Infinite Tuesday

Infinite Tuesday: An Autobiographical Riff by Michael Nesmith, 2017

I read this very quickly during a week in July 2017.

This really was a fascinating and wonderful reading experience of a strange and entertaining life. Michael Nesmith was of course on of the original Monkees during their brief period of popularity in the 1960's with their TV show and string of hit songs. Michael Nesmith was much more than a Monkee which this book clearly illustrates. His writing style is very engrossing full of humor, descriptions of music, observations and often with a spiritual perspective.

He was clearly the most talented musician in the Monkees and was the only member of the group to go on and do things in the music world. He wrote many good songs too. This book was definitely not a memoir of the Monkees.

However, probably the most disappointing thing about him and his book was his later life as a Christian Scientist. He wasn't preachy about it but really... and not to be confused with Scientology. There was also an interesting section about his friendship with Douglas Adams. I really always enjoyed his take on country music throughout his career.

I've read a lot of biographies and autobiographies over the past 50 years or so and this is one of the best and particularly from the perspective of the music world.

Northern Lights at Sea

One of the most spectacular memories of my time in the Navy was seeing the Northern Lights at sea. I already talked about seeing the wonderful night sky at sea from the deck of a Navy ship in an earlier post. Seeing the Aurora Borealis was very different from the multitude of stars on a clear night. This was an entirely different cosmic phenomenon that staggered the mind. 

This was also a big deal on a Navy ship sailing the North Atlantic when the Northern Lights were in view. Sailors would come up on deck to view the lights. Sometimes there would be an announcement over the intercom telling the crew there was a light show on deck.

I worked in the engine room and any time I was up on deck for fresh air was something we hole snipes were always looking forward to doing. We especially loved the cooler air on deck at night and looking at the stars on a clear night. Seeing the Northern Lights was something really special.

We would often lay about on the helicopter flight deck smoking joints and watching the sky. Everyone was there for an Aurora Borealis light show which actually wasn't all that common. I crossed the Northern Atlantic four times and at that timer in the early 70's it took almost a week to go from our home port in Virginia to the Baltic Sea and then to the Straits of Gibraltar to enter the Mediterranean Sea which was always our destination. If I remember right I think I saw the Lights maybe five times total during those trips. There really was only a small window of opportunity for us in the North Atlantic as we passed through the area.

Today there are tourist cruises that take people to see the Northern Lights near Iceland and Norway. Sometimes people go and do not get to see them. There is no set time and place to view the Aurora Borealis. I cherish those memories.

Vinyl Spins: The Ice Man

Vinyl Spins: A hot and muggy day. I needed the ice man... The Best of Jerry Butler. This is one of the first albums I got from the new Rhino Records which began as a label specializing in reissues and compilations and of course would go on to be my favorite label for CD box sets.


Jerry Butler was always one of my favorite soul singers going back to his days with The Impressions and continuing through his long and successful solo career. So many great songs that this wonderful LP only hints at but was still an essential addition to my collection at the time.

Night Sky at Sea

I spent three of my four years in the Navy at sea. Gazing at the night sky while on a cruise was one of the most memorable experiences of that time at sea while living aboard a Navy ship. There is nothing like it because these warships cruised dark. They were not lit up like a festive tourist cruise liner. They ran dark and the only light on the decks were subtle red glows near hatches and passageways. The whole idea was to move without being seen which was probably a leftover from the pre-radar days. There were no white lights on deck and just red running lights. This made for spectacular viewing of the night sky.

You could see the sky from every direction and horizon to horizon. There were more stars in the sky then I ever thought was possible and definitely more than I had ever seen growing up in a city. It would also be incredibly bright if there was a full moon. It was amazing how much you could see then.

Our ship had a small helicopter flight deck and we would often lay on our backs there and watch the bright night sky dreaming of home... or at least getting back to dry land.