Elite Jogging For Dummies

43 degrees outside this morning.  Long sleeve and light gloves, but otherwise great weather. Just a little bit of rain toward the end.  I thought that Emigration Canyon might be cold or windy, but it was very nice, great colors.  I ran up to the Donner Hill monument.  

 I think I'll devote the rest of today's entry to country music legend Hank Williams. I'm not a country music fan in general, but I think his songs are incredibly authentic. Hank Williams is kind of the the Steve Prefontaine of the country music world (I am sure no one has ever written that sentence before):

On a warm night in June, 1949, with his first number one record spilling out of radios across the country, a frail young man walked onto the stage of Nashville's Ryman Auditorium for his Grand Ole Opry debut. Behind him lay nearly a decade of struggle and rejection in pursuit of this goal; ahead, a little more than five years in the limelight.

By 1953, literally worn out at twenty-nine, Hank Williams was gone. But he had given country music much of its standard repertoire, a new definition of stardom and a legend so enduring that he is still the model for countless singers and songwriters.

Born in Mount Olive West, Alabama (near Georgiana) on September 17th, 1923, Hiriam was the second child of Lon and Lillie Williams. Lon, a WWI veteran, was hospitalized during most of Hank's early life, leaving the boy's upbringing to his strong-willed mother. Small and fragile from the beginning (and afflicted with spina bifida), Hank may well have gravitated toward music as an alternative to sports. While living in Georgiana, he befriended Rufus Payne, a black street musician known as "Tee-Tot".

Years later, Hank would say that Payne had given him "all the music training I ever had", and most biographers consider Payne the source of the noticeable blues thread running through Hank's music. Hear a sample of "Long Gone Lonesome Blues"

At sixteen, living in Montgomery, Williams quit school and began his music career in earnest. He had made his first radio appearance on WSFA in late 1936 or early 1937, and would soon become one of the station's most popular performers. He also worked beer joints and regional shows with his band, already named the Drifting Cowboys. Lillie drove the group to venues in her station wagon and collected gate money. By the early 40s, Hank was one of the biggest draws in the region, and had come to the attention of several Nashville artists and music business luminaries. But his reputation as a singer was already matched by the one he'd built for drinking and unreliability. Most considered him an unsafe bet.

In 1943 Hank met Audrey Mae Sheppard, an Alabama country girl with a two-year old daughter, Lycrecia, from a previous marriage. Audrey learned to play stand-up bass (well enough, anyway, to play in the band) and began acting as manager.

They were married in December, 1944. She desperately craved a singing career, pushing for inclusion in the show at every chance. Her ambition, however, far exceeded her talent. Audrey would vie with Lillie for Hank's attention throughout the relationship. In 1946, she accompanied her husband to Nashville to meet publisher Fred Rose.

Rose, in partnership with Roy Acuff, ran a successful "hillbilly" publishing concern (Acuff-Rose, later a giant in the industry) and at first was interested in Williams only as a writer. (Hank had begun writing songs shortly after he started singing and playing guitar, and sold songbooks at his club appearances.) Within the year, however, Rose had made Hank's singing career a pet project, and arranged for him to record four songs for the Sterling label. In March 1947, in a deal engineered by Rose, Hank signed with MGM.

"Move It On Over" was his first MGM release and his first "Billboard" chart entry. He charted again in April, 1948 with "Honky Tonkin". Back home in Montgomery, Hank seemed poised for stardom; his regional popularity was higher than ever, bolstered now by his recording success. But he had entered the low arc of a repeating cycle that would haunt him for the rest of his days. More often than not, he showed up drunk (if at all) for live appearances, and was increasingly difficult for even his best friends to be around. Many, including Rose, gave up in frustration. Audrey filed for divorce in late April. With the big-time nearly in his grasp, Hank Williams was bottoming out.

Hank's story could easily have ended there, but the Williamses reconciled, the relationship with Rose was mended, and Rose set about finding an avenue for greater exposure. Decision makers at the Opry were still wary, but KWKH in Shreveport, Louisiana was interested in the emerging star for their Saturday night jamboree, the Louisiana Hayride, and Hank joined the show in August. "A Long Gone Daddy" had recently reached number six, but his next four releases failed to chart, and a fifth, "Mansion On The Hill," stopped short of the top ten. KWKH's fifty-thousand watts were putting Williams in living rooms all across the eastern US every Saturday night, but his records were falling flat.

Had he peaked? Was he, after all, only middling-star material?

Nearly fifty years later, in a world where today's icon is tomorrows inconsequential, it is difficult to imagine a song so igniting radio listeners that it holds the top spot on the charts for sixteen weeks. No one in Hank's circle wanted him to waste time or tape on "Lovesick Blues". The song was a throwaway, they said; a piece of fluff that was more likely to damage his career than to enhance it. Hank was insistent, though, and the song was given two quick passes at the end of a session. Released in February, 1949, it was number one -and more- by early May. "Lovesick Blues" was an "event"; popular beyond precedent, imagination or belief. And, suddenly, Hank Williams was big. Big enough, at last, for the Opry.

With success came increased creative freedom. Hank's "mainstream" songwriting and recording efforts continued to do extremely well, but he also delved into remorseful gospel themes and a series of recitations under the transparent pseudonym "Luke The Drifter". Hank the writer often seemed preoccupied with mortality and the futility of human relationships- his marriage to Audrey was now in steady decline, and those who knew him could easily see the real-life parallels in songs like "You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave), "Why Don't You Love Me" and "Cold, Cold Heart". Clearly, here was a man displaying his demons for all to see. Hank didn't have to "interpret" sad songs; he had only to sing from his heart.

For a time, fame and fortune staved off the consequences of his self-destructive lifestyle. By mid 1952, however, his life was coming apart at the seams. Audrey had filed for divorce again, this time for good. Wracked with back pain, he was dependent on alcohol and, it is believed, morphine. Often missing or too drunk to perform at curtain time, he was fired by the Opry, and headed back to the Hayride in Shreveport. In his final weeks, Hank spun hopelessly out of control. Even his marriage to pretty young Billie Jean Jones couldn't slow his headlong plunge. Sometime after midnight on New Year's Day, 1953, sleeping in the back seat of his Cadillac en route to a show, Hank Williams fulfilled the prophecy of his own "I'll Never Get Out Of This World Alive".

Three of Hank's recordings reached the top of the charts in the year following his death. By 1954, his earthly voice silenced, the fragile young man from Alabama was only a legend. But in his last few torrid years, he had changed country music forever and his musical legacy remains its cornerstone.  (from http://www.hankwilliams.com).

Workout with the Black Sheep at East High track.  John Straley coached today.  We ran a long  ladder, up and down: 400/600/800/1000/1200/1000/800/600/400.  We had 200m recovery between each. I wanted to run with enough intensity to feel the legs move, but not so much to do any damage.  Josh ran very well today and was 5 seconds ahead on most intervals. I don't have my watch with me to plug in times, but paces were generally 77-79 per quarter.  I ran 72 on the last 400 and that felt easy, considering it was the end of the workout.  

Easy run this morning; U of U, upper Avenues, Memory Grove. I felt slug slug sluggish for the first 5 miles. Then biobreak and all was well after that.

 I will devote the rest of today's entry to the wikipedia explanation of a Harvest Moon, which was in full effect this morning:

 
The Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest to the autumnal equinox, which occurs (in the northern hemisphere) on or about September 23rd, and in the southern hemisphere on or about March 21st. Its physical characteristics - rising time, path across the sky - are similar to those of the Hunter's moon.

All full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible. The full moons of September, October and November as seen from the northern hemisphere - which correspond to the full moons of March, April and May as seen from the southern hemisphere - are well known in the folklore of the sky. All full moons rise around the time of sunset. However, although in general the moon rises about 50 minutes later each day, as it moves in orbit around Earth, the Harvest Moon and Hunter's Moon are special, because around the time of these full moons, the time difference between moonrise on successive evenings is shorter than usual. In other words, the moon rises approximately 30 minutes later, from one night to the next, as seen from about 40 degrees N. or S. latitude, for several evenings around the full Hunter's or Harvest Moons. Thus there is no long period of darkness between sunset and moonrise around the time following these full moons. In times past this feature of these autumn moons was said to help farmers working to bring in their crops (or, in the case of the Hunter's Moon, hunters tracking their prey). They could continue being productive by moonlight even after the sun had set. Hence the name Harvest (or Hunter's) Moon.

The reason for the shorter-than-usual rising time between successive moonrises around the time of the Harvest and Hunter's Moon is that the ecliptic - or plane of Earth's orbit around the sun - makes a narrow angle with respect to the horizon in the evening in autumn.

The Harvest Moon can come before or after the autumnal equinox. It is simply the full moon closest to that equinox. About once every four years it occurs in October, depending on the cycles of the moon. Currently, the latest the Harvest Moon can occur is on October 8. Between 1900 and 2010 the Harvest Moon falls on October 7 in 1930, 1949, 1987, 2006, and on October 8 in 1911.

Many cultures celebrate with gatherings, festivals, and rituals that are intricately attuned to the Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon.

It is claimed by some that the Harvest Moon seems to be somehow bigger or brighter or yellower in color than other full moons. This is an illusion. The yellow or golden or orangish or reddish color of the moon shortly after it rises is a physical effect, which stems from the fact that, when you see the moon low in the sky, you are looking at it through a greater amount of atmosphere than when the moon is overhead. The atmosphere scatters the bluish component of white moonlight (which is really reflected sunlight) but allows the reddish component of the light to travel a straighter path to your eyes. Hence all moons (and stars and planets) look reddish when they are low in the sky.

As for the large size of a full moon when seen low in the sky, it is true that the human eye sees a low hanging moon as being larger than one that rides high in the sky. This is known as a Moon Illusion and can be seen with any full moon. It can also be seen with constellations; in other words, a constellation viewed low in the sky will appear bigger than when it is high in the sky.

The Harvest Moon is also known as the Wine Moon, the Singing Moon and the Elk Call Moon. In myth and folklore the full moon of each month is given a name. There are many variations but the following list gives the most widely known names:

• January - Wolf moon
• February - Ice moon
• March - Storm moon
• April - Growing moon
• May - Hare moon
• June - Mead moon
• July - Hay moon
• August - Corn moon
• September - Harvest moon
• October - Hunter's moon
• November - Snow moon
• December - Winter moon

The third full moon in a season with four full moons is called a blue moon, as described in the Maine Farmer's Almanac. Until recently it was commonly misunderstood that the second full moon in a month was the blue moon. However, it was recently discovered by Sky & Telescope Magazine and reported on NPR that the interpretation of a blue moon as the second full moon of the month was erroneously reported in an issue of Sky & Telescope dating back to 1946 and then perpetuated by other media.

Radda run. Nice to be back running in Holladay.  Met up early with Aimee and Casey for two miles, then joined the group at 6am.  Ran easy through the neighborhoods up to Wander Lane. Ran two marathon effort miles on the rolling hills: 6:03 and 6:01.  Felt easy, as it should.  Cooled down back to Radda for 9.5 total.

Easy run through U, Federal Heights, Avenues.  Beautiful morning to run.

I'll devote the remainder of today's entry to the influence of the German band Kraftwerk on electronic music:

 K R A F T W E R K

Group formed in: 1970, Dusseldorf, Germany
Members: Ralph Hutter Florian Schneider Karl Bartos Wolfgang Flur

Very few groups can claim to be more seminal than Kraftwerk, which was formed in the early 1970s but continued to have an enormous impact in the late 1990s. To say that the German group was way ahead of its time is no exaggeration - Kraftwerk built its sound around electronic instruments at a time when many rock and soul artists had never even touched synthesizers or electronic drums.

But as the 1970s progressed, more and more artists were getting hip to Kraftwerk's innovations - and its impact could be heard in recordings by Giorgio Moroder, David Bowie and Tangerine Dream. The list of artists Kraftwerk influenced is amazingly long, but suffice to say that everyone from Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Zapp/Roger Troutman, The Egyptian Lover, Whodini and The System to Throbbing Gristle, Bauhaus, The Human League, Depeche Mode, The Shaman, Skinny Puppy and New Order was directly or indirectly influenced by Kraftwerk. From hip-hop, disco, Latin freestyle and house to new wave, industrial noise, alternative rock, techno and gothic, Kraftwerk's influence seems unending.

All of Kraftwerk's seminal 1970s albums fall under the heading of "essential." Trans-Europe Express (1977) and The Man Machine (1978) are gems, as are such groundbreaking efforts as Kraftwerk 2 (1972), Autobahn (1974) and Radioactivity (1975). The impact of these classics was still being felt in the late 1990s. Unless electronic music goes away (which is most unlikely), Kraftwerk's direct or indirect influence probably won't be decreasing any time soon.

 (from http://www.globaldarkness.com/articles/kraftwerk_bio.htm)

Early run in Millcreek Canyon, tried to beat the arriving storm and mostly succeeded.  Ran from 2 miles above the gate down to Burch Hollow, out to the overlook, and back to Burch.  Picked up the pace on the return, trying to beat the weather. Stayed pretty dry.