A Little Sad Bluegrass Div (Tony Rice subsection)

IBMA Hall of Fame guitarist Tony Rice Passed away on Christmas Day.  No cause of death has been announced, but he had been diagnosed with muscle tension dysphonia in 1994 which led to the end of his singing live. Further muscular issues forced him to stop playing - his last performance was in 2013.

This is one of my all-time favorites, Norman Blake's Church Street Blues.

RIP Tony ...... I'll bet Clarance White was there to greet you.

Geography Div (Division subsection)

Well, 2020 will soon be behind us and, hopefully, we'll soon start turning our country around. For anyone who objects to the coverage and name of the red area my only consolation is that you have to live in it to really appreciate how bad it is.

NO Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Boxing Day subsection)

I've posted this piece every year for quite a while. One of my favorites, so why change now ?? 

Christmas Story Div

I've posted this every year ...... and I tear up every time I hear it.  

Geography Div (Interactive fun subsection)

 Have you ever wondered what the area around your hometown was like during the Cretaceous period, when the Tyrannosaurus rex roamed? How about before then, when Earth had just one supercontinent?

Now you can find out.  

https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#240

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Happy Holidays subsection)

It isn't Elvis. Alan Bibey and Grasstowne with a "grassified" version of the 1957 Elvis classic. 

Alan Bibey - mandolin,  Justin Jenkins - banjo, Tony Watt - guitar, Zak McLamb - bass and

Ron Stewart - fiddle.

Geography Div (insult subsection)

 Here's a map of the USA designed to insult just about everyone.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Christmastime subsection)

A new version of John Duffy's Christmas Time Back Home done by Alan Sibley and friends.

 John Lawless' article from Bluegrass Today fills in all the info.

Geography Div (History subsection)

This was what East Asia looked like today in 1941 ....... we know what happened on that day, don't we?

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Yuletide subsection)

Well, here it is that time of year again. I haven't decided (yet) whether or not to put up Ray Davis' Little Orphan Joe, but let's start off the month with that Chuck Berry favorite Run, Run Rudolph, here performed by Colebrook Road with some updated Bluegrassy lyrics.

Jesse Eisenbise- Guitar, Mark Rast- Banjo, Jeff Campbell - Bass, Wade Yankey- Mandolin and Joe McAnulty- Fiddle,

Geography Div (Whoda thunk subsection)

This is what it looked like on 25 January 2020 ..... and with you know who still running things (into the ground) dog knows what what it will look like when he finally can't actively damage things.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

The Punch Brothers doing Boll Weevil. 

Guess I missed their on-line concert back on Sunday the 14th ..... shame on the miniBears for not keeping 

me informed. Of course my new knee and the painkillers probably contributed!!

Chris Thile (mandolin), Gabe Witcher (violin), Chris Eldridge (guitar), Paul Kowert (bass) and Noam Pikelny (banjo)

Geography Div (more what's in a name subsection)

You'll get it right in England !! 

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Late Show subsection)

I can't say I'm a fan of his voice, but here's Sturgill Simpson with an All-Star backing group doing

Breakers Roar" from his new album Cuttin' Grass,Vol 1 - The Butcher Shoppe Sessions.

Scott Vestal was on banjo, Stuart Duncan on fiddle, Tim O’Brien on guitar, Sierra Hull on mandolin, Mike Bubb on bass, and Miles Miller on drums.

Geography Div (Borders subsection)

Imagine what the US map would look like if natural features were used to define the state boundaries. 

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Banjo subsection)

Russ Carson is the Banjo player in Ricky Skaggs' Kentucky Thunder band. Here he is playing Earl

Scruggs' Flint Hill Special on a Walker Mini Banjo.

Geography Div (What's in a name subsection)

Imagine using the literal translations from Chinese to tour Europe. 

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div ( Swiss subsection)

I'm constantly amazed by the reach of Bluegrass music to foreign lands. Jessie and the Gents from 

Switzerland recently won the first place at the Swiss Country Music Awards (whoda thunk there was such a thing?) and Best Song for this one - I Ain't Gonna Ride With You.

Jessie Hardegger  (vocals and mandolin), Rick Noorlander (vocals and guitar), Geri Zumbrunn (vocals and bass), Rainer Hagmann (fiddle), and Putzie Mayr (vocals and dobro) 

Geography Div (What do you think subsection)

Depending on where you live, you might have a different opinion, eh ?

I shudder to think how many I've visited !!

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Halloween subsection)

It's Halloween, time for a spooky song. The Country Gentlemen doing Bringing Mary Home.
Trick or Treat.



John Duffey - Mandolin, Charlie Waller - Guitar, Eddie Adcock - Banjo and Tom Gray - Bass

Geography Div (California subsection)

 Good question: Where is Northern California?

What with all the fires this year there may not be a California soon !!

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

Last week I mentioned Chris Luquette being mainly a guitarist. Well, Here's a demonstration.
Harvey's Reel, performed live by Chris Luquette, Nick Dumas & Connor Hutteball at Deep End Sessions. Formerly they were the trio, Northern Departure. Chris Luquette, is 2012 IBMA Instrumental Momentum winner and guitarist for Frank Sollivan & Dirty Kitchen. Nick Dumas, is mandolinist for The Special Consensus (equally adept at guitar, Nick plays a 1936 Martin guitar). Connor Hutteball plays great bass and owns a beautiful old Kay!

Geography Div ( Arrrgh!! subsection)

I obviously missed National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Oh well.
Here courtesy of Atlas Obscura is a seventeenth century map and article about the Dutch rooting out a nest of the brigands.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Glenn Miller Mandolin subsection)

Mark Stoffel is the mandolinist with Chris Jones & the Night Drivers. A new solo album just out,
Coffee and Cake includes this international assembly of mandolinists doing Glenn Miller's In the Mood. 
I'm not going to try to list all the participants since they are identified in the video.
You'll see many names you recognize.
My two surprises were the absence of Chris Thile and the presence of Chris Luquette who's known mainly for his guitar work.
Enjoy.

Geography Div (Failure subsection)

Where do you get your news ?? Oh well ..............

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

Fireside Collective from Asheville, NC doing Movin' on Down the Line.



Jesse Iaquinto - Mandolin, Tommy Maher - Resophonic Guitar, Joe Cicero - Guitar, Alex
Genova - Banjo and Carson White - Bass.

Notice how many connections are made at Walmart !!

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Country Music, Automobile subsection)

Thirteen years ago my Dad (the BEST driver I've ever known and who taught me to Love being behind the wheel) bought a red Mustang convertible for his 90th birthday.
I've channeled him a bit and jumped the gun for my next milestone (#75-- Glad I've lived long enough to afford and appreciate one).
I found a near new 2014, C7 Corvette Stingray in a small town in Montana (4155 miles on the clock!)

So, the only song that fits here would be George Jones' The Corvette Song!!

Happy Birthday Bear (early).

It's everywhere ............

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Bonus subsection)

Seattle based band The Warren G. Hardings doing California Blues.
Embedded in the link is the title cut from their album Road to Nowhere, released last March.



Andrew Knapp - Bass, Gabriel Marowitz - mandolin, Heath Reinhard - banjo, Joe Ellington - guitar, and Lee Callender - fiddle.

Geography Div (I'll Drink to that subsection)

An Island of Boozy Pleasure

If the shape of this island looks familiar, that makes sense—it’s a human skull, doing double duty as the so-called “State of Inebriation.” This satirical map, made by H. J. Lawrence in 1931, “lampoons Prohibition in its final days,” writes PJ Mode, a collector whose trove of maps is accessible through Cornell University. “Soused sardines” pass through the Whiskey Strait and swerve right toward Cocktail Inlet and Port Wine, which sit south of the lighthouse at Intoxication Point. A weather report in the lower-left corner forecasts a “gradual rise in temperature while drinking.”

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

NU-Blu Bluegrass Band doing a traditional piece: Rea Haired Boy.



Carolyn Routh - Bass, Daniel Routh - Guitar, Levi Austin - Banjo and Austin Koerner - Mandolin

Geography Div (It's HOW big subsection)

We often forget (or if we're from Texas, don't want to admit it) that Alaska is REALLY big !

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Cowboy subsection)

One thing we have a lot of here in South Dakota is real cowboys. Here's a nice, gentle song about one; When Charlie Dreams, written by David Stewart and Brice Long. Performed here by Indiana band Branded Bluegrass



Larry Norfleet - Lead Vocal and Guitar, Jesse Norfleet - Banjo/Dobro, Tristen Norfleet - Mandolin and Mike Martin - Bass

Geography Div (Labor Day subsection)

Labor Day is about the people who do the work, It's a shame it's been turned into a shopping holiday.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Working subsection)

** Apologies department: Apparently, the video didn't load on last weeks ALSNBG. Minibears have been punished, but the new blogger really sucks!

Next Monday is Labor Day. Here's the Darrell Webb Band form 2018 performing Working Man Blues.



Jason Davis - banjo, Tina Miller - fiddle, Kameron Keller - bass, Darrell Webb - mandolin and Zeb Snyder - guitar

A Little Early Week Fascism

Stumbled upon Rick Steves (the travel guy) on PBS tonite (you certainly won't find this on FAUX news).

https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/fascism

See if there's anyone you recognize .............

Geography Div (Judgemental subsection)

Haven't picked on Iowa lately  ......

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Traditional Subsection)

I think every group at one time or another has done Reuben's Train. Well, here's the Foghorn Stringband doing it.


Caleb Klauder, vocals & mandolin; Stephen “Sammy” Lind, vocals & fiddle; Reeb Willms, vocals & guitar; and Nadine Landry, vocals & bass.

The Occasional Mid-week Molly

"Fourteen-year-old boys are not part of a well-regulated militia. Members of wacky religious cults are not part of a well-regulated militia. Permitting unregulated citizens to have guns is destroying the security of this free state." 

Molly Ivins

... and seventeen year-olds aren't either.

Geography Div (Neither rain nor sleet nor snow, etc subsection)

Just how much impact will the removal of 671 postal sorting machines have ?????
The evil dumbfuckery of the rtump administration is truly astounding.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

The Magnolia Street String Band from New Jersey. All long-time pros who have jammed together since 2014 yet just released an album. Here's Onion Grass from their album Wrong Side of the Rain.



 Paul Prestopino (dobro and former backing musician for Peter, Paul and Mary, The Chad Mitchell Trio and others), Bobby Baxmeyer (banjo, dobro, mandolin, vocals), Matthew Backes (vocals, mandolin), Sheila Shukla (vocals, guitar), and Ron Greenstein (bass)

Geography Div (Hard of hearing subsection)

"Can you hear me now" might have been a catch phrase for a cell phone company, but there are places in the US that really are quieter than others.

The Loudest And Quietest Spots In The Continental US

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Something different subsection)

A bit different take on a bluegrass group. The Railsplitters, A progressive group from Colorado doing
Two Weeks.



Dusty Rider - Banjo and lead vocal, Lauren Stovall - Guitar, Peter Sharpe - Mandolin, Joe D' Esposito - Fiddle,  Jean-Luc Davis - Bass

Geography Div (Gimme Shelter subsection)

I think we knew this already (save one orange-hued individual who has no idea whatsoever).

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div ( Young Folks subsection)

A new young group from the Boston area (three of them are currently studying at the Berklee College of Music).

Here's Garfield's Blackberry Blossom.

Eli Wildman - mandolin,  Victor Furtado - banjo, Aila Wildman - fiddle and Sean Newman - bass

Geography Div (Algorithmic subsection)

Another map of a regionally subdivided USA (courtesy of Atlas Obscura) created by a computer. 

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (See if you can pick out all the references subsection)

Donna Ulisse released When I Go All Bluegrass On You last February. It's certainly has enough references to performers, groups and songs to hold your interest. Have fun pickin" (sorry, bad pun) 'em out.

Donna Ulisse - Vocal, guitar, Cody Kilby -  guitar, Greg “Papaw” Davis - banjo, Josh Swift -  reso-guitar, Mason Nolen -  mandolin, Evan Winsor - upright bass, Stephen Burwell -  fiddle, and Nathan Fawcett - snare drum. 

Geography Div (Fake News subsection)

Freedom of the press is pretty important, eh ? We're really going to need strong reporting over the next four months.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div ( More Furriners subsection)

I find it amazing just how well accepted Bluegrass music has become in foreign lands. 

Here's Abalone from the Czech Republic doing Separate Ways.

Josef Plecitý (upright bass), Lukáš Mayer (banjo) and Darek Houška (dobro), Matthew Whitten (Guitar) 

and Miloš Andrt (Mandolin).

Goegrafy Div (Spelin subsechton)

You be the judge .........

A LIttle Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Curves subsection)

There's been lots of talk lately about curves - mostly about "flattening" them. The Grascals sing about a different kind of curve on Straighten the Curves from their latest album.

The Grascals: Danny Roberts - Mandolin, Chris Davis - Guitar, Terry Smith - Bass,  Adam
Haynes - Fiddle, John Bryan - Guitar and Kristen Scott Benson - Banjo.

Geography Div (Travel subsection)

I realize we aren't traveling as much as we once did. However it's a bit interesting to consider how far you could get in one day (from New York City) ... then and now.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Happy Birthday Mom subsection)

Today is my Mom's 98th Birthday.  

It's hard to find a Bluegrass song where Mother isn't on the "other side." 

Sugarland does a great job on appreciating her.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM .... Here's to many more

Love ...... Bear

Sugarland: Jennifer Nettles - lead vocals and Kristian Bush - vocals, guitar, mandolin,

Annie Clements - Bass, Scott Patton - Guitar, Thad Beaty - Guitar, Brandon Bush - keyboards and

Travis Mcnabb - Drums

Geography Div (Dang me subsection)

Use Of The Word "Dang" Across The Continental US

and as an added bonus feature for your entertainment .......

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div ( July 4th subsection)

Another 4th of July sale weekend.

John McEuen and friends doing Sousa's Stars and Stripes Forever.

Sorry, no information on the band.

Geography Div (Exploration subsection)

Today in 1534 Jaques Cartier discovered Prince Edward Island. Neither Prince Edward nor Anne of Green Gables was around then and it was originally part of the French colony of Arcadia. It's name was Ile Sainte-Jean, but the Mi'kmaq called it Epekwitk, meaning "cradled on the waves" (much more poetic, eh?).

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div ( Furrin wimmen subsection)

Midnight Skyracer from across the pond, doing I Don't Make the Rules.

Leanne Thorose on mandolin, Charlotte Carrivick on guitar, Laura Carrivick on fiddle and reso-guitar, Eleanor Wilkie on bass, and Tabitha Benedict on banjo. 

Geography Div (Threat subsection)

Results of a survey asking the world who they see as the biggest threat to world peace.
Discuss among yourselves ...............

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

From John Lowell's February album Long Stretch of Gravel. He's backed here by an all-star group doing Without You Being Here With Me.



John Lowell on vocals and guitar, Missy Raines on bass, Ron Block on banjo, John Reischman on mandolin and Stephen Mougin and Chris Jones on backing vocals.

Geography Div (Bribery Subsection)

Compared to m major portion of the world, we here in the US of A (despite the Orange Menace) are relatively clean.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

Winners of the 2020 SPBGMA Band Championship, Coyote Ugly, from Kingsport, Tennessee doing Good Morning Country Rain.



Tom Horton on guitar, Beverly Horton on vocals, Joey Cox on banjo, Crystal Shipley on fiddle, Mitch Bentley on bass, and Vince Bullins on mandolin.

Geography Div (if you stood on the beach subsection)

Imagine what country you could see if you stood on a beach in the Americas.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

Jake Workman with a track from his recently released, all insturmental album Landmark. 



Jake Workman - Guitar, Sierra Hull - Mandolin, Stuart Duncan - Fiddle, Russ Carson - Banjo and
Jeff Picker - Bass

He is what he is Div (from the idiot's mouth subsection)

“Hopefully George is looking down right now and saying this a great thing that’s happening for our country. “There’s a great day for him. It’s a great day for everybody. It’s a great day for everybody. There’s a great, great day in terms of equality.” -- donald trump,  5 June 2020.

I rest my case.

Geography Div (Matrimonial subsection)

Here it is June bustin' out all over. Traditional month for marriages. Well, here's a map for the blessed state of Matrimony:

 Likely made by John D. P. Douw in 1827—highlights several potential destinations in a journey from courtship to marriage. Some seem lovely; who wouldn’t fancy an afternoon in the Vale of Gladness? Others are much less appealing: The Land of Spinsters, for instance, sounds like a cruel and sexist place to be, and the potential for disaster is high in the Str. of Flirtation, where the map warns of “dangerous navigation.” As you sail around, try not to crash ashore on the Isles of Jealousy.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Thanks for your service subsection)

Today will always be Memorial Day for me. I've written about this before.
I won't be working today as a ranger with the Park Service this year; the presence of the COVID-19 virus and my family's vulnerability have caused me to forego my appointment. People always said  "Thank You for your service,".... it always made me uncomfortable. I always answer " It was my honor to serve."
Here's Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers doing A Folded Flag.



Duane Sparks - Guitar, lead vocal, Joe Mullins - Banjo, Mike Terry - Mandolin, Jason
Barie - Fiddle and Randy Barnes - Bass.

Geography Div (National Cemetery subsection)

The National Park Service manages and administers fourteen National Cemeteries. Today is the "official" (don't get me started) Memorial Day.

• Andersonville National Cemetery, Andersonville National Historic Site, Andersonville, Georgia
• Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Greenville, Tennessee
• Antietam National Cemetery, Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland (inactive)
• Battleground National Cemetery, Civil War Defenses of Washington, Washington, D.C. (inactive)
• Yorktown National Cemetery, Colonial National Historical Park, Yorktown, Virginia (inactive)
• Fort Donelson National Cemetery, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Dover, Tennessee (inactive)
• Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefield Memorial National Military Park, Fredericksburg, Virginia (inactive)
• Soldiers' National Cemetery, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (inactive)
• Chalmette National Cemetery, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, New Orleans, Louisiana (inactive)
• Custer National Cemetery, Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, Montana (inactive)
• Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg National Battlefield, Petersburg, Virginia (inactive)
• Shiloh National Cemetery, Shiloh National Military Park, Shiloh, Tennessee (inactive)
• Stones River National Battlefield, Stones River National Battlefield, Murfreesboro, Tennessee (inactive)
• Vicksburg National Cemetery, Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi (inactive)

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

One of my all-time favorite fiddle tunes, Forked Deer, Here done by three masters.



Byron Berline - Fiddle, Dan Crary - Guitar and John Hickman - Banjo

Geography Div (about that population density subsection)

The Red and Orange Sections 

Have Equal Populations

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

When I first heard this song I thought it was going to be another Coal-Minin' thing. Turns out I was wrong. Here's Sideline doing Return to Windy Mountain. 



Steve Dilling - Banjo, Jason Moore  - Bass, Skip Cherryholmes - Guitar, Zack Arnold - Mandolin,
Jamie Harper - Fiddle and Jacob Greer - Guitar.

Appreciation Div (Nurses Subsection)

It's been called to my attention that today is National Nurses Day. So much attention is currently being focused on their sacrifice and dedication during this current pandemic. However, a couple of personal reflections:

In 2007 after having had 25% of my guts removed for cancer, it was the nurses that saw me through critical dehydration, and just wanting for the pain and hurt to end that gave me the the encouragement, and yes, the orders to fight my problems, get out of bed and drag the post of IVs around the ward. Later that year when my system shut down during radiation, these are the people who saved my life and got my kidneys re-started.

In 2013 it was the the nurses in the Brain ICU of Johns Hopkins that kept me appraised of my late wife Diana's condition and progress (and its lack thereof).
It was her nurse, T*** who put her hand on my shoulder early in the morning of 13 September, to say, "Bear, she's gone, you can let go now." and then give me a hug and a tear.

We rarely acknowledge just how much these professionals give of themselves to ease our suffering, urge, and contribute to, our healing our well being and that of our loved ones.

Thank you to all those who cared for me and mine. I know you will be there in the future to help.
🐻 ❤️

Geography Div (Road trip subsection)

Well, two weeks of old "road" maps. Here's a modern trip -- whooda thunk there were that many
Springfields ??

The Most Efficient Road Trip Through Every Springfield In The Country

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Double Furriners subsection

New album featuring Jean Marie Redon and Luis Gomez. Here's the track called Mr. Gulbo.



 Carol Duran and Raphael Maillet on fiddle, Marta Roma on cello, Josep Traver on guitar, Jesper Rubner Petersen on mandolin, and Maribel Rivero on bass. And, of course, Redon and Gomez on the five.

.... and Mr Redon doing the same number solo ..........

Geography Div (Lost State subsection)

Came across this interesting bit of American history:

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

Audie Blaylock and Redline doing Love Is An Awful Thing from their recent album Originalist.



Audie Blaylock (lead vocal & guitar), Even Ward (banjo), Mason Wright (fiddle) and Reed Jones (upright bass)

Geography Div (Social Distancing Subsection)

How far away from another person can you get? Depends on where you live. How big is your state?

           State Size Based On Population Density

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Canadian subsection)

John Reischman and the Jaybirds doing their band standard Saltspring.



John Reischman - Mandolin, Nick Hornbuckle - Banjo, Patrick Sauber - Guitar, Trisha
Gagnon - Bass and Greg Spatz - Fiddle

Geography Div (More ancient roads subsection)

Last week was an ancient "trip-tik" Here's another version of a "road" map; only these are Roman:

The Tabula Peutingeriana, an itinerary map, is a reproduction of a Roman map, showing the highways of the Roman world all the way from England to Sri Lanka. It isn’t to scale and manipulates space to show the road system. Pictured are stopping places, prominent towns, and mountain ranges. The Tabula Peutingeriana is also massive at 22 feet in length. At that size, it wouldn’t be useful for a road trip, but with 555 cities and 3,500 place names, it is a chronicle of Rome’s reach. The map’s geographic information dates back to before at least 79 AD, since you can spot Pompeii. The original map has been lost, but we still have a copy thanks to a monk who reproduced it on 11 scrolls in 1265. 

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div (Lotsa Fiddlin' subsection)

Becky Buller's new video The Barber's Fiddle. See if you can spot all the "All-Stars."


Becky Buller Band: Becky Buller - Vocals, Fiddle Ned Luberecki - Banjo Dan Boner - Guitar, Fiddle, Harmony Vocal Nate Lee - Mandolin, Fiddle Daniel Hardin - Upright Bass, Harmony Vocal

Fiddle Solos: Laura Orshaw, Michael Cleveland, Stuart Duncan, Jason Carter, Deanie Richardson, Johnny Warren, and Sam Bush

Group Fiddlers: All soloists, Bronwyn Keith-Hines, Jason Barie, Katie Penn, Fred Carpenter, Tyler Andal, Brian Christenson, Laurie Lewis, Shawn Camp, Nate Lee, Dan Boner, and Becky Buller

Geography Div (Nostalgia subsection)

When I entered the travel industry I worked for the Auto Club (AAA) as a "Service Counselor." The biggest part of the job was marking maps and producing "Trip-Tiks" for members. The "trip-tik" was a bound series of strip maps showing the towns, services and points of interest along the route. They were assembled and marked by hand (Mapquest, etc had not yet made an appearance). Many folks were amazed to see one for the first time. However, they've been around for a long time. Here's one from 1250:

At first glance, this medieval itinerary map by Matthew Paris doesn’t even look like a map. Instead, it’s a line of castles and buildings crossed by red text and blue waves. The map charts a route from London to the Holy Land, highlighting all the sights along the way. The mapmaker included rivers and hills, alternate routes, and places to stop on a religious pilgrimage.  At the bottom left of the map, you can see Matthew Paris’s depiction of London as a thick city wall ringing a blue church.  Like many medieval maps, this one was not intended to be carried on the road. It was an expensive work of art that may have been used for an imagined pilgrimage - one where the pilgrim never had to leave England.

A Little Saturday Nite Bluegrass Div

New album and video from Chris Jones and the Nightdrivers, We Needed This Ride. 



Chris Jones - Guitar, lead vocal, Mark Stoffel - Mandolin, Grace Van't Hof - Banjo and Uke and
Marshall Wilborn - Bass.

Midweek Bluegrass Div (Obit subsection)

John Prine passed away yesterday, a victim of the Covid-19 virus.

As mentioned in the NPR obituary linked above, Paradise, the Kentucky hometown of his parents, recalls
his boyhood memories of a place destroyed by the coal-mining industry.

RIP John ..........

 

• Dudley Connell - guitar, vocals
• Ronnie Simpkins - bass
• Rickie Simpkins - banjo, fiddle, guitar
• Fred Travers - Dobro, vocals
• Lou Reid - mandolin, guitar, vocals

Geography Div (Passing on subsection)

Moe Lane from moelane.com has created this hilarious satirical map which shows the most common cause of death that keeps getting covered up, in each U.S. state.

... and if you look at Mike Pence you'll suspect this map has some truth to it .....

(Sad note subsection -- The late contributing mini-bear JS would have been 70 today .. RIP.)