Pick a song - what are your favorites?

Variety is the spice of life, right? So, I challenge you to follow my lead. Pick 20 your favorite first run albums and 20 "best-of" compilations. It is not easy, and I had to pick and choose which ones to include. There were too many left off. Below are my choices. First, the list of albums. It is a mix of rock and new age.

 Blackmore’s Night: Fires at Midnight Ritchie Blackmore was formerly with Deep Purple) 

 Boston: Boston 

 Bruce Hornsby and the Range: The Way it Is (just love the piano) 

 BrunuVille: Fantastic Journey (I dare you not to tap your toes to Dance With Dragons) 

 Eagles: Hotel California (classic all the way) 

 Enya: Watermark (Enya started me on new age - the first and still amazing) 

 Foreigner: Feels Like the First Time 

 Alice Cooper: From the Inside (the album was crazy, and the songs dug deep) 

 Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (just WOW) 

 The Go-Gos: Beauty and the Beat (fun music from a great group - not just a girl s rock band) 

 Jimmy Buffett: Off to See the Lizard (my fav JB album and his best in my opinion) 

 Lesiem (wonderful instrumentals - powerful!) 

 Metallica: Metallica (San Jose Sharks favorite and they are hockey fans) Pink Floyd: The Wall (epic - movie just as good) 

 Styx: The Grand Illusion (I love "Castle Walls") 

 Loreena McKennitt: An Ancient Muse (Loreena has a way with music - she even performed for Queen Elizabeth). 

 Police: Synchronicity (it became a greatest hits) 

 REO Speedwagon: Hi Fidelity (great work - again, this could be a greatest hit choice) 

 Electric Light Orchestra: Out of the Blue (ELO had a way with the electronic music - hard to pick a fav song on this one) 

Wicked Tinkers: Banger for Breakfast (Bagpipes!! BTW, Wallop the Cat is just the kitty's name) 

Hits Albums: 

 The Babys: Anthology 

 The Beach Boys: Made in the USA (surf's up for a CA girl) 

 The Beatles: Number 1’s (hard choice to pick a Beatles album) 

 Heart: The Essential Heart 

 B-52’s: Time Capsule (alternative rock at its best) 

 The Bangles: Greatest Hits (who didn't want to "Walk Like an Egyptian"?) 

 The Cars: Greatest Hits (again, try to pick one album...the Cars are legendary) 

 Eurythmics: Greatest Hits (Sing it, girl!)

 Billy Joel: Greatest Hits Vol 1-2 (Which of his multiple greatest hits to select. Tough choice) 

 Journey: Greatest Hits (Bay Area music at its best) 

 Kansas: The Best of Kansas (classic rock) 

 Loverboy: Loverboy Classics (gritty songs) 

 Steve Miller: Greatest Hits 1974-1978 (smooth and essential rock) 

 Marvin Gaye: Marvin Gaye’s Greatest Hits (for getting down, who else?) 

 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: greatest Hits (long live a legend) 

 The Pretenders: The Singles (alternative rock) 

 Queen: Greatest Hits (Freddie was the Champion!) 

 Jethro Tull: The Very Best of Jethro Tull (flute in a rock band never sounded so good) 

 Van Halen: The Best of (the music throughout the career - hard to pick just one song) 

 Paul McCartney & Wings: Wings Greatest (Mull of Kintyre is my favorite the rest are epic)

How to make Thoroughbred Racehorses Better

 

It is no secret I love horses, and Thoroughbred racing. I read magazines and watch racing shows. I have a nice collection of reference books about the sport. Over the years I have come to the same conclusion many breeding experts have: the Thoroughbred has peaked in its speed, endurance /soundness, and longevity in the sport.

Model horses: Hartland and Breyers

 

You are spending a day attending garage sales or browsing through antique stores and you come across a model horse. It reminds you of your childhood. Boys and girls collected and played with model horses of many brands but two of the more common ones were Hartland and Breyer-Reeves. WHat is the difference and how can you tell?

What is that doggie in the window?

 

I don’t consider myself a dog person or a cat person- I love both and have one of each. My dog is a Shar-Pei and there is no doubt when anyone sees her what breed she represents. In fact, my last three dogs have been Chinese Shar-Pei. Sadly, my favorite type of dog is becoming rare again.

horsecoat Shar-Pei

brushcoat Shar-Pei

bearcoat Shar-Pei

Google going away

I've not posted in a while. I have been working a major project at work so I have been 'saving' my wrists and holding off with the extra curricular activities. I do have some posts in the works. An interesting email came in from Google. It seems Google will be pulling support from non-commercial accounts. Here is a part of the announcement:

"In December 2018, we announced our decision to shut down Google+ for consumers in April 2019 due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product that meets consumers' expectations. We want to thank you for being part of Google+ and provide next steps, including how to download your photos and other content. On April 2nd,you Google+ account and  any Google+ pages you created will also be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts. Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. You can download and save your content, just make sure to do so before April. Note that photos and videos backed up in Google Photos will not be deleted."

So, how will this effect my blog? I don't know yet. Stay turned for further.

Stay safe out there.

Christmas: did you know that?

The Christmas season is upon us and neighborhoods are full of houses with bright lights. Families have trees full of ornaments. Cities and counties decorate streets with ribbons, bows, lights, and huge Christmas trees. Children anticipate the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Party goers hang mistletoe, giggling with the thought of the “mandatory” kisses bestowed under the greenery.

Where did these customs and beliefs originate?

The best time of year for reading epic fantasy

I love the holidays in general but even more so for reading. Books are published with the Christmas season in mind.

It makes sense. Books make wonderful Christmas gifts and I love holding a book. There is nothing like the smell of  anew book or the feel of turning a page and that is something a digital book can never duplicate.