Flight QF 489 Boeing 767-300/300ER Operated by Qantas
Departure: Sydney Kingsford Smith Terminal 3
Date: Fri 21 Dec 07
Time: 20:30

Arrival: Melbourne Tullamarine Terminal 1
Date: Fri 21 Dec 07
Time: 22:00

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Flight QF 458 Boeing 767-300/300ER Operated by Qantas
Departure: Melbourne Tullamarine Terminal 1
Date: Tue 1 Jan 08
Time: 18:00

Arrival: Sydney Kingsford Smith Terminal 3
Date: Tue 1 Jan 08
Time: 19:20

Move over Guitar Hero, there's a new kid on the block and it's name is Accordian Hero!

I don't know how I managed to miss this over the holiday break, but thanks to Elaine at , I'm now hooked.

James Joseph Brown, Jr. (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul", was an American entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th-century popular music.

As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader and record producer, Brown was a seminal force in the evolution of gospel and rhythm and blues into soul and funk. He left his mark on numerous other musical genres, including rock, jazz, reggae, disco, dance and electronic music, afrobeat, and hip-hop music.

Brown began his professional music career in 1953 and skyrocketed to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s on the strength of his thrilling live performances and a string of smash hits. In spite of various personal problems and setbacks, he continued to score hits in every decade through the 1980s. In the 1960s and 1970s Brown was a presence in American political affairs, noted especially for his activism on behalf of African Americans and the poor (as well as his outspoken support for Richard Nixon).

A mistaken news broadcast reported Brown as dead in 1992. A sample of that broadcast became the basis of a techno hit for L.A. Style called "James Brown Is Dead".

( Lyrics... )

In December 2004 Brown was diagnosed with prostate cancer, which was successfully treated with surgery. He appeared at Edinburgh 50,000 - The Final Push, the final Live 8 concert, on July 6, 2005, where he did a duet with British pop star Will Young on "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." He also did a duet with another British pop star, Joss Stone, a week earlier on the UK chat show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Before his death, he was scheduled to perform a duet with singer Annie Lennox on the song "Vengeance" on her new album Venus, scheduled for release in early 2007.

In 2006, Brown continued his "Seven Decades Of Funk World Tour", to be his last, performing all over the world. His latest shows were still greeted with positive reviews. His last Irish performance was at the Oxegen festival in Punchestown in 2006.

James Brown received several prestigious music industry awards and honors. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction dinner in New York on January 23, 1986. On February 25, 1992 he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th annual Grammy Awards. Exactly a year later, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 4th annual Rhythm & Blues Foundation Pioneer Awards. On November 14, 2006, Brown was inducted to the UK Music Hall of Fame. He was one of several inductees that performed at the ceremony.

Brown was admitted to the Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia on December 24, 2006 after a dentist visit where he was found to have severe pneumonia. Brown died the next day on December 25, 2006, around 1:45 a.m. (06:45 UTC) at age 73. The cause of death was heart failure, according to his agent. James was quoted saying "I'm going away tonight" sometime before he passed away.

Happy crass commercialisation of the christian bastardisation of a good ol' pagan ritual