Posted in Regular Features, tagged Miscellaneous, People, Quotes, Society on December 31, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans.
— Jacques Yves Cousteau
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America will never be destroyed from the outside.
— Abraham Lincoln
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Trouble knocked at the door, but, hearing laughter, hurried away.
— Benjamin Franklin
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This above all: to thine own self be true.
— William Shakespeare
Cousteau
Shakespeare
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Music on December 28, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Being a devoted fan of 80s alternative rock, I tune out most songs of other genres — hip-hop, country, soul, Italian opera. In the case of hip-hop, I tune it out completely.
But an occasional song in those lesser categories turns out to have merit. Hip-hop excluded, of course. One of those is “Slip Away” by Clarence Carter.
Carter was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1936 (he is now 84). He earned a BS in Music in 1960 and began a career as a soul singer. He started out as half of the duo “Clarence and Calvin” with Calvin Scott, but soon went solo.
Although “Slip Away” is one of his best-known songs, his infamous “Strokin’” also gets plenty of attention. “Strokin’” which is too bawdy for radio or TV, found a niche on jukeboxes and in strip clubs.
“Slip Away,” I assure you, is safely G-rated.
Slip Away
By Clarence Carter, 1968
Written by William Armstrong, Marcus Daniel, and Wilbur Terrell
What would I give
For just a few moments.
What would I give
Just to have you near.
Tell me you will try
To slip away somehow.
Oh, I need you, darling.
I want to see you right now.
Can you slip away.
Slip away.
Slip away.
Oh, I need you so.
Love, oh, love,
How sweet it is
When you steal it, darling.
Let me tell you somethin’ now.
How sweet it is.
Now I know it’s wrong,
The things I ask you to do.
But please believe me, darling,
I don’t mean to hurt you.
But could you just slip away
Without him knowing you’re gone?
Then we could meet somewhere —
Somewhere where we both are not known.
And just can you slip away.
Slip away.
Slip away.
I need you so.
Oh, can you slip away, baby.
I’d like to see you right now, darling.
Can you slip away now, baby.
‘Cause I got to, I got to see you.
I feel a deep burning inside.
https://rockysmith.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/slip-away.mp3
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Humor, Miscellaneous, Opinion on December 17, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Humor, Life, Miscellaneous on December 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Regular Features, tagged History, Life, Miscellaneous on December 8, 2020| 2 Comments »
The Questions…
1. Based on studies of collagen in bones, what two present-day bird species are most closely related to Tyrannosaurus rex?
2. More greeting cards are sold at Christmas than at any other holiday. What holiday is in second place?
3. The first six Star Wars films all were released in the same month. Which month?
4. The explorer Ponce de Leon gave Florida its name in 1513. The word comes from the Spanish florido, which means what?
5. The human population of Australia is 24 million. What is the kangaroo population?
The Answers…
1. Chickens and ostriches.
2. Valentine’s Day.
3. The six films of the original trilogy and the prequel trilogy were released in May. The films of the sequel trilogy, under Disney, were released in December.
4. Flowery.
5. About 44 million. The number has doubled in the last six years. The government wants people to eat more kangaroo meat, but most Aussies are turned off by that. They favor programs to sterilize and relocate the animals.
Posted in Regular Features, tagged History, Miscellaneous, People, Quotes on December 2, 2020| Leave a Comment »
In America, anybody can be president. That’s one of the risks you take.
— Adlai Stevenson
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What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Life is too short to learn German.
— Oscar Wilde
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All generalizations are false, including this one.
— Mark Twain
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Music, People, Society on November 23, 2020| Leave a Comment »
According to members of the Canadian rock band The Guess Who, their 1970 hit “American Woman” is not, as many think, an anti-war song or an attack on U.S. politics (the lines about war machines and ghetto scenes notwithstanding). Rather, it’s a declaration that the guys in the band prefer Canadian girls because they’re nicer.
Lead singer Burton Cummings, who composed the lyrics, described American girls as “well, dangerous,” and after a long tour, “it was a real treat to go home and see the girls we had grown up with.”
Cummings said both the music and the lyrics to “American Woman” were improvised. During a concert, the band paused while guitarist Randy Bachman replaced a broken string. When tuning the guitar, Bachman spontaneously played a riff the band liked.
Before resuming the concert, they paused for a brief jam session based on the riff. Cummings improvised the first of the lyrics on the spot, and the tune was finalized later.
That story seems plausible, considering that neither the melody nor the lyrics are what you’d call deep or sophisticated.
American Woman
By The Guess Who, 1970
Written by Randy Bachman, Burton Cummings, Jim Kale, and Garry Peterson
American woman gonna mess your mind.
American woman, she gonna mess your mind.
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Say A
Say M
Say E
Say R
Say I
C
Say A
N, mmm
American woman gonna mess your mind.
Mmm, American woman gonna mess your mind.
Uh — American woman gonna mess your mind.
Uh!
American woman, stay away from me.
American woman, mama, let me be.
Don’t come a-hangin’ around my door.
I don’t wanna see your face no more.
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin’ old with you.
Now woman, I said stay away.
American woman, listen what I say.
American woman, get away from me.
American woman, mama, let me be.
Don’t come a-knockin’ around my door.
Don’t wanna see your shadow no more.
Colored lights can hypnotize.
Sparkle someone else’s eyes.
Now woman, I said get away.
American woman, listen what I say, hey.
American woman, I said get away.
American woman, listen what I say.
Don’t come a-hangin’ around my door.
Don’t wanna see your face no more.
I don’t need your war machines.
I don’t need your ghetto scenes.
Colored lights can hypnotize.
Sparkle someone else’s eyes.
Now woman, get away from me.
American woman, mama, let me be.
Go, gotta get away, gotta get away.
Now go, go, go.
I’m gonna leave you, woman.
Gonna leave you, woman.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
Bye-bye.
You’re no good for me.
I’m no good for you.
Gonna look you right in the eye.
Tell you what I’m gonna do.
You know I’m gonna leave.
You know I’m gonna go.
You know I’m gonna leave.
You know I’m gonna go, woman.
I’m gonna leave you, woman.
Goodbye, American woman.
https://rockysmith.files.wordpress.com/2020/10/american-woman.mp3
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Humor, Miscellaneous on November 14, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Humor, Life, Miscellaneous, Society on November 11, 2020| Leave a Comment »
Posted in Regular Features, tagged Life, Miscellaneous, Society on November 5, 2020| Leave a Comment »
The Questions…
1. Only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World remains largely intact. Which one?
2. What is a parietal eye?
3. What is the best-selling book series of all time?
4. So far, humans have survived on earth for two million years. How long did the dinosaurs last?
5. In 1965, what American vehicle set a record, which still stands, for the most units sold in a single year?
The Answers…
1. The Great Pyramid of Giza.
2. A small, light-sensitive third “eye” atop the head of many reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Its function is to warn of aerial threats. The eye is covered by skin and usually isn’t visible externally. It is present in most lizards, frogs, and sharks.
3. The Harry Potter books. More than 500 million copies of the eight Harry Potter novels have been sold.
4. 150 million years.
5. The Chevrolet Impala. In 1965, GM sold 1,046,514 Impalas. The list price was $3,600.
