You buy that first CD, and pretty soon, there are stacks all over the house (Photo by Joe Mad) Yesterday, to honor the 27th anniversary of the debut of the compact disc, we noted the history of the medium and some of our musical tastes. The celebration continues today with some more fun facts about the venerable CD: * The name "compact disc" was chosen because it was felt it would remind people of the success of the compact cassette. * The first artists to sell a million copies on CD were Dire Straits, with their 1985 album, "Brothers in Arms" * To date, the biggest-selling CD is The Beatles' "1," released in November 2000, with worldwide sales of 30 million discs and counting. And now that we've whetted your appetite, let's keep on browsing the discotheques of our fellow Yahoos: Cliff: "Now That's What I Call Music 1" (an anthology of pop songs). Mitzi: The first album I ever bought (that’s right, vinyl) was "Sweet Baby James" by James Taylor, followed by "Ummagumma" by Pink Floyd, and "Led Zeppelin III." Huw: I’m proud to say that the first record I bought with my own money was the theme tune from "The A-Team." If only I’d known about Mr. T’s rap album! Gaylon: My first CD purchase consisted of The Cult's "Electric " (because Ian Astbury ruled), the soundtrack to "The Lost Boys" (mostly for Echo & The Bunnymen's "People Are Strange"), and The Cure's "Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me" (partly for "Fight," but mostly because I was 18). Adam: Can't remember the first CD ... or record. Maybe "Dead Man's Party" by Oingo Boingo? Brian: "Pump”. I still think Aerosmith rules, as my musical tastes haven’t changed since I was a kid. Katherine: My first cassette tape purchase (which is more interesting than my first CD purchase of a classical piano CD): Paula Abdul’s "Forever Your Girl." 1993. Sixth grade. Dave S.: I'm not sure what my first CD was (I think it was a compilation of dance bands from the 1930s). Bur I do remember what the first "adult" record I bought was. In 1964, my sister made me ride my bike to the big department store in town so I could pick up the soundtrack to "A Hard Day’s Night" by the Beatles. I was only 8, but I felt oh so grown up. Adrianna: The first CD I purchased was "Jagged Little Pill" by Alanis Morissette in 1997. No offense, Taylor Swift and Beyonce, but I miss gritty girl rock. Ali: I grew up with a wall of classical music in the house, so when I first heard Tubeway Army, the weird synthesizers and Gary Numan’s even weirder voice was beyond anything I’d ever encountered. It took a while to get my hands on a copy, but “Replicas” was my first album. Probably not standard issue for eight year olds ... Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: The CD - detailed history of the compact disc. 27 Years -- and Counting - the technical details behind the invention of the CD How CDs work - the behind-the-scenes of the CD manufacturing.

Directory categories: CDs, Records, and Tapes, Vinyl Records, Music, The Beatles, Music History

Archived under: 1980s, Artists, In Character, Music, Music History, Musicians, Rock and Roll, Songs, The Beatles

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Oooohhhh, shiny! (Photo by *** Fanch The System !!! ***) Remember those good old vinyl records, cracking away on your phonograph? Probably not, since on October 1st, 1982, the shiny optical compact disc (or CD) made its debut, and those "stacks of wax" have hardly been seen since. The CD was developed by the Sony Corporation and Philips, and the first test disc -- a recording of Richard Strauss's "Eine Alpensinfonie," played by the Berlin Philharmonic and conducted by Herbert von Karajan -- was pressed in Germany in 1981. (Fun fact: The reason CDs last about 70 minutes? That's the length of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the favorite classical piece of Sony chairman Akio Morita.) The first album ever released commercially was Billy Joel's "52nd Street," which hit the stores in Japan. Other markets, including the U.S., had to wait until March of 1983 to buy their first CDs. Some of our fellows Yahoos were born with the CD, while others get nostalgic over the first vinyl record or cassette they bought. Let's browse through our "discoYahootheque:" Sarah: Alanis Morrissette’s "Jagged Little Pill”." I was one angry and bitter 12 year old. Laura B.: The first CD I ever bought was U2’s "Achtung Baby." Even now, I'm impressed by that teenage decision -- apparently I was wise beyond my years. "Achtung" is still one of my favorite records of all time. It has absolutely everything a classic record should have: heart-wrenching ballads ("One"), pained breakup missives ("So Cruel"), and poppy crowd-pleasers ("Mysterious Ways"). Helene K.: I think the first record I bought was "We Are the World" ... I remember that my mom gave me the money only because it was for a good cause. Jessica J.: My first-ever CD: "Ace of Base." Don’t ask. Dave T.: Okay, I'm old enough to remember a time when CDs did not exist. So the first record I ever bought was Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven on Earth." I felt a bit of a traitor to Kylie, my stated teen idol, but my birthday money only went so far ... Mike M.: The first cassette tape I ever bought was Huey Lewis and the News's "Sports." My first vinyl LP was "The World Class Wreckin Cru" (featuring a much younger and skinnier Dr. Dre), and I think the first CD I ever bought was LL Cool J’s "Mama Said Knock You Out" in 1990 (I was a big fan of vinyl, so it took me a while to give into buying CDs). Terri C.: Don’t remember the first CD I bought, but I remember the first cassette I ever bought (and am now embarrassed to admit) -- it was Madonna's debut album Cathleen: The first CD I bought was Kris Kross’s "Totally Krossed Out." Okay, I didn't actually buy it myself, I received it as a birthday present along with my first CD player/boom box. But I still enjoyed listening to "Jump" on repeat without having to rewind. More musical memories tomorrow ... Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: The CD - detailed history of the compact disc. 27 Years of CDs -- and Counting - the technical details behind the invention of the CD. How CDs work - the behind-the-scenes of CD manufacture.

Directory categories: CDs, Records, and Tapes, Vinyl, Music, Billy Joel, Rock and Pop Music

Archived under: 1980s, Artists, Classical Music, In Character, Music, Music History, Musicians, Rap and Hip-Hop, Rock and Roll, Songs

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The King holding court at the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con (Photo by Alan Light) How did a kid from the Lower East Side of New York grew up to become the "King of Comics," and have an immeasurable impact on the world’s popular culture? That’s the story of Jacob Kurtzberg, better known as Jack Kirby, who was born on August 28, 1917. As a child, Kirby was likelier to get into fistfights than study art, but he was captivated by such masters of the comic strip as Alex Raymond ("Flash Gordon"), Hal Foster ("Prince Valiant"), and Milton Caniff ("Terry and the Pirates"). He enrolled at the Pratt Art Institute, but soon left because they wanted him to linger over his work, and he wanted to "get things done." His imagination was so full and his creativity so profound that he rarely lingered over anything, turning out dozens of pages of brilliant comic art every week. From Pratt, he went to the Fleischer animation studios (working on their "Popeye" cartoons), but left because of the "production line" way the movies were turned out). He then tried creating a number of comic strips (under an equal number of pseudonyms: Curt Davis, Fred Sande, Jack Curtiss, Ted Grey, and even just "Teddy"). While his work was good, nothing stuck until he met fellow writer and artist Joe Simon. With Simon, he created the character Captain America for Timely Comics (the precursor of today's Marvel Comics), and the rest was history. Simon and Kirby became one of the top teams in comics history, but when they suspected they were being underpaid, they moved to DC Comics, revitalizing such characters as Manhunter and The Sandman, and creating The Guardian and The Boy Commandos. After World War II, the duo went back to work, creating the classic "Boys’ Ranch," the tongue-in-cheek "Fighting American," any number of crime comics, and even found time to invent the romance comic genre. But good things can last only so long, and the partnership split up. Kirby went back to DC, where he created "The Challengers of the Unknown." But after another legal battle, he returned to Marvel, where he began an unparalleled run that saw him co-create scores of characters, including The Fantastic Four, The Hulk, The X-Men, The Avengers, Thor, The Silver Surfer, Dr. Doom, and The Black Panther, mainstream comics' first black superhero. His muscular and dynamic style was credited by the New York Times as creating "a new grammar of storytelling and a cinematic style of motion ... Even at rest, a Kirby character pulsed with tension and energy in a way that makes movie versions of the same characters seem static by comparison." But the comics business being what it is, and Kirby being Kirby, following a dust-up over creator's rights and original art, he again went back to DC, creating the "Fourth World," a series of characters (The Demon, Mister Miracle, The New Gods, and Darkseid, DC's ultimate supervillain) and storylines that were nothing less than cosmic in scope. After only four years, though, he was back at Marvel yet again, leaving only three years later to work in animation (becoming an inadvertent footnote in the Iran Hostage Crisis of the 1980s). But ink was always in Kirby's blood, and after another brief stint at DC, he went to smaller publishers that allowed him not only full creative freedom, but also the ownership of his characters -- something he'd always craved. He died in 1994, never having lost any of his talent or creativity. It's hard today to find a comics artist -- or even a film director -- who has not been influenced in some way by Kirby's dramatic and dynamic style. He set the standard, and even 15 years after his death, he is still "the King." Suggested Sites... Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center - promoting and encouraging the study, understanding, preservation, and appreciation of the work of Jack Kirby. Jack Kirby - really nice analysis of Kirby's style and influence. Marvel Comics Database: Jack Kirby - detailed biography, with links to massive galleries of Kirby covers, characters, and interior art. Grand Comics Database: Jack Kirby - 60 years of comics, catalogued and categorized. Wikipedia: Jack Kirby - extensive biography of the King.

Directory categories: Jack Kirby, Comic Book Artists, Comic Books, Marvel Comics, DC Comics

Archived under: 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, Animation, Artists, Arts, Biographies, Birthdays, Captain America, Cartoonists, Celebrities, Comic Books, Comic Strips, Comics, Entertainment, History, Men, Popeye, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Villains, Writers

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"Anybody see the Mona Lisa? She was hanging there just a minute ago" How is it that the most famous painting in the world could simply vanish, its disappearance not noted for 24 hours, and then not be found until nearly two years later? As with most mysteries, the disappearance of the "Mona Lisa" is certainly stranger than fiction. It was August 21, 1911, when the painting's absence was first noted by Louvre staff. The museum was shut down for a week so that the entire 49-acre facility could be searched. All employees and administrators were ruthlessly questioned by Paris police and many staffers were fired. France's borders were closed and all international shipments were subject to search and seizure. In short, it was the "Crime of the Century" (and offered a convenient distraction from the international conflicts that would evenutally lead to World War I). When the "Mona Lisa's" disappearance became public, everyone had a theory as to the identity of the perpetrators. Could it be an obsessive American art collector? An angry anti-establishment poet? A foreign conman and art forger? Or maybe it was the world’s foremost artist, Pablo Picasso. Picasso was actually questioned by police after being implicated by his friend and fellow suspect Guillaume Apollinaire, but both were eventually exonerated. For hunt continued for two years, but the trail went cold. In late 1913, however, Italian authorities arrested a former Louvre employee named Vincenzo Peruggia. Peruggia had been turned in by two local art experts (one the director of the Uffizi Gallery) after he attempted to sell the "Mona Lisa" in Florence. Peruggia's motive was political: he was angered by the plunder of Italian artwork more than a century before during the Napoleonic Wars and was attempting to restore the painting to its rightful homeland. Peruggia was convicted by an Italian court, but served minimal time and eventually returned to Paris. Embarrassed by the publicity surrounding the painting's theft and rediscovery, French art authorities allowed the "Mona Lisa" to tour Italy before she was returned to the Louvre, where she remains to this day. Even today, the "Mona Lisa" continues to evoke strong emotions. In 1956, two separate vandals attempted to damage the painting by throwing acid and a rock at it. Several years later, the painting was encased in bulletproof glass, which helped protect Mona in 1974, when another vandal tried to spray her with red paint. And just last week, a woman gained publicity (and probably jail time) by hurling a ceramic mug at poor Mona. Meanwhile, the success of the book and film "The DaVinci Code" (as well as other books) has renewed interest in that enigmatic smile (not to mention other features) for whole new generations. The true story of the theft of the "Mona Lisa" may not be as exciting as something out of "The DaVinci Code," but it is certainly has its own elements that would make any mystery fan proud: scandal, celebrity, politics, and some good old-fashioned detective work. Suggested Sites... Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of the Mona Lisa - a new book by R.A. Scotti that explores the painting's disappearance and its widespread appeal. The Crimes of Paris - also new in literature. Dorothy and Thomas Hoober's fictional account of the theft of the "Mona Lisa," focusing on the efforts of a French detective to find it. The Louvre - official site for Mona Lisa's home. Virtual Tour of Le Louvre - take a walk around the home of the world's artistic and historical treasures.

Directory categories: Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, Le Louvre, Stolen Art, French History

Archived under: 1910s, Anniversaries, Art Museums, Artists, Arts, Crime, Criminals, Da Vinci Code, Detectives, Disappearances, Europe, European History, France, History, Images, Italy, Louvre, Museums, Mysteries, Secrets, Tourist Attractions, Women

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Sugar cube dissolving into a glass of absinthe (Photo by spark_editor) Many of us have experienced absinthe and its rituals only vicariously through art, movies, and literature. The infamous anise-flavored liquor is named for its key ingredient: Artemesia absinthium, better known as wormwood. Wormwood is supposed to cause the notorious hallucinations much beloved of 19th century artists, writers, and philosophers. And wormwood is the reason why the liquor is still banned in some countries, including the U.S. Wormwood has been used medicinally for millennia, and it contains thujone, which is poisonous in large doses. Thujone levels in absinthe were probably completely harmless (unlike the 80% alcohol levels in some recipes), but it was a handy scapegoat for a prohibition-hungry society and a wine industry with a grudge. Their smear campaign essentially killed the absinthe business for a century, but a revival in interest (and the removal of European bans) led to a second boom in the 1990s and 2000s. Today, Europe produces both traditional absinthe and Czech-style "absinth," which contains wormwood but not the anise flavor. Meanwhile, Americans are stuck with varieties containing wormwood relatives or true wormwood without the thujone, though some more determined enthusiasts have been known to take such drastic steps as homebrewing or international travel in their quest to meet the "green fairy." Suggested Sites... Absinthe Buyers Guide - barrels of information on types of absinthe, its history, how to drink it, and where to get it. Erowid Absinthe Vault - lots of technical information on the effects of wormwood and thujone. La Fée Verte - surprisingly detailed reviews and information from avid absinthe drinkers. The Wormwood Society - these absinthe enthusiasts argue that it's not all about the thujone. Mansinthe - signature brand of absinthe from (who else?) Marilyn Manson.

Directory categories: Absinthe, Absinthe Makers and Retailers, Alcohol and Spirits, Prohibition, Bars, Puvs, and Clubs

Archived under: Absinthe, Alcohol, Artists, Drinking, Drugs, Europe, Fairies, Food and Drink, France, Health, Homebrewing, Mythology and Folklore, Prohibition, Society and Culture

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