Videos

The Ella Mae Morse Songs That Taught Elvis How to Sing

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I just heard the song 40 Cups of Coffee by Ella Mae Morse. While looking it up, I found stories of how Elvis Presley once told her that “she” had taught him how to sing, from her records that he listened to when he was young! That’s quite the compliment to be getting, if you ask me!

If you listen to some of the songs Ella was famous for recording, though, before Elvis came along, you could definitely hear the style and elements of Elvis’ famous recordings. I’ve included a few below, including Cow Cow Boogie and 40 Cups of Coffee. She also did other famous versions of songs like Hurry on Down and Fine Brown Frame (love that song!), but I wasn’t able to find them online to share. So enjoy the two I did fine below and see if you can see how she influenced Elvis!

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Dupont PHB71 Hybrid Rice in Viet Nam Ad

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Recently, DuPont posted the advertisement below for its PHB71 Hybrid Rice grown in Viet Nam. Hybrid rice is cross-breeding of rice strains, not genetically modified as in artificially modifying them. Think of cross-breeding dogs and genetically created dogs, if you want to better understand the difference. We do the former all the time. The latter is a bit more expensive and sketchy… and probably illegal in many countries.

What I found amazing was how these Vietnamese farmers grew rice in the paddies in one season, then harvested shrimp in the same paddies in another! Talk about making use of the land!

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Have You Heard Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye Singing When the Saints Go Marching In?

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When the Saints Go Marching In is an American gospel tune that is very popular and been interpreted in many genres and by many artists. If you know the song, quickly think what’s the best version you’ve ever heard. If it isn’t the one done by Louis Armstrong and Danny Kaye like the title of this post, have a listen in the video below and tell me you’ve heard a better version.

No. Seriously. Do tell me in the comments at the bottom if you like another version better. I’d love to hear it. Whether I agree or not isn’t the point, really. I want to hear all the variations of that tune. But right now, this one is far above the rest in my opinion, and I am posting it to share it with you in case you haven’t heard it.

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More Jeremy Lin Vocabulary

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Jeremy Lin is the current sports sensation with his meteoric rise out of nowhere to be a star with the New York Knicks. In just a week, he has gone from Asian representation to Asian sensation in the NBA. His Taiwanese last name, Lin, has been great for creating a whole new vocabulary around him and what he has done. However, with my rhyming first name of Minh, I can offer a few more of my play on sound nicknames for his vocabulary… maybe in exchange for some of his. Here’s a bunch of Jeremy Lin inspired vocabulary.

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Long Lion Dance at Vietnamese Buddhist Center in Houston

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This was a Lion Dance over 20 minutes long that I captured at the Vietnamese Buddhist Centre in Houston, on January 22nd, 2012, just before midnight to usher in Chinese New Year.

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