No tengas miedo al sufrimiento.
No tengas miedo a Las derrotas.
Cuando te derriban, cuando te cortan en pedazos, cuando te desmenuzan, es cuando llegas a ser poderoso.
Mide TU vida por Las pérdidas no por Las ganancias, no Las Midas por la cantidad que has bebido, sino por Las que ha derramado.
Por que la Fuerza del Amor está en el sacrificio de amor; y el que sufre más tiene más que Dar!
Reír, es arriesgarse a parecer un tonto.
Llorar es arriesgarse a parecer un sentimental.
Hacer algo por alguien, es arriesgarse a involucrarse.
Expresar sentimientos, es arriesgarse a mostrar TU verdadero yo.
Exponer tus ideas y tus sueños, es arriesgarse a perderlos.
Amar, es arriesgarse a no ser correspondido.
Vivir, es arriesgarse a morir.
Esperar, es arriesgarse a la desesperanza.
Lanzarte, es arriesgarse a fallar.
Pero Los riesgos deber ser tomados, porque el peligro más Grande en la vida es no arriesgarse nada.
La persona que no arriesga, no hace, ni tiene nada.
Se pueden evitar sufrimientos y preocupaciones, pero simplemente no se puede aprender, sentir, cambiar, crecer, amar y vivir...
Sólo una persona que se arriesga es Libre
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
1928 : Fats Domino is born in New Orleans
"I'm worried about all the people in New Orleans. Tell them I love them, and I wish I was home with them. I hope we'll see them soon." That was the message that Fats Domino most wanted broadcast to the rest of the world when he the press first caught up with him in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Reported missing and feared dead, the blues, R&B and rock-and-roll legend had in fact been rescued from the rising waters around his home in Lower Ninth Ward the night after the levees broke. His reluctance to evacuate and his eagerness to return to New Orleans were typical of the man so closely identified with the city of his birth. Antoine Dominique Domino was born in New Orleans on this day in 1928.
Antoine Domino was the youngest of eight children born into a Creole family that spoke French as its first language. Domino's father was a fiddle player, but it was his much older brother-in-law, Harrison Verrett, who taught young Antoine the piano. By age 10, Antoine was playing professionally in New Orleans honky-tonks, where he earned the nickname "Fats" from bandleader Bill Diamond. In 1949, he caught the eye and ears of trumpeter, band leader and Imperial Records talent scout Dave Bartholomew, and a legendary partnership was born.
The first record Fats Domino put out with Bartholomew as his producer/collaborator was 1949's "The Fat Man," a big, foot-stomping boogie-woogie that established Domino's signature sound. Over the next half-decade, Domino's backbeat-heavy, rolling piano played a vital role in defining the shape of rock and roll. "Ain't That A Shame" needed a boost from Pat Boone's white-bread cover version before finding its way to the pop charts in 1955, but that breakthrough paved the way for two more top-five pop hits in "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walkin'" in 1956 and 1957, respectively.
After three decades as a major international star—a star who sold an estimated 65 million records worldwide—Domino went into semi-retirement in the 1980s, announcing that he would no longer travel outside his native New Orleans. A man of his word, Domino was not enticed to travel even to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, a National Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton or induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Domino remained a neighborhood fixture in the Ninth Ward, however, living in his colorful double-shotgun mansion and making occasional forays out to local clubs in his enormous, bright-pink Cadillac. Not surprisingly, Fats Domino returned to New Orleans as soon as he could following Hurricane Katrina.
Antoine Domino was the youngest of eight children born into a Creole family that spoke French as its first language. Domino's father was a fiddle player, but it was his much older brother-in-law, Harrison Verrett, who taught young Antoine the piano. By age 10, Antoine was playing professionally in New Orleans honky-tonks, where he earned the nickname "Fats" from bandleader Bill Diamond. In 1949, he caught the eye and ears of trumpeter, band leader and Imperial Records talent scout Dave Bartholomew, and a legendary partnership was born.
The first record Fats Domino put out with Bartholomew as his producer/collaborator was 1949's "The Fat Man," a big, foot-stomping boogie-woogie that established Domino's signature sound. Over the next half-decade, Domino's backbeat-heavy, rolling piano played a vital role in defining the shape of rock and roll. "Ain't That A Shame" needed a boost from Pat Boone's white-bread cover version before finding its way to the pop charts in 1955, but that breakthrough paved the way for two more top-five pop hits in "Blueberry Hill" and "I'm Walkin'" in 1956 and 1957, respectively.
After three decades as a major international star—a star who sold an estimated 65 million records worldwide—Domino went into semi-retirement in the 1980s, announcing that he would no longer travel outside his native New Orleans. A man of his word, Domino was not enticed to travel even to be honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, a National Medal of the Arts from President Bill Clinton or induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Domino remained a neighborhood fixture in the Ninth Ward, however, living in his colorful double-shotgun mansion and making occasional forays out to local clubs in his enormous, bright-pink Cadillac. Not surprisingly, Fats Domino returned to New Orleans as soon as he could following Hurricane Katrina.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Ser Feliz a Pesar de la Tristeza
LA VIDA TIENE LA FORMA DE NUESTRA
ACTITUD
"SER FELIZ A PESAR DE LA TRISTEZA"
Las épocas inciertas,
donde la oscuridad esta presente,
las crisis, la tristeza, la desilusión también
forma parte de la felicidad.
Aunque parezca paradójico
y en el momento no se pueda entender.
Algún día se comprendera que era así.
Los caminos de Dios son insondables y misteriosos.
Estas épocas poco gratas,
son las que mas crecimiento aportan,
porque nos obligan a sacar lo mejor de nosotros mismos,
a sobreponernos a las adversidades.
Quisiéramos estar siempre riendo, eso seria expectacular,
pero no siempre puede ser. Somos humanos, y como tal,
las cosas nos afectan, pero todo eso, también pasara,
para dar cabida a las experiencias mas hermosas,
que puedas sospechar.
La fe mueve montañas.
Aun en las desgracias somos afortunados,
porque sencillamente, hubiera podido ser peor.
Tenemos familia, y amigos que nos quieren,
gente a la que les importa nuestro dolor,
nos tenemos los unos a los otros, somos una familia,
así los siento y quiero que cada uno lo sienta también.
Porque las penas, y la soledad compartida,
es menos pena, menos soledad.
Todas esas pruebas son necesarias
para templar el alma,
para adquirir el coraje, y el tezón.
Cada experiencia tiene un objetivo,
aunque no lo comprendamos,
y en su momento, nos moleste, nos duela,
no lo entendamos,
y le recriminemos a Dios.
A veces Dios nos está salvando de catástrofes peores,
que nosotros no tenemos posibilidad de prever.
Algunas veces es un llamado a la reflexión,
y una nueva oportunidad, para que veamos
lo que en verdad es importante, valioso,
verdadero y esencial.
Así que por favor, no se desanimen, confíen en si mismos,
en su fuerza interior, en la fe inquebrantable,
el poder de vuestro corazón.
No estamos solos nos tenemos a nosotros mismos
y nos tenemos unos a otros.
ACTITUD
"SER FELIZ A PESAR DE LA TRISTEZA"
Las épocas inciertas,
donde la oscuridad esta presente,
las crisis, la tristeza, la desilusión también
forma parte de la felicidad.
Aunque parezca paradójico
y en el momento no se pueda entender.
Algún día se comprendera que era así.
Los caminos de Dios son insondables y misteriosos.
Estas épocas poco gratas,
son las que mas crecimiento aportan,
porque nos obligan a sacar lo mejor de nosotros mismos,
a sobreponernos a las adversidades.
Quisiéramos estar siempre riendo, eso seria expectacular,
pero no siempre puede ser. Somos humanos, y como tal,
las cosas nos afectan, pero todo eso, también pasara,
para dar cabida a las experiencias mas hermosas,
que puedas sospechar.
La fe mueve montañas.
Aun en las desgracias somos afortunados,
porque sencillamente, hubiera podido ser peor.
Tenemos familia, y amigos que nos quieren,
gente a la que les importa nuestro dolor,
nos tenemos los unos a los otros, somos una familia,
así los siento y quiero que cada uno lo sienta también.
Porque las penas, y la soledad compartida,
es menos pena, menos soledad.
Todas esas pruebas son necesarias
para templar el alma,
para adquirir el coraje, y el tezón.
Cada experiencia tiene un objetivo,
aunque no lo comprendamos,
y en su momento, nos moleste, nos duela,
no lo entendamos,
y le recriminemos a Dios.
A veces Dios nos está salvando de catástrofes peores,
que nosotros no tenemos posibilidad de prever.
Algunas veces es un llamado a la reflexión,
y una nueva oportunidad, para que veamos
lo que en verdad es importante, valioso,
verdadero y esencial.
Así que por favor, no se desanimen, confíen en si mismos,
en su fuerza interior, en la fe inquebrantable,
el poder de vuestro corazón.
No estamos solos nos tenemos a nosotros mismos
y nos tenemos unos a otros.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Malcolm X
(born May 19, 1925, Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.—died February 21, 1965, New York, New York) African American leader and prominent figure in the Nation of Islam, who articulated concepts of race pride and black nationalism in the early 1960s. After his assassination, the widespread distribution of his life story— The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)—made him an ideological hero, especially among black youth.
Early years and conversion
Born in Nebraska, while an infant Malcolm moved with his family to Lansing, Mich. When Malcolm was six years old, his father, the Rev. Earl Little, a Baptist minister and former supporter of the early black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, died after being hit by a streetcar, quite possibly the victim of murder by whites. The surviving family was so poor that Malcolm's mother, Louise Little, resorted to cooking dandelion greens from the street to feed her children. After she was committed to an insane asylum in 1939, Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes or to live with family members.
Malcolm attended school in Lansing, Mich., but dropped out in the eighth grade when one of his teachers told him that he should become a carpenter instead of a lawyer. As a rebellious youngster Malcolm moved from the Michigan State Detention Home, a juvenile home in Mason, Mich., to the Roxbury section of Boston to live with an older half sister from his father's first marriage. There he became involved in petty criminal activities in his teenage years. Known as “Detroit Red” for the reddish tinge in his hair, he developed into a street hustler, drug dealer, and leader of a gang of thieves in Roxbury and Harlem (in New York City).
While in prison for robbery from 1946 to 1952, he underwent a conversion that eventually led him to join the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with black nationalism. His decision to join the Nation also was influenced by discussions with his brother Reginald, who had become a member in Detroit and who was incarcerated with Malcolm in the Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts in 1948. Malcolm quit smoking and gambling and refused to eat pork in keeping with the Nation's dietary restrictions. In order to educate himself, he spent long hours reading books in the prison library, even memorizing a dictionary. He also sharpened his forensic skills by participating in debate classes. Following Nation tradition, he replaced his surname, “Little,” with an “X,” a custom among Nation of Islam followers who considered their family names to have originated with white slaveholders.
Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam
After his release from prison Malcolm helped to lead the Nation of Islam during the period of its greatest growth and influence. He met Elijah Muhammad in Chicago in 1952 and then began organizing temples for the Nation in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston and in cities in the South. He founded the Nation's newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, which he printed in the basement of his home, and initiated the practice of requiring every male member of the Nation to sell an assigned number of newspapers on the street as a recruiting and fund-raising technique. He also articulated the Nation's racial doctrines on the inherent evil of whites and the natural superiority of blacks.
Malcolm rose rapidly to become the minister of Boston Temple No. 11, which he founded; he was later rewarded with the post of minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, the largest and most prestigious temple in the Nation after the Chicago headquarters. Recognizing his talent and ability, Elijah Muhammad, who had a special affection for Malcolm, named him the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second in rank to Muhammad himself. Under Malcolm's lieutenancy, the Nation claimed a membership of 500,000. The actual number of members fluctuated, however, and the influence of the organization, refracted through the public persona of Malcolm X, always greatly exceeded its size.
An articulate public speaker, a charismatic personality, and an indefatigable organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent-up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1965. He preached on the streets of Harlem and spoke at major universities such as Harvard University and the University of Oxford. His keen intellect, incisive wit, and ardent radicalism made him a formidable critic of American society. He also criticized the mainstream civil rights movement, challenging Martin Luther King, Jr.'s central notions of integration and nonviolence. Malcolm argued that more was at stake than the civil right to sit in a restaurant or even to vote—the most important issues were black identity, integrity, and independence. In contrast to King's strategy of nonviolence, civil disobedience, and redemptive suffering, Malcolm urged his followers to defend themselves “by any means necessary.” His biting critique of the “so-called Negro” provided the intellectual foundations for the Black Power and black consciousness movements in the United States in the late 1960s and '70s ( black nationalism). Through the influence of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X helped to change the terms used to refer to African Americans from “Negro” and “coloured” to “black” and “Afro-American.”
Final years
In 1963 there were deep tensions between Malcolm and Eiljah Muhammad over the political direction of the Nation. Malcolm urged that the Nation become more active in the widespread civil rights protests instead of just being a critic on the sidelines. Muhammad's violations of the moral code of the Nation further worsened his relations with Malcolm, who was devastated when he learned that Muhammad had fathered children by six of his personal secretaries, two of whom filed paternity suits and made the issue public. Malcolm brought additional bad publicity to the Nation when he declared publicly that Pres. John F. Kennedy's assassination was an example of “chickens coming home to roost”—a violent society suffering the consequences of violence. In response to the outrage this statement provoked, Elijah Muhammad ordered Malcolm to observe a 90-day period of silence, and the break between the two leaders became permanent.
Malcolm left the Nation in March 1964 and in the next month founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. During his pilgrimage to Mecca that same year, he experienced a second conversion and embraced Sunni Islam, adopting the Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Renouncing the separatist beliefs of the Nation, he claimed that the solution to racial problems in the United States lay in orthodox Islam. On the second of two visits to Africa in 1964, he addressed the Organization of African Unity (known as the African Union since 2002), an intergovernmental group established to promote African unity, international cooperation, and economic development. In 1965 he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity as a secular vehicle to internationalize the plight of black Americans and to make common cause with the people of the developing world—to move from civil rights to human rights.
The growing hostility between Malcolm and the Nation led to death threats and open violence against him. On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm was assassinated while delivering a lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem; three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the murder. He was survived by his wife, Betty Shabazz, whom he married in 1958, and six daughters. His martyrdom, ideas, and speeches contributed to the development of black nationalist ideology and the Black Power movement and helped to popularize the values of autonomy and independence among African Americans in the 1960s and '70s.
Early years and conversion
Born in Nebraska, while an infant Malcolm moved with his family to Lansing, Mich. When Malcolm was six years old, his father, the Rev. Earl Little, a Baptist minister and former supporter of the early black nationalist leader Marcus Garvey, died after being hit by a streetcar, quite possibly the victim of murder by whites. The surviving family was so poor that Malcolm's mother, Louise Little, resorted to cooking dandelion greens from the street to feed her children. After she was committed to an insane asylum in 1939, Malcolm and his siblings were sent to foster homes or to live with family members.
Malcolm attended school in Lansing, Mich., but dropped out in the eighth grade when one of his teachers told him that he should become a carpenter instead of a lawyer. As a rebellious youngster Malcolm moved from the Michigan State Detention Home, a juvenile home in Mason, Mich., to the Roxbury section of Boston to live with an older half sister from his father's first marriage. There he became involved in petty criminal activities in his teenage years. Known as “Detroit Red” for the reddish tinge in his hair, he developed into a street hustler, drug dealer, and leader of a gang of thieves in Roxbury and Harlem (in New York City).
While in prison for robbery from 1946 to 1952, he underwent a conversion that eventually led him to join the Nation of Islam, an African American movement that combined elements of Islam with black nationalism. His decision to join the Nation also was influenced by discussions with his brother Reginald, who had become a member in Detroit and who was incarcerated with Malcolm in the Norfolk Prison Colony in Massachusetts in 1948. Malcolm quit smoking and gambling and refused to eat pork in keeping with the Nation's dietary restrictions. In order to educate himself, he spent long hours reading books in the prison library, even memorizing a dictionary. He also sharpened his forensic skills by participating in debate classes. Following Nation tradition, he replaced his surname, “Little,” with an “X,” a custom among Nation of Islam followers who considered their family names to have originated with white slaveholders.
Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam
After his release from prison Malcolm helped to lead the Nation of Islam during the period of its greatest growth and influence. He met Elijah Muhammad in Chicago in 1952 and then began organizing temples for the Nation in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston and in cities in the South. He founded the Nation's newspaper, Muhammad Speaks, which he printed in the basement of his home, and initiated the practice of requiring every male member of the Nation to sell an assigned number of newspapers on the street as a recruiting and fund-raising technique. He also articulated the Nation's racial doctrines on the inherent evil of whites and the natural superiority of blacks.
Malcolm rose rapidly to become the minister of Boston Temple No. 11, which he founded; he was later rewarded with the post of minister of Temple No. 7 in Harlem, the largest and most prestigious temple in the Nation after the Chicago headquarters. Recognizing his talent and ability, Elijah Muhammad, who had a special affection for Malcolm, named him the National Representative of the Nation of Islam, second in rank to Muhammad himself. Under Malcolm's lieutenancy, the Nation claimed a membership of 500,000. The actual number of members fluctuated, however, and the influence of the organization, refracted through the public persona of Malcolm X, always greatly exceeded its size.
An articulate public speaker, a charismatic personality, and an indefatigable organizer, Malcolm X expressed the pent-up anger, frustration, and bitterness of African Americans during the major phase of the civil rights movement from 1955 to 1965. He preached on the streets of Harlem and spoke at major universities such as Harvard University and the University of Oxford. His keen intellect, incisive wit, and ardent radicalism made him a formidable critic of American society. He also criticized the mainstream civil rights movement, challenging Martin Luther King, Jr.'s central notions of integration and nonviolence. Malcolm argued that more was at stake than the civil right to sit in a restaurant or even to vote—the most important issues were black identity, integrity, and independence. In contrast to King's strategy of nonviolence, civil disobedience, and redemptive suffering, Malcolm urged his followers to defend themselves “by any means necessary.” His biting critique of the “so-called Negro” provided the intellectual foundations for the Black Power and black consciousness movements in the United States in the late 1960s and '70s ( black nationalism). Through the influence of the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X helped to change the terms used to refer to African Americans from “Negro” and “coloured” to “black” and “Afro-American.”
Final years
In 1963 there were deep tensions between Malcolm and Eiljah Muhammad over the political direction of the Nation. Malcolm urged that the Nation become more active in the widespread civil rights protests instead of just being a critic on the sidelines. Muhammad's violations of the moral code of the Nation further worsened his relations with Malcolm, who was devastated when he learned that Muhammad had fathered children by six of his personal secretaries, two of whom filed paternity suits and made the issue public. Malcolm brought additional bad publicity to the Nation when he declared publicly that Pres. John F. Kennedy's assassination was an example of “chickens coming home to roost”—a violent society suffering the consequences of violence. In response to the outrage this statement provoked, Elijah Muhammad ordered Malcolm to observe a 90-day period of silence, and the break between the two leaders became permanent.
Malcolm left the Nation in March 1964 and in the next month founded Muslim Mosque, Inc. During his pilgrimage to Mecca that same year, he experienced a second conversion and embraced Sunni Islam, adopting the Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Renouncing the separatist beliefs of the Nation, he claimed that the solution to racial problems in the United States lay in orthodox Islam. On the second of two visits to Africa in 1964, he addressed the Organization of African Unity (known as the African Union since 2002), an intergovernmental group established to promote African unity, international cooperation, and economic development. In 1965 he founded the Organization of Afro-American Unity as a secular vehicle to internationalize the plight of black Americans and to make common cause with the people of the developing world—to move from civil rights to human rights.
The growing hostility between Malcolm and the Nation led to death threats and open violence against him. On Feb. 21, 1965, Malcolm was assassinated while delivering a lecture at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem; three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of the murder. He was survived by his wife, Betty Shabazz, whom he married in 1958, and six daughters. His martyrdom, ideas, and speeches contributed to the development of black nationalist ideology and the Black Power movement and helped to popularize the values of autonomy and independence among African Americans in the 1960s and '70s.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
1878 : Thomas Alva Edison patents the phonograph
The technology that made the modern music business possible came into existence in the New Jersey laboratory where Thomas Alva Edison created the first device to both record sound and play it back. He was awarded U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for his invention--the phonograph--on this day in 1878.
Edison's invention came about as spin-off from his ongoing work in telephony and telegraphy. In an effort to facilitate the repeated transmission of a single telegraph message, Edison devised a method for capturing a passage of Morse code as a sequence of indentations on a spool of paper. Reasoning that a similar feat could be accomplished for the telephone, Edison devised a system that transferred the vibrations of a diaphragm—i.e., sound—to an embossing point and then mechanically onto an impressionable medium—paraffin paper at first, and then a spinning, tin-foil wrapped cylinder as he refined his concept. Edison and his mechanic, John Kreusi, worked on the invention through the autumn of 1877 and quickly had a working model ready for demonstration. The December 22, 1877, issue of Scientific American reported that "Mr. Thomas A. Edison recently came into this office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph, informed us that it was very well, and bid us a cordial good night."
The patent awarded to Edison on February 19, 1878, specified a particular method—embossing—for capturing sound on tin-foil-covered cylinders. The next critical improvement in recording technology came courtesy of Edison's competitor in the race to develop the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. His newly established Bell Labs developed a phonograph based on the engraving of a wax cylinder, a significant improvement that led directly to the successful commercialization of recorded music in the 1890s and lent a vocabulary to the recording business—e.g., "cutting" records and "spinning wax"—that has long outlived the technology on which it was based.
Edison's invention came about as spin-off from his ongoing work in telephony and telegraphy. In an effort to facilitate the repeated transmission of a single telegraph message, Edison devised a method for capturing a passage of Morse code as a sequence of indentations on a spool of paper. Reasoning that a similar feat could be accomplished for the telephone, Edison devised a system that transferred the vibrations of a diaphragm—i.e., sound—to an embossing point and then mechanically onto an impressionable medium—paraffin paper at first, and then a spinning, tin-foil wrapped cylinder as he refined his concept. Edison and his mechanic, John Kreusi, worked on the invention through the autumn of 1877 and quickly had a working model ready for demonstration. The December 22, 1877, issue of Scientific American reported that "Mr. Thomas A. Edison recently came into this office, placed a little machine on our desk, turned a crank, and the machine inquired as to our health, asked how we liked the phonograph, informed us that it was very well, and bid us a cordial good night."
The patent awarded to Edison on February 19, 1878, specified a particular method—embossing—for capturing sound on tin-foil-covered cylinders. The next critical improvement in recording technology came courtesy of Edison's competitor in the race to develop the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell. His newly established Bell Labs developed a phonograph based on the engraving of a wax cylinder, a significant improvement that led directly to the successful commercialization of recorded music in the 1890s and lent a vocabulary to the recording business—e.g., "cutting" records and "spinning wax"—that has long outlived the technology on which it was based.
Benicio Del Toro
Actor. Born February 19, 1967, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. Del Toro's mother died when he was nine years old, and his family moved to a farm in Pennsylvania four years later. Del Toro enrolled at the University of California at San Diego after high school with the intention of becoming a lawyer. Instead, his love of acting (developed in freshman drama classes) led him to pursue serious theater training. He moved to New York City, where he attended the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School before winning a scholarship to the renowned Stella Adler Conservatory.
After appearing in guest spots on such television shows as Miami Vice, Del Toro landed his first feature film role, portraying a circus performer called Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in Big Top Pee-wee (1988), a forgettable big screen vehicle for Paul Reubens' manic TV alter ego, Pee-Wee Herman. Del Toro subsequently had small roles in the Timothy Dalton James Bond film License to Kill (1989), as well as The Indian Runner (1991), the acclaimed actor Sean Penn's first directorial effort.
Over the next several years, he turned in memorable performances in such films as Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), China Moon (1991), starring Ed Harris, and the independent favorite Swimming with Sharks (1994). He first gained serious critical attention in 1995, however, for his scene-stealing turn as Fred Fenster, the mumbling, doomed hoodlum with a flair for fashion in the acclaimed crime drama The Usual Suspects, costarring Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne. Del Toro earned an Independent Spirit Award for the performance—the first of two, it turned out, as he picked up another the following year for his supporting turn in Basquiat, as the best friend of the titular artist (played by fellow indie favorite Jeffrey Wright).
Del Toro's first mainstream leading role, in the critically drubbed Excess Baggage (1997), costarring Alicia Silverstone, did little to advance his otherwise promising career. He put on a good deal of weight for his next film, the little-seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), in which he played Dr. Gonzo, the lawyer-sidekick of the film's star (Johnny Depp), a Hunter Thompson-esque journalist. Another edgy offering, 2000's The Way of the Gun, also failed to click with audiences.
With the release of Steven Soderbergh's drug-war saga Traffic in late 2000, Del Toro found himself at the middle of a virtual storm of critical praise and media attention. A standout even among the film's impressive ensemble cast (including Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Don Cheadle), Del Toro's bilingual (English and Spanish) performance as Javier Rodriguez, a Mexican police officer, earned the actor a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. (The role was so central to the film that at the yearly Screen Actors Guild honors, Del Toro took home the award for Best Actor, beating out such leading men as Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, and Geoffrey Rush.)
In the first months of 2001, Del Toro was seemingly ubiquitous; in addition to Traffic, he played the gangster Frankie Four Fingers in Snatch (also late 2000), a crime caper directed by Guy Ritchie and costarring Brad Pitt. He also appeared in Sean Penn's The Pledge (2001), starring Jack Nicholson, as a mentally disturbed Native American man wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl. Del Toro continued to take on challenging roles over the next few years. He played a born-again ex-con in 21 Grams (2003) with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. He went on to portray a violent cop in Sin City (2005), which was based on Frank Miller's graphic novels and directed by Roberto Rodriguez. Upcoming films include Things We Lost in The Fire and The Argentine, in which he portrays revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Del Toro has also had a taste of the other side of filmmaking: hesto “Che” wrote, produced, and directed a short film, Submission, starring Matthew McConaughey, which screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
After appearing in guest spots on such television shows as Miami Vice, Del Toro landed his first feature film role, portraying a circus performer called Duke the Dog-Faced Boy in Big Top Pee-wee (1988), a forgettable big screen vehicle for Paul Reubens' manic TV alter ego, Pee-Wee Herman. Del Toro subsequently had small roles in the Timothy Dalton James Bond film License to Kill (1989), as well as The Indian Runner (1991), the acclaimed actor Sean Penn's first directorial effort.
Over the next several years, he turned in memorable performances in such films as Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), China Moon (1991), starring Ed Harris, and the independent favorite Swimming with Sharks (1994). He first gained serious critical attention in 1995, however, for his scene-stealing turn as Fred Fenster, the mumbling, doomed hoodlum with a flair for fashion in the acclaimed crime drama The Usual Suspects, costarring Kevin Spacey and Gabriel Byrne. Del Toro earned an Independent Spirit Award for the performance—the first of two, it turned out, as he picked up another the following year for his supporting turn in Basquiat, as the best friend of the titular artist (played by fellow indie favorite Jeffrey Wright).
Del Toro's first mainstream leading role, in the critically drubbed Excess Baggage (1997), costarring Alicia Silverstone, did little to advance his otherwise promising career. He put on a good deal of weight for his next film, the little-seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), in which he played Dr. Gonzo, the lawyer-sidekick of the film's star (Johnny Depp), a Hunter Thompson-esque journalist. Another edgy offering, 2000's The Way of the Gun, also failed to click with audiences.
With the release of Steven Soderbergh's drug-war saga Traffic in late 2000, Del Toro found himself at the middle of a virtual storm of critical praise and media attention. A standout even among the film's impressive ensemble cast (including Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Don Cheadle), Del Toro's bilingual (English and Spanish) performance as Javier Rodriguez, a Mexican police officer, earned the actor a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. (The role was so central to the film that at the yearly Screen Actors Guild honors, Del Toro took home the award for Best Actor, beating out such leading men as Russell Crowe, Tom Hanks, and Geoffrey Rush.)
In the first months of 2001, Del Toro was seemingly ubiquitous; in addition to Traffic, he played the gangster Frankie Four Fingers in Snatch (also late 2000), a crime caper directed by Guy Ritchie and costarring Brad Pitt. He also appeared in Sean Penn's The Pledge (2001), starring Jack Nicholson, as a mentally disturbed Native American man wrongly convicted of the rape and murder of a young girl. Del Toro continued to take on challenging roles over the next few years. He played a born-again ex-con in 21 Grams (2003) with Naomi Watts and Sean Penn, which garnered him an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor. He went on to portray a violent cop in Sin City (2005), which was based on Frank Miller's graphic novels and directed by Roberto Rodriguez. Upcoming films include Things We Lost in The Fire and The Argentine, in which he portrays revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara.
Del Toro has also had a taste of the other side of filmmaking: hesto “Che” wrote, produced, and directed a short film, Submission, starring Matthew McConaughey, which screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.
Friday, February 18, 2011
1885 : Twain publishes The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
On this day in 1885, Mark Twain publishes his famous--and famously controversial--novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Though Twain saw Huck's story as a kind of sequel to his earlier book, the new novel was far more serious, focusing on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life in the antebellum South.
At the book's heart is the journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on a raft. Jim runs away because he is about to be sold and separated from his wife and children, and Huck goes with him to help him get to Ohio and freedom. Huck narrates the story in his distinctive voice, offering colorful descriptions of the people and places they encounter along the way. The most striking part of the book is its satirical look at racism, religion and other social attitudes of the time. While Jim is strong, brave, generous and wise, many of the white characters are portrayed as violent, stupid or simply selfish, and the naive Huck ends up questioning the hypocritical, unjust nature of society in general.
Even in 1885, two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn landed with a splash. A month after its publication, a Concord, Massachusetts, library banned the book, calling its subject matter "tawdry" and its narrative voice "coarse" and "ignorant." Other libraries followed suit, beginning a controversy that continued long after Twain's death in 1910. In the 1950s, the book came under fire from African-American groups for being racist in its portrayal of black characters, despite the fact that it was seen by many as a strong criticism of racism and slavery. As recently as 1998, an Arizona parent sued her school district, claiming that making Twain's novel required high school reading made already existing racial tensions even worse.
Aside from its controversial nature and its continuing popularity with young readers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been hailed by many serious literary critics as a masterpiece. No less a judge than Ernest Hemingway famously declared that the book marked the beginning of American literature: "There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since."
Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876). Though Twain saw Huck's story as a kind of sequel to his earlier book, the new novel was far more serious, focusing on the institution of slavery and other aspects of life in the antebellum South.
At the book's heart is the journey of Huck and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River on a raft. Jim runs away because he is about to be sold and separated from his wife and children, and Huck goes with him to help him get to Ohio and freedom. Huck narrates the story in his distinctive voice, offering colorful descriptions of the people and places they encounter along the way. The most striking part of the book is its satirical look at racism, religion and other social attitudes of the time. While Jim is strong, brave, generous and wise, many of the white characters are portrayed as violent, stupid or simply selfish, and the naive Huck ends up questioning the hypocritical, unjust nature of society in general.
Even in 1885, two decades after the Emancipation Proclamation and the end of the Civil War, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn landed with a splash. A month after its publication, a Concord, Massachusetts, library banned the book, calling its subject matter "tawdry" and its narrative voice "coarse" and "ignorant." Other libraries followed suit, beginning a controversy that continued long after Twain's death in 1910. In the 1950s, the book came under fire from African-American groups for being racist in its portrayal of black characters, despite the fact that it was seen by many as a strong criticism of racism and slavery. As recently as 1998, an Arizona parent sued her school district, claiming that making Twain's novel required high school reading made already existing racial tensions even worse.
Aside from its controversial nature and its continuing popularity with young readers, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has been hailed by many serious literary critics as a masterpiece. No less a judge than Ernest Hemingway famously declared that the book marked the beginning of American literature: "There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since."
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Bill Monroe, Former "Meet The Press'" Host, Dies
WASHINGTON – Bill Monroe, who hosted the long-running Washington political
television show "Meet the Press" for nearly a decade, died Thursday at a
Washington-area nursing home.
Monroe, 90, was the NBC show's fourth moderator, from 1975 to 1984, and
interviewed prominent political figures ranging from President Jimmy Carter
to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Tim Russert, the best known host
of "Meet the Press," assumed the host's chair in 1991 after a series of
short stints by others following Monroe's departure.
Monroe's daughter, Lee Monroe, said he her father had taken a fall in
December that put him in a nursing home and had not been well since.
Bill Monroe was born in New Orleans on July 17, 1920. He graduated from
Tulane University, served in World War II and later began his career in
television journalism the New Orleans NBC affiliate, WDSU.
In 1961 he moved to Washington, where he became NBC's bureau chief. He
worked on the "Today Show," winning the Peabody Award in 1972, and succeeded
Lawrence Spivak as host of "Meet the Press" in 1975.
On his first day as the show's permanent moderator he interviewed Gov.
George Wallace of Alabama, the staunch segregationist who was at the time
running for President.
"Have you personally changed your views about segregation?," Monroe asked.
When Wallace didn't respond directly, Monroe cut him off and repeated the
question. Wallace began to stumble through his next response, and Monroe
asked a third time: "Have your views changed?"
Wallace finally claimed that race relations were better in Alabama than
other parts of the country.
Marvin Kalb, who with Roger Mudd co-hosted "Meet the Press" after Monroe
left, called him a "consummate interviewer" and a "gracious host."
"I think fairness was the word that would best describe him as host," Kalb
said.
television show "Meet the Press" for nearly a decade, died Thursday at a
Washington-area nursing home.
Monroe, 90, was the NBC show's fourth moderator, from 1975 to 1984, and
interviewed prominent political figures ranging from President Jimmy Carter
to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Tim Russert, the best known host
of "Meet the Press," assumed the host's chair in 1991 after a series of
short stints by others following Monroe's departure.
Monroe's daughter, Lee Monroe, said he her father had taken a fall in
December that put him in a nursing home and had not been well since.
Bill Monroe was born in New Orleans on July 17, 1920. He graduated from
Tulane University, served in World War II and later began his career in
television journalism the New Orleans NBC affiliate, WDSU.
In 1961 he moved to Washington, where he became NBC's bureau chief. He
worked on the "Today Show," winning the Peabody Award in 1972, and succeeded
Lawrence Spivak as host of "Meet the Press" in 1975.
On his first day as the show's permanent moderator he interviewed Gov.
George Wallace of Alabama, the staunch segregationist who was at the time
running for President.
"Have you personally changed your views about segregation?," Monroe asked.
When Wallace didn't respond directly, Monroe cut him off and repeated the
question. Wallace began to stumble through his next response, and Monroe
asked a third time: "Have your views changed?"
Wallace finally claimed that race relations were better in Alabama than
other parts of the country.
Marvin Kalb, who with Roger Mudd co-hosted "Meet the Press" after Monroe
left, called him a "consummate interviewer" and a "gracious host."
"I think fairness was the word that would best describe him as host," Kalb
said.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
FYI:" Unknown Fun Facts About Abe Lincoln
1. Lincoln said he was a Christian, but didn't, however, feel it necessary to subscribe to a particular brand of Christianity. Though many different sects try to claim him, Lincoln was 100% non-denominational. He never joined a church, didn't say grace before meals, and spoke on a more spiritual level, rather than religious. He did read the Bible quite often, and did have a highly developed spiritual governance. When asked if he thought the Lord was on the side of the North in the Civil War, Lincoln responded, "I am not at all concerned about that . But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."
2. Despite the fact that the marriage between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln yielded 4 sons, there are no living heirs. Three of the four sons died before their 20th birthdays: Edward died at 4 years of age, Willie at 12 years, and Tad at 18. Robert was the only child who lived into adulthood and his last descendant died sometime in the 1980s.
3. Lincoln was the only President ever to obtain a patent. In 1849 he invented a complicated device for lifting ships over dangerous shoals by means of "buoyant air chambers." Much to Lincoln's disappointment, U.S. Patent No. 6,469 was never put into practical use.
4. Frederick Douglass, the celebrated black abolitionist and former slave, was invited by Lincoln to the inaugural reception in 1865, but when Douglass tried to enter, policemen man-handled him and forced him back out. Making his way in again, he managed to catch Lincoln's eye. "Here comes my friend Douglass," the President exclaimed, and, leaving his circle of guests, he took Douglass by the hand and began to chat with him.
5. Once, shortly before his election to the Presidency, Lincoln reported that he was startled by a vision. As he lay down to rest, weary over a hard day of politics, he caught a glimpse of his face in a mirror -- and was startled to see a double image of himself. The 2nd image in the mirror was pale, "like a dead man's." After a few days, when the same pair of images reappeared, he discussed the phenomenon with his wife. She interpreted it to mean that Lincoln would be elected to 2 terms as President, but that he would die during his 2nd term.
6. It is well known that Lincoln used to pace the White House long past midnight during the years of the Civil War; what is less celebrated is his habit of imposing his insomnia on his overworked aides. Often, he would keep his young personal secretary, John Hay, awake, listening to the funny stories that Lincoln loved to tell. ("Without these stories I would die," he once said.) On one occasion, according to Hay, "he read Shakespeare to me, the end of Henry VIII and the beginning of Richard III, till my heavy eyelids caught his considerate notice and he sent me to bed."
Abraham Lincoln (from the White House Page) http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. ... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."
Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.
The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:
"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."
Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.
As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.
Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.
The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds. ... "
On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.
2. Despite the fact that the marriage between Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln yielded 4 sons, there are no living heirs. Three of the four sons died before their 20th birthdays: Edward died at 4 years of age, Willie at 12 years, and Tad at 18. Robert was the only child who lived into adulthood and his last descendant died sometime in the 1980s.
3. Lincoln was the only President ever to obtain a patent. In 1849 he invented a complicated device for lifting ships over dangerous shoals by means of "buoyant air chambers." Much to Lincoln's disappointment, U.S. Patent No. 6,469 was never put into practical use.
4. Frederick Douglass, the celebrated black abolitionist and former slave, was invited by Lincoln to the inaugural reception in 1865, but when Douglass tried to enter, policemen man-handled him and forced him back out. Making his way in again, he managed to catch Lincoln's eye. "Here comes my friend Douglass," the President exclaimed, and, leaving his circle of guests, he took Douglass by the hand and began to chat with him.
5. Once, shortly before his election to the Presidency, Lincoln reported that he was startled by a vision. As he lay down to rest, weary over a hard day of politics, he caught a glimpse of his face in a mirror -- and was startled to see a double image of himself. The 2nd image in the mirror was pale, "like a dead man's." After a few days, when the same pair of images reappeared, he discussed the phenomenon with his wife. She interpreted it to mean that Lincoln would be elected to 2 terms as President, but that he would die during his 2nd term.
6. It is well known that Lincoln used to pace the White House long past midnight during the years of the Civil War; what is less celebrated is his habit of imposing his insomnia on his overworked aides. Often, he would keep his young personal secretary, John Hay, awake, listening to the funny stories that Lincoln loved to tell. ("Without these stories I would die," he once said.) On one occasion, according to Hay, "he read Shakespeare to me, the end of Henry VIII and the beginning of Richard III, till my heavy eyelids caught his considerate notice and he sent me to bed."
Abraham Lincoln (from the White House Page) http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/abrahamlincoln
Lincoln warned the South in his Inaugural Address: "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The government will not assail you. ... You have no oath registered in Heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it."
Lincoln thought secession illegal, and was willing to use force to defend Federal law and the Union. When Confederate batteries fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four remained within the Union. The Civil War had begun.
The son of a Kentucky frontiersman, Lincoln had to struggle for a living and for learning. Five months before receiving his party's nomination for President, he sketched his life:
"I was born Feb. 12, 1809, in Hardin County, Kentucky. My parents were both born in Virginia, of undistinguished families--second families, perhaps I should say. My mother, who died in my tenth year, was of a family of the name of Hanks.... My father ... removed from Kentucky to ... Indiana, in my eighth year.... It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods. There I grew up.... Of course when I came of age I did not know much. Still somehow, I could read, write, and cipher ... but that was all."
Lincoln made extraordinary efforts to attain knowledge while working on a farm, splitting rails for fences, and keeping store at New Salem, Illinois. He was a captain in the Black Hawk War, spent eight years in the Illinois legislature, and rode the circuit of courts for many years. His law partner said of him, "His ambition was a little engine that knew no rest."
He married Mary Todd, and they had four boys, only one of whom lived to maturity. In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but in debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the Republican nomination for President in 1860.
As President, he built the Republican Party into a strong national organization. Further, he rallied most of the northern Democrats to the Union cause. On January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy.
Lincoln never let the world forget that the Civil War involved an even larger issue. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain - that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Lincoln won re-election in 1864, as Union military triumphs heralded an end to the war. In his planning for peace, the President was flexible and generous, encouraging Southerners to lay down their arms and join speedily in reunion.
The spirit that guided him was clearly that of his Second Inaugural Address, now inscribed on one wall of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D. C.: "With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds. ... "
On Good Friday, April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington by John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who somehow thought he was helping the South. The opposite was the result, for with Lincoln's death, the possibility of peace with magnanimity died.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Jazz Pianist George Shearing Dies At 91
NEW YORK – George Shearing, the ebullient jazz pianist who wrote the
standard "Lullaby of Birdland" and had a string of hits both with and
without his quintet, has died. He was 91.
Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of
congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said.
Shearing had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years
after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where
he was already hugely popular. The George Shearing Quintet's first big hit
came in 1949 with a version of songwriter Harry Warren's "September in the
Rain."
He remained active well into his 80s, releasing a CD called "Lullabies of
Birdland" as well as a memoir, "Lullaby of Birdland," in early 2004. In
March of that year, though, he was hospitalized after suffering a fall at
his home. It took him months to recover, and he largely retired from public
appearances after that.
Sheets said that while Shearing ceased working, he never stop playing piano.
"He was getting better periodically and doing quite well up into about a
month ago," said Sheets.
In a 1987 Associated Press interview, Shearing said the ingredients for a
great performance were "a good audience, a good piano, and a good physical
feeling, which is not available to every soul, every day of everyone's life.
"Your intent, then, is to speak to your audience in a language you know, to
try to communicate in a way that will bring to them as good a feeling as you
have yourself," he said.
In 2007, Shearing was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to
music. When the honor was announced, he said it was "amazing to receive an
honor for something I absolutely love doing."
Shearing's bebop-influenced sound became identified with a quintet — piano,
vibes, guitar, bass and drums — which he put together in 1949. More
recently, he played mostly solo or with only a bassist. He excelled in the
"locked hands" technique, in which the pianist plays parallel melodies with
the two hands, creating a distinct, full sound.
Guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli, who recorded 2002's "The Rare Delight of
You" with the George Shearing Quintet, said, "The Shearing sound is
something that lives on ad infinitum."
"There's definitely a George Shearing style on the piano that really is hard
to copy but we do it all the time," he said. "It's still something that's
employed by groups when they're arranging things. They'll say, `Well wait a
minute. We'll do something like Shearing in the middle.'"
Shearing was born Aug. 13, 1919, to a working-class family and grew up in
the Battersea district of London.
A prodigy despite his inability to see printed music, he studied classical
music for several years before deciding to "test the water on my own"
instead of pursuing additional studies at a university. Shearing began his
career at a London pub when he was 16.
During World War II, the young pianist teamed with Grappelli, the French
jazz violinist, who spent the war years in London. Grappelli recalled to
writer Leonard Feather in 1976 that he and Shearing would "play during air
raids."
Shearing had a daughter, Wendy, with his first wife, the former Trixie
Bayes, whom he married in 1941. The marriage ended in divorce in 1973 and
two years later he married singer Ellie Geffert.
After World War II, Shearing came to the U.S., where he was relatively
unknown despite his great fame in England.
The original George Shearing Quintet, formed in 1949, was a then unique
lineup musically, racially and in gender. They were John Levy on bass,
Denzil Best on drums, Marjorie Hyams on vibraphone and Chuck Wayne on
guitar, later replaced by Toots Thielemans. Levy gradually took on the role
of manager, one of the first African-Americans to become a music manager.
"He had listened to people like Fats Waller and Art Tatum and all kinds of
different people before he ever came over here musically because he was a
very popular musician in England and did very well," Levy said. "He had no
sense of racial identity."
The Quintet's sound was based on Shearing's trademark block chords. He
arranged piano, vibraphone and guitars connected by octave.
"He developed a sound by having this front-line unison playing to his
arrangements," said Levy. "He was an amazing musician in the sense of
harmony. Harmonically he sensed exactly what he wanted to do in those
arrangements and everything and how he wanted it to sound."
In 1952, Shearing wrote his biggest hit: "Lullaby of Birdland," an ode to
the famous New York jazz club. He acknowledged composing it in just 10
minutes. "But I always tell people, it took me 10 minutes and 35 years in
the business," he told The Christian Science Monitor in 1980. "Just in case
anybody thinks there are any totally free rides left, there are none!"
At an 80th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall in 1999, Shearing
introduced "Lullaby" by joking: "I have been credited with writing 300
songs. Two hundred ninety-nine enjoyed a bumpy ride from relative obscurity
to total oblivion. Here is the other one."
Pianist Dave Brubeck, who was among those who performed at the Carnegie Hall
event, said he had lost "a dear friend" whose photo adorns Brubeck's piano.
"I consider him one of the greatest musical minds I've ever been around. In
the '50s, George paved the way for me and the (Modern Jazz Quartet), and
even today jazz players, especially pianists, are indebted to him."
Among other songs recorded by the George Shearing Quintet: "I'll Never Smile
Again," "Mambo Inn," "Conception," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and
"East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)."
The landmark albums he and the quintet made include "The Swingin's Mutual,"
backing up vocalist Wilson, and "Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays."
But Shearing laid the quintet to rest in 1978, except for occasional
revivals.
"I needed a breath of fresh air and a chance to grow individually," he told
the AP. "What I find as a soloist or working with a bassist, is that I can
address myself more to the proposition of being a complete pianist; I find a
lot more pianistic freedom."
One of his later collaborators was Mel Torme.
When Torme won Grammys two years in a row in 1983-84, for "An Evening With
George Shearing and Mel Torme" and "Top Drawer," he blasted the National
Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for failing to nominate his partner,
Shearing, either time.
"It's hard to imagine a more compatible musical partner," Shearing said
after Torme died in 1999. "I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best
musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our
countless performances." And he told Down Beat magazine: "Mel was one of the
few people that I played with whom I felt I worked with and not for."
He was already working at his memoir in 1987, saying he was using a Braille
word processor. "I think there are a lot of things to be told from my view —
the world of sound and feel," he said. Years earlier, in a 1953 AP
interview, he had said he referred to his blindness as little as possible
because, "I want to get by as a human being, not as a blind person."
As he grew older, he spoke frankly of aging.
"I'm not sure that technique and improvisational abilities improve with
age," the pianist said. "I think what improves is your sense of judgment, of
maturity. I think you become a much better editor of your own material."
Vocalist Michael Feinstein, who made the 2005 album "Hopeless Romantics"
with Shearing, recalled his "delicious and ironic sense of humor" and
"endless curiosity for always learning more."
The popularity of the Shearing quartet's records a half-century ago had some
writers suggesting he didn't take his jazz seriously enough. In a 2002 New
York Times piece, critic Terry Teachout said such talk was beside the point.
"The time has come," Teachout wrote, "for George Shearing to be acknowledged
not as a commercial purveyor of bop-and-water, but as an exceptionally
versatile artist who has given pleasure to countless listeners for whom such
critical hairsplitting is irrelevant."
Shearing is survived by his wife, Geffert.
standard "Lullaby of Birdland" and had a string of hits both with and
without his quintet, has died. He was 91.
Shearing, blind since birth, died early Monday morning in Manhattan of
congestive heart failure, his longtime manager Dale Sheets said.
Shearing had been a superstar of the jazz world since a couple of years
after he arrived in the United States in 1947 from his native England, where
he was already hugely popular. The George Shearing Quintet's first big hit
came in 1949 with a version of songwriter Harry Warren's "September in the
Rain."
He remained active well into his 80s, releasing a CD called "Lullabies of
Birdland" as well as a memoir, "Lullaby of Birdland," in early 2004. In
March of that year, though, he was hospitalized after suffering a fall at
his home. It took him months to recover, and he largely retired from public
appearances after that.
Sheets said that while Shearing ceased working, he never stop playing piano.
"He was getting better periodically and doing quite well up into about a
month ago," said Sheets.
In a 1987 Associated Press interview, Shearing said the ingredients for a
great performance were "a good audience, a good piano, and a good physical
feeling, which is not available to every soul, every day of everyone's life.
"Your intent, then, is to speak to your audience in a language you know, to
try to communicate in a way that will bring to them as good a feeling as you
have yourself," he said.
In 2007, Shearing was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his contribution to
music. When the honor was announced, he said it was "amazing to receive an
honor for something I absolutely love doing."
Shearing's bebop-influenced sound became identified with a quintet — piano,
vibes, guitar, bass and drums — which he put together in 1949. More
recently, he played mostly solo or with only a bassist. He excelled in the
"locked hands" technique, in which the pianist plays parallel melodies with
the two hands, creating a distinct, full sound.
Guitarist-vocalist John Pizzarelli, who recorded 2002's "The Rare Delight of
You" with the George Shearing Quintet, said, "The Shearing sound is
something that lives on ad infinitum."
"There's definitely a George Shearing style on the piano that really is hard
to copy but we do it all the time," he said. "It's still something that's
employed by groups when they're arranging things. They'll say, `Well wait a
minute. We'll do something like Shearing in the middle.'"
Shearing was born Aug. 13, 1919, to a working-class family and grew up in
the Battersea district of London.
A prodigy despite his inability to see printed music, he studied classical
music for several years before deciding to "test the water on my own"
instead of pursuing additional studies at a university. Shearing began his
career at a London pub when he was 16.
During World War II, the young pianist teamed with Grappelli, the French
jazz violinist, who spent the war years in London. Grappelli recalled to
writer Leonard Feather in 1976 that he and Shearing would "play during air
raids."
Shearing had a daughter, Wendy, with his first wife, the former Trixie
Bayes, whom he married in 1941. The marriage ended in divorce in 1973 and
two years later he married singer Ellie Geffert.
After World War II, Shearing came to the U.S., where he was relatively
unknown despite his great fame in England.
The original George Shearing Quintet, formed in 1949, was a then unique
lineup musically, racially and in gender. They were John Levy on bass,
Denzil Best on drums, Marjorie Hyams on vibraphone and Chuck Wayne on
guitar, later replaced by Toots Thielemans. Levy gradually took on the role
of manager, one of the first African-Americans to become a music manager.
"He had listened to people like Fats Waller and Art Tatum and all kinds of
different people before he ever came over here musically because he was a
very popular musician in England and did very well," Levy said. "He had no
sense of racial identity."
The Quintet's sound was based on Shearing's trademark block chords. He
arranged piano, vibraphone and guitars connected by octave.
"He developed a sound by having this front-line unison playing to his
arrangements," said Levy. "He was an amazing musician in the sense of
harmony. Harmonically he sensed exactly what he wanted to do in those
arrangements and everything and how he wanted it to sound."
In 1952, Shearing wrote his biggest hit: "Lullaby of Birdland," an ode to
the famous New York jazz club. He acknowledged composing it in just 10
minutes. "But I always tell people, it took me 10 minutes and 35 years in
the business," he told The Christian Science Monitor in 1980. "Just in case
anybody thinks there are any totally free rides left, there are none!"
At an 80th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall in 1999, Shearing
introduced "Lullaby" by joking: "I have been credited with writing 300
songs. Two hundred ninety-nine enjoyed a bumpy ride from relative obscurity
to total oblivion. Here is the other one."
Pianist Dave Brubeck, who was among those who performed at the Carnegie Hall
event, said he had lost "a dear friend" whose photo adorns Brubeck's piano.
"I consider him one of the greatest musical minds I've ever been around. In
the '50s, George paved the way for me and the (Modern Jazz Quartet), and
even today jazz players, especially pianists, are indebted to him."
Among other songs recorded by the George Shearing Quintet: "I'll Never Smile
Again," "Mambo Inn," "Conception," "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" and
"East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)."
The landmark albums he and the quintet made include "The Swingin's Mutual,"
backing up vocalist Wilson, and "Nat King Cole Sings/George Shearing Plays."
But Shearing laid the quintet to rest in 1978, except for occasional
revivals.
"I needed a breath of fresh air and a chance to grow individually," he told
the AP. "What I find as a soloist or working with a bassist, is that I can
address myself more to the proposition of being a complete pianist; I find a
lot more pianistic freedom."
One of his later collaborators was Mel Torme.
When Torme won Grammys two years in a row in 1983-84, for "An Evening With
George Shearing and Mel Torme" and "Top Drawer," he blasted the National
Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences for failing to nominate his partner,
Shearing, either time.
"It's hard to imagine a more compatible musical partner," Shearing said
after Torme died in 1999. "I humbly put forth that Mel and I had the best
musical marriage in many a year. We literally breathed together during our
countless performances." And he told Down Beat magazine: "Mel was one of the
few people that I played with whom I felt I worked with and not for."
He was already working at his memoir in 1987, saying he was using a Braille
word processor. "I think there are a lot of things to be told from my view —
the world of sound and feel," he said. Years earlier, in a 1953 AP
interview, he had said he referred to his blindness as little as possible
because, "I want to get by as a human being, not as a blind person."
As he grew older, he spoke frankly of aging.
"I'm not sure that technique and improvisational abilities improve with
age," the pianist said. "I think what improves is your sense of judgment, of
maturity. I think you become a much better editor of your own material."
Vocalist Michael Feinstein, who made the 2005 album "Hopeless Romantics"
with Shearing, recalled his "delicious and ironic sense of humor" and
"endless curiosity for always learning more."
The popularity of the Shearing quartet's records a half-century ago had some
writers suggesting he didn't take his jazz seriously enough. In a 2002 New
York Times piece, critic Terry Teachout said such talk was beside the point.
"The time has come," Teachout wrote, "for George Shearing to be acknowledged
not as a commercial purveyor of bop-and-water, but as an exceptionally
versatile artist who has given pleasure to countless listeners for whom such
critical hairsplitting is irrelevant."
Shearing is survived by his wife, Geffert.
Growing Up Without A Cell Phone
If you are 30, or older, you might think this is hilarious!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious
diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with
walking
twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH
ways. yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was
going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it
and
how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look
around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean,
compared
to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got
it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know
something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the
card catalog!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a
pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the
mailbox,
and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter
of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass!
Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music,
you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would
usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD
players!
We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it
when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.
Cause,
hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and
somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you
just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of
touch
with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in
touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please!
You
kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no
idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your
bookie,
your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had
to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with
high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like
'Space Invaders' and
'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use
your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was
just
one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting
harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You
were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass
and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no,
what's the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday
Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons,
you spoiled little rat-finks!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to
use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no,
no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you
were
doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.
If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last
moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well
that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too
easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes
back
in 1980 or any time before!
When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious
diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with
walking
twenty-five miles to school every morning.... Uphill... Barefoot... BOTH
ways. yadda, yadda, yadda
And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way I was
going to lay a bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had it
and
how easy they've got it!
But now that I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look
around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean,
compared
to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia!
And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got
it!
I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know
something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the
card catalog!!
There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a
pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the
mailbox,
and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!
Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter
of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass!
Nowhere was safe!
There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music,
you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!
Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would
usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up! There were no CD
players!
We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it
when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless.
Cause,
hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?
We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and
somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!
There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you
just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of
touch
with your "friends". OH MY GOD !!! Think of the horror... not being in
touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please!
You
kids have no idea how annoying you are.
And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no
idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your
bookie,
your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had
to pick it up and take your chances, mister!
We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with
high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like
'Space Invaders' and
'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use
your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was
just
one screen... Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting
harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!
You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You
were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass
and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no,
what's the world coming to?!?!
There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday
Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons,
you spoiled little rat-finks!
And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to
use the stove! Imagine that!
And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no,
no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you
were
doing chores!
And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on.
If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last
moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well
that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!
See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too
easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes
back
in 1980 or any time before!
Feb 14, 0278: St. Valentine beheaded
On February 14 around the year 278 A.D., Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed.
Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."
For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.
In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine's Day.
Gradually, February 14 became a date for exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers.
Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The emperor had to maintain a strong army, but was having a difficult time getting soldiers to join his military leagues. Claudius believed that Roman men were unwilling to join the army because of their strong attachment to their wives and families.
To get rid of the problem, Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret.
When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. Valentine was arrested and dragged before the Prefect of Rome, who condemned him to be beaten to death with clubs and to have his head cut off. The sentence was carried out on February 14, on or about the year 270.
Legend also has it that while in jail, St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine."
For his great service, Valentine was named a saint after his death.
In truth, the exact origins and identity of St. Valentine are unclear. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "At least three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, are mentioned in the early martyrologies under the date of 14 February." One was a priest in Rome, the second one was a bishop of Interamna (now Terni, Italy) and the third St. Valentine was a martyr in the Roman province of Africa.
Legends vary on how the martyr's name became connected with romance. The date of his death may have become mingled with the Feast of Lupercalia, a pagan festival of love. On these occasions, the names of young women were placed in a box, from which they were drawn by the men as chance directed. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius decided to put an end to the Feast of Lupercalia, and he declared that February 14 be celebrated as St Valentine's Day.
Gradually, February 14 became a date for exchanging love messages, poems and simple gifts such as flowers.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Speculation On Yankees Flagship Radio Station
With Yankees radio deal with WCBS-AM entering final year, ESPN-1050 & others
could enter the bidding. The offseason didn't produce major changes for the
Yankees, but as spring training approaches, Bombers brass is contemplating
an off-field switch. The Yankees are entering the final year of their radio
contract with WCBS-AM. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman will open things up
on Feb. 26 calling the Phillies-Yankees exhibition game. The radio industry
is struggling. That doesn't mean the Bombers' won't have options if they are
seeking a new radio partner. WCBS-AM, the radio home of the Yankees since
2002, currently pays $13 million per year for the Bombers radio rights.
That's big moolah for a baseball radio deal, but not tops in Major League
Baseball. That distinction belongs to the Red Sox who are pulling down $18
million per for their radio rights. The Yankees probably are looking for Red
Sox-like money. Considering the state of the economy in general, and the
radio business in particular, they will be lucky to get a slight increase
from WCBS-AM unless, of course, there's a "desperate" radio outlet looming.
Like most rights-fee negotiations, the incumbent station has an "exclusive"
bargaining period. If an agreement is not reached on a new contract with
WCBS-AM before that "exclusive" window closes, other outlets can bid.
ESPN-1050 will be a player for Yankees rights. It could play the role of the
"desperate" outlet. Acquiring Yankee baseball would instantly fill a huge
void for a station hustling for ratings, bringing it higher visibility from
a vast audience that has no idea ESPN-1050 even exists. A 1050 partnership
with the Yankees would instantly turn up the competitive heat on WFAN, home
of the Mets, by increasing - probably significantly - 1050's ratings.
There's a major stumbling block for ESPN-1050 - its weak signal. Two Dixie
Cups attached by a string is a powerhouse by comparison. Seriously though,
Yankees brass probably doesn't want its games airing on a station with -
literally - no juice. ESPN can alleviate the problem by purchasing a station
with a strong signal. Industry sources say ESPN has shown interest in buying
RXP 101.9, an FM station owned by Emmis Communications. Emmis was asking
$125 million for the station, but the price has apparently dropped to $100
million. If ESPN does not acquire a station with a big-time signal, but
comes in with the highest bid, would the Yankees decide to glom the money at
the expense of being stuck on 1050? That would be risky business,
potentially disastrous. In 2005, St. Louis Cardinals suits decided to buy
50% of KTRS-AM and move their games off powerhouse KMOX-AM. The Cardinals
wound up having to place games on five other stations in a failed attempt to
reach maximum listeners in the market. This season, the Cards are returning
to KMOX. There are other options for the Yankees. Radio spies say WABC-AM,
once the radio home of the Bombers, may be interested in bidding ("it's
unlikely, but possible" one radio mole said). The Yankees, like the football
Giants, could also take their radio rights in-house. That would mean buying
time on a station (with a strong signal) and selling advertising themselves.
With the Mets experiencing problems on and off the field, the Yankees could
look to cut a short-term deal with WCBS-AM with the promise of moving to
WFAN when the Mets contract expires. CBS owns both WFAN and WCBS-AM. There
could be a 'spoiler' out there, too," an MLB stoolie said. There are FM
stations in the New York market not doing well, but (they) still could bid.
That kind of gamble has everything to do with the power of the Yankees brand
that, for a struggling radio station, would be good for business.
could enter the bidding. The offseason didn't produce major changes for the
Yankees, but as spring training approaches, Bombers brass is contemplating
an off-field switch. The Yankees are entering the final year of their radio
contract with WCBS-AM. John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman will open things up
on Feb. 26 calling the Phillies-Yankees exhibition game. The radio industry
is struggling. That doesn't mean the Bombers' won't have options if they are
seeking a new radio partner. WCBS-AM, the radio home of the Yankees since
2002, currently pays $13 million per year for the Bombers radio rights.
That's big moolah for a baseball radio deal, but not tops in Major League
Baseball. That distinction belongs to the Red Sox who are pulling down $18
million per for their radio rights. The Yankees probably are looking for Red
Sox-like money. Considering the state of the economy in general, and the
radio business in particular, they will be lucky to get a slight increase
from WCBS-AM unless, of course, there's a "desperate" radio outlet looming.
Like most rights-fee negotiations, the incumbent station has an "exclusive"
bargaining period. If an agreement is not reached on a new contract with
WCBS-AM before that "exclusive" window closes, other outlets can bid.
ESPN-1050 will be a player for Yankees rights. It could play the role of the
"desperate" outlet. Acquiring Yankee baseball would instantly fill a huge
void for a station hustling for ratings, bringing it higher visibility from
a vast audience that has no idea ESPN-1050 even exists. A 1050 partnership
with the Yankees would instantly turn up the competitive heat on WFAN, home
of the Mets, by increasing - probably significantly - 1050's ratings.
There's a major stumbling block for ESPN-1050 - its weak signal. Two Dixie
Cups attached by a string is a powerhouse by comparison. Seriously though,
Yankees brass probably doesn't want its games airing on a station with -
literally - no juice. ESPN can alleviate the problem by purchasing a station
with a strong signal. Industry sources say ESPN has shown interest in buying
RXP 101.9, an FM station owned by Emmis Communications. Emmis was asking
$125 million for the station, but the price has apparently dropped to $100
million. If ESPN does not acquire a station with a big-time signal, but
comes in with the highest bid, would the Yankees decide to glom the money at
the expense of being stuck on 1050? That would be risky business,
potentially disastrous. In 2005, St. Louis Cardinals suits decided to buy
50% of KTRS-AM and move their games off powerhouse KMOX-AM. The Cardinals
wound up having to place games on five other stations in a failed attempt to
reach maximum listeners in the market. This season, the Cards are returning
to KMOX. There are other options for the Yankees. Radio spies say WABC-AM,
once the radio home of the Bombers, may be interested in bidding ("it's
unlikely, but possible" one radio mole said). The Yankees, like the football
Giants, could also take their radio rights in-house. That would mean buying
time on a station (with a strong signal) and selling advertising themselves.
With the Mets experiencing problems on and off the field, the Yankees could
look to cut a short-term deal with WCBS-AM with the promise of moving to
WFAN when the Mets contract expires. CBS owns both WFAN and WCBS-AM. There
could be a 'spoiler' out there, too," an MLB stoolie said. There are FM
stations in the New York market not doing well, but (they) still could bid.
That kind of gamble has everything to do with the power of the Yankees brand
that, for a struggling radio station, would be good for business.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thank you God
GOT THIS IN AN EMAIL.
---
I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS (OR HAMBURGERS) TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE .
FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.
FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.
FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED .
FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.
FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.
FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE
FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME
FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. ..
FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .
FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.
FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.
FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.
FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.
FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.
AND I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE crazy people I know
BECAUSE they make life interesting and fun!
AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE ? IT MEANS
I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.
SEND THIS TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT.
I JUST DID.
Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your
heart!
And remember to be thankful for what you have, even if
it is not all that you want!!!
---
I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE WIFE
WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS (OR HAMBURGERS) TONIGHT,
BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,
AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE .
FOR THE HUSBAND
WHO IS ON THE SOFA
BEING A COUCH POTATO,
BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME
AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.
FOR THE TEENAGER
WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES
BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,
NOT ON THE STREETS.
FOR THE TAXES I PAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM EMPLOYED .
FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE
BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.
FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.
FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE
FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,
WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,
AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME
FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING
I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
BECAUSE IT MEANS
WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. ..
FOR THE PARKING SPOT
I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING
AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .
FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL
BECAUSE IT MEANS
I AM WARM.
FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH
WHO SINGS OFF KEY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.
FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.
FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES
AT THE END OF THE DAY
BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN
CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.
FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF
IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS
BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.
AND I AM THANKFUL:
FOR THE crazy people I know
BECAUSE they make life interesting and fun!
AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL
BECAUSE ? IT MEANS
I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.
SEND THIS TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT.
I JUST DID.
Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your
heart!
And remember to be thankful for what you have, even if
it is not all that you want!!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
1971 : Satchel Paige nominated to Baseball Hall of Fame
On this day in 1971, pitcher Leroy "Satchel" Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. In August of that year, Paige, a pitching legend known for his fastball, showmanship and the longevity of his playing career, which spanned five decades, was inducted. Joe DiMaggio once called Paige "the best and fastest pitcher I've ever faced."
Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama, most likely on July 7, 1906, although the exact date remains a mystery. He earned his nickname, Satchel, as a boy when he earned money carrying passengers' bags at train stations. Baseball was segregated when Paige started playing baseball professionally in the 1920s, so he spent most of his career pitching for Negro League teams around the United States. During the winter season, he pitched for teams in the Caribbean and Central and South America. As a barnstorming player who traveled thousands of miles each season and played for whichever team met his asking price, he pitched an estimated 2,500 games, had 300 shut-outs and 55 no-hitters. In one month in 1935, he reportedly pitched 29 consecutive games.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier and became the first African American to play in the Major Leagues when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. The following year, Paige also entered the majors, signing with the Cleveland Indians and becoming, at age 42, baseball's oldest rookie. He helped the Indians win the pennant that year and later played for the St. Louis Browns and Kansas City A's.
Paige retired from the majors in 1953, but returned in 1965 to pitch three innings for the Kansas City A's. He was 59 at the time, making him the oldest person ever to play in the Major Leagues. In addition to being famous for his talent and longevity, Paige was also well-known for his sense of humor and colorful observations on life, including: "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you" and "Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
He died June 8, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Paige was born in Mobile, Alabama, most likely on July 7, 1906, although the exact date remains a mystery. He earned his nickname, Satchel, as a boy when he earned money carrying passengers' bags at train stations. Baseball was segregated when Paige started playing baseball professionally in the 1920s, so he spent most of his career pitching for Negro League teams around the United States. During the winter season, he pitched for teams in the Caribbean and Central and South America. As a barnstorming player who traveled thousands of miles each season and played for whichever team met his asking price, he pitched an estimated 2,500 games, had 300 shut-outs and 55 no-hitters. In one month in 1935, he reportedly pitched 29 consecutive games.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier and became the first African American to play in the Major Leagues when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. The following year, Paige also entered the majors, signing with the Cleveland Indians and becoming, at age 42, baseball's oldest rookie. He helped the Indians win the pennant that year and later played for the St. Louis Browns and Kansas City A's.
Paige retired from the majors in 1953, but returned in 1965 to pitch three innings for the Kansas City A's. He was 59 at the time, making him the oldest person ever to play in the Major Leagues. In addition to being famous for his talent and longevity, Paige was also well-known for his sense of humor and colorful observations on life, including: "Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you" and "Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."
He died June 8, 1982, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
1990 : Del Shannon dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Born Charles Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1934, the singer/songwriter known as Del Shannon committed suicide on this day in 1990. In a period when the American pop charts were dominated by cookie-cutter teen idols and novelty acts, he stood out as an all-too-rare example of an American pop star whose work reflected real originality. His heyday as a chart-friendly star in the United States may have been brief, but on the strength of his biggest hit alone he deserves to be regarded as one of rock and roll's greatest.
Legend has it that while on stage one night at the Hi-Lo Lounge in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1960, the young and unknown Del Shannon stopped his band mid-song to have his organ player repeat, over and over, an unusual chord sequence he had just ad-libbed: A-minor to G. Charlie went to work the next day in his job as a carpet salesman with those chords stuck in his mind, and by the time he took the stage that night, he'd written a song called "Little Runaway" around them—(A-minor) As I walk along I (G) wonder, what went wrong...". It would be three more months before Shannon and his band could make it to a New York recording studio to record the song that Shannon now saw as his best, and possibly last, shot at stardom. As he told Billboard magazine years later, "I just said to myself, if this record isn't a hit, I'm going back into the carpet business." Del Shannon sold his last carpet a few months later, as "Runaway" roared up the pop charts on its way to #1 in April 1961.
"Hats Off To Larry" and "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" were Shannon's only other top-10 hits in the United States, but he enjoyed a much bigger career in the UK, where he placed five more songs in the top 10 over the next two years. Like most stars of his generation, Shannon was primarily regarded as an Oldies act through the 70s and 80s, but he was in the midst of a concerted comeback effort in early 1990, with a Jeff Lynne-produced album of original material already completed and rumors swirling of his taking the late Roy Orbison's place in The Traveling Wilburys. This only added to the shock experienced by many when Shannon shot himself in his Santa Clarita, California, home on February 3, 1990. Shannon's widow would later file a high-profile lawsuit against Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of the antidepressant Prozac, which Shannon had begun taking shortly before his suicide. That suit was eventually dropped, but the case brought early attention to the still-unresolved question of the possible connection between suicidal ideation and SSRIs, the class of drugs to which Prozac belongs.
Legend has it that while on stage one night at the Hi-Lo Lounge in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1960, the young and unknown Del Shannon stopped his band mid-song to have his organ player repeat, over and over, an unusual chord sequence he had just ad-libbed: A-minor to G. Charlie went to work the next day in his job as a carpet salesman with those chords stuck in his mind, and by the time he took the stage that night, he'd written a song called "Little Runaway" around them—(A-minor) As I walk along I (G) wonder, what went wrong...". It would be three more months before Shannon and his band could make it to a New York recording studio to record the song that Shannon now saw as his best, and possibly last, shot at stardom. As he told Billboard magazine years later, "I just said to myself, if this record isn't a hit, I'm going back into the carpet business." Del Shannon sold his last carpet a few months later, as "Runaway" roared up the pop charts on its way to #1 in April 1961.
"Hats Off To Larry" and "Keep Searchin' (We'll Follow The Sun)" were Shannon's only other top-10 hits in the United States, but he enjoyed a much bigger career in the UK, where he placed five more songs in the top 10 over the next two years. Like most stars of his generation, Shannon was primarily regarded as an Oldies act through the 70s and 80s, but he was in the midst of a concerted comeback effort in early 1990, with a Jeff Lynne-produced album of original material already completed and rumors swirling of his taking the late Roy Orbison's place in The Traveling Wilburys. This only added to the shock experienced by many when Shannon shot himself in his Santa Clarita, California, home on February 3, 1990. Shannon's widow would later file a high-profile lawsuit against Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of the antidepressant Prozac, which Shannon had begun taking shortly before his suicide. That suit was eventually dropped, but the case brought early attention to the still-unresolved question of the possible connection between suicidal ideation and SSRIs, the class of drugs to which Prozac belongs.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Bob Marley
Singer, musician, songwriter. Born on February 6, 1945, in Jamaica. Bob Marley helped introduce reggae music to the world and remains one of its most beloved artists to this day. The son of a black teenage mother and much older, later absent white father, he spent his early years in the rural village known as Nine Miles in the parish of St. Ann.
One of his childhood friends in St. Ann was Neville "Bunny" O'Riley Livingston. Attending the same school, the two shared a love of music. Bunny inspired Bob to learn to play the guitar. Later Livingston's father and Marley's mother became involved, and they all lived together for a time in Kingston, according to Christopher John Farley's Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley.
Arriving in Kingston in the late 1950s, Marley lived in Trench Town, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. He struggled in poverty, but he found inspiration in the music around him. Trench Town had a number of successful local performers and was considered the Motown of Jamaica. Sounds from the United States also drifted in over the radio and through jukeboxes. Marley liked such artists as Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and the Drifters.
Marley and Livingston devoted much of their time to music. Under the guidance of Joe Higgs, Marley worked on improving his singing abilities. He met another student of Higgs, Peter McIntosh (later Peter Tosh) who would play an important role in Marley's career.
A local record producer, Leslie Kong, liked Marley's vocals and had him record a few singles, the first of which was "Judge Not" released in 1962. While he did not fare well as a solo artist, Marley found some success joining forces with his friends. In 1963, Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh formed the Wailing Wailers. Their first single, "Simmer Down," went to the top of the Jamaican charts in January 1964. By this time, the group also included Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith.
The group became quite popular in Jamaica, but they had difficulty making it financially. Braithewaite, Kelso, and Smith left the group. The remaining members drifted a part for a time. Marley went to the United States where his mother was now living. However, before he left, he married Rita Anderson on February 10, 1966.
After eight months, Marley returned to Jamaica. He reunited with Livingston and McIntosh to form the Wailers. Around this time, Marley was exploring his spiritual side and developing a growing interest in the Rastafarian movement. Both religious and political, the Rastafarian movement started in Jamaica in 1930s and drew its beliefs from many sources, including Jamaican-born black nationalist Marcus Garvey, the Old Testament, and their African heritage and culture.
For a time in the late 1960s, Marley worked with pop singer Johnny Nash. Nash scored a hit with Marley's song, "Stir It Up," around the world. The Wailers also worked with producer Lee Perry during this era and some of their successful songs together included "Trench Town Rock," "Soul Rebel," and "Four Hundred Years."
The Wailers added two new members in 1970 — Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass and his brother Carlton "Carlie" Barrett on drums. The next year, Marley spent time with Johnny Nash in Sweden to work on a movie soundtrack.
The Wailers got their big break in 1972 when they landed a contract with Island Records, which was started by Chris Blackwell. For the first time, the group hit the studios to record a full album. The result was the critically acclaimed Catch a Fire. To support the record, the Wailers toured Britain and the United States in 1973. They performed as an opening act for Bruce Springsteen and for Sly & the Family Stone. That same year, the Wailers released their next album, Burnin, which featured the song "I Shot the Sheriff." Rock legend Eric Clapton released a cover of the song in 1974, which became a number one hit in the United States.
Before the release of their next album, 1975's Natty Dread, two of the three original Wailers left the group. McIntosh and Livingston decided to pursue solo careers as Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer respectively. The new album reflected some of the political tensions in Jamaica between the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Violence sometimes erupted because of these conflicts. "Rebel Music (3 O'clock Road Block)" was inspired by Marley's own experience of being stopped by the army late one night before the 1972 national elections. Furthermore, the song "Revolution" was interpreted by some as Marley's endorsement for the PNP.
For their next tour, the remaining group was enhanced by the addition of I-Threes, a group of female vocalists was comprised of Marley's wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Now called Bob Marley & the Wailers, the group toured extensively and helped increase reggae's popularity abroad. In Britain, they scored their first top 40 hit with "No Woman No Cry" in 1975.
Already a much-admired star in his native Jamaica, Marley was on his way to becoming an international music icon. He made the U.S. music charts with the album Rastaman Vibration in 1976. One track stands out as an expression of his devotion to his faith and his interest in political change. The lyrics of "War" were taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the twentieth-century Ethiopian emperor who is seen as a type of a spiritual leader in the Rastafarian movement. A battle cry for freedom from oppression, the song discusses a new Africa, one without the racial hierarchy enforced by colonial rule.
Back in Jamaica, Marley continued to be seen as a supporter of the People's National Party. And his influence in his native land was seen as a threat to the PNP's rivals. This may have led to the assassination attempt on Marley in 1976. A group of gunmen attacked Marley and the Wailers while they were rehearsing on the night of December 3, 1976, two days before a planned concert in Kingston's National Heroes Park. One bullet struck Marley in the sternum and the bicep and his wife Rita was hit in the head by another bullet. Fortunately, the Marleys were not severely injured, but manager Don Taylor was not as lucky. He was shot five times and underwent surgery to save his life. Despite the attack, Marley still played at the show after much deliberation. The motivation behind the attack was never uncovered, and Marley fled the country the day after the concert.
Living in London, Marley went to work on Exodus (1977). The title track draws an analogy between the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile and his own situation. The song also discusses returning to Africa. The concept of Africans and descendents of Africans repatriating their homeland can be linked to the work of Marcus Garvey. Released as a single, "Exodus" was a hit in Britain as were "Waiting in Vain" and "Jammin." The entire album stayed on the charts there for more than a year and is considered to be one of the best albums ever made.
During 1977, Marley had a health scare. He sought treatment in July on a toe he had injured earlier that year. Discovering that there were cancerous cells on his toe, Marley underwent surgery to remove them in Miami, Florida.
At the same time as making Exodus, Marley and the Wailers recorded the songs that were released on another album, Kaya (1978). With love as its theme, the recording featured two hits "Satisfy My Soul" and "Is This Love." That same year, Marley returned to Jamaica to play the One Love Peace Concert and got Prime Minister Michael Manley of the PNP and opposition leader Edward Seaga of the JLP to shake hands on stage.
Also in 1978, Marley made his first trip to Africa and visited Kenya and Ethiopia. Ethiopia was especially important to him as the place is viewed as the spiritual homeland of Rastafarians. Perhaps inspired by his travels, his next album Survival (1979) was seen as a call for greater unity on the African continent and the end of oppression there. Bob Marley & The Wailers even played in official independence ceremony for the new nation of Zimbabwe in 1980.
A huge international success, Uprising (1980) featured "Could You Be Loved" and "Redemption Song." The pared down folk-sounding "Redemption Song" was an illustration of Marley's talents as a songwriter, crafting poetic lyrics with social and political importance. The line "emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds" is just one example of his artistry.
On tour to support the album, Bob Marley & The Wailers traveled throughout Europe, playing to large crowds. The group also planned a series of concerts in the United States, but the tour soon fell apart. In New York City, they played two concerts at Madison Square Garden before Marley became ill. It was discovered that the earlier cancer discovered in his toe had spread throughout his body.
Traveling to Europe, Bob Marley underwent unconventional treatment in Germany. He was able to fight off the cancer for months. But as it became clear that he did not have much longer to live, Marley tried to return to his beloved Jamaica one last time. He was not able to finish the journey, dying in Miami, Florida, on May 11, 1981.
Shortly before his death, Marley had received the Order of Merit from the Jamaican government. He had also been awarded the Medal of Peace from the United Nations in 1980. Adored by the people of Jamaica, Marley was given a hero's sendoff. More than 30,000 people paid their respects to him while his body was lying in state at the National Arena. As a part of his memorial service, his wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt sang and the Wailers played.
During his lifetime, Marley served as a world ambassador for reggae music. He sold more than 20 million records, making him the first international superstar to emerge from the so-called Third World. In 1994, Marley was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.
Marley's music still remains popular, more than 25 years after his passing. And his musical legacy is being continued by his widow and some of his children. Rita continues to perform with the I-Threes, the Wailers, and the Marley children. Bob Marley fathered at least nine children (reports vary). Sons David "Ziggy" and Stephen and daughters Cedella and Sharon (Rita's daughter from a previous relationship who was adopted by Bob) played for years as Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers and later as the Melody Makers. Ziggy and Stephen have also had solo successes. Sons Damian "Gong Jr." Ky-Mani, and Julian are also talented recording artists. Some of the other Marley children are involved in related family businesses, such as the Tuff Gong record label, which Marley started in the mid-1960s.
Bob Marley's commitment to fighting oppression is also being carried on by an organization established in his memory. Created by Rita and the Marley family, the Bob Marley Foundation helps people and organizations in the developing world.
One of his childhood friends in St. Ann was Neville "Bunny" O'Riley Livingston. Attending the same school, the two shared a love of music. Bunny inspired Bob to learn to play the guitar. Later Livingston's father and Marley's mother became involved, and they all lived together for a time in Kingston, according to Christopher John Farley's Before the Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley.
Arriving in Kingston in the late 1950s, Marley lived in Trench Town, one of the city's poorest neighborhoods. He struggled in poverty, but he found inspiration in the music around him. Trench Town had a number of successful local performers and was considered the Motown of Jamaica. Sounds from the United States also drifted in over the radio and through jukeboxes. Marley liked such artists as Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, and the Drifters.
Marley and Livingston devoted much of their time to music. Under the guidance of Joe Higgs, Marley worked on improving his singing abilities. He met another student of Higgs, Peter McIntosh (later Peter Tosh) who would play an important role in Marley's career.
A local record producer, Leslie Kong, liked Marley's vocals and had him record a few singles, the first of which was "Judge Not" released in 1962. While he did not fare well as a solo artist, Marley found some success joining forces with his friends. In 1963, Marley, Livingston, and McIntosh formed the Wailing Wailers. Their first single, "Simmer Down," went to the top of the Jamaican charts in January 1964. By this time, the group also included Junior Braithwaite, Beverly Kelso, and Cherry Smith.
The group became quite popular in Jamaica, but they had difficulty making it financially. Braithewaite, Kelso, and Smith left the group. The remaining members drifted a part for a time. Marley went to the United States where his mother was now living. However, before he left, he married Rita Anderson on February 10, 1966.
After eight months, Marley returned to Jamaica. He reunited with Livingston and McIntosh to form the Wailers. Around this time, Marley was exploring his spiritual side and developing a growing interest in the Rastafarian movement. Both religious and political, the Rastafarian movement started in Jamaica in 1930s and drew its beliefs from many sources, including Jamaican-born black nationalist Marcus Garvey, the Old Testament, and their African heritage and culture.
For a time in the late 1960s, Marley worked with pop singer Johnny Nash. Nash scored a hit with Marley's song, "Stir It Up," around the world. The Wailers also worked with producer Lee Perry during this era and some of their successful songs together included "Trench Town Rock," "Soul Rebel," and "Four Hundred Years."
The Wailers added two new members in 1970 — Aston "Family Man" Barrett on bass and his brother Carlton "Carlie" Barrett on drums. The next year, Marley spent time with Johnny Nash in Sweden to work on a movie soundtrack.
The Wailers got their big break in 1972 when they landed a contract with Island Records, which was started by Chris Blackwell. For the first time, the group hit the studios to record a full album. The result was the critically acclaimed Catch a Fire. To support the record, the Wailers toured Britain and the United States in 1973. They performed as an opening act for Bruce Springsteen and for Sly & the Family Stone. That same year, the Wailers released their next album, Burnin, which featured the song "I Shot the Sheriff." Rock legend Eric Clapton released a cover of the song in 1974, which became a number one hit in the United States.
Before the release of their next album, 1975's Natty Dread, two of the three original Wailers left the group. McIntosh and Livingston decided to pursue solo careers as Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer respectively. The new album reflected some of the political tensions in Jamaica between the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Violence sometimes erupted because of these conflicts. "Rebel Music (3 O'clock Road Block)" was inspired by Marley's own experience of being stopped by the army late one night before the 1972 national elections. Furthermore, the song "Revolution" was interpreted by some as Marley's endorsement for the PNP.
For their next tour, the remaining group was enhanced by the addition of I-Threes, a group of female vocalists was comprised of Marley's wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt. Now called Bob Marley & the Wailers, the group toured extensively and helped increase reggae's popularity abroad. In Britain, they scored their first top 40 hit with "No Woman No Cry" in 1975.
Already a much-admired star in his native Jamaica, Marley was on his way to becoming an international music icon. He made the U.S. music charts with the album Rastaman Vibration in 1976. One track stands out as an expression of his devotion to his faith and his interest in political change. The lyrics of "War" were taken from a speech by Haile Selassie, the twentieth-century Ethiopian emperor who is seen as a type of a spiritual leader in the Rastafarian movement. A battle cry for freedom from oppression, the song discusses a new Africa, one without the racial hierarchy enforced by colonial rule.
Back in Jamaica, Marley continued to be seen as a supporter of the People's National Party. And his influence in his native land was seen as a threat to the PNP's rivals. This may have led to the assassination attempt on Marley in 1976. A group of gunmen attacked Marley and the Wailers while they were rehearsing on the night of December 3, 1976, two days before a planned concert in Kingston's National Heroes Park. One bullet struck Marley in the sternum and the bicep and his wife Rita was hit in the head by another bullet. Fortunately, the Marleys were not severely injured, but manager Don Taylor was not as lucky. He was shot five times and underwent surgery to save his life. Despite the attack, Marley still played at the show after much deliberation. The motivation behind the attack was never uncovered, and Marley fled the country the day after the concert.
Living in London, Marley went to work on Exodus (1977). The title track draws an analogy between the biblical story of Moses and the Israelites leaving exile and his own situation. The song also discusses returning to Africa. The concept of Africans and descendents of Africans repatriating their homeland can be linked to the work of Marcus Garvey. Released as a single, "Exodus" was a hit in Britain as were "Waiting in Vain" and "Jammin." The entire album stayed on the charts there for more than a year and is considered to be one of the best albums ever made.
During 1977, Marley had a health scare. He sought treatment in July on a toe he had injured earlier that year. Discovering that there were cancerous cells on his toe, Marley underwent surgery to remove them in Miami, Florida.
At the same time as making Exodus, Marley and the Wailers recorded the songs that were released on another album, Kaya (1978). With love as its theme, the recording featured two hits "Satisfy My Soul" and "Is This Love." That same year, Marley returned to Jamaica to play the One Love Peace Concert and got Prime Minister Michael Manley of the PNP and opposition leader Edward Seaga of the JLP to shake hands on stage.
Also in 1978, Marley made his first trip to Africa and visited Kenya and Ethiopia. Ethiopia was especially important to him as the place is viewed as the spiritual homeland of Rastafarians. Perhaps inspired by his travels, his next album Survival (1979) was seen as a call for greater unity on the African continent and the end of oppression there. Bob Marley & The Wailers even played in official independence ceremony for the new nation of Zimbabwe in 1980.
A huge international success, Uprising (1980) featured "Could You Be Loved" and "Redemption Song." The pared down folk-sounding "Redemption Song" was an illustration of Marley's talents as a songwriter, crafting poetic lyrics with social and political importance. The line "emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; none but ourselves can free our minds" is just one example of his artistry.
On tour to support the album, Bob Marley & The Wailers traveled throughout Europe, playing to large crowds. The group also planned a series of concerts in the United States, but the tour soon fell apart. In New York City, they played two concerts at Madison Square Garden before Marley became ill. It was discovered that the earlier cancer discovered in his toe had spread throughout his body.
Traveling to Europe, Bob Marley underwent unconventional treatment in Germany. He was able to fight off the cancer for months. But as it became clear that he did not have much longer to live, Marley tried to return to his beloved Jamaica one last time. He was not able to finish the journey, dying in Miami, Florida, on May 11, 1981.
Shortly before his death, Marley had received the Order of Merit from the Jamaican government. He had also been awarded the Medal of Peace from the United Nations in 1980. Adored by the people of Jamaica, Marley was given a hero's sendoff. More than 30,000 people paid their respects to him while his body was lying in state at the National Arena. As a part of his memorial service, his wife Rita, Marcia Griffiths, and Judy Mowatt sang and the Wailers played.
During his lifetime, Marley served as a world ambassador for reggae music. He sold more than 20 million records, making him the first international superstar to emerge from the so-called Third World. In 1994, Marley was inducted into the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame.
Marley's music still remains popular, more than 25 years after his passing. And his musical legacy is being continued by his widow and some of his children. Rita continues to perform with the I-Threes, the Wailers, and the Marley children. Bob Marley fathered at least nine children (reports vary). Sons David "Ziggy" and Stephen and daughters Cedella and Sharon (Rita's daughter from a previous relationship who was adopted by Bob) played for years as Ziggy Marley & the Melody Makers and later as the Melody Makers. Ziggy and Stephen have also had solo successes. Sons Damian "Gong Jr." Ky-Mani, and Julian are also talented recording artists. Some of the other Marley children are involved in related family businesses, such as the Tuff Gong record label, which Marley started in the mid-1960s.
Bob Marley's commitment to fighting oppression is also being carried on by an organization established in his memory. Created by Rita and the Marley family, the Bob Marley Foundation helps people and organizations in the developing world.
POOF and the light goes off
An 86-year-old man goes for a physical. All of his test results come back normal.
The doctor says, " Gary everything looks great. How are you doing mentally and emotionally? Are you at peace with God?"
Gary replies, "God and I are tight.
He knows I have poor eyesight, so he's fixed it so when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, *poof* the light goes on. When I'm done, *poof* the light goes off."
"Wow, that's incredible," the doctor says.
A little later in the day, the doctor calls Gary 's wife.
"Marianne, he says, Gary is doing fine but I had to call you because I'm in awe of his relationship with God. Is it true that he gets up during the night and *poof* the light goes on in the bathroom, and when he's done, *poof* the light goes off?"
"OH MY GOD!" Marianne exclaims.
"He's peeing in the refrigerator again!!!!"
The doctor says, " Gary everything looks great. How are you doing mentally and emotionally? Are you at peace with God?"
Gary replies, "God and I are tight.
He knows I have poor eyesight, so he's fixed it so when I get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, *poof* the light goes on. When I'm done, *poof* the light goes off."
"Wow, that's incredible," the doctor says.
A little later in the day, the doctor calls Gary 's wife.
"Marianne, he says, Gary is doing fine but I had to call you because I'm in awe of his relationship with God. Is it true that he gets up during the night and *poof* the light goes on in the bathroom, and when he's done, *poof* the light goes off?"
"OH MY GOD!" Marianne exclaims.
"He's peeing in the refrigerator again!!!!"
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Hank Aaron
Baseball player. Born Henry Louis Aaron on February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama. Formerly baseball's all-time home-run king, Aaron played 23 years as an outfielder for the Milwaukee (later Atlanta) Braves and Milwaukee Brewers (1954–76). He holds many of baseball's most distinguished records, including runs batted in (2,297), extra base hits (1,477), total bases (6,856) and most years with 30 or more home runs (15). He is also in the top five for career hits and runs. Aaron also had the record for most career home runs (755) until Barry Bonds broke it with his 756th home run on August 7, 2007, in San Francisco.
Born in a poor black section of Mobile called "Down The Bay," Aaron and his family moved to the middle class Toulminville neighborhood when he was a young boy. When he got to high school, Aaron played shortstop and third base on his school's team. Aaron, perhaps sensing he had a bigger future ahead of him, quit school in 1951 to play in the Negro Leagues for the Indianapolis Clowns.
It wasn't a long stay. After leading his club to victory in the league's 1952 World Series, Aaron was recruited the following June to the Milwaukee Braves for $10,000. The Braves assigned their new player to one of their farm clubs, The Eau Claire Bears. Again Aaron did not disappoint, getting named Northern League Rookie of the Year.
A year later, the 20-year-old Hank Aaron got his Major League start when a spring training injury to a Braves outfielder created a roster spot for him. Following a respectable first year (he hit .280), Aaron charged through the 1955 season with a blend of power (27 home runs), run production (106 runs batted in), and average (.328) that would come to define his long career. In 1956, after winning the first of two of his batting titles, Aaron registered an unrivaled 1957 season, taking home the National League MVP and nearly nabbing the Triple Crown by hitting 44 homeruns, knocking in another 132, and batting .322.
That same year, Aaron demonstrated his ability to come up big when it counted most. His 11th inning homerun in late September propelled the Braves to the World Series, where he led underdog Milwaukee to an upset win over the New York Yankees in seven games.
With the game still years away from the multi-million dollar contracts that would later dominate player salaries, Aaron's annual pay in 1959 was around $30,000. When he equaled that amount that same year in endorsements, Aaron realized there may be more in store for him if he continued to hit for power. "I noticed that they never had a show called 'Singles Derby,'" he said.
He was right, of course, and over the next decade and a half, the always-fit Aaron banged out a steady stream of 30 and 40 homerun seasons. In 1973, at the age of 39, Aaron was still a force, clubbing a remarkable 40 homeruns to finish just one run behind Babe Ruth's all-time career mark of 714.
But the chase to beat the Babe's record revealed that world of baseball was far from being free of the racial tensions that prevailed around it. Letters poured into the Braves offices, as many as 3,000 a day for Aaron. Some wrote to congratulate him, but many others were appalled that a black man should break baseball's most sacred record. Death threats were a part of the mix.
Aaron pushed forward. He didn't try to inflame the atmosphere, but he didn't keep his mouth shut either, speaking out against the league's lack of ownership and management opportunities for minorities. "On the field, blacks have been able to be super giants," he said. "But, once our playing days are over, this is the end of it and we go back to the back of the bus again."
In 1974, after tying the Babe on Opening Day in Cincinnati, Aaron came home with his team. On April 15, he banged out his record 715th homerun at 9:07 P.M. in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a triumph and a relief. The more than 50,000 fans on hand cheered him on as he rounded the bases. There were fireworks and a band, and when he crossed home plate, Aaron's parents were there to greet him.
Overall, Aaron finished the 1974 season with 20 homeruns. He played two more years, moving back to Milwaukee to finish out his career to play in the same city where he'd started.
After retiring as a player, Aaron moved into the Atlanta Braves front office as executive vice-president, where he has been a leading spokesman for minority hiring in baseball. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1982. His autobiography, I Had a Hammer, was published in 1990.
In 1999, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of breaking Ruth's record, Major League Baseball announced the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best overall hitter in each league.
Hank Aaron was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.
Born in a poor black section of Mobile called "Down The Bay," Aaron and his family moved to the middle class Toulminville neighborhood when he was a young boy. When he got to high school, Aaron played shortstop and third base on his school's team. Aaron, perhaps sensing he had a bigger future ahead of him, quit school in 1951 to play in the Negro Leagues for the Indianapolis Clowns.
It wasn't a long stay. After leading his club to victory in the league's 1952 World Series, Aaron was recruited the following June to the Milwaukee Braves for $10,000. The Braves assigned their new player to one of their farm clubs, The Eau Claire Bears. Again Aaron did not disappoint, getting named Northern League Rookie of the Year.
A year later, the 20-year-old Hank Aaron got his Major League start when a spring training injury to a Braves outfielder created a roster spot for him. Following a respectable first year (he hit .280), Aaron charged through the 1955 season with a blend of power (27 home runs), run production (106 runs batted in), and average (.328) that would come to define his long career. In 1956, after winning the first of two of his batting titles, Aaron registered an unrivaled 1957 season, taking home the National League MVP and nearly nabbing the Triple Crown by hitting 44 homeruns, knocking in another 132, and batting .322.
That same year, Aaron demonstrated his ability to come up big when it counted most. His 11th inning homerun in late September propelled the Braves to the World Series, where he led underdog Milwaukee to an upset win over the New York Yankees in seven games.
With the game still years away from the multi-million dollar contracts that would later dominate player salaries, Aaron's annual pay in 1959 was around $30,000. When he equaled that amount that same year in endorsements, Aaron realized there may be more in store for him if he continued to hit for power. "I noticed that they never had a show called 'Singles Derby,'" he said.
He was right, of course, and over the next decade and a half, the always-fit Aaron banged out a steady stream of 30 and 40 homerun seasons. In 1973, at the age of 39, Aaron was still a force, clubbing a remarkable 40 homeruns to finish just one run behind Babe Ruth's all-time career mark of 714.
But the chase to beat the Babe's record revealed that world of baseball was far from being free of the racial tensions that prevailed around it. Letters poured into the Braves offices, as many as 3,000 a day for Aaron. Some wrote to congratulate him, but many others were appalled that a black man should break baseball's most sacred record. Death threats were a part of the mix.
Aaron pushed forward. He didn't try to inflame the atmosphere, but he didn't keep his mouth shut either, speaking out against the league's lack of ownership and management opportunities for minorities. "On the field, blacks have been able to be super giants," he said. "But, once our playing days are over, this is the end of it and we go back to the back of the bus again."
In 1974, after tying the Babe on Opening Day in Cincinnati, Aaron came home with his team. On April 15, he banged out his record 715th homerun at 9:07 P.M. in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was a triumph and a relief. The more than 50,000 fans on hand cheered him on as he rounded the bases. There were fireworks and a band, and when he crossed home plate, Aaron's parents were there to greet him.
Overall, Aaron finished the 1974 season with 20 homeruns. He played two more years, moving back to Milwaukee to finish out his career to play in the same city where he'd started.
After retiring as a player, Aaron moved into the Atlanta Braves front office as executive vice-president, where he has been a leading spokesman for minority hiring in baseball. He was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1982. His autobiography, I Had a Hammer, was published in 1990.
In 1999, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of breaking Ruth's record, Major League Baseball announced the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best overall hitter in each league.
Hank Aaron was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002.
Retirement Spots
You can retire to Phoenix , Arizona where...
1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.
2. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in
the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face
when you open your oven door.
6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU SHITTING
ME??!!
You can retire to California where...
1. You make over $250,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it
will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.
You can retire to New York City where...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan ....
2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus
Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is "nature."
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language
makes you multi-lingual.
5. You've worn out a car horn. ( Ed note: if you have a car)
You can retire to Maine where...
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco .
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and
construction.
You can retire to the Deep South where...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural.
3. "He needed killin'" is a valid defense.
4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jim Bob, Jimmy Joe, Betty
Jean, Mary Beth, etc.
5. Everything is either "yonder," "over yonder" or "out yonder." It's
important to know the difference, too.
You can retire to Colorado where...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car .
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and so he
stops at the day care center to get her.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.
You can retire to the Midwest where...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at?"
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, "It was
different!"
OR You can retire to Florida where...
1. You eat dinner at 4:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Humidity can necessitate a shower if you've walked from your front
door to the car.
6. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people.
1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.
2. You've experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in
the toilet bowl.
3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.
4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.
5. You know that "dry heat" is comparable to what hits you in the face
when you open your oven door.
6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU SHITTING
ME??!!
You can retire to California where...
1. You make over $250,000 and you still can't afford to buy a house.
2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.
3. You know how to eat an artichoke.
4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.
5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it
will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.
6. The 4 seasons are: Fire, Flood, Mud, and Drought.
You can retire to New York City where...
1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan ....
2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus
Circle to Battery Park, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.
3. You think Central Park is "nature."
4. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language
makes you multi-lingual.
5. You've worn out a car horn. ( Ed note: if you have a car)
You can retire to Maine where...
1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco .
2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.
3. You have more than one recipe for moose.
4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.
5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and
construction.
You can retire to the Deep South where...
1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.
2. "Y'all" is singular and "all y'all" is plural.
3. "He needed killin'" is a valid defense.
4. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jim Bob, Jimmy Joe, Betty
Jean, Mary Beth, etc.
5. Everything is either "yonder," "over yonder" or "out yonder." It's
important to know the difference, too.
You can retire to Colorado where...
1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car .
2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and so he
stops at the day care center to get her.
3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.
4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.
You can retire to the Midwest where...
1. You've never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.
2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.
3. You have had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" on the same day.
4. You end sentences with a preposition: "Where's my coat at?"
5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, "It was
different!"
OR You can retire to Florida where...
1. You eat dinner at 4:15 in the afternoon.
2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind -- even houses and cars.
3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.
4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.
5. Humidity can necessitate a shower if you've walked from your front
door to the car.
6. Cars in front of you often appear to be driven by headless people.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Water, beer & wine
As Ben Franklin said: In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, in
water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated
that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would
have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria
found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of crap.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum,
whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through various
purification processes of distilling, filtering and/or fermenting.
So remember: Water = Poop, Wine & Booze = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink beer, spirits or wine and talk stupid, than
to drink water and be full of crap.
water there is bacteria.
In a number of carefully controlled trials, scientists have demonstrated
that if we drink 1 liter of water each day, at the end of the year we would
have absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria
found in feces. In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of crap.
However, we do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer (or tequila, rum,
whiskey or other liquor) because alcohol has to go through various
purification processes of distilling, filtering and/or fermenting.
So remember: Water = Poop, Wine & Booze = Health
Therefore, it's better to drink beer, spirits or wine and talk stupid, than
to drink water and be full of crap.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
1887 : First Groundhog Day
On this day in 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.
Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal--the hedgehog--as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.
Groundhogs, also called woodchucks and whose scientific name is Marmota monax, typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they're frightened or looking for a mate and can climb trees and swim. They go into hibernation in the late fall; during this time, their body temperatures drop significantly, their heartbeats slow from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of their body fat. In February, male groundhogs emerge from their burrows to look for a mate (not to predict the weather) before going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in March.
In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America's only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil might be America's most famous groundhogs, but other towns across North America now have their own weather-predicting rodents, from Birmingham Bill to Staten Island Chuck to Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.
In 1993, the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularized the usage of "groundhog day" to mean something that is repeated over and over. Today, tens of thousands of people converge on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness Phil's prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities.
Groundhog Day has its roots in the ancient Christian tradition of Candlemas Day, when clergy would bless and distribute candles needed for winter. The candles represented how long and cold the winter would be. Germans expanded on this concept by selecting an animal--the hedgehog--as a means of predicting weather. Once they came to America, German settlers in Pennsylvania continued the tradition, although they switched from hedgehogs to groundhogs, which were plentiful in the Keystone State.
Groundhogs, also called woodchucks and whose scientific name is Marmota monax, typically weigh 12 to 15 pounds and live six to eight years. They eat vegetables and fruits, whistle when they're frightened or looking for a mate and can climb trees and swim. They go into hibernation in the late fall; during this time, their body temperatures drop significantly, their heartbeats slow from 80 to five beats per minute and they can lose 30 percent of their body fat. In February, male groundhogs emerge from their burrows to look for a mate (not to predict the weather) before going underground again. They come out of hibernation for good in March.
In 1887, a newspaper editor belonging to a group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney called the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club declared that Phil, the Punxsutawney groundhog, was America's only true weather-forecasting groundhog. The line of groundhogs that have since been known as Phil might be America's most famous groundhogs, but other towns across North America now have their own weather-predicting rodents, from Birmingham Bill to Staten Island Chuck to Shubenacadie Sam in Canada.
In 1993, the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray popularized the usage of "groundhog day" to mean something that is repeated over and over. Today, tens of thousands of people converge on Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney each February 2 to witness Phil's prediction. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club hosts a three-day celebration featuring entertainment and activities.
Feb 02, 1876 National League of baseball is founded
On February 2, 1876, the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which comes to be more commonly known as the National League (NL), is formed. The American League (AL) was established in 1901 and in 1903, the first World Series was held.
The first official game of baseball in the United States took place in June 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became America’s first professional baseball club. In 1871, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was established as the sport’s first “major league.” Five years later, in 1876, Chicago businessman William Hulbert formed the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs to replace the National Association, which he believed was mismanaged and corrupt. The National League had eight original members: the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.
In 1901, the National League’s rival, the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, was founded. Starting in 1903, the best team from each league began competing against each other in the World Series. Various teams switched in and out of the National League over the years, but it remained an eight-team league for many decades until 1962, when the New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s (later renamed the Houston Astros) joined the league. In 1969, two more teams were added: the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). Also that year, the league was split into an East and West division of six teams each. The Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins became part of the National League in 1993, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. In 1994, the league was reorganized to include a Central division, along with the East and West groups.
In 1997, Major League Baseball introduced inter-league play, in which each NL team played a series of regular-season games against AL teams of the same division. (In 2002, the rules were changed to allow AL/NL teams from non-corresponding divisions to compete against each other.) However, one major difference between the two leagues remains: the American League’s 1973 adoption of the designated hitter rule allowed teams to substitute another hitter for the pitcher, who generally hit poorly, in the lineup. As a result, teams in the American League typically score more runs than those in the National League, making, some fans argue, for a more exciting game.
Between 1903 and 2007, AL teams were the winners in 61 of the 103 World Series played. The American League’s New York Yankees have won more World Series championships--26--than any other team in baseball.
The first official game of baseball in the United States took place in June 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became America’s first professional baseball club. In 1871, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was established as the sport’s first “major league.” Five years later, in 1876, Chicago businessman William Hulbert formed the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs to replace the National Association, which he believed was mismanaged and corrupt. The National League had eight original members: the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings.
In 1901, the National League’s rival, the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, was founded. Starting in 1903, the best team from each league began competing against each other in the World Series. Various teams switched in and out of the National League over the years, but it remained an eight-team league for many decades until 1962, when the New York Mets and Houston Colt .45s (later renamed the Houston Astros) joined the league. In 1969, two more teams were added: the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals). Also that year, the league was split into an East and West division of six teams each. The Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins became part of the National League in 1993, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. In 1994, the league was reorganized to include a Central division, along with the East and West groups.
In 1997, Major League Baseball introduced inter-league play, in which each NL team played a series of regular-season games against AL teams of the same division. (In 2002, the rules were changed to allow AL/NL teams from non-corresponding divisions to compete against each other.) However, one major difference between the two leagues remains: the American League’s 1973 adoption of the designated hitter rule allowed teams to substitute another hitter for the pitcher, who generally hit poorly, in the lineup. As a result, teams in the American League typically score more runs than those in the National League, making, some fans argue, for a more exciting game.
Between 1903 and 2007, AL teams were the winners in 61 of the 103 World Series played. The American League’s New York Yankees have won more World Series championships--26--than any other team in baseball.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
