Animated Plants - Happy New Year

I found this video on video.google. I am impressed with the videography, but the combination with animation makes these flora and fauna pictures very interesting. PLANT TECHNO. Enjoy.

Family Christmas Card

We offer our very best wishes for you and yours this holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Our famly "Christmas Letter" will be posted at the CHUMUCKLA Blog, should you wish to read it.
Alex is 14 now and enjoys playing LaCrosse. Karen enjoys her challenging work with ISI and Vic has a number of media projects underway. This "video blog" is one of them. Our families in Hurricane Alley are relatively dried out and in reasonable repair now (Ivan and Dennis). We wish there was more time to visit our families "down home" as parents and other family face the the affects of age. Look out! Here comes 2006!

First Snow - Video Poetry

M.J. Trenkler is a poet who enjoys putting words to pretty pictures. In the Snowetry series, she offers her voice to the poems that are illustrated by video from ME3TV and Buzz Creek. We formed a joint venture and put these SNOWETRY videos on the web at LULU. These are higher resolution WMV files you can download and use over and over. You can see A WINTER WONDERLAND HERE. You can send these videos to anyone by email using the envelope for this blog below ... or to send it without the blog, use THIS LINK. Buzz Creek markets an entire hour of DVD scenery like this for the "relaxation market". see a preview HERE.

Joy or Whatever

Merry Chri.......oh wait.......Happy Holi......... durn it can't say that either........

I WANTED TO SEND YOU A CHRISTMAS CARD BUT MY
ATTORNEY ADVISED ME TO SEND THE FOLLOWING...

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral, celebration of some sort of holiday on or about the winter solstice, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all, and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "America" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual orientation of the wishee.

If you choose, please spread the joy, or other emotion of your choice.
Uncle Vic

Farmers Opry - Woman Enough

Two very dear little girls with great big talent are featured with a guest Marine at the Farmer's Opry in this rendition of "You Are Not Woman Enough To Take My Man". The Marine was in flight training at Pensacola NAS. Many years ago, my dad was a Jet Mechanic there and worked with VT-4, the same hangar with the Blue Angels. I used to go to work with my dad sometimes and I once had my shoes shined by the man who shined the shoes for the Blue Angels. I can't imagine a greater honor. Maybe meet a real Blue Angel sometime? Nah. That'd be impossible. Dad used to be one of the Opry's biggest fans. Our farm is right in front of it. He's gone now, but his photo is on the wall at the opry ... and he is still grinning at the great performances they have there. The Marine (he is from Kentucky) told me most of the flight students and sailors at NAS are not 'tuned into' good country music and are missing something special when they miss the "Opry". I miss it a lot too. I am in NJ. Catch some more Farmers Opry videos at DAILYMOTION.

EMAIL Wars - the FOG

Below is a series of links from an old Marine who does a lot of research on various topics on the web. It appears he finally got a belly full of rampant political emails and decided to check them out on Snopes.com . Snopes and UrbanLegends are great places to check out the email you get before you pass it along. The internet is a notorious battleground for ideology, but seldom is ideology argued. It is much easier to simply create interesting and damaging stories about the people who represent the wrong ideology.

Check those stories you get in your email ... try to avoid getting suckered. Sometimes they are true, but rarely. Base your political decisions more on ideology than on email spam. Plus.. for good measure, vote how I do. It will save a lot of problems with me trying to explain all the reasons. Trust me. I am seldom wrong. So .. without further comment .. I offer this collection of searches, many provided by Rob Gagnon.
FOSTER . ATTA . PRESIDENTIAL IQ . BASIC TRAINING STRESS CARDS . VIEQUES ISLAND. IWO JIMA MEMORIAL . RUSH LIMBAUGH DRAFT STATUS . MARINES SALUTE PRESIDENT . CLINTON STORIES - MANY . CLINTON-LANDLORD to SecretService .
BILL AND HILLARY . NEW ORLEANS . PHANTOM POLICE FORCE
. Enjoy! And search for more topics as they come in to your email box!
Vic ME3TV .
BATTLE OF THE BULGE CHRISTMAS MEMORIES DVD .
Snowfall Serenade - Relaxation DVD .
More video features from Vic on "Dailymotion" By the WAY! Scam email that is PHISHING for your credit card or other sensitive data is on the rise especially this season. DO NOT RESPOND to emails with ANY suspicious offers -- like "Get your $500 HOME DEPOT shopping card - just waiting for your response to this email". Home Depot, Sears, Target, Walmart, Ebay, Pay Pal and all major businesses are being used by scam artists to PHISH out your information. Usually, but not always, the easy tell-tale sign is the link does not go back to the said company.

Val is Upset with Media Bias

Read the "COMMENT" link below this post to see what Val wrote and sent to the various media today. She is normally a very mild mannered lady. She runs the USS Houston Survivors Organization and the 131st Field Artilary BN associations. The men themselves are just too old now. The photo is Alex, with Max and Val - in Otto's living room. The latest on Otto is that he will be going into the VA hospital for the duration. (See story below).

The President at Gettysburg

Gettysburg and the President
Originally uploaded by me3tv

Dr. Brad Gottfried, a college president, is a scholar of the Battle of Gettysburg. He has also written several books on the subject. Here, the new online college newspaper presents this little known aspect of the president. "The College Hll" will have this video linked directly inside its pages. (ERRATA: Note the word "scholarly" mispelled will be corrected prior to publication). New Media, such as online newspapers, and digital video media are converging in cyberspace. Newspapers are becoming TV channels and TV programs are becoming outlets for extended information from online newspapers. Each approach to information offers something unique in how we percieve the great mass of information we receive on a daily basis.

The Imperfect Holiday Song

The Imperfect Holiday Song
Originally uploaded by me3tv

Our nieces take somewhat control of an old holiday favorite. Watch out for the special endingby Naomi. L-R: MaryBeth, Anna and Naomi.They were visiting us in NJ over the holidays in 2004. Ivan was over. The flood after Ivan created some wet roads and Naomi was in a serious car accident - slammed by a car from the side - which nearly tore her heart out. Heart surgury and 6 weeks later, here she is with a classic ending to an old holiday favorite! I have some more impromptu songs from this family trio. I hope to add them soon. Did you get to see Pastor Phil and his NYC Taxi feature video? Look Here!

Online Student makes Mission Trip

HFLO "Mission Of Hope" 2005
Originally uploaded by hopeforlife

A presentation of "Hope For Life Outreach" sharing the experience of the Gulf Coast Relief trip (Hurricane Katrina) "Mission Of Hope". Nov. 16th-28th, 2005. EMAIL
Hope Lynch was one of my online students in a journalism course at SCCC earlier this year. She and her family made this trip to my home area of the GulfCoast to lend a hand in the repairs from the hurricane. They met a group from Enterprise, Alabama and then travelled on down to D'Iberville, MS, where they put their talents to work. I am impressed!

USS Houston Legend

Alex and I dropped in on Trudy and Otto Schwarz at the end of November.
I told Otto " You look like you been rode hard and put away wet!"
.............It's been rugged. The illness, old age and being blind. He knows he is in a world of hurt. There is not much denying it.
Yet he keeps a very powerful presence regardless. He is a joy to visit with. Always something to share in news or happenings.
His son, John, made up a nice presentation box with his photo, medals and a photo of USS Houston. It is awesome. I had him go over what each one was for after I described it to him. It was a nice little history lesson for Alex. I expressed amazement and pride in the "good conduct" medal that Otto won. Otto was, from his own admission, quite a difficult ... or at least ... sassy kind of a kid in a sailor suit.
Alex was off from school today because he had a stomach ache (heard that before?) from some Chinese food he ate last night. He was OK by the time we dropped grandma off at the airport in Newark and was really up for the visit with Otto and Trudy.
Well, it was a great visit as usual. Such amazing folks (both of them). Otto is rightfully quite proud of what the Next Generation is doing. The news from the "Blue Bonnet" is always interesting, though the toll of time brings more sad notes with every issue. I was most impressed to read that Capt. Carter Conlin is now National CDR for The Naval Order of the United States! That is very good news! Not only is he a good guy, he is a great photographer! I think I can now make some points with my NYC NOUS Commandry (Hey guys! I know the National Commander!). I make the meetings nearly every month in NYC since another local fellow out here in the wilds of NJ became involved (Don Schuld is the Recorder/Secretary for the NYC Commandry). Recently we attended the Samuel Eliot Morison Award Dinner with our wives and had a great time. The award this year went to Michael G. Walling for "The Bloodstained Sea". A great story: Battle of the Atlantic. I was impressed that he talked about the "FBI" (Forgotton Bastards of Iceland). My Dad was a member, having flown with a PBY squadron (VP-84) out of Reykjavik in 1942 . Wallings book centers on the Coast Guard's roll in this battle. I can hardly wait for Hornfischer's next book about the Houston! Otto showed me Hornfischer's original manuscript today. What can I say? If you've read "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" you know what a great job he is doing with the USS Houston story.
I told Otto, "I still have a plan to get the "DEATH BECOMES THE GHOST" video into DVD soon". Once that is done, it will be much easier to distribute to many Educational and Public Access Stations. The better ones can even share programs online now .. by broadband internet. It is impressive how films are distributed now. (SEE COMMENT LINK BELOW FOR MORE NOTES ON OTTO)
www.me3tv.com www.ussocallahan.org www.usshouston.org www.chumuckla.blogspot.com

Marines 230th Birthday

The U.S. Marines just celebrated their 230th Birthday on Nov 10, 2005. Their's is an awesome service and, as a Navy veteran, I would have to say the Marine Corps is the finest auxilliary service the Navy ever created. This link will give you a Marine Corps Birthday Card in Flash Video. If you are a Marine - Enjoy. If anything else - Take Pride! I think especially of the Marines I know and of those to whom I have enjoyed in family and friendship. Thanks Marines! I knew George Dykestra of Sparta - A veteran of Guadalcanal and of Peleliu (he would never talk about it). I knew Ronald Glass of Savannah Georgia, a veteran of Iwo Jima (lasted about 10 minutes on the beach, was shot through top to bottom, wrecking one leg where the bullet came out. He was pulled out of harm's way at that point by squad members he had trained in boot camp (he was quite mean to them as he recalled) - This was his first experience in combat, having been a DI at Paris Island for two full years before Iwo Jima. He was a veterinarian when I met him. He had a limp arm and crippled leg, but he soldiered on. My cousin, Rogene Kilpatrick of Pace, Florida is a veteran of Korea, being among the first to arrive after the NK invasion and at one point being caught up in the great fighting withdrawal out of the Chosin Reservoir (Chesty Puller said "Good thing we are surrounded - now we can attack in any direction") and the Pusan exodus. And, there are many more Marines whom I am honored to know. To those Marines (and other soldiers of all branches) today who are in harm's way - know that you are respected. Your country calls and you answer. Your's is no easy task. May God Be With You. AND - HAPPY BIRTHDAY Marines! Photo is "Pat" Kilpatrick and his wife Virginia.

Lighthouse Mission - in Kentucky

The First Presbyterian Church of Sparta NJ made a Mission Trip to help out the people of "The Lighthouse Mission" in Pineville,Kentucky last summer. This is the opening draft of a forthcoming video about the trip (now complete -see the final version HERE). Our group helped the Lighthouse Mission prepare some special "Back To School" supply packs for kids in this depressed area. We also helped a local recovering Addict (Frank Creech - who is sings two songs in this short feature) to rebuild a house he bought with his life savings. It will be a Halfway House for people in recovery. What a summer! More value of this trip came back to the people who went to participate than to those who recieved our help. Somehow, mathematically, there is a logical explanation for that but that's how God works sometimes, I think. Leonard Luckadoo is a contractor who has a music ministry to prisons and nursing homes in Kentucky. He is the grandfather of one of the volunteers from the local community who helped us at Frank's place. Leonard Sings the opening ... "Lighthouse". The lighthouse at the start is still standing in Pensacola, FL after Ivan, Dennis and Katrina, not to mention the storm of '29 and the late unpleasantness of 1861-65. More about this trip HERE.
Visit another interesting independent mission - Preacher Phil's Taxi in NYC.

Greenhouse Gases

Here is a great web tool from BP to help you figure how large your "carbon footprint" is. Can you reduce your energy waste in your household? Interesting and educational. This came from my brother-in-law who works as an engineer for BP.
Now: My take on Global Warming. Yes it is happening. No, there is no conclusive evidence that the energy sources of the past century have had the defining effect. Why do I say that? I believe there are some much larger geological and solar events that have affected the nature of earth's climate as they have over geologic time. Age of Ice ... Age of Warming .. all without any fossil fuel involvement have driven the historic migration of mankind. If there is a 2 degree change in average earth temperature over the last century, I am more likely to believe that less than 10% of the total effect is driven by fossil fuel consumption and probaby less than 10% is driven by deforestation. These issues should be addresed for the betterment of the future quality of life for mankind, but they cannot compete with natural astronomical and geological cycles that affect climate(my opinion). I suggest two books that help put the history of mankind in perspective ... both by noted anthropologist and biologist Jared Diamond. "Guns Germs and Steel: The Fate of Human Societies" and "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed". Diamond is a clear voice to take better care of our planet. In "Collapse" his studies suggest strongly that geologic and asronomical events affect our planet hugely, yet his conclusion lays nearly all the problems of current climate change at the feet of we humans. So, on that point, I take issue, but these readings are very instructive.

A Veteran's Tribute - Canada

Here is a video that came to me via a US Marine who understands the importance of Veteran's Day. The film was about 8 mb in windows media, so I took the liberty of placing it in "IN COUNTRY" in flash format so you can easily pass along the LINK to this page rather than the large video file that some people resent clogging their email bandwidth. In any case, this Canadian presentation is quite nice. I hope you like it. And ... Thanks, Marine!

A Video Problem

Oops. had a temporary issue with our flash video server.
Here is a link to one of our videos now hosted on video.google.com. This one is Jim Stanko, an old time fiddler. (His is mislabeled as Jim Sieradzki but that will be fixed soon) Let me know if you like the google video presentation. Click HERE to get the Google Video Stream.

Chumuckla People in PA

This is Waylon and Carol Jenkins. Carol grew up in Chumuckla.com. Waylon grew up in Jay. When they visited last year we went to the Gifford Pinchot house in Milford, PA. This shot was taken at Dingman's falls just across the Delaware River from NJ. We try to convince people to come see us in NJ and that we live only a few miles from the Appalachian trail. But, few come. Maybe that will change since Waylon and Carol have survived several trips now and lived to tell about it. Actually, their home is in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you look at the Chumuckla blog, you'll see her uncle (my cousin) Colbert Campbell. Colbert keeps up with the Elizabeth Chapel Cemetary.

Not in New Jersey

But close! When my cousins, Waylon and Carol Jenkins came up last summer and stayed a few days with us, we took them over to Milford, Pennsylvania to see the Gifford Pichot House - Grey Towers. Milford is just across the Delaware River from NJ - a little country town. Gifford created Central Park in New York City and later became the father of the National Forrest Service. He must have been pretty rich - the house is huge, but of course not as big as the Biltmore in North Carolina. I guess the Pinchot's were poor compared to the Vanderbilts. We have rich people in NJ who live in mansions like this but most of them are still alive. In the photo are Karen and Me and Alex. Alex is now up to the tops of my ears in height! 

Henry Botts - Farmers Opry

Mr. Henry Botts - one of our country music legends continues to share his life and music at the Farmer's Opry in Chumuckla, Florida. This taping was made in 2004 ... before hurricane Ivan. The Opry had some challenges from hurricane damage all around it but it recovers nicely and keeps a regular group of highly respected performers available to an admiring public. Often, the Opry 'captures' a big name performer. Be sure and check their website. Here is another Farmer's Opry performance. WOMAN ENOUGH.

TEAM MASCOTS - A solution

Gator here. MA Ag, Class of 77.
I believe all team names need to be less offensive and that many vegetables have yet to be incorporated into team mascots. May I suggest the Florida Seminoles could easily become the Giant Goobers and our Gators (to avoid the shame of using an endangered species as a lowly mascot) could easily become the Banana Peppers! Some teams could become broccoli and some could be okra or tomatoes (well not tomatoes because it has sexist connotations - or cantaloupes or melons ... you know)... The value to the health and well being of our fellow Americans would be evident with improved diets from all the extra vegetable branding for team mascots and symbols. Teams could probably get subsidies from the Agriculture department. The food pyramid would become a dynamic competitive structure in which various vegetables competed for top level attention. I wonder why we ever had symbols of brave people or endangered animals as mascots in the first place. Goodbye Rattlesnakes, Gators, Panthers, Seminoles, Braves, Fighting Irish and Patriots (too suggestive of the right wing anyway). Hello Cauliflower!
Vic Campbell NJ and FL - www.chumuckla.net

A Kentucky Church Mission

(That is Chain Rock above Pineville on the left).
Well, (My church, Sparta Presbyterian ... went to PINEVILLE, KY to help the LIGHTHOUSE MISSION there to get an old building refurbished to serve as a halfway house for addicts. All the time, going, coming and while there, I was thinking of my own kin serving God in these hills.... Rob and Bev Donnell in Whitesburg, KY (Pastor at Bible Baptist Church) and Waylon and Carol Jenkins in Kingsport, TN and their son, Allan ... music/youth pastor somewhere in the woods up (down) there. Wish I could have visited y'all but it was a challenging trip of mission work and we pretty much had to stay on task. (Alex (age 14 and Me and about 26 others). See the draft video from this trip HERE. The finished video is HERE.
I was a bit torn about whether to cancel and go to Pensacola (area) and help my "Eye of Dennis' Family of Hurricane Veterans" at http://www.chumuckla.com/and in Mulat, but we stuck with plan "A" and went to the Lighthouse Mission. They'd only had about a week to recover at this point and experience with Ivan (10 mos earlier) told me it was yet premature to come planning much repair help as power is not yet up ... still out in some areas as of this date ... I will be going in September for two weeks- wish for longer, but it is not in the cards this time). If you go too soon expecting to repair much, you find without power, it is not very efficient, and you wind up just one more mouth for the FEMA people to feed or house. Thank God, things were fairly stable within days of Dennis. People mostly are in homes and managing ok. However, let me say this about the decision: ... Seems the mission Alex and I went to in KY had helped out in FL when Ivan came through last year.
see below::::::::::::::::::::
This note is from WE CARE AMERICA ... "Group Plans Mission Trip to Florida » post date: 11/9/2004
PINEVILLE - A local faith-based group is taking initiative and making plans for a mission trip to storm-ravaged Florida. Lighthouse Mission and Kentucky Coal Mine Mission have joined together to collect money and goods to take to hurricane victims in Florida.
"We were in a flood in '77 and lost everything, so we know what it's like," said Sharon Teaney of Lighthouse Mission. "The Lord put it on my husband's heart, so we began planning for the trip."
James Teaney contacted some missions and service groups that the Teaneys had worked with before in order to help organize where the supplies and people would go. Two separate locations in Florida were chosen. The first location will be receiving food and cleaning supplies. At the second location, a mission group from the area will be taking building supplies to work on someone's home for about a week. "
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
So ... You see, I have no problems now with my decision to go help out at Pineville on our church mission trip. Besides, Alex had a good time working with kids his age and learning to paint ... and we had a motel with air conditioning and a pool, unlike the probable housing we would have experienced in "Ivan/Dennis Country". The heat would not affect me, you understand, but Alex would have suffered.

A recent letter came from Frank Creech (who I taped singing and playing his guitar... and he IS a real performer)...to our church: See This. I'm going to put at least one of Frank's songs on This Blog which is a channel of Eggzono.tv (SOON, I hope). I hope to have a short video of our work in KY to post here soon as well. Will also add a performance by Leonard Luckadoo who has a music ministry for prisons and nursing homes. Nice country. Seems Daniel Boone liked it.

I also ran into a fellow NAVOCS graduate from Navy OCS at Newport RI while enroute to KY. This was Rev David C. Stancil, Ph.D. Pastor of Bristol, VA, First Baptist Church. I talked with him and his wife. We found it quite interesting that we were both Navy OCS grads from the same time period. I was class of 7108 and he was, I think 7206 - and was in his first half of the program in 71 when I was in my last half of NAVOCS. We both served in Tin Cans, He on East Coast, and I was West Coast. He struck up a conversation at a McDonald's where we stopped to eat. I was wearing my "NAVY VETERAN" cap that Alex gave me for Father's Day last year. Nice guy, for a Baptist. heh heh heh. I don’t' recall ever having run into another NAVOCS graduate since I left the Navy in 1974. I wondered if Carol and Waylon or if Alan might know him. Bristol VA is a short step from Kingsport, TN.

A Stump In Time

Lavern Howell of Chumuckla, Florida explains the history of timber in the area through the remains of a stump that is over 100 years old. Imagine! The tree that made it was probably well over a hundred when it was cut down, Maybe it was growing at the time of the Creek War and the War of 1812. Some of Skeeter's (Lavern) kids own and run the Farmer's Opry. You can learn more about the timber era in this region by watching short video lectures by Warren Weekes (now deceased). His lectures about the timber baron, Skinner and others is under the Santa Rosa County section at WBUZZ.

Spoof on Carl's Jr. Paris Hilton Ad

Now for some humor. This line (Accolo) will take you to a management recruiter's home page where the spoof of the Carl's Jr. Hamburger ad is posted. It is hilarious, especially if you have seen the actual Paris Hilton ad. For comparison, you can see the PH ad here. Some people find the Carl's Jr. ad offensive but basically it is just a hamburger ad with a sexy girl in a swimsuit. The outrage expressed over using such sex to sell an unrelated product like a hamburger has chewed up a great deal of press .... All to the benefit of Carl's Jr. Hamburgers! The lesson? Complain loudly about it and sure enough, you prove the adage that "sex" sells!

103 Year old Piano Player

Jimmy Woolsey was a fixture in Sussex County, NJ for many years. He played the piano at the Walpack Inn and then at the Bella Vita Restaurant. I met him when he was 85 years old and I was lost on my first trip into the Walpack Valley. This film was made when he was 103. He died later that year. More about him and how to get a DVD of him playing this session (and his interview) is available at Buzz Creek. In the interview on the DVD he explains he was an Army veteran of WWI and a Navy veteran of WWII. There are a dozen songs on the DVD. What a Life!

The Ninja Chipmunk

OREO, the cat vs the mighty chipmunk. This chipmunk was ferocious and ready to do battle with all that came its way. The little brown furball survived to fight another day. The cat actually prefers her Whiskas Temptations over chipmunk on most days.

Ninja Revised for more slo-motion is at EGGZONO TV. Another neat story? A NYC taxi ride with Pastor Phil.

Snowfall Video Goes Mass Market

Footage from my ever popular Snowfall Serenade was recently chosen by Drew's Famous Sights and Sounds, to include in the Turn Up The Music commercial offerings. It was re-edited and remastered in DVD with a selection of Music from TUTM. It will be in stores in time for the Christmas season! This version will be priced for the mass market! My original version continues to be marketed to the nursing home and hospital market in a bundle with relaxation visuals and music having titles relating to snow, country scenery and airplanes. The connection with TUTM came through another superb company that markets mood videos, called Video Naturals. I will earn royalties on all the TUTM sales of the Winter Wonderland video. That's a good thing! See comments.

Tripod Rock with Fred Space

Of all the colorful characters in the landscape of New Jersey, I expect few can hold a candle to Fred Space who, through years of life in the real world has developed a sense of nature that few can equal. As a matter of fact, the Fred Space model has been discontinued and they don't make them anymore.

Here, with his grandson, Hunter, Fred takes us on a little Spring tour near the Appalachian Trail, where an odd rock formation has stood for millenia. More explorations of woodland habitat will appear later. Keep coming back for more! Fred's daughter, Lori Day recently authored a book called "The Zookeeper's Daughter". Anyone reading her works will get a better appreciation for Fred and all the inside workings of a real family run zoo .... Space Farms!

Occupied Territory - 1779

The American Continenal Army had its problems with the locals as it set up its camps and forts throughout the colonies. In New Jersey, the Polish Allies, Pulaski's Legion, were, like the Continental Toops in general, a challenge to live with at times.

Here, Eric Olsen gives a fair understanding of the plight of the general public as they put up with the Colonial and Allied troops. The "coallition forces" if you will. More at Morristown National Historical Park.

Pulaski's Legion _ Rev War Interview

This interview with a trooper from Pulaski's Legion is quite informative of his life and and his death. Frankly, he should have remained in Walpack Valley, in New Jersey (near the Delaware River) where things were a bit quieter. Alas, he begged to leave and ended up in Savannah, Georgia.

For some info on the fort named for General Pulaski, see this Blog. Interesting travels are noted here. The Pulaski Skyway that crosses the Passaic river is also named for General Pulaski.

Preacher Phil's Taxi in NYC

"Philip Frabosilo is a minister in New York City. His church: a yellow cab, medallion number 3C49. Lovingly adorned with personal photographs, plastic flowers, and whimsical toys, Philip’s partition-less cab is designed for comfort and decorated to encourage conversation."
This is continued at the Brooklyn Museum website. Recently, on Nov 9 he was featured on NPR.
He is a star in the documentary film - Gotham Fish Tales. I have a copy. I recommend it to anyone interested in NYC or in real people or in fishing - fishing wherever. I understand "Rolling For Jesus" is a classic as well. Read more about Phil at Block Magazine and New York City Voices .
Uncle Vic was in NYC in May to work on some video for All Points Tours and this opportunity came up as one of those random events of everyday life. (TRT+10min)

War of The Worlds

Fyi: Grover's Mill, New Jersey is only about 40 miles South of here. Martians could be in Sparta, NJ within minutes of their landing should they choose the same location witnessed by Orson Wells in 1938. See what can happen at these War of The Worlds Previews. We predict a run on duct tape sometime in June.

A Cookbook fromJekyll Island

My cousin Dorothy Carswell wrote this cookbook. Her son, Ben, did the introduction. It raises money to help the Jekyll Isand Sea Turtle Project. It has some nice recipes as well as great artwork. Jekyll Isand is was once the resort for the super rich in America. See the hotel here. Here is what Dorothy said: "There have been several long articles in the Georgia papers and we have even had a book signing! Ben wrote the Naturalist section and our friend Richard Caton did the cover art and all the illustrations in the book, including the delightful dividers. We didn't have a committee, it was just me and my friend, Sandy, whom I gave the title of Inspiration/Steering Director because it was her idea to write a cookbook. I'm the Editor/Writer :-)" I've only met my cousin Dorothy online because of a website for my Mom's side of the famly that we began on MyFamily.com. I think cookbooks are a pretty standard way to raise money anymore. There are several publishers that specialize in this kind of thing.

I hope to finish an edit today on a short video I did with a cab driver in NYC a few weeks ago. Preacher Phil calls his cab a rolling ministry. He is featured in a film about fishing around NYC called "Gotham Fish Tales". Maybe cousin Dorothy's recipes will come in handy in NYC! Look for Preacher Phil's video on this blog soon.

USS Houston's last Battle

I have the most interesting friends. One, Don Kehn of Houston, Texas is a veritable encyclopedia of interesting facts about the Asiatic Fleet (destroyed early in WWII by the Japanese) and the USS Houston. He has given me a discussion board link that goes on and on about recent photo finds. He discovered, for instance, that a short captured Japanese film clip of a destroyer being blown out of the water and used in a Dutch film about the Pacific battles for Java (Battle of The Java Sea) is actually the last images of the USS Edsall which was lost without at trace. Now he has discovered on a discussion board, a link to an IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) site where the command ship for Lt.Gen. IMAMURA is shown sunk in Banten Bay (a result of Houston and Perth's final fight). By the way, it was sunk by torpedoes. Houston and Perth had no torpedoes. There were over 70 torpedoes fired by the IJN that night. 4 took out the USS Houston. 4 took out the HMAS Perth. So there were plenty more torpedoes going around to hit other targets ... including the general's ship, the 'Shinshiu Maru'. From the BB I learned it was refloated and sunk again ... in 1945.
Here is my post on the BB: "Don Kehn keeps dragging me into the most fascinating things, this discussion among them! I am awed by the information here and know the USSHouston.org "family" and HMAS Perth "family" and the Asiatic Fleet folks will all be greatly enthralled to learn of all these facts and photos! Love the Nelson dialogue also. I have nearly finsihed "Dreadnought" by Massie. The book begins by telling of Nelson's Trafalgar and the 100 years subsequent Pax Britannica. Some of the notes here have added insight to Trafalgar. I continue to be amazed at the things Don Kehn falls into! It is good to have somebody with brains on point. For my part, I hope to have the film about USS Houston into DVD format by summer .. and include footage from recent dives, and reunions." Ref: Japanese Ships.

A USS Houston Reunion

You'll learn more at the website but the video below shows some aging heroes mostly talking about their navy careers *after* the war. Dutch Kooper, the first one who speaks, in the film "Death Becomes The Ghost" tells how after their final battle as shells exploded in the water around him - nearly rupturing his chest - he could see the Houston's flag go under the waves ... lighted by Japanese searchlights on surrounding cruisers and destroyers. He said it was a moment of pride he had relived many times. They gave their all and did not surrender the ship. Jack Feliz who speaks next, wrote a Book about his colorful navy career. Otto Schwarz, who was a 17 year old seaman at the time of the last battle, is blind now. He lost one eye to a steel sliver working as a slave repairing rails for the Japanese Army in Indochina. He lost the other a few years ago in a home accident. On this date .. only Otto remains alive. Their story is one for the anals of Naval history. Two videos are available from the Houston website. Several books are listed there for reference. "Fleet The Gods Forgot", "The Ghost That Died in Sunda Strait", and "The Last Battle Station" are classics. And for their Hell that followed, read "Prisoners of The Japanese". However a new book will be coming soon from James Hornfischer, award winning author of the book about Taffy 3 and the Battle of Leyte Gulf "The Last Stand of The Tin Can Sailors". That book covers another heroic time of the Pacific War some years after the Asiatic Fleet had been sacrificed to stall the Japanese advance. Look for his USS Houston story in 2006. The book is sure to include more about the Houston's valiant ally on its last mission, HMAS Perth. The other ships of the lost combined ABDA Fleet (American, British, Dutch and Australian) will surely receive a good accounting as well. Some were lost without a trace.

Sunk in 1942 - Cruiser Houston

Wheelchair Scooter Invention

250 year old film FOUND! 1756

The ancestors of the Buzz Creek people somehow managed to hide and preserve this reel of film that was only recently discovered in our archival vaults. The film is about 250 years old, and this being the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War ... we felt the film would be an excellent gift to the people in our area. You can see more films about our area at Around the Area - The link is listed in the column to the right. Check the Frontier Guard for more about this history. You can even get scalp insurance!

NJ Frontier Guard - 1756

This film was made 250 years ago and was only recently rediscovered in the ancient files of EGGZONO Cable-TV archives. These New Jersey Frontier Guardsmen will protect you from marauding Indians and French Invaders. Look for more special histories on Channel 973 - Eggzono TV. This particular feature is found in the "May" archives in the sidebar index for Channel 973.

Lewis and Clark

I know this is jumping around history, but Alex (my son) and I were watching the National Geographic DVD of Lewis and Clark this afternoon. It was my reward for going to the new Target store with Karen and Alex this afternoon. Good Imax film, but Alex and I got into thinking how we would make OUR version. I think some of the Mandan Indians, in the Dakotas would be wearing war paint and masks similar to the masquarade party in The Phantom of The Opera. Only at least one of them would have a mask half covering his face that is a "happy face" . Part of the barter process with the Sioux would involve demands for Casino rights and land set asides for a Walmart Superstore. Instead of 6 weeks to cross the Cascades, the L&C Corpes of Discovery would rent a Winnebago (Indian tribe name by the way) from the Nez Pierce tribe to make the trip much easier and probably only a day and a half. I think there is humor to be had in history, if only we look for it. By the way, the movie glossed over a lot of the great miseries on this epic trek. They did not mention the buying of dogs for food to allow the corpes of discovery to survive the Sierra hike. And they glossed over the diet of almost 100% protein (elk meat, etc) that led to many ills, not the least of which was constant eruptions of boils on their skin. Just how far can you go on a low carb diet? Just think, the history noted below (around 1905-10) was a hundred years after L&C (who were doing this about the time of the Trafalgar Battle and Nelson (the Napoleonic Wars) ... and who were very much tied into the struggle between France and England at the time because ... think about it... Napoleon sold "Louisianna" to the USA for the price the USA expected to pay for just New Orleans ... all because Napoleaon wanted the USA to be a thorn in the backside of any North American aspirations by Great Britain. Look for a video on this website soon ... re the French and Indian Wars (1756). A fantastic book on the French and Indian War is "Crucible of War by Anderson. Interesting stuff.

An Historical Aside

Ever get your curiosity piqued? Happens to me all the time.

I was just searching for a definitive British movie about J.M. Barrie the author of Peter Pan. Strange little man. A recent movie "Finding Neverland" (we rented from Netflix ) glossed over some of the interesting biography of Barrie and the people who affected him. Found some good stuff on the web at the NEW YORKER WEBSITE, but the only source of the definitive British series on the topic "J.M. Barrie and The Lost Boys" seems to be high cost and from GB only....

I am reading "Dreadnaught" by Massie and keep getting intriqued further by the biographies of the European leaders of the time period. This is the 100 year period from Nelson's great victory at Trafalgar to to eve of WWI. The interrelationships of the leaders of the day are quite awesome. The logical follow up to this book would be "The Guns of August" by B. Tuchman (Pulitzer Prize). The first paragraph of Tuchman's book is a classic piece of the writing art. It sums up the entire feel of the end of one age and the beginning of another. Just got sidetracked with Winston Churchill and recalled a 1972 movie called "Young Winston" and went looking for it. Same problem... hard to find and seems only to be in British stores if at all.

Dreadnought - The Book from Amazon
First Page of "The Guns of August"

Sparta NJ Introduction

Welcome to Sparta NJ. This 10 minute film lets you get a feel for the town and its history. Use the "mail" icon below the post to send this link to people who may want to know more about this area or about Sparta. There are more videos about the area and its history in earlier posts on this blog.

Video Blog

This blog will contain regular video features, including histories, interviews and observations. Our friends at AROUNDTHEAREA.com host many of our regional prodcutions. Visit their site and select some of the features. You'll learn something and enjoy yourself too!

In Country

Here is your chance to get some insight on local and national issues that miss the mind shaping mantra of traditional media. IN COUNTRY WITH UNCLE VIC informs and entertains. Guests are invited to share their thoughts on local and national affairs. Sometimes we meet the most unusual people who contribute rich material to the broth of humanity. Sometimes we put history into the mix so our visitors can actually learn something. Guest contributors are encouraged to join in this eclectic tour of life.