Sunday Open Thread: September 17th is Batman Day
World History this day
1577 -- The Treaty of Bergerac between the Huguenots and Henry III was signed
1631 -- The Swedish defeated the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Breitenfeld
1941 -- The end of the Anglo-Soviet invasion of the neutral nation of Iran (to steal its oil.)
1948 -- The Lehi (Stern Gang) assassinated Folke Bernadotte, UN mediator bewteen the Arab states and Israel
US History this day
1776 -- The Presidio of San Francisco was founded in New Spain.
1778 -- The Treaty of Fort Pitt between the Lenape and the "US" was signed (for the not US by Lewis and Lewis)
1787 -- The US Constitution was signed
1849 -- Harriet Tubman escaped from slavery
1859 -- Joshua A. Norton became "Norton I, Emperor of the United States."
1983 -- Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America.
2011 -- Occupy Wall Street started in Zuccotti Park
Science & Technology this day
1683 -- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's wrote to the Royal Society describing "animalcules"
1908 -- The Wright Flyer flown by Orville Wright crashed killing passenger Thomas Selfridge, the first airplane fatality
1991 -- The first version of the Linux kernel was released
The Arts this day
1925 -- Frida Kahlo was terribly injured in a bus accident, causing her to abandon her medical studies for art
1954 -- William Golding's Lord of the Flies was published
Misc. this day
Birthdays of Note this day
1677 -- Stephen Hales, the inventor of forceps
1730 -- Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, general in the Continental Army.
1743 -- Marquis de Condorcet, mathematician, philospher, invented a variant of rankest choice elections
1857 -- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, scientist, engineer, pioneer in astronautical theory
1859 -- William Bonney, Quintessential American, archetype for US economic, political, social, and foreign policies
1883 -- William Carlos Williams, poet, essayist and author
1901 -- Francis Chichester, sailor
1903 -- Frank O'Connor, poet, novelist and short story writer
1923 -- Hank Williams, singer, songwriter and guitarist
1926 -- Bill Black, bandleader and bassist
1926 -- Jack McDuff, organist and singer
1929 -- Sil Austin, sax player
1930 -- Theo Loevendie, clarinettist and composer
1932 -- Robert B. Parker, author
1935 -- Ken Kesey, poet, essayist, novelist; on the bus
1938 -- Perry Robinson, clarinettist and composer
1950 -- Fee Waybill, singer and songwriter
1974 -- Mirah, singer, songwriter and guitarist
Deaths of Note this day
1574 -- Pedro Menendez de Aviles, founder of St. Augustine, FL
1858 -- Dred Scott, property of John Sanford, see 60 U.S. 393 (S. Ct.), also wwwbd (what would William Bonney do?)
1868 -- Roman Nose, Cheyenne warrior
1948 -- Folke Bernadotte, diplomat
1951 -- Jimmy Yancey, pianist and composer
1980 -- Anastasio Somoza Debayle, gangster, last Somoza to serve as "President" of Nicaragua
1993 -- Willie Mosconi, pool player
1994 -- John Delafose, zydeco accordianist
1994 -- Karl Popper, philosopher
2013 -- Bernie McGann, saxophonist
2013 -- Marvin Rainwater, singer and songwriter
2014 -- George Hamilton IV, singer, songwriter, guitarist and botanist
So now some music
Hank Williams
Bill Black
Jack McDuff
Sil Austin
Theo Loevendie
Perry Robinson
Fee Waybill
Mirah
Jimmy Yancey
John Delafose
Bernie McGann
Marvin Rainwater
George Hamilton IV
Bonus:
Photo: by Julian Kopald; public domain
Comments
Morning el
Thanks for the music. Hank is from Alabama and had quite a sad life. He bought his last jar of moonshine in the little town where I taught for most of my career.
Check out Karen Pell's song "The Montgomery Blues"
http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2016/07/27/six-y...
(page down for just the song clip - otherwise you can listen to the 15 min interview that will include the song, and others.)
THE MONTGOMERY BLUES
I was needin to be working
But my mind had left the room
In spite of all the deadlines
I was humming this here tune
Then I thought about some whiskey
And that’s when I knew
I was facing a case of
The Montgomery Blues
Now they say Montgomery’s changing
Gonna revitalize
Got a hotel and a ball team
But they don’t realize
There’s a spirit that blows thru here
No matter what they do
And now and then’s gonna send
The Montgomery Blues
I bet ole Jeff Davis
On his inauguration day
Standing on the Capitol steps
Hearing Dixie play
Saw the clouds of war
As he looked down Dexter Avenue
And there & then felt a twinge of
The Montgomery Blues
And down that same street
Marched Martin Luther King
All the way from Selma
The people came to sing
We Shall Overcome—they made the evening news
Strong and bold full of soul and
The Montgomery Blues
Now for sure Old Hank had em
I think it put him in his grave
Whippoorwills and falling stars
And lonesome midnight trains
I went to see him yesterday
Needed a line or two
Got inspired grabbed this guitar & wrote
Montgomery Blues
Hank warn’t the only one
F. Scott’s “Tender Is the Night”
Steve Young’s “Seven Bridges Road”
Written here and done alright
Boys I appreciate the company
But to tell you the truth
I’d take a stash of some cash for these
Montgomery Blues
You can stand on the star
Where Jeff Davis stood that day
Sit on a marble bench
At Hank’s final resting place
Put your hand on the martyrs’ names
Black Granite and water flowing through
Ain’t no doubt its all about
The Montgomery Blues
So stroll along the river walk
And sip on a latte
Get a massage at Renasissance
Go watch the Biscuits play
That old spirit’s gonna find you
So when you feel like I do
Come on down and we’ll sing a round of
The Montgomery Blues
2008 K.Pell 334 264 6826; Pell Publishing ASCAP
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Good morning, Lookout. Thanks much for that.
The only Montgomery I've been to is good ol' Montgomery Ward. I tend to think of the SPLC, and "Angel from Montgomery" because of closer personal associations. I missed King's march, being all caught up at Cal, and while we all heard about it, "Selma" was the identifier in use and is still what stuck. I'm more likely to think: "Montgomery? Oh yeah, Alabama. Kenny Stabler went to 'bama. Man the Raiders were crazies back then."
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
It is quite a place of contradictions
Standing on the capital steps is a brass plate with a star of David (the sec'y of the confederate treasury was Jewish)it is the spot where Jefferson Davis was sworn in. You look down Dexter Ave. On the left is Dr. king's old church. At the end of Dexter is a fountain where it was rumored Zelda Fitzgerald skinny dipped. It sits at the site of the old slave market. Just up the block is the bus station is where the freedom riders had the crap beat out of them. It is the street where the Selma march ended as they marched to the capital.
Perhaps it just reflects the many contradictions of US society, but it sure seems strong in Montgomery.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Wow, contradictions aplenty indeed.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Late to the party...
"Lord of the Flies" can't forget this great piece of work, may it challenge young people, forever.
Thank for the OT, el, and have a good week!