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December 22, 2017
Life is Short. Opera is Long. Wagner Longer.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Charleston!
The Dialect. First, what about the accent you hear there? That regal way of speech? You're in South Carolina, of course--but the speech you hear is barely "Southern". Most likely, experts say, it's a blend: of Gullah spoken by African Americans, and of English spoken by Europeans, over 300 years ago. Linguists love it, and you still hear it in the streets, especially "South of Broad".
The Dance. It was popularized by a song and its accompanying footwork, "The Charleston," by James P. Johnson in the Broadway musical "Runnin' Wild" in 1923. Like the unique Charleston dialect, the Dance goes way back, too. It's been traced to descendants of slaves who lived on islands off the coast of Charleston and in the city itself. Thought to have been first performed locally around 1903.
Posted by JD Hull at 03:59 AM | Comments (0)
December 21, 2017
Solstice.
It’s today at 11:28 AM Eastern. As one digital resource has it:
The pagan Scandinavian and Germanic people of northern Europe celebrated a twelve-day "midwinter" (winter solstice) holiday called Yule (also called Jul, Julblot, jólablót, midvinterblot, julofferfest). Many modern Christmas traditions, such as the Christmas tree, the Christmas wreath, the Yule log, and others, are direct descendents of Yule customs. Scandinavians still call Yule "Jul". In English, the word "Yule" is often used in combination with the season "yuletide" a usage first recorded in 900.
Stonehenge, 1980s
Posted by JD Hull at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2017
Work is Rarely About Workers. It's About Customers, Clients, Buyers, Patients, Consumers.
Let's review, shall we? Where most types of Work are concerned: Clients, Buyers, Customers, Consumers and The Served are First. Companies are Second. Workers (including Management) are Third.
Got that?
It's rarely about The Workers.
Above: Generic Dweebs getting their Customer Thing On.
Posted by JD Hull at 12:59 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2017
Pantheon: Elizabeth McGovern.
McGovern in 2012.
Her dad was a Northwestern law professor. Born in Chicago 56 years ago, she has malleable, ageless looks. At the age of 22, she played both teenagers and 65-year-olds in my favorite movie, Once Upon a Time in America. In 1980, she dropped out of Juillard and American Conservatory Theatre work on Robert Redford's first directing project, Ordinary People. In 1981 she finished {schools} and in same year earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Evelyn Nesbit in the film Ragtime.
In 1984, she starred in Sergio Leone's gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America as Robert De Niro's romantic interest Deborah Gelly. In 1989 she played Mickey Rourke's girlfriend in Johnny Handsome, directed by Walter Hill.
She now lives in London--since 2010, she has played Cora, Countess of Grantham, in the British TV series Downton Abbey. Add this Eternal Total Betty to our Pantheon.
Another wonderful fact: Since 2008, she’s fronted the band Sadie and the Hotheads at The Castle pub venue in Portobello Road, London.
http://article.wn.com/view/2012/12/09/Downton_Abbey_star_Elizabeth_McGovern_touring_with_Sadie_and/
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Circa 1984.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:15 PM | Comments (0)