Quote: Johnny Mercer

"I could eat alphabet soup and shit better lyrics."

\

-  Johnny Mercer (1909 - 1976), American lyricist, songwriter and singer, on a British musical.

(Mercer wrote the lyrics to more than fifteen hundred songs, including compositions for movies and Broadway shows. He received nineteen Academy Award nominations, and won four. He was also a co-founder of Capitol Records).

Jabberwocky

Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!

The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!

Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun

The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:

Long time the manxome foe he sought—

So rested he by the Tumtum tree,

And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,

The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,

Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,

And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through

The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!

He left it dead, and with its head

He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?

Come to my arms, my beamish boy!

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”

He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

Those who enjoy in its own right this nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll from Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There (1872) need no further explanation of its meanings.  As Alice says to herself after reading the poem:  "It seems very pretty but it's rather hard to understand! Somehow it seems to fill my head with ideas—only I don't exactly know what they are!"

For those who do want some explanation of the words, Carroll provided some clues in Alice's Advenrures in Wonderland and in other writings.  There are numerous sites that offer explanations, such as that at:

http://www.answers.com/topic/jabberwocky-poem-2

Have a frabjous day.

 

Quote: Dave Barry

 "If you suveyed a hundred typical middle-aged Americans, I bet you'd find that only two of them could tell you their blood types, but every last one of them would know the theme song from the 'Beverly Hillbillies'."

-  Dave Barry (1947 - )

Some History: The Bank Hotel

(Click on this picture, and the ones below, to enlarge)

Byters may have heard or read in the news broadcasts last Friday that an electrical fire in the basement of the Bank Hotel in Newtown closed King Street during the afternoon peak hour. Thirty firefighters brought the fire under control with damage limited to the basement.

The Bank Hotel was constructed in 1880 and became a gay and lesbian venue prior to a major refurbishment. It is now an upmarket hotel, dining and function establishment and still has a gay and lesbian following, as well as catering to a cross section of the local community.

Some earlier pics of the Bank Hotel: 

Newtown c 1908

The Banks Hotel is the building with the balcony and Sydney lace between the two trams, in the centre of the photograph.  The pole at the front holds a tram signal.  It is interesting to note that there is not a car to be seen and that pedestrains are strolling in various parts of the street, unconcerned by the traffic.  The reason is that the traffic consisted of trams, which move on fixed rails, and horses and carts, such as those in front of the Banks Hotel.  Today the same area is a car precinct.

Quote: Bill Watterson

"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless."

- Bill Watterson (1958 - ), American cartoonist and author

Mountains of Mourne

Mountains of Mourne:

Dare be no better music to sing to when you’ve had a wee drop den Oirish music, and dare be no better Oirish music dan dat sung by der Fureys wid Davey Arthur. Okay. I’ll drop the faux Irish phonetics and introduce today’s item: Mountains of Mourne, a song in the form of a letter by a simple Irish chap to his wife or sweetheart. In it he tells of his experiences in, and his thoughts and impressions of, London, in the process revealing his own innocence and simplicity.

There is a version sung by Don MacLean which is popular but I have always preferred the Davey Arthur/Fureys’ version. IMHO Davey Arthur’s voice and accent present much more effectively the naiveté of the person singing than the more sophisticated voice and persona of Don MacLean.

The Bulletin Debate

A lengthy article but one of general and historical interest...

The Bulletin Debate

The myth of “the bush” and Australian identity:

The image that the world has of Australia (which we also have of ourselves) is of open spaces, bush and wilderness, a resilient and resourceful people toiling under bright blue sunny skies. Each of us is either outwardly or inwardly Crocodile Dundee.

In reality Australia is the most urbanised country in the world, both as to the rate and level of urbanisation. Most of us live in the suburbs and work in the cities (although the level of city dwelling is increasing as State Government planning policies have encouraged residential dwelling in the city).

According to the 1861 census, more than 60% of the nation’s population were rural dwellers and lived outside the towns. By 1961, a century later, the proportion had fallen to 18%, with 82% of the population now living in the capital cities or other urban areas. Today, 89% of Australia’s population is urban.

Quote: Ronald Biggs

"There's a diference between criminals and crooks.  Crooks steal.  Criminals blow some guy's brains out.  I'm a crook."

- Ronald Biggs (1929 - )

Vintage Ads

Click on picture to enlarge.

An advertisement for Iver Johnson Revolvers from Harpers Weekly 1904, the revolvers that killed President William McKinley and Senator Robert F Kennedy.  Put the doll aside and let your child play with Daddy's revolver, after all Papa says it won't hurt us.  Buy now so that you have it when you need it and so that your little girl can take it to bed.

Quote: Sam Leith

"Humiliating the Duchess of York in the papers isn't a public service. It's a sport, and not a skilled sport like fencing or archery - more a recreation; the equivalent of sneaking oafishly into a field at night and pushing cows over."

- Sam Leith, London Evening Standard

The Cobbler's Song

When I was in my teens I came across a secondhand book of poetry in which someone had written a poem on the inside cover. At least at the time I thought it was a poem, The Cobbler’s Song (a cobbler being a person who makes or mends shoes), but from hindsight I should have realised that something called a song is likely not to be a poem. That was in the days before the internet, hell it was even in the days before calculators. The words of the poem/song made an impression and although at some stage over the years the book went astray, the words have come back to me on occasion in the context of dedication and a work ethic.

With the advent of the internet I was able to find out that the song comes from a 1916 musical comedy named Chu Chin Chow.  It was based on the story of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves and ran for 5 years in London, a record that lasted for 40 years. It also had successful seasons in America and Australia and was made into a movie in 1934.

The Cobbler’s Song harks back to days before everythiing became disposable, when quality counted and when artisans took pride in what they crafted by hand. People repaired things, not just replaced them.  The song also offers some comments and insights into the human condition and life in general:

You can hear Paul Robeson (1898-1976) singing a version by clicking on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-TEs5srz24

Robeson, an African-American who was a forerunner of the American civil rights movement, had a beautiful bass baritone voice. His story is fascinating and will be the subject of a future post.

The lyrics of The Cobbler’s Song are:

I sit and cobble at slippers and shoon

From the rise of sun to the set of moon

Cobble and cobble as best I may

Cobble all night and cobble all day

And I sit as I cobble this doleful day.

The stouter I cobble the less I earn

For the soles ne'er crack nor the uppers turn.

The better my work the less my pay,

But work can only be done one way.

And as I cobble with needle and thread

I judge the world by the way they tread.

Heels worn thick and soles worn thin

Toes turned out and toes turned in

There’s food for thought in a sandal skin.

For prince and commoner, poor and rich

Stand in need of the cobbler’s stitch

Why then worry what lies before,

Hangs this life by a thread no more.

I sit and cobble at slippers and shoon

From the rise of sun to the set of moon

Cobble and cobble as best I may

Cobble all night and cobble all day

And I sit as I cobble this doleful lay.

Star Size Comparisons

Today, dear Byters, is Video Wednesday, all posts today are video links for you to click on.

(It puts me in mind of the chap who dies and goes to Hell, where he meets the devil:

Devil: Why are you so sad?

Chap: Why do you think? I’m in Hell.

Devil: Hell’s not so bad. We actually have a lot of fun down here. On Mondays, all we do is drink. Whiskey, tequila, Guinness, wine coolers, beer. We drink until we throw up and then we drink some more. And the best thing is that because you’re dead and you’re in Hell, there’s no consequences.

Chap: Sorry, I don’t drink.

Devil: Okay. On Tuesdays we get the finest cigars from around the world and smoke our friggin’ lungs out. If you get cancer, it’s okay — you’re already dead.

Chap: I don’t smoke either.

Devil: Well then, Wednesday is gambling day. Two up, blackjack, horse races, you name it.

Chap: I don’t gamble.

Devil: Thursdays then. Thuesday is drug day. Help yourself to a great big bowl of crack. Smoke a doobie the size of the Titanic. You can do all the drugs you want, and you’ll never die — you’re already dead.

Chap: I don’t do drugs, sorry.

Devil: You gay?

Chap: No.

Devil: Then you’re gonna hate Fridays.)

The first post is a video link to comparative sizes of the planets and stars.  Apart from the fact that it is interesting, I like the music used with it.  The opening and closing musical items are from Blade Runner, the stirring central piece is from The Black Hole.

 
Enjoy, click on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEheh1BH34Q

Iconic Images, With a Twist

With all the fuss about 3D at the movies and now with TV sets, here is something interesting from YouTube:  some iconic images turned into 3D, or as close to 3D as you can get without being 3D...

Click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNOYBpylFOU

Art: Vegemite and Toast

Do you do dull and boring things with your Vegemite, like put it on your toast and eat it? 

Personally, I can't stand the stuff and it's beyond me how anyone can think of it as a delicacy.  Still, each to his own. 

Were you someone who was always being told off for playing with your toast at the breakfast table?

Just think, if you had been encouraged instead of being roused on, if your creative urges had been allowed to flourish, you might have become the Oz Titan of Toast, the Viscount of Vegemite, much like the person in the following video clip (click on the link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_HPvAhnG_w

Reader Comment

From Byter Robyn:

Your byte about sunlight soap prompted heaps of memories. My father was a linotype operator so industrial strength soap was an essential in our home. I recall sugar and soap poultices well for anything from splinters to boils. Was the black ointment (liberally applied to or for all manner of injury or illness) Friars Balsam by any chance?

Failing those remedies it was a dose of rum and milk (regardless of age)

The sunlight soap was broken into individual blocks across the side of the washing tub (which was next to the copper).

Like yourself I am drawn to the handmade soaps at local markets. My personal favourite is sandalwood although I will seek out the mandarin in future.

Robyn

Reply:

I don't remember the brand of black ointment, it wasn't Friar's Balsam though.  It came in a jar and was simply labelled Black Ointment, smelt like the dickens and made your skin turn really white when it was left on...

The Stimulus Package Explained

Email from Byter Leo:

The Stimulus package explained:

It's a slow day in a dusty little Australian town. The sun is beating down and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

On this particular day a rich tourist from down south is driving through town, stops at the local motel and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night.

He gives him keys to a few rooms and as soon as the man walks upstairs, the owner grabs the $100 bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to repay his debt to the pig farmer.

The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill at the supplier of feed and fuel.

The guy at the Farmer's Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his drinks bill at the local pub.

The publican slips the money along to the local prostitute drinking at the bar, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer him "services" on credit.

The hooker rushes to the motel and pays off her room bill to the motel owner with the $100

The motel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the rich traveller will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveller comes down the stairs, picks up the $100 bill, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, pockets the money, and leaves town.

No one produced anything. No one earned anything.

However, the whole town is now out of debt and looking to the future with a lot more optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the Australian Government's stimulus package works.

Scamming the Scammers

When you receive an email from the nephew of Botswana's former Prime Minister saying that he is sitting on $30m and that half is yours if you provide your bank account details so that he can smuggle it out, don’t you sometimes want to say (to quote Woody Allen), to go forth and procreate, although not exactly in those terms? Or when a supposed English barrister asks, in broken English, for your bank account details to flick $20m that would otherwise go to the Crown on an intestacy.

These scams are known as advance fee frauds and also as 419 scams after the section of the Nigerian Criminal Code which deals with obtaining money by false pretences, Most of such scams have originated from Nigeria although scams are now originating from Russia and the Ukraine.

Sometimes a victim of the scam is contacted again by the scammers, this time posing as law enforcement officials offering to assist to get back the victim’s losses. The victim is then duped a second time.

There are people who scam the scammers. This is known as scam baiting or counterscamming. The purpose of scam baiting varies, from wasting the scammer's time and embarassing them to causing them to reveal incriminating information which can be passed on to legal authorities.

Quote: Margot Asquith

"I married beneath me, all women do."

-  Margot Asquith (1864 - 1945),  British socialite, hostess, author,wit and wife of Herbert Asquith, Prime Minister of Britain 1908 - 1916

CC

It is ironic that every day millions of people CC and BCC emails without a clue as to why the sending of a copy or a blind copy, that is, without the recipient being shown, is designated as CC and BCC.  It is even more ironic that the intials come from a an item that teenagers, madly SMSing, emailing and CCing, have never heard of, seen or handled.

The initials mean Carbon Copy and Blind Carbon Copy.

RIP Dennis Hopper (1936 - 2010)

Dennis Hopper, 74, died today of prostate cancer. He died at his home, surrounded by his family.

Hopper began his career in 1955 aged 19 in the James Dean  teenage rebellion film Rebel Without a Cause, however he didn't come to major attention intil 1969 for his role as Billy in Easy Rider.  He also wrote and directed the movie, a story of two drug-dealing bikers travelling through the American Deep South.  The movie also starred Peter Fonda as the other biker, known as Captain America from the emblem on his helmet and motorcycle, and introduced Jack Nicholson.

He also starred in Apocalypse Now, Rumblefish and Speed and his last major feature film appearanc e was in 2008 when he starred in Elegy alongside Sir Ben Kingsley, Penelope Cruz and Debbie Harry.

Hopper was awarded a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star in March this year and apperaed frail when he atended for the unveiling.  At his death he was also involved in Family Law custody procedings with his fifth wife.

Click on the following for some Dennis Hopper Easy Rider memories:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gVPxPdNLwA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm_CEmybOjc

Quote: Laurens Van Der Post

"On the night that the Second World war was declared, there were crowds in the street.  It was a summer's night and there was a blackout.  On every side you heard people crying:  'Look at the moon!'  The moon had been there every minute of their lives and they'd never seen it."

-  Laurens Van Der Post (1906 - 1996)

Of Bygone Days and Soap

A story during the week that Kylie Minogue has foregone Botox in favour of Ponds Cold Cream –

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1281176/Kylie-Minogue-Ponds-Cold-Cream-keeps-popstar-young.html -

a non-fancy product that has been around since Noah was a lad, brought back memories of similar products from my own younger days, such as Blue Stratos and Old Spice after shave. And soap.

Back when I was a youngster, there were two soaps in our family home: sugar soap, an industrial strength soap which my mother used to wash my father’s painter’s overalls, and Sunlight Soap for everything else. Sunlight Soap was on a level not far below sugar soap but it multi tasked, from using it for showers to scrubbing stains. If you had a splinter that wouldn’t budge, you mixed Sunlight Soap with sugar to make a poultice to act as a drawing agent.

Quote: Prince Philip

"I declare this thing open, whatever it is."

Prince Phillip (1921 - ), on opening the new east wing of Vancouver City Hall in 1970.

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya..."

I was discussing The Princess Bride with someone. 

I am not afraid to say that it is one of my personal favourite movies, so many great moments, so many great characters, so many wonderful lines. One classic scene is that of Inigo Montoya seeking revenge on the wicked, six fingered Count Rugen for the brutal slaying of Inigo’s father when Inigo was a child. Since that time, Inigo has trained as a swordsman and searched for the 6 fingered man, to one day kill him.

I previously posted it for Fathers Day in honour of the line that Inigo proposes to say to the man when he finally finds him:  "Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

See the classic scene by clicking on the following link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3W5GDkgf2w

My point, however, in positing the above item a second time is to introduce you to a different and contrasting version of the same scene. I will not say anything apart from encouraging you to click on the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWXcDZNgOWs&feature=related

I also like the comment by someone at the above site:

“Hello. my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”

“No, Inigo... I AM YOUR FATHER!"

Welcome to my Nightmare...

(Click on photo to enlarge).

If you happen to be driving to or from Canberra, take the time to make a slight detour off the Federal Highway and visit the village of Collector, located just this side of Lake George. The unusual name comes from the Aboriginal name for the region, colegdar.

Why visit? Not because it is a historic township dating back to the 1840’s, although that is of interest. Not because there are some interesting buildings to look at, including the old church. Nor because the old pub, the Bushranger Hotel, built in 1860, serves a good counter lunch and has a display of old firearms and memorabilia. Nor because in 1865 John Dunn, a member of Ben Hall’s gang, shot the local Constable Samuel Nelson dead in the main street whilst Hall and John Gilbert held up the hotel (and hence the change of name to the Bushranger Hotel). Nelson was the father of eight children; Dunn was hanged in 1866, aged 20.

Stop by because after you have had a look at the memorial to Constable Nelson, made a visit to the old church and had lunch in the Bushranger Hotel, you should walk across the road and look at the sculpture that feels like something out of The Twilight Zone. Take the opportunity for a look before it disappears.

Quote: Richard Burton

"When I played drunks I had to remain sober because I didn't know how to play them when I was drunk."

-  Richard Burton (1925-1984)

Winston Churchill

Scheduled to address the nation one day, Winston Churchill, running unusually late, hailed a cabbie in London's West End and ordered him to drive to the BBC as quickly as possible.

"Sorry, sir," the driver replied. "You'll have to find yourself another cab." "And why is that?" Churchill asked. "Ordinarily it wouldn't be a problem, sir," the driver apologetically explained, "but Mr. Churchill is broadcasting at six o'clock and I want to get home in time to hear him."

Churchill, greatly flattered, took a pound note from his wallet and handed it to the cabbie. The man gladly took the tip: "Hop in, sir!" he exclaimed. "The devil with Mr. Churchill!"

Quote: Mark Twain

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."

-  Mark Twain  (1835 - 1910)

You're Getting Old When... You know who Bobby Rydell is

In the last couple of days I feel like I’ve been caught up in a time warp.

Driving past Burwood RSL I noticed a coming attractions sign for The Platters.

Then today whilst driving into the city for a meeting, I heard Bobby Rydell being interviewed.

What is amazing about that is not only that he is still alive and touring Oz for performances, but that he sounded quite young on the interview.

Younger readers may only know his name from the high school in Grease, Rydell High (and yes, it was named after him).

Born in 1942 as Robert Louis Ridarelli, he began performing at age 4. In 1959, aged 17, he had his first hit record, becoming a teen idol in 1960 alongside such names as Frankie Avalon, Fabian, Johnny Tillotson and Bobby Vee. In May 1960 Rydell toured Australia with the Everly Brothers, Crash Craddock and The Crickets.  Further hits followed but the British Invasion in 1963 ended the teen idol days.  Today he still performs with Frankie Avalon and Fabian as The Golden Boys.

Click on the following links to see him in his heyday and in a more recent performance, where he still looks and sounds good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MxQIyWJL8Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2AOt-g7z5A&feature=related

For those interested in his tour dates and venues, click on:

http://www.liveguide.com.au/Tours/661114/Bobby_Rydell/Bobby_Rydell_USA_Australian_Tour?event_id=661119#details

Leonard Cohen: The Second Coming

The web site given above in relation to the Bibby Rydell dates also contains the information on another tour later this year by Leonard Cohen:

http://www.liveguide.com.au/Tours/666422/Leonard_Cohen/Leonard_Cohen_Australian_Tour_2010?event_id=666425#details

Half a dozen different dates have so far been confirmed in different States. The one in NSW will be at the Acer Arena on 8 November 2010.