Feb 04

Cab Calloway

Since I’ve done the Nicholas Brothers and Busby Berkeley, it’s time for Cab Calloway, another old movie favorite of mine.

I think the first time I ever came across anything related to Calloway was in the late 1960s when I was watching That Girl on TV – Ann’s father (Lew Parker) sang Minnie the Moocher for a talent show.  The song stuck in my head.  I wish I could find a video of that performance.

“Minnie the Moocher” is a jazz song first recorded in 1931 by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra, selling over a million copies. “Minnie the Moocher” is most famous for its nonsensical ad libbed (“scat”) lyrics (for example, “Hi De Hi De Hi De Hi”).

In performances, Calloway would have the audience participate by repeating each scat phrase in a form of call and response. Eventually Calloway’s phrases would become so long and complex that the audience would laugh at their own failed attempts to repeat them.

“Minnie the Moocher” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.

 

Lots of others have sung this song, as well including Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie in “Jeeves and Wooster”.

 

 

and the Three Mo’ Tenors performed it in 2001

 

 

Calloway appeared in the 1980 film The Blues Brothers and sang a shortened version “Minnie The Moocher” in the film, in the original style of big band.

 

Cabell “Cab” Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City, where he was a regular performer.

Calloway was a master of energetic scat singing and led one of the United States’ most popular big bands from the start of the 1930s through to the late 1940s. Calloway’s band featured performers including trumpeters Dizzy Gillespie and Adolphus “Doc” Cheatham, saxophonists Ben Webster and Leon “Chu” Berry, New Orleans guitar ace Danny Barker, and bassist Milt Hinton. Calloway continued to perform until his death in 1994 at the age of 86.

An old Paramount short film of Cab Calloway singing many of his hits.

 

 

“The Old Man of The Mountain” is non-stop Cab from beginning to end. He appears first as an owl, singing the title song. The words have been changed for the cartoon, in which the Old Man is a villain. In the original song, the Old Man is a benevolent character. Next we see Cab as the Old Man himself, rotoscoped and singing, “You Gotta Hi-De-Hi,” followed by “The Scat Song.”

The cartoon begins with live footage of Cab and his Orchestra playing around with the tune of Minnie the Moocher while Cab scats mildly and grins at the camera. Whereas Cab may have been caught by surprise when they used live footage of him in the earlier cartoon, “Minnie the Moocher”, this time he is ready. He and his band are in dress white uniforms, Cab’s hair is slicked back, and he pays attention to the camera. (The drummer, Leroy Maxey, is still playing with his drumsticks, though!)

Of the three cartoons starring Cab Calloway, this one has the least interesting and least surreal plot, and the animation is the crudest. Never-the-less, the very early live footage of Cab is a treasure, and this cartoon showcases his music from beginning to end, featuring three of his songs. He does some of his most remarkable ever scat singing in this version of The Scat Song.

In all of the Fleisher cartoons, Cab’s characters are set in caves with menacing and ominous background illustrations: skeletons, skulls, ghosts, leering faces, and gambling, alcohol and drug paraphernalia. People have claimed that the Fleischers were unaware of the drug references in Cab’s songs (for example, “kicking the gong around” meaning “smoking opium”), but the imagery in the animations suggests otherwise.

 

 

Cab’s scat singing, dancing, comedic personality and flashy elegance had made him a star and a million-selling recording artist. He continued to perform right up until his death in 1994 at the age of 88.

Gunther Schuller sums up Calloway’s brilliance as an entertainer: “People still remember Cab Calloway as a dancer and vaudevillian with his wonderful white tuxedos and all of that — and, as a great, great showman.”

 

Feb 02

Who Knew?

 

Interesting factoid from the Who Knew category…

(1732) Italian anatomist Antonio Maria Valsalva was born. He is credited with developing the Valsalva maneuver, the process of trying to blow air out of your nose while it is plugged in order to clear the airways of the ears.

He also coined the term Eustachian tube and he described the aortic sinuses of Valsalva in his writings, published posthumously in 1740.

If you want to say read this during dinner tonight, here’s the correct pronunciation:

 

Feb 02

Happy Groundhog Day!

Groundhog Day is observed on February 2nd, each year in the United States and Canada.

For a nice welcomed break during the winter, on this day the groundhog awakens from his nap and goes outside to see if he can see his shadow. It is believed by many that if the groundhog sees his shadow that there will then be six more weeks of winter. If this is so, he then heads back into his den and goes back to sleep. If he is not able to see his shadow, the groundhog remains outside and, supposedly, spring is just around the corner.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania has been chosen as the site for the annual Groundhog day event. Thousands of people come to the town of Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day for this day of celebration.

Although already a well known day, Groundhog Day received widespread attention as a result of the 1993 film Groundhog Day, which was set in Punxsutawney, PA.

 

 

Last year, Groundhog Day happens to be the date of my total knee replacement.  I hope this doesn’t mean I have to do that over and over again.

Jan 27

Happy Anniversary, 2024!

Another anniversary rolls around, the 51th, to be exact.  From last year’s t-shirts:

I always like to check out this picture of our wedding expenses.  We have it framed and sitting on our mantle.

Tom paid $50.46 (blood tests and wedding ring!) and my costs (I made my own dress) were $29.25.

We were lucky.  My dad was the minister at the Barre (MA) Congregational Church so he didn’t charge us to perform the service.  The women of the church provided the reception in the parsonage.  My mom chipped in the flowers.

Well worth the cost!

Barre Congregational Church

Our honeymoon was in upstate New York so Tom could look for a job.  My only memories of that trip were the snow coming in under the door of our motel and Tom not getting a job.

After that, we drove back to Boston where we rented the bottom floor of my mother-in-law’s house.  In Dorchester, many of the homes were triple deckers and families could have one, two or three floors.

This isn’t where we lived, but a very similar look to her house.

We got all moved in and painted everything (we decided to paint my sewing room a cheery yellow.  The walls just sucked in the yellow paint and we had to use many, many coats). So, Tom got a job in Washington, DC.

So, we packed up and found a small apartment in Alexandria, VA.

That apartment was so small…when my parents came to visit, they slept on cots in the living room with their feet under my newly-acquired piano.

Then we moved to Holmes Run Parkway (also in Alexandria), Silver Spring, MD, Wilmington, DE, and finally settled in Fairfax, VA.

Nine years ago to celebrate our anniversary, Tom had a heart attack.  I wrote a lot about that here: https://maryomedical.com/2017/01/27/giving-thanks-day-3/

Nowadays, our son is married and has 2 sons of his own.

 

I was hoping for a nice, quiet day today but it’s a meeting/work/rehearsal day.

Jan 27

National Chocolate Cake Day

 

Who even thinks up these holidays?

 

 

 

Time to go bake something…

Jan 25

It’s Burns Night!

 

Burns Night commemorates the life of the bard (poet) Robert Burns, who was born on January 25, 1759.

 

 

The day also celebrates Burns’ contribution to Scottish culture. Burns’ best-known work is “Auld Lang Syne”.

We were at the Edinburgh Tattoo for this performance but I didn’t take this video.

 

 

Haggis, neeps and tatties (turnips and potatoes) are traditionally eaten in Scotland on Burns Night with a dessert of cranachan.

 

 

Bringing in the haggis and addressing it (of course)

 

 

I have never had haggis and intend never to have any!  Not even haggis-flavored potato chips or pizza.

Jan 24

Did You Compliment Someone?

compliment

 

National Compliment Day.  Give an extra compliment on National Compliment Day which is observed annually on January 24.

A compliment has a powerful effect. It can instill confidence in a child, or validate someone’s hard work.

 

Jan 22

It’s National Polka Dot Day! Who Knew?

polka-dots

National Polka Dot Day celebrates polka dots, and since 2016 has also been used to celebrate Minnie Mouse, who is known for often wearing the dots. She usually is seen wearing a red dress with white polka dots, and often has a matching bow. Celebrants of the holiday don polka dots to celebrate the dot and Minnie Mouse.

In the nineteenth century, garments with dots began becoming popular. Dotted-Swiss was one such type of garment. In Germany, dots on garments were called Thalertupfen. Dotted clothing could be seen in some famous paintings of the time, such as Monet’s Luncheon on the Grass and Bazille’s Family Reunion.

In the middle of that century, polka dancing became popular in Europe. The name for the dot comes from the dance, although there doesn’t seem to be any real connection between the two. “Polka” is a Polish word for “Polish woman,” and the term polka dot was first printed in 1857, in an American women’s magazine called Godey’s Lady’s Book.

The popularity of polka dots increased in the 1920s and ’30s. Miss America wore a polka dot swimsuit in 1926 and Minnie appeared with polka dots in 1928. Polka dot dresses were common during the 1930s. Following World War II, Dior began putting out dresses with polka dots, and polka dot clothing was worn by stars such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe. In the 1960s, Yayoi Kusama began using polka dots in her paintings. Some men have worn polka dots, such as Bob Dylan, and Marvel Comics even created Polka-Dot Man. Today, polka dots are often worn nostalgically and have gained in popularity with the revival of vintage wear from the 1950s and ’60s.

Because Minnie Mouse is often seen wearing polka dots, the day has been closely tied to her. Although she appeared with Mickey in Plane Crazy on May 15, 1928, this did not have a wide release, and it is Steamboat Willie, which was released on November 18, 1928, which is widely known as Minnie Mouse’s debut. Independent, feminine, and cheerful, she is known for bringing happiness to others and helping them with troubles they may be having. Walt Disney was the first voice of Minnie, just for a short while, and many people have voiced her since. Russi Taylor began voicing her in 1986 and did so for decades afterward.

After Minnie’s debut in 1928, she appeared in many more short films throughout the 1930s. Mickey and Minnie were redesigned in the late 1930s, but Minnie was used less starting in the 1940s. It was not until the 1980s when she once again began being used more prominently in cartoons. She was in Mickey’s Christmas Carol in 1983 and had her first starring role in a television special with Totally Minnie in 1988. She has since appeared in films such as Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmas, Mickey’s Twice Upon a Christmas, and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers, and in television shows such as Mickey Mouse Works, House of Mouse, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Mickey Mouse, and Mickey and the Roadster Racers.

Minnie has been featured in comics, video games, and has been a staple at Disney parks such as Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World, where events have been held on the day. In 2016, an art and fashion show called “Rock the Dots” was held on Polka Dot Day in Los Angeles; it was followed by an exhibit that was open to the public. Disney began encouraging people to wear polka dots and use the hashtag #RocktheDots. Minnie received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on National Polka Dot Day in 2018, during her 90th anniversary year.

How to Observe National Polka Dot Day

Celebrate the day by wearing polka dots. D23: The Official Disney Fan Club and Shop Disney have polka dotted Minnie Mouse clothes and accessories available. Let people know you are wearing polka dots by using the hashtag #RocktheDots. The day could be spent watching films starring Minnie Mouse, such as Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie. Minnie was not wearing polka dots in those first films, but she was wearing a polka dot dress in their opening title sequences. You could also do some Minnie Mouse crafts, or plan a trip to Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World.

 

 

Jan 19

Popcorn Day!

 

Join us on January 19 as we celebrate National Popcorn Day! Buttered, salted, kettled, drizzled with caramel, popcorn is one of those snacks perfect anytime, anywhere. It’s great on the go, in the theater, or in your living room! Just be prepared to dig some of it out of your teeth.  

I’m actually a huge fan of Weekly Popcorn Day.  My Aunt and Uncle were very busy at their local church on Sundays and there just wasn’t time for anyone (read my aunt!) to cook dinner. Somewhere in their marriage, they decided that popcorn on Sundays would be the meal of choice. As I recall, they may have eaten it like cereal with milk and sugar.

As a child, I thought this was the best thing ever. My parents didn’t agree, though 🙁

They didn’t have fancy microwave popcorn but made it on the stove.

History of National Popcorn Day

Celebrate National Popcorn Day by diving into the fascinating world of popcorn, a special variety of maize unlike the corn on your dinner plate. The secret behind popcorn’s pop lies in its unique type, Zea mays everta. These tiny kernels, smaller than a penny but capable of big surprises, explode into fluffy treats when heated.
 
The journey of popcorn began millennia ago, with an astonishing discovery in 1948. In New Mexico’s Bat Cave, Herbert Dick and Earle Smith uncovered ancient popcorn ears, some over 4,000 years old, and even individual kernels dating back 5,600 years. 
 
Popcorn’s history isn’t just confined to North America. In ancient Peru, Mexico, and Guatemala, and across Central and South America, popcorn was more than a snack; it was a part of culture and daily life. The Aztecs, for instance, creatively used popcorn not just for eating but also in their attire and ceremonies.
 
In North America, popcorn was a staple in the lives of Native Americans. In a Utah cave, remnants of popcorn date back over a millennium, showcasing its long-standing presence in the Americas. French explorers were amazed to find the Iroquois Natives preparing popcorn in the Great Lakes region. As European settlers spread across the continent, forming what would become the USA, popcorn grew in popularity, evolving into the beloved snack we relish today.
 
Celebrate this delicious piece of history on National Popcorn Day! 

(adapted from https://nationaltoday.com/national-popcorn-day/)10 Popcorn Day Activities

Thank you to Leslie F, a teacher from Concord, Illinois, who sent the following suggestions for Popcorn Day Activities:

1. Stringing Popcorn: These can be hung outside for birds to eat
Need: sewing needles, string, popcorn

2. Guess the Amount Fill container with kernels and have students guess)
Need: popcorn kernels, container

3. Popcorn Air Hockey: Can you “volley” the kernel back and forth 20 times without letting it fall?
Need: flat surface (table), straw (to blow), coffee stirrers (as paddles) or hands (as paddles)

4. Popcorn Relay Race
Need: popcorn, spoons

5. Popcorn Basketball: Can you flick a piece of popcorn into the basket?
Need: popcorn, baskets (i.e. muffin tins, small cups), backboards (wall, cardboard)

6. Popcorn word search (puzzle maker)
Use these words: popcorn, pop, kernel, explode, heat, moisture, grain, snack, crunchy, butter, oil, salt, fiber, bag, hull

7. Write a Popcorn Haiku (5, 7, 5 syllable pattern poem): Like this!
Oil, kernels, heat, time
Many loud explosions heard
Pop, crunch, snack time. Yum!

8. How many words can you make from this phrase?
“Fresh hot popcorn”, “Popcorn tastes good”, “I like popcorn”, “Hot buttered popcorn”

9. Popcorn coloring pages

10. Read facts about popcorn and write about the history of popcorn

 

 

Jan 14

Greyfriar’s Bobby Day!

When we were in Scotland a couple years ago, we walked to Edinburgh Castle and back from hotel a couple times.

I had never heard of Greyfriar’s Bobby until our bus tour the second day although we had walked by the statue 3 times already!

On our 4th pass-by, we saw several people taking pictures of the statue.  I guess they knew.

Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for supposedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died himself on 14 January 1872.

The story continues to be well known in Scotland, through several books and films, and a prominent commemorative statue and nearby graves act as a tourist attraction.

Each year on the 14th of January there is an event in Greyfriars Church Yard honoring the loyalty of Greyfriars Bobby. The inscription on his memorial reads ” Let his loyalty and devotion be a lesson to us all”. He had faithfully guarded the grave of his master John Gray for 14 years after he passed away. The minister of Greyfriars and the Lord Provost of Edinburgh were the key speakers.

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