Culinary no-no #701

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Culinary no-no began on Father’s Day 2007, a beautiful summer day, when I wrote about grilling brats. And eating brats. And topping those brats. I was inspired by my wife, Jennifer who, in my admittedly unscientific opinion, ruins brats by squirting ketchup on them. Other dining taboos quickly came to mind. The original idea was to take this concept only a few months, till the end of summer and then pull the plug. Then the unexpected happened. People started reading Culinary no-no. Lots of folks. So we keep doing the no-no.

Fourteen years of Culinary no-no features. Now more than 700.

Here are just some from the early years:

Green peppers on pizza

The dirty martini

Fruity brats

Eating pizza at Festa Italiana, brats at German Fest, or tacos at Fiesta Mexicana. (Be adventurous. You can have those items anytime

Eating a cream puff as though it was a hamburger

Taking your own bottle of sauce when invited to a barbecue

Touching the grill if you’re a guest at an outdoor barbecue

Coaching the host on how to grill

Taking the husks off before you grill corn on the cob

Being afraid to chill red wine

Showing disrespect to your restaurant server

Eating out on a Monday night

Pumpkin beer

Ketchup on spaghetti

Sneaking healthy foods into treats to get your kids to eat it

Do not throw away culinary gifts received in the mail because you don’t like them

Doing something so totally ridiculous that you are desperately forced to call the Butterball Turkey Hot-Line for assistance

Don’t forget the sweet potato January-October

Don’t disregard fruitcake

Goat burgers and healthy items at tailgate parties

Replating

Sour cream on potato pancakes, as opposed to applesauce

Meatless Mondays

By now you think I would have run out. That’s funny. As long as there’s food there will always be ways to ruin it.

331 Angry Waitress Stock Photos, Pictures & Royalty-Free Images - iStock

This week, true confessions. In past Culinary installments I’ve blasted boobs who fail to treat their servers properly. You see it all the time.

The website vacation101.com has come up with a pretty good list of bad habits by these restaurant yahoos.

Now I’d like to think that I’m a coveted patron, always respectful and friendly. I’ve never had an issue with a server. My philosophy is be good to them and they’ll be good to you.

Still, I see from vacation101.com that I’m guilty of a no-no or two.

First…

People Who Stack Their Plates

Here’s one that may surprise you, because the people who do this genuinely believe they’re helping out. It’s common for some customers to stack their plates when they’re done eating, convinced that they’re making the job easier for their waitress. But generally, your waiting staff hates when customers do this.

“I know it’s done with good intention, but if you hand me a stack of plates there’s almost a 99% chance they aren’t stacked correctly,” explained Reddit user Danam524. He then added, “It’s fine to be helpful and move things off to the side but PLEASE don’t try to add your plate to my stack to try to help.”

Odd. I’ve received zero complaints about this, only many thanks.

People Who Make Corny Jokes

We get it — you’re God’s gift to joke-telling, and you probably could’ve had your own HBO comedy special if you’d only gone all in on your dreams way back in college. But as funny as you probably are, it’s possible that the waiter isn’t in the laughing mood.

As one fed up Reddit user explained bluntly, “If I ask, ‘Is there anything else I can get you?’ And you say, ‘A million dollars.’ I will forever hate you.” Take it from this waiter who clearly has had to deal with more than one corny jokester on the job, and maybe just save your million dollar knee-slapper for later.

Yep. Been there. Done that. But usually only when we know the server well, and he/she appears to be in the right mood and isn’t super busy.

Check out the complete list and see if you’re an offender.

CULINARY NO-NO BONUSES

Previously on This Just In…Culinary no-no #692. The update.

ICYMI, Culinary no-no #700

Photos of the Week (06/20/21)

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People enjoying a day at the beach look at a sea lion that rests on the shoreline among them.

A pictorial week-in-review posted every Sunday.

1) Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo puts up a one handed jump shot over Brooklyn Nets forward Blake Griffin (2) in the second quarter during game seven in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

2) Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo drives past Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant for a layup in the first quarter during game seven in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

3) Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton intercepts a pass intended for Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant in the third quarter during game seven in the second round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs at Barclays Center. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

4) Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo celebrates his team’s win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second round on Saturday night. Photo: Getty Images

5) Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks high-five after Round 2, Game 7 on June 19, 2021 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Photo: NBCLosAngeles.com

6) Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kevin Durant talk after the Bucks beat the Nets in overtime Saturday night, 115-111 in Game 7 of their playoff series at the Barclays Center on Saturday night. The Bucks return to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in the last three seasons and for the ninth time in team history. Antetokounmpo had 40 points and 13 rebounds, and Khris Middleton made the tiebreaking shot with 40 seconds left in overtime. Photo: Milwaukee Bucks

7) A giant American flag, billed as the largest free flying flag in the world by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, flies on Flag Day from the western towers of the George Washington Bridge between New York and New Jersey, in Fort Lee, New Jersey, June 14, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar

8) House Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C. celebrates with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and members of the Congressional Black Caucus after passage of the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act at the Capitol in Washington. Photo: AP

9) Congressional staffers carry National Seersucker Day cutouts into the Ohio Clock Corridor for the annual seersucker photo in the Capitol on Thursday. Capitol Police, however, asked the staffers to remove the cutouts, citing a rule that prohibits signs in the Capitol. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

10) U.S. President Joe Biden and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin meet at Villa La Grange in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: Reuters

11) At the end of President Joe Biden’s news conference on Wednesday, June 16, which came at the end of his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin,  CNN’s Kaitland Collins pressed Biden on why he is confident Putin will change his behavior. “I’m not confident he’ll change his behavior. Where the hell — what do you do all the time? When did I say I was confident?” Biden asked, walking back toward reporters. He continued: “What I said was — let’s get it straight — I said, ‘What will change their behavior is if the rest of the world reacts to them and it diminishes their standing in the world.’ I’m not confident of anything. I’m just stating a fact.” Biden later apologized to Collins before boarding Air Force One. “I owe my last questioner an apology. I shouldn’t have been such a wise guy with the last answer I gave,” he said.  Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP

12) Protesters wearing giant heads portraying G7 leaders swim in the water during a demonstration outside the G7 meeting in St. Ives, Cornwall, England, on June 13, 2021. Photo: Jon Super / AP

13) A pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico in Yuma, Ariz., Thursday, June 10, 2021, to seek asylum. The families are part of an influx of asylum-seekers entering the U.S. in the Yuma area from South America and other continents. AP Photo/Eugene Garcia

14) Fireworks explode over New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty as New York state celebrates a 70% vaccination rate against COVID-19, June 15, 2021. Photo: AP

15) Hong Kong police arrest the chief editor and four other senior executives of Apple Daily under the national security law on suspicion of collusion with a foreign country to endanger national security, according to local media reports. Photo: AP

16) A man with a bicycle passes by a train that had derailed in the community of San Isidro Mazatepec in Tala, State of Jalisco, Mexico, on June 15, 2021. The freight train derailed and toppled onto houses alongside the tracks on Tuesday, killing one resident and injuring three others, emergency services said.  Photo: Ulises Ruiz / AFP / Getty

17) Jeffrey Shiau, 35, a volunteer from the crowd, spits water into the mouth of Sam Kaufman, 27, a performer from the Human Fountains, during a reopening party held as coronavirus restrictions are gradually lifted in Los Angeles, California, June 15, 2021.  Photo: REUTERS/Cheney Orr

18) People come to see the rare blooming of the endangered Sumatran Titan arum, or the corpse flower, that is in fool bloom for just a few hours, emitting rotten meat odor, at the Warsaw University Botanical Gardens, in Warsaw, Poland, June 13, 2021. Photo: AP

19) Israel’s Linoy Ashram, photographed during the Rhythmic Gymnastics Individual Ball Final at the 2021 European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, taking place in the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, Bulgaria, on June 12, 2021. Photo: Spasiyana Sergieva / Reuters

20) Dan O’Conor, the “Great Lake Jumper,” makes his 365th leap into Lake Michigan on June 12, 2021, at Chicago’s Montrose Point.  Photo: Shafkat Anowar / AP

21) Michigan firefighters helped free a baby raccoon that got stuck in a sewer cover. “We first put dish soap around its neck, but that didn’t work. We had gloves on because it was biting and scratching. Then, a homeowner brought out cooking oil. We were able to guide it out then, but it was hard getting it out. I don’t even know how it got stuck in there to begin with,” said Lt. Brian Lorkowski. Photo: Lt. Brian Lorkowski, Harrison Township Fire Department

22) Wasabi, a Pekingese of East Berlin, Pennsylvania, is presented by his owner and handler David Fitzpatrick before winning the Best in Show at the 145th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Lyndhurst Mansion in Tarrytown, New York, June 13, 2021. Photo: Reuters

23) Wasabi, the Pekingese, poses for the media on the windy observation deck of the Empire State building in New York on June 14, 2021, following his win at the 145th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.  Photo: Timothy A. Clary / AFP / Getty

24) A black-winged stilt checks eggs in its nest on a wetland in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Photo: AFP

25) Race-goers attend the first day of the Royal Ascot horse racing meet in Ascot, England. Photo: AFP

26) A race-goer reacts to picking a winner in the first race on the third day of the Royal Ascot, which is traditionally known as Ladies’ Day, on June 17, 2021. Photo: Alastair Grant / AP

27) Debora Day in an ornate red outfit poses on the steps for photographers on the third day of the Royal Ascot horserace meeting, which is traditionally known as Ladies Day, at Ascot, England. Photo: AP. Another look. Photo: Getty Images

28) Yulia Shirokova wears an ornate hat on the second day of the Royal Ascot horse race meeting in Ascot, England. Photo: Peter Cziborra / Action Images



FLASHBACK: Obama was right

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No there’s nothing wrong with the above title. Or the writer of this post.

It’s true. Barack Obama was definitely correct.

Last October I blogged:

My daughters surprise, enchant me every single day: President Obama | World News,The Indian Express

One of the extremely rare times I concurred with President Barack Obama was when he took a firm stand on the significance of fatherhood.

“Now, I can’t legislate fatherhood — I can’t force anybody to love a child.  But what we can do is send a clear message to our fathers that there is no excuse for failing to meet their obligations.  What we can do is make it easier for fathers who make responsible choices and harder for those who avoid those choices.  What we can do is come together and support fathers who are willing to step up and be good partners and parents and providers,” Obama said.

Let’s dig into my blog vault.

Now to 2021:

John Kass writes, “If Moms Are ‘Birthing People,’ What Do We Call Dads on Father’s Day?”

Take a look.

Obama was right

Week-ends (06/19/21)

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A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of  This Just In…

HEROES OF THE WEEK

Mike Wimmer

Debby Neal-Strickland

VILLAINS OF THE WEEK

Aruna Khilanani

Amazon

Don Lemon

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I have to say to you, I’ve only been president for several months, but I think this will go down, for me, as one of the greatest honors I will have as president.”
Joe Biden at a ceremony signing legislation into law on Thursday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day — a US federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States

“First of all, our Independence Day is July 4th. Period. Independence Day celebrates the anniversary of our declared independence from Great Britain, and it’s been that way for 245 years.

“If you want to call Juneteenth, for example, Freedom Day or Emancipation Day then fine — that’s certainly worth considering. But calling it Independence Day is WHOLLY INAPPROPIATE.

“Second, we can’t just add new federal holidays without considering the ramifications.

“When Obama issued an executive order in 2014 giving federal employees an extra day off, that cost the government roughly $660 MILLION dollars, according to the Congressional Budget Office. So given inflation and the obnoxious growth of the federal government, this means a Juneteenth holiday should easily cost the federal government over a billion dollars Every. Single. Year. in federal payroll & holiday premiums with no offsets!”
Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, was one of 14 House Republicans to vote against making Juneteenth Day a federal holiday. 

House Democrats “used their majority to balkanize our country and fuel separatism by creating a race-based ‘Independence Day. It is unfortunate that some have chosen to politicize the naming of this important historical event … to turn Americans against one another and foment division based on skin color instead of uniting us.”
WI Congressman Tom Tiffany who also voted against making Juneteenth Day a federal holiday

“Juneteenth is soooo lame. Democrats really need to stop trying to repackage segregation. I’ll be celebrating July 4th and July 4th only. I’m American.”
Candace Owens

“Please understand that when someone talks about ‘ending’ racism, their idea of racism ‘ending’ is always within the context of people who fit within certain ethnic and intersectional categories obtaining more worldly possessions and power. That’s what ‘ending racism’ looks like.”
Darrell B. Harrison

“Critical race theory is bigoted, it is a lie, and it is every bit as racist as the klansmen in white sheets. Critical race theory says every white person is a racist. Critical race theory says America is fundamentally and irredeemably racist. Critical race theory seeks to turn us against each other and, if someone has different colored skin, seeks to make us hate that person.”
US Senator Ted Cruz

“Why does critical race theory peddle bigoted and obviously false assumptions about individuals based on their skin color? Not pure racial hatred. Racialism is a tactic, a tool used by critical race theorists to tear down American institutions. Their aims: abolish the nuclear family, abolish gender, defund the police, abolish the border, abolish prisons, abolish the Senate, abolish the Electoral College, abolish ICE, abolish voter ID, abolish capitalism, abolish private/charter schools, abolish religious freedom, abolish free speech, abolish rights, abolish objective truth, abolish reality. Sound familiar? Democratic political agenda items are textbook critical race theory. We should reject its reduction of people to the color of their skin. It’s a tool with a dangerously clear purpose: to impose simple, unadulterated Marxism in the United States of America. We must overwhelmingly reject it in its entirety on the basis of what it really is.”
Liz Wheeler

“The flood of migrants includes thousands of children with nowhere to go, preyed on by vicious cartels. Human rights groups estimate that a significant percentage of women who make the dangerous journey to our border are raped along the way. With a situation that disastrous, it makes sense that Harris is uncomfortably laughing and trying to change the subject. Approaching this crisis with appropriate solemnity would force Biden and Harris to grapple with the humanitarian devastation their failed policies have created.”
Ronna McDaniel

“It’s almost as if [Kamala] Harris is the kind of politician who might be so bad at this she’d have to drop out of a primary before a vote was cast in Iowa.”
Mary Katherine Ham

“I’ll take your questions and, as usual, folks, they gave me a list of the people I’m gonna call on.”
Joe Biden ahead of his post-Vladimir Putin press conference in Geneva

“Today, the Assembly passed two Protecting Women’s Sports bills. These bills included necessary protections for girls’ sports.  All sports, at every age, need to be on a level playing field. Performance-enhancing drugs are banned in all sports because they create unfair advantages. Similarly, biological boys should not compete against biological girls due to unfair advantages in athletic ability between the two sexes. Assembly Bill 195 and 196 prevent this from happening and maintain fairness with girls’ sports. The science is simple. The necessity of these bills is real, because if the trend we’re seeing continues, it will lead to the demise of girls’ sports altogether.”
State Representative Timothy Ramthun (R-Campbellsport)

“Our institutions must stop treating students like helpless children whose delicate feelings must be protected and start requiring maturation. Colleges and universities are supposed to prepare students to excel in a world that does not revolve around them, not protect them from such a world. Institutions of higher education should be intellectual boot camps developing our future leaders, not daycare centers coddling adults who refuse to grow up.”
Oliver North & David Goetsch

“The FBI still doesn’t exactly know what that [2017 congressional baseball] shooter was up to. They never really uncovered the sort of detailed evidence that laid out a specific plot or an objective.”
Former FBI agent Andy McCabe

“Hmm. You mean the Bernie supporter who asked where the congressional Republicans were while holding a rifle in his hand? Yeah, this one is a puzzler all right.”
James Woods

“Do we know her whereabouts? We should just have her picked up before she goes on. This is outrageous.”
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in an email to her staff to stop a restaurant owner from appearing on Fox News to discuss that state’s lockdown orders

“If there is not equality of outcomes among people born to the same parents and raised under the same roof, why should equality of outcomes be expected — or assumed — when conditions are not nearly so comparable?”
Thomas Sowell

“YouTube gladly hosts medical videos with more quacks than Daffy Duck’s family reunion. You can get bad advice about everything from diet and exercise to curing STDs with apple cider vinegar.  Which doesn’t work, by the way. And it ruins a nice cobb salad.  

“Those crazy videos? Harmless self-expression. A chat between two medical professionals? That’s dropped faster than Brian Stelter’s jaw outside a corn dog factory.

“Now, this is happening as other tech titans are cracking down on speech. They are the new censors. These ministers of information can turn the spigot on, or off at all. They did this with the lab leak story. Also with Hunter Biden. And with every story.

“A story about rising crime in cities where police were defunded? Spigot off.

“A story about a white lady shouting racial slurs in a parking lot? Spigot on.

“A story about a police officer rescuing a child? Spigot off.

“A story about a police officer breaking the law? Spigot on.

“It’s nothing new. These tech giants learned this from their TV news allies who’ve been practicing it for years.”
Greg Gutfeld

“We all need to look at one another and ask ourselves, ‘What do we need to do better next time?’ And in many respects, being able to sacrifice a little bit for one another to get through this and to save more lives [is] going to be essential. And it’s something that I think we all could have done a little bit better on.”
Ex-Biden COVID adviser Andy Slavitt

“If there are people who are triggered by giant American flags, then it is the duty of Americans to trigger those people as often as possible.”
Frank J. Fleming

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

A Group Of Parents Sent Their Kids’ Face Masks to A Lab for Analysis. Here’s What They Found

MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

The Number of Small Businesses Destroyed by COVID Lockdowns Will ASTOUND You

MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK

The G-7 Biden-Putin showdown. Turned out to be a nothing burger. Of course Biden’s buddies in the MSM declared him the clear winner.

MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

Endangered corpse flower blooms in Warsaw, drawing crowds


Cognitive test for Biden; Juneteenth; masks analyzed; ‘wokeness’ on campus; liberal media’s biggest lies

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Here are this week’s highly interesting reads:

Today’s highly interesting read (06/18/21): WI Congressman cosigns letter asking Biden to take cognitive test

Today’s highly interesting read (06/17/21): The Politics of Making Juneteenth a Federal Holiday

Today’s highly interesting read (06/16/21): A Group Of Parents Sent Their Kids’ Face Masks to A Lab for Analysis

Today’s highly interesting read (06/15/21): Saving America’s Colleges and Universities From ‘Wokeness’

Today’s highly interesting read (06/14/21): Top 10 biggest lies liberal media has been caught peddling — and why it matters

The Barking Lot – America’s Finest Dog Blog (06/19/21)

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The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Originally written by both my lovely wife, Jennifer and me, this blog brings you the latest news about our furry friends including articles, columns, photos and videos. Enjoy!

THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.

TODAY:  Thunderstorms, some heavy during the morning hours, then skies turning partly cloudy during the afternoon. High of 75. Chance of rain 60%.  “F” in the morning, “A” after 9 am.

SUNDAY:  Cloudy in the morning, then thunderstorms developing later in the day. A few storms may be severe. High of 77. Chance of rain 80%. “B” in the morning, “D” in the afternoon

Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.

Ask The Dog Guy Newsletter | Dogs, Dog groomers, Funny dogs

The U.S. Bans Importing Dogs From 113 Countries After Rise In False Rabies Records. Global animal rescue organization responds.

Rabid dog imported into US sparks multi-state investigation.

CIA headquarters scare caused by dog collar device.

Barking Lot update: Salt Lake City won’t release police dog videos after mayor promised ‘to be open and transparent.’

Digby is a hero.

This amazing story continues to get news coverage.

Covid-Sniffing Dogs Are Accurate but Face Hurdles for Widespread Use.

U.S. Postal Service Releases Dog Attack National Rankings.

Virginia Dog Saves Fawn From Drowning and Refuses to Leave Its Side: He ‘Kept Caring For It.’

VIDEO: CBS affiliate in Denver reports on dog-walking in a heat wave.

St. Francis (WI) middle school students helped build a dog house for St. Francis Police Department’s K-9 unit.

Dog Is My CoPilot gets some love.

Which Dog Breeds Have the Highest Risk of Becoming Obese?

PHOTOS: From the 2021 Westminster Dog Show.

VIDEOS: Inside the big show…

Lovely, a Great Dane, which represents the Working Group of dogs, was awarded third place in Best in Show. Lovely is from Rib Mountain, WI. Take a look at Melisa Grunewald-Ruppert and her dog Lovely.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for stopping by.

We’d really appreciate it if you forward this on to other dog lovers you know. Let them have some fun!

See ya, BARK, next Saturday!

Oh, remember last week there was a picture of Henry who had to, ya know…

May be an image of dog

His first night of freedom…

May be an image of dog

Goodnight everyone, and have an all about Dad weekend!

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Every Friday night we smooth our way into the weekend with music, the universal language. These selections demonstrate that despite what is being passed off as art today, there is plenty of really good music available. Come along and enjoy.

Every year I post a Father’s Day feature on this weekly blog to not only pay tribute to a great man I lost when I was only in my 20’s but also to demonstrate that the music he appreciated was really quite good.

Having served in the Army during WWII Dad was fond of the big bands. But that era would end, and Dad caught on with whatever was popular, including Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, the Ames Brothers, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme,  the Ink Spots, Peter Duchin, Victor Borge, Henry Mancini, Sammy Davis Jr., Kate Smith, Nat King Cole, Liberace,  and yes, even rock and roll.

Some of Dad’s favorites this week.  Enjoy, and don’t poke fun at your father’s music. If you haven’t already you’ll realize it’s not all that bad.

Before we begin it must be said that my father was cool, in many ways, and that included his musical taste. Whenever he liked the same songs on the radio that I did it gave me a charge, made me happy.

Let’s start with an instrumental made famous in the 60’s that had an undeniably perfect sound for the decade, and excellent lyrics to match. The Bob Crewe Generation did it first in 1966 and a year later Andy Williams, whose weekly TV variety show our family never missed, recorded the tune with lyrics. It climbed to #15 on the Billboard chart. In 1999 Williams was still cool.

After a successful career spanning more than 70 years Williams died in 2012. He was 84.

While Dad was at work one day in 1974 (it was summer and I was off school) Mom stunned me when she said she was going to a nearby travel agent we knew to possibly book a family vacation in Hawaii.

She always wanted to go and knew Dad really wanted to go. Most of all this would be a great surprise for Dad. No, he had no idea, none that Mom was even thinking about it. I tagged along and the trip did get booked. So many wonderful memories.

Here’s a classic Hawaiian tune that originated in the 60’s and is most associated with Don Ho, performed here by Billy Vaughn and his Orchestra in Japan. Dad had Vaughn albums in his collection. Best known for his alto saxophone work Vaughn plays the marimba here.

Pearly Shells, from the ocean
Shining in the sun, covering the shore
When I see them my heart tells me that I love you
More than all the little pearly shells

For every grain of sand upon the beach I got a kiss for you
And I’ve got more left over for each star that twinkles in the blue

Let’s stay with our 50th state.

This is truly amazing. Elvis was the first solo entertainer to hold a live concert broadcast internationally via satellite in 1973. More than a billion people from more than 40 countries across Asia and Europe tuned in to watch “Aloha from Hawaii.”

Audience tickets for the January 14 concert and its January 12 pre-broadcast rehearsal show carried no price. Each audience member was asked to pay whatever he or she could afford. The performance and concert merchandise sales raised $75,000 for the Kui Lee Cancer Fund in Hawaii.

Dana Suzuki-Culbertson from Kaneohe, Oahu was at the concert, just 17 at the time. She told NPR, “The night I went to see Elvis, I went with my mother. And I remember sitting up, and the moment I saw him with my binoculars, I was in such awe that I stopped and I was just staring at my mom, saying ‘Oh, my God. Oh, my God.’  And she told me ‘Stop looking at me and look at the stage and watch.’

“You know, I was in my own world, swooning and wanting all that too. I just loved him.”

We had the concert album in our house, and Dad, who didn’t love Elvis like I did but still liked and enjoyed him, always stopped what he was doing when it came time for this song that was a big hit for country star Jim Reeves.

” He really can sing that song,” Dad would say.

From the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 7-8:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you

Elvis loved Hawaii and Hawaii loved the King. He made three movies in the state and held a benefit show for the USS Arizona Memorial, the ship destroyed at Pearl Harbor.

This next performer was born in London and was trained as a glider pilot in the Royal Air Force during World War II. After the war he formed his own band that played in local clubs and dance halls.

In 1959 at the age of 36 he accepted an entry-level job at EMI Recording Studios on Abbey Road in London. When he was the engineer on duty one day in 1962, four long-haired guys walked into the studios for their very first sound test. Since he was the engineer on the scene when that happened, company policy dictated he would stay engineering the group as long as it was at EMI.

This engineer wasn’t impressed initially.

“I mean, ‘Here comes another scrappy group.’ But I must say that I was taken with their hairdos because we hadn’t seen anything quite like them,” he said in an interview.

But he went on to engineer every Beatle song through early 1966.

When legendary producer George Martin left EMI in 1966, he was Martin’s successor. His true love, though, was songwriting.

So he wrote songs. But he couldn’t find anyone to record them. So Norman Smith decided to go in to the studio and sing himself.

He changed his stage name to Hurricane Smith and had a Top Five hit in 1972.  

“The melody was happy and simple,’ said Smith “It was the producer in me that designed the lyric to recapture the era I grew up in. It’s almost a true story of my life. I would go to a ballroom, but I was so shy I couldn’t even ask someone to dance. I’d walk home imagining a romance when I’d never even reached first base. ‘Oh, Babe’ was about those fantasies.”

Dad absolutely loved this song.

https://i0.wp.com/image1.findagrave.com/photos/2010/52/25093009_126686811578.jpg

When Smith appeared on “American Band” the song was at #15, but then quickly climbed to #3.

Smith died in 2008. He was 85.

That’s it for this week.

Goodnight.

Sleep well.

Have a great weekend.

Near the end of 1968 the jazz-rock band “Blood, Sweat, and Tears” released their self-titled album that was a monster. Three singles all went to #2. The album stayed at #1 for seven straight weeks, sold four million copies, and won a Grammy for Album of the Year (beating out the Beatles and “Abbey Road”).

And yes, Dad had a favorite, and just like the Elvis concert album when it came on, he stopped everything.

The band performed it in front of 400,000 people.

Friday Night Forgotten Oldie: You’ve been listening to the music for 50 years

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Can you believe it? The Doobie Brothers are on their 50th Anniversary Tour. Three dates have just been added:

The band will now stop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at BMO Harris Pavilion on August 24, 2021; Green Bay, Wisconsin, at Resch Center Expo Pavilion on August 26, 2021; and Moline, Illinois, at TaxSlayer Center on August 28, 2021.

The 50th Anniversary Tour will have the rock band’s founder-lead vocalist Tom Johnston, founding member Patrick Simmons, singer-songwriter Michael McDonald, and long-time member John McFee back on the road together for the first time in more than 25 years.

The band will make 49 stops across North America during the tour. It will kick off on August 22, 2021 in Des Moines, Iowa, and conclude on June 30, 2022 in London, Ontario.

The Dirty Dozen Brass Band will support The Doobie Brothers as special guests on all tour dates.

BONUS

Here’s the band with the late Dr. John on an old Rolling Stones recording.