Kurt Vonnegut's Recipe for Growing Your Soul

I was recently poking around a wonderful website called Letters of Note * and came across this gem from Kurt Vonnegut.

From his Maiden Voyage to Kennedy Center Honors, Herbie Hancock has earned it all.

From his earliest attention gathering composition, Watermelon Man, through his tenure in the pianist chair with the second great Miles Davis Quintet, through his forays into electronics, Jazz-rock, funk, pop and back to Jazz, Herbie Hancock has had an enormous role in redefining post bop jazz. His selection as a 2013 Kennedy Center honoree for his contribution to art and culture is richly deserved. 

In this video, Hancock enjoys performances of "Walkin'" by former bandmates and contemporaries Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Terence Blanchard and Jack DeJohnette; his classic composition, "Watermelon Man" performed by Terence Blanchard and Joshua Redman et al,  "Cantaloupe Island" with Marcus Miller, Snoop Dog, and "Chameleon" by all of the above and more.

Little Anthony's crying hurt so bad that it drove him out of his head

I hope that Little Anthony life didn't imitate his art because he cried so much and hurt so bad that it finally drove him out of his head. 

Sonny Rollins and Jim Hall playing on the Bridge

Part of the legend of Sonny Rollins includes his periodic sabbaticals from the music business to practice. To avoid disturbing his neighbors, he took his saxophone under the Williamsburg Bridge, where he continued to hone his craft. The composition,  "The Bridge", emerged from that experience. He is accompanied here by the renowned guitarist, Jim Hall, who passed away this week. 
                                          The Bridge

                             If Ever I Would Leave You

Bullwinkle Moose reaches for stardom in four interrupted parts

Bullwinkle the Moose seeks Hollywood fame and fortune as  "Crag Antler", ably guided by Boris Badanov as director D.W. Grifter.

The Last Angry Moose Part 1

Shavinisms By George Bernard Shaw

"I often quote myself.  It adds spice to my conversation." - George Bernard Shaw

Sarah Palin won't let me

Sarah Palin will not let me comment on her FB screeds unless I click her “like” button first. Hmm. Have I ever told a pretty dim gal that I like her just to get inside her, umm…head? Memory fails, so this must be virgin territory. But this twit has gotta be told. So, I'm clicking “like” and launching a full frontal assault. Next stop: the battlefield, where I plan to be embedded deep inside her soft, empty brain pan. August, 2010

Waiting for my star to shine - a dramatic and (mostly) true story.

Waiting for my star to shine - a dramatic and (mostly) true story. 

A Nelson Mandela Reader

How very rare it is to have had the living embodiment of liberty and justice walk freely among us and to do so long enough that his genius for peace could be acknowledged and appreciated throughout the world.  

Nelson Mandela b. July 18, 1918 d. December 5, 2013

What follows is a brief selection from his writings.

All the planets in every universe should have a star physicist.

"No one can resist the idea of a crippled genius."

Stephen Hawking defies gravity

Johnny Too Bad - A Tribute to John Martyn

Although he had a sizeable following in Great Britain, John Martyn (1948-2009) wasn't particularly famous, never had a hit record, was enormously self-destructive (hence the nickname, "Johnny Too Bad") and died largely unknown in the States. But he was also a great talent with a unique style who stood shoulder to shoulder with any rock guitar god you can name. And when he met the devil, the devil knew his name. 

John F. Kennedy speaking to the humanity within us all

For those for whom John Kennedy lives in memory as martyr, myth, hero and legend, more than a man's life was destroyed in the streets of Dallas on November 22, 1963. 

In the Summer of His Years was the first song that ever made me cry.

In the Summer of His Years was the first song that ever made me cry. 

The End of The Great Gatsby or The Search For the Perfect Sentence

So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Peter and the Wolf

If not for Walt Disney's sanitized* 1946 retelling of Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, gazillions of kids might never have known what a bassoon was or why one should never go into the woods searching for wolves. 

This updated version is narrated by David Bowie.

*In Walt's world, the bird escaped the wolf. In real life, the wolf ate the bird but forgot to chew before swallowing. That is why the bird could be heard chirping inside the wolf's tummy. 

Linda Ronstadt's stilled voice will hurt for a long, long time

Linda Ronstadt was recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. At age 67, she is no longer able to sing. 

Sherman and Peabody terrify Edgar Allen Poe

Sherman and Peabody take the wayback machine to Baltimore in 1832 where they introduce Edgar Allan Poe to the world of horror.

Sherman profundity: "Television. The most fiendish means of torture yet devised by man".

Stanley Jordan taps his twin guitars while tippling through the Autumn Leaves

Stanley Jordan taps his twin guitars through the Autumn leaves.

A transcendent Song to the Siren

"On the floating, shapeless oceans

I did all my best to smile". - Tim Buckley

Autumn Song by Dante Gabriel Rosetti

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf

How the heart feels a languid grief

A slice of misterioso on a velvet morning

 "Some velvet morning when I'm straight, I'm gonna open up your gate. And maybe tell you 'bout Phaedra and how she gave me life and how she did me in" has got to be the most muddleheaded lyrical nonsense since someone left a cake out in the rain. Waste of a good rhyme scheme and piece of cake, too. On the other hand, it's a damn fine slice of misterioso.

 

Barney Kessel plays in the Autumn Leaves

Autumn Leaves - Barney Kessel

This is the singer, this is the group and these are the songs

This is the singer, this is the group and these are the songs that always reduced me to a prepubescent puddle. 

"I play what I live" - McCoy Tyner who plays My Favorite Things

"I play what I live" - McCoy Tyner

John Raitt was far more than Bonnie's daddy

John Raitt helped set the standard for tenor/baritone strong voiced, granite chinned leading men on Broadway in the late 1940's and 1950's.  He originated the lead roles of Curley in Oklahoma, Billy Bigelow in Carousel and Sid Sorokin in the Pajama Game, among others. 
Raitt was unable to translate his stage success to films with his only major big screen triumph coming in Pajama Game opposite Doris Day. His career continued, however, in national touring companies and he remained popular for many years as a concert singer. 
He is, perhaps, best remembered today as the father of Bonnie. This  collection may help rectify that oversight. 

My Darling Children

My Darling Children,

May your most precious memories be of

brilliant morning suns rising to greet you and

days filled with never ending promise;

Of adoring parents to love you,

families to embrace and care for you,

your own children returning 
through a welcoming door,

friends and comrades to walk alongside 
on your journey;

those who pause to note your presence, 
admire your visage,
respect your integrity 
and trust your judgment,
those true few who will stay until the end of time

and forever gentle evening gloamings 
to usher you safely 
through nights filled with sheltering peace.

HL 9/22/13

When you have Lucky Lips, you tell Mama if your man treats her daughter mean

Ruth Brown (1928-2006) was known as the Queen of Rhythm and Blues and The Voice. Her instrument was rich and expressive, confident, energetic and brimming with exuberance. She was the first great female vocalist to emerge from Atlantic records in the early Fifties and along with Big Joe (Shake, Rattle and Roll) Turner, kept the label afloat until Ray Charles, The Drifters, Coasters et al. found their stride and the label became the rock giant it remains today.

Lucky Lips

The Triumph of the Motherf*****s and Cock*****s

40 years years after Lenny Bruce's nightclub career was flushed down the toilet following a series of arrests on obscenity charges;

30 years after his progeny, George Carlin, used the sanctity of college campuses to rail against the seven words he could not say on TV, it is finally safe to say that, (aside from the conundrum of the "n-word"),* language barriers in the arts and the great world beyond have all come tumbling down. 

Burton and Goulet Wonder Where Camelot Went

Let us now return to the magical musical days of Camelot as Robert “The Lusty Lance” Goulet and Julie “The Ice Queen” Andrews cloak their adulterous natures and avert the gaze of King "Cuckold" Arthur, embodied by Richard “Behold As My Magnificently Overblown Acting Chops Lay Waste To This Pair of Shmos” Burton, as he vows to visit steely vengeance upon the heads of the offending duo before they can reach the hills that  are alive with the Sounds of Music. (He might have done it too if only his sword were not made of cardboard).

Seriously,this is from a 1962 television special, The World of Lerner and Loewe - and it's pretty cool.

The World of Lerner and Loewe

And if you should arrive at a 105

Well, what d’ya know? Another 365 days come and gone. That means I get to recycle my favorite birthday mantra. It goes like this: For every year that I get older, I vow to act another year younger. I still haven’t done the math, but the way I figure it, if I should survive to 105, think of all I’ll derive by arriving at 5! And this is the best part; I’ve got a head start! Penny tax, touching green, no changies!

"Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are."

Not a clue who this guy is

The Drifters Survived

The Drifters never had any control over the songs they sang, the manner in which their music was prepared, recorded or presented. They never even owned the rights to the group name. They were basically a revolving cast of poorly paid hired hands that ran through a string of lead and backing vocalists according to someone else's whim. Despite that ...

Dion was so cool he could even get away with sharing the stage with Cher

Not only was Dion cooler than anyone else, but his musical well-spring was far deeper than that of any other one-name, one-dimensional, marginal talents of his day. Step to the rear, Fabian. Heigh to the hither, Cher. The Wanderer is on the prowl!

Runaround Sue with Cher

Sly Fun In the Summertime

Sly Stone had it all. And he stuffed every bit of it up his nose. What a dope.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Thank you faletinme bemice elf again

There are messages wrapped within mysteries in the Summertime.

In the several minutes I spent researching this Mungo Jerry song, I learned that it contains two important messages: 1) Summer is fun; and 2) always drink and drive. I did not, however, learn what a Mungo is, thereby leaving these one-hit wonders forever shrouded in mystery. 

Tony Soprano taught me everything I know about being a gangster.

Tony Soprano taught me everything I ever needed to know about how to ice, clip, hit, take out, rub out, negate, nullify and give a wise guy a one way ticket to palooka-ville and I know quite a lot about it - and how to be Gary Cooper and a family man at the same time. And his alter ego, James Galdofini, was one riveting actor. RIP, boss.  6/20/13

Captain Kangaroo and the Real Great Adventures of Tom Terriffic!

Bob Keegan was the original Clarabelle the Clown on The Howdie Doodie Show before expanding his art and reinventing himself as Captain Kangaroo.

The Lineup from left to right:

Dancing Bear, Mr. Moose, Mr. Greenjeans, Mr. Bunny and Captain Kangaroo

Dudley Do-Right Saves the Fort - and Western Civilization Survives!

Once again, that beacon of good-it-tude, Dudley Do-Right, rescues the fort to the wonder and amazement of the universe.

And I thought Betty White was only famous for being married to Allen Ludden

I always thought that Betty White was only famous for being married to Allen Ludden and moving to Minneapolis to hang with Mary Tyler Moore.  Then I heard her sing. Oops. Turns out I was right.

Harry Nilsson's The Point

Harry Nilsson's charming fable is set in the land of the Pointed Village where everyone has a point, with the exception of our hero, Oblio. 

Dustin Hoffman narrates this original version of The Point.

Can only be viewed on You Tube. 

The Funniest of the Funnies

Leading off with the greatest and most sharply satirical of 'em all - Garry (Don't look at me; he's the one who can't spell it) Trudeau's Doonesbury.

The First Strip -  B.D. Meets Mike October 26, 1970

Where Richard Nixon was concerned, Mark Slackmeyer never stood for journalistic fair play.  - May 29, 1973

Trudeau always carried a deft needle to puncture Trump. 

This is from 1987.

And 1999.

One of the only strips in which the characters aged in real time, this is 40 years further on down the road, May, 2013

Al Capp's L'il Abner - Sadie Hawkins Day

Al Capp's Fearless Fosdick ain't no Dick Tracy

And, of course, Charles Shultz whose Peanuts were filled with compassion. Here he relates the sad tale of Willie McCovey and the 1962 San Francisco Giants as told by Charlie Brown in 2 parts.

The invention of the asphalt roller paved the way for highways. Now if they would only invent the gasoline engine.

Beginning in the early 1930s, the trailblazing Dick Tracy was the first and only detective slick enough to have a device, in his case a wristwatch, that actually connected to the internet. It took the rest of the planet 60 years to catch up to the square jawed Dick. And his Crimestoppers textbook foiled many an evil minded villain intent on larceny. Guard your social security number!

The forerunner to comic strips peopled by animals observing the foibles of humans, Walt Kelley's Pogo was not only funny, but it actually mattered. 

Continuing along with the funniest of the Funnies, a look back at Berke Breathed's Bloom County.  

Running from 1980 through 1989, Breathed was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1987.  Milo, Binkley, Steve Dallas, Cutter John, Bill the Cat and, of course, Opus the Penguin combined the best elements of Doonesbury and Pogo in a gentle, satirical and utterly charming world of silliness.

   

Forty Years Later - May 18, 2013