Levi Stubbs 1936-2008 R.I.P.

There was the Four Tops, and there was everybody else. Click on the title to see and hear MoTown's signature group.

(From Entertainment Weekly)

The Four Tops may have been one of Motown's biggest groups in the '60s, but they seemed to exist in a world beyond Motown. Unlike many of the label's own hand-groomed and manufactured bands, the quartet was around long before Motown started, and its original lineup continued decades after most Motown bands had become tribute acts filled with ringers. Mostly, though, the band differed from other Motown acts thanks to the sheer drama of frontman Levi Stubbs' voice. His baritone had a particular pleading, crying quality that marked hits both upbeat ("I Can't Help Myself," embedded above, "Shake Me Wake Me,") and grim and frightening ("Bernadette," "Standing in the Shadows of Love"). Not for nothing did Billy Bragg title his hit song "Levi Stubbs' Tears."

The group's best songs combined both approaches, as on their masterpiece "Reach Out I'll Be There," where each verse ends with an unbearable buildup of tension, a nail-biting pause, and finally a triumphant resolution. Stubbs sang that song, as he did so many others, like a man drowning in fear and anxiously awaiting rescue. Not that desperation was the only color available to him. HIs vocal performance as the man-eating plant in 1986's Little Shop of Horrors revealed a Stubbs who could be seductive, lascivious, and menacing, and he also found a latter-day sideline doing voices for videogames.

The original Tops lineup stayed together for 43 years, until Lawrence Payton died in 1997, followed by Renaldo "Obie" Benson in 2005. Stubbs' death today at age 72 leaves Abdul "Duke" Fakir the last surviving Top. Click on the title to see and hear the Four Tops at their best, and to leave your personal message.

The best 'Swan Lake'?

You be the judge, but Oh My! Click on the title to view.


The Guandong Acrobatic Company�s extraordinary Chinese Acrobatic Swan Lake - in which Black Swans dance on high wires and the Swan Princess dances on pointe on her partner�s head - has created a worldwide sensation.

In this fresh and original adaptation of Swan Lake, a European prince falls in love with a Chinese swan, and performers use acrobatics and their very considerable talents as classical dancers to tell the story.

Pole balancing, jumping through fire hoops, rope walking, ball walking and jujitsu are all seamlessly woven into the story, and there is constant blurring of performance styles, including not only ballet and acrobatics but also elements of Peking Opera.

Directed by Guangzhou Acrobatic Company�s director Ning Genfu and choreographed by former Hong Kong Ballet principal dancer Zhao Ming, the production grew out of a desire to bring the traditional performing art out of the circus tent and onto the stage. It was created as a co-production with Shanghai City Dance Company.

The Chinese Acrobatic Swan Lake includes scenes in which the White Swan dances on pointe on top of the Prince�s head and shoulders and another in which the famous dance of four little swans is transformed into a performance of four little frogs, played by men who do the entire dance on their arms.

The incredible pas de deux between Wei Baohua's Prince and Wu Zhengdan's White Swan has made the couple � husband and wife in real life � into international stars.

The production proved a hit at its Premiere in Beijing in 2006 and has since thrilled audiences worldwide, from Moscow to New York.

Silliness Startup - Va. officials ban campaign clothing at polls

Jaxonia comments in bold

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) � Virginia voters won't be allowed to wear clothing featuring John McCain or Barack Obama when they head to the polls on Nov. 4.

The State Board of Elections on Tuesday voted to ban clothing and hats as well as buttons and other paraphernalia that directly advocate the election or defeat of a specific candidate or issue.

What about socks and underwear? How about tattoos?

The American Civil Liberties Union argued that the ban violates the First Amendment's right to free speech. The board, however, said it has to weigh that against the right to vote free of undue influence or the tension that candidate advocacy might create.

Efforts to enforce a similar ban are headed to court in Pennsylvania. At least four states � Maine, Montana, Vermont and Kansas � prohibit wearing campaign buttons, stickers and badges inside polling places.

In September, a Pennsylvania Department of State memo � it is not legally binding � advised counties that voters' attire doesn't matter as long as the "voter takes no additional action to attempt to influence other voters." Two Pittsburgh-area elections officials sued to have the memo rescinded.


The two argued that if the memo stands, "nothing would prevent a partisan group from synchronizing a battalion of like-minded individuals ... to descend on a polling place, presenting a domineering, united front, certain to dissuade the average citizen who may privately hold different beliefs."

Bet the house these two are Republicans!

Poll workers in Kentucky were told last month by election officials that they should admit voters with campaign apparel. E-mails had circulated warning that Obama supporters would be turned away if they wore shirts and pins.