Friday, December 29, 2006
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
the godfather is dead...
ATLANTA -James Brown, the legendary singer known as the "Godfather of Soul," has died, his agent said early Monday. He was 73.Brown was hospitalized with pneumonia on Sunday at Emory Crawford Long Hospital and died around 1:45 a.m. Monday, said his agent, Frank Copsidas of Intrigue Music. Longtime friend Charles Bobbit was by his side, he said.
Copsidas said Brown's family was being notified of his death and that the cause was still uncertain. "We really don't know at this point what he died of," he said.
Along with Elvis Presley,Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolized him, and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others. Songs such as David Bowie's "Fame," Prince's "Kiss," George Clinton's "Atomic Dog" and Sly and the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song" were clearly based on Brown's rhythms and vocal style.
If Brown's claim to the invention of soul can be challenged by fans of Ray Charles and Sam Cooke, then his rights to the genres of rap, disco and funk are beyond question. He was to rhythm and dance music what Dylan was to lyrics: the unchallenged popular innovator.
"James presented obviously the best grooves," rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy once told The Associated Press. "To this day, there has been no one near as funky. No one's coming even close."
His hit singles include such classics as "Out of Sight," "(Get Up I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine," "I Got You (I Feel Good)" and "Say It Out Loud — I'm Black and I'm Proud," a landmark 1968 statement of racial pride.
"I clearly remember we were calling ourselves colored, and after the song, we were calling ourselves black," said in a 2003 Associated Press interview. "The song showed even people to that day that lyrics and music and a song can change society."
He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (best R&B recording) and for "Living In America" in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male.) He was one of the initial artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, along with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.
He triumphed despite an often unhappy personal life. Brown, who lived in Beech Island near the Georgia line, spent more than two years in a South Carolina prison for aggravated assault and failing to stop for a police officer. After his release on in 1991, Brown said he wanted to "try to straighten out" rock music.
From the 1950s, when Brown had his first R&B hit, "Please, Please, Please" in 1956, through the mid-1970s, Brown went on a frenzy of cross-country tours, concerts and new songs. He earned the nickname "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business."
With his tight pants, shimmering feet, eye makeup and outrageous hair, Brown set the stage for younger stars such as Michael Jackson and Prince.
In 1986, he was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rap stars of recent years overwhelmingly have borrowed his lyrics with a digital technique called sampling.
Brown's work has been replayed by the Fat Boys, Ice-T, Public Enemy and a host of other rappers. "The music out there is only as good as my last record," Brown joked in a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone magazine.
"Disco is James Brown, hip-hop is James Brown, rap is James Brown; you know what I'm saying? You hear all the rappers, 90 percent of their music is me," he told the AP in 2003.
OOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! RIP JayBee...You Were A True Legend...
brainsprain
Find the man between the coffee beans.
Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in 3 seconds, your right half of your brain is better developed than most people.
If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right half of the brain is developed normally.
If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein.
If you have not found the man after 3 minutes your right half of your brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look more for these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger.
The man really is there. In fact, once you find him, you cannot miss him afterwards.
Doctors have concluded that if you find the man in 3 seconds, your right half of your brain is better developed than most people.
If you find the man between 3 seconds and one minute, then your right half of the brain is developed normally.
If you find the man between one minute and 3 minutes, then the right half of your brain is functioning slowly and you need to eat more protein.
If you have not found the man after 3 minutes your right half of your brain is a mess, and the only advice is to look more for these types of exercises to make that part of the brain stronger.
The man really is there. In fact, once you find him, you cannot miss him afterwards.
[newsflash] the biggest cashcrop in america is...
...endo!
All-time high for homegrown as pot becomes top cash crop in US
Marijuana is now the biggest cash crop grown in the US, exceeding traditional harvests such as wheat, corn and soy beans, says a new report.
The study shows that 10,000 tonnes of marijuana worth $35.8bn (£18.4bn) is grown each year; the street value would be even higher. This dwarfs the $23bn-worth of corn grown, $17.6bn-worth of soybeans and $12.2bn-worth of hay. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop in 12 states, with the value of pot grown outstripping peanuts in Georgia and tobacco in North and South Carolina. In California, the biggest producer, it is worth $13.8bn.
The report, Marijuana Production in the US, by DrugScience.org, which wants marijuana to be reclassified, says the drug is listed as a Schedule 1 drug, deemed to have no medicinal value and a likelihood of abuse. Other such drugs include heroin.
The boom in domestic production has in part been fuelled by tougher border controls after 9/11. As smuggling from Mexico has become more difficult the drug cartels have moved their operations into the US, often creating plantations in remote national park land.
read more HERE
All-time high for homegrown as pot becomes top cash crop in US
Marijuana is now the biggest cash crop grown in the US, exceeding traditional harvests such as wheat, corn and soy beans, says a new report.
The study shows that 10,000 tonnes of marijuana worth $35.8bn (£18.4bn) is grown each year; the street value would be even higher. This dwarfs the $23bn-worth of corn grown, $17.6bn-worth of soybeans and $12.2bn-worth of hay. Marijuana is the biggest cash crop in 12 states, with the value of pot grown outstripping peanuts in Georgia and tobacco in North and South Carolina. In California, the biggest producer, it is worth $13.8bn.
The report, Marijuana Production in the US, by DrugScience.org, which wants marijuana to be reclassified, says the drug is listed as a Schedule 1 drug, deemed to have no medicinal value and a likelihood of abuse. Other such drugs include heroin.
The boom in domestic production has in part been fuelled by tougher border controls after 9/11. As smuggling from Mexico has become more difficult the drug cartels have moved their operations into the US, often creating plantations in remote national park land.
read more HERE
deck the halls
Chrismas carols for the disturbed
- Schizophrenia --- Do You Hear What I Hear?
- Multiple Personality Disorder --- We Three Kings Disoriented Are
- Dementia --- I Think I'll be Home for Christmas
- Narcissistic --- Hark the Herald Angels Sing About Me
- Manic --- Deck the Halls and Walls and House and Lawn and Streets and Stores and Office and Town and Cars and Buses and Trucks and Trees and ...
- Paranoid --- Santa Claus is Coming to Town to Get Me!
- Borderline Personality Disorder --- Thoughts of Roasting on an Open Fire
- Personality Disorder --- You Better Watch Out, I'm Gonna Cry, I'm Gonna Pout, Maybe I'll Tell You Why
- Attention Deficit Disorder --- Silent night, Holy ... oooh look at the Froggy ... can I have a chocolate ... why is France so far away?
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder --- Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells ...
shackkkk
alamak....suay like SHIT
Hand stuck in toilet bowl for 8 hours
A 27-year-old man was taking a train from Wuchang to Guangzhou in China when a little mishap caused him to drop his cell phone into the toilet bowl while using the toilet.
In a state of panic, he tried to fish it out but got his hand stuck instead. The attendants on board the train tried to free his hand from the compartment below for 3 hours but to no avail. It even got worse as his hand had now gotten deeper into the hole. As such, they had no choice but to stop at the next station to get some help.
Technicians removed part of the floorboard and the man was sent to the hospital with his hand still stuck. At the hospital, his hand was freed without further incident. By now, 8 hours had already elapsed. This poor guy must have suffered badly from both the pain and pungent stench! A total of 1,300 passengers were delayed for 5 hours as a result of this incident.
...only thing good were the 2 gals...kona@themovies - THE CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
...otherwise known literally as THE CITY OF GOLDEN ARMOR, is china's selection as the entrant for best foreign film for the OSCARS...directed by the darling of chinese cinema ZHANG YIMOU (he of JU DOU, RED SORGHUM, HERO and HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS fame), it is a lavish and opulently-scaled tragic melodrama costing us$45 million (the most ever for a chinese production)...
set in the 10th century tang dynasty era, it stars the ever-so-cool CHOW YUN FATT as the ruthless and icy cold emperor with GONG LI as his vengeful empress cum nemesis...the other notable personage is mr mumbly pretty boy JAY CHOU (of chinese popstardom fame) as his second son cum empress's pawn...
the movie's pageantry of over-the-top opulence and bejeweled riot of colours is almost blinding to behold...in fact too much of a good thing...the movie piles spectacle upon spectacle and tragedy upon tragedy until the whole movie nigh collapses under the sheer weight of it all...a veritable greek tragedy of epic proportions...
the movie's pageantry of over-the-top opulence and bejeweled riot of colours is almost blinding to behold...in fact too much of a good thing...the movie piles spectacle upon spectacle and tragedy upon tragedy until the whole movie nigh collapses under the sheer weight of it all...a veritable greek tragedy of epic proportions...
zhang's penchant for the grand spectacle tends to overwhelm the storyline and by the time the storyline asserts itself, it's all become a tad bit campy and overwrought...
chow's turn as the merciless emperor ping is fantastic...he conveys soooo much intensity and craftiness in a mere look and looks ever so natural in the regalia of ancient china that one could easily picture him as the real thing back in ancient times...
gong li has been, in the past, THE muse for zhang and in this movie she shows the breadth of her acting chops perfectly...i have to admit though that i was severely distracted by her heaving bosom almost to the exception of everything else...
mumbles just looks weird and out of his depth in this movie...he doesn't emote well, face remaining wooden and devoid of expression in pretty much every scene of the movie and one might surmise that he was cast only to appeal to the younger crowd...well the young nubile ladies would definitely squeal their delight in his dramatic fight scenes...
overall, it's still terribly watchable this movie...just too melodramatic for me, i guess...meriting a 7 outta 10 then...
Friday, December 22, 2006
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
once again it's happened...
...christmas has crept up sneakily and overtaken me! have not done any shopping for gifts other than a dvd player for my folks and a coach bag for the missus...and seeing as how the crowds down in town are absolutely horrendous, i am beginning to think i will pass on any more shopping...it's just beyond my level of tolerance...
anyways, will be taking it really easy this year...not doing much in any case even on christmas eve...will probably head over to church for midnight service and of course service on christmas day itself...thereafter, lunch with the cellgroup and that's about it...intending to chill out and relax on christmas night itself at home, catching up on my watching of season 3 of grey's anatomy...
anyways, will be taking it really easy this year...not doing much in any case even on christmas eve...will probably head over to church for midnight service and of course service on christmas day itself...thereafter, lunch with the cellgroup and that's about it...intending to chill out and relax on christmas night itself at home, catching up on my watching of season 3 of grey's anatomy...
moronic translations
the translators should be fired!
13) When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."
12) Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux."
11) Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
10) Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
9) Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
8) When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.
7) Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.
6) Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken," was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."
5) When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.
4) An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
3) The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are You Lactating?"
2) General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to market the Nova car in Central and South America. "No va" in Spanish means, "It Doesn't Go".
1) The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the Wax Tadpole" or "Female Horse Stuffed with Wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokoukole", translating into "Happiness in the Mouth."
13) When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The company thought that the word "embarazar" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read: "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant."
12) Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following in an American campaign: "Nothing Sucks like an Electrolux."
11) Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."
10) Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."
9) Pepsi's "Come Alive With the Pepsi Generation" translated into "Pepsi Brings Your Ancestors Back From the Grave" in Chinese.
8) When Gerber started selling baby food in Africa, they used the same packaging as in the US, with the smiling baby on the label. Later they learned that in Africa, companies routinely put pictures on the labels of what's inside, since many people can't read.
7) Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.
6) Frank Perdue's chicken slogan, "It takes a strong man to make a tender chicken," was translated into Spanish as "it takes an aroused man to make a chicken affectionate."
5) When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.
4) An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).
3) The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read "Are You Lactating?"
2) General Motors had a very famous fiasco in trying to market the Nova car in Central and South America. "No va" in Spanish means, "It Doesn't Go".
1) The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the Wax Tadpole" or "Female Horse Stuffed with Wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokoukole", translating into "Happiness in the Mouth."
Quips
Fact - It takes a college degree to fly a plane but a high school diploma to fix one.
Reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in their jobs
After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident.
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.
P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
And the best one for last .
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.
Reassurance for those of us who fly routinely in their jobs
After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers. By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident.
P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.
P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.
P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.
P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.
P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.
P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.
P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.
P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.
P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.
P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.
And the best one for last .
P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.
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