Music: the 2024 Country Music Awards, hosted by Reba McIntyre, was held at the Ford Center at the Star, Frisco, TX, May 16. The full show can be seen over at Amazon Prime. Based on signage from back stage it appears Amazon Prime was main / huge sponsor. One wonders if Paramont's streaming of the awards show streamed something else? Yes, at the end, the emcee Reba McIntrye confirmed it will be back on Amazon Video next year.
Dedicated to Toby Keith, died February 5, 2024, stomach cancer. I love this bar:
Randy Travis. First new song release in two years. AI. Rolling Stone. Some folks fighting AI; some folks exploiting it.
Jelly Roll, rapper-turned country singer; performance of the year. Link here.
Group of the Year: Old Dominion. That was a tough one. I had them in my top one or two.
Award for most over-done outfit: Miranda Lambert. Looks like Miranda didn't want one western clothing meme to be missed. From foot-long frnge on the sleeves to modified chaps (?) and denim vest, and sequins that don't quit. Urban cowgirl?
Kane Brown: Georgia, On My Mind. Wow. First Black American to sell out Fenway in Boston.
First USAF base to receive the brand new fighter was Eglin AFB in Florida, but they were for final testing. First operational F-15EX fighters are arriving at Portland, Oregon. I think I can see China from Portland.
The first operational
F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets will be assigned to the 142nd Wing of the
Oregon Air National Guard, the unit that intercepts hostile aircraft
over the northwest United States.
The initial instructor pilots from the Portland-based wing were at Eglin
Air Force Base in Florida to fly training versions of the jet, which
the Air Force said can exceed twice the speed of sound.
“The first two will arrive this summer (2024),” said Lt. Col. Joel Thesing, the
142nd Wing’s safety officer who was among the pilots.
In St. Louis, the first F-15EX bound for the Oregon wing rolled off the
Boeing assembly line earlier this month (March, 2024).
The Air Force has slated 18
F-15EX to be operational at the 142nd Wing by the end of 2025.
Thesing said the exterior profile of the aircraft resembles the F-15C
jets now flown by the wing, but the new jets are nimbler to maneuver and
the large-area display for avionics improves a pilot’s ability to
process what was going on inside and outside the aircraft.
“It’s a generational leap,” he said.
Boeing said in February the top speed for the F-15EX is 2,225 miles per
hour – more than Mach 2.7 at sea level (where air is densest.)
Despite the Justice Department's concern with monopolies -- especially in the oil patch -- the department seems to have no problem with monopolies in the a/c manufacturing industries. Quick: name two other American a/c manufacturers that build planes for the US Air Force.
The first operational
F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets will be assigned to the 142nd Wing of the
Oregon Air National Guard, the unit that intercepts hostile aircraft
over the northwest United States, the Air Force said.
The initial instructor pilots from the Portland-based wing were at Eglin
Air Force Base in Florida to fly training versions of the jet, which
the Air Force said can exceed twice the speed of sound.
“The first two will arrive this summer,” said Lt. Col. Joel Thesing, the
142nd Wing’s safety officer who was among the pilots.
In St. Louis, the first F-15EX bound for the Oregon wing rolled off the
Boeing assembly line earlier this month. The Air Force has slated 18
F-15EX to be operational at the 142nd Wing by the end of 2025.
Thesing said the exterior profile of the aircraft resembles the F-15C
jets now flown by the wing, but the new jets are nimbler to maneuver and
the large-area display for avionics improves a pilot’s ability to
process what was going on inside and outside the aircraft.
“It’s a generational leap,” he said.
Boeing said in February the top speed for the F-15EX is 2,225 miles per
hour – more than Mach 2.7 at sea level.
Despit Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/us/2024-03-27/f15ex-fighter-jet-oregon-guard-air-force-13441327.html Source - Stars and Stripes
Grace Slick and Belinda Carlisle: back-up singers? For Ronnie Spector? Link here.
Okay.
Grace Slick. No introduction needed.
Belinda Carlisle:
Belinda Jo Carlisle, born August 17, 1958, is an American singer and songwriter. She gained fame as the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female rock band of all time, and went on to have a prolific career as a solo artist.
Raised in Southern California, Carlisle became the lead vocalist of the Go-Go's after the band's formation in 1978. With their chart-topping debut studio album "Beauty and the Beat" in 1981, the group helped popularize new wave music in the United States.
The Go-Go's were the first (and to date only) all-female band in history who wrote their own songs and played their own instruments to achieve a No. 1 album. The Go-Go's have sold over seven million records worldwide.
************************** The Best Years Of My Life
Eileen.
The Brits know how to celebrate.
This is New Year's Eve. What a great song. It needs to be played just before midnight, New Year's Eve, followed by, of course, "Auld Lang Syne." Or maybe vice verse. "Auld Lang Syne" just before midnight, followed by Eileen at 12:00:01.
There seem to be a gazillion versions of this song on the web. This one -- the link above -- may be the best for "audience participation."
Until tonight I've been unable to say why this might be my favorite, but I finally figured it out.
Before the "event," Sugarland (Jennifer Nettles) would have likely been the obvious #1 to Sara Bareilles' #2.
But #2 was going to challenge #1 for that number one position.
Look at the incredible friendly "competition" between those two.
I've gone back and forth: but tonight, I guess I have to give the "win" to Jennifer Nettles. After a dozen views, it comes back to the first 42 seconds. But wow, the energy, the spiritedness, the fire-passion-ardor-zeal of the two --- can it get any better?
