Alameda Point Trees Clear Cut.

What a sad day for Alameda.
The chainsaws started early on Barbers Point Rd., followed closely by the angry whine of the chipper as it tore up the 20 plus trees that used to enrich our little neighborhood. Just under two acres of rich habitat for wildlife and the enjoyment of neighbors was turned into an ugly flat empty lot in under 7 hours. I guess it is typically human to destroy nature in the name of progress. I find it particularly ironic that this destruction was carried out by Ploughshares Nursery, our neighborhood organic nursery that specializes in California native plants. It also is ironic that Ploughshares and their parent organization Alameda Point Collaborative didn’t bother to talk to their neighbors because they didn’t have to. You see we are all renters here on Barbers Point Rd. so the planning process treats us as if we don’t exist. But at least we have a voice and can protest the degradation of our neighborhood and speak out for replacing all the trees that were cut down.
But there are others beings whose neighborhood has been destroyed and they don’t have a voice. This land was extensively used as habitat and feeding ground by Redtail hawks, Great Blue Herons, hummingbirds, Redwing Blackbirds, Jack Rabbits, gophers, House Finches, Mockingbirds, Blue jays, Crows, and large numbers of LBBs (Little Brown Birds). This is not by any means a complete list; it just covers the most visible of the many animals that use this land for food and shelter. This two-acre area between Barbers Point Road and Main St. was what is called an edge environment. An edge environment tends to have both trees and open field. This combination provides food and shelter for a wide range of animals making a particularly rich environment that supports more wildlife than either an open field or a fully wooded area. In an intensely urban area like Alameda the loss of this much wildlife habitat is particularly troubling. Because open space is at premium here it is not easy for wildlife to move to another place for food and shelter. This is compounded, especially for birds, by it being the middle of winter. Because of the cold and wet conditions, this is a time of year when food and shelter are particularly important for our resident birds.
I’m asking my neighbors and fellow residents of Alameda to help me speak out on behalf of the wildlife that have no voice to speak for themselves. With some careful planning and effort this land can accommodate both the wildlife and Ploughshares expansion plans. I encourage you to take a minute and call the numbers below. Please ask Alameda Point Collaborative and Alameda City Planning to prepare and implement a tree replacement plan as soon as possible. This is something they should have done in the first place rather than being encouraged to do it after the fact. With a little input from you this land can continue to support a large and diverse bird and animal population. Time is of the essence here; it is important that A.P.C. act soon to remediate the environmental damage that clear cutting this lot has caused. Please call Doug Biggs at Alameda Point Collaborative/Ploughshares at 510-898-7849 or dbiggs@apcollaborative.org and ask him to replace all of the trees that were cut down. Also please call Mr. Andrew Thomas of the Alameda City Planning Dept. at 510-747-6881 or athomas@ci.alameda.ca.us and ask him to look at the situation and help with a remediation plan. If you are directed to voicemail, do leave a message and do ask for a call back. Please be polite but firm, these are not bad folks, they are just folks who made a fixable mistake. So lets make sure they do fix it.
Thanks in advance for your help.

A BIT OF JETHRO TULL

A slice of an interview with Ian Anderson from 2004 with some concert footage from Isle of Wight 1970. A good place to start.


Skating Away...


Farm on the Freeway (Live in Istanbul July 13th 1991)


A song for Jeffery (from the Rolling Stones circus 1968)




We Used to Know (1969 Remind you of Hotel California? The story goes that the Eagles toured with Jethro Tull and were inspired by this song to lay down Hotel California. Don't know if it's true or not but there is definitely a family resemblance.



A little bit of Tull makes the medicine go down. Hope you like it.

FRIDAY'S VIDEO TEN AT TEN.

01/25/2008 - FRIDAY!!! A ten tune visit to...1972!!!
1.	David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
2.	Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes
3.	Uriah Heap - Easy Livin'
4.	Mark Almond - The City (BEST OF SET!!)
5.	The O'Jays - 992 Arguments
6.	Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water
7.	Leon Russell - Tightrope
8.	Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress
9.	Al Green - Love & Happiness
10.	Rod Stewart - Handbags & Gladrags David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust (Can you say glamrock?) Mott the Hoople - All the Young Dudes Uriah Heap - Easy Livin' Mark Almond - The City The O'Jays - 992 Arguments Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (1,716,256 views on Youtube. Anybody know when and where this was?)

Leon Russell - Tightrope (video mashup over the track)


Bonus Leon Russell just because it's too good to pass up. Yes that is really Leon Russell with short hair circa 1964. If you look at the eyes and nose you can see it.


Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress


Al Green - Love & Happiness (I had a clip of a young Al Green on Soul Train but it got taken down. Bad timing I guess. So now we have Al in concert in memphis.)


Rod Stewart - Handbags & Gladrags


And just because I hate what Rod Stewart became in old age here is the original version of the song as it charted in 1967.


So that didn't turn out too bad. We got something for every song and a couple bonus historical cuts as well. That Leon Russell clip is almost 44 years old. Just as a point of interest, YouTube often has lots of extra material about artists that appear here. I can't post it all cause... well I'd never get the blog posted and it is a little off focus for what I'm doing here. However, if you see something here by an artist you like, by all means hit YouTube and see what else there is. Everybody have a good weekend and we'll pick this up on Monday.

NO TELECOM IMMUNITY. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is doing a very cool political action. They are asking folks to take a picture of themselves with a sign that shows where they are from (City and State) and makes a short statement against retroactive telecom immunity in the FISA bill that is being debated in the Senate today and monday. The banner below will take you to EFF's page for this action.



Flickr has a very cool photo pool of folks who've already done this if you need some inspiration. This is not a time to sit on your ass in America folks. If you want your country back you have to speak up for it.

Being politically active in America is easier now than at any time in the past. For instance, I sent emails to 14 Senators yesterday urging them to vote against Telecom immunity in the FISA bill that is being dealt with by the senate today and Monday. Every Senator has a webpage with a contact form. You can look up Senators at the Senate.Gov website. There is a searchbox in the upper right corner of the page. You just enter your senator's name, click on the top entry in the results and you will be at their official webpage. Then you look for the contact button, it usually will be at the top of the page, left side, or all the way at the bottom. You click the contact button and you are on their webmail contact form. Generally they want you to fill in your name, address, and email. Then pick a generic subject area from a drop down menu, paste in your text and hit send. If you are doing multiple contacts I suggest you whip out a general statement on the subject you are concerned about. You can copy and paste the text to save time. Be polite, be concise, be persuasive. Congratulations, you have just become politically active. Didn't hurt a bit, did it?

Video Ten at Ten for 1/24/2008

A little more video mashup featuring KFOG's ten at ten goodness sprinkled over Youtube video madness. MMM MMM Good.

01/24/2008 - Thursday! Later in the 70's...1977!!
1.	Lynyrd Skynyrd - I know a Little
2.	Klaatu - We're Off You Know
3.	Steve Miller Band - Swingtown
4.	Little Feat - New Delhi Freight Train (BEST OF SET!!)
5.	ELO - Telephone Line
6.	Foreigner - Cold As Ice
7.	Greg Kihn - Madison Avenue Man
8.	Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23
9.	Bee Gees - Boogie Child
10.	10cc - Good Morning Judge

Lynyrd Skynyrd - I know a Little

Lynyrd Skynyrd - I Know a Little
Uploaded by pxxxfxxxxr

Klaatu - We're Off You Know (No youtube, no google, no nothing.)

Steve Miller Band - Swingtown


New Delhi Freight Train (No little feat but how about a vid of the song's composer Terry Allen performing his song. Good bio on this guy if you google him.)


ELO - Telephone Line


Foreigner - Cold As Ice (with five seconds of Billy Joel at the start)


Greg Kihn - Madison Avenue Man (Nada, No where, No how)

Brothers Johnson - Strawberry Letter 23 (youtube also has the original by Shuggie Otis)


Bee Gees - Boogie Child (You'll either hate this or it will make you laugh)


10cc - Good Morning Judge

Video Ten at Ten for 1/23/2008

Gene Loves Jezebel - Love & Desire
John Cougar Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow
XTC - Summer's Cauldron
Dire Straits - So Far Away
INXS - What You Need
Eric Clapton with Tina Turner - Tearing Us Apart
Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene
Timbuk 3 - Hairstyles & Attitudes
Bruce Springsteen - War (BEST OF SET!!)
David Lee Roth - Ladies Night in Buffalo

Gene Loves Jezebel - Love & Desire

John Cougar Mellencamp - Rain on the Scarecrow

XTC - Summer's Cauldron (Sorry, no love from Youtube on this one. There is lots of other good XTC vids on youtube however.)

Dire Straits - So Far Away


INXS - What You Need


Eric Clapton with Tina Turner - Tearing Us Apart


Blow Monkeys - Digging Your Scene


Timbuk 3 - Hairstyles & Attitudes (Nope, if anyone has this one don't be shy)

Bruce Springsteen - War


David Lee Roth - Ladies Night in Buffalo


As always let me know if you have a source for any missing videos. A big vote of thanks to Dave Morey and KFOG for many years of the ten@ten snapshot of America's musical history.