During his stint in professional basketball, Monta Ellis was a prolific scorer, once averaging better than 25 points per game. As a high school player, he once tallied 72 points in a single game. But what really made the guard stand out were his fearless, improbable, balletic forays to the hoop. Incredibly creative and hang-in-the-air-ish.
1971 was the year everything changed in the music world, as Don McLean’s epic composition American Pie was to shortly ascend to the summit of the charts. The longest song to achieve #1 Billboard status, it was steeped in symbolism and mysterious goings-on that enlarged the canvas for what was felt to be possible in popular music. Oh, and McLean was a formidable vocalist and performer, to boot.
Others have taken a swing at the iconic piece, most notably Madonna in 2000. This version is surprisingly strong, but lacks the sweep and power of the McLean iterations. The song remains a landmark to this day.
It is fair to say that a major theme in the song is the loss of innocence. It is also fair to say that there would appear to be a lot more going on than just that. And, finally, the tone of the song lends it more of a heroic than tragic quality.
The indomitable Roland Kirk was simply an unstoppable force of nature. Being a virtuoso on tenor sax and flute was simply not enough for this man; he was irresistibly compelled in the direction of “more”. He not only invented instruments; he often played several of them simultaneously. Blindness couldn’t stop or slow him, nor could a major stroke. A truly inspirational jazz titan.
The magisterial wonder of Lionel Messi.
Sparky, a supreme being of dogdom.
{Note: This post revised—a great deal—on 7/20/2019}{and yet more 7/22/2019}
Some choice, iconic moments and images from the television series, The X-Files.
Also, don’t miss the brilliant X-Files posts over at our Founding Father site, Bideodromage.
