Monday, April 16, 2012

San Augustin Water Grab: A Battle Won But Not the War

A Battle Won But Not the War
Cathie R. Eisen
Walking Water Consulting
PO Box 133
Nogal, New Mexico
April 8, 2012

Across the southern states a battle is raging for our most precious resource. The value of water has reached a premium, and it will only increase with time. As the cities and counties of the west continue to grow, so does the need for new water sources to support their ever increasing demands. While the quest for oil is on the forefront of everyone's mind, dollar for dollar, water is by far more valuable. We can live without oil if necessary, but we must have water to survive. During the past few years, several applications have been submitted to the State Engineers Office in New Mexico for the purpose of tapping into the deeper aquifers, waters which were previously deemed unusable and were until now unprotected from such requests. One by one, they have been protested and denied. This is not the end of the effort. Future legislation will support these requests as our cities continue to grow along with the residential demand for additional supplies; water for sanitary and domestic water use is and always will be a priority to developers and communities. The health and welfare of the masses could easily trump the livelihood of the rural ranchers. They are few, rural residents are many.   More at Glenwood Gazette... 

Monday, April 9, 2012

April 28 Writer’s Workshop "Earning Money From Writing" Springerville AZ

Author Steven F. Havill will conduct a six hour writer’s workshop, Earning Money from Your Writing, in Springerville AZ on Saturday, April 28.  Limited to 16 seats (two are already taken!)

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Book Review: Led Zeppelin: Feather In The Wind

Led Zeppelin: Feather In The Wind - Over Europe 1980
compiled by Dave Lewis
Tight But Loose Publishing, Bedford England 2012

Dave Lewis’ Led Zeppelin: Feather In the Wind Over Europe 1980 is the most awesome and comprehensive compilation of rock music tour data I’ve ever seen. In seven chapters and five Appendices, Lewis covers the 14 day final tour of the most seminal and accomplished rock band of all time as they work their way through Europe. Lewis doesn’t just provide the results of second-hand research, he gives the reader the up close and personal, first-hand reports of his own experiences as he lived with the band and listened to the performances from the stage. He provides transcripts of Page, Plant and others’ comments between songs at each performance, summaries of each day’s performance and reviews from the media as well as excerpts from Lewis’ own diaries. The photos alone are worth this 270 page tome, many of them rarely, if ever, seen before, of casual views of the band or shots of the performance from the stage itself.

Keeping with the personal nature of this book, a chapter includes Dave Lewis interviews of people who were backstage with the band – from Led Zeppelin manager Peter Grant, to road crew and techies, to groupies, plus a chapter of “front of stage” recollections of the lucky fans who got to hear the performances. Finally, the Appendices take on the subjects of the bootlegs, memorabilia, tour statistics (yes, finally a list of all Jimmy Page’s guitars and amplifiers in one place!), discography of the final album Coda, and a listing of notes and sources. 

An added bonus: The limited hardback first edition is individually numbered, certified and signed by the author.

This extraordinary book is a must-have for Led Zeppelin fans, be they born well past the last year of Led Zeppelin’s final performance or of an age with the band members today. If you were there, this will bring back fond memories. If you weren’t, this is the next best thing. If you don’t already have your copy, get one immediately!