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#Roger Tabule
hellsitesonlybookclub · 8 months
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Agatha Christie
Chapter 15-16
CHAPTER XVI AN EVENING AT MAH JONG That night we had a little Mah Jong party. This kind of simple entertainment is very popular in King’s Abbot. The guests arrive in goloshes and waterproofs after dinner. They partake of coffee and later of cake, sandwiches, and tea.
On this particular night our guests were Miss Ganett and Colonel Carter, who lives near the church. A good deal of gossip is handed round at these evenings, sometimes seriously interfering with the game in progress. We used to play bridge—chatty bridge of the worst description. We find Mah Jong much more peaceful. The irritated demand as to why on earth your partner did not lead a certain card is entirely done away with, and though we still express criticisms frankly, there is not the same acrimonious spirit.
“Very cold evening, eh, Sheppard?” said Colonel Carter, standing with his back to the fire. Caroline had taken Miss Ganett to her own room, and was there assisting her to disentangle herself from her many wraps. “Reminds me of the Afghan passes.”
“Indeed?” I said politely.
“Very mysterious business this about poor Ackroyd,” continued the colonel, accepting a cup of coffee. “A deuce of a lot behind it—that’s what I say. Between you and me, Sheppard, I’ve heard the word blackmail mentioned!”
The colonel gave me the look which might be tabulated “one man of the world to another.”
“A woman in it, no doubt,” he said. “Depend upon it, a woman in it.”
Caroline and Miss Ganett joined us at this minute. Miss Ganett drank coffee whilst Caroline got out the Mah Jong box and poured out the tiles upon the table.
“Washing the tiles,” said the colonel facetiously. “That’s right—washing the tiles, as we used to say in the Shanghai Club.”
It is the private opinion of both Caroline and myself that Colonel Carter has never been in the Shanghai Club in his life. More, that he has never been farther east than India, where he juggled with tins of bully beef and plum and apple jam during the Great War. But the colonel is determinedly military, and in King’s Abbot we permit people to indulge their little idiosyncrasies freely.
“Shall we begin?” said Caroline.
We sat round the table. For some five minutes there was complete silence, owing to the fact that there is tremendous secret competition amongst us as to who can build their wall quickest.
“Go on, James,” said Caroline at last. “You’re East Wind.”
I discarded a tile. A round or two proceeded, broken by the monotonous remarks of “Three Bamboos,” “Two Circles,” “Pung,” and frequently from Miss Ganett “Unpung,” owing to that lady’s habit of too hastily claiming tiles to which she had no right.
“I saw Flora Ackroyd this morning,” said Miss Ganett. “Pung—no—Unpung. I made a mistake.”
“Four Circles,” said Caroline. “Where did you see her?”
“She didn’t see me,” said Miss Ganett, with that tremendous significance only to be met with in small villages.
“Ah!” said Caroline interestedly. “Chow.”
“I believe,” said Miss Ganett, temporarily diverted, “that it’s the right thing nowadays to say ‘Chee’ not ‘Chow.’”
“Nonsense,” said Caroline. “I have always said ‘Chow.’”
“In the Shanghai Club,” said Colonel Carter, “they say ‘Chow.’”
Miss Ganett retired, crushed.
“What were you saying about Flora Ackroyd?” asked Caroline, after a moment or two devoted to the game. “Was she with any one?”
“Very much so,” said Miss Ganett.
The eyes of the two ladies met, and seemed to exchange information.
“Really,” said Caroline interestedly. “Is that it? Well, it doesn’t surprise me in the least.”
“We’re waiting for you to discard, Miss Caroline,” said the colonel. He sometimes affects the pose of the bluff male, intent on the game and indifferent to gossip. But nobody is deceived.
“If you ask me,” said Miss Ganett. (“Was that a Bamboo you discarded, dear? Oh! no, I see now—it was a Circle.) As I was saying, if you ask me, Flora’s been exceedingly lucky. Exceedingly lucky she’s been.”
“How’s that, Miss Ganett?” asked the colonel. “I’ll Pung that Green Dragon. How do you make out that Miss Flora’s been lucky? Very charming girl and all that, I know.”
“I mayn’t know very much about crime,” said Miss Ganett, with the air of one who knows everything there is to know, “but I can tell you one thing. The first question that’s always asked is ‘Who last saw the deceased alive?’ And the person who did is regarded with suspicion. Now, Flora Ackroyd last saw her uncle alive. It might have looked very nasty for her—very nasty indeed. It’s my opinion—and I give it for what it’s worth, that Ralph Paton is staying away on her account, to draw suspicion away from her.”
“Come, now,” I protested mildly, “you surely can’t suggest that a young girl like Flora Ackroyd is capable of stabbing her uncle in cold blood?”
“Well, I don’t know,” said Miss Ganett. “I’ve just been reading a book from the library about the underworld of Paris, and it says that some of the worst women criminals are young girls with the faces of angels.”
“That’s in France,” said Caroline instantly.
“Just so,” said the colonel. “Now, I’ll tell you a very curious thing—a story that was going round the Bazaars in India….”
The colonel’s story was one of interminable length, and of curiously little interest. A thing that happened in India many years ago cannot compare for a moment with an event that took place in King’s Abbot the day before yesterday.
It was Caroline who brought the colonel’s story to a close by fortunately going Mah Jong. After the slight unpleasantness always occasioned by my corrections of Caroline’s somewhat faulty arithmetic, we started a new hand.
“East Wind passes,” said Caroline. “I’ve got an idea of my own about Ralph Paton. Three Characters. But I’m keeping it to myself for the present.”
“Are you, dear?” said Miss Ganett. “Chow—I mean Pung.”
“Yes,” said Caroline firmly.
“Was it all right about the boots?” asked Miss Ganett. “Their being black, I mean?”
“Quite all right,” said Caroline.
“What was the point, do you think?” asked Miss Ganett.
Caroline pursed up her lips, and shook her head with an air of knowing all about it.
“Pung,” said Miss Ganett. “No—Unpung. I suppose that now the doctor’s in with M. Poirot he knows all the secrets?”
“Far from it,” I said.
“James is so modest,” said Caroline. “Ah! a concealed Kong.”
The colonel gave vent to a whistle. For the moment gossip was forgotten.
“Your own wind, too,” he said. “And you’ve got two Pungs of Dragons. We must be careful. Miss Caroline’s out for a big hand.”
We played for some minutes with no irrelevant conversation.
“This M. Poirot now,” said Colonel Carter, “is he really such a great detective?”
“The greatest the world has ever known,” said Caroline solemnly. “He had to come here incognito to avoid publicity.”
“Chow,” said Miss Ganett. “Quite wonderful for our little village, I’m sure. By the way, Clara—my maid, you know—is great friends with Elsie, the housemaid at Fernly, and what do you think Elsie told her? That there’s been a lot of money stolen, and it’s her opinion—Elsie’s—I mean, that the parlormaid had something to do with it. She’s leaving at the month, and she’s crying a good deal at night. If you ask me, the girl is very likely in league with a gang. She’s always been a queer girl—she’s not friends with any of the girls round here. She goes off by herself on her days out—very unnatural, I call it, and most suspicious. I asked her once to come to our Girls’ Friendly Evenings, but she refused, and then I asked her a few questions about her home and her family—all that sort of thing, and I’m bound to say I considered her manner most impertinent. Outwardly very respectful—but she shut me up in the most barefaced way.”
Miss Ganett stopped for breath, and the colonel, who was totally uninterested in the servant question, remarked that in the Shanghai Club brisk play was the invariable rule.
We had a round of brisk play.
“That Miss Russell,” said Caroline. “She came here pretending to consult James on Friday morning. It’s my opinion she wanted to see where the poisons were kept. Five Characters.”
“Chow,” said Miss Ganett. “What an extraordinary idea? I wonder if you can be right.”
“Talking of poisons,” said the colonel. “Eh—what? Haven’t I discarded? Oh! Eight Bamboos.”
“Mah Jong!” said Miss Ganett.
Caroline was very much annoyed.
“One Red Dragon,” she said regretfully, “and I should have had a hand of three doubles.”
“I’ve had two Red Dragons all the time,” I mentioned.
“So exactly like you, James,” said Caroline reproachfully. “You’ve no conception of the spirit of the game.”
I myself thought I had played rather cleverly. I should have had to pay Caroline an enormous amount if she had gone Mah Jong. Miss Ganett’s Mah Jong was of the poorest variety possible, as Caroline did not fail to point out to her.
East Wind passed, and we started a new hand in silence.
“What I was going to tell you just now was this,” said Caroline.
“Yes?” said Miss Ganett encouragingly.
“My idea about Ralph Paton, I mean.”
“Yes, dear,” said Miss Ganett, still more encouragingly. “Chow!”
“It’s a sign of weakness to Chow so early,” said Caroline severely. “You should go for a big hand.”
“I know,” said Miss Ganett. “You were saying—about Ralph Paton, you know?”
“Yes. Well, I’ve a pretty shrewd idea where he is.”
We all stopped to stare at her.
“This is very interesting, Miss Caroline,” said Colonel Carter. “All your own idea, eh?”
“Well, not exactly. I’ll tell you about it. You know that big map of the county we have in the hall?”
We all said Yes.
“As M. Poirot was going out the other day, he stopped and looked at it, and he made some remark—I can’t remember exactly what it was. Something about Cranchester being the only big town anywhere near us—which is true, of course. But after he had gone—it came to me suddenly.”
“What came to you?”
“His meaning. Of course Ralph is in Cranchester.”
It was at that moment that I knocked down the rack that held my pieces. My sister immediately reproved me for clumsiness, but half-heartedly. She was intent on her theory.
“Cranchester, Miss Caroline?” said Colonel Carter. “Surely not Cranchester! It’s so near.”
“That’s exactly it,” cried Caroline triumphantly. “It seems quite clear by now that he didn’t get away from here by train. He must simply have walked into Cranchester. And I believe he’s there still. No one would dream of his being so near at hand.”
I pointed out several objections to the theory, but when once Caroline has got something firmly into her head, nothing dislodges it.
“And you think M. Poirot has the same idea,” said Miss Ganett thoughtfully. “It’s a curious coincidence, but I was out for a walk this afternoon on the Cranchester road, and he passed me in a car coming from that direction.”
We all looked at each other.
“Why, dear me,” said Miss Ganett suddenly, “I’m Mah Jong all the time, and I never noticed it.”
Caroline’s attention was distracted from her own inventive exercises. She pointed out to Miss Ganett that a hand consisting of mixed suits and too many Chows was hardly worth going Mah Jong on. Miss Ganett listened imperturbably and collected her counters.
“Yes, dear, I know what you mean,” she said. “But it rather depends on what kind of a hand you have to start with, doesn’t it?”
“You’ll never get the big hands if you don’t go for them,” urged Caroline.
“Well, we must all play our own way, mustn’t we?” said Miss Ganett. She looked down at her counters. “After all, I’m up, so far.”
Caroline, who was considerably down, said nothing.
East Wind passed, and we set to once more. Annie brought in the tea things. Caroline and Miss Ganett were both slightly ruffled as is often the case during one of these festive evenings.
“If you would only play a leetle quicker, dear,” said Caroline, as Miss Ganett hesitated over her discard. “The Chinese put down the tiles so quickly it sounds like little birds pattering.”
For some few minutes we played like the Chinese.
“You haven’t contributed much to the sum of information, Sheppard,” said Colonel Carter genially. “You’re a sly dog. Hand in glove with the great detective, and not a hint as to the way things are going.”
“James is an extraordinary creature,” said Caroline. “He can not bring himself to part with information.”
She looked at me with some disfavor.
“I assure you,” I said, “that I don’t know anything. Poirot keeps his own counsel.”
“Wise man,” said the colonel with a chuckle. “He doesn’t give himself away. But they’re wonderful fellows, these foreign detectives. Up to all sorts of dodges, I believe.”
“Pung,” said Miss Ganett, in a tone of quiet triumph. “And Mah Jong.”
The situation became more strained. It was annoyance at Miss Ganett’s going Mah Jong for the third time running which prompted Caroline to say to me as we built a fresh wall:—
“You are too tiresome, James. You sit there like a dead head, and say nothing at all!”
“But, my dear,” I protested, “I have really nothing to say—that is, of the kind you mean.”
“Nonsense,” said Caroline, as she sorted her hand. “You must know something interesting.”
I did not answer for a moment. I was overwhelmed and intoxicated. I had read of there being such a thing as the Perfect Winning—going Mah Jong on one’s original hand. I had never hoped to hold the hand myself.
With suppressed triumph I laid my hand face upwards on the table.
“As they say in the Shanghai Club,” I remarked, “Tin-ho—the Perfect Winning!”
The colonel’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
“Upon my soul,” he said. “What an extraordinary thing. I never saw that happen before!”
It was then that I went on, goaded by Caroline’s gibes, and rendered reckless by my triumph.
“And as to anything interesting,” I said. “What about a gold wedding ring with a date and ‘From R.’ inside.”
I pass over the scene that followed. I was made to say exactly where this treasure was found. I was made to reveal the date.
“March 13th,” said Caroline. “Just six months ago. Ah!”
Out of the babel of excited suggestions and suppositions three theories were evolved:—
That of Colonel Carter: that Ralph was secretly married to Flora. The first or most simple solution.
That of Miss Ganett: that Roger Ackroyd had been secretly married to Mrs. Ferrars.
That of my sister: that Roger Ackroyd had married his housekeeper, Miss Russell.
A fourth or super-theory was propounded by Caroline later as we went up to bed.
“Mark my words,” she said suddenly, “I shouldn’t be at all surprised if Geoffrey Raymond and Flora weren’t married.”
“Surely it would be ‘From G,’ not ‘From R’ then,” I suggested.
“You never know. Some girls call men by their surnames. And you heard what Miss Ganett said this evening—about Flora’s carryings on.”
Strictly speaking, I had not heard Miss Ganett say anything of the kind, but I respected Caroline’s knowledge of innuendoes.
“How about Hector Blunt,” I hinted. “If it’s anybody——”
“Nonsense,” said Caroline. “I dare say he admires her—may even be in love with her. But depend upon it a girl isn’t going to fall in love with a man old enough to be her father when there’s a good-looking young secretary about. She may encourage Major Blunt just as a blind. Girls are very artful. But there’s one thing I do tell you, James Sheppard. Flora Ackroyd does not care a penny piece for Ralph Paton, and never has. You can take it from me.”
I took it from her meekly.
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brookstonalmanac · 10 months
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Events 6.16
363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians. 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). 1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies. 1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses. 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor. 1632 – The Plymouth Company granted a land patent to Thomas Purchase, the first settler of Pejepscot, Maine, settling at the site of Fort Andross. 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date). 1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza. 1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians. 1760 – French and Indian War: Robert Rogers and his Rangers surprise French held Fort Sainte Thérèse on the Richelieu River near Lake Champlain. The fort is raided and burned. 1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. 1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis's Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later. 1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers. 1815 – Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo. 1819 – A major earthquake strikes the Kutch district of western India, killing over 1,543 people and raising a 6-metre-high (20 ft), 6-kilometre-wide (3.7 mi), ridge, extending for at least 80 kilometres (50 mi), that was known as the Allah Bund ("Dam of God"). 1824 – A meeting at Old Slaughter's coffee house in London leads to the formation of what is now the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). 1836 – The formation of the London Working Men's Association gives rise to the Chartist Movement. 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy. 1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois. 1871 – The Universities Tests Act 1871 allows students to enter the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology). 1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England, kills 183 children. 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park. 1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later. 1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated. 1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east–west navigation of the Northwest Passage. 1904 – Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland. 1904 – Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday". 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York. 1922 – General election in the Irish Free State: The pro-Treaty Sinn Féin party wins a large majority. 1925 – Artek, the most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, is established. 1930 – Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR. 1933 – The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis. 1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français). 1940 – A Communist government is installed in Lithuania. 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls. 1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency. 1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favor of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800. At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces. 1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed. 1961 – While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union. 1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.[ 1963 – In an attempt to resolve the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam, a Joint Communique was signed between President Ngo Dinh Diem and Buddhist leaders. 1972 – The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station. 1976 – Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd. 1977 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor. 1989 – Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary. 1997 – Fifty people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M'sila) massacre in Algeria. 2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon. 2002 – Padre Pio is canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco. 2012 – China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module. 2012 – The United States Air Force's robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission. 2013 – A multi-day cloudburst, centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, causes devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. 2015 – American businessman Donald Trump announces his campaign to run for President of the United States in the upcoming election. 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public. 2019 – Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong's history.
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xox000xox · 1 year
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From Collector to Director
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Figure 1: CM 50625 – Rugosa Coral. Collected by M. Graham Netting in 1912.   Coral body shape has a radial symmetry.
In 1912, eight-year-old M. Graham Netting unearthed 13 coral fossils within the city limits of Louisville, Kentucky.  Later, as a 22-year-old Pitt student, he donated them to the Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Figure 1).   When the Great Depression cut short his graduate studies at the University of Michigan in 1929, he returned to the museum as Assistant Curator of Herpetology, and worked his way up to Curator in 1932.   In 1954, six months before turning 50, he was appointed Director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.   Along the way, the Wilkinsburg native left an astonishing legacy that includes a steady growth in scientific collections, numerous wildlife dioramas in the Halls of Wildlife, and a mid-Appalachian field research station, Powdermill Nature Reserve.  Upon his retirement in 1975, the Post-Gazette noted, “Long before it was “in,” Netting saw pollution of the air and water ravaging the land.”  
Albert Kollar, Collection Manager of the of Section of Invertebrate Paleontology, re-discovered young Graham Netting’s horn corals while working on a multiyear review of the Bayet Collection.  Netting’s label note did not provide any evidence for the stratigraphic unit that he collected from, but more on that later.
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Figure 2: Carnegie Museum of Natural History exhibit reconstruction of an Early to Middle Devonian reef, 375 - 390 MYA.  The reef shows Rugosa and Tabulate corals, a spiny trilobite about 18 inches in length and several straight cephalopods.   Coral tentacles (shown in white) are illustrated in feeding mode.  Both Rugosa and Tabulate corals went extinct at the end of the Permian Period.
Rugose corals are often called horn corals because many species have a horn shape.  Horn corals attach to the sea floor by way of a sticky tentacle that protrudes from the base or curved end of the animal.  Other invertebrate animals, such as brachiopods, attached in this position are described as sessile.  The coral animal or “polyp” built its skeleton from calcium carbonate, a mineral formed from Bicarbonate and Calcium ions in seawater.  The polyp tentacles or feeding polyp extend out from the top of the basic body for feeding (Figure 2).  When the animal died, its soft tissues would have decayed and left behind the external hard mineral skeleton that fossilized.  
Netting’s Louisville coral specimens are fossilized in a different way than similar corals from the nearby Falls of the Ohio middle Devonian fossil beds.  His corals are lighter and fragile to the touch, conditions which gave Albert reason to compare Netting’s fossils to similar invertebrate paleontology corals from strata within the Louisville area.  Sometime during or after burial, these horn coral skeletons were replaced by silica or quartz, a process known as silicification. The mineral silica can saturate a column of seawater when the seabed is overwhelmed with a large population of sponges.  Sponge skeletons are composed of silica and when they die silica is added to a column or more of seawater.  Volcanic eruptions eject silica into the atmosphere that eventually settles into the sea.  Again potentially adding higher amounts of silica.  Whatever the cause, Albert believes Netting’s corals were collected from the fossiliferous Middle Devonian age Jeffersonville Limestone, where the “lower foot of a “conglomerate” of reworked silicified Louisville Limestone” of Upper Silurian age is known to occur with silicified coral fossils (Conkin and Conkin, 1972).
Horn and Tabulate corals thrived in shallow seas forming diversified ecological reefs from about the late Silurian Period to the beginning of the Late Devonian epoch. During the Middle Devonian epoch roughly 400 Ma to 390 Ma years ago, reefs formed in central New York, southern Ontario, central Ohio, central Iowa, western Alberta, Canada, western Australia, and in Eifel, Germany.
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Figure 3:  Paleogeographic Map of the Middle Devonian Period – Kentucky is well south of the equator.
Louisville, during the Devonian Period, was centered in the southern hemisphere about 40 degrees south of the equator. Because of plate tectonics, the coral beds of Louisville would travel 5,500 miles over the next 390 million years to their present-day location of 38 degrees north (Figure 3). Today, fossil outcrops in the city limits of Louisville are difficult to find.  
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Figure 4: Graham Netting in his twenties.
When Netting retired as Director of Carnegie Museum of Natural History, he moved to a modest house next to Powdermill Nature Reserve.   A seat was saved for him each Sunday at the reserve’s weekly nature talk.  In 1996, he passed away.  Steve Rogers, Collections Manager for the Section of Birds, recalls sipping fresh lemonade on Netting’s back porch in 1981.   According to Rogers, Netting was reflective and humble.   The fossil collector who became a museum director had a habit of rubbing his chin while listening to someone speak.   When asked about his legacy, Rogers replied, “He was more instrumental in forming Powdermill than anyone.  He had an amazing ability to be a part of a team that got things done.”
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Figure 5: Graham Netting at Retirement in 1975.
As Netting prepared to step down as director in 1975, he said, “These great collections are a natural resource to answer questions about the life of the world.” On a recent day, I saw two children jumping up and down in front of the Glacier Bear diorama in Hall of North American Wildlife on a family visit to the museum.   When one of the children asked, “what’s a diorama?” I thought about Graham Netting, smiled, and encouraged their engagement with the life of the world.
Many thanks to Xianghua Sun, Carnegie Museum Library Manager, Marie Corrado, Carnegie Museum Library Clerk, Stephen Rogers, Collections Manager for the Section of Birds, and John Wenzel, Director of Powdermill Nature Reserve for help researching this post.  
Joann Wilson is an Interpreter in the Education Department at Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Albert Kollar is Collections Manager for the Section of Invertebrate Paleontology. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.
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dweemeister · 3 years
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2020 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (preliminary round)
Yup, it’s back (bullet indentations are not working, so this post will look very ugly on your dashboards)!
Tagging a few folks who have participated before in this annual tradition/folks who I would like to extend an open invitation to (please contact me if you’re interested so I can sort you in a group ASAP... you will also be tagged for the final unless you tell me you are not interested): @birdsongvelvet, @bitch-genius, @dog-of-ulthar, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @loveless422, @lvl9gay, @neverwasastoryofmorewhoa, @phendranaedge, @poncho-honcho, @sayaf, @shadesofhappy, @thethirdman8, @uncoolforelimb, and @wehadfacesthen.
Hello everybody. For my fellow Americans, I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. For the non-Americans reading things, I hope you are doing well, as always! Many things have fallen to the wayside in this unforgettable year. So in hopes of providing some sense of continuity and normalcy, here - as you have agreed to - is the Preliminary Round for 2020's Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). This is the eighth time it has been contested and the seventh consecutive year it has been open to involvement from family, friends, and tumblr followers.
For those new to this, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey") with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category I can think of that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. I consider MOABOS as a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways.
An unspecified number of songs have already advanced to the final round. 24 songs will contest this prelim in two groups - Group A and Group B. In a year when COVID-19 has closed theaters (and which I refused to go to an indoor theater even when they reopened), a year that I did not feel compelled to watch the newest releases on streaming services, there is not a single 2020 entry for 2020's MOABOS. That is, obviously, a MOABOS first - no other MOABOS edition has lacked a shortlisted song from a film released that same calendar year. And as of writing this sentence, I have not seen a single film released in 2020. Despite the lack of 1930s songs, this year's shortlisted songs might be the oldest on average. In other news, this year's field is a modest improvement from the record monolingual field of last year's (which contained only English and two Vietnamese-language entries). 2019's preliminary was the most chaotic we had ever seen, with shocking last-day stumbles and surges from certain songs ("I Dug a Ditch" from Thousands Cheer) that riled up a lot of participants. It's 2020 - will there be a repeat or even more drama at this stage?
INSTRUCTIONS Please rank (#1-12) at least six of your group's songs. Please consider to the best of your ability: how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. I encourage you to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself! The top five songs in each group automatically advance to the final round. I reserve the right to pick 0-2 songs from one or both groups that finished outside the top five in their respective groups to contest the final round.
The deadline for submission is Saturday, December 12 at 11 PM Pacific Time. That is 9 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time. That deadline is also Sunday, December 13 at 1 AM Central Time / 2 AM Eastern Time / 7 AM GMT / 8 AM CET / 9 AM EET. This deadline - as we have seen in the last few years - may be pushed back if there are a large number of people who have not submitted in time. However, I very much do not wish to extend the deadline because the final round is more intensive and usually involves more participants. Tabulation details are in the “read more” below.
Please participate in the group you have been sorted into, if you have not yet been sorted into a group and would like to participate, please contact me. You can access most, not all, of your group’s songs in these YouTube playlists: (Group A) / (Group B). Again, please note that not all of your group's songs are in the playlist for various reasons.
Happy listening. Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies that strike your interest. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):
GROUP A
“Blue Shadows on the Trail”, music and lyrics by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange, Melody Time (1948)
Performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers
This is the introductory song to the final segment of Melody Time. That segment is dedicated to the legend of Pecos Bill, and this atmospheric song leads into the telling of that story.
“Born Free”, music by John Barry, lyrics by Don Black, Born Free (1966)
Performed by Matt Munro
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Original Song
This version with lyrics appears in the end credits. The main theme in the song is introduced in the opening credits and is incorporated extensively in John Barry's score across the film. Born Free, based on the non-fiction book of the same name is about two white Kenyan conservationists who raise an orphaned lion cub and eventually release her into the wild.
“But the World Goes 'Round”, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)
Performed by Liza Minnelli
In this musical, USO singer Francine Evans (Minnelli) has been performing in New York City nightclubs, hoping to someday become a major recording star. This song appears as she is recording that very hit that will propel her to stardom.
“Exsultate Justi”, music and lyrics by John Williams, Empire of the Sun (1987)
Performed by orchestra and chorus under the direction of Williams
Lyrics in Latin
In this historical epic, affluent British school boy Jamie Graham (a young Christian Bale) is living with his parents in Shanghai when the Japanese invade. Jamie is separated from his parents and placed in an internment camp. Soon before the end of WWII, the prisoners are moved elsewhere, but Jamie hides and stays put. This song plays as Jamie bikes around the empty camp and continues to play as he encounters liberating U.S. troops. Jamie is dirty and malnourished when found; one can argue that this song is used ironically. It plays once more over the end credits. "Exsultate Justi" is a variation on a theme John Williams develops over the course of the film and harkens back to Jamie's past, attending Anglican services with parents.
"Farewell to Storyville",  music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)
Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band, Billie Holiday, and company
In New Orleans, the Storyville district was a den of drinking, gambling, jazz, and prostitution. The district was the home to a heavily black populace. The U.S. military, about to establish a Naval base nearby, forces the city to close the district for good. This song is a jazzy dirge to a center of jazz - a musical genre looked down upon by many of the city's upper-class whites due to its ties (real and imagined) to crime.
"Hawaiian Sunset", music and lyrics by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, Blue Hawaii (1961)
Performed by Elvis Presley
In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency - and this includes performing during a luau for tourists. "Hawaiian Sunset" appears as one of the dinner show's numbers.
"Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?", music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Weathering with You (2019, Japan)
Performed by RADWIMPS
Lyrics in Japanese (translation)
Weathering with You is a romantic fantasy anime about a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo, where he meets a girl who can manipulate the weather. It has been inexplicably raining for weeks without interruption in Tokyo, so they form a business to help clear the inclement weather for special events. The melody of this song is heard throughout the film's score. It does not appear with lyrics until late in the film. The song is played under the boy's seemingly impossible attempt to save her from an unwilling human sacrifice.
There is so much plot in this damn film (it's all Makoto Shinkai's fault) - I can't explain the context of the song or this movie in a reasonable amount of space.
“Mad Monster Party”, music by Maury Laws, lyrics by Jules Bass, Mad Monster Party? (1967)
Performed by Ethel Ennis
(opening credits version) / (soundtrack version with no sound effects)
In this Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated film, Baron Boris von Frankenstein (Boris Karloff in his final Frankenstein-related role) has discovered a formula that can destroy matter. Dispatching his bats to send the news, he summons the various members of the Worldwide Organization of Monsters to inform them of his discovery. This song is performed over the film's opening credits and the various introductions for the monsters as they receive their summons.
“My Dream Is Yours”, music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Ralph Blane, My Dream Is Yours (1949)
Initially performed by Doris Day; later reprised by Hal Derwin
Singer Martha Gibson (Day) has abruptly left New York City for Los Angeles to become a star on the radio. In a film where personal sacrifice is central, she stresses over how to bring her son out west with her, the direction of her career, and her tumultuous love life. "My Dream Is Yours" is the song that makes Martha a star, laying out the film's themes in its lyrics. I was unable to find Derwin's reprise, but no matter as the reprise is rather inconsequential.
“Ride the Wild Surf”, music and lyrics by Jan Berry, Brian Wilson, and Roger Christian, Ride the Wild Surf (1964)
Performed by Jan and Dean
Ride the Wild Surf is a surfing film that, unlike most surfing films of this time, is a drama. It follows three surfers (Fabian, Tab Hunter, Peter Brown) who have come to Oahu at the end of December to ride the large waves of Waimea Bay (made famous internationally by this song, this movie, and the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA"). This song appears in the film's closing credits. The video provided is a montage of surfing footage that appears in the film.
“That’ll Do”, music and lyrics by Randy Newman, Babe: Pig in the City (1998)
Performed by Peter Gabriel
Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song
This song begins at the end (and through the end credits) of Babe: Pig in the City, the second and last film in this series about a sheep-herding pig who perseveres amidst other animals and humans with ulterior agendas. The title is derived from the famous quote said by Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) to reassure Babe: "That'll do, pig. That'll do."
“Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Hassen Sitam”, music and lyrics by S.D. Burman, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)
Performed by Geeta Dutt (dubbing Waheeda Rehman)
Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "Time Has Inflicted Such Sweet Cruelty On Us"
Song begins at 1:03:31 and ends at 1:07:51
Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions
In this romantic tragedy told in flashback, Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt) is a director looking back on his life. Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. This song is the most explicit statement of that love in this film. How much of the scene's set-up is observable by the characters is up to the viewer's interpretation.
Group A participants include: @addaellis, @introspectivemeltdown, @memetoilet, @myluckyerror, @plus-low-overthrow, @shootingstarvenator, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, @yellanimal. Seven others - including myself and my sister - are currently slated to be voting in Group A.
GROUP B
“Angela”, music and lyrics by José Feliciano and Janna Merlyn Feliciano, Aaron Loves Angela (1975)
Performed by José Feliciano
(English-language version) / (Spanish single version)
Played over the opening credits to this teenage drama that is partly a blaxploitation film, partly an interracial coming-of-age romance. The movie wasn't a hit, but the Spanish-language version of this song was received well in Latin America.
“Aren’t You Kind of Glad We Did?”, music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim (1947)
Originally performed by Betty Grable and Dick Haymes
(soundtrack version with Judy Garland and Haymes) / (modern arrangement far more faithful to how song sounds in the film)
Cynthia Pilgrim (Grable) is the top typewriting student from a business college in this period piece where the typewriter is the newest invention to sweep the business world. This song appears as Pilgrim and her boss, John Pritchard (Haymes), are about to go out on a date for dinner after talking about how society looks down on women in public without a chaperone.
“The Blues are Brewin’”, music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)
Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band and Billie Holiday
(in-film version) / (Billie Holiday single)
After being evicted by the U.S. military from the historic Storyville district of New Orleans (the Navy had just opened a base in the area, and would not tolerate places of gambling, jazz, and prostitution nearby), the characters played by Armstrong and Holiday tour the country with a jazz band in tow. This song appears within a montage showing the passage of time.
“Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari / Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari”, music by S.D. Burman, lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)
Performed by Mohammad Rafi (dubbing Guru Dutt)
Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "I Have Seen How Deeply Friendship Lies / I Have Seen People Abandon Me One by One"
Part 1 (3:44-8:27) / Part 2 (2:16:29-2:20:42)
Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions
In this romantic tragedy, Suresh Sinha (Dutt) is a washed-up director looking back on his life. In the first part, the song leads into the rest of the film - which is almost entirely a flashback. In brief, Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. Eventually, his career crashes after a box office bomb and her career is ascendant. Leading into the second part of the song, Suresh is penniless and working as an extra at the movie studio. Shanti recognizes him, wants to help, but he refuses to revive his career on the back of her success. Kaagaz Ke Phool has elements of autobiography, and Suresh's fate has parallels with what happened to Dutt after this film was released.
“End Theme from Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades”, music by Eiken Sakurai, lyrics by Kazuko Koike, Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972, Japan)
Performed by Tomisaburo Wakayama
Lyrics in Japanese (translation)
Video provided is not safe for work (NSFW) due to stylized violence
Ogami Ittô (Wakayama) is a former, disgraced executioner for the Tokugawa shogunate who wanders the land with his young son. He is intent on exacting revenge on the clan that murdered his wife. This song is played non-diegetically after Ittô has slain dozens of a corrupt governor's bodyguards and walks onward, pushing his son in a babycart, away from the dead left in his wake. This is the third of six films in the Lone Wolf and Cub series.
"Happy Endings", music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)
Performed by Liza Minnelli and company (that's Jack Haley - who played the Tin Man and was, at the time, Minnelli's father-in-law - roughly seven minutes in)
(use in film) / (soundtrack version)
It is highly recommended one sees how this song is used in the film. Bear with me: this song is part of a movie within a movie. Within that movie within a movie, there is another movie. "Happy Endings" is the title end song to a film called Happy Endings within New York, New York. Singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) has made it big as a recording artist and caps off her hit film, Happy Endings, with this song. We see Francine's ex, played by Robert De Niro, in the audience as the film ends. "Happy Endings" is a homage/deconstruction to midcentury Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) musicals. It serves the film as "The Broadway Melody" does to Singin' in the Rain (1952) or the 17-minute ballet does to conclude An American in Paris (1951).
"Here They Come (From All Over the World)", music and lyrics by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
Performed by Jan and Dean
The link above provides the entire film. You only need to watch from 0:00-4:11. If you like music from this era or want to hear more, this film is highly, highly recommended.
This is the opening credits song to a concert film recorded over two days in Santa Monica, California on October 28 and 29, 1964. The Teenage Awards Music International (T.A.M.I. - yes, I know it's an awkward name) Show included many of the most popular musical stars of that time - almost all of them name-dropped in this song. Jan and Dean, a surf music duo, served as hosts (and performed during) the show. You folks are lucky that this is the only original song from this film!
“Moonlight Swim”, music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee, Blue Hawaii (1961)
Performed by Elvis Presley
In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency. On his first day, he drives his first clients - a school teacher (who not so secretly is attracted to Chad) and four teenagers (one of whom becomes smitten) - to their destination.
“On the Boardwalk (in Atlantic City)”, music by Josef Myrow, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
Performed by Carol Stewart (dubbing for Vera-Ellen), June Haver, and Vivian Blaine
(original soundtrack) / (Dick Haymes single)
In this rarely-seen musical (20th Century Fox wasn't very good at promoting its back catalogue compared to some other studios, and the situation is worse now that they are owned by Disney), three chicken farmer sisters (Vera-Ellen, Haver, and Blaine) decide to travel to Atlantic City in hopes of marrying a rich husband after learning their aunt's inheritance is not nearly as much as they want. They sing this song as they arrive and check into their hotel suite - which they apparently have not looked up the rate for.
Those who listened to the soundtrack version... FYI, $9.25 in 1902 is $280 in 2020.
“Personality”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, Road to Utopia (1946)
Performed by Dorothy Lamour
(in-film performance) / (live radio performance)
In the fourth film of the Road to... comedy series, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's characters have just overpowered two Alaskan thugs with a history of murderous violence. As they enter a saloon dressed up as those two thugs, all of the patrons - in a town that only knows the thugs by reputation - shut up in terror. They are treated to a performance by Sal (Lamour), who is trying to find a map of a gold mine that the real outlaws supposedly have. A visual narrator (Robert Benchley) interrupts the scene before the song briefly.
“Please Don’t Stop Loving Me”, music and lyrics by Joy Byers, Frankie and Johnny (1966)
Performed by Elvis Presley
(in-film performance) / (single version)
Johnny (Elvis) and girlfriend Frankie (Donna Douglas) work on a Mississippi River riverboat as performers. Johnny is addicted to gambling and believes that another woman is spurring on his recent run of good luck. During a fit of jealousy-as-acting, Frankie accidentally shoots Johnny during a bit of musical theater (someone switched out the blanks for real bullets). This song occurs after Johnny has recovered from the accident.
"Wichita", music by Hans Salter, lyrics by Ned Washington, Wichita (1955)
Performed by Tex Ritter
This is the opening title song to this Western. It is one of many Wyatt Earp movies set before the famous Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Earp (Joel McCrea) arrives in an otherwise lawless town of Wichita, Kansas where gunplay is rampant. In a radical move, Earp orders to seize the firearms of anyone living in or entering town - which doesn't sit well with some outlaws. This song is incorporated throughout the film's score.
Group B participants include: @cokwong, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @maximiliani, @thewolfofelectricavenue, and @voicetalentbrendan. Twelve others - including me and my sister - are slated to be voting in Group B.
Contact me however you wish if you have questions or comments regarding MOABOS' processes or something specific about a song or a few. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are having difficulty accessing one of the songs (especially if it is region-locked) or if there is an error in the playlist.
I thank you all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. You will be contacted for the final round regardless of your participation here. If turnout in one group is lagging behind compared to another, I will ask some of the more senior participants to participate in the other group, too. No pressure if you cannot get to this, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Stay safe and socially distanced, everyone.
TABULATION This preliminary round uses a points-based, ranked choice method which has been used since the first time I asked friends, tumblr followers, and family to help out. A respondent’s first choice receives 10 points, the second choice receives 9, the third choice receives 8, etc. The winner is the song that ends up with the most total points. The tabulation method used in this preliminary is used only as a tiebreaker in the final round (more on how the final is tabulated when we get there).
This tiebreaker will look slightly different this year.  
Tiebreakers for above: 1) total points earned; 2) total #1 votes; 3) average placement on my and my sister's ballots; 4) tie declared
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Fic Summary: Steve has always been the type of guy to jump out of an airplane without a parachute and with only the vaguest idea of what awaited for him on the ground. He never let the little things like inexperience and a complete lack of skill derail him before. Why should this endeavor be any different?
Or: Steve insists Tony and he cook together on one of their stay-at-home date nights. Tony remains dubious but humors him. It goes about as well as one would expect.
For the Cap-IronMan Bingo 2019 Round 2 – Food/Cooking and Mealtimes.
Fic Snip:
As with many disasters, it starts with an innocuous suggestion.
“It will be fun,” Steve says as he unpacks the grocery bag onto the counter.
Tony can only stare, incredulous at the man’s self-assurance in this endeavor. “How can it possibly be anything other than highly stressful and potentially fatal?”
Steve raises an eyebrow at that. “Fatal? Really?”
“Yes, fatal. Either we bleed out after stabbing each other or ourselves, cause a lethal explosion, or – baring any prior disasters – the end result is poisonous,” Tony lists off, idly tossing an onion in the air and catching it. “These hands were meant to build weapons of mass destruction, Cap. They were not meant to chop onions.”
“They can do both.”
“Ah ha! So, you admit dinner made by me will be weaponizable and hence unfit for human consumption?”
Really, the kitchen had been more of a suggestion, the stove and double oven just for show. Tony conceptualized it’s presence as another unnecessary but always-included room in a proper home, like a parlor room or the shower in a full bathroom located on a floor with no bedrooms. Logically, he knew other people cooked in their kitchens, but other people also didn’t have his bank account or an AI with the entire NYC restaurant guide downloaded, tabulated, and put on a catering rotation so they never ate the same meal twice in a month, unless it was by special request. The point was the kitchen was just for show. No one was meant to actually use the damn thing.
Steve – his gorgeous, wonderfully-optimistic, all-too-stubborn boyfriend – disagrees.
“If you can read and follow directions, you can cook,” Steve posits, opening a drawer containing the cooking utensils that – once again, and Tony cannot stress this enough – were only for show.
“When have you ever known me to be the type to ‘follow directions?’ In fact, when have you ever ‘followed directions,’ Mr. Steve ‘tried-to-enlist-five-times’ Rogers?”
“Here,” he hands Tony a chef knife. “Aim the sharp edge at what you want to be in smaller pieces and get to it. And try not to cut off your fingers.”
“This is a terrible idea,” Tony reiterates, in case the other man somehow didn’t get the message the first time.
“I believe in you, sweetheart,” Steve beams, and hell, how can Tony deny him when he’s looking at him like that.
“Alright,” he finally acquiesces. “Your blind confidence in my cooking abilities is gravely misplaced, but we can try.”
“That’s all I ask.”
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aliasswali9 · 3 years
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FUFA BIG LEAGUE MD12 WRAP: Kamugisha Scores Hat-trick As Nyamityoboro Return To Winning Ways, Maroons Held By Mbale Heroes
FUFA BIG LEAGUE MD12 WRAP: Kamugisha Scores Hat-trick As Nyamityoboro Return To Winning Ways, Maroons Held By Mbale Heroes
Nyamityobora Football Club returned to their winning ways with a 3-2 win over Kigezi Home Boyz in the Rwenzori Group while Mbale Heroes and Maroons Football Club shared spoils in a 2-2 draw in the Elgon group during the Startimes FUFA BIG League Matvhday 12 encounter played on Saturday evening. Nyamityobora 3-2 Kigezi Home Boyz (Kakyeka stadium). In Rwenzori Group, Nyamityobora FC returned to…
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patriotnewsdaily · 3 years
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New Post has been published on PatriotNewsDaily.com
New Post has been published on https://patriotnewsdaily.com/voters-support-election-integrity-as-dominion-refuses-subpoena-and-doj-makes-threats/
Voters Support Election Integrity as Dominion Refuses Subpoena and DOJ Makes Threats
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The 2020 election is far from over as audit investigations continue to move forward and new questions arise. According to a new bipartisan survey from Rasmussen Reports, a mind bending 90% of American voters are concerned with cheating in the election process, with 74% of American voters supporting having voter ID requirements. The poll found that 61% of American voters actually agree with a statement from Donald Trump that said, “Election reform must happen in swing states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Arizona where voters have lost confidence in their electoral process.” With numbers this high across the entire United States, from Republicans and Democrats alike, it is obvious that the narrative being shown from the network television and mainstream online news media is not supported by the people. Americans want the audits to happen, despite misleading actions from the courts, demonizing rhetoric from certain parts of our government, illegal action of the refusal of evidence from various counties, and the doublespeak of the companies who claim to own the intellectual property of the election process. We must continue to stand up for the truth of the matter, and continue to search for what that actually is no matter how long it takes or how hard it becomes. 
This comes as the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a warning to all states not to pursue their own election audits anywhere or face the potential of violating Federal law. They claim that, under the Civil Rights Act, all voting equipment and records are to be kept by local officials for 22 months after any given election. They claim that to give this information to any auditing team is a violation of this 22 month time frame. While stepping back to think about it at all, it is obvious that this makes no sense and is a blatant misinterpretation of the law itself. 
About the fear mongering announcement from the DOJ, Arizona Representative Mark Finchem, who is now running for Arizona Secretary of State, said, “There’s this little thing called the Constitution. Article 1, section IV, the times, places and manner of holding an election for senators and representatives… it is the legislature that has responsibility for nominating and naming the electors for President. I would advise Merrick Garland and his team of thugs that now occupy the Department of Justice: Tread very lightly.”
Finchem continued, speaking to the Attorney General with the DOJ Merrick Garland that, “You’re going to walk into a very surprising reception if you try to do anything in this state that interferes with legislative authority in handling our elections. Hard stop.” 
Arizona State Senator Wendy Rogers took it a step further, warning Garland that he could find himself in prison if he came to Arizona and tried to take action against the process there. 
In Arizona, Dominion and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors have continually refused to comply with a subpoena from the Arizona State Senate, breaking the law. The order calls for ballot envelopes, images, user names, passwords and security keys for election machines, voter records, routers, router images and splunk logs. Despite the subpoena, none of this has been provided. 
CEO John Poulos of Dominion voting systems says that Dominion is not a public entity and as a private company, “has no obligation to make its records available for public inspection.” This is despite the fact that his company is overseeing a public election, and no matter if public or private should still be held accountable by the laws of our nation. No human, organization or business company is above the laws set in place to protect the people. Here, the company is being helped to ignore a State Senate subpoena. How does this happen in America? 
Dominion and the Board of Supervisors were called to appear at a hearing at the Arizona State Capitol on August 2nd, in which they chose not to even show up to.  
Arizona State Senate Majority Leader Whip Sonny Borrelli has sent a formal request to the Arizona State Attorney General Mark Brnovich to investigate the refusal to comply with the subpoena and the lack of appearing from Dominion and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. Borrelli stated that, “The supervisors are acting as if they are above the law, and it is an insult to the citizens of our state. Enough is enough.”
Borrelli continued to say that, “The level of disrespect and contempt from the Supervisors toward Senate leadership and Arizona voters is appalling. I respectfully announce that the Attorney General investigate this clear violation of the law. Arizonans expect no less.” 
Election audits continue to spread throughout the nation, as other state and county officials continue to increase investigation efforts. In Wisconsin, a special council has been appointed granting additional authority to powers seeking to look into what happened in their election. Both the State Assembly and the State Senate have initiated investigations in Wisconsin. 
Officials continue to refuse to comply with requested audits in Pennsylvania for the moment. A forensic audit of the 2020 election has begun, despite counties’ denial of cooperation. The Senate is planning on issuing subpoenas if refusals continue in the state. 
Speaker of the Georgia House David Ralston has requested an independent forensic probe into the 2020 election in Fulton County. Issues have recently surfaced, written about in previous articles, with both the 2020 election and the previous audit that took place in the area. 
Robb Pitts, the Chairman of Fulton County Board of Commissioners, wants to expand the investigation efforts beyond Fulton County, saying that, “While Fulton County is the largest county and therefore under the most scrutiny, it is also my understanding that other Counties had issues in their elections and finding ballots not included in the initial tabulation. If you are requesting that Fulton County be the subject of such an investigation, then I believe it would only be fair that all counties with issues be subject to investigation.”
Vernon Jones, now running for Governor of Georgia, agrees that all of Georgia’s counties should undergo forensic investigation for the 2020 election. He says, “I am glad to see that Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston and others are finally calling for an investigation into the fraud being uncovered over in Fulton County. But, as I have been screaming from the rooftops for months, we need a forensic audit of all 159 counties in Georgia.”
Finally, with Dominion refusing to share voting data and equipment with the public due to security claims and talk of intellectual property ownership, it is important to note yet another leak that has come out. Ron Watkins leaked several documents shared to him by an alleged Dominion worker whistleblower that potentially reveal that Dominion does have remote access to their equipment during elections. Along with documents, a video has been released to The Gateway Pundit showing that Dominion CEO lied about his technological capability in a former testimony. 
Watkins says, “What I put out is maybe 1%… What I put out is highly focused because it caught the CEO of Dominion in perjury. He said there’s no way these machines can be connected in his Michigan testimony. Well they can be… Technically they can be connected by the administration BIOS.”
Watkins continued, “Something else that concerned me. The fact is the USB’s are enabled on the server. And the checkbox for USB boot is enabled also… That means if you put an operating system on a USB and then you plug it into the machine and turn it on, it’s possible to boot the operating system from the USB and not use the one from the hard drive. So technically you can have two operating systems on one system.”
The validity of the leak is uncertain, but the revelation here to have the capability to access data in real time along with the documents on how to accomplish this potentially show that not only was a lie being told, but that Dominion itself is continuing to hide its own capabilities with the public. Along with the refusal to comply with subpoenas, as well as previous evidence and investigations in the past, everyone should have many questions as to why this is so. 
Investigations into the 2020 election may be slow and difficult, they may face intense backlash and defenses from those who do not wish to see them happen at all, but for the people of this nation these election audits must continue to keep on moving forward. From the looks of things right now, it seems as if that’s exactly what they will be doing across the nation.
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dipulb3 · 3 years
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs restrictive voting bill
New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/florida-gov-ron-desantis-signs-restrictive-voting-bill/
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs restrictive voting bill
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In signing the bill during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” the Florida Republican highlighted provisions of the bill including stricter voter ID requirements for voting by mail, creating limits on who can pick up and return a voter’s ballot, and banning private funding for elections.
“Me signing this bill says: Florida, your vote counts, your vote is going to be cast with integrity and transparency and this is a great place for democracy,” DeSantis said after signing the bill.
Local media outlets told Appradab that they were not allowed to go inside the morning signing event and that it was a Fox News exclusive.
Some of the restrictions created by the bill, Senate Bill 90, also include expanding partisan observation power during ballot tabulation and creating additional restrictions for drop box use.
The new Florida voting law faces immediate legal challenges.
A coalition that includes the League of Women Voters of Florida and the Black Voters Matter Fund announced it had filed a lawsuit within minutes of DeSantis signing the law. It challenges several provisions, including its new restrictions on ballot drop boxes and the prohibition on organizations and volunteers returning ballots on behalf of voters.
A separate lawsuit filed Thursday morning by Common Cause, Florida branches of the NAACP and a disabilities rights group describes the new law as “the latest in a long line of voter suppression laws targeting Florida’s Black voters, Latino voters, and voters with disabilities.”
Last week, after days of contentious debate and last-minute amendments bouncing between chambers, the Florida Republican-controlled state House and Senate came to an agreement and approved SB90 along party-line votes on the eve of the state’s final day of the legislative session.
The bill is part of a Republican-led effort nationwide to restrict voting access at the state level in the wake of record turnout in last November’s elections. A tally by the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University found that 361 bills with provisions that restrict voting had been introduced in 47 states as of March 24.
In the past month, the effort to restrict voting has intensified as state legislatures begin to head into the final months of their respective sessions.
Democrats frequently mentioned the continued public fallout from Georgia’s recent election overhaul bill during debate on the Florida measure, which they called a “revival of Jim Crow in this state.”
“That bill that was passed in the state just north of us sent us a message, and the response to that bill should let us know we should not be doing this,” Democratic state Rep. Michael Grieco said during House debate, pleading, “Please do not Georgia my Florida.”
Florida Republicans, who have repeatedly acknowledged that their state ran a successful and secure 2020 election, said the bill would provide “guardrails” to prevent anyone from “gaming the system” in the future.
“We’ve had voter ID. It works. It’s the right thing to do,” DeSantis said on Fox News last week, adding that the state’s 2020 election was “fair and transparent, and the reforms we have coming will make it even better.”
DeSantis’ signature comes as former President Trump continues to cement his hold on the Republican Party.
On Monday, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, publicly rejected Trump’s most recent false charge that he would’ve won the 2020 election if not for “fraudulent” votes, her latest rebuke of the former president that has put her at odds with many members of her own party.
“The 2020 presidential election was not stolen,” Cheney tweeted on Monday. “Anyone who claims it was is spreading THE BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system.”
Cheney is now facing backlash from her fellow Republicans and is expected to be removed from her leadership position.
Appradab’s Dianne Gallagher, Wesley Bruer, Jade Gordon, Alex Rogers and Manu Raju contributed to this story.
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phgq · 3 years
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Pringle is PH Cup’s Best Player of Conference
#PHnews: Pringle is PH Cup’s Best Player of Conference
MANILA – Barangay Ginebra guard Stanley Pringle has been named the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) for the past Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
On Sunday night, the league announced in a special awarding ceremony that Pringle edged Phoenix Fuel Master counterpart Matthew Wright in the closest BPC race ever.
Pringle garnered a total of 1,640 points, just 62 points ahead of Wright, who had 1,578.
The votes from the PBA Commissioner's Office ultimately decided the BPC race.
The league gave its first-place vote to Pringle, who was sixth in statistical points and second in the player votes, giving him 300 more points.
Wright, however, did not get the nod from the PBA office despite overwhelmingly taking the media vote.
The TNT guard combo of Roger Pogoy and Bobby Ray Parks finished third and fourth in the race with 958 and 876 points, respectively.
Fuel Master Calvin Abueva was fifth with 779 points, while Terrafirma Dyip's CJ Perez finished sixth with 668.
Pringle, Wright, and Abueva headlined the Elite 5 with Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar and TNT's John Paul Erram completing the cast.
Meanwhile, Ginebra center Prince Caperal beat Fuel Master Justin Chua in a much talked about Most Improved Player award race.
Caperal got 2,447 points to top Chua, who got 2,096.
Chua got the overwhelming lead in the media votes, but Caperal was ahead in the player votes.
Like the case of Pringle, the PBA vote became the deciding factor as Caperal got the nod from the league officials over Chua.
On the other hand, Ginebra's Scottie Thompson took home the Sportsmanship Award, beating Perez in yet another tight race.
Thompson's lead in the media and the player votes was more than enough to edge Perez, who got the nod from the PBA Commissioner's Office.
Thompson totaled 2,360 points, while Perez got 2,069.
On the other hand, Aaron Black became the lowest drafted player to be given the top rookie award after he was named the Outstanding Rookie of the Philippine Cup.
The 18th pick of the 2019 regular draft (23rd overall counting the special Gilas Pilipinas Men draft) bested first-round selections Roosevelt Adams, Barkley Ebona, Aris Dionisio, and Arvin Tolentino for the top rookie prize.
The Meralco guard, the son of coach Norman Black, finished with 2,002 points, topping the media votes, while Tolentino, who was tied with Dionisio on top of the player votes, came in second with 1,406.
Ebona ended up third with 1,246, while Dionisio was fifth with exactly 800 points, directly below top regular draft pick Adams, who finished fourth with 1,045.
In the tabulation of the BPC and the Outstanding Rookie awards, 40 percent will come from the statistical points, 30 percent from the media votes, 25 percent from the player votes, and five percent from the league office. (PNA)
***
References:
* Philippine News Agency. "Pringle is PH Cup’s Best Player of Conference." Philippine News Agency. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127665 (accessed January 18, 2021 at 07:18PM UTC+14).
* Philippine News Agency. "Pringle is PH Cup’s Best Player of Conference." Archive Today. https://archive.ph/?run=1&url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1127665 (archived).
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brookstonalmanac · 2 years
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Events 6.16
363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians. 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). 1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies. 1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses. 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor. 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date). 1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza. 1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians. 1760 – French and Indian War: Robert Rogers and his Rangers surprise French held Fort Sainte Thérèse on the Richelieu River near Lake Champlain. The fort is raided and burned. 1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins. 1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis's Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later. 1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company's ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers. 1815 – Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo. 1819 – A major earthquake strikes the Kutch district of western India, killing over 1,543 people and raising a 6 m high, 6 km wide, ridge, extending for at least 80 km, that was known as the Allah Bund ("Dam of God"). 1824 – A meeting at Old Slaughter's coffee house in London leads to the formation of what is now the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). 1836 – The formation of the London Working Men's Association gives rise to the Chartist Movement. 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy. 1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois. 1871 – The Universities Tests Act 1871 allows students to enter the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology). 1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England, kills 183 children. 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park. 1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later. 1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated. 1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east–west navigation of the Northwest Passage. 1904 – Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland. 1904 – Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called "Bloomsday". 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York. 1922 – General election in the Irish Free State: The pro-Treaty Sinn Féin party wins a large majority. 1925 – The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, Artek, is established. 1930 – Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR. 1933 – The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis. 1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français). 1940 – A Communist government is installed in Lithuania. 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls. 1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency. 1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favor of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800. At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces. 1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed. 1961 – While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union. 1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space. 1963 – In an attempt to resolve the Buddhist crisis in South Vietnam, a Joint Communique was signed between President Ngo Dinh Diem and Buddhist leaders. 1972 – The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station. 1976 – Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd. 1977 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates. 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada's former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor. 1989 – Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary. 1997 – Fifty people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M'sila) massacre in Algeria. 2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon. 2002 – Padre Pio is canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco. 2012 – China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module. 2012 – The United States Air Force's robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission. 2013 – A multi-day cloudburst, centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, causes devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami. 2015 – American businessman Donald Trump announces his campaign to run for President of the United States in the upcoming election. 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public. 2019 – Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong's history.
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dweemeister · 3 years
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2020 Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (final round)
(Yet again, tumblr has not fixed bullet indentations. So this post doesn’t look as clean on your dashboards.)
TAGGING (among others): @addaellis, @cokwong, @emilylime5, @halfwaythruthedark, @idontknowmuchaboutmovies, @introspectivemeltdown, @maximiliani, @memetoilet, @monkeysmadeofcheese, @myluckyerror, @plus-low-overthrow, @shootingstarvenator, @themusicmoviesportsguy, @theybecomestories, @umgeschrieben, @underblackwings, @voicetalentbrendan​, @thewolfofelectricavenue, and @yellanimal.
I would also like to tag some followers/previous participants as well who I also would welcome to participate in this final round: @birdsongvelvet​, @bitch-genius​, @dog-of-ulthar​, @loveless422​, @lvl9gay​, @mehetibel​, @phendranaedge​, @poncho-honcho​, @sayaf​, @shadesofhappy​, @thethirdman8​, @uncoolforelimb​, and @wehadfacesthen​. Regardless of whether you were tagged or not, all of my followers can participate if they wish.
Happy Holidays to all! After a fascinating preliminary round, now begins the final round to 2020's Movie Odyssey Award for Best Original Song (MOABOS). This is the eighth time it has been contested and the seventh year it has been open to involvement from family, friends, and tumblr followers. I begin every new year not knowing whether I will be able to share with all of you these songs and the movies they come from around November/December. So on the day that MOABOS becomes viable (usually around mid-year), it's a long stretch of anticipation to this point.
For those who have never participated in this before, my classic movie blog traditionally ends the year by honoring some of the best achievements from movies that I saw for the first time this calendar year (the "Movie Odyssey"; rewatches do not count) with an Oscar-like ceremony. I choose all the nominees and winners from each category, save one: Best Original Song. It is the only category I can think of that does not require you to watch several movies in their entirety. I know some of you wonder why I bother with this quixotic social experiment. But I have always considered it a sort of cinematic-musical thank-you for your moral support in various ways - in the hopes of introducing to all of you films and music you may not have otherwise encountered or sought. A small slice of the 2020 Movie Odyssey, so to speak.
This final will be contested by sixteen songs. As I've mentioned before, for the first time ever, there are no MOABOS entries originating from this year that made the competition - a MOABOS first. I have seen one 2020 film since the prelim (Wolfwalkers... at a drive-in mind you), but this entire final is one of yesteryear. Even without any 1930s songs, this year's final is probably the oldest on average. There are some very recognizable songs that made it straight to the final, bypassing the preliminary; those songs are contained within. Among them, a city anthem and a song that should be a city's anthem. Elsewhere, this is the first final to ever feature two classic Bollywood songs - but no classic Bollywood song has ever cracked the top ten. Elvis has three songs in this final, a MOABOS joint record along with Prince and the Bee Gees (both in 2016). But also appearing in multiple entries are Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli, Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. With five non-English-language songs in the final, this year’s final ties 2017 with the largest contingent of finalists not in the English language.
INSTRUCTIONS Please rank (#1-16) your choices in order. The top ten songs will receive nominations. The tabulation method used in the preliminary round is being used for the final only as the second tiebreaker (the tabulation method that will be used principally for the final - aka "single transferable vote" - is described in the “read more” at the bottom). There is no minimum or maximum amount of songs you can rank, but because of the nature of single transferable vote, it is highly recommended to rank as many songs as possible, rather than only one or two. Those who rank fewer songs run a greater risk of their ballots being discarded in the later rounds of tabulation. Again, this is all described in the “read more”.
Please consider to the best of your ability: how musically interesting the song is (incl. and not limited to musical phrasing and orchestration); its lyrics; context within the film (contextual blurbs provided for every entry for those who haven't seen the films); choreography/dance direction (if applicable); and the song's cultural impact/life outside the film (if applicable, and, in my opinion, least important factor). Imperfections in audio and video quality may not be used against any song. I encourage you to send in comments and reactions with your rankings - it makes the process more enjoyable for you and myself!
The deadline for submission is Thursday, December 31 at 8 PM Pacific Time. That is 6 PM Hawaii/Aleutian Time / 10 PM Central / 11 PM Eastern. That deadline is also Friday, January 1 at 2 AM GMT / 3 AM CET / 4 AM EET. This deadline has been pushed back two consecutive times due to a sizable non-response rate - but I very much do not want to do so again.
I have compiled most of this final round's songs into this YouTube playlist. Please note that neither of Kaagaz Ke Phool’s two songs are contained in the playlist. You will need to access them using their respective links.
Enjoy the music! Feel free to listen as many times as you need, and I hope you discover music and movies you may have never otherwise heard of that you find fascinating. The following is formatted... ("Song title", composer and lyricist, film title):
2020 MOVIE ODYSSEY AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SONG – FINAL ROUND
“Angela”, music and lyrics by José Feliciano and Janna Merlyn Feliciano, Aaron Loves Angela (1975)
Performed by José Feliciano
(English-language version) / (Spanish single version)
Played over the opening credits to this teenage drama that is partly a blaxploitation film, partly an interracial coming-of-age romance. The movie wasn't a hit, but the Spanish-language version of this song was received well in Latin America.
“Blue Shadows on the Trail”, music and lyrics by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange, Melody Time (1948)
Performed by Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers
This is the introductory song to the final segment of Melody Time. That segment is dedicated to the legend of Pecos Bill, and this atmospheric song leads into the telling of that story.
“Can’t Help Falling in Love”, music and lyrics by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss, Blue Hawaii (1961)
Performed by Elvis Presley
(film version) / (single version)
Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has just returned to his home state of Hawai'i after a stint in the Army. Not wanting to work on his father's pineapple plantation (seriously), he rekindles his relationship with his girlfriend, Maile (Joan Blackman). This song is sung as an accompaniment to a music box he gives to Maile's grandmother (Flora Kaai Hayes, a former Hawaiian Territorial Representative to the U.S. House). This song is among Elvis' best-known and most widely-covered.
“Dekhi Zamaane Ki Yaari / Bichhde Sabhi Baari Baari”, music by S.D. Burman, lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)
Performed by Mohammad Rafi (dubbing Guru Dutt)
Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "I Have Seen How Deeply Friendship Lies / I Have Seen People Abandon Me One by One"
Part 1 (3:44-8:27) / Part 2 (2:16:29-2:20:42)
Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions
In this romantic tragedy, Suresh Sinha (Dutt) is a washed-up director looking back on his life. In the first part, the song leads into the rest of the film - which is almost entirely a flashback. In brief, Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. Eventually, his career crashes after a box office bomb and her career is ascendant. Leading into the second part of the song, Suresh is penniless and working as an extra at the movie studio. Shanti recognizes him, wants to help, but he refuses to revive his career on the back of her success. Kaagaz Ke Phool has elements of autobiography, and Suresh's fate has parallels with what happened to Dutt after this film was released.
“(Do You Know What It Means to Miss) New Orleans”, music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)
Initially performed by Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong and his band; reprised by various
(initial film performance) / (Louis Armstrong single version)
Endie (Holiday in her only appearance in a feature film) is a maid to the affluent Smith family, whose matriarch looks down on jazz as a disreputable genre of music. In secret, Endie frequents a gambling and jazz establishment in the historic Storyville district of New Orleans and performs here with Louis Armstrong (playing himself) and others when she gets the chance. The matriarch's daughter (Dorothy Patrick), an classical operatic soprano, is transfixed by this new music she has never heard before.
“ Exsultate Justi”, music and lyrics by John Williams, Empire of the Sun (1987)
Performed by orchestra and chorus under the direction of Williams
Lyrics in Latin
In this historical epic, affluent British school boy Jamie Graham (a young Christian Bale) is living with his parents in Shanghai when the Japanese invade. Jamie is separated from his parents and placed in an internment camp. Soon before the end of WWII, the prisoners are moved elsewhere, but Jamie hides and stays put. This song plays as Jamie bikes around the empty camp and continues to play as he encounters liberating U.S. troops. Jamie is dirty and malnourished when found; one can argue that this song is used ironically. It plays once more over the end credits. "Exsultate Justi" is a variation on a theme John Williams develops over the course of the film and harkens back to Jamie's past, attending Anglican services with parents.
“Farewell to Storyville",  music by Louis Alter, lyrics by Edgar De Lange, New Orleans (1947)
Performed by Louis Armstrong and his band, Billie Holiday, and company
In New Orleans, the Storyville district was a den of drinking, gambling, jazz, and prostitution. The district was the home to a heavily black populace. The U.S. military, about to establish a Naval base nearby, forces the city to close the district for good. This song is a swinging dirge to a center of jazz - a musical genre looked down upon by many of the city's upper-class whites due to its ties (real and imagined) to crime.
“Happy Endings", music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)
Performed by Liza Minnelli and company (that's Jack Haley - who played the Tin Man and was, at the time, Minnelli's father-in-law - roughly seven minutes in)
(use in film) / (soundtrack version)
It is highly recommended one sees how this song is used in the film. Bear with me: this song is part of a movie within a movie. Within that movie within a movie, there is another movie. "Happy Endings" is the title end song to a film called Happy Endings within New York, New York. Singer Francine Evans (Liza Minnelli) has made it big as a recording artist and caps off her hit film, Happy Endings, with this song. We see Francine's ex, played by Robert De Niro, in the audience as the film ends. "Happy Endings" is a homage/deconstruction to midcentury Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) musicals. It serves the film as "The Broadway Melody" does to Singin' in the Rain (1952) or the 17-minute ballet does to conclude An American in Paris (1951).
“Here They Come (From All Over the World)", music and lyrics by P.F. Sloan and Steve Barri, The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
Performed by Jan and Dean
The link above provides the entire film. You only need to watch from 0:00-4:11. If you like music from this era or want to hear more, this film is highly, highly recommended.
This is the opening credits song to a concert film recorded over two days in Santa Monica, California on October 28 and 29, 1964. The Teenage Awards Music International (T.A.M.I. - yes, I know it's an awkward name) Show included many of the most popular musical stars of that time - almost all of them name-dropped in this song. Jan and Dean, a surf music duo, served as hosts (and performed during) the show. You folks are lucky that this is the only original song from this film!
“Is There Still Anything That Love Can Do?", music and lyrics by Yôjirô Noda, Weathering with You (2019, Japan)
Performed by RADWIMPS
Lyrics in Japanese (translation)
Weathering with You is a romantic fantasy anime about a high school boy who runs away from his rural home to Tokyo, where he meets a girl who can manipulate the weather. It has been inexplicably raining for weeks without interruption in Tokyo, so they form a business to help clear the inclement weather for special events. The melody of this song is heard throughout the film's score. It does not appear with lyrics until late in the film. The song is played under the boy's seemingly impossible attempt to save her from an unwilling human sacrifice.
There is so much plot in this damn film (it's all Makoto Shinkai's fault) - I can't explain the context of the song or this movie in a reasonable amount of space.
“Moonlight Swim”, music by Ben Weisman, lyrics by Sylvia Dee, Blue Hawaii (1961)
Performed by Elvis Presley
In a musical packed end-to-end with songs, Chadwick "Chad" Gates (Elvis) has taken a job with a tour guide agency. On his first day, he drives his first clients - a school teacher (who not so secretly is attracted to Chad) and four teenagers (one of whom becomes smitten) - to their destination.
“Personality”, music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke, Road to Utopia (1946)
Performed by Dorothy Lamour
(in-film performance) / (live radio performance)
In the fourth film of the Road to... comedy series, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's characters have just overpowered two Alaskan thugs with a history of murderous violence. As they enter a saloon dressed up as those two thugs, all of the patrons - in a town that only knows the thugs by reputation - shut up in terror. They are treated to a performance by Sal (Lamour), who is trying to find a map of a gold mine that the real outlaws supposedly have. A visual narrator (Robert Benchley) interrupts the scene before the song briefly.
“Please Don’t Stop Loving Me”, music and lyrics by Joy Byers, Frankie and Johnny (1966)
Performed by Elvis Presley
(in-film performance) / (single version)
Johnny (Elvis) and girlfriend Frankie (Donna Douglas) work on a Mississippi River riverboat as performers. Johnny is addicted to gambling and believes that another woman is spurring on his recent run of good luck. During a fit of jealousy-as-acting, Frankie accidentally shoots Johnny during a bit of musical theater (someone switched out the blanks for real bullets). This song occurs after Johnny has recovered from the accident.
“Theme from New York, New York”, music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, New York, New York (1977)
Performed by Liza Minnelli
(in-film performance) / (Frank Sinatra single)
For most of the film, saxophone player Jimmy Doyle (Robert De Niro) is trying to compose a song but cannot figure out the lyrics (this plays out as a subplot). His eventual girlfriend/later ex, Francine Evans (Minnelli) provides said lyrics. Some time well after they have broken up, he finds her singing this song - which he previously brought to the top of the jazz charts - in the nightclub where they first met. This film flopped (musical movies were out of fashion by the mid-'70s, and a musical didn't seem "on brand" for director Martin Scorsese). But the Frank Sinatra single popularized this song, and it has been used in many venues of popular culture.
“Waqt Ne Kiya Kya Haseen Sitam”, music and lyrics by S.D. Burman, Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959, India)
Performed by Geeta Dutt (dubbing Waheeda Rehman)
Lyrics in Hindi - roughly, "Time Has Inflicted Such Sweet Cruelty On Us"
Song begins at 1:03:31 and ends at 1:07:51
Make sure to turn on the video’s English captions
In this romantic tragedy told in flashback, Suresh Sinha (Guru Dutt) is a director looking back on his life. Suresh is unhappily married to a woman whose in-laws look down on him because, to them, working in films is contemptible to their social class. Suresh meets a woman, Shanti (Waheeda Rehman), on accident and she is soon cast as the lead for his next film. They fall in love, but it is never consummated for various reasons. This song is the most explicit statement of that love in this film. How much of the scene's set-up is observable by the characters is up to the viewer's interpretation.
“You Make Me Feel So Young”, music by Josef Myrow, lyrics by Mack Gordon, Three Little Girls in Blue (1946)
Performed by Del Porter (dubbing Charles Smith) and Carol Stewart (dubbing Vera-Ellen)
(use in film) / (Frank Sinatra cover)
In this rarely-seen musical (*insert plea to Disney to restore the massive 20th Century Fox catalogue they now own and are almost certainly neglecting*), three chicken farmer sisters decide to travel to Atlantic City in hopes of marrying a rich husband when they learn their aunt's inheritance is not nearly as much as they want. There, youngest sister Myra (Vera-Ellen) - despite the sisters' original intentions of marrying men of wealth - becomes involved with a waiter named Mike (Charles Smith). They go on a date, and they sing this song. A somewhat overly-literal fantastical dancing sequence ensues, complete with Vera-Ellen's dancing skills. This song was popularized by Frank Sinatra years later and has long enjoyed status as a big band/jazz standard.
Contact me however you wish if you have questions or comments regarding MOABOS' processes or something specific about a song or a few. Please let me know as soon as possible if you are having difficulty accessing one of the songs (especially if it is region-locked) or if there is an error in the playlist.
Once more, I thank you all for your support for the Movie Odyssey, the blog, and for me personally - no matter how long I’ve known you or in what capacity. There are no hard feelings if you cannot get to this, although I will be checking in as the deadlines get close. Please wear a mask. Practice social distancing. We'll see each other again on the other side of this pandemic.
TABULATION The winner is determined by a process distinct from the preliminary round. For the final, the winner is chosen by the process known as single transferable vote (the Academy Awards uses this method to choose a Best Picture winner, visually represented here - you should really watch this video if the below doesn’t make sense… which it probably won’t):
All #1 picks from all voters are tabulated. A song needs more than half of all aggregate votes to win (50% of all votes plus one… i.e. if there are thirty respondents, sixteen #1 votes are needed to win on the first count).
If there is no winner after the first count (as is most likely), the song(s) with the fewest #1 votes or points is/are eliminated. Placement will be determined by the tiebreakers described below. Then, we look at the ballots of those who voted for the most recently-eliminated song(s). Their votes then go to the highest-remaining and non-eliminated song on their ballot.
The process described in step #2 repeats until one song has secured 50% plus one of all votes. We keep eliminating nominees and transfer votes to the highest-ranked, non-eliminated song on each ballot. NOTE: It is possible after several rounds of counting that respondents who did not entirely fill in their ballots will have wasted their votes at the end of the process. For example, if a person voted the second-to-last place song as their #1, ranked no other songs, and the count has exceeded two rounds, their ballot is discarded (lowering the vote threshold needed to win), and they have no say in which song ultimately is the winner.
A song wins when it reaches more than fifty percent of all #1 and re-distributed votes.
Tiebreakers: 1) first song to receive 50% plus one of all #1 and transferred votes; 2) total points earned (this was the first tiebreaker in the preliminary round); 3) total #1 votes; 4) average placement on my ballot and my sister’s ballot; 5) tie declared
Previous years’ results for reference: 2013 final 2014 final (input from family and friends began this year) 2015 final 2016 prelim / final 2017 prelim / final 2018 prelim / final 2019 prelim / final
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cloudhedges · 3 years
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ROGER STONE: How the Democrats Plan to Steal the 2020 Election
ROGER STONE: How the Democrats Plan to Steal the 2020 Election
Roger Stone November 1st 2020, 9:52 am
Democrats engaging in widespread voter fraud, including mail-in voting abuse, illegal ballot harvesting, multiple votes cast by one individual, votes cast in the name of deceased persons, manipulation of computerized voting machine tabulations
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It is now just a few days until America finally renders its fateful choice for President on on Election Day…
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