09/02/11 - NNHS Newsletter - September Song

- Thomas Parsons, 1880, A Song For September

Just wanted to let my classmates know that I was in the hospital for 17 days. I went in for chest pains on the 16th; nothing but a high blood pressure (232/165) was found. By the next day my pressure was back to normal. The nite of the 17th I woke up with chest pains at 2:30 AM. Pain was not gone for 5 hours. It turned out to be a heart attack. After a heart cath was done it was determined that I needed triple bypass. The surgeons were all booked last week and I had to wait til last Friday to have it done. Things went well but it was also determined that I had a slow irregular heartbeat so I was back in surgery Monday for a pacemaker. I got out late yesterday. I have been pain free since the attack and have lost 27 pounds so far. My goal is at least 50-70 more. It will be a slow process getting back on my feet. Exercise will be the key.  

Ivan `67

   YIKESARONI-RINI! I'm so sorry to hear of your pain and suffering, but certainly glad to know that you're recovering nicely, Ivan!  I passed your note on to   Marty Whitmore McCoy ('67) of VA, who immediately shared it with your classmates (Thanks, Marty! ).

  You take extra good care of yourself, Ivan, and know that many people are thinking of you today!

   Wal, certainly, Chuck!  

BRUNCH  INVITATION

The NNHS Breakfast Bunch will host a Breakfast Bunch Brunch at the Warwick Restaurant, 12306 Warwick Boulevard, (across from CNU) Newport News, Virginia 23606 at 11am on Saturday, October 1, 2011.

Please come join us for a Dutch Treat Brunch featuring a lot of “War Stories” and maybe a lie or two.  Everyone is welcome so bring your wife, husband, boy friend, girl friend, class mate, school friend or whomever you choose.

Please RSVP to Bill Roady at duckbill1@verizon.net or call me at 757-595-0716 so we have a head count.

Bill Roady

   Thanks so much, Bill - see you there!

THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS:

Frances Adams Smith ('57) AND     Dustin Baker (Norview HS - '65) of MA!

   Happy Birthday tomorrow to Morton Binder ('57)!

05 -   Donna Marie Vest Hagerman ('71) of VA AND        My #5 Son, Nathaniel Harty (Hillsboro HS, IL - '97) of IL AND My Grandson (by My Children of Other Parents),    Jonathan Mansfield of NC;

06 -  Sarah Puckett Kressaty ('65) of VA;

07 -   The late Kathy Pilgrim Clark ('63) (deceased - 03/08/06);

08 - Carroll Elliott ('57) AND   Gary Fitzgerald ('61) of VA AND   Patti Johnson Stowe ('62) of FL AND   Cheryl Pless Ramsey ('64) of VA;

09 -   Wayne DeBerry ('65) of VA!

http://nnhs65.com/page-hits.html

 

      

     SO glad to hear this, Joe! Thank you for the kind invitation; if we are able to join you for the fun, we most certainly will (I personally would vote for Saturday, October 15)!

   That's okay, I had planned to call you late last night after you got off work (11:00 PM Eastern) but fell asleep before I did it! Thanks, Faniel - love you, too!

   Thanks so much, Bridget!

   YIKES! Thank you, Jean! I'm sure that my day was much better than yours with all the "fun and excitement" you've been having there in Louisa County!

      Norris, you goofbutton, I think I hurt myself laughing at this - so I watched it twice more and the very same thing happened!  Thanks so much, Sweetie!

Best regards and talk soon, Bill


Read the "lead-in" below, then (watch the video).
Want to go for a ride?

Here's the deal: You have to appreciate the speed from the shot taken from the bridge. You thought the train from Paris to Avion was fast at 300 km/h but this is something else. I wonder how far back it has to begin slowing down for the station. Imagine going through a station at full speed!

This is a high speed train built by the Alstom rail group in Belfort, France. They share manufacturing facilities with the GE Energy Products Europe (EPE) Gas Turbine group. The video was provided by the GE EPE Chief Engineer in Belfort.

The train hit 574.8 Km/h which works out to 357.2 MPH or Mach 0.482...wow! In particular, watch the train going under a bridge with people watching. This is FAST!!

And it is powered by electricity. Now, watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw4zn-qw1oM

    WOWZERONI-RINI! Thanks, Bill!

   Wait a minute - did someone mention trains?!?

http://www.nnhs65.com/SITE-MAP.html 

     http://www.nnhs65.com/TRAINS-SAGA.html

http://www.clarrissegill.com/videoclips/amazing_grace.php - Il Divo

   WOWZERONI-RINI! Thank you so much, Cheryl! (Why don't I have any animated clip art showing goose bumps?!?)

http://www.wimp.com/oldschool/ - Old school talent.

From http://amusicology.wordpress.com/2011/06/09/little-richard-unfails-musicology/:

... I recently received an email along similar lines that piqued my musicological interest.  It was an email forward containing a link to a video claiming to feature a rare film appearance by Little Richard as a child.

Click through and take a look:  http://www.wimp.com/oldschool/

Talented kid, no doubt.  But Little Richard it ain’t.   As indicated by the link at the bottom of the page on which this video appears, the clip is from a 1946 film titled No Leave, No Love staring Van Johnson.  Little Richard (aka Richard Wayne Penniman) was born in 1932, which would have made him about 12 at the time.  The pianist in this clip looks a bit younger.  Some Googling reveals that I haven’t been the only one to question the identity of this performer.

It turns out that this is Frank “Sugar Chile” Robinson (b. 1938) a little-known boogie-woogie pianist who was only 8 when he appeared in No Leave, No Love. He was dubbed a prodigy at an early age, which earned him the opportunity to perform with legends such as Lionel Hampton and Count Basie.  He left show business at the age of 14 to pursue his education, an intriguing choice given his talent and popularity. He went on to earn a PhD in psychology.  He is still alive, resides in Detroit, and plays the piano publicly from time to time.

The song featured in this supposed Little Richard video–“Caldonia”–was first recorded by the esteemed Louis Jordan in 1945.  It is about a girl with “big feet” who is “long, lean, and lanky,” thereby not conforming to expected standards of beauty.  Nonetheless, we are informed: “She’s my baby and I love her just the same.”  “Suger Chile” Robinson’s filmic performance closely replicates Jordan’s recording, right down to a spoken dialogue interlude.  In both we learn that Caldonia doesn’t meet his mother’s approval to which he not-so-subtly retorts: “But momma didn’t know what Caldonia was puttin’ down.” Although it isn’t Little Richard, it is easy to imagine him offering a similar performance.

And that is the allure of this video.  Little Richard remains a well-known figure, a household name, whose fame derives from his on-stage persona, frenetic piano playing, and high-energy vocal performances of draws.  This video reveals such qualities in their supposed infancy: banging out boogie-woogie figures with fingers, fists, and elbows; delivering dialogue direct to the (white) audience while riffing through a chorus; there is even a punctuated, high-pitched “woo!”

Because of the star power of Little Richard’s name and public expectations of what he sounded like in his youth, this video has gone viral.   From what I can surmise, Richard’s name was attached to this video in late May (though it has been online for several years).  Doubtless, the clip would not have circulated as widely recently without such association.  I don’t know how many times the video has been accessed via the email circulating whimp.com link.  But it has nearly 800,000 facebook “likes,” suggesting the likelihood of several million views.

Academics constantly lament misinformation.  As we (and our students) become ever more tethered to the internet, we must find ways to deal with misinformation beyond just pointing it out or complaining.  I think it is interesting to consider why such misinformation is so appealing, why it persists.  Furthermore, in a world where a new multimillion-hit recording “artist” emerges every “Friday” it seems more urgent than ever to think about how the history of music is being represented and written online.

Though I’m a bit tired of the term, this “Sugar Chile” Robinson video provides a “teachable moment.”  Here we have a document that brings an obscure figure to light, even if under false pretenses.  We have the opportunity to correct the record and bring forward more information about Robinson.  As I mentioned, he is still alive.  As a result of this new-found publicity, it would be nice if someone would the time to do a formal interview with him.  I’m looking to you, musicological friends at the University of Michigan...

   WOWZERS AND YOWZERS! Thanks, Sweetie-Pies!

Tony asked St. Peter how much all this was going to cost.

'Why, nothing,' St. Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven.'

Tony looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than any ever built on Earth. 'What are the greens fees?' grumbled Tony.

'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch.

'Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to Tony. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'

Tony looked around and nervously asked Yvonne, 'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods and the decaffeinated tea?'

'That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like and you will never get fat or sick. This is Heaven!'

'No gym to work out at?' asked Tony.

'Not unless you want to,' was the answer.

'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...'

'Never again.'

Tony glared at Yvonne and said, 'You and your Bran Flakes. We could have been here ten years ago!'

Have A Happy Life And Give Someone A Smile.

     Thanks, Dools!