FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Kylie Ann Minogue AO OBE (/mɪˈnoʊɡ/; born 28 May 1968), sometimes known mononymously as Kylie, is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinventing herself in music and fashion, for which she is referred to by the European press as the “Princess of Pop” and a style icon. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, three Brit Awards and 17 ARIA Music Awards.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Minogue first achieved recognition starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, playing tomboy mechanic Charlene Robinson. She gained prominence as a recording artist in the late 1980s and released four bubblegum and dance-pop-influenced studio albums produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. By the early 1990s, she had amassed several top ten singles in the UK and Australia, including “I Should Be So Lucky“, “The Loco-Motion“, “Hand on Your Heart“, and “Better the Devil You Know“. Taking more creative control over her music, Minogue signed with Deconstruction Records in 1993 and released Kylie Minogue (1994) and Impossible Princess (1997), both of which received positive reviews. She returned to mainstream dance-oriented music with 2000’s Light Years, including the number-one hits “Spinning Around” and “On a Night Like This“. The follow-up, Fever (2001), was an international breakthrough for Minogue, becoming her best-selling album to date. Two of its singles, “Love at First Sight” and “In Your Eyes“, became hits, but its lead single, “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” became one of the most successful singles of the 2000s, selling over five million units.

Minogue continued reinventing her image and experimenting with a range of genres on her subsequent albums, which spawned successful singles such as “Slow“, “2 Hearts“, “All the Lovers“, “Santa Baby“, “Timebomb” and “Dancing“. With her 2020 album Disco, she became the first female artist to have a chart-topping album in the UK for five consecutive decades. Minogue made her film debut in The Delinquents (1989) and portrayed Cammy in Street Fighter (1994). She has also appeared in the films Moulin Rouge! (2001), Jack & Diane, Holy Motors (2012) and San Andreas (2015). In 2014, she appeared as a judge on the third series of The Voice UK and The Voice Australia. Her other ventures include product endorsements, children’s books, fashion, and charitable work.

Minogue was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2008 New Year Honours for services to music. She was appointed by the French government as a Chevalier (knight) of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her contribution to the enrichment of French culture. In 2005, while Minogue was on tour, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.) degree by Anglia Ruskin University in 2011 for her work in raising awareness for breast cancer. At the 2011 ARIA Music Awards, she was inducted by the Australian Recording Industry Association into the ARIA Hall of Fame. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2019 Australia Day Honours.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Dog Days Begin

The phrase “Dog Days” conjures up the hottest, most sultry days of summer. The Old Farmer’s Almanac lists the traditional timing of the Dog Days: the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, coinciding with the heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather (some of our hottest and most humid days occur after August 11), but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the season of the Nile’s flooding, so they used the star as a “watchdog” for that event. Since its rising also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all time: “Dog Days bright and clear / indicate a happy year. / But when accompanied by rain, / for better times our hopes are vain.”

Question of the Day

Where did the different birthstones originate, and why are certain birthstones for certain months?

The wearing of the gemstone associated with your birth month is thought to bring good luck and good health. Astrologers long ago attributed supernatural powers to certain gemstones. The ones we associate with certain months now are not necessarily the same ones as in ancient times. The list fluctuates with the availability and cost of the stones. Once, color was the most important feature of a stone. Ancients did not distinguish between a ruby and a garnet, for example. The names used in history may not relate to the stone we think of with that name today. For example, a sapphire in the Bible was probably what we know today as lapis, and the diamonds were probably a white sapphire or white topaz. The stones originally assigned to each month related to the stones appearing on the breastplate of a Jewish high priest.

Advice of the Day

Cap in hand never did any harm.

Home Hint of the Day

Use uncooked rice as a mild abrasive for cleaning narrow-necked bottles and vases. Mix a few tablespoons of rice with water in the bottle or vase. Shake gently, pour out the rice and water, wash, and rinse.

Word of the Day

February

From the Latin word februa, “to cleanse.” The Roman Februalia was a month of purification and atonement.

Puzzle of the Day

A division of time and a girl’s name.(Use these clues to find the two words that, when combined, form the name of a flower.)

Answer: Daylily

Born

• Samuel Huntington (signer of the Declaration of Independence) – 1731
• John Singleton Copley (painter) – 1738
• Richard Bedford Bennett (11th Prime Minister of Canada) – 1870
• George M. Cohan (composer) – 1878
• Franz Kafka (novelist) – 1883
• Ken Russell (film director) – 1927
• Pete Fountain (jazz musician) – 1930
• Harrison Schmitt (geologist, astronaut, politician) – 1935
• Tom Stoppard (writer) – 1937
• Betty Buckley (actress) – 1947
• Frank Daryl Tanana (baseball player) – 1953
• Thomas Gibson (actor) – 1962
• Tom Cruise (actor) – 1962
• Yeardley Smith (actress) – 1964
• Kevin Hearn (musician) – 1969

Died

• Jim Morrison (musician) – 1971
• Rudy Vallee (musician & actor) – 1986
• Jim Backus (actor) – 1989
• Andy Griffith (actor) – 2012

Events

• Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain– 1608
• The first savings bank in America (Bank of Savings) opened in N.Y.C.– 1819
• Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire officially opened to the public.– 1869
• Idaho became the 43rd state to enter the Union– 1890
• Fruit Garden and Home magazine was published. The publication changed its name two years later to Better Homes and Gardens– 1922
• President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited segregation in public places– 1964
• The USS Vincennes shot down an Iranian passenger plane over the Persian Gulf, believing it to be a hostile fighter. All 290 civilians aboard were killed– 1988
• Singer Kylie Minogue received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire from Prince Charles during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace– 2008

Weather

• Black dust fell in Canada– 1814
• Hartford, Connecticut, reached 102 degrees F– 1966
• New York City reached 107 degrees F– 1966
• Allentown, Pennsylvania, reached 105 degrees F– 1966

COURTESY www.almanac.com