Happy Twosday everyone! How are you?
ABBA and Roxette were two bands from Sweden that were popular in the 1970s and the 1980s. ABBA was one of the first bands to popularize Swenglish.
Swenglish is a colloquial term meaning either:
English spoken with a heavy Swedish accent or heavily influenced by Swedish vocabulary, grammar, or syntax.
Swedish with many English words.
ABBA became very popular after they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974.
They had many hits. These included "Dancing Queen", "SOS", "Mamma Mia", and "Waterloo". Most of their songs were written by Ulvaeus and Andersson.
They broke up in 1982, but their music is still popular. It has appeared in movies (including the Australian films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding) and the musical Mamma Mia!.
tidbit: ABBA donned traditional 18th Century costumes when they first performed this song for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden the night before he was married to Silvia Sommerlath on 18/06/1976.
Roxette formed in 1986.
The band has 2 members, Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson. Their song "It Must Have Been Love" was one of the most sold singles in EMI's catalogue. It was released first as a Christmas song in 1987 and then as an "ordinary song" in 1990. In 1991, Roxette release the very popular album Joyride. For this album, they on tour worldwide, playing 107 concerts. "Listen To Your Heart", is another popular song by, Roxette.
Roxette is still recording and touring.
Their latest single is "She's Got Nothing On (but the Radio)"
In the News
Japan quake strains supply chain from chips to ships
(Reuters) - Automakers, shipbuilders and technology companies worldwide scrambled for supplies after the disaster in Japan shut down factories there and disrupted the global manufacturing chain.
Libyan rebels sit at a checkpoint outside the city of Ajdabiyah, March 13, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Finbarr O'Reilly
France pushing for swift G8 agreement on Libya
France pressured G8 foreign ministers on Monday to agree action on Libya and back its efforts to speed up a U.N. Security Council decision on imposing a no-fly zone in Libya sought by anti-Gaddafi rebels.
Science News
(Credit: Reuters)
Will the Fukushima Disaster Spell the End for a U.S. Nuclear Revival?
The full impact of the nuclear emergency in Japan will depend on how bad it gets
Signs, signs, everywhere signs: Seeing God in tsunamis and everyday events
It’s only a matter of time—in fact, they’ve already started cropping up—before reality-challenged individuals begin pontificating about what God could have possibly been so hot-and-bothered about to trigger last week’s devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. (Surely, if we were to ask Westboro Baptist Church members, it must have something to do with the gays.) But from a psychological perspective, what type of mind does it take to see unexpected natural events such as the horrifying scenes still unfolding in Japan as "signs" or "omens" related to human behaviors?
Health News
A Little Help from Their Friends
As more Americans sign up for health care, they'll be more likely to see nurses and physician assistants instead of doctors. That's a good thing.
Antioxidants in Pregnancy Prevent Obesity in Animal Offspring
New biological research may be relevant to the effects of a mother's high-fat diet during pregnancy on the development of obesity in her children.
Animal Lovers
New products, dog and cat performers at pet expo in Chicago
The 2011 Chicagoland Family Pet Expo, this weekend at Arlington Park Racecourse, is a treasure trove of pet items, many recently introduced.
On hand will be 300 exhibitors of products and services. Some of the items featured will be: cool collars and leashes, leashes with lights for night dog walking, jewelry and clothing for cats and dogs, pet beds, security-related items, pet food, treats and toys. There also will information on boarding and veterinarian services.
Entertainment will include the Amazing Acro-Cats, which will perform acrobatics such as tightrope walking, riding a skateboard, jumping through hoops and climbing ropes.
Call of the Whales Leads to a Retreat’s Discovery
By studying whale calls, scientists have discovered that thousands of humpbacks may be wintering and breeding in the remote northwestern Hawaiian islands
On this day in History
1776 – South Carolina becomes the first American colony to declare its independence from England and set up its own government.
1783 – In an emotional speech in Newburgh, New York, George Washington asks his officers not to support the Newburgh Conspiracy. The plea is successful and the threatened coup d'état never takes place.
1906 – Rolls-Royce Limited is incorporated.
1985 – The first Internet domain name is registered (symbolics.com).
Happy Birthday
Eva Jacqueline Longoria (born March 15, 1975)[3] is an American actress, best known for portraying Gabrielle Solis on the ABC television series Desperate Housewives.
William James Adams Jr., (born March 15, 1975), better known by his stage name Will.i.am (will-i-am) and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and [[music producer|producer].
Fabio Lanzoni (pronounced ˈfɑːbioʊ lænˈsoʊni; Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo lanˈtsoːni]; born March 15, 1959),[1][2] widely known simply as Fabio, is an Italian male fashion model and actor who appeared on the cover of hundreds of romance novels throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, March 15, 1943, Denton, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s.
Quote of the day
(Virginia Woolf’s writing table at Monk’s House, Sussex, England, 1967. Photo by Gisele Freund.)
"Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money."
— Virginia Woolf