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Off To Oregon
Friday, August 31, 2007

Well we are off to Oregon for a long weekend, we have a wedding to attend. I doubt I will be posting before Monday but you never know. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and more when witty insights when I return.

Posted by mardenhill 8/31/2007 08:28:00 AM 0 comments  

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Rilo Kiley - Under The Blacklight
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Nearly every review has trashed this cd except for Blender who did write some positive things. As for my opinion, I am still on the fence. The band is Rilo Kiley and this is their 4th cd and 1st for a major. Rilo Kiley shed their Indie Rock/Americana sound and turned to 70s disco, 80s new wave and a bit of R&B. Jenny Lewis the lead singer has stated that the cd is about sex and LA life. This clean and some may say trendy sound is what got them in hot water with all the smug elitists out in Indieville. I wasn't expecting this direction and still picture the Watson Twins sound where Jenny was pulling a Neko Case on us. The cd starts off with "Silver Lining" a smooth and crooning late nite, spread out on the rug in front of the fire song. I find myself going back to this one over and over. I am not a huge fan of R&B but the groove and Jenny's voice is just downright cool. From there it moves into jangle pop territory which is always a good way to go. Track 3 is where it starts to lose me, the buzz song of the cd "Moneymaker" is commercial sleaze, its too polished and feels a bit fake to me. I love the grime and lyrically is amazing but I feel like they are trying too hard. Track 4 "Breakin Up" is hailed as the new Fleetwood Mac with it being co written by Jenny and her ex the band's guitarist Blake Sennett. This one could easily have been Abba with its lighthearted disco beat.

At this point you are 4 tracks in and its usually when I switch to a new cd. This may be why I am still debating. It left me on a sour note and part of the reason I haven't come to appreciate it fully. There are some amazing songs like track 5 "Under The Blacklight" 6 "Dreamworld" and 10 "The Angels Hung Around" which I never get to. If you are in the mood for something fun and a bit superficial at times, pick up this release. Hidden underneath are some very cool tracks that showcase Jenny's strengths as a dominant front woman and lyricist.

Posted by mardenhill 8/29/2007 09:12:00 PM 0 comments  

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Even More Lewd GOP Conduct....
Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Between Congressional Pages, New Orleans brothels, DC Madame, gay prostitutes, and now bathroom solicitations (not just one, some perv down in FL was busted earlier this summer as well) the GOP is a giant cesspool of pandering hypocrites. The FL state rep felt the need to issue a racist defense than be labeled gay, I guess in some circles its much better to be a racist than to be the other.

I love Sen Craig's (R-ID) defense, its the local newspapers fault for his toe tapping, hand sliding and subsequent guilty plea in a Minnesota public bathroom. He blamed them for everything and went on to repeat that he wasn't gay over and over. I can't wait to watch what Jon Stewart has to say about this one. Good news tho, the senator is up for re-election next year and there is no chance he will run again. The question tho, will he serve out the remainder of his time or resign in shame. More GOP family values for ya......

Posted by mardenhill 8/28/2007 10:50:00 PM 0 comments  

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New iPods

Its official, new iPods coming Sept 5th. Looks like the cover flow already in iTunes and on the iPhone will be on the updated iPods. Still in the dark as to what the new devices will look like, which ones will get a makeover, sizes and prices. I am hoping for a full screen video iPod myself since mine is ready to break any day now.

Posted by mardenhill 8/28/2007 10:44:00 PM 0 comments  

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Tigers Whoop the Yankees And Send Them Packing
Monday, August 27, 2007

Normally I would feel a bit bad for a team who was embarrassed like what went on tonight but when that team are the Yankees, no way. The Yankees deserved the humiliation of losing 16-0. We saw the beginning of the game and it was 3-0 but had to run out to the store. When we came back it was 10-0 and the bottom of the 7th with 2 outs. From there the action picked up once again and hit after hit brought more Tigers in. Hopefully this snaps the Tigers lull and puts them back into playoff contention. We are still 2.5 games behind Cleveland but we have the chance to take the Wild Card spot if we keep this up.

Way to go Detroit.....

Posted by mardenhill 8/27/2007 10:29:00 PM 1 comments  

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Caribou - Andorra (2007)
Sunday, August 26, 2007

I will admit, I have just come to the table when it comes to Daniel V. Snaith the man behind Manitoba and now Caribou. I have listened to his work in the past and just brushed it off. I wasn't really interested, I could get thru a couple songs here and there and that was about it. Snaith mixes it up between his albums, at times it has an electronic beat while others dive head first into jazz and indie pop. After a legal challenge (the name Manitoba was taken by another person, Snaith donned Caribou as the new moniker.

The latest cd, Andorra is a must for anyone who loves The Flaming Lips and The Polyphonic Spree. Its bursting with psychedelia and 60s summer pop. Its as bright and cheerful as any Poly Spree release without the church choir and its trippy enough to keep the pretentious indie wankers from writing it off as mainstream fodder.

This is a perfect summer record, the sunshine beats and Beatleseque studio mix ups keep the sound from going stale. With that in mind, I still don't think I could make it thru the whole cd in one listening. Its more of a few songs here and there to spice up the iPod shuffle. My favorite song has to be "Melody Day" the opening track. The layers are thick with interesting combinations that make you hit repeat just to hear things you missed the first time.

http://www.myspace.com/cariboumanitoba

You can find the cd on eMusic.com

Posted by mardenhill 8/26/2007 10:13:00 PM 0 comments  

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Hey Dean, Piss Off

Howard Dean at the DNC is threatening to yank Florida's delegates if they don't back down from their updated primary schedule. If Florida doesn't flich he will be coming after Michigan next. We just passed a law to move our primary up to January 15th which will really screw over New Hamphire. Was it the right thing to do, yeah I think so. I am tired of being at the back of the line and watching candidates bow out after a poor showing in Iowa and New Hampshire. Just because they don't win there doesn't mean the rest of the country feels the same way. Either break the country into 4 rotating quadrants for the primaries or have 1 single day where everyone votes. If a candidate doesn't make their rounds to some of the smaller states then they risk losing their support. And while we are at it, lets throw away the electoral college and go back to a popular vote.

Posted by mardenhill 8/26/2007 09:34:00 AM 0 comments  

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From Worse To....

There is buzz going around that Gonzo will be exiting stage left in the near future and Skeletor (i.e. Chertoff from Homeland Security) will be taking over. Its about time, Alberto has destroyed the Justice Dept by acting as both Bush's legal counsel and that of the country. I guess Gonzo didn't get the memo that when you are AG you need to be independent of the president not his lapdog. Will Chertoff be much better, not sure. If we look back at Hurricane Katrina and the way he oversaw FEMA, I think we are in trouble. At this time anyone would do a better job so even with all the idiotic statements made by Chertoff I will try to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Posted by mardenhill 8/26/2007 09:23:00 AM 0 comments  

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New iPods
Saturday, August 25, 2007

Mark your calendars, September 5th looks to be the day we will see the new line of iPods. Lots of rumors are swirling around, full screen video iPod, iPhone nano, new colors, higher flash based devices and OS X operating systems. I think we can assume the coverflow and browsing capabilites that are on the iPhone will be included in this new batch which will be very cool. I am in the market for a new iPod, my 4th gen, (still B/W, no photos) is on its last legs. The hard drive could go any day now and I just pray it makes it thru a couple more months.

I am still waiting for my Motorola Q9H which I hope is released next week......

Posted by mardenhill 8/25/2007 09:55:00 AM 0 comments  

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No New Cell Phone Yet
Friday, August 24, 2007

I had my fingers crossed but it didn't help, no Motorola Q9H launch for AT&T today. A few days ago my Razr died, the screen went black. You could still accept calls but you had no idea who was calling and it was hard to tell if the phone was on. I swapped my sim card into an old and broken blackberry for 24 hrs which really sucked. My friend Nasir let me borrow his old Nokia and for the last 2 days have been staring at an Iron Maiden wallpaper with James Bond ringtones. It looks like I will be waiting a few more days for my new cell but I will keep you posted......

Posted by mardenhill 8/24/2007 09:13:00 AM 1 comments  

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Its Official, New JAMC
Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Jesus And Mary Chain, who reunited this spring for a high-profile gig at Coachella, will play a handful of U.S. dates this fall and are preparing to return to the studio for the first time in more than nine years.

The last time the TJ&MC played live together was in 1998. Earlier this year, frontman Jim Reid said things were "such a bloody awful mess" that the band "just blew up." He also said that's one of the reasons that the band reunited, adding, "... that was no way for the Mary Chain to end."

In addition to Reid and brother William, the band's new lineup includes guitarist Mark Crozer, former Lush bassist Phil King and ex-Ride drummer Loz Colbert. Since their performance on the mainstage at Coachella in April, the band have played more than a dozen dates together, made an appearance on "The Late Show with David Letterman" and introduced a new tune, "All Things Must Pass."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2dKoOcFzFA

...........................................

As usual the US dates are nowhere near Detroit just the West Coast as of now. Maybe we will get lucky and have a full blown tour with the release of a new cd. Now this is one reunion that has been a long time coming and one that I think rivals The Police even though it won't make the millions they have raked in.

One of the things I love about Youtube is that you can type in any band and watch piles of videos. Its like having an online jukebox at your fingertips that you don't have to pay for.

Posted by mardenhill 8/21/2007 10:12:00 PM 0 comments  

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She Wants Revenge
Monday, August 20, 2007

She Wants Revenge
This Is Forever

In Stores 10/9

1 First, Love
2 Written In Blood
3 Walking Away
4 True Romance
5 What I Want
6 It’s Just Begun
7 She Will Always Be A Broken Girl
8 This Is The End
9 Checking Out
10 Pretend The World Has Ended
11 Replacement
12 All Those Moments
13 Rachael

http://myspace.com/shewantsrevenge
.......................................

She Wants Revenge has a new cd coming out this fall and will also be playing St. Andrews in Detroit, October 18th. I was a big fan of their debut, it wasn't original but it was full of everything that mattered. It was an exploitation of the 80s, throw in some DM, early Ministry, some Joy Division and the hipness of a 2 piece. Do I think it was accidental? No, the band members are older and knew exactly what would sell. I do think they are genuine but also very savvy businessmen who could read the scene and gave the public what they wanted. SWR uses lust and sex to get your attention. They take your primal urges and meticulously weave them into an electronic soundscape full of seedy underground desires. SWR took what everyone is already feeling and with laser precison wrapped those cravings into a toe tapping beat. I am interested to see how their followup will compare. I wonder if SWR can keep the tension building or if it will just disappear into a void of bland and boring industrial synth pop.

From their single posted on the myspace page, it sounds promising. Don't forget to mark your calendars, this a show you won't want to miss. They are not The National but they are a guily pleasure that needs to be indulged.

you can watch the video for "These Things" below.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2IhyKlOylto

Posted by mardenhill 8/20/2007 11:07:00 AM 1 comments  

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Woodward Dream Cruise 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007

My cruiser....
Some old car.
View looking down Woodward.
View looking up Woodward.
If you ever wondered what happened to all the DeLorean's from the 80s. (There were about 15 total),
Where are these kids parents? I guess they didn't learn from the accident a few months ago where a car lost control and plowed into the crowd killing multiple people.
I have no idea.......

Here are some photos from my adventure at the Woodward Dream Cruise. I rode my bike up there which was about 1 mile away and then up Woodward for 2 miles. I had to stop at a gas station to fill up to get back home, I have a slow leak in my back tire and it was just about flat. One of the perks of being on the bike was that I could ride along side the cars and in and out of traffic. I did enjoy riding thru it since I wasn't stuck walking behind slow people who stop every 2 feet. I was able to snap some photos and got out of there. I expect it to get much worse this evening with even more cars and people walking the street.

Posted by mardenhill 8/18/2007 04:12:00 PM 0 comments  

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OSXPlanet
Thursday, August 16, 2007

Click on for larger view.

While searching on the EarthDesk site I came across this one called OSXPlanet. I don't know if they have a version for PC users but for all you Mac loyalists you can have it. Its very cool, it gives you a view of earth from space, it lists all the active volcano's, cloud movement, hurricane/storm updates and paths, satellite orbits and earthquakes which you can set to show only above a certain magnitude (I have it on 6.5). Check out the program (if you have a mac) and see for yourself.....

http://www.osxplanet.com/

Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 02:47:00 PM 1 comments  

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Earth Watch


Courtesy of Gizmodo.com

If you're one of the dozen people in the world who still wears a watch, you might have already been lusting after this Ulysse Nardin Tellurium J. Kepler masterpiece, one of just 99 to be made in the world. It's named after Johannes Kepler, the 14th/15th-century astronomer who was one of the first scientists to document the laws of planetary motion.

In its middle, the watch shows you the Earth as seen from the North Pole, or if you live in the southern hemisphere, you can order a model that shows a view of the South Pole. There's a flexible spring that rotates around as the day progresses, showing which half of the earth is in daylight hours. One part of the watch rotates once per year, and another shows you when there will be eclipses of the Sun and the Moon. Made of platinum, this is one spectacular-looking timepiece—too bad it costs $118,000.

http://www.ulysse-nardin.com/e/collection.e/watchdetail.e.jsp?ID_Group=10000T

.......................................

I love globes and maps and anything that have photos of the earth from space. I have the coolest wallpaper on my mac, its called earthdesk and it rotates clouds and night time across the screen. With that in mind when I saw this watch I was blown away. I will admit I don't wear watches but if I had one with the earth on it I might. Unfortunately this one comes in at $118,000 so I don't expect to be getting it anytime soon. Actually, I don't think I would even feel comfortable wearing something that expensive. I guess I should head to Canal St to look for a knockoff. I have a great Movado I got for $20, maybe I could get one of these.

http://www.xericdesign.com/earthdesk.php

Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 01:41:00 PM 0 comments  

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Tigers Update

I havn't been posting too much on the Tigers for the last month due to their slump. I was hoping that if I just ignored it then things would turn around. As of now the Tigers are tied with Cleveland for the Central divison but are behind the Yankees by 1 game. This is dangerous territory, at this pace the Yankees will clinch the Wild Card spot (unless Seattle sneaks in behind them) and that forces Detroit to win the division. There are 40 games left so that means Detroit needs to always stay one step ahead of Cleveland. They start a series tonight with the Yankees and will play them next week at home.

Lets go Tigers.....

Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 12:36:00 PM 0 comments  

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Nintendo Wii


My lovely wife bought a Nintendo Wii for our anniversay which is today (4 years) and I have to tell ya, its a lot of fun. We have played a couple times and for the last 8 months have talked about getting one. Unfortunately they are pretty hard to come by but Erika suprised me yesterday with one. She found it at Toys R Us, which happened to have 6 on hand. We bought the extra remote and Wii Games package so now both of us can play together. The system comes with Wii Sports which features Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, Golf and Boxing. All of which are really fun to play. The other package had a disc full of games but were mostly ones to teach you how to use the remote. So far I think the Tennis is my favorite, its the most interactive. I have read mixed reviews of the add on sports equipments and will wait for the next generation attachments to come out. I do want a steering wheel tho, I love racing games and that is necessary. The end of October will see the launch of Guitar Hero III for the Wii which is a must as well.

When it comes to video games, I am not into the long role playing/adventure/shootem up games. I have a short attention span and need games that have an ending. Stuff like the sports games, tetris and racing is right up my alley. I do like the Mario and Sonic styles tho, lots of colors, jumping and annoying music is easier to play than the "real life" ones out there.

Maybe I will post some photos of me in action this weekend.

Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 12:12:00 PM 1 comments  

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Woodward Dream Cruise


Its time, time for all the metro Detroiters to get excited and rush over to Woodward to watch a bunch of old cars cruise along the Woodward corridor. Its a love it or hate it weekend for those who live in the area and guess what, I happen to be one of those people. I live a mile off of the street and and hate the cruise. All it is to me is huge congestion, lots of noise, excessive pollution and hours of gridlock. We try to go out of town whenever its dream cruise weekend but this year we will be around. The cruise is fun for about 20 minutes, you go up, see some old cars and go home. And the 20 minutes is only good every 4-5 years as well. I will admit, I'm not a car guy, I don't care about muscle cars, vintage and whatever else comes with the territory. The car gets me from point A to point B and if it has some cool technology (and fuel efficient) then I like it. The idea of spending hours watching old cars drive 2 miles an hour up and down Woodward for hours on end is like nails on a chalkboard. I do like that it brings out of towners and lots of money to the area which is always good.

Unfortunately the dream cruise isn't just one day, it started the beginning of the week with people sitting in lawn chairs along the side of the road watching cars cruise while driving in normal daily traffic. I am not looking forward to my commute home since I need to cross Woodward and since I work at a crossroad that still intersects the cruise loop and live on the other side I either have to deal with the traffic or take the expressway home. Oh well, I can use it as an excuse to leave work early tomorrow.

I may ride my bike up on Saturday the official day to snap some photos so I can post it for all of you to see. That way you can feel my pain........

http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com/

Posted by mardenhill 8/16/2007 10:54:00 AM 0 comments  

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Motorola Q9h
Wednesday, August 15, 2007


http://direct.motorola.com/ENG/q-home.asp?Country=GBR&language=ENG&productid=30722

Welcome to my new phone, well maybe. This is the new Motorola Q9h hitting the AT&T shelves within the next few weeks. I have been holding out for the perfect smartphone and I think its finally here (ok it was the iPhone but for business purposes and price). The 1st Q only in CDMA (Verizon, Sprint) had a lot of hype but ended up being junk in the end. I am hoping they have learned over the last year and fixed all the bugs. If all goes well, this phone may be available as soon as August 24th. Other internet rumors put it into September. You have a faster processor, 256 megs onboard ram, 2 megapixel camera, qwerty keyboard, WM6 all in a sleek and compact design. I used to love the Blackjack but this phone blows it away.

Posted by mardenhill 8/15/2007 04:19:00 PM 0 comments  

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For The Very Lazy
Tuesday, August 14, 2007

There needs to be a point where technology takes a break and lets us humans well, be humans still. I believe this is one of those points and I am not on board with the automated drink maker. One of the great things of having a party and being the bartender is making the drinks. Shakers full of gin and vodka, glasses rimmed in sugar and olives swimming in a pool of alcohol is art. By allowing a machine to concoct your drink you are giving away your soul. Yeah, some bars have large slushy machines but the bartender always shakes your drinks, they don't hit some button which perfectly pours the right amount of alcohol and mixer. Call me old fashioned but this is a line that should never be crossed. If you ever attend a party where the drinks are from a machine, turn right around and leave, these type of people are ones you shouldn't be associating with anyways. They are pathetic losers who have too much money and no creativity and should be avoided like the plague.

Don't get me wrong, I love technology but to a point. I will never give up my shaker for some automated machine.

http://digitalbeverages.com/myfountain.htm

Posted by mardenhill 8/14/2007 09:32:00 AM 4 comments  

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