When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Continue reading “Independence Day”
After his wife died giving birth to their sixth child, Civil War vet Henry Jackson Smart was left to raise the litter all by himself. Imagine, if you will, what the average day was like for Henry: six kids of varying age screaming, kicking the crap out of each other, wetting the bed, refusing to eat their vegetables. It was hard on the single father until he found himself a worthy partner to alleviate the stresses of child-rearing: beer, and lots of it.
Fueled by the saintly patience only good ale can provide, Henry did such a good job with the kids that he inspired his daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, to organize the first Father’s Day on June 19th, 1910. Fourteen years later, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day, and Nixon, established it as a permanent day of national observance in 1972.
Cinco de Mayo has its roots in the French occupation of Mexico, which took place in the aftermath of the Mexican-American War of 1846-48, the Mexican Civil War of 1858, and the 1860 Reform Wars. These wars left the Mexican Treasury in ruins and nearly bankrupt. On July 17, 1861, Mexican President Benito Juárez issued a moratorium in which all foreign debt payments would be suspended for two years. In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent naval forces to Veracruz to demand reimbursement. Britain and Spain negotiated with Mexico and withdrew, but France, at the time ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use the opportunity to establish a Latin empire in Mexico that would favor French interests, the Second Mexican Empire. [Wiki]
So in other words, a nearly bankrupt country stopped paying bills until three big debt collectors showed up. Two of them settled, but the third took it a step further. Mr. Françoise (aka Lucky Pierre) knocked on the door and said, “Nice place you got here. Shame if anything should happen to it.” The rest is history.
In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, here’s Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass with some very embarrassing people of European heritage dancing. (No one in Alpert’s band was actually Hispanic.)
Jonco finds stuff on the internest that nobody else can see, and here’s proof.
Any band named HorrorPops gets my vote (and we’ve posted about them here before). There’s something inherently cool about a mashup between punk, psychobilly, hotrods and Denmark. Besides, they got a curvy girl with tatts on stand up bass singing lead.
Tommy Makem & Liam Clancy singing “Mary Mack” at National Stadium, Dublin, February 1977.
The Fenians‘ “Token Whiskey Song.” We followed Terry Casey & Co. back when they were the house band at The Harp. Good peeps, all of ’em. (Their version of “Rattlin’ Bog” is one of my favorites because they added some verses.)
Gaelic Storm‘s Patrick Murphy tells the tale leading up to the classic Irish traditional song “The Night I Punched Russell Crowe In The Head.”
What’s St. Patrick’s Day without a Pogues vid? Dare you to figure out what Shane McGowan is, um, singing.
That should keep you set for a bit while I dodge out for some Harp Lager and Mulligan Stew. Have a great St. Patrick’s Day, see you back here first thing Sunday.
Tacky Raccoons 