Spud Update

Spud is still not eating, so we continue to pill her and give her food by squirting it down. She seems to have a little bit more energy and she's not vomiting like she was. Tomorrow, she'll spend the day at the vet's.

Clarinet polka

Here's a nice version on uke.

The clarinet polka is a Polish number. In Poland, it is called dziadek, which means Grandfather. Growing up, we called my grandpa on my mom's side Dziadek, and as a little kid who didn't speak Polish, I thought it was his given name. I was surprised and confused when I discovered his name was actually Andy.

Here's a fiddle version with a country and western flair. Finally, here's those madcaps from Texas, Brave Combo.

OK OK, one more. I can't close this post without a banjo version. I'll send this one out to Salvalinas, who likes the banjo.

Metor recovered near Lone Rock Saskatchewan

The meteor, estimated to have been 10 tonnes, made headlines around the globe when it lit up the night sky over Edmonton before crashing 15 km south of Lloydminster on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border.

Ten fragments, up to the size of a fist, were found on a frozen fishing pond. I guess it was a good thing nobody was out skating on the pond when these things fell.

Christmas Lights

Here at Anchovy World Headquarters, we like our Christmas lights. The old neighbourhood is already mostly lit up, including one insanely lit place on Caledonia. Here in the new neighbourhood, there are only a few houses with lights. Out front we have a very large locust tree, and today we had a fellow who was much better with heights than either of us are install hang some lights way up high in the tree. One of these days I'll set up a tripod out there and try to photograph them.

Walking

I was thinking today that there are a lot of songs about walking. Here's a few that come to mind:
Walkin After Midnight, Patsy Cline
500 miles, The Proclaimers
Walkin to New Orleans, Fats Domino
Walkin in a Winter Wonderland, Andy Williams
I'm Walkin, Fats Domino (again), with Ricky Nelson
Walk on the Wild Side, Lou Reed
Walking on the Sun, Smashmouth
Walk Like a Man, Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons
Walking on Sunshine, Katrina and the Waves
Walk Right Back, The Everly Brothers
These Boots are Made for Walkin, Nancy Sinatra
Walk Like an Egyptian, The Bangles
I Walk the Line, Johnny Cash
Walkin the Floor over You Ernest Tubb

I know I've missed quite a few. Feel free to add links to your favourite walking tunes in the comments.
I'm going to tell you all a little secret. Walkin the Floor over you was the first record I ever owned. My father bought it for me to go with the record player he gave me, the kind where you put a penny on the needle so it doesn't skip. You all remember records, don't you?

Updates
Walk Away, Ben Harper. Thanks SP
Walk on By, Dionne Warwick. Thanks LM.
Walking Blues, Robert Johnson. Thanks KW.
Walking in Memphis, Marc Cohn. Thanks BJ.
John Walker Blues, Steve Earle. Good one, East Texas Red!
Walking on the Moon Tom Russell. Thanks East Texas Red. Not to be confused with The Police.
Walk this Way, Aerosmith. Thanks Alex.

Reactions

I noticed some Blogger blogs with a 'reaction' feature. I'm not sure that kind of utility is right for this place, but I thought I'd try it out and see if I like it. I followed instructions but I couldn't get it to appear. Has anyone run into this, and figured it out?

sick Spud

Spud, one of our cats, has an upset stomach. It could be anything. She stopped eating for a day and took to hanging out in the basement. We were worried she may have swallowed something like an elastic, but an X-ray didn't show anything. Tonight I had to give her something to coat her stomach and a food slurry syringed down her throat. Hopefully, she'll be back in good form in a day or two.

New Banner

For my new banner, I've dug deep into the past and used a photo of a painting I did in the mid-1980s, called The Architect. This painting hung in an old friend's kitchen for a long time, but finally found it's way home.

St. Anne's Reel

I love this old tune. Here's a few versions:
Aly Bain, Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Todd Parks
Adam Price
Bar G Wranglers
Tony Eyers - harmonica
John Bridgland - guitar

Dueling Ukes

Forget Dueling Banjos, here's Dueling Ukes. Har!

Bones and Raw Foods for dogs

I've been reading about this approach to feeding dogs, also called Biologically Appropriate Raw Foods (in either case, it's BARFing), because we're planning to get a dog in the spring.

Developed by Australian veterinarian Ian Billinghurst, the BARF diet under any appellation is based on feeding raw, meaty bones, animal offal, raw vegetables, and supplements instead of commercially-processed or cooked homemade diets.

I was taught growing up that you shouldn't feed chicken bones to dogs, but it seems there is a distinction between cooked and raw chicken bones. This diet advocates feeding a varied diet including raw chicken and turkey necks, chicken backs and wings.

BARF feeders eschew the convenience of 40-pound bags of kibble and opt for preparing meals for their dogs that include uncooked meaty bones, uncooked muscle and organ meat, raw eggs, vegetables, fruit, yogurt, cooked cereals, cottage cheese, and herbs, enzymes, and other supplements. They are not tied to the same diet every day – no more just measuring the kibble and pouring it in the bowl. If a good source of fresh chicken parts or lamb meat is available, the dogs get chicken or lamb. If green beans are on sale this week, cottage cheese is two-for-one at the supermarket, or the carrots are ready to be pulled in the garden, the dog’s diet (like the family diet) will likely be heavy in those ingredients.

"BARFers" don't have a very high opinion of kibble, and even refer to the switch-over period from kibble to BARFing as detox.

Ok dog-owners out there, what do you feed your dogs? Are there any "BARFers" reading this?

Wind in the news....

I've been hearing a lot of fuss made over a proposal to build wind turbines in Lake Ontario, off Leslie St. spit. I've seen plenty of turbines in action in Southern Alberta, when I've been out there chasing trout with a fly. I figured the same high winds which played havoc with my back-cast must be doing a good job generating power.

Then one day my brother offered up some strong negative opinions about the wind farm up in Shelburne, several miles west of his farm. I thought maybe he was having a bad day. Then I read a piece by Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail, Who Could Object to Wind Power?. She offers some insights.

It seems that one of the reasons we have these wind turbine proposals is that subsidies are dangled by the government. Wind doesn't always blow, though, and Wente asserts that wind farms can't survive without subsidies anywhere.

While some environmentalists love the things, there are apparently a number of environmentalists who fight them. Wente writes, residents..."fear the 90-metre turbines will chop up birds, disrupt migration routes, destroy views, lower property values, even make them sick". I'd like to read more about the environmental effects. I wonder if there are any studies available? I've heard that some people complain about so-called white noise from turbines, and it would be valuable to read about this effect as well.

For sure it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on turbines, and then build coal-fired generators to supplement them. If the wind were reliable enough, I wonder what the environmental comparison would be between turbines and coal (and nuclear for that matter).

What do you think? Should we be building wind turbines off Toronto's Lake Ontario shore?

Tuffy P's Amazing Savoury Cheddar Cheese Kielbassa Bread

You need:
...5 inches of the best kielbassa you can find (I'm betting it's amazing with Portuguese sausage too!)
...1 3/4 cups all purpose flour (you can make part of that whole wheat if you like)
...1 tablespoon baking powder
...2 tablespoons sugar
...1/2 teaspoon sea salt
...1 - 1 1/4 cup grated cheddar
...1/3 cup grated parmigiano
...1 cup milk
...1 egg beaten
...1/4 cup olive oil
...hot chile flakes or cayenne powder if you like it hot
...an oven preheated to 400f
...a loaf pan, greased (you can make these as muffins as well if you like)

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl.
Mix dry ingredients + cheddar + sausage in another bowl.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir it all around.
Add mixture to loaf pan (or muffin tins)
Add parmigiano on top
Bake for 20-28 minutes for loaf or 15-20 minutes for muffins.

To start with, baking this will fill your house with the most wonderful smells.
When it's ready, remove from loaf pan and cool on a rack. You won't be able to let it fully cool, because you will feel compelled to try some while it's warm.

Tuffy P. made a loaf tonight!
Try making these as muffins to serve with soup on a cold and dreary November day.

Culture a growth industry...

I read with interest Martin Knelman's column in today's Toronto Star, Culture a Growth Industry in Hard Times.

"During its opening week, an astonishing 68,000 people walked through the new entrance of Frank Gehry's reinvented Art Gallery of Ontario".

That's a pretty good week anyway you look at it, but then this city has been waiting a long time for the AGO to re-open. I haven't been through yet, but all reports I've heard so far have been positive. I can say I think the facade is really handsome!

Of course, beyond the building, an art gallery is only about as good as it's programming. I'm hoping the refurbished building will kick-start a new era for the AGO. I'd like to see the gallery celebrate Ontario artists (and even Toronto artists!) with enthusiasm and a robust and varied series of exhibitions which will highlight our own creative talent to the world.

Mr. Knelman made me feel great when he wrote, "When you put all these pieces together, it becomes obvious that even as other industries crumble, creativity and knowledge are the engines that keep Toronto buzzing." That's quite a contrast to the statement our Prime Minister made in Saskatoon on September 23, during the federal election, when he said, "I think when ordinary working people come home, turn on the TV and see a gala of a bunch of people at a rich gala all subsidized by the taxpayers, claiming their subsidies have actually gone up, I don't think that's something that resonates with ordinary people."

I hope somebody mentions to Mr. Harper that the AGO had a good week.

Lighting

This afternoon, Tuffy P was heading up to a lighting store to get a fixture for our bedroom and perhaps some other things as well. In a fit of absolute madness, I volunteered to go along. We actually visited two lighting stores up north of the old neighbourhood. I learned that after ten minutes in a lighting store, my head starts spinning. None-the-less, we managed to buy a pair of big glass pendant lights for the big room above the garage (we call it the tree house), a ceiling fan for the same room, a fixture for the bedroom, two outdoor fixtures, and a mirror. On top of that, I bought a lamp for my music room. We filled the car. Filled it I say.

Do you remember Don Messer and his Islanders?

I was 13 when Don Messer died. I can remember seeing him on television. Years later, I came across an old record with some tunes by Mr. Messer and his Islanders. I really enjoyed the arrangements and the spirit of his music. Here's a short vignette about Don Messer. Here's a lovely version of The Saint Anne's Reel, complete with step dancing. Terrific! This next piece features Charlie Chamberlain

Finally, here's Stompin Tom's tribute to Don Messer.

Village Butcher

I noticed this place soon after moving to Longbranch. Tuffy P actually visited it before I did. Here's their website.

They sell high quality meat and they're very friendly. It's a gem in my new neighbourhood.

Tunes without names

There must be a million of them. Let's look in Newfoundland. These boys called this next tune Rambler's Mix because they didn't know the original name. If it was Doug's favourite, you could always just call it Doug's Favourite. This one's from the South Coast of the same rock.

I think there's something special about a tune with no name. Usually, it's an instrumental, not weighed down by a singer. It's a modest tune, one made up sometime, maybe long ago, just good enough that it was remembered and handed down. Or one that hibernated for a while to emerge again years later, without the story and the name.

Tunes with no names are perhaps all folk tunes, tunes we all own together, rather than tunes which are copyrighted and bought and sold and packaged up and marketed. I like the idea of owning a song together. We don't do much of that here in Toronto.

Pirates

Recently, I pointed to an article about Somali pirates capturing an enormous oil tanker. This was no Jack Sparrow, no. This modern piracy is obviously serious business. The pirates who attacked that tanker are now asking for $25 million (US) in ransom. I decided to see what I could find out about the whole business. Check out this article in the National Post.
WHO ARE THE PIRATES?
Young men usually in their 20s and 30s. Since agriculture is often at a subsistence level, and factional violence makes death a very real possibility, piracy offers a far more lucrative proposition. Some pirates claim they are former fishermen forced to make a living because of over fishing in the region by other countries. It is now believed that thousands of young men have become pirates.

The hotspot is apparently the Gulf of Aden between Yemen and Somalia this year, and further south as well. Shipping lines are steering clear of the area for the safety of crews and ships. The reason many ships went through the Gulf of Aden was because it connects to the Red Sea and leads to the Suez Canal in Egypt, a time and money saving route.

The BBC reports:"Somali pirates have been paid more than $150m (£101m) in ransoms in the past 12 months, Kenya's foreign minister says". There have been 95 attacks in the area this year alone. Russia is using a missile frigate to escort a convey of ships through the area.

I had no idea there was so much piracy going on, and less of an idea that so much was happening in one area. Meanwhile pirate humour has appeared on Wall St.

The Wire

A while back, Tuffy P and I started watching The Wire on DVD. Tonight, we watched the last episode of the last season. About all I can say is Wow!

Kitchen music

charming!

Scientists map genome of woolly mammoth

But why?

This article talks about the remote possibility of cloning, but why? I'm not knocking the research, just trying to understand what they were thinking. Is it about flexing their scientific muscles? Or do they simply just want to better understand the beasts?

The Golden Voice of the Great Southwest

In my last post, I mentioned folk singer and activist, the late Utah Phillips. There is a remarkable interview with Mr. Phillips on YouTube. Mr. Phillips was one of a kind, a pacifist anarchist story-telling activist folksinger. Check out the interview (it is in 5 parts but part 5 is no longer available):
part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4

Cowboy songs...

Tonight, I feel like hearing some cowboy songs, songs that take you away to the open plains and the foothills, trail songs, horses, pickup trucks, honky tonks....

Let's start with the late Don Walser, the Pavarotti of the Plains, singing Cowpoke. Walser was a singer dedicated to country and western, western swing and the cowboy song. Here's a clip featuring Ian Tyson singing Summer Wages. It also has a nice little interview, in which he talks about writing Four Strong Winds. Here's Mr. Tyson again with his ballad about Charles M. Russell, the American painter, who painted Montana...a story every cowpoke knows.

Listen to Tom Waits singing one of my favourite cowboy songs, The Goodnight Loving Trail, written by the late great Utah Phillips. This song is about the "old woman" on the trail, the cowboy too old to ride, relegated to the job of cook and doctor, who can "cure everything but your own goddamn stew". The Goodnight-Loving Trail ran from Young County, Texas, southwest to Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River, up the Pecos to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, and on north to Colorado. In the spring and early summer of 1866 Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving drove their first herd of longhorn cattle over the Butterfield Overland Mail route from near Fort Belknap via the Middle Concho River and Castle Gap, to Horsehead (on some old maps marked Dead Horse) Crossing. Leaving the former mail route there, they worked up the Pecos, crossing it from time to time as the terrain and watering places required. They drove a second herd, bought from John S. Chisum,from his Concho River range to Fort Sumner later that same summer.

The Goodnight Loving Trail
With your snake oil and herbs and Your liniment, too,
You can do anything that a doctor can do,
Except find a cure for your own goddamn stew.
(chorus)

The cook-fire's out and the coffee's all gone,
The boys are up and we're raising the dawn,
You're still sitting there all lost in a song.
(chorus)

I know someday that I'll be just the same,
Wearing an apron instead of a name,
But no one can change it and no one's to blame.

'Cause the desert's a book wrote in lizards and sage,
It's easy to look like an old torn-out page,
All faded and cracked with the colors of age.
(chorus)

Here's another fine version of the same tune by Willy Sunday.

Let's go back to Alberta and listen to Corb Lund singing The Truck got Stuck. Here's Mr. Lund again with The Hurtin Albertans, playing the Wilf Carter tune, Love knot in my Lariot.

I'd like to go out with Don Edwards, singing Little Joe the Wrangler at the 24th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering.

Somali pirates hijack Saudi tanker loaded with oil

What a headline: Somali pirates hijack Saudi tanker loaded with oil. A modern day pirate story. The tanker owned by Saudi oil company Aramco, is 330 meters (1,080 feet), about the length of an aircraft carrier, making it one of the largest ships to sail the seas. I'd be very interested in knowing some history here.

It's snowing.

damn!

It's a nasty wet November day....

...but maybe we can call summer back?

Here's Lisando Mesa playing Boquita Colorada and El Siete.

And now here's Very Be Careful, a Vallenato quintet from Los Angeles. Here's a little bit about the band.

Lunch at Busters

Yesterday, I had occasion to visit St. Lawrence Market. Usually I only go there on Saturdays. It sure has a different feel during the week. On Saturday there are a lot more people milling about. It's a delightful market anytime, though. How could I resist getting a delicious halibut on a bun at Buster's Sea Cove? So hard to choose...they also have delights such as grilled octopus. Yum! I noticed outside they have a sales office set up for some big condo development with ads saying own the sky or some such nonsense. I guess that will finally wreck the market for the sake of a greasy buck.

A woodstove

We have a large room at Anchovy World Headquarters, which sits over the garage. It is joined to the rest of the house as part of a reno that was done in the early 90s but originally, the garage was separate from the house. We call this room the tree house. We've been exploring the idea of putting a small woodstove up in this room. Yesterday we arranged to have one of these installed. It will likely be late December or early January before it is in place. Woodstoves have changed quite a bit over the years. Most of the stoves made today are clean burning and efficient. They're also much safer than old-school stoves and require remarkably low clearance from walls. They can sit on a fire-proof pad, or on some kind of patio stone configuration over a sheet of galvanized steel, or on a piece of thick glass.

Skills for Change

Yesterday I volunteered for the afternoon at an organization called Skills for Change Diversity at Work.

Established in 1982, Skills for Change is a non-profit agency providing
learning and training opportunities for immigrants and refugees
so that they can participate in the workplace and wider community.

I performed some mock job interviews for some of their clients who have little or no experience in the Canadian job market, and provided feedback and suggestions for improvement. It was a very rewarding experience, and hopefully I was able to help a few people gain skills and confidence. I signed up to do this through the people at my workplace who canvas for the United Way.

A curiosity... Bob Dylan tours Neil Young's childhood home in Winnipeg

Prior to a Winnipeg concert on November 2, folk rock legend Bob Dylan was spotted hanging out at Neil Young’s childhood home, CBC News reports. John Kiernan, the man who owns the house, was surprised to find Dylan and his tour manager talking to his wife on the front lawn, he told the CBC.">Prior to a Winnipeg concert on November 2, folk rock legend Bob Dylan was spotted hanging out at Neil Young’s childhood home, CBC News reports. John Kiernan, the man who owns the house, was surprised to find Dylan and his tour manager talking to his wife on the front lawn, he told the CBC.

Liberal leadership - Kennedy out

I heard today Gerard Kennedy won't chase the Liberal party leadership. Frank McKenna has said he'll pass and so has John Manly. Martha Hall Findlay has also announced she's sitting it out. Denis Coderre is not going for it either. Bob Rae is in. I haven't heard if Michael Ignatieff has made an announcement, but I'm betting he's in. Will this be a two person race?

Shave and a haircut - two bits

I received an email from my brother, Salvelinas Fontinalis (yes, I know, he was named after a trout and I was named after a salty...rub it in, already). He noted I mentioned the "shave and a haircut - two bits riff and suggested I post a link to Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks. Now there's some ancient Toronto history! Here's a reunion of sorts, The Band (formerly The Hawks) with their old boss, Ronnie Hawkins from the brilliant 1976 film The Last Waltz.

We associate the rhythm with the late Bo Diddley because he popularized it. It would be intersting to try to trace it back through African American music. In this post, I'm just going to present a glimpse at some of the people who made a good living off it since the coming of Mr. Diddley. Here's a clip which actually features Bo Diddley AND Ronnie Hawkins together. Then listen to the master performing, You can't judge a book by looking at the cover. If I ever put together a little accordion combo, I'd like to have dancers like the ones in this video! I mean, wouldn't you?

Let's look at some of the other performers who have had hits with the same riff. Here's Johnny Otis performing Willie and the Hand Jive. The Who got in the act with Magic Bus. Remember Bow Wow Wow with their cover of the Strangeloves tune, I want Candy??

The Dead jumped on the train with Women are Smarter Jerry and the boys did a nice job on this one. In fact, the Bo Diddley riff is so ingrained in pop music, this post could go on for a long time. I'll spare you that though and end with Steppenwolf, on the Smothers Brothers television show, playing Magic Carpet Ride. Wow, these guys had groovy outfits and hair-dos, didn't they?

Speaking of Blind Willie McTell...

Here's a fine version of Mr. McTell's Broke Down Engine Blues by Peter Case. Another of McTell's fabulous songs was Dying Crapshooters Blues, this version performed by Sidestreet Reny.

Mr. McTell recorded 149 songs between 1927 and 1956. I really like his 12-string guitar sound. Perhaps his most famous song was Statesboro Blues. Here's McTell's recording, and here's The Allman Brothers' take on it.

You might also be familiar with Delia, a song I've posted about in the past. The same story appears with somewhat different lyrics and melody on Johnny Cash's first American Recordings album, as Delia's Gone.
High above the mountain, high above the hill. Looking for those rounders looking after me. Cutty says to the judge what might be my fine? Judge says poor boy you've got 99. How could it be you wanted all them rounders but you never ever did want me?

I forgot to mention....how William got his name

Since he howled non-stop when I took him home, he reminded me that nobody could sing the blues like Blind Willie McTell.

Bye William

Yesterday morning, William was very listless, had no appetite, and had no energy to do anything. I took him to the vet, and sadly discovered he was in heart failure.

I think I've had William for 16 years. When he joined me at the warehouse I was living in, I called him Willie. He was Willie for several years, and then gradually, we started calling hiim William. I guess he grew up.

I wasn't ever going to get a cat because I had cat allergies. I read somewhere (I'm sure now this was completely unsubstantiated) that certain kinds of cats have low dander and can help someone overcome allergies. Meanwhile, my pal Candy, a scientific authority if anyone was, told me that if I ate bee pollen and washed my cat once each month, I could easily overcome a cat allergy. Armed with this sage advice, I answered an ad for an Oriental shorthair kitten somewhere out in Scarborough. I stocked up on bee pollen and aquired the kitten.

Willie howled for two solid days. He was not impressed with me or the place I lived. By the time he settled down, I realized I was not breaking out and experiencing my usual symptoms. Willie turned out to be way too smart to be a cat. I would play a game with him, and as soon as he figured out the game, he would howl, and I would have to invent a new game. After about a year, I decided to get him a feline companion because I just couldn't invent games fast enough. That's when Delia came on the scene. Meanwhile, Willie was not impressed with being washed every month and that strategy lasted all of one attempt. I stopped eating bee pollen after a couple months, and my allergy was pretty much gone (and it stayed gone too). Candy should get the Nobel Prize for her work on eradicating allergies.

Back when I lived in the warehouse, there would occasionally be film crews on-site filming some show or movie. We had a love/hate relationship with them. They always acted like they owned the world, with a fine balance between rudeness and arrogance. On the other hand, sometimes they needed a studio to film in and paid extremely well on those occasions for the use of space. Some people in the building named them film scum. One day, I was in my studio, reading or painting, when a crew set up in the hallway outside my door. William would have been less than a year old at the time. When they were ready to shoot, some guy shouted, "Quiiiiietttttt....Readyyyyyy....Roll-em." Willie immediately ran up to the door and howled in his loudest other-worldly howl. Then silence. "What the hell was that?" "I never heard anything like it." Then...."Quiiiiietttttt....Readyyyyyy....Roll-em.". Willie, who had by that point settled back down on my lap, ran over to the door again and let out another loud and long howl. This happened three times in a row. Then I heard a sound at the door. Instead of knocking on the door to see if I was home, somebody thought they could buy off Willie by sliding slices of lunch meat under my door. This was amusing me to no end so I quietly watched. So did Willie, at this point once again settled on my lap. They eventually built sound barriers and shifted their shoot down the hall.

At that time, Willie had the ability to jump up to the top of a door. Occasionally, I would see him balancing on top of a door like it was the most normal thing in the world for a cat to do.

I think Willie became William when Tuffy P and I got married and moved to the first Anchovy World Headquarters, on Blackthorn Ave in Toronto. By that time, I had Willie and Delia, and I also had my father's cat Spud, as he couldn't care for Spud anymore. Tuffy P. had Twiggy and William was not going to play nice. He had been an indoor cat all this time, and we decided to give him an opportunity to go outside. We heard or read somewhere that this strategy was sometimes successful if cats don't get along. I'm sure this was completely unsubstantiated. The first time he went outside, he encountered a big old neighbourhood tom we called Red. Red was maybe the toughest old grizzled tom in the hood. William started to walk in slow motion as if doing that would make him invisible to Red. Red ambled in front of William's path and waited. Williams slowmotion turned to a full stop as he changed direction. Wherever he went, Red would show up in front of him. It turned out Red was OK with William, and going outside did help him get along with Twig.

William put me to sleep most nights. It was as if it was his job. I would settle down in bed, and he would jump up on my chest and start purring. This usually put me to sleep in minutes, after which, he would hop off my chest and settle in somewhere else on the bed. The only time he didn't do this was during the period in which I stayed with my father, more-or-less looking after him. At that time, William stuck to my dad like glue. During that time, he liked to curl up and sleep beside my dad.

Over the past year, William became much less robust, and more delicate. He lost some weight, and he avoided rough-housing with the other cats. Maybe that was the onset of his heart problems? We just figured he was getting old.

William was a good cat-buddy. He was with us a long time, and I'll miss the little guy.

Coffee's almost ready...

I've got some errands to do this morning. There's an art show I want to see. The leaves need raking. I'd like to finish painting Sheila's studio. My music room, which was finished, is now full of stuff. How did that happen? Catch you later.

Got you Covered: 16 Tons

16 Tons was written by Merle Travis and first recorded in 1946, but it was Tennessee Ernie Ford who recorded the version most of us are familiar with. What an amazing picture this song paints about the coal mining life. I suppose we can all identify with it in our own day-to-day jobs from time-to-time, even if we aren't lifting 16 tons and don't have to postpone that trip to heaven because we owe our souls to the company store.

Let's listen to Eric Burdon's respectful take on this tune. Frankie Laine recorded a more urbane version, only released in the UK. Nicely done. The Nighthawks recorded a version which featured that shave-and-a-haircut-two-bits Bo Diddley rhythm. Hey, weren't these guys playing in the bar where all the stevadores hung out on season two of The Wire? Nice groove.

Let's go out with a Russian version, just because we can. Here's Vladimir Shlyakov.

Have you visited the Folk Den?

The Folk Den is a blog and recording project by Roger McGuinn. Yes, that Roger McGuinn. Mr. McGuinn has been recording traditional folk material and making it available at The Folk Den and on CD.

If, like me, you can't get enough folk music, you'll really enjoy spending time over there.

Folk Art Auction

Check out the Slotin Fine Art Auction which is happening tomorrow in Gainsville Georgia. This is going to be quite an auction, with over 900 lots for sale. The picture shown here is by Gayleen Aiken.

I know...I've been gone, and you've had to get your accordion fix elsewhere...

But have no fear, I'm back, and I'll fix you up right away. Here's a polkita by Jerry and the Rufnex. Breathe deep.

City Beat

Less than a month ago, Ward 7 Toronto City Councillor George Mammoliti announced he wanted to get rid of memorials to slain gang members, as some kind of message he thought should be sent out to gangsters. Now he's got another plan. Mr. Mammoliti wants to remove the basketball hoops from public courts where drug dealers hang out.

"What we've been finding is that the traditional basketball courts that are outside -- not the recreational centres, not the controlled settings -- but the ones that are in our parks and some of our social housing complexes are becoming nothing but a place where gang members at night get together and listen to loud music and deal drugs," he said." Apparently this strategy, like the previous one, is designed to send a message to the drug dealers.

That'll fix those gang members. It reminded me of a fellow I know who suggested we get rid of parks and put up apartment buildings as a strategy to reduce crime. He wasn't kidding.

I'm glad to see our city councillors hard at work fighting crime. Speaking about sending messages, I heard today that the City will be sending out a newsletter to every resident in the city.

From the National Post: Our Toronto will replace three other utilitarian newsletters the city distributed each year on water, waste and roads, but will go to all households including apartments four times a year. For the remainder of this year, the newspaper will be funded out of the budgets of the trio of defunct publications, but council will be asked to approve another $400,000 for Our Toronto for next year.

Apparently the publication caught our councillors by surprise, and they aren't amused.

By the way, I'm not making any of this up.

Away tomorrow....

I'll be out of town until Thursday evening. See you then.....

Comments

A short while ago, I changed my settings to the new Blogger comments setting, "embedded below post". It turns out that may not have been a great idea, as some people have been having trouble making comments. And I thought it was something I said. Thanks Captain for pointing this out. I've switched back to the previous setting and all seems well. I liked the new setting. Perhaps I'll try it again after giving the folks at Blogger some time to work out the kinks.

Got you Covered: I put a spell on you....

There are a few musicians around who have not recorded this song, and loads and loads who have. Why? Because this Screamin' Jay Hawkins R&B Classic is just that good. I put a Spell on You was written in 1957. Here's an excerpt from the Wikipedia entry:
Hawkins had originally intended to record "I Put a Spell on You" as a refined love song, a blues ballad. He reported, however, that the producer "brought in ribs and chicken and got everybody drunk, and we came out with this weird version. I don't even remember making the record. Before, I was just a normal blues singer. I was just Jay Hawkins. It all sort of just fell in place. I found out I could do more destroying a song and screaming it to death.

Mr. Hawkins took to adding props to his shows. He would emerge from a coffin wearing a long cape, wore tusks in his nose, added snakes and fireworks, and a cigarette-smoking skull named Henry. Yes, Screamin' Jay Hawkins may well have been the first shock rocker.

Here is the master at work. Let's now put Hawkin's performance back-to-back with Marilyn Manson. Not bad, but underlying Screamin Jay's antics was an amazing R&B voice. Manson does have a good time with the theatrics though and I think the version is credible.

I really like this next version by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Very respectful, harder, but still with plenty of theatre. Let's pair Nick Cave's version up with Nina Simone. What do you think?

I'm going to change it up on you a little bit now, with a version by Natacha Atlas. This one leaves me at a loss for words, so I'm going to move right into one last take on this classic. Here's Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I had one other version in mind. Perhaps you know it....if not, your homework is to listen to Van Morrison's early band Them perform the tune.

New Price $9.99

The other day I was on a mission at a major Canadian retailer, looking for something Tuffy P. saw in their flyer (which they didn't know even existed), when I stumbled upon a display for furnace filters. By chance they were the very same furnace filters we use in our furnace. I knew this because earlier that same day, I changed the filter and installed the last one. They were selling them as pairs, for $9.99, a good price for a furnace filter of that quality.

Here's the thing. They had a big screaming yellow sign set up at the display which read, old price, $9.99 (this had a big X through it), and then in bigger font, NEW PRICE $9.99. I immediately found a sales associate and pointed out that as a consumer, I expected the new price to be at least one cent, the smallest possible unit, less than the old price. The sales associate scanned the item and said, "no sir, it's $9.99...the sign is correct". So I politely asked the fellow to find a manager and tell that manager that a customer asked just what kind of narcotics the promotion people were on when they decided to sell the idea that $9.99 was a better price than $9.99. The sales associate agreed to this, and, well, I felt just a little bit better.

As I walked away, I started seeing these screaming yellow price promotion signs everywhere in the store. Maybe a quarter of them had the same problem-the price before was the same as the price after. I consulted another sales associate. "Oh, yeah, I seen these. They get generated automatically by head office. The price is correct." "Don't you think the after price should be just a little bit better than the before price?" "I never thought about it."

In all, I consulted seven different sales associates. I expected that if I kept at it, I would find someone, just one person, who would look at the sign and say something like, "Geez, that's really a stupid mistake, isn't it? I'll get it fixed right away". Nope. It didn't happen. Seven sales associates and nobody thought there was anything goofy about the signs. They all accepted that whatever "head office" did, no matter how silly, had to be OK.

Doesn't anybody care anymore?

Dixieland

I heard quite a bit of Dixieland when I was growing up, mostly on my father's scratchy records. He often surprised me with how much he knew about the music and the players.

I remember when my parents went to Hawaii. They returned after their vacation talking about the places they saw and the people and the food and all their experiences there, but the one thing my father seemed most excited about was meeting Trummy Young. Somewhere or other in their travels, they stopped to listen to a jazz band playing and my father recognized Trummy Young. Young was a jazz trombonist who played with Louis Armstrong for several years in the 50s. I don't know if my dad recognized his face or his sound. I wouldn't be surpised if he recognized the sound though, as he had a knack for identifying horn players on recordings he wasn't familiar with. He had a chance to chat with Mr. Young for a while and he was really pretty excited about it.

My dad loved to meet jazz players. He used to tell me about going to the Colonial Tavern on Yonge St. here in Toronto to see the jazz greats. Now this always surprised me because the Colonial was a strip bar through the whole time I can remember it being there. He used to tell me about the time he met Wingy Manone. What a great name. He was called Wingy because he was a one-armed trumpet player. Here's one of Mr. Manone's tunes, Ochi Chornya, from 1938. Keep in mind that my dad never let facts get in the way of a good story, so this one may have been adjusted a little over the years. He told me bought a drink for Mr. Manone while he was playing at the Colonial, and brought it up to the bandstand. Mr. Manone stopped playing, picked up the drink, and said to the band, "take it away boys, I've got a sponsor", and went to join my dad at his table, where they chatted about jazz for several minutes before Wingy went back onstage to finish up the tune.

Another player my father really admired was Kid Ory Here's an interview with Mr. Ory.

My father also really liked blues shouters like "Mr. 5X5", Jimmy Rushing, who sang for Count Basie for a while. He really liked a recording put together by John Hammond with Rushing fronting a smaller band. Here's Mr. Rushing doing a solo piece, Good Morning Blues. I didn't know until I found this clip that Mr. 5X5 was a piano player. Here he is with the Basie Band. I really like the texture of Mr. Rushing's voice...and then in comes Basie's lovely plunkety piano solo-very sweet, very sweet.

I haven't really explored the world of music my father cut his teeth on, more than the familiarity that comes with hearing those old records around the house. When I hear those players, I'm reminded of my father and his life-long love of all kinds of music and expecially what he called "those jazz chestnuts".

69991

I looked at my tracker a few minutes ago, and I see that this blog has had 69,991 hits. I would say by sometime in the morning, the 70,000th visitor will have wandered by for a visit. Go figure, eh? I started the tracker on November 15, 2004, shortly after I started up mister anchovy's. It turns out I've made 2908 posts here, including this one.

There is no plan. I started this up with no idea what I was doing. I thought I'd check out the blogosphere and see if there was a little place for me there. I haven't gone back to look at the early posts to see what they were like. I do recall it looked quite a bit different back then. I still don't much know what I'm doing. Maybe in another couple years, I'll figure it out.

As mister anchovy's sneaks up on 70,000 hits, I'd just like to say thanks everyone for stopping by.