early September, 2005
- While Bodies Rot, Bush Couldn't Care Less
By Mark Drolette
(Scoop, September 5 2005)
As the unmitigated horror in New Orleans and environs unfolds and the type of immediate, massive government assistance that was needed from the earliest moments of Katrina's landfall Monday scandalously and unforgivably fails to materialize, it is impossible to miss how America's creeping third-world status has been given a mammoth storm surge of a push forward, abetted oh-so miserably well by George W. Bush's characteristically compassionless comportment.
As corpses decompose and diseases incubate, millions of us scream, "Where's Bush?" ... Having a country's "leader" go AWOL when tens of thousands of its citizens are in immediate distress and danger is, dare I say it, not the hallmark of a civilized nation. For those who mindlessly crow that "America is the greatest country in the world," take a good, hard, mortifying look at who is heading it -- straight into a living hell. Your main man -- ... -- is less help right now than even Elvis to those in Katrina's wake since Bush hasn't even entered the building. ...
- Nurse's quick thinking helps save hundreds at hospital
By BRETT DOWNER
(AMERICAN PRESS, September 4 2005)
Left to their own wits when federal response failed her, a hospital nurse in New Orleans and her colleagues helped hundreds of patients to safety, then managed to get out of the ruined city themselves - by riding in a stolen boat, a police van and a crammed westbound ambulance. The nurse, Laurie Herrmann, ended up in a Lake Charles hotel room. On Saturday morning, she led a local caravan to the Baton Rouge port, where she helped unload supplies from Lake Charles merchants onto a relief barge that was headed toward the still-suffering people of Chalmette. Today, what means most to Herrmann in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is knowing - finally - that her husband, Mike, a law enforcement officer in St. Bernard Parish, is alive. He is assisting with rescue efforts there.
Herrmann rode out the hurricane at Memorial Medical Center with the patients. During the hurricane, she slept in the hallway alongside her hound dog, Elvis, who would growl when a stranger approached. She stayed away from windows to avoid the risk of shattered glass. Afterward, "we had to stay from windows because we might get shot," she said. ...
- The terror domes: Sports palaces play role in American tragedy
By MICHAEL O'KEEFFE
(New York Daily News, September 4 2005)
When Randy Ruiz was growing up in New Orleans, one of his favorite summer pastimes was traveling 350 miles west to visit his cousin Roscoe and see the Astros play in the [Houston] Astrodome, the massive domed sports palace that was once known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. But as he sat shirtless on a cot on a concourse Friday with some friends, his body flecked with dry mud, his face grizzled and tired, he couldn't remember any of the highlights of those games. He couldn't remember who won, who lost, who homered, who struck out. "Sorry," the 23-year-old truck driver says, running his hands through his dirty hair. "I can't get the bodies floating in the water out of my mind. I've even been dreaming about 'em."
Ruiz is one of the hundreds of thousands of New Orleans-area residents who were displaced last week by Hurricane Katrina and among the 15,000 bused to Houston, where authorities turned the Astrodome - which has mostly sat idle since the Astros moved to Minute Maid Park in 2000 - into the world's largest homeless shelter. The stadium where the Mets scratched out a 16-inning victory to advance to the 1986 World Series, where Elvis and Evel Knievel once thrilled huge crowds, where Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes," was filled last week with 15,000 poor, filthy, frightened people. ...
- Paperwork Greets Evacuees at Fort Chaffee
(Yahoo! News, September 4 2005)
After arriving in Arkansas weary and hungry, thousands of people driven from their homes by Hurricane Katrina faced one more task before they could rest - filling out paperwork. Marion Landry, 84, held onto her younger sister's walker as the bedraggled pair went through the required registration at Fort Chaffee, when what they really wanted was a shower. "I've worn the same set of clothes for three days," said Fay Roberts, 81. "My hair is sweaty. I don't look like this. Normally I'm very nice." At the old Army post where Elvis Presley entered the military in 1958, emergency workers turned a building into a processing center where buses swiftly unloaded evacuees. Inside, the Social Security Administration, American Red Cross, doctors and the Postal Service set up tables. The Salvation Army handed out cookies and water to the evacuees, who listened to a brief orientation speech and handed over their belongings to be searched. ...
- Picking Up the Pieces of Shattered Lives in Southern Mississippi
By Sally Jenkins
(Washington Post, September 4 2005)
Everywhere you look, there is something wrecked or someone crushed. An oysterman sleeps in a tent in a Kmart parking lot. A senator's daughter digs through rubble like a scavenger, and finds her childhood bed in a strange street. An Elvis impersonator's wig lies caught in a box hedge. ...
- Immortal New Orleans: In Film, the Crescent City Is a Star
By Stephen Hunter
(Washington Post, September 3 2005)
Down there at the edge of the continent, lodged on melty, unsubstantial land, lush and Frenchy, all undulacious with the cascades of flesh and the jewellike glisten of a sweat track down a dancing gal's downy back, tropical, fragrant, voodoo-y New Orleans, at least in certain imaginations, isn't a city but a joint, a joint where anything is possible. That's why most folks went, and that's why the moviemakers went. ... Another star who got maybe his best shot in the Big Easy was Elvis in "King Creole" in 1958. This was about the only time he worked for a decent director (Michael Curtiz; remember his little ditty called "Casablanca"?). It was also one of the few times Elvis made a decent movie, because Curtiz fills it with energy and the plot, from Harold Robbins's "A Stone for Danny Fisher") whirls it along. Great songs too. Sad, because when you see it, you think what might have been if Elvis had gotten a few breaks in his Hollywood years. ... Is this all gone now? Please no. The movies themselves make it a great town, a treasure of American pop culture, ...
- The Main Ingredient - Clamming up: Fresh clams are easy to prepare if you know the basics
By Robert J. Byers and Tara Tuckwiller
(Sunday Gazette-Mail, September 4 2005)
IT'S amazing how a certain bivalve mollusk has burrowed its way into our society. You can wear clam diggers or be happy as clam, or you can just clam up. You can fork over way too many clams for an exorbitant dinner out, or you can just curl up on the couch with a clamshell box full of takeout and watch that old Elvis stinker "Clambake" on the tube. Then again, you could bring home a dozen fresh clams from the market and make a gourmet dinner in less than an hour. This being a food column and all, we'll focus on the latter. ...
- Fewer visitors but bigger spending
By EMILY LE COZ
(Daily Journal, September 4 2005)
... Soaring gas prices dropped attendance at popular Northeast Mississippi attractions this year but not enough for industry insiders to term the summer tourism season a bust. ... For most cities and counties that collect it, the 1-2 percent tourism tax levied on hotel and restaurant sales increased this summer. ... Ticket sales for Tupelo's eighth annual Elvis Presley Festival in June, for example, outpaced the previous sales record by 2,500. Attendance also increased at the state's biggest tourism attraction, the Elvis Presley Birthplace and Museum, where an additional 750 visitors toured the Tupelo site this summer over last summer. ...
- King still draws 'em from near and far
(Whitehaven Appeal, September 4 2005)
Every August, loyal Elvis fans of all ages, races and genders from around the globe flock to Whitehaven during Elvis Week, a commemoration of the music, magic and memories associated with the legacy of former Whitehaven resident Elvis Presley. As always, this year's commemoration was a full week of music, dance, sports, social and charitable events, all in an atmosphere of international friendship and camaraderie. While not many locals come out, most fans say it feels like a huge family reunion they all look forward to each year.
- Martha, surgery not bee's knees; Elvis is
By Ron Meyer
(Benton Courier, September 2 2005)
I spent a lot of time watching the developing story of Hurricane Katrina and even more of the horrific aftermath. I really have a soft spot for these people having gone through a Mother Nature tantrum ourselves eight years ago, but the devastation I see on the tube is more than we ever experienced in the tornado of '97. I saw where the antebellum homes we drove by and looked at in Biloxi last year are just not there anymore. I hope the Jefferson Davis home was spared, but I do not know.
... ELVIS .. Enjoyed Lynda Hollen-beck's take on her youthful and present appreciation of Elvis Presley. I, too, am an Elvis fan and have been since 1954. I was a pretty bad banjo player back then, with a resonating tin ear, but I sure liked to whack that old instrument. I would take the bus down to Robinson Auditorium every Saturday night to the Barnyard Frolics. I didn't play for any group, but just stood around waiting for them to ask me to accompany someone with my clanging. If they requested your services, it meant $5 in your pocket. There was always a final song and they would let me whack a few chords in the finale. A young man from Memphis had some hits out I was bonkers about: "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Heartbreak Hotel" and "That's All Right, Mama." I was also into R & B, but would not have let any of the country performers know. It was evident that "Heartbreak Hotel" and "That's All Right Mama" were Elvis' versions of songs recorded by black artists from River City - just up tempo and with more enthusiasm, like his later "(You Ain't Nothin' But a) Hound Dog" done by blues giant Bessie Smith in the 1940s. There is really only one version of "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and that is by Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys in blue grass; but Elvis did it his way and made us like it.
Elvis was a regular on "Louisiana Hayride" and one night talk was that he was coming to perform at the Frolics. There was no middle ground: The younger folks were giddy with delight, the old timers were less than enthusiastic. Didn't matter because he didn't come and it was the next year that I had to shell out five smokes to catch Elvis in the auditorium. Why folks were even ... shudder ... dancing in the aisles until the cops put a squeeze on such behavior.
There is one thing I cannot forgive Elvis for, however: He just about killed country music as we knew it. He had such an impact on country audiences that alarm bells began to go off all over Nashville. The result was that guitar virtuoso and director of talent at RCA Victor records, Chet Atkins, had to do something and do it fast; the result came to be known as the Nashville Sound. It was wildly popular with young folks, I just never got into it. No more Eddie Arnold, Cowboy Copas, Jimmy Rogers, Little Jimmy Dickens, Flatt and Scruggs, Patsy Montana, Bob Wills and other greats. Why Bob Wills was promoted to icon and his music taken over by a group known as Asleep at The Wheel. Elvis, old pard, I love you anyway.
- 'You have to be willing to learn from each new job and from new people'
(rediff.com, September 2 2005)
Ajay Banga is the most senior Indian American manager at Citigroup, the world's largest financial company. Formerly, president of Citigroup's retail banking North America, Banga was last week named co-head of the bank's global consumer group as part of its senior management realignment to reinforce customer focus. The 45-year-old Banga will now lead the group's international operations and report directly to Charles Prince, Citigroup's chief executive officer. In an exclusive, recent, interview with rediff india abroad, Banga spoke at length with Senior Editor Suman Guha Mozumder about what prompted the son of an Indian Army officer to choose the career that he did. ...
Talking about music, do you have any interest in music?
Plenty. I listen to everything from classical music to Elvis Presley to modern day songs. It is very difficult to say what is my favorite, if you ask me. In my home I have CDs that literally range from Elvis to classical music. If you see me after dinner very often I would be listening to Elvis because that is something I like at that time. But in the morning, it is all classical. I have all the Beatles' records. Music is a big thing, not just for me but my entire family. Music is there all the time in our house. It is a funny house.
- Wanda Jackson headlines Johnstown's folk festival
By Chris Rosenblum
(centredaily.com, September 2 2005)
It can be provocative, feisty and tough as asphalt. It can be tender, plaintive, even heartbreaking. Sharp or sweet, the voice is pure Wanda Jackson. Jackson, a Grammy-nominated rockabilly and country legend, has placed her unique stamp on American music since the mid-1950s. As "Heart Trouble," her first American studio album in 15 years, shows, she hasn't lost a step. One of the few pioneer female rockabilly singers, she still rocks with the kick that fueled scorchers such as "Mean, Mean Man" and "Hard-headed Woman."
Now 67, Jackson has been called the reigning queen of rockabilly, that marriage between country and rhythm and blues.
Amazingly, she can't yet count the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame among her many inductions. Anyone familiar with the growls, shudders and piercing wails on her early Capitol Records sides has to wonder why. Country star Hank Thompson recruited her out of high school to sing with his band. In soft tones at odds with her fiery recording persona, she recalled subsequent tours with Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. "We were just all young kids, and our careers were just getting started," she said. "We were happy-go-lucky, happy about our records doing well, drawing crowds, seeing our names on posters. Everything was new and exciting. I don't remember having a care in the world," she said. A few dates with Presley introduced Jackson to rock 'n' roll. Reportedly, he encouraged her to try the music that was sweeping America. ...
- New chapter
(Buffalo News / Associated Press, September 2 2005)
Paul Anka wasn't kidding when he wrote the legendary lyrics to "My Way." Frank Sinatra may have sung the song for the ages, but it came from Anka's pen. Same for the theme for "The Tonight Show," Tom Jones' "She's a Lady," as well as songs recorded by everyone from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly to the Sex Pistols and the Gipsy Kings. But with Anka's latest release, "Rock Swings," he has become an unlikely dance partner with some of the greatest hits of the past two decades, in the process putting a new chapter in the American songbook. ...
- Fats Domino 'rescued but missing'
(BBC, September 2 2005)
Blues musician Fats Domino was rescued from New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit, reports said. His daughter Keren Domino White told CNN she had seen her father being helped off a rooftop in a newspaper photograph taken on Monday. But Ms White said she had not been able to contact her father since then. The 77-year-old singer of Blueberry Hill had been reported missing since the storm hit New Orleans, flooding the city and leaving thousands feared dead. More than one million people were evacuated from New Orleans and the surrounding areas before the hurricane struck, but Mayor Ray Nagin has estimated that up to 100,000 people decided to stay in the city. ...
- Concern for Fats Domino in New Orleans, concerts planned to raise money
(Sound Generator, September 1 2005)
Fats Domino's agent Al Embry has told press that he is concerned over the welfare of the singer. The 77 year old told Embry that he was staying at home with his family in New Orleans. Many are feared dead following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina earlier in the week. With little or no communication available information is scarce. Domino's niece Checqoline Davis had reportedly posted a message on a website's message board earlier today desperate for information about her uncle. Domino's agent Al Embry told the BBC, " I hope somebody turns him up, but as of right now, we haven't got anybody that knows where he's at." However, local news agencies report this morning that the jazz star was seen getting into a rescue boat after being spotted by emergency workers. Fats Domino, who was born in New Orleans in 1928 had a string of hits including 'Aint That a Shame', 'Blueberry Hill' and went on to sell over 65 million records out selling all but Elvis Presley at the time.
- Enough electricity to forget the heat
(Whitehaven Appeal, September 1 2005)
The EP Express had hundreds of loyal Elvis fans at Graceland Crossing waiting to hear the group pay tribute to Elvis Presley during Elvis Week. The crowd waited in anticipation as the unrelenting August Memphis heat surrounded them as the band went through its sound checks before each performance began.
Sound tech Dennis Bourroughs gave the signal and drummer Zeke Daniels began the opening riff that immediately brought cheers and screams from the crowd as lead singer Ted Harris took the stage. Capturing the audience with the first few words of "See See Rider," the heat was no longer an object as fans felt the electricity and personal contact Harris and the band emitted. Throughout each of the 90-minute performances, the stage and 50-foot runway was rushed by fans competing for scarves Harris handed out during the show. ...
- Aaron's in final three
By By Jeff Renaud
(St Thomas Times-Journal, September 1 2005)
And then there were three. St. Thomas native Aaron Walpole shook, rattled and rolled himself into the Canadian Idol Top 3 Wednesday night after giving two moving performances of Elvis Presley songs to a packed house at the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto on Tuesday. The hit CTV show received 3.6 million votes following the tribute to The King on Tuesday and, over the summer, has made instant stars of Walpole and the other Idol hopefuls across the country. With only four finalists left -- Walpole, Rex Goudie of Burlington, Nfld., Melissa O'Neil of Calgary, Alta. and Suzi Rawn of Kamloops, B.C., -- the show went away from the bottom three concept and simply told the low vote-getter who was eliminated at the end of last night's show. . ...
- Rocker Suzi Rawn Ousted From Idol
(chartattack, September 1 2005)
Following her performance of "Heartbreak Hotel" on this week's Elvis Presley-themed round of Canadian Idol, little Suzi Rawn experienced a little heartbreak of her own on Wednesday night's results show. The Kamloops, B.C. singer, who fronts her own band, King Size Suzi, became the latest Idol hopeful to be eliminated from the competition, receiving the lowest number of the 3.6 million votes cast. "There's a whole world out there for you," host Ben Mulroney said to encourage Rawn after he announced that she wouldn't be returning next week. ...
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