Come Together. Travel Much? Why Haiti? RIP Claudia Cardinale. Queen of Soul.
- Quote of the Week: “Soul is when you take a song and make it a part of you—a part that’s so true, so real, people think it must have happened to you.” – Ray Charles
I do not know much about soul music. I remember that my brother, who was all things about music, often listened to B.B. King, which I never understood. Ray Charles is credited with starting the soul genre back in the late 1950s. According to Spotify, “the roots of soul music come from gospel hymns, with artists including Ray Charles, B.B. King, Etta James, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson, and Aretha Franklin providing us with a broad stroke of soul.”
Soul music eventually crossed over to some semblance of R & B, with Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Patti LaBelle, and Stevie Wonder giving us music that was soulful with a touch of R & B. I am not sure what level of soul has become a part of me, but there is one current artist who is my usual Sunday morning listen. Gary Clark Jr.’s music is a combination of soul, blues, rock, and hip-hop. The four-time Grammy award-winner also is fantastic on the guitar, often playing with other musicians including Dave Matthews, Mick Jagger, John Mayer, and Earth, Wind, and Fire. I am not sure Gary Clark Jr.’s music “becomes a part of me” but it is a nice way to start a Sunday morning. In this video, Clark Jr. covers the song Come Together which I enjoy much more than the original version. This version is from the Lollapalooza in 2019 with the title resonating more now than ever.
Thank you for your answers to the last Question of the Week: What would be on a sandwich named after you?
- A cheesesteak, of course!
- Old Faithful- peanut butter and jelly on wonder bread.
- Potato chips with butter on bread. (it is called a crisp sandwich).
- I grew up eating Cuban sandwiches…so pork, ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, and pickles. The best.
- Mayo only. Note: I did make sure and yes, it is MAYO only.
- A meatball sandwich – messy and really good!
Here is this week’s Question of the Week: The average person has visited three of the following cities: Paris, London, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Rome, Stockholm, Vancouver, Budapest, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Marrakesh, Cape Town, Berlin, Vienna, Zurich, Naples, New York, Moscow, Athens, Cancun, Tokyo, Cuzco, Cairo, Sydney, Dubai.
How many have you visited?
Things I Think for the Last Sunday of September
- I have no take on Jimmy Kimmel’s return and last Tuesday’s seventeen-minute monologue…other than the 1st Amendment is part of the Constitution of the United States.
- Does anyone have any insight into the reason the Secretary of War (a.k.a. Defense) has ordered his entire senior staff officer corps to Washington…on very short notice?
- 1,313 days ago, Russia invaded Ukraine. It seems that no one can negotiate with Vladimir Putin with NATO having minimal leverage to help end the war. Severe economic sanctions could put pressure on Putin and Russia, but not without complete support from the European Union.
- Factoid of the Week (with special emphasis to a friend of mine that ‘did not realize California had such a big farming area’): California is now the fourth largest economy in the world, with agriculture production exceeding $60 billion annually. LM: now you know. 🙂
- The dynamics of how and why the former head of the FBI being indicted is something I do not care about. What I do care about is that the former head of the FBI was indicted in the first place. Really disturbing no matter the how’s and why’s.
- The NBA season kicks off in just over three weeks. The reigning NBA champions are the Oklahoma City Thunder. I am looking forward to watching the Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks.
- My disgust with the goings on in Haiti continues. While the world sits back and watches, Haitian gangs have near-total control of the capital city, Port-au-Prince. I spoke with a long-time friend of mine, who spent many years with U.S Special Forces. His take: “There are a number of special forces around the world that would eliminate the Haitian gangs in a matter of days. Haitian gangs would find out in a matter of hours that teams of special forces, including the SAS, GROM, Sayeret Matkal, and a combination of Delta Force with one Army Ranger battalion, would put an end to their brutality once and for all.” Note: GROM and Sayeret Makal, from Poland and Israel respectively, are known for their lethal tactics with eliminating the opposition and rescuing hostages. Do any of you have a take why this has not happened yet?
- Do any of you healthcare professionals have a take on the Tylenol dilemma?
- Actress Claudia Cardinale passed away last week at the age of eighty-seven. Beautiful and sexy, Ms. Cardinale and Sophia Loren, along with Gina Lollobrigida, were Italian superstars. RIP Claudia Cardinale.
- Pure Talent. The ‘Queen of Soul’ passed away back in 2018. There have been many talented artists I have mentioned over the years, but Aretha Franklin may sit at the top of my list. Eighteen Grammys with 112 singles on the Billboard charts, and she sold over seventy-five million records worldwide. While I really enjoy listening to Gary Clark Jr, there is no doubt that Aretha Franklin was Pure Talent.