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You never know what's going to pop up in your e-mail. Thought I'd share this with our listeners since it's historical Americana and was unknown to me until now. Things that make you go Hmmmmm.

When were jeans invented and by whom?

We went to Invention and Innovation category to answer your question. From cowboys to catwalks, blue jeans are big business. Whether you are a celeb with sass, or an average Joe seeking a relaxed look, the style, cut, color, and fit of your favorite pair of jeans say a lot about you. And this year marks the 152th anniversary of the indispensable bottoms. So whom do we have to thank for this most treasured piece of clothing? None other than Levi Strauss, the Bavarian-born American icon who clothed rugged cowboys in their signature work pants. The young immigrant made his way to San Francisco with his siblings in tow and dreams of success filling his head. In 1866, he established a dry-goods store on Battery Street, where it remained for 40 years.

Many of his customers were miners and cowboys who needed rough- and-tumble work clothes. Due to its durable nature, canvas was already a staple of workwear, but it tended to chafe the wearer. Strauss searched around and found a new fabric from France called "serge de Nimes" (later shortened to denim).

One of Strauss' customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor who purchased bolts of cloth wholesale. Davis' clientele included one particularly demanding customer who continually ripped the pockets off his pants. Davis fashioned him a pair of denim pants strengthened with rivets that could withstand a great deal of strain and abuse. Davis' pants were a hit, and he quickly saw the potential for big business. Lacking the $68 to file a patent and protect his design, Davis approached Strauss. The two quickly became business partners and filed a patent for their "waist overalls" on May 20, 1873.

U.S. Patent 139,121 specifically covered the process of riveting men's work pants. Featuring a single back pocket with an arcuate stitching design (a double row of arched stitching -- one of the oldest apparel trademarks in existence), a "cinch" buckle strap on the waistband, and suspender buttons instead of belt loops, the first pair of jeans were officially born in the San Francisco fog.

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Hmmmmm. You know, Bob. When I taught Humanities, that was one of the things that we discussed.

"More people made money mining miners, than miners made mining gold"

Levi Strauss was one of them. I heard your story a little differently, but it is basically the same. Strauss originally followed the gold miners around with "denim" that he thought would make great tents for prospectors, but feedback from some of the gold guys convinced him that they needed durable pants, so jeans were born.

Found this song in the archives:

The National Miner
John A. Stone & Stephen Foster

When our gold was first discovered
At Coloma near the mill.
All the world at first endeavored to get here
And they keep a-coming still.

Chorus:
Down in the deep ravines
Hear that roaring sound.
There the miners are a-digging.
Digging in the cold, damp ground.

When our war was through with Mexico,
And we paid them for the land;
Those who fought at Palo Alto
Were driven off by the nations they had tanned.

I don't quite understand that last line, listeners.

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News from London gathering

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Ahhhh, Francis' link was like watching a movie.

Looks as though we'll get to see Thomas. Already know about the others, via the magic of video radio.

Stay tuned, listeners, for another travelogue.

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tapping mike. Are we still on the air? Never know cause that FCC guy may have gotten pissedoff because I used his dumb quote.

The volume meter just moved, so I guess we are.

News item:

By Patrick O'Driscoll and Tom Kenworthy, USA TODAY
Fri Apr 29, 6:36 AM ET

The "Big Muddy" is in big trouble.

The Missouri River, the nation's longest, is struggling in the dry clutches of a multiyear drought. For six years, the river's three giant reservoirs on the northern Plains have dropped slowly and alarmingly, curbing recreation, hydropower generation and commercial navigation downstream. While the drought's effects are not irreversible, river managers say it will take years for the waterway and its many users
to see it as it was before:

Not as wide as it used to be, listeners:

Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away, you rollin' river
Oh, Shenandoah, I long to hear you
Look away. We're bound away
Across the wide Missouri

Now the Missouri is a mighty river
Look away, you rollin' river.
Indians camp along her border
Look away. We're bound away
Across the wide Missouri

Well a white man loved an Indian maiden
Look away, you rollin' river
With notions his canoe was laden
Look away, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri

Oh Shenandoah, I love your daughter
Look away, you rollin' river
It was for her I'd cross the water.
Look away, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri

For seven long years I courted Sally
Look away, you rollin' river
Seven more years I longed to have her
Look away, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri

Well, it's fare-thee-well, my dear,
I'm bound to leave you
Look away you rollin' river
Shenandoah, I will not deceive you
Look away, we're bound away
Across the wide Missouri.

Bob Dylan did that, too? Shocked

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Speaking of synchronicity, as we've done on other threads - I hope you see this Bob.
I have a trivia quiz calendar a friend sent me and when we chat on Msgr. in the mornings, I ask her a question from the calendar.

The question for tomorrow is "What were Levi Strauss's jeans called when they were patented in 1873? (lol)

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WOW! Raggedy. That was an odd one. I'm sure Bob will "hear it" <smile>.

Just remembered that this is Karaoke night.

Hey, gal. You didn't answer my quiz questions about your celebs.

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Hi aggie:

I was just about to step in the shower. Karaoke tonight! Looking forward to it. There's been a new singer who showed up a month ago. He's a construction worker from the South named Al. He's got a good voice and is really enjoying himself. He asked me last week if Sean dislikes him. I told him no. He then said he'd been snapping at him. I mentioned he was having some trouble with the system (which is true) and he was in a bad mood. Going to keep an eye on both tonight to judge for myself. Al's a really nice guy so hope there's no problem.

As to the question -- I have no idea but I'll guess that they called them Levi's. Have trouble remembering as I was much younger then. I'll be back later. Much later. Don't wait up for me. Hugs and kisses to you and of course my Lovely Letty.

Bob

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P. S. No, I don't sing in the shower and no, you can't watch.

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Can Raggedy and I at least peep through the keyhole, Bob?

Musicians are often sensitive, and I understand Al's situation. Big hugs, honey, and have fun.

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Bob: Read the next to the last paragraph. :wink: And good luck to you, Oh Mighty Peacemaker. Very Happy

bobsmythhawk wrote:

You never know what's going to pop up in your e-mail. Thought I'd share this with our listeners since it's historical Americana and was unknown to me until now. Things that make you go Hmmmmm.

When were jeans invented and by whom?

We went to Invention and Innovation category to answer your question. From cowboys to catwalks, blue jeans are big business. Whether you are a celeb with sass, or an average Joe seeking a relaxed look, the style, cut, color, and fit of your favorite pair of jeans say a lot about you. And this year marks the 152th anniversary of the indispensable bottoms. So whom do we have to thank for this most treasured piece of clothing? None other than Levi Strauss, the Bavarian-born American icon who clothed rugged cowboys in their signature work pants. The young immigrant made his way to San Francisco with his siblings in tow and dreams of success filling his head. In 1866, he established a dry-goods store on Battery Street, where it remained for 40 years.

Many of his customers were miners and cowboys who needed rough- and-tumble work clothes. Due to its durable nature, canvas was already a staple of workwear, but it tended to chafe the wearer. Strauss searched around and found a new fabric from France called "serge de Nimes" (later shortened to denim).

One of Strauss' customers was Jacob Davis, a tailor who purchased bolts of cloth wholesale. Davis' clientele included one particularly demanding customer who continually ripped the pockets off his pants. Davis fashioned him a pair of denim pants strengthened with rivets that could withstand a great deal of strain and abuse. Davis' pants were a hit, and he quickly saw the potential for big business. Lacking the $68 to file a patent and protect his design, Davis approached Strauss. The two quickly became business partners and filed a patent for their "waist overalls" on May 20, 1873.

U.S. Patent 139,121 specifically covered the process of riveting men's work pants. Featuring a single back pocket with an arcuate stitching design (a double row of arched stitching -- one of the oldest apparel trademarks in existence), a "cinch" buckle strap on the waistband, and suspender buttons instead of belt loops, the first pair of jeans were officially born in the San Francisco fog.

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Letty wrote:

Looking at Raggedy's celebs:

Let's match the expression with the star:
Rosebud
Mood Indigo
Inch worm
The last of his tribe

Good question, Letty.

Rosebud - Wm. Randolph Hearst (Citizen Kane)
Mood Indigo - The "Duke" Ellington
Inch Worm - Jeanmaire who danced in Hans Christian Anderson (One and one are two, two and two are four, you and your arithmetic probably will go far. I love that song. )
The last of his tribe -Daniel Day Lewis (The Last of the Mohicans)

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good evening WA2K, just some songs for your listening pleasure, no real theme tonight

enjoy

Maybe I'm Amazed
Paul McCartney

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Love Me All The Time
Maybe I'm Afraid Of The Way I Love You
Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Pulled Me Out Of Time
And Hung Me On A Line
Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way I Really Need You

Maybe I'm A Man And Maybe I'm A Lonely Man
Who's In The Middle Of Something
That He Doesn't Really Understand
Maybe I'm A Man And Maybe You're The Only Woman
Who Could Ever Help Me
Baby Won't You Help Me Understand

Maybe I'm A Man And Maybe I'm A Lonely Man
Who's In The Middle Of Something
That He Doesn't Really Understand
Maybe I'm A Man And Maybe You're The Only Woman
Who Could Ever Help Me
Baby Won't You Help Me Understand

Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You're With Me All The Time
Maybe I'm Afraid Of The Way I Leave You
Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way You Help Me Sing My Song
Right Me When I'm Wrong
Maybe I'm Amazed At The Way I Really Need You

She's Leaving
OMD

Everyday
A new start
A cheap affair
A sordid truth
We'll never learn
To guide our hearts
We'll never find
What we deserve

She's leaving
She waited for so long

She'd pretend
Thant she cared
Invent some tale
Just to gain his heart
But no more dreams
She didn't dare
She washed her hands
Of this whole affair

She's leaving
She waited for so long

But as she left
She gave her heart
Abandoned hope
And turned for home
I thought I'd ask
But then again
The more we learn
The less we know

Moment In The Sun
Clem Snide

when it's my moment in the sun
oh, how beautiful I'll be
but in a normal sort of way
like I am you and you are me

'cause I have a lot of things to say
and you'd be wise to listen good
I think that hunger, war and death
are bringin' everybody down

when it's my moment in the sun
I'll share my problems with the world
and psychosomatically I'll sing
to God and all his pretty girls

when it's my moment in the sun
I won't torget that I am blessed
but every hero walks alone
thinking of more things to confess

Jeane
The Smiths

Jeane
The low-life has lost its appeal
And I'm tired of walking these streets
To a room with a cupboard bare

Jeane
I'm not sure what happiness means
But I look in your eyes
And I know
That it isn't there

We tried, we failed
We tried, and we failed
We tried and we failed
We tried and we failed
We tried

Jeane
There's ice on the sink where we bathe
So how can you call this a home
When you know it's a grave ?

But you still hold a greedy grace
As you tidy the place
But it'll never be clean
Jeane

We tried, we failed
We tried, and we failed
We tried and we failed
We tried and we failed
We tried

Oh ...
Cash in the mail
It's just a fairytale
Oh ...
And I don't believe in magic anymore
Jeane

But I think you know
I really think you know
Oh ...
I think you know the truth
Jeane

Oh ...

No heavenly choir
Not for me and not for you
Because I think that you know
I really think you know
I think you know the truth
Oh ...
Jeane

That we tried, and we failed
That we tried, and we failed
We tried and we failed
We tried and we failed
Oh ...
Oh ...
Jeane

China
Cracker

Miss Mary won't you please come home from China.
Bring a bottle of whisky and a tin cup for your teeth.
Don't you sneak into the back door wearing some disguise.
Knock on the front door in view of the Temperance Guild.

Miss Mary won't you please come home cause I miss ya.
Your old spinster sister don't always give good advice.
Look at her she's in love with that drunken bandy-legged sheriff.
He'll unzip her pantsuit, but never leave his fat wife

CHORUS:
Miss Mary won't you please come home from China.
Come home from China.
Come home from China .

REPEAT CHORUS

Now that fake old beatnik poet the volunteer fireman.
He don't care if you come, he don't like I do.
He's in love with his dog and all his volunteer fireman.
And he is afraid to let the end of his versus rhyme.

REPEAT CHORUS x2

Estelle
Dan Bern

I was painting a still life this morning
Of a throat lozenge sitting on a copy
Of Tropic of Cancer
The only thing weird about it
Is that a year ago,
I never thought I'd paint anything again
I decided I wasn't ever gonna paint again
It didn't bother me too much
Warhol's dead,
David Hockney's still alive
I don't need to paint

I painted over ten thousand paintings
Sad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light ones
I've done haystacks
And rich old ladies by their pools
Wearing nothing but a scarf
I've painted everything there was to paint
Now it was time to sit back
Give interviews
Hang out at club med
Get on the internet
Take stock of what I've done

You know, the best friend I ever had was a dog
It sounds like a cliche unless it's happened to you
Some days that dog was the only reason I even got out of bed
That dog went everywhere with me
And then I heard the crack addicts
Were stealin' dogs and selling them for animal research
It sounded like an urban myth to me
Like the mouse in the Coke bottle
But I started leavin' her at home after that
You know, Paula was my wife for a while
She ran off to Paris with the great grandson of Van Gogh
A cartoonist who did fashion graphics for Le Monde
When Paula left she took my dog
I never saw her again
Except in the court during the custody battle
She won and got to keep the dog
And I didn't speak to anyone for months

You know sometimes it feels
Like there's so much that you need
Sometimes the world is upside down
Sometimes it feels
Like the only thing you need
Is holdin' someone's hand as you walk through town

I started hanging around with Dino
He used to run a poker game back east
Now he sells cappuccino to his old pals
Tommy Chicago and Jimmy the Wig and Ugly Rose

You know the best person I ever knew
Was a Mormon woman named Estelle
She still calls me drunk every few months
And asks me stuff I don't want to talk about
You can't talk to her very long unless you're drunk yourself
Then we go all night

She says, "Why baby, why baby, why baby, why
Have you turned your back on love?
You had so many chances
Why have you let 'em all go by?"

Well, one morning I was sitting in front of Dino's place
with Jake the Shears, a guy from Philly
Who gives free mohawks
There were a couple of young painters
I was hopin' to come by
So I could give 'em some advice
Yeah, I was sittin' there updating my list of enemies
When this girl walks in
And the universe kind of stops
Turned out she drank the same tea as me
It don't take more than that to start a conversation sometimes
She believed collage was the greatest of all the arts
And was busy pasting pictures of horses
Next to ads for laundry soap
Next to Mohammed Ali
She had a turquoise in her ear
And said Rachmaninoff was always in her head

Later that day I was trying to describe her to Jimmy the Wig
I couldn't find any words
And I realized I'd started to sketch her chin
Somehow it didn't look right
I scratched it out and tried it again
I filled an entire pad
I threw it away, I never even came close

For six days I sat at Dino's place
The rain wouldn't quit and no one came in
Finally on the seventh day it cleared
And in she walked
I asked her to sit with me
And ibought her a cup of tea
And I asked her to model for me sometime
That afternoon I was at a canvas
She was wearing a yellow dress
I swore if she let me, I'd get it right

I've painted over ten thousand paintings
Sad ones, funny ones, dark ones, and light ones
But sitting there, it was like I couldn't even
Write my own name
I apologized and said, "It's been a few months
If you have patience, I'll get the hang of it again"
In the next few weeks, I painted her hundreds of times
If I get the nose right, the chin's too long
If I get 'em both right, the face is too thin
But I keep after it and one day
I get it all right

I painted a still life this morning
Of a throat lozenge
sitting on a copy of Tropic of Cancer
The only weird thing about it
Is I never thought
I'd paint anything again
I think I might go visit Estelle
Those Utah mountains are good for the soul
I'll bring my brushes
And some Jack Daniels
And we can make up for lost time

She said, "Why baby, why baby, why baby why?
Have you turned your back on love
You had so many chances
Why do you let 'em all go by?
Why baby, why baby, why baby why?
Have you turned your back on love
You had so many chances
Why do you let 'em all go by?"

Sometimes it seems like there's so much that you need
Sometimes the world is upside down
Sometimes it seems like the only thing you need
Is holdin' someone's hand as you walk through town

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Can't fool you, Raggedy. Go to the head of the class.

Listeners, we miss our absent brothers and sisters.

dj must be taking care of business, and edgar is worrying about social security, (as am I)

Cyracuz is huddling in Norway, and God knows what hebba is doing. Them Brits via Denmark are tricky.

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dj, we here on WA2K are so lucky to have you, honey. Never quit writing the songs that are so depictive of the lyric poems of old.

for dj, of Canada in the kilt of his clan:

http://www.calgaryhighlanders.com/tartans.htm

This is my link to the Scot in me.

Wow! I never knew that I had so many different genes. Er, make that jeans. Razz

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we may need those kilts and regiments soon enough here, in the great white north

the ruling minority government is in danger of collapse

the only bright spot is, the political experts are all naming June 27th as the date of the SPRING election

apparently nobody informed the officials in Ottawa that summer begins on June 21st Embarrassed

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dj, tell us about it. We really want to know and understand your political system. I realize that the summer solstice begins on June 21st. How could Ottawa forget? Stunned!

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Well, listeners. My mind grows weary, but not my spirit.

For once, I will let this bit of history be my goodnight song:

A Wee History of the Kilt in Scotland
The tartan kilt has long been the most recognisable cultural tradition of the Highland Scots. Therefore, it surprises most people that many of the most recognisable features and traditions associated with the wearing of the kilt have, in fact, been developed in the nineteenth century, not by Scottish Highlanders, but by the Nobles of England and Scotland.

Will we ever see the last of royalty? Perhaps we just want to be a part of it.

Goodnight,
From Letty with love.

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interesting political times here in canada

our system is similar to the brittish, we elect members of parliment and the party with the most members elected forms the government, the liberals have had huge majority governments for many years, until the last election, as the results below show

Overall Election Results
Party Elected
Liberal 135
Conservative 99
Bloc Quebecois 54
New Democrat Party 19
Independent 1

a very complicated scandal and inquiry into said scandal has tarnished the Liberals and the Conservatives are planning to stage a vote of non confidence and effectively topple the government, part of the irony of this situation is, the Conservatives, the party of the first prime minister of Canada, are actively courting the Bloc Quebecois, the party that wants to seperate from Canada, to help bring the government down

politics does indeed make strange bed fellows

more info can be found here Sponsorship Scandal

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Good morning, WA2K radio fans.

dj, I read through your scandal report, and was totally awed. You mean the U.S. is not alone in double dealings? Razz

Explain, if you will, about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigation.

Hope things went well for Bob and his buddy last night, but I'm certain that he'll let us know later on.

It seems that Francis and McTag made the pub rounds and engaged in gossip. UhOh, listeners.

Well, I have a date with Mr. Coffee, so back later, listeners.

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