Archive for November 1, 2006

JAMS News Nov 1 2006

The J.A.M.S. (hopefully) weekly newsletter
Joshua Tree Association of Musicians and Songwriters
A division of New Moon Records
PO Box 203
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
www.new-moon-records.com


Gig reports and editorial comments for the week Nov 1, 2006
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Hey, Hey, Hey-

Alice and Albert.
The biggest personal news for me this week was a phone call from Albert Williams on Monday saying he was feelin’ good and he and Alice wanted to start playin’ again. I said “how ‘bout Friday at the WC”? He said cool, man, or something like it. The bottom line is they’re back! I hope you can get out to say howza.

I also wanted to mention the artist studio tours. This is going on for the east end of the valley this weekend. There is a blurb about it below. You would never guess the cool places our artists create in. Some big and elaborate, some modest, all interesting. You’ll get in the best conversations you can imagine.

Our hillbilly band, Shadow Mountain, is starting up at Pappy and Harriet’s this Saturday. We will be playing every week on Saturday at 4PM to 6PM. If you need a dose of mountain music on Sat. afternoons, come on up.

Pay very close attention to whom is funding the ads and automated phone calls about the election. I try to resist the urge to hang up on an autocall so I can find out who/what they are promoting and vote the other way. If everybody did that, maybe they’d stop it. Also, check out Prop 89 about campaign finance. It seems to have the big money pretty scared. Anyway, there is more info about the election in the Political supplement, and in the ‘comments’ section. I am trying to find out if candidates endorse the folks currently running the federal government. I cannot give my vote to anyone who supports the deluded lunatics who are in power in America today, even if they function in an entirely different level of government. It’s a very interesting time and perhaps time for a serious house-cleaning. I have a feeling that our administration will do something very extreme before Tuesday to mess up the election; I hope I am wrong. If there are enough comments to warrant it, we will have a Monday JAMS news next week. Wednesday might be too late. Otherwise, talk at ya next Wed, when gas prices are going back up and the stock market is goin’ back down. Ah, elections.

Here is a word from our Grandpa Bob in Trinadad CO:

As I walk up Main Street each day, I notice hundreds of new posters have been stuck up on the windows and walls, all saying that Jesus is returning soon, and asking if we are ready. Each refers to a local church to attend where you can find out how to be to be ready for Jesus’ return. I hear them preaching on the radio that to be ready for Jesus, we must:
1. Join a local church
2. Accept Jesus as our Savior.

I have gone to half a dozen local churches to ask what that entails, and it requires that I attend church each Sunday, plus joining several committees that meet during the week. It also requires that I prey daily for Jesus to save me from sin. My belief system will not let me do any of that, so I must simply observe the show from the outside.

I’m much more interested in the mechanics of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem. Going by what my Christian friends tell me, he will simply show up in the center of Jerusalem one fine day and start preaching.

I believe it is presumptuous to believe that he will suddenly appear out of thin air. There are dozens of people preaching in the center of every large city, so how can we tell which one of them is the Returned Jesus? Will he have some kind of social security identification card, saying “Jesus Christ”? He will have been gone almost 2000 years, and no one knows what language he will speak, what clothes he will wear, etc. So identifying him will be a problem.

If he has been going to language school, perhaps he will be multi-lingual, speaking Hebrew and Moslem and English, which would simplfy things. What he spoke 2000 years ago was Aramaic, which is a cheap gutter version of real classical Hebrew.

Will the Christians of the world all chip in and buy him a car with a chauffeur, or will he have to go to driving school in Israel, get a drivers license, and buy a Toyota Prius.

Will he decide to wear the official white “Jesus gown,” or will he buy a business suit and tie? Will he have long hair down his back or get a crew cut to be in style?

Being an unusual type, he may require police protection, and have a dozen body guards.

Will he do what the Bible says to do, which is to sit in the Temple in the middle of the city for 1000 years, preaching the Truth? Or will he say he is of the New Age, and he will invent new things to do and say that are not mentioned in the Bible?

This is what I am fascinated with, and I might even fly over to Israel to see for myself….Grandpa Bob

I don’t think I will join you, but please let me know what you find out.


Dat’s all for now.

Work like you don’t need the money.
Love like you’ve never been hurt.
Dance like nobody’s watching.
Sing like nobody’s listening.
Stay in tune.


Da prez

“In a country paradoxically founded on the backs of slaves and dead Native Americans, there has nonetheless been a consistent march toward greater freedom, greater access, greater justice and greater good for all. God has indeed, as the song goes, “shed His grace on thee.” But as you may have noticed, when it comes to grace we are currently running on fumes” Swami Beyondananda’s excellent essay.. see JAMS Attachment

Check out…JAMS Announcements by Al Murdy..everything that’s happnin’…everything !

“Frustrated with laws and regulations that have made companies and accounting firms more open to lawsuits from investors and the government, corporate America - with the encouragement of the Bush administration - is preparing to fight back”… see JAMS Political supplement


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***gig reports***
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Water Canyon Coffee Company –Yucca Valley’s music café
Music now Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat…
Yucca Valley at 55844 29 Palms Highway. 760 365 7771

This week on the Water Canyon Stage:

Tuesday evening 6-9PM
Kenny’s Brown Bag Session


Thursday Night Songwriting, Poetry , and Rhythm Club 7-9PM

Join the Cultural Elite for the best vibes, spoken word, and music

Richard Westman, Tom Merritt, JVRuggles, Sunshine, Jerry Quinn

Friday Night 7-9PM

Clive Wright and friends- they play naked

Saturday Brunch set 11AM-1PM

Tommy Paul- flamenco


Saturday Evening set 8-10PM

Alice and Albert- they’re back!!

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Harriet’s

Thursday, Nov 2, 2006 Fleet Smallwood
7 pm One of Pioneertown’s Best Songwriters!!

Friday, Nov 3, 2006 Country Rock with Matchless (Formerly Grey Side & Dark Horse)
7 pm

Saturday, Nov 4
4-6pm The Shadow Mountain Band! Shadow Mountain specializes in mountain-style harmonies with lively acoustic backup. They feature traditional mountain music, hillbilly gospels (think- oh Brother, Where art Thou) and bluegrass, along with eclectic originals.

The Dark Horses and KingSizeMaybe 7 pm What does KingSizeMaybe sound like, you ask? How about a cross between Crazy Horse, the Everly Bros., a little Badfinger, and some George Jones for texture.

Sunday, Nov 5 the thriftstore allstars
6 pm Pappy Hour presents The Thriftstore Allstars The Thriftstore Allstars all have one thing in common, they all love Joshua Tree very much

Monday, Nov 6 Monday Night Bingo with…Bingo!
6 pm The Bingo Dream Band Transcendental Americana from Joshua Tree yep, it’s really true..Bingo will be playing Bingo with all of you lucky people, while playing his amazing songs.

Please Visit www.pappyandharriets.com
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Radio 60 upcoming schedule… ….Friday, November 3 & 4, Cahuilla Creek Casino, 52-702 Hwy #371, Anza, Ca., 92539, 951-763-1200, 9pm-1am…you be callin’ Greg Veach for info and bookings at 760-831-9805…
Web site is www.radio60band.com
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KOKOPELLI’S KANTINA SERVES UP A HOT DISH OF SALSA WITH THE RITMO LOCO AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ QUINTET SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4th, 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM
This will also be our very first gig at Kokopelli’s and it would be great to be able to perform there regularly in the future. So, please invite your friends, and come help us get a roaring start off the launching pad at Kokopelli’s. This is also a great way to unwind after a day of the MBCAC’s artists’ studio tours, and we’ll be playin’ ‘till 1 AM for all of you night owls.

(then, baby)
SERVE UP ANOTHER BIG HELPING OF SALSA AT PAPPY & HARRIET’S WITH THE RITMO LOCO AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ QUINTET FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17th, 7:30 – 10:30 PM

The exciting Ritmo Loco Afro-Cuban Jazz Quintet, featuring Bob Garcia on guitar and vocals, Owen Willingham on keyboards, Marv Schmelling on bass, Dennis McDade on drums and timbales, and Sam Sloneker on congas and percussion, will perform a program of sizzling Salsa and Latin Jazz on Friday, November 17, from 7:30 PM – 10:30 PM at Pappy & Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace in Pioneertown. No cover—lots of fun and great music!
Back in action at Pappy’s after a summer hiatus, Ritmo Loco (Crazy Rhythm) will play selections from early Gregorian chant to show tunes (George Gershwin, Cole Porter), pop and jazz standards (Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie), Latin classics (Tito Puente, Mongo Santamaria, Antonio Carlos Jobim) and their own original compositions, all set to infectious, body-groovin’ Afro-Cuban Rhythms. “If you can sit still to this music, take your pulse.”

And be sure to mark you calendar now: Ritmo Loco will be returning to Pappy & Harriet’s on Friday, December 15 with some special holiday treats.
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Janet Robin*November 11, 8pm- mini band show The Water Canyon Yucca Valley, CA. special guest vocals from Eve Buiges (www.myspace.com/jariyamusic) Kelly Hagen opens (www.myspace.com/kellyhaganmusic) this is going to be a lot of fun. Joshua Tree is beautiful. Come out for a desert experience and make a weekend out of it.

*November 29th, 9pm: The Sweetwater Mill Valley, Ca. doing a song circle with the infamous Adrianne, Heather Combs, and Amber Rubarth who knows what can happen at this show cuz we are all friends and it could be just a crazy laugh song fest. Looking forward to it.

*Dec. 1, 8pm Henflings Brookdale, Ca.

*Dec. 2, 8pm “Raising Malawi Multi-Artist Show” special benefit show in Los Angeles C.A.P. Theater tickets: 310.663.6425

*Working on a full band show and new cd coming up after the new year, so stay tuned….. cheers,-janet Interested in more about janet or in having janet perform a private house concert? find details and more at: http://www.janetrobin.com also visit http://www.myspace.com/janetrobinmusic
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RENEGADE GEEKS – Beatnik, saturday, december 2nd.

http://www.madhappy.com | http://www.myspace.com/madhappy RENEGADE GEEKS - Out Now! …produced by former Talking Heads Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth. …electro with hip-hop firmly tucked next to their pop notions. Each track is energetic and bouncy with fun lyrics… and they certainly have the funk down…. Beastie Boys fans who like electronica would love this…I can’t have enough of this eclectic release.
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Richard Grainger in Concert With There Be Pirates! Opening
7 p.m., Sunday, November 19, 2006 Tickets: $15, available at (760)366-3777, Or online at: www.thesunrunner.com Or www.hidesertplayhouse.com Tickets also available at: Rock-It-Man CDs, Yucca Valley Hi-Desert Playhouse
61231 29 Palms Highway Joshua Tree, California Front Row Sponsor: Melissa Baxter, Hi-Desert Realty Welcomed by: KX96 FM Hot Country
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in the Crossover Artist of the Year category, please vote for Big Rain. Go to www.newmusicweekly.com/nmwawards.php# and click on Vote Now.

After the nomination was in, Big Rain noted over 500 reporting radio stations tracking airplay on NMW Top 40, Adult Contemporary, Country, and College Radio Charts.

#1 On AC/Hot AC Top 30 Indie Chart #2 On AC/Hot AC Main Chart

Big Rain features a core trio of Bruce Guynn, Peter Alamo, and James Chatterton. Bruce Guynn handles lead vocals, bass guitar, and keyboards. Peter Alaimo plays lead and rhythm guitars and sings vocal harmony. James Chatterton adds guitars and piano. Big Rain has been performing nonstop for eleven years. The band’s dynamic sound is built on superb songwriting and vocals. Their current single is “December Night”, and can be found on their self-titled CD.

For MP3s, the Big Rain album, photos, or to schedule an interview, contact Laura Claffey with Wildfire Publicity at Laura@wildfirepublicity.net.

www.myspace.com/BigRainBand www.BigRain.net
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Dear Steve,

This weeks UNPLUGGED will feature the following artists IN THE MUSIC HALL, THE BIG ROOM, DOWNSTAIRS, PLUS A SPECIAL TIME.

THATs right, the show will kick off at 11 p.m. and be hosted by Shawn Eiferman. Here is the lineup

Free Air = Florida Rockers -Fiffin Market = San Diego rockers -Frankie Moreno = Vegas legend

UNPLUGGED will kick off at 11 p.m., hosted by Shawn Eiferman. The show will still be FREE and ALL=AGES, so -ont miss it! For more info, call 702-632-7607.

Ciao, M Soli - http://www.michaelsoli.com
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Tom Freund

11/04 @ 9:00 PM - RED ROOM 1903 S St Marys St , San Antonio, TX 78210-1637 w/ Marcus Rubio 1903 S St Marys St San Antonio , TX 78210-1637 Phone: (210) 218-3442 E-Mail: www.redroomsa.com

11/07 @ 8:00 PM - CACTUS CAFE http://www.utexas.edu/student/txunion/ae/cactus/, Austin, TX 73301 with ABRA MOORE

11/11 @ 8:00 PM - BEND STUDIO , Dallas, TX 75201 with JON DEE GRAHAM www.bendstudio.com

11/17/2006 09:00 PM - ZOEY’S with ZACK HEXUM 451 E. Main St Ventura, California 93001 Cost: $10 We will be playing on the balcony for everyone!! Make reservations to guarantee a seat. For more info/reservations call: 805-652-0091 or log on to www.zoeyscafe.com

11/18 @ 8:00 - PEARL/Chicago College Benefit Benefit honoring VIRGINIA MADSEN and JIMMY CARTER (the last good president)* will be announcing -YAHOO! 665 N Robertson Blvd West Hollywood, California 90069 (310) 358-9191
** it’s my newsletter and i am allowed to air my political preferences

Surf Road Records -938 palms Bvld Venice, CA. 90291

http://www.tomfreund.com http://www.myspace.com/tomfreundmusic
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Hey Everyone! I have a new web page at Indie Heaven.com! I am so excited I wanted to tell everyone about it. To visit my new site just click on the link below to my My Space page, from there click on the Indie Heaven Banner! Thanks everyone for all your support! May the Lord bless you all! Janelle http://www.myspace.com/janelleross76

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From: beekeeper@richardthompson-music.com
Richard Thompson is touring the Eastern U.S., California, and Hawaii this Autumn, in a solo acoustic format:

Mon Nov 27 2006 Tue Nov 28 2006 Wed Nov 29 2006 Saratoga CA The Carriage House Theater

Fri Dec 01 2006 Arcata CA John Van Duzer Theatre

Opening Acts include Amy Correia, Kris Delmhorst and Makana. Details available at www.richardthompson-music.com
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Beatnik - Visit www.jtbeat.com

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Kokopelli’s Go to www.myspace.com/kokopelliskantina 369-6660

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Big Sky: Johnna Morrow: Vocals, flute, guitar Steve Sklar: Guitar, vocals, khoomei (throat-singing), didgeridoo, igil Randy Davis: Bass, vocals Joe Miller: Drums

“Discover the Greatest Undiscovered Rock band in America!” - MP3.com

When: Sunday, Nov.5, 2006 Doors open at 7:00 Music begins at 7:30 pm

Where: The Cedar
416 Cedar Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55403
612-338-2674 http://thecedar.org

Tickets: $10/$8 for students with ID. Get yours online at http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?event=700095&query=detail&region=mn
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A DIFFERENT KIND OF MUSIC - EXTREMELY WORTHWHILE EVENTS
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At the JT Playhouse- A fabulous and very funny show; please do yourself a favor and go see it. (da prez)

Bullshot Crummond,” a comedy-mystery spoof based on the World War One British military hero, “Bulldog Drummond.” The show is directed and acted by the playwright, himself, Ron House, recreating his original role in a film produced by the late Beetle George Harrison, as well as, in the productions on Broadway, New York, London, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and now…Joshua Tree! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author and Artist Kimberly Nichols Featured at November Sun Runner Salon

The Sun Runner Salon for November 15, 2006, will feature the versatile and talented, Kimberly Nichols. Kimberly Nichols is a writer and artist living in the Coachella Valley. By day she is the director of marketing and communications for the Palm Springs Art Museum, a great match for Nichols’ unique blend of talents. But Nichols’ talents don’t stop there. Nichols has written literary fiction and non-fiction dealing in art, architecture, politics, psychology and spirituality for a variety of magazines including The Sun Runner, Palm Springs Life, Desert Living, Aishti Beirut, The Bottom Line, Clamor, and Conscious Choice. As a painter and a conceptual artist she has shown her work in Palm Springs, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Kimberly Nichols will conduct a talk, reading, book signing and Q&A session at the Sun Runner Salon, Wednesday, November 15, from 6 to 7 p.m. The Salon is held under the big tent at the 29 Palms Inn, 73950 Inn Avenue, 29 Palms. Light refreshments are provided courtesy of the 29 Palms Inn. There is no charge for the Salon. Nichols will read from her book of short stories Mad Anatomy, a book that contains some of Sun Runner publisher Steve Brown’s favorite stories. “Kimberly is an incredibly talented individual, and I highly recommend joining us for this hour-long Salon. I guarantee it will be well worth your time,” Brown said. For information, please call (760)367-6410. There will be no Sun Runner Salon in December, due to the holidays, but they will re-start again in January 2007.

Sun Runner Salon Wednesday, November 15, 2006 6 to 7 p.m. Free Under the big tent at the 29 Palms Inn, 73950 Inn Avenue, 29 Palms. Directions: (760)367-3505 Information: (760)367-6410 www.thesunrunner.com
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Steve, My book is out and I don’t know if you mention readings and book signings on your website but I thought I’d try. The title of the book is, The Sky Through TheHole In TheBone–A memoir of Greenwich Villge in the forties.It is a story of love, betrayal and the spiritual search. Title is from a quote of Georgia O’Keeffe. First booksigning on Sun. Nov 5, 3-5 pm at Copper Mountain College, Rm.5. Just learning how to send emails so this may not be the right format. Thanks, Savya
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Theatre 29 presents ‘Comics on Patrol’ Saturday, Nov. 4th 8pm Join Theatre 29 for “Comics on Patrol” with five live headlining comedians direct from Hollywood to the Hi- Desert! The comedy in the desert production by Funny Farm productions will be at the John Calveri theater in Twentynine Palms November 4, 2006 starting at 8:00pm. The comedians; Al E. Katz, Kaitlin Columbo, Adam Richmond, Grace Fraga, and Bil Devlin will perform a live “PG” rated comedy show as a fund-raiser for the Morongo Basin’s premiere live theater venue, Theatre 29. Theater 29 is located at 73637 Sullivan Road, just off Adobe and around the corner from Barr Lumber. Theater 29 is a tax-exempt all-volunteer Community Theater. Tickets are $15.00 each and reservations can be made by calling the Theatre 29 Box Office at 760- 361-4151. Theatre 29 seats 92 and these comedy shows usually sell out so early reservations (this is always a great show)
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The 5th Annual Morongo Basin Open Studio Art Tours East End, November 4-5, 9am-5pm The second weekend of the Open Studio Art Tours showcases artists from the east end communities of Joshua Tree, Twentynine Palms and Wonder Valley. This free event provides the opportunity to go on a self-guided tour to artists’ studios for a unique look at their work and creative spaces. Morongo Basin galleries, cafes, music and theatre venues expand the celebration of the arts, holding exhibitions and performances that highlight the diverse talent thriving in our community. A schedule of events will be available in the Open Studio Art Tours program which will also include a color photo of each participating artists’ work complete with a detailed map and driving directions. The Open Studio Art Tour program booklets are available at the following locations: Cactus Mart in Morongo Valley Morongo Hardware in Morongo Valley California Welcome Center in Yucca Valley Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce Joshua Tree Chamber of Commerce

29 Palms Chamber of Commerce In addition, the program is published on-line in the MBCAC website, www.MorongoBasinArts.com . For more information phone the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council at 760.361.1805, or email morongobasinarts@gmail.com

(this tour is a great thing. Every year, I think about cleaning up the studio and becoming a station on the tour, hmmm…maybe next year-)
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WIN A SPOT IN THE ‘BATTLE FOR THE BOAT’ BMI songwriters have the opportunity to win a slot on board the Rock Boat, the world’s greatest floating music festival! The musical celebration will take place at sea Jan. 11-15, 2007, kicking-off in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and sailing to the Caribbean islands of Turks & Caicos. The victor will share the spotlight with bands like Sister Hazel, Better Than Ezra and Collective Soul. The competition, powered by sonicbids.com, offers one lucky winner round-trip airfare to Ft. Lauderdale, one night hotel, and a cabin aboard the Rock Boat with all meals included. For details, go to: http://bmi.com/news/200610/20061031b.asp

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JAMS Announcements-

NOW POSTED AS AN ATTACHMENT FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE

(And mine)
*note, since our attachments editor, Al, doesn’t stay up as late as I do, we will have to cut off announcements for the week at noon on Tuesday.
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comments
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Hey, Hey, Hey…from da constituent,

The Phelps fiasco is one of errors of omission and insufficiency! The omission occurred back in plan check and the insufficiency concerns all of those examining the documents had a back up. The “conditional approval” was based upon all elements being consistent with the towns standard of having a shielded lamp. If for example, Phelps decides to put a flat lens on the existing fixture…the same light will be reflected and they will meet the standard. There exists no wattage accumulative standard in our community. If for example the next 5000 homes do in fact put only one 40watt architectural light at the front door, then it would add 40w X 5000 residential lumens into the night sky or 200,000 watts of light into the local environment.

This all goes to say that protestors are wrong in principal and supported only by the issue of nonconformance of the shielded light requirement. If you want, the real problem is not being addressed and subsequently the glow from the basin will increase as development continues.

This message has been brought to you from a concerned person who is trying to fix the problem and stay away from town hall meetings that amount to mediating tolerance with the public who has failed to understand the protest and how it effects the standards of conformance that mean little to the real issue. Another way of saying this is that the town council knew what it was doing when they enacted the ordinance and again for the record…the staff is not the problem rather every council member since incorporation that has reduced staff to the point of incompetence to deal with the problem.

BTW…from this end we now can see a glow coming from the city of 29 Palms and from the Marine base, sufficient to make out Copper Mountain and the surrounding topographical high points. My point is that it is already too late…except to perhaps have a limit on lights left on after dark. Those needing lights to do night work should pay heavy impact costs to offset the pollution of the night sky. We also need to enforce the ordinance in the residential sector. Also understand that SCE is putting up lights free outdoors (unshielded and excessive) that violate our night sky and have known this for two months.

In Spirit, Ramon (a constituent)
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(do you think it does harm for us uninformed rabble to voice our opinions, even if we don’t understand the problem’s essense??)
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I love it; I was going to send this to you and a few others; you beat me to it.

Good ol’ Jerry Lewis strikes out completely on consumer issues; of course, he strikes out on environmental issues as well–you can pretty well count on that Jerry will vote against virtually anything that would prove to be of service or benefit to the common individuals within his district and our country as a whole. He’s he’s against increased mileage and emission standards for vehicles, but for drilling off our shorline and in the Arctic Refuge. He even voted against the resolution that the House passed with strong bi-partisan support that encouraged their members, when sitting down to negotiate with members of the the Senate to reconcile the differences between their two versions of the military appropriations bill that also contained the amendment outlawing torture, to support the retention of the prohibition of torture in their negotiations–it did remain in the bill, however Bush signed it with a “signing statement” that he would ignore whatever he wanted to ignore whenever he wanted to ignore it. Jerry must be delighted at the success of the recent effort, which does away with habeas corpus and pokes gaping holes in the Bill of Rights–certainly among the lowest steps taken by our government in its history. May future history books accurately enshrine the actions and achievements of our very own Representative to Congress prominently along side the creative achievements of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Gonzales, as well as Frist, Hastert, Ney, Cunningham, Foley, and Pombo, and the rest of those competing heavily for the theme display space in our country’s Hall of Infamy.

Have a great day, Steve,

~Me (Sam)

PS: Thanks for the Ritmo Plug, and also for printing my rant on the lighting fiasco. I copied you in originally primarily because Ted had copied you on his original message that generated my original response. I had considered sending it to the newspaper, as well (might still). I think it’s good that you passed it on to Mr. Phelps; hopefully he will experience a raising in consciousness around the issue when he considers that the situation could have been approached in a win/win context. Isn’t it interesting how our culture has so deeply ingrained and fostered adversarial, competitive, and win/lose thinking that win/win options are mostly overlooked as folks brace up to “stay the course” defending their narrow points of view Actually, as I think about there’s a message in this for each and every businessperson in the community that (I suspect) would in most cases have been overlooked.

Happy on your day,
look at the scores for our reps Please visit Consumers Union today!
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At the meeting, they asked the audience instead of yelling, aplauding or whistling, that we simply raise our hands in agreement. Silence worked, but show of hands was a definite intimidation from some of us! My arm did get a bit tired, but well worth it for the hour I was there. I guess I should have spoken, but figured my parody said most of what I wanted to say and others who DID speak (last night) were such a large pile of paper, it was formidable enough without my input. If there’s another meeting on a Thursday, that’s where I’ll be NEXT time.

Thanks for being one of my inspirations. I choose to be coffee THIS year! May become an egg, but hopefully, it won’t rot before being eaten alive….JVR
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Da Prez wrote: Steve (Swami)-

Another great piece again! Do you mind if I reprint it in the JAMS newsletter? I am glad you are on topic this season.

Hi Steve,
I well remember those starlit desert nights when Trudy and I were staying there! The unconsciousness you write about is the illogical logical conclusion of our clueless separation from nature. Great letter -DA PREZ’Z EDITORIAL FROM LAST WEEK. Maybe on a dark night, invite the dealership guy out to watch the stars via a telescope and maybe he’ll get what you’re talking about.

Feel free to reprint (the Swami’s editorial is the JAMS Attachment this week)… and hope to catch you on the funway one of these days. (Swami) Steve
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(DISCUSSING THE Dixie Chicks documentary- ‘Shut up and sing’) As a former advisory team leader in Vietnam: First with the 748 Montagnard (indigenous force) Company at Ngo Trang - in the Central Highlands, north of Kontum, then at Trung Lap, next to the so-called “Iron Triangle” near Saigon, the idiotic “chicken hawks” who currently control and abuse our great nation, can hardly place me into the peacenick category. But, along with other veterans who fought in Vietnam, unlike the Chickenhawks who flew national guard planes, or ducked out of serving at all through multiple draft deferments that were not available to most Americans, I was horrified that we would blunder into a war I knew would turn out badly for us.

No one would listen to what we had to say on our web pages then, but the Dixie Chicks spoke for all of us who cared for the men in our armed forces, unlike the chickenhawks, who boasted of their courage and might from the safety of their multi-layered security.
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Hey yo, Steve-o ….Great seeing you and Darlene during the Studio Tours … (Thomas and I are recovering) …

I was hoping you would pass on to the good folks who read your newsletter an opportunity to support arts and music education at a grass-roots level. As you know, High Desert Living Arts’ music and art programs for local kids are managed almost solely by volunteers and employ local artists as teachers in a sustainable way. You might not know that our public elementary and middle schools have had their music and art programs cut entirely. How will our children learn creative thinking/problem solving and how to develop dreams into physical reality? HDLAC is doing its best to fill the gap. Learn more at our new website: www.hdlac.org. One $30 membership can provide a child with 25 hours of arts education. Oh, and the first 50 people to join from our website will get one of our hand-thrown, limited-edition HDLAC/JT tumblers (worth $14) along with other benefits. Thanks for doing what you do. Cheers –Amara Alban
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With as many as 15 million Ethiopians dependent on coffee, Ethiopia has decided to get its farmers more of what they deserve. The country’s government has asked Starbucks to sign a licensing agreement that will allow Ethiopia to control the names of its coffees. That way, Ethiopia can help determine an export price that makes sure farmers see a larger share of the profits enabling them to feed their children, send them to school and get them better healthcare.

Oxfam and a coalition of allies are asking Starbucks to sign this agreement. According to one coalition member, control of the name brands could increase Ethiopia’s coffee export income by more than 25 percent - or $88 million annually. This money could go a lot way to help lift millions of Ethiopians out of poverty.

(da prez would go even further and suggest that you patronize the locally owned coffee house-)
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Documents Prove Pentagon Spied on AFSC Events Documents released this month confirm that the Department of Defense (DOD) has been spying on peaceful protesters. The documents reveal that American Friends Service Comittee, a Quaker organization committed to nonviolence, came under Pentagon surveillance on several occasions last year for organizing or supporting peaceful protests. The Service Committee was lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union earlier this year which sought to uncover Pentagon spying targets. The requests were made under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed in the wake of reports that the Defense Department has been conducting secret surveillance of individuals whose only reported wrong-doing was “attending a peace rally.” Read more about the lawsuit >
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Dear NRDC California Activist,

Thanks to your support, NRDC is fighting for the environment every single day of the year. But on November 7, you and other voters will cast ballots that may well determine the fate of California’s spectacular natural heritage.

Please learn more about the following ballot measures, and then vote for California’s environment next week.

== VOTE NO ON 90 == Proposition 90 would make it virtually impossible for California’s state and local governments to do their job of protecting wildlife, wildlands and other natural treasures.

To learn more and to view a TV ad against Prop 90, go to http://www.noprop90.com

== VOTE YES ON 84 == Proposition 84 would invest $5.4 billion to help protect California’s rivers, lakes, streams and coastlines from destructive development and pollution.

To learn more and to view the TV ads for Prop 84, go to http://www.yeson84.com

== VOTE YES ON 87 == Proposition 87 would raise at least $4 billion for clean energy projects to help reduce global warming pollution and cut our dangerous dependence on oil.

To learn more and to view the TV ads for Prop 87, go to http://www.yeson87.org

Please help support our fight by forwarding this message to your friends and family in California. And thank you for standing up for California’s environment on Election Day.

Sincerely,
Frances Beinecke President Natural Resources Defense Council

(the NRDC is my favorite org of it’s type- I have been supporting it for years. Without it, we would have lost a lot more of our world than we have. This is an organization of good lawyers)
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You may want to include this link somewhere in the newsletter…

For a check by the media on the accuracy of pro and con ads for Prop. 87 go here (seems the oil lobby has some difficulty with truth–how unusual): http://www.yeson87.org/page/-/email/FactCheckOnProp87.html
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OIL INDUSTRY THROWS THE BANK AT CA ENERGY INITIATIVE: Californians will vote this year on the Clean Alternative Energy Initiative, which would “impose a wellhead tax on oil companies operating in California” to finance $4 billion towards alternative-fuel vehicles and renewable energy and conservation research. (Watch Al Gore’s new ad for the initiative.) A record-breaking $104.5 million has already been spent on the measure, including over $40 million from oil giants Chevron and Aera Energy, a joint venture of Shell and Exxon Mobil. The oil industry-funded ads have included the “insistent theme” that the initiative would send gas prices spiraling. But as President Clinton asked at a rally for the initiative last week at UCLA, “if they really thought you were going to pay for this, would they really be spending all this money trying to convince you to vote against it?” In reality, UC Berkeley economists and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R-CA) advisers agree the initiative “will create new businesses and tens-of-thousands of good paying jobs,” while improving our energy security and addressing the global climate crisis.
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If you know anyone whom you think would like to receive this newsletter, please have them send me an email to info@new-moon-records.com . Also, lately, some of the big inet providers are filtering out newsletters of this type (blind copied) assuming it is spam. If anyone you know received this publication before and doesn’t receive it now, it is probably for that reason. If you have that problem, you need to set the filtering to allow emails from www.new-moon-records.com through. If you don’t use filtering, just be sure that the address info@new-moon-records.com is in your address book. Finally, if you would prefer to not receive this newsletter, or have received it by mistake, send an email back saying ‘cancel newsletter’ in the heading. Your excuse may be written, if you like, no less than 100 words, in the body of the email.
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“Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it…. “

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