This video was suggested by my cousin, Susan Aiello.
Singer songwriter Radney Foster had a hit with this tune back in 2009.
“Foster wrote “Angel Flight” with fellow Texas songwriter Darden Smith to tell the story of the aircrew that fly fallen soldiers home to their final resting place. The Air National Guard entrusted with flying these soldiers refer to the journey as the “Angel Flight.”
This is quality sound. Whether you like country music or not, the sound quality of the principal acoustic guitar (sounding very much like a Martin D-35 dreadnought – honey-dripp’n, bassy-tone), the vocal excellence, and top-notch recording techniques of this video are superb. *The song brings to my mind, at least, that the roots of the tune, maybe, spring from the likes of the late, John Denver, Tom Rush, Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Paxton and others of that ilk. This tune is honed with the fine vocal back-up from the former, front-man for Hootie And The BlowFish, Darius Rucker.
*Since I don’t follow “country” that closely, I’m sure I’m missing other key players.
Going on right now at 3:40 PM Saturday February 26, 2011. One of the signs we saw read: “Gaddafi is a terrorist” I think it was. Several flags – different that I’ve seen in Denver – were being waved in a group of, maybe, 35-50 persons who were shouting something, which couldn’t be discerned since our windows were up.
Originally published February 1, 2011 Even though I assembled this post, I think it might be questionable! BC Rachelle Spector
From Rachelle Spector’s website:
“A chance meeting that same year at the famed industry hangout Dan Tana’s would change her life forever. Introduced by a mutual friend, the 23-year-old small town girl and hopeful singer spent the next several hours in deep conversation with one of music’s most renowned producers. She had no idea who he was or that he would soon be indicted for a murder that dominated the headlines for the next few years.”
Dan Tana's Street View
“We talked about religion, politics, he told jokes, stories about his past, growing up, normal getting-to-know-you questions,” Rachelle says of that first meeting. “But the most important thing was a comment he made: ‘Timing is everything.’ That has stuck with me till this day.”
“They spoke until six the next morning and Phil (Spector) was smitten, declaring his love for the pretty blond and asking for a kiss, which Rachelle politely declined. For her, love developed more slowly, and over the course of a more traditional courtship, the couple became inseparable. This of course set Hollywood tongues a-wagging that the much-younger Rachelle was nothing more than a gold-digger. A notion she understands, but dispels with a girlish giggle when asked about what she finds attractive in her husband.”
“I like the way he looks,” she says. “He’s boyish and cute, witty, smart and we are so much alike even though we are generations apart. We share common interests, a love of music, people, life, old films, a strong work ethic, even certain mannerisms.”
“The pair married three years later in September 2006 and started working on the CD that fall, though completion on the project was delayed several times during the first and second trials, where Rachelle stood determinedly by her husband’s side. The recording clearly served as an emotional outlet for the producer and a special time for the couple to enjoy the creative process together” read more from RachelleSpector.Com
This is a photo of the late Lana Clarkson. Phil Spector was convicted of fatally shooting Ms. Clarkson at his Alhambra, California mansion on February 3, 2003.
The late Lana Clarkson
The real irony here is that Spector met both Lana Clarkson and present wife, Rachelle Spector on nights he dined at Dan Tana’s. On the fatal evening of Lana Clarkson’s demise Spector had dinner at Dan Tana’s and then, later in the evening, went to Hollywood’s House of Blues where he met the beautiful blonde actress. Spector met the blonde Rachelle Spector for the first time at Dan Dana’s. I’m not not saying anything here other than it’s an ironic twist.
These two gorgeous blondes are so similar in appearance they could have been twins. What a terrible American tragedy this is. These two ladies were poised for success, now one is gone and the other lost her husband – possibly for a long time. And her husband’s story is as tragic as Ms. Clarkson’s. Phil Spector is hands-down the premiere Rock and Roll music producer of all time, some might say (including yours truly) not just a producer but an artist in his own right read more…
This video “Here in My Heart” is from Rachelle Spector. The song was produced by Phil Spector.
by The Blue Agave Margarita at Agave in Summerlin.
By Allison Duck, Las Vegas Sun
Monday, Feb. 21, 2011 | 5:08 p.m.
It seems like every day is National Something or Other Day. Fortunately for tequila lovers, several Las Vegas venues are celebrating National Margarita Day on Feb. 22. Enjoy delicious specialty margaritas and tequila shots, keeping in mind the saying: “One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.”
Agave’s Margarita Day celebration: Agave in Summerlin celebrates with a 100 percent Blue Agave Margarita featuring 1519 Blanco Tequila, Patron Citronge and homemade sweet & sour mix for $4.95.
Margarita Day at N9NE Steakhouse: N9NE Steakhouse at the Palms reveals the newest addition to its cocktail menu, the Luxury Margarita, available to guests beginning Feb. 22. The cost is $39 and includes Don Julio Real, Blue Agave Nectar, a fresh lime snowball and a drizzle of Grand Marnier.
Margaritaville’s specials: Margaritaville encourages its Facebook fans to participate in their second annual margarita contest by submitting their recipes. The restaurant’s executive staff will select their favorite concoctions, which will be served on National Margarita Day. Enjoy margarita specials, and 2/22 birthdays received a $22.20 gift certificate to use during their visit. Individuals celebrating a 2/22/22 birthday receive complimentary food and beverage the entire day.
Drink specials at T&T: The tequila will flow at T&T with 2 for 1 house margaritas from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. The 20th patron to redeem the offer receives a complimentary dinner for two. T&T’s signature house margarita the Casarita includes Jose Cuervo Tradicional, organic agave nectar, Grand Marnier and homemade margarita mix made from scratch daily with fresh squeezed limes. Also featured is the Chongalicious Margarita, a 56-oz. monster of a drink that includes two 7-oz. Sol beers on top.
“American Indians gave names to each of the full moons to keep track of the passing year. The names are associated with the entire month until the next full moon occurs. Since a lunar month averages 29 days, the dates of the moons change from year to year. Here are titles most closely associated with calendar months” – more from Western Washington University…
Back East
Mohawk woman
Mohawk
In the Mohawk (Eastern Woodlands) language, the word for February’s moon is “enniska” or “lateness“.
Out West Hopi woman and child - c. 1900
Hopi
In the Hopi (Northeastern Arizona) language, the word for February’s moon is “powamuya” or “moon of purification and renewal“.
From The Old Farmer’s Almanac
Historically, the Native Americans who lived in the area that is now the northern and eastern United States kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to the recurring full Moons.
Each full Moon name was applied to the entire month in which it occurred. These names, and some variations, were used by the Algonquin tribes from New England to Lake Superior.
February is the Full Snow Moon – Usually the heaviest snows fall in February. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some Native American tribes this was the Hunger Moon.
When Will the Moon Rise Today?
A common lunar puzzle involves the timing of moonrise. Folks who enjoy the outdoors and the wonders of nature may wish to commit to memory the words on the chart below.
Moonrise (and, incidentally, the time of high tide) occurs about 50 minutes later each day than the day before.
To determine the time of moonrise for each day of the month, just add 50 minutes for each day after a phase or subtract 50 minutes for each day prior to a new phase.
The new Moon is invisible because the Sun blots it out read more from The Old Farmer’s Almanac…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. The following information was added Thursday February 17th.
Navajo Street Art District
If you happen to be in the Denver, Colorado area stop by the Navajo Street Arts District on 36th and – guess what – Navajo Street in North Denver. There are about a half-dozen art galleries in this block and they do open galleries on Fridays with wine and cheese/veggies.
The galleries are big-city-hip with made-artists, struggling artists and chasing the dream kids.
Stop in at Patsy’s Italian Restaurant (on the block) first, have a drink at the 80-90 year old bar or have a superlative, classic Italian dinner in my fav Italian Restaurant in Denver. Some genius with a monster brain programs the music – which includes old stuff from the 30s, 40s +.
This recipe originates from County Tipperary, Ireland (according to SAVEUR’S, Food for the Holidays issue – Winter, 2004.) A hearty Snow/Rainy-day-comfort-food entrée, this savory beef-pie will beckon you back to the fridge at 1:00 AM, and again at breakfast time. Purchase, at least, two 6-packs of Guinness Stout for 6-8 guests.
Start early – allow 5-6 hours, from start to serving. Thaw pastry 1/2 hour before meat-mixture is done. Serves 6-8
INGREDIENTS
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
3 1/2 cups beef stock
4 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 1″ cubes
1 1/2 lbs. white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1 large yellow onion, peeled, sliced and quartered
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 cups Guinness Stout
1 1/2 cups flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 egg
1 lb. frozen puff pastry, thawed
Beef and Guinness Pie - Web Image
PREPERATION
1) Preheat oven to 325′. Put tomato paste into a large bowl, add stock and stir until paste dissolves. Add beef, *mushrooms, onions, garlic, thyme and stout, and stir well. Sprinkle flour over beef mixture, season to taste with salt and pepper and stir well. Transfer to a deep 10 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ baking dish set on a large baking sheet. Cover dish with foil. Bake, stirring occasionally, until meat is very tender, 3 1/2 – 4 hours.
(One-half hour before pie has finished cooking, thaw puff pastry.)
2) Beat egg and 1 tsp. water together in a small bowl and set aside. Roll puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface to a *1/4″ thickness, 2″ wider than baking dish. Remove baking dish (fully cooked pie) from oven and uncover. Drape pastry over dish and brush with egg wash. Return baking dish to oven and bake until pastry is puffed and deep golden brown, about 40 minutes. Garnish with spearmint sprigs, if you like.
[I prefer 4-leaf clovers if I can find them – LVBC].
*Hints and suggestions: (a) If mushrooms are small (quarter-size) just halve them. If they are half-dollar size, quartering them is fine – small bits of mushroom disappear after 4 hours of cooking. (b) I prefer a pastry thickness of 1/8″ [LVBC] (c) Guinness draft can be substituted for the stout, for a slightly milder version. (d) Let the pie cool down before serving – 20 minutes. (g) For two to four people, use a round 8″ x 4″ deep baking dish and halve the recipe.
Serve with a glass of the Guinness or a solid Red wine.
This police booking photo provided on Thursday Feb. 3, 2011 by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shows Anthony M. Carleo, 29, from Las Vegas who was being held on felony armed robbery and burglary charges. Police say the Las Vegas man is suspected of the brazen armed robbery of $1.5 million in casino chips from the posh Bellagio resort on the Las Vegas Strip on Dec. 14. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Carleo is the son of a Las Vegas Municipal Court judge.
Anthony M. Carleo, 29, from Las Vegas who was being held on felony armed robbery and burglary charges.
LAS VEGAS — Police have arrested a 29-year-old Las Vegas man in the brazen armed robbery of $1.5 million in casino chips from the posh Bellagio resort on the Las Vegas Strip.
AP / WPEC-CBS12.com
Las Vegas police said Anthony M. Carleo was the motorcycle-helmeted bandit who waved a gun, grabbed high-value casino chips and made off on a motorcycle before dawn Dec. 14. No shots were fired and no one was hurt. Police said then that they thought the same man robbed the Suncoast casino in northwest Las Vegas early Dec. 8.
Carleo was arrested at the Bellagio as part of an undercover police investigation, a person familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press. The person declined to be named because he was not authorized to publicly give details about the case.
Police spokesman Bill Cassell refused to give further details on the arrest besides saying it happened in Las Vegas.
Bail was set at $15,000 for Carleo on felony armed robbery and burglary charges. Court spokeswoman Mary Ann Price said Carleo would make an initial appearance in court on Monday morning. Carleo will not be required to appear when a judge reviews the charges on Friday, Price said. Read more from CBS12.Com
3 Sons Italian Restaurant & Bar
14805 West 64th Avenue
Arvada, Colorado
303-455-4366
3 Sons had been serving fine Italian food on W 44th Ave in Denver for years. Susan and Michael Scarafiotti purchased 3 Sons in March of 2004. For over a year, the new owners have been serving fine Italian food at a new location in Arvada. The new 3 Sons Italian Restaurant and Bar opened at 14805 West 64th Avenue in Arvada, Colorado, in June 2009. And it’s a good thing. Not that they moved, but everything is good: the location, the bar, the dining room, the food, the happy-hours, the staff, and the spotless head(s).
The Tuscanesque-style restaurant with beige walls, old-brick archways, booths and chairs in warm reds and golds is in a shopping-center location, plenty of parking. There’s a bar area with a few booths and tables in front of floor to ceiling windows where patrons can “do” half-priced apps and 2-4-1 wine and wells and other drink specials at Happy Hour (call for hours).
The brunette cocktail-bringer we had last night was over-the-top gracious. Not only when she brought us the drinks and fresh bread with olive-oil/Balsamic dipping sauce, but every time she passed the table.
3 Sons at Christmastime
Moving to the dining room (one of two) after lingering a half-hour in the lounge, we were seated at a cozy booth in a warm room with subdued lighting, a kinda-formal setting. The only thing out of place was the dude in the Giants team-jacket. This is really a fairly elegant room.
From the menu we chose a basic pasta (spaghetti) with Marinara sauce served with meatball or Belfiore’s sausage ($11.00), and White trout filet pan-roasted & topped with shallots, white wine lemon butter sauce, served with Chef’s risotto of the day & 3 Sons vegetable medley ($17.00.) Add a soup or fresh house salad for $2.99, we did. A cool, blonde brought us fresh bread and dipping-sauce with the entrées. All the right textures, flavors and accouterments were accounted for and present. Portions were decent, service was excellent. I’ll return to try the pizza ($11.00) – ($15.00) and Lasagna ($17.00) and…
Full menus can be viewed at 3 Sons Official Website. Items from those menus include: Calzones ($14.00), Spaghetti Bolognese, Meatloaf ($15.00), and a Family Favorites list including, Lobster Ravioli ($16.00). Oh yea, Uh-hmmm! 3 Sons Patio
Photos are from 3 Sons Official Website
This post assembled by W Carbone.
This is a repost from the LasVegasReviewJournal.Com
Ravella at Lake Las Vegas, formerly the Ritz-Carlton - LasVegasSun
“The former Ritz-Carlton at Lake Las Vegas will reopen on Feb. 11 as Ravella.”
By HOWARD STUTZ
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
“Dolce Hotels and Resorts, which took over the 349-room nongaming property following its closure last May, took the name from the Southern Italian coastal town of Ravello.”
“Joseph Serrano, general manager of the Auld Dubliner Irish Pub and Restaurant in Lake Las Vegas’ MonteLago Village, didn’t really care what name was attached to the hotel.”
“The reopening means increased midweek business for his restaurant and the 35 shops and eateries at the outdoor retail area at the center of the 3,600-acre community that disappeared when Ritz-Carlton pulled out.”
“The fact that the hotel brings back business Monday through Thursday is really a huge driver for all the operators in the village,” Serrano said. “We’re all really encouraged about what the hotel’s reopening will mean to our business” read more from the LVRV.Com
“Background: In its 105th year, the National Western Stock Show is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that provides college and graduate level scholarships in agriculture and medicine for practice in rural areas. It is also our mission to serve producers and consumers throughout the world by being the premier Stock Show, Rodeo, Horse Show and center for year‐round events. The 16‐day show also serves as an entertainment arena, hosting one of the world’s richest regular season professional rodeos, largest horse show and Colorado’s largest tradeshow.”
“Attendance: Overall attendance in 2009 was 643,100. The attendance record was set during the Stock Show’s 100th anniversary in 2006 at 726,972.”
“Exhibits: More than 15,000 head of horses, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, llamas, alpacas, bison, yak, poultry and rabbits step foot on the grounds of the National Western Stock Show each year. The National Western Stock Show is noted for hosting the world’s only carload and pen cattle show, held in the historic Denver Union Stockyards.”
“Trade Show: More than 350 vendors fill the nearly 100‐acre show grounds with a variety of food and shopping opportunities. The National Western Trade Show offer a variety of products including fine art and jewelry, clothing, household items and agricultural products and equipment.” read more from the Official NWSS Website…
The National Western Stock Show, a brief history By Keith and Cheryl Chamberlain:
“The year was 1906. Theodore Roosevelt was in the White House, there were 45 states in the Union, Colorado was getting ready to celebrate its thirtieth birthday and sirloin was ten cents a pound. On the outskirts of Denver, a growing town with a population of 200,000, stockmen from around the West gathered to show their animals, buy and sell breeding stock and encourage a meatpacking center to rival those in Kansas City and Chicago. From this beginning, the National Western Stock Show, Rodeo and Horse Show was born. The grand champion steer that first year was a Shorthorn that tipped the scales at 1,150 pounds and befitting its status, fetched an eye-popping 33 cents a pound.”
The West Needs A Stock Show
“In the early years of the 20th century, western stock growers faced a problem. They lacked a large market center in the West to receive their animals and the cost of shipping to eastern markets cut into already lean profits. Though there was a small meat packing industry in Denver, it was a poor cousin to its larger rivals in Chicago and Kansas City. There was also the feeling among western stockmen that they weren’t getting fair prices for their cattle, sheep and hogs. Livestock raising in the West was a tougher proposition than in the more humid East where concentrated corn and grain feeds were used to fatten livestock. The solution would be improved breeds that could thrive in this more arid region and a meat packing center in the West to compete with the big eastern packers” read more
Great American Bison
Photo is from Gear-Gear.Com
RODEO – HORSE SHOW – LIVESTOCK – WESTERN ART – SPECIAL EVENTS – TRADE SHOW – MORE
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