Blue Crab Boulevard

Weird, isn't it? Someone brings up a topic in the blogosphere and suddenly it's off to the races. So, I found this item on Memeorandum from Powerline about Gordon Lightfoot:

Last week the Wall Street Journal ran Joanne Kaufman's profile of Gordon Lightfoot (subscribers only). Kaufman introduced Lightfoot as a performer with the kind of square, albeit eccentric, admirers who might have been fans of Lawrence Welk in an earlier era:

In the last week and a half, John Corcoran, an otherwise completely normal-seeming middle-aged guy turned up at nine out of 10 Gordon Lightfoot concerts. The owner of an oil and gas business in Traverse City, Mich., Mr. Corcoran, 52, beamed as the Toronto troubadour performed classic fare like "Beautiful," "Rainy Day People," "Carefree Highway" and his signature "If You Could Read My Mind" in Torrington, Conn.; Easton, Harrisburg, Glenside and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Sparta and Red Bank, N.J; Peekskill, N.Y., and here in a sold-out gig at the 1,495-seat Town Hall.

Mr. Corcoran's wife, Peggy, is tolerant. ("She knows Gordon is 68, and he's not going to be touring much longer. So she says, 'It's not heroin, booze or another woman.'")

His three children are bemused, his friends derisive. "I get unrelenting [abuse] from them. They call me a 'Lighthead,'" confided Mr. Corcoran, who as an 18-year-old became acquainted with the baritone voice and sugared folk melodies of Mr. Lightfoot and has seen him in concert some 300 times.

"I'm a little nuts. I'm a lot nuts," he amended as he stood outside Town Hall in a fever of anticipation. "All I know is that in the midst of the madness of this world it's my therapy. The music touches my heartstrings."

I identify completely. I've been a fan of Lightfoot's since I was a teenager. I saw him perform at Dartmouth, if I'm not mistaken, in the winter of 1970 right after "Sit Down, Young Stranger" had been issued (as it was originally called, before Warners renamed it "If You Could Read My Mind" for obvious reasons).

Which then cites a post by Ed Morrisey riffing off Scott Johnson's post.

I've always liked Lightfoot, but I don't think I really appreciated him until John McDonald at Newsbeat1 gave me a gift of Lightfoot's music on a trip to Canada. I took the opportunity to listen to his most well-known songs, and not just the biggest charters. Songs like Canadian Railroad Trilogy and Steel Rail Blues reminded me most of Croce, with his evocative lyrics and wistful guitar perfectly complementing his voice, reminding us of days gone by. Had Croce lived and Lightfoot had not already written the perfect sea-chanty memorial The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I imagine Croce would have filled the void.

My favorite Lightfoot songs, though, are the ones I have known for decades: Carefree Highway, If You Could Read My MInd, and Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. They all explore loss in one way or another; the last in obvious and compelling grief for real-life victims, and the first two for the end of love. Carefree Highway looks back at a relationship that failed, and the bitter lessons of not knowing what you have when you have it:

In the interest of piling on here, I'd like to add this. I have been a huge fan of Gordon Lightfoot's music for a long, long time. Or at least of his earlier music, I haven't really kept up with Gord's later career. But back in the day, through the '70s and early '80s I listened to a lot of Gordon Lightfoot. If You Could Read My Mind was one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar. But I also loved - no, still love - a lot of his less well known songs. Captain Ed mentions a few of his songs that are favorites like Canadian Railroad Trilogy (interesting time changes - a bit hard to master when playing), but leaves out others like High and Dry (a riot to play, especially if you have a rowdy group jamming) and Christian Island.

I'm sailing down the summer wind
I got whiskers on my chin
And I like the mood I'm in
As I while away the time of day
In the lee of Christian Island
Tall and strong she dips and reels
I call her Silver Heels
And she tells me how she feels
She's a good old boat and she'll stay afloat
Through the toughest gales and keep smilin'
But for one more day she would like to stay
In the lee of Christian Island

There's a way to paint a picture with words. Gordon Lightfoot at his best could do that. Like the picture he paints with an early song of his that is one of my favorites: Early Morning Rain.

Hebrew University Professor Ehud Netzer has uncovered the tomb and grave of King Herod "The Great". The tomb has been sought for a long time but has been extremely elusive. It was finally located by Netzer. Details were supposed to be released tomorrow, but the Ha'aretz newspaper learned about the discovery and trumpeted the news.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem announced Monday night that it has uncovered the grave and tomb of King Herod, who ruled Judea for the Roman empire from circa 37 BCE.

According to a press release from the Hebrew University, the news of the archeological find at Herodium was to be announced Tuesday morning at a special news conference, and was to be kept secret until then, but the discovery by Haaretz of the story had led to the premature announcement.

The tomb was discovered by Hebrew University Professor Ehud Netzer, who is considered one of the leading experts on King Herod. Netzer has conducted archeological digs at Herodium since 1972 in an attempt to locate the grave and tomb.

The discovery solves one of Israel's greatest archeological mysteries. Additional details will be made available at the Tuesday press conference.

The majority of researchers had believed that Herod was in fact buried at Herodium, based on the writings of the ancient Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, but multiple excavations at the site failed to locate the grave.

Netzer's successful dig focused on a different part of the site than previous excavations, between the upper part of Herodium and the site's two palaces.

Herodium, a fortified palace built by Herod some 12 kilometers south of Jerusalem, was destroyed by the Romans in 71 CE.

This is the Herod who, according to the Gospel of Matthew, ordered the slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem, not his son the other Herod who condemned Jesus. (The younger Herod wasn't actually a king, either, he was a tetrarch.) It will be really interesting to see what they have found in the tomb.

The Daily Mail is reporting that "far left" elements in France rioted after word came out that Nicolas Sarkozy won the election. This was, of course, widely expected. The Daily Mail kind of skirts the issue of whether "youths" rioted as well, mentioning them but not really saying whether they had been involved. Close to 400 cars were burned in the ruckus - a new French tradition, it seems.

 Street violence took some of the shine off victory in the French elections for new president Nicolas Sarkozy.

Far-left activists had running battles with police across France as 270 people were taken in for questioning and 367 parked vehicles were torched

Riot police fired tear gas into a crowd gathered at the Place de la Bastille in Paris as news of Sarkozy's victory came through.

Small bands of youths hurled stones and other objects at police and bared their backsides at riot officers.

Other fights with the police broke out in Toulouse, Lyon, Rennes and Nantes.

Two police unions said firebombs targeted schools and recreation centres in several towns in the Essonne region just south of Paris.

It would be instructive to know which schools and recreation facilities were burned, no? Expect that information to never quite make the papers, though. It would also be instructive to know whether "youths" were involved. (Odds on, they were and likely a majority).

UPDATE: Whoopsie, busted already. The initial reports severely understated the extent of the violence and the carbonized car count. The actual number of toasted vehicles was more like 730 and, apparently, a LOT of "youths" were involved in the automotive flambé process (or in French, mettez à feu la Citroen).

200 gazillion nude people laid down in the Zocalo Square in Mexico City to help provide more free publicity for Spencer Tunick.

It was a sea of flesh almost as far as the eye could see, as 18,000 people stripped off and stood around stark naked.

The hordes bared all for photographer Spencer Tunick's biggest nude project so far.

The US artist's stunt in Mexico City dwarfed his previous record, when 7,000 people stripped off to be photographed in Barcelona.

Ah, modern art. (The link has a singularly unattractive picture of the fleshtivities.There are a lot of snide comments, mostly from Europeans and lefties, about overweight Americans. It would appear that there is an awful lot of large Mexicans as well. Just sayin'.)

Increasingly frustrated by "animal protection" laws that put the welfare of animals above the welfare of the people who pay the salaries of the people making the laws, British homeowners are turning to a natural solution. Really natural. The laws forbid them from removing bird nests from their property even if said bird nests are causing structural problems in their homes. So they have started spreading lion and tiger dung on their roofs.

"We get many requests for people to come in and take lion or tiger dung to help scare away predators, birds and other pests," said Gary Gilmour, manager of Blair Drummond Safari Park near the southern Scottish city of Stirling.

Gilmour said homeowners are resorting to the measure because animal protection laws forbid them from removing or damaging nests.

"It might seem unusual but it seems to get results," the park manager added.

Kwik-Fit Insurance said claims for damage caused by bird nesting were common among its customers.

"Many homes suffer from structural deterioration each year from nesting birds which can lead to million of pounds (dollars) of damage," Kwik-Fit managing director Martin Oliver said.

We here at Blue Crab Boulevard have also found that dung on the roof helps keep the neighbors away. So there are actually multiple benefits to a crappy roofing job!

(No charge for the groans, folks! We're magnanimous that way.)

I was looking through the logs today and came across a link from a radio station in Memphis, Tennessee that has sent a number of visitors to the site today. When I checked it, the link was to this post. Apparently, the Crabitat got an on-air mention by the morning crew at Rock 103. Hopefully, they enjoyed the post, I have no idea what they said about it. (Thanks for the link, Tim and Bad Dog.) But I also came across this little gem on the same page they posted the link to my site that I really thought was kind of interesting. So stop over and take the global warming test.

A private bird of prey breeding center in Schoonrewoerd, in the southern Netherlands, has lost a vulture. They are appealing for help to find the bird, but warn that he could be dangerous.

"We're getting calls from all over the country," said Wilma van Rixel, of the Stonehenge Wildlife center.

Abu, who is normally kept in an enclosure, disappeared Friday while training for flying demonstrations staged by staff and birds from the center in Schoonrewoerd, southern Netherlands.

After taking off, the bird couldn't fight gusty winds and thermals to descend, and eventually disappeared into clouds, said Van Rixel.

Staff put little faith in most of the reported sightings because the vulture would be hard to distinguish from an airborne heron, common throughout the Netherlands, or a stork.

While asking for help locating Abu, staff at the center have advised the public not to try to catch him, warning that he could peck at their ears or fingers, particularly as he likely has not eaten for a few days.

The Stonehenge Center, which raises birds of prey, may just be the culprits who have been teaching vultures bad habits! What is a bird of prey center doing teaching hungry vultures to eat human ears and fingers? We here at Blue Crab Boulevard demand a full investigation at once! After all, Abu is probably well on his way to Spain by now, where hunting is reported to be good. And the peasants plentiful……

We brought you word of the report made by the US Defense Department about contractors complaining of being watched by Canadian coins. We brought you word of the rather shamefaced withdrawal of the report as well. Now comes word that the reason the contractors got suspicious is because they found several Canadian "poppy quarters". These coins featured a red-colored image of a poppy and were issued in 2004 to commemorate Canadian war dead.

WASHINGTON - An odd-looking Canadian quarter with a bright red flower was the culprit behind a false espionage warning from the Defense Department about mysterious coins with radio frequency transmitters, The Associated Press has learned.

The harmless "poppy quarter" was so unfamiliar to suspicious U.S. Army contractors traveling in Canada that they filed confidential espionage accounts about them. The worried contractors described the coins as "filled with something man-made that looked like nano-technology," according to once-classified U.S. government reports and e-mails obtained by the AP.

The silver-colored 25-cent piece features the red image of a poppy — Canada's flower of remembrance — inlaid over a maple leaf. The unorthodox quarter is identical to the coins pictured and described as suspicious in the contractors' accounts.

The supposed nano-technology on the coin actually was a protective coating the Royal Canadian Mint applied to prevent the poppy's red color from rubbing off. The mint produced nearly 30 million such quarters in 2004 commemorating Canada's 117,000 war dead.

Well, that clears that up. And no wonder the contractors were suspicious. You have to admit there is something odd about the coin.

Fight bugs with bugs? That appears to be the goal of a new effort by the United States Department of Agriculture. They are very excited about the discovery of a virus that kills fire ant colonies in about three months, start to finish. They are seeking partners in the private sector to develop the virus into a commercial biopesticide. This biological warfare effort is a lot better than another one they mention later in the story, but we'll get to that.

Researchers have pinpointed a naturally occurring virus that kills the ants, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s and now cause $6 billion in damage annually nationwide, including about $1.2 billion in Texas.

The virus caught the attention of U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in Florida in 2002. The agency is now seeking commercial partners to develop the virus into a pesticide to control fire ants.

The virus was found in about 20 percent of fire ant fields, where it appears to cause the slow death of infected colonies.

"Certainly, we are excited about it," said Bob Vander Meer, the leader of the USDA research team in Gainesville, Fla. "I think the virus has great potential. No question about it."

The massive fire ant colonies destroy crops, damage farm and electrical equipment and hasten soil erosion. Humans and livestock are particularly vulnerable to the insect's stinging attacks.

With no natural predators to keep them in check, fire ants have spread across the U.S., where their numbers are now 10 times greater than in their native South America. They thrive in open sunny areas such as cropland, pastures, and urban lawns, and they like moisture.

My late Father-in-Law once had to change a flat tire on his motor home while in Texas. He did not see the fire ants when he sat down on the shoulder of the road. That situation was rectified at once by the ants, who let him know they were there rather forcefully. It took a while for the swelling to go down as I recall. But on to the other "solution" they are mulling for the fire ants:

The virus isn't alone in the fight against the fire ant. In South America, they have dozens of natural enemies. But researchers don't know whether those predators could be introduced here.

Among them is the small phorid fly, which seeks out fire ants and lays its eggs on them. The eggs hatch into tiny maggots that bore into the heads of their host and feed on its brains.

"The problem is we really don't know how effective these phorid flies are going to be in North America," Merchant said.

Snopes would have to revise their report yet again. And frankly, in light of that earlier post, we would not be comfortable with the introduction of brain-boring maggots for any reason. Stick with the other bugs.

AFP is reporting that Nicolas Sarkozy has gone into isolation - as he promised he would do is he won the election - to prepare for taking over as president of France. He also has to focus on the upcoming parliamentary elections, since all of his promised reforms need a parliamentary majority to enact.

After a night of triumphant celebrations to mark his convincing win over Socialist Segolene Royal, the 52-year-old president-elect was seen leaving a luxury Paris hotel accompanied by his wife Cecilia and their son Louis.

His entourage refused to say where he was going, but Sarkozy said last week that if he won he would go into retreat "in order to immerse myself in the office, take the measure of the heavy responsibilities that will weigh on my shoulders, and rest after the clamour of the campaign."

Some rumours said Sarkozy would go to the island of Corsica before assuming the presidency on May 16.

Sarkozy scored an emphatic 53-47 percent victory over Royal, winning an unambiguous mandate for his programme of tax cuts, work incentives and curbs on union powers.

Sarkozy will take over as president from his former mentor, Jacques Chirac, on May 16.

Tens of thousands of supporters celebrated into the early hours in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, where Sarkozy issued a ringing appeal for unity.

"I want to say to everyone: I will not betray you, I will not lie to you, I will not disappoint you," Sarkozy declared.

"I have seen victories before in my career. But victory is only beautiful if it is generous. Victory is not vengeance - it is being open in spirit. Victory only has meaning if it is victory for the country in its entirety," he said.

Leaders from major western powers were quick to congratulate Sarkozy, who is expected to forge closer ties with the United States and work to raise Europe's global standing.

US President George W. Bush was among the first world leaders to telephone Sarkozy. "The United States and France are historic allies and partners. President Bush looks forward to working with president-elect Sarkozy as we continue our strong alliance," said a White House spokesman.

It remains to be seen how much change Sarkozy will actually be able to implement in France, of course. There is a really high aversion to change in France as was evident when the government tried to give employers the right to fire newly hired workers last year. The unions and the students went bonkers over that one. Couple that with "youths" in the Paris suburbs who practically form a country within a country and there will be a really tough row to hoe for Sarkozy. France desperately needs to change, but it is not yet evident that it is really ready for it.