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 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 — bronze works by the dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in an exhibition entitled Circle of Animals are at the the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to January 3rd.
Ai WeiWei exhibit in WYHAIL and FAREWELL to the former New York Philharmonic conductor Kurt Masur — born in a part of Germany that is now in Poland, and who organized free concerts around Ground Zero following the 9/11 attacks — who has died at the age of 88.
ATTENTION HOLIDAY SHOPPERS — in the spirit of last-minute gift-giving, here is my annual pitch for the Great American Conservative Women’s Calendar — with the usual suspects (Malkin, Bachmann, et al) being joined by the likes of Joni Ernst but (unlike last year) …... no Duggar women.
Not available in any store!LAST NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at a beloved foreign language professor, John Rassias who died earlier this month … and how taking one of his summertime immersion programs (fourteen years ago) ….. stays with me to-this-day.
PROGRAMMING NOTE — due to holiday travelling, there will not be an Odds & Ends diary next weekend. If you celebrate it, Merry Christmas. And to all: I will return over the New Year’s weekend to start 2016 with you.
THURSDAY's CHILD is named the Boston SWAT cat— a stray who became the mascot of that city’s police force SWAT unit, and has now gone missing.
Missing calico kittehSUNKEN TREASURES when located centuries later can lead to disputes among nations, such as the recent discovery (off the coast of Colombia) of the Spanish galleon San José— sunk by the British navy in 1708.
FOR EVERYONE who has labored over the process of changing motor oil — and the environmental effects of it — a new development offers hope for the future …. a plug-in oil cartridge that takes around 90 seconds to replace.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Miyu the Hero Cat— an Iowa kitteh whose meowing (heard via a baby monitor) alerted a family to an electrical fire that severely damaged their home, but who were able to escape (including their two children) safely.
Miyu the Hero CatBRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
SEPARATED at BIRTH — two veteran actors known especially for their roles in science fiction and horror films: Tom Atkins (“Escape from New York”, “Creepshow”, “Night of the Creeps”) and the late Christopher Stone (“The Howling”, “Cujo”).
Tom Atkins (1935 — ) Christopher Stone (d. 1995)...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… which is my annual Yuletide ode.
One reviewer called him "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.
In much the same way that 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 cab ride. He asked for help from the noted 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.
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.
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.
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 81 year-old) patriarch of the quite talented Marsalis musical family - knew Vince Guaraldi. "Our father knew somebody who was connected to television!", he later exclaimed.
A younger Vince Guaraldi ... … later in life. 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 for kids to sing. A grown-up version was recorded a few years ago by Dianne 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 yearSnowflakes 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 YouTube Video