Here Comes The Sun

Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun,
And I say it's all right...

Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, here comes the sun
And I say it's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes...

Here comes the sun,
Here comes the sun,
And I say it's all right
It's all right

They Blinded Me With Science

1. But I'm a big boy now.


-Steve Breen, The San Diego Union-Tribune


(via Defective Yeti)
2. Did You or Didn't You? (scroll down)

Me: Yes I did.

Hurricane Katrina One-Year Later

Bureaucracy is not going to stand in the way of getting the job done for the people.
-George Bush, Sept. 2005


From the GULF COAST RECONSTRUCTION WATCH "One Year After Katrina" report:


Health
Number of hospitals in Orleans Parish before hurricanes Katrina and Rita: 22

Number operating as of August 2006: 11

Number of years the Charity Hospital System provided health care for the disadvantaged and uninsured: 270

Number of years New Orleans residents will have to wait for the opening of a 1.2 billion dollar medical complex meant to replace Charity Hospital: 5

One out of nine before Katrina, number of rural clinics lost by Coastal Family Health Care, a non-profit serving the uninsured in Mississippi: 4

In September (2005), number of days that federal officials said it would take to help Costal rebuild three of their clinics: 12-18

As of May (2006), number that had been rebuilt: 0


Housing
Number of storm-affected households approved for housing assistance: 946,597

Number of mobile homes ordered for the Gulf Coast: 7,737

Number of smaller travel trailers: 105,927

Number of Mississippi households living in FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes as of July 19, 2006: 37,505

Percent of those living in more spacious mobile homes: 12.5

Number of Louisiana households living in FEMA travel trailers and mobile homes as of July 19, 2006: 75,907

Percent of those living in more spacious mobile homes: 4.6

Minimum percent of New Orleans public housing that is still closed: 80

Number of homes the Army Corps of Engineers had demolished in Louisiana since Katrina: 1,105

Minimum number of New Orleans public housing units scheduled for demolition: 5,00

Months after Katrina that federal money for housing reconstruction was approved: 10

Total federal fund dispersed so far to rebuild homes: $0


Education
Number of Louisiana students in private and public schools displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: 247,000

Number of Mississippi students displaced: 125,000

Number of schools damaged in both states: 715

Number of New Orleans public schools before Katrina: 117

Number of New Orleans public schools scheduled to open for 2206-2207 school year: 57

Amount given to Louisiana by U.S. Dept. of Education for charter schools since Katrina: $44.8 million (23.6 million GBP)

Amount given for traditional public schools damaged by the storm: $0


Economy
Number of small businesses that were operating in the 77 counties worst hit by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: 145,000

Percent of New Orleans small businesses destroyed by Katrina: 60

Out of 28,540 disaster loan applications submitted to the Small Business Administration (SBA) from the Gulf Coast, number processed by December 2005: 10

By May 2006, number of loans the SBA had approved for Louisiana: 11,400

Number of businesses that had actually received checks: 4,200


Contract Fraud
Minimum value of contracts federal agencies have awarded to private companies for works related to Katrina and Rita: $9.7 billion (5.1 billion GBP)

Percent of those contracts awarded with little or no competition: 80

Amount the Federal Supply Services paid Lamson and Goodnow Manufacturing Co. for each of three steak knives, described as "scimitars": $92.28 (23.60 GBP)

Minimum amount the department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement paid for "Armed Guard Services Related to Hurricane Katrina Efforts": $33,332,250 (17,550,433.09 GBP)

Amount Bechtel overbilled because of a "computation error" in which preventive and corrective maintenance for trailers was billed twice: $48 million (25.3 million GBP)

Amount of the federal contract, the bulk of which was awarded to the Shaw Group, whose lobbyist is former FEMA director Joe Allbaugh, for tarping roofs- despite charging three times more than Alabama competitor Ystueta: $330 million (173.75 million GBP)

Amount awarded to West Viginia pastor Gary Heldreth to set up a base camp for first responders in flooded St. Bernard Parish, which he used instead to purchase cars and real estate and to transfer cash to family members: $5.2 million (2.7 million GBP)

Amount that AshBritt, with help from the lobbying firm founded by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, received from the Army Corps of Engineers for debris removal in Mississippi: $580 million (305.4 million GBP)

Minimum amount AshBritt has been sued for nonpayment by several Mississippi companies across the hurricane reconstruction zone: $9.5 million (5 million GBP)


It's a time to remember that people suffered, and it's a time to recommit ourselves to helping them. But I also want people to remember that a one-year anniversary is just that, because it's going to require a long time to help these people rebuild.
-George Bush Aug. 2006

"And the Emmy Goes To..."

1. Host Conan O'Brien for MOST INSENSITIVE MOMENT.

This according to the 64 articles listed on Google News today. It's because he spoofed the opening episode of the TV series LOST by pretending he was in an aircraft that crashes on its way to the Emmys ceremony. Some say this was inappropriate after the crash of Comair Flight 5191 yesterday in which 49 people died.

2. Greg Garcia (winner of OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES for the pilot episode of My Name Is Earl) for BEST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH.

Since his thank-you list was too long he decided to list the people he was not going to thank instead:

"My eighth-grade social studies teacher who told me to sit down and shut up because I wasn't funny. No, thank you Mr. McAdoo. My boss when I was a PA (production assistant) on the show Step by Step who made me clean the gum off the executive producer's shoe. No thank you, ma'am. Tonight I do not share this with you. And finally God. I am sure you are responsible in some way, but you took my hair and that's not cool man."

3. Howie Mandel for MOST UNFUNNY MOMENT.

I'll let Maureen Ryan, The Chicago Tribune television critic, describe it:

(Megan)Mullally, host of a new syndicated NBC-owned talk show, and Howie Mandel, "Deal or No Deal" impresario, performed an unfunny bit in which Mandel trotted out fembots with suitcases in order to find out who won as best director of a variety series. No, really, it was even more painful than that description. And it seemed to take about a year and a half.

4. Calista Flockhart, Barry Manilow, and Kate Jackson in a triple tie for the KENNY RODGERS MEMORIAL AWARD.

Given each year to the most surgerically and/or BOTOXically enhanced celebrity. Calista Flockhart may look good in the photo I've linked to but, let me tell you, she looked frighteningly like Mary Tyler Moore whenever she smiled or moved her mouth.


Oh, and in case you haven't figured it out, last night was Emmy Night and I watched every minute of it (sort of) on my TiVo.

Singing In The Rain

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain

Pool Party

Where The Hell Is Matt?

Matt's website.

From Matt's FAQ page:

Okay. Then what's the deal with the girl singing?
The girl you hear singing is named Afunakwa. She comes from a place named Fataleka in the Solomon Islands. The song she is singing is a traditional lullaby named "Rorogwela." The recording was made in 1970 by a UNESCO ethnomusicologist named Hugo Zemp.

Boy...that was a lot of names.

"Rorogwela" is part of the oral tradition among the Baegu tribe, passed down through generations for who-knows-how-long, and was thankfully preserved while there were members of the tribe who could still sing it.

The song is now a part of the internet video tradition among computer geeks, and is passed through high-bandwidth fiber optic cable to who-knows-where a bajillion times a day.

I find this to be nifty.

No one seems to know if Afunakwa is still alive. If she is, I would very much like to meet her someday.

What are the lyrics to the song?
I'm glad you asked. From what I can gather, the song is a lullaby sung by an older sister to her younger brother. Here are the approximate lyrics:

Young brother, young brother, be quiet
You are crying, but our father has left us
He has gone to the place of the dead
To protect the living, to protect the orphan child

(See Matt's first video, Where The Hell Was Matt? , here.)

Rain

Let the rain kiss you
Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops
Let the rain sing you a lullaby
The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk
The rain makes running pools in the gutter
The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night
And I love the rain.
-Langston Hughes

That Was The Week That Was

(CliffsNotes version)

Monday




Tuesday





Wednesday




Thursday




Friday



Saturday




Sunday


(The Nightmare, 1781, Henry Fuseli.)

What The....?

(Not sure where this came from.)
Men Of Mortuaries

Boudreaux the Baptist

Back in the 1960'’s there was an older gentleman named Boudreaux living in South Louisiana. Boudreaux was a Cajun highlander from Rapides Parish in central Louisiana who was born and raised a Baptist . Each Friday night after work, he would fire up his outdoor grill and cook a venison steak.

Now, as a point of interest, all of Boudreaux's neighbors were Catholic and as such were forbidden to eat meat on Fridays.

The delicious aroma from the grilled venison steaks was causing such a problem for the Catholic faithful that they finally talked to their priest. The priest came to visit Boudreaux and suggested that Boudreaux convert to Catholicism. Boudreaux agreed. After several classes and much study, Boudreaux attended Mass to be confirmed. As the priest sprinkled holy water over Boudreaux he said, "You were born a Baptist and raised a Baptist, but now you are a Catholic."

Boudreaux's neighbors were greatly relieved until the next Friday night arrived and the wonderful aroma of grilled venison again filled the air. The priest was called by some of his angry parishioners and told of Boudreaux'’s actions . The priest assured the callers that he would be there immediately. When he got there he rushed into Boudreaux's yard clutching a rosary. He was prepared to scold Boudreaux for what he was doing but what he saw and heard made him stop in amazement. There at the grill stood Boudreaux. He was clutching a small bottle of water, which he carefully sprinkled over the sizzling meat as he chanted: "You wuz born a deer, and you wuz raised a deer, but now you are a catfish."

Worst Advertising Slogan...

Ever.

"Where seven inches is just normal."
-Moe's Sub Shop, Wichita, Kansas

And Roll

Collins Kids' Shake Rattle And Roll(1958)

(This clip clocks in a 4:19 but the song ends at 2:20. The rest of the clip is the host of the show talking to the kids.)


For today's post I had to choose between something historical (Bruce Springsteen singing Shake, Rattle And Roll at the 2005 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony) or something a little different. I picked a little different. And, for Pete's sake, don't give that boy another Red Bull!

Get out in that kitchen and rattle them pots and pans
Get out in that kitchen and rattle them pots and pans
Go roll my breakfast cause I'm a hunger man

I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you never do nothing to save your doggone soul

Wearing those dresses, your hair done up so fine
Wearing those dresses, your hair done up so fine
Well you look so warm but you heart is cold as ice

I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you never do nothing to save your doggone soul

I'm like a one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
I'm like a one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
Now I can look at you tell you don't love me no more

I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
Well the more I work, the faster my money goes

I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you never do nothing to save your doggone soul

Rattle

Elvis' Shake, Rattle and Roll (1956)

Elvis recorded the song in 1956 with the original lyrics but when he sang it on television later that year it wasn't the same song.

Well get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans
Get out in that kitchen and rattle those pots and pans
Well I want my breakfast 'cause I'm a hungry man

I believe you're doin' me wrong and now I know
I believe you're doin' me wrong and now I know
'cause the harder I work the faster my money goes

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you won't do right
To save your doggone soul

I'm like a Mississippi bullfrog sittin' on a hollow stump
I'm like a Mississippi bullfrog sittin' on a hollow stump
I've got so many women I don't know which way to jump

I said flip flop and fly
I don't care if I die
I said flip flop and fly
I don't care if I die
I won't ever leave
Don't ever say goodbye

Shake

Big Joe Turner's Shake, Rattle and Roll


Big Joe Turner was the first to score a hit with Shake, Rattle and Roll in 1954. The song has been recorded a number of times by such diverse groups as, The Beatles, Huey Lewis and the News, and The Collins Kids.

The lyrics were consider so sexually suggestive that they were changed whenever the song was presented on television or in films. That is the case with this clip.

Original lyrics to Shake, Rattle and Roll:

Well get out of that bed, wash your face and hands
Get out of that bed, wash your face and hands
Well get in that kitchen make some noise with the pots and pans
I believe it to my soul you're the devil in nylon hose
I believe it to my soul you're the devil in nylon hose
For the harder I work the faster my money goes

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you won't do right to save your doggone soul

Shake rattle and roll

I'm like the one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
I'm like the one-eyed cat peeping in a seafood store
Well I can look at you tell you ain't no child no more
I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
I believe you're doing me wrong and now I know
'Cause the harder I work the faster my money goes

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you won't do right to save your doggone soul

I went over the hill, way down underneath
I went over the hill, way down underneath
You make me roll my eyes and then you make me grit my teeth

Well I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
I said shake, rattle and roll
I said shake rattle and roll
Well you won't do right to save your doggone soul

Lightening Strikes (Again)

Klaus Nomi's Lightening Strikes (1982)

(Note: Player may take a few seconds to load.)

Klaus, sweetie, I believe every word you're singing. You left us much too soon.

Maybe this world was never meant for one as beautiful as you.


Klaus Nomi remembered.
Klaus Nomi song clips.

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!

Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's Superthunderstingcar (1960's)

(Note: Player may take a few seconds to load.)

I remember watching Thunderbirds when I was young and loving them. Years later I was surprised to find out that the episodes I watched had been edited down to a half-hour. After seeing the hour long episodes I was grateful. The original episodes seemed endless and repetitive. Those damn models were not that fascinating.

Cook and Moore's television show, Not Only...But Also.
Wikipedia on Dudley Moore.
Wikipedia on Peter Cook.
Classic Thunderbirds website.