ThoughtSpurs

Eartha Kitt, whose seductive voice propelled her to fame, died of cancer on Christmas Day at age 81. Appropriately enough, one of Kitt's biggest hits was a Christmas song, her 1953 tune "Santa Baby." Kitt was perhaps best known for her TV career, where she played Catwoman in the cheeky 1960s Batman series.She was nominated for Tony, Emmy, and Grammy awards during her long career. Via The Daily Beast I have always had a soft spot for the campy old Batman's catwoman. I think, as a kid she opened a sort of Pandora's Box, the lid of which I have never been able to reseal. Exotic, strange, incredible voice. Easily qualifies as The One & Only. Of her performances I like 'I wanna be evil' for its sly, racy lines - which, in the context of the era in which they were sung must have been unimaginably provocative (so much so the sheet music was 'beeped'. It is hard to imagine today when almost anything goes. I've posed for pictures with Iv'ry Soa...

This morning I read Michele Hewitson 's piece in the Herald online about her encounter with Clive James. It was the second item of hers I had read in two days. Yesterday I read the article in Canvas about the joys/terrors of opening a restaurant. the latter I felt was remarkably good - in the immersive journalistic style one might expect to read in Rolling Stone back in the days of Hunter S. Thompson or Tom Wolfe. I enjoyed it - too many articles these days are pieced together from telephone interviews and web research (resurf?) with more than a dash of polemic, Jeremy Clarksonismic irony. The Clive James article was a little irritating. Probably because Clive James can be a little irritating. There is something odd about the man that I can't fathom. There's no doubt that he is very well read and is a humorous and engaging writer. I grew up reading his television reviews - which paved the way for the likes of Charlie Brooker and I enjoyed at least the first of his autobi...

Anna Nicole Smith has died. And I feel curiously sad. Read the story in the Chicago Tribune