All Purls. No Swine.
As we're about to see June, 2023 over the side (Hallelujah! some might say, although the month has been pretty good to me), I thought I'd take a little glimpse into musical history, and see what song was #1 in the USA one-hundred years ago today. Turns out that the winner is "Dearest," sung by… Continue reading Dearest….A Reflection or Two on Human Nature
June 24, 2023 would have been my mother’s 95th birthday. She died in September 2014, at the age of 86 after a long struggle with the effects of fronto-temporal dementia. Her death was, in the eyes of her children and others who loved her, a release and a blessing. And for her, peace at last.… Continue reading Music To Bury My Mother By–Redux, 2023 Edition
And today, I (can't really sustain the Bob Dole mannerism of talking about myself in the third-person for more than the headline) heartily recommend an odd little movie from 19 years ago, one which celebrates the life of American composer and songwriter Cole Porter, born 131 years ago today, on June 9, 1891. De-Lovely is… Continue reading It’s “De-Lovely:” RWKJ Goes to the Movies
Lucy: “An English name, Lucy means ‘of the light.'” So sue me, I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon watching the Coronation Concert, which was carried live on PBS. Overall, it was considerably better than I expected, with a couple of bizarre and untuneful exceptions. What has probably been the most controversial act —… Continue reading Bringing the Light
Today, April 29, 2023, is the day that one of my all all-time favorite performers begins his tenth decade on the planet, I'm reposting a piece from exactly two years ago, and looking forward to seeing the man himself in concert this upcoming August. Ain't it funny (how time slips away)? Happy 88th birthday to… Continue reading Happy 90th Birthday, Willie Nelson!
Gosh. Some of the loveliest music of my childhood, from a man who lived through, took risks, and stood tall, during a difficult, and often infamous time in which people of his color were regarded by some as less-than-human. I don't remember many of those occasions. But this one, I do. Harry Belafonte and Petula… Continue reading Harry Belafonte, R.I.P.
She is loved, and she knows she is loved. And her personality has always been vivacious, outgoing, bright and looking for the best in things--John Lydon Lydon, sixty-seven years old himself (a year younger than I), was speaking of Nora, his wife of almost half-a century. A day or two after he uttered those words… Continue reading Quote of the Day: From Johnny Not-So-Rotten
It’s true that I haven’t been able to find a single source pointing me to the place where the putative author of today’s quote said exactly these words, even in translation (perhaps someone could help me out). But they are widely attributed to St. Augustine, and certainly embody the spirit of his Easter Reflections, an… Continue reading “We are an Easter People, and Alleluia is our song!”–April, 2023
No, not the Rolling Stones kinda blues. March 28, it turns out, is the anniversary of the death of two giants of American music. W.C. Handy was born November 16, 1873, in Florence, Alabama, to Charles and Elizabeth Handy. His strict Methodist minister father forbade musical instruments in the house, believing them to be tools… Continue reading Tuneful Tuesday–I Got the Blues!
I have long deplored the current unfortunate tendency to politicize the days, weeks, and months of the calendar to the point where it’s almost impossible to escape the continual onslaught of SJW causes thrust in our collective faces through cards, jingles, ads, sports events, and media coverage of one sort or another. While many of… Continue reading Happy Happiness Day!