Dawaun Kassan Morgan (December 17, 1983 - June, 30, 2005)

Marshall Point Lighthouse, Maine
Date: Summer 1995

Not all anniversaries are celebratory events.

Dawaun was only 9 years old and living in Newark, New Jersey when I first met him. After a drive by shooting injured a friend of his, his brave, single mother, packed some suitcases and moved her family to Maine. For the next 12 years I would come to love of him like a son. As he became a teenager, and then a man, he was a rugged individualist (well, he was when he was a kid, too) who liked to do things his own way and would call when he had to, unless you called him first. I guess that's just like a son, isn't it?

He will be always missed, and never forgotten.

Winston Grennan and the Ska-Rocks Band: Savior (Buy It!)

Bom Demais. Danado De Bom.

The Shawnees
Date: Summer 1969

Jorge de Altinho & Dominguinhos: Bom Demais (So Good) (Buy It!)
Luiz Gonzaga: Danado De Bom (Damn Good) (Buy It!)

B.Y.O B(ooks)

West Gouldsboro, Maine
June 28, 2006

I came across this sweet, little library on the way home from a camping trip. Designed by Fred Savage (1861–1924) one of the most influential architects in the development of Mount Desert and northeastern Maine (designing over three hundred buildings).

The Books: Smells Like Content (Buy It!)
Talking Heads: The Book I Read (Buy It!)

I Can't Stand My Life, Without the Cow

Baby Belted Galloways, Aldemere Farm.
Date: June 27, 2006

Life without the cow, no more milk or cheese
No more New York steak, no more fertilizer

No more BBQ, no more leather shoes
No more butter on biscuits, no more Ben and Jerry's

But there is a cow, I see 'em every day
I seem 'em from the freeway in California
I can't stand my life without the cow

Life without the cow, nor more cottage cheese
No more hamburgesas, cowgirls or cowboys

No more saying "Mooo", no more "Cow and Chicken"
No more frozen yogurt, no more big brown eyes

But there is a cow, I see 'em every day
I seem 'em from the freeway in California
I can't stand my life without the cow

Brahman Bull, Caucasian, Guernsey, Black Angus, Beefalo, Belted Galloway, Brown Swiss, Jersey, Corinthian Blonde, Texas Longhorn, Jamaica Red, Florida Cracker

But there is a cow, I see 'em every day
I seem 'em from the freeway in California
I can't stand my life without the cow

- 'Life Without the Cow', ©2004 Moon Man Records

The Kids of Widney High: Life Without the Cow (Buy It!)
David Bromberg: Whoopee Ti Yi Yo (Buy It!)

The Casualties of War

Photograph: Compiled from 2360 images at CNN 'Forces: U.S. & Coalition/Casualties'
Date: July 26, 2006

There have been 2,735 coalition deaths, 2,510 Americans, two Australians, 113 Britons, 13 Bulgarians, three Danes, two Dutch, two Estonians, one Fijian, one Hungarian, 31 Italians, one Kazakh, one Latvian, 17 Poles, two Romanians, two Salvadoran, three Slovaks, 11 Spaniards, two Thai and 18 Ukrainians in the war in Iraq as of June 22, 2006, according to a CNN count. At least 18,572 U.S. troops have been wounded in action, according to the Pentagon.

The full list with names, ranks, and hometowns of the soldiers, Marines, airmen, sailors and Coast Guardsmen whose deaths have been reported by their country's governments can be viewed here.

Three-Five-Zero-Zero (Buy It!)
What a Piece of Work is Man (Buy It!)
The Flesh Failures/Let the Sunshine In (Buy It!)

Slipping Through the Air

Ferry ride.
Date: June 24, 2006

She had a most beautiful voice -- velvet -- and when she walked it was as if she slipped through the air, so that you could not take your eyes off her. Every now and again, for no reason, she liked to run along the corridors, toward who knows what, on those awful white carpets, she stopped being the shadow she was and ran, but only seldom, and in a way that some people, in those moments, when they saw her, were heard to whisper . . .

- Excerpted from 'Ocean Sea' by Alessandro Baricco

Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66: After Sunrise (Buy It!)

Buon Vino fa Buon Sangue*

Philadelphia, PA
Date: Unknown

My grandfather, center, with friends and family.

*Good wine is good for the blood.

Joe Jackson: What's the Use of Gettin' Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)? (Buy It!)
Joe Jackson: We the Cats (Shall Hep Ya) (Buy It!)

All the World's a Fair

Photograph Date: World's Fair 1939

If you had any relatives living in the New York/New Jersey area back in '39, you no doubt have some of these gems laying around the house. If your fortunate enough to have a relative that's still alive that went to the Fair, sit down and ask them to tell you about it. I wonder if the future back then lived up to the hype. What do you think?

Combustible Edison: Utopia (Buy It!)
Leonard Cohen: The Future (Buy It!)

It's Summertime!

Photograph Date: Summer 1961

The Jersey Shore. Wildwood, Seaside Heights, Asbury Park, Manasquan, Sea Girt and Long Beach Island. White sand, big waves, and hot sun. There was no better way to spend the Summer with the family. Have a Happy Solstice!

Jane's Addiction: Summertime Rolls (Buy It!)
The Flaming Lips: It's Summertime (Buy It!)

Rock Island Beauties.

Tintype Date: Unknown

This found tintype shows two of the Rock's most beautiful women from back in the day. The close-up shows adjustments to the original with which the photographer took some creative license. Check out the rouge on their cheeks and golden yellow jewelery accoutrements.

Ursula 1000: Kinda' Kinky (Buy It!)

Flat-Arsed Calm

Date: June 18, 2006