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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 Claude Monet: the Truth of Nature— the most comprehensive Monet exhibit in the US in twenty years — will be at the Denver, Colorado art Museum through February 2nd.

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Now in Denver thru February 2, 2020

BUSINESS NOTES — the recent loss of his dual role (as chairman) for the CEO of Boeing highlights a more recent trend: corporations increasingly not allowing one person to have both roles, which is frowned-upon by the UK’s corporate governance code (and is banned outright in Germany).

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THURSDAY's CHILD is named Candy the Cat— a British kitteh who managed to sneak into a couple’s carry-on luggage on a flight to the US, where she was detected by the X-ray machine. Fortunately, the woman’s father arrived to retrieve Candy, allowing the couple to make their flight.

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       Candy the Stowaway Cat

AFTER TWO CIVIL WARS in the 1990’s and after, the nation of Liberia is hoping to replace the shipowners who abandoned registering their vessels there — to avoid taxes and labor laws at home — and re-registered in either Panama or the Marshall Islands, with some success.

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FRIDAY's CHILD is named Sheba the Cat— a Colorado kitteh who went missing, and was believed to be dead …. when a woman went to donate Sheba’s items at a Humane Society … which is where Sheba was then residing.

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            Sheba the Cat

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

PROGRAMMING NOTE  — I will be away next weekend (for our annual Albany, NY meet-up in advance of Election Day) and hence there will be no Friday comment in Cheers & Jeers, nor a comprehensive Sunday version of Odds & Ends (though I may post simply a mini-poll for the benefit of those seeking a chance to vote for you-know-who). See everyone (in earnest) the week of Nov 8th to 11th.

BiPM Suggested FATHER-SON? — veteran Fox host Brit Hume and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).

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  Brit Hume (born 1943)

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Kevin McCarthy (born 1965)

...... and finally, for a song of the week ..........................… even if you haven't thought of him in many years, Country Joe McDonald has led a "psychedelic folk-rock band" (as the All-Music Guide put it) named Country Joe & the Fish, has appeared on 35 albums over the years, remained active not only with political and environmental issues (as you might expect) but also veterans' issues (being one himself) .... and not only made the Nixon Enemies List, but was criticized by Bill O'Reilly in 2005. Not too shabby.

The Washington D.C. native (born on New Year’s Day of 1942) came-of-age in suburban Los Angeles, as his Red-leaning parents fled the nation's capitol when the McCarthy era began. He identifies with his mother's Judaism (who served on the Berkeley, California city council for many years) and the young McDonald became a fan of Dixieland jazz during his early years.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1959 (at age 17) and served for three years before settling in Berkeley (where he still lives today) busking on street corners. He worked at a guitar shop and played in two bands: the Instant Action Jug Band and the Berkeley String Quartet where he honed his craft. He released an album (with Blair Hardman) in 1964, which sold very little.

One of his bandmates from Instant Action was lead guitarist Barry Melton (whose day job today is that of an attorney). They came back together when McDonald started publishing a left-wing magazine (Rag Baby) and along with Melton recorded an accompanying EP with the songs I Feel Like I'm Fixing to Die Rag and Superbird, a satire aimed at LBJ.

McDonald and Melton then formed a band, whose classic line-up featured Gary Hirsh (drums), David Cohen (keyboards) and Bruce Barthol (bass), who was the only native Californian in the band. The band's name appears to have come from Joe's parents having (supposedly) naming him after Joe Stalin (whose WW-II nickname was "Country Joe") and the rest from a quote from Mao about "the fish who swim in the sea of the people."

They began to get gigs at the Fillmore and Avalon Ballrooms in San Francisco in 1966 and released a second EP with their own songs  "(Thing Called) Love" and an extended (for the time) instrumental entitled "Section 43". They were both (a) representative of the just-evolving San Francisco sound, as well as (b) excellent at self-promoting the band, and were signed by Vanguard Records in December of 1966.

Their debut album in early 1967 was very popular on the then-emerging FM radio, with previously recorded songs like Superbird and Section 43 plus tribute songs to two singers flying high in other San Francisco bands: Janis Joplin and Grace Slick. However, the legendary Vanguards Records founder Maynard Solomon objected to including "Fixin to Die", as he thought it would harm the band’s radio chances.

That song would be released as the title track for the band's second album just five months later; and while it became the band's signature tune the album also included "Who Am I" and "Thursday" as psychedelic ballads. The Fish had a triumphal appearance at the Monterey Pop Festival and underwent an East Coast tour with an advanced light show for the time.

1968 saw the release of their third album Together - which was their best seller, including tunes such as "The Streets of Your Town" and "Rock and Soul Music" (which they featured at Woodstock the following year). But it also led to personnel changes, as Barthol, Cohen and Hirsh left between Sept '68 and early '69.

1969 saw the release of their fourth album and, of course, the famous appearance at Woodstock not only by The Fish ... but Country Joe, as a solo performer. In the past, the band would ask the group to give them an F - I - S - H ...... but at a Central Park concert before Woodstock, they changed it to .... well, you-know-what .... and for this, the Ed Sullivan Show paid them in advance for their upcoming appearance ...... on the condition that they not show up.

Joe’s life was changed by including the (revised) cheer before his classic song .... and if you haven't heard it in years, you can hear at this link that Fixin to Die is a catchy tune, even with its (now) dated lyrics.

By now, the changing personnel made this tantamount to the McDonald-Melton Band, and so their 1970 fifth album got just some middling reviews. In addition, the two men were arrested for inciting an audience to lewd behavior (McDonald) and possession of marijuana (Melton) and the band split in 1971.

And Joe has been a solo performer for most of his life from that point. Some highlights include the following:

* A Woody Guthrie tribute album from 1971.

* A recording using the poems of Robert Service from 1971.

* An album with members of Big Brother/The Fish called the Paris Sessions from 1973.

* The album Paradise With an Ocean View from 1976 ... with the song "Save the Whales" as his most-played radio song from the time.

* His 1991 album Superstitious Blues - an acoustic album accompanied by Jerry Garcia.

* His 1995 album Vietnam Experience - with arrangements by the Englishman Neil Ardley.

* His 2012 recording, Time Flies By— which features new recordings of classic songs, plus originals that cover the breadth of his career.

*  And his most recent effort, 2017’s album 50— new material covering a range of current topics.

In addition, he devotes himself to many causes. Veterans issues - as he is one, himself - play a big role. He works to spread the legend of Florence Nightingale - who could have been the first military nurse of note. And of course, some ecology projects.

In more recent years: he was sued for copyright infringement in 2003 for his use of the chorus on "Fixin to Die" by the descendants of New Orleans musician Kid Ory from the song Muskrat Ramble - however, it was unsuccessful as the family waited too long (nearly four decades) to object. And in 2004 there was a reunion tour of The Fish - complete with old tunes as well as Bruce Barthol's tune Cakewalk to Baghdad - dedicated to your-friend-and-mine, the George W war enthusiast Richard Perle.

Country Joe McDonald turned age 77 this past New Year's Day and does tour on occasion. He may be most famous for work he did before 1970, but he's still at it, lo these many years later.

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Country Joe in 1969 ……...

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…… and then in 1979 …….

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…. and much more recently

In 1979, there was a mini-Woodstock reunion concert that took place on my native Long Island, New York at a place called Parr Meadows - a quarter horse racing facility (which did not last long).

Among the performers was Country Joe - and on the live radio broadcast he began by bellowing "Gimme an F!" .... and when the audience responded - part of the reason why they came, perhaps? - Joe said quietly, "Thanks ....... I needed that".

He then launched into this song - which (as you can imagine) struck a chord - from his 1978 Rock And Roll Music From The Planet Earth album .... and below you can listen to Bring Back the Sixties, Man.

Woodstock is in your mind Not the present, nor the past It can happen anywhere, anytime Bring back the sixties, man

This might be a mountain-moving time Close your eyes and you see The pictures in your mind

Woodstock is not a dream Not an image on a movie screen You can make it up if you try: Bring back the sixties, man

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