111 and a much smaller number

(1) Today is Duke Ellington's birthday. He was born in 1899 and would have been 111 years old today.

Here are two items that illustrate the range of Ellington's influence:

The Duke Ellington Express

("The Online Newspaper of P.S. 4"-- pretty neat, actually)

Remembering Duke Ellington

("A Duke Ellington Primer" by Mark Anthony Neal)

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(2) Yesterday was my sister's birthday. She's way younger than 111. When she gets home from work in about an hour I'm going to call her, wish her a happy belated birthday, and throw myself on the mercy of the court.

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