Asleep At the Wheel archives May 24, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ has been a part of Asleep of the Wheel‘s concert set list for decades. In fact, the western-swing band performs it just about every night.
Here’s the group’s original recording of that song, way back in 1976:
Route 66 tattoo artist sues “Hangover Part II” studio May 23, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Businesses, Movies.1 comment so far
A tattoo artist based on Route 66 in Waynesville, Mo., is suing Warner Bros. Pictures for copyright infringement because a tattoo that actor Ed Helms sports in the upcoming comedy “The Hangover Part II” resembles the artist’s original design, according to The Daily Mail in London.
S. Victor Whitmill co-owns Paradox Studio and Gallery, which is on Route 66 in Waynesville. Helms’ facial tattoo in the film strongly resembles the one on former boxing champ Mike Tyson, who made a prominent cameo in the first “Hangover” film and also appears in “Hangover II.”
Helms’ ill-advised facial tattoo can be seen on this “The Hangover Part II” movie poster here:
Tyson, the newspaper reported, first got the tattoo from Whitmill in 2003 when the artist lived in Las Vegas. Examples of Whitmill’s skin art can be found here (warning: nudity is included on a few of the designs).
On April 28, Mr Whitmill filed a motion in Federal District Court in St. Louis asking a judge to order Warner Brothers to stop using what he calls his ‘tribal tattoo’ in its posters or in the movie. That would effectively block the film from being released, or at least delay it until further editing.
Mr Whitmill is also seeking monetary damages for what he deemed ‘reckless copyright infringement’. [...]
According to The New York Times, the lawsuit states: ‘Mr Whitmill has never been asked for permission for, and has never consented to, the use, reproduction or creation of a derivative work based on his original tattoo’.
On Friday, Warner Brothers responded to Judge Catherine D. Perry in a brief, pointing out that delaying the film at this point would be hugely expensive.
The studio condemned Mr Whitmill’s suit as a ‘radical claim that he is entitled, under the Copyright Act, to control the use of a tattoo that he created on the face of another human being’.
I strongly suspect the lawsuit will be dismissed on First Amendment grounds. The tattoo on Helms’ face is meant as parody, which is protected as free speech. The key legal precedent is the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court case Hustler Magazine vs. Falwell, when the porn publication infamously ribbed televangelist Jerry Falwell in a fake liquor ad.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the judge is expected to make a ruling on the requested injunction Tuesday.
UPDATE 5/24/2011: The judge, as expected, dismissed the lawsuit.
Joplin tornado, continued May 23, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Towns, Weather.2 comments
The Joplin, Mo., tornado thread was getting long, so here’s another one to keep track of developments:
- The death toll as of Monday evening stands at 116 people, according to the Joplin Globe, with more then 1,100 injured. Local officials estimate about a third of the city has been destroyed.
- The disaster is the worst to hit Missouri in more than a century and the worst U.S. tornado in more than 60 years.
- City officials are urging people who don’t have property in Joplin to stay away. They don’t want rubberneckers to get in the way of rescue efforts.
- Telephone service has been spotty or strained in Joplin because of power outages or cell towers toppled by the storm.
- The Joplin Tornado Recovery page on Facebook has proven to be an excellent resource.
- Recommended charities to aid victims include the Heart of Missouri United Way (with 100% of donations to Joplin aid), the Greater Ozarks chapter of the American Red Cross (based on Joplin), and the Salvation Army of Kansas and western Missouri.
- Here’s a list of fundraisers for those who live in the region but not in Joplin.
The Joplin Globe is been doing a good job covering the story, in spite that it’s almost certain employees lost their homes in the storm:
UPDATE 5/24/2011: Here’s the latest report from the Joplin Globe. Officials made it clear that the death count will continue to rise, and that an temporary morgue was set up at an undisclosed location.
UPDATE2: The Associated Press on Tuesday afternoon said the death toll in Joplin rose to 122. Also,
- The New York Times reports that 1,500 people remain missing in Joplin.
- The National Weather Service today updated the storm’s strength to the highest level — F5 — with winds of more than 200 mph.
UPDATE 5/25/2011: The death toll had risen to 123 as of early Wednesday, according to the county coroner.
Joplin’s tornado now ranks among the top 10 deadliest in American history. The infamous Tri-State Tornado of 1925 killed almost 700 in Missouri, Illinois and Indiana.
It’s also estimated that 8,000 structures in Joplin have been destroyed, or about 30 percent of the city.
The city has imposed a 9 p.m.-to-6-a.m. curfew to combat problems with traffic and looting. It also will require permits for vehicle access during the day, starting today, to keep streets clear for aid vehicles.
UPDATE 5/25/2011: This Associated Press story is difficult to read, but worth your time. The death toll now stands at 125, as of Wednesday evening.
Widespread damage, dozens dead in Joplin tornado May 22, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Towns, Weather.7 comments
At least 24 people are dead and widespread damage has been reported after a tornado Sunday in the Route 66 town of Joplin, Mo., according to varying media reports.
Here are a few facts that have come over in the last hour or two:
- 75 percent of the city reportedly has sustained damage
- All lanes of Interstate 44 through town have been closed until further notice
- The city’s high school and St. John’s Hospital have sustained serious damage
- Southwest Joplin remains nearly impassable because of debris and smoke from fires
- Aid stations have been set up at historic Memorial Hall (map here)
For ongoing coverage, go to the Joplin Globe newspaper, KOAM-TV, and KODE-TV.
UPDATE: Here’s the first video posted on YouTube:
UPDATE2: A slide show of the damage:
UPDATE3: The Springfield News-Leader also is a good source of information about the tornado. Here’s a timeline of the storm.
UPDATE4: The Joplin Globe is posting many updates on its Facebook page.
UPDATE5: A late report by the Joplin Globe says Cherokee County, Kan. — which includes the Route 66 towns of Baxter Springs, Galena and Riverton — sustained no damage from the storm.
UPDATE6: A late report from Reuters says the death toll may reach 100.
UPDATE7: The death toll reached 89 as of Monday morning, reported the Springfield News-Leader.
UPDATE8: You can donate here to the Ozarks chapter of the American Red Cross.
UPDATE9: Here’s the first helicopter video of the damage:
The damage will probably run into hundreds of millions of dollars, and it’s likely thousands of people will be essentially homeless for a long time.
UPDATE10: Here’s storm-chaser video of the twister. The shocking thing is how big the tornado became so quickly:
“Route 66″ on Route 66 May 22, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Asleep at the Wheel was in the Route 66 town of Lebanon, Mo., on Friday night. Naturally, the western-swing performed one of the stalwart songs of its set list.
John Lasseter’s Hawaiian shirts May 21, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Fashion, Movies, People.add a comment
John Lasseter, director of the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated film “Cars” and the upcoming “Cars 2,” showed a reporter his collection of more than 300 Hawaiian shirts. And, yes, he wears them.
You’ll see the Route 66 shield several times on his apparel.
I once asked a Pixar publicist about buying some of the Route 66-themed shirts. Lasseter’s shirts are custom-made and thus aren’t for sale.
The video is part of a story that will appear online next week in the San Francisco Chronicle.
(Via the Chronicle Baby Blog)
Dairy Queen officials visit original store May 20, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, History, Preservation, Restaurants.add a comment
About 20 company officials from Minneapolis-based Dairy Queen on Friday visited the restaurant where it all started — at 501 N. Chicago St. (aka Route 66) in Joliet, Ill., reported the Chicago Tribune.
The nearby Joliet Area Historical Museum passed out free DQ Dilly Bars to visitors. Then, Curly, DQ’s soft-serve cone mascot, led the group several blocks to the historic storefront building, where a plaque was dedicated. The building now serves as a church.
On June 22, 1940, Sherb Noble opened a Dairy Queen there and grossed a whopping $4,000 in revenues his first season. He made $88 on his most profitable day at the shop, which sits along the historic Route 66.
His granddaughter, Jennifer Rintelman, who now lives north of Milwaukee, sad Noble would never have imaged that the product would be so famous for so many years later.
“If he were here today, he would have been humbled by this gesture,” said Rintelman, whose family owns seven Dairy Queen franchises in the Kankakee and Aurora area. “Nothing gave him more pleasure than handing a perfect cone to a smiling customer.” [...]
The Dairy Queen in Joliet closed in the early 1950s, and over the years the building has housed a lawn-mower repair business, furniture store, motorcycle shop and plumbers, said Bob Nachtrieb of the Joliet Historic Preservation Committee. He said the historic designation, approved Tuesday by the City Council, would give the building a measure of protection from being torn down or altered.
To its credit, Dairy Queen’s own website devotes considerable space to its history here.
This also goes to show that even though DQ now is a corporate behemoth that counts billionaire investor Warren Buffett as a fan, it started as a mom-and-pop operation.
UPDATE 5/21/2011: The Joliet Herald-News also published a story. Apparently the business served both black and white customers equally, which was unusual during the 1940s and 1950s, when it closed.