#Keith was already in love with Anita at the time

[omg-hellgirl]

'It was Keith's idea that I go with Mick. He thought it would be good for the band. And instead of saying, "But I love you", I said, "OK".

Oh Marianne...

I wish now I'd had the strength to say, "Fuck Mick, man. I like you." It's something I could summon up now, but in those days it was totally beyond my range. Not that it would have helped. I was being given the brush-off.

Marianne Faithfull, Faithfull: An Autobiography.

[waugh-bao]

“Once again, he philandered” is like Mick’s personal slogan. I just don’t know how Jerry did it. I get an open relationship (even if it’s not something I could ever do) but usually the most basic rule is to not embarrass your partner. I’m sure Jerry knew that Mick was not going to be faithful but to have him be so blatant about it is awful. And didn’t he leave right after she gave birth to go away on some trip where he cheated? Ridiculous. When they fought he probably said it was impossible to turn down all the offers and temptations but of course Jerry knew that in the same band was a guy who spent hours on the phone with his wife every day and had trouble sleeping because she wasn’t there beside him.

I’m reluctant to even call his relationship with Jerry an open relationship because I don’t necessarily get the impression that she consented to him sleeping around like it was going out of style. She just didn’t leave when he did, until he got another woman pregnant (Lucas’ mom, the Brazilian model Luciana Gimenez) and decided after 25 years that that was her limit. And he did do plenty of other disgusting stuff like not sticking around for the post-partum period with some of their 4 kids.

The thing is, even if he tried the BS ‘oh, it’s easier for Charlie because he doesn’t get as many offers’ (which may have been true but I think would have largely been motivated by the reputation that he wouldn’t sleep around) Keith by most reports has also been perfectly faithful to Patti. He had an open thing with Anita, and they both practiced it, but he was perfectly happy to go monogamous for her and stay that way. It seems to me that that’s more his speed anyway. Mick never cared enough to try.

I do think in the end Mick has kind of reaped what he sowed, though. His relationship with Jerry collapsed, what happened with L’Wren, who by all accounts he respected and even tried to keep his philandering private for, happened, and now he’s sort of with a woman who is so blatantly using him for money and status it would be almost sad if he were anyone else. She’s a ballerina who could never get out of corps at ABT and was reaching her expiration date in the business, then jumped at the chance to dump her finance and get into a relationship/get pregnant with a man more than twice her age on the heels of his partner of 15 years dying. Her social media and her ‘career’ since they got together revolves around him, while he barely pretends she exists, and the whole Sunday Times thing with the engagement ring that’s actually a promise ring was embarrassing for her. He already pulled that shit with L’Wren. (And her going out of her way to emphasize that neither of them want commitment and they’re both just really h*rny for each other was a hilariously pathetic clean up job. There’d probably be at least one more kid if that were true but she got her bag already). It doesn’t seem like a very loving or sincere relationship on either side, but it’s what he’s got. Meanwhile Jerry did her time with Rupert, got handsomely rewarded the way she didn’t with Mick, because he’s a total cheapskate, and is now free to find herself a lovely, handsome boyfriend who actually respects her.

[sbrown82]

I remember reading after Anita and Keith decided to run away together, they first threw Brian down some stairs. Also I don’t believe Brian became hell when he started doing drugs, he was already hell before them actually. See Brian, Keith, Mick & their other roommate Alexis used to live together in that dirty ass apartment and Brian used to bully Alexis all the time just because. In Keith’s book, Keith remembered Brian telling Alexis to take off his jacket and go outside (in the COLDEST WINTER THEY EVER HAD at the time) and then he locked him out for several hours. And Brian used to start arguments with everybody and sleep with their girlfriends. So the drugs just heightened his behavior, towards everybody. I’m not saying Anita was perfect or anything but she did FORCE Brian, Keith, and Mick to try drugs (basically saying they’re not men if they don’t do it), back then saying someone is a square was basically calling them lame as hell and they wanted to be cool all the time. Also when they got together Anita started sleeping with other band members from other bands, it’s been said in her book that she tried to sleep with Jeff Beck but he was creeped out by her, also slept with John from Mamas and Papas band. That’s probably why he was always mad at her or just because she didn’t stand for his shit at all. But basically Brian wasn’t an angel and people love taking up for his behavior.

Now, y'all know damn well didn't nobody push Brian down any stairs! Brian was short, but he could fuck you up. 🤣 No, it's said Anita got with Keith during holiday trip to Morocco they took in 1967. Brian tried to get her to have an orgy with two prostitutes he brought back to his room, and Anita wasn't with that. They got into a fight about it. So she and Keith just took off and left him there....with the bill!

But Anita was something else. During the time they met, she was already doing hard drugs. She would take shit nobody else around them was taking like pills, downers, she'd smoke hash, and of course her favorite, shooting up heroin. And she was also a nasty piece of work. She would instigate shit a lot - she wasn't a very nice woman. But rumor has it, Brian may have had mental issues (some thought he had bipolar disorder) and the drinking and hard drugs he did would just heighten his symptoms. He was already difficult to deal with and his personality was a bit bizarre to the people in the band and around him. Like he'd be obnoxious, he'd hallucinate, become violent, and go off on tangents a lot screaming and carrying about. Plus, he can be very cruel and manipulative, especially with women. One of his baby mamas even said that he tended to sleep with a lot of women because it gave him a safe and comfortable place to stay for the night and it boosted his ego. Brian had a lot of childhood trauma and I honestly don't think he liked himself very much. I mean, you can recognize self loathing in someone by the way they treat other people.

[somethinginrocknroll]

He's not my favorite in a normal sense. His crazy fucking lifestyle and death are. He knew Elvis, The Rolling Stones, and many others too. Here's a mini bio on him:

Ingram Cecil Connor III better known professionally as Gram Parsons. He was a musician and frontman. Parsons worked with The Byrds in 1968, before quitting and joining his own band, The Flying Burrito Brothers from 1969 through 1970. 

Gram was born in Winter Haven, Florida on November 5th, 1945 to Ingram Cecil Connor Parsons II and Avis Snively Connor. Avis returned to her hometown to give birth to her son. She was the daughter of citrus fruit magnate John A. Snively, who held extensive properties in Winter Haven and in Waycross. Gram's father, Ingram Connor II was a famous World War II flying ace, decorated with the Air Medal, who was present at the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

In 1956 when he was only nine-years-old, Gram saw Elvis Presley in concert and fell in love with music. That’s where his love of music came in. Two years later his father who went by “Coon Dog” took his own life two days before Christmas, Gram was only 11/12. Both him and his sister Avis (Jr) were both shattered after their father’s death.

Avis Sr remarried to Robert Parsons and the children took his name and were adopted by him once he married their mother.

Gram Parsons did briefly attend the prestigious Bolles School in Jacksonville, Florida. That was before transferring to the public Winter Haven High School. Which he did after failing his junior year. Gram returned to Bolles which had converted from a military to a liberal arts curriculum amid the incipient Vietnam War. 

For a time, the family found a stability of sorts. They were torn apart in early 1965, when Robert had an extramarital affair and Avis' heavy drinking led to her death from cirrhosis on June 5, 1965, the day of Gram's graduation from Bolles.

Barely in his teens, he played in rock and roll cover bands such as the Pacers and the Legends, headlining in clubs owned by his stepfather in the Winter Haven/Polk County area. By the age of 16, he graduated to folk music, and in 1963 he teamed up with his first professional outfit, the Shilohs, in Greenville, South Carolina. 

Gram was heavily influenced by The Kingston Trio and The Journeymen. The band played hootenannies, coffee houses and high school auditoriums. Parsons was still enrolled in prep school, he only performed with the group in select engagements. Forays into New York City (where Parsons briefly lived with a female folk singer in a loft on Houston Street)included a performance at Florida's exhibition in the 1964 New York World's Fair and regular appearances at the Café Rafio on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1964.

 Although John Phillips who is an acquaintance of Shiloh George Wrigley arranged an exploratory meeting with Albert Grossman, the impresario balked at booking the group for a Christmas engagement at The Bitter End when he discovered that the Shilohs were still high school students. Following a recording session at the radio station of Bob Jones University, the group reached a creative impasse amid the emergence of folk rock and dissolved in the spring of 1965 around the time of Gram’s mother’s passing.

Shockingly despite being poor in school and having bad test grades, Gram went to Harvard University in 1966 with the help of a strong essay he wrote. He only did one semester and that’s where he became more serious about country music. He heard Merle Haggard for the first time.

In 1966, he and other musicians from the Boston folk scene formed a group called the “International Submarine Band”. After briefly residing in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx, they relocated to Los Angeles the following year. Following several lineup changes, the band signed to Lee Hazlewood's LHI Records, where they spent late 1967 recording Safe at Home. The album contains one of Parsons' best-known songs, "Luxury Liner", and an early version of "Do You Know How It Feels", which he revised later in his career. Safe at Home would remain unreleased until mid-1968, by which time the International Submarine Band had broken up.

In that same year Gram got the attention of The Byrds’ guitarist Chris Hillman thanks to business manager Larry Spector as a possible replacement member since David Crosby and Micheal Clarke left in late 1967. Parsons had already met Hillman at a bank in 1967. Gram had his only child, Polly, with Nancy Ross the girlfriend of David Crosby.

Gram passed the audition in February 1968. He was at first a jazz pianist but was switched to rhyme guitar and vocals. Gram left the band when asked why Gram responded with,

"Being with The Byrds confused me a little. I couldn't find my place. I didn't have enough say-so. I really wasn't one of The Byrds. I was originally hired because they wanted a keyboard player. But I had experience being a frontman and that came out immediately. And [Roger McGuinn] being a very perceptive fellow saw that it would help the act, and he started sticking me out front."

He was also friends with The Rolling Stones members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. And they stayed close to each other until a fall out in the 70s. Before Parsons' departure from The Byrds, he had accompanied the two Rolling Stones to Stonehenge along with McGuinn and Hillman in the English county of Wiltshire.

 Immediately after leaving the band, Parsons stayed at Richards' house and the pair developed a close friendship over the next few years, with Parsons reintroducing the guitarist to country music. According to Stones' confidant and close friend of Parsons, Phil Kaufman, the two would sit around for hours playing obscure country records and trading off on various songs with their guitars.

Returning to Los Angeles in 1969, Parsons sought out Hillman, and the two formed The Flying Burrito Brothers with bassist Chris Ethridge and pedal steel player “Sneaky” Pete Kleinow. They did every genre of music possible from hard rock all the way to country and jazz gospel.  Around this time of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram started dabbling more and more into drugs.

Then Gram started a solo career in 1970 and toured with Emmylou Harris for a bit ; he may have been romantically involved with her as well. He then accompanied the Rolling Stones on their 1971 U.K. tour in the hope of being signed to the newly formed Rolling Stones Records.

Parsons and Keith Richards had mulled the possibility of recording a duo album. Moving into Villa Nellcôte with the guitarist during the sessions for Exile on Main Street that commenced thereafter, Parsons remained in a consistently incapacitated state and frequently quarreled with his girlfriend, aspiring actress Gretchen Burrell who later become his wife. 

Eventually, Parsons was asked to leave by Anita Pallenberg, Richards' longtime domestic partner. Decades later, Richards suggested in his memoir that Jagger may have been the impetus for Parsons' departure because Richards was spending so much time playing music with Parsons. Rumors have persisted that he appears somewhere on the legendary album, and while Richards concedes that it is very likely he is among the chorus of singers on "Sweet Virginia", this has never been substantiated. Parsons attempted to rekindle his relationship with the band on their 1972 American tour to no avail.

After leaving the Stones' camp, Parsons married Burrell in 1971 at his stepfather's New Orleans estate. Allegedly, the relationship was far from stable, with Burrell cutting a needy and jealous figure while Parsons quashed her burgeoning film career. Many of the singer's closest associates and friends claim that Parsons was preparing to commence divorce proceedings at the time of his death; the couple had already separated by this point.

In the summer of 1973, Parsons' Topanga Canyon home burned to the ground, the result of a stray cigarette. Nearly all of his possessions were destroyed with the exception of a guitar and a prized Jaguar automobile. The fire proved to be the last straw in the relationship between Burrell and Parsons, who moved into a spare room in Kaufman's house. While not recording, he frequently hung out and jammed with members of New Jersey–based country rockers Quacky Duck and His Barnyard Friends and the proto-punk Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers, who were represented by former Byrds manager Eddie Tickner.

Before formally breaking up with Burrell, Parsons already had a woman waiting in the wings. While recording, he saw a photo of a beautiful woman at a friend's home and was instantly smitten. The woman turned out to be Margaret Fisher, a high school sweetheart of the singer from his Waycross, Georgia, days. Like Parsons, Fisher had drifted west and became established in the Bay Area rock scene. A meeting was arranged and the two instantly rekindled their relationship, with Fisher dividing her weeks between Los Angeles and San Francisco at Parsons' expense.

Gram loved to visit Joshua Tree National Park. He would visit it often. Gram would frequently do psychedelic drugs and try to spot UFOs there. He told Phil Kauffman that he wanted his ashes spread there in Joshua National Tree Park since he loved that place and practically lived there when not in LA. 

So he, Dale, Micheal, Phil, Gram's girlfriend Margaret, and Dale's unnamed girlfriend all went to stay at JNTP Inn. Where Gram got morphine from an unknown woman.

He injected himself and OD. Margaret shoved ice cubes up his ass and put him in a cold shower which worked. He was up and talking. Dale was left in charge to watch over Gram and then Gram stopped breathing. Dale tried CPR but failed. Margaret and Dale both watched Gram die. Finally they call a fucking ambulance and he's pronounced dead on arrival.

Now Gram’s stepfather is a POS okay. He wanted Gram buried in Louisiana so he could take Gram's little wealth and the family estate which didn't belong to the stepfather since he wasn't blood.

Phil and Micheal couldn't allow this. Gram wanted to be cremated and his ashes spread. So with a shit ton of booze to make an elephant drunk they take a loaned hearse, because you know everyone has a hearse on loan. They were dressed as cowboys. For as suits were “too itchy” to wear.  The duo take his body back from the airport where he's meant to fly back to Louisiana back to Joshua National Tree Park.

 So the duo crash in JNTP and they pour five gallons of gasoline on Gram and his coffin. Causing a fireball. But cremation and gasoline are different. So instead of having Gram's ashes they had a cooked charred Gram instead. Police were of course called. The duo was fined $750 each and made to do community service.Gram was sadly buried in Louisiana against his wishes but his stepfather didn't get anything.

Gram's wealth and estate were split between his wife, girlfriend, sister, and his daughter. And the family denied the whole illegal cremation happening and won't talk about it.

The end.

Omg that is a really good summary, very sad life tho and how he died but wow

[roaringgirl]

Book club - March

Once again didn’t read anything published before 1900, but did read more non-fiction and finished a couple of books I’d been putting off. In April I will, finally, read the Mill on the Floss.

1. Daniel Kehlmann - Tyll (2017): Linked short stories set during the Thirty Years’ War, partly based on tales about Till Eulenspiegel. Thought this was quite good - not all of the stories are successful, but he certainly gets across a certain sweeping brutality and tragedy with a fair amount of wit.

2. Francine Toon - Pine (2020): A crime and ghost novel set in rural Scotland - the denouement doesn’t live up to the set-up, but it’s very readable and for about the first three-quarters suspenseful and claustrophobic.

3. Robert Massie - Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman (2011): Exactly what I wanted, which is a popular, non-academic biography of Catherine the Great.

4. Nell Zink - Nicotine (2016): Love Zink’s prose even when I sometimes find her plots exhausting. This was a little more laboured than her best work, I think.

5. Daniel Kehlmann - Measuring the World (2005): Also quite good. Literary imagining of Gauss and Humboldt - exactly the kind of not-too-taxing historical fiction with pleasant literary pretensions I’ve been enjoying.

6. Erika Fatland - Sovietistan (2020): Travel writing about the former Soviet Central Asian Republics. Really excellent, and alive to what it’s like to be a woman doing this kind of traveling (or living in these places).

7. Norton Juster - The Phantom Tollbooth (1961): Reread in a fit of nostalgia. I love this book; associate it strongly with sitting in my grandmother’s living room in Cairo, bored out of my mind because I don’t speak Arabic.

8. Barbara Comyns - Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (1954): Enjoyed this very much. Apocalyptic flood and poisoning in an English village. Comyns seems to me like Nancy Mitford’s shadow self, or lunatic cousin.

9. Barbara Comyns - The Vet’s Daughter (1959): A fit of enthusiasm which is now languishing a bit since I’m stuck on Sisters By a River. I don’t think the magical realist or fantastical elements here really work; it’s definitely less securely handled than WWCaWWD, so the distinctive nightmarishness doesn’t shine as much.

10. Barbara Pym - Excellent Women (1952)

11. Barbara Pym - A Glass of Blessings (1958)

12. Anita Brookner - The Rules of Engagement (2003). Am treating these three together because these sorts of middlebrow novels do tend to blur in my mind. Enjoyed the Pym - never read her before - but can’t see myself becoming a cultish devotee. Don’t think the Brookner is her best work.

13. Thomas Bernhard - The Loser (1983). Narrator’s recollections of the relationship between him, his friend Wertheimer, and their friend Glenn Gould. I’m glad I read it - at times I felt like I was slogging through it but then there’d be these lunatic, wonderful, excoriating paragraphs and lines. Subject for further study.

14. Barbara W. Tuchman - A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century (1978): Unfortunately, too academic to be good popular history and way too generalist to be of much use to a specialist, I assume. I do often like these big, baggy, non-specialist treatments touching on the history of ideas that sometimes annoy actual historians, not being one myself (I very much like Huizinga, Ginzburg, Darnton) but this book was... rarely as interesting as that.

15. Diarmaid McCulloch - Tudor Church Militant: Edward VI and the Protestant Reformation (1999): Pleasantly surprised by how readable this was, although it probably wouldn’t make an awful lot of sense if you didn’t already have a decent grip on the period.

16. Keith Roberts - Pavane (1968): Linked short stories in an alternate universe where Protestantism was destroyed after Elizabeth I was assassinated in 1588, so the Industrial Revolution has yet to really get going, etc. This was fine! I like 60s science fiction.

17. Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood (1984): Concept (a wood populated by memories and myths generated from the collective human subconscious) more interesting than execution.

18. E. L. Doctorow - Billy Bathgate (1989): Excellent. Set in the 1930s, New York gangsters.

19. Nell Zink - Doxology (2019): As with Nicotine, mostly just made me want to read Mislaid again. Although I’m always envious of how effortlessly exciting and sharp a writer Zink is.

[brn1029]

this date in music history

Today in music in history...

August 17th 1955 - Elvis Presley Elvis Presley released what would become his first No.1 hit, 'I Forgot to Remember to Forget / Mystery Train'. It hit the top of the country charts several months later and stayed there for 5 weeks.

1959 - Miles Davis American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis released Kind of Blue which is regarded by many critics as jazz's greatest record, Davis's masterpiece, and one of the best albums of all time. Its influence on music, including jazz, rock, and classical genres, has led writers to also deem it one of the most influential albums ever recorded.

1960 - The Beatles The Beatles began their first Hamburg engagement at the Indra Club, Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg, West Germany, playing the first of 48 nights at the Club. The owner, Bruno Koschmider, asked The Beatles to "Mach Shau", or really put on a show, which led to the band screaming, shouting, and leaping about the stage and sometimes playing lying on the floor. John Lennon once appeared wearing only his underwear and on another occasion, wearing a toilet seat around his neck. The Beatles lodged in a single room behind the screen of a nearby movie house.

1964 - The Beatles Glasgow council in Scotland announced that all boys and men with Beatle styled haircuts would have to wear bathing caps after a committee was told that hair from 'Beatle-cuts' was clogging the pools filters.

1965 - The Byrds The Byrds were forced to cancel a concert during their UK tour at The Guildhall, Portsmouth when only 250 of the 4,000 tickets had been sold.

1968 - Doors The Doors started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with Waiting For The Sun. The group's third album spawned their second US No.1 single, 'Hello, I Love You'.

1968 - Young Rascals The Rascals (formerly the Young Rascals), started a five week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with 'People Got To Be Free'. The group had thirteen US top 40 hits.

1969 - Woodstock Festival The final day of the 3 day Woodstock Festival took place at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, New York. Acts who appeared included Crosby, Stills Nash & Young, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, John Sebastian, Sha Na Na, Joe Cocker, Country Joe and the Fish, The Band, Ten Years After, Johnny Winter and Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Over 186,000 tickets had been sold but on the first day the flimsy fences and ticket barriers had come down. Organisers announced the concert would be a free event, prompting thousands more to head for the concert.

1973 - Paul Williams Former Temptations singer Paul Williams was found dead in his car, after shooting himself. He owed $80000 in taxes and his celebrity boutique business had failed.

1974 - Eric Clapton Eric Clapton started a four-week run at No.1 on the US album chart with 461 Ocean Boulevard, a No.3 hit in the UK. The house featured on the album cover is 461 Ocean Boulevard in the town of Golden Beach, Florida near Miami where Clapton lived while making the album.

1979 - Anita Pallenberg The New York Post reported that Anita Pallenberg (the wife of Keith Richards) was linked to a witches coven in South Salem, New York where Richards owned a house. A policeman claimed he was attacked by a flock of black-hooded, caped people and a local youth claimed he had been invited by Pallenburg to take part in ‘pot smoking sex orgies’. Locals also claimed they found ‘ritualistic stakes’ and small animals that had been ‘sacrificed’ near the house.

1999 - Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin topped a chart of Britain's most bootlegged musicians, compiled by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), after identifying 384 bootleg titles featuring Led Zeppelin performances. The bootleg chart was complied from the BPI's archive of some 10,000 recordings seized over the past 25 years. The Beatles came in second with 320 entries, other acts listed included The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd.

2008 - Jackson Browne Jackson Browne was suing US Republican presidential candidate John McCain for using one of his songs without permission. Browne claimed the use of his song Running on Empty in an advert was an infringement of copyright and would lead people to conclude he endorses McCain. Browne was seeking more than $75,000 (£40,000) in damages.

2009 - Pink Floyd A thief in New Zealand took the unusual step of leaving his contact details at the site of his crime. The man reserved a copy of Pink Floyd's The Wall at a record shop in Christchurch, leaving his name and phone number, before robbing the till. He was a regular customer at the shop and already had several records on order

[rockandrollstorytime]

Rock and Roll Storytime #9: The Decline and Death of Brian Jones

I’ve probably made it no secret that I have a freaky-ass memory throughout the course of this series, and this won’t be an exception. Aside from many of the exact dates, I can remember exactly how I got obsessed with Brian Jones.

It started in May 2019 while I was goofing off in art class. I was trying to write about the 27 Club, being obsessed with Kurt Cobain at the time, when I found myself captivated by a certain other blonde in the club.

I don’t know what kept me around. Maybe it was the delicate features framed by silky blond hair. Maybe it was the complicated story of his life. Maybe it was his mysterious death, and my drive to find out what really happened. Or maybe it was that shitty movie they made about him in 2005.

Whatever the reason, I stuck around. I’ll even put it this way: “Came for the morbidity stayed for the music. “

Let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

It took me about a week or two to come up with my first theory between wondering what the hell I was getting myself into and trying to decide whether I should watch Stoned. I found out very early on that Brian had developed asthma at the age of four after a bout of croup. Knowing that asthma attacks can result in death, I didn’t think it unlikely that Brian could have drowned as a result of an asthma attack. In my research, I found an article stating that chlorine mixing with organic material can trigger symptoms of asthma attacks and allergic reactions.

I knew I’d need more evidence though but given that I didn’t want to be too intrusive this early on, that would be a slow process. If there was one thing I held on to, it was my firm resolute to not fall for another murder conspiracy so soon. It didn’t end so well for me the last time.

As I was trying to piece together what exactly happened to Brian Jones, I was also beginning to find out the story of how he got to that point in the first place.

There are many reasons I have love-hate relationships with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and their treatment of Brian Jones is by far the biggest one.

Where the story of Brian Jones’ decline really starts is at the Ealing Club on 7 April 1962. It was here that a young Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Dick Taylor saw Brian “Elmo Lewis” Jones take the stage for the first time. The next month, Brian put an ad in the papers for musicians to come join a band he was starting. He quickly brought together Ian Stewart, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Dick Taylor, and Tony Chapman. The band, which Brian dubbed “The Rollin’ Stones,” gave their first performance on 12 July 1962, though there seems to be some confusion over who was playing drums that night. Bill Wyman replaced Dick Taylor on 7 December 1962, and Charlie Watts replaced Tony Chapman on 9 January 1963.

In the early days, Brian served as the Stones’ manager. It ended up being this very thing that led to the first cracks in this fortuitous partnership.

First thing’s first, Andrew Loog Oldham came along, and in May, he became the Stones’ manager. He only really had eyes for Mick and was one of the ones who led the subsequent whispering campaign against Brian. Not helping anything was when, on 13 October 1963, the others found out that Brian had been paying himself an extra £5 ($5.58). These were expenses he deducted because he believed that should be his pay, considering he was doing much of the work at this time. (I can sort of relate; I’ve suffered through high school group projects).

On the economics side (lord knows, that’s more Mick’s thing than mine), Bill Wyman has since stated that the Stones were making £193 ($215.38) a week. Adjusting for inflation, Brian was deducting roughly £87.26 out of £3,608.53. For the Americans in the crowd, that’s roughly $114.20 out of $4,722.66, once adjusted for inflation. Granted, across the board, that’s roughly 2.5% of the band’s total income at this point. Still, even that much might matter when you’re a bunch of starving artists.

When Paul Trynka summarized why everybody was pissed in his book, Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones, he said that for Mick, it was because he was a student at the London School of Economics. Five pounds is five pounds. Meanwhile, Keith was pissed because he, like everyone else in the band, was under the impression that they were earning equal pay in this group effort.

Pro-tip: If you start a band and feel you should be paid more because of how much of the work you’re doing, please disclose this with your band and work out an arrangement that will be beneficial to everyone. Otherwise, shit gets ugly.

Brian also didn’t help his case by insisting on staying in fancier hotels than the others (he was a bit of a neat-freak and a narcissist).

Keith later said, “He had an arrangement with (Eric) Easton, that as leader of the band he was entitled to this extra payment. Everybody freaked out. That was the beginning of the decline of Brian. We said, ‘Fuck you…’”

Meanwhile, Ian Stewart (who had been ousted from the band earlier that year) stated, “When we started playing outside London, Brian said, ‘I’m the leader of the group and I think I’ll stay at the best hotel. All the rest of you can stay in a cheaper hotel.’ Of course, the rest of the Stones just laughed at him, and that was it from then on. It was all over for him as the leader. He started to isolate himself because of this attitude.”

With one little five-pound note (and an ego trip), Brian had set in motion his entire downfall.

It might seem petty to myself and plenty of other Brian Jones fans, but lord knows, I’m not Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, or Andrew Loog Oldham. Besides, I have no idea how I’ll feel about all this in five years.

Meanwhile, I must confess that I almost did fall into that mindset of believing Brian was murdered. In June 2019, I was in Paris, on a trip across France led by my French teacher. Somewhere between trying not to lose my mind in a big city and taking awkward selfies at Jim Morrison’s grave, I, being overly chatty, started talking to one of my peers about music-related topics. I told her Brian’s entire life story as I understood it at that time, having been obsessed with him for a little over a month at that point. In my haste though, I unintentionally managed to convince her that Brian had been murdered. Despite not meaning to, I did end up entertaining the possibility, both for her and myself, for at least the rest of the night.

Besides, at the time, I was drawing blanks in trying to find hard evidence that Brian wasn’t murdered. I had one (water-logged) book saying he wasn’t, and a (shitty) movie and another book saying he was.

And then, at some point, I regained my senses, and not because of how ridiculous Brian’s death was when depicted in the movie Stoned. (For fuck’s sake, there was a shooting star in the sky at the moment of his death and he showed up as a ghost in the last five minutes). It really had everything to do with how much I regretted believing Kurt Cobain had been murdered.

I once again gathered my resolve and decided to go back on the hunt for more clues.

The second part of Brian Jones’ decline undoubtedly involves his tempestuous relationship with German-Italian actress Anita Pallenberg. The two started dating after a Rolling Stones concert in Munich on 14 September 1965 and developed a close bond, thanks in part to Brian’s ability to speak German. She gave him the confidence he needed to go against Mick and Keith and helped him become the fashion icon he is still remembered as today.

The Who’s Pete Townshend later had this to say: “We hung out a lot from about 1964 to 1966. Part of the time he was seeing Anita Pallenberg. She was a stunning creature. I mean literally stunning. It was quite hard to maintain one’s gaze. One time in Paris I remember they took some drug and were so sexually stimulated they could hardly wait for me to leave the room before starting to shag. I felt Brian was living on a higher plane of decadence than anyone I would ever meet.”

However, their relationship was also highly abusive. They would verbally and physically abuse each other. In fact, one time, Brian broke his wrist while the two were on a trip in Tangier. Though Brian said it was the result of an accident, Christopher Gibbs and Bill Wyman have both stated that it resulted from an altercation with Anita (though sources vary about whether he broke his wrist on a metal window frame or her face).

Of their relationship, Keith had this to say, “I would hear the thumping some nights, and Brian would come out with a black eye. Brian was a woman beater. But the one woman in the world you did not want to try and beat up on was Anita Pallenberg. Every time they had a fight, Brian would come out bandaged and bruised.”

I’d go so far as to say that the one good thing that came out of their relationship was the fact that Brian composed the soundtrack for her movie Mord Und Totschlag (A Degree of Murder).

As I’ve previously written about, when Mick and Keith were charged with drug possession in February 1967, lawyers told the Glimmer Triplets (Mick, Keith, and Brian) that since they were the most visible of the Stones, they should leave the country. So, Brian and Anita left Britain, heading for Morocco. However, Brian was already in no condition to travel, and he fell ill with pneumonia in Toulouse. He ended up spending a few days there (including his 25th birthday), while Keith and Anita met up in Tangier. There, she started an affair with Keith behind Brian’s back (Keith even confirmed in his autobiography that she made the first move).

When Brian finally arrived, he could tell that there was something going on between Keith and Anita. Keith was apparently shy around girls at this stage in his life but was more confident around Anita. Meanwhile, Anita was now a bit more open around Keith. Not much is certain about what happened next. What is known is that Brian paid for the services of two prostitutes and that there was an incident between him and Anita that night. Keith said that he threw food at her and humiliated her. Bill claimed that he beat her to the point where she was scared for her life. The less said about Stoned, the better.

Regardless, whatever Brian’s actions really were, it was over between him and Anita. Keith convinced her that if they didn’t get the hell out of there, Brian might try and kill her. The next day, Mick, Keith, and Anita fled Morocco, leaving Brian stranded for the next two days.

Brian’s father later blamed his son’s downward spiral on Anita breaking his heart. Others, such as Linda Lawrence, suggest that it was Mick and Keith’s betrayal that hurt him far more than Anita’s.

In either case, he never really forgave Keith. Beyond that, his drug and alcohol consumption only worsened.

This part of the Stones’ history is… tricky. Of course, I can’t condone Brian for his behaviour, but Keith, and especially Anita weren’t entirely in the right in this situation. Ultimately, Keith and Anita stayed together until 1980 and had three children (one of whom unfortunately died in infancy). Besides, I understand Keith’s actions the most out of everyone, given that he had a noble intent in getting Anita away from Brian’s increasingly toxic behaviour. Of course, it’s also important to note that Brian and Anita were 25 and 24 respectively at the time of this incident, and beyond that, they were young and impulsive, with unfortunately predictable results, given that they both could be volatile.

I may have an infatuation with Brian, but sometimes, something’s got to give.

Fifty-two years after that clusterfuck, I was continuing my research into the life of L. B. H. Jones as the fiftieth anniversary of his death came and went. A week or two later, I decided, despite some reservations, to get Bill Wyman’s book, Stone Alone.

Say what you will about Bill (I know at some point I’ll be commenting about the travesty that was his relationship with Mandy Smith), but I figured that if I wanted to know about the early Rolling Stones, he’d be one of my best sources. At the very least, he’s the only one who’s given Brian any sort of credit for his accomplishments instead of solely focusing on his failures like Keith tends to do. As I was flipping through random pages, I learned that Bill had written about one of Brian’s many illegitimate children. He called her “Carol,” for the sake of anonymity, and in it, he discussed the matter of her being diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy. She and Bill even applied some of her symptoms to things Bill observed when he was with Brian. In that one instant, what happened to Brian the night he drowned seemed to make perfect sense.

One of the things that had made putting the clues together so difficult from the very start was that Brian had punctate haemorrhages (tiny bleeds normally found in shaken baby syndrome) in his brain, which indicated that he’d been thrashing around quite a bit in his final moments.

Temporal lobe epilepsy can’t be cured, but it is manageable to a degree with medications. Brian, however, was never diagnosed, which is why we can’t be certain that he had epilepsy. There is no doubt in my mind that if Brian did have epilepsy, it would’ve gotten worse over time, given that Brian received no treatment. Carol speculated that Brian likely chalked up many of his symptoms to being hungover. Even then, he might not have realized that something was happening with his brain.

While I was typing up my theories though, I remembered that I’d found his toxicology report not long beforehand. As I read it, I found out that the drug that was in his system was likely Mandrax, which he had been prescribed in the days before he died. When I looked up Mandrax, I discovered that it was a brand name for Quaaludes. It can cause mental confusion, ataxia, seizures, and impaired decision-making, among other negative side-effects. The impaired judgment would explain why Brian decided it’d be a great idea to go swimming after he’d had sleeping pills and alcohol…

I still didn’t consider my work done, but this was the closest I’d come to having answers yet.

Speaking of Brian and drug abuse, the third key to understanding what happened to Brian, is to look at his two drug convictions.

However, I already talked about this (quite recently too), so I’ll try and keep this section brief.

As Mick and Keith were formally charged with drug possession on 10 May 1967, Brian found his home being raided by police. Although he’d been tipped off about their arrival, they still managed to find a handbag with cannabis in it, as well as methamphetamines and cocaine. It could be argued that the evidence was planted, but there is no way to prove this. In court, Brian confessed to doing cannabis but denied doing anything stronger (even though there’s pictures of him tripping on LSD early in 1967). The Stones’ new manager, Allen Klein, told him to stay away from the other Stones. However, this had the effect of further isolating Brian when he needed his bandmates the most.

On 30 October 1967, Brian was sentenced to three months in prison for cannabis possession and another nine months for allowing cannabis to be smoked in his home. He was additionally fined. After a rough night in prison, he was released the next day, awaiting appeal, though he was left shaken by that experience.

On 12 December, Brian went to appeals court, where his psychologist argued that Brian would become suicidal if he went to prison. Brian was sentenced to three years’ probation and ordered by the courts to seek professional help.

Lord knows, at this point, Brian might have been making an honest-to-God effort to get off drugs, but on 21 May 1968, police raided his house again. This time, they found cannabis hidden away in a ball of wool in the process. This usually inspires more impassioned arguments from Brian Jones fans that the evidence was planted. Brian himself said that he would swear until the day he died that he didn’t commit this second offense. Because he was still on probation at the time of this second arrest, he was facing a long jail sentence if found guilty.

On 26 September, Brian was found guilty of drug possession for the second time. However, the same judge who sentenced him to a year in prison the first time took pity on him. Instead, he fined Brian and gave him a stern warning to not show up in court again.

As you can see with the attached pictures though, the trials only helped speed up Brian’s downward spiral, and he shut down mentally.  

Honestly, I think the trials are a large part of the reason Brian went downhill as fast as he did.

Meanwhile, back in the present day, it was September now, and I was starting to get into the swing of being a full-time college student. While I was procrastinating, as usual, I was messing about on Google and I happened upon Brian’s autopsy report. Fact about me: this was far from my first time reading either autopsy reports or death certificates, so I decided to give it a look. After all, I could understand quite a bit of the medical jargon, which I blame on the fact that I loved reading medical books in elementary school. Couldn’t hurt, right?

Was the report perfunctory? Yes. Were there mistakes? A few that stood out, such as Brian’s height being given as 5′9″ when he was 5′6″, and his age being listed as twenty-six as opposed to twenty-seven.

However, that report did reinforce my most recent conclusions that Brian had overdosed on sleeping pills, which was exacerbated by alcohol.

I knew now that Mandrax had once been prescribed to treat anxiety and insomnia, which Brian likely suffered from following the stress of two drug trials that both resulted in convictions. This was also a time before doctors realized the addictive properties of Quaaludes. For all I know, Brian might not have been keeping the best track of how many pills he was taking (which is also how Keith Moon died).

Going back to the long, sordid story of Brian’s collapse, the fourth major reason he found himself being kicked out of the band he founded was that he stopped contributing to the Stones’ music.

In the documentary Crossfire Hurricane, Mick stated, “You certainly didn’t know if he was going to turn up and what state he was going to be in and then, what he was going to be able to do in that state. What job could you give him? And then, one time, when we sat around, on the floor, we played, in a circle, playing “No Expectations”. And he picked the guitar and played a very pretty line on it which you can hear on the record. And that was the last thing I remember him doing that was Brian. Or, the Brian that could contribute something very pretty and sensitive and it made the record sound wonderful.”

Some people have compared Brian to someone who wants to quit but doesn’t want a confrontation (Brian, believe it or not, wasn’t exactly keen on confrontation). Instead, he puts in the smallest effort he can, if that. In fact, Brian had wanted to leave in 1967, but Mick convinced him to stay.

Perhaps Brian’s fate might have been different if he’d gone with his gut in 1967.

Brian still contributed to much of Beggars Banquet. By 1969 though, it seems as if he’d completely given up on the band he’d founded. He stopped showing up to the studio, and if he did come, he’d be too intoxicated to play. In fact, there were points where Mick and Keith would turn off his amp, if not tell him to just go home. It got to the point where he (barely) appears on two songs on Let It Bleed: “Midnight Rambler” and “You’ve Got the Silver.”

Frequent Stones collaborator Jack Nitzsche later said “Brian came up to me, looking pretty shaky, and asked me what I thought he should do- he didn’t know where he fit[ted] in. I told him to just pick up a guitar and start playing. Then he walked over to Mick and asked, ‘What should I play?’ Mick told him, ‘You’re a member of the band, Brian, play whatever you want.’ So he played something, but Mick stopped him and said, ‘No, Brian, not that- that’s no good.’ So Brian asked him again what to play and Mick told him again to play whatever he wanted. So Brian played something else, but Mick cut him off again- ‘No, that’s no good either, Brian.’”

Marianne Faithfull, Mick’s girlfriend at the time, told a friend that Brian had sent Mick several letters over a period of several weeks while Mick was away. One that she’d opened said “Please let me come back in. I’ll play bongos, anything, but please let me come back in.”

…I need a moment to recollect myself.

Some fifty years later, I was still trying to make it through my first semester of college. I got myself a book about the 27 Club, figuring there might be something that would aid me in my research. There, I learned that, reportedly, Brian had not only been taking Mandrax, but also Piriton (hay fever medication), black bombers (which had been prescribed to him a mere ten days before he died), and Valium. That’s on top of an inhaler that would later be found to cause heart palpitations.

A couple of months later, I decided to look up the side-effects of every drug that Brian had ever taken, be it proven fact or allegation. That part of my research isn’t quite finished yet, but what I’ve found with the five medications that Brian was taking around the time of his death proved to be particularly shocking.

For the sake of brevity, I can’t list every side-effect. What I did notice is that some included side-effects of tachycardia/bradycardia, confusion, loss of coordination, impaired decision making, hyperactivity, seizures, and stomach problems. Some, like the uncoordinated behaviour, were noted by those who were there, such as Janet Lawson, who realized that Brian had taken sleeping pills that night, based on him muttering that he’d taken “sleepers”. Others could be a no-brainer, given that Brian had an enlarged heart and liver, in addition to suffering from bronchial troubles and pleurisy.

My immediate thought was, “Jesus, Brian, what the hell were you doing to yourself?”

And now for the final part of Brian’s story: the last twenty-five days of his life.

The Stones wanted to go on tour again, this being their first in two years. Due to Brian’s convictions, Stones management discovered that he probably wouldn’t be able to receive a work visa in the U.S. On 8 June 1969, Mick and Keith drove down to Cotchford Farm to tell Brian that he was fired. They brought Charlie along in case Brian decided to put up a fight. However, Brian agreed to back out gracefully, possibly knowing that he’d burned too many bridges at this point. The next day, Brian released a statement, which painted the decision to leave as being his own. He capped it off with “We had a friendly meeting and agreed that an amicable termination, temporary or permanent, was the only answer. The only solution was to go our separate ways, but we shall still remain friends. I love those fellows.”

As I’ve said though, how Brian truly felt about this turn of events will forever remain a mystery.

In the days before he died, it has been suggested by those close to him that Brian was planning on starting another band. Some believe he was going to bring in Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon. Jimi’s camp has since denied that Brian ever approached Jimi. There are also lingering questions regarding whether Brian had given up hard drugs or if he was still taking them. I doubt the latter, considering the well-documented stress of the drug trials.

The picture above was taken nine days before Brian died. Honestly, I do believe there was still some hope for Brian (I can even see it in his eyes). Whether he would’ve recovered or not and whether he’d still be alive today will forever remain up to conjecture, as that’s another possibility that followed Brian to the grave.

Wednesday, 2 July 1969 was host to hot, muggy weather that exacerbated Brian’s asthma. He spent his last day alive with at least three people: Anna Wohlin, his 22-year-old, Swedish girlfriend, Janet Lawson, a registered nurse who was dating Stones minder Tom Keylock, and Frank Thorogood, a 43-year-old builder who’d been doing work on Brian’s property at the time.

Details of Brian’s final day are sketchy, and there are some disagreements over what exactly the people involved did throughout the day. For example, there are disagreements about whether they watched television or not. Some would argue that this is clear evidence that Brian was murdered. I would posit that three of the four parties involved had been drinking. Even if everyone was sober, in a situation such as this, human memory can be extremely unreliable. For example, hundreds of witnesses were interviewed on the night Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, but no two accounts are alike. What we know had to be stitched together from witness accounts in which everyone claimed to have seen or heard something different.

What seems to be the most agreed-upon version of Brian’s death is that he decided to go swimming. Anna was reluctant and had to be persuaded to join in. Janet, the only sober person among the group, decided against swimming, most likely to keep an eye out for everyone else. Janet said in her witness report (recorded on the morning of July 3, 1969) that she strongly felt that Frank and Brian were in no condition to swim. She also recalled that Brian had great difficulty in standing on the diving board, being helped not-so-successfully by Frank. Even after that, his movements in the water seemed sluggish.

I don’t know, but if that were me, I would’ve called emergency services right there and then.

According to Janet, Anna was the first to return to the house, followed by Frank about ten minutes later. When Janet next went out to check on Brian sometime around midnight, she found him face-down in the deep end, and “immediately sensed the worst.”

She ran back to the house to get Frank and Anna, and with their help, got Brian out of the pool. She immediately began resuscitative efforts, despite knowing Brian was already dead. Anna later claimed that she felt Brian’s hand briefly grip hers. However, when paramedics arrived, they pronounced Brian dead in the early morning hours of 3 July 1969.

Brian’s official cause of death was given as drowning by immersion in fresh water, partly as a result of liver damage and the ingestion of drugs and alcohol. To be precise, 1,720 micro-gms of an “amphetamine-like substance” and the alcohol equivalent of three-and-a-half pints of beer were found in Brian’s system.

In short, it was death by misadventure.

As seems to be the case when a young celebrity dies under tragic circumstances, conspiracy theories have since risen regarding Brian’s death. The following list is taken from Paul Trynka’s book. For the sake of brevity (such as it is), some of these will be combined into one section.

1. The most predominant of these theories states that Frank Thorogood drowned Brian. Whether it was second-degree murder or manslaughter as a result of rough horseplay will usually vary between sources. Brian reportedly asked Janet to get his inhaler shortly before his death. The story then goes on to state that Frank drowned Brian and participated little in the efforts to save Brian’s life. It should be noted that Janet did state in her original testimony that she’d asked him to call emergency services.

The main reason people will give about why they believe that Brian was murdered is that Tom Keylock claimed to have heard Frank confess on his deathbed to the murder. However, Frank’s daughter, Jan Bell, has denied that such an exchange could have happened. There was never a point where Keylock had spent any time alone with her father. Furthermore, he’d only been admitted with a respiratory problem, and thus could not have known that he was on his deathbed. She also claimed that on the morning of Brian’s death, Frank saw an argument between Mick, Keith, and Brian over the name “Rolling Stones.” During the fight, Keith allegedly pulled a knife on Brian. If this did happen, it was likely earlier in the year.

In addition, Janet and Anna have since claimed that Brian was murdered. Janet later claimed that much of her original testimony was suggested to her by investigating officers and that Tom told her to hide the fact that she was his girlfriend. Anna claimed that she was spirited back to Sweden in the immediate aftermath of Brian’s death, where she allegedly miscarried Brian’s child. One of Anna’s friends later said that her belief that Brian had been murdered was a recent development. It’s also notable that neither witness came forward until after Frank died. Many of Anna’s recollections about Brian, such as him being focused on music are also contradicted by others who were close to Brian at the time.

Keith later said, “I knew Frank Thorogood, who made a ‘deathbed confession’ that he’d killed Brian Jones by drowning him in the swimming pool, where Brian’s body was found some minutes after other people had seen him alive. But I’m always wary of deathbed confessions because the only person there is the person he’s supposed to have said it to, some uncle, daughter, or whatever. ‘On his deathbed he said he killed Brian.’ Whether he did or not I don’t know. Brian had bad asthma and he was taking Quaaludes and Tuinals, which are not the best things to dive under water on. Very easy to choke on that stuff. He was heavily sedated. He had a high tolerance for drugs, I’ll give him that. But weigh that against the coroner’s report, which showed that he was suffering from pleurisy, an enlarged heart, and a diseased liver. Still, I can imagine the scenario of Brian being so obnoxious to Thorogood and the building crew he had working on Brian’s house that they were just pissing around with him. He went under and didn’t come up. But when somebody says, ‘I did Brian,’ at the very most I’d put it down to manslaughter. All right, you may have pushed him under, but you weren’t there to murder him. He pissed off the builders, whining son of a bitch. It wouldn’t have mattered if the builders were there or not, he was at that point in his life when there wasn’t any.”

(You’re telling me he can apologize for telling Mick to get a vasectomy, but not for even a fraction of the shit he’s said about Brian?)

In 2005, this version of events was turned into the appalling movie Stoned, which featured Tom Keylock as an adviser and was based on claims made by Janet Lawson and Anna Wohlin. The director, Stephen Wooley, claimed to have researched the material for this story over a period of ten years. Really, it feels less like ten years of research, and more like one week. From what I could tell, it did seem that Brian’s death was manslaughter, but honestly, it was too confusing. Frank seemed damn determined to drown Brian in that moment. The movie (quite literally) drowned on arrival.

2. In 1983, Nicholas Fitzgerald wrote Brian Jones: The Inside Story of a Rolling Stone. In it, he claimed to have been a close friend of Brian Jones (his cousin, Tara Browne, actually was a close friend of Brian’s). Not only that, but he claimed to have seen Brian’s “murder.” He claimed that he and 19-year-old Richard Cadbury (who passed away before the story came out) visited Brian at Cotchford Farm the day he died. Allegedly, Brian told Fitzgerald all about his plans to start up a supergroup with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, saying “Don’t say anything… it could be dangerous!”

(As keen as I am about the idea of John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and Brian Jones being in the same band, you can probably tell that I think this story is a load of bullshit.)

After Fitzgerald and his friend visited a pub, they returned to Cotchford Farm at about 11:15 PM, leaving their car some distance from the house. (Keep in mind, the coroner said that Brian died somewhere between 11:30 PM and 12:00 AM). There, he and his friend saw three men holding Brian under the water, whilst two other people stood by. Suddenly, a man, likely Keylock, jumped out of the bushes and told Fitzgerald to scram, lest he be next.

He refused to give a formal statement to the police. What I don’t think the dumb fuck was counting on was that police would investigate his ass, considering that withholding information could’ve resulted in him being charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact. The police determined that the evidence Fitzgerald gave was “bizarre, full of unverifiable claims that, he, too, had escaped murder attempts, that Cadbury might have been involved with the murderers, and that Cadbury, too, had died ‘in mysterious circumstances”. Detective Chief Superintendent J. F. Reece summarized it best when he said that Fitzgerald was a “Walter Mitty type person” and that he’d come up with the allegations to promote his book. In fact, the book itself had even more ludicrous allegations, such as how Tom Keylock had overseen the whole thing. It got to the point where Eddie Kramer called the story “silly.” John Lennon, meanwhile, believed that Brian was another victim of the drugs scene, and even dreaded him coming on the phone (another reason I don’t believe the supergroup was in the cards for Brian’s future, regardless). Also, Fitzgerald mostly relied on the testimony of those who had already passed away, such as Suki Potier, one of Brian’s girlfriends, who died in a car crash along with her husband in 1981. One of the few living witnesses Fitzgerald claimed to have run into, James Phelge, denied ever having met him.

Also, pro-tip, if you’re going to claim to have been a close friend of someone you’re claiming was murdered, don’t sell your story to the tabloid that got him busted for drug possession. Just saying.

3. In 1990, A. E. Hotchner published Blown Away: The Rolling Stones and the Death of the Sixties. In it, he claimed that Brian’s childhood friend, Dick Hattrell, and a random Cockney named "Marty” had knowledge that Brian was murdered. He claimed that Rich (sounds better to me than Dick) visited Brian shortly before he died and became worried about him. Later, he bumped into someone who claimed to have witnessed Brian’s murder. Marty claimed to have witnessed the murder, claiming that two other women were there, including Linda Lawrence (mother of one of Brian’s sons) who was spirited out of the country following Brian’s death.

In reality, she last saw Brian in 1968.

Similarly, Hattrell has since stated that the story was nonsense; he never visited Brian at Cotchford, and he never said Brian was murdered. Marty has since kept his mouth shut.

Really, it just doesn’t hold up when closely scrutinized.

4. David Gibson claimed to the Brighton Evening Argus that, while he was fitting carpets at Brian’s home, Brian and Anna were absent throughout the better part of the day. When they returned later in the evening, Brian begged Gibson not to leave. Gibson, meanwhile, believed Brian had been murdered and that Tom Keylock was responsible. Some, like Sam Cutler, claim that Gibson saw Princess Margaret at Cotchford Farm, which has led to speculation that Brian was killed to protect her reputation. Gibson never went to the police, and probably believed that he’d been subject to threats and murder attempts. However, aside from Brian’s paranoia and belief that someone was out to get him, Gibson’s story doesn’t line up with many of the other conspiracy theories.

5. Geoffrey Giuliano in his 1994 book Paint It Black claimed that a man named “Joe” said that he’d held Brian’s head under the water for shits and giggles (not something one would normally do for shits and giggles). The thing is though, Giuliano’s book largely recycled content from previous books on the subject, and beyond that, made elementary mistakes, such as claiming that Frank had fled the scene, when in reality, he was there when police officer Albert Evans arrived at about 12:10 AM. It was later found that the tape he’d sourced some of this information from was a fake, made for American radio programmes in New York.

6. Given that Tom Keylock was a bit of a dishonest/disliked character in life, it should come as no surprise that some of the theories focus on him too. In 2009, Sam Cutler claimed that after Brian’s death, Allen Klein (himself a sleazeball) hired some PI’s to investigate Brian’s death and that they’d discovered that Tom was responsible. While Tom did try to pin the blame on Frank and told Janet to conceal her relationship with him, and it is known that he apparently stole some of Brian’s belongings after he died, that does not make one a murderer. It’ll certainly make him a slimeball, but that doesn’t mean he’s a murderer. Meanwhile, in 2013, Cutler claimed confusion as to whether the Klein report even existed. I think at this point, it’s safe to call it a hoax.

In addition, while it is more likely that Tom would have been the murderer instead of Frank, he does have a rather rock-solid alibi in that he was at Olympic Studios and was the one who received the call that Brian had died. Really, any theories that try to say he masterminded a huge plot to have Brian killed and make it appear as an accident tend to raise more questions than it answers.

Let’s all make no mistake though, the police did jump to conclusions rather quickly, there are several obvious mistakes in the autopsy findings, and not to mention, police failed to control the area, which is likely how Tom was able to steal Brian’s belongings and possibly have some destroyed.

Meanwhile, I myself believe that Brian’s death was accidental. Likely, it was the result of a cocktail of prescription medications, alcohol consumption, maybe a side-effect or two resulting from that, and possibly even heart failure or liver disease. Perhaps Brian fainted (which, I honestly hope for, given how painful it is to drown), and with no one around to notice his plight, he quietly slipped away.

I know there’s no way to prove this, given that the police don’t have a good reason to dig up Brian’s bones and it’s probably far too late for a second toxicology report, but given the available evidence I’ve been able to find, I believe this is the most likely version of events.

Truly, a sad ending for a man, who didn’t even have a chance to get back on his feet before fate (and a lifetime of drug/alcohol abuse) intervened.

Whenever I read about Brian’s life story, I always find myself interested by the mistakes, intrigue, and betrayal that seemed to plague Brian’s life from the outset. There are a multitude of what-ifs that honestly make this tale haunting, such as what might’ve happened had Mick and Keith not bullied Brian so severely. There’s also what might have happened if both the Stones and the authorities had better understood the effects of drug use and had the resources and compassion to better deal with Brian’s situation. Most hauntingly, there’s the question of what might’ve happened had someone been near Brian in his final moments and had the opportunity to save him.

I think the biggest reason I keep coming back to his story is that his life as a whole was very conflicting. It honestly inspires both condemnation and sympathy/pity, even in me.

Even if Mick and Keith would rather forget that Brian was ever a part of their band, it is my honest belief that people will continue to discover Brian Jones, whether it be through the 27 Club or through some other means, and I hope that they take the time to learn his story.

Sources/Further Reading: https://www.drugs.com/illicit/quaaludes.html https://asthma.net/living/swimming-pools-triggers/ https://www.drugs.com/sfx/ergotamine-side-effects.html https://www.drugs.com/sfx/valium-side-effects.html https://www.drugs.com/sfx/amphetamine-side-effects.html https://www.drugs.com/sfx/chlorpheniramine-side-effects.html Stone Alone by Bill Wyman Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones by Paul Trynka Brian Jones: The Untold Life and Mysterious Death of a Rock Legend by Laura Jackson https://clearcomfort.com/why-asthma-allergy-sufferers-should-avoid-chlorine-pools/ http://timeisonourside.com/chron1967.html http://timeisonourside.com/chron1969.html http://www.timeisonourside.com/chron1963.html http://www.timeisonourside.com/chron1962.html https://www.inflationtool.com/british-pound/1963-to-present-value?amount=5 https://people.com/music/anita-pallenberg-rolling-stones-keith-richards-brian-jones-love-triangle/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-lists/the-27-club-a-brief-history-17853/ https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-jones-found-dead/ https://www.denofgeek.com/us/culture/music/281978/the-rolling-stones-and-the-mystery-of-brian-jones-death https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/brian-jones-sympathy-for-the-devil-182761/ https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/15989/brian-jones-it-was-murder https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brian-jones-murdered/ https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/just-why-was-brian-jones-so-important-to-the-rolling-stones/ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/obituary-brian-jones-189861/ https://www.oxfordtreatment.com/prescription-drug-abuse/tuinal/

[artistjojo1228]

Rock and Roll Storytime #6: The Rolling Stones Against the Establishment (i.e. Drug Trials)

Let’s face it, I think most of us are prone to that moment or two where we can’t help but think about how lucky we are to be alive right now. Most rock stars in particular probably aren’t nearly as worried about the potential of being arrested for drug possession (nowadays, I’m hearing about more rockers being arrested for far more serious crimes). Yes, even with the somewhat-accepted notion that rock stars are prone to doing drugs (”sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” after all), it still happens, but in the 1960′s, there was an even greater chance of that, especially since rock and roll was still fairly new, and some moral guardians were in an uproar about it.  Because *of course*, anything new and exciting must be “corrupting” the youths, right?

Enter Sgt. Norman Pilcher (or, as John Lennon called him “Semolina Pilchard”), one of the ass-hats I partially blame for Brian Jones’ downfall (even if Brian, himself, set the ball rolling). He was a detective in his 30′s and was just about dead-set on sending a bunch of rockers to prison for something as *awful* as drug abuse (throughout, I’m just going to start using asterisks to denote my sarcasm). Even though, of course, these guys were often doing drugs in the privacy of their own homes and not harming anyone. Among the list of those he arrested were John Lennon, George Harrison, Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, and Keith Richards. He almost nabbed Eric Clapton, but Eric bolted out the back door once he realized Sgt. Pilcher was at his doorstep. 

This article is, primarily, about the Rolling Stones, and how the ensuing drug trials may have led to one being found motionless at the bottom of a pool just two years later. 

So, in 1967, it was practically a sport to see if someone in the Establishment could get a rock star busted for using drugs. In January, the tabloid, News of the World (defunct since 2011, thanks to a phone-hacking scandal), published a three-part story entitled "Pop Stars and Drugs: Facts That Will Shock You". In it, there were many allegations against pop stars supposedly using drugs and hosting drug parties at their residences, including Donovan, Pete Townshend and Ginger Baker. Part Two was all about the Rolling Stones. At one point in the article, it was alleged that Mick Jagger had taken several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a bit of hashish, and invited his companions over to his flat for a smoke (one of whom happened to be an undercover reporter). Turns out, that was just Brian Jones being a little careless about who he was talking to about drug use. Mick tried to sue the paper over that one. 

Quick aside, how the hell do they mess up Brian Jones and Mick Jagger?! Like, Brian’s blond and baby-faced and Mick has brunette hair and big-ass lips!

Either way, this attracted the attentions of Semolina Pilchard, News of the World was more than a little eager to discredit Mick and avoid a huge lawsuit, and on February 12, 1967, eighteen police officers raided Keith Richards’ home, Redlands. Mick was charged with drug possession after four amphetamines were found in his possession (he and Marianne had bought them in Italy, where they were perfectly legal). Robert Fraser, an art dealer who was friends with the Stones, was charged with having heroin in his possession. And Keith was charged with allowing his premises to be used for the smoking of cannabis. 

Stupid 1965 Dangerous Drugs Act...

Their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, was supposed to help them figure out what to do, but instead, the slimy bastard fled to the United States of America and his role fell to Allen Klein. Lawyers told Mick, Keith, and Brian that it’d probably be best if they got out of the country for a while, so, Mick, Keith, Brian, and Brian’s girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, all made their way down to Morocco. It was there that Brian and Anita’s relationship came to a messy end when she left him for Keith, and Brian was left stranded in Morocco for two days, which is all a story I’d *love* to tell in more detail some other time. 

On May 10, 1967, Mick, Keith, and Robert were formally charged with various drug possession charges. At the exact same time, Brian’s flat on Courtfield Road (since demolished) was raided by police. Reportedly, Brian had cleaned up his flat in preparation for police arrival, but the police still managed to find a purple Moroccan-style wallet with cannabis in it. Brian and Prince Stanislaus “Stash”  Klossowski (the latter of whom was later acquitted) were formally charged with cannabis possession on June 2, 1967 and elected to undergo trial by jury,

Mick, Robert, and Keith decided to undergo jury trials. Of course it went pear-shaped, I mean, this is the Establishment we’re talking about. If you don’t believe me, just take into account that the judge, Leslie Kenneth Allen Block, was unforgiving, and he practically reveled in the thought of sending a member or two of the Rolling Stones to prison. He even told the jury to dispel any reasonable doubt the defense had injected into the case, which, to me, seems pretty damn unethical, whether we’re talking about US courts or UK courts. Robert plead guilty, but Mick and Keith plead not guilty. On June 27 1967, Mick was found guilty of Benzedrine possession. He and Robert spent the night at Lewes Prison. 

Two days later, Keith was found guilty of allowing his home to be used for cannabis smoking. It was then that he, Mick, and Robert (the latter two had been held in confinement until Keith’s trial was over) were sentenced. Mick got three months in prison, Robert got six months, and Keith got a year. In addition, all three were fined. In case it wasn’t obvious enough, the sentences were extraordinarily harsh (and you can probably see why this whole affair pisses me off). Mick and Robert were to serve their sentences in Lewes, while Keith was sent to the notorious Wormwood Scrubs. 

Now, for some of you, it may be obvious that Mick and Keith didn’t serve their full sentences, but what may surprise you is that national newspapers, once all too happy to pounce on the opportunity to make fun of the Rolling Stones, now sprang to Mick and Keith’s defense. In particular, conservative William Rees-Mogg wrote an editorial, Who Breaks a Butterfly Upon a Wheel?, in which he criticized Mick’s sentence in particular. Soon after, Mick and Keith were released, awaiting appeal, and on July 31, 1967, Keith’s conviction was overturned entirely, citing circumstantial evidence, whilst Mick’s sentence was downgraded to a year’s probation.

So, that’s one part of the story that ends well, but what about Brian? Well, first and foremost, he didn’t take the whole affair as seriously as he could have, and was even the one Stone to plead guilty, against the advice of his lawyer and friends alike, and as a result from the proceedings as a whole (thanks a *bunch* Allen Klein), Brian became more isolated from the Rolling Stones than ever before. And keep in mind, just five years before, he was the one who put the ad in the papers and brought the guys together in the first place. On October 30, 1967, he went on trial, was found guilty, and was fined and sentenced to nine months for allowing his premises to be used for smoking cannabis and a further three months for cannabis possession to be served concurrently (though for some reason, some sources only list nine months). 

Also, as a fan of Brian, I must leave photos/video from around this time because, he just looks so... broken after being sentenced to a year in prison.

Compare that with pictures of him earlier the same year: 

Need I say more?

The next day, Brian was released on bail, awaiting appeal. Helping his case was when Judge Block was caught lamenting the fact that the Stones had won appeal/were waiting appeal. Though he claimed his remarks had been sarcastic, it must have seemed to the public (if only the anti-establishment kids) that there truly were ulterior motives for the trials. On December 12, 1967, Brian went back to court for appeal. His defense argued that he had become suicidal and wouldn’t fare well in prison. The judge tossed out Brian’s prison sentence in lieu of three years’ probation, but upheld the fine and ordered that Brian get professional help. 

The next day, he was found unconscious in his apartment after apparent drug and alcohol overuse and was driven to the hospital. He subsequently went to the Priory Clinic. 

Sadly, this would not be the last time Brian wound up in court on drug charges. On May 21, 1968, Brian was arrested for the second time after his home was raided and police, led by Sgt. Robin Constable, found a ball of wool that contained cannabis resin. According to some accounts, Brian had been trying to get clean, and when police found the ball of wool, he became distraught. Given that the media had already been alerted, there is almost no doubt in my mind that the evidence had been planted. This time though, Brian fought back, if only by pleading not guilty. The trial took place on September 26, 1968. Although Brian’s case was built on circumstantial evidence at best, he was still found guilty, by a court system that seemed out for his blood (especially since he seemed the most vulnerable of the Stones). However, the judge, Reginald Seaton, was much more fair than Block, and he said, “I am going to treat you as I would any other young man before this court. I am going to fine you, and I will fine you relative to your means:  £50 with 100 guinea costs... but you really must watch your step and stay clear of this stuff. For goodness’ sake do not get into trouble again.”

In my very loose style of paraphrasing: “Look, it’s obvious that you’re innocent, but the jury really wants to see you found guilty, so I’m just going to fine you, but for the love of God, don’t end up in court again. It won’t end well.”

Even so, the trials had very clearly taken their effect on Brian: 

The rest, as they say, is history. In June 1969, Brian was fired because his convictions left him unable to get a work visa in the US, and less than a month later, Brian drowned under mysterious circumstances. 

I did say earlier that I essentially believed that Brian’s drug trials led to his early demise in a way. Well, I guess it’s high time I explained that. See, I’ve read the toxicology report, which stated that Brian had 1720 micro-gms of an “amphetamine-like substance” in his system, which the coroner speculated was Mandrax, which had been prescribed to Brian in the months leading up to his death. Mandrax was the brand name for methaqualone, aka quaaludes, and once upon a time, before people realized that they were addictive, they were prescribed for anxiety and insomnia. According to some stories, Brian had been trying to get clean around the time of his death, but it is my honest belief that Brian relapsed the night he drowned, and may have had too many sleeping pills, the effects of which would not have been helped by the fact he’d been drinking that night (approx. 3.5 pints of beer). 

All of which I should probably explain in more detail another day. 

As for Sgt. Pilcher? He was eventually found guilty of perjury (unrelated to possibly planting dope on rock stars) and sentenced to four years in prison. 

Thank God for that. 

Sources: https://groovyhistory.com/sgt-pilcher-stories-narc-arrested-mick-jagger-john-lennon-keith-richards-george-harrison Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones by Paul Trynka Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock’n’Roll Band by Bill Wyman http://timeisonourside.com/chron1967.html https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/inside-allen-kleins-role-in-1967-jagger-richards-drug-bust-43267/ http://www.timeisonourside.com/chron1968.html https://www.nme.com/photos/the-great-rolling-stones-drug-bust-1402298 https://dangerousminds.net/comments/simon_wells_the_great_rolling_stones_drugs_bust https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/may/11/archive-rolling-stones-on-drug-charges-1967

[glimmerkeith]

Oh whhops sorry I was supposed to add glimker twins to the end of that but yes give me pain

| four word prompts: “you don’t love me.” 1967.

The door bangs shut behind Mick,dust motes whirling and peppering the air like the spices of Morocco justoutside the walls. “D’you maybe want to explain to me what the hell is goingon? I haven’t been able to ring you anywhere.”

 Keith mutters something that could be an apology, perched on the edgeof the ornate bed in the room and holding a cigarette in a hand that doesn’tseem to be quite steady. In truth, the adrenaline that’s been coursing throughhim the past couple days now is stronger than any drug high, about as intenseas any hit he’s ever taken. He closes his eyes and he sees Anita’s, bright andburning, looking at him with purpose as she moves to close the gap between themin the backseat of the Bentley.

 “Christ, it’s like you’re running from country to country and no onecan keep up. At least Brian’s back on his feet again, Anita says he seems tolike it here. I didn’t really speak to him much—”

 “It’s over, Mick. It’s over between them.”

 Mick pauses mid sentence, staring over at Keith curiously. The lightsilk shirt he’s wearing looks like it might be one of Marianne’s, starting tostick to him thanks to the humid air, and he pulls at the collar a bit as he tries to compose himself. “…what are you talking about?” But his voicesounds like he already knows.

 “Anita and Brian. They’re done. We went on ahead without him when hegot sick, and it just…from there, we just…” He can’t entirely put it in words—butthen, Mick ought to know what he’s talking about. How many times did the two ofthem get caught up in a moment (or several), finding the nearest place to gofor a bit of privacy? How many times?

 “Oh god…Keith, you didn’t…”

 A pinprick of irritation spikes him then, cutting through the rest ofhis jittery, elated feelings. “Don’t you give me a fucking lecture. Of allpeople!”

 “I’m not going to lecture you,” Mick says testily, raking a handthrough his hair. “But as if there isn’t enough going on right now for us,Keith! The tour coming up, that fucking trial—”

 “Maybe that’s why to do it, then. Who the hell knows where we’ll be ina couple months?”

 At Mick’s sour, withering look at that, Keith offers him a cigarettefrom his pack nearby, and his old friend reluctantly takes it. He sits downnext to him as Keith lights the cig for him, taking a few contemplative puffsbefore letting go in one long exhale.

 “Brian doesn’t know, then?”

 “I think he suspects something. Paranoid-like, you know how he gets. But he’llnever let her go, not without kicking and screaming.”

 There’s been plenty of that already in that relationship, the both ofthem know. Both Brian and Anita have the war wounds to prove it.

 “…so what are you going to do?” Perhaps despite himself, Mick soundsgenuinely intrigued, and Keith pulls a face at the question.

 “I dunno. Maybe split again without him, that ought to make the messageloud and clear. She swears she’s done with him.”

 “But does she mean it?”

 Keith shuts his eyes at that, leaning his head back on the wall behindthem. Mick’s eyes scan him intently, drinking him in, but the lack of responseis a confirmation in of itself. He tries again, for something else now.

 “…you love her, don’t you?” He knows the answer already, as sure as heknows the other side of that coin, the refrain that echoes somewhere deep in asecretly aching heart. And you don’t loveme.

 “Yeah,” Keith says hoarsely, rubbing at his face. “Fuck me, but I thinkI do. I’ve gotta be with her, Mick. She and Brian are awful together, you knowthat as much as I do. I’d treat her right.”

 Mick bites down on his lip for a moment, but finally, he nods. “Allright. We’re both probably mad, but all right. We’ll get something figured out.”

 And it’s worth it, to see Keith’s crooked, tentative smile at that.Going back years now, birds have always been something of a contest with himand Brian, but Keith’s never really gotten tangled up in that. He’s despairedover Anita for ages now, something Mick could never taunt him about and notknow in his heart that he would be a raging hypocrite if he did.

 How can he act like he wouldn’t do the same thing in Keith’s position?What wouldn’t he throw away, who wouldn’t he fuck over, to make it happen? Heknows the answer. And if it comes down to siding with Brian or Keith, his hearthas already made its choice some time ago.

 Brian rails at him later, of course he does, to the point where Micknearly expects a swing to come his way. “You knew,you absolute prick, you fucking knew! Anita…Keith…you were in on it all!”

 “It’s over now, for god’s sake,” Mick snaps at him, staring down thered-faced, watery-eyed vision who might have been his friend once. “It’s done.She left you, just accept it.”

 His bandmate makes a mirthless sound of strangled laughter. “You’regonna tell me to accept that someone doesn’t want me? You?”

 Brian throws himself down in a nearby chair, burying his face in hishands before he speaks again. “God. Look at us.”

 He doesn’t say any more, but he doesn’t have to.

[amaraspen-blog]

Fireworks

Part Two

I woke up feeling better than I had yesterday. I guess I needed the extra sleep.  It was time to get moving so I could have everything at Tammi’s by noon. I wasn’t ready to get up and moving. If it wasn’t for all the food I had to bring, and knowing Tammi would drag me out of my house; I would gladly stay in my house. Today would be a perfect day for getting cozy in my bed and watching movies, alone. The kids were coming with me, but if I didn’t go they would easily make other plans.

I dragged myself from my bed before the thought had a chance to settle and entered the walk in closet. We were supposed to hit ninety six degrees. I needed something comfortable that would keep me as cool as possible. Shorts and a tee were appealing but I finally settled on a yellow floral sundress. The material was thin without being too see through. There were knee high slits on both sides to give me some movement from the form fitting garment. I opted for a quick shower. After lotioning my body with cocoa butter it was time to tackle my nest of hair. There were more than a few gray hairs but not more than that. I twisted the front crown back and pulled the rest into a low ponytail. I looked in the mirror and was pleased with the result. The yellow complimented my chocolate complexion. At almost fifty years old I looked good. I loved my size sixteen frame. A few extra pounds in the right places and little cushion where abs should be, but I earned it. Jordan loved my wide hips and thunder thighs. He spent many a night with his head resting on my lap while we watched TV. My facial features were accentuated by my ponytail. Large almond eyes and naturally curly lashes. Eyes the color of wet cinnamon. In this heat there was no need to put on any makeup other than lip gloss. I applied a wine gloss to my full lips. Satisfied with my appearance, I threw on sandals and was ready to go.  

“Are y’all almost ready?” I called out to my children. “Remember I need to have the food there before other guests arrive.”

“I’m almost ready, but Dany was hogging the bathroom this morning.”

“Hey perfection takes time.”

“Maybe you need more time then.” Brandon teased.

Malik strolled up looking like he walked out of an Old Navy ad. Button up linen shirt, khaki shorts and boat shoes. “Looks like you both need more time. I’m ready Mom.” My oldest baby wasn’t a baby anymore. His slim six foot four inch frame still towered mine at five nine. I could always count on him to be responsible. Sometimes to the point that I had to remind him to enjoy his youth. At twenty five he should be having fun. He had completed his bachelor’s degree, was working in IT earning a decent amount of money. He needed to be dating. It probably didn’t help that he lived at home. Don’t get me wrong, he could afford to have his own place but thought it was better to stay after Jordan passed.

“Malik, can you start loading the car for me?”

“No problem Mom.”

“Thanks honey.”

“No problem Mom.” Danyel mocked.

“Dany, worry more about being ready.” I cautioned.

“I’m just putting earrings on. I’m ready.” This girl had on cut off shorts, tank top, an oversized cardigan and gladiator flats. She was six feet and all legs. Not to mention a head full of wild shoulder length curls and a full face of makeup. Visually there was a lot going on. Looking at her you wouldn’t guess we were headed to a backyard barbeque.

Danyel was my free spirit. She was an art major in college. She was living the college experience and dating a lot more than I wanted her to. I had to remind myself to guide where I could and let her develop into the person she was meant to be. At one point she was talking about studying abroad next semester, but who knew if she was serious about it.

“Good, help your brother.”

“Brandon, are you ready?”

“Yes ma’am.” He shuffled his way out of the jungle he called a bedroom, almost tripping over a shoe. He wore his high school basketball jersey, black basketball shorts and slides.

“Do you ever wear anything that isn’t sports related?” Danyel judged, shaking her head is disgust.

“Hey, I like what I like.” Brandon shrugged and walked off. I truly hoped his sense of style would change in the future.

Thirty minutes later the car was packed and we were on the road. Tammi stayed about twenty minutes from me.

Tammi didn’t give us a chance to stop the car before she was walking outside.

“Bout time. I been waiting on you.”

“Malcolm, she been sippin already?”

“You know how she is.” We joked. Malcolm was the opposite of his wife. Tammi was the life of the party, and Malcolm a lot more mild mannered. They had been married almost as long as Jordan and I. Tammi and I met freshman year and had been inseparable ever since.  

We unloaded the car and started setting up the backyard. Spending the 4th of July had become tradition for us. We normally alternated locations, but I hadn’t really felt up to participating the last few years. I gazed at all the pictures hanging on Tammi’s walls. So many memories and good times. My thoughts drifted as I went down memory lane.

“Don’t think about it, Renee. This is supposed to be a party and you were happy when you got here.”

Sigh. “I know. It’s just…”

“It’s just nothing. It’s been 3 years, you deserve to live. He wouldn’t want to see you living like a hermit.”

I know it came from a place of love, but she didn’t understand. “You’re wrong Tam. Remember he used to joke about haunting me if I tried to move on.”  Oddly enough that memory brought a smile to my face.

Tammi laughed at the memory. “He sure did. Lucky for you I’m just trying to get you to be present and enjoy friends. It’s not like I’m setting up a booty call. Although I’m sure you could use someone to come dust off the cobwebs.”

“Don’t worry about my situation. I’m not hurting for anyone.”

“Not now, but one day. I’ll make sure I help you find the right duster.”

“What y’all over here cackling about?” Malcolm walked over, beer in hand beer in hand.

“Just talking about cleaning services baby.” Tammi leaned in to Malcolm and rested her head on his side when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Oh, I know a good one. Their prices are decent and they’re Black owned.”

We looked at each other and laughed.

“What am I missing?”

“Nothing, you know what kind of equipment they use?” We laughed even harder.

“See now I know you playing.”

We couldn’t even deny it, and poked more fun at Malcolm’s expense.

“I’m gonna go back to my grill, since y’all minds in the gutter.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

“I wouldn’t say a gutter, but definitely in the street.” That was Tammi.

Other guests arrived. The smell of barbeque saturated the air. Music was bumping through portable speakers. They played a nice mixture of the music I loved: Keith Sweat, New Edition, and Anita along with some new school the kids could vibe to. The atmosphere was right. I sat in my lawn chair sipping one of Malcolm’s spiked lemonades and enjoying the scenery when I overheard Malcolm and Tammi arguing.

“Woman, you don’t wanna see me on this table.” Malcolm exclaimed.

“Come on Cleetus, let’s do it. You bout to get embarrassed today.” Tammi looked my way. “C’mon Nee, let’s give this man spanking he deserves and shut him up.”

I stood and stretched out. “Now I came to chill, but if folks asking for it, I’ll gladly come tap that ass one time.”

“That’s what I’m talking bout!” Tammi hi-fived me from across the table.

“Ain’t nobody scared of Nee!”

“You still talking Malcolm? You don’t even have a partner!”

“Now I don’t know you, but it sounds like we’re gonna have to skip formalities and go straight to spanking.” I turned my mouth up to reply and paused at the Ralph Angel looking King standing before me. I don’t even know where he came from. He was about six feet and dipped in chocolate.

“You look a lil young for this table but I will gladly whoop you and send you crying back to your mama.”

“Boy I still see milk behind your ears.” Tammi snickered.

“Time to put up or shut up.” Malcolm announced while shuffling.

We talked shit and played spades until the men finally had to accept they weren’t ready for me and Tammi. We had been playing together for decades. Malcom and the newbie didn’t stand a chance.

“Y’all cheated, over there using secret gestures. I saw you.”

“Awwww, don’t be a sore loser. Take this spanking like a man.” Tammi laughed and slapped Malcolm on his butt.

I made my exit from the table to get a refill on my drink. Mid-pour Ralph Angel entered the kitchen.

“I guess I’ll have to brush up on my skills.”

“That would probably be the best thing for you.” I teased.

“I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself. I’m Daryn Thomas.” He extended his hand to mine.

“Renee Johnson.”

“Nice to meet you.” He smiled and I could see dimples just above his beard. Lord, this man couldn’t get any finer.

“How long have you know Malcolm and Tammi?”

“Probably longer than you’ve been alive.” I couldn’t help myself. Don’t get me wrong, Daryn was fine as hell but I meant it when I said he looked a little young. Definitely not as young as my children just younger than me. I didn’t want him to get the wrong impression.

“I highly doubt that. Did you too grow up together?”

“No we met in college.”

Daryn couldn’t hide his disbelief. “I’m sorry but I have to ask. How old are you?”

I chuckled “You know you aren’t supposed to ask a lady her age.”

“I know, but you don’t look that much older than me.”

“How old are you?” I asked to satisfy my curiosity.

“I’m thirty eight. I’ll be thirty nine in September.”

I just laughed. “I’m fifty.” I shook my head and started to walk away.

He placed his hand on mine, halting my progress.

“You don’t look it at all.” Daryn replied looking me up and down. I felt naked under his gaze.

“Thank you.” I stated pulling my hand back. I walked to the door to make my exit and end this conversation before anything else was said.

“Let me get that door for you.” I left and didn’t turn back. I could feel Daryn’s eyes still staring me down.

[cwritesstuff]

Klangst week day 2: Mistakes

Or: Keith keeps messing up, but not in the way he thinks.

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

If that was true, Keith was in deep by now. Because he kept making the same mistake over and over, and never seemed to learn.

It started when he was a little kid. He didn’t remember his parents, but he must’ve loved them. He must have because of the way Pidge’s eyes sparkled whenever she talked her father’s adventures (though that childish excitement was tinted with sadness). He must have because of how Allura had to fight so hard to tear herself away from the mere image of her father, even though he was long dead and the malfunctioning A.I. had posed a critical threat to the entire castle. He must have because of how he’d overheard Lance - proud, surefooted Lance -  getting all choked up about his mom’s hugs.

It seemed like this was just how people were about their parents, so it naturally followed that Keith, in his earliest years, must have been the same way. Not that he’d ever know. Dad had died so long ago, and Mom had never really been in the picture (for reasons that were becoming clearer, given his newfound Galra heritage).

He’d loved his parents, he must have - and now they were gone.

It continued as he moved from foster family to foster family, never sticking around for too long. The McCartneys were nice enough, but couldn’t really afford to look after him after Andrew McCartney got fired from his job at the bank. The Jacobsens took him in mainly for the government cheques, and while they were never outright cruel to him, they could never be bothered to be kind, either. They must’ve gotten tired of him eventually, because he was shipped off to the next thing. And the next. And the next.

And yet - and yet - he couldn’t help but miss it all when he got into flight school. Maybe he had a fucked up idea of what family was meant to be like, but he missed the odd moments of happiness. Like the warm peanut butter cookies he’d helped the shy daughter of one of his foster homes make. Or when Anita McCartney gave him that sweet rosy-cheeked smile and said he could call her Mom.  The Garrison was even lonelier. At the Garrison, there was no sense of “family” - you had a clique of friends you could stick to, or you didn’t. And Keith didn’t.

Still, he’d managed to rise to the top. He’d become the best pilot in his class. He went through the motions, got his pats on the head. He still gained no friends, but he at least gained some respect and recognition. The isolation was like an old friend now, and Keith sank into it. Keith began spending his time at an old shack outside of campus. It was his hideaway, a quiet oasis in an ocean of noise.

Until the Kerberos mission, that is. Until Keith started getting skeptical, and the suspicions he always carried about authority figures were aroused. Until he asked a few too many questions and found himself cast out.

The shack, once just a hideout, became a strange sort of home. As he gathered information and started putting the pieces together, he found a new sense of purpose - Takashi Shirogane, and what had really happened to him. It was a new fire lit under him, a new drive.

Except for at night. Because when Keith slept, he felt a tug. It was small and almost unobtrusive, but there all the same. It pulled him deeper into the desert with a gentle but persistent force. For months, Keith subconsciously ignored it.

Then one night, Takashi Shirogane crash landed back to Earth, and as luck would have it, straight into Keith’s backyard. But when Keith went to rescue the man he’d been looking for for months, he wasn’t alone. A trio of Garrison nuisances were there too - a big guy, a tiny nerd, and some loudmouth who introduced himself as Lance and acted insulted when Keith didn’t recognize him. Not that Keith had time to feel exasperated - they were soon on the run from Garrison thugs, and the tugging he’d felt in his dreams was suddenly yanking him away, towards a lonely cave in a lonely desert.

Before he knew it, he was riding a freaking blue robotic lion, being steered by loudmouth Lance McClain, and the little blue planet he’d spent his whole life on was shrinking in the distance. While the prospect of becoming something more than an orphan in a wood shack appealed to Keith, seeing Earth fall away from him still gave him a pang in his chest. Despite it all, he’d grown attached to his home planet.

The pang in his chest was soon replaced by a dropped jaw and a sense of wonder as they entered the wormhole and arrived at Altea. As they discovered sentient alien life, other robot lions (including his lion, Red), and technology beyond even Keith’s wildest daydreams, that sense of wonder never really left. Not only that, Keith (in spite of himself) was warming up to his fellow Castle residents.

Hunk, who he’d at first pegged as Lance’s beefy sidekick, turned out to be more intelligent, brave and loyal than Keith had ever anticipated. Pidge, despite being a few years younger and the smallest by a foot, was tough, stubborn, quick on her feet and most importantly, a fighter. Allura was strong, inside and out, and carried herself with grace. Coran, while not being the best at instructional videos, was like everyone’s jolly, good-natured uncle who could also fix the ship on the fly. 

Shiro was just as heroic as Keith had imagined, but also far more human and vulnerable. He, like Keith, had been though things and was trying his best not to let it beat him, and Keith could get that. They could trust each other with their lives, and always come through, In time Shiro became like the big brother Keith had never really had. But there was still one more…

Lance was by far the most difficult to figure out. Keith still wasn’t sure how he felt about that guy. One minute Lance would act like an arrogant, flirty jerk, and the next he would do something like emerge from a coma to shoot Sendak, or come up with a battle plan on the fly that would effectively take out the enemy without injuring the Balmera. It was like there were two Lances - one Keith couldn’t stand, and one Keith actually liked.

As time went on, Keith discovered that “jerk” Lance was actually pretty fun to annoy on purpose. Lance would produce such an overblown reaction that anything he did in retaliation was so worth it. Keith was still put off by Lance’s constant posturing, but it started to annoy him less and less.

Naturally, Lance then had to become annoying in some other way. Maybe it was the stupid face masks, maybe it was the moisturizer, but Keith started noticing little things about Lance. Like how smooth his cheeks were. Or the little crook in his smile that made him look a little more “devil-may-care”. Or how Lance’s deep blue eyes twinkled when he was about to crack a joke Keith knew he would roll his eyes at. Lance’s brotherly behaviour towards Pidge. Lance’s sharp mind and drive to be the best. Lance.

It was inconvenient and distracting and too embarrassing for words, so Keith did what he did every time unwanted emotions swelled up inside: he denied them. He pushed down intrusive thoughts with kicks and punches, and hid the chinks in his armour behind crossed arms. It was a bit easier to be raw and uncontrolled around Shiro, or even Allura. But for the most part, Keith was not one to delve into his own feelings.  

But then Shiro went missing. And the game changed.

Another thing Keith had loved was gone, and he was done. He was done making the mistake of growing attached to things that wouldn’t last.

So he pushed all his grief and misery into a far corner of his mind, where they couldn’t distract him. He needed to focus, now more than ever. He trained. And trained. And trained some more. Because the team still needed a leader. Black was still dark, despite all of Keith’s pleading. For some reason, he still wasn't good enough to be leader. Shiro had wanted that leader to be Keith, but first, Keith had to be the best he could be - for himself, and the team that needed him.

He’d already lost so much. But maybe if he got it together and took control, Shiro would be the last time.

If he had it his way, there would be no more mistakes.

Part 1

Part 3

[omg-hellgirl]

lol Angie was yelling at Corinne for no reason, that’s why David put his hands on her. I’m not defending that because its disgusting and disrespectful towards her but it happened. Angie couldn’t see her child because once again she gave him to David and basically held up the deuces and started a whole different family claiming that she didn’t want to be reminded of David. How do you think her son feels being in the middle of this war and his mother uses him as a scapegoat. You saying on your blog that’s iconic was weird as hell. Maybe you don’t hate them but you have a weird way of showing your likeness to one person then point out flaws on the next person while the person you uplifted is basically the same. Nobody is the bad guy, they all were victims of drugs. You say things about Anita’s personality when Angie was the same person just different fonts. lol you’re upset for nothing. Then you go responding to other peoples blogs invaliding their thoughts and opinions because you feel Angie was done wrong when really Angie knew that David didn’t love her and because of that fact alone her being the way she was is why he eventually turned his back on her (not blaming just pointing out facts) but Keith loved Anita in his own way and that’s why he never turned his back on her, nothing to be lucky about they had an understanding of each other, David on the other hand didn’t care about her from the jump. Does she deserves better? Yes. She’s done a lot for him. But is blaming and saying slanderous things about Corinne for validation of Angie’s character gonna somehow make her a better person? No. “Thanks for your opinion” likewise.

"Then you go responding to other peoples blogs invaliding their thoughts and opinions because you feel..." I've never been to anyone's blog to say anything about Angie or defend her. I don't know what you're talking about. I just post about her. You're the one who came to my blog to send these asks invalidating my thoughts.

Angie yelled at Corinne for a reason. She put the reason in her book. I don't care if you think it's not a valid reason or not. I don't know why you believe this story if you don't believe what Angie wrote in the first place.

"I questioned Corinne rather sharply about the amount of baggage she'd assembled for a trip to Jamaica, where David was going to record. She snapped at me, so I snapped back at her - "Don't you dare talk to me like that!" -

Putting your hands on a woman isn't just disgusting. It's a crime.

"blaming and saying slanderous things about Corinne for validation of Angie’s character" I hardly ever post about Corinne and when I did it was excerpts from Angie's book. Her book contains slanderous to you. What did you say, before? Remember you were not there. For you they are lies and for me they are Angie's words, which I believe, but I still don't know why so much drama when I only have one or two posts about Corinne. And they can hardly be considered slanderous when they are more about Angie's impression of her.

It will be a pleasure to put them here.

"At the same time, a threat already in place began really asserting itself: the awful Corinne Schwab fired up her campaign for exclusive rights to David Bowie, body and soul."

"My troubles with witches may have been over, but my troubles with bitches had only just begun."

"Of the many acolytes at the altar of the Church of David Bowie, then, Corinne turned out to be both the most enduring and the most privileged. Whether she's ever been admitted to the tabernacle and tasted the holy loins, however, I don't know. I suspect that might have happened in the beginning, since that's how David marked his turf."

Apparently these are the excerpts from Angie's book that I posted and used to "blame" Corinne and say "slanderous" things about her. You are upset for nothing.

You stated things in your previous ask that simply aren't true because they aren't things I said. I never said I hated Anita, but I can still give my opinion on her. Anita is not perfect and I have criticized her because she has flaws like everyone else, but she is not a monster. I've said on my blog that she's in a gray area for me. I don't love her and I don't hate her.

But again, you can feel and think whatever you want, I don't invalidate people's feelings. I'm not telling you how to feel about Angie or anyone else. I post about my feelings and thoughts based on quotes from books I've read.

David never talked about what really happened between him and Angie. His version. So you're making your own assumptions based on what you think his feelings were. I believe in what she said.

"Does she deserves better? Yes. She’s done a lot for him." Yes, we agree on that. And yet, as I said once before, fans can forgive aggression, Nazi gestures, underage girls and parental alienation, but God forbid if a woman talks about her experience with that same man or not having taken custody of her child. Of all Angie's character flaws, because nobody's perfect, nothing compares to this.

You want to see me criticize Angie? Well, here we go. In my opinion, she should have fought for the custody of Duncan. She should have kept her son. She shouldn't have let David keep their son even if his mental health suffered because of it. She shouldn't have given up custody of her son, she should have fought in the sexist Swiss court and gone to the English court if she needed to. She shouldn't have gotten pregnant again. She should have put the world down to see her child. NONE of this erases the things she went through. None of my criticism erases what she went through. What are we supposed to do with this, crucify her? Don't go around assuming that I think she's perfect and that I think she didn't do anything wrong.

Once again, no father has the right to make a mother-son relationship difficult and it was David's choice not to respect Angie. He may not have loved her but she was still the mother of his child and if he had been sensible he would have encouraged and helped Angie to have a good relationship with their son.

Let's not mention the fact that, according to her, he had photos of her in sexual moments with other people that left her at a disadvantage in court. You can call this slander too. Please, also call the nice things she said about him slander. Of course, I would never invalidate someone's feelings and opinions.

Not loving a woman is no excuse for not respecting her or doing the right thing. Keith loved Anita and didn't turn his back on her even when he fell in love with Patti Hansen, but even if he never had loved Anita, it wouldn't be okay for him to throw her under the bus and try to hide the influence Anita had on him.

I will not answer any more asks from you. I will continue to post about Angie so block me if it bothers you so much.

Thanks again for your opinion, please don't go to other people's blogs "invaliding their thoughts and opinions because you feel..."

[popentertainmentmusic]

ROLLING STONES – OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ! (2017)

Featuring Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ron Wood, Darryl Jones, Chuck Leavett, Kari Denison, Tim Ries, Matt Clifford, Bernard Fowler and Sasha Allen.

Directed by Paul Dugdale.

Distributed by Eagle Rock Entertainment. 105 minutes. Not Rated.

The new Rolling Stones documentary opens on an interesting moment of culture shock.

The film opens in the middle of a South American ghetto. A young Hispanic man walks into his downtrodden council flat building. He stops briefly in his tiny apartment and grabs a vinyl record from his collection. Then he continues up to the roof, where he has built a small man cave made up of a folding chair, a table, a guitar and an old record player. He slides the record onto the player, sits back and allows the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy to the Devil” to wash over him. The studio recording of the song slowly merges with a live version being performed by the band across town at a local venue. Ecstatic fans watch as the band bow and leave the stage.

You don’t normally connect the Glimmer Twins with poverty-stricken South America – in fact, the last time I can remember them inhabiting that world was in the cheesy 1983 banana republic revolution video for “Undercover of the Night.” You also don’t necessarily picture young millennials in Latin America rocking out to a bunch of guys who are easily old enough to be their grandparents. And yet, with this very short intro, the connections are made, which makes sense for this documentary, which is subtitled “A Trip Across Latin America.”

Honestly, Olé Olé Olé! is more about the people and the places than it is about the Rolling Stones. Sure, all the guys get interviewed and they show partial performances of several songs during their 2016 Latin American tour. However, mostly this film is about how the different cities react to having the band in town. It is also a travelogue in which the guys hang out with the locals and get to reminisce about visiting the countries on previous tours. They good-naturedly tell stories about experiencing the areas years ago as relative unknowns with old girlfriends – although in this case the old girlfriends were Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg. (The guys are polite enough to only refer to them by their first names, though.)

The film shows how the Stones were outlawed by most of these countries’ hardcore regimes during the band’s glory days in the sixties and seventies, not making it to these areas until the mid-eighties or the nineties. Perhaps because of this delay, or because of the romance of formerly being “banned,” the fans of the Stones in Latin America seem to be particularly obsessive about the group, in a period of their career where some other areas of the world may have moved on a bit.

The people are passionate about the band – they even inspired an Argentine social clique called Rolingas which is dedicated to the celebration of the group and their music – and the members of the band seem just as passionate about the people and places of Latin America. The film shows the guys visiting native parties, bodegas, studios and pool halls like they are just normal people.

Of course, they aren’t just normal people, as Keith Richard points out when he lightheartedly does an Evita on his hotel patio; stepping out and basking in the love of the large crowd gathered outside his hotel waiting for a view of the star. Most of their hotel suites are large enough to house dozens of people in these poverty-stricken areas. They travel through these areas with a posse and a camera crew.

The main thrust and conflict of Olé Olé Olé! has the band and their management trying to set up a free bonus concert in Havana, Cuba, which would be the first rock concert on the island since the Castro regime took over and sanctions were placed on the country. The problem is, due to bureaucracy, the newness of the situation and just bad luck, for a large part of the tour, the band and their handlers never know for sure if this huge show is even going to happen. The original date that they had planned had to be changed when US President Barack Obama decided to make a historic diplomatic visit to Cuba on the same day. (Mick Jagger jokes on camera that no US president had been to Cuba in 80 years, but they had to pick the one day that the band wanted to play there.) However, the show was rescheduled five days later and went off mostly without a hitch.

Surprisingly, little of the concert footage in Olé Olé Olé! comes from this historic show, only two songs. I’m not sure if it is because of the labyrinthine contract negotiations with the Cuban government or just because the band preferred their performances at other shows. Also, director Paul Dugdale is apparently working on another documentary on the band called Havana Moon, so perhaps that Havana footage was being saved for that project.

One slight technical complaint about the Blu-Ray release – many of the interviews are done with locals in their native Spanish or Portuguese. Yet, the film does not have subtitles to translate what the people are saying on the regular play mode. The only way to know what is being said (unless you can speak those languages) is if you watch the entire film in English closed-caption mode. All dialogue in the entire film is printed underneath, which may be a bit of overkill, but at least in that way the foreign language parts are translated for English viewers.

Still, it was kind of nice of The Rolling Stones – a band which has put out a multitude of concert films over the years – that they allowed the people, places, sights and sounds of Latin America to be the real stars of Olé Olé Olé! By playing supporting roles in their own story, we can see another side of the Stones, a band that we thought we had already figured out. The affair goes both ways with the Stones and Latin America, and this movie shows it is a legitimate love.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2017 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: May 26, 2017.

[allineednow]

<p>Santa Anita Park leaders State expansions, Such as mall, are necessary for racetrack's survival -- San Gabriel Valley Tribune</p>

Tim Ritvo has big revenue-generating plans in mind for Santa Anita Park, plans which include 1,000 new horse stalls, a bigger turf course -- and finally, an outdoor mall.

As chief operating officer for The Stronach Group -- the Canadian-based firm that owns Santa Anita and several other racetracks throughout the U.S. -- Ritvo said those changes will not necessarily be fast in coming. But he said they're desperately needed if the track is to remain in operation.

It "must happen"

"For racing to continue, this must happen." Rivto said in an interview posted Sunday with industry publication BloodHorse.com. "If this does not happen, we're in trouble."

Ritvo said his first order of business will be to build a new barn area with roughly 1,000 stalls just north of the park's main oval track, an area that's currently used as a parking lot.

That upgrade, he said, will cost an estimated $12 million to $15 million.   Ritvo is also seeking to expand the park's main 1-mile track to 1.8 miles. He also hopes to widen the turf course so it can accommodate two separate grass courses, and he'd love to add an L-shaped training track where the horses could jog.

Jockey Javier Castellano wins the fourth race through opening day at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 26. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

In search of more earnings

The widened track and increased stabling capability would allow more racing days to be held. That equates to more gambling -- and finally, more revenue for the track.

"As Tim has said many times, his opinion is that Santa Anita should be more profitable," company spokesman Mike Willman said. "We are just looking to get a reasonable percentage of return on our investment. These changes would allow us to run larger and more aggressive races that present good value for our clients."

Challenges lie ahead

But those upgrades, while desired, will not come easy. Willman said the expansion plans will face "major barriers" getting approval from the city of Arcadia and the county of Los Angeles.

``''There would have to be hearings and so forth and permits must be given for that to happen," Willman said. "But we can not sit still. We have to be proactive. We can not go on for the next 20 or 30 years with business as usual."

The Stronach Group has also considered building a 1,400-stall training center on the 400-acre site of a former landfill in West Covina, although no agreement is currently in place. That would mirror a similar setup at Stronach's Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Santa Anita already has auxiliary stabling facilities in the Los Alamitos Race Course  in Cypress and in the San Luis Rey Downs training center near Oceanside, which dropped 46 horses in the Lilac Fire on Dec. 7.

Los Alamitos isn't anticipated to be available.   Dr. Edward Allred, who owns the property, is in his 80s and he has no heirs to the property.

"There are approximately 500 thoroughbreds stabled there which are part of our inventory," Willman said. "Dr. Allred has made it clear that it will remain a quarter-horse racing centre and be available for stabling as long as he's alive. But when he passes there will be no one to carry it on. The land will be developed."

An outdoor mall

Stronach also hopes to construct an outdoor mall on the Santa Anita property adjacent to the paddock area. David Carter, executive director of  The Sports Business Institute at USC, said that appears to be a smart move.

"You can only have X number of race days and the expense of maintaining that property is expensive," he said. "Commercial development, whether it's attached to an arena, stadium or race track, makes a lot of financial sense."

Developing a fan experience

Race tracks throughout the county have seen their attendance dropping as a result of off-site waging, online betting and a declining interest among many sports enthusiasts for horse racing.

Carter said while all sports try to attract a younger market, horse racing has fared worse due to its aging fan base. And no matter the age, he said any sporting event -- if it's a football game, hockey game or horse race -- needs to be more than just "another day" to get a venue's attendees.

"You have to get people excited. You have to get them off their couches and on the 210," he said. "You must create a buzz around your events so that it's better to be there as opposed to viewing it from someplace else."

Additional events

Santa Anita runs about 150 days of horse racing a year, but the park also books about 180 additional events each year which help add to its bottom line.

Those include wedding ceremonies and receptions, concerts in the infield, filming for TV commercials, high school proms, and birthday, anniversary and bar mitzvah events. That includes 626 Night Market, a food festival comprising four three-day weekend events in the summer.

[paige-writes]

I Didn't Want to Ruin It (Voltron)

*cracks knuckles* ok so I’ve been in a Pidge mood for god knows how long, so I thought of a lil something to write with her and my OC, Anita. This features pining!Pidge (or what I think she would be like when pining). Also there’s some klance if you squint.

Pidge was really close to losing her shit right about now, mostly because of herself and this stupid crush on Anita. She knew she had it bad for the Corvian princess, and once she’d started daydreaming about her, things were only going to get more awkward. Now she knows how Keith felt around Lance.

Pidge already had a great friendship with Anita as well. Ever since she and her caretaker, Lira, had joined team Voltron in the hopes of avenging Anita’s parents, Pidge always found herself striking up a nice conversation with her, whatever the topic may have been about. However, as time went by, Pidge made the mistake—or at least that’s how she described it—of growing feelings for Anita. Why me? she mentally asked herself after it hit her that she wanted this to be more than a friendship.

But this friendship is good on its own, right?

“Of course it is,” Pidge says to herself when alone. “I’ll just push these emotions to the farthest corner of my brain until it all blows over. Then Anita and I will just be friends.” Easier said than done, though. God, why were feelings so complicated?

One thing was for sure, this crush was going to be gnawing at Pidge until she did something about it. And it was not going to be easy.

Initially, avoiding Anita sounded like the best idea to Pidge at the time. Except for the fact that Anita’s constant visits and check-ups on her made that difficult. And explaining what machinery she’s working on when Anita asks makes it worse, being that Pidge loves Anita's interest in her skills. This was harder than she thought.

“What do you like about Lance?” Pidge asked Keith one day while he helped her test some of the Green Lion’s controls. She confided in the red paladin since they both had their pining problems.

Keith shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t figure out how I came to like him romantically in the first place with all of the puns and flirting. But to answer your question, I’d say I like how stupidly excited he gets over the littlest things. What about you? What do you like about Anita?” Pidge concentrated on the question as she pressed a few buttons on her lion’s control panel, getting the right reactions she needed from the mechanical cat.

“I don’t know,” she replied. “There’s a lot that I like about her. Her face, her personality, definitely her super strength, and the fact that people on her planet use bird wings to fly….everything, I guess?” Pidge leaned back in her pilot’s chair and looked at Keith. “She’s considerate of others, and she comforts me when I need it. She checks up on me all the time, too. I think I’ve fallen too deep, Keith….” she finished with a sigh.

“That last part I can agree on,” Keith said. “But suppressing your feelings won’t do you any good.”

“Heh, you’re one to talk.”

“Hey, that’s not the point. Look, I’ll tell you this: if you get things straight with Anita and stop trying to avoid her, then I’ll do the same for Lance.”

Pidge smirked at this, knowing that Keith confessing to Lance would make the red paladin turn, well, red.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Pidge and Keith went their separate ways once they were back from the Green Lion's hangar. Immediately, Pidge went to find Anita, searching the castle-ship for the Corvian princess. She found her in the lounge where, to her dismay, she wasn’t alone. She was talking to Lance, laughing at something he had said. Normally this wouldn’t interest Pidge, but somehow it got on her nerves seeing the both of them laugh and joke around. Together. As if they were a couple.

Clenching her fists, Pidge hastily made her way to Anita and Lance. She grabbed one of Anita’s hands, saying in a run-on sentence, “I need to talk to you like right now but we need to be alone!” and ran off with the taller girl, leaving Lance behind. Once out of sight, Lance let out a sigh and turned to one of the lounge’s pillars. “You think it worked?”

Keith then popped out from behind the pillar and nodded, then walked over to Lance. “I think so,” he said, wrapping an arm around the taller boy’s waist. “You think I should tell Pidge that we were already a thing?”

“Nah, she finds these things out on her own.”

“Pidge, is everything okay?” Anita asked when she and Pidge stopped running, finding themselves in a random corridor. Pidge’s back was to Anita as she was catching her breath. This whole ‘confessing your feelings’ thing just became more complicated than it should’ve been.

“Pidge?” Anita repeated.

Pidge couldn’t take it anymore. She spun around to look Anita in the eye. “Everything is not okay, Anita!” she shouted, her hands once again curling into fists. “This stupid crush on you is driving me insane, and all I want to do is tell you so I can get it off my chest, but every time I actually want to there’s always an obstacle that refrains from letting me do it and I—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Pidge slow down!” Anita interrupted, grabbing Pidge gently by her face, stopping the green paladin’s frantic sentences. Pidge stared at the Corvian princess, who had a warm smile on her face.

“All I got from that was 'stupid crush’ and 'insane’. I want you to start from the beginning,” Anita said. “Slowly.” She let go of Pidge’s face, giving her room.

Pidge took a deep breath. “I like you, a lot,” she started. “I….I wanted to keep it from you so I could focus on Voltron and finding my family, but then I realized that it wasn’t easy. You’re a great person, and I really liked what we had before all of….” Pidge waved a hand in the air between her and Anita, “this. I don’t want to ruin what we have now….there, I said it.” She bowed her head, ears burning with embarrassment. "Laugh at me if you need to.“

Anita stared at Pidge, surprised for a brief moment, but that surprise soon dissolved into a look of relief. "I’m not gonna laugh at you,” she said. “I’ve actually….had the same problem.” Pidge looked back up at the raven-haired girl with wide eyes. “Y-You have?”

Anita nodded. “You always looked busy, so I didn’t think a relationship would work with us. There were times where I dropped a couple subtle hints, but they didn’t seem to have an effect on you.”

Oh, so that’s what the visits were for.

“I really like you too, Pidge,” Anita continued, “and I want to make this work.” Pidge felt as if her heart was going to burst. It was like a heavy weight had been lifted from her tiny shoulders. She couldn’t stop the goofy smile that stretched across her face as she practically threw herself at Anita, enveloping the taller girl in a tight hug.

“Okay. We’ll make it work!”

*Thanks for reading! Feedback is greatly appreciated!*

[gethealthy18-blog]

From Dangal To Dance- Babita Phogat Participates In Nach Baliye 9 With Fiancé

New Post has been published on https://healingawerness.com/getting-healthy/getting-healthy-women/from-dangal-to-dance-babita-phogat-participates-in-nach-baliye-9-with-fiance/

From Dangal To Dance- Babita Phogat Participates In Nach Baliye 9 With Fiancé

Chaitra Krishnan Hyderabd040-395603080 July 29, 2019

Nach Baliye is undoubtedly one of the most loved reality shows on Indian television. The couple dance competition that airs on Star Plus is now running its 9th season and the viewers can’t get enough of the glamour and the sparkles! The latest season of the show is produced by none other than Salman Khan. There are 12 celebrity jodis from various fields who would dance to the tunes this season. Out of these celebrity couples, Babita Kumari Phogat and her fiance, Vivek Suhaag is the one that stands out the most.

Babita Phogat is an Indian wrestler who won gold for India at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 as well as in 2018. The 29-year-old has also won a bronze medal at the World Wrestling Championship in 2012. Babita also has a blockbuster movie Dangal credited to her. This movie’s storyline revolved around the true story of her sister Geeta, her father Mahavir Singh Phogat, her. Babita, the woman wrestler who makes her foot movements to crash her opponent down will now sway her feet to dance with her partner on the show. Want to know more? Read on.

Babita And Vivek

Earlier, it was speculated that Geeta Phogat, Babita’s sister who is also the first Indian woman to win a gold medal in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games was going to participate in the dance show. There were rumors about Geeta and her wrestler husband Pawan Kumar being a part of Nach Baliye 9. The rumors were cleared when it was confirmed that Babita was the Phogat sister who was going to participate in the on-screen dance competition. Babita and her fiancé Vivek are the only couple from a sports background to participate in the show.

Dangal hero Aamir Khan wished Babita good luck saying that he knows how she excels in everything she attempts and he believes that she’ll surprise everyone with her moves. On a funny note, he also told Babita to “dhobi pachaad (a wrestling move where the opponent is slammed to the floor)” her competitors if they give her a tough time.

Babita and Vivek, both hailing from Haryana met coincidentally during a wrestling event that took place in 2014, in Delhi. They met again in Babita’s wrestling academy where they fell in love with each other. Babita posted a picture of Vivek being blessed by her father on Twitter last month with the cutest description ever. She said “@SuhagVivek you know it’s official when you get the blessing from my bapu. It’s time for Dilwale to take her Dulhaniya,” confirming her engagement with Vivek.

With their simplicity and honesty, the duo’s love story has already won the hearts of the common masses. To add to the romance in the air, Vivek proposed to Babita during one of the episodes of Nach Baliye. When Ravina Tandon asked Vivek how he’d propose to Babita if they were alone, he didn’t let go of the opportunity and proposed to Babita in Haryanvi. He said “Jab tu kushti lade hai na, jab tere chot laage hain, mere dil mein ghana dard howe hai (When you wrestle and get hurt, my heart gets deeply hurt).” Vivek’s sincere proposal was a complete “awww” moment for the entire set as well as the viewers.

Nach Baliye 9

The 9th season of the dance show which premiered on 19th July will be judged by Bollywood actress Ravina Tandon and Choreographer Ahmed Khan. The show will be co-hosted by popular anchor Manish Paul and actress Walusha De Sousa. Here’s a complete list of the twelve participants who will set fire on the dance floor this season:

Shraddha Arya and Alam Makkar

Babita Phogat and Vivek Suhag

Urvashi Dholakia and Anuj Sachdeva

Vindu Dara Singh and Dina Umarova

Prince Narula and Yuvika Chaudhary

Vishal Aditya Singh and Madhurima Tuli

Anita Hassanandani and Rohit Reddy

Aly Goni and Natasa Stankovik

Shantanu Maheshwari and Nityaami Shirke

Saurabh Raj Jain and Ridhimma

Faizal Khan and Muskan Kataria

Rochelle Rao and Keith Sequeira

The new feature of this edition of Nach Baliye is that not all the couples dancing together are currently together. Salman Khan’s new season of the dance competition has also included ex-couples and this is a first for the dance show that has been on the mini screen for almost 14 years now! During the competition when one of the contestants asked Salman about this new twist he said “If two people are not able to spend their lives together, you should be ok with everyone. If you could not make it in one field, you can come together and work together. A boy and a girl can be friends even after the breakup, but it depends.”

After the first week, Babita and Vivek are among the top scorers among the contestants of the show. With most of their competitors from the entertainment field, we can imagine how good the wrestler couple is to have topped the score chart. We hope that Babita achieves victory on the dance floor just the way she does in the wrestling arena. All the best to Babita and Vivek!

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Source: https://www.stylecraze.com/trending/from-dangal-to-dance-story-of-babita-phogat/