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Even in the entertainment world: there's no escaping da crazy:
SEPARATED at BIRTH - rock musician Jimmy Page and "The Hobbit" character Bilbo Baggins (as portrayed by the actor Ian Holm).
If you're not dazed and confused: then stop in for a look at news items outside the headlines, in the arts and sciences; foreign news that generates little notice in the US media and ....well, just plain whimsy.....
ART NOTES - works by NEA National Heritage Fellows are at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico through May 22nd, 2011.
A RECENT CARTOON by Tom Tomorrow isn't about politics ... but Internet myths.
FILM NOTES - plans are afoot to make a film version of the 1960's TV spy show The Man from UNCLE into a feature-length film.
At this link Professor Cynthia Walker of St. Peter's College in New Jersey tells her students to ask their mother about Ilya Kuryakin - and they're amazed to hear their mother scream, "I loved Ilya!" (I wonder how much the Man from UNCLE lunchbox I had as a child would fetch on eBay now?)
TUESDAY's CHILD is Emme the Cat - a Massachusetts kitteh who (mercifully) was rescued from this storm drain.
DURING THE TURMOIL in Europe over airline cancellations due to the volcanic ash situation: the popular former auto racing champ Niki Lauda - who now runs his own budget carrier FlyNiki - has spent time explaining to the Austrian public why precautions are necessary despite not being able to see these clouds at sea level.
WHILE YOU MIGHT ASSOCIATE this only with disco club dance floors: the city of Toulouse, France is using pavement modules that - when ordinary pedestrians walk over them - produce enough electricity to illuminate street lights.
SISTER-BROTHER? - TV star Nancy McKeon and film star Val Kilmer.
ALONG WITH BRITAIN there is a fast-approaching election in The Philippines - and in the open race for President the major candidates are unspecific as to what they would do differently, and are battling conspiracy theories as to the transfer of power.
ART NOTES - an exhibition of prints which were sources for the operas of Richard Wagner are at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through August 16th.
FILM NOTES - an Italian documentary produced by businesswoman Lorella Zanardo laments the status of women on Italian TV: "showgirls with a beautiful body and no brain". In a related story: my pal Silvio Berlusconi's TV empire is deemed Exhibit A.
WEDNESDAY's CHILD is Kitty the Cat - a Swedish kitteh who survived being shot by nine pellets.
FILM NOTES - an upcoming film by Ridley Scott (with Russell Crowe in the title role) leads one essayist to ponder: what do we really known about Robin Hood anyway?
WINE NOTES - first it was France planning to build a railway line through the vineyards of Cézanne country ...
... and now it is a plan to build a bridge across the Mosel River in Germany that threatens some of the country's most famous vineyards.
SEPARATED at BIRTH - President Obama and Indonesian photographer Ilham Anas.
A RECENT OBITUARY in The Economist offers a fascinating profile of Eugene Terre'Blanche - the recently murdered South African apartheid advocate.
... will be at the Scream Gallery in London, England from May 13th until July 3rd.
POLITICAL NOTES Spain's first female defense minister Carme Chacón took office in 2008 while seven months pregnant. Two years later, she is popular within the military and is seen as the great hope of PM Zapatero's ruling Socialist Party.
THURSDAY's CHILD is Charles the Cat - a New Mexico kitteh located in Chicago, and who scored a free American Airlines flight home.
TV NOTES - Entertainment Weekly has an interesting look at 12 stars of currently popular TV commercials - and the people behind the roles.
PERHAPS YOU HAVE seen this on the Intertubes: the historical rant by Adolf Hitler at his generals when he realizes the war is about to be lost very soon - and as portrayed by the Swiss actor Bruno Ganz in the 2004 film "Downfall" - has achieved a life of its own. Ganz's rant in German has now been frequently parodied where the English subtitles no longer translate Hitler's anger over the war efforts, but now express rage that (a) Susan Boyle lost "Britain's Got Talent", or that (b) Kanye West interrupted Taylor Swift at an awards show, etc.
Now the film company is trying to pull down the parodies, given that there are over 200 of them out there. Good luck with that.
ART NOTES - the first solo exhibition in the U.S by the Mexican artist Dr. Lakra is at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, Massachusetts through September 6th.
BACK TO THE FUTURE - derided by many as pure kitsch not too long ago, the German cuckoo clock is experiencing something of a renaissance.
ARCHITECTURE NOTES - in the southern Italian city of Crotone the remains of a luxury building complex dating back 2,000 years have emerged.
FRIDAY's CHILD is Saffy the Cat - a Scottish pootie reunited with her family (via microchip) after a six-year absence.
BUSINESS NOTES - The Economist looks at the oligopoly that is the dialysis business and how health care reform may affect it.
QUOTE for today: while attending a tea party rally in Washington D.C., the syndicated columnist Clarence Page described it using the words of Mick Jagger: "I went down to the demonstration .... to get my fair share of abuse."
SEPARATED at BIRTH - film star Nicolas Cage and TV star Duane 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' Chapman.
....... and for a song of the week................................................................... while he has settled into the role of an elder statesman of New Orleans music of all kinds: at one time Dr. John was considered an avant-garde psychedelic performer where every day was Mardi Gras. His career has taken some twists and turns, but in the aftermath of Katrina the media sought out a few familiar faces: The Neville Brothers, Harry Connick Jr., Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint ... and Dr. John, whom CBS's "Sunday Morning" profiled in the wake of that disaster. The identification is that strong.
Born as Malcolm (Mac) Rebennack in 1940, he began as a session guitarist and keyboardist in his native city, appearing on recordings by Frankie Ford (of "Sea Cruise" fame) and his mentor, Professor Longhair. He had a regional hit ("Storm Warning") in 1959 while still a teenager. Shortly thereafter he became an A&R man for local record labels, before concentrating on keyboards when his left ring finger was injured (by a gunshot) while defending an old friend. With events such as this and some early drug use, he left New Orleans in 1963 - where he became a featured session musician (as seen in the first photo). He performed on recordings from Sonny & Cher to Canned Heat.
In 1968 he was signed to Atco (an Atlantic Records subsidiary) and by that time had honed his own persona. He became Dr. John Creaux (based on a voodoo practitioner of the 19th Century) as well as the Night Tripper (based on ... well..) and his stage show combined voodoo, New Orleans R&B, traditional blues and the emerging psychedelic rock sound. This emerged in his first album Gris-Gris - recorded during left-over studio time booked by Sonny & Cher. It featured tunes such as "Mama Roux" and "Danse Fambeaux" and combined ... even a touch of vaudeville to the mix.
Upon hearing it, the late Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun (who didn't sign Rebennack personally) is supposed to have exclaimed, "How are we supposed to sell this boogaloo crap?!?"
The album didn't chart, but was named by Rolling Stone as #143 on its 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list ...
... and after being out-of-print for a long time: Gris-Gris became available on the Collector's Choice label.
Rebennack gained a following not only with the public, but also with many rock stars (Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton) eager to embrace a sound not played by anyone else. And from 1969-1971: Dr. John's sound (on albums such as Remedies ....
... and The Sun, Moon and Herbs continued to evolve, with several guest rock stars appearing on them. I recall seeing him perform during this period but - alas - he was the opening act for rock acts Foghat and the James Gang (post-Joe Walsh era) and the fans at the show were ... well, less than enthusiastic about his brand of music.
It was his next recording Dr. John's Gumbo from 1972 where he began to shift-out of his psychedelia mode (although vestiges have remained to this day).
His first chart success came with a cover version of the Mardi Gras-themed song Iko Iko which needed a 2002 court case to resolve its authorship.
The album had other New Orleans R&B tunes such as "Tipitina" and "Junko Partner" and was named by Rolling Stone as #402 on its 500 Greatest Albums listing.
Rebennack dropped the Night Tripper name and had his biggest hit with next year's Right Place, Wrong Time ...
.. plus Such a Night that saw him appear on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert and other shows of its time.
Later in 1973, he appeared along with guitarists Mike Bloomfield and John Hammond on the album Triumvirate and his career seemed wide open.
He co-wrote songs with Doc Pomus (and sang at his 1991 funeral) and performed on The Band's 1976 The Last Waltz album.
But he had difficulties the rest of the decade (substance abuse among them) and the All-Music Guide's Richie Unterberger cites his unpredictability as hampering his commercial success, as well as his being all-too-willing to coast on performing traditional R&B rather than challenge himself. He did branch-out in the 1980's: with solo piano recordings, a 1989 Great American Songbook effort, a tour with Englishman Chris Barber ....
... and even an album with old fashioned Dixieland performers Al Hirt and Pete Fountain.
Since 1990, he has continued on an unpredictable path: with albums of more original songs (1994's "Television", 1998's Anutha Zone with Paul Weller of The Jam and 2001's "Creole Moon") ....
.... along with ballads/tribute albums (such as 1995's "Afterglow", 200's "Duke Elegant" and 2006's Mercernary - the songs of Johnny Mercer).
But in the wake of Katrina, he has worked tirelessly at benefit shows and telethons: with 2005's EP "Sippiana Hericane" as well as his best-reviewed album in years: his 2008 (and most recent) recording The City that Care Forgot - with some not-so-thinly disguised criticism of politicians we used to know.
In 1994 he released his autobiography and while his chart-topping days may have passed - if you look/listen closely, you can hear his music everywhere: from the Stones' "Let it Loose" (from 1972's Exile on Main Street) to the Blues Brothers 2000 ("How Blue Can You Get", "Season of the Witch") and more recently Disney's 2009 "Princess and the Frog" ("Down in New Orleans").
... and was King of the Krewe du Vieux for this year's Mardi Gras. Dr. John will probably be making house calls for some time to come.
For all of his work: I still treasure the closing tune on his first album, I Walk on Gilded Splinters (fair-use extract below) which captured the spirit of his early Night Tripper days.
The song has been covered by Marsha Hunt, Paul Weller and - most famously - an extended version from Humble Pie's Performance: Rocking the Fillmore 1971 live album.
And at this link you can hear Dr. John perform it live.
Some people think they jive me
But I know they must be crazy
They don't see their misfortune
If they're just too lazy
Walk through the fire
Fly through the smoke
See my enemy
at the end of their rope
Walk on pins and needles
See what they can do
Walk on gilded splinters
With the King of the Zulus
