Author: DOuG pRATt

William Shatner reminds you…

I was going to post this anyway, but now, with Natasha Richardson clinging to life, perhaps for not too much longer, adding her will make it extra depressing. In this song, sung (OK, it’s spoken) by William Shatner, is a sad reminder for us all — you’re gonna die. (Sorry, Paul — I’m not intending to be insensitive.)

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/MAR/YoullHaveTime.mp3]

Want to get an idea of how long you’ve got left to live? Try the Life Span Calculator from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Natasha Richardson has one of those captivating faces that British women have, even better than that of her mother, Vanessa Redgrave. Natasha’s features and acting remind me of Kathleen Byron, who I have been planning for some time to feature again.

One of Natasha’s movies is the chilling The Handmaid’s Tale, which takes place in — you guessed it — a futuristic, post-apocalyptic society. When I heard about Richardson’s accident in the snow, I thought of the flashbacks in these scenes …

[MEDIA=26]

(Did I really feature Natasha’s grandfather and aunt only two days ago? Sheesh… not a very happy coincidence, is it…)

[The news was announced a few minutes ago that Natasha Richardson has died — Mar 18, 8:45 pm]

Obama blasts the big bonuses

It’s ridiculous that the President of the United States has to intervene directly with something like the AIG executive bonuses, but if he doesn’t do it, who will…?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090316/ap_on_go_pr_wh/aig_outrage

D.F. Rogers has one of his typically funny comments — “If Obama went to Harvard Business School, instead of Harvard Law School, he’d understand why these bonuses are perfectly legitimate.”

Wall Street, the big bankers, and the rest of them, still just don’t get it. There may be plenty of free beer, fellas, but you can’t drink any more. The party’s over. You have to sober up and face reality.

Enough with the BS excuses that, “Hey, as a percentage it’s not that much money.” Obama is right to say, “This isn’t just a matter of dollars and cents. It’s about our fundamental values.”

The man who (sort of, not really) signed The Beatles

The Beatles with Alan Livingston
Alan Livingston with The Beatles at the Plaza Hotel, NYC, February 7, 1964

Alan Livingston died a couple of days ago. He was with Capitol Records on-and-off over a period of twenty years, and he happened to be its president when The Beatles were tossed in his lap by EMI, which had bought Capitol in 1955. Many news sources have stated that Livingston signed the Beatles, but that’s simply not correct. The man who best knows the American side of the Beatles saga is Bruce Spizer, and at this link he explains Livingston’s role in their story. The band that Livingston really deserves credit for signing is the Beach Boys.

Parlez-Vous Français — Petula Clark

David Moncour has sent this link to an interview with Petula Clark, in French, including the music clips. Thank you, Davie!

http://franckhermann.spaces.live.com/blog/

The audio is linked on Petula’s name, and it isn’t embedded, so depending on how your file associations are set up it will come up on one local player or another. How about I embed it here, so you don’t have to bother doing that?

[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/MAR/PETULACLARK_FrenchInterview.mp3]

How about this pair of pictures? On the left is Petula with actor Michael Redgrave in 1942, and on the right they’re together again in 1968, filming Goodbye Mr. Chips.

Petula Clark and Michael Redgrave

For many years, Petula has been great pals with Redgrave’s daughter Lynn, who’s about 5’10” tall. As you can see, Pet is petite!

Lynn Redgrave, Petula Clark

I see that it’s time to renew my subscription to Petula & Company, published by the International Petula Clark Society. There’s all sorts of stuff in there about Pet, facts and photos, that you won’t find anywhere else. I particularly enjoy it for providing so much background about her early years in England. As I keep saying, as far as we were concerned in America, Petula appeared out of nowhere, polished and professional.