JUST FOR FUN

 

MOVIE CLICHES .... ASTEROIDS

 

• But with only two airplane-mounted lasers, it instead instantly explodes into thousands of pieces. Astronomers are very surprised that it wasn't literally destroyed.
• Laser beams are easily visible in space.
• Incoming asteroids spend several minutes in Earth's atmosphere.
• Asteroids made of softer or more volatile stuff than nickel will harmlessly burn up in the atmosphere regardless of size.
• Asteroids that land in the ocean will do no damage regardless of size.
• Asteroids are discovered by astronomers peering directly through their telescopes in brightly lit observatories. Whatever they see will appear on computer monitors, however.
• Asteroid positions are reported in plainly audible 75 BPS Baudot teletype signals.
• Oddly, there will be no dog to be rescued at the last possible moment. Maybe only tornadoes and volcanoes come equipped with dogs. Would you settle for goldfish?

“THE JERSEY BOYS” HEADING TO THE BIG SCREEN

 

 

John Logan has been tapped to adapt the musical "Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons," with GK Films' Graham King and Tim Headington producing.

King and Headington, who obtained feature rights to "Jersey Boys" in October 2010, plan to use much of the same music and lyrics in the stage play including such hits as "Sherry," "Big Girls Don't Cry," "Rag Doll" and "Oh What a Night." Valli and Bob Gaudio are exec producing.

It's anticipated that the project will be produced in partnership with Columbia Pictures, with Col handling worldwide distribution of the project except for some international territories that GK may potentially sell.

The Four Seasons -- Valli, Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi -- sold 175 million records worldwide before they were 30. The stage show has grossed more than $1 billion since opening on Broadway in 2005 and won four Tony Awards.

Logan wrote "Hugo," which received a Writers Guild of America nomination for adapted screenplay; King and Headington were producers. He also penned the adaptation of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" and, along with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, wrote the next James Bond film "Skyfall."

COOL IMAGES

 

Sarah Vaughan: Young Sassy (4CD Box Set)

From the start of her career, Sarah Vaughan had a wondrous voice. She never declined and her voice remained a miracle throughout her career. She learned about bop phrasing during 1943-1944 when she was with the orchestras of Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine (singing alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker) and, although she would perform many pop tunes throughout her life, she always phrased like a jazz singer and was never shy to change notes and improvise.

 

This magnificent four-CD set has Sassy’s first 94 recordings, everything she recorded during 1944-1950. Vaughan is heard on two songs with the Eckstine Orchestra (one of which was taken from a broadcast), on the December 31, 1944, Leonard Feather-organized session that found her performing "Interlude" (a vocal version of "A Night in Tunisia") and "East of the Sun," and four songs with Bird and Diz, and she makes appearances with clarinettist Tony Scott, violinist Stuff Smith, the John Kirby Sextet, Georgie Auld’s big band, and trombonist Dicky Wells & His Big Seven. In 1946, Vaughan signed with the Musicraft label and all of her performances for that company are here, including "If You Could See Me Now," "Everything I Have Is Yours," "Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me," "September Song," "Tenderly," "The Lord’s Prayer," "I Feel So Smoochie," "It’s Magic," and "Gentleman Friend." 

 

In 1949, Vaughan started recording for Columbia, and she is heard on some commercial dates plus such tunes as "Black Coffee," "Tonight I Shall Sleep," "I Cried for You," and "Perdido" in addition to four vocal duets with Billy Eckstine. Best of all are the eight numbers that she recorded during May 18-19, 1950, with an octet including trumpeter Miles Davis, trombonist Bennie Green, clarinettist Tony Scott, and tenor saxophonist Budd Johnson. All four horn players take perfect eight-bar solos on "Ain’t Misbehavin’," and other gems from this project include "It Might as Well Be Spring," "Mean to Me," and "Nice Work if You Can Get It." Sarah Vaughan’s box for the Proper label (which includes a very good 44-page booklet) makes for a superb (and surprisingly inexpensive) purchase and allows one to have a large slice of Sassy’s recording career.

 

Track Listing:

 

Young Sassy: I’ll Wait And Pray
01. I’ll Wait and Pray [02:57]
02. Signing Off [02:40]
03. Interlude [02:32]
04. No Smokes Blues [02:28]
05. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) [02:52]
06. Don’t Blame Me [03:00]
07. Lover Man [03:22]
08. What More Can a Woman Do? [03:03]
09. I’d Rather Have a Memory Than a Dream [02:43]
10. Mean to Me [02:41]
11. All Too Soon [02:53]
12. Time and Again [03:17]
13. I’m Scared [02:35]
14. You Go to My Head [03:03]
15. I Could Make You Love Me [02:47]
16. It Might As Well Be Spring [03:00]
17. We’re Through [02:40]
18. A Hundred Years from Today [02:57]
19. If You Could See Me Now [02:50]
20. I Could Make You Love Me [03:03]
21. You’re Not the Kind [02:59]
22. My Kinda Love [02:38]
23. You’re Blase [02:59]
24. I’ve Got a Crush on You [02:58]

Young Sassy: Tenderly
01. I’m Through With Love [02:53]
02. Everything I Have Is Yours [02:52]
03. Body And Soul [02:56]
04. Penthouse Serenade (When We’re Alone) [03:12]
05. Don’t Worry ‘Bout Me [2:58]
06. Time After Time [3:06]
07. September Song [03:04]
08. I Cover the Waterfront [02:55]
09. I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You [02:44]
10. Tenderly [03:03]
11. Don’t Blame Me [03:12]
12. The Lord’s Prayer [02:54]
13. Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child [02:48]
14. I Can’t Get Started [02:30]
15. Trouble Is a Man [02:35]
16. Love Me or Leave Me [02:57]
17. I’ll Wait and Pray [03:01]
18. I Get a Kick Out of You [02:52]
19. The Man I Love [02:46]
20. I’m Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself a Letter) [02:24]
21. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else) [03:11]
22. Button Up Your Overcoat [02:28]
23. I Feel So Smoochie [02:38] 

Young Sassy: It’s Magic
01. Blue Grass [02:50]
02. It’s You or No One [03:12]
03. It’s Magic [03:10]
04. What a Diff’rence a Day Makes [02:48]
05. Gentleman Friend [02:35]
06. Once in a While [03:07]
07. How Am I to Know? [02:52]
08. Nature Boy [02:55]
09. I’m Glad There is You [03:04]
10. Bianca [03:10]
11. As You Desire Me [02:36]
12. Black Coffee [03:18]
13. While You Are Gone [03:10]
14. Tonight I Shall Sleep (With a Smile on My Face) [03:25]
15. That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day) [03:32]
16. Give Me a Song with a Beautiful Melody [02:43]
17. Make Believe (You Are Glad When You’re Sorry) [02:43]
18. You Taught Me to Love Again [03:18]
19. Just Friends [03:02]
20. Lonely Girl [02:21]
21. You Say You Care [02:51]
22. Fool’s Paradise [02:54]
23. I Cried for You [02:26]

Young Sassy: You’re Mine You
01. You’re Mine, You [03:13]
02. I’m Crazy to Love You [03:01]
03. Summertime [03:17]
04. The Nearness of You [03:21]
05. Ev’ry Day [02:59]
06. I Love You [02:41]
07. Dedicated to You [02:45]
08. You’re All I Need [03:05]
09. Our Very Own [03:15]
10. Don’t Be Afraid [02:57]
11. Ain’t Misbehavin’ [03:01]
12. Goodnight My Love [03:29]
13. Can’t Get Out of This Mood [02:51]
14. It Might As Well Be Spring [03:13]
15. Mean to Me [02:54]
16. Come Rain or Come Shine [03:25]
17. Nice Work If You Can Get It [02:37]
18. East of the Sun (And West of the Moon) [03:08]
19. I Love the Guy [02:35]
20. Thinking of You [03:05]
21. Perdido [02:32]
22. Whippa-Whippa-Woo [03:09]
23. I’ll Know [03:19]
24. De Gas Pipe She’s Leakin’ Joe [02:44]

TRIVIA BITS

 

• Liverpool is the most filmed British city.
• Lobsters have blue blood.
• Lord Byron had a club foot.
• Los Angeles's full name is "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula" and can be abbreviated to 3.63% of its size, "L.A."
• Louis XIV (1638-1715), was recorded to eat "four soups, a pheasant, a partridge, a plate of salad, sliced mutton with garlic, two lumps of ham, a plate of pastries, fruits and preserves" at one sitting.
• Lucifer is Latin for "Light Bringer". It is a translation of the Hebrew name for Satan, Halael. Satan Means "adversary", devil means "liar".
• Mae West was once dubbed 'The statue of Libido'.
• Magnesium was used in early flash photography because it burns with a brilliant light.
• Maine is the only state in the United States whose name has one syllable.
• Many sailors used to wear gold earrings so that they could afford a proper burial when they died.

QUOTABLES … FRANK SINATRA

 

People are gonna laugh at you - Let them laugh! The best revenge is massive success.

Frank Sinatra

IT’S FRIDAY 13TH

 

JUST FOR FUN

 

WORLD BRIDGES … BRIDGE OF SIGHS, VENICE

 

BRIDGE OF SIGHS, VENICE

In the 19th century, Lord Byron named a Venetian limestone bridge across the Rio di Palazzo connecting the Doge’s prison to the interrogation room in the main palace.

Venice's famous Bridge of Sighs was designed by Antonio Contino and was built at the beginning of the 17th century. Spanning the Rio di Palazzo (Palace River), the bridge was intended to connect the Old Prison and interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace to the New Prison, which was situated directly across the river.

There are a few theories as to how the bridge got its name. The first one involves the prisoners that walked across the bridge on their way to the executioner. The prisoners would "sigh" as they crossed the bridge, probably catching their last glimpse of the outside world, many believed.
Even though by the time the bridge was built summary executions at the hands of the inquisitors had ceased, many prisoners probably did cross the bridge and may have not seen freedom again... at least not for many years.

Another story says that if a couple kisses under the bridge while drifting below on a gondola at sunset, they will enjoy eternal love. Thus, the "sighs" are said to come from lovers who are overwhelmed by the romance of the whole scene.

This romantic view was created by the Poet Lord Byron with his writings: "I stood in Venice on the Bridge of Sighs, a palace and prison on each hand".

IRREFUTABLE LAW’S OF NATURE

 

 

• Law  of Physical Surfaces - The  chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich landing face down on a  floor, are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the  carpet or rug.
• Law  of Logical Argument - Anything  is possible if you don't know what you are talking  about.
• Brown's  Law of Physical Appearance - If  the clothes fit, they're ugly.
• Oliver's  Law of Public Speaking - A  closed mouth gathers no feet.
• Wilson's  Law of Commercial Marketing Strategy - As  soon as you find a product that you really like, they will  stop making it.
• Doctors'  Law - If  you don't feel well, make an appointment to go to the doctor,  by the time you get there you'll feel better. But don't make  an appointment, and you'll stay sick.

ROUNDED FRONT DOORS

 

“M.D.N.A.” FROM MADONNA

 

 

The cat is finally out of the bag. After endless anticipations and some false reports, it's finally confirmed that Madonna's forthcoming studio album, which will be her first effort since her 2008's "Hard Candy", is called "M.D.N.A.".

The confirmation regarding the official title of the album was made via Madge's official website. "While on the set of the Graham Norton Show earlier, Madonna revealed the title of her upcoming album, which is 'M.D.N.A.'," so it's explained.

"It's soon," Madge reportedly said when asked when the album is going to come out. "It depends how quickly people hack in to my server and leak it. Can people wait? It's terrible."

The interview is scheduled to air Friday, January 13. 

IT’S FRIDAY 13TH

 

COOL IMAGES

 

THIS DAY AND AGE … 1933

 

THIS DAY AND AGE 1933

Director:  Cecil B. DeMille
Stars: Charles Bickford, Judith Allen and Richard Cromwell

Storyline:

Cecil B. DeMille's This Day and Age was perhaps the most Draconian entry in Hollywood's early-1930s "vigilante" film cycle. Richard Cromwell heads a group of civic-minded teenagers in a small Midwestern town. When a lovable old tailor (Harry Green) is murdered by a notorious gangster (Charles Bickford), Cromwell and his pals demand justice. But the local government is terrified by the influential gangster; in fact, many of the city fathers are on the take. Enraged, the kids take matters in their own hands. In the near-fascist climax, a mob of teenagers kidnap Bickford, spirit him away to the city dump, and suspend him over a pit of rats until he confesses to the murder! This Day and Age was the sort of Depression-engendered film of desperation that all but vanished once Franklin Roosevelt was elected.

Taglines:
The FIRST Great Spectacle of Modern Times.

Release Date: 25 August 1933 (USA)

Technical Specs

Runtime: 86 min
Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)
Colour: Black and White
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

TRIVIA:
One of over 700 Paramount productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

While in pre-production for this film, 'Cecil B. deMille' was also planning a subsequent epic film called "The End of the World" which was inspired in part by the novel 'When Worlds Collide' by Philip Wylie and Edwin Balmer, and by the film End of the World. DeMille went so far as to purchase the rights to both subjects ('When Worlds Collide' was bought for $7,5000). Ultimately the script was never even written and the project was discarded.

Aretha Franklin – Queen of Soul – The Atlantic Recordings (4CD Box Set)

“There are singers,” said Ray Charles, “then there is Aretha. She towers above the rest. Others are good, but Aretha is great. She’s my only sure-enough sister.”

 

Since the moment Aretha stepped to the pulpit at her father’s famed New Bethel Baptist Church as a young girl singing in the great gospel tradition, the world has recognized her as a musical miracle.

 

Queen of Soul trumps all other collections of Aretha’s recordings for Atlantic by adding dozens of album tracks to a selection of epochal singles ranging from "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and "Respect" to "Spanish Harlem" and "Rock Steady." Over three CDs and change–the fourth runs out of steam, as did her creative energy during the mid-to-late-’70s period it chronicles–we hear many emotional shifts: impassioned, triumphant, wistful, and always truthful about her condition and our own.

 

Track Listing:

Disc 1:
01 I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)
02 Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
03 Save Me
04 Respect
05 Baby, Baby, Baby
06 Dr. Feelgood (Love Is a Serious Business)
07 (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
08 Soul Serenade
09 Drown in My Own Tears
10 Chain of Fools
11 Baby, I Love You
12 Ain’t Nobody (Gonna Turn Me Around)
13 Since You’ve Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)
14 You Are My Sunshine
15 Going Down Slow
16 Never Let Me Go
17 I Wonder
18 Prove It
19 Good Times
20 Come Back Baby
21 A Change
22 You’re a Sweet Sweet Man
23 Good to Me as I Am to You
24 People Get Ready
25 Ain’t No Way

 

Disc 2:
01 Think
02 See Saw
03 The House That Jack Built
04 Night Time Is the Right Time
05 I Say a Little Prayer
06 You Send Me
07 My Song
08 I Take What I Want
09 I Can’t See Myself Leaving You
10 Night Life [Live]
11 Today I Sing the Blues
12 Pitiful
13 Tracks of My Tears
14 River’s Invitation
15 Share Your Love With Me
16 It Ain’t Fair
17 Sit Down and Cry
18 Honest I Do
19 The Weight
20 When the Battle Is Over
21 Eleanor Rigby
22 One Way Ticket
23 Call Me
24 Pullin’ 

Disc 3:
01 Son of a Preacher Man
02 Try Matty’s
03 The Thrill Is Gone [From Yesterday's Kiss]
04 The Dark End of the Street
05 You and Me
06 Let It Be
07 Spirit in the Dark
08 Why I Sing the Blues
09 Don’t Play That Song
10 Young, Gifted and Black
11 Border Song (Holy Moses)
12 A Brand New Me
13 You’re All I Need to Get By
14 Spanish Harlem
15 Rock Steady
16 Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)
17 Day Dreaming
18 All the King’s Horses
19 Bridge over Troubled Water
20 Angel 

Disc 4:
01 Spirit in the Dark (Reprise) [Live]
02 How I Got Over [Live]
03 So Swell When You’re Well
04 Master of Eyes (The Deepness of Your Eyes)
05 Somewhere
06 I’m in Love
07 Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing
08 Until You Come Back to Me (That’s What I’m Gonna Do)
09 Every Natural Thing
10 Without Love
11 With Everything I Feel in Me
12 Mr. D.J. (5 for the D.J.)
13 Look into Your Heart
14 Sparkle
15 Rock With Me
16 Break It to Me Gently
17 Something He Can Feel

VINATGE DISNEY POSTERS

 

TRIVIA BITS

 

• Laughing lowers levels of stress hormones and strengthens the immune system. Six-year-olds laugh an average of 300 times a day. Adults only laugh 15 to 100 times a day.
• Laws forbidding the sale of sodas on Sunday prompted William Garwood to invent the ice cream sundae in Evanston, IL, in 1875.
• Leonardo da Vinci invented an alarm clock that woke the sleeper by rubbing their feet.
• Leonardo da Vinci played the viola.
• Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503. He was still working on the painting when he emigrated to France in 1516 and is believed to have finished it three years later, just before he died. The painting has remained in France ever since and is owned by the state. It once hung in Napoleon's bedroom.
• Less than 1% of the Caribbean Islands are inhabited.
• Light is electro-magnetic radiation.
• Lighting strikes the Earth about 200 times a second.
• Lions have been exported to Africa by Windsor Safari Park in England.
• Little Jackie Paper was the name of Puff the Magic Dragon's human friend.

CHOCOHOLICS BEWARE!