Sunday, February 28, 2010

Edward Maya - Stereo Love vs James Last - Biscaya

Last night, at the T.R.A.C.S. party, Tim played "Stereo Love". I did hear the song before but this time a other song came up also in my head. Listen. ( you can turn of  the Flash Player on the bottom of this page by clicking the button II )

Eduard Marian Ilie (29 June 1986, Bucharest, Romania), also known as Edward Maya, is a producer, performer, composer and musician from Romania. He graduated from George Enescu Music High School in Bucharest and is currently a final year student at the Bucharest Conservatory.
In the summer of 2009, Maya launched his first song as an artist, "Stereo Love", topping number 2 in the Romanian singles charts. Later that year, "Stereo Love", became a hit in clubbing places all over the world. This success was followed by concerts worldwide, with the song reaching the pop charts Greece, Brazil, Albania, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Portugal, Russia, Poland, the Netherlands, Egypt, Belgium, Spain, Italy,Turkey, Cyprus, France etc.
"Stereo Love" received nearly 20 million YouTube views in approximately 6 months.

James Last (born Hans Last on 17 April 1929 in Bremen) is a German composer and big band leader.
Though his concerts and albums are consistently successful, especially in the United Kingdom, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967 and 1986, which made him second only to Elvis Presley in charting records. He had only two hit singles with "The Seduction", the theme from American Gigolo (1980) composed by Giorgio Moroder, and "Biscaya" from the album Biscaya (1982)

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Dancing

I love my loves but I also love to dance and I love lyrics. Sometimes I dance at home on You Tube.
On Friday at Open Minds as last Friday when Bernard and Jenna played 80’s and 90’s songs.
And Saturday at T.R.A.C.S. when Tim played the tunes.
Sunday at the Coral Reef and....
 the vampire party at Sweet Gras with a lot of people, us and ....
.......Bernard and Ash.
Rod was one of the winners and the most sexy vampire.
Gany, here next to Tim, made that last picture of both winners. 
Bernard  moved Open Minds to a new location. Here a first snapshot of the places. More about it later in a future post.

David Garrett and Smooth Criminal

Yesterday, at our toga party, Tim played Smooth Criminal performed by David Garrett. Smooth Criminal is one of my favorite songs and the choreography in that video is AMAZING!
Not every classically trained musician has the gumption to interpret Michael Jackson on the violin. But German-born virtuoso David Garrett re-imagines "Smooth Criminal" with such fervor that you'd think Jackson had intended the song to be played by the instrument all along. "I always loved his performances because as a lot of classical musicians are perfectionists, he was," said Garrett of the late singer. "He was really one of those people who was really old school, always looking for better performances. Recorded before Jackson's death, Garrett's "Smooth Criminal" cover appears on his self-titled debut album, which has enjoyed three weeks atop the classical crossover charts since its release last month on Decca Records.
As comfortable playing Bach's "Air on the G String" as he is Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" (both of which appear on the album), Garrett makes no bones about the fact he's trying to attract a younger audience to classical music by injecting shots of rock and pop.
Already a celebrated artist in Europe and Asia, the 28-year-old worked his way into the spotlight in the United States with help from his PBS special "Live in Berlin."
And his chiseled jawline and playful blond ponytail seem to help sway the female contingent. Garrett, who studied with renowned violinist Itzhak Perlman at New York's Juilliard School, recently set a record as the world's fastest violinist, a feat to be documented in 2010's Guinness Book of World Records. He played "Flight of the Bumblebee" in a dizzying 66 seconds. Put another way, that's 13 notes per second.

David Garrett was born as David Bongartz on September, 4th 1981, in Aachen, Germany to an American mother and a German father. When Garrett was four years old, his father bought a violin for his older brother. The young Garrett took an interest and soon learned to play. A year later, he took part in a competition and won first prize. By the age of seven, he was playing once a week in public. He studied violin at the Lubeck Conservatoire. At the age of 12, Garrett began working with the distinguished Polish violinist Ida Haendel, often traveling to London and other European cities to meet her. At the age of 13,
Garrett recorded two CDs, appeared on German and Dutch television, and gave a concert in the residence of the Federal Republic of Germany President, the Villa Hammerschmidt, at Dr. von Weizsäcker’s personal invitation. He was offered the use of the famous Stradivarius "San Lorenzo", which is among the best instruments of the "golden period". At the age of 14, as the youngest soloist ever, Garrett signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Aged 17, he played with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Zubin Mehta.Two years later, Garrett played with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester in Berlin, under the direction of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, and was hailed by critics. This led to an invitation to perform at Expo 2000 in Hannover. He continued his studies at the Royal College of Music in London. At the age of 21, he was invited to perform at the BBC Proms.
He moved to New York and entered at the Juilliard School as one of the first students to study with Itzhak Perlman. In the same time, he will supplement his income by working as a model. The experience of working with Perlman has helped him identify himself as a musician, to develop his musical voice and to prepare himself for a life of music. He graduated from the Juilliard School with many awards in 2004. He left New York and his close friends with regret to come back in Germany and perform in Europe.

"Smooth Criminal" is the seventh single from Michael Jackson's Bad album (1988). The song contains a fast-paced beat intertwined with Jackson's lyrics about a woman named Annie, who has been attacked in her apartment by a "smooth" assailant. It was released as a single on October 24, 1988 and peaked at 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was re-released on April 10, 2006 as a part of the Visionary: The Video Singles box-set. The re-released Visionary single charted at #19 in the UK. In 2003, the song appeared on the Number Ones greatest hits album.
Micheal Jackson’s 45 degree lean in smooth criminal was the stuff of magic. It consistently gave me goose bumps because It defied what I thought could be possible in one smooth move. When I first saw the video, I asked myself “How did he do that?” and it seemed like no one I knew, knew. A lot of people I asked thought magnets, but according to the patent filled in 1992 no magnets are used – more like the shoes fit in slots. The Lean was originally seen in the Smooth Criminal music video which was from the movie Moonwalker. Basically the lean dance move in the video was a special effect. In an Online Audio Chat - October 26, 2001 Michael was asked : How do you do that lean on the video to Smooth Criminal?
Michael: Oh, Smooth Criminal, well. That one happened ... it was in the middle of the shoot and it wasn't .. I choreographed it right at the moment. Took us an hour to execute it. It's a special effect that we kind of lean as far as we can and, uh, we let the conveyor belt do the rest.
So how does Michael perform it live on stage???? Well its all in Michaels patented shoes which allow the wearer to lean forwardly beyond there center of gravity.
Trying to lean beyond one's center of gravity normally leads to a giant, awkward step forward to retain balance, so to achieve the 45-degree angle he wanted, Michael and his dancers used special shoes as well as a trick in the stage floor. When the time came for the move, a peg-like aperture would protrude from the dance floor. The heel of the dancers' shoes featured a triangular cut out that could be hitched onto the peg, anchoring the dancers to lean much farther forward, and thus blowing the world's collective mind.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

The Caravan of Love

In a older post I publish the lyrics of “Build” by the The Housemartins. Searching for more info about that group I found a other song of them.

At the end of 1986 they got their only UK #1 single on 16 December with a cover version of Isley Jasper Isley's "Caravan of Love." The a cappella style of "Caravan of Love" was not to the taste of all Housemartins fans and was even derided by some as a sell-out. However, a cappella material had always been part of the band's repertoire. "Caravan of Love" was first performed by the band in their second John Peel session in April 1986, prior to their initial chart success. At Peel's suggestion, the band then recorded another session (under the name The Fish City Five) consisting entirely of a cappella performances, and on at least one occasion played support act for their own performance under this alternative name. The "Caravan of Love" single featured four a cappella gospel songs on the B-side.
And because it is valentines day and loving the a cappella style,
I publish the lyrics. (not forget to turn your speakers on)

The Caravan of Love
Are you ready
Are you ready
Are you ready
Are you ready
Are you ready for the time of life
It’s time to stand up and fight
So alright
So alright
Hand in hand we take a caravan to the marble land
One by one we gonna stand up with pride
One that can’t be denied
Stand up
Stand up
From the highest mountain of valley old
We all shall together with heart of gold
Now the children of the world can see
This a better place for us to be
The place is which we were born
So neglected and torn apart

Every woman every man
Join the caravan of love
(stand up) stand up
Stand up
Every body takes a stand
Join the caravan of love
(stand up) stand up
Stand up

I’m your brother
I’m your brother don’t you know
She’s my sister
She’s my sister don’t you know

We’ll be living in the world of peace
And the day when everyone is free
Bring the young and the old
Want you let chilled flow from your heart

Every woman every man
Join the caravan of love
(stand up) stand up
Stand up
Every body takes a stand
Join the caravan of love
(stand up) stand up
Stand up

I’m your brother
I’m your brother don’t you know
She’s my sister
She’s my sister don’t you know

So are you ready ( he’s coming )
Are you ready ( he’s coming )
Are you ready ( he’s coming )
Are you ready ( he’s coming on the caravan )
You better get ready ( go for it )
You better get ready ( go for it )
You better get ready ( go for it )
You better get ready

Original the "Caravan of Love" is a 1985 R&B hit originally recorded by Isley-Jasper-Isley, the second half of The Isley Brothers' 3 + 3 lineup of the 1970s
Isley/Jasper/Isley was a splinter group of the Isley Brothers formed in 1984 by brother-in-law Chris Jasper (keyboards), Ernie Isley (lead guitar) and Marvin Isley (bass), due to creative differences that arose among the group.
Jasper, a classically-trained musician and composer and the key songwriter, producer and arranger of the Isley Brothers music, became the lead vocalist on most of the trio's recordings, and was also responsible for the majority of the writing and production for the new group. The older Isley Brothers returned to their original vocal trio formation and continued to record, employing a number of musicians, producers and writers to fill the void left by Chris, Ernie, and Marvin.
Isley/Jasper/Isley released three high-quality albums on their CBS Associated label, including Caravan of Love, which featured the #1 out-of-the-box title hit, written and sung by Chris and subsequently covered by English recording group, the Housemartins, who made “Caravan” an international #1 pop hit. “Caravan of Love” has also been used in the Dodge Caravan commercials, was recorded by Marvin Sapp on the WOW 2000 gospel album, and has become an anthem sung by numerous groups and individuals throughout the world who have made their unique version of the song available on YouTube.
In 1988, Isley/Jasper/Isley disbanded and Ernie Isley and Chris Jasper continued as solo artists. Jasper formed his own independent record label, Gold City Records. The Isley-Jasper-Isley half of the group was inducted with the rest of the Isleys in 1992 to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

When I saw there video, I was thinking “why they call me a sissy?”


okay others have other ideas when reading the comments on You Tube

* House Martins better than Isley Jasper Isley I think not... housemartins destroyed a lengendary soul track....  how the hell they got to number 1 in the uk charts it will always be a mystery

* I can't decide which is more awesome....this song, or that dude's outfit

* how does this clip only have 2,844 views? this is one of the greatest classics!

* I have to concur with that statement. But this group has a lot of classics that have never been properly recognized. I keep wondering when this and many other by this band is going to be properly recognized. I guess when Britney sings her version, it will be noticed. Sad, aint it?

* I was thinking the SAME thing. LOL! When I watched the Housemartins' version of this song, they had like over 1 million views. Not to mention that people left comments saying that their version was better than this version...talking about the Housemartins' version had more soul. Ha!!! Lol.

Toga

Toga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The toga, a distinctive garment of Ancient Rome, was a cloth of perhaps twenty feet (6 metres) in length which was wrapped around the body and was generally worn over a tunic. The toga was invariably made of wool, and the tunic under it often was made of linen. After the second century BC, the toga was a garment worn exclusively by men, and only Roman citizens were allowed to wear the toga. After this time, women were expected to wear the stola.
The stola was a long, pleated dress, worn over a tunic (the tunica intima, the Roman version of a slip). A stola generally had long sleeves (but not always; occasionally it was held up by straps), but the sleeves could either be a part of the stola itself, or part of the tunic. The stola was typically girt with ribbons. It was frequently accompanied by a long shawl-like garment called a palla. Use of the stola continued through the Byzantine period. This is the garment worn by the Statue of Liberty in New York.
History
The toga was based on a dress robe used by a native people, the Etruscans who had lived in Italy since 1200 BC, although it usually is linked with the Romans. The toga was the dress clothing of the Romans; a thick woolen cloak worn over a loincloth or apron. It is believed to have been established around the time of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. It was taken off indoors, or when hard at work in the fields, but it was considered the only decent attire out-of-doors. This is evident from the story of Cincinnatus: he was ploughing in his field when the messengers of the Senate came to tell him that he had been made dictator, and on seeing them he sent his wife to fetch his toga from the house so that they could be received appropriately. While the truth of the story may be doubtful, it nevertheless expresses the Roman sentiment on the subject.

As time went on, dress styles changed. Romans adopted the shirt (tunica, or in Greek chiton) which the Greeks and Etruscans wore, made the toga more bulky, and wore it in a looser manner. The result was that it became useless for active pursuits, such as those of war. Thus, its place was taken by the handier sagum (woollen cloak) on all military occasions. In times of peace, too, the toga eventually was superseded by the laena, lacerna, paenula, and other forms of buttoned or closed cloaks. However, the toga did remain the court dress of the Empire which began c. 44 BC.

Parties

Rezday party for Bernard at Open Minds.
Rezzday is a word used for the anniversary of an account's creation day, often treated like a birthday.
Valentine Party at T.R.A.C.S.
Saint Valentine's Day (commonly shortened to Valentine's Day) is an annual holiday held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The holiday is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Valentine and was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. It is traditionally a day on which lovers express their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards.
In Netherlands or Holland, the Valentine celebrations are pretty robust. The Dutch couples celebrate Valentine's Day much like their other counterparts in the world. Valentine's Day in Netherlands is all about spending quality time with one's beloved, exchange of cards, flowers and gifts. The big cities deck up for Valentine's Day and several couples spend the day in their own unique way. Amsterdam is one of the most cosmopolitan and easy going cities of Europe. The cafes and night life of the city is world renowned. One of the most noticeable features of Dutch Valentine celebrations are the radio shows.
The various Dutch radio stations offer special programs on occasion of Valentine's Day and they are much enjoyed by the couples. Depending on one's taste and inclination, Valentine's Day in Netherlands is celebrated. There are cruises and tours for those who are the adventurous and sporty kind. Many hotels and clubs arrange Valentine's Day parties where there are an abundance of alcoholic beverages and music. The huge dance floor with psychedelic lights is jam packed with couples out to have a good time.
 Netherlands is famous for flowers and who hasn't heard of Dutch tulips? The beauty of this flower is incomparable. Flowers are given as gifts and designer bouquets are also very popular, though they can be quite expensive. Dining, partying and expressing their love for each other round off the day.

Dutch find cocaine hidden among Valentine roses
Wed Feb 10, 3:30 am ET
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – A week before Valentine's Day, a consignment of cocaine was found hidden among 20,000 roses from Latin America at Amsterdam airport, Dutch authorities said Wednesday.
The roses, a popular February 14 Valentine's Day gift, arrived last Sunday on a flight from Bogota, Colombia, which stopped over in Puerto Rico, the public prosecutors' office said in a statement. The drug was found in cellophane packets hidden in boxes containing the roses.
Three people in the Netherlands were arrested and police found a total of 9 kg (20 lb) of cocaine in their possession, including the seized shipment, with a street value of about 1.3 million euros.
The Netherlands is a major flower trading hub, home to the world's biggest flower auction house and is the source of 60 percent of the world's flower exports.
(Reporting by Reed Stevenson; editing by Andrew Dobbie)

Ruth and de-Ruth

Ruth is dead. Long live the Ruth!
"Ruth" was the codename for the default loading avatar, a short human female with tuxedo style clothing, short, straight red hair, and white skin, who terrified many Residents. When Ruth was combined with other avatar elements, such as prim hair or beards, the results could be particularly bizarre. The phenomenon was so common, that Ruth became a part of SL's culture.
Upon teleporting or logging in to the system, avatars sometimes revert to the default shape and appearance, especially if the grid is experiencing difficulty, and may or may not include any current attachments or clothing currently assigned to them.
To force the avatar to the correct shape and appearance, users can rebake*  their textures, teleport to another location, or log out and log back into the system.
If you're grimacing, you've been touched by Ruth! Be not afraid... as of Second Life 1.20, she's gone at last, faded into the annals of history, and replaced with a particle cloud.

But the Emerald viewer also have such a bug and appearance mode not fixing this.
Here you see Rod standing next me.
Next time it happens, please test the following:
   - TPing out and back into the sim
   - moving out of draw distance (1k in height or something) and back
   - Make sure no asset issues are going on at the time
The fact that the shape doesn't get fixed by appearance mode and/or replacing shapes also points at an asset issue.

Rebake*
The fix for missing textures on your avatar, which usually everyone can see but you (the white pyjamas syndrome). Press Control/Alt/D (letter D, not Delete) to obtain the Client Menu at the top of your screen, then choose Character... Rebake Textures. Finally go in and out of the Appearances Menu by right clicking on your avatar. This usually clears the problem and makes the textures on your clothes visible again.
Retrieved from http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Rebake

Saturday, February 13, 2010

- - - GREENIES - - - A builder exploring Second Life [A Continuous Story]

Alone I've already visited the world of the Greenies several times. Last week I went with Rod and Tim. Jenna came later to join us. This world starts in a tunnel below ground level. Walking through the tunnel, you'll see some pieces of newspapers here and there, like the article about the UFO that was found at Roswell. A sign for the things you may expect later on.
At the end of the tunnel, you'll crawl through a hole into the side of a house. Nothing special so far, although the house looks rather empty. Until you're eventually really taken aback when walking through the rooms, to the front door. Only then the house you just walked through really appears to be a dollhouse instead..........
....and from the threshold of that dollhouse you look in the room of a home where for sure giants must be living! (Or you could believe that your avatar has shrunk all of a sudden, like I heard someone ask for in fear!) As for yourself, you're even not big enough to look over a can of beer.....
Because the real kick comes from the room, especially the size and detailed work of it.
And most dangerous of all, a cat the size of my house is looking hungrily at a Greenie who has invaded his feed bowl. The cat’s name, of course, is Astro, and the Greenie, seeming to tremble in fear, gingerly offers it a piece of food.
I once read Erik of Het klein instectenboek (Erik or The little book about insects), written by Godfried Bomans in the period of surrealism, and later I saw a movie Honey, I shrunk the Kids, one of those feel-good Walt Disney family comedy's. But anyway, the thing that book and movie have in common, are little people, who somehow become dropped in a world of giants..
Now Erik was getting smaller himself and stepped happily into the painting called Wollewei to learn something about insects and also the kids from the movie became little themselves.. Being with the Greenies that's all a little less obvious. Are you that small yourself or is that room just that big?
But there is more than just the house. Hidden in cabinets in this massive room are teleport pods.
We landed in a drawer. Jenna, curious as always, almost killed herself, jumping on a mouse trap.
As blond I know Tipp-ex very well (I still scratching it from my screen), but i did not know you can become high from it.
Greenies seems to get high from human boobies.
But to put it briefly: quite an experience! The combination of good design, use of colors, music, sound effects, the movie playing on television, the funny little space men, the other avatars who're walking around.. Everything fits so perfectly into this virtual world, that for sure you may say this is one of the best places that I've been visiting so far!

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Greenies%20Home%20Rezzable/139/124/339

First Parties in February

Laste weekend snapshots of the party at Open Minds with as theme silk and satin.
Because I was not sure if my silks not been pulled off I came in my silk rope. But it was safe and after a few ................
......... I got my silks on. And there was a big surprise that Dillon kissed Rod deeply. He always said he is straight, so he finally came out the closet.
At T.R.A.C.S. we had a Sports Party. Wow, what a lot of jocks you can get on Second Life.

Friday, February 12, 2010

You Raise Me Up [for my father]

You Raise Me Up
When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... to more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... to more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
And I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... to more than I can be.
You raise me up... to more than I can be.

"You Raise Me Up" is a popular song in the inspirational mould. The music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland and the lyrics by Brendan Graham. The song has now been covered more than 125 times.

The song was originally written as an instrumental piece and titled "Silent Story." The melody is based on a traditional Irish tune (especially the opening phrase of its chorus), the Londonderry Air, which is best known as the usual tune to the 1910 song Danny Boy. Løvland approached Irish novelist and songwriter Brendan Graham to write the lyrics to his melody after reading Graham's novels. It was originally released on the 2002 Secret Garden album "Once in a Red Moon," with the vocals sung by Irish singer Brian Kennedy, and sold well in both Ireland and Norway. Originally, Brian Kennedy was supposed to follow Secret Garden on their Asian tour in 2002, but fell ill, and could not attend. He was replaced by Norwegian singer Jan Werner Danielsen, who also later recorded the song together with Secret Garden, but it was never released.