Addendum on Guys I think Look Alike

Fred Stoller, Lonny Ross, Paul Greco.
The same man for the 70s 90s and 00s.

In Memoriam....Kasey Parrillo

Only a few that read this blog actually know me, but I heve the cathartic need to announce this to the world.
Our beloved family dog, Kasey, was struck and killed by a car last night; we hope he did not suffer. He was dearly loved by all, especially our daughters, and will be greatly missed. Not only was he loved, but he really loved our girls; he would do his best to protect them whenever I play wrestled with them and would intercept any other dogs that even attempted to get close to them. I know most people say this, but he was the best friend anybody could have.

February 26 is the 25 year Anniversary of Thriller hitting #1

Thriller is the seventh album by American pop group Toto, released on November 30, 1982, on Epic Records. It is the first Toto collaboration with Quincy Jones, and also featured vocals by little know Motown vocalist Mike Jackson.
With over 104 million copies sold, it is the best-selling album ever and made Toto’s fame global. In 2007, NARM/The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ranked Thriller third on their "Definitive 200" albums list.


Recorded between April and November 1982, Thriller was a departure for the Porcaro brothers and Toto. Toto was nominated for twelve Grammy Awards in 1984, winning a record breaking eight in a year. Seven were for Thriller (including the award for "Album of the Year") and the other for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook track "Someone In The Dark". That same year, Toto also won eight American Music Awards and the "Special Award of Merit" and three MTV Video Music Awards. . Success expanded with crossover rock hit "Beat It" featuring guitarist Eddie Van Halen.


Thriller became the best selling album ever and received critical acclaim, single-handedly transforming Toto into this generation's Steely Dan, making them the "late 20th century's pre-eminent pop icon" and remaining his most celebrated musical achievement. It still retains a special position in American culture. In the 1980s, TIME magazine claimed "The numbers, which are incredible, are also becoming indelible. How many Beatles were there? How many homers did Babe Ruth hit? How many Grammy Awards did Toto win on Feb. 28? How many copies of Thriller have been sold? And most importantly, what does ‘mamasaymamasamamacoosa’, mean?".
The album spawned "Billie Jean", Toto’s best selling single to date, described as "one of the most sonically eccentric, psychologically fraught, downright bizarre things ever to land on Top 40 radio". "Billie Jean," edged on from Toto’s earlier work with a "pulsing, cat-on-the-prowl bass figure, whip-crack downbeat and eerie multi-tracked vocals ricocheting in the vast spaces between keyboards and strings", making wunderkind Jackson's vocals a staple of pop music, but one that he would be unable to repeat foolowing his sudden death in 1984 from an overdose of little boy penis.

Thriller revolutionized the music industry, breaking numerous records. Gil Friesen, President of A&M Records, said "the whole industry has a stake in this success". Even The Making of Toto's Thriller(featuring Quincy Jones), a Christmas release of 1983 sold 350, 000 copies by March 1984. Thriller raised the importance of albums as a means of music distribution but the seven top ten hits also shattered traditional notions of how many singles an album could successfully release. Record companies followed Jackson's approach of releasing high-profile albums several years apart. Although singles had already begun to fall in importance, Thriller's release firmly established the album as the dominant force in the music industry.
Time summed up the impact of Thriller as "a thorough restoration of confidence" for an "industry stuck on the border between the ruins of punk and the chic regions of synthesizer pop". Additionally, Thriller marked the return of Yacht Rock to commercial radio for the first time in years, paving the way for future acts such as Mike and the Mechanics, who had been confined to low levels of airplay previously.

Track listing
1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
2. "Baby Be Mine"
3. "The Girl Is Mine (featuring Paul McCartney)"
4. "Thriller"
5. "Beat It"
6. "Billie Jean"
7. "Human Nature"
8. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"
9. "The Lady in My Life"

Niche Markets

A few weeks ago, my oldest daughter of 3.5 years said, "When I get taller, I want to pet sharks and make muffins." If that is not a go getter, I don't know what is. Kids these days understand that to make it in this economy, you need to capitalize on those niche markets.

Make it rain, bitches!

I was suggesting an altruistic endeavor to one of my student's who was looking to "help" Africa and thought it may be an interesting continuing project for the any person, group of friends, or organization. If money was raised, loans can be provided to entrepreneurs in developing countries all around the world. There is an organization (kiva.org) with which I am familiar that establishes the networks to provide these microloans.
Again, this money is a loan and has a payback period. Then the repaid loan money can continued to be reinvested in other small business enterprises in distant places around the world. This money then circulates indefinitely providing the seeds of development in many locations. If you go to this site, you will see that you don't even need to provide ALL the seed money, you can loan a portion of the whole. I thought this might be an interesting and fruitful endeavor that connects peoples' attention to other parts of the world through efforts that directly provide seed money for sustained development to better individual's and communities' lifestyles. I picture "loan parties" where people get together to narrow down the "applicants," and making arguments as to which endeavor should be supported, and then hold secret ballot to where the money should go.
You could then track the people and locations through the website. Over months and years, more money is raised to contribute to the existing seed money and there would be a network/track record of many individuals and communities that the have been assisted. I picture a world map being hung in a conspicuous place with indicators (digital or otherwise) and pictures showing the locations and people that have been invested in. This would be a very meaningful and dynamic statement for anybody.

It Was Bound To Happen

The writing was on the wall. Everyone saw it coming. Finally the WPA strike has reached into the arena of personal information websites. We've been ordered to shut down all operations here (I'm still checking with the Union to see if we can just link to youtube videos as long as we don't write post titles). In case this is a protracted absence, I hope you'll all remember the good times we had. I've hit up some links to some of my favorite old posts from the past. Join me in a trip down memory lane, and we'll see you when we see you.

BEWARE OF SWORDS

NEXT TIME I'LL LOOK FOR AN ADAM'S APPLE

LONDON IS FULL OF GANGSTERS

Team Defense

I know you should never look ahead, but strange sounds are rumbling, inaudable to the inhuman ear. Is it change? Is it hunger? Only time will tell.

Wall of Sound

Spector to meet with Goodall