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This is my blogchalk:
United States, Massachusetts, Boston, Brighton, English, Ron, Male, Photography, Nudity.

Judy wins
The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) took a break from their backwardness this week and took a look back at the 20th century. They released, in conjunction with the NEA and AOL, the "'Songs of the Century' project, a nationwide education initiative intended to promote a better understanding of America's musical and cultural heritage in our schools." They use the words "American music" but it isn't all American. It all is, however, recorded! That's significant.

They were selected by "music lovers across the country. The hundreds of voters came from all walks of life including local, state and federal elected officials, the music industry, teachers, members of the media and students. Participants were asked to keep in mind the historical significance of not only the song, but also of the record and artist."

At this RIAA page you can see the list grouped by decade. If you go here at CNN you'll see it in numerical order from 1 to 365, with "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" in that number 1 slot.

For your ease and efficiency I've resorted the table according to "song" title (they are a bit loose on what constitutes a song, too) and by artist/performer.

In the following table I list those artists that got more than one song into the list. Only the Beatles managed to get 3 songs into the list.

Rank and Song Title	Artist
28. "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND"	THE BEATLES
56. "YESTERDAY" / "ACT NATURALLY"	THE BEATLES
167. SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND (album)	THE BEATLES
58. "GOD BLESS THE CHILD"	BILLIE HOLIDAY
273. "STRANGE FRUIT"	BILLIE HOLIDAY
2. "WHITE CHRISTMAS"	BING CROSBY
129. "PENNIES FROM HEAVEN"	BING CROSBY
92. "LIKE A ROLLING STONE"	BOB DYLAN
106. "THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN'"	BOB DYLAN
59. "BORN IN THE USA"	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
135. "BORN TO RUN"	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
225. "RUNAROUND SUE"	DION
248. "ABRAHAM, MARTIN & JOHN"	DION
261. "WALK ON BY"	DIONNE WARWICK
292. "THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR"	DIONNE WARWICK & FRIENDS
200. "GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD"	ELTON JOHN
325. "CANDLE IN THE WIND"	ELTON JOHN
68. "DON'T BE CRUEL" / "HOUND DOG"	ELVIS PRESLEY
87. "HEARTBREAK HOTEL"	ELVIS PRESLEY
144. "MY WAY"	FRANK SINATRA
275. "STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT"	FRANK SINATRA
31. "RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER"	GENE AUTRY
98. "BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN"	GENE AUTRY
34. "YOUR CHEATIN' HEART"	HANK WILLIAMS
114. "I'M SO LONESOME I COULD CRY"	HANK WILLIAMS
61. "I WALK THE LINE"	JOHNNY CASH
157. "RING OF FIRE"	JOHNNY CASH
13. "WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN"	LOUIS ARMSTRONG
84. "WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD"	LOUIS ARMSTRONG
21. "I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE"	MARVIN GAYE
65. "WHAT'S GOING ON"	MARVIN GAYE
113. KIND OF BLUE (album)	MILES DAVIS
235. BITCHES BREW (album)	MILES DAVIS
95. "1999"	PRINCE
147. "PURPLE RAIN"	PRINCE
42. "GEORGIA ON MY MIND"	RAY CHARLES
251. "WHAT'D I SAY"	RAY CHARLES
43. "OH PRETTY WOMAN"	ROY ORBISON
209. "CRYING"	ROY ORBISON
202. "SMOOTH"	SANTANA & ROB THOMAS
184. "OYE COMO VA"	SANTANA
134. "SUPERSTITION"	STEVIE WONDER
169. "YOU ARE THE SUNSHINE OF MY LIFE"	STEVIE WONDER

This following table I call "WTF were they thinking?" Don't misunderstand me. I like some of these, and maybe there are good reasons for them being here...but I'd just like to hear those reasons.

83. "SIXTEEN TONS"	TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD
88. "KING OF THE ROAD"	ROGER MILLER
121. "WE ARE THE WORLD"	USA FOR AFRICA
122. "GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN"	CYNDI LAUPER
136. "ON THE GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP"	SHIRLEY TEMPLE
147. "PURPLE RAIN"	PRINCE
159. "THE LION SLEEPS TONIGHT"	THE TOKENS
203. "LIVIN' LA VIDA LOCA"	RICKY MARTIN
217. "HEART OF GLASS"	BLONDIE
229. "IT'S MY PARTY"	LESLEY GORE
234. "MARGARITAVILLE"	JIMMY BUFFETT
256. "FLASHDANCE (WHAT A FEELING)"	IRENE CARA
268. "BETTE DAVIS EYES"	KIM CARNES
288. "FIGHT THE POWER"	PUBLIC ENEMY
325. "CANDLE IN THE WIND"	ELTON JOHN
334. "SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY"*	DONNA SUMMER
337. "MEN IN BLACK"	WILL SMITH
346. "YAKETY YAK"	THE COASTERS

*Donna Summer yes, but why this one?

This list I call "Take these off now!"

59. "BORN IN THE USA"	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
135. "BORN TO RUN"	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
144. "MY WAY"*	FRANK SINATRA
275. "STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT"*	FRANK SINATRA
284. "BY THE TIME I GET TO PHOENIX"	GLEN CAMPBELL

* Frank Sinatra was a wonderful singer when he was young.

These are the "Pleasant surprises."

18. "BLUEBERRY HILL" **	FATS DOMINO
21. "I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE"	MARVIN GAYE
24. "GOOD VIBRATIONS"	THE BEACH BOYS
31. "RUDOLPH THE RED NOSED REINDEER"	GENE AUTRY
48. "STAND BY YOUR MAN" **	TAMMY WYNETTE
53. "STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN"	LED ZEPPELIN
60. "THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA"	STAN GETZ/ASTRUD GILBERTO
71. "CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'"	THE MAMAS & PAPAS
75. "THEME FROM SHAFT"	ISAAC HAYES
86. "Y.M.C.A." **	THE VILLAGE PEOPLE
107. "I FALL TO PIECES"	PATSY CLINE
133. "BORN TO BE WILD"	STEPPENWOLF
146. "WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS/WE WILL ROCK YOU"*	QUEEN
166. "TURN! TURN! TURN!"	THE BYRDS
184. "OYE COMO VA"	SANTANA
185. "COAL MINER'S DAUGHTER"	LORETTA LYNN
191. "FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT (TO PARTY)" **	THE BEASTIE BOYS
212. "DOWNTOWN"	PETULA CLARK
255. "THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO GEORGIA"	CHARLIE DANIELS BAND
297. "(GHOST) RIDERS IN THE SKY	VAUGHN MONROE
365. "ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER"	JIMI HENDRIX

* Although I would really liked to have seen "Bohemian Rhapsody" here.
** These were just plain amazing!

What's missing? Al Yankovich? Ray Stevens? David Bowie? Lou Reed? Yes? Janis Joplin's "Mercedes Benz?" Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida?" Jimi Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner?" Louis Armstrong's "Hello, Dolly?"

Be sure to check back tomorrow when I will point you to a much, much better list!

A new ring: Gays' Town, "A collection of international Gay-Homepages all over the world wide web."

Scientific work on the real differences between gay men and straight men. There are six of 'em.

Now people are saying that Ginger involves a Stirling engine. This sort of rumor required me to go find out what a Stirling engine is. Here are some places to read up: Airsport Corp and Sunpower (which addresses some of the shortcomings of Stirling engines). There's a nice animation here.

There's a note of the persecuted righteous crusade in a lot of the information on the Stirling engine. But it sounds like its greatest potential is as a replacement for the turboprop engine, not in powering urban scooters.

This is, I'm afraid, a victory for free speech; but it's disgusting, and I will be looking for a way to transfer my birth certificate from Missouri to one of the other 49 states.

Another snow day...and this one comes with snow! In the kitchen we make rye bread and bean soup. On the TV is the "Anna Karenina" I taped from PBS.

Daljit Dhaliwal
Daljit Dhaliwal and
Daljit Dhaliwal

A Bostonian

I come in at a disappointing 58% on the Gay-O-Meter

A live, real time map showing the locations of Muni trains in SF! Neat!

Another "we know what Ginger is" story.

Now I know. This is a Champagne Cocktail:

• 6 ounces chilled Champagne
• 1 cube sugar
• Angostura Bitters

Oh my! I just found this today. What rock have I been living under?

It is good to break the law. It is good to break the law.

There is no such word as "alot."

The John Birch Society. Back in the '80s I read some John Birch literature where they predicted that at some point the Soviet Union would be torn apart by internal ethnic strife. That America wouldn't need to do anything to bring about the downfall of the USSR. That we could just sit back and watch. "A wet dream of the right wing!" I thought, self-satisfiedly.

They predicted it would come before 2000. I guffawed. As it turns out, their only error was being too conservative!

6:00 PM, the snow is still coming down (it hasn't stopped allday) but there's still light in the sky! So we look to spring.

RFD still exists!

Queer, queer, queer.

JockoHomo

San Francisco

Snow day! And outside there's just a thin, paltry layer of slush. Totally pre-emptive, but I'll take what I can get.

Stiffs.com is a disgusting place. You'll love it!

6:30 PM and the snow has just been a paltry dribble. Even so, the Bread & Circus closed at 5:00 PM and already have signs posted saying they are closed all day tomorrow! I've never seen so much invested in meteorological predictions, not even for a hurricane, which is much more predictable than a blizzard.

Bernard

Yesterday in the mail I got this swell little videotape from Green Gear Cycling, the people who are making my Air Glide. Title: Using Your Air Friday or Air Glide. Production values are a bit low. The work stand is a cardboard box covered with a white sheet. But the essential information is there. Since I've never seen one of these little babies put together or broken down it's quite enlightening. Lots of cool little doodahs on this bike.

This came from CNN.com
A career in road kill
Somebody's got to do it...
By Larry Keller
CNN.com/career Senior Writer

(CNN) -- Add Charles Brannon to those whose jobs are harder lately because of the unusually harsh winter. Brannon has a contract to pick up and dispose of dead deer along state roads in four counties of northeastern Pennsylvania.

"A hot deer and the cold pavement -- they freeze instantly to the surface," Brannon laments. "You can't even chisel them off -- I've tried that. There's really nothing you can do."

Oh, dear. Oh, deer.

Urban sprawl, hunting restrictions and the prolific reproductive capacity of deer have caused the animals' numbers to swell to perhaps 25 million in the United States. Deer, like humans, increasingly are taking up residence in the suburbs. The deer are finding themselves casualties of commuter traffic.

In wilder areas, too, deer often become road kill, especially during mating season -- when bucks are pursuing does -- and in hunting season, when the animals are fleeing hunters in the woods.

More than 200 motorists are killed and thousands more are injured every year in the United States in collisions between vehicles and animals, many of them deer. In Georgia last year, a teen-age boy riding his bike was killed by an airborne deer that had been struck by a car. Individual motorists typically pay $2,000 or more in vehicle repairs when they hit a deer, the U.S. Department of Transportation says.

It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of deer die annually from collisions with vehicles. That's when Brannon and other contractors go to work.

Brannon has a three-year contract with the state of Pennsylvania to pick up dead deer along state roads in Lehigh, Northampton, Monroe and Carbon counties. He's paid $40 per deer. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation says Brannon averages about 1,800 of them a year. That's $72,000 annually.

But the job comes with a number of expenses that Brannon pays out-of-pocket. He's required to carry $1 million in liability insurance. He also pays plenty for gas and wear-and-tear on his pickup truck

Brannon estimates that he drives as many as 500 miles on a busy day, and 70,000 to 80,000 miles a year on the lookout for deer. He's responsible for paying sometimes hefty fees to landfills for disposing his cargo. And he buys a steady assortment of gloves -- rubber gloves, leather gloves, latex gloves -- for use on the job.

"I don't really count the mileage, and I don't count the deer. Hopefully, the bottom line is in the black when it's over," Brannon says.

Seeing the light

"It's extremely dangerous," Brannon says of his job. "You can't park in the middle of the road and stop to pick up the deer. If you don't have room to pull off, you kind of have a dilemma.

"You have drivers whizzing by at 60 or 80 mph, half in a daze. Most of the time when something is happening on the side of the road, you tend to look that way ... and your car drifts that way. One time, when I was walking back to get a deer, a truck driver tried to run it over again.

"If you can't handle pressure, this isn't for you."

Nor is deer removal a good career move if you can't withstand gore galore. Some animals have been hit repeatedly and it's left to Brannon to pick up the pieces. The stench is powerful enough to buckle a butcher's knees. And then there's the bugs -- maggots, ticks, others.

"They jump, they crawl, they do everything," Brannon says.

It helps to be strong. Lifting a deer into a vehicle is hard work. "If they aren't busted open, they could weigh, I don't know, a couple hundred pounds," Brannon says. "You got to be in shape, and you've definitely got to be alert."

Some motorists give Brannon a thumbs-up or honk their horns in approval when they observe him removing a deer. "You get a lot of frowns too -- like maybe you did that to the animal," he says, and laughs.

"I like animals, but I'm not doing it because I'm an animal lover," Brannon says. "It's upsetting to see so much death. I've gotten down because I'm always around something dead. I had to call on the local police to finish one deer off. That's bad."

Brannon copes with the carnage by focusing on simply getting the job done. "You don't concentrate on the animal," he says. "You concentrate on the traffic. If you don't, you're going to be right next to the animal. I just go out and get it, load it and go to the next one."

For the long haul

The biggest aggravation to Brannon is inaccurate information that motorists occasionally provide to the Pennsylvania transport department about a dead deer's location. The agency then phones Brannon with the data. Brannon is only allowed to pick up deer reported to him by the DOT.

"Sometimes the information is so off, there's just no way you can find it," he says. "You don't get paid if you don't find it. You've just wasted a lot of time that you could have spent picking up something with a good location."

This is especially annoying during busy road kill days -- typically April through June and October to December -- when Brannon is scrambling to get to all the carcasses reported. And then he has to get them to a landfill before closing time.

"You can't store them overnight," he explains. "The smell is so bad, there are no areas where you can park." His contract stipulates that he will take all deer to a landfill within 24 hours of being notified.

What he likes best about the job, Brannon says, is that during slow periods it enables the single father to spend generous chunks of time with his two children living with him. Summer is usually not a hazardous time for deer and cars, and the kids are out of school.

So when his contract comes up for renewal in the spring, Brannon says he'll bid again for it. "Somebody has to do this work, I guess. You have to be committed, like in any other job. It's a little tougher than most. You have to be able to stomach it.

"It's a gruesome job, there's no two ways about it. You don't advertise what you do, let's put it that way."

Light bulb joke sites: 1 2 and 3.

Git yer blood pressure up!

Landover Baptist Church WHERE THE WORTHWHILE WORSHIP. "UNSAVED ARE NOT WELCOME (AS JESUS COMMANDED)" Some sample headlines from their website:

• Rugrats - Television For Pedophiles
• Christian Ladies Go Undercover for Jesus at Des Moines Sex Club!
• Bible Sex Quiz
• Knowledge May Be The Leading Cause of Pregnancy and Disease
• George Bush Touches Teenage Boy

Here's a damn funny site. Damn funny!