Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[bannana]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

My parents took me to see it as a kid. I don't think I've really seen it since.

It was the first and only movie our parents took us kids to see.

[Cupid Stunt]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

My parents took me to see it as a kid. I don't think I've really seen it since.

Once in a while it's on broadcast TV for ... er, reasons. 

I like Julie Andrews, but the movie is treacle-sodden bosh.

[OhioSongbird]

peaches, I finally got my lemon curd and I'm making the blueberry/lemon cake tomorrow.  Boychild is coming down for a visit.  He will love it.  Hubby has cataract surgery on Tues and he's taking him.  45 min drive.....oy. 

I don't drive anymore (a woman's got to know her limitations).  Just not comfortable behind the wheel and I used to drive for a living.  Did deliveries when I worked auto parts (counter and driver) and drove everything except a semi.  

Anybody in my neck of the woods and east coasters stay warm and stay home if possible.  It's gonna get ugly.

And....Chiefs are gonna kick ass!!!

[Cupid Stunt]

Prince Super Bowl Halftime Show 2007:  https://dai.ly/x4cyare

 

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

 

For those of you that have other interests on Super Bowl Sunday there's Puppy Bowl XVII on Animal Planet. With 70 puppies from 22 different shelters, Sunday's event will pit Team Ruff against Team Fluff in a canine football match for a common goal: To be adopted.

Pups are split up into two teams and placed in a canine-sized football stadium to compete for "touchdowns," but there's also a national anthem performance, a halftime show, play-by-play commentary and a "rufferee." The winning team captain gets a "Chewy Lombarky Trophy," but really, all the dogs win.

For the past 16 events, 100% of the puppies and kittens featured were adopted. (Yes, there are kittens -- more on that later.) The Puppy Bowl is all about celebrating adoptable pups and the shelters and staff who help them.

Longtime friends Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart will host, with Dan Schachner as the game's "rufferee." Celebrating 10 years of "rufferee"-ing for the Puppy Bowl, Schachner will call puppy penalties, ruff-housing and touchdowns.

ESPN play-by-play announcer Steve Levy and "SportsCenter" host Sage Steele will provide human commentary.

And then -- there are the kittens. Adoptable kittens will put on the performance of their lives at the annual Kitty Halftime Show.

 

Speaking of kittens, Hallmark Channel will be hosting their rescue pet adoption event of the year when Kitten Bowl VIII premieres exclusively on Sunday, February 7, 2021 (2 p.m. ET/PT).

TV personality, author and animal advocate Beth Stern returns as host for this year’s event from Hallmark Channel Stadium alongside Cameron Mathison and Tamera Mowry-Housley from Home & Family. Stern embodies the spirit of adoption in her everyday life, having fostered countless animals in need. Stern’s tireless year-round efforts to find homes for animals makes her an advocate to lead the charge for Kitten Bowl VIII.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Snaporaz]

I always flip back and forth between Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl.  Don't let Cameron Mathison put you off!  And even though Beth Stern isn't the most dynamic TV personality, she does a lot for animal causes, from donating bucket loads of money to fostering.  Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg are hilarious together.  They used to have a cooking show with both of them clad in pajamas and whipping up snacks to satisfy Snoop's case of munchies.  

[OhioSongbird]

Loved Martha and Snoop!!

[peacheslatour]

I remember a show where  they used to compete with each other making the same dish. Snoop beat the pants off of Martha in the fried chicken competition.

[Cupid Stunt]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cupid Stunt]

On 2/7/2021 at 10:53 AM, OhioSongbird said:

Loved Martha and Snoop!!

Snoop and Martha were a hoot. And it's good works dear to both of them. 

Animals give Martha a warmth she doesn't normally reflect.

On 2/7/2021 at 11:58 AM, peacheslatour said:

I remember a show where  they used to compete with each other making the same dish. Snoop beat the pants off of Martha in the fried chicken competition.

<snort>

That was a good one! She hates to lose, even if it's to someone she respects.

Snoop leads Martha back into Normieville, even if it's for a few minutes.

[peacheslatour]

One time Martha had Cookie Monster on her show. Of course she made cookies but CM wouldn't keep his hands off of them so Martha tied him to a chair. She goes "Now, if you struggle, it just gets tighter." My son turned to me and said "Ya know, somehow we all knew we'd eventually hear her say those words."

[Cupid Stunt]

17 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

One time Martha had Cookie Monster on her show. Of course she made cookies but CM wouldn't keep his hands off of them so Martha tied him to a chair. She goes "Now, if you struggle, it just gets tighter." My son turned to me and said "Ya know, somehow we all knew we'd eventually hear her say those words."

*Dying*

 

 MARTHA: Oh, you're choking yourself, Cookie!

COOKIE MONSTER: Me no care. Me no feel pain. Cookies like novocain.

[Capricasix]

3 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

One time Martha had Cookie Monster on her show. Of course she made cookies but CM wouldn't keep his hands off of them so Martha tied him to a chair. She goes "Now, if you struggle, it just gets tighter." My son turned to me and said "Ya know, somehow we all knew we'd eventually hear her say those words."

O M G

[OhioSongbird]

Made the blueberry/lemon cake and it was a hit!  Delish.  Keeping that one in my recipe box.

Thanks, peaches......

[Cupid Stunt]

 

Vocalist Mary Wilson, who co-founded the Supremes as a 15-year-old in a Detroit housing project and stayed with the fabled, hitmaking Motown Records trio until its dissolution in 1977,  died on Monday night at her home in Las Vegas. She was 76.

Wilson’s longtime publicist, Jay Schwartz, reported that she died suddenly. The circumstances of her death were not immediately revealed. Funeral services will be private because of COVID, he said, but there will be a public memorial later this year.

“I was extremely shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of a major member of the Motown family, Mary Wilson of the Supreme,” said Berry Gordy in a statement Monday night. “The Supremes were always known as the ‘sweethearts of Motown.’  Mary, along with Diana Ross and Florence Ballard, came to Motown in the early 1960s. After an unprecedented string of No. 1 hits, television and nightclub bookings, they opened doors for themselves, the other Motown acts, and many, many others. … I was always proud of Mary. She was quite a star in her own right and over the years continued to work hard to boost the legacy of the Supremes. Mary Wilson was extremely special to me. She was a trailblazer, a diva and will be deeply missed.”

Just two days prior to her death, Wilson put up a video on her YouTube channel announcing that she was working with Universal Music on releasing solo material, including the unreleased album “Red Hot” she recorded in the 1970s with producer Gus Dudgeon. “Hopefully some of that will be out on my birthday, March 6,” she said in the video. She also promised upcoming interviews she had done about the Supremes’ experiences with segregation that she said were forthcoming in honor of Black History Month.

 

 

Wilson had been highly visible in 2019, when she appeared on the 28th season of “Dancing With the Stars” and released “Supreme Glamour,” her fourth book.

Wilson had been preparing to spend some of the year joining in celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Supremes, still the most iconic female singing trio of all time.

Those immediately weighing in at the late hour to pay homage to Wilson ranged from Questlove to KISS’s Paul Stanley. “OMG! Mary Wilson of the Supremes has died suddenly,” tweeted Stanley. “I was just on a Zoom call with her Wednesday for about an hour & never could have imagined this. So full of life & great stories. Absolutely shocked. Rest In Supreme Peace Mary.”

With lead vocalist Diana Ross and founding member Florence Ballard (and with Ballard’s replacement Cindy Birdsong), Wilson appeared on all 12 of the Supremes’ No. 1 pop hits from 1964-69; during that period, the act – the biggest of Motown’s vocal groups thanks to their silken sound – charted a total of 16 top-10 pop singles and 19 top-10 R&B 45s (six of them chart-toppers).

If Ross became renowned as the group’s international superstar and Ballard, who died prematurely at the age of 32 in 1976, came to be memorialized as its tragic figure, Wilson was its steady, omnipresent and outspoken driving force — though many view her as little more than a supplier of the backup hooks that supported Ross’ lead work.

 

 

“They think I’m just an ‘ooh girl,’” Wilson said in a 1986 San Francisco Chronicle interview.

After Ross departed the group in 1970 for solo stardom, Wilson remained its linchpin, and dutifully backed up a succession of front women. Though the Supremes never recaptured their dominance of the ‘60s, they still managed to collect a 1970 R&B No. 1, “Stoned Love,” and returned to the pop top 20 five times.

The act’s image of glamour and offstage sisterhood that was carefully crafted by Motown was belied by Wilson’s scathing depiction of band mate Ross in a bestselling 1986 memoir, “Dreamgirl: My Life As a Supreme,” the first tell-all tome by a member of the so-called “Motown Family.”

In the book, Ross – referred to pointedly throughout by her birth name of Diane – was portrayed as an attention-seeking and backstabbing diva who used her relationship with Motown founder-chairman Berry Gordy to get what she wanted professionally and personally.

Opening the book with an episode in which Ross literally shoved her aside onstage during a taping of the 1983 taping of the NBC anniversary special “Motown 25,” Wilson wrote, with some mixed emotion, “She has done many things to hurt, humiliate, and upset me, but, strangely enough, I still over her and am proud of her.”

Wilson, who released two solo albums and toured successfully with a solo act that combined cabaret with renditions of her old Supremes hits, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the group in 1988.

She was born March 6, 1944, in Greenville, MS. After moving to St. Louis and then Chicago with her parents, she was sent at the age of three to live with her aunt and uncle in Detroit, and she grew up believing she was their daughter. She only learned who her real parents were at the age of six, when her mother came to Detroit to live with the family. She moved with her mother several times until she settled in at the Brewster-Douglass Housing Project at 12.

Wilson had already briefly sung in a group led by Aretha Franklin’s younger sister Carolyn when she was approached by Ballard, a charismatic neighbor in the Brewster projects, to form a new group that would serve as a “sister act” to the Primes, a male quintet that included Paul Williams and Eddie Kendricks, both future members of the Motown unit the Temptations.

The two girls were soon joined by Ross (who would only take the professional name “Diana” after the group’s first hits). With fourth member Betty McGlown and her successor Barbara Martin, they would perform as the Primettes until they rechristened themselves as the Supremes in early 1961.

After auditioning unsuccessfully for the rising Detroit label Motown, the group cut a pair of tracks for another hometown imprint, LuPine; Wilson sang lead on the single B-side “Pretty Baby,” but, like Ballard, she was soon displaced in front by Ross. Finally brought on board at Motown, they struggled to find their musical niche, recording songs (by Smokey Robinson and others) that either languished on the charts or sat in the vault. In 1963, fourth member Martin exited the unit.

The trio finally began to hit pay dirt when the songwriting team of brothers Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier became their principal cleffers. After reaching No. 2 on the R&B side with the writers’ “When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes” in late 1963, the Supremes simultaneously climbed to the pinnacle of both the pop and R&B lists with the foot-stomping “Where Did Our Love Go” during the summer of 1964.

With Ross now installed as the lead vocalist, the trio rivaled the Beatles for radio and chart ubiquity over the course of the next three years. Their pop No. 1’s of 1964-67 included “Baby Love,” “Come See About Me,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Back in My Arms Again,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “You Keep Me Hanging On” and “Reflections.”

In mid-1967, the increasingly unreliable Flo Ballard, wracked by alcoholism, drug abuse and depression, was expelled from the Supremes and replaced by Birdsong. Gordy – who already envisioned a career in Las Vegas, TV and films for Ross, with whom he was now involved romantically – established his paramour’s supremacy by rebranding the group as Diana Ross & the Supremes that year.

The writing was truly on the wall for the Supremes after Ross began recording as a soloist in 1968, and late the following year it was announced that she would be departing the group. The act’s swan song with its founding lead singer, “Some Day We’ll Be Together,” topped the pop and R&B charts in December 1969, and Ross made her exit after a heavily stage-managed farewell show at Las Vegas’ Frontier Hotel in January 1970. The single marked the act’s last visit to the top of the U.S. pop chart.

The Vegas show introduced Jean Terrell – sister of heavyweight prizefighter Ernie Terrell, and a singer in his group the Knockouts – as the Supremes’ new lead vocalist. Astonishingly, Berry Gordy swiftly tried to replace Terrell with Stevie Wonder’s wife Syreeta Wright, but, according to Mark Ribowsky’s tart, dishy 2009 history of the group, Wilson intervened; while Terrell remained, the Supremes never enjoyed the kind of budgets or promotion they had with Ross in the fold.

With Terrell taking the lead, the Supremes maintained some momentum: Beyond “Stoned Love,” they reached the R&B top 10 with “River Deep, Mountain High,” “Nathan Jones” and “Floy Joy. But Wilson remained the lone constant in an ever-shifting lineup after 1972, and by the late ‘70s the trio was mired in lightweight disco material – some of it supplied by the returning Holland-Dozier-Holland team.

The Supremes folded their tents with a London farewell show in June 1977. Wilson’s self-titled solo LP for Motown (which Marvin Gaye had planned to produce before his divorce wrangle with Gordy’s sister Anna scuttled it) failed to scratch the national album chart, and its lone single peaked at No. 95.

Except for her appearance on the ’83 Motown special, Wilson was little heard from until her eyebrow-raising memoir was published. (She would go on to write two more books about the Supremes, in 1990 and 2019.) The title of “Dreamgirl” was inspired by the hit 1981 Broadway musical, which the singer claimed was a largely accurate depiction of the tumult within the Supremes during Ross’ tenure.

Defending herself in a 1986 interview in Jet magazine against potential charges of serving up sour grapes, she said, “I’m sure people will have their own opinions about that, but I really don’t care. My main thing is that when I was in the group I maintained my position and I didn’t step into Diane’s position. I’m no longer in the group now. I have my own position to uphold and it’s not in the background.”

An attempt to reunite Wilson with Ross and the other surviving members of the Supremes for a 2000 tour came to naught after a protracted and public wrangle over Wilson’s fee for the trek.

Wilson’s album “Walk the Line” was released on the CEO label in 1992; she issued a pair of live DVDs in the new millennium.

In 2015, she released what was to be her last single, “Time to Move On,” which reached No. 23 on the Billboard dance chart.

Her publicist said that she had been working on trying to get a U.S. postage stamp designated for Ballard. Wilson’s activism included traveling to Washington, D.C. to lobby for the Music Modernization Act, which was passed into law in 2018.

She is survived by her daughter Turkessa and grandchildren (Mia, Marcanthony, Marina); her son, Pedro Antonio Jr and grandchildren (Isaiah, Ilah, Alexander, Alexandria). Both children are from her marriage to Dominican businessman and former Supremes manager Pedro Ferrer, whom she divorced in 1981. In 1994, the couple’s 14-year-old son Rafael was killed and Wilson was injured when her Jeep flipped on the road between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Wilson is also survived by her sister Kathryn; her brother, Roosevelt; her adopted son/cousin Willie and grandchildren (Erica (great granddaughter, Lori), Vanessa, Angela).

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that friends and fans support UNCF.org and the Humpty Dumpty Institute.

 

 

[Cupid Stunt]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[peacheslatour]

I love that commercial where one person starts singing Build Me Up, Buttercup and everyone else joins in.

[Cupid Stunt]

 

[peacheslatour]

Love it! Thanks, Cupid.

[Cupid Stunt]

Welcome to Electric Ladyland ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like Jimi Hendrix so much I invited LAPD to come and listen.

 

; )

[Cupid Stunt]

The fake Campari ad that would become the center of one of the most famous First Amendment cases in Supreme Court history ... Larry Flynt fought the law and won and changed America

 

Larry Flynt, Hustler magazine founder, dies at 78

Edited February 11, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

A giant complex geometric pattern formed from thousands of footsteps in the snow near to the capital Helsinki, in Espoo, Finland, Sunday Feb. 7, 2021. Under the guidance of an amateur artist Janne Pyykko, 11 snowshoe-clad volunteers stamped a series of complex geometric patterns on a golf course. Together, the designs resemble a huge snowflake. The artwork measures about 160 meters (525 feet) in diameter. (Janne Pyykko via AP)

[OhioSongbird]

That is waaay cool....

[Cupid Stunt]

Chick Corea, a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock, has died. He was 79. Corea died Tuesday of a rare form of cancer, his team posted on his website. His death was confirmed by Corea’s web and marketing manager, Dan Muse.

On his Facebook page, Corea left a message to his fans: “I want to thank all of those along my journey who have helped keep the music fires burning bright. It is my hope that those who have an inkling to play, write, perform or otherwise, do so. If not for yourself then for the rest of us. It’s not only that the world needs more artists, it’s also just a lot of fun.”

A prolific artist with dozens of albums, Corea in 1968 replaced Herbie Hancock in Miles Davis’ group, playing on the landmark albums “In a Silent Way” and “Bitches Brew.”

He formed his own avant-garde group, Circle, and then founded Return to Forever. He worked on many other projects, including duos with Hancock and vibraphonist Gary Burton. He recorded and performed classical music, standards, solo originals, Latin jazz and tributes to great jazz pianists.

Harvey Mason Jr., interim president and CEO of The Recording Academy, wrote: “Chick rewrote the rulebook for jazz in his more than five-decade long career, receiving mass critical acclaim along the way for his musical excellence.” Corea was named a National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Master in 2006. He was a member of the Church of Scientology and lived in Clearwater, Florida. He regularly won the title of Jazz Artist of the Year from Downbeat Magazine. In addition to his Grammy wins, Corea also had four Latin Grammy wins. In a tweet, the Latin Recording Academy called him “a virtuosic pianist and one of the most prominent Latin jazz musicians of all times.” The Blue Note jazz club in New York City simply called him “irreplaceable.”

Drummer Sheila E. took to Twitter to mourn. “This man changed my life thru his music and we were able to play together many times. I was very fortunate to call him my family,” she wrote “Chick, you are missed dearly, your music and brilliant light will live on forever.”

Hip-hop star Q-Tip called Corea “one of the coldest pianist/keyboardist/songwriters of all time” and rapper Biz Markie celebrated Corea’s 1972 jazz fusion group Return to Forever, calling it “fossil fuel for an eternity of rap samples.”

Last year, Corea released the double album “Plays,” which captured him solo at various concerts armed simply with his piano. “Like a runner loves to run because it just feels good, I like to play the piano just because it feels good,” he told The Associated Press at the time. “I can just switch gears and go to another direction or go to another song or whatever I want to do. So it’s a constant experiment.”

The double album was a peek into Corea’s musical heart, containing songs he wrote about the innocence of children decades ago as well as tunes by Mozart, Thelonious Monk and Stevie Wonder, among others.

Corea is the artist with the most jazz Grammys in the show’s 63-year history, and he has a chance to posthumously win at the March 14 show, where he’s nominated for best improvised jazz solo for “All Blues” and best jazz instrumental album for “Trilogy 2.”

Corea was born in Massachusetts and began piano lessons at 4. But he bristled at formal education and dropped out of both Columbia University and the Juilliard School. He began his career as a sideman.

Corea liked inviting volunteers onto the stage during solo concerts, sitting them down near his piano and creating spontaneous, entirely subjective tone poems about the person. “It starts as a game — to try to capture something I see in music,” he told the AP. “While I play, I look at them a couple of times like a painter would. I try to see if, while I’m playing, are they agreeing with what I’m playing? Do they think that this is really a portrait of them? And usually they do.”

Late last year, Corea was working had two commissions: A trombone concerto for the New York Philharmonic and a percussion concerto for the Philadelphia Orchestra. “I get interested in something and then I follow that interest. And that’s how my music comes out,” he said then. “I’ve always followed my interest. It’s been my successful way of living.”

He’s also started teaching online, creating the Chick Corea Academy to offer his views on music and share the opinions of others, take questions and chat with guests. He hopes his students will explore their freedom of expression and think for themselves.

“Does everyone have to like what I like? No. And it’s what makes the world go around that we all have different likes,” he told the AP. “We come together and we collaborate.”

Corea is survived by his wife, Gayle Moran, and a son Thaddeus.

Béla Fleck, a virtuoso on the banjo, who recorded and toured with Corea, called him “my hero, mentor and friend,” adding “The world has lost one of the great ones. I’m so honored to have known him.”

-- Mark Kennedy

 

Return to Forever, dear friend.

Edited February 12, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

Keeping the fierce and funky alive ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cupid Stunt]

2021 is a year of the Ox, starting from February 12th, 2021 (Chinese lunar New Year Day) and lasting until January 31st, 2022. It will be a Metal Ox year.

The recent zodiac years of Ox sign are: 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021, 2033…An Ox year occurs every 12 years.

 

Having an honest nature, Oxes are known for diligence, dependability, strength and determination. These reflect traditional conservative characteristics.

Women Oxes are traditional, faithful wives, who attach great importance to their children's education.

For male oxes, they are strongly patriotic, have ideals and ambitions for life, and attach importance to family and work.

Having great patience and a desire to make progress, Oxes can achieve their goals by consistent effort. They are not much influenced by others or the environment, but persist in doing things according to their ideals and capabilities.

Before taking any action, Oxes will have a definite plan with detailed steps, to which they apply their strong faith and physical strength. As a result, people of the Ox zodiac sign often enjoy great success.

Oxes are weakest in their communication skills. They are not good at communicating with others, and even think it is not worthwhile to exchange ideas with others. They are stubborn and stick to their own ways.

Ox people are not good at communicating with others, so they have less social intercourse. They prefer to stay alone and enjoy solitude instead of participating in group activities. They treat friends sincerely and count much on friendship.

For love relationships, Oxen tend to keep a long term relationship with their lovers. Frequent changes of lover make them uncomfortable. Ladies of the Ox zodiac sign lack femininity. If they can realize their inadequacies, and change their cautious attitude of indifference to affection and enthusiasm, they will have love relationships to their hearts' desire.

Oxes are strong and robust; they can enjoy a fairly healthy and long life, fulfilled lives, and little illness.

Because of hard work with a stubborn personality, they often spend too much time in their work, rarely allowing themselves enough time to relax, and tend to forget meals, which make them have intestinal problems. So enough rest and a regular diet are needed for Oxes to work efficiently.

With a stubborn temperament, they find it easy to bear stress and tension, and they are reluctant to reveal themselves to others. Proper relaxation and regular short trips will benefit the Ox.

As the symbol of hard work, Ox people always work hard at everything and stick to finishing it. Possessing a serious and responsible attitude toward work, they can come up with different approaches to their task.

With a keen eye for details and an admirable work ethic, they are competent in such careers as agriculture, manufacturing, pharmacy, mechanics, engineering, draftsmanship, artistry, politics, real estate, interior design, painting, carpentry, or quarry work.

With a stubborn temperament, they find it easy to bear stress and tension, and they are reluctant to reveal themselves to others. Proper relaxation and regular short trips will benefit the Ox.

 

Each animal sign has its unique characteristics. Love compatibility within the Chinese zodiac animals mostly takes the general characteristics of each animal into account. Those whose characteristics match well, can have good love compatibility.

See below the compatibility of the Ox with other animals, and find out if the Ox is compatible with your sign or not.

The Ox is compatible with Rats, Monkeys and Roosters. 

The Ox is complimentary or amicable relationships with Rabbits, Dogs and Snakes.

The Ox is incompatible with Dragons, Horses, Tigers and Goats.

 

In Chinese element theory, each zodiac sign is associated with one of the five elements: Gold (Metal), Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. For example, a Wood Ox comes once in a 60-year cycle.

It is conjectured that someone's personal characteristics are decided by their birth year's zodiac animal sign and element. So there are five types of Oxes, each with different characteristics:

Type of Ox Characteristics:

Wood Ox (1925, 1985) Restless, decisive, straightforward, and always ready to defend the weak and helpless

Fire Ox (1937, 1997) Short-sighted, selfish, narrow-minded, impersonal, but practical

Earth Ox (1949, 2009) Honest and prudentive, with a strong sense of responsibility

Metal Ox (1961, 2021) Hardworking, active, always busy, and popular among friends

Water Ox (1913, 1973) Hardworking, ambitious, tenacious, and able to endure hardship, with strong sense of justice and keen observational abilities

 

Trine trios are compatible for like-mindedness in values, habits, interests, and so on, and harmony in relationships.

Trine Compatible Trios:

Monkey & Rat & Dragon

Snake & Rooster & Ox

Tiger & Horse & Dog

Pig & Rabbit & Goat

 

Six-harmony pairs are complementary (diametrically opposite) to each other and most likely to provide very good help to the other one.

Six-Harmony Compatible Pairs:

Rat & Ox

Tiger & Pig

Rabbit & Dog

Dragon & Rooster

Snake & Monkey

Horse & Goat

 

Fireworks from 2020

Edited February 12, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

Good morning, Ladies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[SweePea59]

On 2/6/2021 at 4:40 PM, OhioSongbird said:

True confession....I have never seen The Sound of Music beginning to end.  Tons of clips over the years but not the movie.  Ironic...since I sang My Favorite Things in my first talent contest when the movie came out.   🙂

Someone gave me the soundtrack when I was a kid and I listened to it a lot, but I've never seen the movie.

[Cupid Stunt]

 

“Love is the beauty of the soul.” - Saint Augustine

 

Happy St. Valentin's Day!

[peacheslatour]

[Cupid Stunt]

The stage is yours Ladies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

Winter everywhere ...

A deer is seen in snowy Knole Park in Sevenoaks, England, on Sunday, February 7. Leon Neal/Getty Images

 

 

Icelandic horses eat hay at a farm in Wehrheim, Germany, on Monday, February 8. Michael Probst/AP

 

 

A person walks through a snow-covered vineyard at the Mainschleife area near Nordheim, Germany, Monday, Feb. 8, 2021. Parts of Germany are hit by strong winter weather. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

 

 

Katie Uhlaender of the United States speeds down the track during the women's skeleton race at the Bobsleigh and Skeleton World Championships in Altenberg, Germany, Thursday, Feb.11, 2021. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

[OhioSongbird]

Ah, yes.  Ohio in winter.  Expecting 5-6" for sure and maybe 8-12".    

                                             😒

[Cupid Stunt]

The statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are shown at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota in an undated photo .AP

 

Monday, Feb. 15 is Presidents Day, also known as Washington's Birthday. It’s a federal holiday that is always celebrated on the third Monday of February.

The first incarnation of this holiday was in 1796 to commemorate George Washington’s birthday. As the years passed, it was an occasion marked with speeches and receptions. By 1971, it had been added to the roster of federal holidays, giving government employees a three-day weekend each February.

No postal service, many schools are closed, banks are closed, but grocery stores and retail outlets are open (please check for holiday hours), with holiday/end of winter/it's still winter sale promotions.

Edited February 15, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

Someine you never heard of died, but has touched your life immeasurably.

 

Rupert Neve, GRAMMY-Winning Audio Industry Icon, Dies at 94

Wimberley, Texas, February 13, 2021 — Rupert Neve, an innovator and business owner whose analog audio equipment designs have become an essential component in music recording, live sound production and home hi-fi systems, died on February 12, 2021 in Wimberley, Texas, due to non-Covid pneumonia and heart failure. He was 94.

Mr. Rupert Neve’s impact on the audio industry can hardly be overstated. It’s no exaggeration to say that millions of people worldwide listen to music every day that was produced using equipment incorporating Rupert’s designs somewhere in the process, from the vocal recording to the final mix, if not from beginning to end. His designs, ranging from large-format mixing consoles to compact 500 series modules, are ubiquitous, and may be found anywhere from the largest production facilities to the most basic home studios. His audio hardware designs have also been reproduced as software plug-ins, making them available to anyone with access to a computer. Rupert and his wife, Evelyn, moved to Wimberley in late 1994 and became U.S. citizens in 2002. In 2005, they acquired premises near where they had settled in the Texas Hill Country and established Rupert Neve Designs (RND). 

Born in Newton Abbott, England, in 1926, Rupert showed an enthusiasm for electronics from an early age, repairing and building radios as a boy while growing up in Argentina. At the age of 17 he volunteered to serve during World War II, joining the Royal Signals, which provides communications support to the British Army. Returning to civilian life in England, he built a mobile system to record choral groups and public events onto lacquer disks. He also supplied public address systems for events involving Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, and Winston Churchill.

The company manufactures the 5088 analog mixing console and a range of rackmount and desktop processing, summing and other equipment, including the Portico, Portico II, and Shelford lines. In 2012 RND began producing equipment in the 500 series form factor and in 2018 Rupert released his first digital design, the RMP-D8 Dante-networked multichannel microphone preamp.

Rupert’s contributions to the professional sound industry were recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Technical GRAMMY Award in 1997, an Audio Engineering Society Fellowship Award in 2006, 16 TEC (Technical Excellence and Creativity) Awards for Rupert Neve Designs products, and Studio Sound magazine’s Audio Person of the Century Award, in 1999. After working for Rediffusion, Ferguson Radio and a transformer manufacturer for a time, Rupert set up his first business, CQ Audio, manufacturing home hi-fi amplifiers and loudspeakers. In 1960, a composer in Ireland commissioned him to design and build his first audio mixing console — the piece of equipment with which he ultimately became synonymous. In 1961, Rupert and his wife established Neve Electronics.

Adopting the latest technology, Rupert designed his first transistor-based equalizer in 1964, then produced his first transistor mixing console, for Philips Records’ studios. In subsequent years, he designed and manufactured many of the iconic pieces of equipment for which he has since become celebrated, such as the Neve 80 and 50 series mixing desks. Years later, individual microphone preamp, equalizer and processing modules originally incorporated into those consoles, such as the 1073 and 1081, became highly prized for their sonic character. The relative scarcity of original modules has spawned a host of boutique manufacturers making reproduction units. Rupert adopted digital technology in 1977, introducing the world’s first moving fader system, NECAM (NEve Computer Assisted Mixdown), and installing the first system at producer George Martin’s Air Studios in London. The Neve 81 series of mixing desks integrated digital assignable controls into an otherwise analog design.

Rupert and Evelyn sold the Neve Companies in 1975, by which time they employed 500 people worldwide with manufacturing locations in England and Scotland and sales offices across North America. Austria’s Siemens Corp. subsequently acquired the Neve brand from its new owner, later selling the company to AMS in England. Rupert and Evelyn, now operating as ARN Consultants, established Focusrite Ltd. in 1985, producing outboard equipment and a large-format mixing console, of which just eight were made. 

Part of the mission of ARN Consultants was to provide sound reinforcement and acoustics solutions in difficult environments such as churches and cathedrals. Rupert also developed techniques and equipment to enable the building of low-budget studios around the world. During the 1970s and ‘80s, he established the Cambridge Radio Course, an intensive residential course intended for Christian workers using radio to educate, inform and entertain their communities. ARN Consultants moved on to work with Amek Systems and Controls Ltd. in Manchester, England. Rupert’s first design project was “The Equaliser,” a stereo mastering EQ produced by Amek under the Medici brand. That led to further collaboration with the manufacturer and the development of another large-format mixing console, the Amek 9098, and a line of outboard equipment derived from the analog desk designs. Rupert’s Transformer-Like Amplifier (TLA) design was integrated into several Amek mixing console lines. ARN Consultants, now operating from Wimberley, Texas, worked on a number of projects, including Legendary Audio’s “The Masterpiece,” a modular mastering system. Rupert also became involved in the MI (musical instrument) market for the first time, designing a preamp and pickup assembly for Taylor Guitars. In 2011 he partnered with sE Electronics to design the Rupert Neve Signature Series of active ribbon, condenser, and tube condenser microphones.

In 2011, Yamaha launched the first Rupert Neve Designs plug-ins, approved by Rupert, for its Steinberg platform. The plug-ins, emulations of the designer’s current and classic module circuits, have also been integrated into Yamaha’s CL Series and Rivage PM10 digital consoles for live sound production, another first for Rupert. 

Rupert returned to his roots in 2019 with Fidelice, a new range of product from Rupert Neve Designs for the high-fidelity audio market. The line launched with a headphone amplifier, phono preamplifier and digital-to-analog converter.

Rupert is survived by his wife of nearly 70 years, Evelyn; five children, Mary, David, John, Stephen, and Ann; nine grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

 

A wicked mad genius has left a void that can never be filled.

[Cupid Stunt]

The Queen's ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

No Mardi Gras? No problem. Welcome to the Yardi Gras Walking Tour ...

 

 

 Laissez le bon temps rouler!

[Cupid Stunt]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MollyB]

Here's a handy hint re Covid Vaccines.  While getting some blood work done at my medical facility, I asked the tech when the vaccine would be available.  I'd been notified to get an appointment but there were none available online.*  He confided that showing up at the end of the day might get me a dose.  Sort of like Stand By with airlines.  Protocol is they can not just put an open bottle back in the fridge for next days use-it has to be thrown out.  So, if there is some left in the vial and they have enough vials to make up a dose or two, or if someone didn't show up, then they will give them to qualified people (65 and over, essential workers, etc.) until they use it up.   There were 6 people waiting when I got there at 4:00 and we all got shots.  And my next one is in a month so I'm half way there. 

*If I'd waited to book an appointment, it would have been mid-April before my first dose! 

Hope this little hack helps.

[Cupid Stunt]

Girl Groups

 

He's A Rebel - The Blossoms

 

The Chiffons - He´s So Fine

 

Dixie Cups - CHAPEL OF LOVE

 

Honey Cone - Want Ads

 

Martha and the Vandellas &nbsp;"Jimmy Mack

 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐬 - 𝐁𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲

 

THE SHIRELLES - SOLDIER BOY

 

Supremes - Where Did Our Love Go

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[peacheslatour]

Rush Limbaugh has died. He was 70.

[boes]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Rush Limbaugh has died. He was 70.

There is literally nothing I can say about this that wouldn't violate the boards policies.  Nothin' at all.  

[OhioSongbird]

Yep.....

[peacheslatour]

21 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Yep.....

Anyway, all of snow is gone and we can ... well, we still can't do anything. 

[OhioSongbird]

Oh contraire mon frere.  We still have 8" on the ground and more coming tomorrow.

                                              😒

[peacheslatour]

45 minutes ago, OhioSongbird said:

Oh contraire mon frere.  We still have 8" on the ground and more coming tomorrow.

                                              😒

Oh, damn. That sucks. 

[Cupid Stunt]

21 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Rush Limbaugh has died. He was 70.

 

19 hours ago, boes said:

There is literally nothing I can say about this that wouldn't violate the boards policies.  Nothin' at all.  

... pation.

[Cupid Stunt]

Guy Groups

he Stylistics - Stop, Look, Listen (To Your Heart)

 

The Spinners ~ I'll Be Around 1972 Disco Purrfection Version

 

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes -- If You Don't Know Me By Now

 

THE WHISPERS - Rock Steady

 

MOONGLOWS - TEN COMMANDMENTS OF LOVE

 

Sam and Dave - Hold On, I'm Coming

 

The Jackson 5 - ABC

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

More Guy Groups

The Coasters -- Poison Ivy

 

Little Anthony & the Imperials "Goin' Out of My Head"

 

The Platters -- Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

 

The Drifters - Stand By Me

 

"People Get Ready" The Impressions

 

The O'Jays - For The Love of Money

 

Earth, Wind & Fire - September

 

The Isley Brothers - Fight the Power, Pts. 1 & 2

 

The Spinners - Working My Way Back To You

 

Four Tops - Reach Out (I'll Be There)

 

The Brothers Johnson - Stomp

 

Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Tracks Of My Tears

 

The Temptations Just My Imagination

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

As you've noticed this February  I've been celebrating Black History Month with music, but there are many other opportunities across the U.S. where you can immerse yourself in some of the many contributions, achievements and defining moments of African Americans.

 

Where to Learn About African American History Across the U.S.

• The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery, Alabama

• National Museum of African American Music, Nashville, Tennessee

• The Black Cowboy Museum, Houston, Texas

• Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), San Francisco, California

• International Civil Rights Center and Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina

• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, Missouri

• Motown Museum, Detroit, Michigan

• Whitney Plantation, Wallace, Louisiana

• Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center, Church Creek, Maryland

• Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Washington, D.C.

 

Some facilities have reopened with Covid-19 prohibitions and social-distancing, limited appointments and access for individuals/groups. There are also facility presentations online, and many fascinating visitor videos on YouTube.