Randy Twizzle

Here's an article that tries to explain the psyche of Wilbanks, a woman who had the good fortune of not turning up dead in an abandoned mine, a muddy pond or a forrest preserve. No drifters wil be arrested tonight and Greyhound gets publicity as the best way to travel when you need to escape from the future hell of writing 600 thank you notes. ATLANTA - On the surface, Jennifer Wilbanks was a happy bride-to-be who showed no sign to friends or family that she wanted to call off her extravagant wedding. But underneath, as she would later tell police after running away to New Mexico, Wilbanks was scared and not sure she wanted to go through with her big day. Marriage counselors say Wilbanks' actions are an extreme but understandable reaction to the stress of the wedding and the fear of disappointing others by backing out. "Sometimes it's like being stuck in a river getting whisked over a waterfall," said Dr. Charles Raison, a psychiatrist and Emory University instructor who has counseled people about marital concerns. "The current is so strong, you can't fight it." Shame about canceling a wedding at the last minute can lead to feelings of helplessness, counselors say. "They've committed themselves out there in public, to their partner, their minister, their community, their friends while they've been perhaps nursing some ambivalence, mixed feelings and they feel isolated without being able to share it with anyone," said marriage counselor Andrew Gee. "It's like they've committed themselves to a course of action they're not comfortable with. That would be a nightmare to me." Police say Wilbanks cut her hair to disguise her appearance so no one would recognize her during her bus trip west. She left her identification, credit cards and diamond ring behind. There was no note, and, for four days, no call home. Then, late Friday, Wilbanks called her fiance and said she had been kidnapped - a story police later said was made up. Raison said the size of the wedding - as many as 600 guests and 14 bridesmaids - may have overcome Wilbanks. "Weddings are terrible stresses on people," he said. "They really try people's relationships, especially when they're one of these big productions." Dr. Joan Miller, a marriage counselor in Marietta, Ga., said Wilbanks' case of second thoughts before marriage is common, though people don't always react to their situations the same way. "She had everything planned and had an effective way to address the situation," Miller said. "It's hard to understand what's going on in her head because we're not in her situation." Gee said some brides-to-be are open with their families about their jitters, while others keep the feelings bottled up. Running away "seems a little extreme," Gee said. "But it feels extreme if you feel like you're about to break a commitment or you can't break a commitment. So, she resorted to extreme measures it seems." Another Atlanta marriage counselor, Leslie L. Brenner, said the case suggests better communication is important between couples. "It's a good wake-up call for everybody going through an engagement," Brenner said.

Free Trade? Social Security Reform? Congressional Fillibusters?

How about light bulb music from 1915

Here's an interesting look at the 1940s novelty tune by David Hinckley in the NY Daily News For as long as there had been a 125th St. Apollo Theater, Clinton (Dusty) Fletcher had staggered across its stage, ladder in hand, imploring his roommate to let him in. "Open the Door, Richard" was Fletcher's routine, and you probably had to have been there to understand how it became a signature for both Fletcher and the Apollo through the 1930s and 1940s. Fletcher played a fellow in an advanced state of inebriation who returns home to find he can't get in. He can't find his key. And he can't wake the landlady, considering that he and Richard are 11 months in arrears on their $3-a-month rent. His only hope is to awaken Richard. But, while Richard is definitely inside, no amount of shouting seems to rouse him. Thus does Fletcher turn in desperation to the ladder, which alas he has insufficient dexterity to position and climb, owing to his current inebriation and all. It simply ain't fair, Fletcher mutters in the course of this five-minute exercise in futility: "I owes just as much back rent as he does." Eventually Fletcher and his ladder lurch offstage to appreciative applause from an audience that has probably seen the routine a dozen times. It isn't recorded whether Fletcher performed "Open the Door, Richard," on the Apollo's opening night in 1934. But he was on the bill, so he probably did. He definitely performed it right through the war, until vaudeville vets found themselves being phased out. He was semiretired in 1947 when an odd thing happened: Suddenly the whole world rediscovered Richard. Because Fletcher had worked the whole black circuit over the years, pretty much every black entertainer knew the routine. Thus one day in 1946 did bandleader Jack McVea, looking for fresh material, put it to music. The lyrics didn't capture that much of the spirit of Fletcher's original routine, but the music gave it a fresh edge and, as it happened, the country was ripe for a new song-inspired catchphrase. McVea recorded the song late in '46 for the Los Angeles-based Black and White label, and when it started to make some noise around L.A., New York's National Records hustled Fletcher into the studio to cut his own version. There was room for both, it turned out - and more. Count Basie cut a version in which the speaker became a bit more sophisticated, saying things like, "Common? I got class I ain't even used yet." The Three Flames cut a version. The Charioteers cut a version. Louis Jordan cut a version with new lyrics straight out of "Amos 'n' Andy": "He was abnoxicated . . . ." "Open the Door, Richard" raced up to No. 2 on the R&B charts, blocked from No. 1 only by another Jordan hit, "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens." On the pop chart, with no such obstacle, "Richard" went to No. 1, an astounding crossover that landed him smack dab in the middle of mainstream culture. Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, Fred Allen, Bob Hope and other major stars dropped Richard references into their comedy bits. Bing Crosby thought it was so funny he not only used the line, but recorded his own version of the song. Mercifully, Crosby's record was never released. But it was released by artists as white as the Pied Pipers and Burl Ives. Hank Penny cut a country version and there were recordings in Swedish, French, Spanish and Yiddish. Now Richard was not only popular, he was valuable. National Records, nominally on Fletcher's behalf, sued for composer credits. At the same time, old-time comedian John (Spider Bruce) Mason went to court claiming that Fletcher had learned the routine from him - which apparently was true, though Mason himself may have picked it up from a 19th century skit writer named Bob Russell. As Russell was no longer around to pursue legal claims, the lawsuits ended there. Ultimately Fletcher and Mason were assigned co-credit for the lyrics, with co-credit for the music going to McVea and Dan Howell, the latter a nonexistent person who was there simply to funnel a quarter of the royalties to National Records. Meanwhile, WOR announced it was so sick of Richard it was banning all versions of his song. The NAACP blasted the song and Fletcher for perpetuating negative stereotypes of black folks in lines like "I gwine back on relief Monday." Whether these criticisms had any effect, the "Richard" craze burned out fast. He was in free fall by the time the first wave of answer records hit, so they mostly flopped, suggesting the general public lacked the Apollo audience's tolerance for multiple repeats of the routine. Yet Richard wasn't that easy to kill - and besides, as Fletcher and the Apollo audience knew, you had to be there. Fletcher's career was revived and he went right back to the Apollo, where he appeared for the last time just three weeks before his death in 1954. Descendants of the character portrayed in "Richard" would become staples in rock 'n' roll, from the Coasters' "Charlie Brown" to Bob Dylan's "Basement Tapes." Perhaps most ambitiously, some gave Richard a larger-than-life metaphoric presence, seeing "Open the Door, Richard" as a coded commentary on all the closed doors in American society. Perhaps not wholly by chance, they suggested, was the song a hit at precisely the moment Jackie Robinson was photographed figuratively and literally walking through the long-slammed portal of American's National Pastime. In coming months and years, a Michigan minister used "Open the Door, Richard" for a sermon denouncing housing segregation. Civil rights demonstrators made it part of their call for desegregated public accommodations. Even if, in Dusty Fletcher's case, all he really seemed to want was a place to sleep one off.

Who can forget this 70s romance? (probably just about everyone)

God bless you, but I've been commuting to work on different forms of public transportation for the last 25 years. and it's made me understand that most people should be swallowed up, preferably by large mammals.

A 1902 Police Note.

Why don''t the Yankees and Red Sox start their own two team league so they could play each other 162 times a year. Every day would bring new controversy and confrontation for the media and their fans to mull over while the rest of us could ignore it, unless it involved mass fatalities.

I think her husband deserves the 15 grand.

Or they've lied about their weight.

A company called Machina Dynamica is offering something called the "Intelligent Chip" which is supposed to permanently improve the sound of any CD by a kind of magical process. From the company website:(http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina27.htm) Instructions: Remove the orange Intelligent Chip from its clear plastic protective case and place it on top of the CD/DVD/SACD player directly above the transport section, silver label facing up. Next, insert the disc to be upgraded in the player, push "Play" and allow the disc to play for 2 seconds. The Chip can also be placed on top of the player while the disc is already playing with similar results. The upgrade takes less than 2 seconds and is permanent. Once the disc is upgraded, either remove the Intelligent Chip from the player and return it to its protective case or leave it on top of the player and insert the next disc to be upgraded into the player. Discs may be upgraded sequentially, leaving the Chip in place on the top of the player. If left on top of the player, the Chip will not function until the next disc to be upgraded is inserted in the player and played. Always store the Chip in its protective case, well away from the player.

As these two 6/25/68 obituaries (which I'm reproducing in their entirety) show, Robison was both a composer and a musician.

The same type of "look what I found" school of spam for this site has appeard in several forums. http://www.google.com/search?q=aeonradio&q...lr=&sa=N&tab=gw

The year Jimi played Monterey

"It's a Blue World" is track 1, you have to scan past that toget to Lover Come Back. On my player its shows as track 1 with an index of 0

I heard a couple of takes of "Lover Come Back to Me" and then strangely enough "Paul is Dead."

One of the first hit comedy records was Joe Hayman's "Cohen on the Telephone" from 1913: "Hello? Hello? Are you dere? Hello? Vat number do I vant? Vell, vot numbers have you got? Oh, excuse me. My mistook. I vant Central 248 please. Yes, dat's right, 248. I say, Miss, am I supposed to keep on saying hello and are you dere until you come back again? Vell don't be long! Hello? Are you dere...I vant to see de manager, please. Vot do you say? This is not a telescope, it is a telephone? Say, you tink you're very clever, ain't it? Vell, do me a favor. Just hang a small piece of crepe on your nose. Your brains are dead! And if I have any more of your impertenence, I'll speak to the manager about you. I said I'll...oh...oh, YOU'RE de manager. Oh, I beg your pardink. Much obliged..." I guess you had to be there... http://www.comedystars.com/Bios/hayman_joe.shtml

One of my favorite Schaap moments took place during a Sidney Bechet festival when he lost his temper on the air and threatened to stop the festival cold because too many listeners were calling the station and bothering him with questions, comments etc. when he needed to be doing other things. It was hilarious to hear him carry on like a stressed out substitute teacher, I wish I had a tape of it.

From 1932

I did the "whack thing" back in the 70s.

Are there any studies of kids who think that their sex life (or lack thereof) is nobody's elses business?

And never play cards with any man named Doc.

Wake me when she apologizes for those exercise videos.

MYSTIC, Conn. (AP) -- After bringing in a parade of males and watching for years as nature never took its course, scientists at Mystic Aquarium have performed what is believed to be the first artificial insemination of a beluga whale. Aquarium scientists, with help from their peers at Sea World, artificially inseminated Kela, a 24-year-old beluga, on Thursday morning. After giving the whale hormones to induce the release of an egg into the reproductive tract, workers used a crane to lift Kela out of the water and place her on a mat. Frozen sperm from a Sea World beluga was then inserted. The process took only a few minutes. Scientists plan to use ultrasound and blood tests over the next few days to monitor the 1,156-pound whale with the hope that the procedure worked. Beluga whales have been born in captivity, but never through artificial insemination. Kela would deliver a calf in about 14 months if the procedure was successful, but scientists believe there is only a slim chance of that happening. That is because little is known about beluga reproduction, said Todd Robeck, a veterinarian and reproductive physiologist from Sea World in San Antonio, Texas. ``We don't know whether it will work or won't work, but things went well,'' he told The Day of New London, moments after placing thawed sperm inside Kela with an endoscope. Tracy Romano, the aquarium's director of research and veterinary services, said the birth of a new beluga may not happen because many things can go wrong. ``It's mostly a learning experience and to get information for the future,'' she said. There are about 30 belugas in captivity. Aquariums and water parks across the country want to increase that number. Because it is difficult to get permits to capture wild belugas, the focus has shifted to trying to breed them in captivity. This has meant moving whales from one location to another, which can be stressful for them. Scientists say it would be better to inseminate whales with sperm that can be shipped around the country. They say the work will help them learn about how wild belugas breed and how to better protect them. Robeck has been successful in attempts to artificially inseminate killer whales and dolphins. He and other scientists spent the past three years doing research in preparation for Thursday's procedure. Kela and Naku, the aquarium's female belugas, were not ideal candidates for the procedure because neither had ever been pregnant and because of their advanced age, Robeck said. However, they are extremely well trained, which made the procedure easier. ``There is just an incredible amount of variables involved in this,'' said Gerard Burrow, president and chief executive officer of the aquarium. ``But it's really important for us to understand the reproduction of these animals.''

It's too late for a death watch but I just read that Frank Perdue has died