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Odds & Ends: News/Humor (with a "Who Lost the Week?" poll)

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.

ART NOTES — an exhibition entitled Medieval Monsters: Terrors, Aliens, Wonders will be at the Cleveland, Ohio Museum of Art through October 6th.

  At the Cleveland Museum of Art

SPORTING NOTES — while most fans of the US Women’s World Cup team know Megan Rapinoe for her recent play (and outspokenness about …. you-know-who) …. I believe she’d still describe this pass in the 2011 World Cup — known as The Cross— as the best play she ever made (even though they lost the title match that year).

IT IS STILL difficult in China to be openly gay and even more so to be a cross-dresser …. with one exception: if you affect the look of a female Chinese opera star (which in the distant past were portrayed by men). For one example, as featured in the 1993 film “Farewell, My Concubine”.

THURSDAY's CHILD is named Delilah the Cat who is being held by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR). Delilah is one of two kittehs visiting Capitol Hill who were among those spared when Merkley and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) — now that’s bipartisanship — helped shutdown an Agriculture Dept. animal vivisection testing lab earlier this year.

          Delilah the Cat

MUSICAL NOTES — a recent Showtime network documentary of the record producer Rick Rubin— who guided Johnny Cash’s comeback, to hip-hop, the Dixie Chicks and Adele, to name a few — traces his career from his 1984 Greenwich Village dorm to his famed Malibu studio and even shows a building on the property that used to house TV’s talking horse …. Mr. Ed. 

FRIDAY's CHILD is named Dooley the Cat— a Connecticut kitteh who was returned to his family (after going missing for three years) when detected by an animal control officer (after seeing Dooley scarf-down two cans of food) and whose microchip was the final touch.

          Dooley the Cat

LAST NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at an upcoming travelling art exhibit that will reunite five paintings meant to be viewed in a series — by the Venetian painter Titian— for the first time in 315 years.

BRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.

Programming note: I posted this poll early (due to weekend travel) so any Saturday/Sunday late entrants may not have made it here … just write-in names.

Reader Suggested SEPARATED at BIRTH from Audri— TV star Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones, Breaking Bad) and the Northern Ireland stage actress Laura Donnelly (The Ferryman) — whaddya think?

Krysten Ritter (b. 1981) and Laura Donnelly (b. 1982)

...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… regular readers know that I normally profile veteran musicians: not only reflecting my age, but also their having a career-long retrospective angle that I find appealing.

But a thirty-four year old singer-songwriter is causing an exception: as Melody Gardot not only has an incredible story of recovery – nearly dying on the streets of Philadelphia – but also has a wonderful voice (think of Norah Jones, Madeleine Peyroux, Nancy Lamott and Eva Cassidy) and unlike the names mentioned, also a gift for songwriting (more like Laura Nyro).

Born in southern New Jersey, she came of age in the Philadelphia area and played piano in area nightclubs by the time she was 16. Back then, this was simply a hobby: and she was on her way to a career in the fashion business (studying at the Community College of Philadelphia) at age nineteen in 2003, riding her bicycle one November day.                 And then.

A vehicle ran a red light and struck her although, contrary to some accounts, she was not left-for-dead (had the driver not stopped, she knows she would not have survived). The accident left her with not only direct injuries (a cracked pelvis, head and spinal injuries) but also neurological damage – to the point where she is sensitive to loudness and to light, and needs to wear tinted glasses as well as have a cane (less to walk with than in case of a bout of vertigo, which can arise suddenly).

Bedridden for over a year, her doctor was seeking something to help her cope, when her mother noted her previous musical experience. He seized on it– believing that music therapy would help to reconnect the neural pathways in her brain and assist with memory, for which (to this day) she has bouts of forgetfulness.

It did – and after learning to play the guitar (as she was not yet able to sit at a piano without pain) she recorded some tunes that a friend posted on MySpace. Next came a request to play a gig at a well-known venue in Philadelphia, and then radio station WXPN - which helped to launch Norah Jones’s career - called asking for a demo, which she didn’t have but quickly got together an independent EP. The Bedroom Sessions– literally that - caught the attention of Universal Records, which signed her in 2006.

Given that she is sensitive to loudness, she discovered more contemplative music - such as Bossa Nova - and while her concerts are not at chamber-music levels (she needs hearing protection on-stage) she does explore the sorts of music that Joni Mitchell and Fiona Apple do, along with jazz standards and blues. She is a practicing Buddhist and relies on macrobiotics and homeopathy in addition to her medical care.

Her first album Worrisome Heart from 2006 featured the title track and "All That I Need is Love" as songs that have garnered critical acclaim – with the album reaching #80 on the Billboard pop charts, #2 on the Billboard jazz charts and – with her last name obviously not a hindrance – reaching #8 on the French pop charts.

With her ailments making relentless touring impractical, Melody Gardot has said that she not only enjoys being able to perform – but also because it’s the one time each day that she doesn’t feel any pain. In addition to her cane, one sees a glass of cognac at her side (which she says isn’t primarily for pain relief). Also, while performing she frequently wears a TENS unit – a device that generates electric current produced to stimulate the nerves for therapeutic purposes.

Her second album from 2009 was My One and Only Thrill— again, an album of nearly all originals (except for "Over the Rainbow") and features songs such as "Who Will Comfort Me?" and "If the Stars Were Mine" that you could imagine listening to at a candle-lit nightclub in the old days (today, less the smoke). She also put a lot of preparation into themusic video for Baby I’m a Fool which you can hear at the link. This album reached #42 on the Billboard pop charts, once again #2 on the Billboard jazz charts and – partly due to the song “Les Etoiles” (The Stars) – reaching #4 and #5 on the French and Belgian pop charts.

In recent years, her releases have included 2012’s The Absence— with a more South American flavor and more orchestral sound, then 2015’s Currency of Man— with a social justice and soul/funk feel — to her 2018 Live in Europe album: with mostly her most popular originals (including the epic-length March for Mingus) that also has her rendition of Over the Rainbow.

She also performs other cover songs on occasion, to illustrate her concert material. These include “Because” (The Beatles), “Ain’t No Sunshine” (Bill Withers), “Blue Motel Room” (Joni Mitchell) and “Fever” (that Peggy Lee made famous).

She has visited various universities and hospitals to speak about its ability to help the injured via music therapy. Indeed, she goes on to say that "Music is my love. Probably the greatest love of all for me. Men are just my lovers." (She does admit to liking cats, however). She is currently on a tour of Europe, but have a listen to her songs. If she comes to your town: see if she doesn’t steal your heart, as well.

       Melody Gardot in recent years

Of her work, it is the very bluesy Your Heart Is As Black as Night which is my favorite, and received airplay on pop, jazz and even smooth jazz stations. And at this link you can listen to it.

Your eyes may be whole but the story I'm told Is that your heart is as black as night

Your lips may be sweet Such that I can't compete but your heart is as black as night

I don't know why you came along at such a perfect time But if I let you hang around I'm bound to lose my mind

'Cause your hands may be strong but the feeling's all wrong Your heart is as black as night

x xYouTube Video


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