Thought for the Day

Readers Write and Miscellany

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Readers Write . . . 

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From Wayne B in respect of the swimmer who created his own minute’s silence for the Barcelona terrorist victims when the officials refused and in respect of the Council decision to shift the Australia Day ceremony date:

Love the thought of the day and the swimmer’s 1 minute delay in respect for those killed. Abraham Lincoln's quote is good too. I think the Melbourne Council decision is contrary to democracy seeing that only about 55 residents out of the 81 surveyed out of 140,000 agreed to do away with our historical Australia Day ceremony. A pathetic sample survey. Wonder which local coffee shops they surveyed.

Thanks Wayne.

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From Steve M in respect of the Roald Dahl Revolting Rhyme:

Hello Otto,

Bytes today dealt with one of my hero’s, Roald Dahl.

A colourful character, raconteur and at times, a bit of a difficult bastard, too. Some people do not know about his adult works, which are famous for their surprise endings and somewhat gruesome storylines. A wonderful writer, and before JK Rowling came along, Dahl was the largest selling Children’s author in history.

Initially he struggled to get his books published, and his biggest selling book ever, James and the Giant Peach, was rejected by every single publisher in the UK, without exception, over a period of around 9 years,. The manuscript ended up as a doorstop in his kitchen! One of his daughters picked it up and started to read it, couldn’t put it down. Took it to school. Read it on the bus on the way home. That night a neighbours daughter was visiting for dinner and asked if she could have a read. She took it home, could not put it down. Her father was about to leave one of Britain’s largest publishing houses and start up on his own. Took one look at the manuscript and signed Dahl up as his first writer / client. The rest, you know!

There are many books written about Dahl and his life – I have them all. I also have several first editions of his children’s books, each signed personally by him, and one also signed by the marvellous Quintin Blake as well (Dahl’s illustrator). Dahl was without doubt a literary genius, though not easy to get to know and even harder to stay friends with. He could be arrogant and bombastic as well as charming and fascinating, and most interviewers dreaded meeting him because he could be so difficult and contradictory. But... if you let his body of work talk for him, you will never stop listening.

Loved the Bytes Otto. Many thanks as always. 

Thanks, Steve.

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From Tobye P, on the chess nuts Funny Friday item:

The chess-nuts…all priceless but the chess-nuts is the best! 

Thanks Otto! 

Regards, Tobye 

Thanks Tobye.

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Also from Tobye, in respect of Winston Churchill’s somewhat cruel comment to Bessie Braddock about being ugly versus being drunk:

Oh My! I’ve known that Winston story most of my adult life - but I don’t think I ever saw the recipient of his wit. He’s so right - yikes, that face - and those arms are massive! That poor woman… 

Enjoy the weekend! 

Regards, Tobye 

Thanks again, Tobye.

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Thought for the Day

Pepper People: The Sgt Pepper Cover Continued

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Continuing a look at the people on the Sgt pepper cover. . . 

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A Vargas girl:

(and yes, I know that she is missing from the above list although shown as Number 11).

• Alberto Vargas (1896 – 1982) was a noted Peruvian painter of pin-up girls and often considered one of the most famous of the pin-up artists. 

• Numerous Vargas paintings have sold and continue to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

• He became widely noted in the 1940s as the creator of iconic World War-II era pin-ups for Esquire magazine known as "Varga Girls." Between 1940 and 1946 Vargas produced 180 paintings for the magazine.

• The nose art of many American and Allied World War II aircraft was inspired and adapted from these Esquire pin-ups.

'Honey Bunny', a Lockheed P-38 Lightning

• In 1959 Playboy magazine began to use his work. Over the next 16 years he produced 152 paintings for the magazine and his career flourished, including major world wide exhibitions of his work.

• The death of his wife Anna Mae in 1974 left him devastated and he stopped painting.

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Huntz Hall:

• Henry Richard "Huntz" Hall (1920 – 1999) was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), which gave way to the "Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in the 1940s and 1950s.

• Hall played the increasingly buffoonish Horace DeBussy "Sach" Jones in 48 "Bowery Boys" films, gaining top billing when his longtime partner, Leo Gorcey, left the series in 1956.

By the way:

Leo Gorcey was originally in the Sgt Pepper cover but was painted out after demanding a $400 fee to use his image:

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Simon Rodia:

• Sabato "Simon" Rodia (1879 – 1965) was an Italian-American artist who moved to the US when aged 15.

• After bouncing around the U.S. for nearly a quarter of a century, he settled in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 1921, he began creating the Watts Towers, a grouping of 17 different conical structures, the tallest of which reached 99 feet. It took him 33 years to complete them all.

Simon Rodia’s Watts Towers

• The Watts Towers were frequently vandalized by neighbours, and Rodia gave this as the reason he moved to Martinez, where he remained until his death in 1965.

• It is believed that Rodia never returned to Watts after moving to Martinez.

• The Watts Towers were designated a National Historic Landmark and a California Historical Landmark in 1990. They are also a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, and on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles.

• The structures are today granted respect by the local and surrounding communities.

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Bob Dylan:

• A close friend of George Harrison (and later, with Harrison, to be part of The Travelling Wilburys), the Beatles and Bob Dylan both held each other in high esteem from nearly the beginning. 

• Dylan was credited with introducing the Beatles to marijuana at the Delmonico Hotel in New York City in 1964. He allegedly mistook the lyric “I can’t hide” for “I get high” in their song ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ and assumed that they were already cannabis users.

• George Harrison: “Dylan is so brilliant. To me, he makes William Shakespeare look like Billy Joel.” 

• Bob Dylan: “George got stuck with being the Beatle that had to fight to get songs on records because of Lennon and McCartney. Well, who wouldn’t get stuck? If George had had his own group and was writing his own songs back then, he’d have been probably just as big as anybody.” 

• The Sgt Pepper image is taken from the cover of Dylan’s 1965 album ‘Highway 61 Revisited’.

The Traveling Wilburys:  

Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty, George Harrison, Roy Orbison

Thought for the Day

Socialist MP Bessie Braddock:

“Winston, you are drunk, and what is more is that you are disgustingly drunk.”

Prime Minister Winston Churchill:

“My dear, you are ugly, and what’s more, you are disgustingly ugly. But tomorrow I shall be sober and you will still be disgustingly ugly.'

(There is dispute as to whether the other person was MP Mary Astor and also as to whether Churchill actually made the above comment, although his bodyguard has confirmed that he did).

Parliament and Boozy Pollies

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News report:

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has admitted that he passed out, drunk, in Parliament House and was too intoxicated to vote on measures around Australia's response to the global financial crisis in 2009. Abbott admitted to the long-running rumour to ABC journalist Annabel Crabb, as part of her new TV series 'The House'. In the episode to air on September 5, Abbott laughed as he recounted the story.

Abbott's admission comes in the same week the Government revealed the first trial sites for its controversial welfare drug testing program. The plan -- to test 5000 welfare recipients for use of ecstasy, marijuana and amphetamines -- has been pushed by the Government as a way to ensure job seekers are "job ready". "You are not going to be ready for work if you are drunk," Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce said in May.

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie had pushed for the drug testing to be extended to parliamentarians as well. She told morning TV program Sunrise in May this year “If you think it’s drug free up here you’re kidding yourselves.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/08/24/tony-abbott-was-passed-out-drunk-during-important-parliamentary-vote_a_23178928/

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Tony Abbot is not the only Oz pollie who has turned up in Parliament intoxicated. Some memorable moments . . .

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Peter “Blackie” Black:

Mayor of Broken Hill 1980-1999 and NSW parliamentarian 1999-2007, Black was a member of the Australian Labor Party. He had a drinking problem and in 2004 turned up inebriated at a late night sitting of the NSW Parliament, ironically whilst Parliament was debating liquor deregulation. He repeatedly interrupted a speech by former National Party leader George Souris, the incident happening just hours after MPs voted against a push by the Greens to have MPs ejected if they were found to be drunk. Black was also filmed making a lunge at female colleague Virginia Judge.

Black wasn’t ejected from Parliament, but future Premier, Deputy Liberal leader Barry O’Farrell, was.

As O'Farrell rose to join the debate, he commented on Black’s rambling interjections: “I warn the honourable member for Murray-Darling about coming into the chamber late at night and behaving in that way.”

“What does that mean?” shouted a Labor MP.

“What it means is that he is pissed, he should not be in the chamber drunk and that is why we are in trouble with the Greens,” O’Farrell yelled back, earning himself an ejection and 2 day suspension after he refused to withdraw the word “pissed”. 

From the ABC’s Radio National program PM the following day:

BARRY O'FARRELL: It seems to me that we have a failure of responsibility and leadership by the Labor Party here. They were given private warning that there was a problem. They should have exercised their appropriate actions with the member. That didn't happen. He then sought to interject upon my speech. I responded and I seem to have been punished rather than the person who was actually or allegedly drunk being punished in any way.

JAYNE-MAREE SEDGMAN: But the Clerk of the Senate, Harry Evans, says it doesn't matter what language is used, any suggestion by a member that a fellow MP is drunk has always been frowned upon.

HARRY EVANS: In all Houses around the country, that would be regarded as offensive words, which would have to be withdrawn. I mean occasionally you get people making sly insinuations of it which are usually ignored, like the member has dined rather well tonight or something like that which is usually ignored, but any direct allegation of intoxication is regarded as offensive.

http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2004/s1064168.htm

(Barry O’Farrell was later to resign his position as NSW Premier over his failure to declare the gift of a $3,000 bottle of Grange Hermitage wine. He did not stand for election in 2015.)

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Andrew Bartlett:

Andrew Bartlett addresses the media after the incident below,

Bartlett took over as leader of the Australian Democrats in 2002.

In December 2003 Bartlett, who had been drinking at a Liberal Party function held just outside the Australian Parliament chamber, was accused of stealing five bottles of wine from the function. Liberal Senator Jeannie Ferris retrieved the wine, causing Bartlett some time later to approach Ferris, allegedly to grip her arm and verbally abuse her, both inside the chamber and on the way to an outside courtyard. According to Ferris, Bartlett repeatedly called her a “fucking bitch”. Parliamentary video of part of the incident showed that Bartlett was drunk in the chamber, although it did not show him grabbing Ferris's arm. 

Bartlett subsequently sent Ferris a formal apology . . . accompanied by a bottle of wine. Ferris described this as "quite inappropriate ... as an apology for drunken behaviour involving abuse and a physical attack."

Jeannie Ferris and Andrew Bartlett

Part of the incident inside Parliament

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From Mungo MacCallum’s book Political Anecdotes:

“The story is told of an early sitting of the Federal Parliament in Melbourne during which a minister was being heckled mercilessly by a member of the Opposition. Eventually the heckler, who was somewhat tired and emotional, gave up and went to sleep in his place, allowing the minister to finish his speech in peace. The minister then walked across the chamber, unbuttoned his fly, and urinated in his tormentor's ear. Hansard is said to have recorded this event as: '(An incident occurred)'.

I have heard this story more than once, but no one has ever been able to give me a name or a date, so it may be no more than a political myth. But if it didn't happen it should have. Here, perhaps, is the ultimate Australian political anecdote; the quintessence of the way the rude colonials adapted the solemnity of the British parliamentary system to suit their own peculiar needs.”

Thought for the Day

Funny Friday

Welcome to another Funny Friday, readers.

Below are some collections of funny brief items, some of those items having been previously posted in Bytes. That doesn’t matter, they are worth a second outing, even if a lot them belong in Corn Corner.

Before going to the below items, here is another story from yesterday’s news. I call it Wry Humour Corner, also known as Fucking idiot of the Week. . . 

Once upon a time there was a 22 year old rapper from Brooklyn who went by the name of Joey Bada$$. 

Now Joey must have some talent because he has a Wikipedia entry devoted to him. But he must have been out to lunch when God was handing out brains.

I mentioned yesterday that even young schoolkids know not to look directly at an eclipse unless wearing protective eyewear. Not unless you want to kiss your retinas goodbye. But not so President Trump, a great role model for public health.

And not so Joey Bada$$. 

No sirree, no protection for Joey, he just gonna stare at that big ol’ eclipse with no shades. 

He asked his followers in a tweet “Am I crazy for watching the eclipse today w no glasses? I've sungazed before and afterwards saw colors for a whole day. I didn't die tho.” Thus was followed by another: “This ain't the first solar eclipse and I'm pretty sure our ancestors ain't have no fancy eyewear. Also pretty sure they ain't all go blind.” 

What a wordsmith.

So Joey did what he said he would, then tweeted with (I am assuming) an unintended pun: “Due to unforeseen circumstances, my Cleveland, Chicago & Toronto shows on the Everybody Tour are cancelled.”

Link:

http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/08/24/rapper-joey-bada-defiantly-stares-eclipse-suddenly-cancels-shows

I hope he recovers with no effect on his sight but it proves an important point: 

Joey Bada$$, he knew more,

Safety warnings he chose to ignore.

Looked at the eclipse with uncovered eyes ,

Winning the world’s Biggest Fuckwit prize.

Now Joey’s a sadder but wiser rapper, 

Hope his eyesight’s not down the crapper,

There’s a lesson here for Joey and us:

Not all that The Man says is sus.

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Some humour:

Gallery:

Corn Corner:

Donald Trump, on his way to Air Force One, tells his driver that he would like to drive for a little while, he hasn’t personally driven for ages. So the driver goes in the back and President Trump takes his place and starts driving. 

He's a bit rusty and shortly after starting he sees police lights behind him. He pulls over and when the officer comes up to the window his eyes go wide. He says to President Trump "Hold on for a minute," and goes back to his car to radio the chief. 

Cop: "Chief we have a situation. I've pulled over an important figure." 

Chief: "How important? A governor or something?" 

Cop: "No sir. He's bigger." 

Chief: "So, what? a celebrity or something?" 

Cop: "More important, sir." 

Chief: "A major politician?" 

Cop: "No sir, he's much more important." 

Chief: "WELL WHO IS IT!?" 

Cop: "Well actually I'm not sure. But Donald Trump is his driver."