Riffs

I watched a youtube video on the influence of Jazz on Rock and Pop artists, hosted by a young man from the UK. He contends that the main riff from Deep Purple’s Burn is influenced by the Gershwin brother’s Fascinating Rythym. I hear it, but it’s very brief. I googled the matter to see if master guitarist Ritchie Blackmore had ever commented it, and I found this at songfacts.com: “According to the Jerry Bloom biography Black Knight… the music was inspired by the Gershwin brothers standard Fascinating Rhythm.” LOL!

Also from yt, under the tag “most paused Star Trek photos,” was this one of Gates McFadden & Marina Sertes. Cue the J Geils Band’s Freeze Frame:

RIP NBA hall of famer Elgin Baylor, 86. The #1 pick in the 1958 draft, he played 14 seasons for the Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers and was a part of eight NBA Finals but, alas, never won a championship. He was Rookie of the Year in 1959, averaging 24.9 points, 15 rebounds and 4.1 assists. He was an 11-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA first-team selection. His #22 was retired by the organization and there is a statue of him at the Staples Center. Overall, he averaged 27.4 PPG, 13.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. He was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team. After his playing career ended, he was at first an assistant coach with the New Orleans Jazz, then its head coach three seasons, ‘76-’79. He was not successful. In 1986 he became the Los Angeles Clippers vice president of basketball operations and stayed in that capacity for 22 years. He was named NBA Executive of the Year in 2006, as the team won its first playoff series since 1976. He was one of the all-time greats.

If, like me, you haven’t had Corona, this headline from foxnews.com may be very important in the near future: “Low-dose aspirin cuts severe coronavirus risk, study suggests.” It may keep you out of the hospital.

Except for seeing acquaintances and soaking up plenty of vitamin D that hopefully will boost my immune system, today’s session of the floating book shop was disappointing. My thanks to the gentleman who bought a book in Russian, the only sale of the day. At least the end tally wasn’t zero... I had a visit from Marty, NYPD retired, who I hadn’t seen for at least a month. He was sick for three weeks. He wasn’t sure if it was Corona, although it was different from anything he’d ever had. He’d had no trouble breathing. The first test he took found no antibodies. He then went to his doctor and that test found antibodies. His wife and daughter didn’t contract it. His daughter, in her 20’s, insists he didn’t have it. I disagree, circle gets the square and the last word.

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