Just hanging around, in the sky over Redding

Spotted two of these intrepid fliers overhead yesterday.
Beautiful day for just hanging around.
In the sky.
Flyer3

Flyer1

Flyer2Click to slightly enlarge. I grabbed the camera too late to catch the first fellow. But this one is lovely.
Just hanging around, suspended by thread, on a blue sky day.
It’s Really Redding.

Picking local wine grapes for Moseley Family Cellars

Mimi from Moseley Family Cellars asked for some help with the picking and crushing of Zinfindel and Syrah grapes at Tuscan Ridge Vineyards near Red Bluff. I spent some time Sunday learning about harvesting wine grapes on a hot day in California. Learning by doing. I don’t have any pictures of grapes on the vine, since I was busy picking, not shooting. And then when I went for the camera, they were all harvested.TR6TR4TR3Picking isn’t a cushy job. I didn’t stay all day, but it served as a glimpse of life in the fields under a Northstate sun.TR2Tuscan Ridge Vineyards is a pleasant example of the Northern California style of life.TR1TR5I think the hot sun and adobe soil will impart the complexity of the terroir to the vintage. Looking forward to tasting the Moseley Zin that I had some small part in creating!

2010 Census data maps ethnicity by individual

I like interesting maps. This one plots 2010 Census data by ethnicity. One dot per person. Click on the image below to go to the larger map. You can scroll in and out to get detail.
CensusMap2010Interesting button on the left. “Remove Color Coding.” Hey look. We’re all the same. Just dots on a map.

Backyard eggs from Redding

Redding allows residents to keep chickens, with some restrictions. We’ve noticed a lot of people have backyard birds. Among them is daughter Abby and her husband Robby. Today they brought over a dozen brightly colored cuisine.
AbbyEggsDo it yourself breakfast, it’s Really Redding.

Great professional Redding tour video

Watch this professional video centered on fly fishing on the Sacramento River in Redding. They also show some other outdoor activities available, including Shasta Caverns, Sundial Bridge, and Turtle Bay. There’s also an interesting segment on locally made Sea Breacher, and Jetovator jet pack water flying on Shasta Lake. Check it out!

Park Marina in Redding
Park Marina in Redding by Skip Murphy

Pop’s 50’s Place is authentic Redding food on old Highway 99

Out on old Highway 99 (now Hwy 273) you’ll find Pop’s 50’s Place. here are a few images from this afternoon. Love the hot rods that often meet up there.
Pops1
In addition to authentic Highway 99 cuisine at the drive-up, Pop’s also makes a great salsa you can buy at the restaurant. Made and sold locally. The next batch will be available tomorrow after 11 am.

Pops2

Pops3Click to enlarge slightly. Love the detail on this one! From the Flying A station on Market and Eureka Way. 530 241 0487. Open daily 10 am to 7 pm. It’s located at 3443 South Market Street in Redding. Roots road food. It’s Really Redding.

Fahrenheit Project One has a Redding connection

Here’s a favorite CD compilation that features a track recorded by me and Craig Padilla here in Redding. You can listen to this whole album on YouTube. I really think you’ll like it if you haven’t heard it.


The Fahrenheit Project series 1-7 is all available on YouTube. Our selected track “Beyond Beta” isn’t really representative of our overall style. Nor do we seem all that similar to the artists surrounding it. The odd thing is that it all fits together as a whole. Some music compilations can feel like a random mashup. But Project One has a really great sound and feel. It was a real head turning success on many levels, and it obviously spawned at least 6 sequels. It holds up very well for an album released in 2001! It was amazing to me that producer Vince Villuis in Lyon France found our Redding track on the internet, and decided to use it in his compilation. The power of the internet.

What interesting times we live in.

So here’s a serious question though. I have lately been listening to YouTube in the background, while working in my home office. Not watching, listening. There are a great many entire albums posted there, just like this one. If all these artists’ work is posted there freely, and not by the artists themselves, how is that any different than Napster or Pirate Bay or whatever? Et tu, Google? No answers, only questions here. But the internet has killed a lot of jobs, and it seems to me that on balance, musician is one of them. That’s the power of the internet.

What interesting times we live in.

The internet giveth and the internet taketh away.

If for some reason you like what you are hearing and want to support the artists who created it, you can find more music to purchase at the Ultimae Records website.