Allen Kristiyono's Blog

Amazing Bird Photos You'll Swear Are Fake

2010-10-28T22:07:00.000-07:00

I've been following a particularly interesting photographer on Flickr now for awhile, and the images he posts seem just unreal. But they're not!

Chickadee In Flight
They're incredible images of birds in flight, captured with a special camera set-up. While the photos look like paintings, they are indeed photos. You'll be amazed to see some of the movements of birds Gerry Sibell has been able to immobilize -- from hummingbirds battling wasps to goldfinches having mid-air standoffs.

Photo: Gerry Sibell

source: treehugger.com

Goodbye, MacBook Pro. The New MacBook Air Is That Good.

2010-10-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday, I got my hands on one of the new MacBook Airs. I haven’t touched my MacBook Pro since. It’s six months old. RIP.

I know that sounds outrageous. Or like hyperbole. But it’s not. When I wrote up my initial thoughts, it was after only a few hours of usage. I hadn’t even used it outside the house yet. But now I have. I’ve used it almost everywhere I’ve been for just about a week now. There’s no question in my mind that this has replaced my MacBook Pro as my go-to machine.

But here’s the really crazy thing. It’s not just the size of the thing that I love so much (I have the 13-inch model) — which is amazing — it’s the speed. This thing boots up in less than 15 seconds, ready to go. My i7 iMac with 8 GB of RAM takes something like 2 minutes. My i7 MacBook Pro takes at least 30-45 seconds, and it has an SSD drive.

Applications seem to load quicker. Files transfer quicker. The thing shuts down in about 3 seconds. Macworld has the initial benchmarks. They don’t lie. It just screams.

And by speed, I also mean “power”. Remarkably, for the first time that I’ve used one, this MacBook Air doesn’t feel underpowered. At all. Again, for the past 6 months I’ve been using a combination of an i7 iMac and an i7 MacBook Pro. Judging from processor, clock speed, and amount of RAM, both should be significantly faster than this Air. For certain tasks, they undoubtedly are. But for pretty much everything I’ve done this past week — basically, my regular work and play habits — I really can’t say I notice a difference. This definitely surprised me.

Again, Macworld’s initial benchmark numbers seem to at least partially back up such a crazy claim. I have the baseline 13-inch MacBook Air with a 1.86 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 2 GB of RAM, and a 128 GB flash storage hard drive. Their tests have this thing performing better than the 13-inch MacBook Pro with a faster Core 2 Duo processor and double the RAM. And it’s not that far off from the i5 Pro model.

They largely credit the flash storage hard drive. And that’s undoubtedly a huge part of the performance. But another part is likely that previous MacBook Airs have run underclocked to deal with heat issues. That doesn’t appear to be happening with these models. So they can purr along at full speed. And it shows.

Earlier tonight, Daring Fireball’s John Gruber wrote a post wondering where this new Air fits into Apple’s MacBook lineup? It is a good question considering the base model is the same $999 price as the base MacBook model. He thinks it might fit in as a secondary computer. I agree — for now.

There is one thing holding back the Air: storage space. Thanks largely to Apple themselves, we live in a world where we have digital music, photos, movies, and TV shows that take up dozens, if not hundreds of gigabytes of storage. Because of this, a 128 GB hard drive isn’t enough for many people these days if they’re going to be using the Air as their primary machine. Increasingly, even 256 GB isn’t enough. Hell, I’m nearing 1 TB of media on my iMac.

But. We all know that Apple has aspirations to move all of this media to the cloud. If they can do that and cut the chains around these machines, they’re going to fly. Off the shelves. In a hurry.

Here’s how I see it: if storage didn’t matter, I think this 13-inch MacBook Air would almost immediately be Apple’s best-selling Mac. It’s that good.

I can’t speak to the 11-inch model, as I haven’t used it, but it’s getting rave reviews as well. The 13-inch model I’m talking about here is the base model which is $1,299. The 11-inch models start at $999.

It’s funny that I haven’t really even talked about the size of the machine yet — that’s the glittering lure that ropes people in. But the Air has always had that. What it didn’t have previously was a great price and killer performance. Now it does. Just in the past six days, five people that I’ve showed this thing to have already bought one. That’s the stuff iPhones and iPads are made of. It has the “wow” factor.

And regardless of if storage capabilities hold it back or not, I have no doubt that the Air does point to the future of the MacBook lineup. They’re soon all going to lose their optical drives, gain flash storage drives, and work for hours on end. In fact, the only machine I can think of that I might enjoy more than this one is one that lasts even longer. To get that, I’d accept a model that’s slightly larger (15-inches), slightly heavier (maybe 3.3 pounds), but had 10 hours of battery life. That’s the future MacBook Pro right there.

Speaking of battery life, again, this thing shines pretty nicely in that category as well. Apple says it will get 7-hours, and based on my usage, that’s close. I’m usually seeing between 5 and 6 hours depending on what I’m doing and screen brightness. A couple times I have gotten about 7 hours.

As for the supposed 30 days of standby time? It’s hard to imagine me not using this thing for 30 days at a time, but I will say that I’ve gone to bed with it at 50 percent power and woken up several hours later with it at 49 percent power. And yes, the thing wakes up from sleep instantaneously. The only thing you have to wait for is for your WiFi to connect.

As for the screen? Again, I thought it would be an issue switching from a 15-inch MacBook Pro to this, but it’s really not. This thing has the same 1440-by-900 resolution as the standard 15-inch MacBook Pro screen, so, there you go.

People also can’t seem to believe when I tell them it doesn’t run hot. But it doesn’t. The only times I’ve felt it getting a little bit warm is when I’ve run — surprise, surprise — multiple Flash movies. But the heat doesn’t come close to my MacBook Pro. That doesn’t come close to my old MacBook Pro which was an upside down stove at points.

It’s hard to know what else to say. This is the computer I’ve been waiting for. It makes me feel foolish for spending almost three grand on a brand new souped-up MacBook Pro six months ago. I just can’t think of a time I’ll ever want to or need to turn it on again.

Goodbye, MacBook Pro. Your candle burned out long before your hard drive ever did.

Last Wednesday, I got my hands on one of the new MacBook Airs. I haven’t touched my MacBook Pro since. It’s six months old. RIP.

Applications seem to load quicker. Files transfer quicker. The thing shuts down in about 3 seconds. Macworld has the initial benchmarks. They don’t lie. It just screams.

But. We all know that Apple has aspirations to move all of this media to the cloud. If they can do that and cut the chains around these machines, they’re going to fly. Off the shelves. In a hurry.

Here’s how I see it: if storage didn’t matter, I think this 13-inch MacBook Air would almost immediately be Apple’s best-selling Mac. It’s that good.

Goodbye, MacBook Pro. Your candle burned out long before your hard drive ever did.

source: techcrunch.com

Simp-ly Marvelous! Jessica Simpson’s Best Breast Moments

2010-10-26T00:16:00.000-07:00

Jessica Simpson used to be ashamed of her boobs. But the girl who (according to her pops), “used to wear bikinis and short shorts” to church has grown out of her insecurity and, as of late, into a bigger bra. Not gonna lie, ifwe went to that church, we’d be worshiping that two-headed chest goddess. But we digress. Lately, people have been ragging on her for her weight gain, but that’s just what we simple folk like to call “natural.” Yes’m, Jessica’s country cleavage is 100% homegrown. And with our gallery of Jessica Simpson’s bustiest pics, we’ve got the evidence to prove it.

source: complex.com

26 Sexy Halloween Costumes That Shouldn't Exist

2010-10-25T03:12:00.000-07:00

Halloween and geek conventions have one awesome thing in common: They give women an excuse to wear outfits that their own sense of modesty and dignity would otherwise never allow them to leave the house in.

Therefore, the costume industry struggles mightily to come up with a "sexy" version of every single costume ever made. The results cover the spectrum from laughable to terrifying.

#26.

Sexy Guitar

Wait, is she supposed to be a guitar? Or just a fan of guitars? A guitar advocate? In any case, the neck of the instrument is jammed through her skull, and it's going to take forever to get that thing back in tune.

#25.

Sexy Marionette

We know for a damn well fact that there is at least one porno out there with this theme. We also know for a fact that not a single non-serial killer has masturbated to it.

This can also be said about ...

#24.

Sexy Female Michael Jackson

Really stop and think about the target audience for this costume: heterosexual males who have sex fantasies about Michael Jackson.

We're not saying those guys don't exist; we're saying that if you're a sexy young lady who goes home with one of them, next year he's going to be wearing your face as a mask for Halloween.

#23.

Sexy Nemo

We hope we're not out of line when we say that imagining yourself boning a fish -- or any character from a Disney/Pixar film, really -- means you're probably due for some counseling.

Then again, this costume is less "Nemo" and more "Prostitute who murdered Nemo and is wearing his skin to entice johns."

#22.

Sexy Chinese Takeout

Yes, that is a fortune cookie on her head. And, no, we don't know if she's supposed to be the actual Chinese takeout or if she's supposed to be delivering it. What we do know is that while it's not impossible, it's incredibly difficult to get a boner from racism.

#21.

Sexy Big Bird

Nothing says sexy like Big Bird's shrunken, disembodied head casually eating the skull of a delusional 80s pop star who's checking her shoe for dog turds. Honestly, how far down the list of common sex fantasies do you have to go before you find goddamned Big Bird --

-- Wait, what the fuck? There's more than one of these costumes out there? And both of them make it look like Big Bird is eating the woman's cranium? And they both use the same freaking pink platform shoes? This demands further investigation.

Oh, wait. No. It doesn't.

#20.

Sexy Darth Vader

Our first thought upon seeing this was, "ASS!" But our second thought was that behind that mask is either a decaying Sith lord on life support or Hayden Christensen.

Though we admit that the Star Wars prequels would be considered the best films of all time if the third ended with Palpatine saying, "Rise, Lord Vader," and out stepped that.

#19.

Sexy Sentient House

That is a cat behind that crotch-level door. There has to be a pun there somewhere, but for the life of us, we can't figure out what it might be.

#18.

Sexy Barbie Knockoff

We love how they had to stick the box on there so you'd know it's a Barbie (sorry, "Pretty Polly") costume. Otherwise it's just a lady in a one-piece and a bad wig. We hope you weren't planning on eating or drinking anything at your costume party, honey. Or moving your arms. Or breathing too much.

Though if she gets drunk and vomits inside there, you'll wind up with probably the best Halloween party photo of your life.

#17.

Sexy Naked Woman

If you're going to have a body suit to make you look naked, you should probably get one that A) has some genitals and B) doesn't have huge wrinkles. Unless you're going as a genital-free humanoid, four months after gastric bypass surgery.

#16.

Sexy Pimp

Well, hell, you put that outfit on a woman and it just looks stupid.

#15.

Sexy Female Elvis

We even tried to force this one to be sexy by imagining her having sex with Priscilla. Seriously, don't do that.

#14.

Sexy Ninja Turtle

This is the laziest costume we've ever seen. Do you see the sad, tiny little turtle shell strapped to her back? The one that in no way corresponds to the shell pattern on her torso? And think about this: The Ninja Turtles didn't wear clothes. Look it up. Which means that her skirt is actually a part of her presumably grotesquely deformed turtle body.

#13.

Sexy CSI Tech

Wait, no. This is the laziest costume. It's a damned blue jumpsuit with a "CSI" patch glued to it. And while we don't want to sound like a broken record, who is it that has sex fantasies about the team of people who collect your hair and semen to test for DNA? Once again: serial killers.

We're telling you, half of the sexy costume industry is either run by or intended for that demographic.

#12.

Sexy Gothic Woman

Wait, no. This is the laziest one. We like to call it, "Regular Goth Dress While Grabbing Your Own Ass." We can't tell you the number of times we showed up to the Cracked Halloween party to find four other people dressed the same way. It's very hard to drink in this outfit, because when you remove your hands, the costume loses its meaning.

#11.

Sexy Hermione Granger

Stay classy, costume industry! Here's a character who is between 11 and 17 years old, depending on which Harry Potter book you're fantasizing about. Though we like how the costume makers offset that by putting it on a 58-year-old model.

Oh, wait. Maybe this costume isn't Hermione -- it's Hermione's mom, putting on her daughter's schoolgirl costume to spice things up in the bedroom, because she knows her husband has incest fantasies. See! Not creepy at all.

And while we're on the subject ...

#10.

Sexy Small Child

Just to be clear, if you go to a party, and a woman is dressed in this outfit, do not invite her back to your place. There are police in that van across the street, and they will follow you, shovels at the ready to unearth your terrible, terrible secrets.

We understand there's a thin line between "sexy and innocent" and "pedophile bait," but seriously. Teddy bear. Though we suppose she could just be portraying a very girlish and naive adult. After all, it's not like the costume specifically says, "Sexy eight-year-old" ...

#9.

Sexy Cindy Brady

This one does! Yes, that's a Cindy Brady costume. A character who was eight or nine years old when that outfit was in style on The Brady Bunch. Again, if you ever see this costume, look closely, because there's a tiny little FBI camera hidden in the wig.

OK, no more creepy pedophile stuff.

#8.

Sexy Pebbles Flintstone

WHAT? GAH! Pebbles is an infant. Nobody in the history of humankind has ever had a fetish that involved Pebbles whose story didn't end with the sound of a gavel banging and the words, "... mercy on your soul."

#7.

Sexy Pregnant Raggedy Ann

We considered just writing an entire article about all of the questions raised by this costume, portraying the classic children's toy that is somehow eight months pregnant with ... what? It'd have to be a demonic sentient toy fetus spawned by some kind of unholy voodoo ritual, we suppose. Maybe we'll stretch it out into a book.

#6.

Sexy Football-Playing Whore

In case you didn't catch it, it's supposed to be sexy because it says "SEXY" on it. Notice the costume makes far more sense if you take away the little toy football and give her a stripper pole.

Honestly, guys, you really can't grasp how demeaning a costume like this is for a woman, unless you were to, we don't know, see the equivalent on a guy or something.

#5.

Sexy Male Nurse

Here we go! One of you guys out there, preferably one in your 40s and weighing in the 250-pound range, put this on and go trick-or-treating. Let's see how long you last before you see the red and blue lights behind you.

Wait, is that Dane Cook? Don't answer that. We're going to keep believing that's Dane Cook.

#4.

Sexy Bull

Some commenter is going to point out that those bull horns are just sloppily photoshopped onto what is clearly a photo from a clothing catalog, but you can blame the costume makers for that, not us. If you pan down, you find no hooves or tail, just some nice slacks and dress shoes. The point being, this costume was so stupid they couldn't convince a model to put it on long enough to snap a photo.

#3.

Sexy Poseidon

We're not sure how that picture made it in here. That actually is pretty sexy. Also we love how it's not possible to actually walk in it.

#2.

Sexy Papa Smurf Knockoff

They couldn't get the license to use the name "Papa Smurf," so they called this one "Blue Daddy." We're not sure which one makes it creepier. Wait, why is there a Smurf in the background getting launched out of a catapult?

#1.

Sexy Male Sex Doll

Funny? Yeah, we can see that. But this cockless blow-up sex doll was listed under the "sexy" section, for whoever dreams of fucking the mouth of a dickless Mario.

Also, we will utilize every method available, no matter how immoral or illegal, to never see the back of this costume.

source: cracked.com

Two's Company: Salma Hayek's Best Breast Moments

2010-09-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Salma Hayek, how do we love thee? Let us count the ways: One and two and...we're done. Not because there's only two ways to love the lovely lady we crowned the No. 1 Hottest Latina, but because once you get to the twos, why bother counting any more? Yes, Salma's well-endowed, and whether it's a Dora the Explorer press conference or simply a browning (word to all the English majors in the house!) at the beach, she's always been very generous in sharing her gift(s). So in honor of the reigning queen of Hispanic Heritage Month, we present you with a gallery of Salma Hayek's best breast moments. Now get your head out of that poetry book (ayo!) and commence clickin'!

Source: www.complex.com

How to Watch the Super Harvest Moon Twilight Show Today

2010-09-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Prepare for the Super Harvest Moon! For the first time in two decades, the Sun will sink as the full Moon rises exactly opposite to it on the day the summer ends, creating a strange 360-degree twilight show.

If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the autumnal equinox and a Super Harvest Moon will cross the sky after almost 20 years since the last time it happened. When the Sun starts to set on the Western horizon, a full moon will rise opposite to it on the East, reflecting the light of our home star.

Being close to the horizon, the orange Moon will be gigantic thanks to a psychological effect called the Moon illusion. The sky will be illuminated by the Sun and the Moon at the same time, creating a weird 360-degree effect that is rarely seen.

You don't need to do anything special to enjoy the show, just get ready for the sunset. Make sure to have a clear view to both East and West.

In NYC, the event will happen at 6:54pm. You can check the time in your city here.
And as an added bonus, when the summer ends at 11:09pm Eastern Time, Jupiter will appear right next to the Moon.

Remember to take photos and send them to jesus@gizmodo.com. [NASA]

Source

This is the Creepiest Sweater Ever [pic]

2010-09-21T03:02:00.000-07:00

This is the Creepiest Sweater Ever [pic]

Source: imgur.com

When A DS Was Dropped Into A Gorilla Exhibit

2010-09-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

You can play after me… psyche!

This was photographed at the San Francisco zoo, where a young boy dropped his Nintendo DS into the gorilla exhibit. There’s even a cute video!

Source

“Fred: The Movie” Coming to Nickelodeon

2010-09-18T20:17:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the big Nickelodeon premiere of the much-awaited film that teens all over the Internet have been waiting for, according to Spread It.

“Fred: The Movie” stars 17-year-old Internet sensation Lucas Cruikshank from Nebraska who got his start by making popular videos on YouTube.

Cruikshank created the character “Fred Figglehorn” back in 2008 when he began posting crazy clips of himself as a very active kid with a pretty annoying voice.

After hitting it big on YouTube, he was contacted by Nickelodeon about making a movie for the channel based off his YouTube character. The movie airs tonight and will be available on DVD October 5, 2010.

Source: indyposted.com

Seven Evolutionary Leftovers in Your Body

2010-09-17T18:41:00.000-07:00

By: Brie Cadman

Wings on a flightless bird, eyes on a blind fish, and sexual organs on a flower that reproduces asexually—the casual observer might ask, what’s the point? But these vestigial organs and structures, once useful in an ancestor and now diminished in size, complexity, and/or utility, carry important information and give us clues to our evolutionary past. Though humans often think of vestigial organs as useless little fixtures that sometimes, as in the case of the appendix, cause us extreme anguish, we wouldn’t know nearly as much about macroevolution as we do now without their presence. In On the Origin of Species, Charles Darwin used vestigial organs as evidence for evolution, and their presence has helped define and shape our phylogenetic trees.
Why the Leftovers?
Contrary to what most think, vestigial doesn’t necessarily mean useless; in some cases, we may just not yet know exactly how the organ is used in its current incarnation. (The human thymus was once thought to be vestigial). Because these structures can be traced back through the ancestors, they essentially serve as a marker of evolution; no organism can have a vestigial organ that hasn’t been found in its forefathers. For this reason, you won’t ever find feathers on a mammal or gills on a primate.
Similar in concept to vestigial structures are atavisms, which are the reappearance of a structure or trait that isn’t found in the immediate ancestors. For instance, whales and dolphins have been found in nature with hind limbs; this rare occurrence is due to the reemergence of a trait they inherited from their terrestrial ancestors.
Humans also contain structures that mark where we came from and perhaps, which structures’ evolution will take care of over time.
Human Tail (Bone)
One striking example of an atavism is the human coccyx, or tailbone, which is a relic of the mammalian tail. Useful for mammals that use tails for balance, species-to-species signaling, and support, the tail is missing in apes and in humans. However, all human embryos initially have a tail. Normally, they regress into four to five fused vertebrae (the coccyx). However, there have been numerous case studies of human children being born with an extended coccyx—a tail—that was removed without incident. Ranging from one inch to five, the gene that normally stops vertebrae elongation is decreased and the human tail remains at birth.

Wisdom Teeth
Our ancestors, known to be herbivores, needed strong molars for mashing up and chewing plant material. This relic is why many of us will develop wisdom teeth, also known as third molars. Theoretically, they could still be used for chewing, but in one third of people, they can come in sideways, impacted, or can cause pain and infection. This is why these vestigial structures are almost always removed when they begin to come in.

Appendix
Another leftover from our plant eating ancestors is the vermiform appendix, which is an organ attached to the large intestine. A similar sac is much bigger in other animals than it is in humans and is used to aid in digesting high cellulose diets.
While appendicitis can be a potentially fatal condition, and removing the appendix has no adverse effects, some researchers think that the appendix might have an auxiliary function, such as aiding the immune system.

Vitamin C Synthesis
In humans, vitamin C deficiency causes scurvy, and can eventually cause death. We can’t synthesize vitamin C (ascorbic acid), but our ancestors, save for the guinea pig and primates, were able to do so. Therefore, it makes sense that we have a vestigial molecular structure, now defunct, that manufactures the vitamin. The gene required for vitamin C synthesis was found in humans in 1994, but it was a pseudogene, meaning it was present but unable to function. The pseudogene was also found in some primates and guinea pigs, as expected.
Male Nipples
Male nipples are sometimes referred to as vestigial, although they aren’t truly, because they were never functional in our ancestors. Instead, they most likely occur because in the embryonic stage we are essentially sexless, only differentiating into male and female with the presence of hormones.

Goose Bumps
When we get goose bumps, it’s the action of muscle fibers called erector pili, which cause the hairs in follicles to stand to attention. In animals, such as a cat, this causes a larger appearance and can be used to thwart an attacker, as well as trap air between feathers and fur for insulation. However, humans, with our minimal coating of fur, don’t really need the raised hair; we use jackets instead. It is therefore thought that goose bumps don’t really serve much of a purpose. However, the small expenditure of energy used to contract the muscles could, perhaps, cause a tiny release of heat. Or, because goose bumps are associated not only with cold, but emotional responses as well (listening to a good song, seeing a scary movie) they could now serve as a form of communication with others.

Vomeronasal Organs (VNOs)
In mice and other animals, the tiny vomeronasal organs (VNOs) are thought to be responsible for pheromone detection, helping to pick up the chemicals that signal a potential mate, reproductive status, and other social cues. Although similar structures have been found in humans, they’re largely thought to be vestigial and inactive, having lost nerve connection to the brain.
There are other vestigial and atavistic structures in humans, especially when you consider the potential leftovers in our genomes. And if they don’t require too much energy or resources to make, chances are they’ll stick with us for the long haul.

Source: http://www.divinecaroline.com/22120/104573-seven-evolutionary-leftovers-body/

Clone Wars Adventures is Now Live!

2010-09-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

Clone Wars Adventures, a free-to-play, action packed virtual world for fans of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated television series, is now live and ready to play!

If you are beginning your adventure for the first time, it is easy to get started. All you have to do is create an account and make your character.

After creating your character you can explore the Jedi Temple, duel with lightsabers, race speeder bikes, decorate your house, fly a starfighter, use the Force, battle droids and much more!

Features include:

Extend the Fantasy: Kids no longer have to wait until the next exciting episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated TV series to continue exploring and enjoying the Star Wars universe. With Clone Wars Adventures, kids can go online to experience exciting thrills as you duel iconic adversaries with your own custom lightsaber, speed through the galaxy in your starfighter, defeat enemies and take down starships. Adventure online to discover your destiny!
Play Free or Upgrade: Clone Wars Adventures is a free-to-play game, but players who want to take the galactic action to the next level can purchase a monthly membership. Players can also buy cool Star Wars universe items from within the game through micro-transactions using Station Cash.
Minigames & More: From Droid Programming to Speeder Bike Racing, Clone Wars Adventures puts you in the driver seat to experience epic action in immersive minigames that take you to your favorite locations in the galaxy. Become the proud owner of a tricked out Droid pet or throw a party in your player house -- the fun is endless!
Fun With Friends: Whether you are on adventures with old friends or competing for leaderboard status with new ones, Clone Wars Adventures is a lively virtual world that connects players in fun and safe ways. Show off your achievements in your Trophy Room, use safe chat and emoticons to express yourself and celebrate in-world events with the entire galaxy!
Embedded Card Game: Clone Wars Adventures card battles lets players pit a variety of fun characters, creatures and vehicles from The Clone Wars television show against one another in a unique, fast-paced combat similar to the gameplay styles of traditional games such as War and Concentration.
Kid-Friendly: Parental controls allow for the customization of safety options, including pre-canned chat and playtime settings for younger players.

See the original announcement for Clone Wars Adventures here.

Keri Russell strips to promote ‘Running Wilde’ (pic)

2010-09-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

From the latest issue of "Esquire" ... Hey, other people have to use that hotel chair too, you know...

Source: LiveFeeds

Church Of Body Modification

2010-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

Church Of Body Modification However, his school, said that the nose ring is just a dress code violation and the reasons for the suspension of 14 years, Ariana and her mother are members of the Church of Body Modification website the church is not for the overly critical, says the belief in body modification as “one of the safest and most responsible society to stay spiritually healthy and whole soft-spoken 14-year-old, nose piercing has landed her a suspension from school and forced her in the middle of a fight for the First Amendment right to practice their religion.

Oh, well, now not even going to allow evil laugh body piercings without stepping on religious toes of someone especially if you spend that bastard goat UN resolution, which prohibits “any form of crime against religionsWhat near the Church of the Holy Tramp Stamp The Church of the long-haired hippies? The Church of sleep in the afternoon at the School Da WTVD reported Friday that Clayton High School freshman Ariana Iacono suspended for using a pole in the nose, which is against school policy.But Iacono says it’s how you live your faith Iacono and his mother are members of a small group called the Church of Body Modification.
WTVD reported Friday that Clayton High School has suspended freshman Ariana Iacono to bring a beam in his nose, which is against school policy, but Iacono says it’s how you live your faith Iacono and his mother are members a small group called the Church of Body Modification Minister Richard Ivey Church says its members believe that changes in the body can cause internal harmonyWe these rites are essential to our spirituality. The practice of body modification and participation in the rituals of body manipulation to strengthen the link between mind, body and soul. In this way, we ensure that we live as spiritually complete and healthy individuals.

Source: BreakingNewsViews

Thirteen Recycled Steampunk Gas Masks

2010-09-15T18:25:00.000-07:00

By Simone Preuss

Leatherwork studio Bob Basset and artist Tom Banwell both focus on steampunk art works. By repurposing something as practical as a gas mask, the form is turned into something fantastic.

Image: Tom Banwell

At the intersection of futurism and romance, steampunk marries Victorian steam power with science fiction technology. Think of the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, or, from a more modern perspective, BioShock and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
There’s not much that embodies the ideas of steampunk more than these steampunk gas masks — creations of leather, resin, brass and copper that, in an eerie and freakish way, show our fear of a dystopian future disaster. Ukrainian workshop Bob Basset and American leatherwork artist Tom Banwell are masters when it comes to repurposing unwanted materials and recycling them into steampunk works of art!

13. Sentinel

Image: Tom Banwell

Sentinel is a creation that combines a fire helmet, a gas mask and a collar that seems to be modeled on a medieval design. In any case, this reddish brown and gray creation is supremely stylish.

12. Pachydermos

Image: Tom Banwell

If an elephant were ever in need of a gas mask, it could wear this amazing creation, called Pachydermos. Each detail has been painstakingly put together from repurposed, recycled materials. The trunk, for example, was once a commercial vacuum cleaner hose that Banwell covered in lambskin wrapped with waxed thread.

11. Victorian Stormtrooper

Image: Bob Basset

This next piece, the only one in a lighter leather tone, seems to provide evidence that stormtroopers existed even in the Victorian age. Just imagine the British Empire guarded by a legion of spacemen, under the not-so-evil emperor, Queen Victoria (always dressed in black, mind you).

10. The Steampunk Diver

Image: Bob Basset

Bob Basset is the name of a workshop in the Ukraine that makes unique, high-quality steampunk art, mainly consisting of masks, but also including sculptures and armor. The workshop team consists of Oleg and Sergey Petrov and Andrei Patlin and Andrey Makaruk, who have 20 years of experience in leatherwork. They use materials like stone, metal, resin and glass, and their steampunk gas masks feature brass, copper and leather as you will see.

9. The Steampunk Freak

Image: Bob Basset

The leather and brass elements that make up this amazing construction have been brilliantly repurposed and adapted to their new function. The mask’s lensed eyepieces and covered mouth are more than a little reminiscent of the gasmasked Hellboy villain Kroenen.

8. The Sidekick

Image via walyou

Since starting out with dragon bags and sculptures in 2008, the Bob Basset workshop has become an underground success. The four artists have since moved on to leather vests and creepy octopus masks (check them out!) and to this series of stunning steampunk gas masks.

7. Steampunk Insect

Image via walyou

Combining black leather with shining metal details, this piece looks positively medieval. Reminiscent of a gladiator’s helmet and of an executioner’s cowl, there’s an awful lot going on here — and you can just imagine this Victorian spaceman striding across a could-have-been battlefield of a future that never came to pass.

6. Steampunk Diver Meets Nuclear Disaster

Image via walyou

The next mask features lots of brass, copper and leather, so you’re sure to create some attention wearing this cool piece. If you’re not wading at the bottom of a lake, that is.

5. The Anteater

Image: Bob Basset

This deluxe version of a steampunk gas mask looks positively stormtrooperish. The tiny brown buttons look like microphones that connect the wearer with the outside world. Or maybe they directly transmit the wearer’s thoughts. We wouldn’t be surprised.

4. The Friendly Bear

Image: Tom Banwell

Tom Banwell is another artist who focuses on steampunk art — gas masks, fire masks, underwater equipment and helmets in particular. Amazingly, Banwell is self-taught and received no formal art training. Before turning to steampunk art, he tried out a variety of media, including batik, woodcarving, mixed media art dolls and leatherwork. The Penn Valley-based artist explains his preference for steampunk: “Creating art in a steampunk genre suits me exceedingly well because it combines several of my interests — history, costuming, mechanics and fantasy — and I can bring these together and get wildly creative in my leatherwork.”

3. Victorian Gas Mask Chic

Image: Bob Basset

Banwell scours his neighborhood, from junkyards to yard sales, for just the perfect piece that will fit his creations — “yardsailing,” he calls it. Then, each recycled piece is adapted to the design and often given an antique look to achieve the desired effect. The design in black above, for example, almost seems to be winking at the viewer with its two brass eyes.

2. The Cyclops

Image: Bob Basset

Ah, finally a gas mask for a cyclops — or possibly a triclops! Not only can the middle eye finally see, but it is also concealed as a fashion accessory among the two regular eye slits.

After designing, making and selling Western leather men’s hats throughout the U.S. for many years, Banwell now focuses on custom designing and creating resin pieces. For his own creative leatherwork, Banwell uses this experience and incorporates resin components into his artwork. He says about his preference for headgear and masks: “Today I find my greatest creative expression in fantasy masks and helmets. I love experimenting and seeing how leather will behave when cut and soaked and twisted. I love the shapes and the colors, and how my masks and helmets can instantly transform the wearer into a whole other character.”

1. Fire Master Helmet with Gas Mask

Image: Tom Banwell

Banwell’s most amazing design comes complete with a fire master’s helmet, reflecting the artist’s love for details and authentic design. This trooper is apparently assigned to the “Gryphon Interplanetary Aeroship Expedition,” where firemen will presumably be much needed!

We really don’t know which one of the 13 amazing steampunk gas masks featured here is the best, but the fact is that all of them are incredibly creative and crafted with love and incredible attention to detail. As for the practical purpose of these bizarre, custom-made oddities, many get used on the sets of movies and shows, such as So You Think You Can Dance. The next time you watch TV or the movies and find a creation that looks oddly familiar, you might be looking at the designs of Tom Banwell or Bob Basset.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Linkin Park, Trey Songz Set For Big Bows on Billboard 200

2010-09-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

By Keith Caulfield

Next week on the Billboard 200 albums chart, not only will the very top of the chart welcome handsome debuts from both Link Park's "A Thousand Suns" and Trey Songz's "Passion, Pain & Pleasure," but there may also be up to six new entries in the top 10.

Industry prognosticators suggest that Linkin Park's fourth studio set, "A Thousand Suns," could sell as much as 250,000 to 260,000 by week's end on Sept. 19. However, Songz is nipping at Linkin's heels as his "Passion" album could be looking to move between 230,000 and 250,000.

If Linkin Park triumphs and opens at No. 1, it will be the band's fourth leader on the tally. The band previously reached the top with 2003's "Meteora," its 2004 "Collision Course" mash-ups set with Jay-Z and its last studio effort, 2007's "Minutes to Midnight." The latter blasted onto the chart with 623,000 in its first week.

As for Songz, his last album, "Ready" in 2009, debuted and peaked at No. 3 with his best sales week (131,000). The album, which is his highest charting set, has so far shifted 807,000 in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That sum is more than the combined sales of his two earlier albums -- 2005's "I Gotta Make It" (396,000) and 2007's "Trey Day" (346,000).

Songz's current single, "Bottoms Up" (featuring Nicki Minaj), climbs from No. 20 to No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, Linkin Park's "The Catalyst" -- the first single from "Thousand Suns" -- peaked at No. 35 last month.

Other albums in the hunt for a top 10 debut next week include Jamey Johnson's "Guitar Song," Weezer's "Hurley," Brandon Flowers' "Flamingo" and Robert Plant's "Band of Joy."

Source: billboard.biz

Of Course Steve Jobs Was Detained For Carrying Ninja Stars

2010-09-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought Apple CEO Steve Jobs couldn’t get more badass? According to SPA!, Bloomberg and about 10,000 nerds on Twitter, Jobs was stopped at the Kansai International Airport near Osaka in July for carrying, yes, ninja stars.
It just makes so much sense! I mean let’s say you’re Steve Jobs, you have your own private plane, you’re in Japan and you’re also a ninja …
According to SPA!, Jobs’ logic in bringing the shuriken (ninja stars) onboard his private plane was that it would be really silly to hijack his own plane. Fair enough.
Because of the weaponry fail, Jobs made it clear to airport officials that he wouldn’t be revisiting Japan any time soon, says SPA!.
And while Apple declined to comment, Bloomberg, taking the hard hitting lead on this one, actually verified that the incident did happen to somebody (a social media ninja perhaps?), at the Kansai International Airport and that the aspiring warrior/passenger was forced to throw away the stars.
What’s Jobs going to do to top this? Tame a lion? At least he wasn’t caught carrying a lightsaber.
Update: Double of course! Apple calls the story “pure fiction.”

“Steve did visit Japan this summer for a vacation in Kyoto, but the incidents described at the airport are pure fiction. Steve had a great time and hopes to visit Japan again soon.”

Oh well, feel free to include more “Jobs as a ninja” Photoshops in the comments.

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/14/steve-jobs-ninja/

Chase Website Down

2010-09-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

by warwara Financial News

Chase website has been down all day today. The outage started last night when the site’ main page showed the “temporarily unavailable” message. And now the online banking is still not working. The Chase officials are not elaborating on the cause of this prolonged system breakdown. So, it’s up to us to guess what might have gone wrong with the 2nd U.S. largest bank. Russian hackers? Well, we don’t know.
The website down is causing a lot of distress in customers that have relied on this service for their money transactions. Online banking accounts are inaccessible and with a total of 16.5 million users have been affected on different levels. Let’s hope that this outage won’t mess up our accounts completely.
No official reason for the downtime has been stated, however other parts of their site are working fine, which pretty much means that there is either a problem with internet banking side of their website or perhaps they are updating the system.
Upon further inspection it seems as if Chase are experiencing a “technical problem” (according to WashingtonPost), however they have not released full information regarding the outage, which would be extremely useful for their users. Are you disappointed with the lack of information that there has been from Chase? Consider opening a second checking account with a different bank. Never keep all eggs in one basket.

Source: http://johnstonsunrise.net/pages/full_story/push?blog-entry-Chase%20Website%20Down%20&id=9522242

Facebook CEO Admits To Calling Users 'Dumb Fucks'

2010-09-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

Mark Zuckerberg admits in a New Yorker profile that he mocked early Facebook users for trusting him with their personal information. A youthful indiscretion, the Facebook founder says he's much more mature now, at the ripe age of 26.
"They trust me — dumb fucks," says Zuckerberg in one of the instant messages, first published by former Valleywag Nicholas Carlson at Silicon Alley Insider, and now confirmed by Zuckerberg himself in Jose Antonio Vargas's New Yorker piece. Zuckerberg now tells Vargas, "I think I've grown and learned a lot" since those instant messages.

And yet the old quote resounds precisely because Facebook continues to stir up privacy controversies at regular intervals. Zuckerberg justifies his privacy rollbacks by saying the social norms have changed in favor of transparency, but, as tech executive Anil Dash tells the New Yorker, that sort of change is much more appealing for a privileged, Ivy Leaguer golden boy of Silicon Valley like Zuckerberg than for his half a billion users, many of whom work for less tolerant bosses and socialize in more judgmental circles.
The dichotomy between Zuckerberg's philosophy and the lives of his users makes revelations about the Facebook CEO's own private life all the more interesting. It seems natural to figure that this forceful advocate for transparency is ready to test his own informational boundaries a bit.

And Zuckerberg does open up a little to the New Yorker, admitting that he's red-green colorblind, and explaining the Mandarin lessons he's been taking: They're for a scheduled vacation with girlfriend to Priscilla Chan to China. And Chan, it turns out, is finally moving in with Zuck.

Then there's Zuckerberg's defacto unfriending of Aaron Sorkin, the screenwriter behind Zuckerberg's least favorite Facebook movie The Social Network. The CEO had listed Sorkin's TV show The West Wing as a "favorite" on his Facebook profile, only to remove it under questioning from Vargas. Now Zuckerberg's re-favorited the West Wing. Curious. Apparently living under the new social norms can lead to old school regret. Even if you're Mark Zuckerberg.

[Photo of Zuckerberg at an August 10, 2010 press conference at Facebook via Getty Images]

Send an email to Ryan Tate, the author of this post, at ryan@gawker.com.

Source: http://gawker.com/5636765/facebook-ceo-admits-to-calling-users-dumb-fucks

Watch Monday Night Football Online! Watch New York Jets vs Baltimore Ravens Online streaming in HP 1080 Read more: Press-Banner - watch monday night football online watch new york jets vs baltimore ravens online streaming in hp 1080

2010-09-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

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6 Brutal Leaders And Their Ridiculous Secret Hobbies

2010-09-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

By Theodore Hawkins

Everybody needs a hobby, but people find release in many surprising ways. A mechanic might unwind by knitting, a ballet dancer might take up boxing. But what do you do to unwind after, say, a long day at the genocide factory? Just ask these guys:

6.Hitler Loved Disney and Sketched Characters

Everybody knows Hitler was an artist, and while paintings of his have supposedly popped up before, recent sketches discovered in 2008 shed a little more light on the twisted mind behind the madman: He was a Mouseketeer. Well, in spirit anyway. The sketches were of two of the seven dwarfs, Bashful and Doc, along with an unsigned sketch of Pinocchio.

Everyone needs a hobby.

Hitler wasn't just a casual fan either. He not only owned a copy of Snow White, he thought it was one of the greatest movies ever created. His love for all things Disney was so well known that Joseph Goebbels, history's second greatest monster, gave Hitler Mickey Mouse paraphernalia. Goebbels later wrote in his diary that Hitler was "very pleased." This was presumably followed by "he clapped his hands in glee, and immediately ran to his room to change into the mouse ears and Donald Duck footy pajamas."

5.Osama Bin Laden Ruled the Volleyball Court

Osama Bin Laden hates America. He hates everything about it: The sacrilegious freedoms we enjoy, our arrogant politics, the way America snorts when it laughs. You know this already; you've probably seen his Vlogs. He just hates America so fucking much, he loathes every fiber of its black, accursed soul... well, except for volleyball. That shit's awesome.
We're not making this up; stories of Bin Laden's volleyball prowess come from insiders like his former bodyguard, Nasser al-Bahri.
So why is America's number one enemy also the number one fan of the homoerotic near-orgy from Top Gun? Maybe his love for volleyball is the one exception that proves the rule, or maybe it's actually the cause for his hatred; a bitter jealousy at all of our immaculate beaches and regulation nets coming from a dude stuck in a low-ceilinged cave using old clotheslines. Or perhaps, just perhaps, the 6'4 Arab guy in a country where rural villagers think fun is forbidden by God is predisposed to dominate the crap out of that sport.

You might say he's "built for the game."

Oh, and throw in the fact that Mohammed Atef, the former chief of Al-Qaeda, also used to be a star volleyball player, but wasn't allowed to play on the same team as Osama because they were just that good, and we think the United States' next move is clear: Stage a fake volleyball competition, and arrest the unnaturally skilled giant with the fake beard (over his regular beard).
Hey, it worked for Robin Hood.

4.Saddam Hussein Wrote Sappy Romance Novels.

In late 2001, CIA officials found a novel at an Arabic book store in London titled Zabibah and the King. Penned under the clever pseudonym "S. Hussein," (seriously, how did we ever catch that guy?!)

Ladies, are your loins quivering yet? If not, you are in direct violation of Iraqi law.

Zabibah and the King is an allegorical novel based on the history of Iraq... in the same way that Transformers is an allegorical TV show about the industrial revolution. Liberties are taken, is what we're saying here. The book is set in ancient Iraq, where the fair and just King (Saddam) falls in love with the beautiful and innocent Zabibah (Iraq). After several long, thinly veiled discussions on God, love, poetry, matted back hair and dank spider-holes, the King and Zabibah eventually fall deep in love.

Ladies love a man with his own gilded throne.

But on a walk from the King's Palace to her home, Zabibah is attacked and raped by her cruel husband. Here's a line from the actual passage:
"Rape is the most serious of crimes, whether it is a man raping a woman or invading armies raping the homeland or the usurpation of rights."
Yes, the girl is Iraq, the fair-haired (?) King is Saddam himself, and the cruel husband is the United States of America. And if you actually needed that explanation to get the subtext, you owe your elementary school English teacher a sternly worded note, though you'll probably need some help writing it. Then again, perhaps we're being unfair here: We shouldn't exactly be expecting subtlety from the guy commissioning 30-foot gold statues of himself for every town square in the country.

...Is that a disco ball on his head?

3.Al Capone Wrote Sappy Love Songs

Say what you will about Al Capone, but he was inarguably a hardass. He was the world's most famous criminal in an era that, according to what little we gleaned from Kevin Costner movies, was basically nothing but non-stop drive-by Tommy gun shootings. He's still the default mental image you have when somebody says "gangster": generically Italian looking guy, big pin-stripe suit, fedora--that's him.

Somehow this picture is more terrifying than any shot in Scarface.

He was the very essence of badass bad guy... well, except for the sappy love songs.
AND THE BANJO!

His one documented song (though it's said he wrote many more) was titled "Madonna Mia," and it was essentially a heart-wrenching ode to his beloved wife. It doesn't seem to fit into the dangerous mob boss image, but Al does manage to save a little face when you realize where he wrote most of his stuff: Alcatraz prison. And that's balls. In a place where you're sodomized and stabbed and then sodomized again just to "fuck the knife out of you," Capone sat in his cell and played dainty love ballads. On a banjo.

In a cell that was much nicer than the average dorm room.

2.Joseph Stalin Drew Naked Men

When he wasn't busy sending people to the Gulag, Joseph Stalin relaxed by settling himself in with a cool drink and a roaring fire... to draw himself some good old fashioned pornography. And if that isn't odd enough, he'd also write scathing remarks about people underneath the pictures, just because he thought it was funny. And hell, he's right:

"Hey, comrade fatso! A ridiculous mustache doesn't justify 'eating for two.'"

The signatures on the drawings have been officially authenticated as Stalin's, but after analyzing the pictures, Russian psychologists have gone on record as stating that they "didn't find any expressions of homosexuality." Though they begrudgingly admitted immediately afterward that "this material of course does prompt you have this thought."

Just a little bit.

So don't worry, proud, patriotic Russians, the "Great Leader" wasn't a fancyboy or anything... he just really, really comes off like one at first.

"A little mass-murder, a little nude sketching, a little mass murder, a little nude sketching..."

1.Kim Jong Il and Basketball

Considering we once wrote an entire article about the wacky things Kim Jong Il does, you could probably guess who was going to be at this spot. And we didn't even mention the (true) fact that among his movie collection you find lots of both James Bond and Daffy Duck, or the fact that he imports over $700,000 of Congac a year.

No other world leader could rock those shades.

But it's his love for basketball that puts him on this list. Kim Jong Il's favorite player is, of course, Michael Jordan, and that makes sense. They've basically been in a media blackout since the mid-90s, they're probably just now getting Space Jam.

Because North Korea doesn't have enough problems.

He's such a fan of Jordan's, in fact, that he owns a VHS recording of every single game he played with the Bulls. He's even invited Michael to North Korea for a meeting and a friendly game or two but. Perhaps not approving of North Korea's controversial "Kidnap Everybody Kim Jong Il Thinks is Amusing" policy, Jordan declined. When Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited North Korea in 2000, she gave him a basketball signed by Mr. Jordan. A nice gesture, to be sure. For anybody else, that gets put right on the mantle. For Kim Jong Il, that ball gets displayed in the Museum of International Understanding, which he built.
For the ball.

Albright picked well, is what we're trying to say.

Kim is so obsessed with basketball that he wants to turn North Korea into a national basketball powerhouse, and is constantly bringing in coaches to give seminars on the fundamentals of basketball, and he's had regulation basketball courts built at every one of his palaces.
But that's all pretty tame, it's just missing that trademark Kim Jong twist... and here it is: It's not the basketball you're thinking of; Kim "invented" the game we're talking about. The main difference between the basketball you know and Kim's version is the scoring system: Three points for a dunk, four points for a three pointer that touches nothing but the net, negative one point for missing a free throw, and eight points for a shot in the last three seconds.
And those are just the officially documented ones. Off the record, we heard you have to play the rest of the game upside down for traveling, goaltending gets you a week of reduced rations and for the love of Christ, do not foul in the fourth quarter: Your family gets eaten by wolves.

In all North Korean sporting, the Great Leader is the only one who wins.

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_18748_6-brutal-leaders-their-ridiculous-secret-hobbies.html

Michael Vick Miracle Comeback Quelled by Packers' Clay Matthews

2010-09-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

Michael David Smith
NFL Writer

The Packers had no answer for Eagles quarterback Michael Vick throughout the second half of Sunday's game in Philadelphia, as Vick ran wild and looked as mobile as ever in slashing through the Green Bay defense.

But then on the Eagles' final drive, just when Vick appeared poised to complete a spectacular comeback, Packers linebacker Clay Matthews stepped up and stopped Vick. On a second-and-10, Matthews sacked Vick for a three-yard loss. Two plays later, with the Eagles going for it on fourth-and-1, Matthews stuffed Vick for no gain.

Ball game.

Make no mistake, Vick was sensational. He was pressed into duty when Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb suffered a concussion, and he looked like the Vick of old at his very best, carrying 11 times for 103 yards. He nearly led the Eagles from a 27-10 fourth-quarter deficit to a come-from-behind victory, and he created what will surely be a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia.

But Matthews was even better. Matthews flew all over the field all day and was the one Packers player who managed to hold Vick in check. Matthews should have won the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award last year, and if Week One is any guide, he's even better in his second season.

Vick may have exposed some holes in the Packers' defense, and the way they nearly gave away a game they seemed to have in the bag will give coach Mike McCarthy plenty to critique during practice this week. But the Packers beat Vick and the Eagles when they had to because Matthews made plays when he had to.

Source: http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/09/12/packers-couldnt-stop-michael-vick-until-they-had-to/

Michigan's Denard Robinson dazzles in win over Notre Dame Read more: Mitch Albom: Michigan's Denard Robinson dazzles in win over Notre Dame

2010-09-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — One day soon, this is going to bite them. One day soon, some team will figure this kid out and hang a stinging loss on a very incomplete Wolverines team. One day soon. But in the meantime …

In the meantime, give this kid the game ball. Give him ALL the game balls. Denard Robinson redefined the term “offensive weapon” on Saturday against Notre Dame. The second-year player not only broke his record for one-man offense at Michigan (set a whole week ago), he not only had one blistering TD run of 87 yards, he not only had had 258 yards on the ground and 244 yards passing, he not only pooch kicked the ball and even picked up his own fumble once and got rid of it for positive yardage, but he did something in his second start at quarterback that countless college players before him have been unable to do.
He led a comeback against the Irish in Notre Dame Stadium.
And he did it in the final seconds.
“He is a superstar!” declared the NBC announcers when this game was over and Michigan had survived, 28-24, to improve to 2-0 on the season.
I’m not much for hyperbole. But I think I can say that in Saturday’s case, “superstar” was actually a modest assessment.
“One Man Army” comes to mind.

No words can explain

“I’m speechless right now,” Robinson said after the game. “I really don’t know what to say right now.”
Allow me. Gosh. Jeez. Holy %ˆˆ%#$#$#.
When someone asked Robinson if he knew his numbers, he said “No, I do not … I’m a team player.”
Well, this may be his greatest team feat of all: He splashed the best sauce you’ve ever tasted on some very average spaghetti. The Wolverines scored 24 points, all of which were directly related to Robinson’s efforts. But they did this despite too many dumb penalties — late hits and holding calls. They missed way too many tackles. They gave up way too many big plays. They didn’t convert third downs (3-of-16). They missed both their field goal attempts.
Let’s face it. A laundry list of sins like that had is enough to lose you most games. And Michigan came within a few yards of losing this one. The fact is, at the end of the first half, Notre Dame was on the 3-yard line and didn’t score, and at the end of the game, Notre Dame was on U-M’s 27-yard line and threw the ball out of the end zone. Either of those plays convert, and we’re likely painting a different picture here.

“I’m proud of our young guys,” Rich Rodriguez said. “They hung in there…”

As for his quarterback?

“Needles to say our quarterback is pretty special.”

Yeah. And ice cream is fattening.
Such crazy numbers

Pretty special? What Robinson has done in two weeks is what many decent players do in a season. Let me add up his total yardage the first two weeks. This plus this equals … a gazillion!

That’s close enough. Nobody hangs the rushing AND passing numbers that Robinsons has hung. Pure running backs don’t gain that much. Pure quarterbacks don’t throw that effectively. Remember, on Saturday he didn’t have a single interception and didn’t lose a yard! For a scrambling quarterback, that’s amazing.

“We played as a team,” Robinson said, “The defense had our back all game … we had to have their backs (at the end).”

They sure did. Remember this was a game that saw Notre Dame down to its third-string quarterback 11 minutes into the game. The Wolverines should have taken better advantage of that. But all that counts is the final score. And, if you can count them with Denard, the final numbers. His most impressive may have been that last drive: Six passes, five completions, five rushes, 72 yards of offense, touchdown. His numbers are simply remarkable.

“He’ll get a few ice bags on him today, sleep on the bus, and rest up for the next one,” Rodriguez said.

Maybe the next one, it catches up to him. For now, one word comes to mind. Wow.

http://www.freep.com/article/20100911/COL01/100911034/Michigan-s-Denard-Robinson-dazzles-in-win-over-Notre-Dame

6 Movies That Didn't Realize They Let The Villain Win

2010-09-10T18:16:00.000-07:00

By Jacopo della Quercia

Not every movie can end with the main villain being punched, electrocuted, smashed by a fire truck and dropped on a conveyor belt, like in Con Air. (Unfortunately.) We understand that.
What we don't understand are the movies where the writers seemed to forget about the bad guys completely.

#6.

The Rest of the Aliens from Independence Day

In Independence Day, the film that inaugurated Roland Emmerich's obsession with seeing America destroyed, the bad guys are a "far more advanced" form of intelligent life that looks like something the Queen from Aliens gave birth to after getting drunk with Predator.

ALF just... stared.

These guys packed quite a lunch bag for their Independence Day barbecue: spaceships the size of Hawaiian islands, shields that could withstand the nuclear bombing of Houston, weapons capable of leveling Washington D.C. in a single blast, plus all the information about human anatomy they could possibly probe out of Randy Quaid's asshole.

But, after pancaking dozens of cities, a rag-tag group of humans cause each and every one of the alien ships to crash, the thousands of people who were no doubt crushed under each one a small price to pay for victory.
But We Forgot About...
Let's be generous and assume that every one of the alien city-destroying mother ships was downed. Do you have any idea how large a 15-mile-wide spaceship is? Each one is like a flying city, 1,000-stories high and about 100 blocks wide in every direction. And while New York may not have been designed to have giant spaceships fall on it, we have to imagine the space crafts had been designed with a contingency plan for gravity.

We're not sure how many troops and crew were on board each, but we know each one housed an entire air force worth of those little fighter craft.
Speaking of which, any aliens who happen to be sitting in one of those crafts is probably going to make it. We saw earlier that an alien shot out of the sky was able to survive. And by survive we mean it hot wired a human brain and had a conversation with the fucking President after going through a crash-landing, a cold cock delivered by none other than Will Smith, and being cut in half on an operating table.

"Wow, he went down really easy. It's almost like he wants me to take his unconscious body to my leader."

Take into account the weaponry the aliens will be able to recover from their downed ships, and we have a District 9 situation on our hands... only we're the ones herded into camps.

And we can't quite rock a red vest.

#5.

The Libyans from Back to the Future

Let's disregard for a moment all of the numerous problems we have with the "happy" ending of Back to the Future. Let's grant the filmmakers that everything wrapped itself up perfectly; Marty is happy, parents are happy, Biff is their slave.

All he wants is a case of Schlitz and time to forget.

It's so easy to get wrapped up in the Biff Tannens and time paradoxes as the main obstacles to be overcome that we forget the guys who should have kept Marty McFly up late at night.
But We Forgot About...
The Libyan terrorists Doc Brown ripped the plutonium from. You know, the armed, pissed off terrorists driving freely through Hill Valley, who wanted Doc Brown to build a nuclear bomb for them.

Ho-hum.

Take a close look at that VW van. These guys pack more wallop in there than the collected drug cartels in Breaking Bad and The Wire. These Libyans have AK-47s, RPGs, a shoot-first policy, tracking abilities that baffle even the guy who perfected time travel, and... oh, fucking plutonium.

This is some Tom Clancy shit right here.

OK, so Marty hooks up with his mom and warns Doc about the Libyans, which he takes as his cue to dig up a bulletproof vest capable of stopping assault-rifle slugs at point-blank range. Good for him. They then take off in their van and chase Marty in the Delorean. When Marty disappears back in time, the van crashes into a one-hour photo stand. Then... what?

...they back up, drive to Marty and shoot him in the face?

Nothing happens. Seriously, there are no terrorists flying through windshields; no RPGs going off; no big cathartic explosion to justify the use of the word "bomb" in the movie. All we see is the van kind of tip over, but sustain the abuse like any good, German-made car was built to. But when Marty returns from the past to check on Doc, they have an emotional reunion that completely ignores the fact that there is a dented van full of terrorists right over there.

If it can survive hippies, it can survive anything.

Hell, even if the van burst into flames and vaporized the gunmen, there's no way those few guys represented the entirety of their terror cell. This is a group serious enough to sneak into the U.S., obtain military-grade weapons and goddamned weapons-grade plutonium. You know, the stuff that no terrorists and only a few militaries have ever been able to get their hands on. If anything, Back to the Future is a cautionary tale about how disastrously vulnerable small U.S. towns were to terrorism during the Reagan years.

And how vulnerable the terrorists were to crimes of Chronomancy.

#4.

Death Proof

Tarantino's Death Proof is actually two stories: the story of the psychotic Stuntman Mike harassing a group of ladies, and the story of Stuntman Mike harassing a (different) group of ladies (who fight back and kill him). This is about the latter.

The former didn't last long.

This part of the story is a girl-power picture which focuses on a white 1970 Dodge Challenger that our heroines hope to borrow for a dangerous game called "Ship's Mast."

They borrow the car from a scary-looking dude, and eventually use that car to get their revenge on Stuntman.
But We Forgot About...
Mike is just one of two. That white 1970 Dodge Challenger our heroines have their sights on is being offered for sale by a hardcore Tennessee "son of the soil" named Jasper. Bear in mind that Jasper is played by Jonathan Loughran, who you may remember as the trucker who tried to rape Uma Therman in Kill Bill, Vol 1. He's basically the same character here, right down to his trademark pre-rape "heh heh."

Nothing can go badly here.

Our heroines have no intention of buying the car, but nevertheless finagle their way into getting Jasper to let them take the hog for a spin by offering their single hottest friend as collateral. To sweeten the deal, they even point out that she's a porn actress as a nudge-nudge that she might be down for some intercourse while they're out. Oh, and they never mention any of this to her. Oh, and she's wearing this:

And the last we ever see of her is this:

What the hell were they expecting to find when they came back, especially after that little porn actress lure they used? The cheerleader and the hillbilly playing chess?
Even if they come back and the cheerleader is, somehow, still intact, there's the little matter of her girlfriends leaving her behind as collateral. You know, in case something bad happens to the Dodge Challenger, like maybe an on-and off-road duel with a homicidal stuntman.

By the end of the film the car is completely totaled, so what does that mean? Does the hillbilly get to keep the cheerleader (or her mutilated corpse, as the case may be)?

Source: http://www.cracked.com/article_18733_6-movies-that-didnt-realize-they-let-villain-win.html

September 11 pictures -- remembering a dark day

2010-09-10T18:02:00.000-07:00

These September 11 pictures, including a somber William Harris holding a sub-machine gun in front of the Baltimore police headquarters, are a stark reminder of how our lives changed that morning in 2001.
We reacted with shock, horror and prayer. One book, about a pet goat, became instantly famous -- President George W. Bush was reading it with some Florida schoolchildren when he heard news of the World Trade Center attack.
But once the planes hit -- in New York, northern Virginia and Pennsylvania -- few people were in the mood for reading -- unless it was the Bible.
I'll have more on September 11 in the morning, as we recap interesting novels and non-fiction books about the day. So come back, but in the meantime, use these pictures from September 11 to remember the day

Source: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/books/blog/2010/09/september_11_pictures_remember.html

Researchers Skeptical of Claims by Online Dating Sites

2010-09-09T17:41:00.000-07:00

With an estimated 40 percent of the 100 million U.S. singles trying online dating, researchers at the University of Arkansas caution users that some Web sites’ claims of scientific justification may be “junk science.”

Psychology professor Jeffrey Lohr and two psychology graduates, Aimee King and Deena Austin-Oden, analyzed several leading dating Web sites and found that promotional claims were more self-serving opinion than legitimate psychological science.

The researchers explored the advertising tactics of matchmaking that existed long before the invention of online dating sites and the Web. For example, many of the matchmaking sites use anecdotes and personal testimonies in advertising in the hope that consumers will accept the endorsement as fact.

Consumers must be cautious of customer satisfaction testimonies in online dating advertisements because the matchmaking sites have most likely pre-selected only satisfied customers, rather than a representative sample, the team said.

Even when the dating services cite scientific evidence, consumers don’t always get all the facts. In an eHarmony comparison, the researchers found that the site neglected to reveal that they compared their couples, who were married only an average of six months (the “honeymoon period”), to couples in the control group who were married an average of two years. The researchers said that opinions expressed during the honeymoon period should not be compared to the opinions of couples after the honeymoon is over.

eHarmony asserts that its matchmaking model is based upon measurement and compatibility. The eHarmony technique is the only one of the leading matchmaking sites that has a patent on its compatibility tests. Thus, eHarmony does not reveal to users the characteristics of their key attributes or the way in which those attributes are related to the people with whom they are matched.

PerfectMatch.com uses a compatibility system based on “over 35 years of research” developed by “a chief relationship expert,” while Match.com simply claims its method works by the volume of success stories.

Some sites reveal how the compatibility tests work.

The Mate Choice Study is a matching system used by another site, Chemistry.com. Its structure is similar in form and content to the well-known Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which divides people into psychological types. For the Chemistry.com survey, there are four different personality types a person might be assigned according to how the person responds to the 56-item questionnaire. There are Explorers and Builders, who tend to gravitate toward their own type based on similarity, and Directors and Negotiators, who gravitate on the basis of complementarities.

Lohr read some of the research analyzed by the leading expert of Chemistry.com, anthropologist Helen Fisher.

“The validity of the Chemistry.com matching strategy is on the threshold of scientific legitimacy,” Lohr said.

The team also researched to see if online relationship services give the appearance of matching in the more traditional way - work, church, the tennis court or bars. The outcome?

“The evidence is not yet in,” Lohr said.

Relations initiated online may not be as enduring as traditional face-to-face relationships because there are few barriers to breaking up when the cost exceeds the rewards of the relationship, the team said. And another mate is only one click away and easy to find.

Many Web sites make claims that they cannot substantiate. For instance, Match.com claims that they are responsible for “twice as many marriages as any other site in the world.” The site measures success according to the number of marriages. However, Match.com does not use divorce to measure failure and thus cannot offer scientific research to support the usefulness of their claim.

The researchers referenced four specific variables that determine the likelihood that two people will come together and form a relationship in the traditional face-to-face way: proximity, physical attractiveness and attitudinal similarity, a sense of rapport and similarities or self-disclosure.

The Internet has minimized the importance of proximity, making it possible for distant strangers to get to know each other through computer interactions.

Also, many of the Web sites do not allow users to see a picture of the match in the initial stages of the face-to-face communication, taking the second variable of interpersonal relationships - physical attractiveness - out of the picture.

Self-disclosure, the final variable that determines the likelihood of a relationship forming, can be deceiving, although advocates of Internet dating claim that the anonymity of computer-mediated communication accelerates intimacy through increased openness about aspects of the self. Critics of cyber-dating say that self-disclosure online is often less honest because of the increased opportunities for identity manipulation.

University of Arkansas alumni Austin-Oden and King were both students in an applied psychology research course with Lohr. Austin-Oden and King, a former honors college student, wrote papers about online matchmaking and evaluated it using the critical analysis techniques that Lohr taught. After reading both of the students’ papers, Lohr suggested that they continue the research and collaborate in compiling the information.

It took a total of two years to complete the project. The result is an article in Volume 15 of Skeptic Magazine with the students evaluating the scientific procedure of some of the major online matchmaking sites.

“It was a great experience for me personally, because I plan on pursuing a research career and submitting many manuscripts for publication,” King said.

Being able to evaluate research, compile papers, collaborate with others on projects and work with reviewers during the submission process during my undergraduate career was a good first step, King said.

“It has prepared me for graduate school and my future career in academia,” she said.

Austin-Oden said that the class helped her be more skeptical and proactive about what she believes in advertising.

Source: University of Arkansas (news : web)

Wife of Marvin Sapp dies - Funeral for Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp pending, Facebook page full of prayer

2010-09-09T17:35:00.000-07:00

Wife of Marvin Sapp, Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp, dies - Funeral plans pending, Facebook page full of comments

I only just noticed the city-wide prayer for Lady Malina Sapp today on The Official Marvin Sapp Facebook page that had been posted Tuesday.

Sadly -- Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp, as I see her name is spelled in this bio of Marvin Sapp's wife, life-long friend and covenant partner -- has died from colon cancer.

I didn't even know her, but it's hard to hold back the tears when you look at the photos of the beautiful Sapp family, and see that their children look young as they play together with their parents.
I'm a mother myself, and this is the time when hurting folks have to really lean on the truth that God is a mother to the motherless.

What a beautiful looking woman -- one apparently devoted to her role as First Lady and wife and mother.
And Sapp's "Never Would Have Made It" song was already born from the pain of his father's death.
Reportedly Sapp told AOL:

"The Lord said to me, 'Marvin, there's something you need to understand. Although your father isn't with you physically, I will never leave you nor will I forsake you. I will be with you always even until the end of the earth'. Then I walked into the pulpit with my Bible. When God began to assure me that He was there for me, I stood up. I grabbed the microphone and started singing, 'Never Would Have Made It'."

Wife of Marvin Sapp dies - Funeral for Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp pending, Facebook page full of prayer

Photo: Dr. MaLinda Sapp, wife of Marvin Sapp

Pastor Marvin Sapp's more current song, The Best In Me, and the accompanying video is in heavy-rotation on my iPod Touch.

Sometimes I just watch that video over and over and I don't know why. There's a special Spirit of God in the songs that have won legions of fans to his music.

Now with all the condolences flowing in to Marvin Sapp's Facebook page, folks just feel so bad for his loss, but hopeful that she is in heaven with her Savior.

People just prayed it wouldn't happen this soon and in this manner.

According to WZZM 13, funeral plans for Malinda Sapp are still pending.

Source:
http://www.examiner.com/christian-music-in-national/wife-of-marvin-sapp-dies-funeral-for-dr-malinda-p-sapp-pending-facebook-page-full-of-prayer

Cereberus Puppy

2010-09-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Cereberus Puppy. Cereberus as a puppy.

Source:
http://www.imgzzz.com/pic/full/1283915606

Google Instant makes search interactive (photos)

2010-09-08T17:52:00.000-07:00

As we expected, Monday and Tuesday's playful Google doodles were teasers for showing off a bit of the technology behind Wednesday's announcement of Google Instant, the new interactive search results.

The doodle's animated elements showed off color changes and movement that reacted to movement of the cursor, and with Wednesday's announcement at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, we are seeing just how constant this change really is.

Speaking to a theater full of press, swooping visuals and ambient sounds, Marissa Mayer showed us the next big thing in search. We have real time, we have relevant results, and now, we have predictive queries.

It's "as you type, not after you type," said Mayer. Google knows what you want before you want it, all part of an intuitive search that cuts down on time and typing, a smarter search that Sergey Brin called a step toward making Google the "third half of your brain."

Source
http://news.cnet.com/2300-11386_3-10004774.html

17 Images You Won't Believe Aren't Photoshopped

2010-09-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

By Joe Russo

As we've demonstrated many times before, sometimes the truth is stranger than Photoshop. For those of you still unconvinced, we present the latest installment in our ongoing quest to show you every picture that has ever looked ridiculously fake, and isn't.
In case you missed them, here's Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and the gritty reboot that doesn't acknowledge the previous editions.
And now...

#17.

"What, So It's Just Two Photos Cropped Togeth- HOLY SHIT!"

This photo isn't terrifying as long as you think it's just the bottom half of one postcard glued to the top half of another one. Or maybe it's an indoor swimming pool and the skyline is just a mural on the wall? Nope, that's a guy swimming to the edge of a pool on top of a skyscraper.
It's the Marina Bay Sands Skypark, and it's 55 stories (and 600 feet) above street level. If you're wondering where the edge of the pool is, and what keeps the guy from swimming right off the end and splattering to the pavement below, the answer to both is in the design. It's an "infinity pool" which has a lip under the water level, and over the side is a sort of gutter that catches both the water that runs off the side, and any drunken humans who drift over.

#16.

Car CD Changer

These pictures aren't from some sci-fi movie, and they're not some wishful thinking mockup from one of those bullshit futuristic issues of Popular Science. This is an actual 20-story car storage facility for Volkswagens at a factory in Germany.
Are you thinking what we're thinking? That there should be a game show where you get to operate that thing like a giant claw machine and you win whatever car you can grab without dropping it?

#15.

Look, Honey, He Impaled Himself on the Utility Pole!

We can find no record of how many car accidents were caused by this 200 foot-wide soccer player billboard in Munich, Germany. But can you imagine seeing this looming bastard rising up on the horizon as you crest the hill? Germany once again shows no regard for their sleepy and/or stoned motorists, who are going to slam on their brakes for fear their sedan will be kicked into a gigantic net a mile away.

#14.

Dammit, Guys, I Just Painted that River

Either these guys are living in that Robin Williams movie where he died and had to spend afterlife inside an oil painting, or else the bottom of their boat is about to melt from toxic waste sludge.
Actually that's algae which has overtaken Chaohu Lake in China. It's pretty, but it's also bad news for anyone relying on the lake for drinking water (as 300,000 people do). The Chinese government is spending billions trying to clean the stuff out of their rivers and lakes. According to the below photo, they do that by sending a dude out to scoop it off with a sauce pan.

#13.

Rendering Art Museum: 86%...

This is one that looks less like Photoshop and more like bad MS Paint. But it's another one of those forced perspective works of art where strategically-placed lines give the illusion of a floating box (hint: it only works if you're standing in the right spot). In this case it's just bright green tape...

...and the skill of street artist Aakash Nihilani who randomly tapes misleading cubes in public spaces presumably for the sole purpose of freaking out passersby.

#12.

"Maverick, Do NOT Make Your Jet Fart a Rainbow!"

This rainbowfied F-22 Raptor fighter jet is not some crude Photoshopped commentary about gays in the military. It's an actual photo captured at exactly the right moment when the water vapor trailing off the aircraft caught the sun in just the right way to refract it. Credit Bernardo M. Malfitano for capturing the world's fruitiest picture of the world's most badass aircraft.

#11.

A Cautionary Tale of Teleportation Gone Wrong

This bicycle that has gotten swallowed by a tree is a fairly famous landmark in Vashon Island (near Seattle). You can find numerous references to it, including multiple supposed back stories. One way or the other, the story boils down to somebody left their bike next to a little tree years ago and the tree just swallowed that bastard up when it got big. Trees do that:

Trees are living things just like you and me, and if survival means growing right around whatever happens to be parked between them and the sun, they're going to do it, without a moment's hesitation. Trees don't give a shit.

#10.

In Soviet Russia, Watermelon- ah, Forget It

This carved watermelon is actually from a melon carving contest in the Czech Republic. The real difference between seedless and regular watermelon is whether or not mouths carved into them appear to have severe oral hygiene issues. Also, it's 10 times more disturbing because when we look at that thing we can't not picture Mick Jagger.

#9.

Vases? Jars of Potpourri?

Get your camera close enough to some water droplets on a leaf and this is what you'll see. They call it macro photography (that is, extreme close-up photography) and it is in general cool as hell. This person has a whole collection of it on their Flickr page. When you zoom in on water droplets, you get that awesome refractive effect where it gives you a wide-angle view of whatever is behind it.

Source:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18750_17-images-you-wont-believe-arent-photoshopped-part-6.html

Watch Sons Of Anarchy Season 3 ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Season 3 Review Recap Sons of Anarchy S03E01

2010-09-08T01:40:00.000-07:00

sons of anarchy 3, The third season will premiere tonight at 10 PM ET on FX networks.

samcro, sons of anarchy season 2, soa, charlie hunnam ;’Sons of Anarchy’ Season 3, Episode 1 Recap; ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Season 3 Review ; Watch Sons of Anarchy Season 3 Episode 1 Online ; Watch Sons of Anarchy S03E01
FX Networks – Sons of Anarchy – Full Episodes and Exclusive Video
Watch complete soa S03E01 video episodes.
soa S03E01 video full episodes

Sons of Anarchy – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sons of Anarchy will begin airing Season 3 on September 7th, 2010. A trailer for the upcoming season released in August, 2010 featured a remix of The Doors

FX Networks

Schedule. | Showtimes for Sep 7th-Sep 20th. Print Schedule RSS Feed ….. Get the latest news on all your favorite FX originals and special events. …

www.fxnetworks.com

Sons of Anarchy Season 3 Episode 1

Streaming Link 1 (Zshare)

Source:
http://www.bolmamabol.com/tv/watch-sons-of-anarchy-season-3-sons-of-anarchy-season-3-review-recap-sons-of-anarchy-s03e01/

Google's "Balls" Homepage Logo: What Does It Mean?

2010-09-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

By: Dan Fletcher

Apparently Google's graphic designers spent Labor Day weekend on the job because the search giant rolled out a funky new homepage logo today that's (wait for it) pretty baller.

today are greeted with a swarm of moving, brightly colored circles. In time, the circles converge and form a dotted version of the familiar Google logo. Unless, of course, you mouse over the logo again, at which point the circles expand back out.

What gives? For once, no one is quite sure. The best guess is that the special logo is a celebration of Google's 12th anniversary, as the company was officially incorporated on Sept. 7, 1998. But unlike other Google logos, this one isn't clickable for further context. We've reached out to Google PR for an explanation and will update you if we hear back.

Source:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/07/googles-balls-homepage-logo-what-does-it-mean/

Chicago’s Mayor Daley: ‘I’ve Done My All’

2010-09-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

By JEFF ZELENY

5:35 p.m. | Updated Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago said Tuesday that he would not run for re-election when his term expires next year, an announcement that could have implications from the Windy City to the White House.

“I’ve done my all. I’ve done my best,” Mr. Daley told reporters during a news conference at City Hall in Chicago. “Now, I’m ready with my family to begin the new phase of our lives.”

The news created an immediate stir inside the West Wing.

“No mayor in America has loved a city more or served a community with greater passion than Rich Daley,” President Obama said in a statement. “He helped build Chicago’s image as a world class city, and leaves a legacy of progress that will be appreciated for generations to come.”

Rahm Emanuel, the chief of staff to President Obama, has talked openly about his desire to run for mayor of his hometown. He has said that he would only consider running if Mr. Daley decided to step aside.

“One day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago,” Mr. Emanuel said during an April interview on “The Charlie Rose Show.”

“First of all, let me say it this way: I hope Mayor Daley seeks re-election. I will work and support him if he seeks re-election,” Mr. Emanuel said at the time. “But if Mayor Daley doesn’t, one day I would like to run for mayor of the city of Chicago.”

In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Emanuel said that he was surprised by the announcement. He did not say whether he intended to run, but he does not have much time to make a decision, with the election set for Feb. 22, 2011.

“While Mayor Daley surprised me today with his decision to not run for reelection, I have never been surprised by his leadership, dedication and tireless work on behalf of the city and the people of Chicago,” Mr. Emanuel said in a statement.

Mr. Emanuel, a former congressman from Chicago’s North Side, has told friends that he planned to stay in the White House until at least next summer. But the news from Mr. Daley, which caught many Democrats by surprise, could change the calculation.

“The truth is, I have been thinking about this for the past several months,” Mr. Daley told reporters in Chicago. “In the end, this is a personal decision, no more, no less.”

Mr. Daley, who in 1989 followed in his father’s footsteps to become mayor of Chicago, has been one of the more colorful and powerful mayors in the country. As he made his announcement on Tuesday, his wife, Maggie, stood by his side with the help of a crutch, the Chicago Tribune reported. She has been battling breast cancer for years.

“Simply put, it’s time,” Mr. Daley told reporters. “Time for me, it’s time for Chicago to move on.”

Mr. Daley, 68, will become the longest-serving mayor of Chicago on Dec. 26, 2010, surpassing the tenure of 21 years and eight months that his father, Richard J. Daley, recorded.

Mr. Emanuel, should he decide to run for mayor, would hardly have a clear path to the office. Several Chicago aldermen have been eying the office, in case Mr. Daley decided to step aside, and so have several other Democratic officials in Chicago, including the Cook County Assessor, Jim Houlihan, and the Cook County Sheriff, Tom Dart.

The primary is scheduled to take place next February, a timeline that does not allow Mr. Emanuel or other potential candidates much time to settle their plans. A new wave of senior advisers is expected to join the Obama administration after the November election, when the Democratic majority in Congress could shrink – or vanish.

Source:
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/07/chicagos-mayor-daley-ive-done-my-all/

Is Android Surging Only Because Apple Is Letting It?

2010-09-06T17:13:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I’ve been catching up on some reading. One post that was of particular interest to me was David Beach’s article from last week about developing for Android. Beach, who is a product manager at eBay Mobile and a co-founder of 12seconds, basically says that the experience sucks for a number of reasons (all of which Google can fix, but will take quite a bit of work and time). But one quote in particular stuck out to me:

Android has succeeded despite Google. In fact it’s safe to say that Android is successful for one primary reason. The iPhone is only available on AT&T. If the iPhone was on Verizon a year ago. Android would be no where near as popular.

Obviously, Beach isn’t the first person to bring this idea up. But he brings it up in a way that he’s able to back-up his feelings from a developers’ perspective, while at the same time roping in what isn’t ideal from a consumer perspective about Android as well.
This is going to sound like flame bait, and everyone knows that I love the iPhone — but I have to agree with Beach. I’ve used no less than six Android phones for extended periods of time over the past couple of years. I really am trying to like them. But I just can’t.
Now, don’t get me wrong, almost all Android phones are a million times better than the phones we had just a few years ago before the iPhone burst onto the scene. And if the iPhone didn’t exist, there is no question that I would use an Android phone and would probably be very happy with it. But the iPhone does exist. And I simply can’t bring myself to use an Android phone when I know a superior device is out there. That’s my only requirement for me to use a product: it has to be the best.
The only valid argument I can see for the iPhone not being the best is the AT&T requirement. So let’s put that aside for a second.
While I obviously understand that people have different tastes, I can’t see how you can objectively say that the overall experience of using an Android phone isn’t worse than using an iPhone. There are a dozen or more elements that are better about the iPhone. Everything from the big: the App Store versus the Android Market (from the consumer perspective) — to the little: the multi-touch and overall touchscreen responsiveness.
Even the most diehard Android loyalists I know (like Jason and Mike) will readily admit that the iPhone offers a better user experience. So why do they love Android (again, besides the lack of AT&T requirement)? The openness. They hate that you can’t get Google Voice on the iPhone (I hate it too). And in general they hate Apple’s restrictive policies for the App Store (which I don’t like either). But those are problems that most regular consumers don’t think about — or realize exist at all.
Instead, like Beach says, the thing some consumers don’t like about the iPhone is that it’s AT&T only (in the U.S., obviously). Even if you live in an area where AT&T doesn’t absolutely suck, having no choice of carriers is a big restriction. People have work plans, family plans, etc, etc, that they just can’t switch. Or they don’t want to.
If the iPhone was on Verizon (which is a larger network, remember), is there any question that it would be selling at least double the amount of units it is right now in the U.S.? I don’t think so. What if it was available on all the networks? And what would happen to Android sales if that was the case? That is the big question here.
Next year, it’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll get at least a partial answer. If the iPhone is available on Verizon or even just T-Mobile, will the pace of Android sales slow down in the U.S.?
I know a number of people who are Android users simply because of the iPhone/AT&T restriction. If and when the devices comes to Verizon, they will jump ship. The big question is: will millions of others follow? Or, perhaps more importantly, will millions of new users that would have gone with Android now go with iPhone?
I’m seriously curious to know why you like Android over the iPhone if you do. Is it because of the openness ideal? Is it the variety of devices? Is it the variety of carrier choices? Or is it something else?
The Market is a mess, the media situation is arguably worse, and the user experience is still just off when compared to the iPhone. Google is working on improving all of those things, but Apple is rock solid in all of those areas right now. Both sides will keep improving, but Google’s problem is that Apple is ahead and has remained ahead. Can Google surpass them? I’m just not sure I can see how unless Apple regresses — which they’ve shown no signs of doing. What I can see is a Verizon iPhone. And so do plenty of others.
Apple and Google are in the midst of a PR war for who is activating more devices each day. Google is doing 200,000 a day. Apple is doing 230,000 a day. But Apple says Google’s numbers may include upgrades. Google says Apple is wrong. This will go on and on.
It’s great that there is competition in the market right now. But would it be as fierce in the U.S. if it weren’t for the AT&T situation? Would most people just be using an iPhone? Beach states it as a fact, but I don’t think it’s an unreasonable question to consider. And it’s something I’m sure Google is considering as the Verizon iPhone approaches.

Source:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/05/apple-android/

Research finds repressed memories don't exist

2010-09-05T20:36:00.000-07:00

By Karen Berkman

The idea that traumatised people, especially the victims of child sexual abuse, deliberately repress horrific memories goes all the way back to the 19th century and the theories of Sigmund Freud himself.

But now some experts are saying the evidence points the other way.

Professor Grant Devilly, from Griffith University's Psychological Health research unit, says the memory usually works in the opposite way, with traumatised people reliving experiences they would rather forget.

"It's the opposite. They wish they couldn't think about it," he said.

In a briefing to the US Supreme Court, Professor Richard McNally from Harvard University described the theory of repressed memory as "the most pernicious bit of folklore ever to infect psychology and psychiatry".

He maintains false memories can easily be created by inept therapists.

"The stress hormones that are released during a trauma tend to consolidate the memory, make it rather strong and sometimes even intrusive, as you see in post-traumatic stress disorder," he said.

But Professor McNally says some abuse victims do suffer when they reassess childhood experiences much later.

"Seeing the event through the eyes of adult, they realise what has happened to them and now they experience the emotional turmoil of trauma," he said.

The good news is that now, Professor McNally says most victims can be helped.

"Things have changed, happily. We now have treatments that work," he said.

Soldiers returning from war zones, victims of violent crime and sexual abuse, can now be helped by cognitive behaviour therapy, where they learn to assign terrible memories to the past, instead of them crowding their present and future.

Professor Devilly says the therapy is working.

"We're now getting, at the end of between 8 and 12 sessions, 90 to 92 per cent of people no longer meet the criteria for PTSD," he said.

Now psychologists are working to fend off post traumatic stress in high-risk occupations, by teaching recruits to develop resilience.

Source:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/09/06/3003364.htm?section=world

In all the years... why didn't I think of this sooner?

2010-09-05T20:32:00.001-07:00

In all the years... why didn't I think of this sooner?

A man is dating three women...

2010-09-05T20:31:00.000-07:00

A man is dating three women and wants to decide which to marry. He decides to give them a test. He gives each woman a present of $5000 and watches to see what she does with the money.
The first does a total make-over. She goes to a fancy beauty salon, gets her hair done, new make up and buys several new outfits and dresses up very nicely for the man. She tells him that she has done this to be more attractive for him because she loves him so much. The man was impressed.
The second goes shopping to buy the man gifts. She gets him a new set of golf clubs, some new gizmos for his computer, and some expensive clothes. As she presents these gifts, she tells him that she has spent all the money on him because she loves him so much. Again, the man is impressed.
The third invests the money in the stock market. She earns several times the $5000. She gives him back his $5000 and reinvests the remainder in a joint account. She tells him that she wants to save for their future because she loves him so much. Obviously, the man was impressed.
The man thought for a long time about what each woman had done with the money, and then he married the one with the largest breasts.

Machete: Race War Propaganda Under the Cover of a Mexploitation Film – Prison Planet.com

2010-09-05T20:02:00.000-07:00

Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
Saturday, September 4, 2010

Comment from Alex Jones: Robert Rodriguez is a liar – when a script for Machete was leaked back in May, I pointed out that the film contained numerous elements that were highly offensive and could easily kick-start a race war. Rodriguez claimed that these scenes had been edited or removed for the final version. They were not – every part of the original script remains in the film almost word for word.

When a Cinco De Mayo political trailer for the movie was released in reaction to the Arizona immigration situation, Rodriguez again claimed that this was satire and not representative of the film. In fact, the movie contains everything that appeared in this trailer and a lot more (including Jessica Alba’s provocative “the border crossed us” rallying cry).

This movie is sickening. Myself and six members of the Infowars team all left the theater feeling physically ill. The film opens with Texans butchering pregnant illegal aliens and the propaganda only gets more virulent, including references to serial killer Charles Manson’s Helter Skelter vision of race war, sterotyping the Minutemen as murderers of illegal aliens, when in reality they have never harmed anyone, showing Texans butchering a priest, and talk of “resettling America” in the context of the extremist reconquista racial movement.

This movie is not a joke. It is race war propaganda hastily disguised behind a stylized, bloodthirsty black comedy.

If a white person had directed a movie about hispanics being sub-human devils who want to kill everybody there would have been an uproar, but Rodriguez can demonize an entire race of people, along with Texans in general, in a similar vein and the establishment media treats it all as a cutsie joke. This is disgusting.

Robert Rodriguez’s Machete lives up to its trailer released earlier this year. “This is Machete with a special Cinco de Mayo message … to Arizona,” the star of the grindhouse movie, played by Danny Trejo, growls at the start of the trailer. He then engages in bloody mayhem and mass murder.
On Friday night, Alex Jones took his crew to see Machete at a theater here in Austin, Texas. The movie lived up to and even exceeded expectations.

Critics have mostly panned the movie as trashy, campy, and rife with senseless and gratuitous violence. Daniel B. Wood, writing for the Christian Science Monitor, says the film has a sub-theme — immigration and “reverse racism.” Wood quotes Barbara O’Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University, who warns that some people may have “negative reactions” after watching the film. “Yes, this movie is goofily violent, but it’s also dealing with issues that are largely visceral,” she tells Wood. “I don’t know that people in the middle of the debate will view it as satire.”

Machete is not satire. It is propaganda under the cover of an exploitation film. It is designed to stir up “visceral” reactions to the very serious issue of illegal immigration. It strives to demonize Americans outraged over an open border and the influx of millions of illegal aliens every year.

Machete portrays members of the Minuteman Project — an activist organization founded in 2005 by James Gilchrist — as racist thugs and serial murderers. The Minutemen are not directly named. Instead, the border patrol group calls itself the “Vigilantes,” but the comparison in unavoidable.

A few minutes into the film, the border Vigilantes — including a corrupt Texas politician played by Robert De Niro — murder a pregnant illegal woman as she crosses the border. The scene is an example of classic war propaganda.

“A handy rule for arousing hate,” noted political scientist and communications expert Harold Lasswell, “is, if at first they do not enrage, use an atrocity. It has been employed with unvarying success in every conflict known to man.”

The murder of a defenseless pregnant woman in the film is designed to elicit a visceral and emotional response on the part of the audience. It far surpasses the “ravishing” of maidens by evil Huns portrayed in pro-war posters during the First World War. It ranks right up there with photos published in newspapers prior to the Second World War showing sadistic Japanese soldiers skewering Chinese babies with bayonets. Such images were instrumental in convincing the American people they should support entry into the war.

Rodriguez’s message is clear — if you oppose illegal immigration, support the activism of the Minutemen, and agree that states should adopt laws like Arizona in response to illegal immigration, you also support shooting pregnant Mexican women.

Polls reveal that most Americans by large margins support the Arizona law. “A solid majority of Americans back Arizona’s tough crackdown on illegal immigrants,” Reuters reported in May. Eight in 10 Americans are concerned that illegal immigrants burden schools, hospitals and other government services, and 77% worry that they drive down wages, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup poll, also conducted in May.

Despite its obvious cliches and racial stereotypes, a climatic scene near the end of the movie calls for a bloody revolution against the Vigilantes, aka the Minutemen and their supporters, or for that matter Americans who want to deal with illegal immigration in a lawful manner. During the scene, we see a large number of Mexican laborers using the implements of their trade to attack the Vigilantes.

The scene has an ominous parallel — in April, the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC released a video showing an illegal alien supporter in Arizona claiming that shovels and axes will be used against Americans. “We will not stop! We will take up our shovels and pickaxes and we… will use them against you! Believe that!” screams an opponent of Arizona’s tough new bill addressing illegal immigration in the video.
Following charges that he was attempting to stir up a race war with the release of his “Cinco de Mayo” trailer, director Rodriguez promised to tone down incendiary aspects of his film. After Alex Jones received the Machete script and pointed out the race war elements, Rodriguez said his critics have jumped to conclusions.
“They may have read a script that wasn’t finished and jumped to conclusions about its content and tone,” he told Ain’t It Cool. “Any filmmaker will tell you, there are three movies that you make: the one you write, the one you shoot and the one you edit.”

The theatrical version of Machete is true to the leaked script, with one notable exception at the end of the film.

“I don’t really believe in protests, rallies or marches,” Rodriguez told Ain’t It Cool, and then encouraged supporters of illegal immigration to “register and vote because what we need is serious, comprehensive immigration reform,” in other words voter should force the government to legalize tens of millions of illegal immigrants. “You can feel people’s frustration [over Arizona] and yet it’s difficult for them to have a clear opinion on the matter because there’s such a mess of misinformation.”

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Robert Rodriguez’s Machete is an obnoxious exercise in misinformation. It calls for a violent response to the political activism of Americans — including Hispanic Americans — opposed to wide open and lawless borders and the assertion by many Mexicans that the American Southwest was stolen from them by the United States.

Machete is primarily about illegal immigration — specifically framed by the “Cinco de Mayo” trailer — and is Rodriguez’s answer to the acrimonious debate over Arizona’s effort to stem the tide of illegal immigrants bankrupting the state.

Rodriguez has cynically shrouded his message — violence in response to border “vigilantes” is not only acceptable, but preferable — under the cover of a Mexploitation film. It remains to be seen if the film, now showing in theaters around the country, will result in violence.

Stephen Hawking's Rules: Fear Aliens, 9/11 No Big Deal, Who Needs God?

2010-09-05T02:06:00.000-07:00

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is smarter than NewsFeed! So when he says things - like there's no way God created the universe - we should probably believe them. Here are the best of the physicist's often-controversial opinions.

"Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing..."
--Hawking in an except from his new book The Grand Design, on why God might not exist.

"I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be in space."
--Hawking arguing that mankind must take to the stars to continue to survive as a species. (See some of mankind's greatest explorations and adventures.)

"We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet. I imagine they might exist in massive ships, having used up all the resources from their home planet. Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonise whatever planets they can reach."
--Hawking on why we should be terrified of meeting aliens

"Although September 11 was horrible, it didn't threaten the survival of the human race, like nuclear weapons do."
--Hawking a month after 9/11, which was probably not the best time to be saying things like that

"God not only plays dice with the universe, but sometimes throws them where they can't be seen."
--Hawking arguing in 1976 that information could not be retrieved from a black hole, a controversial opinion in physics; Hawking reversed his position in 2004

"I think computer viruses should count as life. Maybe it says something about human nature, that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. Talk about creating life in our own image."
--Hawking on life and man's true nature

"We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star..."
--Hawking putting human existence in perspective in Der Spiegel

"...But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."
--Hawking make us feel a little better again, in the same interview

Source:
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/03/stephen-hawkings-rules-fear-aliens-911-no-big-deal-who-needs-god/

Penn State Football Schedule 2010

2010-09-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

Penn State Football Schedule 2010

Penn State Football Schedule 2010:Penn State Football schedule for 2010 may be historic. Many fear that the Penn State football schedule in 2010, Joe Paterno in the past, although it probably will not be clear only after the Penn State football schedule ends.

It all depends on how well Paterno holds this year, and how well the Nittany Lions fare on the field. According to the majority, it will be the same as many others in recent times, with a team of only slight control of the New Year’s Day bowl game. If they want more, the Penn State football schedule for 2010 have not made it easy for them.

45′th season career, Paterno, Nittany Lion in the coaching begins today, is relatively easy matchup. 19′th place Nittany Lions face Youngstown State, which is unable to FCS, it was. However, they need this game to get momentum for next week.
Big question mark on Penn State football schedule for 2010 is marked on the following Saturday evening, and the Nittany Lions traveling to № 1, defending champion Alabama. Despite the top-20 preseason ranking, it will be a challenge to win the Champions on the road, in the long and difficult for them to do.

If they find a way, however, is Penn State football schedule for 2010 may be different. He should be with the situation fluid defender following the departure of Darryl Clark. Now, freshman Robert Bolden is dealing with two backup sophomores waiting in the wings.

After the game, Alabama, Penn State football schedule for 2010 has the usual muffins until the end of September. Nittany Lions host MAC teams Kent State and Temple, to the Big Ten slate is in full swing. The right way, they get an early diagnosis as they go to Iowa, which had their number in the last few years.
Then the Nittany Lions should be preferred against Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan and Northwestern. Last season comes to a big opening on November 13 as they visit Ohio. By that time, Buckeyes could be on the verge of BCS title game – but it could Nittany Lions, if they pulled upsets on the road.

Source:
http://www.12news.us/penn-state-football-schedule-2010.html

iTunes 10 hands-on: snappier performance, questionable UI choices

2010-09-05T01:56:00.000-07:00

By Chris Foresman

By now, most iTunes users have already downloaded and installed iTunes 10. We've already given you the low-down on the biggest addition to the new version of iTunes—the Ping social network—but we also wanted to give our impressions on two "improvements" promised in the release notes: look-and-feel and performance. While we agree that iTunes is "faster and more responsive," we're not sold on the revised user interface.
"Enjoy performance improvements which make iTunes faster and more responsive"

Let's face it, performance is not iTunes' strong suit. I have a decent-sized library of some 6,700 tracks, for a total of 30GB of storage space—I can listen to music for nearly 51 days straight without ever hearing the same song twice. That is not a small music library, but it certainly doesn't compare to many people I know that complain that an iPod classic still isn't big enough to hold their library.

If music was all that iTunes had to manage, juggling those 6,700 tracks wouldn't be much trouble. But it also keeps track of movies, TV shows, music videos, ePub and PDF books, iPhoto libraries, iPods, iPhones, iPads, audio books, iTunes U content, podcasts, Internet radio stations, other local iTunes libraries on the network… well, you get the idea. Apple has piled additional functionality on software that originally started life as a Mac OS 8 MP3 player to the point where it is practically bursting at its Carbon seams.

For those with large libraries hoping for a full Cocoa rewrite, this is not the iTunes update you've been looking for. But while iTunes 8 and 9 got progressively slower—it got to the point that switching to iTunes to skip a track or stop it to answer a phone call was a five to ten second trial of patience—Apple promised that iTunes 10 would offer faster performance.

After playing with the new version for the better part of a day, we can honestly say it is a little snappier. It certainly doesn't suffer from the unresponsive UI that plagued iTunes 9 on my aging original Core Duo MacBook. Specific genres and artists load instantly in the browser. Flipping through albums in Cover Flow seems especially fast. And the new list view with album art scrolls like butter.

We're not sure what Apple is using behind the scenes—it's certainly not Cocoa, and Apple didn't respond to our questions about what specific enhancements had been added. After using both iTunes 9 and iTunes 10 with Activity Monitor running, it does seem that iTunes is using more threads and may be using a little more (about 5 percent) CPU time than before. It's not more efficient, but it is perceptibly faster—at this point, it's a trade-off we can accept.

We still hope for a fully turbo-charged, block-using, GCD-enabled, Cocoa-fied version of iTunes with blazing performance. iTunes 10 isn't there yet, but the tweaks that are there are welcome.
"Explore many look-and-feel improvements throughout iTunes"

Now, iTunes 10's new "look-and-feel" is an entirely different matter. Immediately noticeable is the cringe-inducing vertically aligned window controls. Admittedly, it does save a few pixels of vertical space, since Apple got rid of the title bar entirely. But the Human Interface Guidelines are there for a reason—to provide users with a consistent paradigm for interacting with applications. The common wisdom is that you shouldn't break the HIG unless there is a compelling reason. In our opinion, a few pixels of vertical space isn't a compelling enough reason, especially considering all the comments we have heard from colleagues and readers who find it confusing.

Thankfully, you can get rid of this style with a hidden terminal command. Quit iTunes 10, and enter defaults write com.apple.iTunes full-window -1 in a Terminal prompt. Relaunch iTunes and—voilà!—the standard window controls return.

Another major change is that Apple has pretty much removed all the color from iTunes sidebar. In previous version of iTunes, the icons representing different media, playlists, and devices in the left-hand sidebar came in a range of colors. Now all the icons are subtle, monochromatic shadows of their former selves. All the shapes are distinctive enough for the most part, but the low-contrast grey makes it more difficult to find what you are looking for at a glance. Instead of thinking "green" for the iTunes Store or "purple" for Genius Mixes, you'll have to pay more attention to the shapes and text labels. It may be more visually "refined," but in our opinion usability is hurt.

Yet another questionable UI tweak is that all the buttons along the bottom of the main iTunes window have lost their button shape. Instead, they appear as a series of—you guessed it—grey shapes that give only a vague clue they clicking them might do something. The style is reminiscent of the tab bars used on iOS applications, except even there the active tab has a rectangular button shape around it, giving users a subtle clue that the other icons could be clicked to activate them. In its default state, none of the buttons are active—those that are get a nice blue highlight fill—and so a user would have to rely on curiosity and pop-up tool tips to figure out what the buttons do, once they figure out that they are buttons in the first place. It's not terrible once you get used to it, but new users might miss these buttons entirely.

There are a couple smaller changes that we are neutral about, and two that we like. Apple has changed the volume control to make it thicker, and it has a subtle machined aluminum look. Being bigger makes it easier to target, especially with a trackpad. Apple also changed how some of the top-level categories in the sidebar are collapsed. Instead of using standard disclosure triangles, rolling over these categories (like Genius or Playlist) will reveal a "show" or "hide" text button to the right. Clicking the text will show or hide the stuff underneath these headings, but double-clicking them works the same, and is easier in our opinion.

The two changes we do like, however, are the redesigned list view column headings, and the new list view with album art icons. The new column headings are larger, with more space above and below the heading text. This makes it easier to target using a trackpad while also being more visually appealing. The added list view with small album art icons is also a nice touch for those who think visually but have too many albums to rely strictly on the album art or Cover Flow views.
It will be some time before we know what impact Ping will have on the iTunes user base, or whether TV rentals will be compelling enough to get more users watching (we suspect they would be more appealing for users of the new Apple TV when it comes out next month). The new iTunes UI might leave a lot to be desired, but at least Apple has made some effort to improve the overall performance.
Perhaps iTunes 11 will finally be the version that sheds the last vestiges of Carbon cruft. Hopefully Apple engineers will also give at least a passing nod to the Human Interface Guidelines when designing its UI.

Source:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/09/itunes-10-hands-on-snappier-performance-questionable-ui-choices.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

North Carolina Football Investigation

2010-09-05T01:46:00.000-07:00

North Carolina Football Investigation

North Carolina Football Investigation:NCAA investigator chance Miller sends North Carolina through interviews with a notice explaining to the athletes that they will be asked if they have knowledge of rules violations.

July 12-13: Miller and Rachel Newman Baker interviewed an unspecified number of athletes, including defensive solutions Marvin Austin and wide receiver Greg Little, in the UNC in connection with the probe of whether players received improper benefits from sports agents.

August 4: UNC athletic director Dick Baddour confirmed that investigators NCAA ago on campus.

August 10: Former player UNC Cam Thomas said a former teammate, Kentwan Balmer, Thomas Austin and paid training in California – a possible violation of NCAA rules – in the summer of 2009.

Aug. 26: UNC announces investigation of possible academic misconduct involving football players and former students of the teacher.
September 1: Austin suspended indefinitely for violating team rules and neglecting his duties in the team.

September 3: UNC says six players, including Little and Austin, to be the season opener today against Louisiana State in violation of the school and / or NCAA rules. Seven other players retained from the game during the investigation continues.

Source:
http://www.12news.us/north-carolina-football-investigation-2.html

Louis CK's Drunken Tweets

2010-09-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Louis CK got on a plane, got hammered, and went to town on Twitter. We get the sense he doesn't care for Sarah Palin.

source:
http://www.funnyordie.com/images/ba1656a66e/louis-ck-s-drunken-tweets

Notre Dame Football Schedule

2010-09-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

Notre Dame Football Schedule

Notre Dame Football Schedule:The first Saturday in September here and football fans are stoked. 4 days off steam with some of the greatest football makes all football fans, where everyone giddy with excitement. Brian Kelly dreamed of coaching at Boston College, but that was before he realized there was more apples to choose. Notre Dame football schedule will get underway today under the command of Coach Kelly.

Fighting Irish hit the field today with Kelly of the reigns and has already attracted speculation that it will be very urban Meyer. In case the name of urban Meyer is not the bell tolls, it adopted the program from the ground up undefeated regular season in Utah. This is a great season limit, which led him to power in Florida. This is football Notre Dame schedule may be one that makes Kelly a rock star.

Kelly began his career in Cincinnati, and now he waits for his turn to hit the field against the Irish. Kelly said that he will just focus on the game at hand. He did not hide the fact that it is in dreams, he just did not have time to think about it now. Notre Dame football schedule may be one that makes or breaks Kelly in the long term.

source: http://www.12news.us/