Another Legend Passes
RIP rock n roll legend Little Richard, 87. One of 12 children, he reportedly left home at age 13 and ended up moving in with a white family in Macon, Georgia. He was in and out of showbiz his entire adult life, as he believed it conflicted with his religious beliefs and encouraged his demons. Despite these battles, he performed into his eighties. His flamboyance was a sensation. This is how big he was at one time — in the early ‘60’s both the Beatles and Rolling Stones served as his opening act. His band once included future guitar god Jimi Hendrix, whom he fired for being late for a bus. He sold more than 30 million records. He was one of the ten original inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 1993 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and he has been honored by many other organizations. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He released more than a score of albums and 37 singles. Keep A-Knockin’ hit #8 on the Billboard Top 100, Good Golly, Miss Molly and Jenny, Jenny #10, Long Tall Sally #13 and Tutti Frutti #21. They were just as popular in the UK. He was rock n roll personified. Well done, sir. Thank you. (Facts from an article at foxnews.com & Wiki).
Here’s a fun pic of McDonalds customers getting creative in order to use the drive-thru line:
From an article at nypost.com, here are businesses that have boomed during the pandemic: puzzle-making, especially jigsaws; knitting, bread-making device suppliers, and manufacturers of adult-footed pajamas.
In mythology Styx is one of the rivers of Hades or Hell or The Underworld. Translated from Greek, the word means “shuddering” or “loathing of death.” Although it takes place in the ocean, it is the title of an interesting 2018 German production about a thirty-something female doctor who sails her yacht solo toward an unspoiled island. She survives a violent storm. When the skies clear, she spots a large, foundering ship filled with refugees nearby. Many passengers are jumping overboard. She radios the Coast Guard and is advised to keep her distance, which goes against her medical training. She saves a teenager who swims toward her craft. Once he revives from exhaustion and whatever ailment he is suffering, he begs her to save the others. She is tormented, although she knows keeping her distance is sensible. Her boat would be overwhelmed and possibly sink as well. Unfortunately, help is a long time in arriving. She hears the chaos. Clearly, the doctor will be haunted by this the rest of her life. Vienna-born director Wolfgang Fischer also co-wrote the screenplay. It was his second stint at the helm of a full length feature. I admire how he left so much up to the audience to imagine and figure out. It will be interesting to see what he does next. The box office return was paltry. Hopefully DVD sales and rentals and streaming will bring in enough to encourage producers to give Fisher more work. Is there a larger message regarding a low opinion of refugees, indifference to them? I don’t see it that way. I saw it as an individual’s moral dilemma, the reduction of a highly intelligent, self-reliant person to virtual powerlessness. Susanne Wolf, who has worked largely in Europe, is excellent in the lead, as is Gedion Oduor Wekesa, in his debut as the teen. Benedict Neuenfels’ cinematography is beautiful. The film received many minor awards and nominations. It runs only 94 minutes. 2200+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 6.5 on a scale of ten. I believe its appeal is restricted to those who prefer serious work. It is not an action flick.
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