In 1982 a group of entertaining senior citizens living at The Walter Salvo House in Northampton, Massachusetts pooled their talents and put on shows under the name Young@Heart. The first performances involved singing, comedy routines, and impersonations, but over the years settled into a (mostly) choral format wherein various members of the group take the lead in singing songs, many of them – notably – contemporary songs by the likes of James Brown, Sonic Youth, and The Ramones. As the years went by, various members died and were replaced, but the show went on; in 1996, following some fruitful collaborations with outside, non-senior performers, including punk rockers and a gay men’s chorus, a fellow named Roy Faudree, who had staged their first full-blown theatre show, organized a trip to Rotterdam’s R Festival, where they unexpectedly met with such success that they ended up doing 12 – count ’em, 12 – tours of Europe, Australia, and Canada.
In 2008, British documentarian Stephen Walker released Young@Heart, which chronicled the group as they prepared for, and then staged, a concert in Massachusetts. Tonight’s clip from the film shows a member of the group giving a solo performance of what was to have been a duet with his friend, until his friend passed away shortly before the show. Backed by the Young@Heart chorus, here’s the late Fred Knittle, a former WWII machine-gunner, singing a song by British group Coldplay called I Will Try To Fix You.
The comments are open – they always are – for your Reader Tips.
Scratch A Leftist
Find an anti-Semite. (language warning).
Related: “It’s the job of the news media to report the news, not incite it.“
h/t Stephen M.
“Here’s my suggestion to all of you”
Apply for a job as a Bylaw Officer for the municipality of Clarington.
Be sure to mention how many tattoos you have, any history of animal torture and arson, and your score on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist.
Tell them you’re applying because you read about how Clarington employees get to harrass harmless local taxpayers like the Jaworski family, and you’d like to take part in these Gestapo adventures, too!
No, really. Contact info at this link.
Not Waiting For The Asteroid
“With most newspapers drawing more than half their audience from people who are 55 years of age and older, you would think they would avoid insulting those readers. But you would be wrong.“
Mark Down 2010
… as the year the mask slipped:
“There is a debate to be had about the sensitivity of building this center so close to Ground Zero. But we can not let fear and rage tear down the towers of our core American values.” — Katie Couric
… more @ Cjunk.
In The Mail
| Rush Limbaugh: An Army Of One, by Zev Chafets. Not too bad a read. |
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I Can See Nathan Phillips Square From My House
It’s the first rumbling of a Canadian Tea Party movement…
Populist, right-wing, “Big C” Conservative city councillor Rob Ford, to the horror of the city’s liberal (and Liberal) elites, is comfortably leading the pack of five major mayoral contenders with 32% of the vote, according to the latest Ipsos Reid poll.
[…]
Wright said what’s happening in Toronto and across Ontario isn’t a Conservative revolution. Rather, it’s a revolt against the status quo, with voters feeling those in charge of Toronto City Hall and the Ontario government are out of touch with their day-to-day concerns, including high taxes (McGuinty imposed an unpopular 13% Harmonized Sales Tax July 1) and fears of job loss in a struggling economy.
Just don’t say anything. We wouldn’t want to spook ’em.
Is There Nothing That Obama Can’t Do?
Little-known fact: Obama’s failed stimulus program cost more than the Iraq war
Via
Reader Tips
Over the course of his career Frank Sinatra recorded and performed numerous Cole Porter songs, most famously “I’ve Got You Under My Skin”, I Get a Kick out of You”, and “Night and Day.” Tonight’s amusement en route to the Tips, the next installment of our summer series of songs about particular cities, was recorded in 1958 as part of the sessions for the Come Fly With Me album but was not included on the original LP; in 1996, Capitol Records released it on the retrospective compilation CD Frank Sinatra Sings the Select Cole Porter. Backed by the orchestral arrangements of Billy May, here’s Frank Sinatra swinging his way through Cole Porter’s tribute to the City of Lights called I Love Paris.
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.
“Certainly a strong conservative view…sharp and witty rather than bashing and bruising”, or, “Known Unknowns”
Listen all about it:
Really good American talk radio: John Batchelor, WABC New York
There’s also Cousin Brucie, Joey Reynolds (and Wolfman Jack in the “Comments”).
Marketing Campaigns Of The Apocalypse
“Tourism chiefs in Serbia are hoping their annual testicle cooking competition will do for the region what whisky did for Scotland.”
“Judge Parrish’s ruling makes it clear that Khadr’s claims could not withstand basic scrutiny.”
I know. I’m as shocked as you are.
Pierre Trudeau: Not Dead Enough
Port Colborne, Ont., man faces charges after home attacked with Molotov cocktails.
His home.
h/t Shawn
18 Month American Recovery Watch Remains On High Alert
Recycling Myths Of Saskatoon
A well done presentation for Saskatoon residents.
(The survey is here if you have the time.)
Finally, A Compromise Solution!
Related: Who is Daisy Khan?
Reader Tips
Last month Clara Cannucciari, star of the online series Great Depression Cooking, walked us through the steps required in the preparation of the tasty, nutritious, and inexpensive Poorman’s Meal. Tonight, she provides some modest advice and answers a few of her viewers’ questions about life, food, and happiness, in a segment called Clara answers her fan mail.
The comments are open for your Reader Tips.
O, Sweet Saint Of San Andreas
Fatwa Chaos
Some useful fatwas:
A well-known Saudi religious scholar recently advised that a woman could become kin to a man—and thus be alone with him without violating the Islamic ban on gender mixing—by giving him five sips of her breast milk. This religious ruling, or fatwa, followed one in Somalia prohibiting Muslims from watching the soccer World Cup; one in Malaysia saying Muslims should not do yoga; two in Egypt, one saying married couples should not disrobe when having sex and the other one labeling Facebook users sinners; and one in Pakistan forbidding polio vaccination because it’s a Western plot to harm Muslims.
Yes, these rulings are certainly fascinating, but what’s the real issue?
The purposes of some of these fatwas, which are supposed to be based in the knowledge and wisdom of those who issue them, are quite disturbing and are tarnishing the image of Islam. For Muslim governments, this expansion of fatwa-issuing is becoming a growing concern.
Tarnishing the image? Au contraire, I’d say these fatwas are downright entertaining. It’s the beheadings and bombings of infidels that is tarnishing the image of Islam.
Don’t get in the way of that double-double
It is somehow reassuring to see that something like this can still happen:
The quick-thinking of several Tim Hortons customers stopped a knife-wielding man in Gatineau Sunday evening. Police said a 42-year-old white male from Gatineau entered the Tim Horton’s at 327 Maloney Blvd. just after 8:30 p.m. His face was covered by a scarf and he was brandishing a knife. As he approached the counter, four customers jumped on the man, taking him down and detaining him until police arrived.
Even more surprising, the customers don’t appear to have been charged with assault or unlawful confinement — yet.