Saturday Matinee – Iguana Love, Mantis Love, Don Shaffer & Elizabeth Cotten

Henry Lizardlover, born March 27, 1954 as Henry Schifberg, is a herpetoculturist, writer, and photographer who has lived with as many as 60 lizards in his home.

Iguana love [via].

Mantis love [via].

Don Shaffer was the inspiration behind Radar O’Reilly, a character in the popular novel, movie and TV series “M*A*S*H.” It disturbs me how Hollywood co-opts and distorts the true contributions of people of merit and presents them as caricatures, as they did with Shaffer, Joe Rochefort, Adrian Cronauer, and many others.

Elizabeth Cotten had an interesting self-taught finger picking style that’s difficult to play – unless it’s played left handed on a right-handed guitar (and yes, her last name is spelled “Cotten”).

90 years old, she was still pickin’.

Playing guitar was tough enough for a lefty like me. I was never proficient on guitar or bass, and could never hold a pick; however, I knew some fakes enough to fool some folks. Learning on a re-strung guitar is probably a worse handicap for a southpaw than just flipping it over and keeping the standard tuning. That way, if there’s a guitar handy, you just pick it up and blow the right-handers away (like Jimi Hendrix did).

Wish I’d figured it out way back when. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, all on the Saturday Matinee. Have a great weekend, folks.

Priorities At The Movies

[Found here.]

YAY! Toaster!

[Found here.]

Saturday Matinee: Black Friday the 13th

Thinly veiled political commentary follows.

Steely Dan was (is?) one of those bands that Bunk enjoyed listening to but never bothered to buy their albums. (Note that the band took it’s name from a stimulus package described by this guy.)

[via here. Related post here.]

Couldn’t find a video of Talking Heads’ “The Swamp” but this’ll do. Hah.

Obama’s congress in action. Watch what happens to the U.S. economy.
[From here via here.]

On a lighter note, Happy St. Valentine’s Day!