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 Rembrandt to Monet: 500 Years of European Painting — with works by Rembrandt, Titian, El Greco, Renoir, and Monet — will be at the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma through May 28th.
HAIL and FAREWELL to the former Speaker of the UK House of Commons Betty Boothroyd who has died at the age of ninety-three. When the C-Span TV network in the USA began featuring Prime Minister’s Questions in the 1990's, she became familiar to more Americans than usual, and was even featured on a Saturday Night Live skit. In 1993, George Mitchell paid tribute to her in the US Senate when she was present and — as she had been an intern for Massachusetts GOP congressman Silvio Conte in the early 60's — this tribute was full-circle.
THURSDAY's CHILD was discovered by a couple (attending a veterinarian conference at the Excalibur in Las Vegas) in their room — who had been lost a few days earlier by someone moving from Reno to Las Vegas who stayed in that room.
ATTENTION, QUIZ READERS - posted a few months ago in this space was this year's quiz from King William's College (a prep school located on the UK's Isle of Man) - with said quiz known as its General Knowledge Paper officially.
At one time, students at the school were required to take it home during the winter recess and be prepared to research the answers at home - today, the quiz is optional. It consists of 18 groups of 10 questions - the first section on events 100 years ago (1922), and the last on events of the past year (in this case, 2022).
Each group's correct answers has a common theme (though perhaps not immediately recognizable) that helps if you can answer at least one of that group's questions - which will give you hope of answering some others.
It is among the most difficult general knowledge quizzes on earth (quite British literature-laden, as you might well imagine) in part to being very cryptic, and each year the Guardian newspaper has printed both the quiz (and a few weeks later, the answers) since 1951.
At this link is the 2022 year's quiz if you would like a chance to take it.
Now the answers are available at this link - and yours truly improved upon his prior year total …. up to a sizzling 6 correct (possibly my best ever).
FRIDAY's CHILD is named Fury the Cat — a North Dakota kitteh who was adopted after being in foster care for over two years … and has become quite the love bug.
YOUR WEEKEND READ is this essay by Simon Kuper in the Financial Times, positing that France is now becoming the New Britain — partly due to Brexit woes, but also a result of new investment decisions, bilingual ministers and EU contact.
BRAIN TEASER — try this Quiz of the Week's News from the BBC ...… and the usually easier, less UK-centered New York Times quiz.
SEPARATED at BIRTH — Andy Gamberzky, the husband of the new, veracity-challenged Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) and Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon.
...... and finally, for a song of the week ...........................… two mini-profiles of UK musicians from the 1970’s. Ginger Baker was best-known for being in the Graham Bond Organization, Cream (that I saw in a pair of 2005 reunion shows) and also Blind Faith plus his own band Air Force.
He also spent 2+ years (1974-1976) with guitarist Adrian and bassist Paul Gurvitz in the Baker-Gurvitz Army, which had some mild success on the album charts of the era.
While not known in the US individually, both Gurvitz brothers are still active musically: Paul lives in Arizona and leads his own band, plus previously spending several years with the Moody Blues drummer in the Graeme Edge Band.
Adrian had a 1982 successful ballad in the UK with Classic — and has had more success as a songwriter and producer: writing Eddie Money’s 1988 hit The Love in Your Eyes and "Even If My Heart Would Break", recorded by Aaron Neville for the film The Bodyguard in 1992.
Here is their 1974 tribute to Ginger Baker’s drummer idol in the UK, Phil Seaman.
Recently the vocalist/keyboardist Victor Brox died at the age of eighty-one. A stalwart of the UK blues scene, he began his career in the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation and is best known in the US for his role as Caiaphas in the 1970 release of Jesus Christ Superstar (such as this solo singing from him).
Over the years he performed/recorded with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Charles Mingus, Dr. John, Country Joe McDonald, Eric Clapton and dated Nico for a time. In his later years, he often performed with his blues singer daughter Kyla Brox.
Victor was one of the composers (and is the lead singer on) the Aynsley Dunbar song Warning — which was covered by Black Sabbath on their 1970 debut album.