Webster Lewis

Webster Lewis (September 1, 1943 – November 20, 2002) was an American jazz and disco keyboardist.

Lewis was born in 1943 in Baltimore, Maryland. He earned a Bachelor's Degree from Morgan State University and then completed a Master's degree at the New England Conservatory of Music under Gunther Schuller. He started out in jazz working with Tony Williams, George Russell, Bill Evans, Stanton Davis, and the Piano Choir. His first release was Live at Club 7, issued in 1971. He signed with Epic Records in 1976 and began releasing disco music, where he found commercial success. He had two charting singles, 1977's "On the Town/Saturday Night Steppin' Out/Do it With Style" (U.S. Club Play #36) and 1980's "Give Me Some Emotion" (U.S. Black Singles #41).

Lewis worked extensively as a session musician and studio arranger, for Herbie Hancock, Barry White, and others. He also produced for such artists as Gwen McCrae and Michael Wycoff. He later branched into soundtrack work for film and television, including for the films The Hearse (1980), Body and Soul (1981) and My Tutor (1983).

Lewis (lifting appliance)

A lewis (sometimes called a lewisson) is one of a category of lifting devices used by stonemasons to lift large stones into place with a crane, chain block, or winch. It is inserted into a specially prepared hole, or seating, in the top of a stone, directly above its centre of mass. It works by applying principles of the lever and utilises the weight of the stone to act on the long lever-arms which in turn results in a very high reaction force and friction where the short lever-arms make contact with the stone inside the hole and thereby prevents slipping.

Etymology

The name lewis may come from the Latin levo -avi, -atum meaning to levitate or lift, but the Oxford English Dictionary Online states, "the formation and the phonology are not easily explained on this hypothesis", preferring "origin obscure", and speculating that the term may derive from a personal name. The Romans used the lewis. The specially shaped hole that is shaped to fit the device is known as a lewis hole. Lewis holes in the uppermost masonry coursings are neatly repaired with matching indented plugs after the stone has been set in place.

Lewis (robot)

Lewis (named after Meriwether Lewis) is an autonomous robot that performs the job of a wedding photographer: it attends social events, moves around, and takes digital photographs of people. It is a research project of the Media and Machines Laboratory at Washington University.

Lewis has been featured on slashdot, on CNN's website, and in various North American newspapers.

In 2002, Lewis received -- and declined -- an invitation to Nelly's 24th birthday party.

External links

Lewis (Middlesex cricketer)

Lewis (first name and dates unknown) was an English cricketer who was associated with Middlesex and made his first-class debut in 1830.

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