~★~♥~♥~★~ El Morno! ♥~★~★~♥ ~
April 11, 2012

★~ Today’s Quote: “It’s spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” –  Mark Twain

★~ Barbershop Quartet Day:

On April 11, 1938, the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma, marking the official celebration of Barbershop Quartet Day. The image of four men wearing straw hats singing together with complex harmonies could be considered a cultural cornerstone of the 1940s.

However, the barbershop quartet is by no means an American invention. The popularity of barbershops in England among men during the time of Shakespeare extended as far as in-house entertainment, often taking the form of a lutist providing a melody to which the queuing patrons could harmonize. This practice became popular in America in the West during the late 1800s, though a banjo was often used instead of a lute.

★~ 8-Track Cassette Tape Day: 

Nostalgia never dies, and neither will the 60s and 70s as long as 8-Track Day continues. Not so very long ago, music was recorded on magnetic tape and rolled up in a bulky plastic cartridge. It got tangled, and mangled, and was sensitive to dust and temperature — the 8-track tape, the precursor to the cassette tape, the CD, and the MP3. Its chunkiness was rivaled only by that of the VHS tape. Today might be the perfect day to celebrate the music of the 60s and 70s.

★~ Cheese Fondue Day:

Cheese fondue originated in Switzerland during the eighteenth century. The traditional pot used to make fondue is called a caquelon, which is made of heavy earthenware. A heavy pot promotes even heat distribution and heat retention in the fondue.

Typical fondue cheese recipes include sharp cheeses (like cheddar) or strong cheeses (like Swiss). Additional ingredients such as milk, spices, cream, wine, or brandy may be added to the fondue to balance out the cheese flavor and thicken it.

The key to a successful fondue is to make sure that the sauce stays smooth. Cheese has the tendency to get stringy or clumpy as the fat separates from the protein at high temperatures. To ensure that this does not happen, gradually stir the cheese at a temperature just below its melting point. Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, holds the world’s largest working fondue pot record. The pot is 8 feet in diameter, weighs about 2,000 pounds, and is capable of holding 2,500 pounds of melted cheese.

Have a cheese fondue party! You make the cheese fondue, and your friends bring over different types of bread, such as baguettes, French bread, or pumpernickel to dip in the cheese fondue.

★~ Today in History:

♥~ 1900 – The United States Navy accepted its first modern, commissioned submarine. It cost $150,000. Submarine Torpedo Boat #1 or USS Holland (SS-1) as it was eventually known, was the product of Holland (the inventor not the count

♥~ 1956 – Elvis Presley reached the top spot on the Billboard music chart with his first double-sided hit. The disk featured Heartbreak Hotel and I Was the One. The RCA Victor record stayed at number one for eight weeks. Elvis also made the country and R&B charts, as well

♥~ 1961 – Bob Dylan made his professional singing debut in Greenwich Village. He sang Blowin’ in the Wind.

♥~ 1962 – The New York Mets played their first regular season game. The team, managed by Casey Stengel, lost its first ten games. The St. Louis Cardinals won by a score of 11-4 — prompting Stengel to say, before a group of reporters and players, “Can anyone here play this game?”

♥~ 1970 – Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon with crew James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert. The mission was aborted after an oxygen tank in the service module exploded into space and crippled the spacecraft. The astronauts aborted their lunar landing attempt and managed to return safely to Earth..

★~ Born Today:

♥~1935~ Richard Berry ,singer, songwriter of Louie Louie.  The song Louie Louie has been has been called best party song of all time, and has been recorded more times than any other rock song in history.

♥~1939 – Louise Lasser actress: Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex [But Were Afraid to Ask], Frankenhooker, Rude Awakening, The Night We Never Met, Slither

♥~1950 – Bill Irwin, actor: Stepping Out, Scenes from a Mall, Hot Shots!, My Blue Heaven, Eight Men Out, Popeye; choreographer: The Regard of Flight

♥~1961- Vincent Gallo model, songwriter, actor: Get Well Soon, Buffalo ’66, Hollywood Shalome, Palookaville, Goodfellas, The Way It Is

★~ Did You Know:

♥~ William Powell Lear, the man behind LearJet, was  the inventor of the 8-track cartridge tape system.

♥~ The 8-Track tape player was commonly used in Movie Theaters in the 1920’s through 60’s.

♥~ Both the four-track and eight track tape were made popular by the Ford Motor Company, In 1965 Ford introduced factory-installed eight track tape players options on three of its 1966 models—The Mustang, Thunderbird and Lincoln.

♥~ Home players for the 8 track tapes were introduced in 1966 this was the first time music could be shared between homes and portable systems. The boom box became popular around this time.

♥~ The last commercial 8 track cassette released by a major label, was Fleetwood Mac‘s Greatest Hits in November 1988.

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All I remember about 8-track cassette tapes is that they used to get hopelessly tangled. I know some people had a knack for untangling them and twisting them back into their cassette case — I did not have this knack. If only Pinterest had been around before Joe died; I could have made cassette wallets from all his cassette tapes instead of throwing them out. If only . . .

Cole took me for my first ride as a passenger in his new car. I had driven the car but had not ridden as a passenger. It has seat warmers, lumbar support, and a radio that tells you the name of the song it is playing. My car does not have seat warmers — a sixteen year old with seat warmers in his car! This is so wrong.

If you would like a giggle, click Help! My sweet mom is SO bored and read the comments left by Odd readers. The stories and links are so amusing!

How will you spend this fine Wednesday? Leave a Comment and share….Odd Loves Company

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