GORDON PARKS……did not begin his career as a filmmaker until he was 55….after a long career as a photographer and writer…..in fact, he was the first Black staff photographer at Life Magazine……Parks signed a contract to make 1969’s “The Learning Tree,”……earning him a place in history as the first Black director of a Hollywood studio film……Park followed the film up with movies including Shaft, 1971……famous filmmakers like Spike Lee and John Singleton have referred to Park’s achievement as inspiration for their own careers.

THE CREATION OF “VOODOO CHILE”….. “Voodoo Chile,”…….one of Jimi Hendrix’s most iconic tracks……was born from a spontaneous jam session in 1968…..involving Hendrix and Steve Winwood……who was playing bass at the time…..the song, which became a cornerstone of Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland album……was recorded in a single take at the legendary Record Plant studio in New York…..the session unfolded with an unplanned, free-flowing exchange between Hendrix, Winwood (on bass), Mitch Mitchell (drums), and Jack Casady (bass)……Winwood, known for his work with Traffic and Blind Faith…..brought a tight rhythm to the jam……which allowed Hendrix to unleash his signature guitar virtuosity…..the result was an intense……blues-infused rock epic that captured the raw energy and improvisational spirit of the late 1960s…… “Voodoo Chile” was not only a product of collaboration but also of chemistry between musicians……who were at the top of their game…..its improvised nature and extended, jam-based structure…..made it one of Hendrix’s most revered compositions….blending blues…. rock, and psychedelia in a way that only Hendrix…..and his extraordinary collaborators could.

YOLANDE CORNELIA “NIKKI” GIOVANNI Jr. ……(June 7, 1943 – December 9, 2024) was an American poet……writer, commentator, activist, and educator….one of the world’s most well-known African-American poets….her works includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays…..and covered topics ranging from race and social issues…..to children’s literature….she won numerous awards…..including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award…..she was nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album….The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection….additionally, she was named as one of Oprah Winfrey’s 25 “Living Legends”……Giovanni was a member of The Wintergreen Women Writers Collective.

“MY NAME IS JOHN FRANCIS PASTORIUS III AND I’M THE GREATEST BASS PLAYER IN THE WORLD”…….That bold introduction was how Jaco Pastorius greeted Joe Zawinul backstage at a Weather Report show in Miami in 1974…..Zawinul dismissed the claim at the time……but just a few years later…..he wasn’t laughing…..by then, Jaco had joined Weather Report…..transforming the group into fusion superstars and redefining the role of the bass guitar forever…….Pastorius 1976 self-titled debut album was a revelation…..showcasing his unparalleled skill and innovation…..from playing bebop lines at lightning speed to crafting shimmering harmonics…..Jaco set a new benchmark for electric bass…..the same year…..he joined Weather Report…..bringing his signature fretless sound and magnetic stage presence to the forefront…..shattering the notion that bass was merely a background instrument…..while Jaco’s virtuosity was undeniable…..his true genius lay in his ability to collaborate…..throughout the late Seventies and into the Eighties…..his revolutionary approach elevated the music of artists across genres…..whether with Pat Metheny, Jimmy Cliff, or Joni Mitchell, Jaco’s four-string brilliance was transformative…..his work on Mitchell’s Hejira is especially iconic…..blending seamlessly with her adventurous songwriting….. “It was as if I dreamed him,”….Mitchell said. “I didn’t have to give him any instruction…..I could just cut him loose and stand back to celebrate his choices.”……though his life was tragically cut short at 35…..Jaco Pastorius left an indelible legacy…..he didn’t just play the bass…..he reimagined what it could be…..inspiring generations of musicians and forever changing the sound of modern music.

TIME TRAVEL IS NOW SIMPLY AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM……In a groundbreaking statement….. physicist Michio Kaku claimed that time travel is no longer a matter of theory but an engineering problem……according to Kaku……recent advances in quantum gravity have made the once-impossible idea of time travel……a topic of serious debate in physics…..the concept…..once confined to the realms of science fiction……is now being examined with a renewed focus on practicality…….Kaku highlights that the primary obstacles to time travel are the massive amounts of energy required……and he says theoretical physicists are working on these issues…..while time travel might still be centuries away from realization…..Kaku’s assertion reframes the discussion from impossibility to feasibility…..his optimistic perspective suggests that as we solve the energy and stability problems….what once seemed like fantasy could become a reality…..even if not in the near future.

LEROY HOWARD MILTON HAYNES……opened Gabby & Haynes…..the first American restaurant in Paris, France in 1949…….Leroy was an All-American college football player at Morehouse College……earning the nickname “Roughhouse” for his playing style…..he was initiated into Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi…..after graduating school…..he joined the military and was stationed in Europe…..during his tour of duty…..he would frequent Paris and eventually fell in love with the city…..in 1949, Haynes opened Gabby & Haynes, the first American restaurant in Paris…..he later reopened a second restaurant (Chez Haynes) in 1969…..Chez Haynes…..which featured African American soul food, was the epicenter of Black culture in Paris……and exposed Paris to African American cuisine…..Richard Wright and James Baldwin had their own small tables at Gabby and Haynes…..and African American musicians and artists made frequent stops here and to Chez Haynes while visiting Paris……Haynes passed away in 1986….but his wife Maria dos Santos kept running the restaurant until 2009 when it closed.…the city of Paris renamed a portion of Rue Clauzel…..the street Chez Haynes was located on, with an honorary Chez Haynes street sign.