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 Laramie, Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead. And … If you celebrate it: Merry Christmas.
ART NOTES — the exhibition Who Shot Sports: A Photographic History, 1843 to the Present is at the Grand Rapids, Michigan Art Museum through January 13th.
In Grand Rapids to Jan. 13thPROGRAMMING NOTE — I will be travelling on Saturday, so for those looking at my poll on Sunday …. this diary will have been posted early on Saturday — and thus, there may be some late loser nominations I may have missed. If so: just write-’em-in.
HOLIDAY GIFT IDEA — am a little late, yet eager to offer-up this idea to you, my dear readers …. with Nikki Haley and Michelle Malkin, how can you go wrong?
It’s not too late to order yours: as MAD magazine would say, “Only $5.00 (add’l copies $3.00) … CHEAP”.THE TALK of the RADIO WORLD has been this recent story on the NPR sports show Only a Game — where it was revealed that an Asian-American cat litter scientist met the basketball star Charles Barkley (at a California bar) leading to an improbable friendship … and the WBUR station website (which gets about 2 million visitors a month) saw this story become its most-read story ever.
POLITICAL NOTES — if you use Twitter, the one individual you must follow — if for no other reason than your own sanity — is the historian Michael Beschloss — a regular on Rachel’s show — who unearths historical photos like this (and many from popular culture, as a respite from politics) every single day.
xRunning for Kentucky State Senate in 1951 was beardless Colonel Sanders, before launching Kentucky Fried Chicken: pic.twitter.com/IErT8PBMJW
— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) December 18, 2018IN THE STRUGGLE against non-factual bromides from right-wingers (sent by your uncle Ralph) an unlikely ally for our cause is a Princeton University historian named Kevin Kruse— who decided not to stay in the ivory tower, but to engage on social media … and take on such figures as Dinesh D’Souza, unapologetically.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Shiva the Cat— an Ohio kitteh who went missing last month, leading this seven year-old girl to write, “Dear Santa, Can you find my cat Shiva please. I really miss her. She is black and she is a kitty” … and two weeks later, Shiva was discovered due to her microchip.
Shiva the Cat … reunitedMUSIC NOTES — the Steinway piano that has been kept at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel (until its recent renovations) since 1964 — which belonged to the composer extraordinaire Cole Porter, who wrote some of the 20th Century’s great popular musical standards on it — is now at the company’s factory, where it is undergoing a complete restoration.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Baloo the Cat— a Nova Scotia kitteh who had crawled into a box being shipped across-Canada … discovered safe-and-sound in Montreal by a delivery dispatcher who was curious why one of the boxes was leaking urine?
Baloo the CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC … actually, a four-part quiz of the year’s news — Part One (1st quarter of the year) is available now, with thirteen questions. Will post the others next week.
CHEERS to the legendary Stax Records singing duo Sam and Dave— as Sam Moore will be presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (on behalf of his late partner Dave Prater) at this coming February’s Grammy Awards.
FOREIGN UNCLE-NEPHEW? — Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Trumpster acolyte Stephen Miller (without the spray-on hair).
Vladimir Putin (born 1952) Stephen Miller (born 1985)...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… my annual tribute to a performer that one reviewer declared to be "the most listened-to jazz pianist of all time" and with the Christmas season upon us: it might well be true that Vince Guaraldi achieved that status - in a quiet way - due to a certain comic strip of note.
His breakthrough hit (in more ways than one) was the 1963 Grammy-winning tune Cast Your Fate to the Wind - a gorgeous melody that eight years later the James Gang's guitarist Joe Walsh - later to join The Eagles - worked into a medley (most improbably) with a hard rock song entitled The Bomber in 1971.
In the early 1960's, Vince Guaraldi was successful in the jazz world, yet comparatively unknown to the American public. But that changed - dramatically - with a 1965 cab ride that TV producer Lee Mendelson took across the Golden Gate Bridge. He had already contacted Dave Brubeck and also vibraphone player Cal Tjader about composing for his project (and turned down by both for lack of time).
Just as The Sopranos producer David Chase decided upon his show's theme song - by hearing the UK band "Alabama 3" perform it on the radio - Lee Mendelson heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio in that fateful cab ride.
He asked for help from the noted San Francisco music writer Ralph Gleason (who helped co-found Rolling Stone magazine later that decade) - and was thus able to contact Guaraldi about composing for the upcoming Charlie Brown Christmas special. Just this past weekend, the Jersey City Ballet Theater did a dance version of the special.
Sixteen TV shows (and one feature film) later, the music of Vince Guaraldi is an integral part of the Peanuts experience - with the theme song Linus and Lucy plus the irresistible song Skating among his best-loved Peanuts music. One reviewer noted that Linus and Lucy borrows its syncopation and A-flat key from “Cast Your Fate”. And Guaraldi was a later influence for Gary Burton and Pat Metheny.
As a child, my mother bought the Vince Guaraldi album for me … mistakenly believing it was the soundtrack of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” (and apologizing to me for it) — but I was delighted to be introduced to his music, and it was a stepping-stone (among other recordings) to becoming a jazz lover. When people say there is no Thanksgiving music to speak of — while instrumental (and quite short), Guaraldi wrote Thanksgiving Theme to offer a possible gift to us.
Vince Guaraldi died in 1976 (at only age 47) in-between sets of a gig in Menlo Park California. The musician David Benoit cites Guaraldi as an inspiration, and it's difficult to imagine Peanuts with any other music backing it. If you are a fan of George Winston: he had a meeting with Guaraldi in 1971, saying "He was very gracious and encouraging when I occasionally had the opportunity to play intermission piano between his sets” (a common practice at jazz clubs then).
Some long-lost film archives of Guaraldi were discovered in Ralph Gleason’s attic, and his son has helped restore them for a new documentary The Anatomy Of Vince Guaraldi— seeking to bring it to home video soon.
For the trumpeter Wynton Marsalis "Peanuts" was the only chance to hear jazz on TV in his youth. Wynton was also excited that his pianist father Ellis— the (now 84 year-old) patriarch of the talented Marsalis musical family — knew Vince Guaraldi. "Our father knew somebody who was connected to television!", he exclaimed.
Vince Guaraldi (1917-1976)While most of Vince Guaraldi's work is instrumental: appropriately for the season, the song Christmas Time Is Here had lyrics written by the show's producer Lee Mendelson — who is still alive (at age 85) — for kids to sing. A nice grown-up version was recorded a few years ago by Diane Reeves - the featured nightclub singer in the film "Good Night and Good Luck". And below you can hear Vince Guaraldi's original version.
Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that children call Their favorite time of year
Snowflakes in the air Carols everywhere Olden times and ancient rhymes Of love and dreams to share
Sleigh bells in the air Beauty everywhere Yuletide by the fireside And joyful memories there
Christmas time is here We'll be drawing near Oh, that we could always see Such spirit through the year
x xYouTube Video