Happy Feet Friday

Raymond Scott, in my humble opinion, was one of the most interesting bandleaders to emerge in the Swing Era. He was a pianist for the CBS Radio Orchestra, and later became its director. He also headed up a small group – the Raymond Scott Quintet – and subsequently formed a full-sized band. Some of his recordings, particularly those made by the quintet, are considered to be “novelty” tunes, but I believe the novelty is not so much in the music as it is in the titles (e.g., “Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals”). In the 1950s and 60s, he pioneered the development of electronic music, and even patented several audio devices.

Today's selection, “Business Men's Bounce”, highlights Scott's fondness for relatively complex melodies and tight arrangements. Nothing of the novelty here, though: it's a straight swing instrumental, with some nice solos and fine ensemble playing.




Bonus tune! Perhaps Raymond Scott's greatest legacy was his composition of a piece called “Powerhouse”, recorded by his quintette. The tune has two distinct parts, each of which, sometimes together, more frequently independently, were used in scores of Warner Brothers cartoons in the 1940s and 50s. The first part was often used as backdrop music to scenes involving space travel , while the second part, with its pile-driver rhythm and slightly menacing melody, was typically employed for scenes showing factories, assembly lines, Rube-Goldberg-type contraptions – and sometimes to herald the arrival of Spike the bulldog, as he stomped down a sidewalk, all hunched shoulders and scowling face.



And here's a brief selection of scenes from cartoons with this music in the soundtrack.

TGI (Almost) F

Been a hell of a week on the Mueller front. I don't really have anything more to say about him.

And now, for a completely unrelated audio clip from the great Bob Wills.

I figured something like this was going to happen, sooner or later

"Delta passenger mauled by emotional support dog files lawsuit". Think how bad it might have gone had the person been traveling with a support raccoon dog.

H/T: Ace

What now?

Raccoon dogs? You're kidding me.

'Absolutely mad’ raccoon dogs are terrorizing this small English village

What the...Why doesn't some villager just take his shotgun out there and...oh, wait...English village, the article says. Yeah, ok, no shotguns, then. How about a cricket bat?

I confess, I had never heard of these things until now.

Robert Mueller, abusing his authority and flouting the law for 20 years

I linked to a tweet by Sean Davis in the previous post, but here's a lengthier piece by him in The Federalist: "Mueller Just Proved His Entire Operation Was a Political Hit Job that Trampled the Rule of Law".

Assortment

Robert Mueller, weasel to the end. Apparently not relishing the prospect of having to testify before Congress, Mueller has abruptly resigned, and, as his final act, he threw a stink-bomb at the White House, essentially saying that he isn't sure Trump didn't commit a crime. Thus ends a career filled to the brim with incompetence, cronyism, unethical behavior and the countenance of injustice (as detailed on this blog previously; his management of the "collusion" investigation is only the last in a conga line of failure and ruined innocent lives). He should slink away from Washington in shame, but his type doesn't have enough honor to grasp the enormity of his moral failings (Update: Sean Davis's comments are right on the mark).

The FBI's haters.

Roger L. Simon wrestles with some shocking new allegations against MLK.

Again I say, primary this jerk: "Trump-Hating GOP Rep. Justin Amash Fires Off Unhinged Tweetstorm Attacking AG Bill Barr".

Dramatic goings-on in the old country: "TORIES TROUNCED, FARAGE FLYING".

Democrats brought a spork to a knife fight and lost badly; hilarity ensues: "Now that the Russia collusion allegations have evaporated, the long knives are out and President Trump’s antagonists are watching their backs. They have moved from accusing him of treason to pushing revisionist narratives that try to shift the blame for the debunked probe onto others."

He just can't help himself: "Joe Biden Asks For 10-Year-Old Girl’s Address, Tells Her She’s 'Good Looking'" If nothing else, this guy has a terribly deficient level of self-awareness.

Haw!!!


(H/T: 90 Miles from Tyranny)

Another future star of the Democrat Party

Get a load of Rasha Mubarak.

I think the Democrat's calculus is telling them that the time has come when it's more in the party interest than not to throw Israel and the Jews under the bus. It's all about power; it's never really about principles.

Elsewhere among young Democrats: Alexandria Donkey-Chompers, Enemy of the People.

And now, a word from our sponsor

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs for Martha White Corn Meal!

Nah, I don't think I agree with that

Over at Gateway Pundit, blogger Cristina Lalia says that Hillary looks like "an old grandma in a blue muumuu". In other words...



On her worst day, my old Grandma Ada, a lifelong farm wife, never looked that frumpy. I'd say Hillary looks more like a blue whale with measles.

Update: I want to be fair. Since she was shambling along marching in a Memorial Day parade, perhaps she swaddled herself in the old U.S. Navy Jack to show her patriotism...




Update II

R-man thinks there's something fishy going on:



And Veeshir thinks Bill Clinton may be playing a practical joke:

A blue dress with white spots?
Now why does that seem familiar?
I wonder if Bill gave it to her.

I can guess why the lamestream media isn't covering this movement

What I can't figure out is why it isn't being treated like a five-alarm fire by conservatives and supporters of republican government: "DEMOCRATS’ NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE SCHEME".

You know this is coming

"Demanding To Know Why He Allowed President Trump To Get Elected, Dems Subpoena God".

Dear Leader Trump

Stephen Green at Instapundit pokes fun at Dana Milbank's (typically leftist) hysterical overreaction to Trump's rhetoric.

In Memoriam

Our deepest gratitude to those warriors who gave everything in answering the call of duty.

Here's the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club singing "Eternal Father".

Congratulations to Legal Insurrection and cartoonist Tony Branco!

President (and trollmeister) Donald Trump tweeted one of Tony's cartoons, and succeeded, once again, in getting under the thin skin of crabby, as well as felonious, former intel poo-bah John Brennan.

Here's the offending cartoon, as seen at Legal Insurrection:

Sunday funnies

Cause and effect?










Combine a wild imagination with the most deadpan delivery on record, and you've got the comedy routine of Steven Wright (H/T: friend and commenter Rinardman)




You can't beat a dog at this game (H/T: David Thompson).


One of my favorite recurring bits on the Andy Griffith Show involved Andy slipping quietly into the courthouse and catching Barney on the phone exchanging sweet nothings with Juanita down at the diner. Here's an example.




Here's another scene, for good measure.




This week's t-shirt (via: Bad Idea T-Shirts)

First gardenia flower of the season

No human compost was used in growing this plant.

Yeah, that does seem a little unfair

The Re-reconquista

I guess patience pays off; looks like the Muslims are gradually taking over Spain, again.

Bravo!

I've been advocating for this kind of thing for years - although some government employees are so enamored of living in the D.C. area, they'd rather quit (let 'em): "USDA staffers quit en masse as Trump administration eyes moving offices out of DC".

Happy Feet Friday

Dizzy Gillespie and friends, with a recording of "Good Bait" (1945). In addition to Gillespie, personnel include Trummy Young on trombone, Don Byas on tenor sax, Clyde Hart on piano, Oscar Pettiford on bass and Irv Kluger on drums.




Bonus item! Dizzy Gillespie played with Cab Calloway for a couple of years beginning in 1939, but the two never got along. Tensions mounted and finally came to a head, resulting in a violent encounter, prompted by...an errant spitball. Calloway's bassist at the time, Milt Hinton, witnessed the whole incident and relates it here.

Wow, Paco, your gardenias look fabulous! What's your secret?

I'll never tell!

Let the fingering of collars and mopping of brows commence

Kevin Brock at The Hill: "Attorney General Barr puts former intel bosses on notice".

Deep dive into Australia's election results

Arthur Chrenkoff has some interesting observations.

Update

Wow! I didn't know Australia was the country that pioneered the secret ballot. On the other hand, Australia also pioneered Vegemite.

Some of Rep. Ilhan Omar's constituents get frisky

Loose immigration laws represent the suicidal side of virtue signaling: "When you insist on importing Mogadishu, you end up living there."

Yep, you can't fight logic

And now, a word from our sponsor

Better have your campaign manager check the algorithm

Lol! I got a fund-raising email from the Kamala Harris campaign. Talk about the impossible dream.

So, are those dress overalls?

The sidebar at Ace's has a link to a photo revealing Rep. Nadler's Gothic dimensions. I haven't seen pants hitched that far up since Cab Calloway's day.




He makes Sydney Greenstreet look like Jimmy Stewart...

Smash Amash

Looks like somebody else already got that idea: "JUSTIN AMASH GETS PRIMARY CHALLENGER AFTER IMPEACHMENT STAND".

Sunday funnies

So, which came first, the chicken or the egg...um, or the puppy?




Don't you hate to be an introvert among extroverts?

Gorillas don't much like getting caught in the rain, either.




S-o-o-o...you're saying I should give up, right?




Of course, without the fence, it might be more like "lunch time!"


From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

Meanwhile, in Australia...

Labor loses an unlosable election.

Apparently, a majority of voters don't find climate change as urgent as the Labor Party does. Although, I am sure there's more going on here. I leave it to our on-site reporters to give us the lowdown.

Guy who couldn't get a sandwich named after himself proposes renaming things honoring Thomas Jefferson

"Pete Buttigieg Says President Thomas Jefferson is ‘Problematic’ – Endorses Renaming Things That Were Named After Him".

This a$$hole

Rep. Justin Amash, Vichy Republican from Michigan, has called for President Trump to be impeached.

Thanks, dickweed. Like we don't already have enough hyper-partisan Democrats bawling for the same thing.

Update: Guy's supposedly a "libertarian" Republican. I'm trying to remember the last time some libertarian's grandstanding did anything but benefit the Democrat Party.

Grumpy Cat, RIP

Dead, at the age of 7.

This is the beach I go to

Or used to, anyway.

Note: That's a link to a Fox affiliate, not the corporate web site, so we'll see if it holds up.

Open borders

What a boon to our society! "Man in country illegally charged with 11 murders in Texas".

This part sounds particularly appalling: "Police said then that investigators were reviewing about 750 unattended deaths of elderly women for possible links."

Well, what's a few hundred dead old gals compared to the benefits of the bigger picture: cheap labor and more Democrat votes?

Happy Feet Friday

Spade Cooley and the boys perform "Oklahoma Stomp", featuring the great Earl James "Joaquin" Murphey on steel guitar (1946).

Awesome realism

One of the things about the movie The Highwaymen I liked best was seeing the variety of weapons in the "armory" of agents Frank Hamer and Manny Gault as they began their pursuit of Bonnie and Clyde. Here's an interesting article on the subject at Ballistic Magazine underscoring the accuracy of the movie in this regard. The article very helpfully includes an embedded video which portrays "the most epic gun purchase of all-time". I've taken the liberty of embedding it here, too.



Update

I didn't have any familiarity with the Colt Monitor, so I looked it up on YouTube. Here's Ian McCollum at Forgotten Weapons, who will tell you all about it.

Assortment

What's old is new again. Victor Davis Hanson discusses The Satyricon, a fragmentary Latin novel that describes a world much like today's.

With this many worms turning at once, we might just see some fertile investigatory soil as a result: "Disgraced ex-FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director turned anti-Trump activist John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence and Trump critic James Clapper are the subjects of a dispute over which top Obama administration officials advocated for the infamous Steele dossier to be utilized as evidence in the Russia collusion investigation." More from Rush Limbaugh, here, and on the new investigator, John Durham's, previous run-in with Robert Mueller, here.

I'm sure he was "just kidding". James Comey: "I’d moved from Communist to whatever I am now".

"Is Buying A Gun Problematic Behavior?" Enh. Could be, if you try to take 'em away.



Haw! It looks like Governor Ralph "Coonman" Northam will never live this down.

Here's another little tribute to the memory of Doris Day. It's a clip from the delightful 1949 musical comedy, It's a Great Feeling, also starring Dennis Morgan and Jack Carson. The plot (such as it is) involves Morgan and Carson trying to get backing for a movie featuring their discovery, Doris Day. At one point, they try to pass her off as a French singing sensation. The scene below highlights both Ms. Day's singing and comic talents.

Tim Conway, RIP

Legendary comic Tim Conway has died at age 85.

Here is the complete "Dentist" skit from the Carol Burnett Show, with Tim and Harvey Korman.

Can't seem to shake the feeling that I got out of Washington just in time

"Violence, Chaos Reign on DC Metro..."

In retrospect, it seems almost miraculous that I never encountered this kind of difficulty on the Metro. Oh, there were plenty of other difficulties - trains with no a/c in the summer, engine breakdowns, long station closures for repairs - but no teenage mob stuff.

Glad, so glad, to be out of there.

And now, a word from our sponsor

Oh, I'm liking this

"The man who nailed the FBI agents who helped mobster Whitey Bulger is heading the investigation of the origin of Obama's unconstitutional spying on Donald John Trump."

Bill De Blasio, logician

There has been an increase in attacks against Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn, mostly by black people. Mayor De Blasio, turning his deluxe-quality thought-box to the issue, immediately nailed the cause: white supremacy. Oh, and Trump, of course.

Prick. Mind like a steel colander.

The cabal is turning inward

In fact, the players in the coup attempt are starting to resemble a terrarium with an overpopulation of hamsters; soon, they'll no doubt begin eating their young: "Rosenstein: Comey ‘Seems to Be Acting as a Partisan Pundit’".

Democrats don't just support abortion

For some reason, they positively love it. This state representative loves it so much, he's perfectly willing to make a jackass out of himself to prove it: "Alabama Democratic lawmaker says ‘retarded’ Trump son is a good argument for abortion".

Yeah, that was definitely intended for me

I've always been aware of the national insignia on military aircraft, but couldn't have told you five minutes ago they're called "roundels". Here's an informative and amusing article on the roundels of the world.

Doris Day, RIP

Singer and actress Doris Day has passed away at the age of 97.

Here she is from 1944, with Les Brown's band, singing "Sentimental Journey".

When you're filled with hate, you get to a point where you can't help yourself even if you want to

And Louis Farrakhan definitely doesn't want to: "Farrakhan calls Jews ‘satanic’ after denying he is anti-Semitic".

Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the Muslim sisterhood makes a bizarre claim: "Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., has made yet another shocking and historically ignorant claim: That thinking about the Holocaust gives her a 'calming feeling' because her Palestinian ancestors provided a 'safe haven' for Jewish victims of the tragedy."

What if I said that the thought of Godfrey sacking Jerusalem in the First Crusade gave me a "calming feeling"? Just sayin'...

God bless the souls of these brave men

"Two French Commandos Die Rescuing Hostages Held in Burkina Faso".

Update: Original link was defective; it has now been fixed.

Happy Mother's Day!

Lets us remember to be grateful for our mothers' firm but tender guidance, their strength in adversity, their courage and sacrifice.

Update

Here's a nice tribute by Jimmy Dean (H/T: Friend and commenter Deborah)

Sunday funnies

Justin Wilson and the twin horses (to me, the appeal of this joke is primarily in the extravagant idiosyncrasy of the grammar and the exotic accent of the Cajun patois, which has always been music to my ears).




Don't try this at home. Oops, too late.

I love Jackie Vernon's deadpan comedy. Here's a sample from way back...




From Powerline's "The Week in Pictures".

New York Times, how do I despise thee...

...let me count the ways.

One thing I hate is the dangerous playing with racial fire, automatically making excuses for representatives of favored minority groups no matter what the facts, and trying to shoehorn events into the standard narrative of white oppression Jack Dunphy takes the red gray lady to task over its reporting of the trial and conviction of former police officer Mohamed Noor in Minneapolis.

Wrist-breakers

When you don't just want to be able to knock down a grisly, but want to vaporize him, as well.



.41 Magnum's about the most I can handle these days, and I have to wear shooting gloves for cartridges of 210 gr. or more.

This looks promising

"Pence: Admin Will Seek to End District Courts’ Nationwide Injunctions".

This, plus an overhaul of the legal status of tech communication giants, would go a long way toward eliminating two of the Left's favorite end-runs around orderly governance and individual liberty.

I think we're getting closer to the day when virtue-signaling will become utterly pointless, because the concept of virtue itself will have become conspicuously irrelevant

"Pelosi Gives Congressional Opening Prayer Duties to Anti-Semitic Imam who Compared Jews to Nazis".

Happy Feet Friday

Erskine Hawkins brings the sophisticated swing, with "Drifting Along", from 1945. The instrumental piece features solos by the estimable trumpet man Mr. Hawkins - billed as the "20th Century Gabriel" - and by Julian Dash, who plays some smooth tenor sax.





Bonus tune! Julian Dash played for Hawkins throughout the 1940s. By the early 1950s, he had started doing studio recordings with small groups, including his own septet. Here's a number called "Creamin' Boogie".

The right to bear arms

It knows no color bar nor gender barrier.

Primary the idiot

There are too many spineless RINOs out there who absolutely cannot resist the urge to engage in virtue-signaling and moral posturing. I am embarrassed to admit that one of my own Senators, Richard Burr, is one such. Today he issued a subpoena to Donald Trump, Jr. to appear before his so-called "Intelligence" Committee to testify, one more time, about Russian collusion - this, in spite of the fact that even Cocaine Mitch has declared that the Russian collusion investigation is over and done with.

Assortment

Paul Joseph Watson gets banned from Facebook and takes the opportunity to explain how conservatives (all fair-minded people, actually) need to rally against the arrogation of power by tech magnates and stop their war against the freedom of speech.

Another great reason to support Joe Biden for president: he wants to raise your taxes.

No reason he can't be both: "Mueller was either incompetent or a political hack".

An important "Duh" update from Alexandria Donkey Chompers.

So, maybe 50 years from now we'll have most of the details on the Deep State coup attempt? "50 Years Later, ABC 'Uncovers' 'Little-Known Story of Mary Jo Kopechne'".



I'd like to see supporting evidence, if you don't mind.

Wouldn't have worked, anyway, I'm thinking: "No, Australian soldiers aren’t banned from using slang around US Marines".

Reviving those lost skills: "How to Make Your Own Bacon".

Rare occurrence

One thing I love about baseball is the crazy stats and odd records that are maintained over a very long period. For example, in a game yesterday between the SF Giants and the Cincinnati Reds, Giant Pablo Sandoval became the first player in 114 years to hit a home run, steal a base and pitch a scoreless inning all in the same game.

Seriously, I think Comey's losing it

In a short opinion piece published in The Hill, former Assistant Director of Intelligence for the FBI Kevin Brock suggests that James Comey really does have some things he needs to worry about, from a legal perspective. I'd submit he's got plenty to worry about from the mental health perspective, too; for example, Brock quotes this strange comment from Comey: President Trump "eats your soul in small bites.”

An incredibly odd individual. I think maybe he's been watching too many old Robert De Niro flicks...

Words of wisdom

Via 90 Miles from Tyranny.

Update
This lawyer acquired some valuable wisdom the hard way: "The Left is a mindless, heartless, bloodthirsty mob marching in lockstep, out to destroy anyone who doubts its uncompromising and ever-changing orthodoxy. It must be stopped at all costs."

And now, a word from our sponsor

Oh, and people concerned about the power of government and the totalitarian temptation; you left them out

"Booker: Only Gun Runners, Criminals, Gun Manufacturers Should Be Concerned with Gun Registration".

"We know it works”.

We know it, too, you progressive tool. It works very well, indeed.



Meanwhile...

Meh. Neither were you, Pete.

"Democrat Hopeful Pete Buttgag [sic]: 'America Was Never As Great As Advertised.'"

A consummation devoutly to be wished

Victor Davis Hanson takes a look at "The Fright of James Comey".

What a bright day in America's history if this should turn out to be so:

The only remaining mystery of this entire sordid mess is how the rotten onion will be peeled away. When indictments come down, will the likes of Fusion GPS co-founder Glenn Simpson or James Baker or Bruce and Nellie Ohr be leveraged to inform on the likes of the Brennan, Clapper, Comey, and McCabe high stratum—that in turn will provide clarity about still higher officials to learn what Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Loretta Lynch, Susan Rice, Samantha Power, and Sally Yates knew and when they knew it?

As to Comey, what a truly bizarre, mentally unstable specimen he turned out to be. Of course, in his defense, he is extremely tall. Maybe the air up there is too thin to provide his brain with sufficient oxygen.

Translation: we can't beat Trump in a fair election, so we'll beat him with skullduggery

Rep. Al Green, who appears to be vying with Maxine Waters for the title of Most Vicious Dumbass in Congress, says, "if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected."

So what if he gets reelected? Democracy doesn't mean your side always gets what it wants. And hysterical charges against Trump being a potential dictator are very obviously projection on the part of the Left.

I guess I've now seen it all

First disqualification for interference in Kentucky Derby history.

Sunday funnies

Man, this vaping thing is really catching on...



That man! Latrine duty for a month!



Oh, my, you're so strong!


An ill wind is blowing through Australia's justice system (this, and the previous item, courtesy of David Thompson).


Bill Murray plays Rodney Dangerfield's psychiatrist.



George Wallace returns to Montreal.

Guardedly optimistic (for now)

I guess the parenthetical "for now" is redundant (implied because the optimism is guarded). Anyhow, I am glad to see the defenders of the normal standing up to the tyranny of the Left, and have watched with pride how A.G. Barr scoffs at the yapping of Democrat jackals.

I've no idea whether we are experiencing a mere moment or the beginning of a new era, but I intend to enjoy it while it lasts.

Amazing

I'm still learning things about President Jughead McHopeypants that make him even more despicable than he was previously.

None dare call it spying

LOL! Actually, just about everybody with a basic knowledge of the English language knows that this was spying, but the Democrats and their media Janissaries - plus many Obama-era intelligence community operatives - obviously have reasons for disputing the use of that word.

Additional info on Democrat spying inadvertent glimpsing here.

Just what we needed

Another politician who is both hyper-partisan and moronic.

Crazy Mazie isn't alone, of course, in meeting these two qualifications, but she really stands out this week because of her vile tirade against AG Barr.

Happy Feet Friday

Here's the Will Bradley/Ray McKinley band with a jumpin' little rug-cutter entitled "Call Me a Taxi". The gravel-voiced gent singing the lyrics is co-leader Ray McKinley, who went on to become drummer and vocalist for Glenn Miller's Army Air force band. After the war, he headed up his own group for several years. In 1956, he became the leader of the revived Glenn Miller orchestra and led it until 1966.

Amen, brother!

U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr: "The job of the justice department is now over ... the report is now in the hands of the American people. Everyone can decide for themselves, there's an election in 18 months, we're out of it, we have to stop using the DOJ as a political weapon."

Whatever happened to "niemals vergessen"?

"AN EPIDEMIC OF JEW HATRED ON CAMPUS".

Still not 100% reliable...

...but then, who is? I'm liking Lindsey Graham 2.0.

Is that the Titanic departing on its maiden (and final) voyage?

Or is it the Democratic Party shoving off to meet its fate in 2020? Both things just look so similar.

May Day belongs to everybody

Including those like Louisiana Red, who had their own dreams for Communism...



Update: Here's another anti-communist tune, courtesy of Arthur Smith and his Crackerjacks (who had a TV show I remember seeing back in the early 60s).




Update II: And now for a more serious look at the failure of socialism from Glenn Reynolds.

I assume that's a rhetorical question

"Why Are Clapper and Brennan Not in Jail?"

It is not utterly outside the range of the possible that one or both of these dishonorable wretches may one day wind up in jail, but the protections that the ruling class provides for its members are numerous and powerful; therefore, I shall keep a good thought, but shall not be surprised if one of both die peacefully in their beds after many more years of being completely at large.