Photos By Gail
If you enjoy drinking and are about to celebrate your final days as a Bachelorette, turning 70, or being the World’s Best Mom, maybe your party needs a few of these bright pink party goblets that I spotted in a bargain store in the Financial District (no, that is not an oxymoron). I think these are selling for $3.99 each.
Led Zeppelin Guitarist Jimmy Page celebrates Seventy (70, Wow!) years on the planet today, January 9th, having been born in the year 1944. Happy Birthday Jimmy, You Are the Best!
Kafkaesque
Today’s Google Doodle was inspired by the book, The Metamorphosis by existential author Franz Kafka, who would have celebrated his 130th Birthday today, if people lived that long.
June 18, 2012 – What do you give as a birthday present to “The Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time” and greatest living songwriter of the 20th Century? You give respect in the form of a brilliant reworking of one of their own compositions
June 18th is the 70th birthday of the one and only Sir Paul McCartney and as a huge mark of respect Paul Weller and his band have recorded a cover of The Beatles classic song “Birthday.” This passionate cover will be made available on June 18th for ONE DAY ONLY – and it will be available exclusively at Amazon.com for .70 cents.
Weller says: “I wanted to do something for Paul’s 70th, the man’s been, and still is, an immense and enduring inspiration for me. It was him and his three friends that made me want to pick up a guitar in the first place. I saw him play live recently and he inspired me just as much as ever, he was brilliant. I just hope he likes our little version, a token of my and the band’s love for him and his music. Rock on Macca.”
Paul Weller and his band recorded “Birthday” (originally from The Beatles’ White Album) in one day down at Paul’s Black Barn studios. Yep Roc Records will release the track in North America. All proceeds from the sale of the single will go to the War Child charity.
The late, great singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson was born on this day, June 15th, in 1941. I recently watched the unbelievably well-made documentary, Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him)? which is now available on DVD via Netflix.
I’m a huge fan of Nilsson’s music, as he reached the height of his popularity in the sixties and seventies, when I was growing up, so I thought I knew a lot about the guy. But Who is Harry Nilsson? gave me quite a schooling on the details of Nilsson’s life and career that I couldn’t have imagined.
This insightful documentary goes way back to his childhood, his family life, his early career writing songs for others that grew into his own recording career as a solo artist, his film soundtrack projects, personal friendships with other songwriters and musicians (Nilsson was a favorite artist of all four Beatles and he maintained close friendships with John Lennon and Ringo Starr until his death) and a wildly in-depth overview of his recording process via interviews with those he worked closely with (the interviews with producer Richard Perry alone are worth the time it takes to watch the film).
Of course, it’s not like you don’t know how the story is going to end. A well-covered topic in Who Is Harry Nilsson? is the artist’s ridiculously indulgent and debauched Rock Star Lifestyle, which lead directly to his early death at age 52 – a tragic waste of an extraordinary and irreplaceable talent.
I was entirely captivated, entertained and profoundly moved by the life story of Harry Nilsson, who was extremely respected for his talent and considered by his peers to be the greatest American singer of his generation. There is no doubt that his influence is vast and deeply felt even today. Harry Nilsson died on January 15th, 1994 from heart failure brought on by a lifetime of alcoholism and hard drug abuse. If he were still alive, he would be celebrating his Birthday today. Happy Birthday, Harry, we still miss you.
A Cake Fit For a Prince (Image Source)
The Artist Formerly Known as Prince Rogers Nelson was born on this day, June 7th, in 1958.
The Video for The Jam’s 1979 hit, “Strange Town” (click link to watch) — a song that Paul Weller wrote about his first visits to London — is brought to you by Weller’s 54th Birthday, which is today, May 25th. What a great song! Happy Birthday, Paul!
German architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was born on this day, March 27th, in 1886. As a member of the Bauhaus design school, Mies (as he was called) was highly influential in shifting modern architecture away from the ornate to the simple, a design philosophy from which he popularized the phrase “Less is More.” Mies is honored by today’s Google Doodle, which depicts the SR Crown Hall in Chicago, one of his glass-and-steel designs. Happy Birthday, Mies!
Happy Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday! It’s a public holiday here in the US (except for maybe in Arizona. Because, Arizona)! If you are enjoying a day of freedom today courtesy of Dr. King, why not live the Dream by downloading and building this lovely and regal Papertoy, found on the Cube Craft website!
Confession: Most of the time, I can barely recall what Netflick I watched last night or what I ate for lunch earlier in the day, but ask me what it was like to be in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001, and I remember that day like it was still happening. I remember seeing the smoke from the first tower as I stood at the corner of 19th Street and 5th Avenue, walking to work that morning and thinking “Something’s on fire.” I can tell you what the weather was like (the most beautiful late summer Tuesday, ever).
I recall the most minute, bullshit details of numerous conversations I had with people that day. I can tell you what I made for lunch (pasta with chicken in red sauce). I even remember what I was wearing. It’s been ten years since that day and for me it’s like it was, as they say, just yesterday. I’m sure I’ll have the same clarity about September 11, 2001 for the rest of my life. If you were in NYC at the time, you can’t ever forget. But think about this: what is that day like for people whose birthday is on September 11th? That’s something I hadn’t really considered until I read this fantastic story in The Awl built around first-person testimonials from10 people who are unfortunate enough to have 9/11 as their birth date. Ten People Who Observe Birthdays on 9/11 is by far my favorite remembrance piece of the too-many-to-mention that I’ve already read over the past few days. It captures just the right balance of candor and uncomfortable humor that feel appropriate after a decade of 9/11 anniversaries. The piece starts out like this:
Jotham Sederstrom, 34, freelance reporter: On September 10th, my friends took me out for birthday drinks in Chicago. I was out until three or four, I think, at a place called “The Hideout,” among other places. I didn’t wake up until about noon, at which point everything had changed.
George Spyros, 44, executive producer: I got married the weekend before. We had a bunch of friends and family from out of town, and went out Monday night for dinner. My wife and I were supposed to fly out on September 11th for our honeymoon. On top of that, it’s my birthday.
Michael Wright, 44, editorial director: September 11th has always been the best day of the year for me — and then it all goes to shit.
Allison Spensley, 31, mid-career change: It was my 21st birthday, so of course I had plans to go out.
And it just gets more engaging. You can read the rest – and I strongly recommend that you do – Here.
