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Heather Locklear

Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress famous for her role as Amanda Woodward on Melrose Place (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She is also known for her role as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty from 1981 to 1989, her first major television role, which began a longtime collaboration with producer Aaron Spelling.

Other notable television roles include Officer Stacy Sheridan on T. J. Hooker (1982–1986) and Caitlin Moore on Spin City (1999–2002), for which she earned two more Golden Globe nominations, this time for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. She had a recurring role on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland and a main role on the TNT drama-comedy television series Franklin & Bash in 2013. Her film roles include the science-fiction thriller Firestarter (1984), the action comedy Money Talks (1997), the live-action/animated comedy Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) and the romantic comedy The Perfect Man (2005).

Early life
Heather Deen Locklear was born on September 25, 1961, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Diane (née Tinsley), a production executive, and Bill Locklear, an administrator at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and former colonel in the United States Marine Corps. She has Lumbee ancestry.

Career
While at UCLA, she began modeling and working in commercials for the school store. She made her earliest screen appearances in the early 1980s with small roles in episodes of CHiPs, 240-Robert and Eight Is Enough, before beginning a long-term collaboration with Aaron Spelling. Spelling cast her in the role of Sammy Jo Dean during season 2 of his TV series Dynasty, and the following year, he cast her in the cop show T. J. Hooker with William Shatner. Until the mid-1980s, Locklear appeared as a series regular on T. J. Hooker, while making semi-regular appearances on Dynasty. After T. J. Hooker ended in 1986, she became a full-time cast member on Dynasty until its cancellation in 1989. In 1991, the cast of Dynasty (including Locklear) reconvened for the four-hour miniseries Dynasty: The Reunion.

Following Dynasty, Locklear appeared as Drew Barrymore's mother in Firestarter (1984) and had a starring role in the 1989 film The Return of Swamp Thing (for which she won the satirical Razzie Award for Worst Actress); she also starred in the short-lived sitcom Going Places.

In 1993, she began playing another of her best-known roles, Amanda Woodward, on Aaron Spelling's drama series Melrose Place, which was a spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210. Spelling originally signed Locklear for a limited four-episode run, the first of which aired on January 27, 1993. Locklear became a full-time cast member (though she continued to be billed as "Special Guest Star" in the opening credits) until its cancellation in 1999. Throughout her career, Locklear has appeared in eight television productions made by Aaron Spelling: Dynasty, T. J. Hooker, Matt Houston, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hotel, Melrose Place, and the television film Rich Men, Single Women.

Locklear was the guest host on Saturday Night Live on May 14, 1994. Two of her best-known skits included her as an elderly Jewish woman on Coffee Talk with Mike Myers and her acting as Amanda Woodward in a Wayne's World skit with Myers, Chris Farley, Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider and Phil Hartman, wherein Wayne has a dream that he is a character on Melrose Place. Locklear also made a cameo in Wayne's World 2 in 1993. In 1996, she appeared as the main guest on Muppets Tonight, performing in a spoof of Melrose Place titled "Muppet Heights". She was also the subject of a Lifetime Intimate Portrait special in 1997, and of an E! True Hollywood Story special in 2004.

Locklear was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine on May 19, 1994, as Melrose Place reached the height of its popularity. She was named one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People twice, first in 1994, and again in 2001.

After Melrose Place ended in 1999, Locklear was cast in the sitcom Spin City (initially opposite Michael J. Fox and later opposite Charlie Sheen). Locklear earned two Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy before the series ended in 2002. In 2002, Locklear had a brief recurring role on the sitcom Scrubs. In 2003, she starred in a pilot for her own comedy series, Once Around the Park, but this was unsuccessful. The same year, Locklear appeared in the film Uptown Girls. In 2004, Locklear made a guest appearance on the sitcom Two and a Half Men, which starred her former Spin City co-star Charlie Sheen. She then starred in the short-lived television drama series LAX set in the airport of the same name. She was also executive producer on the series, but it was cancelled after 11 episodes. In 2005, Locklear appeared in the film The Perfect Man with Hilary Duff. The same year, she had a brief recurring role on the series Boston Legal, which starred her former T. J. Hooker co-star William Shatner. She was also featured in a Biography Channel special. In 2006, Locklear starred in another television pilot, Women of a Certain Age, but this was unsuccessful. She appeared in the music video for country singer Toby Keith's single "Crash Here Tonight" that same year.

In 2007, Locklear made another pilot for ABC, See Jayne Run, about a business woman who juggles a career with single motherhood, but this was also unsuccessful. She guest-starred on the series Hannah Montana and in the sitcom Rules of Engagement, and was placed 25th on TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest TV Icons" list.

In 2009, Locklear joined the cast of The CW's updated version of Melrose Place. Beginning on November 17, 2009, she reprised her role as Amanda Woodward and appeared in eight episodes. Ten years after the end of the original Melrose Place, Amanda Woodward is now a partner in a public relations firm, and is both mentor and tormentor to a young underling, Ella, played by Katie Cassidy. However, despite Locklear's appearances (along with various other original series regulars), the new show was not a ratings success and was cancelled after one season. In 2011, Locklear starred in the television movie He Loves Me on the Lifetime Channel.

In 2012, Locklear began appearing in a recurring role on the TV Land comedy series Hot in Cleveland. In 2013, she became a regular on the comedy-drama Franklin & Bash. In 2014, Locklear featured in a public service announcement titled "We Are, Sarah Jones", in memory of camera assistant Sarah Jones who was killed in an accident on the set of Midnight Rider on February 20, 2014.

In 2016, Locklear appeared in the television movie The Game of Love, which aired on UP on May 15, 2016. Later in 2016, it was revealed that Locklear would be guest-starring in a recurring role in Tyler Perry's drama Too Close to Home on TLC. She portrayed Kristine Carlson in the Lifetime television film Don't Sweat the Small Stuff: The Kristine Carlson Story (2021), which follows the changes in Carlson's life after her husband, Dr. Richard Carlson suddenly died in 2006.

Relationships
Locklear was married to Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee from May 10, 1986, to 1993. After their divorce, she married Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, on December 17, 1994, in Paris. She gave birth to their only child, daughter Ava Elizabeth Sambora, on October 4, 1997. Locklear filed for divorce from Sambora in February 2006. The following month Sambora filed for joint custody of their daughter and enforcement of a prenuptial agreement. Their divorce was finalized in April 2007. In the same month, Locklear began a relationship with fellow Melrose Place alumnus Jack Wagner. In August 2011, Locklear and Wagner announced they were engaged. The couple had called off their engagement by that November.

In April 2020, Locklear became engaged to former motocross racer Chris Heisser, whom she first dated in high school.

Health and legal troubles
In March 2008, a 911 call was made by someone who claimed to be Locklear's doctor, who said that Locklear was trying to kill herself. Emergency responders were dispatched to Locklear's home. Her publicist later said that Locklear had never requested any medical assistance, and the Ventura County Sheriff's Department later stated that no further action was taken once they arrived at Locklear's Westlake Village home, as she appeared to be fine. They did, however, state that they believed the call was genuine.

On June 24, 2008, Locklear checked into a medical facility in Arizona for psychological ailments including anxiety and depression, and requested an in-depth evaluation of her medication to receive proper diagnosis and treatment. Her agent confirmed Locklear was suffering from anxiety and depression. On July 23, 2008, Locklear returned home after four weeks of treatment at the facility. In September 2008, Locklear was pulled over by a California Highway Patrol officer and arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, just outside Santa Barbara after she was seen driving erratically. Police had been tipped off about Locklear's driving by Jill Ishkanian, a former reporter and editor at Us Weekly magazine, who saw Locklear outside a market in Montecito, California. Ishkanian photographed the incident and then sold the photos to the celebrity-news website TMZ.com for $27,500, although she claims it was entirely a chance meeting and denies having followed or set up Locklear to obtain photographs. Locklear was formally charged on November 17, 2008, with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence. A blood test detected no alcohol nor illegal narcotics, but Santa Barbara County Deputy District Attorney Lee Carter stated authorities believe the prescription medications Locklear consumed for her anxiety and depression "could have impaired her ability to safely drive a motor vehicle". On January 2, 2009, Locklear pleaded no contest to reckless driving, and in return the district attorney dismissed the DUI charges. Locklear was sentenced to three years of informal probation, a DMV driver safety class and a $700 fine.

On January 12, 2012, Locklear's sister called 911 when she believed Locklear was in danger after reportedly taking prescription drugs and alcohol. Emergency personnel responded, and Locklear was taken to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks, California, but was reported to be out of danger the following day. In February 2018, Locklear was arrested for domestic violence and battery against a police officer. She was charged with one felony count of domestic violence and three misdemeanor counts of battery on a police officer. As deputies arrived at her Thousand Oaks home, she allegedly kicked three of the arresting sheriff deputies and told the deputies she would shoot at them if they ever came into her home again. According to audio of the 911 call, Locklear's brother called the police after coming to her home, where he found Locklear and her boyfriend arguing. Locklear was released on a $20,000 bond just before 6 a.m. the next day. Locklear's boyfriend, former American Motorcycle Association motocross racer Chris Heisser, was arrested on a driving under the influence charge in Thousand Oaks, hours after Locklear had been taken into custody. After obtaining a warrant, police searched her home for a weapon on March 12 but found none.

On June 24, 2018, Locklear was arrested again, this time for two misdemeanor counts of battery. On June 25, 2018, after being released on bail for charges of battery, Locklear was hospitalized in a suspected case of overdose. In August 2019, she pleaded no contest to charges stemming from that arrest and was sentenced to 30 days in a residential mental health facility.

In April 2020, Locklear wrote on Instagram that she had been sober for one year. She has received treatment for addiction 20 times. In July 2023, The New York Post published photos that showed Locklear behaving erratically and talking to herself in public, which sparked concern that she was drinking alcohol again.

title: Heather Locklear


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Producer gas

Producer gas is fuel gas that is manufactured by blowing through a coke or coal fire with air and steam simultaneously. It mainly consists of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), as well as substantial amounts of nitrogen (N2). The caloric value of the producer gas is low (mainly because of its high nitrogen content), and the technology is obsolete. Improvements over producer gas, also obsolete, include water gas where the solid fuel is treated intermittently with air and steam and, far more efficiently synthesis gas where the solid fuel is replaced with methane.

In the US, producer gas may also be referred to by other names based on the fuel used for production such as wood gas. Producer gas may also be referred to as suction gas. The term suction refers to the way the air was drawn into the gas generator by an internal combustion engine. Wood gas is produced in a gasifier

Production
Producer gas is generally made from coke, or other carbonaceous material such as anthracite. Air is passed over the red-hot carbonaceous fuel and carbon monoxide is produced. The reaction is exothermic and proceeds as follows:

Formation of producer gas from air and carbon:

 * C + O$2$ → CO$2$, +97,600 calories/mol
 * CO$2$ + C → 2CO, –38,800 calories/mol (mol of the reaction formula)
 * 2C + O$2$ → 2CO, +58,800 calories/mol (per mol of O$2$ i.e. per mol of the reaction formula)

Reactions between steam and carbon:

 * H$2$O + C → H$2$ + CO, –28,800 calories/mol (presumably mol of the reaction formula)
 * 2H$2$O + C → 2H$2$ + CO$2$, –18,800 calories/mol (presumably mol of the reaction formula)

Reaction between steam and carbon monoxide:

 * H$2$O + CO → CO$2$ + H$2$, +10,000 calories/mol (presumably mol of the reaction formula)
 * CO$2$ + H$2$ → CO + H$2$O, –10,000 calories/mol (presumably mol of the reaction formula)

The average composition of ordinary producer gas according to Latta was: CO$2$: 5.8%; O$2$: 1.3%; CO: 19.8%; H$2$: 15.1%; CH$4$: 1.3%; N$2$: 56.7%; B.T.U. gross per cu.ft 136 The concentration of carbon monoxide in the "ideal" producer gas was considered to be 34.7% carbon monoxide (carbonic oxide) and 65.3% nitrogen. After "scrubbing", to remove tar, the gas may be used to power gas turbines (which are well-suited to fuels of low calorific value), spark ignited engines (where 100% petrol fuel replacement is possible) or diesel internal combustion engines (where 15% to 40% of the original diesel fuel requirement is still used to ignite the gas ). During World War II in Britain, plants were built in the form of trailers for towing behind commercial vehicles, especially buses, to supply gas as a replacement for petrol (gasoline) fuel. A range of about 80 miles for every charge of anthracite was achieved.

In old movies and stories, when there is a description of suicide by "turning on the gas" and leaving an oven door open without lighting the flame, the reference was to coal gas or town gas. As this gas contained a significant amount of carbon monoxide it was quite toxic. Most town gas was also odorized, if it did not have its own odor. Modern 'natural gas' used in homes is far less toxic, and has a mercaptan added to it for odor for identifying leaks.

Various names are used for producer gas, air gas and water gas generally depending on the fuel source, process or end use including:

Other similar fuel gasses
 * Air gas: also called "power gas", "generator gas", or "Siemens' producer gas". Produced from various fuels by partial combustion with air. Air gas consists principally of carbon monoxide with nitrogen from the air used and a small amount of hydrogen. This term is not commonly used, and tends to be used synonymously with wood gas.
 * Producer gas: Air gas modified by simultaneous injection of water or steam to maintain a constant temperature and obtain a higher heat content gas by enrichment of air gas with H$2$. Current usage often includes air gas.
 * Semi-water gas: Producer gas.
 * Blue water-gas: Air, water or producer gas produced from clean fuels such as coke, charcoal and anthracite which contain insufficient hydrocarbon impurities for use as illuminating gas. Blue gas burns with a blue flame and does not produce light except when used with a Welsbach gas mantle.
 * Lowe's Water Gas: Water gas with a secondary pyrolysis reactor to introduce hydrocarbon gasses for illuminating purposes.
 * Carburetted gas: Any gas produced by a process similar to Lowe's in which hydrocarbons are added for illumination purposes.
 * Wood gas: produced from wood by partial combustion. Sometimes used in a gasifier to power cars with ordinary internal combustion engines.

 * Coal gas or illuminating gas: Produced from coal by distillation.
 * Water gas: Produced by injection of steam into fuel preheated by combustion with air. The reaction is endothermic so the fuel must be continually re-heated to keep the reaction going. This was usually done by alternating the steam with an air stream. This name is sometimes used incorrectly when describing carburetted blue water gas simply as blue water gas.
 * Coke oven gas: Coke ovens give off a gas exactly similar to illuminating gas, part of which is used to heat the coal. There may be a large excess, however, which is used for industrial purposes after it has been purified.
 * Syngas, or synthesis gas: (from synthetic gas or synthesis gas) can be applied to any of the above gasses, but generally refers to modern industrial processes, such as natural gas reforming, hydrogen production, and processes for synthetic production of methane and other hydrocarbons.
 * City (Town) gas: any of the above-manufactured gases including producer gas containing sufficient hydrocarbons to produce a bright flame for illumination purposes, originally produced from coal, for sale to consumers and municipalities.

Uses and Advantages of Producer Gas:
 * It is used in furnace. When furnaces are big, no scrubbing etc. is required. When furnace is small, scrubbing is necessary to avoid chocking of small burners. In gas engines, it is used after scrubbing.
 * There is no loss due to smoke and convection current.
 * Quantity of air required for the combustion of producer gas is not much above the theoretical quantity; when burning solid fuel, far more than the theoretical quantity is required. With solid fuels, the larger quantity of exhaust takes away considerable heat with it.
 * Producer gas is more easily transmitted than solid fuel.
 * Gas-fired furnaces can be maintained at a constant temperature.
 * With gas, an oxidising and reducing flame can be obtained.
 * Heat loss due to converting solid fuel into producer gas can be made in an economic way.
 * Smoke nuisance can be avoided.
 * Producer gas can be produced even by the poorest quality of fuel.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Producer gas


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Dark nebula

A dark nebula or absorption nebula is a type of interstellar cloud, particularly molecular clouds, that is so dense that it obscures the visible wavelengths of light from objects behind it, such as background stars and emission or reflection nebulae. The extinction of the light is caused by interstellar dust grains in the coldest, densest parts of molecular clouds. Clusters and large complexes of dark nebulae are associated with Giant Molecular Clouds. Isolated small dark nebulae are called Bok globules. Like other interstellar dust or material, the things it obscures are visible only using radio waves in radio astronomy or infrared in infrared astronomy.

Dark clouds appear so because of sub-micrometre-sized dust particles, coated with frozen carbon monoxide and nitrogen, which effectively block the passage of light at visible wavelengths. Also present are molecular hydrogen, atomic helium, C18O (CO with oxygen as the 18O isotope), CS, NH3 (ammonia), H2CO (formaldehyde), c-C3H2 (cyclopropenylidene) and a molecular ion N2H+ (diazenylium), all of which are relatively transparent. These clouds are the spawning grounds of stars and planets, and understanding their development is essential to understanding star formation.

The form of such dark clouds is very irregular: they have no clearly defined outer boundaries and sometimes take on convoluted serpentine shapes. The closest and largest dark nebulae are visible to the naked eye, since they are the least obscured by stars in between Earth and the nebula, and because they have the largest angular size, appearing as dark patches against the brighter background of the Milky Way like the Coalsack Nebula and the Great Rift. These naked-eye objects are sometimes known as dark cloud constellations and take on a variety of names.

In the inner molecular regions of dark nebulae, important events take place, such as the formation of stars and masers.

Complexes and constellations
Along with molecular clouds, dark nebula make up molecular cloud complexes.

Dark nebula form in the night sky apparent dark cloud constellations.

title: Dark nebula


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Nitanju Bolade Casel

Nitanju Bolade Casel is an American singer who has been a member of the African American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock since 1985. Prior to joining, Casel spent four years studying performance and cultural organization in Dakar, Senegal. While in Africa, she and MarieLouise Guinier co-founded ADEA (Artistes des Echanges Africaines), an organization that seeks to use the arts to facilitate the exchange of ideas and services between Pan African people.

Casel has contributed a number of original musical compositions and contemporary arrangements of traditional African songs to Sweet Honey in the Rocks repertoire. Her compositions are also included in a children's textbook, World of Music, and The Box, a pilot TV show from Robert De Niro's Tribeca Production Company.

Casel appeared in the 1998 film, Beloved, starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She was also a guest artist in the Smithsonian Institution production of Duke Ellington's Great Ladies of Song.

Casel is a co-director of First World Productions, a cultural and educational performance arts organization.

title: Nitanju Bolade Casel


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Gus Cannon

Gustavus Cannon (September 12, 1883 – October 15, 1979) was an American blues musician who helped to popularize jug bands (such as his own Cannon's Jug Stompers) in the 1920s and 1930s. There is uncertainty about his birth year; his tombstone gives the date as 1874.

Career
Born on a plantation in Red Banks, Mississippi, Cannon moved a hundred miles to Clarksdale, then the home of W. C. Handy, at the age of 12. His musical skills came without training; he taught himself to play a banjo that he made from a frying pan and a raccoon skin. He ran away from home at the age of fifteen and began his career entertaining at sawmills and at levee and railroad camps in the Mississippi Delta around the turn of the twentieth century.

While in Clarksdale, Cannon was influenced by two local musicians, Jim Turner and Alec Lee. Turner's fiddle playing in W. C. Handy's band so impressed Cannon that he decided to learn to play the fiddle himself. Lee, a guitarist, taught Cannon his first folk blues, "Po' Boy, Long Ways from Home," and showed him how to use a knife blade as a slide, a technique that Cannon adapted to his banjo playing.

Cannon left Clarksdale around 1907 and soon settled near Memphis, Tennessee, where he played in a jug band led by Jim Guffin. He began playing in Memphis with Jim Jackson. He met the harmonica player Noah Lewis, who introduced him to a young guitar player, Ashley Thompson. Lewis and Thompson later were members of Cannon's Jug Stompers. The three of them formed a band to play at parties and dances. In 1914 Cannon began touring in medicine shows. He supported his family through various jobs, including sharecropping, ditch digging, and yard work, but supplemented his income with music.

Cannon began recording, as Banjo Joe, for Paramount Records in 1927. At that session he was backed by Blind Blake. After the success of the Memphis Jug Band's first records, he quickly assembled a jug band, Cannon's Jug Stompers, featuring Lewis and Thompson (later replaced by Elijah Avery). The group was first recorded at the Memphis Auditorium for Victor Records in January 1928. Hosea Woods joined the Jug Stompers in the late 1920s, playing guitar, banjo and kazoo and providing some vocals. Cannon's Jug Stompers' recording of "Big Railroad Blues" is available on the compilation album The Music Never Stopped: Roots of the Grateful Dead.

Although their last recordings were made in 1930, Cannon's Jug Stompers were one of Beale Street's most popular jug bands through the 1930s. A few songs Cannon recorded with the Jug Stompers are "Minglewood Blues," "Pig Ankle Strut," "Wolf River Blues," "Viola Lee Blues," "White House Station," and "Walk Right In" (a pop hit for The Rooftop Singers in the 1960s and for Dr. Hook in the 1970s). By the end of the 1930s, Cannon had effectively retired, although he occasionally performed as a solo musician.

Cannon made a few recordings for Folkways Records in 1956. During the blues revival of the 1960s, he made some appearances at colleges and coffee houses with Furry Lewis and Bukka White, but he had to pawn his banjo to pay his heating bill the winter before The Rooftop Singers had a hit with "Walk Right In."

In the wake of becoming a hit composer, he recorded an album for Stax Records in 1963, with fellow Memphis musicians Will Shade (the former leader of the Memphis Jug Band) on jug and Milton Roby on washboard. Cannon performed traditional songs, including "Kill It," "Salty Dog," "Going Around," "The Mountain," "Ol' Hen," "Gonna Raise a Ruckus Tonight," "Ain't Gonna Rain No More," "Boll-Weevil," "Come On down to My House," "Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor," "Get Up in the Morning Soon," and "Crawdad Hole," along with his own "Walk Right In," with stories and introductions between songs.

Cannon appeared in the film Hallelujah! (1929), produced by King Vidor, in the late-night wedding scene.

Death
Gus Cannon died in Memphis, Tennessee, on October 15, 1979, and is buried at Greenview Memorial Gardens, Hernando, Mississippi.

Studio albums

 * Walk Right In (Stax, 1963)
 * Gus Cannon's Jug Stompers (Roots, 1971)

Compilations

 * Cannon's Jug Stompers, The Complete Works in Chronological Order 1927–1930 including Gus Cannon as Banjo Joe (Herwin, 1975)
 * Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order, vols. 1 and 2 (Document, 1990)
 * The Legendary 1928–1930 Recordings (JSP, 1994)
 * The Best of Cannon's Jug Stompers (Yazoo, 2001)

title: Gus Cannon


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Thomas Browne

Sir Thomas Browne (19 October 1605 – 19 October 1682) was an English polymath and author of varied works which reveal his wide learning in diverse fields including science and medicine, religion and the esoteric. His writings display a deep curiosity towards the natural world, influenced by the Scientific Revolution of Baconian enquiry and are permeated by references to Classical and Biblical sources as well as the idiosyncrasies of his own personality. Although often described as suffused with melancholia, Browne's writings are also characterised by wit and subtle humour, while his literary style is varied, according to genre, resulting in a rich, unique prose which ranges from rough notebook observations to polished Baroque eloquence.

Early life
Thomas Browne was born in the parish of St Michael, Cheapside, in London on 19 October 1605. He was the youngest child of Thomas Browne, a silk merchant from Upton, Cheshire, and Anne Browne, the daughter of Paul Garraway of Lewes, Sussex. He had an elder brother and two elder sisters. The family, who had lived at Upton for several generations, were "evidently people of some importance" who "intermarried with families of position in that neighbourhood", and were armigerous. Browne's paternal grandmother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of Henry Birkenhead, Clerk of the Green Cloth to Elizabeth I of England and Clerk of the Crown for the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Browne's father died while he was young, and his mother married Sir Thomas Dutton of Gloucester and Isleworth, Middlesex, by whom she had two daughters.

Browne was educated at Winchester College. In 1623, he went to Broadgates Hall of Oxford University. Browne was chosen to deliver the undergraduate oration when the hall was incorporated as Pembroke College in August 1624. He graduated from Oxford in January 1627, after which he studied medicine at Padua and Montpellier universities, completing his studies at Leiden, where he received a medical degree in 1633. He settled in Norwich in 1637 and practised medicine there until he died in 1682.

In 1641, Browne married Dorothy Mileham of Burlingham St Peter, Norfolk. They had 10 children, six of whom died before their parents.

Literary career
Browne's first literary work was Religio Medici (The Religion of a Physician). It surprised him when an unauthorised edition appeared in 1642, which included unorthodox religious speculations. An authorised text appeared in 1643, with some of the more controversial views removed. The expurgation did not end the controversy. The Scottish writer Alexander Ross attacked Religio Medici in his Medicus Medicatus (1645). Browne's book was placed upon the Papal Index Librorum Prohibitorum in the same year.

In 1646 Browne published his encyclopaedia, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or, Enquiries into Very many Received Tenents, and commonly Presumed Truths, the title of which refers to the prevalence of false beliefs and "vulgar errors". A sceptical work that debunks in a methodical and witty manner several legends circulating at the time, it displays the Baconian side of Browne—the side that was unafraid of what at the time was still called the "New Learning". The book is significant in the history of science because it promoted an awareness of scientific journalism.

The last works published by Browne were two philosophical Discourses. They are closely related to each other in concept. The first, Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial, or a Brief Discourse of the Sepulchral Urns lately found in Norfolk (1658), was inspired by the discovery in Norfolk of some 40 to 50 Anglo-Saxon burial urns. It is a literary meditation upon death, the funerary customs of the world and the ephemerality of fame. The other discourse in the diptych is antithetical in style, subject matter and imagery. The Garden of Cyrus, or The Quincuncial Lozenge, or Network Plantations of the Ancients, Artificially, Naturally, and Mystically Considered (1658) features the quincunx that Browne used to demonstrate evidence of the Platonic forms in art and nature.

Later life and knighthood
Browne believed in the existence of angels and witchcraft. He attended the 1662 Bury St Edmunds witch trial, where his citation of a similar trial in Denmark may have influenced the jury's minds concerning two accused women, who were later found guilty of witchcraft.

In November 1671, King Charles II, accompanied by his Court, visited Norwich. The courtier John Evelyn, who had occasionally corresponded with Browne, made good use of the royal visit to call upon "the learned doctor" of European fame and wrote of his visit, recording that "his whole house and garden is a paradise and Cabinet of rarities and that of the best collection, amongst Medails, books, Plants, natural things". During his visit, Charles visited Browne's home. A banquet was held in St Andrew's Hall for the royal visit. Obliged to honour a notable local, the name of the Mayor of Norwich was proposed to the King for knighthood. The Mayor, however, declined the honour and proposed Browne's name instead.

Death and aftermath
Browne died on 19 October 1682, his 77th birthday. He was buried in the chancel of St Peter Mancroft, Norwich. His skull was removed when his lead coffin was accidentally re-opened by workmen in 1840. It was not re-interred in St Peter Mancroft until 4 July 1922 when it was recorded in the burial register as aged 317 years. Browne's coffin plate, which was stolen the same time as his skull, was also eventually recovered, broken into two halves, one of which is on display at St Peter Mancroft. Alluding to the commonplace opus of alchemy it reads, ''Amplissimus Vir Dns. Thomas Browne, Miles, Medicinae Dr., Annos Natus 77 Denatus 19 Die mensis Octobris, Anno. Dni. 1682, hoc Loculo indormiens. Corporis Spagyrici pulvere plumbum in aurum Convertit.'' — translated from Latin as "The esteemed Gentleman Thomas Browne, Knight, Doctor of Medicine, 77 years old, died on the 19th of October in the year of Our Lord 1682 and lies sleeping in this coffin. With the dust of his alchemical body he converts lead into gold". The origin of the invented word spagyrici is from the Greek spao to tear open + ageiro to collect, a signature neologism coined by Paracelsus to define his medicine-oriented alchemy; the origins of iatrochemistry, being first advanced by him.

Browne's coffin-plate verse, along with the collected works of Paracelsus and several followers of the Swiss physician listed in his library, is evidence that although sometimes highly critical of Paracelsus, nevertheless, like the 'Luther of Medicine', he believed in palingenesis, physiognomy, alchemy, astrology and the kabbalah.

The Library of Sir Thomas Browne was held in the care of his eldest son Edward until 1708. The auction of Browne and his son Edward's libraries in January 1711 was attended by Hans Sloane. Editions from the library were subsequently included in the founding collection of the British Library.

Autobiography
On 14 March 1673, Browne sent a short autobiography to the antiquarian John Aubrey, presumably for Aubrey's collection of Brief Lives, which provides an introduction to his life and writings:

 * ...I was born in St Michael's Cheap in London, went to school at Winchester College, then went to Oxford, spent some years in foreign parts, was admitted to be a Socius Honorarius of the College of Physicians in London, Knighted September 1671, when the King, Queen and Court came to Norwich. [Wrote] Religio Medici in English, which was since translated into Latin, French, Italian, High and Low Dutch.
 * Pseudodoxia Epidemica, or Enquiries into Common and Vulgar Errors translated into Dutch four or five years ago.
 * Hydriotaphia, or Urn Buriall.
 * Hortus Cyri [the Garden of Cyrus], or de Quincunce.
 * Have some miscellaneous tracts which may be published...

Literary influence
Browne is widely considered one of the most original writers in the English language. The freshness and ingenuity of his mind invested everything he touched with interest; while on more important subjects his style, if frequently ornate and Latinate, often rises to the highest pitch of stately eloquence. He has a paradoxical and ambiguous place in the history of ideas, as equally, a devout Christian, a promoter of the new inductive science, and an adherent of ancient esoteric learning. For these reasons, one literary critic succinctly assessed him as "an instance of scientific reason lit up by mysticism in the Church of England". However, the complexity of Browne's labyrinthine thought processes, his highly stylised language, his many allusions to Biblical, Classical and contemporary learning, along with esoteric authors, are each contributing factors to why he remains obscure, little-read, and, thus, misunderstood.

A master neologist, Browne appears at number 69 in the Oxford English Dictionary's list of top-cited sources. He has 775 entries in the OED of first usage of a word, is quoted in a total of 4131 entries of first evidence of a word, and is quoted 1596 times as first evidence of a particular meaning of a word. Examples of his coinages, many of which are of a scientific or medical nature, include 'ambidextrous', 'antediluvian', 'analogous', 'approximate', 'ascetic', 'anomalous', 'carnivorous', 'coexistence', 'coma', 'compensate', 'computer', 'cryptography', 'cylindrical', 'disruption', 'ergotisms', 'electricity', 'exhaustion', 'ferocious', 'follicle', 'generator', 'gymnastic', 'hallucination', 'herbaceous', 'holocaust', 'insecurity', 'indigenous', 'jocularity', 'literary', 'locomotion', 'medical', 'migrant', 'mucous', 'prairie', 'prostate', 'polarity', 'precocious', 'pubescent', 'therapeutic', 'suicide', 'ulterior', 'ultimate' and 'veterinarian'.

The influence of his literary style spans four centuries. In the 19th century, Browne's reputation was revived by the Romantics. Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Charles Lamb (who considered himself the rediscoverer of Browne) were all admirers. Carlyle was also influenced by him.

The composer William Alwyn wrote a symphony in 1973 based upon the rhythmical cadences of Browne's literary work Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial.

The Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges alluded to Browne throughout his literary writings, from his first publication, Fervor de Buenos Aires (1923) until his last years. He described Browne as "the best prose writer in the English language".

Recognition
In the 18th century, Samuel Johnson, who shared Browne's love of the Latinate, wrote a brief Life in which he praised Browne as a faithful Christian and assessed his prose.

The English author Virginia Woolf wrote two short essays about him, observing in 1923, "Few people love the writings of Sir Thomas Browne, but those that do are the salt of the earth."

Clive James included an essay on Browne in his Cultural Amnesia collection. James celebrated Browne's style and originality, stating that Browne was "minting new coin" with everything he wrote.

Portraits and influence in the visual arts
The National Portrait Gallery in London has a contemporary portrait by Joan Carlile of Sir Thomas Browne and his wife Dorothy, probably completed between 1641 and 1650.

More recent sculptural portraits include Henry Alfred Pegram's 1905 statue of Sir Thomas contemplating with an urn in Norwich. This statue occupies the central position in the Haymarket beside St Peter Mancroft, not far from the site of his house. Unveiled on 19 October 1905, it was moved from its original position in 1973 and once more in 2023.

 * In 1931 the English painter Paul Nash was invited to illustrate a book of his own choice, Nash chose Sir Thomas Browne's Urn Burial and The Garden of Cyrus, providing the publisher with a set of 32 illustrations to accompany Browne's Discourses. The edition was published in 1932. A pencil drawing by Nash called "Urne Buriall: Teeth, Bones and Hair" is held by Birmingham Museums Trust.

 * In 2005 a small standing figure in silver and bronze, commissioned for the 400th anniversary of Browne's birth, was sculpted by Robert Mileham.

 * In 2016 the artists Peter Rodulfo and Mark Burrell elected Browne as honorary Great-Grandfather of the North Sea Magical Realists art-movement. Simultaneously they realised in painting items taken from Browne's Musaeum Clausum in its Rarities in Pictures section.

Publications

 * Religio Medici (1643)
 * Pseudodoxia Epidemica (1646–72)
 * Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial (1658)
 * The Garden of Cyrus (1658)
 * A Letter to a Friend (1656; pub. 1690)
 * Christian Morals (1670s; pub. 1716)
 * Musaeum Clausum Tract 13 from Miscellaneous Tracts first pub. 1684

title: Thomas Browne


text:
Shim Sham

The Shim Sham Shimmy, Shim Sham or just Sham originally is a particular tap dance routine and is regarded as tap dance's national anthem. For today's swing dancers, it is a line dance.

History
In the late 1920s, when Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant were with the Whitman Sisters troupe on the T.O.B.A. circuit in Chicago, they created a tap dance routine they called "Goofus" to the tune Turkey in the Straw. The routine consisted of standard steps: eight bars each of the Double Shuffle, the Cross Over, Tack Annie (an up-and-back shuffle), and Falling Off a Log.

In early 1930s, the Shim Sham was performed on stage in Harlem at places like Connie's Inn, Dickie Wells's Shim Sham Club,  the 101 Ranch, the LaFayette Theatre, and the Harlem Opera House.

At the end of many performances, all of the musicians, singers, and dancers would get together on stage and do one last routine: the Shim Sham Shimmy. Tap dancers would perform technical variations, while singers and musicians would shuffle along as they were able. For example, in 1931 flash dance act The Three Little Words would close their show at Connie's Inn with the Shim Sham, and invite everyone to join in, "and the whole club would join us, including the waiters. For awhile people were doing the Shim Sham up and down Seventh Avenue all night long," according to Joe Jones.

According to tap dancer Howard “Stretch” Johnson the word "Shim" was a contraction of the term "she-him", a reference to the fact that the female chorus line dancers at the 101 Ranch were played by men.

At the Savoy Ballroom, some lindy hoppers did the shim sham as a group line dance, without the taps. A bunch of dancers would just jump up and start doing the shim sham on the side of the ballroom, over in the corner. Although a few people might join in, most everybody else kept on dancing without paying any attention to it.

In the mid-1980s, Frankie Manning introduced the shim sham at New York Swing Dance Society dances, and he also created a special version of the shim sham for swing dancers. Frankie Manning's version of the shim sham caught on, and it's now done at swing dances worldwide.

Variations
There are several variations of "shim sham" choreography. There is the choreography used by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant, as well as a number of variations by Leonard Reed and others. Other "shim sham" choreographies include ones by Frankie Manning, Al Minns and Leon James (also called the "Savoy Shim Sham"), and Dean Collins. The Leonard Reed Shim Shams:

 * The original Shim Sham from 1927, a 32-bar chorus composed of four steps and a break
 * The Freeze Chorus, circa 1930s, the original Shim Sham without the breaks
 * The Joe Louis Shuffle Shim Sham, 1948, a tap-swing dance 32-bar chorus number that Leonard Reed performed with the World Heavyweight Boxing champ Joe Louis
 * The Shim Sham II, 1994, a 32-bar chorus dance based on the original Shim Sham
 * The Revenge of the Shim Sham, 2002, a 32-bar chorus dance, Leonard Reed’s final Shim Sham, which builds upon his original four (the name was suggested by Maxwell DeMille at a performance at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles).

The dance
The Shim Sham is 10 phrases of choreography (each phrase lasting four 8-counts), so it does not usually take up an entire song. After the Shim Sham was over, the dancers then would exit either stage left or right, depending on what was agreed upon for that show.

Today in the Lindy Hop scene, once the Shim Sham choreography is over, dancers typically grab a partner and break into lindy hop for the remainder of the song. During this portion of the song, the band or a DJ may call out "Freeze!" or "Slow!" instructing the dancers to either stop where they are or dance slowly, then call out "Dance!" to tell everyone to resume normal dancing. The Frankie Manning version repeats the basic choreography (replacing each of the break steps with an 8-beat hold), then adds two Boogie Back/Boogie Forward phrases and two Boogie Back/Shorty George phrases to the end of the second repetition of the basic choreography. Only after the final Shorty George is completed do the dancers break into freestyle Lindy Hop.

The music
The Shim Sham goes best with swing songs whose melody lines start on beat eight, as does the choreography. An obvious choice is The Shim Sham Song (Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra), which was written specifically for this dance and has musical effects (e.g., breaks) in all the right places. However, today the Shim Sham — particularly the Frankie Manning version — is danced more often to "'Tain't What You Do (It's The Way That Cha Do It)" by Jimmie Lunceford and His Orchestra, or "Tuxedo Junction" by Erskine Hawkins. In fact, it is typical now at a Lindy dance party for dancers to start up a Shim Sham whenever "'Tain't What You Do" is played. There is also a recording "Stompin' at the Savoy" with the George Gee band where Manning himself calls out the moves.

The steps
These are the steps of the original 32-bar Shim Sham:

title: Shim Sham


text:
Yo La Tengo

Yo La Tengo (Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew (bass, vocals). In 2015, original guitarist Dave Schramm rejoined the band and appeared on their fourteenth album, Stuff Like That There.

Despite achieving limited mainstream success, Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential critics' band" and maintains a strong cult following. Though they mostly play original material, the band performs a wide repertoire of cover songs both in live performance and on record.

Formation and early history, 1984–1985
Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley formed the band as a couple in 1984. They chose the name Yo La Tengo, Spanish for "I have it". The name came from a baseball anecdote from the 1962 season, when New York Mets center fielder Richie Ashburn and shortstop Elio Chacón found themselves colliding in the outfield. When Ashburn went for a catch, he would yell, "I got it! I got it!" only to run into Chacón, a Venezuelan who spoke only Spanish. Ashburn learned to yell, "Yo la tengo! Yo la tengo!" instead. In a later game, Ashburn happily saw Chacón backing off. He relaxed, positioned himself to catch the ball, and was instead run over by left fielder Frank Thomas, who understood no Spanish and had missed a team meeting that proposed using the words "Yo la tengo!" as a way to avoid outfield collisions. After getting up, Thomas asked Ashburn, "What the hell is a yellow tango?"

Kaplan and Hubley placed an advertisement to recruit other musicians who shared their love for bands such as the Soft Boys, Mission of Burma, and Arthur Lee's Love. The group's debut recording was a 7" single, "The River of Water", backed with a cover of Lee's "A House Is Not a Motel", released in late 1985 with Dave Schramm on lead guitar and Dave Rick on bass. After recording "Private Doberman" for the Coyote Records compilation Luxury Condos Coming to Your Neighborhood Soon, Rick left the band and was replaced by Mike Lewis, the founding bass player of Boston garage-punk bands DMZ and Lyres, who was also a member of Brooklyn garage rock band the A-Bones throughout his tenure in YLT.

Early releases, 1986–1989
In 1986, Yo La Tengo released their first LP, Ride the Tiger on Coyote Records. Produced by former Mission of Burma bassist Clint Conley who also took over bass duties on three songs, the album "marked Yo La Tengo as a band with real potential" according to reviewer Mark Deming. Kaplan was credited as "naive guitar" on the sleeve, and in the liner notes for the 1993 reissue of the album on City Slang Records, went so far as to say "Dave's guitar playing is inarguably the best thing about the record."

Schramm and Lewis left the band after the album's release, with Kaplan subsequently taking on the role of lead guitar and Stephan Wichnewski joining to play bass. The group's next album New Wave Hot Dogs (1987) sold poorly, but, per Deming, "was a quantum leap over the sound of their debut."

The release of President Yo La Tengo in 1989 did much to establish the band's reputation among rock critics; Robert Christgau praised the "mysterioso guitar hook" of the first song, "Barnaby, Hardly Working". Produced by Gene Holder of The dB's, the album was the band's last release on Coyote. Despite the album's positive reception, sales were still poor and Wichnewski left the band not long after. Hubley and Kaplan carried on as a duo and began playing two-electric-guitar shows.

Bar/None and Alias Records, 1990–1992
Yo La Tengo reunited with Dave Schramm in 1990 to record Fakebook, an album of mostly acoustic tunes, including covers of Cat Stevens, Gene Clark, the Kinks, Daniel Johnston, among others. It also featured five original songs, including an acoustic version of "Barnaby, Hardly Working". Again produced by Gene Holder, the album's folk sound was a change of pace for the band. Years later, Kaplan recalled that the album was "just me and Georgia looking for an excuse to record with Dave Schramm and Al Greller" who played guitar and double bass on the album, respectively.

In 1991, with Dave Schramm in tow, Yo La Tengo collaborated with Daniel Johnston on the song "Speeding Motorcycle" which was released as a single. The band also released a 7" single on Bar/None Records with the song "Walking Away from You" backed with a cover of Beat Happening's "Cast a Shadow." Gene Holder produced the single and played the bass. The That Is Yo La Tengo EP released later that year included some tracks that would end up on the group's next LP.

After the release of That Is Yo La Tengo, James McNew (who also records under the solo moniker Dump) began playing bass with the band, forming the trio that continues to make up the band today. According to McNew,I originally signed on as a fill-in for a short US tour, and a 4-week summer tour of Europe with Eleventh Dream Day. One night after a show in Munster, I was to look after our box of merchandise while Ira and Georgia went gallovanting [sic] through the town, meeting their policemen. Needless to say, during our soundcheck in Hamburg the next day, it suddenly dawned on me that I had left the box filled with copies of this EP back at the club in Munster. Oh man, was I in trouble... Sure... blame it on the rookie.

The band recorded May I Sing with Me in Boston with Holder producing and Lou Giordano engineering. The album was released on Alias Records in 1992. Three of the album's eleven songs ("Swing for Life", "Out the Window" and "Five-Cornered Drone") were carried over from the That Is Yo La Tengo EP and feature Holder on bass. The Upside-Down EP was released on CD in support of the album, rounding out the band's releases on Alias.

Early Matador period, 1993–2000
In 1993, Yo La Tengo began their partnership with Matador Records, releasing a 7" and CD5 of the song "Shaker" which the band recorded with John Siket in New Jersey. The following LP, 1993's Painful, was also the beginning of the band's fruitful creative partnership with producer Roger Moutenot, who has produced all of their subsequent albums up until 2013's Fade, which was produced by John McEntire. Painful is the first Yo La Tengo album to feature James McNew on every song. Ira Kaplan explains:I think this group really started when we made the record Painful. . . . Painful was the first record that we made as the three of us, and I think it sounds different from the things that came before it. Even though I can see connections with the earlier records and things we've done since, it really seems like mostly we've built on that record. Anything from before then is really, really different to me. Since Painful, I think we've gotten more confident and more willing to trust ourselves and trust each other, and probably better at dealing with things that go wrong.

Rob Sheffield, writing in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide remarked that McNew "became an essential part of the sound on Painful, the 1993 album that kept every promise Yo La Tengo ever made and blew their previous highlights away." Critical reaction was quite positive, with reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling it "a subtly addicting album." Robert Christgau also praised the group once again, writing in his review that Yo La Tengo is "always friendly. This is not the forbidding experimentation of an aspiring vanguard. This is the fooling around of folks who like to go out on Saturday night and make some noise—and then go home humming it." The band released Electr-O-Pura in 1995 to similar acclaim. For the first time, all songs were credited to the band as a whole rather than individual members; this became the norm for all future releases.

In 1996 the band had a role in the movie I Shot Andy Warhol as an anonymous version of the Velvet Underground, a Warhol-associated band to whom Yo La Tengo were often compared in their early years.

The band's 1997 LP I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One synthesized the group's eclectic combination of folk, punk rock, shoegazing, long instrumental noise-jams, and electronic music into a sprawling, multi-faceted style. Critical reaction was extremely positive; Pitchfork awarded the album a 9.7 out of 10, and AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that it was "arguably Yo La Tengo's finest and most coherent album to date." Kaplan recalled a turning point in the band's musical progression:I think after Electr–O-Pura we've had a direction of trying not to worry too hard about what the next album is going to sound like. Everything we've ever played on we just do whatever seems right at the moment, we just write a bunch of songs, and then go one baby step at the time and just do what seems right.

With their critical reputation higher than ever before, the band toured extensively and their fan base continued to grow. In 1998, they collaborated with Jad Fair and released the album Strange but True to mixed reviews. Yo La Tengo had a cameo role as a Salvation Army band in the 1998 Hal Hartley film The Book of Life, and feature on its 1999 soundtrack release. The band entered the studio again in late 1999 to record their ninth LP. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out was released in February 2000 to a warm reception. The album features some intimate songs with hushed, varied instrumentation and includes the 17-minute meditation "Night Falls On Hoboken".

Continued acclaim and soundtrack work, 2001–present
In 2001, Yo La Tengo recorded an instrumental score for eight short undersea documentaries by Jean Painlevé, entitled The Sounds of the Sounds of Science. The program debuted at the San Francisco Film Festival and has been performed live approximately twelve times. The band also released an EP with covers of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War" in late 2002.

The band's tenth LP, Summer Sun, was released in 2003. Although the album received generally favorable reviews, some critics found the album's quiet atmosphere "underwhelming." Others criticized the band for a perceived lack of invention. When asked about the album's quiet nature, Kaplan stated,We made a decision at the last second just to leave the loud songs off. We were looking at the material we recorded and just trying to put out the best record that we could. At a certain point, we just thought it seemed right to put out the quiet ones. I've been aware that there's been some surprise about that and people saying it's even quieter than the last record, which has sort of taken me by surprise.

Yo La Tengo collaborated with Yoko Ono on the 2003 charity album Wig in a Box: Songs from and Inspired by Hedwig and the Angry Inch in support of the Harvey Milk High School. The band put together their first "best of" compilation entitled Prisoners of Love: A Smattering of Scintillating Senescent Songs: 1985–2003 which was released in 2005. They composed scores for four more films, 2005's Junebug and Game 6, and 2006's Shortbus and Old Joy. Their scores for these four films were collected on the 2008 compilation They Shoot, We Score.

Their eleventh LP, I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass, was released in 2006 to universal acclaim. Informed by their soundtrack work, the arrangements included more strings and horns than any of the band's previous albums. Kaplan told an interviewer: "I think we gained an element of comfort with using that kind of instrumentation, and it became something we could draw on for our other songs." In addition, the album was book-ended with two guitar jams lasting over ten minutes each.

In 2006, the band released Yo La Tengo Is Murdering the Classics, a compilation of their live impromptu cover-song performances on the New Jersey freeform radio station, WFMU. As part of the station's annual fundraising marathon, listeners who called in to pledge money to the station could request a favorite which the band then performed on the spot. In late 2007, the band began performing acoustically for "The Freewheelin' Yo La Tengo" tour. Audiences were encouraged to request songs and ask questions which, Kaplan stated, the band tried to answer "in a strategic manner so that the answers to the questions will lead to the next song."

In March 2008, Yo La Tengo performed under the alias "Condo Fucks" at Brooklyn's Magnetic Field. As Condo Fucks, the band released an album of cover songs, Fuckbook, on Matador in March 2009.

Popular Songs, the band's 12th album, was released on September 8, 2009. The album was recorded in the band's rehearsal space in New Jersey and features two songs with elaborate string sections (composed by jazz composer Richard Evans). It entered the Billboard chart at No. 58, the highest entry of the band's career thus far.

In 2009, Yo La Tengo contributed to Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, a tribute album for New Zealand rock and roll musician Chris Knox who suffered a stroke in June 2009. Yo La Tengo covered Knox's song "Coloured". All proceeds from the album went towards Knox's recovery. Also in 2009, Yo La Tengo contributed a cover of the song "Gentle Hour" to the AIDS benefit album, Dark Was the Night, produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Preceding their album Popular Songs, Yo La Tengo released an EP titled Here to Fall Remixes in the summer of 2010. Remixes of their single “Here to Fall” were done by De La Soul, RJD2, and Pete Rock. This was Yo La Tengo's third out-of-the-box remix EP in 14 years, following the Autumn Sweater Remix and Danelectro Remix EPs.

In 2012 Yo La Tengo recorded a cover of Todd Rundgren's "I Saw the Light" for a fund raising CD titled Super Hits Of The Seventies for radio station WFMU. In August 2012 they announced the release of an EP in September 2012, to be followed by an album in January 2013. The EP includes three versions of the song "Stupid Things": the single version, a remix by EYƎ, and the original 12-minute instrumental version.

The following album, Fade, was released on January 15, 2013.

In 2014 they toured and performed live onstage as film maker Sam Green live narrated an evolving version of his new film The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller in Austin, Burlington, Detroit, Ithaca, Portland, New Orleans and Vancouver.

In 2014, they played an Indiana-based Night Ranger cover band Bobby Night Ranger in the final episode of season 6 of the television series Parks and Recreation.

On August 28, 2015, Yo La Tengo released Stuff Like That There, an album (and "a sequel of sorts to Fakebook") of re-recorded versions of some of their old songs as well as covers, including songs by The Cure, Hank Williams, and Sun Ra.

In 2016, the band released Murder in the Second Degree, a second compilation of their live impromptu cover-song performances on the New Jersey freeform radio station, WFMU.

In 2017, the band played two dates in New York City with Robyn Hitchcock. The performances included the Hitchcock album "Black Snake Diamond Role" in its entirety, as well as collections of classic Hitchcock songs and covers of other artists.

In 2018, Yo La Tengo released their 15th studio album, There's a Riot Going On, which Pitchfork decided 'reflects the group's greatest and most instantly recognizable strengths'.

In 2020, Yo La Tengo released We Have Amnesia Sometimes which was recorded over a 10-day period from late April to early May amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The album consists of five instrumental, ambient compositions which were recorded with one microphone in the room and the band spread out adhering to social distance protocols laid out by Governor Murphy of New Jersey.

On February 10, 2023, the band released their seventeenth studio album This Stupid World.

Members
Yo La Tengo have always had the core members Ira Kaplan and Georgia Hubley. They have had 14 bass players. James McNew has been the bass player since 1992's May I Sing With Me.

Current
 * Ira Kaplan – lead vocals and backing vocals, guitar, keyboard (1984–present)
 * Georgia Hubley – drums, lead and backing vocals, percussion, keyboard (1984–present)
 * James McNew – bass, guitar, percussion, keyboard, lead and backing vocals (1992–present)

Past
 * Dave Schramm – lead guitar (1985–1986, 2015)
 * Dave Rick – bass (1985)
 * Mike Lewis – bass (1985–1986)
 * Stephan Wichnewski – bass (1987–1989)

Discography
Studio albums
 * Ride the Tiger (1986)
 * New Wave Hot Dogs (1987)
 * President Yo La Tengo (1989)
 * Fakebook (1990)
 * May I Sing with Me (1992)
 * Painful (1993)
 * Electr-O-Pura (1995)
 * I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One (1997)
 * And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out (2000)
 * Summer Sun (2003)
 * I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass (2006)
 * Popular Songs (2009)
 * Fade (2013)
 * Stuff Like That There (2015)
 * There's a Riot Going On (2018)
 * We Have Amnesia Sometimes (2020)
 * This Stupid World (2023)

title: Yo La Tengo


text:
Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to receive the National Medal of Arts, which it was awarded in 2003. It also won a rare institutional Peabody Award in 2011 "for its more than three decades of presenting and preserving eclectic American musical genres". Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS under the Capital of Texas Public Telecommunications Council. The show was created in 1974 by Bill Arhos, Bruce Scafe, and Paul Bosner.

Beginning in season 15 (1990), Austin City Limits began broadcasting in Dolby Surround, and continued until season 24 (1999). From 1976 to 2004 (seasons 1-29), the show was broadcast in NTSC. From 2004 to 2007 (seasons 30-32), the show was broadcast in HDTV 720p. Beginning in season 33 (2007–2008), the show began broadcasting in widescreen 1080i.

Format
Each episode begins with a preview of the artist as read by executive producer Terry Lickona, which leads into an opening credit sequence. After the credits, Lickona would introduce the artist. The camera was usually positioned during the performance to permit various closeup shots. After the performance, there was an interview segment. After the interview segment, Lickona would introduce the next artist, and another interview segment, followed by the closing credits. The show consisted of two artists in a half-hour format, as well as one artist in a one hour format. Beginning in season 30 (2004–2005) and continuing to today, Lickona would ask the artist a question. Beginning in season 46, Lickona appeared on camera to introduce that night's performance, as well as the interview segments. The show was originally taped at KLRU's Studio 6A during the first 36 seasons (1976-2011). Beginning in season 37 (2011-2012), the show moved to its current home at the Moody Theater.

Songwriters Special
Beginning in season 5 (1980), Austin City Limits introduced its Songwriters Special, which remained in use until season 34 (2008-2009). The first Songwriters Special included performances by Willie Nelson, Floyd Tillman, Hank Cochran, Red Lane, Whitey Shafer, and Sonny Throckmorton.

Television pilot
The pilot was shot on October 17, 1974, and starred Willie Nelson. (B.W. Stevenson was actually taped the night before, but the recording was deemed unusable). The deliberate lack of production slickness plus attention to audio detail pleased even the notoriously TV-shy Nelson. Lead Marketer Ken Waggoner, and Austin City Limits creator Bill Arhos pitched the pilot to PBS as part of its 1975 pledge drive. The show's success as a fundraiser was enough for Arhos to get Austin City Limits green-lighted as a series.

Availability
The show inspired the creation of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, an annual live music festival at Zilker Park in Austin. In 1982, Bill Arhos returned to Austin City Limits as the executive producer starting in season 7, and he stayed until his retirement in season 24 (1999). In 2015, Arhos died at the age of 80. In 2014, he was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame. Some of the performances from Austin City Limits have been released as CDs and DVDs in the Live from Austin, TX series. Full episodes can also be viewed online at the show's official website. There is an Austin City Limits store at the Austin Bergstrom International Airport.

On June 21, 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, announced that nearly 40 years of Austin City Limits footage would be digitally archived "in perpetuity" at the Museum's new Library and Archives; recordings from more than 800 live performances will be made available to the public.

On September 9, 2018, Austin City Limits Radio was launched in Austin at 97.1 FM (utilizing a leased HD Radio subchannel of KGSR (93.3-HD2)), with an eclectic playlist representative of the television show's history.

Syndication
In 1981, Austin City Limits began syndicating to local stations under the moniker Austin City Limits Encore. MTV Live (formerly Palladia HD) acquired rerun rights to the series in 2016 under the moniker Best of Austin City Limits. From 2002 to 2003, CMT (formerly Country Music Television) repackaged several country music-themed episodes under the moniker Best of Austin City Limits. When Austin City Limits aired on CMT, episodes ran for 42 minutes to make room for commercials, and began with an introduction by Charlie Robison and Tara McNamara. From 1992 to 1993, TNN repackaged older Austin City Limits performers under the moniker Austin Encore. The program also aired on CMT Canada from 1998 to 2002.

Production
Joe Gracey was talent coordinator during season 1. Executive producer Terry Lickona joined the program in 1979 during season 4 as a producer. The first director of Austin City Limits was Bruce Scafe, who was the director for the show's first two seasons in 1976 and 1977; Charles Vaughn took over as producer-director in season 3 (1978); Clark Santee took over as director in season 4 (1979); Allan Muir took over as director in season 5 (1980), and he continued until season 7 (1982); Gary Menotti replaced Allan Muir as the show's current director starting in season 8 (1983).

Venues
For the first 36 seasons, Austin City Limits was taped at Studio 6A in the Communications Building B on the University of Texas at Austin campus, on a stage featuring a mock skyline of Austin in the background, which was introduced in season 7 (1982). The studio had a seating capacity of approximately 800, but due to limited access to fire exits the audience size was limited to 300. In 2010, the show and its original studio were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. A plaque near the entrance to Communications Building B commemorating the occasion proclaims Austin City Limits as the "longest running music show in the history of American television". On February 26, 2011, Austin City Limits held its first taping in its new purpose-built Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin's Block 21. The additional seating capacity of 2,750 is used for an estimated 100 concerts and 100 private events per year at the venue.

40th season
On December 2, 2014, in celebration of Austin City Limits' 40th season, a DVD titled Austin City Limits Celebrates 40 Years was released.

Hall of Fame
Established as part of the 40th anniversary of Austin City Limits in 2014.
 * Bill Arhos (2014)
 * Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble (2014)
 * Darrell Royal (2014)
 * Lloyd Maines (2014)
 * Willie Nelson (2014)
 * Asleep at the Wheel (2015)
 * Townes Van Zandt (2015)
 * Loretta Lynn (2015)
 * ACL Season One Crew (2015)
 * Guy Clark (2015)
 * Flaco Jiménez (2015)
 * Dickie Peterson (2016)
 * B. B. King (2016)
 * Bonnie Raitt (2016)
 * Kris Kristofferson (2016)
 * The Neville Brothers (2017)
 * Roy Orbison (2017)
 * Rosanne Cash (2017)
 * Marcia Ball (2018)
 * Ray Charles (2018)
 * Los Lobos (2018)
 * Lyle Lovett (2019)
 * Buddy Guy (2019)
 * Shawn Colvin (2019)
 * Alejandro Escovedo (2021)
 * Wilco (2021)
 * Lucinda Williams (2021)
 * Sheryl Crow (2022)
 * Joe Ely (2022)

Sets
For the first 36 seasons Austin City Limits was taped in Studio 6A with sets designed by Augie Kymmel and Robert Sertner. The sets included one which resembled a dark room, another featuring red and blue lights, a third with horse fences, as well as the most iconic set with the Austin skyline backdrop. The show moved to the Moody Theater in season 37 (2011–12).

Theme song
In season 1, a soundcheck was run by producer Paul Bosner. From 1977 to 2004 (seasons 2–29), Austin City Limits used Gary P. Nunn's "London Homesick Blues" as the show's theme song. From 1982 to 1998 (seasons 7–23), the opening theme music was performed by John Mills. From 2000 to 2004 (seasons 25–29), the opening theme music was arranged by Tequila Mockingbird. From 2004 to 2007 (seasons 30–32), the opening theme music was composed by Austin musician Charlie Sexton. From 2011 to 2014 (seasons 37–39), the opening theme music was "An Introduction", written and performed by Explosions in the Sky. The opening sequence was created by Jonathan Jackson. For season 40, "Travis County Line" by Austin native Gary Clark Jr. became the theme. In season 41, a new theme music was introduced. For seasons 43–44, "History of Women" by The Black Angels became the theme. For season 45, the opening theme music was "Hot Thoughts" by Spoon. For season 46, the opening theme music was "Colors" by Black Pumas.

title: Austin City Limits


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Rockin' Sidney

Sidney Simien (April 9, 1938 – February 25, 1998), known professionally as Rockin' Sidney, was an American R&B, zydeco, and soul musician who began recording in the late 1950s and continued performing until his death. He is best known for his 1985 single "My Toot-Toot", which reached top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and earned him a Grammy Award.

Biography
Sidney Simien was born on April 9, 1938, in Lebeau, Louisiana. He was born into a Creole French-speaking family and was a descendant of Antoine—of Marseille, France—and Marie Simien (who was a free woman of color and a plantation owner). Sidney himself was born in the tiny farming community of Lebeau, St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Sidney took up the guitar at an early age. He started his musical career at age 14 or 15 playing harmonica and guitar. His first gig was as backup for his uncle Frank Simien. By Sidney's late teens, he was leading his own band as Sidney Simien and His All Stars, which included several members of his family. In 1957, at the age of 18, he recorded his first side, "Make Me Understand," on the short-lived Carl label. "No Good Woman" became a small hit in Louisiana in 1962, while the flip side, "You Ain't Nothing But Fine" brought him his first national attention as a songwriter. The Fabulous Thunderbirds recorded the song on their debut album. After that, Sidney recorded "She's My Morning Coffee" / "Calling You" on the Jin label.

Although his real success came from zydeco, Sidney did not start out playing the accordion or Cajun music. Heavily influenced by local musicians such as Slim Harpo and Cookie and his Cupcakes, Sidney made R&B-styled recordings briefly on the Louisiana record label, Fame, during the late 1950s. He was often backed by George Lewis on harmonica and Katie Webster on piano. Floyd Soileau's Jin Records label released nine Rockin' Sidney singles between 1957–1964. Sidney also recorded on Rod Records. In 1963 his single "No Good Woman" on the Ville Platte label sold well in South Louisiana and East Texas and was well received by music critics, but just missed the national Top 100.

In 1965, he and his band The Dukes signed with Eddie Shuler's Louisiana-based Goldband Records. He took to wearing a turban and was known as "Count Rockin' Sidney". During this period he cut well over a dozen R&B, soul, and blues singles such as "Something Working Baby" and "Soul Christmas", without much success. Between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s, Sidney cut well over 50 singles for the Louisiana-based Goldband label, working in a variety of contemporary blues, soul and R&B modes; none proved successful.

Zydeco
In the late 1970s Sidney was performing solo organ gigs at Lake Charles hotels and lounges when he recognized zydeco's growing popularity. Floyd Soileau takes partial credit, saying "I suppose it was the mid-'70s when I suggested that he pick up the accordion and start doing zydeco which was then making a comeback." Sidney quickly added the instrument to his repertoire and made that traditional folk music of Louisiana his focus. Zydeco was long familiar to him, from his Creole heritage. His Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco parodies became one of his performance highlights. For Chenier, Sidney dressed up as the zydeco monarch, complete with a crown, cape and gold tooth. The Buckwheat bit was done with a ventriloquist dummy. His first zydeco album, Give Me a Good Time Woman was released in 1982 on the Maison de Soul label. "He already knew keyboards and that was half the battle," said Soileau. In the late 1970s, Sidney was recording for a new label, Bally Hoo, and started his own publishing company, Sid Sim Publishing. His zydeco talents were immediately recognized and he had another hit with "Louisiana Creole Man." He also signed a lease agreement with Floyd Soileau to distribute his recordings on Soileau's Maison de Soul Records label, giving Soileau's Flat Town Music Company a share of the profits. By the early 1980s, Sidney had recorded two successful albums for Maison de Soul, Give Me A Good Time Woman and Boogie, Blues 'N' Zydeco.

"My Toot Toot"
His big moment came in 1984 when "My Toot Toot" made him internationally known. Sidney wrote the song, and released it on the Maison de Soul Records label in Ville Platte, Louisiana. In October 1984, he included the tune on his third album, My Zydeco Shoes Got the Zydeco Blues. He recorded the entire album at his home studio in Lake Charles, and played all the instruments himself. In January 1985, "My Toot Toot" was released as a single in Louisiana and Texas, and became his first true regional hit. Thanks to Cleon Floyd, manager of R&B singer (and uncle to) King Floyd, it became a huge New Orleans hit. Floyd first heard the crowd's reaction to the song at a bill headlined by Solomon Burke. Cleon was also the president of the Orleans Street Jocks Association and took 20 copies of the record back to the city; he quickly had to order more. By Mardi Gras, it was a jukebox and record hop smash.

Huey Meaux got the original leased to Epic Records (a division of Columbia Records), who released it nationally, and for a brief moment Rockin' Sidney made musical history. Epic managed to get Rockin' Sidney into the country Top 40 where it stayed for 18 weeks. Later that year, "My Toot Toot" was certified platinum and won a Grammy Award. "My Toot Toot" became a national and international million-selling phenomenon.

Sidney was featured in People magazine, Rolling Stone, Billboard and Music City News and appeared on numerous national TV shows, including Nashville Now, Church Street Station, Hee Haw, Austin City Limits, John Fogerty's Showtime Special, New Country and Charlie Daniels Jam. He was also a guest celebrity on You Can Be a Star. "My Toot Toot" was played in the motion pictures Hard Luck, One Good Cop, and The Big Easy.

"My Toot Toot" has been covered by many artists including Fats Domino, Rosie Ledet, Jean Knight, Terrance Simien, Doug Kershaw, Denise LaSalle, Jimmy C. Newman and John Fogerty. A Spanish version by La Sonora Dinamita titled "Mi Cucu" sold over a million copies in Mexico, Central America, and South America. A German beer company licensed it to use in their radio and television commercials. The German cover version Mein Tuut Tuut by Leinemann reached no. 15 on the German charts in 1985. Over 20 years after "My Toot Toot" debuted, it continued to draw royalties from commercial use in Europe, and cover versions in several languages by dozens of musicians.

Later years
Sidney used royalties from "My Toot Toot" to purchase radio station KAOK in Lake Charles. He also bought Festival City, a 6 acre entertainment complex in Lake Charles, and started a record label, ZBC Records. After the success of "My Toot Toot," Sidney toured the United States and Europe and continued to record, characteristically playing all parts. Although nothing before or after ever matched the career-defining success of "My Toot Toot," several of his songs such as "If It's Good for the Gander," "My Zydeco Shoes," "Jalapeño Lena", and "Ann Cayenne" have become zydeco staples and are played regularly by other bands.

After a long bout with throat cancer, Rockin' Sidney Simien succumbed to the disease in 1998, leaving his legacy to his wife, three sons, and four grandchildren. He was funeralized at his hometown church, Immaculate Conception in Lebeau, and buried in the church cemetery.

title: Rockin' Sidney