Another Friday Night

Jun 11, 2021 | Covid-19 Diary, Dead Water, Goggle-eyes

There was an interesting piece on the BBC News site today, Why we may have to wait longer for Freedom Day by Nick Triggle. It sets out quite well the policy makers’ dilemma: it looks like we’re on the tip of an exponential growth in cases, but with fewer hospitalisations and deaths, probably. So what to do? The public health advice seems to be to hold off on opening things up for a couple more weeks. Of course, the rapid rise in the infection rate might fall off just as quickly, but better safe than sorry until there is more vaccination coverage?

I have no idea what policy developments there have been in Scotland today, though cases are still rising.

(Also: ‘Freedom Day’: FFS)

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I’ve been revisiting Stargate SG1 series 1 (1997). The first few episodes I’ve watched are problematic, ‘old school’ stuff, caught in the 20+ episode, 42 minutes formula. The characters and actors are still settling in, the series series mythology is being established, all as you’d expect. It is obvious, though, that they’re working out how properly to use Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) in ways that establish her character as something more than a vehicle for outfits with low necklines. They do try, not least because Tapping insisted on it, but it’s painful watching the early episodes struggle. It reminds me a bit of early episodes of Star Trek: TNG when the formula hadn’t gelled and the actors were mugging along with the inherent ridiculousness of the stories and scripts.

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Let this be a warning : Medieval pointy-toed shoes led to Cambridge bunion surge

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Music: back to 1966 and this red hot piece of playing. It’s the George Benson Quartet at the Newport Jazz Festival 1966 and the tune is unnamed. It seems to be an up-tempo version of Benson’s Rider from the album Cookbook (1966) but could easily have been ad libbed.

Whenever rock fans say that the likes of Jimmy Hendrix appeared as if from nowhere, they ignore the influence of hot young jazz players, whom they may not know about but Hendrix certainly did. This track presages some of the early Hendrix recordings, especially the three versions of Drivin’ South he recorded for the BBC in late 1967.

Like many a hot jazz player, Benson followed a route to commercial success since you can’t live on acclaim alone, and who can blame him.