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OPEN POST: Manor Music Monday With The Masterful Vince Guaraldi!

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Greetings music slutinos, and welcome to a special Winter Holiday Edition of Manor Music Monday! For me, the holidays aren't complete without a few things, like delicious dark chocolate, squealing chirruns and Vince Guaraldi. If that name is unfamiliar to you, I'll bet his music isn't, since he composed the indelible music for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," a 1965 TV special that's all but imprinted on our minds, much like "The Wizard of Oz." And just like the music was important to "The Wizard of Oz," it was crucial to "A Charlie Brown Music," conveying not only seasonal giggles 'n fun, but Charlie Brown's deeply melancholic state of mind. And perhaps most head-turning of all for a mass-market TV special in the mid-60s, the score was jazz.  In fact, it was the very first time jazz was used prominently in animation - for the big or small screen - giving Peanuts a wholly unique, sophisticated, yet accessible sound. The soundt...

Birthday Hors

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  Richey Edwards - Welsh musician, lyricist and guitarist of Manic Street Preachers - (1967-2008) Joshua Bassett - American actor and singer - 25 Latto - American rapper and singer - 27 Hennessy Carolina - model, tv and media personality - 30 Aliana Lohan - American singer and tv personality - 32 Meghan Trainor - American singer-songwriter - 32 DaBaby - American rapper - 34 Jordin Sparks - American singer and actress - 36 Greg Finley - American actor - 41 Jennifer Hawkins - Australian model, tv presenter and beauty queen - 42 Chris Carmack - American actor, singer and former model - 45 Anthony Jeselnik - American comedian, writer, actor and producer - 47 Mia Tyler - American actress, model, media personality and socialite - 47 Rei Hance - American writer, businesswoman and retired actress - 51 Vanessa Paradis - French singer, actress and model - 53 Dina Meyer - American actress - 57 Ralph Fiennes - English actor, film producer and director - 63 Luther Campbell - American ra...

OPEN POST: With This Sweet, Sweet 'Stang!

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Saw this beauty the other day, and although I generally prefer older vintages, it looks pretty darn pristine to me so I love it. Also, it's Sunday, and there's no school, so let's hop in the Mustang with our best galpals and go to the drive-thru for a burger and fries, although (let's get real) the main reason we're all there is to check out the hot surfer guys with their shirts off. "Oh, turn it up, the new song by The Fifth Dimension is starting!" Happy Open Post, darlings, let the sun shine in! Photo Credit: AK

Birthday Hors

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  Tony Lewis - English singer and musician, member of the Outfield - (1957-2020) Madelyn Cline - American actress and model - 28 Kaitlyn Dever - American actress - 29 Quinta Brunson - American writer, producer actress and comedian - 36 Steven Yeun - American actor - 42 Tom Payne - English actor - 43 Shaun Morgan - South African musician, singer-songwriter and guitarist of Seether - 47 Rutina Wesley - American actress - 47 Lukas Rossi - Canadian singer and musician - 49 Jemele Hill - American journalist - 50 Natalie Grant - American singer-songwriter - 54 Khrystyne Haje - American actress - 57 Michelle Hurd - American actress - 59 Kiefer Sutherland - Canadian actor and musician - 59 Govinda - Indian former actor, comedian, dancer - 62 Ray Romano - American actor, stand-comedian and screenwriter - 68 Jane Kaczmarek - American actress - 70 Chris Evert - American former tennis player - 71 Jeffrey Katzenberg - American media proprietor and film producer - 75 Samuel L. Jackson - ...

OPEN POST: Ed Sheeran is Ripped Now

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  Here's Ed Sheeran showing off his new toned (and inked!) bod for Australian Men's Health . When discussing his physical transformation, the 34-year old singer shared that he spent his 20s living pretty unhealthily and says he generally felt like shit within himself. The birth of his daughter, Lyra, helped propel the singer to pursue a healthier way of living. "I didn't want to pick my kid up and have my back be fucked up," Sheeran says. He has lost over 30lbs and follows a routine that consists of pilates, strength training and running.  Here are some more pics from the shoot: Source: Australian Men's Health

Birthday Hors

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  Anita Ward - American singer and musician - 69 DaniLeigh - American singer-songwriter - 31 Isabel Durant - Australian actress and dancer - 34 Jillian Rose Reed - American actress - 34 JoJo - American singer-songwriter and actress - 35 Anoop Desai - American singer-songwriter and actor - 39 Jonah Hill - American actor - 42 Lucy Pinder - British model and actress - 42 Lara Stone - Dutch fashion model - 42 David Cook - American singer-songwriter - 43 Ashley Cole - English soccer coach and former player - 45 Nicole de Boer - Canadian actress - 55 Dr. Sandra “Pimple Popper” Lee - American dermatologist and youtuber - 55 Todd Phillips - American filmmaker and film producer - 55 Chris Robinson - American musician, founder of The Black Crowes - 59 Robert Cavanah - Scottish actor - 60 Iqbal Theba - Pakistani actor - 62 Ed Kuepper - Australian guitarist, vocalist and songwriter - 70 Michael Badalucco - American actor - 71 Jenny Agutter - English actress - 73 Alan Parsons - English...

OPEN POST: Christmas Shopping - Facebook Marketplace Edition!

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Ok, hors, Christmas is just 6 days away; have you all finished your shopping yet? If not, allow me to suggest Facebook Marketplace - a place where stains are vintage, mirrors reflect poor life choices, and all of the furniture is either damp or sticky - charming! Here, I've got a list of inventory for you to browse RIGHT NOW!   And my personal favorite.... Happy shopping!

Birthday Hors

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  Maurice White - American singer-songwriter, leader of Earth Wind and Fire - (1941-2016) Backpack Kid - Social media personality - 24 King Princess - American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist - 27 Keiynan Lonsdale - Australian actor, dancer and singer-songwriter - 34 Paulina Gretzky - American actress - 37 Ronan Farrow - American journalist - 38 Annie Murphy - Canadian actress - 39 Lady Sovereign - British rapper - 40 Jake Gyllenhaal - American actor - 45 Marla Sokoloff - American actress - 45 Sarah Cooper - American author and comedian - 48 Rosa Blasi - American actress, author, model and therapist - 53 Alyssa Milano - American actress and producer - 53 Tyson Beckford - American model and actor - 55 Kristy Swanson - American actress - 56 Jamie Hince - English guitarist, singer-songwriter and member of The Kills - 57 Ken Marino - American actor, comedian, director and screenwriter - 57 Criss Angel - American magician, illusionist and musician - 58 Jennifer Beals - ...

OPEN POST: Hosted By "Today On Cooking With Brooklyn Beckham": Returning Celeb Chef - Michael Bay! (the sequel)

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  Director Michael Bay is back! In this sequel, he's showing us the proper way to prepare cereal.      

Birthday Hors

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  Billie Eilish - American singer-songwriter - 24 Bridgit Mendler - American entrepreneur and former actress - 33kati Ashley Benson - American actress, model and singer - 36 Tara Conner - American model and tv personality - 40 Christina Aguilera - American singer-songwriter, actress and tv personality - 45 Josh Dallas - American actor - 47 Katie Holmes - American actress - 47 Maria Brink - American singer-songwriter, frontwoman of In This Moment - 48 Randy Houser - American singer-songwriter - 50 Sia - Australian singer-songwriter - 50 Trish Stratus - Canadian professional wrestler, actress and yoga instructor - 50 Kari Byron - American tv host - 51 Rah Digga - American rapper and actress - 51 Jason Mantzoukas - American actor, comedian, writer and podcaster - 53 Rob Van Dam - American professional wrestler - 55 Victoria Pratt - Canadian actress, author and fitness model - 55 Casper Van Dien - American actor - 57 Rachel Griffiths - Australian actress - 57 Stone Cold Steve A...

EVENING NIGHTCAP: Celebs & Baby Pics Paychecks. You Tube Wins & Network TV Lose. Golden Retrievers!

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   ► Hilary Baldwin created an uproar when she opened her yogahole and disclosed she was paid $95,000 for selling photos of one of her kids with Alec Baldwin. That got me thinking about the obscene amount of money celebs have made from selling baby photos of their spawns for an easy paycheck. You'd think these celebs who have a net worth of a small country would not sell out their kids at such a young age. But they do. And, those that have, you'd think they would donate their windfall. NOPE. Most of them pocketed the money or channeled it to their own private foundation a.k.a.tax loophole of the wealthy. Below are the top 10 most expensive baby photos. BTW, these figures are not adjusted in today's dollars. So the $15 million Jolie-Pitt stain made back inn 2008 = $22 million in 2025.   Read More Knox & Vivienne Jolie Pitt: $15 million (Angie Ho & Stale Bread Pitt) Max & Emme Lopez-Anthony: $6 million (JLo & Marc Anthony) Shiloh Jolie Pitt: $4.1 millio...

OPEN POST: Featuring The 1961 Motorola Home Of The Future!

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http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/ In 1961 among the films released were "La Dolce Vita," "101 Dalmatians" and the top-grosser of the year, "West Side Story." Barack Obama was born, as was Gabrielle Carteris (at the age of 29). Some of the most popular TV shows were "Wagon Train," "Perry Mason," and Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" (in color!) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_anthology_television_series Also, Motorola released a series of ads for the home of the future, as designed by Charles Shridde . http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/ Don't you just love the kid on the stairs, seemingly delighted by the back of the TV set? http://www.retronaut.co/2012/06/motorola-future-ads-1961/ And what better way to roll up to your fabulous, futuristic digs than in your brand-new 1961 Chrysler Imperial! I've never seen one of these before, so when I saw one a few months ag...

Birthday Hors

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  Eddie Kendricks - American tenor and singer-songwriter - (1939-1992) Nat Wolff - American actor and musician - 31 Kiersey Clemons - American actress - 32 Emma Bell - American actress - 39 Mikky Ekko - American singer-songwriter - 41 Shannon Woodward - American actress - 41 Domino Kirke - British-American singer - 42 Neil Sanderson - Canadian musician - 47 Katheryn Winnick - Canadian actress - 48 Milla Jovovich - American actress and model - 50 Sarah Paulson - American actress - 51 Giovanni Ribisi - American actor - 51 Marissa Ribisi - American actress - 51 Rian Johnson - American filmmaker - 52 John Abraham - Indian actor, model, writer and film producer - 53 Sean Patrick Thomas - American actor - 55 Laurie Holden - Canadian-American actress and film producer- 56 Chuck Liddell - American former professional mixed martial artist - 56 Ginger Wildheart - English guitarist and singer-songwriter - 61 Sara Dallin - English singer-songwriter and one of the founding members of B...

EVENING NIGHTCAP: Sam + Playgirl = Easy Check. 2025 Wrap Up → Words Of The Year (vs. Mine).

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  ► Various dictionary companies and platforms got together at their respective watering holes to reflect on 2025 and decide on the one word their organization selected that, "culture watchers say encapsulate the zeitgeist of 2025".  Without further adieu, this is what each org selected as their winner, followed by mine.  Read More   Image: writerofwordsetc.substack.com Merriam Webster Dictionary:  Slop. The fine folks at MW define it as "digital content of poor quality usually produced by AI".  In the old days, slop was the word I would use to describe Tuesday's lunch at my elementary school cafeteria (shit on a shingle). Glassdoor.com:  Fatigue. According to the job search site, "fatigue" was chosen because workers are tired. Duh..no shit. Collins Dictionary: Vibe Coding . This is defined as, "the use of natural language prompts to instruct AI to write computer code instead of writing it from scratch". In other words, lazy. Oxford Diction...

OPEN POST: Melissa Joan Hart's AI Dress

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Melissa Joan Hart shared this "expectation vs reality" post on her instagram this week, admitting she was duped by an AI ad for a dress. The dress allegedly retails for $34.99 and is listed as 95% cotton and 5% nylon. Uh huh. Hart managed to DIY her own "ugly" dress and I think it looks cute! Certainly better than the mess she thought she was ordering. Celebrities: they're just like us!  Sources: Yahoo news, Melissa Joan Hart on instagram