'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Baron Dave Romm
Irving Burgie
By Baron Dave Romm
As we enter the back stretch of winter, let's talk about Carribean music, and the man who brought us a lot of it.
Irving Burgie is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and wrote the national anthem for Barbados. But you know him as the guy who wrote Day-O and Jamaica Farewell.
I grew up listening to Harry Belafonte's album Calypso, the first million selling album by a single artist, and Burgie wrote 8 of the 11 songs. Everyone knows the songs, almost to the point where they're considered unattributed folk songs. Burgie's songs are constantly being recorded anew, and were in the movie Beetlejuice and pop up everywhere. Well, like Happy Birthday and others, they had a composer and arranger. (Aside: The song is owned by Warner Communications, so if you sing Happy Birthday, you owe money to AOL.)Quick bio: Born in Brooklyn from a West Indian mother, he grew up in the ethnic neighborhood and was a great fan of the hit parade on the radio. He served in the army during WWII and studied at Julliard after his discharge. The rising folk music scene gave him the opportunity to perform on the hootenany circuit as Lord Burgess, singing in English, Spanish, Italian, and Hebrew. He talks about his history and his new (in 1997) album Island in the Sun in this interview. Releasing an album at age 72, he said, "Everybody knows my music, but nobody really knows me. People in the business know me, but the public doesn't really know who I am. I'd really like to establish that in the next year, and just have fun and play, 'cause I enjoy it."
Burgie hasn't rested on his laurels. He wrote the lyrics to the National Anthem of his mother's country, Barbados. (Lyrics and auto load of the tune here.) He's compiled some of his songs and other tales in the children's book Caribbean Carnival: Songs of the West Indies.
The Caribbean in general and Barbados in particular seem like a hotbed of music. All areas have their own style of singing and dancing, but the many music styles come from the crossroads, where cultures meet and clash. Calypso, reggae, New Orleans jazz, New York punk, etc. This site points out "The derivation of calypso rhythms can be traced back to the arrival of the first African slaves to Barbados and other Caribbean islands in the seventeenth century. The artform, which was developed in Trinidad, combines the skills of story-telling, singing and instrument making, and has since been influenced by European, North American and other Caribbean cultures. Calypso is a unique form of music that is an integral part of the Barbadian cultural landscape." While this site says "Calypso is yet another Trinidadian invention. But contrary to what many people believe, true calypso or 'purist' calypso is not just about jump-up carnival dancing. Instead it is first a serious social commentary about issues of the day. Calypso is the musician's form of political satire. Listening to the words you will hear attacks on virtually any and every thing." Calypso itself has been divided into Soca, Steel Pin and the roving Tuk bands. I don't know who makes up these categories, but I get their fun to be a part of.
I'll end with a few verses from a warm song of lost love, I Do Adore HerWhen shadows fall and stars appears
A pain I feel I cannot bear
If I could relive that faithful day
I would not turn my love away.
I reveal how I do adore her
Hang my heart on my sleeve just for her
All my love thru-out life assure her
If this moment I could Amour her.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia with a radio show, a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. He reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E here. Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air, and I'm collecting extra-weird stuff for a possible CD compilation.
He's Been Busy - Again!
The Worried Shrimp
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Very pleasant day.
The kid is digging in the backyard again, so it must be spring. He says his 'project' is to dig either an underground laboratory or a bomb shelter.
Should be getting my 'real' computer back this week.
Tonight, Monday, CBS opens the night with a FRESH 'King Of Queens', then a FRESH 'Yes, Dear', followed by a FRESH
'Raymond', then a FRESH 'Still Standing', and caps the night with a FRESH 'CSI: Miami'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Dave are Kate Hudson and Jack Hanna.
Scheduled on a FRESH Craiggers are Jim Belushi, Gabrielle Union, and 30 Seconds to Mars.
NBC starts with a FRESH 'Fear Factor', then a FRESH 'Third Watch', and a FRESH 'Crossing Jordan'.
Scheduled on a FRESH Jay are Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, and "American Fido" competition.
On a RERUN Conan are Jimmy Fallon, Amanda Peet, and Jurassic 5.
On a RERUNCarson Daly (from 10/10/02), are Taye Diggs and Brett Ratner
ABC begins the night with a FRESH 'Veritas: The Quest', then a FRESH 'The Practice' (2nd part of a 2-parter, starring Alfre Woodard), then a FRESH 'Miracles'.
The WB has a FRESH '7th Heaven' and a FRESH 'Everwood'.
Faux has a FRESH 'Boston Pubic' and a FRESH 'Joe Millionaire'.
UPN has a FRESH 'The Parkers', a FRESH 'One On One', a FRESH 'Girlfriends', and a FRESH 'Half & Half'.
TCM celebrates John Garfield tonight, starting with
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) , directed by
Tay Garnett , then an overlooked gem,
Force of Evil (1948), directed by the soon-to-be-blacklisted
Abraham Polonsky. Next is Garfield's last film,
He Ran All the Way (1951), directed by the soon-to-be-blacklisted
John Berry, followed by
Nobody Lives Forever (1946), driected by
Jean Negulesco. The last offering of the night is
Out of the Fog (1941), directed by
Anatole Litvak.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Weather predicting groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil is held by handler Bill Feeley, right, with Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell,left, after Groundhog Club President Bill Cooper said Phil saw his shadow
and Winter will continue for six more weeks in Punxsutawney, Pa. on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003.
Photo by Keith Srakocic
Speaking At Rolling Stones Concert
Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton plans to appear at a free Rolling Stones concert this week dedicated to raising awareness about global warming, event organizers said Sunday.
He will make a speech from the stage addressing the importance of fighting global warming, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nonprofit activist group staging the event.
The show was conceived as a way to put "a worldwide spotlight on global warming and the opportunities that exist right now to start fixing the problem," said Jon Coifman, spokesman for NRDC.
About 12,000 fans won tickets to the show in an Internet drawing last month, while others received passes through nationwide radio station giveaways.
Bill Clinton
www.nrdcstonesconcert.org
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
'Annies' For Best Feature Film, Writing, Music & Direction
'Spirited Away'
The Japanese fantasy "Spirited Away" won top honors at the animation industry's Annie Awards ceremony, picking up trophies for best feature film, writing, music and direction.
The film, by writer-director Hayao Miyazaki, tells an Alice in Wonderland-style story about a girl who becomes trapped in a world of nature spirits and must escape to rescue her parents from a spell that transformed them into pigs.
Known as "Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi" in its homeland, "Spirited Away" became Japan's highest-grossing movie ever in 2001, topping the American film "Titanic" by earning approximately $234 million.
The Annie Awards, created 30 years ago, are presented by The International Animated Film Society to honor outstanding animation in television and film. Organizers decided last year to move the event from November
to February to make them a more closely watched prelude to the Oscars.
Among the other winners Saturday, DreamWorks' "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron," about a young horse fleeing human captors in the wilderness, received awards for character design, effects animation, production design and storyboarding.
'Spirited Away'
Chinese entertainers perform a lion dance to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Fuzhu, the capital city of Fijian province, February 1, 2003. Residents in the southeastern Chinese city enjoy a week-long holiday to celebrate the new Year of the Goat. Picture taken February 1, 2003.
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Predicts More Winter
Punxsutawney Phil
As an anxious crowd shivered in 33-degree temperatures early Sunday, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow and saw his shadow on Gobbler's Knob, suggesting another six weeks of wintry weather.
The crowd danced to stay warm, then sang the national anthem before Phil's handlers held him up and announced the chilly forecast.
Groundhog Day organizers estimated the crowd for the 117th forecast at a record 40,000. Attendance has ballooned so much since the movie "Groundhog Day" was released in 1993 that buses now bring visitors up to Gobbler's Knob.
The Groundhog Day tradition is rooted in a German superstition that if an animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2 — the Christian holiday of Candlemas — bad weather is coming.
For anyone unhappy with Phil's forecast Sunday, the official groundhogs of Ohio and Georgia had a different take on the weather: Neither General Beauregard Lee, lured from his miniature antebellum
mansion in Lilburn, Ga., with a bowl of hash browns, nor Marion, Ohio's Buckeye Chuck saw a shadow.
Punxsutawney Phil
Ground Hog.org
If the viewers on Gobblers Knob were locals, 33-degrees is a warm morning, this time o'year. ; )
Soft Spot For John McEnroe
Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde has a soft spot for tennis terror John McEnroe. The Pretenders singer says she wrote the song "Don't Get Me Wrong" to stick up for her pugnacious pal, who was always getting in trouble for his
expletive-laden, racket-tossing tantrums on the court. "You know, because he's not a monster," Hynde tells VH1 Classic. "He's a lovely guy."
Chrissie Hynde
Knows A Bit About Music Influences
Natalie Cole
Grammy Award winner Natalie Cole knows a little something about musical influences.
First she had the influence of her father, Nat King Cole. Then there were all of his friends.
"When I was growing up, I had so many musical influences I still feel a little schizophrenic," Cole told an audience gathered Saturday for a benefit concert at California State University, Fullerton.
Cole recounted a time when she was younger, missing both front teeth, and offered to sing a song for her father. The jazz great, whose songs included "Unforgettable," thought she would be singing one of his popular tunes.
Instead, she sang a less than stellar rendition of Ella Fitzgerald's "A Tisket-A-Tasket."
"He was mortified," she recalled.
Natalie Cole
US Appeals Court Upholds License Ban
Pirate Radio
A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld as constitutional a law that barred a pirate broadcaster from ever obtaining a license for a low-power FM radio station or from being involved with a station.
The court, by a 7-1 vote, ruled the law and the government regulations implementing it do not violate free-speech rights under the First Amendment. The full court reversed a ruling last year by a three-judge panel of the appeals court that struck down the law.
Acting on a mandate from Congress, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules in 2001 that banned anyone who had been a pirate broadcaster or currently was broadcasting illegally from obtaining a license for a new low-power station.
No exceptions to the prohibition were made in the law.
Greg Ruggiero, a former pirate broadcaster in New York City and elsewhere, challenged the FCC's rules because he was approached to be on the board of directors of a South Carolina low power station.
Pirate Radio Ban
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Judge Finally Eases Terms
Paula Poundstone
A judge has eased terms of probation for comedian Paula Poundstone, who in December regained full custody of three adopted children she lost after pleading no contest to child endangerment.
Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins reduced Poundstone's psychological counseling sessions from four to two a month and her Alcoholics Anonymous meetings from three to two a week.
Poundstone, 43, pleaded no contest in September 2001 to one felony count of child endangerment and misdemeanor infliction of injury on a child. The endangerment charge involved driving drunk with children in her car.
Poundstone was sentenced to 180 days at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, plus five years of probation.
Paula Poundstone
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race veteran DeeDee Jonrowe holds her lead dog, Trotter, at her home in Willow, Alaska, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2003, and talks about her plans to run in this year's race.
Jonrowe, who had a double mastectomy, finished a grueling course of chemotherapy two weeks ago.
Photo by Al Grillo
'Forced' To Own Stunts
Isaiah Washington
Actor Isaiah Washington got up close and personal with danger in his upcoming film "Hollywood Homicide," which co-stars Josh Hartnett and Harrison Ford.
"He forced me to do a lot of my own stunts because he did them," Washington said Saturday at a benefit concert he attended at Cal State University, Fullerton. "We were in the scenes together. I didn't have a choice."
Washington, who starred in the films "True Crime," "Out of Sight" and "Romeo Must Die," said everyone from the producer to the director of "Hollywood Homicide" thought it was a bad idea.
"I told Harrison ... 'I really don't think we should be doing this. This is dangerous. We could die,'" Washington said. "He said to me, 'I'll see you on the other side.'"
Isaiah Washington
Claims He's The Victim
Dr. Jules Lusman
Winona Ryder's disgraced Dr. Feelgood is claiming he's the real victim of the raven-haired beauty's alleged pill-popping.
Dr. Jules Lusman, suspended by the California Medical Board for playing fast and loose with his prescription pad, said Ryder manipulated him - and might have even stolen medical documents from his desk - to get painkillers.
Ryder "certainly may have manipulated or tried to manipulate me," Lusman, who is appealing his suspension, told the TV show "Inside Edition," in an interview airing tomorrow.
Lusman said he believes Ryder stole a prescription form from his office and forged his signature to buy narcotics.
"I certainly didn't write that prescription, so I don't know how else she could have obtained [it]," said Lusman, who also claims a $10,000 check Ryder once wrote him bounced.
A California Medical Board investigator told said she doubts Lusman's story. "A doctor is supposed to be the gatekeeper, the guardian," said Charlene McKenzie, who investigated Lusman.
"I don't care how persuasive or charming a patient is, it's the responsibility of the doctor [to regulate medication and prescriptions]."
Dr. Jules Lusman
North American Box Office
Top Movies
Following are the top 10 movies at the North American box office for the Jan. 31-Feb. 2 weekend, according to studio estimates collected on Sunday by Reuters. Final data will be issued on Monday.
1 (*) The Recruit ...................... $16.5 million
2 (*) Final Destination 2 .............. $16.2 million
3 (*) Biker Boyz ....................... $10.1 million
4 (2) Kangaroo Jack .................... $ 9.0 million
5 (1) Darkness Falls ................... $ 7.5 million
6 (3) Chicago .......................... $ 7.1 million
7 (5) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers .................. $ 5.0 million
8 (7) Just Married ..................... $ 4.9 million
9 (6) Catch Me If You Can .............. $ 4.8 million
10 (9) About Schmidt .................... $ 4.7 million
NOTE: Asterisk indicates new release. Last weekend's position in parentheses.
TOTALS TO DATE
The Two Towers .................. $315.9 million
Catch Me If You Can ............. $151.9 million
Chicago ......................... $50.7 million
Just Married .................... $49.8 million
Kangaroo Jack ................... $45.9 million
About Schmidt ................... $44.4 million
Darkness Falls .................. $22.3 million
The Recruit ..................... $16.5 million
Final Destination 2 ............. $16.2 million
Biker Boyz ...................... $10.1 million
Top Movies
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
Targeting The 'Dirty Old Man Market'
Tatu
A controversial Russian pop duo accused of targeting the "dirty old man market" with lesbian kisses and schoolgirl outfits, shot to the top of the British singles chart Sunday, the Official UK Charts Company said.
Tatu's debut single, "All the Things She Said," has already proved popular in the rest of Europe, claiming the No. 1 spots in Switzerland, Italy and Spain. It moved up 176 places to No. 1 in its second week
in the UK charts, the Official UK Charts Company said.
The band's name translates as "This Girl Loves That Girl."
In the music video Julia Volkova and Lena Katina wear school uniforms and kiss and cuddle.
Ivan Shapovalov, the man behind Tatu, has admitted to various media that he came up with the idea after visiting pornographic Web sites.
Tatu
Clowns applaud during the 57th annual Grimaldi church service, held at the All Saints Church in Haggerston, London, Sunday, Feb. 2, 2003. The annual event, attended by clowns from all over Britain and Europe,
honours Joseph Grimaldi, 1778-1837, revered as the father of the modern clown.(
Photo by Richard Lewis
Interviewing Saddam
Tony Benn
President Saddam Hussein met Sunday with a retired British lawmaker and their conversation will be broadcast within the next day or two, the former legislator said.
The Iraqi leader has not given an interview with a journalist in 12 years. Tony Benn, an anti-war activist and a veteran of Prime Minister Tony Blair's governing Labor Party,
told a news conference the interview was filmed by a television crew from the Iraqi presidency. He said it would be available to any television station that pledged to show it in its entirety.
The Briton said he did not come to Baghdad as a guest of the Iraqi government. He said he paid for his own air fare and his hotel.
He said he had asked for the interview in September and only heard two weeks ago that his request was approved.
Tony Benn
'Lost' History Found
Shelton Johnson
If the soaring trees could speak, rocks could talk and trails could trace their origins, they surely would tell of the forgotten black soldiers who once guarded this park.
Instead the words come from a black poet-turned-ranger, a Detroit transplant who found his calling in the mountains and then discovered that his cultural roots ran through the nation's oldest parks.
Since finding this little-known chapter of history, Shelton Johnson has donned the uniform of the Buffalo Soldier, one of the black troops who patrolled Yosemite National Park in its infancy. He has
used their experiences to lure minorities to the park and perhaps recruit more rangers like himself.
"My long-term goal is to have a family reunion right here," Johnson said as a full moon rose over Half Dome in the background. "The descendants of all the soldiers, and there are thousands of them,
have no idea that their great-grandfather or grandfather was essentially a park ranger before park ranger was even a word."
Yosemite was established as a national park in 1890, nearly three decades before the National Park Service was created in 1916. In those intervening years, the Army ran the parks, driving out shepherds
and their flocks, busting poachers, blazing trails and mapping boundaries.
During three of those years - 1899, 1903 and 1904 - black infantry and cavalry troops rode 14 days on horseback from the Presidio in San Francisco to spend the long California summer at Yosemite and Sequoia national parks.
Park historians have long known of the early role for black soldiers in the Sierra Nevada, but it was not widely taught.
As a kid in Detroit, Johnson was far removed from the natural world, which he discovered through television that transported him to exotic places through National Geographic programs.
He didn't see mountains until he spent two years in Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer after college. Then he returned home, entered a graduate school poetry writing program and spent a summer washing dishes in Yellowstone National Park.
For the rest of a great read, Shelton Johnson
Shadows in the Range of Light
National Park Service
A protester holds a poster showing the portraits of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and US resident George W. Bush during a demonstration against the possible war on Iraq in Dusseldorf, western Germany, Saturday, Feb. 1, 2003. Some
hundreds of people protested for peace in several German cities. Poster reads: ' I am scared'.
Photo by Dietmar Reimer
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
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Critical Date Approaches
Nick's Crusade
