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 Wyoming-based friend Irish Patti and ...... well, each of you at Cheers and Jeers. Have a fabulous weekend.
ART NOTES - an exhibition entitled Botticelli to Braque: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland is at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas to September 20th.
HAIL and FAREWELL to the civil rights activist and former NAACP chairman Julian Bond - who has died at the age of 75 ...... and to an old DK reader, Ron Tunning - whose screen name was rontun, and had previously served as a town Democratic party chair here in New Hampshire - who has died at the age of 63.
MUSIC NOTES - the three surviving members of The Faces - Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood and drummer Kenney Jones - plan a forty-year reunion benefit concert in England next month.
THURSDAY's CHILD is Ruthie Rosemary the Cat - a kitteh who was feared lost in a lightning-sparked forest fire in Northern California that destroyed her family's home ... but was found five days later unharmed, (except for her whiskers and eyebrows being singed by flames).
FILM NOTES - regular readers of mine know that over the years I have recounted efforts (often unsuccessful) to produce a film version of the 1960's TV spy series The Man from U.N.C.L.E. - and having seen it the other night, I am happy with the results. Would have preferred more references to the original show, using the old Lalo Schiffrin theme, and having David McCallum and Robert Vaughn doing a cameo - but the film (actually a prequel) delivered the goods, as David Edelstein of CBS Sunday Morning felt.
FRIDAY's CHILD is Monkey the Cat - who has been trained to find hidden balls that will trigger a food-dispensing machine.
BEVERAGE NOTES - academics in London are attempting to change the setting of fine wine future prices from premature tasting guesses ... to a form of artificial intelligence.
HISTORY NOTES - the South American nation of Uruguay marked the 30th anniversary of its return to democracy, following a military dictatorship.
BRAIN TEASER - try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC.
SEPARATED at BIRTH - well, this is a bit of a departure for me ....
...... and finally, for a song of the week ............................. someone who just turned sixty-five, yet due to appearances as a four year-old means her career has lasted for six decades is Patti Austin - who is best known for hits during the 80's (ballads, R&B, smooth jazz and disco) and for returning to her family's jazz roots in the 1st Century - yet also has had a thriving career recording duets, commercial jingles and as a back-up singer. I suppose with godparents like Quincy Jones and the singer Dinah Washington, this was probably foretold.
Born in 1950 to a jazz trombonist in Harlem (and who grew-up on Long Island, New York), she made her debut appearance at Harlem's Apollo Theater at age four, and had an epiphany at age thirteen. attending the Newport Jazz Festival with her father, and she reluctantly followed Quincy Jones's advice to listen to Judy Garland:
"Her voice sounded like it had been dragged behind a truck for 20 miles on a rope. But her acting so transcended her voice. ... She ripped my heart out. I wanted to interpret a lyric like that, to present who I was at the moment through the lyric."
During the 1970's, in her teens: she had established herself as a session musician and a singer of TV commercials. Some of the sponsors she sang for include: Meow Mix, Maxwell House, Burger King, Avon, KFC and the US Army. She released her
debut album in 1976, but
struggled with some poor material (and record company support) the rest of the decade, but for a duet with
Michael Jackson in 1979. She also sang back-up for performers such as Paul Simon, Cat Stevens, James Brown and Joe Cocker to Bette Midler and Roberta Flack.
It was not until the 1980's that her career began to flourish: and she found that duets were often her gateway to wider recognition. In particular, James Ingram became a frequent partner, as they brought How Do You Keep the Music Playing? (from the film "Best Friends" to #45 on the pop charts, and reached #1 with Baby, Come to Me in 1981.
She also had hits with "It's Gonna Be Special" (featured on the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John film "Two of a Kind") and "The Heat of Heat" in 1985. She also performed duets with performers as diverse as Luther Vandross, Franki Valli and Johnny Mathis - and their 1991 "You Brought Me Love" was Patti Austin's last appearance on the pop charts.
In the new century, she has focused on her jazz roots, with tribute albums to Ella Fitzgerald in 2002 and to the Gershwins ... which won her a long-overdue Grammy Award in 2008.
Her most recent recording was a bit of a departure: a collection of cover versions of popular songs entitled Sound Advice from 2011. It ranges from Bob Dylan's Gotta Serve Somebody to Michael Jackson's "Give it Up" to Bill Withers' Lean on Me to the Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want to Don McLean's Vincent ("Starry, Starry Night").
In recent years, she has devoted herself to several causes. Having put on an good deal of weight (and contracting diabetes) she had gastric bypass surgery and counsels people in a program entitled Over My Shoulder dedicated to mentoring. She has performed for numerous AIDS-related organizations, voting rights groups and has often performed with a touring company the work Oh Freedom which chronicles the civil rights struggle.
As noted, Patti Austin just turned age 65, yet has a full touring schedule (of both North American and international shows) that along with her foundation work ensures she is not ready for retirement.
In another of the causes closest to her heart: she founded the Blue Movement aimed at ending domestic violence. And after seeing an old episode of the Oprah Winfrey Show on the subject, she wrote By the Grace of God - which appears on her most recent recording. And below you can listen to it.
The universe we will see me through
My heart will tell me what to do
And of all the truths I know
I know for sure this one is true
I will make it true
By the grace of God
By the grace of God I will survive
By the grace of God I will stay alive
By the grace of God I will see another day
I will find a better way
By the grace of God