September 2015 - Page 4 of 6 - Ramblin' with Roger

J is for Jupiter, and jollity

Thaxted is hymn arrangement, named after the English village where Holst]resided much of his life.

Listening to our public radio station as we woke up, I thought, “Hey, I know that.” It was Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity [LISTEN], from The Planets by Gustav Holst. And I do own a CD of The Planets, but my recollection was more recent, more specific.

The Wikipedia led me to I Vow to Thee, My Country, “a British patriotic song, created in 1921 when a poem by Sir Cecil Spring Rice was set to music by Gustav Holst.” It was sung at both Princess Diana’s wedding to Prince Charles, and her funeral.

Not incidentally, many years later, it evoked controversy. “In August 2004, the Right Reverend Stephen Lowe, Bishop of Hulme, called for the first verse of the hymn to be removed from Church of England services, calling it ‘totally heretical’. He believed it placed national loyalties above religious ones and encouraged racism and unquestioning support of governments. His words sparked a debate on the wider implications of the hymn.”

The verse in question:
I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,
Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;
The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,
That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;
The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,
The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

But nah, those are not the words I was thinking of, but it IS the Thaxted hymn arrangement, named after “the English village where [Holst] resided much of his life. As it turned out it was a hymn called O Spirit All Embracing [LISTEN], which we had just started practicing for choir, and would sing about a month after hearing it that morning on the radio. It is one of several hymns created from that tune.

The Wikipedia is correct, and the Yahoo answer person, who said it was NOT used as a hymn, was incorrect.

ABC Wednesday – Round 17

September rambling #1: chugging cognac, and Flowers on the Wall

If you work in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment, and if you tell me when I ask if you have something that I can only get it online, then you have lost me forever as a customer at said brick-and-mortar retail establishment.

The $80 Million Fake Bomb-Detector Scam—and the People Behind It.

How the Photography of Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams Told the Story of Japanese American Internment.

John Scalzi on Hurricane Katrina, and poverty. “Being Poor,” Ten Years On.

The Truth of ‘Black Lives Matter’: “They are NOT asserting that black lives are more precious than white lives.”

Mr. Frog linked to Here’s How New Texas Public School Textbooks Write About Slavery.

No, Mount McKinley’s former and new name, “Denali,” does NOT mean “Black Power” in Kenyan. Or Swahili. Denali means “the great one” in the local Athabaskan language of Alaska.

Question: Why must we still talk about race? Answer: Twelve. And I Am a Racist.

Steve Cutts is a London-based illustrator and animator who uses powerful images to criticize the sad state modern life and society.

Is thyroid cancer the ‘good’ cancer? It doesn’t feel that way when you get it. Mentions Times Union blogger David Kalish.

How Jeb Bush’s Tax Cuts Suckered the Media.

Teen Boy Will Be Charged As Adult For Having Naked Pics of a Minor: Himself. If I hadn’t seen it on CBS News the day before, I would have thought it a hoax.

Tennessee mom calls Henrietta Lacks book ‘pornographic,’ seeks to have it banned in school; author Rebecca Skloot responds.

Damned Lies and Employment Statistics. “Yes, some ‘real’ unemployment rate is roughly double the official 5.1%. But there’s nothing sinister about that.”

1927 news report: Donald Trump’s dad arrested in KKK brawl with cops.

Women, Don’t Make That Bicycle Face.

Don’t Hate the Phone Call, Hate the Phone.

TV host John Oliver has become America’s social justice warrior, and he reminds us how little most of us know about geography.

My friend Steve Bissette wrote, and I totally agree: “Sure bet: If you work in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment, and if you tell me when I ask if you have something that I can only get it online, then you have lost me forever as a customer at said brick-and-mortar retail establishment. It’s not peevishness or pique, it’s just how it is.” Chuck Miller had a similar experience: Panera Bread and kiosk mentality.

I’m a Mom, Not A Martyr.

Becca Sunoo goes to Nantes. She’s the granddaughter of a couple at my church.

See how the Obama logo can work for Trump with some simple changes in color and rotation. Kudos to Matthew Gordon @ratheironic

10 Insulting Words You Should Know.

What time is it, Oxford Dictionaries? How about almost ‘beer o’clock’?

Phantom vibration syndrome is common among those who use electronic devices.

A Woman Chugged an Entire Bottle of Cognac Rather than Give It to Airport Security.

A FEW MINUTES WITH… Booker T. Jones.

Weird Al 15-11. SamuraiFrog’s descriptions are great.

A History of Chris Christie’s Complicated Relationship With Bruce Springsteen.

From 2002: Art That Shook The World: The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, part 1 and part 2.

Music! Fisherman – The Congos.

Mark Evanier is listing the twenty top voice actors in American animated cartoons between 1928 and 1968. So far: Sterling Holloway (Winnie the Pooh); Mae Questel (Betty Boop, Olive Oyl); Jim Backus (Mr. Magoo); Pinto Colvig (Goofy).

Six-degrees of separation from Robert Crumb.

Why Craig Ferguson Really Left Late Night.

Muppets: Jimmy Dean and Rowlf and Flowers on the Wall; if you don’t know the original to the latter, it’s here.

Download Jim Rockford’s Answering Machine Messages as MP3s.

In honor of Labor Day: Americans Celebrate 10 Millionth ‘Bring Yourself To Work Day’.

DO NOT wash your hair in the shower!!

GOOGLE ALERT (me)

The original creators of any given comic book character or title always had the purest vision and did the best work on that character or title. Is that always the case, though? Plus What are the five most affecting graphic novels?

Dustbury reminds us of the anomalies of the Billboard charts when it comes to black music.

GOOGLE (ALERT (not me)

Australian golf: The eighteen-hole winner for Saturday’s Roger Green trophy “was Rick Bennett with a score of 59 net from Andrew McGrath on 61 net.”

The health report, September 2015

Naturally, I started fearing the worst, stomach cancer, or other dreaded disease.

Early in the past week, I went to a vascular surgeon. I don’t have varicose veins, but I have a related ailment in my left leg. So I’m getting compression stockings.

Meanwhile, there was a little lump in my belly, near my navel, a month or two ago. I wondered what it was, then promptly forgot about it. Then it got bigger, and I couldn’t ignore it, so I went to my PCP (primary care physician), or actually, her partner, a couple of days ago.

Naturally, I started fearing the worst, stomach cancer, or another dreaded disease. As some now-disreputable comic once noted, doctors are wonderful people, but they’re always touching things. “Does that hurt?” “DOES THAT HURT! DOES THAT HURT!” Same with this guy. Before the visit, I had minimal discomfort. But now – ow, ow ow, ow.

Still, he believes I have an umbilical hernia, which is rather reassuring. I am seeing a specialist later this week, and I hope that, whatever it is, it’ll be addressed soon.

Meanwhile, I have a Weird Al song stuck in my head. As SamuraiFrog wrote: “This is a song that benefits enormously from having a funny video (which was shot on the same set as the James Brown video). It’s pretty funny, and it’s a good re-creation of a Brown song.”

It’s also very informative, about the different types of hernias. And it ends with, “I feel bad!” I would rank it much higher than Mr. Frog did.

Here’s Living with a Hernia.

Music Throwback Saturday: the Righteous Brothers

(You’re My) Soul was one of the relatively few 45s I ever bought.

Usually, I pick a specific song for these Saturday outings. But I also like to note 70th birthdays of certain notable folks. Well, I missed the 70th birthdays of both Bill Medley and the late Bobby Hatfield, the Righteous Brothers.

And I wasn’t aware of the 75th birthday of Hatfield (August 10, 1940 – November 5, 2003) until Brian Ibbott did a Righteous Brothers-driven Coverville 1088, also featuring Joe Jackson.

Bill Medley’s 75th is coming up on September 19. So I’ll honor them between the two birth dates. Links to all songs mentioned, and to Coverville.

In 1963, Little Latin Lupe Lu was their first charting single, getting to #49 in the US, followed by a bunch of less successful songs on the Moonglow label.

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ was their first major hit single and their first release on the Philles label in late 1964. It went to #1 in the UK, #1 in the US pop charts for two weeks, and #2 on the US Rhythm & Blues charts in 1965. “Produced by Phil Spector, the record is often cited as one of the peak expressions of Spector’s Wall of Sound production techniques. It was one of the most successful pop singles of its time, despite exceeding the then standard length for radio play. Indeed, according to BMI, it was the most played song on American radio and television in the 20th century, estimated to have been broadcast more than eight million times.”

The follow-up single was the Spector-produced Just Once in My Life, #9 US pop, #26 US R&B.

If you’re DJing a wedding reception, and you decide to be creative by playing songs people should like, but they aren’t dancing very much, put on Unchained Melody; I speak from personal experience. The song went to #4 US pop, #6 US R&B, #14 UK in 1965. Then, as a result of being featured in the movie Ghost, with Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore, and Whoopi Goldberg, it was reissued and went to #13 in the US, and #1 in the UK, in 1990. “Medley has consistently said that he produced Unchained Melody, intended only as an album track, but copies of the original 45 release credited Spector as producer.”

The B-side of Unchained Melody, Hung on You, only went to #47 US originally, but separately went to #2 on the US adult contemporary charts in 1990.

Ebb Tide was the last of the big hits on Philles in the US, reaching #5 US pop, #13 US R&B, and #48 UK in 1966; Hatfield singing the title at the end gives me chills. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” b/w Ebb Tide was re-issued and went to #3 in UK in 1990.

White Cliffs of Dover, while a stiff in the US (#118 in 1966, after they had left the label), it got up to a respectable #21 in the UK. Ebb Tide and Dover appear on the only Righteous Brothers LP I owned, Back to Back.

“The singers did not get along well with Spector personally and their contract was sold to Verve/MGM Records in 1965. Their next release in 1966, (You’re My) Soul and Inspiration was a Phil Spector sound-alike song, produced by Bill Medley, who was able to fully simulate the Spector style of production.” It was one of the relatively few 45s I ever bought. It was #1 US pop for three weeks, #13 US R&B, #15 UK.

“After a few more top 40 hits… their popularity began to decline. They eventually split up in 1968, which lasted more than six years.”

“In 1974, they signed with Haven Records…distributed by Capitol Records. They scored another hit with Alan O’Day’s Rock and Roll Heaven, a paean to several deceased rock singers: Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Otis Redding, Jim Croce, and Bobby Darin are among the mentioned.” It went to #3 in the UK, but failed to chart in the UK.

Bill Medley had the greater commercial success as a solo artist, including 1987’s (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, with Jennifer Warnes, #1 in the US, #6 in the UK. It was used as the love theme from Dirty Dancing, starring Patrick Swayze (him, again) and Jennifer Gray. He “continues to perform including in Branson, Missouri.

“Bobby Hatfield was found dead in his hotel room in Kalamazoo, Michigan… shortly before he was due to perform at a concert with Medley at Western Michigan University’s Miller Auditorium. According to the autopsy report, the cause of his death was attributed to cocaine leading to heart failure.

“The Righteous Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10, 2003.

Extend the James Zadroga Act permanently

“The terror attacks left in their wake a trail of financial ruin affecting many brave men and women who responded to the attacks and others who had the misfortune of living or working on the tiny piece of the United States that happened to be the target of an attack on our country.”

The “remember 9/11” crowd in Congress who stalled for nearly a decade to provide compensation for individuals who suffered physical injury or death as a result of debris removal efforts in the immediate aftermath of the attacks irritate me greatly.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was passed by Congress at the end of 2010 and signed into law by President Obama, in no small part because of the advocacy of Jon Stewart on the December 16, 2010 episode of The Daily Show.

But the provisions of the bill are due to expire, and needs to be renewed this fall:

Much has been written in recent years about the serious physical illnesses that have befallen over 33,000 rescue and recovery workers, survivors and residents who breathed in the poisonous dust that blanketed lower Manhattan after the September 11 terror attack and the collapse of the World Trade Center Towers. More than 3,900 cases of cancer have been diagnosed among the participants in the World Trade Center Health Program Nearly 200 FDNY and NYPD members have reportedly died of 9/11 related injuries and conditions, and these numbers are growing.

Less has been written about the effect that the terrible illnesses have had on the lives of these men and women. Many have become disabled from work and are unable to support their families on meager monthly disability payments. Family homes have fallen into foreclosure. The terror attacks left in their wake a trail of financial ruin affecting many brave men and women who responded to the attacks and others who had the misfortune of living or working on the tiny piece of the United States that happened to be the target of an attack on our country.

A renewal bill has been languishing in Congress. At least as of last May, The Speaker of the House seemed to be disinclined to support extending the coverage. This may be Jon Stewart’s next activity: supporting the new bill.

I’ve read the information, and am pleased to note that my member of the House of Representatives, and both of my US Senators are co-sponsoring the renewal bill. See where your representatives stand. Bug those who are not sponsors, and laud those who are.