Florence: Fyodor Dostoevsky; Roman vs. Byzantine; Statue of David, Cappuccino by (photo by Izia); Machiavelli; Leonardo; Gold-smithing; Renaissance; Seqway; classical literature.

City-state, Formula 1 Moncao Grand Prix, haute couture, Place du Casino (Grand Casino), James Bond, architecture, Grace Kelly, pomegranate trees, tourism.
[Gallery casino fountain picture courtesy Izia.]

South of France: Villefranche; Nice, where famous painter and artist Matisse lived until he died; city shops; French Riviera; olive oil; architecture; funny trucks and tiny cars; Promenade des Anglais; Adriatic Sea; beachfront complete with "for hire" sunning spots and umbrellas; holiday in the sun, 1920's style.

The Pacific Northwest, alive and well in southern Europe. I feel like a coffee. Chihuly's glass-works have been celebrated around the world, including floating down the canals and waterways of Venice! This piece was discovered in a storefront in old town Barcelona.

Barcelona is much like other famous southern European port cities, with an older "city within a city" inside it's borders. Along the famous La Rambla boulevard, shopkeepers sell everything from small jewelry and trinkets to live animals like parrots or chickens.

Architecture is of some significance in Barcelona, chiefly owed to one Antoni Gaudi, who's gothic styled works are best shown in his unfinished church "La Sagrada Familia." He is also attributed the honour of the origin of the word "gaudy" for "being showy in a tasteless or vulgar way." Gaudi died in 1926 after being run over by a tram, and was buried in the crypt of his basilica masterpiece.

Sunrise on the Flight to Frankfurt
Photo by Jeff

Flying into daylight, this view from the window of the aircraft showing sunrise.

Silverado Resort, Napa, CA

One of those things. One of many places in northern California which require a certain amount of investigation. Napa/Sonoma, in the the heart of Californian wine country, lives a beautiful place called the Silverado Resort. A hilltop fire erupted while I was there, mainly due to the incredibly dry conditions. The Silverado hosts two championship golf courses, on a compound 1200 acres in size. The mansion pictured above was constructed in the 1870's.

I left this place on October 26th, stopping in Vancouver for one brief night before flying to Spain.

The Stanley Park Ghost Train: Something lurks down below! Click, if you dare, for a photo gallery of ghoulish proportion!

Took another trip to Seattle, decided to share the views from the hotel room at night.

Q: How hard is it to get the sound you hear in your head translated accurately to a recording?

A: "As soon as the songs hear the crack of that rifle, they go running for cover. But I've usually got three days worth of food and a scope. You want to avoid recording the feathers and throwing away the bird, I guess. You do want something to be living in them. So you sneak up on them. Because the recording process involves putting something through a machine, you have to wonder what falls down into the filter. Sometimes we pull out that lint and make other songs."


Interview excerpt taken from:
"I Hope More People Misunderstand Me"
USA Today (USA), by Edna Gundersen
Published: June 17, 2002

Sprocket stalks the night.

Hosted a birthday party for Carolyne. Good times, good food, good people.

Happy Carolyne!

Some solar powered patio lanterns, y'all.

Look up, look way up... set your camera on stun, and see what a long exposure will grant. This photo taken at 9:30 PM, a few minutes past twilight, with the sky black in colour to the naked eye. No colour adjustments made.

"Was the modulation in the Whitney Houston cover found in the original song written and performed by Dolly Parton in 1974?"

Answer: NO.

It appears the dreaded gear change is found only in Whitney Houston's cover, which points squarely at the person responsible: David Foster. He produced Whitney's version.

Evidence: Dolly's live television performance of "I Will Always Love You" on the show "Hee Haw" from 1974 (courtesy of YouTube.com):

Link to YouTube



We the jury hereby find the defendant, David Foster, guilty of the crime of the Producer's Crutch - The Modulation (aka The Truck Driver's Gear Change).


"I Will Always Love You," Whitney Houston, 50 sec. sample of the modulation:



Court adjourned.