Archive for May 15th, 2026

Register recordings, not guns!

Friday, May 15th, 2026

It would be impossible for me to care any less than I already do not care about Taylor Swift.

I’m not a big Beyoncé fan, either, though my opinion of her isn’t quite at the Swift level.

With that out of the way, some random thoughts about the other 23 new inductees to the National Recording Registry:

  • Weezer? Aren’t they one of those one-hit wonder college whimsy bands?
  • Nice to see Spike Jones and His City Slickers getting some love.
  • The guys get shirts!
  • I have never heard Brother Ray’s “Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music” but I have heard good things about it. Maybe I should purchase that.
  • I should also grab the “Chicago” original cast album, if I can find it. For those not familiar with “Chicago” or Broadway, the original cast included Gwen Verdon, Chita Rivera, and Jerry Orbach. And I like “Chicago”.
  • I loved “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” when I was a child. I still do: I think it would still go in my personal top ten songs list.
  • When I was younger, I thought Stevie Ray Vaughan was overrated. My opinion has softened some in the past few years, and I think “Texas Flood” isn’t a bad choice.
  • ““Doom” soundtrack by Bobby Prince, composer”. In case you were unclear (as I was), yes, this is the soundtrack for the video game.

Posted in Music | 2 Comments »

Jesus, Joseph, and Mary.

Friday, May 15th, 2026

It has been more than a minute since I’ve been scuba diving.

And my dive certification came from PADI (which, as we all know, stands for “Put Another Diver In”).

But these people were cave diving?

At 160 feet?

The fark?

I know, it is early, the investigation isn’t complete, and this is the NYPost. But right now, this sounds to me like criminal negligence.

Posted in Obits | No Comments »

Obit watch: May 15, 2026.

Friday, May 15th, 2026

Joe Sedelmaier, commercial director.

Among his works:

And this one:

And this one:

I can’t embed it, but here’s a link to his Southern Airways “Steerage” commercial. For some reason, that commercial reminds me of…every Southwest flight I’ve been on.

Claudine Longet, actress and singer.

The enchanting, doe-eyed Longet recorded albums of breathy pop for A&M Records before she sang the Henry Mancini-Don Black song “Nothing to Lose” in Blake Edwards’ The Party (1968), in which she portrayed an aspiring actress alongside Peter Sellers.

I’ve heard this is actually a pretty good movie, but have never seen it.

A onetime Las Vegas showgirl, Longet had married “Moon River” crooner [Andy] Williams in December 1961 and appeared on his long-running NBC variety show and Christmas specials, often with their three children.

After she and Williams divorced (amicably), she took up with a skier named Vladimir “Spider” Sabich.

… Longet and the kids were living with the California-born Sabich at his chalet in Starwood, Colorado, when she shot him on March 21, 1976, in his bathroom with a .22-caliber German‐made gun that had been purchased by his father. She claimed the gun accidentally discharged as he was showing her how it worked.

He died on the way to the hospital. She was criminally charged, but local law enforcement completely botched the case. She ended up being convicted of “criminally negligent homicide”.

She was given two years’ probation, fined $250 and sentenced to 30 days in jail (she was able to serve most of her sentence on weekends).
The Sabich family later filed a civil suit against Longet for $1.3 million, but the case was settled out of court. Longet agreed not to speak publicly about Sabich or the murder and to never publish a book about her life and the trial, and her career as a singer and actress was done.

@jack.hutton

The Claudine Longet Ski Invitational 1976 SNL A classic. #SNL #classic #1976 —

♬ original sound – Jack Hutton

Edited to add: I know the NYT is watching this space. Because as soon as I put up my own obit for someone, the NYT puts up theirs. Guys, let’s not fight. I’d be willing to entertain a job offer, though I would insist on working remotely.

Posted in Movies, Music, Obits, TV | No Comments »