Paragliding or Hang Gliding From 2800 Feet Above Taormina Sicily

Terror In The Night The Klan's Campaign Against The Jews By Jack Nelson

Above is what the first editon cover looked like. Click on the photo above to enlarge it and read the blurbs on the back of the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Terror-Night-Klans-Campaign-Against/dp/0878059075#_
  Click on the amazon link about this book to read some of it online.
I recently re read this book. It is a tremendous book about the activities of the Klan and their attacks on Jews in Mississippi in 1967 and 1968. The Jewish community in Mississippi put up money for the FBI and the police to run a set up to catch the mad bomber Thomas A Tarrants. Kathy Ainsworth was killed in the shootout. Jack Nelson did a great reporting job to bring to light how the FBI recruited Ray Roberts and Alton Wayne Roberts of Meridian, Mississippi to inform on the activities of the Klan. Both Roberts were members of the Klan and Wayne Roberts was one of the killers of the three civil right workers in 1964.

  One of the incredible aspects of this story is that Thomas A Tarrants survived the shootout despite multiple blasts from shotguns by the police. The bomb never went off. It was a set up and the Meridian police knew when Tarrants and Ainsworth were coming. The time and the place. The Roberts brothers had met with Tarrants and Ainsworth earlier that night of June 29th 1968 in Meridian to set up the bombing of Meyer Davidson's house. Then after Ainsworth and Tarrants left to go to bomb the house the Roberts brothers called the Meridian police and told them "They are on the way".
The link below has a good summary of the events of June 29th 1968 in Meridian,Mississippi.
http://members.fortunecity.com/wernerhoff/rfk7.html

The above police mug shot is from an earlier arrest.
   Tarrants was sent to Parchman after he got out of the hospital after 31 days. He escaped but was re captured.
http://en.metapedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Tarrants
   He later was released from prison after 8 years. He then went to college and on to another career. See the link below  for more information on what he has done with his life.
Below is a picture of how Thomas A Tarrants looks now.

http://www.sarges.com/NLS/Bios/TomTarrants.html
  More info below on Thomas A Tarrants as he is now.
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23764
Another  good story on Thomas A Tallants on his return to Mobile.
http://blog.al.com/pr/2008/01/i_deserved_to_die_1.html
And the link below completes the story above.
http://blog.al.com/pr/2008/01/forgive_our_tresspasses.html#incart_mrt

The Canterbury Tales... In April People Long To Go On Pilgrimages

Using the link below you can read all of the Canterbury Tales in Modern English as well as Middle English.
http://www.bremesoftware.com/Chaucer/index.htm

William Faulkner At The Kentucky Derby

Sports Illustrated sent William Faulkner to cover the Kentucky Derby in 1955. The following is from the May 1955 Sports Illustrated. Faulkner wrote the color story. Someone else wrote the regular sports story.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1129634/index.htm
And the link below is to a piece by the SI writer who went with him. It is very good. Don't miss it.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1064766/index.htm
And the link below contains a video of the race and more on Faulkner at the Derby in 1955.
http://www.heraldleaderphoto.com/derby/2009/05/01/faulkner-yes-william-once-captured-derbys-essence-in-prose/

Taormina Sicily And Giardini Naxos Scooter Down And A Hike Back Up.... Greek Theater in Taormina... And Taormina At Night

   I like this Youtube video because it shows both Taormina and Giardini Naxos.
Here is a link to the video on YouTube to watch full screen and read the comments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sACCcy-GF3g&feature=related

April 15th In History Much More Besides Tax Day... Death And Taxes The Only Two Things In Life That Cannot Be Avoided

Above is one of the major events that happened on April 15th. Click to enlarge.

And click on the link below to see more of the events that have happened on April 15th.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_15

Lincoln was shot on April 14th 1865 and died the next day on April 15th.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln#cite_note-237


And the killings at Virginia Tech by the nut shown below happened on April 16th 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre

And here is what happened on April 19th 1993 outside Waco Texas. See link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waco_Siege

And April 19th 1995. See link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing

And April 20th 2010. See link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

And for the full list of historic events in April see below.

http://www.historyplace.com/specials/calendar/april.htm

Mose Allison Baby Please Don't Go A Song Written By The Great Mississippi Blues Man Big Joe Williams

And below is a live recording. Listen closely and you will hear Mose say Big Joe Williams at the beginning of this song.

Big Joe Williams Baby Please Don't Go Compilation

And below is  early version of the song by Big Joe Williams.




"Baby, Please Don't Go" is a blues song first recorded by Big Joe Williams in 1935. It is related to a group of early 20th century blues and work songs that include "Alabama Bound", "Another Man Done Gone", and "Don't Leave Me Here", and "Turn Your Lamp Down Low".



It has become a blues and rock standard, and has been recorded by many artists (see list below)



Versions

1935

The original single by Joe Williams' Washboard Blues Singers can be heard on Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol. 4 (Revenant, 2000).



1941 Personnel

Big Joe Williams - Guitar, Vocals

Sonny Boy Williamson I - Harp[citation needed]

Ransom Knowling - Double Bass

Judge Riley - Drums

Notable cover versions

Van Morrison and Them

The band Them fronted by Van Morrison, released "Baby, Please Don't Go" as the A side of a single in late 1964. Boosted by the B side, a ditty entitled "Gloria", the single became their first hit, reaching #10 on the UK Singles Chart. This version is included on the double CD compilation The Story of Them Featuring Van Morrison, Van Morrison's 1990s greatest hits album, The Best of Van Morrison and various compilations of Morrison's work. Rhythm guitar was contributed by a then little-known Jimmy Page, however he did not play the lead guitar on the track.[1]



John Lee Hooker's posthumously released DVD Come See About Me includes a 1992 performance where Hooker plays "Baby, Please Don't Go" on his guitar while sitting on a dock. He is accompanied on harmonica by Them's Van Morrison.



Amboy Dukes / Ted Nugent

Since it was The Amboy Dukes' debut single, former Dukes guitarist Ted Nugent has covered the song in live performances throughout his career.



The single is included on the 1967 album The Amboy Dukes, and also appears on the Nuggets compilation. A live version from Nugent's 1978 Double Live Gonzo! is included on his greatest hits collections Great Gonzos! and The Ultimate Ted Nugent.



Budgie

Welsh band Budgie recorded this song on their 1973 album Never Turn Your Back on a Friend, with the original line-up of Burke Shelly on bass and vocals, Tony Bourge on Guitar and Ray Philips on drums.



AC/DC

AC/DC recorded a version for their 1975 Australia-only album High Voltage; it was released internationally in 1984 on their compilation EP '74 Jailbreak. The video, as released on Family Jewels, was recorded on the Australian music program "Countdown", and features Bon Scott in drag, singing over a studio-recorded backing track. Scott performed the song live with AC/DC in various concerts until his death in 1980.



Aerosmith

Aerosmith released a version of "Baby, Please Don't Go" on their blues cover album, Honkin' on Bobo in 2004. It was the only single from the album, and hit #7 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Since its release, it has been a staple song in the band's concert performances. As it followed a period in the 1990s and early 2000s when the band charted with several power ballads, this recording is considered a return to hard rock music for Aerosmith.[citation needed]



Selective list of recorded versions

1935 Big Joe Williams (Bluebird records), also re-recorded in 1941

1936 Tampa Kid (Decca records)

1936 Sam Montgomery (ARC records)

1939 Leonard 'Baby Doo' Caston

1957 Billy Lee Riley & his Little Green Men (Sun Records)

1960 Mance Lipscomb (Arhoolie)

1961 Pink Anderson

1962 Mose Allison (Atlantic)(Rhino)

1962 Bob Dylan, officially released 2005 as a download only

1964 Them (Decca UK)

1966 The Ballroom, produced by Curt Boettcher

1966 Los Ovnis (Mexican band) (Spanish version named "El Ovni")

1967 Amboy Dukes

1969 Alvin Lee, Played live at Woodstock

1972 Gary Glitter, "Glitter" album.

1973 Budgie (MCA)

1974 AC/DC (Alberts/EMI)

1984 Restless

1991 Webb Wilder

2004 Aerosmith

Zakk Wylde's Pride & Glory

Paul Butterfield

The Doors

Tony Joe White

Beausoleil

Lightnin' Hopkins

Al Kooper

John Mellencamp

MC5

Van Morrison

Ted Nugent

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

Paul Revere & the Raiders

Taste

Muddy Waters

The Animals

Bill Wyman

John Lee Hooker

Mississippi Fred McDowell

The Tragically Hip (live version found on the popular Bootleg Roxy Revisited)

Rising Storm

Los Suaves (live version found on "¿Hay alguien ahí?" album)

Ballet Mechanique At The National Gallery Of Art East Building In Washington D.C. 2006

Why Is April Is The Cruellest Month?

"April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain."


Link below is to the wikipedia page on The Waste Land.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_waste_land

The link below is to the full poem The Waste Land.
http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html
 
And the link below is an attempt to answer why April Is The Cruelest Month.
http://everything2.com/title/April+is+the+cruellest+month

And more in the link below on other poets and April.
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2000/04/front.140400.april.jhtml

Canaletto And Gauguin Make A Strange Couple At The National Gallery Of Art In Washington D.C.

There are two art exhibits side by side in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. at present. One is of the work of Paul Gauguin and the other is of the work of Canaletto and some other Venetian painters. It seems odd to me that the National Gallery chose to exhibit these shows side by side.
See my two posts below about the Gauguin exhibit and the crazy woman who attacked one of the paintings last week.
  The Venetian paintings are drawing crowds of much older people. The Gauguin show is drawing mostly young people but also people of all ages.
   Below is a link to the information about the Canaletto show at the National Gallery of Art inWashington D.C.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/veniceinfo.shtm

Larry McMurtry's Book About Tahiti Is Called PARADISE

Below is a link to the exhibition brochure for the Paul Gauguin exhibit now on view at the National Gallery of Art East Building in Washington, D.C. If you scroll through the pdf file you will come to the painting WORDS OF THE DEVIL.  It is the picture shown above.
 There is a devil like face in the picture that came to my mind when I read of the crazy woman who attacked another painting in the exhibit called TWO TAHITIAN WOMEN. See my post on that in the post below this one.
 In the link below click on the Exhibition Brochure on the right hand side of the page. You can also see a video about the exhibit via the link below.
http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/gauguininfo.shtm

   That event also caused me to go and re read Larry McMurtry's non fiction book about his trip to Tahiti. It is called PARADISE. See below for more information about that book. His thoughts on Tahiti came to my mind as I read about the crazy woman attacking a harmless painting by Gauguin.
http://www.amazon.com/Paradise-Larry-McMurtry/dp/0743215664#_

Crazy Woman Attacks TWO TAHITIAN WOMEN A Paul Gauguin Painting At The National Gallery Of Art Museum In Washington D.C.

Two Tahitian Women by Paul Gauguin. Click on these pictures to enlarge them.
     http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/national-gallery-visitor-attacks-gauguin-painting-officials-say/2011/04/03/AFoATUXC_story.html
        This extensive exhibit of Gauguin's work is drawing large crowds at the East Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.  
      The painting above is valued at 80 million dollars. It is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. Fortunately the painting suffered no damage when attacked by the crazy woman. It was protected by plexiglass covering the painting. It is now back on view in this exhibit.
More on this story below.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/gauguin-masterpiece-unharmed-after-attack-at-national-gallery/2011/04/04/AFvAiZeC_story.html
And here below is a great picture in today's Washington Post showing two women looking at a blank wall in the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. It is titled ZERO TAHITIAN WOMEN.