The Perfect Indicator Chili

If ever there was a chili which was perfect for use as a heat indicator graphic it would be this one.

 

The perfect colouration for a heat indicator chili

Seriously Cool! – Firefall – Yosemite National Park

El Capitan is a vertical rock formation near the western end of the north side of Yosemite Valley in Yosemite National Park.  It is an imposing granite monolith extending about 900 metres from base to summit along its tallest face, and is a favourite challenge for rock climbers from around the world.

All very impressive.  But for a brief window of time each February, if the conditions are perfect, something happens which elevates El Capitan from impressive to supernaturally awesome.

That phenomenon is the firefall.

Seriously Cool! – Sting – There’s a Moon Over Bourbon Street Tonight

The Dream of the Blue Turtles was Sting’s first solo album after the disbanding of The Police and whilst it never achieved the commercial success of the Police albums it did climb to #3 in the UK charts.

It is a classic album by any measure of that term with tracks such as Russians, We Work the Black Seam Together and If You Love Somebody Set Them Free.  But as good as all of those tracks are the stand out track on the album in my opinion is There’s a Moon Over Bourbon Street Tonight.

The song is said to be inspired by Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire which was given to Sting by fellow Police band member Andy Summers.

Seriously Cool! – The Damned – Eloise

I first saw The Damned performing Nasty on an episode of the Young Ones back in 1984.  To me they were a revelation. Dave Vanian’s charismatic vocals and presence were like electricity to a young man and I was hooked.  I was a little young to immerse in the whole Goth thing at that stage but I still appreciated their music – a mixture of moody Goth pop with a rock backbone.

Even though their lineup changed after the Young Ones episode with Captain Sensible leaving the band after playing a final concert and being replaced by Roman Jugg who had previously been a part-time keyboard player for the band, The Damned soon after realised their greatest commercial and chart success with a cover of the 1968 Barry Ryan hit ‘Eloise‘.  The song was a sensation and peaked at #3 on the UK charts in 1986.

For me, even though it is not a The Damned original Eloise is the song with which the band is most strongly associated and having received ‘The Damned‘ treatment Eloise does not fail to impress. It is an absolute ripper.

Seriously Cool! – Cold Chisel – Bow River

Bow River is a creek running into the Ord River in the Kimberley Region of the North of Western Australia. Hot, humid diamond mining country the region has been immortalised in song by iconic Australian band Cold Chisel in the song of the same name.

The song features lyrics referring to Bow River as the place to which the hard working character from whose point of view the song is written intends to escape his life of hard toil and subservience to ‘the man‘.

Typical of many Cold Chisel songs this work extolls the Australian values of hard work, hard play and getting out from under the yoke of ‘the man‘ and getting on the road and back to your roots.