Joe Cocker, 1944-2014, R.I.P.

Singer Joe Cocker has died at age 70, after a battle with lung cancer.

Like many of us, I first became aware of Joe Cocker's work shortly after he appeared at Woodstock in 1969. No one who's heard his version of the Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" will ever forget it.

I remained a fan of Mr. Cocker's as long as he remained on the charts, and after.

There was a lot of talk about the strange gestures Cocker used when he performed. After a close look at the film of his antics at Woodstock, it appeared to me that what he was actually doing was playing air guitar. I was curious as to why I'd never seen that referenced anywhere. (I'm sure it was, and that I missed it. After all, even I can't read everything.)

But if it'll make you feel any better, this article about Cocker's death did mention that he was playing air guitar, and "air piano" as well!

I'd like to close this brief tribute piece with something rather uplifting. It has to be seen to be appreciated!

Thanks for your time.

Five Years Gone

I'm participating in this week's Sepia Saturday, and just squeaked by under the prompt photo's theme, which is that of "families, festivities, trees, candles and wine." So I guess that keeps me from being a Sepia Scrooge.

I'd like to do a little tribute to my mother, who passed away five years ago today (December 20th) at the age of ninety-two.

For a year or so, after she died, I'd do little pieces based on the fact of her loss. The first Mother's Day without her, the first birthday she wasn't here to celebrate with us, etc.  Then I suggested to myself that I should stop being so maudlin and attempt to get on with my life.

But I thought that, for this five-year "anniversary" of sorts, my readers would excuse me if I published one more little remembrance of the woman who raised me.

 

My mother was born Anita Hartman on October 20th, 1917. And, as I've said before...

There were more technological advances during the span of my mother's life than I could list, even in a post of my usual entry's length...

My mom lived to see high-definition, flat-screen televisions. When she was born, radio hadn't even entered its golden age. Commercial air travel hadn't even gotten off the ground... errr... so to speak. And I could go on.

...but I won't.

I'm just going to share a few photos of my mother, spanning roughly 92 years.

The earliest existing photo of Anita

Hartman (center), at approximately age 3.

(Close-up of same.)

Mom at roughly 4¹_/2, being held by her older sister Josie.

Mom's rather unusual haircut above was "designed" by my

mom herself, on a day when she ran amok with a pair of scissors.

Yearbook senior photo, 1935

Mom's autograph, from that same yearbook, a yearbook my mother never owned.

Mom and Dad on their wedding day, September 28th, 1940.

Circa 1943

Mom and Grammy Josephine, mid-1950s. Photo taken by my young sister, Kathy, hence the upward angle.

Mom at approximately fifty, late 1960s.

And the above photo is one of my favorites of my mother!

Thanks for your time.

A Bad, Bad Idea

I love coffee.

I like potato chips.

Recently, someone gave me a bag of the Cappuccino-flavored potato chips shown above. (I never would have bought a bag!)

I made the mistake of trying them, skeptical though I was.

Never again!

They're vile, fellow babies, vile!!!

As today's post title says, this was a bad, bad idea.

Shame on you, Lay's.

Thanks for your time. 

A Quick Question

Why the hell do some bloggers sign up to follow their own blogs???

I mean, don't you know when you post?

If you're one of them, please tell me! I really wanna know!

Thanks for your time.

What's Wrong with This Picture?

The above-pictured postcard showed up in my sister's mail several weeks ago.

Now, I realize that these companies target endless numbers of families, and the names are computer-generated, but really...

”Lynch” is not a Polish name!

If the card had offered “Irish Apparel JUST FOR YOU!” it wouldn't have surprised me a bit. (In fact, I've received mailings like that in the past.)

So next time, guys, have your computer do its homework.

Thanks for your time.

Angus Lennie, 1930-2014, R.I.P.

Long-time readers of this blog – meaning those who've been with me since last Thursday or so – may recall my claiming to have a rather unique “kiss of death” power when it comes to various celebrities.
Here's how it works:

 Every so often, I'll think about some celebrity – actor, singer, politician – who hasn't crossed my mind in years. And I'll wonder whatever happened to him or her. Well, with the handy-dandy nature of the internet, it's easy enough to do a quick search and find out whatever did happen to him or her.

Unfortunately, in the great majority of those instances, I'll learn that the celebrity in question has died. Recently.

Or, in a similar vein, I'll be watching a DVD of some old movie or tv show and wonder whatever happened to an actor or actress. Then I do an internet search on him or her, and again, discover that the person in question has passed away. Recently.

It's almost as if my sudden interest in a person either causes their death, or perhaps is in response to their death. I'm kidding, of course, kinda/sorta, but sometimes I wonder!

Anyway, the other night I was watching my DVD of 1963's The Great Escape, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and an impressive ensemble cast.

The first time I ever saw that movie, it was in the late 1960s, a few years after its 1963 release. It was broadcast in two parts, on consecutive evenings, on the NBC network. Part One ended dramatically with the attempted escape and machine-gunning to death of a character named Archibald Ives, nicknamed "the Mole."

Ives was played by Angus Lennie.

Ives the Mole was probably Lennie's best-known role during his long career, although he also appeared in the cast of the British soap opera Crossroads from 1974 to 1981... so my British readers may also know him from there.

Wouldn't you know it, but just a few nights ago, as I watched the movie, I wondered whatever became of Mr. Lennie. After all, the movie was made 51 years ago, and those who played most of the principal characters -- McQueen, Garner, James Coburn, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, even director John Sturges -- are no longer with us.

So on a whim, I did a Google search for Angus Lennie, only to find -- you guessed it -- that he had passed away on September 14. Recently.

Anyway I decided to write a rather long-winded post about the death of "Ives," whose cinematic demise made such an impression upon my young self... and to spin the tale once again about my tendency to "off" celebrities!

Thanks for your time.

Fifty Questions, Part Five

Here we go, folks! The last installment of Fifty Questions!

41. Last time you were insulted?

Wow, it's been years since I've really been insulted, unless you count instances where someone insulted my intelligence by their actions or words.

Occasionally, I've been misjudged, certainly, and there was one rather immature idiot who began referring to me as "Davey" because she knew I didn't like it, and thought it would anger me.

(She failed miserably, by the way. Heh.)

 

42. Favorite flavor of sweet?

Not really much for sweets in general, which is good because I'm diabetic. I used to like Hershey's Cookies'n'Creme candy bar, though, not to mention several different brands that existed when I was a child. No, wait. If I'm going to mention candies I liked as a kid, I'd probably say Zero! (See photo at top.)

43. What instruments do you play?

I've been the lead singer in a handful of rock'n'roll bands. So I guess my instrument would be what, throat? Sounds rather suggestive...
 
44. Favorite piece of jewelry?

I rarely if ever wear jewelry. I'd have to say a pocket watch that belonged to my great-grandfather (IIRC). I never carry it, it's packed away safely.

45. Last sport you played?

Probably baseball. And it would have been many years ago. I don't particularly like sports.
 

Not bad. This picture sleeve features a barely-recognizable

photo of Paul, and it mis-labels "If I Fell" as "If I Feel!"

46. Last song you sang?

That's a tough one. My favorite radio station plays a huge variety of songs from the 1950s through the 1970s. (Unfortunately, it's hard to get good reception if you're outside of their parking lot.) I sing along with some of the stuff they play, so I'm going to say it was "I Should Have Known Better" by the Beatles!

47. Favorite chat up line?

("Chat-up?" Did this survey originate in Great Britain?)  In the USA, that's a "pick-up line," and I don't like them, don't believe in them, and never use them.

48. Have you ever used it?

As a great man once said, "I don't like them, don't believe in them, and never use them. "
 

49.  Last time you hung out with anyone?

That would be my best friend, John.

50. Who should answer these questions next?

Ah, there's a loaded question. I don't want to turn this into any more of a chain-letter thing than it is already, so how about if I do not pass the baton any further?

Thanks for your time.