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 and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend .... and week ahead.
ART NOTES— an exhibition entitled Every Leaf and Twig: Andrew Wyeth's Botanical Imagination— watercolors and drawings focusing on plant life, with most seldom on public display — is at the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania (suburban Philly) to September 15th.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #1 and #2 are these essays in Der Spiegel on ambitious and successful programs yet are facing uncertain future renewal due to new conservative governments: homelessness in Finland as well as unemployment in Austria.
MUSEUM NOTES— in addition to its legendary Uffizi art gallery — the city of Florence, Italy welcomes back its natural history and science museum La Specola after a nearly five-year renovation.
THURSDAY's CHILD wants you to know: the Worcester, MA public library will forgive any fine on a patron’s record in the month of March … if they bring-in a picture of a cat.
YOUR WEEKEND READ #3 is this essay by former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on how the Port Huron statement by Tom Hayden was a clarion call to him, yet left out the non college-educated.
THEATER NOTES— this coming autumn A Wonderful World— a Louis Armstrong musical — will be coming to Broadway after previous runs in Miami, Chicago and his hometown of New Orleans.
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Cameron the Capitol Cat— who leaves his Lincoln, Nebraska home to visit the nearby state capitol daily; amusing legislators and visitors alike.
BRAIN TEASER— try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
FATHER-SON?— two basketball players: retired L.A. Lakers forward Kurt Rambis and current Indiana State center Robbie Avila (nicknamed “Cream” Abdul-Jabbar).
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… this is not the first venture that Rod Stewart has made into the Great American Songbook… but it is his first effort partnering with TV host, pianist and bandleader Julian “Jools” Holland— an original member of the band Squeeze, and who has worked with numerous performers such as Joss Stone, Tom Jones, José Feliciano, Sting, Mark Knopfler, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Ringo Starr and Bono. I first became truly aware of him when he co-hosted (along with David Sanborn) the short-lived (1988-1990) NBC Sunday night program Night Music— created by Hal Wilner — an incredible blend of rock/pop/jazz and more.
Both Rod Stewart and Jools Holland are avid model railroad enthusiasts, which made them an even more apt pairing. Just last week they released the album Swing Fever— with renditions of big band classics such as Sentimental Journey, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Tennessee Waltz, Lullaby of Broadway and Them There Eyes.
Another was the signature theme from a 1947 Lerner & Loewe play — about two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every 100 years. Small wonder that would appeal to a singer with a Scottish father — and Almost Like Being in Love (sung by Gene Kelly in the 1954 film adaptation) has gone on to be a classic, with cover versions ranging from Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Shirley Bassey and Ella Fitzgerald …. to more modern renditions by Diana Krall and James Taylor.
This past December, they performed at a London rail station — St. Pancras International (where the Eurostar trains to-and-from Paris originate). After watching this as part of a CBS Sunday Morning broadcast, I e-mailed my middle sister (a longtime Rod Stewart fan). Sure enough, Margaret replied that our youngest sister Jeannemarie — as she always did in childhood — beat me to it, saying “Roddy’s On!”. (Some things never change).