Rednex, “Cotton Eye Joe”

Tags

#1 single, banjos, Cotton Eye Joe, debut, Eurodance, fiddles, Music, One Hit Wonder, Rednex, Sex & Violins, Swedish

Cotton Eye Joe (Internal Affairs (UK)/Battery (North Ameria)/ZYX (Germany), 1994)

In August 1994, Swedish Eurodance group Rednex had a massive hit on their hands with Cotton Eye Joe. Rednex loves to combine Eurodance beats with traditional American instruments (think banjos and fiddles). Cotton Eye Joe was taken from their debut album Sex & Violins. Cotton Eye Joe was a major hit in Europe; it spent 15 weeks at #1 in Norway, 13 in Switzerland, 10 in Germany, 8 in Sweden, 7 in Austria and 3 in the UK. It was also #1 in New Zealand for 6 weeks. In the U.S., it peaked at #25.

Blender magazine listed the song at #38 on their list of the “50 Worst Songs Ever.” MTV Dance placed it at #51 on their list of “The 100 Biggest 90s Dance Anthems of All Time.” Paste magazine calls it the 17th best of “60 Best Dancefloor Classics.”

“The Oranges”

Tags

affair, Allison Janney, ATO Pictures, Catherine Keener, dramedy, Hugh Laurie, Leighton Meester, limited release, Movies, The Oranges, Walling and Ostroff families

The Oranges (ATO PIctures, 2012)

The enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the Ostroff daughter, returns home for the holidays after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family.

The Oranges stars Leighton Meester, Hugh Laurie, Allison Janney and Catherine Keener. The dramedy was directed by Julian Farino. In its first limited release weekend, The Oranges opened with just under $200,000. In total it grossed just over $350,000 from U.S.box offices.

“My First Album”

Tags

1990s, actress, Albums, Anna Shantha Kumble, British, bubblegum pop, debut, Lolly, My First Album, stage pantomine performer, TV presenter, Viva La Radio

My First Album (Polydor, 1999)

My First Album was the debut album of British bubblegum pop star Lolly in 1999. It peaked at #21 in the UK and featured her hit single Viva La Radio. Lolly (born Anna Shantha Kumble) in June 1977 in Birmingham, England followed her music career with a TV presenter career and now works as an actress and a stage pantomime performer.

God Almighty Figurine

Tags

assault rifle, figurine, flowing white coat, God Almighty, Jesus Christ Superstore, Kalashnikov 47, long white beard, Toys

God Almighty

Sold at (where else?) the “Jesus Christ Superstore,” God Almighty has a long white beard and wears a flowing white coat. He comes with a Kalashnikov AK-47. Umm, what?

Salon du chocolat Festival

Tags

chocolatiers, clothes made of chocolate, confectioners, early November, fashion show, festival, Paris, pastry chefs, salon du chocolat

Salon du Chocolat Festival (Paris)

Salon du Chocolat is a five-day chocolate extravaganza set in Paris. Over 220 chocolatiers, pastry chefs and confectioners converge on the city to treat visitors to cooking demonstrations, marketplace and (since it is Paris) a fashion show featuring clothes made of chocolate. If you’re planning a Paris vacation between October 31 and November 2, 2018, you’ll be in luck.

Free, “All Right Now”

Tags

#1 single, 1 million radio plays U.S., 1970s, 3 million airplays U.S., All Right Now, ASCAP, BMI London, British, Fire and Water, Free, Million Air award, Music, One Hit Wonder, third album

All Right Now (Island, 1970)

All Right Now was a #2 UK single (#4 in the U.S.) by English rock band Free. It was taken from their third album, Fire and Water. All Right Now was a #1 single in Austria, Denmark, both charts in the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. (It was also top five in France, Germany and Switzerland and top ten in Belgium.) In 1990 ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) recognised All Right Now for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the U.S. In 2006 BMI London donned a Million Air award for 3 million airplays in the U.S.

Chief Joseph

Tags

1400 mile journey, 1800s, border, Canada, Celebrity, Chief Joseph, exhausted, Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, Kansas, military retreat, Nez Perce, Oklahoma, Oregon, starved, Surrender, Thunder Rolling Down a Mountain, Wallowa Valley, white settlers

Chief Joseph (March 3, 1840 – September 21, 1904)

Chief Joseph is known for one of the greatest military retreats in history. He was born Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (Thunder Rolling Down a Mountain) but known as Joseph, after his father who was baptized in 1838, in the Wallowa Valley, the territory that became Oregon. The Nez Perce people were forced to move to a reservation in 1877. Just before the move, some followers attacked and killed several white settlers. Fearing repercussions and wanting to avoid defeat, Chief Joseph led his 700 followers on a 1,400-mile journey towards Canada. They came within 40 miles of the Canadian border but were too exhausted and starved to continue on. His group was down to 87 and Chief Joseph was forced to surrender, not wanting to lose any more men. Chief Joseph and his remaining people were escorted to Kansas, then to what became Oklahoma. In 1885, they were able to return to the Pacific Northwest. Chief Joseph died on September 21, 1904.

“Caraboose the Tooth Fairy Moose”

Tags

Books, Caraboose the Tooth Fairy Moose, children, illustrated, Lynn Swanson, overalls, vacation

Caraboose the Tooth Fairy Moose (Createspace, 2012)

Caraboose is a overall wearing moose that takes over for the tooth fairy when she goes on vacation. Written by Lynn Swanson.

Bat Paste

Tags

Bat Paste, boiling milk, boiling water, China, chopped, delicacy, Food, fox bats, fruit bats, Guam, live, mouse bats, Thai herbs and spices, Thailand

Bat Paste (Thailand)

In Thailand (and parts of China and Guam) they drop live mouse, fruit or fox bats into a pot of boiling water or milk. When the bat is roasted to its desired “doneness,” the bat is chopped and made into a paste with Thai herbs and spices.

“The Yuck Show”

Tags

activities, children, curriculum based, experiments, game show, libraries, local programming, schools, science, slime, Texas, TV

The Yuck Show

The Yuck Game Show is an energetic science assembly program available to all schools and libraries across Texas. The audience is divided into two teams to compete in curriculum-based science games and big, highly visual science demonstrations with the winning team’s captain getting the ultimate prize…slime! In the active experience, an average of 35 to 45 students per show go up on stage to participate in the engaging activities.