due to popular demand

drawing from daughter

non dirle che e' cosi'

Not really having been away. I'm back.

fire hits wallace and gromit sets

The warehouse contained Aardman Animations' archive Props and sets from the Wallace and Gromit films are believed to have been destroyed in a warehouse blaze.
Fire crews were called to Oscar-winning Aardman Animations' site in Bristol on Monday, but were unable to stop all three floors inside collapsing. The building near the city's Temple Meads station contained the company's "entire history", a spokesman said. [more]

health of new orleans refugees

Harvard School of Public Health undertook a survey of evacuees in shelters in the Houston area in cooperation with The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

• One-third (34%) of Katrina evacuees report that they were trapped in their homes and had to be rescued. Half (50%) of those who were trapped said they waited three or more days to be rescued.
• More than 1 in 10 (14%) Hurricane Katrina evacuees report a family member, neighbor or friend was killed by the storm or subsequent flooding, and more than half report that their home was destroyed (55%)
• Also, the survey found that 2 in 5 (40%) spent at least a day living outside on a street or overpass, and 13% report that some members of their immediate family are still missing.
• The survey also found that evacuees in Houston shelters face serious health challenges that will complicate relief and recovery efforts.

The survey had the following health-related findings:

• 52% report having no health insurance coverage at the time of the hurricane. Of those with coverage, 34% say it is through Medicaid and 16% through Medicare. Before the hurricane 66% of people evacuated to Houston shelters used hospital or clinics as their main source of care and of those, a majority (54%) used Charity Hospital of New Orleans, substantially more than the second most common care site (University Hospital of New Orleans, at 8%).
• 33% report experiencing health problems or injuries as a result of the hurricane and 78% of them are currently receiving care for their ailments.
• 41% report chronic health conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and asthma.
• 43% say they are supposed to be taking prescription medications, and of those, 29% percent report having problems getting the prescription drugs they need.
• Of the 61% who did not evacuate before the storm, 38% said they were either physically unable to leave or had to care for someone who was physically unable to leave.
• 39% report that they did not get help from any government agency or voluntary agency during the flood and evacuation.

window on new orleans

From: http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20050906-5278.html

FEMA disaster website IE-only
9/6/2005 2:37:53 PM, by Ken "Caesar" Fisher

As relief workers scramble to provide comfort and succor to the thousands and thousands of people dispossessed by hurricane Katrina, tech relief efforts are hitting snags. Equipment shortages, problems accessing the Internet, and the time it takes to set up computers for refugees to use are all getting in the way of getting people help, but that's not too surprising. This is, after all, a disaster. What is surprising, however, is the fact that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) online registration site for disaster help is Internet Explorer-only.

While anyone can browse the site, users of non-IE browsers will find this message waiting for them when they attempt to register.
"In order to use this site, you must have JavaScript Enabled and Internet Explorer version 6. Download it from Microsoft or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) to register. "

Something so minor has become a considerable problem for relief workers, who are attempting to setup as many kiosks as possible for refugees. Workers on the ground have told Ars Technica that they would prefer to avoid setting up Windows XP work stations because they take longer to setup, and even longer to properly patch and configure for use.
You may recall that in an experiment performed last year, a Windows XP SP1 boxput on the Internet was compromised in 4 minutes flat. While ServicePack 2 and recent updates undoubtedly improve XP's defenses, techs are wary of using the OS in this situation.

The issue isn't only security. XP hardware requirements, while not impressive by today's standards, rule out using some donated hardware as well. Furthermore, legitimate copies of Windows also cost money, and relief workers are trying to stretch their dollars as far as they can go. Ideally, many would rather create LiveCDs with Linux distributions that are ready to boot and roll, as this would provide the quickest and most secure configuration in a pinch. However, with so many people wanting to register on FEMA's site, this becomes a problem. The registration makes use of JavaScript, but there's no functionality being provided that could not have been provided in a more browser-friendly manner. User agent proofing - a technique by which a browser reports that it's another browser type-makes the site somewhat more usable, although we encountered errors using Opera 8.0 and the MSIE6.0 user agent. It certainly isn't an ideal workaround.

Mike Quealy, a FEMA spokesperson, explained to me that they are aware of the issue, and are currently working on a application that supports all of the most popular browsers. Quealy said that the application in question was originally an in-house tool, meant to be used by call center people. Internet Explorer was the official in-house browser, so the application was coded with IE in mind. FEMA apparently decided to make the application public with the advent of last year's Florida hurricanes, and Quealy noted that they had hoped to test a universally supported application just before Katrina hit.As you may know, Hannibal is in Louisiana right now assisting with relief efforts, and we'll continue to bring updates as we get them.

new orleans news

New Orleans LA post-Katrina Intel Dissemination Wiki!
This wiki, a community-editable website, was setup to factor the tons of random bits of information flowing out of New Orleans in totally disorganized chunks, and being repeated around the internet in various forms. Blogs are not up to the task of distilling this info in a useful way, so we've setup this ad-hoc project at nola-intel.org to try and keep track of all of this.

new orleans musicians: update

WWOZ, 90.7 FM, New Orleans. Due to HURRICANE KATRINA we signed off on August 27th at midnight. Until we can build new temporary facilities (hopefully in October), we have a temporary stream called "WWOZ In Exile."
[ FXH is listening online to KBON, 101.1 FM, Eunice, Louisiana, (Eunice is a town of about 11,000 about 100ks from Baton Rouge and 230 ks from New Orleans. KBON has community announcements for volunteers to help with food distribution to refugees, great adverts for local businesses like chicken farms plus 24 hours of "your variety station with a Louisiana flavor!" Cajun, zydeco, swamp-pop, blues, country, blues, oldies and gospel. ]

From Chuck Taggart's great Gumbo Pages:
We're very concerned about the safety and whereabouts of pianist and composer Roger Dickerson, who is a close friend of my aunt. He lived on Metropolitan Drive in Gentilly, and hasn't been heard from. PLEASE leave a comment or email [chuck] at [gumbo] dot [org] if you hear anything about Roger.

Still looking for Antoinette K-Doe. Alex Chilton, who lived in the 9th Ward and refused to leave, hasn't been heard from, and there are many people who are worried about him. So many others ... I'll post updates as I get them, and please leave a comment if you hear anything.

UPDATE: Via Ben Sandmel: "Not 100% confirmed but heard that [Antoinette]'s in the lounge, guarding it with a gun, was offered a ride out in a boat but declined. She has lots of food and drink so I guess she's OK, relatively. More ASAP... "

UPDATE: Via Craigslist:
New Orleans own Blues Guitarist, Blind Snooks Eaglin, needs a home for him and his family who have lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina. We are 12 in all, please help. You may contact us at


Here's a list so far of New Orleans musicians that have been confirmed as safe:

Steve Allen, Theresa Andersson, James "Satchmo of the Ghetto" Andrews, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, Johnny Angel, Marcia Ball, Bruce "Sunpie" Barnes, Rebecca Barry, Harold Battiste, Russell Batiste, Tab Benoit, Better Than Ezra, Terrance Blanchard, Eddie Bo (plus sister Veronica and his band), Bonerama, John Boutté, Russ Broussard, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, Henry Butler, Grayson Capps, Ricki Castrillo, Evan Christopher, Jon Cleary, Cowboy Mouth, Susan Cowsill, Davell Crawford, Jack Cruz, Dash Rip Rock, Jeremy Davenport, Theryl "Houseman" DeClouet, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Michael Domenici, Fats Domino, Dr. John, Snooks Eaglin (and family of 12, now homeless), Lars Edegran, Nancy Edwards, Charlie Fardela, Jack Fine (of the Palmetto Bug Stompers), Pat Flory, John Fohl, Andy Forrest, Gina Forsyth, Pete Fountain, Derrick Freeman, Jonathan Freilich (N.O. Klezmer All-Stars), Peter Fuller, funky Meters, Galactic, Steve Goodson, Tim Green, John "Papa" Gros (and the whole Papa Grows Funk band), James Hall, Corey Harris, Leigh "Little Queenie" Harris, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Corey Henry, Andi Hoffman, Peter Holsapple, The Hot Club of New Orleans, The Iguanas, Burke Ingraffia, Benny Jones Sr., Leroy Jones, Kirk Joseph, Joe Krown, Julia LaShae, Tim Laughlin, Washboard Chaz Leary, Bryan Lee, David Leonard & Roselyn Lionheart (David & Roselyn), Herman Leonard, Lil' Rascals Brass Band, Eric Lindell, Jeremy Lyons, Ronald Markham, Jason Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Irvin Mayfield, Tom McDermott, Humberto "Pupi" Menez (and aunt Caridad Delatorre), Charles Louie Moore, Tom Morgan, Chris Mule, Kenny Neal, The Neville Brothers, Charmaine Neville, Ivan Neville, Carlo Nuccio (post-storm okay, post-flood unknown), Anders Osborne, Panorama Jazz Band, Joshua Paxton, Michael Pearce, Dave Pirner, George Porter Jr., The Radiators, Jan V. Ramsey & most of OffBeat Magazine staff), Rebirth Brass Band (all members), Marcus Roberts, Coco Robicheaux, John Rodli (N.O. Jazz Vipers), Biff Rose, Wanda Rouzan, Dixie Rubin, Kermit Ruffins, Scott Saltzman, Mark Samuels (Pres., Basin Street Records), Will Samuels, Ben Sandmel, Jumpin' Johnny Sansone, Alexandra Scott, Mem Shannon and the Membership, Derek Shezbie, James Singleton, Johnny Sketch, Michael Skinkus, Robert Snow (N.O. Jazz Vipers), Brian Stoltz, Marc Stone, Bill Summers, Ken Swartz, Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, Rick Trolsen, Johnny Vidacovich, Rob Wagner, Mark Walton, Melissa Weber, Mike West, Dr. Michael White, Marva Wright, Linnzi Zaorski.

antoine "fats" domino aged 77 rescued new orleans

see that his grave is swept clean

R.L. Burnside Dead at 78
Legend's brand of Delta blues spoke to hard times

Blues legend R.L. Burnside died today, September 1st, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. He was seventy-eight.

Born in Harmontown, Mississippi, Burnside became one of the perennial forbears of the Delta blues, with his thick, rhythmic slide style and graphic lyrics reflecting his life surrounded by poverty and violence. Burnside, himself, did jail time for murder.

He learned the blues from neighbor Fred McDowell and played for years as a star attraction in ramshackle southern clubs (some of which he owned) before critic Robert Palmer featured him in the acclaimed 1992 documentary Deep Blues. The same year, Burnside signed to Fat Possum Records and released Bad Luck City.

During the Nineties, Burnside ventured off the track of traditional acoustic blues when he collaborated with the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion on 1996's A Ass Pocket of Whiskey. The album brought Burnside a new audience of indie-rock fans.

"People are just now beginning to realize that the blues is the roots of all the music," Burnside told Rolling Stone in 2000. "That's where the music all started from."

Burnside returned to his musical roots and released six more albums, most recently 2004's A Bothered Mind.

He is survived by his wife and twelve children.


By: JESSICA ROBERTSON (Posted Sep 01, 2005) Rolling Stone

carry moonbeams home in a jar

Sometimes a person on the net will quietly, and effectively, undertake a task that is important but neglected by our institutions. By researching, documenting, archiving and enlivening the subject through comments and observations our understanding of ourselves and our culture is injected with meaning and nuance.

Australian Plastic has begun the task ".... to review and rate every Single or EP that made it to the top position on the Australian Charts since their inception in 1956. In addition, I will review any song that was the highest selling single in it's year of release if it didn't make it to number one on the weekly chart."

I know I’ve mentioned it before but do visit and take a look and encourage.

like a complete unknown......

return to proven education values

From The Sydney Morning Herald:
"The Catholic Education Office is investigating claims a group of Wollongong primary school children were told to tape their mouths shut during a musical rehearsal.
The 11-year-olds, from St Francis Xavier's Catholic Primary School, were rehearsing for regional heats of the Wakakirri performing arts festival yesterday when their noisiness allegedly got out of hand, Wollongong Police Chief Inspector Mark Lavers said.
"Basically yesterday a number of children were inside a hall practising for a concert, they were making a lot of noise, [someone] at the school got upset about that, asked them to quieten down, they didn't. As a result he's cut up a number of strips of masking tape and said 'stick them on your mouth'," Chief Inspector Lavers said.

Meanwhile, Mr Whitby said, rehearsals would continue and Friday's performance would go ahead as planned."

As readers will be aware I have a network of schools all over Australia, and worldwide, named after me and administered by my various holding companies. I wish to ensure investors that the brand continues to go from strength to strength and should increase in value after we re-introduce washing children's mouths out with Solvol late next month.

a quick whip around the blogs

Possibly emboldened by getting hold of some family heirlooms on e-bay it looks like Gummo has returned to rantwittering. Grab his unique and wholesome fare before he nicks off again.

I was going to mention Andrew Ford's new series Music and Fashion on RN but Nic Gruen on Troppo has beaten me to it.

Don't forget Ford's Music Show on Saturday mornings and his recent book on Van Morrison, Speaking In Tongues which focuses on the artist and the music, not the gossip or the personality. The book even manages to open up this old Van tragic to some new angles and thoughts on the Van canon.

I'm looking forward to the next installment on Australian Plastic, a site by More Australian Ramblings that promises ".... to review and rate every Single or EP that made it to the top position on the Australian Charts since their inception in 1956. In addition, I will review any song that was the highest selling single in it's year of release if it didn't make it to number one on the weekly chart."

Currency Lad has written an enticing introduction to seminal guitarist Davy Graham who pioneered the DADGAD tuning.

Gary Sauer-Thompson over at Junk For Code continues his Grateful Dead series with a bit on authenticity and some pictures of their light show, amongst other things, and a bit on Pete Townsend's Lifehouse.

french kiss pattie smith

Horses: a post-Beat poet "dancing around to the simple rock & roll song."

US punk rock star Patti Smith has received one of France's top cultural honours in recognition of her influence on rock music.

Smith, 58, was presented with the Commander of the Order of the Arts and Letters by Culture Minister Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres.

Her appreciation of 19th Century French poet Arthur Rimbaud was also noted in the citation.

Smith said she accepted the award "from the most spiritual side of me". She was given the award at an Aids benefit concert in Paris on Sunday.

"I have vowed to live up to this honour in my work and my conduct," she said. "I can't explain what I feel like. It has uplifted me, and I will work very hard to earn it."

The French ministry of culture called her "one of the most influential artists in women's rock 'n' roll". Smith said she is planning a new album of covers from artists including Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and Edith Piaf.

The singer was one of the most acclaimed performers on the New York rock scene, and was friends with artist Andy Warhol, beat poet Allen Ginsberg and author William Burroughs.

Smith's debut 1975 album, Horses, was seen as a seminal release and is still regarded by many as one of the most influential rock albums. Her 1978 Easter album included her biggest commercial hit, Because the Night, which she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen.

From BBC NEWS

luther van dross dead

b. Luther Ronzoni Vandross, 20th April 1951, New York City, New York, U.S.A.
d. 1st July 2005, JFK Medical Centre, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Although this artist is considered by some soul purists to be too mainstream, Luther Vandross had one of the finest voices in soul music. Luther was born into a family with deep gospel roots and constructed his own group whilst still at school. He also worked with the musical theatre workshop 'Listen My Brother' and also performed at Harlem's Apollo Theatre. In the mid seventies, Luther was invited to join David Bowie's entourage for his 'Young American's' album project. The collaboration became so, mutually, successful when Bowie's U.S. tour was underway, Luther was the opening act.

Following on from this success he sang alongside Chaka Khan, Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. This let to the Cotillion label taking the singer on and he recorded a debut album with a band he formed, simply called Luther.

The albums 'Luther' and 'This Close To You' are today considered highly by todays soul purists, with the latter reaching high prices.
Luther then reverted to session recording. He contributed to many recording sessions ranging from the likes of Quincy Jones, Patti Austin, Gwen Guthrie, Chic and Sister Sledge.There was the opportunity on the table for a deal with Quincy, however, that never transpired.Luther was reported to have been devastated. He continued, however, to subsidize his recordings, at the time, by producing music for various network television advertisements, including Coca Cola.

One of Luthers most successful session recordings came with the group Change on the 1980 album 'Glow Of Love' earning the band two UK Top 20 hits in 'The Glow Of Love' and 'Searchin'. Luther then began performing as a solo artist with Epic / CBS Records.
'Never Too Much' earned him an R & B number 1. The subsequent album reached number 20 in the U.S. R & B charts.
'Never Too Much' then made the the UK Top 20 at a lter date. His follow up releases included duets with Cheryl Lynn ('If This World Was Mine') and Dionne Warwick ('How Many Times Can We Say Goodbye'). Luther followed up with two further R & B number 1 hits with 'Stop To Love' (1986) and a duet with Gregory Hines, 'There's Nothing Better Than Love' (1987). He has won countless awards and his reputation as a producer has been enhanced by his work with Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin. If, at any time, you are looking around your local record store, keep an eye out for an album entitled 'See You In L.A.' by the group Mascara. The front cover depicts two models one of whom is the late Paula Yates. Luther's vocal talents are to be found on his cover of The Tymes track 'It's Cool'. An undiscovered gem. An album 'Luther Vandross' was released in 2001 after a label move to J Records. The set was the biggest selling of all of Luthers albums and was seen as a real return to form. Vandross lost 9 stones in weight prior to the albums release!

In 2003, he completed an album entitled 'Dance With My Father' for the same label when disaster struck and Luther had a stroke.
There were reports of him never singing and even of his death.

Luther developed pneumonia and underwent a trachioctomy, at the Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, an operation which doctors reported would not affect his vocal chords.

Unfortunately, Luther Vandross died 1st July 2005 at the JFK Medical Centre, New Jersey, U.S.A. He was 54.

another nigerian scam uncovered

Next to Chairman Kaga, and perhaps Pauly from Fat Pizza, Benny Hinn is my favourite TV star.

Pastor Hinn in Nigerian money row BBC News/June 27, 2005 , By Sola Odunfa



In late April, scores of giant billboards and thousands of wall posters all over Lagos proclaimed the first of three days of divine miracles and healing for at least six million Nigerians - but at the end of the third day, there was more bickering over money than praise to God for mercy received.

The vehicle of the expected wonders of the Holy Spirit was American evangelist Benny Hinn, who flew into Nigeria in a Gulfstream private jet with a large retinue that included his bodyguards. He was received at Lagos airport in a motorcade of Hummer jeeps and other expensive cars. The deaf would hear, the blind would see, the lame would jump and walk, barren women would conceive, the jobless would gain employment, and the enemy - both seen and unseen - would be vanquished. Mention any problem - physical, spiritual, economic - Hinn had come with the instant solution.

But things did not go well.

About 300,000 people attended the event each night - a modest congregation by Nigerian crusade standards. It is estimated that about 1 million worshippers attend the monthly Holy Ghost Congress service organised by The Redeemed Christian Church God (RCCG) at the same venue. Whatever disappointment he felt on the first and second days of the miracle crusade, Hinn kept to himself - but he opened up with anger on the final day.

"Four million dollars down the drain," he shouted into the microphone from the huge rostrum.

He said that he had been assured by the local organising committee that at least six million people would attend the crusade - but the total turnout was only around one million. As a result, he realised that all the mega public address equipment he had flown in from the US was not needed. He also complained about some claimed expenditures, the charges imposed on pastors who attended his day-time seminar, and journalists who sought to cover the crusade. He then announced publicly that he would not provide any more funds, and that the local organisers should pay all outstanding bills from the collections they made on the first two days.

The Nigerian head of the local organising committee, Bishop Joseph Olanrewaju Obembe, accused other Nigerian Pentecostal preachers of sabotaging the crusade and pedalling false information to Hinn and his aides out of envy, and to discredit him. The Pentecostal faith in Nigeria is a veritable goldmine, judging by the opulence of most of its pastors. It is made even more attractive because incomes of churches are tax-exempt. Nearly all the churches are the private property of their pastors or founders and their immediate families.

doctor please, one whisky, one bourbon, one beer

POSTED ON THE CITY HALL MESSAGE BOARD, FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2004.
AGENDA
NORMANDY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2004, 7:30 P.M

The Mayor and City Council may also hold a Closed Meeting, with a closed vote and record, as authorized by Section 610.021 Revised Statutes of Missouri, relating to legal issues, real estate and/or personnel.

Bill #04-04: An Ordinance granting a Special Use Permit to Jayant Patel to operate a convenience store d/b/a S&D Quick Mart at 7201 Natural Bridge Road.

Review and recommendation on the application submitted for a package liquor license and Sunday liquor license submitted Jayant Patel for S&D Quick Mart at 7201 Natural Bridge Road.

With thanks to Amos Milburn and His Aladdin Chickenshackers The real title is 'One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer'. Here's a Real Audio of the song. Milburn was a wonderful marriage of Nat King Cole voice and Louis Jordan Jump R&B.

adorno, miles, grateful dead, sauer-thompson

Gary Sauer-Thompson over at junk for code has been doing a bit of good thinking, writing and linking to other sources of thinking, writing and linking about music.

Miles Davis and Grateful Dead.
Miles electric.
Miles and Adorno.
Adorno, rock music, language.
Adorno: aesthetics of rock music
Grateful Dead Winterland Album
Music Industry Digital ..more...
Rock criticism, The Band, Dylan, Basement Tapes
The Basement Tapes

the singer not the song

Along with Senator Bartlett and a fair smattering of other Australians I watched the Nick Cave doco on the ABC TV On The Southbank Show the other night. I had a few relatives over and one of them was reminiscing of the "good old days" at the Seaview Ballroom when it seemed to be a competition between Blixa, Nick, and the band vs the punters to see who could be the most wasted at the beginning of the night.

The program had enough live performances from different eras and Cave gave the camera a reasonable amount of warmth and was respectful in his acknowledgement of Johnny Cash and Nina Simone. It was worth seeing the whole program just for the show stopper, a performance by Dr Nina Simone, probably from the Berkeley Live session, in 1977.

It was a riveting performance with Nina thumping the piano into shape and delivering an engrossing song which took me a while to recognise. After a while the song registered. It's two songs. It was Ain't Got No / I Got Life. From the musical HAIR. Now apart from the Fifth Dimension doing Age of Aquarius /Let The Sunshine In, there is nothing to recommend the songs from Hair. In fact I don't think there is any acting, narrative, dancing, the book or anything else to recommend from Hair.

Dr Simone takes this bland tune with bland lyrics and manages to make it into a jazz influenced rhythm and blues gospel song of resistance, pride and independence. What an amazing feat.

It is also available as a live version on her Black Gold album recorded at Philarmonic Hall, New York City, October 26, 1969.

Mostly the song is more important than the singer. It is almost impossible not to see that September Song is a great song no matter who is singing it. The same with Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah . I often use the song to judge the singer, especially a singer I am not familiar with. For jazz it's often My Funny Valentine, for Cajun / Zydeco it's Jole Blon.

Nina Simone singing Aint Got No / I Got Life shows that sometimes the singer is much, much more important than the song.

Late Breaking News Update:
In a hard hitting op ed piece boynton defends HAIR, The Musical.