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A DOCTOR from GERMANY who was recruited to serve a region of Australia without a doctor had applied for permanent residence (after his three-year visa was to expire). But it was denied, due to his son having Down syndrome which was feared to be a burden to Australian taxpayers. But after an outcry from the Australian public, the nation's Immigration Minister overruled his own department, saying "I'm pleased they have chosen to call Australia home."
ART NOTES #1 - an exhibit entitled China's Terracotta Army is at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia through April of 2009.
BECOMING VICE-PRESIDENT will bring the daily commute of Amtrak Joe to an end. However, Senator Biden will certainly press for better funding levels for our national rail network in his new post.
HAPPY TRAILS to the Swedish golfer Annika Sörenstam as she is set to retire after a sterling career (and already inducted into the women's golf Hall of Fame).
FOOD NOTES - for years, the Hilltop Steakhouse - on US Route 1, just north of Boston - has offered excellent meals with large portions at reasonable prices that for years made it the highest-grossing independent restaurant in the nation. It was such a destination spot it was worth the "Smith, party of four" waiting list to get in, I felt.
But the descendants of its founder are now saying that new ownership is reneging on commitments made as part of the sale, and have filed suit to regain them.
WEDNESDAY's CHILDREN are just two of those kept by a woman who is both a New York City dominatrix as well as a ...... cat rescuer - apparently, she's had as many as 30 felines at one time; in the last year she rescued, nursed and put up for adoption about 90 kitties. Of course, the NY Post couldn't resist hoary clichés in telling her story.
The END OF AN ERA may occur in Cambridge, Massachusetts: when the landmark Out of Town News kiosk will no longer sell newspapers and magazines (from around the world) after January. Located just outside the Harvard Square subway station: it is where John Kenneth Galbraith bought a copy of "Le Monde" every day and Julia Child searched for obscure Italian and German cooking magazines.
WHILE IT IS NOT unusual to see a split in a French political party, the close (and somewhat divisive) vote for the Socialist Party leadership was unique in that it involved ............ two women: Martine Aubry and Ségolene Royal.
EACH YEAR the right-wing Claire Booth Luce Institute publishes a calendar featuring photos of the usual conservative female suspects (Coulter, Ingraham, Malkin) as Miss January, Miss February, et al. This year, the affluent organization has a Pretty in Mink theme - seemingly, all that is missing is Sarah Palin.
ART NOTES #2 - a loan from the Biblioteca Reale in Turin of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci is at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, California through January 4th.
IN a PROFILE of MTV Network CEO Judy McGrath - her career there (which began as a copywriter) has seen many changes; she now must make even more to keep the network competitive.
IT IS MOST UNUSUAL for the Washington Times to hire a liberal as a columnist - yet they will now feature country singer Mary Chapin Carpenter on an every-other-week basis.
THE 2008 BAD SEX AWARD in literature was "awarded" to Rachel Johnson with John Updike being given a "lifetime achievement" nod (for having been nominated in four consecutive years).
THIS WEEK'S CARTOON by Tom Tomorrow wonders if the right-wing pundits will be proven correct about our new president?
ART NOTES #3 - a retrospective of the works of Dutch painter Anthony Van Dyck opens in February 2009 at the Tate Britain museum in London.
BUSINESS NOTES - for the first time, the Lionel Train company has produced subway cars (modeled after the NYC subway system).
A FAR-RIGHT POLITICAL PARTY in Italy is offering nearly $2,000 to parents who name their children after Benito Mussolini or his wife Rachele.
HISTORICAL NOTES - while emigration to the US has slowed since: the director of the Swedish Institute notes that during the 1930's, "Every Swede has a cousin in America" and that Stockholm was the only city in the world that contained more Swedes than Chicago.
HARD TIMES have befallen the Mexico City scribes who have traditionally written (or typed) for the benefit of the city's illiterate (not the least of which were love letters). But the rise in mobile phones and other devices have placed them in peril.
SEPARATED at BIRTH - a trio of MSNBC's David Shuster and film stars Pierce Brosnan and the late Heath Ledger.
  
POLITICAL NOTES - the government of Stephen Harper in Canada - like conservatives do elsewhere - present themselves as running a tight ship. Yet their travel expenses (to London, Paris, Geneva and Sydney) are certainly not frugal.
AFTER YEARS of lobbying efforts, it appears that efforts to curb Payday lending practices are now beginning to succeed.
POLITICAL NOTES - it would be a stretch to call him the Barack Obama of Germany. Nonetheless, Cem Ozdemir - the new leader of that nation's Green Party - hopes that his Turkish ancestry is seen only as a part of his service to the nation, not the primary focus.
THEATRE NOTES - upon its premiere in Britain, a reviewer for The Guardian considers Osage County - a searing family drama by Chicago's acclaimed Steppenwolf company - to be the "first great American play of the 21st century".
....... and for a song of the day ........................................ one of a number of "musician's musician" guitarists in American music: the most successful rock n' roll instrumentalist of all time was Duane Eddy who hailed from that rock stronghold of Memphis, Nashville, Detroit ... actually, the upstate New York town of Corning (known for its glass and ceramic works). From the late 1950's to the early 1960's, he helped popularize the guitar as not just an accompanying instrument - nor just a solo vehicle - but as a melody creator all by itself, and an influence for many to follow.
His family relocated to Arizona when he was thirteen, and he received the break he needed when he met the local DJ/producer Lee Hazelwood (who later wrote "These Boots are Made for Walking" for Nancy Sinatra). It was Hazelwood who - upon hearing Eddy on guitar - suggested that he add reverb and concentrate on playing melodies on his lower (bass) strings and - by bending them - emphasize the twang (as opposed to the clean notes jazz players had long focused on, such as Duane's own idol Les Paul). Lee Hazelwood also had a knack for being able to mix Eddy's recordings - such that a big guitar sound came out despite the technical limitations of the day.
His 1958 debut single "Movin' and Groovin'" was an influence on the Beach Boys "Surfin USA" several years later ...
... but it was Rebel Rouser that was his breakout (and later signature song) ...
... and which at this link you can listen to.
Eddy went on to have fifteen Top 40 hits between 1958 and 1963, with his debut album Have 'Twangy' Guitar-Will Travel helping to begin the long transition from singles to albums that accelerated later on.
His highest chart hit Because They're Young reached #4 in 1960.
Duane Eddy had a signature style that was resistant to change - and when the British Invasion took place in 1964, his music seemed dated all of a sudden as he faded from the charts. But he did have two subsequent Top 40 singles: a 1977 country cover of "You Are My Sunshine" (with Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings) and a 1986 remake of his 1960 Peter Gunn Theme that enabled him to become the only instrumentalist to have had Top 10 hit singles in 4 different decades in the UK.
He also recorded an instrumental tribute album to Bob Dylan in 1965 - which Bob thought validated the quality of his music, that he was more than just his lyrics.
But he had a huge influence on musicians to follow: (a) via signature guitars made by both Guild, Gibson and Gretsch, (b) in films (such as "Savage Seven", "Wild Westerners" plus the TV series "Have Gun, Will Travel") and (c) the names of those who cite him as an influence: John Fogerty, George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen, Mark Knopfler and Hank Marvin of The Shadows are just a sample. "Rebel Rouser" was used in the "Forrest Gump" film, and "The Trembler" was used in "Natural Born Killers".
At age 70, Duane Eddy was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 ...
... and the Musicians Hall of Fame earlier this year.
  
Of his versions of songs with lyrics: I most enjoy the 1948 Stan Jones tune (Ghost) Riders in the Sky (fair-use extract below) that Johnny Cash also had success with.
And at this link you can hear Duane Eddy's instrumental version.
An old cowboy went riding out one dark and windy day
Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
When all at once a mighty herd of red eyed cows he saw
A-plowing through the ragged sky and up the cloudy draw
Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
For he saw the Riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry
As the riders loped on by him, he heard one call his name
"If you want to save your soul from Hell, a-riding on our range
Then cowboy: change your ways today or with us you will ride
Trying to catch the Devil's herd, across these endless skies."
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