Bloomington, Illinois

So, it’s Black Friday and you can’t face the traffic and you can’t face the crowds. Go to alongroute66.com and alongroute66.com.

St. Louis, Missouri

Maybe you cruised Route 66 last summer or the summer before or the one before that. Go to alongroute66.com.

Gascozarck, Missouri

Maybe you know someone who would love a classic black and white photograph of a classic Route 66 landmark. Go to alongroute66.com.

Vinita, Oklahoma

Go to Along Route 66 and cruise the old road from your desk.

Amarillo, Texas

I am offering 8 x 10 black and white prints for $47, which I can have in your mailbox within a week of ordering. Go to alongroute66.com.

Tucumcari, New Mexico

In addition I have selected color prints, also for $47, also delivered within a week of ordering, at quintascott.com. Go to alongroute66.com.

Winslow, Arizona

Go on, Go to alongroute66.com, Arizona, and give someone a special Route 66 Christmas from alongroute66.com.

Amboy, California

Remember: Buy 2 8 x 10 Prints @$47 each, Get one Free.

And don’t forget the bookstore at alongroute66.com.

Ron and I made a quick trip to Illinois this weekend to attend a special event organized by an old friend.

On our way back through Missouri last night, we noticed a spiderweb of Christmas lights twined through the branches of hundreds of trees along a road winding up the side of a mountain.

The lights were part of the elaborate “Santa’s Magical Kingdom” Christmas display at the Yogi Bear-themed Jellystone Park campground just west of Six Flags.

We’d passed the display in years past, but we never seemed to get there in time to drive through it. Although we were on a rather tight schedule last night, we couldn’t resist a stop.

I suspect some of Santa’s Magical Mushrooms may have been involved in planning this exhibit:

The exhibit even includes a faux fireworks display over a replica of the St. Louis Arch.

Dolphins leap in a pool of twinkling lights.

Is the giant water faucet a nod to the famous animated neon faucet that drips all night next to I-44 near St. James? You decide. (After you click the link, scroll down to the bottom of the page to see what I’m talking about.)

I personally think the whole thing looks like what you’d get if Clark Griswold were in charge of decorating Rock City’s Fairyland Caverns for the holidays. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Emily

Acum mi-am dat seama ca rimeaza foarte bine sentimentul de la alegerile de pe 19 cu bonusul primit mai devreme de la Mihai. O sa intelegeti voi mai bine ascultand

Cand am vazut ca este foarte greu sa votezi in aceasta tara am consinetizat ca aceasta melodie mi se potriveste foarte bine mai ales ca spune in ea ca “sa emigram in AMERICA”, adica acolo unde vreau sa fac ….. vedeti voi aici ce “ma socheaza noapte de noapte”  :)

I’m a big fan of roadside oddities, which is why I had to stop near Cuba, Mo., yesterday afternoon after seeing a sign for the world’s largest rocking chair.

Standing 46 feet tall, it sits next to the US 66 Outpost & General, where you can grab a drink, Route 66 souvenirs or get a dead animal stuffed. It is a truly awe-inspiring monument to the power of furniture, though I was disappointed to learn that A) you can’t sit in it, and B) it doesn’t actually rock.

On a related note, not far down the road is a vacuum cleaner museum but I didn’t get a chance to stop.

Maybe next time.

Sure, one can start moving “trail ends” here and there. Route 66 is just one big fantasy for Hawaiian-shirted, baby-booming cruisers…

Courtesy New York Times

November 12, 2009
Mythical End for Legendary Route 66
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The question of where the old Route 66 officially ended in the West has been the subject of debate among history buffs and roadsters. On Wednesday it was resolved in a quintessentially American way, by placing the terminus in a place where it can best be monetized.

A Route 66 sign embossed with “end of the trail” was dedicated at the Santa Monica Pier, a popular tourist destination, marking the 83rd anniversary of the road’s opening and what James M. Conkle, the chairman of the Route 66 Preservation Foundation, called the “spiritual,” if not precisely historically accurate, end of the famed roadway.

U.S. Highway 66 — coined the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in “The Grapes of Wrath” and later popularized by Hollywood before becoming a casualty of the interstate system — opened in 1926, connecting Chicago to Los Angeles through hundreds of rural and urban miles of winding road in eight states. Originally, the route terminated on Seventh Street in downtown Los Angeles, but was then extended to the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln Boulevards in neighboring Santa Monica, an unattractive and extraordinarily busy corner where it would be impossible to stand and take a photograph.

Legend had it that at some point, an end-of-the-road sign was placed at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue as a prop for a movie shoot, and eventually disappeared, as did the highway designation itself (Route 66 was officially decommissioned by the federal government in 1985). Given the pier’s proximity to that corner — and perhaps the fact that a place near the scenic Pacific Ocean where one can also buy some churros and a key chain while posing for a shot — the new “official” end seemed fortuitous.

Santa Monica tourism officials and the Preservation Foundation were both behind the idea, and the move required no approvals or permits. It is “like the power invested in me sort of thing,” Mr. Conkle said.

“It’s a myth,” he added, “but it is a myth added to all the other myths of Route 66.”

I found this note on Route 66 last week. It’s written on lined paper in schoolgirl-cursive and dates to 1954. It’s a ghost story of sorts.

It starts out: “It is very interesting to note how that folk stories can modernize themselves for instance the story of La Yornona [sic. La Llorona].”

The author goes on to explain the legend; where she lives; and describes an old wagon road that ran through her village.

Then the story starts.

“My story happened along this old wagon trail when a woman lost her life to a flash flood. The woman that lost her life was a young woman that had been married for only a year. She had a small infant which she lost in the flood. She lost her grip on the child, and while looking for the child, she also lost her life.

The sightings of this spirit are of a woman crying in a wedding gown looking for her child. It is said to be very unlucky for a child to see a spirit, or to have a child in the car with you when you see this spirit.”

The note ends.

EPPIE 2009 Best Horror

It’s every author’s dream – to get that book published, to see your name printed on the cover. Ben Larken finally got that sensation with PIT-STOP, his debut novel – described by reviewer Geoff Nelder as “an extraordinary horror/thriller”. But for Ben something else happened, something not every author achieves. His debut book became an award winner. PIT-STOP was crowned EPPIE 2009 Best Horror at EPICon in March 2009 in Las Vegas.

With Ben’s next book THE HOLLOWS released tomorrow (Friday 20th), let’s take a look at PIT-STOP and see why it’s so good.

PIT-STOP takes place at a quiet roadside diner on Arizona’s scenic route 66. Officer Scott Alders finds himself over a cup of joe, staring at the reflections in his spoon. Trouble is, he soon realises he’s not quite sure why he’s there, or how he got there. Looking around, he sees everyone else with the same half-dazed lost look. One by one, they begin to come to themselves and through Holly, the unconcerned waitress, they learn that the Pit-Stop Grill is not your everyday roadside diner. It’s a layover while they wait for a bus, and a gruesome demonic driver. The door is sealed, and the Pit-Stop Grill is the one place you don’t want to be, it’s the last stop on the road to Hell.

Amidst fears, doubts, and denial, the ten occupants try to band together to fight against the seeming inevitable, and against RAMSEY, the bus-driver gifted with the powers of Satan to bring all to his side in Hades.

—————————————————-

Get on the bus...

“Holly,” he said with a voice infuriatingly calm. “Please show your customers what happens when they refuse to get on the bus.”
Even through the nerves stretching Holly’s face, her expression dropped. She didn’t move at first. Then, with noticeable strain, her hand lifted to her blouse. She unbuttoned the top button, then the next one. She stopped.
“Ramsey, please,” she whispered. “Please don’t make me.”
He replied like a parent softly disciplining a child. “Holly, show the people what happens when you don’t get on the bus.”
She closed her eyes as a line of mascara ran down her cheek. She unclasped the next button and pulled open her blouse.
“Oh, crap,” Bill said. He was the only one who spoke. Cassie let out a small whimper.
Everyone else could barely breathe as they stared at the cavity where Holly’s chest should have been. The skin was gone. Instead there were mold-covered ribs and even darker things lurking beneath. Decrepit organs like fist-sized raisins writhed and pumped under the bones. Holly closed her blouse as quickly as she opened it.
“Thank you, Holly,” Ramsey said. “You may go now.”
The waitress lowered her head and stepped into the backroom with her hand over her mouth trying to stifle the sobs. Ramsey the bus driver revolved slowly on the bar stool, turning toward them.
“Now,” he said with a sigh. “Get on the bus or suffer the same wrath.”
“No,” Scott answered, his voice cracking. “Don’t listen to him. He can’t get us all. We have to stick together.”
Ramsey puckered his lips. “Such a valiant path. And yet, it’s never succeeded.”
Scott didn’t move, though Dustin could see a slight tremble in his legs. Then he realized he was trembling, too. They all were, as if an electric current passed through the group.
“You’re going down!” Bill cried, throwing his baseball cap aside. He ran at the driver, yelling a wordless battle cry, his fists raised and ready as he stampeded toward the albino perched on the bar stool. Ramsey never got up. He lifted one ghostly finger and touched Bill’s fist as it dived toward him.
Bill fell over howling in pain.
He landed on his side then rolled onto his back, shrieking like a banshee. A large circle of red appeared on the drunk driver’s chest. The stain deepened, making trenches of crimson in his shirt as a “Y” shape bled into the center of the circle, resembling a peace sign or a—
“A steering wheel?” Dustin said.
“Very good, Mr. Calloway,” Ramsey said, nodding respectfully. “Bill’s car didn’t have an airbag, and I’m afraid he was too drunk to remember his seatbelt. He died instantly, impaled on his own steering wheel. Such a shame, as you can see.”
Bill screamed. Janine buried her face in Dustin’s shirt. He couldn’t blame her. Bill Myers’ chest was collapsing in front of them. Bones crinkled and snapped like popcorn popping. And yet Bill kept screaming. His lungs should have been punctured. His esophagus had to be tattered ribbons.
Scott was thinking the same thing. “How is he still yelling? Why isn’t he dead yet?”
“He can’t die,” Dustin said. “He’s already dead.”
Ramsey leaned over Bill without getting off his barstool. “Would you like to get on the bus now?”
“Yes!” Bill cried and the moment he said it the blood disappeared from his shirt and his chest re-inflated. His screaming snapped off like a switch. He looked down at his body through tear-filled eyes.
“I would hurry if I were you,” Ramsey said.
Bill didn’t need further convincing. He leapt to his feet and ran outside, racing for the bus. It welcomed him into its black stomach with cryptic silence.
The bus driver rose from the barstool and stretched. His spine cracked and sounded like twigs snapping. He yawned, revealing shimmering, blood-caked teeth, and turned to the others.
“Who’s next?”

—————————————————-

Perhaps we all wonder what happens when we die. Is there a place such as Purgatory? Are we all answerable for our sins? It’s a place we never want to find ourselves in, but our heroes are there seem to face an impossible task in escaping RAMSEY. Faced with their own fears and reflecting on their own lives, they turn to each other for help.

—————————————————-

The outside lights snapped on. “Pit-Stop Grill” blinked in sizzling red neon as the fluorescent lamps cast a dull sheen over the gas pumps. Sprinting between the two pumps was Laura, blood-drenched and screaming, running toward the infinite highway. Scott watched through the window, feeling her terror. He could barely repress the scream inside himself.
“Laura!” Janine yelled, standing next to him. “Don’t leave me!”
Suddenly, the bus swooped around the side of the building like a shimmering bullet, targeting its prey and going in for the kill. The engine ripped and revved, sending tremors through the whole diner. Laura half-ran, half-staggered onto the blacktop, looking exhausted and vulnerable.
“Hide!” Janine screamed. “Laura, hide!”
“Where?” Dustin said. “There’s nowhere to go.”
Scott’s hand was on his pistol before he even formed the thought. He brushed past Janine, Dustin and Cassie, heading for the door.
“What are you doing?” Dustin shouted after him. “You can’t kill him!”
“No, but if I can slow Holly down, maybe I can give Laura enough time to get back.” He ran through the doorway, noticing how Janine had no complaints about his righting the wrongs this time.
A wave of disorientation hit him as Scott crossed over the threshold. He staggered, realizing it was because he was leaving the diner. Whatever spell the place had on their collective souls snapped off in an instant, and Scott was suddenly struck by how alone he felt. The terror inside swelled, bordering on hysteria. The soothing, hypnotic pull of the Pit-Stop was gone. Being outside the walls of the Pit-Stop felt like being strapped to the nose of the diving plane, watching the ground fly up to meet him.
Laura screamed and Scott tried to focus. The bus was almost to her. The white beams of its headlights soon found her and Scott watched in horror as Laura’s exposed legs and arms began to sizzle and smoke. The mammoth vehicle followed her path exactly, and for a second Scott thought they were all dead. The bus careened toward the two gas pumps, as if to weave between them like Laura had and Scott braced himself for the explosion that was sure to follow. But the jet black bus hit the pumps and passed through them like a ghost unfazed by the laws of reality. Scott wondered if the same would be true when the bus reached Laura. Would it pass through her and continue down the highway?
The answer soon came. The bus didn’t veer into her. It spun into her. The back end lifted off the blacktop, whipped around and the effect was like a homerun smack. Scott cringed at the sound as the bus found her. With a hollow thock, Laura flew back the way she came, landing with a metallic clang against the gas pump to his left. Scott watched her twitch and spasm, her white clothing now completely blood stained. Somewhere behind him, Janine screamed.
Scott ran. The pumps were only yards away but the distance felt overwhelming. He sprinted harder. In his periphery he could see the bus wasn’t moving. It had stopped in the middle of the highway, satisfied its prey wasn’t going anywhere. But if Scott could get to her first he could drag her back into the diner.
Then he felt the pull.
The power was all-consuming, a telepathic storm with hurricane-force winds. Every other thought evaporated. Scott stared past the gas pumps to the bus, its shimmering black windows beckoning him forward. He could hear the vibration coming off the glass, demanding his submission. He was helpless against it. His eyes widened helplessly and he stumbled toward the bus.
The bus was too big, too commanding, and he walked toward his new home feeling the pull strengthen with every step. With that sword-drawing sound, the drawbridge door on the side of the bus lowered. He stared at the blackness inside, broken only by a pair of red eyes gazing out of the darkness. The eyes welcomed him. He was almost there.
Fingers wrapped around his hand.
The moment he felt their touch, the psychic pull slackened making Scott look down and break contact with the floating red eyes. Laura’s bloody fingers had a death grip on him, but there was power coming through those fingers—enough power for the terror of the moment to flood back into him.
Her face was crumpled on one side, the bones of her skull splintered and her flesh a bloody pulp. Her body looked more like a pile of smoldering kindling, legs and arms thrown over each other like branches in a fire pit. With her one good eye, she gazed up at him.
“Get Janine out,” she sputtered, blood flowing down her chin. “Get her away from here…Please.”
Scott heard a footstep. And then another. Ramsey was coming. Scott didn’t look back. He didn’t have to. He didn’t want to look at the bus at all. Whatever power Laura Decker passed on to him would be wasted if he did. Instead he nodded at Laura. Her good eye seemed to soften then rolled back in its socket as her fingers slid away from his.
Scott ran harder than he ever remembered running in his lifetime. Ahead, the Pit-Stop Grill waited, getting closer but not fast enough. His terror only increased as he stared at the windows, realizing he couldn’t see Dustin, Cassie or Janine in them. What he did see made his stomach bottom out.
The bell tinkled and the front door—the only door into the Pit-Stop—pulled itself shut.

—————————————————-

In times of total despair, in times when you feel everything is lost, hope can be the one thing that drives you forward. Hope sometimes brings opportunity, and for our survivors battling against the dark forces, opportunity is what they need.

—————————————————-

No one else said anything. Janine’s eyes closed and made a steeple with her fingers. She looked deep in thought. Cassie’s eyes were closed too, but they cracked open every few seconds to make sure she wasn’t the only one. Dustin closed his eyes but could have been doing it from exhaustion. Scott stared at them all, thinking of wasted time.
God, he thought. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.
He couldn’t think of more. He stared at the ground, the blank sky, and then to his sides, his gaze jumping from boulder to boulder. He zeroed in on one of the larger stones, especially the chicken scratches on one of its flatter surfaces. His eyes widened.
“Wait…those aren’t scratches,” he whispered. “Those are words.”
The others looked up as Scott limped away from them, moving to the boulder. “Amen,” announced Cassie and got up quickly to follow him. Janine stayed where she was, her expression pinched in concentration.
Scott reached the boulder and leaned against it. The whitened scratches were words all right—small, poorly-formed words, possibly carved into the stone with a sharp pebble. He read silently while Cassie read aloud.

“My husband is D.B. Binder, notoreus thief and bank robber. He is respnsible for 20 heists along Route 66 and they say he is famus. For some reeson I am not, althoe I skeemed evry single one. I was the getaway driver too. But they wer waitin for us in Flagstaff. D.B. went in to the bank and never came out. Then they shot out the tires. So I ran until I got stuk climbin a sharp pole fince. The fince ript me open on the way down. And then I woke up here. In hell.
No one is awake. Their eyes are open but ther asleep. Even D.B. I waited til the bus came. While the othrs got on I ran. But now I’m tired and I can’t run anymor. I see anothr light a long way off. If I keep going maybe I can get outta here.
But if I can’t I wanted someone to reed this. I wanted someone to know I was the skeemer, not D.B. He was nothin speshal without me.
Holly Binder”

“Do you think it’s really Holly?” Cassie asked when she finished. “I mean, our Holly? Waitress Holly?”
“If I had to guess, I’d say yes,” Scott replied, running his fingers over the words. How long had it taken her to write this? She had been by herself, so how could she have written this much?
The answer that floated to the surface gave Scott chills. Ramsey had known she was gone. He had allowed her to finish. In his mind’s eye, Scott could see the bus driver at the top of the hill, watching with an amused smirk on his lips as she carved away. Or maybe it had been night and the entire bus had hovered silently over her, hidden in the darkness.
Cassie had different thoughts. “Did you read that?” She pointed to the words. “She saw a light a long way off, and it wasn’t the Pit-Stop Grill. There’s something else out there.”
“Something she never made it to,” Scott reminded her. “And we don’t know which direction she saw it in. It could be anywhere.”
“So what?” she cried. “It’s not like we don’t have all the time in the world. We just keep looking.”
“But we don’t have time,” he countered, feeling another bitter throb in his ankle. “Dustin’s getting worse.” And so am I, he wanted to say but didn’t.
“Then we follow your original plan,” came Dustin’s wheezy voice, and they turned to see the young man picking himself up off the ground. Janine rose quickly to give him support. Dustin leaned on her, keeping his bloodshot eyes on Scott. “We follow the highway. If there’s anything out there, it’ll be next to the highway.”
Cassie hooted. “Then let’s get this road trip started.”
“You guys can thank me later,” Janine smiled.
Scott arched an eyebrow. “Thank you for what?”
“My idea,” she said as she and Dustin hobbled past the boulder with Holly Binder’s Last Will and Testament etched into it. “You didn’t see that rock until after I started praying.”
Scott stayed where he was for a moment, watching them move farther into the ravine. He couldn’t decide if Janine was joking or dead serious. Staring at the hastily-scratched words he realized it was possible they had been led to this spot by a benevolent being.
But in the same breath, he new something darker could have just as easily left this message, something that was slowly setting them all up for a trap.

—————————————————-

Does the damned group finally escape the relentless pursuit of RAMSEY? Are they really all dead, as they think? You can see why PIT-STOP is such a popular book. If you pre-order THE HOLLOWS (gotta do it today, as it’s out tomorrow!) you’ll get the ebook of PIT-STOP free with it, or you can buy PIT-STOP itself, from LL-Publications, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other good retailers.

BUT … answer this question and you could win your own signed copy of the 2009 EPPIE Best Horror, PIT-STOP! The best answer, in our view, will win the book.

“What, in your view, is the best book (apart from PIT-STOP, OF COURSE!) about Hell, Satan, Evil, etc., and why?”

Perhaps it’s a classic like The Exorcist, or The Omen, or another gem you’ve read or seen.

Jim Brown

LL-Publications

par ko ir jāraksta blogs?
tā kā mana statistikas līnijiņa ir pākāpusies augstāk par parasto nulles punktu, laikam jāsāk rakstīt kaut kas jēdzīgs, kas citus varētu ieinteresēt, bet tad nu es sāku domāt – par ko vispār jāraksta blogs?

par saviem ikdienišķajiem notikumiem, kā piemēram, vakar ar savām meitenēm jaukajām gājām skatītīties, kā Rīga staro. visu neredzējām, bet laba daudz taču nevajag. bija interesanti, taču īpaši mani iepriecināja sen aizmirstais fotoprieks un objektīvs, kuru jau grasījos mest ārā, jo salūzis, taču AUTOfokuss atkal strādā un lielie bilžu prieki. sen nebiju tā paīstam bildējusi, un atcerējos cik man trakoti to patīk darīt!! pēctam gājām satikt pārējos uz Route 66, kas ir lielisks bārs pie nacionālā teātra. vispār man nepatīk bāri/klubi un tādas lietas, pēdējais, kas mani daudzmaz apmierināja bija piens, taču viņš galīgi nepaceļam,  nekad.  tad nu Route tomēr pārspēj visu, jo +centrā un tuvu, +laba mūzika, +pārsvarā visi savējie un nav milzu ļaužu pūļi, +lēts alus, +daudzi nezina par tādu vietu un labi vien ir, ka nezina, +PAPA, kurš ļauj pārgurušajam Teodoram gulēt uz dīvana katru piektdienu un neiebilst, +++ mēs tur sēžam gluži kā  idilliskajā seriālā FRIENDS vai How I Met Your Mother stundām ilgi. vienīgais, kas tur trūkst ir danči, bet, ja ļoti vajadzētu, ticu, ka varētu iegriezt arī tos. un Madara man izteica komplimentu, par man svarīgām lietām, sapriecājos ļoti. cik labi, ka ir LIELISKI draugi!! puikas spēlēja pokeru un H-orizējās, Jurģis atvēra savu bāru, kur galvenā izklaide bija slidināties pa dubļiem un vispār viņš nebija diktiDIKTI sen satikts, galīgi sailgojusies biju. naksniņā gājām pie Emīla uz cukurtrauku, gulējām 9 cilvēki uz diviem matračiem. hehe, ballllīteeeeee. uuun, protams, rīts, mūsu lieliskie rīti ar pilnīgi muļķigajiem youtube video, beidzot ar vienam otra apsmiešanu un traku joku izdomāšanu un tā sajūta ar viņiem, kad liekas, ka NEKUR uz pasaules vispār nav jāsteidzas un viss ir pilnīgākajā kārtībā.
nu lūk, tas īsumā par mūsu Latvijas dzimšanasdienas svinībām, bet tādas lietas taču lasīt interesanti ir tikai tiem, kas tajā visā ir piedalījušies, tādēļ laikam tā nebūs labākā blogtēma. hm, kas vēl? rakstīt par savām sajūtām? par to, cik ļoti es mīlu viņus un, ka pat Zanes tētis mūs saprot un saka – jūs esat tik laimīgas, ka jums viņi ir. elle, jā, neizsakāmi!! par to, ka jebkura doma par nākamo gadu kaut kā nesaslēdzās un galvā notiek tāds : error error, jo es vienkārši nespēju iedomāties kā tas būs. nu labi, es pārāk dramatizēju, bet nu švaki tas viss. par to, kā man patīk, kad piedzērušies cilvēki man stāsta visu, ko viņi patiešām domā un es neesmu tik piedzērusies, lai tu visu uztvertu. kā Teodors man stāsta par to, kas viņam ļoti pietrūkst, un kā Lāsma runājās. nu trakoti mīlīgi!! par to kā pēdējā laikā nāk visādas jaukās atmiņas virsū un tad es eju pa ielu un smaidu kā tāds muļķīts to visu atceroties, vai dažreiz man acis slapjas paliek. varbūt tas no vēja. par to, ka man izdevās iepriecināt Signi tieši tik ļoti, lai viņa apraudātos no priekiem, jo viņa ir mana lielā mīlestībiņa no pirmā acu skatiena. par to, ka ir mazliet baisi, ka apkārtējie cilvēki lietas par mani saprot labāk un daudz ātrāk nekā es pati. par to, kā es skaitu dienas, kaut arī tagad man ir labi. skaitu, gaidot, ka būs vēl labāk. par to, ka man ir labākie cilvēki, kas palīdz tikt galā ar visu, pat ar mazajām sirsiņscēnām. nure, arī šī sadaļa man neliekas īsti pareiza, jo tas viss tomēr kaut kā intīmi liekas.

varētu rakstīt par mazliet globālākām lietām: to cik ļoti lepojos ar TELE2 un pilnīgi varētu pāriet tele2 tīklā, jo tās reklāmas ir nudien vērienīgas. viņi vienkārši dara visu un visur, lai par viņiem runātu, un viņiem tas sanāk. visu cieņu reklāmas aģentūrai, kas to visu dara. visi tie meteorīti-hujeteorīti, visi varoņi, ko neviens nesaprata dikti ilgi. es galīgi viņus atblastu un LMT ar savām galīgi neinteresantajām un nesaistošajām reklāmām, šķiet ir pieklausis un labi, ka tā. tad jau labāk nereklamēties vispār nekā raidīt TIK muļķīgas lietas. vispār reklāma ir ļoti interesanta padarīšana. haha, cik aizrauti jūs bijāt lasot šo rindkopu? jāmēģina kaut kas cits.

varētu rakstīt recenzijblogus par izstādēm, koncertiem un teātrizrādēm, oujā!! īstenībā man baigi glaimo, kad kāds prasa padomus par teātrizrādēm. taču es nejūtos pārāk zinoša nekad, un tad tēloju mazu meitenīti, kas saka – tas man patika, tas nepatika, neko nezinu. šobrīd nerakstīšu par teātrizrādi, jo sen nav būts un esmu pārāk lielās nākamo izrāžu gaidās. man ir jauns teātrdraudziņš ar kuru es decembrī iešu uz pasaules gaidītākajām/lieliskākajām izrādēm, tad varbūt arī kaut ko jums izstāstīšu. bet rīt es klausīšos kā pats Andris Keišs man dzied dziesmas par mīlestību!! (:
kaut kad nesen bijām aizgājušas uz Rīgas Mākslas telpu, tur bija EKO izstāde. uuuj, kā man patika! no visneiedomākajām lietām izveidotas sadzīviskas mantiņas. lampa no plastmasas glāzēm/platēm/cepamāpapīra, dīvāns no kartona, kleita no kasešu lentēm, plaukti no koku pārpalikumiem, nu tiiik interesanti! tas jāredz savām acīm, noteikti. galvenais, ka tās visas lietas pats var uztaisīt sev, bet izskatās kā baigie stilīgie dizaina elemeti. nākamtrešdien tur būs lekcija ‘Māksla redzēt mākslu’, ņemot vērā, ka esmu bomzis un visa mana nauda paliek teātrī, tas ir liels prieks, jo tā lekcija ir pa brīvu!!

gribēju rakstīt par skolu, par to kā pilnīgi aizmirsu par savu ZPD, kas tulīt ir jānodod, bet tas bija tik garlaicīgi, ka interesantāk bija piespiest delete podziņu.

atcerējos! – Pearl Jam, jā, tai pašai lieliskajai grupai (pagātnē) ir jauns albums, ko noklausījos un nevarēju saprast, kas notiek. Edija balss (kas nenoliedzami ir +) + pilnīgi sūdīga mūzika (-) = sanāk mīnuss. vīlos. patika tikai viena dziesma un albūma vāciņa bilde. ehhh.

manuprāt, šis ir garākais ieraksts, manu publicēto ierakstu vēsturē, tāpēc endžooj. šaubos, ka kaut kas tāds varētu atkārtoties. izmēģināju visu, nekas sirsniņā tā arī nepalika. vadīšos pēc sajūtām, rakstīšu tikai to, ko gribēsies, JA gribēsies.

tas nu ir par mani, varbūt vienkārši jāliek smukas bildītes, nevis jāraksta nejēdzīgi emuāri? (kaut arī visa pārlasīšana pēc laika ir kā sajūtu daļēja restaurācija un es gluži vienkārši esmu atkarīga no skricelēšanās)

martasparta vēl jums jaukas dienas!

It’s a long, steep climb up and over the Union Pacific Railroad at Cambray, Luna County, New Mexico. Providing the thrill is a timber, steel and concrete viaduct — the Cambray Overpass. But the thrill may end, as the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) contemplates replacing the 80-year-old bridge.

Crossing the Railroads

Constructed in 1929-30, the overpass was built as part of a program to eliminate dangerous railroad crossings in New Mexico — to separate highway traffic from fast-moving freight trains.

The unhealthy mix of automobiles and trains first came to the public’s attention in 1921, when a study revealed 7,000 fatalities had occurred that year at rail crossings across the United States.

In 1924, the first National Conference on Street and Highway Safety recommended state highway departments make the elimination of hazardous grade crossings a top priority. By 1927, at least 19 states had formed agreements with railroad companies to build grade separations.

Starting in 1926, the New Mexico State Highway Department worked with the railroads crossing the state to realign tracks and construct new underpasses and overpasses to eliminate the problem.

Each year the program set a goal of eliminating bad grade crossings, removing 47 in 1929 alone, and building 25 major grade separations between 1926 and 1934. Nationally, 385 hazardous railroad crossings were eliminated in 1929.

The overpasses were often built at a skew to allow passage for freight trains. To provide the extra horizontal clearance, the piers of the Cambray Overpass were arranged at 45-degree angles.

But during its first seven decades of operation, it only crossed one track —the Southern Pacific — and now spans the double tracks of the Union Pacific.

A Sturdy Crossing

The 229-foot-long bridge rests on braced timber bents and huge concrete piers arranged at a skew. Smoke guards, coated rusty brown, protect the deck from errant sparks. Old telegraph lines of the Western Union pass under its east span. Its steep approaches are humped; their shoulders covered with native vegetation.

Started at the onset of the Great Depression, the Cambray Overpass — the fifth grade separation to be built under the program — cost a total of $47,602. Its completion contributed to a program to improve U.S. 80 across New Mexico.

Begun also in 1929, the program paved the roadbed with asphaltic oiling, eliminated sandy stretches and bypassed earlier alignments, upgrading the highway for cross-country travel.

The highway, finished in 1931, became the first hard-surfaced highway in New Mexico, six years ahead of Route 66.

For years the overpass carried the transcontinental traffic of U.S. 80 as well as the Old Spanish Trail, Borderland and Broadway of America highways, giving passengers a high view of the surrounding desert scenery below.

But the construction of Interstate 10 to the north changed everything, diverting traffic and drying up tiny Cambray to its current state of one inhabited house.

Bypassed for over 40 years, the overpass serves a local and sparse population of ranches in western Dona Ana and eastern Luna counties.

One can drive this stretch and never see another living soul. Yet, according to NMDOT statistics, over 800 vehicles cross the bridge daily.

Bridge Threatened

In 2002 the NMDOT determined the overpass eligible for listing the National Register of Historic Places at the state level of significance. They noted the structure was the oldest railroad overpass in the state and remained in good condition.

But its virtually unaltered design is also what threatens its future.

While a 2007 bridge inspection report found the overpass in fair condition, requiring no immediate action, NMDOT considers it structurally deficient — it is narrow and steep and does not meet current standards of road geometry.

Adding to this, the Union Pacific Railroad wants additional vertical and horizontal clearance, which could require demolishing or greatly altering the overpass.

If replaced, so will go one of the last 1920s highway bridges in New Mexico and the thrill of driving up-and-over the railroad.

###

BERNALILLO, NEW MEXICO

The New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance announced the listing of the Cambray Overpass to its 2009 “Most Endangered Places in New Mexico” designation. The alliance advocates protecting New Mexico’s heritage, especially places it considers imminently threatened.

More than 60 places have been recognized as endangered since the program started in 1999. The bridge joined the Coronado State Monument in Bernalillo, the Luna-Otero Mansion and fence in Los Lunas and the De la O Saloon and Village of Doña Ana in Doña Ana.

Built in 1929-30, as part of a project to improve U.S. Highway 80 (the Old Spanish Trail and Broadway of America highways) across New Mexico, the overpass carried automobiles over the Southern Pacific (now Union Pacific) railroad for decades, until bypassed by Interstate 10.

Despite its current light use, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) considers the bridge outdated and plans to replace it. Adding to the pressure, the Union Pacific seeks additional clearance for its trains, threatening the bridge’s future.

Radian Engineering of Santa Fe, New Mexico is conducting a study of the overpass for NMDOT. The study will result in a report proposing alternatives for the structure, including a potentially “no-build” option, though replacement is expected. At the same time, Radian, Parametrix, an Albuquerque-based consulting is preparing a historical study on the overpass and the village of Cambray. The study will be available to the public.

With the recent demolition of Bridge 8, an early Route 66 bridge north of Bernalillo, New Mexico, the Cambray Overpass moves to the position as one of the oldest “on-system” highway bridges in New Mexico.

###

Desde que tengo dos amigos moteros me fijo en cosas que antes ni de churro. Hoy es el 80 aniversario de la inauguración de la Ruta 66, carretera mítica que unía inicialmente Chicago y Los Ángeles y luego Chicago y Santa Mónica. Esta carretera se hizo mito porque sirvió de vía para los emigrantes que viajaban hacia el oeste huyendo del Dust Bowl, un fenómeno ecológico sorprendente: las llanuras y praderas que van desde el Golfo de México hasta Canadá se secaron, según he entendido, por un uso abusivo del suelo para el cultivo. Sin humedad, el viento levantaba verdaderas tormentas de polvo que hacían imposible trabajar y vivir allí.

Hoy esa carretera está descatalogada porque ya se ha sustituido por otros tramos de autopista, pero en algunos puntos sigue señalada como Historic Route 66. Steinbeck la utilizó en Las uvas de la ira y se dice que también En el camino de Kerouak se desarrolla en esta ruta. En la música Bobby Troup, pianista y cantante de jazz, le compuso una canción: Get your kicks on Route 66. Esta fue versionada, entre otros, por Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones y Depeche Mode. La mayoría disponibles en Youtube. Sin embargo, yo me quedo con la versión de Dr. Feelgood. La cara del cantante te quita las ganas de desayunar, pero si se trata de viajar en moto, creo que es la más adecuada.  

Para ver la letra…

If you ever plan to motor west
travel my way, the highway that’s the best
get your kicks on Route 66.

It winds from Chicago to L.A.
more than 2,000 miles all the way
get your kicks on Route 66.

Now you go thru St. Looey, Joplin, Missouri
and Oklahoma City looks mighty pretty.
You’ll see Amarillo, Gallup, New Mexico
Flagstaff, Arizona, don’t forget Winona
Winslow, Barstow, San Bernardino.
Won’t you get hip to this timely tip
when you make that California trip,
get your kicks on Route 66.

On November 11:

1634  Following pressure from Anglican bishop John Atherton, the Irish House of Commons passes “An Act for the Punishment for the Vice of Buggery“.

1675: Gottfried Leibniz demonstrated integral calculus for the first time to find the area under the graph of y = ƒ(x).

1880 Australian Bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged at Melbourne Gaol.

1918 World War I ended when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiègne in France. The war officially stopped at 11:00 (The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month).

 Armistice Day celebrations in Auckland were postponed in an attempt to prevent the spread of influenza but the rest of the coutnry celebrated.

1918 Poland regained its independence.

1922  Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, was born.

1924 Prime Minister Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaimed the first Greek Republic.

1926  U.S. Route 66 was established.

1928  Carlos Fuentes, Mexican writer, was born.

1930 Patent number US1781541 was awarded to Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd for their invention, the Einstein refrigerator.

1942 The troop ship Awatea was sunk and all on board but the ship’s cat escaped alive.

1945 Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, was born.

1962 – Demi Moore, American actress, was born.

1965  In Rhodesia (modern-day Zimbabwe), the white-minority government of Ian Smith unilaterally declard independence.

1968  A second republic was declared in the Maldives.

1974 Leonardo DiCaprio, American actor, was born.

1975  Australian constitutional crisis of 1975: Australian Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed the government of Gough Whitlam and commissions Malcolm Fraser as caretaker Prime Minister.

I’m closing out my weekend with a big dose of David Lanz while I finish up some grading and look ahead to next week’s lessons.

It’s been a productive weekend. I spent all day Saturday on some training, then went out to dinner with Ron and picked up a few groceries at Whole Foods. While we were standing in the checkout lane, I made an impulse buy: a remastered copy of the Beatles’ Rubber Soul. Lennon remains my favorite, but I think I finally understand the girls who were screaming and fainting over Macca in the ’60s.

I spent this morning at church, and then we went to Drysdales this afternoon before coming home to chop up firewood. I love our chainsaw. It’s bigger, louder, and more dangerous than any other power tool in my collection. Working assembly-line fashion, with Ron moving the logs into position and me running the saw, we chopped up the better end of a rick of firewood in under an hour. When we finished, I came inside and worked up a few lesson plans before heading over to the Rock Cafe for dinner. We took 66 on the way back home. Nothing particularly exciting was going on, but it was a good trip anyway.

I am now wrapping up a little grading so I can start my week with a relatively clear plate.

Hope your weekend was peaceful and productive, wherever you are.

Emily

Trabalho Anúncio de Carro

Original, 11″ x 17″ poster: IMDA & Magic Racing present Works Performance Route 66 Half Mile Chicagoland Cyclefest including AMA Prostar All Motorcycle Drag Racing & Grand National Championship and Supertrackers, Joliet, Illinois

FEATURES #21 WILL DAVIS

2000 Route 66 Raceway Half-Mile Chicagoland Cyclefest Motorcycle Racing Poster available at www.DadsVintageAds.com in the “ Motorcycle Gifts & Collectibles ” category

Search our Magazine Back Issue Index for old Motorcycle Magazine Back Issues for sale.

To search our full inventory of Vintage Motorcycle Advertisements, Articles, and Road Tests CLICK HERE.

PRODUCTION — PLAY – LARGE
Ruined - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club
The Seafarer – Steppenwolf Theatre 

PRODUCTION — PLAY – MIDSIZE
The History Boys - TimeLine Theatre 

PRODUCTION — MUSICAL – LARGE
Caroline, or Change - Court Theatre

PRODUCTION — MUSICAL – MIDSIZE
Tomorrow Morning – Hilary A. Williams, LLC

PRODUCTION — REVUE
Studs Terkel’s Not Working - The Second City e.t.c.

ENSEMBLE
The History Boys – TimeLine Theatre 

NEW WORK — PLAY
Lynn Nottage – Ruined - Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

NEW ADAPTATION — PLAY
Seth Bockley – Jon – Collaboraction

NEW WORK OR ADAPTATION – MUSICAL
Josh Schmidt, Jan Tranen & Austin Pendleton – A Minister’s Wife - Writers’ Theatre 

DIRECTOR – PLAY
Nick Bowling – The History Boys – TimeLine Theatre

DIRECTOR – MUSICAL
Charles Newell – Caroline, or Change - Court Theatre

DIRECTOR — REVUE
Matt Hovde – Studs Terkel’s Not Working – The Second City e.t.c.

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE — PLAY
Larry Neumann, Jr. – A Moon for the Misbegotten- First Folio Theatre
William L. Petersen – Blackbird – Victory Gardens Theatre 

ACTOR IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE — MUSICAL
Joseph Anthony Foronda – Miss Saigon - Drury Lane Oakbrook

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE – PLAY
Saidah Arrika Ekulona – Ruined- Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

ACTRESS IN A PRINCIPAL ROLE — MUSICAL
E. Faye Butler – Caroline, or Change - Court Theatre

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Max McLean – Mark’s Gospel – Fellowship for the Performing Arts

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE — PLAY
Alex Weisman – The History Boys - TimeLine Theatre

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE — MUSICAL
Max Quinlan – The Light in the Piazza- Marriott Theatre

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE — PLAY
Spencer Kayden – Don’t Dress for Dinner - The British Stage Company

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE – MUSICAL
Liz Baltes – A Minister’s Wife – Writers’ Theatre
Summer Smart – The Light in the Piazza – Marriott Theatre

ACTOR IN A REVUE
Mark David Kaplan – Forbidden Broadway: Dances with the Stars – John Freedson, Harriet Yellin and Margaret Cotter

ACTRESS IN A REVUE
Amanda Blake Davis — Studs Terkel’s Not Working- The Second City e.t.c.

SCENIC DESIGN – LARGE
Lucy Osborne – Twelfth Night – Chicago Shakespeare Theater

SCENIC DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Brian Sidney Bembridge – The History Boys - TimeLine Theatre

COSTUME DESIGN – LARGE
Mara Blumenfeld – The Arabian Nights – Lookingglass Theatre

COSTUME DESIGN — MIDSIZE
Rachel Laritz – The Voysey Inheritance - Remy Bumppo Theatre

SOUND DESIGN – MIDSIZE
Lindsay Jones – The K of D: An Urban Legend – Route 66 Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN — LARGE
Christopher Akerlind – Rock ‘n’ Roll - Goodman Theatre

LIGHTING DESIGN — MIDSIZE
Jesse Klug – Hedwig and the Angry Inch – American Theater Company

CHOREOGRAPHY
David H. Bell – The Boys from Syracuse - Drury Lane Oakbrook

ORIGINAL INCIDENTAL MUSIC
Dominic Kanza – Ruined – Goodman Theatre and Manhattan Theatre Club

MUSIC DIRECTION
Doug Peck – Caroline, or Change - Court Theatre

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL EFFECTS
Steve Tolin – Special Effects – The Lieutenant of Inishmore - Northlight Theatre

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN VIDEO DESIGN
Mike Tutaj – Film & Video Design – Tomorrow Morning – Hillary A. Williams