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 Seriously Funny: American Gothic Parodies— with characters from Miss Piggy to Mona Lisa to RuPaul (in ways that Grant Wood never imagined) — will be at the Cedar Rapids, Iowa Museum of Art through August 2nd.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 is this encouraging Washington Monthly essay on a community health center in a poor West Virginia town: not only administering Covid-19 vaccines at a drive-thru site (or in residents’ homes) … but helping the community hospital that closed at the beginning of the pandemic … to re-open.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #2 is the much-discussed story of the Alabama emergency room doctor dealing with un-vaccinated Covid patients … with much emphasis (understandably) on her telling those patients it’s too late to be vaccinated when they have to go on a ventilator. → I focus on the concluding paragraph:
“I try to be very non-judgmental when I’m getting a new COVID patient that’s unvaccinated, but I really just started asking them, ‘Why haven’t you gotten the vaccine?’ And I’ll just ask it point-blank, in the least judgmental way possible,” she said. “And most of them, they’re very honest, they give me answers. ‘I talked to this person, I saw this thing on Facebook, I got this email, I saw this on the news,’— you know, these are all the reasons that I didn’t get vaccinated.“And the one question that I always ask them is ... did you make an appointment with your primary care doctor and ask them for their opinion on whether or not you should receive the vaccine?And so far …. nobody has answered yes to that question.”
THURSDAY's CHILD is named Truffles the Rescue Cat— a Pennsylvania kitteh who likes having a pair of eyeglasses placed on her so much … she is a mainstay at an optician’s office: helping children with vision problems not to fear eye-wear.
YUK for TODAY — while students and staff at the University of Notre Dame have been in-the-news recently for protesting the siting of a Chick-fil-A on campus — this is not the first instance of a protest over food at the school.
In the 1980’s, the Wall Street Journal reported that residents of the school’s South Dining Hall were upset that (out of twenty breakfast cereals) it seemed to run out of Cap’n Crunch frequently enough … that they staged a sit-down strike until the director of food services ensured they would have an ample supply from then on. Quaker Oats responded by donating $1,000 to a local charity, and ….
"We're flattered that they like our cereal," says a company spokesman. "Nobody ever went on strike for it before."YOUR WEEKEND READ #3 is this essay in Washington Monthly that the former disgraced Missouri governor Eric Greitens— while still an underdog — may still have a chance to win the GOP primary to replace the retiring Sen. Roy Blunt, as polling shows that ”It’s much harder in GOP politics these days for an ethically compromised candidate to be tainted permanently” … despite adultery and sexual predator charges that led to his resignation (rather than face impeachment).
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Tulip the Cat — an Australian kitteh who has survived bushfires and snakes … now located after a long absence.
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 follow-up to some previous stories of mine … the late poet Seamus Heaney (and the U-Michigan professor who won his alma mater's award this month), those who welcomed Jackie Robinson a year before Ralph Branca did in 1947 (with a statue unveiling just this week in Youngstown, Ohio) and a short video on how the musician Gary Burton felt his medical condition necessitated retirement — even if most fans heard no difference — before he felt he’d betray his own standards.
YOUNGER-OLDER BROTHERS?— English television star Hugo Hammond (Love Island) and Northern Ireland film star Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades, A Private War).
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… a look at a song from nearly forty years ago: Up Where We Belong– from the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman– which won a 1983 Oscar for its composers (Buffy Sainte-Marie and Jack Nitzsche, plus lyrics by Will Jennings) and a Grammy for Best Duo that same year for its singers (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes). And yet: if one of the film’s producers had his way … the song would neither have appeared in the film ...nor be released as a single.
Lyricist Will Jennings– who wrote the lyrics to a few Steve Winwood songs as well as My Heart Will Go On from the film Titanic– said that Paramount Pictures asked him to write for this film (after watching a rough cut). This was for the film’s end: in which Richard Gere’s character (in his dress naval whites) arrives at the factory where Debra Winger’s character works … and carries her off. Given that the film was due to be wrapped-up soon, he did so in just a few days: with music provided by Buffy Sainte-Marie and Jack Nitzsche who wrote the score for the entire film.
Saskatchewan-born Buffy Sainte-Marie's illustrious career continues to this day, with her most recent album released four years ago. Jack Nitzsche had an extensive career in music, with film scoring (The Exorcist, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and who did arrangements and session piano for everyone from Phil Spector to the Rolling Stones. He and Buffy Sainte-Marie married in 1983, then separated a few years before his death (via a heart attack) in 2000.
An Officer and a Gentleman was directed by Taylor Hackford (whose other works include White Nights, Dolores Claiborne, Against All Odds and Ray) and who has been married to Helen Mirren since 1997.
A friend of his was the manager for the pop singer Jennifer Warnes (who had a Top Ten hit with Right Time of the Night in 1977) and suggested her to sing the song. Hackford thought her voice "too sweet" for the tune, but was intrigued when her manager suggested – alternatively - that it be done as a duet (with a singer whose voice would never be thought of as "too sweet").
Will Jennings had written a song for Joe Sample of The Crusaders, I’m So Glad I’m Standing Here Today– which was nominated for a Grammy. Accompanying Jennings to the Grammy ceremony, Hackford saw Joe Cocker sing with such feeling that he made a mental note for the future ... which had now arrived.
Hackford contacted Chris Blackwell— the CEO of Island Records (who had Cocker signed to his label). He was happy to let Cocker record, but there was a problem: he was on tour in the Pacific Northwest. Paramount thus flew Cocker to LA one afternoon to record the tune with Jennifer Warnes, and then flew him back to resume the tour.
Richard Gere had (all along) thought that the script’s ending scene was overly sentimental, which Hackford was inclined to agree with … yet when done in rehearsals, the film’s extras all applauded: telling Hackford the script should remain as is. And when Gere later saw a finished version (with the song) he became convinced, too.
There was one hurdle to overcome: Don Simpson, one of the film's producers, unsuccessfully demanded Up Where We Belongbe cut from the finished product, saying "The song is no good. It isn't a hit."
Fortunately, Taylor Hackford prevailed - and the song reached #1 in the US (remaining so for three weeks) in 1983. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Jack Nitzsche and Will Jennings all won (for "Best Original Song") awards from the Golden Globes, the Oscars and Britain's BAFTA. Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes won Grammys for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group. In addition, Louis Gossett Jr. won an Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.
The song was later recorded by Buffy Sainte-Marie herself, plus Gospel singers Bebe and CeCe Winans. It has been featured on several TV shows (The Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park) as well as the film Moulin Rouge.
Fast-forward thirty years to 2013 - when Germany's Golden Camera Awards honor both German stars as well as international performers. And in a ceremony held in Berlin: Sigourney Weaver, Al Pacino and Clive Owen were honored for their lifetime film achievements, as well as Joe Cocker for music.
And in a surprise for the audience: Jennifer Warnes joined Joe Cocker on-stage for a reprise performance. And since Jennifer Warnes had a minor hit singing Leonard Cohen's First We Take Manhattan (Then We Take Berlin) .... the venue seemed quite apropos. While their voices were weaker … it was an important valedictory for Joe Cocker, who died the following year at age seventy.