M Is FOR MASHUP - December 13th, 2017
12 Reggae Mashups Album
By DJ Useo
Recently I was invited aboard a really interesting bootleg project. It was a Reggae mashup album. Some quite talented mixers expressed interest, & we all began working up tracks. Somehow, along the way most everyone was "whittled" away through the call of actual life activities. Still, enough of us continued that we were able to make a fantastic one "disc" album called
"12 Reggae Mashups"
( chocomang.org/Albums/TwelveReggaeMashups/ http://audioboots.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/1691 )
The leader ( or "instigator" if you prefer ;) ) is
Chocomang
( chocomang.org/mashup/index_en.htm )
,
who is Frances' answer to "Ambrosia". He did all the hard work, aside from making 8 of the tracks. Literally everything else he did solo. The second contributor is the phenomenally popular
Skibilibop
( www.skibilibop.com/ )
, who dwells in the peaceful land of Hgfredjjikiov ( typo ) .
I reckon most of you know about me ( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/ ) .
I made ten Reggae mashups, of which four were chosen to appear on this collection. There's 3 mirror links to d/l the zip file from. There's also a cool one-track mix of the album by Chocomang in case you want to sample it before aquiring. I got'ta say, though, that I did a premiere party for the project, & man, did everyone love listening. We don't charge money for this release, but tips are welcome.
The format is pop vocals over Reggae music with tracks like "Bring Me To Jah" ( Evanescence vs Enrique Iglesias vs LionRiddims ) , "Give the Dub & the Restless Away" ( Red Hot Chili Peppers vs Sonic Boom ) & "Leave It Soul Rebel" ( Yes vs Bunny Wailer ) , plus eight more. Personally, I expected a lot more Bob Marley tracks, but I figure we all thought the others would take care of that. lol. There's rather a lot of mashup censorship nowadays. It can be tough to publicize such a release. We're sharing the links around everywhere we know to. The quality alone should send this album over the top, but we'll see, after a couple weeks, how it does.
I sure would like to see a few more volumes like this one. If I can influence it any, that will happen. Meanwhile, lots of us have plenty more mashup albums coming soon, in many different styles. Next week, I have a fantastic new pop on pop album from one of the greats. I hope there's a Christmas mashup album again this year. Catch you next Wednesday.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Steve Mnuchin Pulls a Paul Ryan (NY Times Column)
A Treasury report on tax cuts that's a sick joke, but very much in the modern G.O.P. tradition.
Eugene Robinson: What if Mueller catches Trump - and it isn't enough? (Washington Post)
We need to prepare for the eventuality that the Mueller probe catches President Trump, family members and associates red-handed - and Republicans in Congress refuse to do anything about it. This is beginning to look like a possible or even probable outcome. With a cravenness matched only by its arrogance, the GOP is Trump's party now. It no longer has any claim to be Lincoln's.
Hey, Alexa, is it true you're a lefty feminist? (The Guardian)
If you ask her whether she's a feminist, she replies: "Yes, I am a feminist, as is anyone who believes in bridging the inequality between men and women in society."
'Women are better writers than men': novelist John Boyne sets the record straight (The Guardian)
Male authors are always pronouncing their own brilliance - or boasting about not reading books by women. So, after a lifetime of writing and attending literary festivals, John Boyne would like to get something off his chest …
Josh Marshall: Don't Cower Before Authoritarians and Liars (TPM)
This is a critical fight. But it's in the nature of reporters, trying to pry facts from the maw of compulsive liars to make occasional mistakes. Correct and move on. They don't have to meet Trump's standards, someone who of course has none. Every day reporters do their job and maintain press freedom and independence is a winning day.
Bella DePaulo: I study liars. I've never seen one like President Trump. (Washington Post)
He tells far more lies, and far more cruel ones, than ordinary people do.
Thacher Schmid: Portland homeless crisis: sportswear CEO's threat prompts soul-searching (The Guardian)
Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, has threatened to relocate the Portland headquarters of one of his brands, citing safety concerns. How to resolve the issue is leaving the city divided.
James Donaghy: "When good TV goes bad: how bad twists and incest fantasies put Dexter on death row" (The Guardian)
For five seasons, it marshalled its absurdities to deliver a unique, darkly funny show. Then it tangled with the Doomsday trope - and saw its world end.
Appalachian Great-Grandma Shreds the GOP Tax Plan (Twitter)
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Apple iBookstore
David Bruce has over 80 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
Presenting
Michael Egan
took the day off.
has returned to semi-retired status.
In memory.
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Reader Comment
Current Events
Doing A Little Happy Dance
Bonus Links
Jeannie the Teed-Off Temp
from Marc Perkel
Marc's Guide to Curing Cancer
So far so good on beating cancer for now. I'm doing fine. At the end of the month I'll be 16 months into an 8 month mean lifespan. And yesterday I went on a 7 mile hike and managed to keep up with the hiking group I was with. So, doing something right.
Still waiting for future test results and should see things headed in the right direction. I can say that it's not likely that anything dire happens in the short term so that means that I should have time to make several more attempts at this. So even if it doesn't work the first time there are a lot of variations to try. So if there's bad news it will help me pick the next radiation target.
I have written a "how to" guide for oncologists to perform the treatment that I got. I'm convinced that I'm definitely onto something and whether it works for me or not isn't the definitive test. I know if other people tried this that it would work for some of them, and if they improve it that it will work for a lot of them.
The guide is quite detailed and any doctor reading this can understand the procedure at every level. I also go into detail as to how it works, how I figured it out, and variations and improvements that could be tried to enhance it. I also introduce new ways to look at the problem. There is a lot of room for improvement and I think that doctors reading it will see what I'm talking about and want to build on it. And it's written so that if you're not a doctor you can still follow it. It also has a personal story revealing that I'm the class clown of cancer support group. I give great interviews and I look pretty hot in a lab coat.
So, feel free to read this and see what I'm talking about. But if any of you want to help then pass this around to both doctors and cancer patients. I need some media coverage. I'm looking for as many eyeballs as possible to read these ideas. Even if this isn't the solution, it's definitely on the right track. After all, I did hike 7 miles yesterday. And this hiking group wasn't moving slow. So if this isn't working then, why am I still here?
I also see curing cancer as more of an engineering problem that a medical problem. So if you are good at solving problems and most of what you know about medicine was watching the Dr. House MD TV show, then you're at the level I was at when I started. So anyone can jump in and be part of the solution.
Here is a link to my guide: Oncologists Guide to Curing Cancer using Abscopal Effect
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Grand Old Pedophile.
SAVE THE INTERNET!
WHERE'S ROY?
Grand Old Pedophile. PART TWO.
"HAVE YOU NO DECENCY?"
PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Single digit humidity.
Blasts Congress
Jimmy Kimmel
TV funnyman Jimmy Kimmel blasted Congress in a tearful monologue Monday for repeatedly failing to renew funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program this fall.
"I don't know about you, I've had enough of this," fumed Kimmel, who began his late-night TV show while holding his 8-month-old son Billy, who last week had his second heart surgery.
"I don't know what could be more disgusting than putting a tax cut that goes mostly to rich people ahead of the lives of children," said Kimmel, who previously has used his show's opening monologue, and emotionally cited his son's heart condition, to oppose rollbacks of Obamacare health coverage.
Kimmel told viewers, "I'm asking you, Billy's asking you, to make two phone calls you shouldn't have to make, jam the House and Senate phones tonight, tomorrow, as long as it takes, tell them to take a break from tax cuts and fully fund CHIP."
Kimmel's scathing criticism comes more than two months after the Sept. 30 expiration of authorization for CHIP funding, a joint federal-state program that provides health coverage to almost 9 million low-income children and more than 300,000 pregnant women.
Jimmy Kimmel
101st Birthday
Kirk Douglas
There are legends, and then there's Kirk Douglas, who's still golden after all these years. The actor celebrated his 101st birthday on Sunday with a bash paying tribute to his iconic screen roles.
Douglas was joined by wife, Anne, 98, and sons, Michael and Joel, as well as granddaughter Kelsey, for his big day.
The family went all out for the special day, with a Vincent van Gogh-themed birthday cake to reference Douglas' role in the 1956 film "Lust for Life" about the artist.
Another cake was crafted to look like two boxing gloves à la "Champion," the film that earned Douglas his first Academy Award nomination for playing a ruthless fighter. The cake's sweet inscription read, "Happy Birthday to the Champion."
Last year, Douglas celebrated the big 100 with guests like director Steven Spielberg and comedian Don Rickles, who joined his family for an all-star bash in Beverly Hills. The Oscar winner reportedly made a dramatic entrance into the party to the theme from "Rocky."
Kirk Douglas
Names Michael Che, Colin Jost Co-Head Writers
'SNL'
Michael Che and Colin Jost have been named the co-head writers of "Saturday Night Live," NBC announced Tuesday.
They will join current head writers Kent Sublette and Bryan Tucker. "SNL" has also announced that Sudi Green and Fran Gillespie have been named writing supervisors. Che and Jost currently host "SNL's" long-running "Weekend Update" segment, which they began hosting in 2014. Che, who was previously named on Variety's 10 Comics to Watch list and Rolling Stone's 50 Funniest People, appeared on "The Daily Show" before joining "SNL" in 2013. A four-time WGA Award winner and recipient of a Peabody Award, Jost started at "SNL" as a writer in 2005.
Green and Gillespie together wrote "Cartier Fidget Spinner Ad," "E! New Line-Up Promo" with Gal Gadot and more, as well as having spearheaded several other popular sketches.
The long-running series is coming off of a stellar season last year, in which the show won nine Emmys out of its 22 nominations. Alec Baldwin won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his repeated portrayals of Donald Trump, while Kate McKinnon took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, due in no small part to her portrayals of Hillary Clinton among many other characters. The series also picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series.
So far this season, "SNL" is averaging a 2.9 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.6 million viewers per episode in Nielsen's Live+7 ratings.
'SNL'
Merriam-Webster's Word Of The Year 2017
'Feminism'
This may or may not come as a surprise: Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2017 is "feminism."
Yes, it's been a big year or two or 100 for the word. In 2017, lookups for feminism increased 70 percent over 2016 on Merriam-Webster.com and spiked several times after key events, lexicographer Peter Sokolowski, the company's editor at large, told The Associated Press ahead of Tuesday's annual word reveal.
There was the Women's March on Washington in January, along with sister demonstrations around the globe. And heading into the year was Democrat Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and references linking her to white-clad suffragettes, along with her loss to President Donald Trump, who once boasted about grabbing women.
The "Me Too" movement rose out of Harvey Weinstein's dust, and other "silence breakers" brought down rich and famous men of media, politics and the entertainment worlds.
Feminism has been in Merriam-Webster's annual Top 10 for the last few years, including sharing word-of-the-year honors with other "isms" in 2015. Socialism, fascism, racism, communism, capitalism and terrorism rounded out the bunch. Surreal was the word of the year last year.
'Feminism'
Americans Say
New Poll
Americans aren't damning President-for-now Donald Trump (R-Crooked) with faint praise, according to a new poll: They're mostly just damning him.
When asked for the first word that pops into their head when they think of the commander-in-chief, U.S. voters gave such glowing descriptors as "idiot," "liar" and "a**hole," according to a new Quinnipiac University survey out Tuesday.
In an open-ended question, Quinnipiac asked respondents over the phone, "What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of President Trump?" A total of 53 people responded with the word "idiot, 44 with "liar" and 36 with "incompetent." Another 26 people gave the response "a**hole," while 19 respondents said "moron," 18 said "arrogant" and 17 said "disgusting."
"Trump is known for hurling insults, and he's getting slammed right back. 'Idiot' is just one of a string of insults thrown his way by American voters," said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director, in a release about the poll, which echoed the results of a similar survey conducted in May.
Other words the pollsters heard more infrequently about Trump-at least five times each-included "businessman," "jerk," "powerful" and "evil."
New Poll
Decline In Sea Ice
Arctic
The Arctic Ocean once froze reliably every year. Those days, it seems, are over.
On Tuesday, NOAA released its latest annual Arctic Report Card, which analyzes the state of the frozen ocean at the top of our world. Overall, it's not good.
"The Arctic is going through the most unprecedented transition in human history," Jeremy Mathis, director of NOAA's Arctic research program, said at a press conference. "This year's observations confirm that the Arctic shows no signs of returning to the reliably frozen state it was in just a decade ago."
The report, which you can read in full here , compiles trends that scientists have been seeing for years. The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world. And 2017 saw a new record low for the maximum sea ice extent (i.e., how much of the Arctic ocean freezes in the coldest depths of winter).
Arctic sea ice extent has been measured by satellites since the 1970s. And scientists can sample ice cores, permafrost records, and tree rings to make some assumptions about the sea ice extent going back 1,500 years. And when you put that all on a chart, well, it looks a little scary.
That huge drop-off at the end? That's "the largest magnitude decline in sea ice, and the greatest sustained rate in sea ice decline in that 1,500-year record," said Emily Osborne, the NOAA scientist who compiled the data for the chart.
Arctic
Investors Turn Against Fossil Fuels
Paris
Major investors vowed Tuesday to move away from Earth-warming fossil fuels as world leaders met in Paris seeking to unlock new cash to save humanity from climate "doom".
Two years to the day since 195 nations sealed the Paris Agreement to avert worst-case climate change, banks and companies announced billions of dollars of intended divestments from coal, oil and natural gas at a finance-themed climate summit.
But conference host France, as well as the UN and the World Bank, said efforts to shift the global economy into a green energy future were too little and too slow, as a report warned about unprecedented Arctic warming.
"We are losing the battle" against climate change, French President Emmanuel Macron told delegates. "We are not moving fast enough."
For his part, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said continued fossil-fuel subsidies amounted to humanity "investing in its own doom".
Paris
'Ground-Breaking' New Drug
Huntington's Disease
Scientists have for the first time fixed a protein defect that causes Huntington's disease by injecting a drug from Ionis Pharmaceuticals into the spine, offering new hope for patients with the devastating genetic disease.
The success in the early-stage clinical trial has prompted Roche to exercise its option to license the product, called IONIS-HTT(Rx), at a cost of $45 million.
Lead researcher Sarah Tabrizi, professor of clinical neurology at University College London, said the ability of the drug to tackle the underlying cause of Huntington's by lowering levels of a toxic protein was "ground-breaking".
However, experts cautioned that the results were still early and the ability of the new medicine to improve clinical outcomes for patients had yet to be demonstrated.
Huntington's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting mental abilities and physical control that normally hits sufferers between the ages of 30 and 50 years before continually worsening over a 10- to 25-year period.
Huntington's Disease
FWIW, Huntington's gallops through my mother's side of the family.
Six of my grandmother's seven siblings developed the disease.
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Dec. 4-10. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Baltimore at Pittsburgh, NBC, 17.2 million.
2. NFL Football: New Orleans at Atlanta, NBC, 14.61 million.
3. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 14.41 million.
4. "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 12.62 million.
5. "Young Sheldon," CBS, 12.49 million.
6. NFL Football: Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, ESPN, 10.91 million.
7. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 10 million.
8. "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.996 million.
9. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 9.87 million.
10. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 9.4 million.
11. "Hawaii Five-O," CBS, 9.07 million.
12. "The Good Doctor," ABC, 9.04 million.
13. "Survivor," CBS, 8.97 million.
14. "Mom," CBS, 8.78 million.
15. "NCIS," CBS, 8.42 million.
16. "Football Night in America, Part 3," NBC, 8.07 million.
17. "The Walking Dead," AMC, 7.89 million.
18. "The Big Bang Theory" (Monday, 8 p.m.), CBS, 7.75 million.
19. "Thursday Night NFL Pre-Kick," NBC, 7.54 million.
20. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 7.53 million.
Ratings
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
