Just picked up my ticket for The Simpsons Movie at The Bridge. 11.55p screening tomorrow night for the show which is 18 seasons and 400 episodes old.
I've been watching this show since it was on The Tracey Ullman Show back in 1989. It was great, got not so great when I was in college from 1998 - 2001 or so and then has been gaining steam once again. I've probably seen 300 - 350 of the 400 episodes and I'm sure as hell going to be there for the opening night of the movie. I can't believe they actually made it.
I've been watching more of The Tour de France than I've ever watched before. Actually, I don't recall ever watching it before. For some reason, I'm finding it interesting. Maybe it's because I finally got around to fixing my bike up a bit to make it more enjoyable to ride. The gears don't slip anymore. The chain doesn't gum up and fall off of the gears anymore. Both shifters work properly. The breaks are tighter. All thanks to the best bike shop in town: Frankinstien Bike Worx over on 16/Spruce Sts. I've been taking this bike [not the one pictured above] there for 3+ years now and they've never let me down.
I saw the bike above [a Mongoose time trial bike?!] over on Sansom St just east of 15th St. A funny spot to lock up your bike for a bit.
That's the famous Cab Calloway's grandson "CB" Calloway Brooks. I watched him and the Cab Jivers play a set up in Chestnut Hill last night and afterwards, I had the pleasure of driving him to the train station. He's got a wonderful voice and has a lot of the charisma his granddad had.
I don't recall ever seeing Cab with an instrument in his hands, just that baton, but CB strums away at the guitar very well.
He wasn't rocking his granddad's zoot suit, but he was rocking an old school looong watch chain. He pulled out the time piece during an encore of "Minnie the Moocher" while holding a loooong note playing with his drummer.
He was all over the stage working the room. And you can see the trademark "C" on the stands of the brass section.
Along with a sax, trumpet, trombone, stand up bass, drum set and baby grand piano, CB sang in a way I haven't heard in a long time. I missed the '20s and '30s by a good long time, but the influence of people like Cab shows up every day and in much of the music I grew up listening to. I'm in his debt and it was a pleasure to listen to his grandson sing the way he did last night.
Above is a clip of Cab performing "Minnie the Moocher". And Cab did have some Philly ties - according to his Wiki entry, he attended (but didn't graduate from) Lincoln University.
On the ride to 30th St from Chestnut Hill, CB told me about when his granddad used to tour with Duke Ellington. He told me of how they'd have to knock on the doors of people's houses in the black neighborhoods of the towns they played in to be put up for the night until they decided to lease Pullman rail cars and hitch them to freighters to get from city to city. Cab used to bring his Packard in tow in one car and in the other four or so cars they had their own rehearsal space, dining car and sleeper car. Incredible. I asked him if he was old enough to ever tour with Cab and he said that he got the chance to play 30 or so gigs with him and he treasured the opportunities he had. CB was on his way to Baltimore, by train, for a meeting with some people which could lead to some really cool opportunities, but I'm not going to spill the beans like that. Hopefully there will be some good news down the pipe.
It was wonderful to hear the sounds of the past live and then to listen to just a slice of the back story of how it happened from a pretty reliable source. For more info on the Cab Calloway Orchestra, head here. For a clip of CB in full Cab Calloway getup with the orchestra, head here and download a clip. Cab Calloway would've been 100 this December.
I met Jim Capozzola of The Rittenhouse Review many moons ago at Drinking Liberally back when it was at Ten Stone so over two years ago. I barely spoke to him, but I very much knew who he was. He was always nice and was the author of what is probably the craziest blog rolls ever. Links to just about anything Philadelphia imaginable under the sun [including a link to this site since way back].
I got an email from Susie a couple of hours ago, but just saw it now, saying that he passed tonight after being removed from life support. I knew Jim was sick, but not being more than a casual acquaintance, I didn't know what of nor how sick. He was a part of many people's lives - physically and virtually. He'll be missed by many.
One of the most incredible goals of all time in the sport of futbol was Maradonna's dribbling through almost the entire English squad 60+ meters to goal and then beating the keeper to his left and plunking the ball into the net from nearly the endline during the 1986 World Cup. Amazingly another Argentine, Lionel Messi, one of the young stars of the futbol world. Below is a side by side video of both goals - found via the NYT blog goal.
