NYDP Communication Enrichment Class

Who is Shawn Mendes?

Shawn is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter.
He started uploading some of his cover versions to video sharing sites and that caused him to get a dedicated following that he created through different social media outlets.

His talents, teen idol and good looks built him a large fan base very quickly and earned him a record deal.
In 2014 his debut single called Life of the Party went to number 24 on the Billboard 100.

That made him at 15 years old the youngest artist to have a debut song in the top 25.
Although he has been known as the next Justin Bieber his acoustic driven and catchy songs were more like his idol Ed Sheeran’s musical style.
Mendes quickly began to write his own songs.
His loyal fans, most of them were tweens and teenagers, have supported his platinum selling hits, his large-size arena world tours, both as an opening act for Taylor Swift and as a solo artist.

Early Years and High School

Shawn Peter Raul Mendes was born on August 8, 1998, in Toronto Canada to Karen and Manuel Mendes.
He has a younger sister named Aaliyah. They grew up in Pickering, Ontario and went to Pine Ridge Secondary School.
He enjoyed playing sports like soccer and ice hockey but also took some acting classes.
Even though he left school in his junior year to go out on tour, he was able to keep up with his homework by doing online courses and was able to graduate with his class in June 2016.

Starting Out on Vine

Vine was a 6 and a half second video sharing service that was launched in June 2012.
That August when he was 14 years old, Shawn decided to show off his talents by uploading a video of himself singing Justin Bieber’s song called As Long as You Love Me. He did it in an acoustic style.

He decided to check the account the next day and discovered that he had 10,000 likes.
Shawn is now a very good example of how to become famous in the social media era and he is an example of how the music business now finds new artists.
By using Vine, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram he has built a massive grassroots fan base.
He is also very dedicated to interacting with his fans on an almost daily basis. His manager noticed him by listening to some of his cover renditions.
He convinced Shawn and his father to come to New York and sign with Island records. He was very impressed with the determination and drive Shawn showed from the beginning.
His manager said that he’s always been very impressed by him because he was wise beyond his years.
Shawn’s manager said “his musical abilities have grown like his vocal abilities and his acoustic guitar playing. I have seen him go from the kid who is playing on an acoustic guitar to an amazing front man with the band and to me a modern-day version of a rockstar.”

Self-Taught Musician

Not only was he discovered by posting his performances on the Internet, but he also learned how to play guitar by using YouTube.
He would type things like how to play beginner songs on the guitar.
He taught himself chords and slowly started to get the hang of it. He was obsessed with learning how to do it perfectly.
He said, “Every day I’d play and think I’m not good enough yet; I need to get better. Then I play for hours and hours.”
His obsession with watching YouTube covers is what made him post his own covers across social media.
He became determined to pursue his career in music and started taking vocal lessons.

Shawn Mendes Songs and Albums Stitches Hits the Top 10

In 2014 Shawn released his Island Record debut EP called the Shawn Mendes EP.
It went to number 5 on the music charts with record sales topping 100,000.
In 2015 he released a full-length debut album called Handwritten which came out at number 1 in both the US and Canada.
The single called Stitches reached number 1 in European music charts and the top 10 in North America.

His song called Believe was featured on the Disney channel musical Called Descendents.

Mendes and Camila Cabello: I Know What You Did Last Summer

While he was touring with Taylor Swift during her 1989 world tour, he worked with fifth harmony’s Camila Cabello on the record called I Know What You Did Last Summer. It was a top 20 hit in the US and in Canada.

The next record called Treat You Better was also released and became a top 10 hit.

Illuminate and World Tour

In September 2016 Shawn released his second album called Illuminate.
While he was working on this album, he felt like it resembled the styles of Ed Sheeran and John Mayer. Following these two artists Shawn did virtually all the songwriting for it.
His efforts were a huge success because he topped the charts and went Platinum in the US and in Canada.
Two months later Mendes issued Live at Madison Square Garden and went on a world tour in 2017.
The song called There’s Nothing Holding Me Back also went to the top 10.

He also made a record with MTV Unplugged.

Shawn Mendes

In March 2018 Shawn released two singles one day apart. They were called In My Blood and Lost in Japan.

In May 2018 he released a self-titled third album. This studio project album was number one on the Billboard 200 and later won a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.
In May 2019 he released the single called If I Can’t Have You. It was written initially for Dua Lipa but he decided to record it for himself instead.

In June 2019 he released the video for Señorita. It was another duet with Camila Cabello.

I thought we could finish class by watching him on Carpool Karaoke. You know you’re famous when you’re on Carpool Karaoke.

July 6: Anne Murray

Anne Murray is a hugely successful Canadian singer. She is often considered one of the female Canadian artists who paved the way for other international Canadian success stories such as k.d. lang, Céline Dion, and Shania Twain.
Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide. Her career was 45 years long, but now she is happily retired.

Accomplishments & Awards

Murray was the first Canadian female solo singer to reach No. 1 on the U.S. charts and also the first to earn a Gold record for one of her signature songs, “Snowbird” (1970).
Murray is also well known for her Grammy Award-winning 1978 number 1 US hit “You Needed Me”. She is also the first woman and the first Canadian to win “Album of the Year” at the 1984 Country Music Association Awards for her Gold-plus 1983 album A Little Good News.

Murray has received four Grammys, a record 24 Junos, three American Music Awards, three Country Music Association Awards, and three Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
She has been inducted into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame, the Juno Hall of Fame, The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.
She is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame Walkway of Stars in Nashville and has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles and on Canada’s Walk of Fame in Toronto.
In 2011, Billboard ranked her 10th on their list of the 50 Biggest Adult Contemporary Artists Ever.

Early Life

Anne Murray was born as Morna Anne Murray on June 20, 1945 in Springhill, Nova Scotia, Canada. She is the daughter of town doctor James Carson Murray and nurse Marion Margaret Burke and was raised alongside her five brothers.
At a very young age, Anne already expressed interest in music, and then she started taking voice lessons at the age of 6. Aside from that, she also studied the piano.
After graduating from high school, she attended Mount Saint University in Halifax for a year. Then she continued her education at the University of New Brunswick, where she finished her degree in Physical Education in 1966.

Early Career

Later on, she auditioned for the CBC musical variety TV show Singalong Jubilee, but unfortunately, she was not offered a singing position. Two years later, she was invited to take a second audition for the show, where she was finally cast.
Anne Murray officially started her career in 1967 with Singalong Jubilee as a featured soloist alongside another TV show for teenagers, Let’s Go.

After her stint in the variety musical TV show, she received an offer to record a solo album from Brian Ahern, who was the show’s musical director.

In 1968, she released her debut album What About Me, which led her to being signed with Capitol Records, a major record label.
After that, she released her album ‘This Way Is My Way’ followed by ‘Biding My Time’.

The album “Biding My Time” featured “Snowbird” as its second single.

After getting radio play, the song quickly became a hit. It was also certified by the RIAA as a gold record, a first for a Canadian female solo artist.

With the success of “Snowbird,” Murray’s career skyrocketed, and she became a pop and country standard.
But Murray never wanted her music to be labeled because she wanted to do everything. And she wanted the freedom to be able to do all the different music that influenced her. And she definitely fought against that early in her career.
During the ‘80s, Murray continued to release hits after hits and she earned numerous distinctions from prestigious award-giving bodies like the Grammys.
Anne Murray songs definitely dominated the music scene at the time. And then, she was finally inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1993.

Moving forward, Murray had never been afraid to explore different musical styles, and she tried to do inspirational songs and even seasonal albums, which all did well commercially.

Personal Life/Where is she now?

But aside from a long and celebrated career, she also devoted time to philanthropic causes. She also helped raise awareness about anorexia which her daughter Dawn also struggled with ever since she was 10. They went on several talk shows and even performed at benefit concerts in hopes of spreading their message to other young women.
She retired from the music circuit over 10 years ago. In an interview back in 2013, shortly after her retirement, she said that she had been thoroughly enjoying it.
She also added that she didn’t miss singing at all. Murray mentioned that at some point, fame became difficult to handle. She was so busy that she didn’t have a life at all, and she also sacrificed a lot, family-wise.
A couple of years ago, she left Toronto as a step away from the life of music and settled back in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She is definitely enjoying rekindling relationships with family and friends, whom she had not seen for a long time.
Anne Murray has turned down invites to perform live or to feature in any song. She is satisfied just singing tunes while she does some household chores, and that is the closest she will get to putting on a show again.

Sources

Meet Anne Murray: Her Story of Love and Family

https://www.countrythangdaily.com/where-is-anne-murray-now-a-peek-at-the-singers-current-life/

Kiddle Encyclopedia

What Is Canada Day and Why Do We Celebrate?

Canada Day commemorates the day when the British colonies were united into one country known as Canada these colonies were Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the province of Canada. This happened on July 1, 1867. Today we celebrate Canada Day by spending time with her family and friends, attending parades and parties and enjoying our great country. We are proud the Canadian and celebrating Canada day is one way to show how proud we are to be Canadian.

What Is the History of Canada Day?

Originally the date was called Diminutive Day. It was celebrated to commemorate the formation of the Dominion. However over time the holiday came to be seen as a celebration of Canadian independence from Britain. In 1982 the name was changed to Canada Day. It is a day to celebrate what it means to be Canadian: it’s diversity, inclusion and opportunity for all. Canada Day is a reminder of everything we have accomplished as a nation and a celebration of all that we can achieve together.

How Has the Holiday Changed over the Years?

In the past Canada Day was the focus on patriotic displays and military parades. Now the day is concentrated on cultural diversity and inclusiveness. For many immigrants Canada date is an opportunity to learn more about their new country and to celebrate their own culture. There are events and activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. While some traditions are kept such as street parties, fireworks other activities have been started to reflect the change and diversity of Canada. It is a day that provides a chance for everyone to come together and feel proud to be Canadian.

Let’s look at some fun facts that I bet you didn’t know about Canada Day.

We like Beer
beer and Canada Day go together like music and comedy stars Bob and Doug McKenzie. In British Columbia, people drink 1.2 million L of beer over the country’s long weekend birthday.

2. Believe It or Not It Makes the Perfect Moving Day
most of Canada celebrates Canada Day. But in the province of Québec it is very common for people to decide to move out from their apartment. This tradition is decades-old tradition. Most leases in Québec expire on July 1. In 2012 80,000 Quebecers moved out of their apartments.

3. The Citizenship Test Is Hard
in 2010 Canada made its test harder because they added more detailed questions and made the passing grade higher. As a result, failure rates changed from four and 8% to 30%. Does anybody know what year the name Canada first began appearing on maps? The answer is 1547.

4. We Can Be Very Crafty
When asked to help them design the country’s official flag parliamentarians asked Canadians in 1963 to come up with suggestions. Of the 3541 patriots who responded nearly 400 of them thought the beaver should be front and centre of the flag. The Maple leaf was chosen to be on the Canadian flag due to the popularity of maple trees in Canada. It was meant to represent peace and hope. The original leaf design had 13 points and was deemed to be too busy looking so two points were eliminated and the final design was of an 11-point Maple leaf.

Ed Sheeran

Who Is Ed Sheeran?

He is a singer-songwriter who began playing guitar at an early age. He was even writing songs of his own.
When he was a teenager, he moved to London to pursue his music dream.
He was extremely creative and was able to come up with several early EP’s and performed in hundreds of live shows.
He was able to gain a lot of attention for his online performances and as a result he hit number one on the iTunes chart before he ever signed with a record label.
Since he signed with Atlantic Records, he has sold millions of records and won Grammys for hits like Thinking out Loud and Shape of You as well as create a 2018 album called Divide.

Early Years and Career in London

Ed was born on February 17, 1991, in Halifax, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.
He began playing guitar when he was very young and had a lot of musical talent.
He even overcame an unseen disability as a result of a surgery he had.

When he was 11 years old, he was lucky enough to be able to go backstage to meet singer-songwriter Damien Rice at one of his concerts.
Damien gave even more inspiration to Ed to follow his dream of becoming a musician. As the story goes, Damien told Ed to write his own music and the very next day he did.
Very quickly Ed was recording CDs and selling them.
He even put together his first official EP called The Orange Room.

With the success of his CDs and EP he decided at 14 years of age he would travel to London for the summer that year. So, he left home with his guitar and backpack full of clothes. This is when his musical career officially started.
Once he arrived in London and got busy recording and playing in the local venues, he released two albums.
One was a self-titled album in 2006 and the album Want Some in 2007.
He also started opening for some acts called Nizlopi, Noisettes and Jay Sean.
He released another EP called You Need Me in 2009. That same year he did more than 300 live shows.
In 2010 his career went to the next level by using online media. Keep in mind Ed had to learn how to use online media for himself.
He posted a video online and it got the attention of Example, a rapper. As a result, he was asked to go on the road with him as an opening act.
This created an even better opportunity to increase his online fan base and inspiration for many more songs which ended up filling three more new EP’s.

Albums and Songs

Ed decided to head to the United States in 2010. It was then that he was noticed by Jamie Foxx who asked him to appear on his Sirius radio show.
In January 2011 he released another EP which would be his last one as an independent artist.
Even without any promotion the record reached number two on the iTunes chart and as a result he was signed on with Atlantic records that same month.

“+” Plus

This was his first major debut album released with Atlantic Records.
It was an instant hit and sold more than a million copies in the United Kingdom in the first six months.
He began co-writing songs with bigger artists such as One Direction and Taylor Swift and was one of the opening acts on Taylor Swift’s 2013 arena tour.

I See Fire and “X” Multiply

The song I See Fire was his next big success. It was featured in the movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
In June 2014 his next album “X” Multiply debuted at number 1 in the United States and in the United Kingdom.
This album has three top 10 singles called Don’t, Photograph and Thinking out Loud.
Thinking out Loud won a Grammy for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance in 2016.

“÷” Divide

In 2016 Sheeran decided to take a hiatus to work on his 3^rd album. It was called Divide.
In January 2017 he released 2 singles from this album.
They were called Shape of You and Castle on the Hill which debuted at number 1 and number 6 on the Billboard hot 100.

Another song from the sellable called Supermarket Flowers was also a very popular song.

In March 2017 he released the album and announced that he would be going on a world tour to support it.
This album broke a Spotify record for 1^st day album streams with 56.7 million lessons in 24 hours.

Perfect Duet

In late 2017, he delivered another hit with the love song called Perfect.

He released another version of that song that he recorded with Beyoncé called Perfect Duet.
The original version of the song was number 1 on the Billboard Pop Songs and Adult Pop Songs charts in mid-January 2018.
He added to his accomplishments by winning Best Pop Solo Performance for the song called Shape of You and Best Pop Vocal Album for Divide.

No. 6 Collaborations Project

In May 2019 he released the track he did with Justin Bieber called I Don’t Care. This song established a new single day streaming record for Spotify.

After That he joined forces with Chance the Rapper and created the song called Cross Me.
He also joined forces with Khalid for the song called Beautiful People.
This album ultimately produced eight singles and won a Grammy nod for Best Pop Vocal Album.

Films and TV Shows

Ed was part of the film called Bridget Jones Diary in 2016 and the Beatles inspired musical called Yesterday in 2019. Both these films had Ed starring as himself.

He also got a recurring role in the 2015 FX series called The Bastard Executioner and later appeared in an episode of Game of Thrones and the Amazon anthology series called Modern Love.

Copyright Lawsuits

Cases of copyright infringement began to increase as he became more famous.
In 2014, songwriters Martin Harrington and Thomas Leonard accused Ed of using their work from their track called Amazing in his song Photograph. The case was settled out of court in 2017.
In 2016, the heirs of Ed Townsend who cowrote Marvin Gaye’s 1973 classic Let’s Get It On claimed that Ed’s Thinking out Loud borrowed extensively from the Marvin Gaye song. The case was dismissed the following year, but he was hit with a new lawsuit in 2018 over the same song.
In early 2018, Sean Carey and Beau Golden wanted $20 million in damages over claims that The Rest of Our Life’s co-written by Sheeran for country music stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill copied their song When I Found You recorded by Jasmine Ray. The lawsuit was settled later that year.

Royal Honors and Personal Life

On December 7, 2000, and was made a member of the Most Excellent Order of The British Empire for his services to music and charity.
A few weeks after receiving that award he announced that he had celebrated another important location by getting engaged to his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn.
In August of the same year, he revealed that he had recently gotten married.
In August 2020 they welcomed their first child. They had a daughter named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran.

This video is a bit long, but I thought we could finish class by watching some of Ed Sheeran on carpool karaoke.

June 22: Celebrating Father’s Day

History of Father’s Day

This is a customary date for the celebration of fatherhood in Catholic Europe. It dates back to at least 1508. It is usually celebrated on March 19 as the feast day of St. Joseph who is referred to as the fatherly Nutritor Domini, which is the nourisher of the Lord.
This celebration was brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese peoples.
The Catholic Church really supported this custom celebration of fatherhood on St. Joseph’s Day from either the last years of the 14^th century or from the early 15^th century.
The Coptic Orthodox Church, which is in Egypt, has the celebration of fatherhood or Father’s Day on July 20. This celebration can date back to the fifth century.
People in Egypt, Africa and the Middle East observe this day.
In 1908, Grace Golden Clayton proposed that this day should be used to honour those men who had died in a mining accident in the US. It was not accepted back then.
However, in 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd who attended a Mother’s Day ceremony in church with her five brothers convinced the Spokane Ministrial Association to celebrate Father’s Day worldwide. She was raised along with her five brothers by her father alone.

In addition to Father’s Day, International Men’s Day is celebrated in many countries on November 19 in honour of both men and boys.

Fun Facts That You Didn’t Know about Father’s Day

It’s always played second fiddle to Mother’s Day.

Since it began Father’s Day has been less important than Mother’s Day. That changed when Spokane Washington resident Sonora Dodd fought for this holiday in the early 1900s. It was made official by President Richard Nixon in 1972. This was 58 years after Mother’s Day was something to be celebrated.

2. Google has always loved it.

Google has shown Father’s Day themed pictures on its main page since the year 2000. Let’s look at some funny Father’s Day quotes.
”You can tell what was the best year of your father’s life, because they seem to freeze that clothing style and write it out.”
”I gave my father $100 and said, by yourself something that will make your life easier. So, he went out and bought a present for my mother.”

3. How many fathers do you think there are in Canada? These can include biological, adoptive and stepfathers. There are 8.6 million Fathers in Canada according to statistics Canada.

4. He Just Wants to Spend Time with You
According to statistics Canada in 1976 one in 70 father’s where stay-at-home parents. In 2015 the number has changed to one in 10 fathers stay home with their kids

5. Leave It to Beaver
the beaver is Canada’s national symbol. The beaver is one of the few male creatures in the animal kingdom that stays around after the meeting to help raise their kids. In some rare cases biologists have noticed male beavers taking on the role of a single dad.

6. Germany Celebrates Their Own Way
In Germany Mannertag which is celebrated 40 days after Easter is Germany’s take on Father’s Day. In Germany instead of having breakfast in bed in some parts of Germany, man pile wagons high with beer and set off on drives through the town with their beer.

7. Surprisingly, we buy more cards for moms than we do dads.
Statistics show that in the United States last year, Hallmark sold 141 million cards for Mother’s Day but only 93 million for Father’s Day. Interestingly that is a gap of roughly the weight of six blue whales.

8. Women Spend More Than Men
Canadian women are more likely than men to buy a gift for Father’s Day. But man are more likely to buy something more expensive. The most generous of all men are in the Atlantic provinces because they spend an average of $106.

Let’s look at some bad dad jokes

If their child is feeling a bit crabby or sad one dad said, “why don’t crabs give to charity? Because their shellfish.”

Another dad said, “I got hit in the head with a can of Diet Coke. Don’t worry, I’ve not heard. It was only a soft drink.”

One last one. “Why did the man’s name is dogs Rolex and Timex? Because they were watchdogs.

Let’s look at some popular Father’s Day movies.

Finding Nemo

The Lion King

Father’s Day

Air Force One

I thought we could finish up class by watching and touching video about stories that remind us how important our dads are.

June 20: Madonna

It’s hard to choose just one image of Madonna! Her look has changed so much over time! Think of this video as the substitute picture 🙂

Who wouldn’t recognize the iconic Madonna? The Queen of Pop is labeled one of the most influential artists in the industry. Madonna has made a significant impact on the world with her songs, artistry, and even lifestyle.

Early Life

Madonna Louise Ciccone, popularly known as Madonna, was born in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958. Madonna grew up in Pontiac, Michigan.
She was raised in a large Italian American family by her Catholic parents, Madonna Louise Fortin and Silvio Anthony “Tony” Ciccone.
Having the same name as her mother, Madonna was nicknamed “Little Nonnie” by her family members.
Her father was a son of Italian immigrants, and her mother was of French-Canadian descent.
Madonna had five siblings: Anthony, Martin, Paula, Christopher, and Melanie. She was the third among them.
Madonna was only five when her mother passed away. Her loss had a significant effect on her growing up.
Madonna was against the idea of her father getting married again, but he did.
She rebelled against her father and stepmother, and this damage her and her father’s relationship for several years.
Madonna spent her school life at St. Frederick and St. Andrew’s Catholic Elementary Schools and West Middle School.
Although she got high grades, she was notorious for her unique behavior.
In between classes, she would do cartwheels and handstands in the hallways and even pull up her skirt, making her underwear visible to her boy classmates.
She was initially enrolled in classical piano lessons; however, she was more interested in taking ballet lessons, so she persuaded her father to learn ballet instead.
Her potential impressed her ballet teacher, Christopher Flynn, so he convinced her to find a career in dancing. She was also a cheerleader.
She was also a straight-A student, and the University of Michigan offered her a dance scholarship.
After her high school graduation, she spent her summer studying at the American Dance Festival held in Durham, North Carolina.
In 1977, she was granted the opportunity to attend a six-week scholarship study at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York.
In 1978, she was also given a chance to perform with the renowned dancer Pearl Lang.
Madonna dropped out of college after two years and moved to New York, where she experienced several firsts in her life, such as riding a plane and taxi.
She only had $35 when she moved, but she managed to stay there by working different jobs, including Dunkin Donuts, nude modeling for artists, performing at the American Dance Center, and later becoming a backup dancer for established artists.

Music Career

Madonna began her career as a part of different bands with two different boyfriends.
Madonna was a vocalist, guitarist, and drummer.
After some time, Madonna went on to pursue her solo career.
Madonna often went to clubs and gave her demos to be played.
DJ Mark Kamins was interested in Madonna’s music and introduced her to Seymour Stein.
Seymour Stein, the president of Sire Records, signed Madonna in October 1982 and soon released her debut single Everybody, produced by DJ Mark Kamins.

Months later, she released her second single entitled Burning Up.

The success of her singles led her to produce her first-ever self-titled album, Madonna, released in July 1983.
The album was a huge success, topping charts and earning platinum awards.
Holiday, Lucky Star, and Borderline are among the hit songs that were popularly known internationally.

Madonna gained exposure by performing in different shows, films, and on stage.
She was an icon for young people and adult women.
In the 1980s, her fashion was considered a trend.
She became more popularly known with her second album, Like A Virgin, released in November 1984.
Like A Virgin was her first album to top the charts in different countries and the first album by a female to sell over five million copies in the US.

She began her first concert tour in April 1985.
True Blue, Madonna’s third album, was released in June 1986 and is said to have been dedicated to her former husband, Sean Penn.
The Guinness World Records in 1992 included True Blue as an all-time best-selling female album.
This album includes the songs, Papa Don’t Preach, Where’s The Party, and Love Makes the World Go Round.

Madonna said this about “Where’s the Party?”: “It’s my ultimate statement about what it’s like to be in the middle of this Press stuff with everybody on my back, my world about to cave in. Whenever I feel like that – and it does get to me sometimes – I say ‘Wait a minute, I’m supposed to be having a good time here, so where’s the party?’ It doesn’t have to be this way. I can still enjoy life.”
This is her performing “Love Makes the World Go Round” at the 1985 fundraiser concert Live Aid to raise money for the relief of Africans who were struggling with famine.

Her Blond Ambition Tour in 1990 was described as the best tour of the year by Rolling Stone.
The Immaculate Collection, her compilation album, became the best-selling compilation by a soloist, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Madonna’s album releases also included Like a Prayer (1989), Erotica (1992), Bedtime Stories (1994), Ray of Light (1998), Music (2000), American Life (2003), Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005), Hard Candy (2008), MDNA (2012), Rebel Heart (2015), and Madame X (2019).
Here are some of her hit songs from these albums. Let me know if you have a request, and I’ll play it! 🙂

Like other artists, Madonna’s success was accompanied by various criticisms, especially from conservatives and Catholics.

To this day, Madonna still faces heavy criticism over her looks. This time, it’s how much plastic surgery she has had to look like she is in her 20s when she is 64. She also faces controversy over releasing new music with younger artists, which some people call “desperate”.
However, in my opinion, I think that she should be appreciated as one of the rare pop stars who chooses to continue to make music and innovate her sound even though she can afford to not do anything for money. Also, it’s her body, she can do what she wants with it.
Here are some of her famous collaborations with other big names:

Her most recent collaboration is with Sam Smith on the song “Vulgar.” This song features the powerful line: “You know you’re beautiful when they call you vulgar. Vulgar is beautiful, filthy, and gorgeous. Vulgar will make you dance, don’t need a chorus. Say we’re ridiculous, we’ll just go harder. Mad and meticulous, Sam and Madonna.”

Non-Music Work

Over the years, Madonna’s talent and hard work brought her several projects such as theater and movie roles, soundtrack recordings, tours and concerts, documentaries, guest appearances, and endorsements.
Her acting debut was in the indie film A Certain Sacrifice, which was released in 1979, quite a few years before her solo music career took off!

One of the most famous movies that she was in is Evita, which was released in 1996. It is a musical historical drama film based on the 1976 concept album of the same name produced by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and the 1978 musical.
The film depicts the life of Eva Perón, former first lady of Argentina, and details her beginnings, rise to fame, political career and death at the age of 33.
Here are some iconic songs from that movie:

Madonna established her label, Maverick Records, and entered different industries such as fashion, writing children’s books, health clubs, and film producing.
She also supported several charities and founded the Ray of Light Foundation (1998) and Raising Malawi (2006).
The charity that she founded was named after her song, Ray of Light.

Legacy and Achievements

The Queen of Pop has achieved many accomplishments in the industry.
Madonna raised the bar for many female artists in the entertainment industry and influenced several people, especially women.
For Professor Sut Jhally, Madonna was an almost sacred feminist icon.
Her status as a businesswoman was also exemplary, and she was considered a role model in this field.
She was the first artist to be honored in the Wembley Square of Fame, in London.
Some other achievements she gained were:
- Nominations on various music platforms for different categories and various awards from music shows, like the Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, and Billboard Awards.
Various Guinness World Records: one of these is the largest TV audience for the Super Bowl in history.
She was named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists and 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.
She is highly acknowledged as a female musician, as proven by some of these achievements:
- She was the first female given the Video Vanguard Award.
- RIAA named her the best-selling female rock artist in the 20th century and the US artist with the third highest-certified album by a female.
- She was also the only female artist in history who sold 100,000 tickets for two concerts.
- She holds the record for the most number-one singles by a female artist in various countries.
- In 2012, she was labeled the greatest woman in music by VH1, and Acclaimed Music classified her as the most acclaimed female musician of all time.
Madonna has proven herself in her career, but her achievements are not limited to this list, and continuously grow.

Edited from original source.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evita_(1996_film)

June 15: The Toronto Football Club

Quick Facts

Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is Toronto’s professional soccer club. You may know that North Americans call the sport soccer and Europeans call the sport football.
The “FC” (“Football Club”) in the club’s name is the conventional naming for association football teams across Europe. “FC” is commonly used among Major League Soccer (MLS) teams to present a more authentic soccer brand.
The team’s nickname is The Reds. The official team colors include red as the primary color, with black, grey, dark grey, and white as secondary colors.
When Toronto FC joined MLS in 2007, it was the first Canadian-based franchise in the league. Now, there are two other Canadian football clubs, CF Montréal (formerly called the Montreal Impact )& the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The club is a member of the MLS’ Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO Field, located at Exhibition Place on Toronto’s shoreline west of Downtown Toronto.
Toronto FC has an affiliate team, Toronto FC II. This is similar to how the Toronto Maple Leafs have an affiliate team, The Marlies.
Toronto FC is operated by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), which also operates most other professional sports franchises in the city, like the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association, and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
As of 2023, the club has an estimated value of US$690 million, and it has the highest player payroll in Major League Soccer.
Before we jump in, let’s watch a very quick video about the rules of soccer so that nobody feels left out.

History of the Team

MLS awarded Toronto with a team in 2005. MLSE paid US$10 million for the franchise. The name of the team was announced on May 11, 2006.

The public was invited to vote on the name online for a limited time. The voting options were “Toronto Northmen”, “Inter Toronto FC”, “Toronto Reds”, and “Toronto FC”.
MLSE’s strategy in choosing “Toronto FC” following this process was based on two reasons. Firstly, over 40 percent of the online vote supported the simple Toronto FC name during the consultation; secondly, MLSE hoped that the fairly generic name would help the new club earn a more organic nickname from the Toronto fans rather than having one imposed upon the team.

Despite a long scoreless streak to start the club’s history, Toronto FC quickly began to establish itself as a club with significant fan support.
The club’s first win came on May 12, 2007, at BMO Field as Danny Dichio scored the team’s first goal in the 24th minute of a 3–1 home win over the Chicago Fire.
In the club’s second season in 2008, Toronto hosted the 2008 MLS All-Star Game. The club finished last in the Eastern Conference, but the enthusiastic fan base continued to fill BMO Field to capacity.
In the 2009 Canadian Championship, Toronto FC required a four-goal victory over the Montreal Impact in the final game of the competition to nullify the Vancouver Whitecaps’ +4 goal differential. Anything less would result in Vancouver winning the championship. Toronto FC went down 1–0 early, but a hat-trick by player Dwayne De Rosario, two scores by Amado Guevara, and the final goal by Chad Barrett, the TFC won! The unlikely victory was dubbed by fans and media as the “Miracle in Montreal”!

In 2011, Toronto FC was the first Canadian team to reach the CONCACAF Champions League semi-final. Unfortunately, they did not make it any further that year.
On September 26, 2015, Sebastian Giovinco scored and assisted in a 3–2 win over Chicago, putting him on 35 points for the season, breaking Chris Wondolowski’s league record. Giovinco’s totals of 22 goals and 16 assists, for 38 total points, made him the first TFC player to win the MLS Golden Boot, MLS MVP, and MLS Newcomer of the Year Award. He was named to the MLS All-Star Game and the MLS Best XI and became the first player in MLS history to lead the league in both goals and assists in a single season.

On June 29, 2016, Toronto FC won its fifth Canadian Championship.
When Giovinco scored a hat-trick against D.C. United, on July 23, 2016, in a 4–1 home win, he surpassed De Rosario’s previous all-time record as Toronto FC’s top scorer by two goals.
In 2016, Toronto FC became the first Canadian team to compete in an MLS Cup Final.

2017

On June 27, 2017, Toronto FC won their sixth Canadian Championship, earning them a spot in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.
On September 30, 2017, Toronto FC won their first Supporters’ Shield with a 4–2 home win over New York Red Bulls to clinch top of the league with the most points that season. By doing so, they also became the first Canadian team to win the Supporters’ Shield.
On November 29, 2017, Toronto FC won the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in a row!
By winning three tournaments in the same year, Toronto FC won the domestic treble with the MLS Cup, Supporters’ Shield and Canadian Championship. This makes them the first and only MLS club to ever do so!
Also in 2017, on the final day of the 2017 season, Toronto FC set a new MLS regular season points record with 69 points, beating the 1998 LA Galaxy by just one point.

2018-Present

Although TFC did not qualify for the 2018 Playoffs, they qualified for the 2019 Playoffs. However, Toronto FC was ultimately defeated in the finals by Seattle with a score of 3–1.
In 2020 and 2021, the club played their games in Conneticut and Florida because Toronto was following COVID-19 public health guidelines.
In 2021, Toronto FC finished the season in second-last place.
In 2022, the team went through what some call “The Italian Influx”. They signed the following Italian players to the team: Lorenzo Insigne, Domenico Criscito, and Federico Bernardeschi, who signed with Toronto FC; the contract is also a four-year deal.

Also in 2022, the team signed Canadian internationals Doneil Henry, Mark-Anthony Kaye, and Richie Laryea.
The 2023 off-season saw further overhaul of the club roster, including the additions of American Matt Hedges and Norwegian Adama Diomande, and the return of Victor Vazquez.

Culture & Supporters

Toronto FC’s initial seasons saw TFC fans set the standard for MLS fan support, selling out its first three seasons.
The team was credited for starting “MLS 2.0” for their embrace of supporters’ culture.
Toronto FC’s recognized supporters’ groups are the Red Patch Boys, U-Sector, Kings in the North, Tribal Rhythm Nation and Original 109.
Unofficial Mascot: Although the team has not named an official mascot, “Bitchy the Hawk” has been called the official mascot of the team. She is a female Harris’s hawk employed by BMO Field falconry staff to sit perched atop the field to prevent seagulls from attacking patrons. She was originally brought to work in 2007, and the hawk has become a fixture of BMO Field. She has also been employed at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre (renamed Budweiser Stage in 2018) in Ontario Place to prevent seagulls from attacking concert-goers since the 1990s.

From the team’s website: “Welcome to la famiglia where the joy, passion, and positivity of the beautiful game is on display. The cultural diversity of our sport is celebrated around the world and right here in Toronto through our city, our supporters, our players and our staff. Our goal is to uphold these traditions while also building new bridges to the sport for future generations.”

To sum up…

To sum up, all their achievements have cemented TFC among Canada’s elite sports franchises. They are internationally recognized thanks to various CONCACAF Champions League appearances between 2009 & 2018, where they reached the quarterfinals stage twice consecutively between the 2011-2012 seasons. All these factors combined make up why we consider Toronto Fc one of many iconic ‘soccer cities’ worldwide today!
Let’s watch some videos that made me laugh until I cried!

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_FC

Source 2

Remembering our friend Gabriel

I thought we could spend today remembering our friend Gabriel. He was an important part of all our lives and will be greatly missed! Rest in peace, our friend!

Gabriel’s full name is Gabriel Ly.
He likes to be called Gabe.
His birthday is July 18, 1987. This makes Gabriel zodiac sign under the Cancer sign.

Here’s a short video of some famous people who are also under the Cancer zodiac sign.
https://youtu.be/AgiEgraqt-A

His favourite food was anything with cheese. I found a video that celebrated national cheese lovers’ day.
https://youtu.be/n-c_TQB0j44

His favourite show was The Big Bang Theory. Let’s watch a video.
https://youtu.be/C8lMW0MODFs
https://youtu.be/7UBcnV-Z1Xk

His favourite movie was Hannah Montana.
https://youtu.be/1-DpOF4Y-gE

His favourite sport was hockey, and his favourite team was the Maple Leafs. Since he loved Justin Bieber, I thought this would be perfect.
https://youtu.be/PY71ljVzV28

His favourite animal was kittens. Let’s watch a cute video.
https://youtu.be/rmXm7nljVic

His favourite band is NSYNC. Let’s watch a video.
https://youtu.be/is6gtilerPk

let’s finish up today by watching Gabriel’s favourite show on Ellen.
https://youtu.be/WZyYL78T8GE

Gabriel we will miss you but you will always be in our hearts!

June 8: The Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of the Major League Baseball’s (MLB) American League.
The Toronto Blue Jays are the second MLB franchise to be based outside the United States. Currently, they are the only team based outside the U.S. after the first Canadian franchise, the Montreal Expos, became the Washington Nationals in 2005.

Jays home games were originally based at Exhibition Stadium. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto.

From 1977 to 2022, the Blue Jays’ overall win–loss record is 3,598–3,627 (.498).

The Team’s Name & Logos

The name “Blue Jays” originates from the bird of the same name, and blue is also the traditional colour of Toronto’s collegiate and professional sports teams including the Maple Leafs and the Argonauts.

In 1976, out of the over 4,000 suggestions, 154 people selected the name “Blue Jays.” This name was chosen likely due to the connection with owner Labatt’s Breweries “Labatt’s Blue” brand of beer.

Fans despised the new name right out of the gate, local politican Paul Godfrey even claimed the fans would never accept the name and would just refer to the club as the “Toronto Blues”.

The original logo was designed by Toronto-area graphic design company Savage Sloan, Ltd. and was unveiled to little-to-no fanfare in the Fall of ’76.

This lasted unchanged until 1996 when a modernization was carried out by Major League Baseball for the 1997 season. The team switched to an alternate logo featuring a muscled bird around the letter ‘T’ as their primary brand for 2003 before undergoing a graphic overhaul in 2004.

Designed by Toronto designers Brandid, the new logo removed any reference to the “Blue” from the team name, introducing black and graphite as the primary colours.

Their official colours are royal blue, navy blue, white and red.

History of the Blue Jays

It was April 7, 1977, and there was a snowstorm happening, but that did not keep a crowd of 46,649 from watching the Toronto Blue Jays play their very first game.
They were playing the Chicago White Sox at Toronto’s Exhibition Stadium. The game wasn’t delayed long before fans rose to The Star Spangled Banner performed by the 48th Highlanders, and O Canada sung by our own Anne Murray wearing a red parka.
I couldn’t find any images or video of this event, but here is a video of Anne Murray performing O Canada at a Jays game in 1992 at the World Series.

The Blue Jays won that April 7th game against the Chicago White Sox 9-5. However, they would finish in last place that 1977 season. It wouldn’t be until the 1983 season that they would have a winning season. Two years later they would become division champions.

The years 1985 to 1993 became great years for Blue Jays fans. The Blue Jays won five division championships and became back to back World Series champions from 1992-93 with the help of great players such as: Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, John Olerud and Devon White.
The Jays also became the first and only team outside the States to win a World Series.

The Blue Jays’ former radio play-by-play announcer, Tom Cheek, called every Blue Jays game from the team’s inaugural contest on April 7, 1977 until June 3, 2004, when he took two games off following the death of his father — a streak of 4,306 consecutive regular season games and 41 postseason games.
Cheek died in 2005 and the team commemorated him during their 2006 season by wearing a circular badge on the left sleeve of their jerseys. Cheek is also honoured with a place in the Blue Jays’ “Level of Excellence” in the upper level of the Rogers Centre among the names of the team’s top players.

Blue Jays Culture

“OK Blue Jays”
During the seventh-inning stretch of home games, before singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”, Blue Jay fans sing and clap to “OK Blue Jays” by Keith Hampshire and The Bat Boys, which was released in 1983. The song was remixed in 2003, and since then, the new, shortened version is played at home games.

Mascots

From 1979 to 1999, BJ Birdy served as the Blue Jays’ sole mascot, played by Kevin Shanahan.
In 2000, he was replaced by a duo named Ace and Diamond. Here is a short video of the character learning that he was fired and looking for a new job!

After the 2003 season, Diamond was removed by the team, leaving Ace as the team’s sole mascot.

Since the 2010s, Ace has been accompanied by his younger brother, Junior. This usually happens on the Jr. Jay Saturday promotions until the end of the 2017 season.

Sunday Salute

Since 2012, every Sunday home game, the Blue Jays pay tribute to a member of the Canadian Armed Forces. During the third inning, the team presents the honoured member a personalized jersey.
In this video, a master colonel named Herb Lima was saluted.

National Anthems

Since 2005, “The Star-Spangled Banner” has been sung before “O Canada” at every home game.
In some home games (including Canada Day home games and playoffs), “O Canada” is sung in English and French. When O Canada was sung during the Home Opener, Canada Day, and playoff games, a giant Canadian flag was carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces.
On June 29, 2019, “O Canada” was sung in Cree and English.

On September 30, 2021, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, “O Canada” was sung in English, French, and Anishinaabemowin.

On September 30, 2022, O Canada was sung in French, English, and Blackfoot.

For Blue Jays road games, “O Canada” is sung before the “Star Spangled Banner” as all road games (since the Expos moved to Washington, DC) for the Blue Jays are in the United States.

Canada Day

The Blue Jays traditionally host a home game during Canada Day. During the game, the team wears red jerseys instead of blue jerseys.
During the pre-game ceremony, a giant Canadian flag is carried by members of the Canadian Armed Forces while O Canada is sung in English and French.

Charity and partnerships

The Jays Care Foundation is the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball organization and conducts events to support local organizations and community members.
They also provide baseball education and life skill workshops to the youth of communities across Canada.

Sources

Source 1

Source 2

https://www.sportslogos.net/logos/list_by_team/78/Toronto_Blue_Jays/

June 6: The Loon

Loons or divers are a group of aquatic birds found in North America in northern Eurasia. All species of loons are members of the Genus Gavia family.

Description

Loons are the size of large ducks or small geese. They resemble these birds in shape when they are swimming. Like ducks and geese, the loon’s toes are connected by something called webbing. The webbing on their feet help them do a variety of different things. This means their toes are connected together.

Loons may be confused by other species of birds like ducks or geese, but you can tell them apart by their distinct call.

When they are flying, loons look like plump geese with a seagulls’ wings.
They are relatively small in proportion to their bodies.
When swimming the loon points its head slightly upwards but when they’re flying their head droops more than other aquatic birds.
Male and female loons have similar feathers or plumage which is patterned black-and-white in the summer with a grey colour on their head and neck.
Both species have a white belly.
All species of loons have a spear shaped bill.
Male loons are larger than females. However, you can only tell the difference in size between male and female when they’re standing together.
In the winter their feathers are dark grey above with a lighter colour on their wings, a white chin, throat and underside.
The specific species of loon can be distinguished by certain things such as the size and colour of the head, neck, back and bill.
They are among the few groups of birds in which the young moult into a second coat of down feathers after shedding the first one.

Behaviour and Ecology

Loons are excellent swimmers. They use their feet to move themselves above and under the water.
Since their feet are located far back on their body, they have a lot of difficulty walking on land.
However, they can run short distances when they want to reach water or when they’re in danger.
They tend to avoid coming to land except when they want to mate or rest.
Loons can fly very well even though they have high wing loading. This is the mass to wing area ratio.
Most loons must run across the water surface with its wings flapping enough to generate enough speed to take flight.
Only the red throated loon can take off from the land.
Once in the air, loons can fly long distances during migration.
Scientists have recorded that loons can fly up to 1078 km in a 24-hour period.
Loons can live as long as 30 years and can hold their breath for as long as 90 seconds while underwater.
Loons are migratory birds and in the winter months they go from their northern freshwater lake nesting habitats to southern Marine coastlines.
They have special salt glands located directly above their eyes. These glands filter out salts in their blood and flushes this salty solution out through their nasal passages.
This allows them to immediately consume fish from oceans and drink salt water after their long flights.

Diet and Feeding

Loons can find their prey by using their site. They eat mainly fish but also amphibians such as frogs or crustaceans such as lobsters and crabs.
They can also eat things like crayfish, snails, salamanders and leeches.
They preferred swimming in Clear Lake’s because they can see underwater better.
They use their pointy bill to stab or grab their prey. They swallow their prey whole.
To help them to digest their food they eat small pebbles from the bottoms of lakes.
The pebbles may help the loon’s gizzard (which is an organ in their digestive tract) crush the hard parts that they must eat on their prey.
The pebbles also help to clean the loon’s stomach in order to avoid regurgitation of food that they were having trouble digesting.
Unfortunately, they may also eat small lead pellets released by hunters. This will give them lead poisoning which will cause their death.
Because of this, some places have banned the use of lead shots and sinkers.
Some of the places to do this are Main, New Hampshire, Vermont, some areas of Massachusetts, Yellowstone National Park, Great Britain, Canada, Michigan and Denmark.

Reproduction

Loons nest during the summer on freshwater lakes and maybe large ponds. Each body of water usually only has one pair of loons. Larger lakes or bodies of water can have more than one pair, but each pair stays in their own section.
They mate on land often near where their nest will be. They prefer to stay close to the water or places where they are completely surrounded by water.
They like places like an island or vegetation sites in the middle of the water.
They use aquatic vegetation, pine needles, leaves, grass, moss and mud to make their nest.
Both the male and female loon build the nest and incubate the young for 28 days.
The female loon may lay usually about two eggs which are laid generally in May or June.
The chicks can swim and dive right away but will often ride on their parents backs during the first two weeks in order to rest, conserve heat, and avoid predators.

They are generally fed by their parents for about six weeks but gradually begin to learn to feed themselves over time. By the time they are 11 or 12 weeks, chicks gather almost all their own food and begin to fly.

In Popular Culture

Various Indigenous myths from the California region have a recurring figure in the shape of the loon or loon woman. They are based on the common loon.

I contacted Victor. If you remember he came to our class last year and did a presentation on aboriginal peoples. This is a story he wrote. NOKOMIS is how we say Grandmother in Ojibway.

Long ago, in the beautiful land of the Ojibway people, there lived a young girl named Aki. Aki loved spending her days exploring the vast forests and sparkling lakes that surrounded her village. One day, while she was playing by the lakeshore, she heard a mysterious and haunting cry that echoed through the air.

Curiosity sparked in Aki’s heart as she wondered why the loon, a graceful bird that swam on the lake, had such a unique and eerie call. She decided to seek the wisdom of her grandmother, Nokomis, who was known for her knowledge of nature and stories of the past.

Aki found Nokomis sitting beneath a towering cedar tree, weaving a beautiful dreamcatcher. Aki sat down beside her, her eyes shining with curiosity, and asked, “Nokomis, why does the loon have such a haunting cry?”

Nokomis smiled gently and began her tale. “Long ago, when the world was new, the Great Spirit created all the animals and birds. Each one was given a special gift, a voice that carried their unique essence and purpose.”

“The loon,” Nokomis continued, “was chosen to be the guardian of the lakes and rivers, with its beautiful black and white feathers and its graceful swimming. But when it came time to give the loon its voice, the Great Spirit faced a dilemma.”

Nokomis paused, gazing into the distance, before continuing. “You see, Aki, the loon wanted to possess a voice that was both enchanting and powerful. It wished to sing songs that could heal wounded hearts and bring joy to all who listened. But the Great Spirit knew that if the loon had such a powerful voice, it would be tempted to use it for selfish reasons, to boast and show off its beauty.”

Aki’s eyes widened with anticipation as she listened intently to Nokomis’s words.

“So,” Nokomis whispered, “the Great Spirit made a decision. He gave the loon a voice that was hauntingly beautiful, a cry that resonated with longing and sadness. The loon’s cry carried within it a reminder of the loon’s deep love for the lakes and rivers, and its yearning for harmony and unity among all living beings.”

Aki’s heart filled with understanding as Nokomis continued, “The loon’s cry is a gift to us, Aki. It reminds us to appreciate the beauty of nature and to treat it with respect and love. The haunting sound of the loon’s call touches our hearts, stirring our souls and reminding us of our connection to the natural world.”

Aki sat in silence, taking in Nokomis’s words. She felt a newfound appreciation for the loon’s cry and understood that it held a special purpose in the balance of nature. From that day forward, whenever Aki heard the loon’s haunting call, she would pause, close her eyes, and let its melody transport her to the tranquil shores of the lake, where she felt a deep connection to all living things.

And so, the Ojibway people passed down the story of the loon’s haunting cry from generation to generation. Children like Aki grew up understanding the loon’s role as a guardian of the lakes and rivers, and the importance of cherishing and protecting the natural world. To this day, the loon’s cry continues to enchant and inspire the young ones, reminding them of the sacred bond between humans and nature.

The common loon is the provincial bird of Ontario and is on the Canadian one-dollar coin which is called the loonie.

The common loon is also the official state bird of Minnesota.

Mercer Wisconsin calls itself the loon capital of the world.
The Great Lakes Loons are of minor league professional baseball team based in Midland Michigan United States. The primary mascot is Lou E loon.
The Warner Bros./Amblin cartoon Tiny Tunes Adventures features Shirley the loon who speaks with a thick Valley girl accent and is obsessed with superficial New Age paraphernalia.
The major league soccer club Minnesota United FC has a loon in the club’s crest. It is also a nickname for the team.

Kerr and Tina found a cute video that I thought we could and class with. A pair of loons adopted a duckling.

I found a short video that showed what happened to that duckling after he was adopted by the loons.