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 career retrospective of works by the children’s author Eric Carle and his “Very” series — all illustrated in his hand-painted tissue paper collage technique — will be at the Family Museum in Bettendorf, Iowa to September 9th.
Eric Carle’s “Very” in IowaHAIL and FAREWELL to the former Penn State soccer coach Walter Bahr— who had been the last surviving member of the US men’s World Cup team of 1950 who defeated England 1-0 (assisting on the game’s only goal), and who was also the father of two-time Super Bowl champion placekickers Matt Bahr and Chris Bahr — who has died at the age of 91.
RECENTLY (with the late setting sun) I made an hour-long road trip to the Drinking Liberally chapter in western Massachusetts (Northampton) which is run by the redoubtable Bill Scher every week.
Drinking Liberally hostI meant to ask him about how his book is selling (which he came to plug personally on a Drinking Liberally tour years ago) … which after the events of the past few days, people have been contemplating doing once again.
First published in 2006Bill had the pleasure of telling me …. it was used as a Double Jeopardy! question.
x YouTube VideoHAIL and FAREWELL to the veteran NBC correspondent Richard Valeriani— who was wounded by racists in the civil rights era, yet was so dedicated a news competitor that the late Charles Kuralt cited him as one reason that he dialed-it-down and began his On the Road segments — who has died at the age of 85.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Ford the Cat— an English kitteh who survived up to 80 miles while wedged in the air vent of a passenger car (and whose tail will need to be amputated) … but otherwise is recovering and will be up for adoption.
Ford the CatENVIRONMENTAL NOTES — with climate change expected to decrease rainfall throughout South America, the practice of several rural Chilean cooperatives called fog-catching— using fog nets to capture droplets from the dense fog that arises from the Humboldt current, yielding up to 140 gallons/day from a 640 sq. foot net — offers hope not only for farmers, but beer brewers as well.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Theo the Hero Cat— an English kitteh who kept a woman awake all night by pawing her face - after she developed a potentially fatal blood clot that (had she went to sleep) she might not have survived.
Theo the Hero CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
FROM THE ARCHIVES — in the run-up to the 1996 GOP presidential primary season (to choose a candidate to run against Bill Clinton’s re-election) the GOP governor here in New Hampshire was Steve Merrill, who was quoted about a then-Senator from Texas:
Merrill said that (Phil) Gramm's low-tax, minimalist government message appealed to him more than those of the other candidates, and he seriously considered backing the Texan. "The problem with Gramm," Merrill said, "is you have to meet the guy."
SEPARATED at BIRTH — TV stars Edie Falco and Ellen De Generes.
Edie Falco: also Nurse Jackie Ellen De Generes Show host...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… while in their original incarnation they didn't last long: the English band Blodwyn Pig played a strong role in the blues-rock scene in the late 1960's. Named by a "stoned hippie just back from the Buddhist trail", they have revived from time-to-time ..... and will always find an audience, if-and-when they do.
They were founded in 1968 by guitarist Mick Abrahams - the original guitarist in Jethro Tull. Not well-known, as Abrahams appeared only on the band's debut album This Was in 1968.
That was definitely a blues-rock album, but creative differences with Ian Anderson (who wanted to take a folk-rock-jazz direction) led to Abrahams leaving Tull where he was (eventually) replaced by Martin Barre, who remained to the end of Tull. (Side note: the first replacement guitarist was Tony Iommi, lasting only a few weeks .... before co-founding Black Sabbath).
Abrahams was joined by multi-reed instrumentalist Jack Lancaster, drummer Ron Berg and bassist Andy Pyle.
Ron, Andy, Mick & Jack (L-R)Their 1969 debut album Ahead Rings Out with its notorious cover was a big success, garnering them tour dates on both sides of the Atlantic. Songs like It's Only Love (a driving blues with Lancaster overdubbing a virtual horn section) and Dear Jill (an acoustic blues that calls to mind Mississippi John Hurt) were offset by jazz-influenced tunes like "The Modern Alchemist" and "Backwash".
Ahead Rings Out: from 1969They released a worthy 1970 follow-up album Getting To This featuring Lancaster's epic "San Francisco Sketches" (based on their touring experiences) and they seemed to have a future.
But the band was hampered by (a) the lack of a strong vocalist, (b) erratic (though often inventive) songwriting, and lastly (c) Mick Abraham's fear of flying as well as his disillusionment with the recording industry (and its lack of support for the band). Abrahams left and without his fiery playing the band eventually did, too: splitting a year later. A re-configuration later in the 1970's failed, as well.
After a noted 1971 solo album, Mick Abrahams for years was out of the music business entirely, and Jack Lancaster became a noted session player and record producer for Phil Collins, Brian Eno and the late Stéphane Grappelli. Bassist Andy Pyle went on to perform in The Kinks, Chicken Shack, Savoy Brown and Wishbone Ash.
In the 1990's, Abrahams got the musical urge back again, recording new solo albums as well as leading his own Mick Abrahams band.
In the past few years, Mick has been suffering from a debilitating bout of meniers disease (an inner ear problem) but was able to do some teaching for slide players that focused on chord tunings and bottle neck techniques. He recovered enough to release a 2015 solo album entitled Revived!— with guest spots by veteran musicians Martin Barre (Jethro Tull), Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) and Elliott Randall (Steely Dan) and featuring some of Mick’s old tunes as well as covers of songs by Chuck Berry, Leiber & Stoller, Jimmy Reed and Alan Wilson of Canned Heat.
In 2010 he released an excellent autobiography— in which he explained that he was not Jewish, as many people assume — and has performed with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull — no hard feelings, after all of these years. Also in the 1990's, he reformed Blodwyn Pig for a 1993 studio as well as a live album - the last of which reunited the original bandmates.
They have gotten together for benefit performances on occasion since - although no longer with original drummer Ron Berg (due to an acute case of arthritis). And interestingly, whenever The Pig reunited: their drummer was Clive Bunker— Abraham's old bandmate from the original Jethro Tull … and thus helped to bring Mick Abraham's career full-circle.
Mick Abrahams in 2016 concertOne reason why Abrahams was disillusioned with the record industry was the band's most famous tune See My Way (not to be confused with The Who song of the same name). This tour-de-force (with an instrumental break reminiscent of Ravel's "Bolero") was left off the debut UK album (in Abraham's words) "by the powers that be" until the second album Getting To This ...... but was included on the US version of Ahead Rings Out for some reason. (There was a nice cover version by — of all people — the late Joey Ramone, twenty-five years later).
Below you can hear the original version from 1969, to understand its popularity.
Need a light to see my hand and I can't help it if I stumble Over those things that I set before me I wanna see... see my wayMake a point of watching my life I can see it's been so wrong Climbing mountains without even looking I wanna see... see my way
Well, I need a friend to help me through when I'm down To pick my body up and carry me home...take me home
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