WA2K Radio is now on the air

Raggedy, I knew most of those folks, alive and dead. Great pictures of Alan and Mikhail. I do believe that Jessica Lang and Mikhail had two lovely children.

A little chagrined to see Livingston and Stanley since I was certain that Schweitzer was the presumptive person.

As to Jackson Pollock, a friend of mind did a reasonable copy of his blue, dripping horizonal art. I'll try and locate that blue on white and be back like a mite.

Well, listeners, all I could find out about Jackson Pollock was this:

[American Abstract Expressionist Painter, 1912-1956]




When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It's only after a sort of "get acquainted" period that I see what I have been about. I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own.

- quoted in Possibilities I, Winter 1947-48

oops, and this:

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/pollock/

And now, my goodnight song:

Why do I begin the day,
Wake up and end the day,
Thinking of you.

I think of no other other one,
Ever since I've begun,
Thinking of you.

When I go to sleep at night it seems,
You just tiptoe into all my dreams.

Can't remember the rest, listeners. (YAWN)

Goodnight from Letty with love

Lucien Carr, a muse and catalyst of the "beat generation" who brought Jack Kerouac together with other writers to spark a counterculture revolution, died on Friday in Washington.
He was 79.
Carr, a retired senior editor at the United Press International news wire service, died at George Washington University Hospital of complications from cancer treatment, said his longtime companion Kathleen Silvassy.
Carr was a student at Columbia University in New York in 1944 when he introduced Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs, who formed the literary nucleus of the countercultural "beatnik" movement of the 1950s.
"The beat scene was a circle of friends who just happened to have three of the most important writers of in the last 50 years in America, plus some extraordinary minds, including Lucien," said Dennis McNally, author of the Kerouac biography "Desolate Angel: Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation and America."
By some accounts, including his own, Carr played a role in Kerouac's legendary speedwriting of the breakthrough novel "On the Road," by supplying a Teletype roll for the manuscript. "I didn't steal it," he told a co-worker at UPI. "I just stuck it under my arm and brought it home."
But McNally said he inspected the manuscript recently and found it to consist of individual sheets of paper taped together. It was possible Carr supplied the roll for another Kerouac novel, "Dharma Bums," he said.
"Lucien's impact on Kerouac's thinking and writing was considerably more important than whether or not he supplied the roll," McNally said. He said Carr helped instill a notion of "first thought, best thought," in which the beat writers strived to be closer to the roots of inspiration and write spontaneously.
Carr served two years on a manslaughter conviction for stabbing dead an older man, David Kammerer, who had a romantic crush on Carr, and throwing his body into the Hudson River in 1944.
The conviction cast a pall over the emerging beats who were striving for authenticity in the gritty urban streets of America, and probably kept Carr from playing a more public role for the rest of his life, McNally said.
The killing and Carr's friendship with Burroughs were portrayed in the 2000 movie "Beat." Carr was also portrayed as Kenneth Wood in Kerouac's novel "The Town and the City."
Carr's 47-year UPI career began after his prison term and spanned most of the second half of the 20th century. "Lou Carr was a great editor: calm and unflappable as he handled bulletins and any political crisis that came in Washington," said former UPI White House correspondent Helen Thomas. "Young reporters were in awe of him -- some of the veterans as well."

THe beats were very influential in my early life and I still reverence them. When the chafe is sorted much of their work will still be studied, enjoyed, whatever ...

Good morning, WA2K radio fans.

Dys and edgar, unfortunately Letty was still in her Jazz phase when the Beat generation was at its height, but I do remember the poetry, etc. of Ferlinghetti, and in a search through our files found the following:

http://www.rooknet.com/beatpage/writers/ferlinghetti.html#seascape

It is still intriguing to me that so many artists, writers, etc. have a "mean gene" somewhere in their background as in the case of this beatnik. Do you suppose that it's a case of the good genes double up as well as the bad genes?

Some January 29 Birthday Celebs:

1737 Thomas Paine, Revolutionary War leader and author (Thetford, England; died 1809)
1843 William McKinley, 25th president of the United States (Niles, OH; died 1901)
1860 Anton Chekhov, playwright and short-story writer (Tapanrog, Ukraine; died 1904)
1880 W. C. Fields, comedian/actor (Philadelphia, PA; died 1946)
1916 Victor Mature, actor (Louisville, KY; died 1999)
1918 John Forsythe, actor (Penns Grove, NJ)
1923 Paddy Chayefsky, playwright/screenwriter (New York, NY; died 1981)
1939 Germaine Greer, feminist writer (Melbourne, Australia)
1945 Tom Selleck, actor (Detroit, MI)
1950 Ann Jillian, actress (Cambridge, MA)
1954 Oprah Winfrey, TV personality (Kosciusko, MS)
1960 Greg Louganis, Olympic champion diver (San Diego, CA)
1968 Edward Burns, actor/director (New York, NY)
1970 Heather Graham, actress (Milwaukee, WI)
1975 Sara Gilbert, actress (Santa Monica, CA)

Yusuf Islam to Sing for Tsunami Victims
By Anadolu Agency (aa)
Published: Saturday 29, 2005
zaman.com


British singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam and changed his name as Yusuf Islam 30 years ago, will give a concert for the tsunami victims in Indonesian capital Jakarta next week.

The famous singer noteed in an announcement broadcast on his Internet site that he wants to go to Aceh region that was hit by the tsunami and pray there. Moreover, he says that he plans to open a branch of his own aid organization Small Kindness in Indonesia. Yusuf Islam said: "This is not the return of Cat Steven. I see this as a natural response to express my pain as a Muslim and as an artist." The famous singer made a song called "Indian Ocean" with Magne Furuholmen from the Norwegian music group A-Ha and Neil Pirmrose from the British music group Travis after the disaster in South Asia. Meanwhile, Alanis Morisette, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliot, and Norah Jones had cancelled their Jakarta concerts due to their fear of terrorism prior to the disaster that hit Indonesia and other South Asian countries.




Jakarta

Good Morning. I wanted to preview my post first, but hit the submit button instead. Anyway, here's what I wanted to add:

W. C. Fields said:

"Start everyday with a smile and get it over with."

"I never vote for anyone; I vote against."

"The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive."

"If at first you don't succeed, try again. Then quit. There's no use being a damn fool about it."

Raggedy, W.C. Fields was one funny man. His bit about water still cracks me up:

Water? Can't stand the stuff. Fish "function" in it.

edgar, it is odd about the cat man, but I do hope that he succeeds with his benefit show. I always liked "Morning Has Broken" by him.

Listeners, our Seed is going to Germany, so we need to say Auf Wiedersehen to our young janitor whose prose and great work here will be sorely missed.

Working on the site,
From Morning 'till night,
That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

Then a pint with the boys,
In a bar full of noise,
That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

Working all day,
For a pittance of pay,
Then blow it all on Saturday night,

And you kiss the dames,
But you don't ask their names,
That's livin' alright.

Working in the sun,
Drinking Schnapps having fun,
That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

Then a night in the town,
Spreadin' it around,
That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

Working all day,
For a packet of pay,
And send a little back to the wife,

Still you keep a little here,
Just to keep you in beer,
That's livin alright.

Yeah you play the game,
Then it's Auf Wiedersehen,
That's livin alright.

Telling the lie,
With a glint in your eye,
'Cause tommorrow you'll be back on the site,

And you kiss the dames,
But you don't ask their names,
That' livin alright.

Yeah you play the game,
Then it's Auf Wiedersehen,

That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

That's livin' alright,
That's livin' alright,

Yeah, that's Auf Wiedersehen.

but, we could all sing:

Auf Wiedersehen,Auf Wiedersehen
the time has come to part
this lovely day has flown away
don't let the teardrops start.

We'll meet again, like this again
Auf Wiedersehen, sweet heart.

May all go well, Seed!

We'll Meet Again
The Ink Spots
Written by Ross Parker and Hughie Charles

This version did not chart but
In 1941, Kay Kyser and Guy Lombardo's versions both hit # 24
In 1942, Benny Goodman stood alone at # 16
And in 1954, Vera Lynn brought it back at # 29 and her version was used in the final scene of
the 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
But I'm sure we'll meet again some sunny day
Keep smiling through, just the way you used to do
Till the blue skies chase the dark clouds far away

Now, won't you please say "Hello" to the folks that I know
Tell 'em it won't be long
'cause they'd be happy to know that when you saw me go
I was singing this song

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
But I'm sure we'll meet again some sunny day

MONOLOGUE: Yes, we'll meet again. Darlin', I don't know where and I don't know when. But
I KNOW we'll meet again one of these good ole sunshiny days. Ya know, darlin', all ya gotta
do is just keep on smilin' through you know just like you ALWAYS do, until the blue skies
chase the dark clouds far, far, far away. I wantcha to do me a favor, please say "Hello" to
all
the folks that I know. Well, just tell 'em it won't be long. They'd be happy to know that when
you saw me go, I was standin' right here, singin' this song.

We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when
But I know we'll meet again some sunny day

Oh, I remember Vera Lynn singing that in Dr. Strangelove. That was "eerie".

I adored Peter Sellers in that movie. Frankly, I thought his portrayal of the President was so convincing that I thought he was an American.

Strange, but I don't remember Vera Lynn singing that song.

Raggedy, who sang your "good-bye" tune? In the corner of my mind I can hear Bing Crosby's version, but I couldn't locate it anywhere.

Of course, Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" once again proves that propaganda is an art form. I'm thinking of Walter right now. In his thread about the holocaust, I was all over the web trying to look at things from both sides.

I heard "Moonlight in Vermont" on a jazz record show on the radio this evening, played on the clarinet by Zoot Sims.

That brought back memories.
I love that tune, have loved it for a long time. I remember, I think it was Jimmy Giuffre or Bob Brookmeyer playing it, quietly and magically.

I thought you might ask that. I'll be darned if I know who sang the first song, but I'll try to found out.

But, the second song "Auf Wiedersehen ,Sweetheart "was another Vera Lynn song that was very popular during WWII.

Ah, McTag. Moonlight in Vermont is beautiful--and yes, magical. I'll bet Raggedy beats me to this, but......................................

Pennies in a stream
Falling leaves a sycamore
Moonlight in Vermont

Gentle finger waves
Ski trails down a mountain side
Snowlight in Vermont

Telegraph cables, how they sing down the highway
As they travel each bend in the road
And when people meet, in this romantic setting
They're so hypnotized be the lovely...

Evening summer breeze
Sweet warblings of the meadowlark
Moonlight in Vermont

Written by Blackburn/Suessdorf

Everyone sang it, but Zoot Sims? My word.

Mel Torme.

I think the version I fell in love with was by Jimmy Giuffre on the tenor sax.

He, a multi-instumentalist, had a ground-breaking trio in the early 1960s.

(they used to lay paving ....)

Hey, Mc. Now I'm gonna spend far too much time locating Giuffre. Ah, well, back to the drawing board.

Well, listeners, everything here from pop to rock to jazz to art and architecture.

For the Brits:

I have longed wondered the source of the term knickerbockers and found this interesting explanation:

The origin of the name "Knickerbocker"
Why Knickerbockers?


THE NAME ...

The term "Knickerbockers" traces its origin back to the Dutch settlers who came to the New World -- and especially to what is now New York -- in the 1600s. Specifically, it refers to the style of pants the settlers wore ... pants that rolled up just below the knee, which became known as "Knickerbockers," or "knickers".

Through history, the Dutch settler "Knickerbocker" character became synonymous with New York City. The city's most popular symbol of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was "Father Knickerbocker," complete with cotton wig, three-cornered hat, buckled shoes, and, of course, knickered pants.

Also the use of lucifer and fag.

Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag,
And smile, smile, smile.
While you've a lucifer to light your fag,
Smile boys, that the style.
What's the use of worrying,
It never was worth while, soooooooo
Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and
Smile, smile, smile.

fag-cigarette
lucifer- match