Fairytale Of New York

A rousing, rowdy holiday song from The Pogues and Kristy MacColl, released in 1987.  The lyrics are a lot of fun, with the singers slagging each other, and the chorus can't be beat:

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing Galway Bay
And the bells were ringing out
For Christmas day

 From a live performance:

 

The two singers had contrasting fates over the years.

 

Shane MacGowan, founder and lead singer of The Pogues, with his bad teeth, alcoholism, and later heroin addiction, is still alive today, celebrating his 65th birthday on Christmas Day, despite many who predicted his early demise.

 

Kristy MacColl was not a member of The Pogues, but sang on this song, which was produced by her then-husband, Steve Lilywhite, and it's her vocal that really makes this memorable.  On December 18, 2000, Kristy and her two teenage sons were on vacation in Cozumel, Mexico, diving in a designated area from which watercraft were restricted.   When a speeding powerboat entered the area, Kristy was able to push her sons out of the way before being struck and instantly killed.  She was 41.

Building Slide

You can't go wrong with Jackie Chan.  From Who Am I? (1996), this slide is on a building in Rotterdam, Netherlands.  It was so much fun seeing Jackie's movies in the 90s with the THC Son.  Movie like this were made by Jackie and his Hong Kong production team and featured stunts much more daring than he was allowed to do during his time in Hollywood.

As long as we're here, this is a video on his craziest stunts (which includes the building slide).  I think the craziest are the leap off the snowboard onto a helicopter and sliding down a pole with light bulbs and live electricity.  The #1 stunt here was actually fairly routine but went badly wrong giving Jackie the worst injury of his career, a fractured skull.  Notably this video does not include his jump off a skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur on to a ladder hanging from a helicopter.

Waiting For Caro

For many years I resisted reading Robert Caro's multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson.  I finally gave in about a decade ago and, only then did I realize what I'd missed.  It is a masterpiece of biographical art and essential reading for anyone interested in how political power is obtained and held. Caro has completed four volumes and is working on the fifth, and final, book.  It's a race against time; Caro is 87 and his editor for the past half-century, Robert Gottlieb, at 91. 

Caro is a mid-20th century liberal Democrat and that is the perspective he brings to his books from a policy view but, unlike many 21st century authors, he does not fit everything into a narrative to match those views.  In fact, one of the themes he explores is how do we judge Lyndon Johnson, who Caro clearly supported on domestic policy, but also has distaste for the man and his methods?  It also means he explores his subject from every angle so that his work his brimming with insight.  He also brings to life other characters like Sam Rayburn and Richard Russell so we can understand them in the context of their times.

Later this month, a documentary on Caro and Gottlieb, and their sometimes testy relationship, is being released, Turn Every Page.  The trailer is below.

In conjunction with the film, New York Magazine published this article on Gottlieb.

I've written several posts about, or with reference, to Caro's work.

The Passage of Power

The Need for Gratitude 

The Art of the Biographer

Merry Christmas, Baby

Composed by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore in 1947, covered by lots of artists, but this is the perfect version.  From Otis Redding and the Stax house band: Booker T Jones, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, and Al Jackson Jr.  What a great holiday song.  Be of good cheer.

The Barbary Lion

 

Taken by a French aviator in 1925 this is the last known photo of a Barbary Lion.  The lion, with an original range including modern Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, was a frequent target of hunters during Roman times, who would capture the beasts for use in amphitheater shows.  During the 19th century, the French colonial authorites offered bounties for killing the lions, and the last one in Tunisia was killed in 1891.

Although this is the last photo of the lion, a lioness was reported killed in Algeria in 1942, and there have been claims of sightings as recently as the 1960s in isolated areas of that country and Morocco.

Barbary Lions were up to 9 feet in length and could weigh up to 600 pounds.  Below is a 1897 photo of a lion in the Bronx Zoo.

The Surveillance File

From the CDC Case Surveillance File, some interesting data on Covid mortality rates for various age brackets over the course of the pandemic.  This is the Case Fatality Rate (CFR), individuals specifically diagnosed and reported to authorities.  The CFR is not the Infection Fatality Rate (IFR), which would include all cases and can only be estimated.  The IFR would be substantially lower than the CFR.  For instance, my covid case (which was very mild), diagnosed by a self-administered test while in France this past May, would count under the IFR, but not the CFR, because it was not reported in either France or the United States.

As you can see, the CFR drops quickly across all age groups after the spring of 2020.  Rates drop throughout 2020, and then drop again in early 2021 as vaccines become available.  There's a further small rise in the summer and early fall of '21 due to the Delta variant and then rates fall rapidly, even for the most vulnerable (those over 80). 

You can easily see the small fatality rate for those under 40, and vanishingly small for those under 20, since the start of the pandemic.  For those 70-79 the CFR has been below 1% since February 2022.  Looking at the data, I think the personal risk assessment I reported on in April 2021 holds up well with one exception.  At the time, it was thought vaccination significantly reduced your chance of infection.  That proved not to be true, though it does reduce the risk of serious consequences.  It's also why it was a mistake to call it a vaccine, when it is closer to a flu shot.

Unless we see a more serious variant develop, covid is now a background risk, mostly for the elderly, just like the flu and pneumonia.

I came across this data after reading an article in today's NY Times on, of all things, the potential for catching Covid from corpses!  The article contained this gem:

"Up to 70 percent of those infected with Ebola die, compared with about 3 percent of those diagnosed with Covid-19."

I thought, am I missing something?  A 3% CFR?  Where'd that come from?  I knew there was a 3.4% fatality estimate based upon early Wuhan data, but wasn't that obsolete?  Well, as you can see it is obsolete.  The last time the CFR in the U.S. was above 3% was in May 2020.  It's been below 2% since then, below 1% since November 2021, and below 0.5% since March 2022 (and for those under 60, the last time above 0.5% was more than a year ago), and as of September 2022 the CFR was less than 1/20 of 3%.

No wonder Times readers are still so freaked out over Covid.  The Times reporting on this, as on many other topics, is no better than watching someone on YouTube promoting ivermectin or telling you that the vaccines contain microchips designed by Bill Gates.

The Last Man

On this date (Eastern Standard Time) in 1972, Eugene Cernan became the last person to walk on the moon.  Cernan was commander of Apollo 17, the last manned lunar flight, and it was his third spaceflight, the first being Gemini 9A in 1966, the second, Apollo 10, which circled the moon in 1969.  Reentering the lunar module just before Cernan was Harrison Schmitt, the only surviving astronaut from the mission (he's now 87).  Ronald Evans was in the command module circling the moon.

Who thought at the time that a half-century later we would not have returned to the moon?  

(Below, Eugene Cernan)

This is Cernan (with Schmitt) speaking from the moon.  About 4 minutes in he unveils the plaque, shown at the top of this post, that was left behind.  It's still there, ready to be read by the next visitors.  You can watch and listen to the eloquent Cernan speaking about his experience here.

Ain't Life Grand

 My first instinct on hearing this song by Widespread Panic is to call it a throwback, but since it's from 1994 I'm not sure what it's a throw back to.  In any event, its a good song and, yes, it does take me back even though I'm not quite sure as to when.  Ain't Life Grand?

The Flying Dutchman

By the time of this (colorized) film in 1933, 59 year old Honus Wagner was no longer The Flying Dutchman of major league baseball, the dominant National League ballplayer of the first two decades of the 20th century.

I'd never seen this until a couple of days ago, and never heard Honus speak before.  He's old, slower, and heavier, but watch him whip a throw to second, and the power and quickness he shows connecting with a pitch.

The nickname reminds me of the poignant lyrics of Rockin' Chair by The Band;

Hear the sound, Willie boy,
The Flyin' Dutchman's on the reef
It's my belief
We've used up all our time,
This hill's to steep to climb,
And the days that remain ain't worth a dime

Oh, to be home again,
Down in old Virginny,
With my very best friend,
They call him Ragtime Willie
Would'a been nice just to see the folks,
Listen once again to them stale old jokes,
That big rockin' chair won't go nowhere

The Long Way Round

On December 1, 1941 a Pan American Boeing 314, the California Clipper, took off from its base on San Francisco Bay for its regular trans-Pacific route.  Commanded by Captain Bob Ford, the flight would go to Los Angeles, Pearl Harbor, Canton Island, Fiji, New Caledonia before reaching its final destination, Auckland, New Zealand, late on December 7.  The Clipper would then retrace the route to return to the U.S.

As the plane neared Auckland, its radioman picked up a local transmission announcing the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor.  Upon hearing the news and receiving further confirmation from Pan Am's local transmission from Auckland, Captain Ford opened a sealed envelope he, and other Pan Am captains, had been issued several weeks ago.  The contents read:

To: Captain, PAA Flight 6039 — SFO-LAX-HNL-CIS-SUV-NOU-AUK and return flight 6040.
From: Division Manager, Pacific Division

Subject: Special instructions to avoid hostile military activity.

Pan American Airways, in cooperation with the Chief of Staff, United States Army, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet Operations, the Secretary of War and the Secretary of State, has agreed to place its fleet of flying boats at the disposal of the military for whatever logistical or tactical purpose they may deem necessary at such time as hostilities break out between the United States forces and the military forces of the Imperial Japanese government.

In the event that you are required to open and read these instructions, you may assume that hostilities have already occurred and that the aircraft under your command represents a strategic military resource which must be protected and secured from falling into enemy hands

For a week, Ford and his crew were in Auckland, not sure of what to do next.  On the 14th he received further instructions from Pan Am:

Security: Top Secret

To: Captain Robert Ford
From: Chief, Flight Operations Pan American Airways System Chrysler Building New York City, NY

Subject: Diversion plans for NC18602

Normal return route cancelled. Proceed as follows:

Strip all company markings, registration numbers, and indentifiable insignia from exterior surfaces. Proceed westbound soonest your discretion to avoid hostilities and deliver NC18602 to Marine Terminal LaGuardia Field New York.

Good Luck

They were being directed to fly around the world.  The crew had to figure out a route to avoid conflict with the enemy, though it had no charts or information on winds for anything to the west of New Zealand.  They had to find their way across South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America to get back to LaGuardia Field.  And the crossing of the Atlantic from Africa to South America required a longer non-stop flight than any portion of their Pacific crossing.

A few minutes before 6 am on January 6, 1942, the night shift air controller at LaGuardia's control tower received a startling message and this interchange: 

LAGUARDIA TOWER LAGUARDIA TOWER. THIS IS PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER NC18602 INBOUND FROM AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND. DUE TO ARRIVE PAN AMERICAN MARINE TERMINAL LAGUARDIA IN SEVEN MINUTES. OVER.

SORRY PAN AMERICAN CLIPPER 18602 BUT SAY AGAIN, CONFIRM YOUR DEPARTURE POINT. OVER.

I SAY AGAIN, INBOUND FROM AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND. BY WAY OF THE LONG WAY ROUND. OVER.


To find out how they did it read this fascinating account.


Hard To Handle

A great cut from Otis Redding, a song he co-wrote with Alvertis Isbell and Allen Jones.  During a two week studio session in the fall of 1967, Otis recorded a slew of new songs, the most famous being Sittin' On the Dock of the Bay, and none released before his death in a plane crash at Madison, Wisconsin on December 10, 1967.

Hard To Handle was on The Immortal Otis Redding, an album released in June 1968 which also contains a lot of other terrific material from those last recording sessions.  I've been going back recently to listen to his recordings and found quite a few lesser known songs that are just wonderful.

Good Times, Good Memories

In memory of my great friend who passed three years ago on this date, these are the posts from our ballpark tours from 2012 through 2018.

The Crossing

Yesterday marked 190 years since Sam Houston crossed the Red River, entering Texas for the first time and ending his three-year self imposed exile among his Cherokee friends (with whom he had also lived for three years earlier in his life), after abruptly resigning as governor of Tennessee in 1829.

Houston is one of the most fascinating and instructive figures in American history during the period after the first generation of Founders and before the Civil War, emerging into the spotlight as a hero of the War of 1812 and protege of General Andrew Jackson and, in his last public act, resigning of governor of Texas after refusing to take an oath to the Confederacy in 1861, and during those decades embodying actions, principles, and beliefs that don't fit neatly into 20th and 21st century categories; that, indeed, seem baffling at times.  And not just today.  Reading Texas history of that era it is hard to find anyone who didn't either love or hate Houston.  There was no in between regarding the man.

Houston was governor of two states (Tennessee and Texas); Congressman from Tennessee; Senator from Texas; and President of the Republic of Texas.  Chronologically, Sam was an American citizen, an official citizen of Cherokee Nation (and his second wife was Cherokee), a citizen of Mexico, of the Republic of Texas, and finally, once again, an American.

A slave owner; the only Southern senator to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill of 1854; opposing secession as Governor of Texas in 1861; and, in 1856, having the support of the most ardent abolitionist in the Senate (Charles Sumner of Massachusetts) if he chose to run for the Presidency.

A man who lived with the Cherokee for six years over the course of his life, spoke their language, became a member of the tribe, befriended those from many other tribes, representing the interests of those tribes in Washington, and who gave possibly the most impassioned speech heard on the Senate floor during the 19th century regarding the rights and humanity of the Indian tribes (1), yet whose political mentor and friend was Andrew Jackson, author of the most unjustified American government action against peaceful tribes.

It is the Jackson connection that looms over Houston's decision to go to Texas.  Sam had been in Washington earlier in 1832, lobbying on behalf of the tribes exiled to the Arkansas Territory.  It was during that trip that Houston, feeling he'd been insulted by Ohio congressman William Stanberry who'd accused him of graft regarding an Indian rations contract, upon encountering Stanberry on the street beat him with a hickory cane.  Houston was brought up on charges by the House, convicted, reprimanded and given a $500 fine, which he left D.C. without paying.  But before leaving he met with his friend, President Andrew Jackson.  The contents of their conversation is unknown but subject to much speculation, mostly around Jackson's interest in acquiring Texas for the United States.  Was Houston urged to go to Texas to pave the way for that acquisition?  We don't know for certain but some of Sam's actions four years later, during the Runaway Scrape, when Houston may have been luring the Mexican army into a confrontation with the American army just across the border in Louisiana, lend some credence to that idea.

I've written quite a number of posts on Houston which you can find here.

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(1)

"The honorable Senator from Indiana says in substance that God Almighty has condemned [the Indians], and made them an inferior race, that there is no use in doing anything for them. . .  Sir, it is idle to tell me that.  We have Indians on our western borders, whose civilization is not inferior to our own . . .  The Indian has a sense of justice, truth and honor that should find a responsive chord in every heart.  If the Indians on the frontier are barbarous  . . . who are we to blame for it?  They are robbed of the means of sustenance; and with hundreds and thousands of them starving on the frontier, hunger may prompt to such acts as prevent their perishing  . . .

We should be careful if it were with a power able to war with us; and it argues a degree of infinite meanness and indescribable degradation on our part to act differently with the Indians, who confide in our honor and justice, and who call the President their Great Father, and confide in him."