#manne-quinn

[slowlystupendousdelusion]

There's a work of art every week from Steve

[mastersoftheair]

new stills for episode 4!

[medium-observation]

"See, Orpheus was a poor boy, But he had a gift to give: He could make you see how the world could be, In spite of the way that it is."

Hadestown Tour - February, 2024

Video Release: https://discord.gg/ZGMqkeb9p5

[wwprice1]

So many amazing covers coming from DC in May! Wow! I’

[cccovers]

Harley Quinn #1 second printing (April 2014) cover by Clay Mann and Alex Sinclair.

[towritecomicsonherarms]

Heroes in Crisis #4

[gatutor]

Anthony Quinn-Shirley MacLaine "Hot spell" 1958, de Daniel Mann.

[fidjiefidjie]

Bon Matin 💙🎙💙

Manfred Mann 🎶 The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)

(Live Beat Club)

[viaov]

Clay Mann, Harley Quinn, Concept

[myimaginaryradio]

The Mighty Quinn - Manfred Mann

[kulturegroupie]

Robert Plant and John Paul Jones attend 'Roadies Raffle' Charity Event, Golden Lion Pub, Fulham, London, October 31, 1978.

Press: "Oh What A Great Night It Was"

It was a night they'll never forget in Fulham! All rock's lovliest stars showed up to present a glittering array of gold discs and album sets at London's top rock pub - the Golden Lion. It was a culmination of hugely successful Ad Lib - Golden Lion Roadies' Raffle - which ended collecting a terrific £816 cheque for the Evening News Toy for a Sick Child Fund.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and John Paul Jones drove down from Birmingham to be there. Ex-Wings star Jimmy McCulloch interrupted rehearsals with his new band to hand over some of his priceless gold albums.

And others who sipped pints and joked with the winners included Yes' Alan White, ex-Animal Eric Burdon, Manfred Mann's Chris Thompson and Mitch Mitchell.

Disc Jockey Mike Quinn compered and Chas & Dave plays a sizzling set. A million thanks to you all!

— From Evening News, Nov. 1978

[bitter69uk]

“That summer Jayne went to Germany where she made a movie called Heimweh nach St Pauli, or Homesick for St Pauli with a German rock star named Freddy Quinn, an Elvis Presley imitator. It is a musical in which Jayne sang a couple of songs in German with glockenspiels and accordion in the background. In this country the film was released only in a couple of theatres in Yorktown [sic: she means Yorkville], the German section of New York City. While Jayne was in Munich, she wrote to her friends that she was very upset, confused and unsure of herself. One thing that was one her mind was that she was pregnant.”

/ Jayne Mansfield and the American Fifties by Martha Saxton, 1975 /

“At the end of May Jayne, Mickey Jr and Zoltan flew to Hamburg where Jayne made her first and only German film, Heimweh nach St Pauli (Homesick for St Pauli) … St Pauli was directed by Werner Jacobs, whose long career included German versions of Heidi and The Merry Widow; it was based on a play by Gustav Kampendonk, who also wrote the script. Both men specialized in lightweight, whipped-cream movies and Heimweh nach St Pauli was no exception. The production company, Rapid Film, was not as squeaky-clean, with titles such as Swinging Wives, The Resort Girls and Carnal Campus to its credit, but Jacobs and Kampendonk rose above their producers’ rowdiness and made a film anyone could take their grandmother to see … St Pauli – which was shot very quickly for a big-budget musical – is a silly, enjoyable film with songs and dances crammed in approximately every five minutes …”

/ Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It by Eve Golden, 2021 /

(Barely) released on this day (29 August 1963) sixty-one years ago: sex kitten-gone-berserk Jayne Mansfield’s little-seen German film Heimweh nach St Pauli (pictured). Thankfully her ultra-kitsch musical numbers (“Snicksnack Snucklechen” and “Wo ist Der Mann?”) are viewable on YouTube.

[pcttrailsidereader]

Top Ten PCT Books

There is an overwhelming abundance of books in the pantheon of PCT literature. I have read many over the past 40+ years (often in the process of developing the three anthologies . . . see #2). I have given some thought recently to my Top Ten PCT books. It is a rather arbitrary list certainly influenced by my own preferences and the reality that many of the early voices were male. I am confident that I have missed some worthy choices and would invite readers to submit their favorites.

RH

The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America's Wilderness Trail by Mark Larabee and Barney Mann

My rationale for putting this beautiful coffeetable book at the top of my list is that it captures the spectacle of the PCT in photos, includes essays about the history and culture of the trail, and rounds things out with profiles of the people of the trail. I never tire of flipping through and relishing the photos. There are other excellent books of photos from the PCT, but this is a comprehensive resource under one cover.

2. The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California; The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: Oregon and Washington (Edited by Rees Hughes and Corey Lewis) and Crossing Paths: A Pacific Crest Trailside Reader (Edited by Rees Hughes and Howard Shapiro)

While I admit to a certain bias, the 150 short stories captured in this trilogy reflects the full range of PCT people and experiences in, for the most part, their own words. It really is a 'must read' for those interested in a full appreciation of the PCT. It also draws from many of the individual accounts of walking the trail that would otherwise dominate your bookshelves.

3. The Great Alone by Tim Voors

Of all of the many accounts of walking the PCT, why did I elevate this particular account? I have read countless memoirs written by PCT hikers. They are all deeply personal accounts of hiking the same 2,650 miles, generally with a few variations here and there.  Most are enjoyable, a few are tedious or self-important, but virtually all suffer from following a similar formula.  Any of you who have read even a handful know the formula – preparing for the trail, physically and mentally adjusting to trail life through the desert and the High Sierra, marveling at trail culture, persevering through the monotonous Northern California and Oregon stretch, and the race to the end through the wet and often white spectacular North Cascades.  It is delightful to find a memoir that carves its own unique path.  Tim Voors in The Great Alone has done just that.

Throughout his time on the trail, Voors spends some serious time devoted to reflection that he gracefully weaves into the story of his walk north.  He manages to share his introspection in a way that never seems tedious and rarely seems forced.  What if I die tomorrow?  Quitting.  Restructuring your life around your dreams.  Do I believe in God?  Much of what he learns comes from the wisdom of hikers a generation younger than him. I believe his honesty and candor makes his reflections engaging as does his self-deprecating humor.  It may help that Voors shares my own belief that walking the PCT is richest when it includes a spiritual experience where hikers think about themselves and the world around them and their role in the world.

Voors, who is Dutch, demonstrates his command of English throughout the book.  In addition, his simple watercolor paintings (he is aptly known as ‘Van Go’ on the trail) and the photos he has included enrich the total experience of reading the book.  I would rarely comment on the choice of paper used in printing the book, but I really liked the thick, textured paper (which seems to be a trademark of the publisher, Gestalten).  The graphics throughout the book are exceptional and add measurably to the quality of the reading experience.

4. Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit or On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor

Pick one of these two books. Although Moor talks about the PCT in On Trails, both Solnit and Moor offer the best homage to 'walking' among the many philosophical treatments available. They are the books I wish I had written about pedestrianism.

5. The High Adventure of Eric Ryback by Eric Ryback

Ryback's account of his 1970 hike from Canada to Mexico on a trail that was often just a concept elevated the profile of the PCT. Read by dreamers like me (and thousands of others), Ryback's book was my first exposure to the PCT and the impetus for me to walk the PCT. It captured the spirit of adventure that has drawn hikers to the trail in the decades since.

6. A T'hru-Hikers Heart: Tales on the Pacific Crest Trail by Ray "No Way" Echols

Ray Echols collection of essays, compiled following Ray's tragic death along Deep Creek by his widow, Alice Tulloch, is also not your typical PCT account. I have kept this book in my collection because I find the depth of Ray's experiences, the strength of his feeling, the wisdom of his writing so exceptional. In it all, he manages to capture why I return to the trail year after year.

7. Seven Summers (and a few bummers) by Bob Welch

As I mentioned before, I am disinclined to include accounts of walking the Pacific Crest Trail that begin in the desert south and proceed linearly and predictably. However, I found Bob Welch’s account of completing the PCT with his brother-in-law, Glenn, refreshingly bumpy (and very real).  Written with self-deprecating humor, Seven Summers seems part Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, part Barney Mann’s Journeys North, but all uniquely the Oregon Boys (Bob and Glenn’s trail name).  The Oregon Boys dealt with hypothermia, fire, quitting (and starting again), the realities of work and family, snow, injury, and more, but in the course of 11 years they finished the PCT.

The book captures the special challenge of being a section hiker. As Welch observes near the end of the book, section hiking necessitated thirty-two travel days,“ just getting to and from that trail, that encompassed more than 17,000 miles, just so I could hike 2,650 miles.” He continued, “Some 180 miles of extraneous hiking miles [were] needed to get to and from trail heads; to follow “workarounds” because of fire closures; to get off-trail water and food; and to return to points that we overshot”.

Welch, a lifelong journalist and author of a number of other books, makes the book an enjoyable read. By the end of the book you feel a special connection with Bob and Glenn and their spouses. Seven Summers touches on the changing nature of the PCT, profiles a number of hikers on the trail, captures the essence of trail culture, and the PCT experience. In addition, it is a pleasure to read a well-crafted book. And only a few times did I tire of Welch’s humor.

I appreciated the inclusion of photos, maps, special charts (“Breakdown of the 17 Section Hikes”, how he put everything in his pack, his equipment list, a best and worst list, the PCT experience by the numbers, etc.), and some delightful illustrations by Don White.

8. The Pacific Crest Trail: A Visual Compendium by Joshua M. Powell

This is another unique and very entertaining treatment of the PCT. I loved his collection of lists and notes of every possible (and some I never would have thought of) aspect of a thru-hike on the PCT. Powell shows us the various flora and fauna he discovered along the trail. Everything from pileated woodpecker to lupine. Paintbrush to rattlesnake and many, many more. He goes on to create illustrations of notable buildings found in trail towns and illustrates an alphabet from scripts seen along the trail. He describes his mental struggles, landmarks, weather, and specific trail notes. There are numerous easy to read charts and graphs and stunning graphics.  Everything from elevations of various sections to traits shared by thru-hikers and characters in Steinbeck novels.

9.Journeys North by Barney 'Scout' Mann

Scout's treatment of his PCT thru-hike experience is the most traditional of those included in my top 10 list. He has the advantage of a long and rich association with the trail . . . as a hiker (along with his wife Sandy . . . aka 'Frodo'), as a long-time devoted trail angel, as a PCT board member, as an advocate for the PCT and for the national trail system. That history gives his account additional 'heft' often missing in other accounts.

10. Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart by Carrot Quinn

Carrot Quinn authored one of my favorite PCT blogs/journals; one I followed religiously on her trek north. Cleverly written and insightful, I think I appreciated it even more because Carrot's take on the experience was so different from my own. Written with humor and, at times, a biting insight, I think that Carrot's writing helped me take my own PCT experience a little less nobly and self-importantly.

Other Contenders: I really like Suzanne Roberts's Almost Somewhere: 28 Days on the John Muir Trail, but did not include it because it is limited to the JMT. Roberts is a wonderful writer. I also enjoyed Gail D. Storey's I Promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail. It is clever and fun but did not make the cut because, like Cheryl Strayed, Gail walked less than half of the PCT. I also tend to discount books written about fast-walking the trail because, while I admire the tenacity and strength for such an achievement, I am biased against those that don't savor the PCT experience.

[bob-the-movie-man-film-reviews]

The Critic (15): Sex, blackmail, murder: I tell you, it's an exciting life as a critic!

#onemannsmovies #filmreview of "The Critic". A flawless Ian McKellen brings life to a 1934 tale of dubious ethics. Recommended. 4.5/5.

A One Mann’s Movies review of “The Critic” (2024). Seen as another Cineworld Unlimited preview, “The Critic” is released in UK cinemas on September 13th. It’s a cracking British film and yet another acting tour de force for its star Ian McKellen and also starring Gemma Arterton, Mark Strong and Lesley Manville. Bob the Movie Man Rating: Plot Summary: It’s 1934 London. Jimmy Erskine (Ian…

[towritecomicsonherarms]

Heroes in Crisis #9

[filosofablogger]

♫ Mighty Quinn ♫ (Redux)

I spent most of yesterday (Sunday) reading … just reading, not delving deep into political news, but reading a book simply for pleasure … something I almost never do these days.  I enjoyed it, but the result is that I’m behind now and so must delve back into the archives for a song for today.  AHA!  This one is a fun song … a good way to start off the week, don’t you think?  I last played this…