A famous author contacted me

Dale M. Titler, author of The Day the Red Baron Died and other books about aviation, recently sent me an email complimenting me about one of the pages I have up about the Red Baron's Fokker Triplane. We have exchanged a couple emails each since then.

The Day the Red Baron Died is a very good read, one of my all-time favorite books. It was published in 1970. Mr. Titler had personally interviewed many of the surviving participants in doing research for that book. His conclusion is that it was the gunners Buie and Evans who shot down the Red Baron.

However the 2003 PBS NOVA documentary Who Killed the Red Baron? presents a case that it was Popkin instead, based on the firing angle and the distance. A long range shot would account for the supposed fact that the fatal bullet was recovered from the clothing of the Baron's body. Buie and Evans fired from point-blank range and the bullet would have probably kept on going if it was one of their bullets that got him.

I mentioned this to Mr. Titler in my first reply to him, after praising him for his work and telling him he is one of my all-time favorite authors. Mr. Titler assures me that he is still personally convinced it was Buie and Evans who shot the Red Baron. Buie was one of the people Mr. Titler corresponded with about this incident. One thing we do agree on is that it was NOT the Canadian pilot Roy Brown. I am still very disappointed that the 2008 German film about the Red Baron made Brown such a major part of the story and gave him credit for the kill.

Before any Canadians start yelling at me, let me make clear that if it hadn't been for the Canadian pilots involved, the Australian troops on the ground wouldn't have had a shot at the Baron. Also, even though Brown's high-speed dive and attack probably didn't achieve the results he was credited with, it may have distracted Richthofen enough to save Lieutenant May's life (the other Canadian pilot who was being chased by von Richthofen). These were brave young men in an awful situation doing the best they could under the circumstances.

Rosetucky did not play at a Superbowl party after all

The tentative halftime jam scheduled for a house party didn't happen. I went with the bass player to watch the Superbowl at the person's house anyway. My favorite part was the short commercial with David Letterman and Jay Leno sitting on a couch watching the Superbowl with Oprah Winfrey between them trying to make peace.

I played guitar and sang solo today at an outpatient house. Besides doing The Who's Won't Get Fooled Again and Pinball Wizard (two songs they played during the official Superbowl halftime show), I also did Boston's More Than A Feeling, The Beatles' Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds and Help!, and several of my original songs including What Can I Say?, History, Running out of Time, Freedom, and Early Morning Hours.

practicing for Superbowl halftime

Rocky and I had another music rehearsal tonight, and Rocky informed me that we might be playing during the Superbowl halftime next Sunday. It might not count as a public performance because it will probably be at one of his friend's houses or possibly at a friend of a friend's house. Still, I'm sure we can easily put on a pretty good show for ten or fifteen minutes. We have much more material than that, but of course we have some songs down stronger than others.

Some songs can be played as is but are being improved upon and will (hopefully) be even better in the future. For example, we are working on Rocky singing some background vocals on my Evolution song and for him to switch off on lead vocals and add some background support to my Red Baron song. I have a part to sing to Rocky's Shit fuck shit song (formerly known as Suicide Doors). Tonight we worked the most on that song because Rocky has added some more lyrics to it. We also played Legalize (one of my songs) and Infection (one of Rocky's, well-played tonight), and worked on the Al Gore Rhythm / Logger Rhythm song that I've been playing since the late 1980s.