I post a weekly diary of historical notes, arts & science items, foreign news (often receiving little notice in the US) and whimsical pieces from the outside world that I often feature in "Cheers & Jeers".
OK, you've been warned - here is this week's tomfoolery material that I posted.
CHEERS to Bill and Michael in PWM, our Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled Art of Rebellion: Black Art of the Civil Rights Movement will be at the Detroit Institute of Art through October 22nd.
In Detroit — thru October 22ndPROGRAMMING NOTE — there will not be an Odds & Ends next weekend, as I will be at Netroots Nation. If any of you will be attending: I hope we get a chance to meet. Either way, I’ll be back on the following Sunday, August 20th.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Miracle the Cat— pictured alongside Florida charter boat captain Jordan Smith, who saw her tossed off a bridge …. and if unclaimed, will bring her home.
Captain Smith w/MiracleNOT THAT ANYONE HERE needs convincing …… but have a look at the Texas Observer’s story of the 1,300 residents of Von Ormy— who embarked upon a libertarian experiment and found out … well …. err ….. you see, uh ….. umm …
SLOWLY and SLOWLY nations are repealing laws enabling rapists to escape punishment if they marry their victims. The lower house of Jordan’s parliament voted to do so (and is expected to be approved by the upper house and the king). Tunisia recently scrapped a similar law and Lebanon may follow suit.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Baxter the Hero Cat— who awoke a Philadelphia couple to their collapsing row-house, enabling them to escape.
Baxter the Hero CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the last all-white teams to win championships in certain college and pro leagues … and the times they represented.
SEPARATED at BIRTH — since I regularly feature this concept: well, it’s only fair to show the person I have been compared to more than anyone else: Florian Schneider (of the German band Kraftwerk) and …. yours truly (although I can’t find a pair of photos of us at the same age).
Florian Schneider Your correspondent...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… again, a hectic week: but I enjoyed featuring some new music last week, and this week, here is a mini-look at two female performers (of blues/soul/country/roots) I’ve been listening to on the radio who are not newcomers — yet are deserving of wider recognition.
I found myself enjoying the country-blues music of Shannon McNally— and then was delighted to learn that she grew up in the next-town-over from me on Long Island, NY. She has been a recording artist for twenty years, paying her dues along the way (and taking time off for childbirth, divorce and being a caregiver).
After turning age 44 (on St. Patrick's Day, appropriately) the current Mississippi resident released her latest album Black Irish— produced by the intrepid Rodney Crowell — and has an upcoming tour later this month that winds-its-way to Europe in mid-October. Here is a tune from it, You Made Me Feel for You.
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Someone else with a musical journey with twists-and-turns is Amy Black— who grew-up in both Missouri and Alabama, when her family relocated to Austin, Memphis ... actually Boston, where she graduated from Northeastern University and sang at open mic nights while pursuing a marketing career…. until she decided to leave the day job and go-for-it.
After releasing two albums (including one named after Alabama's famous Muscle Shoals recording studio) she relocated to Nashville in 2015. Her latest album is named Memphis because … well, you can guess. At age 45 she just finished a tour, and has only one show currently on her calendar (August 9 in Chicago along with Delbert McClinton) — but that will certainly change.
From her new album, I like her treatment of an old blues classic, Further On Up the Road— that Bobby “Blue” Bland first made famous … sixty years ago.
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