"It profits me but little that a vigilant authority always protects the tranquillity of my pleasures and constantly averts all dangers from my path, without my care or concern, if this same authority is the absolute master of my liberty and my life."

--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Birthdays Today

It is Earl "Fatha" Hines' birthday today.  Born in 1903, Hines was one of the great jazz pianists, playing with Louis Armstrong on his original "Hot Fives" releases in the 1920s, and later becoming one of the precursors (in style) to the Bebop revolution of the late 1940s and 1950s.   Here are Hines (and Armstrong) playing "Weather Bird," a famous jazz duet:



It's also Denzel Washington's 56th birthday.  Hard to imagine he's that old, but then it's hard to imagine I'm as old as I am too.     One of my favorite actors, it's weird that I can't really say he's ever been in a truly good movie.   When I go down the list of his movies, there are a lot like this, Remember the Titans, which are flawed or even bad movies that he is the best thing in.

No comments:

Post a Comment