Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Buck Moon - Deer Moon - July

 















July 29: Buck Moon aka Deer Moon

 

 Buck Moon



The Buck Moon gets its name because traditionally July is the time when a buck - or male deer - grows its full antlers.


The buck moon looked orange as it appeared on the horizon as sunlight reflected off the moon's surface and was filtered by Earth's atmosphere. It's the same phenomenon responsible for red and orange sunsets. When the moon is low in the sky, its light has to travel through the thickest part of Earth's atmosphere.


When the Buck Moon is close to the horizon, it will appear to be much larger than when it's higher in the sky. It's an optical illusion called the “moon illusion” that's caused by the way our brains perceive the moon against foreground objects


In some spiritual beliefs and practices, the buck moon is often considered a time of growth, renewal, and regeneration, as bucks shed their antlers each year and grow new ones. This process is seen as a metaphor for personal growth and transformation, as we must also shed old patterns and beliefs to grow and evolve


Reacher

 

This is true It was Lee Childs choice to sell the first two books to Tom

 Tom owns his own production company and makes his own movies 

Lee chose to not sell anymore to Tom and go the route he did 

A TV series, on streaming, with the right actor to personify the character the way he envisioned him.when he wrote him 

Look how many Reacher books there are, how long Lee Childs has been living with this character

 Reacher was very developed at the time series one went into production


Most people agree with that Lee Childs said something along those lines, Reacher size being a metaphor for an unstoppable force 

Tom conveys that force in the films


The books are so popular that they were always going to be filmed so many fans wanted this 

Alan looks how Reacher is supposed to look, he has that presence 

He is now a seasoned actor and can play this kind of superhero part 

Aquaman in Smallville to Hawk in Titans 

He has leading man qualities now 

The show works great, with one book being made into a whole series 

And we are about to get series four based on one of the most intense books with some of the most brutal scenes 

Tom is an A list Hollywood superstar so his interpretation in those two films was based on his powerful presence 

But fans want to see Reacher the way he is described 

Alan is very gracious in his comments 

And he rightly says the show might not have got the attention without the two films

 It would still be great to see One Shot done by Alan as a series

 And see that street fight the way it was written






Karate Kid 3

 

Most people agree that Mr Miyagi knew something was wrong from the start 

However Terry probably realised he would so told mostly truths, with only a few lies built into the way he presented the story 

Used his real name and name of his teacher in Korea 

Was he "sent to help John" - not exactly, but John coming to him to return the keys is what started this

 The version of Terry we see here is a character - the poor, humble man - so he was "sent" by the real version of Terry - the ruthless billionaire, the man with the plan, the man behind the curtain 

John didn't physically die the way Terry explains it - he died spiritually the way it was described, heart broken, lost his students, Karate was his life 

John is dead and Terry buried him - not a physical truth - but Terry sent John on vacation - so the broken version of John was buried, and the strong John returned ready to carry on with the plan 

John and Terry served in the war - and maybe John always wasn't like how they saw - that could mean different things of course 

By establishing himself as a Vietnam vet, and acknowledging Mr Miyagi as a WW2 in the 442nd, establishes a bond that Daniel can never have or understand 

Terry knew this about in advance because he broke in and did the intel - Mr Miyagi may have been picking up on this due to the way it was presented 

Mr Miyagi realised something was off from the start and listens carefully and watches to pick up the cues - he did not know what the exact lies were as they were surrounded by truths - also he may never have encountered a man as clever or practiced in this level of deceit as Terry before, we need to keep that in mind 

All in all, great scene to rewatch, and pick up on these things 

And yes, 2 and 3 were the wrong way round .



Julie Michaels - Roadhouse - Point Break

 

The character is called Freight Train - the actress is Julie Michaels 

We first saw her as Denise in Roadhouse 

She never did a lot of acting but was a well known stuntwoman 

Here she is nude in a shower and comes out, dripping wet, beats up and takes down Keanu's Johnny Utah and a second agent before Angelo stopes her 

Tougher on her own than the rest of Bunker's gang combined 

If these films were made later, Julie could have been a female character in the gang here, or a female version of Jimmy in Roadhouse - the sort of role Ronda could have played or played against .



Point Break

 

Bodhi is a cop killer 

In California would that mean Death Row or at least Life Without Parole 

He does that line about "can't handle a cage "

 And he would in that cage for the rest of his life 

Look at how he lives, the surfing, the sky diving, the outdoors, even his home is on a beach - to have that taken away and spend the rest of his life locked up 

Though if he was facing the death penalty - this way he died doing what he loved, his life's ambition leading up to this one ride on the 50 year storm 

On the plane Johnny makes the point that Bodhi won't let them take him so would fight and die in the shootout - here on the beach with no guns, he would not have that same choice - unless he managed the Suicide By Cop by forcing them to shoot him 

The discussion earlier about it's not tragic to die doing what you love - which he does here 

One character on the beach (Roach?) says "I don't want to see thirty"

 Bodhi is already past 30 at this point in his life 

This was always supposed to be his Last Day .



Mr Olympia



1996


The scores on the night: Dorian 1st Shawn 2nd Nasser 3rd Kevin 4th Flex 5th Paul 6th Ronnie Coleman was ranked 7th so did not appear in this line If Ronnie had out pointed Paul that night we would have seen him on stage next to Dorian and the top four contenders They had come 2nd to Dorian at one point Shawn 94 and 96 Kevin 92 and 95 Flex 93 Nasser then would in 97 As it turned out, Nasser was disqualified a month later so everyone moved up and Ronnie became 6th So we never got to see Ronnie pose in the Top Six as a contender - we first saw him up there in 98 the night he won



Kevin had been 2nd to Dorian twice, in 92 and last year 95 To see him leave here with 4th so Shawn and Nasser overtake him is hard



Nasser was 3rd here and last year 95

In 95 Kevin was 2nd and Shawn was 4th In 94 Shawn was 2nd and Kevin was 3rd Nasser was 7th in his debut - just missed making the line up In 93 Flex was 2nd - his debut Shawn was 3rd Lee Labrada, left over from the Haney era was 4th Kevin was 5th Dillett was 6th In 92, Dorian's first win Kevin debuted and placed 2nd Lee Labrada 3rd Shawn 4th Ronnie made his debut and did not place


..........................


1997 the following year was Dorian's 6th and last win Nasser came 2nd Shawn dropped to 3rd Paul, visibly annoyed here at only getting 6th, placed 4th Lee Priest got 5th, appearing on stage in the line up This dropped Kevin to 6th Ronnie dropped down to 9th Flex did not appear due to injury - he would come back in 98 and place second, with Ronnie winning his first . In 98 Ronnie has his first of his 8 wins 2nd Flex 3rd Nasser 4th Kevin 5th Shawn so all the top four contenders are present, just in a different order, with a new Champion having over taken them all 6th was Chris Cormier 7th was Lee Priest - so we didn't get to see him in the line again this year Paul was in the pre judging but didn't place


Both Kevin and Flex made 2nd place on their debut - 92 and 93 respectively Dorian came 2nd in his debut in 91 Ronnie never made it to the final 6 for his shows 92 to 97 years - then won in 98

............................


92 Ronnie made his debut and did not place - listed as joint 16th with several others 93 Ronnie did not compete 94 Ronnie was 15th 95 Ronnie was 11th 96 Ronnie was 7th - though Nasser's later DQ would have put him on stage at 6th, so we would have seen him line up 97 Ronnie dropped to 9th  

98 Ronnie first win

 


..........................


Shawn Ray After a not too good start in 88, Shawn placed high and was on stage for the final 6 in all his following shows 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th at the shows - was never the first man taken out with 6th Many thought he should have won in 94 - the first of 2 years he would place 2nd to Dorian Did not compete in 89 1988 Mr. Olympia – 13th Place 1990 Mr. Olympia – 3rd Place 1991 Mr. Olympia – 5th Place 1992 Mr. Olympia – 4th Place 1993 Mr. Olympia – 3rd Place 1994 Mr. Olympia – 2nd Place 1995 Mr. Olympia – 4th Place 1996 Mr. Olympia – 2nd Place 1997 Mr. Olympia – 3rd Place 1998 Mr. Olympia – 5th Place 1999 Mr. Olympia – 5th Place 2000 Mr. Olympia – 4th Place 2001 Mr. Olympia – 4th Place



........................


Paul Dillett 93 6th - his debut 94 4th - this was the year everyone was comparing him to Dorian and some people, saying he would win - this was the year he cramped up on stage at the ASC and was carried off 95 did not compete 96 5th 97 4th 98 did not place



Tuesday, 28 July 2026


Youth, 

it passes,

while age is collected


 Suddenly she's glad 

he can't see her face


 

Love has gone, 

tears are here,

 nothing left


 

The completion is always more difficult that the beginning


Monday, 27 July 2026

 

One must make the most of opportunities, 

or they are lost forever


Sunday, 26 July 2026

Bat Out of Hell is actually based on Peter Pan

 

Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman

Together, they realized they could combine theater and rock in a way that no one else was doing.

Big over-the-top emotional storydriven songs.

And it was another one of Steinman's stage pieces that gave them some of the bones of Bat Out of Hell..

Jim Steinman's Neverland was a rock musical he developed in the mid 1970s.

It was a reimagining of the Peter Pan story set in a dystopian futuristic world.

The story featured characters inspired by Peter Pan like Peter, Wendy, and Captain Hook, but placed them in a darker sci-fi influence setting involving lost boys, rebellious youth, and authoritarian control.

It originated from Steinman's earlier college musical called The Dream Engine, written in 1969 at Amherst College.

He later revised and expanded it into Neverland.

A workshop performance of Neverland was staged at the Kennedy Center in 1977, but it was never fully produced due to legal and commercial reasons. Some of the material was considered too edgy or bizarre for mainstream theater at that time.

Frustrated that his creation was being censored, Steinman and Meatloaf decided to repurpose the songs into a rock album.

Most of the songs on the Bat Out of Hell album came directly from Neverland.

These include

Bat Out of Hell,

Heaven Can Wait,

All Revved Up With No Place to Go,

You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth,

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad,

Paradise by the Dashboard Light.

Jim didn't want it to be just a bunch of songs. He wanted it to feel like you were entering a cinematic or complete theatrical environment.




Everything is permitted - Meat Loaf

 

Everything is permitted
Everything is allowed
And all our Gods we have outwitted
We are running with the crowd
And all the clocks are showing zero
And all our parents must have fled
And we just never had no hereos
And all our enemies will soon be stone cold dead

Everything is permitted

There is nothing out of bounds

There are no limits or no fences
There is always some way around
And all the compass points are zero
And all the navigators fled
And we just never had no hereos
And all our enemies will soon be stone cold dead

So if everything is permitted

If nothing is taboo
Then there is always something shattered
When there is something breaking thru

Everything is permitted





 

"Everything is permitted" 

does not mean 

that nothing is forbidden.


Saturday, 25 July 2026

Appointment in Samarra

 

One morning a rich merchant was walking in the marketplace in Baghdad

As he looked across the street he suddenly saw the figure of Death beckoning to him

The terrified man rushed home, mounted his fastest horse, and rode a hundred miles to Samara

He booked a room at the inn and locked himself inside

That night there was a knock on the door of the room

He opened it there stood Death

"why did you beckon me in the marketplace in Baghdad today" asked the man

"I was not beckoning you" said Death

"I was merely surprised to see you in Baghdad since I knew that tonight we had an appointment in Samarra"



Appointment in Samarra

 

Appointment in Samarra

There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions, and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, “Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd, and when I turned I saw it was Death that had jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture. Now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me.”

The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop, he went.

Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw Death disguised as a woman standing in the crowd, and he came to her and said, “Why did you make a threatening gesture to my servant when you saw him this morning?” “That was not a threatening gesture,” the woman said. “It was only an expression of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Baghdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra


 

From the moment we are born, people tell us that the world is like this and like that, this way, that way.

 It is natural that - for a certain period of time - we end up believing what we are told. 

But we must soon push these ideas aside and discover our own way of living reality


Friday, 24 July 2026

 Spiritually, sand symbolizes the passage of time, infinity, and shifting foundations. Because it is formed by weathered rock, it represents transformation and resilience. It can also serve as a reminder to stay grounded in the present moment rather than letting life slip through your fingers.


In Abrahamic faiths, sand often represents abundance and divine covenants (e.g., the countless descendants promised to Abraham). Conversely, it can symbolize a weak or foolish foundation if one builds upon it rather than on a solid rock


 Because it is formed by both earth (minerals) and water (oceans), sand is believed to balance both energies. It is frequently used in spiritual practices for cleansing, grounding, and letting go of what you cannot control


The iconic hourglass is a direct representation of sand's connection to transience and the present moment. Each grain represents a single second, reminding practitioners of the value of every breath



 

All you have to do is contemplate 

a simple grain of sand, 

and you will see in it 

all the marvels of creation


 

 the estimated total number of all grains of sand on every beach and desert across the entire Earth is less than 8 quintillion (0.8 x 10¹⁹) 

 a single average grain of sand contains roughly 24 quintillion (2.4 × 10¹⁹) atoms



 

Ironically, while a grain of sand is a metaphor for a negligible speck, scientifically it contains mind-boggling scale. 

A single average grain of sand contains roughly 24 quintillion (2.4 × 10¹⁹) atoms

—which is more than three times the estimated total number of all grains of sand on every beach and desert across the entire Earth





 

 

"To see a World in a Grain of Sand,
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an Hour."


 

 

You can’t choose whether or not you’ll suffer, 

but you can choose what you want to suffer for



when she looks in the mirror she does not see beauty looking back at her 

only her face 

 

 

several years later from a taxi you'll
1 minute, 49 seconds
see someone in a doorway who looks like her

 she'll be gone by the time you persuade the driver to stop you will never see her again

Thursday, 23 July 2026

 

It's better to live cherishing a dream 

than face the possibility that it might all come to nothing



Wednesday, 22 July 2026

Fleetwood Mac

 

Fleetwood Mac (1968 album)





Mr. Wonderful 


Fleetwood Mac

Additional personnel



Danny Kirwin joins


Then Play On


Fleetwood Mac

Additional personnel



Peter Green leaves 



Kiln House


Fleetwood Mac

Additional personnel



Jeremy Spencer leaves 

Bob Welch joins 


Future Games


Fleetwood Mac




Bare Trees



Fleetwood Mac




Danny Kirwin leaves 

Dave Walker and Bob Weston join 


Penguin



Fleetwood Mac



Dave Walker leaves 



Mystery to Me



Fleetwood Mac



Mystery to Me was Fleetwood Mac's last album recorded in England, the last to have two guitarists in the line-up until Behind the Mask and the last to be co-produced and/or engineered by Martin Birch


Bob Weston leaves 



Heroes Are Hard to Find


Fleetwood Mac




Bob Welch leaves  Fleetwood Mac and was replaced by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks



Fleetwood Mac






Lindsey Buckingham leaves 

Rick Vito and Billy Burnette were hired to replace him on the subsequent tour, and they would remain part of the band's lineup for the next album, Behind the Mask 




Behind the Mask



Fleetwood Mac








Time


Fleetwood Mac








Say You Will


Fleetwood Mac



.