Looking Back - Rock Legend Hendrix Dies After Party

On this day in 1970, guitarist Jimi Hendrix died after collapsing at a party in London. Police confirmed there was no question of foul play. A number of sleeping pills were found at the house in Notting Hill Gate and were taken away for analysis. Hendrix, 27, was born in Seattle, Washington, but rose to fame in Britain, with his band Jimi Hendrix Experience. He will be remembered as a key figure in the music world who transformed electric guitar-playing using distortion, feedback and sheer volume to create a revolutionary new sound.

Hendrix had been staying in London since cutting short a European tour with his band after bass player Billy Cox fell ill with stress and exhaustion. They were among the headline acts at the three-day Love and Peace Festival at Insel Fehrmarn in Germany. The concert was not an entire success. A torrential downpour meant Hendrix postponed his performance by a day and the audience was disrupted by fighting and gunfire between rival German motorcycle gangs who eventually burned the stage to the ground. It was after this performance the group returned to London and Hendrix sent Cox back to the United States to convalesce.

James Hendrix was part black, part Cherokee Indian and part Mexican. He left school early, having developed a keen interest in music but was unable to read it.

He joined the army as a paratrooper but was discharged due to injury and took up work as a session musician. The bands first single 'Hey Joe' spent ten weeks in the UK charts, reaching number six in early 1967. His final performance in Britain was with American band War at Ronnie Scott's club in London the previous week.

In 2003 a survey by the Rolling Stone magazine named Jimi Hendrix the greatest guitarist in rock history.

The inquest heard he had taken nine sleeping pills but there was no evidence of drug addiction. The coroner recorded an open verdict on the death of Jimi Hendrix.

Funny Signs

Transylvanian Epic!

Bob Hill and his new wife Betty were vacationing in Europe ..... as it happens, near Transylvania. They were driving in a rental car along a rather deserted highway. It was late and raining very hard, Bob could barely see the road in front of the car. Suddenly the car skids out of control! Bob attempts to control the car, but to no avail. The car swerves and smashes into a tree!

Moments later, Bob shakes his head to clear the fog. Dazed, he looks over at the passenger seat and sees his wife unconscious, with her head bleeding! Despite the rain and unfamiliar countryside, Bob knows he has to get her medical assistance. Bob carefully picks his wife up and begins trudging down the road. After a short while, he sees a light, which is coming from a large, old house. He approaches the door and knocks. A minute passes. A small, hunched man opens the door.Bob immediately blurts, "Hello, my name is Bob Hill, and this is my wife Betty. We've been in a terrible accident, and my wife has been seriously hurt. Can I please use your phone?" "I'm sorry," replies the hunchback, "but we don't have a phone. My master is a doctor; come in and I will get him!" Bob brings his wife in. An older man comes down the stairs.

"I'm afraid my assistant may have misled you. I am not a medical doctor; I am a scientist ..... However, it is many miles to the nearest clinic, and I have had a basic medical training. I will see what I can do. Igor, bring them down to the laboratory."

With that, Igor picks up Betty and carries her downstairs, with Bob following closely. Igor places Betty on a table in the lab. Bob collapses from exhaustion and his own injuries, so Igor places Bob on an adjoining table. After a brief examination, Igor's master looks worried. "Things are serious, Igor. Prepare a transfusion." Igor and his master work feverishly, but to no avail. Bob and Betty are no more. The Hill's death upset Igor's master greatly. Wearily, he climbs the steps to his conservatory, which houses his grand piano. For it is here that he has always found solace. He begins to play, and a stirring, almost haunting melody fills the house. Meanwhile, Igor is still in the lab tidying up. His eyes catch movement, and he notices the fingers on Betty's hand twitch, keeping time to the haunting piano music ..... Stunned, he watches as Bob's arm begins to rise, marking the beat! He is further amazed as Betty and Bob sit up straight! Unable to contain himself, he dashes up the stairs to the conservatory. He bursts in and shouts to his master:

"Master, Master! ..... The Hill's are alive with the sound of music!"

(I am sooooo sorry ..... But you really should have seen that one coming.)

What did you expect ..... it's free from a demented old blogger on the Internet.

You're In The Army Now

Professionals are predictable, it's the amateurs that are dangerous.

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A Purple Heart just proves that were you smart enough to think of a plan, stupid enough to try it,

and lucky enough to survive.

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Everybody looks brave holding a machine gun.

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Had this been an actual emergency, we would have fled in terror and you wouldn't have been notified.

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Friendly fire - isn't.

Are These The Magazines Of The Future?

Video adverts launched in the US
The latest edition of showbiz title Entertainment Weekly contains magazine ads that move. It is a similar principal to singing greetings cards and was in fact developed by the same company.
But this 21st century version consists of a microchip holding digitalizes data that is connected to a speaker and a screen akin to some mobile phones. It is powered by a small rechargeable battery and mounted on cardboard, so is instantly distinguishable from a normal flimsy page.
And that means you can't really flick through the magazine, because the front page insert that includes the video screen is relatively bulky. And when you do open up the relevant page , the actual advert takes several seconds to load and play.
Copies of the magazine containing the screens are being sent out to a few thousand subscribers in Los Angeles and New York.
The BBC's Rajesh Mirchandani takes a look at the latest battle in the media advertising war, video adverts inside magazines. To watch his report click on the video link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8258307.stm