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 An Art of Changes: Jasper Johns prints, 1960-2018— and he just turned age ninety-one — is at the Tampa, Florida Museum of Art through September 5th.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 is this essay from the intrepid Jane Mayer in The New Yorker, about being invited (by his daughter) to see the papers of (and unfinished memoir by) Lee Atwater— suggesting that Atwater’s tactics were “a bridge between the old Republican Party of the Nixon era (when dirty tricks were considered a scandal) and the new Republican Party of FormerGuy, in which lies, racial fearmongering, and winning at any cost have become normalized”.
THURSDAY's CHILD is a Chicago kitteh who jumped out of a fifth-floor window to escape an apartment fire… fortunately landing on a patch of grass and ran away.
THE SON OF THE LAST KING has tapped his teen grand-daughter to eventually lead the House of Savoy, pretenders to Italy’s defunct throne — abolished seventy-five years ago for its support of Mussolini — and she is unknown to those walking near the Piazza Savoia, once home to their castle, now …... a parking lot.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #2 is this account from ProPublica on those who did not become major GOP donors until FormerGuy: listing them in categories such as Big Lie - Conspiracy Theorists - Business Benefits - Government Posts - Personal Ties.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Oggy the Hero Cat— a Minnesota kitteh who snuggled-up to a woman’s left breast suddenly (and quite often) …. and she later found a cancerous mass, which has been treated and is now in remission.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz (no common questions).
THE OTHER NIGHT yours truly hosted the Top Comments diary with a look at the latest vaccination gift enticements— and how the 14th-century Bran Castle in central Romania (believed to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker's iconic novel Dracula) offers on-site vaccinations along with free admission to the Transylvanian castle's exhibit of ……..... fifty-two medieval torture instruments.
SEPARATED at BIRTH— the recently deceased Patrick O’Connell (who developed programs for HIV/AIDS awareness, including the red ribbon) and the late chef/author Anthony Bourdain.
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… with my travel plans increasing, once again not enough time for a full profile …. but here’s a mini-profile of a long-lasting family act …… and a treat to follow.
It was in Atlanta in 1952 when an eight year-old Gladys Knight formed a quartet with her brother and two cousins …. originally, just to perform for family and friends. Yet a different cousin James “Pip” Woods heard them and urged them to consider a professional career (with him as their booking agent).
After several personnel changes: by 1962, the classic quartet of Gladys Knight and the Pips was formed: with her brother Merald and two cousins (William Guest and Edward Patten). And until the group’s end in 1990, they had numerous hits. They were also fodder for Johnny Carson: when the audience asked, “How bad is the economy?”, Johnny replied it was so bad … “Gladys Knight had to lay-off a Pip”.
Yet The Pips seldom had moments in the sun themselves. One time was in 1964 (when Gladys was on maternity leave) when they did background vocals for others. They also recorded a few songs on their own (such as “Linda”) that did not chart.
From 1977-1980, the act had legal/contractual problems that sidelined them from recording together, and The Pips released two albums for Casablanca Records: At Last — The Pips as well as Callin’— neither of which were given much promotion and as a result did not chart.
Gladys Knight & the Pips earned three Grammy awards, and in 1996 were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Pips retired from music at the quartet’s end in 1990 and Merald Knight turns age seventy-nine this September. The other singers have passed-away: Edward Patten in 2005 (at age sixty-five) and William Guest in 2015 (at age seventy-four).
Gladys Knight turns age seventy-seven later this month and still tours.
One of the funniest moments I recall from television …. was during the aforementioned 3-year hiatus from ensemble performing. The Pips were asked to perform on the very short-lived Richard Pryor Show in 1977 … without a lead vocalist. As the camera would pan over from the three back-up singers …. to the empty lead mike stand …. my mother came into the family room to see if anything was wrong, as I was choking with laughter. Admittedly, (knowing what to expect) it is not the same … yet I hope you get 1/10 as much of a kick as I did, forty-four years ago.