One of the most popular American pop groups of its time, KC and the Sunshine Band earned the second of their five #1 pop hits on this day in 1975 when "That's The Way (I Like It)" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100.
With their breakthrough single, "Get Down Tonight" (1975), having implored listeners to "Do a little dance" and "Make a little love...," KC and the Sunshine Band's follow-up mined very much the same territory with its driving, danceable beat and its frank declaration, "That's the way/Uh-huh, Uh-huh/I like i/Uh-Huh." But as risqué as the lyrics written by Harry Wayne Casey and his songwriting partner (and Sunshine Band co-founder), Richard Finch, tended to be, they were always delivered in a way that was more exuberant than suggestive. AM radio—white pop stations and black R&B stations alike—loved the racially integrated KC and the Sunshine Band, and so did many critics. As Steven Ditlea wrote in a rave New York Times review of one of the group's live appearances, "KC has the stage presence and the musical ability to bridge the cultural chasm separating white performers and black listeners as well as between black music and white audiences."
Harry Wayne Casey and Richard Finch first began working together musically as low-level employees at a small, Hialeah-based record label called T.K. Their big break came in 1974, when a struggling T.K. artist named George McCrae overheard an instrumental track Casey and Finch had recorded on their own and volunteered his services as a singer. In just two takes, McCrae recorded the vocal track on a record called "Rock Your Baby," which was released in the spring of 1974 and went on to sell upwards of 3 million copies on its way to becoming a #1 pop hit. Following the success of "Rock Your Baby," Casey and Finch released an album called Do It Good that failed to find a large audience, but their second studio album, KC and the Sunshine Band (1975), was a multi-platinum smash that included both of the group's first two #1 pop hits as well as a third major hit in "Boogie Shoes."
Monday, November 22, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Origin of the word "Shit"
Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.
Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T " , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.
Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!
Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening
After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.
Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T " , (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
The Fire Chief Explains
In South Los Angeles , a 4-plex was destroyed by a fire.
A Nigerian family of six con artists lived on the first floor, and all six died in the fire. An Islamic group of seven welfare cheats, all illegally in the country from Kenya , lived on the second floor, and they, too, all perished in the fire. 6 LA, Hispanic, Gang Banger, ex-cons, lived on the 3rd floor and they, too, died. A lone, white couple lived on the top floor... The couple survived the fire.
Jesse Jackson, John Burris and Al Sharpton were furious. They flew into LA and met with the fire chief, on camera.
They loudly demanded to know why the Blacks, Black Muslims and Hispanics all died in the fire and only the white couple lived?
The fire chief said, "They were at work"
A Nigerian family of six con artists lived on the first floor, and all six died in the fire. An Islamic group of seven welfare cheats, all illegally in the country from Kenya , lived on the second floor, and they, too, all perished in the fire. 6 LA, Hispanic, Gang Banger, ex-cons, lived on the 3rd floor and they, too, died. A lone, white couple lived on the top floor... The couple survived the fire.
Jesse Jackson, John Burris and Al Sharpton were furious. They flew into LA and met with the fire chief, on camera.
They loudly demanded to know why the Blacks, Black Muslims and Hispanics all died in the fire and only the white couple lived?
The fire chief said, "They were at work"
Hallan un método para borrar malos recuerdos
¿Quién dice que los recuerdos de experiencias desagradables permanecen en el cerebro durante toda la vida? Científicos de la Escuela de Medicina de la Universidad Johns Hopkins (EE UU) han descubierto que eliminando proteínas de cierta zona del cerebro desaparecen los recuerdos negativos. "Nuestro estudio describe los mecanismos moleculares involucrados en la memoria de miedo y la posibilidad de manipular esos mecanismos con fármacos para tratar problemas como el trastorno por estrés post-traumático", explica el neurocientífico Richard L. Huganir, coautor del trabajo.
En sus experimentos, Huganir y sus colegas produjeron un trauma en ratones aplicándoles una descarga eléctrica a la vez que hacían sonar un ruido específico. Tras la experiencia, los ratones reaccionaban quedando inmóviles con sólo escuchar el tono. En los circuitos nerviosos de la amígdala -la parte del cerebro relacionada con el miedo-, los científicos detectaron que se había producido un aumento en la actividad de ciertas células nerviosas. Y examinando las proteínas antes y después de la exposición al sonido en la zona, identificaron que ciertas proteínas llamadas AMPARs estaban relacionadas con el recuerdo que causaba miedo a los roedores. Al eliminarlas, se borraba también el recuerdo asociado al trauma.
“La posibilidad de borrar recuerdos puede sonar a ciencia ficción”, admite Huganir, que sin embargo está convencido de que dentro de poco se podrán utilizar sus hallazgos para ayudar a soldados que han vuelto de la guerra, a personas han sido víctimas de un rapto o a individuos que han sufrido alguna experiencia traumática.
En sus experimentos, Huganir y sus colegas produjeron un trauma en ratones aplicándoles una descarga eléctrica a la vez que hacían sonar un ruido específico. Tras la experiencia, los ratones reaccionaban quedando inmóviles con sólo escuchar el tono. En los circuitos nerviosos de la amígdala -la parte del cerebro relacionada con el miedo-, los científicos detectaron que se había producido un aumento en la actividad de ciertas células nerviosas. Y examinando las proteínas antes y después de la exposición al sonido en la zona, identificaron que ciertas proteínas llamadas AMPARs estaban relacionadas con el recuerdo que causaba miedo a los roedores. Al eliminarlas, se borraba también el recuerdo asociado al trauma.
“La posibilidad de borrar recuerdos puede sonar a ciencia ficción”, admite Huganir, que sin embargo está convencido de que dentro de poco se podrán utilizar sus hallazgos para ayudar a soldados que han vuelto de la guerra, a personas han sido víctimas de un rapto o a individuos que han sufrido alguna experiencia traumática.
1966 : Sandy Koufax retires
On November 18, 1966, Sandy Koufax, the ace pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, retires from baseball. He was just 30 years old, and he was retiring after a great season--he’d led the Dodgers to a National League pennant and won his third Cy Young award. But he had chronic arthritis in his pitching arm, and he was afraid that if he kept playing baseball, eventually he wouldn’t be able to use his left hand at all. "In those days there was no surgery," he said much later. "The wisdom was if you went in there, it would only make things worse and your career would be over, anyway. Now you go in, fix it, and you’re OK for next spring."
Koufax entered the majors in 1955, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. He didn’t do much for the Bums at the beginning of his career--his arm was powerful but he didn’t have much control over his pitches--but after the team moved to Los Angeles, Koufax began to settle down and throw much more consistently. In a game against the Giants in 1959, he tied the major league strikeout record (18); the next season, though he only won eight games, he struck out 197 batters in 175 innings.
In 1961, Koufax really hit his stride: He went 18-13 and led the majors in strikeouts, something he would do four times between 1961 and 1966. Meanwhile, during those six seasons he led the league three times in wins and shutouts, and twice he threw more complete games than any other pitcher. He set a new major-league season strikeout record--382--in 1965. (Only Nolan Ryan has since struck out more batters in a single season.) Koufax threw one no-hitter every year from 1962 to 1965, and in 1965 he threw a perfect game. His pitches were notoriously difficult to hit; getting the bat on a Koufax fastball, Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell once said, was like "trying to drink coffee with a fork."
But what Sandy Koufax is perhaps most famous for is his refusal, in 1965, to pitch the first game of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. (Don Drysdale pitched instead, and gave up seven runs in the first three innings; "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too," he said when the team’s manager pulled him out of the game.) In 1971, the 36-year-old Koufax became the youngest person ever to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Koufax entered the majors in 1955, when the Dodgers were still in Brooklyn. He didn’t do much for the Bums at the beginning of his career--his arm was powerful but he didn’t have much control over his pitches--but after the team moved to Los Angeles, Koufax began to settle down and throw much more consistently. In a game against the Giants in 1959, he tied the major league strikeout record (18); the next season, though he only won eight games, he struck out 197 batters in 175 innings.
In 1961, Koufax really hit his stride: He went 18-13 and led the majors in strikeouts, something he would do four times between 1961 and 1966. Meanwhile, during those six seasons he led the league three times in wins and shutouts, and twice he threw more complete games than any other pitcher. He set a new major-league season strikeout record--382--in 1965. (Only Nolan Ryan has since struck out more batters in a single season.) Koufax threw one no-hitter every year from 1962 to 1965, and in 1965 he threw a perfect game. His pitches were notoriously difficult to hit; getting the bat on a Koufax fastball, Pittsburgh’s Willie Stargell once said, was like "trying to drink coffee with a fork."
But what Sandy Koufax is perhaps most famous for is his refusal, in 1965, to pitch the first game of the World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. (Don Drysdale pitched instead, and gave up seven runs in the first three innings; "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too," he said when the team’s manager pulled him out of the game.) In 1971, the 36-year-old Koufax became the youngest person ever to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
CUIDADÍN CON EL RELOJ CU-CU
Anoche salí con mis amigas a una 'reunión'.
Yo le dije a mi marido que regresaría a casa a las 12 en punto.
'Te lo prometo', le dije; pero la
'reunión' estuvo muy buena!!
....copitas, bailecito, más copitas...,
y se me fue la hora!!!
Resulta que llegué a casa a las 3 de la madrugada
completamente borracha....
Acababa de entrar y el mugre reloj cucú
hizo 'cu-cu' tres veces.
Al darme cuenta que mi marido se iba a despertar por
ese sonido, grité 'cu-cu' otras 9 veces más...
Me quedé tan orgullosa y satisfecha por haber tenido
de pronto, aunque borracha, una idea tan buena
para evitar pelear con mi marido...!!!
Me acosté de lo más tranquila pensando
en lo inteligente que soy!!!
Por la mañana, durante el desayuno,
mi marido me preguntó a qué hora había llegado
y le contesté que había llegado a las 12 en punto,
tal y como le había prometido.
El, de momento, no dijo nada, ni me pareció desconfiado,
'qué bieeeeen! ...salvaaaada!' ...pensé yo.
Entonces él me dijo: 'por cierto...
debemos cambiar nuestro reloj cucú.'
Le pregunté temblorosa, 'sííííí? ...y por qué mi amor?'
Y me dijo: 'bueno, anoche el reloj hizo 'cu-cu' tres veces,
.....luego, no sé cómo, gritó '¡¡mierda!!',
......después hizo 'cu-cu' cuatro veces más,
...... vomitó en el pasillo,
.....hizo 'cu-cu' otras tres veces,
..... se mato de risa y otra vez hizo 'cu-cu',
.....salió corriendo, pisó al gato,
rompió la mesita de la esquina de la sala,
se acostó a mi lado dando el último 'cu-cu',
y se durmió.
Yo le dije a mi marido que regresaría a casa a las 12 en punto.
'Te lo prometo', le dije; pero la
'reunión' estuvo muy buena!!
....copitas, bailecito, más copitas...,
y se me fue la hora!!!
Resulta que llegué a casa a las 3 de la madrugada
completamente borracha....
Acababa de entrar y el mugre reloj cucú
hizo 'cu-cu' tres veces.
Al darme cuenta que mi marido se iba a despertar por
ese sonido, grité 'cu-cu' otras 9 veces más...
Me quedé tan orgullosa y satisfecha por haber tenido
de pronto, aunque borracha, una idea tan buena
para evitar pelear con mi marido...!!!
Me acosté de lo más tranquila pensando
en lo inteligente que soy!!!
Por la mañana, durante el desayuno,
mi marido me preguntó a qué hora había llegado
y le contesté que había llegado a las 12 en punto,
tal y como le había prometido.
El, de momento, no dijo nada, ni me pareció desconfiado,
'qué bieeeeen! ...salvaaaada!' ...pensé yo.
Entonces él me dijo: 'por cierto...
debemos cambiar nuestro reloj cucú.'
Le pregunté temblorosa, 'sííííí? ...y por qué mi amor?'
Y me dijo: 'bueno, anoche el reloj hizo 'cu-cu' tres veces,
.....luego, no sé cómo, gritó '¡¡mierda!!',
......después hizo 'cu-cu' cuatro veces más,
...... vomitó en el pasillo,
.....hizo 'cu-cu' otras tres veces,
..... se mato de risa y otra vez hizo 'cu-cu',
.....salió corriendo, pisó al gato,
rompió la mesita de la esquina de la sala,
se acostó a mi lado dando el último 'cu-cu',
y se durmió.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
1981 : Fernando Valenzuela wins Cy Young Award
On November 11, 1981, Rookie of the Year Fernando Valenzuela wins the National League’s Cy Young Award, becoming the first player in baseball history to win both prizes in the same season.
In the spring of 1981, at the beginning of his first full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Valenzuela was unstoppable. He won the first eight games he pitched, including seven complete games and five shutouts, with an 0.50 ERA. He was just 20 years old (though rumors abounded that he was actually closer to 30). His youth and evident good nature along with his paunchy, un-athletic build, goofy windup and the brilliant screwball known as "Fernando’s Fadeaway" endeared him to many baseball fans. Newspapers called the phenomenon "Fernandomania." His picture was on the cover of dozens of magazines. People crowded ballparks to see him play, especially during his triumphant early-season winning streak. A reporter from the Orange County Register wrote: "You had to be there, back in that magical summer of 1981, to see the long snaking lines of cars already waiting to get into the ballpark gate at 4:30 in the afternoon. You had to click on your radio and hear the happy, mariachi sound (The Ballad of Fernando) emanating from every station in town. You had to read the glut of newspaper ads hustling membership into the rapidly growing Fernando Fan Club."
Even though he was never again as good as he was that spring, Valenzuela had a solid season: he went 13-7 with eight shutouts and a 2.48 ERA. He had the league’s second-highest win total along with the highest number of complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He started the All-Star Game for the NL--an unusual honor for a rookie--and pitched three wins to help the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series.
Fernandomania eventually faded, even though Fernando himself remained a dependable pitcher. In 1983, he won the Silver Bat, the prize given to the best-hitting pitcher in the National League. In 1984, he threw a career-high 15 strikeouts in a game against Philadelphia. He set a major league record in 1985 for not allowing a single earned run in 41 1/3 innings, and the next year he won a league-leading 21 games. In 1990, he pitched his first no-hitter.
In all, Valenzuela pitched 11 seasons for the Dodgers. He retired in 1996, after a few years of bouncing from team to team. But he remains an inspiration for many young players, especially those from Mexico.
In the spring of 1981, at the beginning of his first full season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Valenzuela was unstoppable. He won the first eight games he pitched, including seven complete games and five shutouts, with an 0.50 ERA. He was just 20 years old (though rumors abounded that he was actually closer to 30). His youth and evident good nature along with his paunchy, un-athletic build, goofy windup and the brilliant screwball known as "Fernando’s Fadeaway" endeared him to many baseball fans. Newspapers called the phenomenon "Fernandomania." His picture was on the cover of dozens of magazines. People crowded ballparks to see him play, especially during his triumphant early-season winning streak. A reporter from the Orange County Register wrote: "You had to be there, back in that magical summer of 1981, to see the long snaking lines of cars already waiting to get into the ballpark gate at 4:30 in the afternoon. You had to click on your radio and hear the happy, mariachi sound (The Ballad of Fernando) emanating from every station in town. You had to read the glut of newspaper ads hustling membership into the rapidly growing Fernando Fan Club."
Even though he was never again as good as he was that spring, Valenzuela had a solid season: he went 13-7 with eight shutouts and a 2.48 ERA. He had the league’s second-highest win total along with the highest number of complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and strikeouts. He started the All-Star Game for the NL--an unusual honor for a rookie--and pitched three wins to help the Dodgers beat the Yankees in the World Series.
Fernandomania eventually faded, even though Fernando himself remained a dependable pitcher. In 1983, he won the Silver Bat, the prize given to the best-hitting pitcher in the National League. In 1984, he threw a career-high 15 strikeouts in a game against Philadelphia. He set a major league record in 1985 for not allowing a single earned run in 41 1/3 innings, and the next year he won a league-leading 21 games. In 1990, he pitched his first no-hitter.
In all, Valenzuela pitched 11 seasons for the Dodgers. He retired in 1996, after a few years of bouncing from team to team. But he remains an inspiration for many young players, especially those from Mexico.
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