Here’s the most recent photo I took while I was out and about enjoying this beautiful sunshiny Southern California morning.
What is it? Is it a contrail or a chemtrail? Whatever it is, it totally ruined the absolute totality of the blue sky.
What was the last photo YOU took?
I’m forever and also at the same time NEVER surprised to discover the depths of Leon’s talents.
Eric Clapton popularized J.J. Cale’s songs, After Midnight and Cocaine. I happen to like J.J.’s versions better, but it’s fascinating to learn that so many great musicians collaborated.
From YouTube channel, Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade: Leon Russell’s first solo album in 1970 was long-overdue. He’d been making records as far back as 1957 in Oklahoma with schoolmate David Gates. He moved to Hollywood, where he spread his chops over more records by other artists than believable, and made more singles of his own, but none reached the public’s attention as he’d hoped.
His meeting up with Joe Cocker and Denny Cordell and putting together Joe’s band for the Mad Dogs & Englishmen tour in spring 1970 was timed beautifully with the release of his own solo album on his and Denny’s Shelter label, THAT began his launch into stardom!
From tapes that rolled in September and October 1969, here is a jam with Leon and Eric Clapton, simply titled “Jammin With Eric.” It appeared on the 1995 DCC 24 Karat Gold edition of Leon Russell, and again on the 2002 Hi-Res DVD Audio release of that album.
Image from Pinterest, credit to owner.
It’s a bit late I guess, but better late than never, right? Did you watch?
Since I am now compelled to be on Team Seattle Seahawks and this was such a special day, I proudly wore a Seahawks hat, shirt, and sweatshirt to fully REPRESENT!
It was a slow start and we were all wondering who would eventually score.
The halftime show with Bad Bunny was amazing with the perfect message of Latin unity and love: “Together, We Are America” displayed on a football, and the uplifting quote: “The only thing more powerful than hate is love”.
The second half was all Seahawks and we were ecstatic.
The final score was 29-13. The right team won the Superbowl. Sam Darnold, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, and Kenneth Walker III were superstars.
The Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl LX victory parade took place on Wednesday in downtown Seattle, drawing an estimated 700,000 to 1 million fans.
In a world where sordid and evil depravity is coming to light, the innocence of rooting for a sports team is even more valued.
Go ‘Hawks!
Check out this time-lapse of the Super Bowl Victory Parade:
(And if the rumors are true that the Seahawks declined a visit to the White House, that’s even more of a WIN!)
Zipola: Slang. Nothing at all; zip; zilch.
A monster has been created.
Almost ten-year-old Angel Boy 2.0 has become a rabid Scrabble player. Zipola is a word he used to gain a triple word score.
It’s a valid word in SOME Scrabble dictionaries, but not all. However, no one was going to take that pride and joy away from him, that’s for sure.
In fact, last night he surpassed 400 points in a one-on-one game, winning against his PhD literature professor dad, and it’s one of our proudest family moments.
It’s bad enough that I could NEVER win against the original Angel Boy; I can’t imagine the future as a total loser.
“When I am silent, I fall into the place where everything is music.” Rumi
UPDATE 2026: Here’s yet another missed opportunity to meet the MOSAT. This is an update to a post I wrote in 2020. I was purging old posts, read this one, and have no idea how I missed the connection between Tom Petty’s guitarist and Leon Russell, but I did, and now that I know, I’m going to contact him and hopehopehope he’ll be amenable to sharing stories about Leon and not be too annoyed with my LR obsession.
Ron Blair, the original bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has a direct connection to Leon Russell through the band’s early career and record label, Shelter Records.
Leon Russell’s Shelter Records was the platform that signed and released the early music of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, featuring Ron on bass.
In the mid-1970s, Tom Petty signed with Shelter Records, a label co-owned by Leon Russell and Denny Cordell.
Ron Blair joined the Heartbreakers in 1976 after Mudcrutch (Petty’s previous band) disbanded. During this period, the band was under the Shelter Records umbrella, which Russell founded.
Before forming the Heartbreakers, members of the group, including those who worked with Blair, were part of the Los Angeles music scene where Leon Russell was a prominent figure. Ron Blair was the bassist for the band from 1976 to 1981, during which time the band established its sound, often described as a mix of rock, country, and blues.
Original post…
I just saw an old video of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and it reminded me of something from my past.
When my son was around eight or ten years old (early 1990s), I’d bring him along with me to the gym and he’d go (reluctantly) to the babysitting room for an hour or so. It was mostly other doubledigiters so he didn’t have a real problem with it, and eventually became friendly with a boy about the same age.
Their friendship progressed beyond the gym to birthdays and sleepovers. For a while, these two boys were inseparable.
One day, out of the blue, and I’m a bit fuzzy on the details, the boy’s dad asked if I could give him a ride to LAX. It’s a ninety minute drive and I’m not sure why I said yes ‘cos I seriously HATE to drive, especially if it involves LA traffic, but I loaded the boys and the dad (along with his guitar) in my car.
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment when I learned that his dad was actually superstar guitarist Ron Blair of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, but when I did, I was suitably impressed and starstruck. All I do remember is that he was always quiet but courteous and appreciated the airport ride. However, he looked EVERY bit a rock and roll superstar.
A couple weeks pre-Covid, a friend invited me to a fundraiser for the local food bank. It was an outdoor venue with a lot of musical guests. The headliner’s name was a familiar one. Lo and behold, it was Ron Blair, who now lives in my little town.
We chatted a bit; I can’t honestly say that he remembered me, but he did remember my son which was cool.
Still quiet, humble, friendly, and amazingly talented.
We’ve all aged and I’m obviously way too old to be a groupie (sigh), but I do remember THOSE good old days, haha.
There in the wild darkness
Is the silence
And, after the darkness
Comes the Light
A Little Poem by Athey Thompson
OMG just listen to Leon’s piano magic…it’s spellbinding.
Leon Russell’s relationship with Delaney Bramlett had been quite productive. They’d worked together on demos for Metric music in the early 60s and recorded solo material for Delaney in 1964 with Jackie De Shannon and Billy Strange.
After his stint as a Shindog on Shindig!, Delaney met Bonnie which led to one of music’s legendary duos, Delaney & Bonnie. After some recording sessions in Hollywood for release on the Independence label, the duo got involved with Don Nix in Memphis, who’d been working with Leon Russell in the studio for Gary Lewis & The Playboys. Don got them on the soulful Stax label and their album Delany & Bonnie Home was made.
Credit to Leon Russell Superstar in a Masquerade — Photo from Pinterest
The Snow Moon rises today, glowing bright against the muted light of late winter.
For generations, people knew February’s full moon as the Snow Moon. It marked the coldest stretch of winter, a time of survival, patience, and quiet strength.
The name carries both starkness and hope: a reminder that even when the world feels still and silent, the earliest signs of new life are gathering beneath the surface.
Traditionally, the Snow Moon symbolised patience, resilience, and the slow, quiet preparation for spring.
Endurance – moving steadily through challenging seasons
Clarity – winter stripping things back to what truly matters
Renewal – the subtle beginnings of new energy forming beneath the surface
Trust – believing in cycles even when progress is hidden
Winter’s stillness can feel stark, but it also helps us see what matters, and what doesn’t. This full moon encourages us to slow down, conserve our energy, and prepare internally for the new cycle ahead.
The Snow Moon invites gentle reflection:
Where can you soften your grip?
Where can you let stillness support you?
Where might rest be the medicine you’ve been avoiding?
From the Serendipity Corner
Photo from Pinterest
Tell her to hold on. Tell her to hold on tight. Even through the darkest of night.
Sometimes
When we’re lost
We have to light our own candle
And find our way
Through the loneliest of places
Through the darkest of places
And when we’ve learnt from those places
Only then
Do we find our way
Back home to ourselves
Athey Thompson
Enchanted Seashells | Princess Rosebud 