Shuff's General Chat Thread ... #73 - Talk about anything and everything...  

not a single fcuk was given.



http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/wi...h5KXQ?ocid=iehp

Singer Joe Cocker dies aged 70


Singer Joe Cocker, best known for his cover of the Beatles' With A Little Help From My Friends, has died aged 70, his agent has confirmed.

The Sheffield born singer-songwriter had a career lasting more than 40 years with hits including You Are So Beautiful and Up Where We Belong.

His agent Barrie Marshall said Cocker, who died after battling lung cancer, was "simply unique".

Sir Paul McCartney said he was a lovely guy who "brought so much to the world".

Cocker's friend Rick Wakeman, keyboard player for the rock band Yes, called his rendering of With a Little Help From My Friends "sensational" and said: "He had a voice that was just unique."

"The great thing is with someone like Joe is what they leave behind, and that will be with us for years and years," Wakeman told BBC Radio 2.

Known for his gritty voice, Cocker began his singing career in the pubs and clubs of Sheffield in the 1960s before hitting the big time.

He was propelled to pop stardom when his version of The Beatles' With A Little Help from My Friends reached number one in 1968.

He performed the song at the famous Woodstock Festival in New York state a year later.

He was also well-known for his "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" Tour of 1970, which featured over 40 musicians touring 48 cities across the US, resulting in a third gold album of the same name and a concert film.

His duet with Jennifer Warnes, Up Where We Belong - from An Officer And A Gentleman - hit number one and went on to win both a Grammy and an Academy Award in 1983.

He was made an OBE in 2007.

Last year his arena tour across Europe saw him achieve a number one album in Germany and give what was to be his final concert in Hammersmith, London, in June.

Cocker, who recorded 23 studio albums and 40 albums, lived in Colorado, in the US.

Mr Marshall said it was with "the heaviest hearts we heard that our beloved Joe Cocker passed away last night".

"He was without the doubt the greatest rock/soul voice ever to come out of Britain and remained the same man throughout his life."

He described Cocker as a "true star" who was also "a kind and humble man who loved to perform".

"Anyone who ever saw him live will never forget him," he added.

'Etched in our memories'

Sir Paul said he would be "forever grateful" to Cocker for turning With A Little Help From My Friends into a "soul anthem".

"I knew him through the years as a good mate and I was so sad to hear that he had been ill and really sad to hear today that he had passed away.

"He was a great guy, a lovely guy who brought so much to the world and we'll all miss him," he added.

Among other musicians who have paid tribute to Cocker, were the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr, who tweeted: "Goodbye and God bless to Joe Cocker."

Singer song-writer Frank Turner tweeted: "Wow. Sad to hear of Joe Cocker's passing. Incredible singer."

BBC arts editor Will Gompertz said Cocker may have had "the finest blues soul voice ever to come out of Britain".

Edgar Berger, chairman and chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment International, who signed Cocker, said he was "one of the most humble men I've ever met.

He said his voice "will forever be etched in our memories".

Hoyts sold to Chinese billionaire

The Hoyts cinema chain has been sold to an investment company founded by Chinese billionaire Sun Xishuang.

Hoyts - which also includes a network of DVD and Blu-Ray rental machines, and the Val Morgan advertising group - was sold to ID Leisure Ventures for an undisclosed sum.

ID Leisure is a Virgin Islands-based investment fund founded by Mr Sun, an entrepreneur who owns majority interest in the Dalian Yifang Group, a Chinese conglomerate, and other investments.

Hoyts chief executive Damian Keogh on Tuesday said his company looked forward to moving ahead with a new investor.

"Hoyts is embarking on a number of exciting opportunities and together with ID Leisure, we will continue to invest in the exceptional customer experience currently offered to 20 million attendees annually," Mr Keogh said in a statement.

"Innovation and expansion will be a focus following the recent launch of Hoyts Lux, a new premium cinema experience which will be rolled out across Australia and Zealand."

Hoyts cinemas includes 400 screens across Australia and New Zealand, rental machines in 650 locations and the Val Morgan cinema screen advertising operation.

Pacific Equity Partners acquired Hoyts in 2007.

Looks like your the only one keeping the thread alive Alpha,hope you and the regulars on here have a happy and safe Christmas,I'm not doing much,having a quiet time of it,at home,with the wife,and the oldest son,so will probably poke my nose in here occasionally. Just wish that grass would take a break from growing over the festive season,f'king stuff is growing an inch a day!
Have a good one spammers!

"Now I have a machine-gun. HO HO HO"

LOL!The young bloke bought these from China,$22 delivered,for a set of four,they are supposed to fit on the underside of the door,so when you open it,it projects the logo onto the ground,but he's going to try and fit them under the dash,so they illuminate the foot wells

1st - Valentino Rossi
Average score out of ten: 9.3
Team: Movistar Yamaha
Bike: YZR-M1 (Factory)
Wins: 2
Podiums: 13
Poles: 1
Fastest Laps: 1
Championship points: 295
Championship position: 2nd out of 27

During his Ducati years, Valentino Rossi was voted just 10th and 11th in the Crash.net MotoGP Star of the Year polls. Despite a race-winning return to Yamaha, the Italian again failed to impress you last year - being voted sixth, behind even CRT rider Aleix Espargaro.

But the Italian's 2014 resurgence produced his best on-track results since a seventh MotoGP title in 2009 - and Rossi has made a similar revival in your Star of the Year vote, topping the list for the first time since that same season.

Undoubtedly the most popular rider on the MotoGP grid, that hadn't helped Rossi during the last three years of the poll vote.

Rossi's previous poll victories (2008 and 2009) both came after winning the world championship, which The Doctor didn't even come close to doing in 2014, instead finishing a distant runner-up to Marc Marquez.

So what did you see in Rossi this year that was missing in the recent past?

One factor was surely the magnitude of his improvement relative to last season. While Marquez was only expected to get better this year, Rossi - 14 years his senior - began the year unsure if he would even sign another MotoGP contract, after being comprehensively beaten for much of 2013.

Spurred on by a shock change of crew chief, the oldest rider on the grid (after Colin Edwards's mid-season retirement) more than doubled his podium tally relative to last year and racked up 58 more points.

To put that into perspective, Marquez scored 28 points more than last year on the way to his title defence. Jorge Lorenzo lost 67 points relative to last year and Dani Pedrosa minus 54 points. Although Rossi only scored two wins, he was runner-up on six further occasions.

Rossi's main weakness this season was in qualifying, with just three front row starts (including a first pole since 2010), but the Saturday struggles often made his race results more praiseworthy.

In pure riding terms, the record-breaking Marquez was the undisputed best. But this poll was about more than results and it seems that for many fans Rossi's performance was the surprise of the season.

Indeed, the level of surprise (good or bad) seems to have been a major factor throughout your Star of the Year voting.

While Marquez was expected to improve further after his brilliant rookie MotoGP title and Rossi surprised after three subdued seasons, much better was expected from the likes of Lorenzo and Pedrosa - leaving them much lower in the poll than their championship positions. By contrast, the likes of Andrea Dovizioso, Aleix Espargaro and Andrea Iannone surpassed predictions and were duly voted higher.

Rossi's poll win marks only the second time that the reigning world champion has been beaten in the MotoGP Star of the Year vote, the other occasion being Pedrosa over Lorenzo in 2012.

“It is incredible," Marquez said of Rossi's 2014 'comeback'. "35 years old is one thing, but for me the most important is that after two not so good years at Ducati, then come back in Yamaha and struggle a little bit last season, this year he has come back [to the front].

"It shows how strong he is as a rider, because after three years without good results it's difficult to come back. He came back really strong and for example in Malaysia, with 35 degree heat, he was pushing me until the last three laps. I respect him a lot. I always say I would like to be like him in the future but it will be really difficult!"

“I think the season from Valentino has a lot of unbelievable merits,” added Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. “After, as Marc said, three years not so good. Especially the two years at Ducati. Coming back so strong, improving his riding, working even more physically and also staying in the pit box and working a lot of hours to try to improve the setting on his bike.”

About the vote:
Rather than repeat the Riders' World Championship standings, the MotoGP Star of the Year poll asks viewers to take into account factors such as machinery, performance relative to a team-mate, riding style, experience, injuries, progress and personality just as much as race results.

Over 50,000 votes were cast for the 2014 Crash.net MotoGP Star of the Year poll, where viewers awarded each of this year's full-time participants - only Colin Edwards, who retired during the season, was not included - with a mark out of ten.

2014 MotoGP Star of the Year: Top 10
1st Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha 9.3
2nd Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda 9.0
3rd Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team 7.0
4th Aleix Espargaro SPA Forward Yamaha 6.9
5th Andrea Iannone ITA Pramac Ducati 6.8
6th Jorge Lorenzo SPA Movistar Yamaha 6.7
7th Pol Espargaro SPA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 6.3
8th Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda 6.2
9th Scott Redding GBR Go&Fun Honda Gresini 6.1
10th Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 5.7

Happy Christmas and a merry New year.

Turns out toothpaste on foggy headlights works

Pretty chill chrissy.

So just apply

with

a rag,and wash off?

I applied some toothpaste onto the headlights and rubbed it in with a dry microfibre towel for about 30 seconds. Got the microfibre towel wet and rubbed it in some more for about a minute. Got a shammy and wiped it off. Got rid of the yellowish haze on the headlights

I love how Shuffs is speaking in haiku now.
No, that's my mums pool!
And the beverage was vodka, lemonade and cranberry juice with strawberries and lime. Mucho exelente.

It's good to know that it works, I've never suffered the problem but have heard that it is a remedy,so noted :thumbsup:

Good on him,I don't

think even Marquez

would begrudge

him that award

The food is my balcony,

the pool is my mum's house,

which is distressingly close to my place...
And those ducks are made of copper I think lol