The Madcap Laughs

The Madcap Laughs is the debut solo album by the English singer-songwriter Syd Barrett. It was recorded after Barrett had left Pink Floyd in April 1968. The album had a chequered recording history, with work beginning in mid-1968, but the bulk of the sessions taking place between April and July 1969, for which five different producers were credited − including Barrett, Peter Jenner (1968 sessions), Malcolm Jones (early-to-mid-1969 sessions), and fellow Pink Floyd members David Gilmour and Roger Waters (mid-1969 sessions). Among the guest musicians are Willie Wilson from (Gilmour's old band) Jokers Wild and Robert Wyatt of the band Soft Machine.

The Madcap Laughs, released in January 1970 on Harvest in the UK, and on Capitol Records in the US, enjoyed minimal commercial success on release, reaching number 40 on the UK's official albums chart, while failing to hit the US charts. It was re-released in 1974 as part of Syd Barrett (which contained The Madcap Laughs and Barrett). The album was remastered and reissued in 1993, along with Barrett's other albums, Barrett (1970) and Opel (1988), independently and as part of the Crazy Diamond box set. A newly remastered version was released in 2010.

Feel (Feel album)

Feel is first album released by a Polish pop rock band Feel. The album has earned Diamond certification in Poland.

Track listing

References

Feel (Kumi Koda song)

"Feel" (stylized as feel) is a smooth R&B song by Japanese singer and songwriter Kumi Koda. For the song, she worked closely with composer Hitoshi Shimono, who had composed the instrumental. The single is Kumi's sixth single in her 12 Singles Collection and charted at #1 on Oricon with 39,110 copies sold within the first week. As with some of the other singles released in the collection, feel was limited to 50,000 copies.

The song also became Koda Kumi's second song to have a chorus completely in English (first being 24, which was also written and composed by Hitoshi Shimono).

The music video for the single tied into the four others in the storyline: Candy feat. Mr. Blistah, you, Lies and Someday/Boys♥Girls.

The love interest in the music video was played by Shugo Oshinari. Shugo Oshinari is best known for his portrayals of Teru Mikami in the Death Note TV series and Takuma Aoi in Battle Royale II: Requiem.

Cover

As with the other 11 singles in this collection, this single cover represents a stylized version of a traditional dress from a culture; this time it draws its inspiration from Spain and the costume of matadors.

Peanut

Peanut, also known as groundnut (Arachis hypogaea), is a crop of global importance. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, being important to both smallholder and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume, and, because of its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production is about 46 million tonnes per year. Very unusual among crop plants, peanut pods develop under the ground.

As a legume, peanut belongs to the botanical family Fabaceae (also known as Leguminosae, and commonly known as the bean or pea family). Like most other legumes, peanuts harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. This capacity to fix nitrogen means peanuts require less nitrogen-containing fertilizer and improve soil fertility, making them valuable in crop rotations.

Peanuts are similar in taste and nutritional profile to tree nuts such as walnuts and almonds, and are often served in similar ways in Western cuisines. The botanical definition of a "nut" is a fruit whose ovary wall becomes very hard at maturity. Using this criterion, the peanut is not a nut, but rather a legume. However, for culinary purposes and in common English language usage, peanuts are usually referred to as nuts.

Pinochle

Pinochle (English pronunciation: /ˈpiːnʌkəl/) or binocle (sometimes pinocle, or penuchle) is a trick-taking card game typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by forming combinations of cards into melds. It is thus considered part of a "trick-and-meld" category which also includes a cousin, belote. Each hand is played in three phases: bidding, melds, and tricks. The standard game today is called "partnership auction pinochle."

History

Pinochle derives from the game bezique. The French word binocle also meant "eyeglasses". The word is also possibly derived from the French word, binage, for the combination of cards called "binocle". This latter pronunciation of the game was adopted by German speakers. German immigrants brought the game to America, where it was later mispronounced and misspelled "pinochle."

Auction pinochle for three players has some similarities with the German game skat, although the bidding is more similar to that of bid whist.

Jeff Dunham

Jeffrey "Jeff" Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, producer, and stand-up comedian who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including Late Show with David Letterman, Comedy Central Presents, The Tonight Show and Sonny With a Chance. He has six specials that run on Comedy Central: Jeff Dunham: Arguing with Myself, Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity, Jeff Dunham's Very Special Christmas Special, Jeff Dunham: Controlled Chaos, Jeff Dunham: Minding the Monsters, and Jeff Dunham: All Over the Map. Dunham also starred in The Jeff Dunham Show, a series on the network in 2009.

His style has been described as "a dressed-down, more digestible version of Don Rickles with multiple personality disorder". Describing his characters, Time magazine said, "All of them are politically incorrect, gratuitously insulting and ill tempered." Dunham has been credited with reviving ventriloquism, and doing more to promote the art form than anyone since Edgar Bergen.

Dunham has been called "America's favorite comedian" by Slate.com, and according to the concert industry publication Pollstar, he is the top-grossing standup act in North America, and is among the most successful acts in Europe as well. As of November 2009, he has sold over four million DVDs, an additional $7 million in merchandise sales, and received more than 350 million hits on YouTube as of October 2009 (his introduction of Achmed the Dead Terrorist in Spark of Insanity was ranked as the ninth most watched YouTube video at the time).A Very Special Christmas Special was the most-watched telecast in Comedy Central history, with its DVD selling over 400,000 in its first two weeks.Forbes.com ranked Dunham as the third highest-paid comedian in the United States behind Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock, and reported that he was one of the highest-earning comics from June 2008 to June 2009, earning approximately $30 million during that period. Dunham also does occasional acting roles.

Great (1975 film)

Great is a 28-minute animated film released in 1975, telling a humorous version of the life of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. It was directed by Bob Godfrey, produced by Grantstern Films and distributed by British Lion.

Great won the Academy Award for Animated Short Film at the 48th Academy Awards in March 1976.Great was the first British animated film to win an Academy Award, and also won the BAFTA award for Best Animated Film in 1976.

Background

The film recounts the life and works of the 19th century British civil engineer and architect Isambard Kingdom Brunel in a way that is affectionate while often tongue-in-cheek. The narrator, voiced by Harry Fowler, explains the triumphs and setbacks of Brunel's career, comparing him to Archimedes, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Richard Briers provides the voice of Brunel. There are numerous songs in the film, including "Get a big top hat if you want to get ahead". Great is primarily an animated film, although it is mixed media, combining some live action sequences with the animation.