There are tons of unsung heroes during the time of D-Day. One hero was Cliff Morris. He was a young soldier in 6 Commando who was to take part in the race to a vital bridge. Morris and his comrades from 6 Commando reached the village of St. Aubin-d'Arquenay, less than a mile from the bridge, at ca. 11am. They were joined soon after by Lord Lovat and his officers. These men including Stan Scott played an important role in securing the eastern perimeter of the Allies' D-Day landing zone. A lot of people don't know that many black men were involved in fighting during D-Day. Out of the 31,912 U.S. soldiers landing on Utah Beach, about 1,200 were black people and included troops of the remaining battery of the 320th Balloon Battalion, the 582nd Engineer Dump Turck Company, the 385th Quartermaster Truck Company, and the 590th Port Battalion with its 226th, 227th, 228th, and 229 Port Companies. My late 2nd cousin Leslie Goffigon Jr. was part of the Normandy invasion during World War Two. Lesley Goffigon (1902-1975) and my late 1st cousin Lula Peeples Goffigon (b. 1906. Lula's parents are Ray Pepples and Mary Anne Boyd. Lula's grandparents were Charles Peeples and Fannie Fronianna Susanna Virginia Brown). Leslie Goffigon Jr.'s children are Saundra Goffigon-Rudolph and Leslie Goffigon III (1958-2015). Leslie Goffigon Jr. was inducted into the United States Army on March 23, 1943, when he was 20 years old. He was assigned to the 239 Port Company 393 Port Battalion during WWII. He also was part of the Northern Franc Company which landed at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (on D-Day). He lived in New York state to work with the U.S. Postal Service for 38 years. His grandson is W. Aaron Steel, his sister is Helen M. Goffigon, and his nephew is Syeed A. Goffigon.
During this time in popular culture, the era of revelation is here. Many people have accused some of the most famous people around of sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and other evil actions. The lesson here is that people need to realize that the Golden Rule is a golden philosophy to live by. No one should touch anyone without proper consent. That consent and autonomy must be respected in any relationship. Many victims wait years and decades to speak their truth because they fear retribution, ridicule, and other forms of mistreatment that may exist as retaliation for their courageous voices being shown. Cassie's settlement with Diddy (or Brother Love) opened up more human beings to tell their stories. For the longest time, many people have the misconception back in the 1990s that Diddy was some innocent victim. By the 21st century, we know differently. Diddy made grown men and grown women to walk from Manhattan to Brooklyn to buy some cheesecake as part of his reality TV show on MTV called Making the Band. He almost beat a man with a kettlebell over the style of coaching made by a coach towards his stepson, he was cursing and screaming at the dance teaching icon Laurieann Gibson (on the show Making the Band), he beat Steve Stoute with a bottle, and there are allegations of Diddy beating women (Diddy denies those allegations). Therefore, the industry in general is cutthroat, filled with Eye Wide shut type of parties, and filled with a clique-type atmosphere that has harmed human beings psychologically for years and decades. Abuse and mistreatment will cause pain among victims for a lifetime. That is why everybody has to focus on treating people right. This action of showing dignity to people is not just about goodwill. It's about being a totally progressive human being with standards, with honor, and with integrity. It has been almost 20 years involving me researching the secrets of the entertainment industry. What I have learned is that there is a distinction between people gifted in entertainment (from music to dancing including acting) who seek the truth and are humble and those who consciously commit evil because they love it so. Therefore, understanding complex stories and the complex nature of human existence is certainly paramount in developing the bigger picture of how everything works.
The older you get; the greater people realize the importance of stretching. Stretching before exercise helps to loosen up the muscles and the bones to improve a workout regimen. Strength training exercising is useful for any human being too. Having more definition in the arms and legs is helpful for many reasons via strength-building exercises. It can decrease muscle loss. Doing no exercise can lose a percentage of human muscle every decade after 30 years old. Strength-building exercises can maintain bone density and ward off osteoporosis. These types of exercises can improve functional movement, improve quality of life, control weight gain, and improve confidence among human beings. People from across the health world always say that we should reject the overconsumption of sugar. Too much sugar can cause liver disease, increase the risk of heart disease, ruin cholesterol levels, increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (that has to do with insulin resistance and high fat diets), and increase the risk of forming depression. That is why it is important to eat nuts, and fruits, and limit sugar usage. Adequate sleep is one of the great ways of maximizing health improvement. Sleep can optimize hormones, give energy, recover quickly, improve cognitive function, and makes you feel good when waking up in the morning. Water, Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals are necessary to make our bodies function properly. More studies document how aerobic exercise can generate new brain cells in a process called neurogenesis that can improve brain efficiency. It can prevent memory loss and cognitive impairment.
For over 25 years now, she has been the premiere musician and artist of the 21st century. She is so great in talent that she is one of the most talented artists of all time. She stood the test of time from being in an R&B group to having an amazing solo career. She is Sister Beyonce Knowles-Carter, and she is 42 years old. She was born in the Deep South in the great city of Houston, Texas. Her parents are Matthew Knowles and Tina Lawson. Her younger sister is the musician, Solange Knowles. Ever since she was young, she wanted to be a star. Her mother was a hairdresser and salon owner, and her father was a Xerox sales manager. Beyonce was raised Methodist and attended St. John's United Methodist Church. Later, she went to St. Mary's Montessori School in Houston, where she enrolled in dance classes. She was inspired by dance instructor Darlette Johnson. Later, she attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Alief Elsik High School. She was part of the choir at St. John's United Methodist Church where she sang her first solo and was a soloist for 2 years.
She was in Destiny Child with Kelly Rowland, LaTavia Robertson, LeToya Luckett, Farrah Franklin, and Michelle Williams. The group was Girl's Tyme before. Destiny's Child sold millions worldwide, and later Beyonce started her own solo career. She starred in the film Carmen: Hip Hopera in 2001 and in 2002 with Austin Powers In Goldmember. Work It Out by Beyonce was the first major single of Beyonce in 2002. She was in the musical comedy The Fighting Temptations with Cuba Gooding Jr.
In 2003, everything changed. It was 20 years ago in 2003 when she released the album of Dangerously in Love as her first solo album. Then, her popularity increased with B'Day, I am...Sasha Fierce, 4, Beyonce, and Lemonade. Lemonade came out in 2016 being her best album lyrically and vocally. That album made her an icon with themes about Blackness, infidelity, feminism, and womanism. Her Renaissance album in 2022 was dedicated to house music and her uncle. She is the first solo artist to have their first seven studio albums debut at number one in the United States. We will remember her songs for decades to come like Crazy in Love, Baby Boy, Irreplaceable, Me, Myself, and I, Halo, Single Ladies, Formation, Break My Soul, etc. Her work in Black is King and Everything is Love showed her versatility as an artist. She made over 200 million records worldwide being one of the best-selling artists of all time. She earned 32 Grammy Awards, 26 MTV Music Awards, 35 BET Awards, 24 NAACP Image Awards, 17 Soul Train Music Awards, and the 2015 Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Awards. That is unprecedented in music history.
She stands up for women, especially black women. Every woman I know in my life (from conservative women, liberal women, religious women, and secular women) loves Beyonce's music. From celebrating the Black Panthers in her Super Bowl Halftime performance to being involved in philanthropy, she is her own woman. She is married to the hip-hop artist and businessman Sean Carter. The couple has 3 children including Blu Ivy. Her Renaissance World Tour in 2023 set records. The tour is using the money to help small business owners and other people via Beyonce's BeyGOOD Foundation. Tour tickets will help members of Women of Tomorrow which helps at-risk young women. Modern-day artists are inspired by her like Normani, SZA, Tinashe, Jazmine Sulivan, etc. Beyonce can do R&B, hip-hop, pop, soul, funk, etc. By June 17, 2021, Beyonce was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame as a member of the inaugural class. Her voice is a Coloratura mezzo-soprano.
The 2010's was the time when I was in me from my 20s to my late 30s. In 2010, I was 27 years old, and in 2019, I was 36 years old. This decade saw the progressive movement reach its political, social, and cultural zenith. What conservatives saw in the 1980's is what liberals saw in the 2010's. This decade saw an economic recovery, massive infrastructure investment, political unrest in the Middle East (with the Arab Spring that desired political reforms in the Middle East), new wars (from Libya to the growth of ISIS), social movements spreading, and new technologies growing. A higher awareness of climate change existed, Black Lives Matter was formed, and America legalized same-sex marriage in America in 2015 with the Supreme Court decision of Obergefell v. Hodges, and the Presidencies of Obama plus Trump existed. The music of this time saw a revitalization of the pop, and techno sound. There was dance-pop, electronic dance music, hipster culture, and electropop. People saw globalization and the growth of streaming services (in replacing CDs) like Spotify, SoundCloud, and Apple Music. We saw K-pop, hip hop, Latin music, and more online streaming services growth like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Disney+. Hip hop and R&B surpassed rock as the biggest U.S. music genre in 2018. EDM or electronic dance music was very powerful during the early to mid-part of the decade. Famous DJs and digital music producers like Skrillex, Tiesto, Avicii, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Baauer, and the controversial Diplo made many beats. Country music saw a resurgence in the 2010's in the United States of America with Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Eric Church, the progressive Kacey Musgraves, and Chris Stapleton. The 2010's saw independent music going about like Dr. Dog, Florence and The Machine, St. Vincent, Ellie Goulding, Fiest, Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and other people. During this time, artists like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Rihanna, Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, Bruno Mars, and other people made a huge amount of influence growing popular music. Drake sold a lot of records too. Many bands existed like Imagine Dragons, hip hop group Migos, Maroon 5, Twenty One Pilots, and other people existed. Ariana Grande, Britny Spears, Kesha, and Ed Sheeran made songs. Rihanna earned the most number-one singles of the decade being nine. Adele sang music. Swift and Beyonce were the only 2 woman acts in history to have six consecutive number one debuts on the Billboard 200 chart.
Rock bands continue to have massive popularity with artists like Alice in Chins, Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowei, Metallica, Muse, Gorillaz, Blank 182, Fall Out Boy, The War on Drugs, etc. Rock became diverse with indie rock, alternative rock, and metal flourishing in the 2010's. The pop rock existed with Alessia Cara, Billie Ellish, Halsey, and other people. During this decade, alternative R&B existed with SZA, Kali Uchis, Syd, Jhene Aiko, Normani, Ravyn Lenae, H.E.R., Jorja Smith, Summer Walker, Ella Hai, Bryson Tiller, Sampha, and so many other artists. With Janelle Monae, Ceel-O Green, Miguel ,Usher, and other Alicia Keys, R&B music has grown. Beyonce and Solange Knowles made some of the best music in R&B culture with Lemonade and Solange's A Seat at the Table respectively. Monica, Kelly Rowland, Brandy, Maxwell, D'Angelo, and Janet Jackson released excellent music in the 2010's. By this time, R&B artists experimented to dance sounds like Everything to Me by Monica, Refill by Elle Verner, and Thinking Bout You by Frank Ocean. Motivation was an anthem by Kelly Rowland, Brandy had Put It Down and the Human album and No Sleep was by Janet Jackson with J. Cole. Chris Brown released music too. Hip Hop by the 2010's had massive popularity with hip hop labels and artists from Kendrick Lamar, Kid Cudi, Big Sean, Wale, and Azealia Banks. Later, more men and women were in hip hop by the end of the decade like Juice WRLD, Migos, Logic, Lizzo, Megan Three Stallion, YBN Cordae, and other people. Mumble rap existed too. Hip hop even influenced country with many country artists using rap sounds and themes in their music. Reggaeton flourished along with K-Pop. K-Pop is especially popular among young people with BTS, Blackpink, and 2NE1. J-Pop and C-Pop grew too. In Africa, the Afrobeats movement existed with African award shows and artists like Guru, Wizkid, Davido, etc.
The 2020's is the decade of our time and the third decade of the 21st century. We are blessed to live in the 2020's. With the the growth of A.I., the 2020's is an interesting time of massive technological development. This decade saw the rise of COVID-19 that killed millions worldwide being a global pandemic. We saw the war in Urkaine, the war in Israel and in Gaza against Hamas, the end of the War of Afghanistan, and Charles III being the new King of the United Kingdom. Protests against police brutality and racism existed worldwide including America in 2020. There have been the protests in Hong Kong in favor of democracy. Military conflicts, strikes, and the refugee crisis continue. On November 15, 2022, the world population grew to over 8 billion people, and in 2023, India overtook China as the most populous country in the world. Music in the 2020s is very diverse with a merging of genres constantly. The 2020s have been affected by the COVID-19 disaster. Many cancellations or postponement of many musical events happened in the early 2020s. That would changed by 2023. Music has been genre less in many cases. The use of internet, streaming media, TikTok with its algorithm, playlists and unlimited access contributed to the genre less musical movement. However, by mid-2023, the music Industry recorded its highest annual revenue of all time ($8.4 billion), propelled by exponential growth of streaming subscriptions. Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, the Weeknd, Harry Styles and Doja Cat have been some of the leading music artists of the 2020s so far. Success of "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo and "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish indicated pop rock revival.
In 2020, LP records surpassed compact disc (CD) sales for the first time since 1986, LP records 28.7% ($619.6 million) with the rapid decline in CD sales by 23% ($483 million), with 62% ($1.1 billion) of revenue derived from physical music sales across the United States according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), 2020 Year-End Music Industry Revenue Report. The early part of the decade carried on the cross-genre trap music influence which started in the late 2010s, Despite Trap Music's sustained influence In the middle of the decade, the sound of the hip hop landscape gradually began shifting towards drill, plugg, rage, reggaeton, and jersey club. Thanks to the rise of social media platforms such as TikTok, music genres old and new had a moment in the spotlight. Genres such as synth-pop, Indie Pop, Hyperpop, nu-disco, pop-punk, emo-pop, house, indie rock, drill music, K-pop and Afrobeats garnered considerable attention in the mainstream media. The drive for nostalgia and desire to return to pre-pandemic life has played a role in the shift toward older music. According to data observed throughout 2021 and 2022, 70% of music demand is for old songs and it is increasing every year. The top 200 most popular songs only accounted for 5% of total streams — and that small percentage has fallen by half over the last three years. Older musicians such as Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks, and Bruce Springsteen were selling their music rights for hundreds of millions of dollars. These big names have always been popular, but according to some research, the vast majority of new downloads today are songs that are at least two years old. There is the popularization of Verzuz started by producers Timbaland and Swizz Beatz.
Late in the 2010s and early 2020s, a generation of artists emerged with party rap music that emphasizes many forms of empowerment. Artists such as Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, SZA, BIA, City Girls, Saucy Santana, Baby Tate, Saweetie, Coi Leray, GloRilla, Flo Mili, Lil Nas X, Doja Cat, Latto, Rico Nasty, and Ice Spice became prominent hip hop artists. Female rappers achieved widespread popularity and helped create the market for women in the predominantly male mainstream hip-hop genre thanks to their openly sexual lyrics and danceable instrumentation.As for rock, soft rock and hard rock grew from AC/DC, Iron Maiden, etc. Supergroup Boygenius released their debut album, The Record, to instant acclaim. The Record became the highest-charting album for any of the members thus far, debuting at number one on the UK Album Chart, and number four on the US Billboard 200. In 2023, Paul McCartney announced plans to release "the final Beatles record" later in the year with the assistance of an AI de-mixing technology previously used for Beatles documentary Get Back to be used on a demo John Lennon recorded shortly before his death. The track, "Now and Then", was released on November 2, 2023.
By Timothy
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