Over a number of years I developed a fondness for the singer Norah Jones, the soulfully exotic way she sings, and her large lovely dark eyes that always seem to convey wisdom beyond her years.
But I never even did the most basic homework to know who she was. When I finally did, it turned out she is the daughter of the great Indian sitar master Ravi Shankar, who had such an enormous influence on George Harrison and the Beatles that it spread out to all the rest of us in the western world.
Her birth name was Geethali Norah Jones Shankar.
So that helps explain a few things. She is gifted at solo performances but she really comes alive in duets with just about anybody. Via YouTube I've seen her perform with Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Wynton Marsalis, and many more, but maybe my personal favorite is when she performed "Love Hurts" with Keith Richards.
I don't know how to categorize her singing -- jazz, rock, country, folk -- and I'm not sure that it matters, because in my mind she'll always be that person who could have stolen any show if she chose to but instead helped others to shine.
That is how it goes in life and work -- collaborators and partners invariably accomplish more together than they ever would have alone.
As a special treat for those who like Norah as much as I do, check out the one movie she starred in -- "My Blueberry Nights," a 2007 romance directed by Wong Kar-wai, and co-starring an all-star cast of Jude Law, David Strathairn, Rachel Weisz, and Natalie Portman.
In case you've not yet seen it, I won't be too descriptive, but one of my favorite parts of the film concerns how lovable (and frustrating) two particular addicts are, an alcoholic and a gambler. Never have I seen addicts portrayed with a more loving human touch than in this special little gem of a film.
The soundtrack is also great, including a song (below) Norah wrote called "The Story." And this story is one that has a happy ending.
***
Now we can all socialize openly, I am doing so every chance I get. So Wednesday I met with an old friend from the '70s in a Berkeley coffee house. We reminisced about SunDance, Rolling Stone, CIR and the way the world seemed then.
We had a lot of catching up to do because we hadn't met up for decades. These kinds of meetings always have a major impact on me. Anyway, in the course of our conversation my friend said something that struck me as simple but profound:
"Everyone has a story. At this point, it's all in the telling."
***
THE HEADLINES:
* From Wuhan to Paris to Milan, the search for ‘patient zero’ (WP)
* A Dutch Journalist Exposed the Mob and Defied Death Threats. Now He's Been Shot in the Head (WP)
* A heat wave is expected across the West this week. (California Today)
* From corporate America to conspiracy theories: How a Minnesota man made a career out of anonymously amplifying dark plots -- An examination of Sean G. Turnbull’s activities, based on records and interviews, offers a view of how online conspiracy promoters flourished in the last decade. (WP)
* Six months after the Capitol riot, Biden says U.S. survived ‘an existential crisis.’ -- “We can say unequivocally that democracy did prevail,” the president said in a statement. (NYT)
* Virginia ‘Bible study’ group was cover for violent militia plans, prosecutors say (WP)
* Self-Described Virginia Militiaman Is Arrested in Capitol Breach -- Prosecutors did not charge the suspect, Fi Duong, with crimes of violence but accused him of planning to use Molotov cocktails and of conducting surveillance at the Capitol after Jan. 6. (NYT)
* A rate rise in the U.S. might trigger big problems in the developing world -- Many emerging markets are enjoying some of the lowest lending costs on record, but a move by the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than expected could shake both those borrowers and the U.S. economy. (WP)
* Eric Adams Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor (NYT)
* Why a special election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom was set for Sept. 14 -- The date was decided by Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, a Democrat who is closely allied with the governor. It was the soonest that county officials said they could pull together a special election. (California Today)
* How extreme climate change arrived in America (WP)* COVID Delta variant could ruin summer, French government warns (Reuters) * The Latest: Utah experiencing surge in COVID-19 cases (AP) |
* ‘Should We Sell?’ After Collapse, Hot Florida Market Faces Uncertainty. (NYT)
* The collapse of the apartment building in Surfside, Fla., is raising concerns about the structural integrity of San Francisco’s Millennium Tower. (CNN)
* Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) acknowledged that his state would receive about $4 billion from the American Rescue Plan, even though he and every Republican in Congress opposed the bill. He suggested that local officials "spend it wisely, because hopefully this windfall doesn’t come along again.” [HuffPost]
* Rising Oil and Gas Prices Add to U.S. Economic Challenges (NYT)
* Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. Moïse’s wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized. The killing comes amid deepening political and economic stability and a spike in gang violence. [AP]
* A Generation of Afghan Professionals Flees Ahead of Taliban Advance (WSJ)
* Taliban fighters storm capital of northwestern Afghan province (Reuters)
* ‘Sermongate’ Prompts a Quandary: Should Pastors Borrow Words From One Another? -- The new leader of the Southern Baptist Convention has delivered sermons containing passages from those of his predecessor, causing a furor. (NYT)
* Trump files class action lawsuits targeting Facebook, Google and Twitter over ‘censorship’ of conservatives (WP)* Gates Foundation lays out contingency plan amid high-profile divorce (Reuters) * Chinese social media giant WeChat shuts LGBT accounts (AP) |
* Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s visit to the Holocaust Museum just weeks ago apparently has not stopped the Georgia Republican from comparing vaccines to Nazi-era Germany. The far-right congresswoman known for spreading conspiracy theories tweeted on Tuesday claiming that COVID-19 “is a political tool used to control people.” [HuffPost]
* Child Being Teased About Having Crush Angrily Asserts He Incapable Of Love (The Onion)
***
"The Story"
Cause the story has been told before
I will sing along i suppose
I guess it's just how it goes
And now those sprangs in the air
I don't go down anywhere
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
But if you don't char
The light won't hit your eye
And the moon won't rise before it's time
But if you don't char
The light won't hit your eye
And the moon won't rise before it's time
But I don't know how it will end
With all those records playin'
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
I guess it's just how it goes
The stories have all been told before
I guess it's just how it goes
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