Do you feel them? They're coming...Good Vibes, yeah that's the ticket! We need to constantly remind ourselves that their is good in this world of chaos, fer sure!
Thus Surfer Dude Liam Hemsworth seen, well surfing, in Byron Bay Australia seems like an apt conduit to them.
Seriously, what says Good Vibes more than a laid back Surfer Dude in casual attire and bare feet? I ask you, I know you won't tell, whatever...
If something is working your last nerve today, think of Liam, surfing in Australia, it most likely will help bring on a better vibration for you.
Since we are currently in a hazy shade of winter, I thought we might want to Hump Day & Chill to summer down under. "Yes" this week we travel to Australia to HD & C with Aussie Joey warming benches, wearing, what else, nothing whatsoever.
That's correct Minions I am sending y'all on a Australian vacation via Tye Briggs Favorite Hunks & Other things. We have all earned this first Hump Day & Chill of January 2021. Hey it's already seems like we are 365 days into this year already so...
Enjoy the view of Joey warming benches in the buff, by clicking on the link below, and give it your first Hump Day & Chill of 2021. BTW in case you are wondering HD & C is a euphemism, so get to it!
Psssssssssssssst! Did you know that in Australia they had a magazine that was their version of the US' Playgirl? Well they did it was called Australian Women's Forum. The things you discover when browsing Tye Briggs Favorite Hunks & Other Things are quite a Hump Day & Chill treat.
Especially when the thing you uncover is Matt Dunk, "Yes" I meant uncover in the literal sense of the word. I wouldn't give my minions anything less to Hump Day & Chill to.
You get dreamy Aussie Matt's deliciousness in full view in the spread he did for the magazine. Oh there's more apparently Matt also posed for Playgirl as well. There is a link included in the piece on him and AWF to click so you can bare witness and feast your eyes on those images too.
Matt is yummy in any way, shape or forum. However I must I agree with Tye, I was riding on a bummer that he had lost his lovely/sexy/cool bangs by the time he had shot Playgirl. Guess one can't have everything, or can one?
Well as far as I am concerned one can, by clicking on the link below and checking out Matt's banging bangs and banging other things right now. Your directive is to get your Hump Day & Chill on ASAP!
Wanna thrill? Hump Day & Chill to the other Yanni...Yanni Burton
Yanni Burton Yearns To Break Free from a Sleepy Stagnant Relationship
in New Single, “Awake”
“Awake,” the new song by out singer-songwriter Yanni Burton, was inspired by Yanni’s own experience, coming to terms with the realization that it was time to break free from a stagnant relationship and find passion in life again. “I was stuck in a long distance relationship,” Yanni explains. “The days and weeks apart left me feeling lonely and empty. I remember being in a constant fog of self doubt and indecision.” Sitting down to write “Awake” helped Yanni to refocus his goals and pull himself out from his sleepy funk. The end result is a broody song that brilliantly combines his passion for pop and classical music. Produced by Yanni and mixed and edited by multi-platinum record producer Kieran Kelly, “Awake” is available on iTunes, Spotify and all major digital platforms. The music video is on Youtube.
Yanni Burton grew up in Adelaide, Australia – a small town that was first put on the map as the birthplace of pop singer Sia. He lived most days in the city with his mother but holidays were spent in the country on his dad’s farm. “The farm was in the middle of nowhere and I’d arrive in solid gold sneakers, booty shorts and a tank top, like I’d just come off the set of Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” he remembers. “I loved hanging with the kangaroos and Klunk, my dad’s pet Emu.”
He came out as gay a bit later than most in his generation. Yanni had his very first relationship at 22. When he told his mother he was dating a guy, she slapped him. Not because he was gay. She had already had a vision about that. (When Yanni was born, she noticed a rainbow light up the sky and declared to his father that their boy would be gay.) She was more upset by the man’s advanced age. No son of hers was going to be a sugar baby!
Yanni, Yanni, Yanni!
Photo:
Charles Quiles
His dad took the news much better. Yanni told him while they were on a trip to rural Pennsylvania, visiting the Amish. “I was bawling my eyes out under the fluorescent lights of a moldy Motel Six hallway and Dad simply hugged me and said, ‘Its ok, I love you.’”
For college, Yanni attended the prestigious Juilliard School in Manhattan where he studied the double bass. In fact, he holds a bachelor's and master’s degree in orchestral performance and is Producer and General Manager of the Salome Chamber Orchestra, where he has performed alongside a long list of celebrated artists including John Legend, Michelle Williams, Natasha Beddingfield and Rufus Wainwright. John Legend and Rufus Wainwright were instrumental in helping Yanni to obtain an artist green card. Both graciously agreed to write a letter of support for his US residency.
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He describes life today as a “gay thirty-something in New York City”. Yanni attends Barry’s Bootcamp religiously, pays too much rent and complains about it every second he can. He’s also found love again! His fiancé is smart, attractive and most importantly, twenty-something, which means he is mom-approved.
He is not the man featured in the music video for “Awake”. That is Reed Laplau, a fellow Aussie who danced for the Sydney Dance Company before moving to NYC where his career has taken off on Broadway in productions of The Great Comet of 1812,Fiddler on the Roof, and the upcoming Moulin Rouge.
The video was shot in an incredible 20,000 square foot warehouse in Brooklyn. “It was abandoned and the lovely lady who owns it offered us the opportunity to do whatever we wanted with it…so naturally we filled it with lighting rigs, skeletons, and flour,” Yanni laughs.
Yanni aspires for his audience to connect, see, and feel themselves in his music and lyrics so that ultimately, they hear their own story being told. “I hope my music conveys to listeners that it is okay to be yourself. Never censor who you are or hold back in expressing yourself. Step up for what you believe in and most importantly, have fun.”
Don't Tell The Koala, But I'm Pregnant
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle
at
Sydney's Taronga Zoo
Congratulations to Prince Harry & Meghan Markle - They're pregnant! Of course I am not the first to report this, but I will be the one to help spearhead a movement. One of the best things I saw online with regard to this joyous news was "Instead of "Baby Glow" let's trend the "Markle Sparkle." Perfection! Sparkle, Meghan, Sparkle! Well quite frankly she does. There is an inner and outer beauty to Ms. Markle that is flat out radiant and shines like a diamond. Hats off to whoever came up with this idea, I for one am 100% behind this. Sing it high, sing it low, let everyone know the "Markle Sparkle" is a thing. Enjoy your day and don't forget to...you know, sparkle! Kensington Palace on Twitter - https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
What's wrong with the world going to the dogs??? Dogs Of Democracy coming to DVD on June 12th via EPF Media
A film about the stray dogs of Athens and the people who take care of them... A universal story about love and loyalty.
"A powerful film narrative, the stray dogs of central Athens are transformed from mere symbols of a peculiar freedom to witnesses of a heart-wrenching human crisis."
- Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist, academic and politician
Dogs of Democracy is a documentary about the stray dogs of Athens and the people who take care of them. Filmmaker Mary Zournazi explores life on the streets through the eyes of the dogs and peoples' experience. Shot on location in Athens, the birthplace of democracy, the documentary is about how Greece has become the 'stray dogs of Europe', and how the dogs have become a symbol of hope for the people and for the anti-austerity movement. A universal story about love and loyalty and what we might learn from animals.
AWARDS
Best Documentary - 2017 Imagine This Women's International Film Festival, Brooklyn NY
Spirit of Activism Award, Nevada Women's Film Festival
Impact Documentary Award
Spotlight Documentary Award
Shortlisted Telling Tales International Film and Audio Festival
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Mary Zournazi is an Australian author, philosopher, and filmmaker. She wrote, directed and filmed Dogs of Democracy (2016), which is an essay style documentary about the stray dogs of Athens and the people who take care of them. She is the author of several books including Hope - New Philosophies for Change and Inventing Peace with the German filmmaker Wim Wenders. She teaches in the sociology program at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
Pictured L-R: The Dollywood Company President Craig Ross, Dollywood Foundation President David Dotson, Dolly Parton, CTK Management’s Danny Nozell, Webster PR’s Kirt Webster, Dollywood Dir. Public Relations Pete Owens, Dolly Parton Productions President Ted Miller.
Imagine with Dolly Parton...
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which began as a small community outreach in Parton’s native Sevier County, Tennessee, has evolved to become the largest literacy program in the world. In December, the “little literacy program that could” marks another impressive milestone—one million books gifted to children around the world each month.
To celebrate the unprecedented success, Evey Johns, a two-year-old from Conway, Arkansas who just enrolled in the Imagination Library, has been randomly selected to receive a $30,000 college scholarship. The announcement was made by Parton during her Pure & Simple concert tour stop in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee on Nov. 15. Proceeds from the concert benefit the Imagination Library.
“I thought long and hard about the best way to honor our achievement of reaching a million children a month,” Parton said. “The Imagination Library is all about inspiring dreams, so what better way to pay tribute to this moment than by helping one special child pursue her college degree. I’m thrilled that today I can let the world know that precious little Evey Johns from Conway, Arkansas will receive a $30,000 scholarship for the college of her choice.”
The scholarship will be held in a special account and distributed to Johns when she enrolls in college. Over the next 16 years, the amount of scholarship should grow to nearly approximately $50,000. Johns is enrolled in the Imagination Library in Conway thanks to the local affiliate in her area, Arkansas Preschool Plus.
“The thought of our daughter Evey going to college has been just that—a thought,” explained Evey’s mother, Connie. “Now, due to the enormous kindness and generosity of the Dollywood Foundation, that thought has now become a reality. Our family now has the means to develop a solid plan for our daughter’s future education. Thank you all so much for this unbelievable opportunity for our daughter.”
In 2016, the Imagination Library and its local partners will gift nearly 11.5 million books to children from birth to age five in participating communities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. To date, the Imagination Library, which is administered through the Dollywood Foundation, has provided more than 85 million books to children around the world.
Arkansas Preschool Plus is just one of the many local affiliates the Dollywood Foundation works with to provide books to children. To provide the Imagination Library, a community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area, and the community pays for the books, promotes the program and registers the children. The Dollywood Foundation manages the delivery of books to children’s homes.
Arkansas Preschool Plus enrolls 960 children in Conway, Faulkner and Perry Counties. Currently, nearly 15,000 children are enrolled in Arkansas. The Imagination Library currently is working with elected officials, foundations and corporations in Arkansas in an effort to make the program available to all children from birth to age five in the state.
About Dolly Parton's Imagination Library: Founded in 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting organization that has, to date, mailed more than 85 million books to children in Australia, Belize, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. Each month, the program currently mails more than one million specially selected, high-quality, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth until they start Kindergarten in participating communities. Dolly envisioned creating a lifelong love of reading in children, preparing them for school and inspiring them to dream. Recent studies suggest participation in the Imagination Library is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development. Penguin Random House is the exclusive publisher for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Left to right: Danny Nozell, CEO, CTK Management; Dolly Parton; and, Kirt Webster, President/CEO, Webster Public Relations
Because she can, can, can...
World-renowned singer/songwriter/entertainer Dolly Parton has a worldwide #1 album to celebrate this week. The superstar’s new release Pure & Simple debuts at #1 not only in the U.S., but, also on the national country charts in Canada, U.K. and Australia.
Dolly’s 43rd studio recording and the first release of her recently-announced joint venture between Dolly Records and Sony Music Nashville, achieves #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with first-week sales of 20,000 units! This marks the first time Dolly has topped Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart in the 25-year history of SoundScan.
The new album which released August 19th on Dolly Records/RCA Nashville lands the #11 slot on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with a first-week total consumption of 21,000. On Billboard’s Americana/Folk Albums chart, the disc debuts at #1. In the UK, Pure & Simple enters the all-genre album sales chart at #2, behind Frank Ocean’s Blonde.
Upon hearing the news, Dolly Parton, who co-produced and wrote every song on Pure & Simple, enthused, "Boy, it's a good day for me. I am a happy girl!" She continued, "It feels great to be #1 as it's been a long time and it feels so good to still be in the game after all this time."
Remarked Doug Morris, CEO, Sony Music Entertainment, “Congratulations, Dolly, for your stunning debut with Pure & Simple.You put your heart and soul in this album, and we join you in celebrating a long-overdue #1 on the country album chart.”
“I thought it was a magical time back in 1981, when I first started working with Dolly as we set up her Best Little Whorehouse album on RCA, right after her huge hit, ‘9 To 5,’” reflected Randy Goodman, Chairman & CEO, Sony Music Nashville. “I spent a week with her on the RCA jet visiting radio and retail all over the country.” Goodman continued, “But, to be reunited with Dolly and have a #1 debut is wonderful. Thank you, Doug Morris for bringing Dolly back to RCA.”
CTK Management CEO Danny Nozell said, "There is nobody more deserving of this tremendous success. Having worked with Dolly for the past 13 years, I have never met any person that works harder than her.” Nozell added, “She is a businesswoman that understands her brand and knows exactly what to do and when to do it, and once again, she proves it with a #1 album."
Last week, Dolly Parton made appearances on NBC’s Today and Tonight Show, among other TV shows.
Fans can link to purchase Pure & Simple and the various versions available by exclusive partners below:
Zac Efron's gives good tongue down under at the Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates premiere in Sydney, Australia. The Zac Attack stopped and posed for a selfie with fans and playfully mugged with his tongue protruding from his mouth for the camera. I'm a real sucker for anything that is attached to Efron and that includes this part of his body as well of which I could definitely think of many things to use it for that I can't print here. Happy Hump Day! Need a tongue bath? Zac on the net: https://www.instagram.com/zacefron/?hl=en https://twitter.com/ZacEfron
Australian Tour Begins on April 2nd followed by U.S. dates in late Spring
“Songs come and songs go. Some get lost in the folds of time, while others are passed on and shared in infinitude.” – Trevor Hall Chill dude Trevor Hall is Back! Check out my full length chat with him about his last effort Chapter Of the Forrest here, cheers - http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2014/06/chillaxin-with-trevor-hall.html
Singer-songwriter Trevor Hall has announced the release of a new EP Unpack Your Memories, due out on Vanguard Records on March 27th. This five song collection includes some of Hall’s most personal tracks recorded solely by him, on his laptop.
Hall talks about the history of these songs and why he chose to share them with the world at this time. “Unpack Your Memoriesis a collection of songs that have been in my “vault” for a long time now,” Hall says. “Some just didn’t make the other albums and some were just too intimate to share at the time. Now they are ready to breathe and be shared with others. The name of the album says everything … These are all songs that have become memories for me. I am reaching into my bag and unpacking them - unpacking their meaning, the memory of where I was when I wrote them, and the feelings that they brought me so many years ago. As the saying goes, ‘You never meet the same river twice.’ Every time I hear these songs, they teach me something new or offer me the gift of a new perspective. There are many other songs that are still in my vault, but I felt these were the most important to share at this time. The songs all came up together like the roots of a tree, and have taken form in the EP.”
Click hereto listen to the title track “Unpack Your Memories.” The Unpack Your Memories EP is available for pre-order from the Vanguard Records store here .
Following the release of Unpack Your Memories, Trevor will be back on the road in Australia for his Bluesfest debut and in the U.S. Performances include the Soulshine Festival, California Roots Festival, Wanderlust and more. See a full list of tour dates below. Additional information on purchasing tickets can be found here .
Have ever been a "little bit country" perhaps sometimes a "little bit rock' n roll?" Or "have you ever been mellow?"
Well now you can be all those in one geek-tastic tour! That's correct, Donny & Marie Osmond will be touring with Olivia Newton-John next year!!! Yeah, I am a total nerd for the Osmonds and ONJ, wanna be starting something about it?! Marie stopped by the Today Show to break the news to Kathy Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. She states about her and Donny's tour with their friend Olivia: “She’s going to take half the time, we are taking the other half" Marie continued “We’re going on a big world tour.” Ms. Osmond also said they plan to start off the tour in places like Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Even though 2015 has barely started, 2016 is looking great! I'm so there! Keep updated with Donny & Marie at: https://www.facebook.com/marieosmond https://www.facebook.com/donnyosmond.fb Chill with Olivia at: https://www.facebook.com/olivianewtonjohn This is going to be epic!
And the nominees for the People's Choice Award for...
Favorite Female Country Artist
Carrie Underwood
Dolly Parton
Faith Hill
Lucy Hale
Miranda Lambert
Well hello Dolly, so not surprised to see you on this list. Hats off to one of the longest most enduring careers in show biz. The ever gracious Ms. Parton had this to say about her nomination:
“I am so excited to be nominated for a People’s Choice award. It is always a good feeling to be recognized for whatever you do,” says Dolly Parton. “This year has been an amazing year! I released a new album Blue Smoke, traveled to Australia, Europe, and across America and even performed for 170,000 people at one show; woo that makes me tired just saying it. But seriously, I am honored to be nominated amongst these great gals.”
An intimate performance in Rome from 2003 I, like many first remember Suzanne Vega when she had her breakthrough hit "Luka." It was an amazing work that brought a palatable sound and mainstream access to a subject matter that was anything but... Ms. Vega is currently on tour all over the world and the U.S. - click on the link below to find out where in the meantime you can pre-order the DVD of her intimate performance in Rome. Keep calm and carry on...
Filmed at the Rome Auditorium in July 2003, Suzanne Vega performs some of her greatest hits at this intimate concert, including Tom's Diner, Luka and Marlene On The Wall. The songs are interspersed with moving poetry readings. The DVD includes a candid interview with singer/songwriter Valerio Piccolo about Vega's life and career. This DVD is released shortly following her world tour and new album.
"Widely regarded as one of the most brilliant songwriters of her generation," (Biography Magazine) Suzanne Vega emerged as a leading figure of the folk-music revival of the early 1980s when, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, she sang what has been labelled contemporary folk or neo-folk songs of her own creation in Greenwich Village clubs.
Since the release of her self-titled, critically acclaimed 1985 debut album, she has performed at sell-out concerts in many of the world's best-known venues. She'll be touring the UK, Europe, the USA, Japan and Australia throughout March, April and May 2014 - a full list of dates can be found HERE.
