Tony Rollo Blog
Charles Lindbergh makes history in 1927 // Goodnight Gifted Keyboardist Ray Manzarek of The Doors
What drives a man to push the limits of himself, the elements and technology ? What drives him isn’t as important as the drive itself. On top of that, what man gets a large loan from a bank, throws in everything he made working over the previous year and risks his life to do something […]
Bob Sweikert Lived Fast and Died Young
Could you imagine living an entire life doing the same, slow routine day in and day out? Never pushing the limits of anything. Always staying below the speed limits. Going with the flow. Imagine never making waves. Going with the flow. Never facing the wind or reaching for something that was just out of reach […]
Got Goat ?
Let me get something straight right off the bat – I hate goats … We all have our likes and dislikes when it comes to our tastes – preferences that is. Most of us are tolerant of other’s tastes even if we would not participate ourselves. Me ? I absolutely love grits. A Hamburger fanatic. […]
Project PX Anniversary
It is recognized that the “Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer” was born on this date in 1943. It’s secret name was “Project PX” … But it’s nic-name was ENIAC … It was a secret project during WWII with the US Army and U Penn’s Moore School with a funding of half a million dollars which […]
4/10ths of a Second between Immortality and Obscurity
It could be safe to assume that you do not know who Mack Robinson is. Even if you are a fan of the Olympic Games there is a slim chance you know the name or even heard the name or seen his name in print. However, Everyone knows who Jesse Owens is. Sure ! He […]
Utopia Overnight
Nothing happens quickly. You can’t have utopia in a single day … Actually, there can never be Utopia – but that’s a subject all unto itself. Mankind continually strives to create systems that defy reality and nature, only to ultimately fail. Every five years the world of physics is turned upside down because a smaller […]
Bulldoggin’ with Cowboy Bill Pickett
No matter what it is … … someone was the first to do it. In modern rodeo and cowboy times, steer wrestling known as “bulldogging” is as common as grits on a southern breakfast table. Who was the first cowboy to chase a steer at full gallop, come up next to the running steer, jump […]
Don’t Mess with Uncle Ted
I am a huge fan of O Henry. When a new story comes around with a similar surprise twist which is known in literary circles as an “O Henry Ending” I am always pleased and ready to share it… Here is a fine example of American short story humor that was shared by Mikala. This […]
Science and the Tortillia Chip
We love chips and salsa in our house. But we can’t stand store chips in those big plastic bags. Not only because of the loads of salt (because we like to actually taste the food) but the price of convenience and the chemicals introduced to keep them fresh. We make our own – but they […]
5150
1981 does not seem to be an ancient time given the speed of computer technology advancement. Computer years seem to be similar to dog years but even more accelerated. The first IBM PC was introduced around this day in history in 1981, although some put it’s introduction in the month of August 1981. It was […]
Happy Hillbilly Day !
Actually, there is no “official” day of the hillbilly … I refer to a New York Journal article way back in 1900 that was published on this day that is the first known mention of the term. It was in an article by political correspondent Julian Hawthorne. Hawthorne was quite a prolific writer and traveler. […]
Happy Birthday Edward L Beach Jr
Today marks the birthday in 1918 of Edward L Beach Jr – A real American hero and significant member in the brotherhood of Submariners. He led a full and adventurous life with his career in the US Navy. His achievements would fill several books – which do fill several books. Good reading for those who […]
Reflections of a Sonic Journey – Discovering Vinyl Records
I “caught” my young daughter eying the crates of vinyl stacked in my production office. We began to share these old recordings and I was pleased to see she was digging the music. It reminded me of discovering a box of LPs and 45s when I was even younger than she is from my mom’s […]
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes …
With everything we do every day with technology and the WWW – this is the last place I have time to do anything … Improvements have been long time needed and long time coming. I am reminded of an old riddle … … about the town with only two barbers, each with their barber shops […]
The Tony Rollo Blog
When one goes to mine for gold, a diamond or two is always discovered in the process. But what to do with these bits and pieces of diamonds in the meanwhile ? This is what my blog is all about. Bits and pieces of life – past, present and future. Too interesting to just toss […]
Happy Birthday Chuck
He was many things … A tank warfare instructor in the US Army. A professional basketball player. A professional baseball player. An actor. Chuck Connors did more in one lifetime than most guys would take several lifetimes to achieve. He never seemed to get type cast in movies. He played good guys as well as […]
Goodnight Iron Lady
I was sad to see that Margaret Thatcher has passed. She did lead a long and interesting life and just had a movie made about her life – albeit they tried to make it with a fringe of doubt concerning her sanity. But that’s Hollywood you know … We sure could use a pair of […]
New Trailer for the Submarine Feature Documentary
Here is the new trailer for – “Submariners: The Men Of The Silent Service” More about the feature film at: www.SubmarineMovie.com
E Tu’ Pascal ?
We have the geekiest kitchen table conversations in the history of family conversations. I suddenly – in passing by – asked the wife if she ever actually used PASCAL. I don’t know why my mind drifted into that memory – but I do have a theory of how the mind rearranges itself as it ages. […]
Goodnight Gordon …
I have a short list of folks I have met in my life that are the most genuine people … You can tell they are not putting up a fake front. If they are truly genuine. As an experienced producer, director and with an extensive acting background, human nature is a detailed study in order […]
Another Southernism ~ to be “Slap Happy”
America is a big country with many different dialects and meanings of slang … Intelligence is not based upon dialects. However… dialect reveals culture. ________ “Their words are lush like the land they come from … These southerners know the names of what shrubs hang over what creek, what dogwood flowers bloom what color, what […]
Loads of fun for A Buck and a Quarter
Yep … $1.25 ! And that included shipping and everything. I also ordered the Civil War set a couple of months later after I had collected enough drink bottles along the road side and cashed them in. It was usually six weeks or so for the package to arrive. Which is an eternity for a […]
John Draper ~ Better Photography Through Chemistry
It is widely believed that John Draper was the first to photograph the moon. It is more accurate to say he was the first to take a “clear” photograph of the moon in 1840. Actually, he was the first to take any “clear” photograph of anyone. As a chemist, he improved on the process of […]
Today in 1765 ~ A Pandora’s [box] Can of Worms
![Today in 1765 ~ A Pandora’s [box] Can of Worms](http://tonyrollo.com/content/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/1765_one_penny_stamp.jpg "Today in 1765 ~ A Pandora’s [box] Can of Worms")
It was the beginning of the beginning … British Parliament passed the “Duties in American Colonies Act 1765″ or as it is better known: The Stamp Tax It was a Pandora’s Can Of Worms indeed … Everything printed had to have a certain stamp attached. That included everything from newspapers to playing cards. From this, […]
A Rock-N-Roll Anniversary
You would think that teenagers packed into a theater in 1952 with that new kind of exciting music blaring out of large speakers through electron tubes would know how to behave themselves. They just didn’t know what they were getting into – did they ? Concert promotions would never be the same …
Rotating Ninety Degrees with Mark Waid
Happy Birthday to Mark Waid … An Alabama born comic book guy that has done some very interesting stuff … His first big gig in the printed media world was as an editor if I remember correctly. In printed media, editors put it together – in film, editors also put it together. Editors see the […]
Turntable Wars ~ Belt VS Direct Drive
Audiophiles are a curious lot … They will go on and on arguing about turntables. I am in a kick recently about classic 1970s stereo gear and I’ve been asked to throw down what I think about it … so why not here? First off, I am always into quality and bullet-proof stuff. Whatever it […]
1970s Component Stereo Geek ~ Tech Demystification
Gosh ~ I miss my ’77 Wintec amp … The 1970s were the heyday years for audio and music. There were amazing advancements in not only the quality of recording and studio technology, but also for the audio consumer. A lot went on in those short years. In the 1980s there was a frustrating destructive […]
Good Night, Jack …
I first met Jack Greene about 14 years ago backstage at the Opry House. Although we were on a first name basis, we were friendly acquaintances as we would run across each other. I wish we had become closer friends because he was one of the most genuine people you could ever meet. A real […]
My “Kicked Up Mo’ Healthy Pimento Cheese” Recipe
I am happy to work as a private chef for a family in Nashville … … mine ! ;-) We haven’t enjoyed eating out in restaurants for a long time. I feel it’s that most restaurant food has diminished in quality over the last decade or so. There are exceptions – like Fido’s in Nashville […]
1755 – The First Steam Engine put to work in America
Maybe I’m a real SteamPunk at heart … I thought that steam engines began to be in common use after Civil War times. Rail roads and textile manufacturing were the main applications of steam engines. Anything before that were horse powered contraptions. I knew that steam power was used before in experimental ways – it […]
Avoiding the Leeches and Parasites
I just received yet another promise of becoming the next big hit if I would just take this guy’s seminar for a roll of Jacksons or a couple of Benjanins. And of course, he is an expert … … RIIIIIGHT ! This article is to warn those who actually make something … Specifically, those who […]
Frost on the Pumpkin …
… although pumpkins are not in season. Neither is this cold snap. Seems like nature is making up for last year. It was so warm last winter that we continually harvested the lettuce we planted in late August until the next summer when it was the heat that finally defeated the lettuce crop. Nature seems […]
Would Jimi Be Proud of what Abbie and Jane did ?
Propaganda … It merely means ( or used to mean ) to promote in a positive way. Advertising is propaganda. Political campaigns are propaganda. It tends to force a decision with only two possible options. It does attempt to sell happiness. Force an opinion. Speak the obvious. Yet – not all positive (or negative for […]
Happy Birthday to Bob and all that Texas Swing
Happy Birthday Bob Wills … I could not imagine a world where Bob Wills did not exist. Born this day in 1905 and forming The Texas Playboys in the mid-1930s The band led by Wills had a very original and influential effect of music of the time and even the coming era of Swing Music. […]
Sea Monkeys, X-ray Eyes and Whoopee Cushions
Back in the 60’s you could order all kinds of stuff through the mail from novelty companies with ads found in comic books. I usually ordered toy metal cars for fifty cents that were like “Hot Wheels” before “Hot Wheels” came on the market. They took usually 6 weeks to arrive. I even ordered a […]
Newspeak ~ It’s A Wonderful Thing to Destroy Language
Newspeak … According to the (real) dictionary – new·speak [noo-speek] noun ( sometimes initial capital letter ) an official or semiofficial style of writing or saying one thing in the guise of its opposite, especially in order to serve a political or ideological cause while pretending to be objective, as in referring to “increased taxation” […]
I miss my 2600 ~ Fortunately I have my ’78 Odyssey :-)
I believe strongly, that the ARP 2600 is arguably the greatest synthesizer ever created. I hope Bob Moog isn’t rolling over in his afterlife – I did run into Bob (literally) at a Nashville NAMM show when he first created his “MOOGERFOOGER” and got to spend a great deal of time with him – along […]
The Original Kansas Band Reunites –
I was just let know that the members of the “original” members of the band KANSAS will reunite for a show in Pittsburg, PA this summer – Cool ! I would like to be there … but my schedule this year looks like I will not be able to make the trek … “Original“ as […]
The Earth Loves to Swallow Things in Florida
Imagine this strange scene if you can – You live in a place where a huge lake will sometimes simply disappear overnight. Then at some time in the future – weeks or months – it reappears overnight. Sounds like something from a SciFi novel? Sure. Some alien planet … But I grew up with that. […]
SLD2 ~ The Perfect Balance of Bang for the Buck
Perhaps the best turntable ever made. Direct drive, baby !!! I sure loved mine – Reliable – precision … All it did was lift up at the end of a record to protect the stylus … Awesome ! Those component stereo days were sure a real pleasure. Sitting down and listening to an entire album […]
Invisible Airwaves Crackle With Life
… as thus was sung by the band RUSH in “Spirit Of Radio” – Radio was an interesting technology to catch on 90 years ago … it can be compared quite equally with impact on life as the internet is being realized today. Way back in 1922 on this day, yet another radio station came […]
Should we mean what we say, say what we mean or have plausible linguistic deniability ?
Who was Samuel Ichiye Hayakawa ? He may be best known for when he foiled a marxist student protest in San Francisco in 1968 by yanking the wires out of a amplifier system during an outdoor protest rally of these “students”. If you are from central California, you would know him as your Senator in […]
Happy Anniversary to Johannes Gutenberg
It is widely agreed by historians that this was the date of the first printed book by Johannes Gutenberg. The Holy Bible was the first book to be printed in 1455 AD. This technology of printing started a great change in the world. Printed paper made books possible to educate and enlighten people. Even start […]