It's Official, My Music's in Another Movie

I finally got to view Brabara Koppel's made-for-TV film, Woodstock: Now and Then. And, as Randy Brusewitz claimed, my song, The Caper, is played about twenty minutes into the film, right before a commercial break. I really wasn't sure I wanted to believe him, but, there it was (no, not gone...). Or at least, there was about twenty seconds of it, edited for brevity.

I can't believe he could hear that underneath the dialog! I'm both flattered that he was so familiar with my music, and astonished at his hearing!!

Now, let's hope it's worth a couple bucks, eh?

Braggin' Rights??

Well, as it happens, my friends are very creative and masterful musicians. Al Petteway and Amy White, dear friends of ours here in the Asheville area, have had their music placed in the new Ken Burns documentary series, "The National Parks - America's Best Idea". I played on a couple of the songs on the "Land of the Sky" album by Al and Amy. In fact, I'm proud to have been chosen to be the only 'outsider' on that CD!

Anyway, most of the music on the first show, "The Scripture Of Nature (1851-1890)", was Al and Amy's. Bill Mize also has a song placed in the series, but it's not in the first episode.

So, to cut to the chase, if you go here, you can view the show in its entirety. In my 'ego trolling' I made it easy for you to find my itty-bitty part in the show at around 50:50 remaining. The song starts at about 51:30 remaining. And, I made the credits! (about 1:58 remaining) Yay! So, though there's no cash for me (boo-hoo), I do get a bullet point on my press kit, Yay!

Big thanks to Al & Amy for the opportunity to be heard in that cool context!!!

Update: I just found out that same song is played in episodes 2 and 3.

Puerto Rico - Sabado

Annie and I spent a good portion of the day in Lajas with Tata, Yalitsa and Pachi. They have 20 acres and Pachi is raising cattle to support the land taxes and expenses.


Pachi


Cattle and friendly birds


Tata, Annie and Yalitsa


Tata's car


Their pet Iguana that was adopted when only a couple inches long

Tat and Yalitsa took us for a drive around La Parguera


Chickens (Oops!) Roosters and flowers along the road


From the hill above La Parguera


A radar blimp moored - our drug interdiction money 'at work.' Or rather, at the moment the picture was taken, 'at rest'

Later, at the hospital we met up with Sammy's family:


Sammy's grandson (we'll try to get his name soon)


In the background, Lynn Marie, in the foreground (left) daughter of Lynn Marie and (right) Samarilee, Lynn Marie's sister and Sammy's daughter. Samarilee is a volleyball player and has just received some great accolades for her abilities.

And here's Maria Yvette's family:


(Still gotta get the names... Maria on the left)

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at our new favorite Mayaguez restaurant, 'Don Quijote' for a plate of grilled pork chop, mofongo (mashed plantain) and salad. That's a half serving! We split a plate!:


And a local brew:

Another Day with Titi Aida

Annie and I spent several hours at the hospital today holding Aida's hands and keeping her company along with Annie's cousin Sammy. Cousin Carlos and his wife Becky will be staying at the hospital overnight. Though Aida has lost a lot of strength since we arrived, she is still lucid and responsive.

After a short hospital visit this afternoon, we visited San German and grabbed a bite to eat before returning to the hospital. Here I am in a plaza of the old town center. You can see Porta Coeli in the background at the left. It was built in 1606.



On the way from the San Juan airport last Monday, Annie shot this picture through the car window. (Notice the reflection of the road map in the glass.)



Here is Sammy's family including his son-in-law and granddaughter in front.


Here are Pachi's grandchildren:



Here's Annie, Flori and Maria:



That's all for now. It's been a long day and I need some sleep!

Jeff to be Featured Speaker at Custom Woodworking Conference

Way to go, bro! Jeff is speaking at a Woodworking Conference in March:

Among the featured speakers is a pair of professional woodworkers featured separately in CWB, with first-hand experience of operating and selling manufacturing companies. The first is Richard Oedel, a custom furniture maker based in Boston, who was profiled in the November issue. The other is Jeff Ebel, who authored a two-part series on “Selling Your Business” in the May and June issues of CWB.

Check out the details here.

Winter Comes to Asheville

Nothing like Florida in January!

Annie and I spent last week in Jensen Beach, Florida. It was in the low to mid seventies during the days and fifties at night. The ocean temperature was cool but wonderful. I could stay in for a long time once I got "used of it." The swimming pool was heated to 84 degrees!

On the way home we stopped off at Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The trees were festooned with Spanish Moss.

The Coucherpillar

Carly May and Lilly were over at our house on Christmas Eve. Annie said they looked like a two-headed caterpillar when they were lying on the couch wrapped in the afghan that mom gave us. Carly said they were a "coucherpillar!"

Hey Mom! Here's a Look at Our House...

Annie did all the decorating this year and I'm so grateful! She did a great job and our house is nice and cozy with lots of Christmas Spirit. Check out the place of honor for the Ebels 1948 ornament!

Jordan's Fantastic Art!

Okay, I had to call mom to get the link for these. Check out Jordan's cool artwork on Artsonia.com! Here's a beautiful sample:



Congratulations Jordan! I'm your newest fan!!

Merry Christmas!

Would you like to listen to dad's collection of Christmas Albums? Just click here and Pandora will play an amazingly comprehensive collection of songs that are oh, so familiar! Annie typed in "Johnny Mathis Holiday Songs" and this is what came out. Enjoy!

Here are some photos from the Ebel-Lalley household this season:


Our Christmas Tree (thanks to Annie!!)

Friends are the best presents!

Our deck railing one frosty morning...

Chess anyone?

I finally finished it! Wanna play?

Rachaels Book Review

Just wanted to let everyone know that recently Rachael joined the newspaper of her high school, IQ Academy. Her first assignment, which she chose, was to write a book review. Of course I thought it was fantastic (duh!) but apparently so did alot of other people. Her article got chosen for publication in the National High School paper. It is quite an honor since many schools never get an article published since they only take the best articles out of all the high school papers across the nation. She even got in contact with author for the review! Not bad for a first try at writing.
Check out Rachael's review of the "Gemma Doyle Trilogy!"

John

Fire pit

Still working on it, but I think it's turning out pretty nice! Yer all invited to our halloween party to break in the pit!

Jeff's Article, Part Deux

Jeff, you are a good writer! Not bad for a guy who, at one time, was embarrassed by his spelling! So here's a snippet:

So, you are thinking of selling your business. This shouldn’t be hard. If you prepared a good plan going into the business, then you should have a plan to get out of it.

Yeah, I know, and we should exercise daily, lose weight and get more fiber in our diets, too. The fact is: Most people go into business with little or no consideration about how to get out of it some day.

Selling a business is a lot harder than starting one. Only 30% of businesses that are put on the market are sold. These are poor odds, especially in light of the time, energy and money we pour into our companies. More...

Another Cake Decorating Horror Tale

I really liked the story of that cake that I got from Carleen (via a forwarded e-mail from mom)! However, I think Anne's family has the best cake horror story yet. Her father, Joe Lalley, is a devout Catholic and an extraordinarily conscientious and kind man. He donates his time to many charities and was an activist in the desegregation movement.

All the Lalley's, a large Irish family, had gathered on Seabrook Island near Charleston, South Carolina for a reunion. Joe was in charge of getting a birthday cake to celebrate several birthdays at that time. He called the local bakery and requested a cake that read "Happy Birthday from the Clan."

When he went to pick up the cake, an African-American woman met him with a glare as she handed him the cake. On it was written "Happy Birthday from the Klan." Needless to say, he was flustered beyond belief and stammered "That's not what I meant, it's an Irish family, it's a clan with a "C"!

So, the Wal-Mart story is cute, but I think Joe Lalley wins in the "bad-cake-lettering" department!

Jeff Writes Cool Article...

I just read this and think it is exemplary. (Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls!) Read on...

Selling Your Business


Published: May 09, 2008
From Industrial Strength Woodworking Online (www.iswonline.com)

By Jeff Ebel

The former owner of a successful woodworking company shares the lessons he learned when he sold the business.


Beginning in the mid-seventies, I dreamt about starting and owning my own woodworking company. When I actually started a business in 1989, I never dreamed of selling it. But that was the situation I found myself in some 18 years later. And just as owning and operating a business had been a bumpy road for me, so was the selling process. More...

A day at the Biltmore...

OK, so it was cold and windy out. We packed a picnic lunch but the weather would have made it uncomfortable outside. So-o-o-o, we're walking through the conservatory and see this lawn furniture and hear this lovely classical music... (The squeaky sound is a door...gotta get maintenance on that...)