessed.

The World represents these moments and all that goes into them. In readings, it is a very positive sign that you are in a position to realize your heart's desire. What that is for you depends on the situation, but it will always feel great. Remember, though, that Card 21 is a symbol of active contribution and service. To hold the World in our hands, we must give of ourselves to it. That is the source of true happiness. Learn Tarot

PHOTOGRAPHY TECHNIQUES FOR DIFFERENT OCCASIONS

The best thing about photography is that it captures our most precious moments. Most of us want our most beautiful moments to forever be etched in our memories, and one great way to do this is to take memorable pictures.

As a photographer, you will want to capture all the grandeur you’re seeing in any event or occasion, and your job entails being able to connect a photo with a particular feeling or emotion. You might already know by now that every occasion requires different techniques.

Whether you’re a wedding, a party, or a gig photographer, there are plenty of ideas to make your special event photography much easier. Luckily for you, we’ve curated a few tips to make your perfect shots easier.

Photography Gear

You’ll need different photography gear for every occasion that will either make or break your event. Most events usually take place indoors, which is why low light situations need to be considered. Your camera body will need to be a low light one, so you can capture photos in indoor settings. https://searchbyimage.org/

Make sure it’s also high in megapixels count to get the details shot. For outdoor events, you’ll need a camera body that is fast and light.

As for your lenses, make sure your camera’s lenses are a max of f/2.8. You might also want to consider luxury glass, prime and higher lenses for sharper and clearer images. You’ll also need proper lighting equipment; for instance, for dark spaces, most experienced photographers will opt for off-camera flashes instead of the on-camera flashes, since the on-camera ones give off harsh feel to the images.

Share a Shot List with Your Client

Whether this last is shared by you or your client, it will help manage both parties’ expectations; your client will know what to expect from you, and you’ll know exactly what to provide them. This checklist will get you started on capturing certain images during events; see here how some concerts and music photographs look flawless. The list also acts as an on-paper proof, so your client wouldn’t end up saying that you missed an important shot that wasn’t disclosed to you in the first place.

Pre-Events Photos Are Memorable Too

Even though your client might not necessarily ask for this, your event planner will love and appreciate your pre-event photos. They will be of great use for event planners since they can add them to their portfolios for future events, which is a necessary marketing strategy!

Some clients, however, specifically ask their photographers to be there before the event to get a few shots. They’ll appreciate the fact that these images were taken to show the effort they put into making this day memorable.

For wedding photographers, some brides or grooms appreciate those getting-ready-for-the-big-day photos you might capture.

Whether you’re an aspiring photographer or an experienced one, your job is to take perfect images and collect memories. Do not be afraid to take candid photographs and be diligent about capturing the best moments.

Events and occasions only happen once, which is why it’s crucial that you capture the key moments for your clients. Get yourself prepared with these tips for flawless images.