John's Journal

Ten songs composed by Irving Taylor:

1. Swing, Mister Charlie
2. Department Store Santa Claus
3. Lily Belle
4. Hawaiian Worm Raiser
5. Ain't Nobody's Business But My Own
6. Everybody Loves Somebody
7. Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb
8. Rock & Roll Vocal Coach
9. You're My Sugar
10. I'll Never Forget Those Unforgettable Never to Be Forgotten Memories

As a songwriter and performer, Taylor specialized in comedy recordings, such as the Edd Byrnes novelty smash "Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb" (which was actually a slightly revised cover of a song Taylor himself originally recorded himself). But as a lyricist, he was very sincere and straightforward, as in the case of "Everybody Loves Somebody," which was a number one hit for Dean Martin in 1964. He also wrote a song about a department store Santa, which enabled me fulfill a request made by allthatjazmyne.

Willem de Kooning (1904–1997)
White Nude, 1967
Oil on paper
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Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.

My niece Libby picked out this painting.

I knocked 'em dead at church this morning, as I introduced the Gospel reading as follows:

Today's Gospel reading is a familiar one to many people. Verse 33 of Matthew 6, verses 25 through 34, serves as the basis for the familiar hymn "Seek Ye First." And verse 28 refers to "the lilies of the field." Some of the you may remember the novel with that title by William Barrett, or the Sidney Poitier movie of the same name. But I would imagine that most of you, like me, remember it from the Star Trek episode "The Trouble With Tribbles," in which Mr. Spock compares tribbles to the lilies of the field.

Huge laughs. And yes, that really was the first thing I thought of when I reviewed that passage in advance of the service.