When I was young, Sammy Davis Jr. was a guy who appeared on all the variety shows and of whom other entertainers all did impressions. (See, for example, Jim Carrey’s routine from his younger, stand-up days.)

So I was pleased to discover this old clip of Sammy Davis Jr. doing impressions of a number of notable singers.

The thing about an impression, though, is that it works only if the audience recognizes the person being imitated. I suspect that fewer and fewer people know the men whose styles Sammy is mimicking. I consider myself a fan of swing and of lounge, and I didn’t know a few of them myself.

So in the interest of cultural education (and to make it easy for you, Gentle Reader), here are links to videos of the singers Sammy references:

Fred Astaire
Nat “King” Cole
Billy Eckstine
Vaughn Monroe
Tony Bennett
Mel Tormé (his nickname was “The Velvet Fog” by the way)
Frankie Laine
Louis Armstrong
Dean Martin (also see this clip, which is rather less polished)
Jerry Lewis (”beans beans beans beans beans” … suspiciously similar to “spam spam spam spam spam”)

It’s interesting that one singer Sammy doesn’t take on is Frank Sinatra, who made “One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)” one of his classics. I’ll guess that Frank was not the kind of man who enjoyed impressions of himself. Here’s Frank’s version.

I heard there’s a Winter Storm Watch in this area tonight and tomorrow. Typically this means there’s a mini-run in the storms on toilet paper, bread, and milk.

While those are all very good items to have in case of emergency, I always think people should buy duct tape. In a real emergency, duct tape would be very useful: sealing up cracks to keep out the cold, repairing things, and so on. In a pinch you can make clothes with it.

As I looked for an image to accompany this post, I discovered the photo above, which was taken last December. Another canny use of duct tape!

With all the corporate restructuring that’s bound to happen in the coming months, big companies had best start stocking up.

(Photo credit: Yet ANOTHER use for Duct Tape…, originally uploaded by Derek Farr ( DetroitDerek ).)

I’m saddened that PittGirl has closed up the Burgh Blog for several reasons, but the one that will linger longest is an unresolved issue: the creation of a Zima replacement.

As her readers know, PittGirl is/was a big-time fan of Zima, and Zima has recently been discontinued. Friendly mixologist that I am, I offered to create a replacement cocktail.

The project was made challenging in that I can’t locate any Zima for taste comparison, and we were forced to use as a target my memory of the last Zima I drank (in 1995, I believe).

Before starting, I asked PittGirl via Twitter DM what Zima tastes like.

"It tastes like heaven. With a hint of lime. Does that help?"

It didn’t, so I decided to guess.

Re-Zima

1.5 oz vodka
1.5 oz sour mix
1.0 oz lime juice plus half teaspoon sugar OR 1.0 oz Rose’s Lime Juice
Chilled Sprite to fill

Combine vodka, sour mix, lime juice, and sugar in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake thoroughly to combine (at least 30 seconds). Strain into tall glass. Add Sprite in equal volume to mixture. Drink and enjoy.

I assume that one drinks Zima straight from the bottle, not over ice, so I created the recipe with that in mind. Serve over ice if you prefer.

The lime juice/sugar combo requires extra shaking to blend, so if you’re looking for a low-stress alternative use Rose’s Lime Juice (a pre-sweetened lime mixer) instead.

I think that rum makes a better base spirit for this drink, because it comes across as sweet be definition and works with the other ingredients. But vodka works well too and manages to disappear into the background altogether — might be more suitable.

And but so: I sent the recipe along to PittGirl. She posted it on the site and said she would try it. No word on the outcome.

So it will remain a mystery — until whoever has the last remaining Zima can compare and let me know.

In the meantime, if you’re feeling low about the end of the Burgh Blog, or if you want to raise a toast to PittGirl and wish her well, you might give this concoction a taste.

Best of luck, PittGirl. We’ll miss you.

Today’s Steelers-Chargers game was a very strange football experience. The final score — 10 to 11, Steelers winning by a hair — doesn’t even look like a football score.

In addition to keeping Pittsburgh on top of their division, the game made an impact on my fantasy football game for the week. Thanks to Roethlisberger throwing the ball effectively, and to the Steelers offense scoring at least 10 point, I won my fantasy game.

My team is dead last in my fantasy league and has little hope of escaping that basement. I’m sanguine about it; what can you do? Still, it’s nice to have a second win for the season. Go team!

(Photo credit: Heinz Field at night, originally uploaded by cynthiacloskey.)

Saturday morning, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will host a Talkshoe interview with John Adams, PSO Composer of the Year.

Listen to and participate in a FREE live podcast with PSO Composer
of the Year John Adams! Ask questions of this Pulitzer Prize-winning
composer and get insights into the concerts he will conduct of his own
works on January 16th & 17th at Heinz Hall, including Doctor Atomic Symphony, On the Transmigration of Souls and excerpts from Nixon in China.

Visit www.talkshoe.com
this Saturday, November 15th at 11:00 am. Simply click on the live
podcast posted by Pittsburgh Symphony Insider and then click “Join In”!

News in the “how I am a very lucky person” category: I’ll be interviewing Adams tomorrow morning for the PSO Blog. He published a memoir this fall, Hallelujah Junction: Composing an American Life, and I’ll be asking him about that as well as about life as a composer in the Internet Age.