Tides
High tide in Venice, AFP via Getty Images, posted at standard.co.uk:
Headline from nypost.com: “Alan Dershowitz renounces Democratic Party, cites ‘anti-Jewish’ lawmakers at DNC: ‘I am no longer a Democrat’.” I respect his scholarship, but he has been a lifelong liberal. I’ll be surprised as hell if he votes Republican. In the same vein, opposite direction, news on Dick Cheney: “Former Republican VP will vote for Kamala Harris.” The former arch-conservative now favors socialism. What a world.
RIP Brazilian music legend Sergio Mendes, 83, who succumbed to long term Covid. He started playing in nightclubs in the late 1950s just as bossa nova was emerging. A pianist, he honed his craft playing with countrymen Antônio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto. He sat in on albums by jazz giants Cannonball Adderley and Herbie Mann. He moved to the USA and formed Brasil ’65. Two albums, entirely in Portuguese, did not sell well. Things changed dramatically when the group added American singers who also sang verses in Portuguese. Herb Alpert Presents Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66 went platinum based largely on the success of the single Mas que Nada, which hit #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart. My college suitemate, Keith, had the album and I played it more often than he did. The band experienced another boost when it performed The Look of Love at the ’68 Oscars. That led to performances at the White House. That was the peak of Mendes’ success, but he continued to be popular worldwide, performing until late 2023. The Look of Love hit #4 in ’68, The Fool on the Hill climbed to #6 that same year, and Scarborough Fair peaked at #16. In ’83 Never Gonna Let You Go topped out at #4. Ten other of his songs cracked the Top 100. There are more than 40 albums listed on his discography page at Wiki. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 2012 as co-writer of Real in Rio from the animated film Rio (2011). He was nominated for six Grammys, winning Best World Music Album in ’93 for Brasileiro. Nominated for five Latin Grammys, he won two. He is survived by his wife of 54 years and two children. Well done, Sir. Photo from Google Images:
If only it were satire. From NYP: “Sen. Sherrod Brown took campaign donations from Ohio woman who had been dead for months: records.” And this from foxnews.com: “Migrant families receive $4000 in grants to aid transition out of NYC shelters.”
The forecast said on and off rain all day, so I set up shop at the gloom and grime of the viaduct. It didn’t rain. If only I had a crystal ball. My thanks to Herbie, who bought the two Broadway-themed books Sam delivered yesterday: I Was Better Last Night: A Memoir by Harvey Fierstein and Supporting Player: My Life Upon The Wicked Stage by Richard Seff; and to the woman who came by as I was packing up and purchased paperbacks of Loving Women by Pete Hamill and Into the Fire by Stefanie Medrek.
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