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 Walls Turned Sideways: Artists Confront the Justice System— featuring works by artists that address the criminal justice system, mass incarceration, and the prison-industrial complex — is at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston, Texas through January 6th.
In Houston until January 6thHAIL and FAREWELL to the lead singer of the Jefferson Airplane, Marty Balin— and the composer of my favorite love song, Comin’ Back to Me— who has died at the age of seventy-six ……….. and to the veteran Chicago bluesman Otis Rush— the composer of several blues-rock classics ("I Can't Quit You Baby", "Double Trouble", "All Your Love", "So Many Roads", “Homework” et al) who had been in poor health for years — who has died at the age of eighty-four.
YOUR WEEKEND READ is this essay on the subject-at-hand from Adam Serwer— formerly of the American Prospect, now at The Atlantic.
IN THE MIDST of increasing right-wing governance in Poland, the mayor of the Baltic city of Slupsk, Robert Biedron— is gay, secular and favors green policies.
THURSDAY's CHILD is one of those at a Wisconsin shelter where this 75 year-old gent has become The Cat Grandpa— brushing them each day.
The “Cat Grandpa” & kittehAVIATION NOTES — the Australian carrier Qantas plans to order aircraft next year that will enable it to fly non-stop from Sydney to London by 2022 — a distance of some 10,500 miles— the world’s longest scheduled non-stop flight.
A THIRD PARTY in the Canadian province of Québec— the Coalition for Québec’s Future — was expected to do well in the October 1st provincial elections, after emphasizing its unwillingness to favor separation …. that is, until its leader began to support a Trump-like restrictive immigration policy: upsetting business groups as well as the sons and daughters of immigrants.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Boo Boo the Cat— an Alberta, Canada kitteh who was reunited with his family (after going missing for a year) due to his microchip.
Boo Boo the CatA NOTE ON TODAY’S POLL — there are no choices for the Devil’s Triangle situation, as the case has been deferred another week. I’m sure something will show up.
BRAIN 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 what was the longest-running musical play in history, The Fantasticks— and some interesting back stories behind it, including the actor who originally sang the play’s theme song (who had a long-running TV role later in life).
SEPARATED at BIRTH — jazz pianist Dave Kikoski as well as basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird.
Dave Kikowski (born 1961) Larry Bird (born 1956)...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… of all of the R&B singers whose career has been based in the 21st Century, my favorite (and I am a relative latecomer to her work) has to be Macy Gray - in no small part because I hear so many influences in her work (classic soul, jazz and rock music) and a voice that can be sweet, but often has a growly undertow ... all of which makes her sound both unique (eccentric, even) yet familiar. And I'll admit …. that our sharing a September 6th birthday doesn't hurt, either.
Born Natalie McIntyre in Canton, Ohio in 1967, she was exposed to quite a variety of music as previously noted: studying classical piano, listening to Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin, as well as rock'n'roll (with Marilyn Manson in the same grade across town) although she was uneasy about her voice. She enrolled at USC's screenwriting program but wound up writing lyrics for a musician friend's songs, who was scheduled for a recording session one day. The friend failed to show, so Macy sang on the recordings herself - but most were later overdubbed anyway.
Yet in one of those And-history-was-made moments: one of the songs wasn't overdubbed, and it made the rounds of the club scene. This time, her voice attracted attention, leading to work singing in the jazz clubs of Los Angeles. Atlantic Records signed her on the recommendation of A&R man Tom Carolan - but when he left Atlantic, the label dropped her without releasing the album she recorded for them. Add to this a marriage which failed and the birth of her third child ... and she headed back to Canton to re-group.
She returned in 1998 (with her tapes still playing in LA) and was offered a deal with Epic Records (who had her sing back-up on a song from the Black Eyed Peas debut album). And she chose her stage name from one that she saw on a mailbox after she had crashed her bicycle as a child.
She put the time and effort into her 1999 debut album On How Life Is - which (after a slow start) began to catch on and had a modest success with Do Something as a single. Then as critics began to list her album in their holiday shopping guides and especially after winning a Grammy (in "Best Female Pop Vocal") for another single I Try - she became a star.
In addition to her singing (including work with Fatboy Slim and once again with the Black Eyed Peas) she also began working in TV (with appearances in "Ally McBeal", "Blue's Clues" and "Dancing With the Stars"), film (Denzel Washington's "Training Day",2002's "Spiderman", "Shadowboxer" and "Idlewild") as well as celebrity poker (on behalf of Habitat for Humanity), voice-overs for video games and a singer of TV theme songs: all of which her studies at USC helped her prepare for.
These helped, especially since her own recording career plateaued during the middle of the last decade. Her second album The Id - despite a decent hit in the song Sweet Baby - as well as The Trouble With Being Myself garnered decent reviews, but sales peaked early, never reaching the heights that "On How Life Is" scaled.
She rebounded with 2007's Big that moved her somewhat more into the adult contemporary territory (including a duo with Natalie Cole). In 2010 she released her fifth album The Sellout - with the single Beauty In the World garnering some airplay and being used in the finale of the TV series "Ugly Betty".
In 2012 she had two releases: the first (as its name implied) entitled Covered featured her interpretation of songs like the Eurythmics' "Here Comes The Rain Again" plus tunes by Metallica, Kanye West and the Pussycat Dolls. The other was a rather ambitious re-interpretation (forty years later) of Stevie Wonder's album Talking Book - although she considers it a "love letter" rather than a tribute album.
In 2016, she released an album backed solely by a jazz quartet (featuring trumpeter Wallace Roney) called Stripped— that describes its more subdued sound — and includes some re-makes of her earlier work. And earlier this month, she released Ruby— with all new songs, including one co-written with Meghan Trainor. Finally, she also just released a one-minute message on Instagram called White Man….. you don’t need two guesses to know who its intended target is.
Macy Gray (circa 2000) …. …. and much more recentlyOf all of her songs, the first track from her debut album entitled Why Didn't You Call Me? remains my favorite - and below you can listen to it.
We went out one night Everything went right We got something started It was outta sightBy the phone I wait Staring into space Thinking about our first kiss Out on our first date
We had such a good time Hey! Why didn't you call me? I thought I'd see you again
Why don't you call me again? And I'm gonna ask When I see you again Thought you would be my man my lover my friend I never thought it would end so quickly It would end
x xYouTube Video