Here is yet again another reason why we should close down all Sharper Images and Brookstone stores.
Luxurious iJoy® ZipConnect™ Massage Chair blends music and massage into the ultimate relaxation experience!Joy® ZipConnect™ includes a FREE ZipConnect module (with convenient retractable 18-inch cable and mini stereo plug) for playing any iPod, MP3, portable CD or satellite radio — any audio source with a headphone jack!The universal FREE ZipConnect module is interchangeable with available Made for iPod modules that charge as they play.Listen to your iPod or MP3 through the chair's excellent built-in stereo speakers in the headrest and a powered subwoofer in the base.Incredibly realistic Human Touch™ Technology (HTT®) Robotic Massage® feels amazingly like the hands of a skilled — and tireless — masseuse.Replicates the actual back-massage techniques used by massage therapists and chiropractic professionals — smooth Rolling, deep Kneading, tapping Percussion and therapeutic Compression.
.................................
It can be yours for the low, low price for $699. I like gadgets but this is bad, very bad.
Posted by mardenhill
1/17/2006 08:40:00 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/15/AR2006011500915_pf.html
Our favorite Christian Coalition member may be in trouble down in Georgia where he is running for lutenient governer an obvious stepping stone for a crawl to the white house. Secure the 2nd in command, take over the governship and we have seen what happens when governers run for president.
Well little ole Ralph Reed has a bit of a problem, he was in bed with Jack Abramoff ripping people off to the tune of millions. What makes Ralph worse is that he used religion to get money from conservatives and they are not too happy about it. Ralph and Jack's friendship go back about 25 years when they met in college, the 2 hooked up again in the 90s and put their scheme in motion.
......................
Similarly damaging has been a torrent of e-mails revealed during the investigation that shows a side of Reed that some former supporters say cannot be reconciled with his professed Christian values.
"After reading the e-mail, it became pretty obvious he was putting money before God," said Phil Dacosta, a Georgia Christian Coalition member who had initially backed Reed. "We are righteously casting him out."
Among those e-mails was one from Reed to Abramoff in late 1998: "I need to start humping in corporate accounts! . . . I'm counting on you to help me with some contacts." Within months, Abramoff hired him to lobby on behalf of the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, who were seeking to prevent competitors from setting up facilities in nearby Alabama.
In 1999, Reed e-mailed Abramoff after submitting a bill for $120,000 and warning that he would need as much as $300,000 more: "We are opening the bomb bays and holding nothing back."
In 2004, when the casino payments to Reed were disclosed, Reed issued a statement declaring "no direct knowledge of their [Abramoff's law firm's] clients or interests." In 2005, however, Senate investigators released a 1999 e-mail from Abramoff to Reed explicitly citing the client: "It would be really helpful if you could get me invoices [for services performed] as soon as possible so I can get Choctaw to get us checks ASAP."
One of the most damaging e-mails was sent by Abramoff to partner Michael Scanlon, complaining about Reed's billing practices and expenditure claims: "He is a bad version of us! No more money for him." Scanlon and Abramoff have pleaded guilty to defrauding clients.
.......................
The best part of this is that we will get to knock Reed off the political track just when he is getting started, besides Delay and Rep Ney who just resigned his committee position this is the 3rd casuality from the Abramoff scandal. Don't worry there will be more......
Posted by mardenhill
1/16/2006 09:18:00 AM
Its happening again, this time the right wing smear machine is swiftboating Congressmen Murtha because he has the balls to stand up to this corrupt administration on Iraq. The right wing news paper CyberCast News Service is claiming that Murtha doesn't deserve his purple heart medals that he earned in Vietnam. Murtha served in Korea, volunteered to go to Vietnam, did any of the current crooks in office ever go themselves? No, Cheney, George and Rummy all conveniently got out of service. Murtha already came out against the swiftboating but it was just a simple quote, he needs to get out on the national scene and tear this newspaper down. All the bloggers and CNN need to expose this just like they rightfully took out Pat Robertson. This will continue and it will happen to returning soldiers who plan on running for seats as Democrats. You connect all the dots and the trail leads right back to the White House and our good buddy Karl Rove.
Bush knows that he is screwed come November and will now use Iran to scare the country into voting republican again. How will he do it, well none other than manipulate the terror alerts and leak that credible threats are coming from Iran. He will continue to swiftboat any person who disagrees with him, hell he will even spy on them. John Kerry screwed up when he didn't come out swinging against the attacks and I blame his pathetic campaign manager. The repubs saw that it worked once so they are trying it again.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/13/AR2006011301736.html
Murtha was on CBS this evening and came out swinging against King George and his Iraq policy or lackthereof.
....................
Asked who these insurgents are, Murtha says they are Iraqis. "Ninety-three percent of the insurgents are Iraqis. A very small percentage are foreign fighters. The Iraqis know who they are. Once we’re out of there, they’ll eliminate ‘em,” he says.
The White House isn’t as confident that Iraqis will drive out the foreign fighters, but Murtha says U.S. troops are now caught in the middle of an Iraqi civil war, not the fight against terrorists that the White House keeps talking about.
"They take Iraq and then they talk about terrorism," Murtha says. "We’re diverting ourselves away from the war, the war on terrorism, when we’re fighting an insurgency in Iraq."
Posted by mardenhill
1/15/2006 10:30:00 PM
I was tagging my mp3 artwork again and came across Spritualized, just like the Catherine Wheel, I hadn't listened to them in a while. I am now listening to Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space and its amazing. Jason Pierce the mastermind behind Spiritualized got his start with Spacemen 3, a hypnotic, drug riddled, noise rock group. Spiritualized took Jason to a new level, he incorporated more members and added orchestration to his sound. Take the droning of Pink Floyd add lots of fuzzed out guitars and a bit of noise, throw in some violins and piano and you have Spiritualized. After their live cd, Jason fired his band and recorded Let It Come Down with a 100 piece orchestra. This cd took a while to get into, the noise level was gone and that was the best part of Spiritualized. I think a good comparison for this cd is Nick Cave's - The Boatman Calls because both musicians completely changed the tone and wrote songs that pulled at your heart. Spiritualized did come out with Amazing Grace, a stripped down almost garage rock cd but it lacked in many ways.
I still think Ladies & Gentlemen is Spiritualized best cd, you lose yourself in the wall of sound built up around you and it takes u back to the 90s when the British music scene was king. I checked their website but it doesn't look like new material anytime soon. With that in mind I recommend everyone pull out Ladies & Gentlemen and give it a listen again, you won't be disappointed.
Posted by mardenhill
1/15/2006 07:45:00 PM
Thanks to Joel I have re-discovered The Catherine Wheel, well I never really forgot about them just hadn't listened for a long time. Joel had Rob Dickinson on his myspace as a friend which led me to pull out Adam & Eve probably my favorite cd of theirs. The Catherine Wheel go back to the early 90s and their most famous song was "Black Metallic" off of Ferment. I actually won a contest back in high school for their debut cd, at the Record Exchange there was a drawing that I entered and got a poster and the cd. Catherine Wheel had some radio play but it was never anything that would propel them into stardom just enough to keep them on the radar. Crank, their 2nd release was amazing, it a mix of heavy fuzzed out guitar and beautiful melodies. By their 3rd cd, they lost a lot of the shoegazer stuff and put together a rockin cd which was on par with the current American music scene. It was good but it seemed like they were losing their sound. Luckily for Adam & Eve the Catherine Wheel went back to the lush landscape that made them such a great band and put out their most melodic and amazing cd to date. "Delicious" has you singing along with lyrics "I think I was Bruce Lee, I mighta been Michael Cane". When it comes to the ballads Rob doesn't sound like a pansy british wanker, he is able to sing hard then bring it down to orchestra level. Every song on this cd is great, I won't write about them all just take my word for it. The Catherine Wheel also released a b-sides cd Like Cats And Dogs and for as much people write about it you would think this was their White Album. I admit the cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" is downright perfect, the rest of the cd good but not great. In 2000 came Wishville the worst cd they ever made, it was back to the Happy Days heavy guitar but was so thin that I could never get thru the whole cd. I do like a few of the tracks on it, but overall not really worth it. This spelled the end of Catherine Wheel, they broke up never to be heard of again. Rob Dickinson released a solo record last year, I don't know much about it but I do want to hear it.
I have also been told by my friend Jen that its my fault that Catherine Wheel broke up, I went and saw them in concert and that was it. For as many times that the band toured I missed every one of their shows so I was convinced that I would never see them. Finally in 2000 they came to St Andys where I got to see them perform and it was probably the next day that they broke up. When I get the solo cd I will post a review to let you know if its worth it or not.
Posted by mardenhill
1/14/2006 03:54:00 PM
If we can beat mob, we can fight DeLay-style politicsExperience in Las Vegas similar to D.C. corruption
Jan. 12, 2006, 8:39PM
By SEN. HARRY REID
In 1977, I was appointed chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was a difficult time for the gaming industry and Las Vegas, which were being overrun by organized crime. To that point in my life, I had served in the Nevada Assembly and even as lieutenant governor, but nothing prepared me for my fight with the mob.
Over the next few years, there would be threats on my life, bribes, FBI stings and even a car bomb placed in my family's station wagon. It was a terrifying experience, but at the end of the day, we cleaned up Las Vegas and ushered in a new era of responsibility.
My term on the gaming commission came to an end in 1981, and when it did, I thought I had seen such corruption for the last time. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. It is not quite the mafia of Las Vegas in the 1970s, but what is happening today in Washington is every bit as corrupt and the consequences for our country have been severe.
Our nation's capital has been overrun by organized crime — Tom DeLay-style.
More...
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/3584174.html...............
Way to go Harry. Since Sen Reid took over the reins of the Democratic party, he has brought it back from the dead and pumped life back into it. Harry doesn't back down from a challenge and has on a number of occasions put Sen Frist in his place. Now Harry has come out swinging against Delay and "The Hammer" has no-one to turn to for help on this. All his friends have abandoned him and since Delay was just a bully in the House he is on his own and won't fight by himself. Delay will whine to the media and play the victim, he will cry that everyone is picking on him and that its not fair. This is going to be fun to watch the downfall of one of the most corrupt individuals in Washington since Nixon. I would love to see Delay behind bars by the end of the year but him losing his re-election will be enough to make my day.
Sen Reid has already destroyed Sen Frist and his chances for any presidental nomination, now he is over picking House members off one by one. I admit both Pelosi and Reid don't seem like ideal party leaders but once you see them in action, your opinion changes. Reid has been on a Red State tour and has done a great job and hopefully he has converted some repubs over to our side and shown them the light.
Posted by mardenhill
1/13/2006 04:49:00 PM
Just got an email from ticketmaster yesterday regarding The Sisters Of Mercy show at the State. For those of you who are not familiar with them their most popular song was "This Corrosion". This song has been played every weekend at City Club for the last 18 years and will probably be on rotation til the club finally closes its doors. All the young and old goth kids will be out in full force and the patchuli will be strong enough that anyone in a 10 mile radius should close their windows. I think it would be a fun show but Stereolab is the night before and I would rather see them. Sisters Of Mercy had a few other songs that were really cool but I don't think its worth the ticket price I know they will be commanding so its Stereolab for me.
Posted by mardenhill
1/13/2006 09:16:00 AM
Dodge Caliber
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Here is a picture of the new Dodge Caliber coming out this year. This is replacing the Neon and is pretty cool. It features a spot for your ipod and you can control it thru your steering wheel. It also has some flip out speakers so if you are tailgating you can focus the music out. I have only seen pictures but I am interested to see it in person. DCX also has the Jeep Compass coming out which is on the same platform and probably similar features. I still have a few payments left on the Focus and I think I am going to hold out til next year but for someone in the market I think this will be a good car to get. Its starting at $14K and should have some good gas mileage.
As for the Auto Show it starts this weekend but ends before the Superbowl is in town. They decided that it would be too much to have it run alongside the game so they kept them separate.
Posted by mardenhill
1/12/2006 04:44:00 PM
I have made it to my 500th post, it has taken me 1 year and 5 months to reach but I did it. Its amazing that I have been able to write about music, politics, technology, wine and other random stuff for so long and I don't see it ending anytime soon. My visitor count also passed 500 the other day, I am currently at 531 views since October. Watch out Drudge by summer I should be pulling in thousands of hits and soon after that millions.
I have tried both the email and audio posts but I am not too fond of them, being able to add graphics and links to my postings is too important to leave out. My next form of blogging will be that of video blogging, there are a few sites out there that you can post video for free. I am going to give it a try and see what it does for my blog. I need to figure out a way to print it all and publish my work, I could be sitting on a goldmine and not even know it.
Posted by mardenhill
1/11/2006 05:12:00 PM
Levi Strauss debuts iPod-ready jeans
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Call it the 21st Century watch pocket.
Denim giant Levi Strauss said Tuesday it had designed jeans compatible with the iPod music player, featuring a joystick in the watch pocket to operate the device.
The Levi's RedWire DLX Jeans for men and women, which will be available this fall, also have a built-in docking cradle for the iPod and retractable headphones. Pricing was not immediately available.
Apple Computer Inc's iPod is the No. 1 digital music player.
The company Tuesday attributed a 63 percent jump in holiday quarter sales in part to the iPod's popularity and said 42 million of the devices have been sold to date.
Levi's is not the first company to feature iPod-friendly apparel, although it may be the first to make iPod-compatible jeans.
Haute couture fashion houses began featuring pricey iPod carrying cases after the device's 2001 launch, while outdoor company Burton Snowboards unveiled what it called the first iPod-compatible waterproof snowboarding jacket in 2003.
Last fall Los Angeles-based manufacturer Kenpo launched men's jackets selling at Macy's for between $275 and $350, featuring iPod controls on the sleeve.
.....................
I love my ipod but I don't think I will be buying jeans specifically made for it. This is a bit over the top but there are people out there who would purchase such a thing. The snowboard jacket is practical, I have skied with an ipod and it is a pain reaching into your pocket to switch songs or adjust the volume.
Posted by mardenhill
1/11/2006 04:43:00 PM
Maybe jackass Robertson should have thought about his business dealings before he opened his fat mouth to swiftboat Ariel Sharon. What a tool, looks like he is out of his theme park and credibility.
Israel pulls plug on Pat Robertson deal
Officials angry over evangelical leader's comments about Sharon's stroke
JERUSALEM - Israel won't do business with Pat Robertson after the evangelical leader suggested Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke was divine punishment, a tourism official said Wednesday, putting into doubt plans to develop a large Christian tourism center in northern Israel.
Avi Hartuv, spokesman for Israel's tourism minister, said officials are furious with Robertson's suggestion that the stroke was retribution for Sharon's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last summer. "We can't accept this kind of statement," Hartuv said.
Robertson is leading a group of evangelicals who have pledged to raise $50 million to build the Christian Heritage Center in Israel's northern Galilee region, where tradition says Jesus lived and taught.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10802750/
Posted by mardenhill
1/11/2006 11:11:00 AM
New Mac Laptop
The new mac laptop replaces the powerbook and is called Macbook Pro. It features an intel duo core chip and will come with iSight camera, iLife 06, Front Row 2.o and apple remote. This will be one cool laptop but also starts at $1999 so its a bit expensive. The imac got upgraded to a duo core intel chip also and is 2x faster than the latest imac. The macbook pro laptop is 4x faster with the latest intel chip.
The iLife suite was upgraded to include iWeb which allows you to publish your own webpages and blogs with your own photos, music and video. Basically taking all the free stuff out on the web and integrating it into an easy to use format for those who need help living digitally. iLife 06 will sell for $79 and might be worth the upgrade. Some very cool stats are below, its amazing that Apple was able to revolutionize the digital music world when no one said it could be done.
135 Shops around the world. 26 million visitors during holiday quarter
Retail stores had their first $1 billion quarter this past quarter
Total revenues 5.7 billion total. Now let's talk about the iPod
4.5 million sold during holiday 2004, for 2005 holiday sold 14 million
Over 100 sold every minute through the quarter
42 total million iPods sold since the it was first released. 32 million in 2005
850 million songs sold. 3 million songs a day are being sold. Over 1 billion songs per year rate 83% market share
Television show sales doing well. 8 million sold since Oct 12th. Added bowl games
Posted by mardenhill
1/10/2006 02:08:00 PM
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Declares January 10, 2006 'BBDO Day' in the City of New York
Salutes Agency's Accomplishments as 'Agency of the Year;' Caps Record-Setting Performance in 2005
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has proclaimed Tuesday, January 10, 2006 as "BBDO Day" in New York City in honor of the agency's record-setting performance during 2005. The agency was named "U.S. Agency of the Year" by the trade publication Advertising Age, "Global Agency of the Year" by Adweek magazine, and "Advertising Network of the Year" by Campaign, the leading advertising industry journal in the UK.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060110/nytu013.html?.v=32
........................
This is the company I work for, our agency does all of Chrysler's advertising but the New York office has some pretty big accounts. A good portion of Superbowl ads come from NY, they have the Visa, Pepsi, Mitsubshi, Nike, Mini, M&Ms, Guiness and FedEx as clients. So take a minute to congratulate me on my day, its like having a 2nd birthday. I may not make the commercials but I help support the infrastructue of the agency and without me, this place would be back to pencils and paper.
Posted by mardenhill
1/10/2006 09:36:00 AM
Tomorrow will be another Mac World and this is where lots of products and updates are presented. The rumor mill has the long awaited intel chips in laptops and mac minis. There is also talk of updated mac mini's with front row installed and other good stuff. Nothing big on the ipods since they just released the video ipod but there will be an update to .mac with a space to build your own websites most likely. There are also rumors that apple will be releasing a 42 inch and 50 inch plasma displays but this is the most contested one out on the net. Overall there isn't a lot of "gadget" news more behind the scenes and hardware upgrades but you never know. I will be blogging tomorrow about the new stuff so stay tuned...
Posted by mardenhill
1/09/2006 03:39:00 PM
Santorum Rails Against Alito Opposition"Justice Sunday III" was held in the state where Alito, generally supported by conservatives, sits on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, the No. 3 Senate Republican, told the gathering that liberal judges are "destroying traditional morality, creating a new moral code and prohibiting any dissent."
"The only way to restore this republic our founders envisioned is to elevate honorable jurists like Samuel Alito," Santorum said. "Unfortunately, the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee seem poised to drag these hearings into the gutter, so they can continue their far left judicial activism on the Supreme Court."
http://www.wral.com/apnationalnews/5937427/detail.html
............................
Didn't Santorum learn from Justice Sunday I and II that if u get involved your career takes a turn for the worse? Look at JS I, Sen Frist spoke and I think 2005 was not a year he would like to reflect back on. JS II featured Tom Delay, I don't need to say anything more about that one. So Santorum is up to bat for JS III, he is trailing his challenger in his senate race is this the way you want to come across to your constitutents? I tell ya, all the Dems need to do is throw up a commercial with good ole Pat Robertson's famous quotes and pics of republicans at the JS events and you have total anniliation of church and state.
Posted by mardenhill
1/09/2006 08:34:00 AM
Chrysler Group and Apple announce iPod integration
The Chrysler Group on Sunday announced that it will be the first American automaker to provide full iPod integration as an option in most of its 2006 models, with over three million 2006 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models offering seamless iPod connectively beginning this spring.
Exhibiting at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this week, the auto maker said drivers will be able to select and listen to their music by artist, album or playlist with either radio or steering wheel controls. Selections will also appear on the radio's display screen.
"We're thrilled that over three million Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge automobiles will offer great iPod connectivity in 2006," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "Over 40 percent of all cars sold in the US in 2006 will offer iPod connectivity."
Chrysler joins 16 other auto makers that currently offer iPod integration in their veichles.
"Customers have been asking for iPod connectivity and we're excited to make it available to so many of our vehicles in 2006," said Randy Ewers, director, Mopar Accessories Portfolio Team. "We're providing the largest number and range of automobiles with iPod support of any automaker, allowing Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge owners to bring and listen to their entire music collections."
The optional iPod Integration Kit for Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge model lines will be available to customers for US$175 plus installation. In addition, the solution can be retrofit to many model year 2005 vehicles, Chrysler said.
........................................
Its about time, now everyone can throw away those crappy itrip receivers, with how long this took you would think u needed to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. As usual the auto industry are light years behind reality and they thought this should be a feature in luxury cars. If they did any research they would have seen that the ipod crowd were younger and drove cars below the $30K price tag. Put adapters in these cars and you would sell them like hotcakes, but did it happen, no. And you have to wonder what morons are running these companies, don't they have kids that have ipods and want to listen to them in the car? Maybe Ford's 2007 announcement will be that in 2008 they will incorporate the ipod adapter. Hey Bill Ford Jr, this is why you didn't win car or truck of the year....
Posted by mardenhill
1/09/2006 08:11:00 AM
Ney: Congress’s “Ethics” Instructor
Conservatives are off to a bad start on their pledge to “improve transparency and accountability” in the House and Senate.
Not only has Frist tapped Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) — a key player in the K Street Project — to craft a conservative version of lobbying reform, the House has tasked one of its most corrupt members instruct new lawmakers on ethics:
Before they take their seats in the House of Representatives, newly elected lawmakers come to Washington for a weeklong orientation that includes a briefing on congressional ethics. Presiding over their instruction is the chairman of the House Administration Committee, who since 2001 has been Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio.
Ney has been named as Representative #1 in the plea agreeements of both Abramoff and his partner, Michael Scanlon, detailing lavish gifts, travel, and contributions from the lobbyists in return for Ney’s cooperation in Congress. You can find more details of Ney’s extensive ties to Abramoff here.
................................
So you got Santorum in charge of drafting new legislation on lobbying and you have Rep Ney in charge of ethics orientation, this is one of the funniest things I have ever read. When you thought the republiscums couldn't sink any lower.
Posted by mardenhill
1/07/2006 05:59:00 PM
DeLay will give up leadership post
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Embattled Rep. Tom DeLay decided today to give up his post as House majority leader, clearing the way for new leadership elections among House Republicans eager to shed the taint of scandal, two officials said.
These officials said DeLay, R-Texas, was preparing a letter informing fellow House Republicans of his decision. These officials spoke on condition of anonymity, saying they did not want to pre-empt the formal announcement.
DeLay is battling campaign finance charges in Texas and was forced to step aside temporarily as majority leader last fall after he was charged in his home state. He has consistently maintained his innocence and said he intended to resume his leadership post once cleared.
..................
Well Well Well, Tom has finally come to his senses and abandoned all hopes of returning to his leadership post. I guess this is the 1st time Tom hasn't put himself above everyone else. I would have loved to watch the war breakout on the floor of the house but I guess I have to settle for this. Wow and to think it only took 2 republican house members to start collecting signatures. The tide is turning and in the next few weeks more and more people will step down or resign. Don't think Tom will survive his re-election either, I think we can mark 2006 as the end of the Republican Corruption Machine. I don't think Tom's next booking picture will look so happy, I think the next one will have the usual background and not so big of a smile.
Posted by mardenhill
1/07/2006 12:56:00 PM
Oasis Vs Franz Ferdinand - Alex hits back
Singer compares Liam Gallagher to a "young girl"
Alex Kapranos has hit back at Liam Gallagher after the Oasis singer compared him to Right Said Fred.
In interviews following the release of Oasis' most recent album 'Don't Believe The Truth' Liam has spoken out about various bands, including Franz, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party.
Until now, Alex Kapranos has held his tongue. But the Franz Ferdinand singer is quoted in today's tabloid press as comparing Liam to a "neurotic young girl at a high school".
He reportedly said: "He knows he can get in the papers from being as obnoxious as he can. When I read the press that surrounded them earlier in 2005, it sounded like an extremely anxious, neurotic young girl at a high school who though that she had younger, better looking competition and was just bitching about everything about her.
"I think everybody, Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, every contemporary band was at the end of some form of vitriol from him. I'm not particularly bothered by him, it just seems like bitchery from cheap neurosis."
..................
I loved the Oasis vs Blur war of the 90s good to see there is a new battle brewing. Alex is right tho, Liam is whining a bit here. Now if Liam went after bands like The Futureheads, The Subways, Artic Monkeys, Brakes, The Rakes and the countless other post punk crap bands then I would be supporting him on this front. Bloc Party and Franz are 2 of the best bands coming out of the UK right now, there are a few others out there but for the most part the scene has been muddled up with tons of junk that blow big donkey nads. Look at Babyshambles why do they deserve the press that they get, their music is shit and its all just because of their drug addict lead singer. I am glad that Kasabian are mates with Liam, it makes me believe that he does still recognise there are other good bands out there besides his own.
Posted by mardenhill
1/07/2006 11:43:00 AM
Disgraced Congressman 'Wore a Wire' [Time Magazine]
Disgraced Congressman 'Wore a Wire'
Washington's power players have always bragged about being well-wired, but for disgraced former congressman Duke Cunningham, "wired" wasn't just a figure of speech. In a week when legislators are focused on the question of who else might be brought down by ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s cooperation with prosecutors as he seeks lenient sentencing over his two federal guilty pleas this week, sources tell TIME that ex-Rep. Cunningham wore a wire to help investigators gather evidence against others just before copping his own plea.
Sources familiar with the situation say Cunningham, a California Republican who pleaded guilty Nov. 28 to taking $2.4 million in bribes — including a yacht, a Rolls Royce and a 19th Century Louis-Philippe commode — from a defense contractor, wore a wire at some point during the short interval between the moment he began cooperating with the feds and the announcement of his guilty plea on Nov. 28.
The identity of those with whom the San Diego congressman met while wearing the wire remains unclear, and is the source of furious — and nervous — speculation by congressional Republicans. A Cunningham lawyer, K. Lee Blalack, refused to confirm or deny the story, and wouldn't say whether Cunningham will implicate any other members of Congress. The FBI is believed to be continuing its probe of defense contractors involved in the Cunningham case. An FBI spokesman declined comment. Asked whether Cunningham, an ace Navy fighter pilot decorated for his service in Vietnam, had worn a wire, the spokesman said the response from a higher-up was, "Like I'd tell you."
...............................
It just keeps getting better and better, Duke wearing a wire, and we are in the dark on who he talked to. I think you will see overlapping between Abramoff and this case, all revolve around bribery and the same players are pulling the strings. If Duke had some goods on Delay that would be beautiful, getting hit from 3 different angles. That would definitely put his ass in jail were he deserves to rot for the rest of his life. Right now speaker of the house Dennis Hassert has done a good job at avoiding the scandal, yes he accepted money and has returned it but the press havn't dove into his true dealings. If we could topple the big piggly wiggly Bush and Cheney would have no one to turn to and would be up against the wall. This would show that the citizens are sick and tired of their bullshit and will put an end to their tryany.
We need to balance the bad press on these scandals, too much and it might hurt us kinda like what happened with Clinton but as long as the facts are presented and the connecting of dots I think people will see and be willing to kick these scumbags out of office. The media won't tar and feather these people as they would a Dem, yeah that whole Liberal Media myth is bull but if they continue to report facts I think that will be good enough. Hannity is a lost cause we know he will carry the water and so will Chris Matthews who I have lost all respect for. The 2 of them need to watch out they are part of the Abramoff scandal and I think they are trying to downplay it to cover their own asses. Joe Scarborough might be on board, he is hard to read but I think we have at least 1 conservative ally. I hope MSNBC doesn't neuter Keith Olbermann because this could be his big break and he could lead the charge on cable tv finally reporting the truth...
...............
Update: I was reading firedoglake.com and this puts into perspective, this could get even better than I originally thought.
Having a cooperating witness wear a wire is a standard practice when you have an ongoing conspiracy or web of criminal activity. Cops and prosecutors get warrants for this sort of thing all the time in drug and mob cases. But in Cunningham's case, the folks involved in the wire would have potentially been much more high profile fish: other folks in Congress, high-paid defense lobbyists and contractors, folks at the DoD...so many possibilities.
So how will the talking heads who think the NSA spying is fine and dandy come to accept this news, will they all balk and say its an infringement on their civil liberties?
Posted by mardenhill
1/07/2006 10:15:00 AM
Wine Shipping in Michigan Update: A fresh new year awaits, and what are people talking about? The new Michigan wine shipping law, but also Michigan vodka, Michigan Pinot Noir and Left Foot Charley.
The big shipping question is this: When will out-of-state winery Web sites (listen up, California) add MI to their list of legal states? According to Ken Wozniak, director of executive services for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, it will probably happen as soon as they apply for a shipper’s license (cost: $100) and the MLCC gets its ducks lined up on exactly how a shipper should proceed.
Wozniak said the MLCC has fielded inquiries from California wineries, as well as Washington state and one from the East. But to date, nobody has applied. He was hopeful the state would have its procedures finalized in the next 30 days.
http://info.detnews.com/wine/columns/silfven/details.cfm?id=324
......................
Last week before the new year I had called Rutherford Hills out in Napa but they are just as clueless as the lawmakers here in MI. I hope things get straightened out soon because I am out of Zinfandel Port and would like another bottle. Buying wine of the net isn't cost effective, it will just be for those bottles that you cannot find anywhere else or for wine clubs. There are few in Napa that I think would be cool to join but I need to price it out to see if its really worth it or not.
Posted by mardenhill
1/06/2006 09:43:00 AM
Dean sets new fundraising record for Dem Party....
Howard Dean Gets It"The truth came out this week in Washington, DC. Howard Dean is not only keeping his commitment to organize the Democratic Party outside the DC Beltway, he has broken all DNC fundraising records during a non-election year.
Despite a Washington Post article two months ago where the usual anonymous "critics," "aides," and "sources" trashed Governor Dean's fundraising record, the DNC raised $51 million dollars in 2005, a record for a so-called off-year."
snippity snip snip...
"What's even more important is what Governor Dean is doing with the money. The DNC has helped hire talented, experienced, diverse political professionals in 43 states rather than paying for top-down consultants in Washington. He has traveled to every corner of the country, red and blue. And he understands that local folks know best when it comes to determining strategy and tactics. The Governor's commitment to building the party from the bottom up is real."
More...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donnie-fowler/howard-dean.......................
So for all you Dean haters, piss off, he is doing a great job as DNC chair. Yes he has had his fair share of comments that I hate to admit he said but if he can pull off a win in 06 and it can be attributed to his grassroots approach then everyone needs to take note. Dean whether or not you like him is good for the party, at times I think he is too far left and others he isn't far enough. Dean is a good motivator at the local level, he does well when there are just a few hundred people around. On the national stage he comes across wooden but in person he is as passionate as one can be. Let Dean prove the naysayers wrong and if he fails, well we gave it a shot. I don't trust any of the old Democratic guard to do the job and I would rather see another approach even if it doesn't make it. The old guard would have lost anyways so this way there is a chance of finally pulling off some wins.
Posted by mardenhill
1/05/2006 05:10:00 PM
 |
 |
| Robertson: Sharon punished for dividing Israel | | | The Rev. Pat Robertson said Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is being punished by God for dividing the Land of Israel. Robertson, speaking on the “700 Club” on Thursday, suggested Sharon, who is currently in an induced coma, and former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, assassinated by an Israeli extremist in 1995, were being treated with enmity by God for dividing Israel. “He was dividing God’s land,” Robertson said. “And I would say, Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the E.U., the United Nations or the United States of America. God says, This land belongs to me. You better leave it alone.” | |
|
.........................................
I tell ya, Pat is like the energizer bunny, he just keeps going and going. How many more times does this guy have to say such stupid things before people wakeup and kick him off the airwaves? He has the right to spread his hate, it is a free country but we also have the right to expose him for what he really is, a full fledge member of the American Taliban......
|
|
| |
|
Posted by mardenhill
1/05/2006 02:23:00 PM
CES: Microsoft Music Service and Entertainment
Thursday January 05, 2006 01:56 AM EST
Posted by arn
Bill Gates gave his keynote speech at CES on Wednesday night.
CNN offers a summary of events of the presentation.
Microsoft unveiled a new music service called "Urge".
Previous reports of Urge had revealed that Microsoft and MTV were joining forces for the new music service. The new service launches with over 2 million songs for purchase or subscription-based service. Few other details are otherwise available. The
Urge.com site simply says "Coming Soon." Urge will be promoted through their Windows Media Player and appears to be Microsoft's answer to iTunes.
Gates also announced partnerships with Intel and their Viiv platform which will allow users to have more entertainment based machines -- providing DVR functionality and more. Microsoft's upcoming revision to Windows called "Vista" will be the operating system for these machines.
Also mentioned:
- DirecTV Content transferable to
Portable Media Centers- Upcoming HD-DVD support for Xbox 360
Intel's keynote takes place Thursday night and will presumably reveal more information about the Yonah and the Viiv platform. Traditionally, CES has been of limited direct interest to the Macintosh platform, but with the switch to Intel processors taking place, Intel's plans become far more relevant.
..........................
So Microsoft and MTV will be working together to take Apple and iTunes down, not sure if it will happen tho. I will be interested to see what this whole subscription thing will be about, will it be the same as napster with the same price or will they pull a yahoo and come in to undercut the competition. This may also force Apple to role out a subscription plan for its users, I have no doubt its ready to go they are just waiting for the right time to launch it.
People love their ipods and won't give them up for a music service that doesn't work on them. Creative probably thinks they will get more business but design wise Apple wins hands down. Someone has to give and let the world settle on 1 digital rights management software so music and be bought and played on every player but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Posted by mardenhill
1/05/2006 10:00:00 AM
Well it didn't take long to connect the dots in Michigan and you can see that scumbags like rep Hoekstra from Holland was on the take.
You even have the combover Levin brothers and Debbie Stabenow, I think she just wanted more cookies thats all. I knew it would ensnare some dems, its too big of a scandal not to but the bulk of the people going down will be republiscums and it will be nice to see a change come this November. If Debbie and the Levin brothers are guilty well lets get rid of them, replace them with some honest dems who will do the right thing. This scandal is too hot to sweep under the rug and Jack better be wearing a bullet proof vest from now til November because I can just imagine how many hits are out on this sleazeball.
.........................- The Saginaw Chippewa tribe: Abramoff allegedly bilked the tribe out of $10 million, while Scanlon got $4 million. The money was part of $80 million the pair charged for consulting four tribes in 2000-03.
Representatives of the Michigan tribe told a U.S. Senate panel in 2004 that they paid about $4 million for a database of Michigan voters that could have been purchased for $75,000.
In various e-mails to Scanlon, Abramoff called his Saginaw Chippewa clients "troglodytes," "plain stupid," "morons," "SagChip idiots" and "the stupidest idiots in the land for sure."
The wealthy tribe did get $3 million in federal money meant to build schools for poor tribes after intervention by Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont. The tribe's Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant earns more than $400 million yearly.
Burns, who got $136,000 from Abramoff, has returned some of the money.
Democratic Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow and Rep. David Camp, R-Midland, have said they urged Burns to allow the tribe to get the school money. The tribe's casino is in Camp's district.
- Contributions to Michigan congressional members (all since 1999):
Camp, $35,500; Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Flint, $19,000; Stabenow $5,000; Carl Levin, $2,000; Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, $4,000; and Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, $2,000.
Other contributions: Carl Levin: about $5,000 from Abramoff's former employer, Greenberg Traurig, LLP. The funds weren't connected to Abramoff or casinos, said Tara Andringa, a Levin spokeswoman.
Rep. Peter Hoesktra, R-Holland, $2,000 from Greenberg Traurig. Hoesktra has said he never got money from Abramoff. In 2000, Hoesktra got $5,000 from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, one of Abramoff's clients.
Posted by mardenhill
1/04/2006 01:24:00 PM
I was flipping back and forth between MSNBC and Fox tonight to see who would have coverage on the Abramoff scandal and go figure 50 minutes into BOR's show, nothing. Keith had about a 5 minute story that summed it up very well, he went into detail on each person involved, their rise to fame and their downfall. After watching that clip people would be able to understand how Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist came into power and what they did to gain more. Keith made a point to connect all the dots and not sugar coat the issue. He called Delay and Rep Ney out and said there would be others.
Flipping back to BOR, you have "Jack Murtha is a bad guy he is udermining the war on terror" but no Abramoff. I guess you can see what station is trying to bury the story but this story won't stay under for long. This will drag on and take down many people in its path, its going to be a beautiful runup to the election. Don't forget we will still have the Scooter Libby trial this summer and who knows maybe Fitz will have a few more people to indict. At that point will there be anyone left if this morally bankrupt cesspool of an administration?
.........
Update: All day long Drudge had no sirens, no big headline splashes, just a small picture and story on the right of the page. Yep, Drudge is another pathetic windbag that needs to be put out of his misery.
Posted by mardenhill
1/03/2006 08:46:00 PM
This gal, Emily Miller may be the one who brings down a whole lot of the republican party. Where does she fit in you ask, well she was the fiance of Michael Scanlan, Jack Abramoff's partner who has already accepted a plea and is cooperating. Michael met Emily thru Delay where he was communications director. They started dating and Michael proposed. Michael later on broke off the engagement and Emily with a ton of dirt on everyone went to the FBI.
Emily is no saint herself, she was the one who on Meet The Press called to stop taping on Colin Powell. This was a big thing a couple years ago because this pissed of Powell and he said to continue to with the interview. She has also berated WAPO journalists when she was press secretary for Delay.
I hope the media i.e. Hannity and O'riley don't come out and swiftboat this gal, she has done some evil things but don't kill the messenger she has got the goods on the real crooks.
Posted by mardenhill
1/03/2006 02:06:00 PM
From CNN: Filing papers in court now.
Pleading guilty to fraud, corruption and tax evasion in Federal Court.
Agreement reached late last night.
It’s a cooperation agreement. Final sentence will be determined when he finishes cooperating. Maximum of 10 years.
CNN reports he’s been cooperating for over a year.
UPDATE: The New York Times has the story.
UPDATE II: CNN says the paperwork will be officially filed at about 12:15 or 12:30 today.
Posted by mardenhill
1/03/2006 10:32:00 AM
Gary Jones, president and CEO of eMagin Corp. of Bellevue, demonstrates his company's new wearable display for video iPods. Using the EyeBud headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away. "Suddenly you've got this big-screen, movie-screen, home-theater experience wherever you are," he says.Bellevue-based eMagin Corp. plans to
unveil the device sometime this year with a suggest retail price of $600 -- about $200 more than the cost of Apple's most expensive iPod.
Dubbed the
EyeBud 800, the device will display video from fifth-generation iPods in the front of one eye using optical technology designed to give the picture a higher resolution and make it appear larger than on the iPod's screen.
....................
Ok, I draw the line at this one, the ipod video is very cool but this is pretty stupid. At least make it look like you are not some borg from Star Trek. This is just the 1st gen and maybe they will clean it up and it will be a pair of sunglasses that you wear that will allow you to watch your videos. Price wise, its way too expensive and people will be so wrapped up into their shows that they will forget to get off the train, walk into others and it will be a mess. At least when you are listening to music u can see in front of you, this will cause everyone to live in some virtual reality and we will walk around like a bunch of zombies.....
Posted by mardenhill
1/03/2006 09:01:00 AM
Pat Robertson On Venezuela's Prez: Assassinate Him... “It's A Whole Lot Cheaper Than Starting A War”...
Bill O'Reilly To San Fran: “If Al-Qaida Comes In Here And Blows You Up, We're Not Going To Do Anything... Every Other Place In America Is Off Limits To You, Except San Francisco”...courtesy of huffingtonpost.com I was able to grab some of the best quotes of 2005, its amazing what some of these people say and then try to defend the statements or rail against the media for taking them out of context.
Everyone happy new years and lets hope for a good 2006, the year of scandal is nowhere near done and its only going to get better. sit back and enjoy the ride, all our favorite scumbags will be facing the music and its going to be great to watch.
Posted by mardenhill
1/01/2006 02:01:00 PM
One Billion Liters of Wine on the Wall...
It is being reported that..
One Billion Liters of Wine Is In Storage in Australia!
Someone help with the math here because I keep looking at this number and I really am having a hard time believing it.
Is this the equivalent of more than 100,000,000 cases of wine sitting in storage in Australia?
100,000,000 plus?
And consider that the Australian Harvest is just around the corner. I can't imagine what the grape growers in that country are looking at in terms of the prices they'll get for this year's grapes.
This sort of surplus, sitting in the warehouses of a wine exporting country, affects LOTS of people. They are going to have to dump this wine on markets around the world and at prices that will be akin to giving it away. This is GREAT for consumers...but at what cost to producers. How would you like to be sitting on average California wine that you hope to sell or $10 a bottle? Yikes!
And if you are an Australian brand with lots of good brand equity in the market, you can't just lower your price on your front line brand then hope to spike the prices when the surplus is over with. By that time consumers and the market will have already become accustomed to paying much less for your wine.
Meaning, we are going to see even more "new" and "second" labels from Australian producers hit the market...and at great prices.
I'm hoping some of the experts on the Australian wine industry in the blogosphere and elsewhere will weigh in on this.
UPDATE:
Just for perspective's sake, you could give a bottle of wine
to every single person living in Australia, The United States,
France, Spain and Germany and still have more than half of
this surplus in tank.
courtesy of www.fermentation.com
Posted by mardenhill
12/31/2005 08:12:00 PM
Tuesday may prove to be a good day for all, Jack Abramoff has to reach a plea agreement before Jan 9th when he will go to trial in Miami. The word on the street is that on Tuesday Abramoff will be in front of a judge to accept a deal or face trail. What this means, well it means that upwards of 20+ congressmembers and their staffers could be exposed. Jack has had a lot of pay for play throughout the congress and with him talking its going to get a lot hotter in there. Delay is public enemy #1 followed by Rep Nay of Ohio, the most crooked state in the union. There are others, speaker Dennis Hassert and our favorite Christian Coalition spokesperson Ralph Reed who claims none of his money came from gambling.
This is how the story goes, an Indian tribe hired Abramoff to help stop a competing tribe from setting up casinos. Abramoff took millions and passed it out to members in congress to make sure this wouldn't happen. With the help of Ralph Reed the 2 of them ripped of christian conservatives by taking their money because they didn't believe in gambling and funneled it into the scheme. But wait it gets even better, after the 1 tribe won the battle Abramoff went to the losing tribe and told them he could help them get their casino opened all the while not telling them that he was part of the reason they lost in the 1st place. In the end the 2nd tribe never got their casino opened, Abramoff never planned on doing that he just wanted their money. David Safavian, Michael Scanlan and Kidan all have pleaded and are testifying, Safavian even worked in the White House so you can see where this is going. You also have Grover Norquist who is good buddies with the Bush family and to spice this whole thing up, you have a murder down in Florida where associated of Kidan have been arrested.
This will dwarf any scandal we have seen and with Enron on the front page along with this one, the republican moniker will be dragged thru the mud and CORRUPTION will be branded into the party. Delay's trial will fall to the backburner and who knows, he may be aquitted but he won't escape this one cuz he is up to his neck in the Abramoff scandal. Who do you think helped him gain access to congress, well none other than Delay. Yep and Delay's wife also worked for a front that funneled money from Moscow under the name of U.S. Family Network.
There is also more and more connections but I will leave it at this because there will be more to come and I still need things to blog about............
Posted by mardenhill
12/31/2005 05:15:00 PM
For those mac users out there who hate the fact that iTunes does not automatically add the artwork to your mp3s, I have found a plugin that will help. Its called Fetch Art and is an apple script that when installed is part of the file menu up at the top of the screen. You highlight the songs you want to tag and select Fetch Art. Its very accurate, there have been a few cds that it didn't find or found wrong covers but for the most part it was right on. I figure with my collection and a 95%+ hit rate, anyone else would be 100%. I have spent the last few days off and on tagging my art, I have a good portion of it already done but with the new picture ipods, I cannot have mp3s that are artless. In the process I have discovered a ton of great songs that I forgot I had, I am going to be reloading my ipod once I am done. I have just completed my 1st hard drive and tomorrow I can start on the other one. Below is a link to download this free software, definitely check it out if you need to spruce up your collection.
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12083
Posted by mardenhill
12/30/2005 10:12:00 PM
Here is an abridged version of the ad the ACLU took out in the NY Times. It links Bush and Nixon together and talks about their crimes. I think the more these 2 are tied together the more damage it will inflict on Bush. This is just the tip of the iceberg, it will come out that Bush was spying on more people than he has admitted to. It will come out that he spied on every liberal group and prominent member, how will the country react to that? Maybe when Rove is indicted the wheels will fall completely off and Bush will be left standing in the dust. He will have no one around him to protect his bubble and the media will finally pop it and show the world the true nature of this man and his agenda. 2005 was a good year, I think 2006 may be better. We got Delay, Abramoff, Plamegate, Enron and the NSA spying, should be a good few months. If this momentum continues to swing our way, there is a good chance that the dems can retake the house and senate. If this were to happen, articles of impeachment are that much closer. The most interesting part of it all is that if the dems won the house Pelosi would be speaker, if impeachment happened it would be for both Bush and Cheney and Pelosi would be next in line. We would then have our 1st woman president, not the one everyone is talking about. I know this is far fetched but it would make for a good conspiracy theory. I am just shooting for reclaiming the house and senate that is the goal for 2006.
Posted by mardenhill
12/29/2005 10:23:00 AM
Its about time, one of the execs at Enron has flipped and will provide information about Ken Lay and Jeffery Skilling, the crooks who ran Enron into the ground and pocketed millions. I have been waiting 5 years to see Kenny Boy go to trial and its set for January, man 2006 is going to be another good year. We got Abramoff singing now an Enron exec, things couldn't get much better. The repubs are going to be hurting from the Abramoff testimony and although Enron isn't directly connected, its tentacles will reach out and rope in a few important names. It won't be long before Kennyboy will be sharing a cell with the likes of Bernie Ebbers of Worldcom and Koslowski of Tyco.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Enron Corp.'s former chief accountant, Richard Causey, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to securities fraud in exchange for a possible seven-year jail sentence for his role in the 2001 collapse of the power-trading giant.
Causey had been scheduled to face trial next month with former Enron chief executives Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling, but now is likely to cooperate with federal prosecutors against his former bosses as part of his plea bargain.
Causey pleaded guilty to count 19 of the superseding indictment in the case. In the indictment, counts 14 through 20 charge Causey and Skilling with securities fraud in relation to the filing of financial statements. Count 19 specifically deals with the filing of the company's quarterly report for the first quarter of 2001.
Posted by mardenhill
12/28/2005 07:24:00 PM
Keith: O'Reilly is one of those blissful idiots...
Olbermann: "It is awfully painful. Whether he thinks me insincere or not, I really did like Gibbie. Hard working here, always there to cover a shift or help out in any way he could. Now, instead, he's denying he said some truly despicable things...things that were recorded for posterity. And worse, he's now trying to blame these hateful things on me. Ordinarily when someone gets caught saying something as intolerant as this, their choices are a) to apologize, b) to resign, or c) to make sure there's no tape and to lie their way out of it. John, unfortunately, chose d) blame it on somebody else.
The audio clip is the definitive answer, and I would hope John would now have the self-respect to acknowledge what he said, and to leave the airwaves for good. Because, between the remark and denial he has, sadly, forfeited his right to stay here."
...............
www.crooksandliars.com
This is one of the best Worst In The Worlds courtesy of MSNBC's Keith Olbermann, he is like Jon Stewart who doesn't have a problem calling people out and what makes it great is that being on MSNBC it adds to the credibility. Keith has been bashing the rightwingers for a while now and his segment hits O'riley, Ann Coulter, Limbaugh and now John Gibson who is just another Fox political hack. The other day John threatened a guy on his show over the war against christmas because his guest called him out on his lies. Gibson has been drinking the kool aid again and if u check out the clip you can see it first hand.
Posted by mardenhill
12/28/2005 11:58:00 AM
courtesy of www.gizmodo.com
Nethrone Workstation: Torture Device?
This is not a torture device. You have to trust us on this one as much as you are tempted not to. The Nethrone is a crazy-looking ergonomic device that looks like a dentist’s chair designed for comfortable computing. Leaning back in the comfy leather seat and looking up at the screen keeps you from straining your neck as much as you normally would using a computer. Designer Eran Baruhe wants you to have complete comfort and control over your experience in the Nethrone, so nearly every part of the thing is adjustable to make you relaxed and comfortable. Comfort doesn’t come cheap, though, so be prepared to shell out $2500 for the Nethrone when it comes out in January, 2006.
http://www.uncrate.com/men/gear/office/nethrone-002552.php...................
For those of you who are familiar with the Tongue Chair, this is the 21st century version with a lot more bells and whistles.
Posted by mardenhill
12/24/2005 04:49:00 PM
My friend Nasir decided to pipe in about the Strokes sucking and wanted to plug his favorite band Iron Maiden, looking at these album covers I have no idea what kind of evil incarnate he has wrapped himself around. I'm sorry, album covers with devils, and skeleton people wanting to kill you doesn't seem like something I would want to listen to let alone a small child to either. These satanists are peddling murder and mahem and I for one don't appreciate it. I decided to look up this Iron Maiden band and found out they have been together since 1979 and have put out 13 satanic records along with a bunch of live crap. I am not sure how these geezers are still doing it but I guess its the power of the devil that keeps them going. I have also discovered this evil drawing on the albums has a name and it goes by Eddie. They have been using him to terrorize us for the last 26 year years, why hasn't the government put a stop to this? Maybe all they need is a hug but I don't plan on going near them for the fear that I might be their next sacrifice.
Posted by mardenhill
12/24/2005 11:55:00 AM
The Strokes - First Impressions On Earth.
Well the new Strokes cd is not much to look forward to, I am a bit bummed I was hoping for so much more. It starts off with "You Only Live Once" which is amazing song, classic Strokes but fresh. "Juicebox" is up next, the crunchy guitar riff track all over the radio which is starting to grow on me. "Heart On A Cage" is ok, it has a good head bobbin beat to it and catchy chorus. With "Razerblade" the cd takes a downturn, this song is not that good and this sets the tone for the rest of the cd. The next 6 songs are BORING, no catchy hooks, melodic and druggy sounding. Finally at track 12 "Ize of the World" it picks back up but this song isn't anything special and I am wondering why I am even writing about it. Track 13 sucks and finally "Red Light" track 14 ends the cd and not a moment too soon, if I had to keep listening I think I would have stuck a pen thru my eye to kill the pain. So the Strokes came onto the scene with one of the best debut cds ever and blew it with their 2nd. The indie rock community gave them a pass since it was just a rehash of the debut and the Strokes were still "Hip". This will sink them, its boring and not fun at all, the energy is gone and their music is too thin to hold on with this tempo. Sorry guys you had your chance but you blew it.....
Posted by mardenhill
12/23/2005 01:10:00 PM
Looking back at Sen Frist's track record it makes you wonder how this pathetic windbag ever achieved the majority leader seat. I have decided to put together a list of his failures, it makes me laugh everytime I consider how many times he has been embarassed by his mismanagement of the senate.
1. ANWAR: just got screwed by a bipartison effort for trying to include it in the Defense spending bill.
2. Patriot Act: 2 days ago Frist said that him and Bush would not let an extention of the patriot act, they would let it expire rather than open it up to discussion. Announced today, a 6 month extention to discuss civil liberities.
3. Iraq Intelligence: Sen Reid held a closed door session and forced him to open an investigation, it would have never made much news except that Frist broke down on camera and sounded like a 5 year old on the school playground.
4. Insider Trading: as much as Frist likes to spin it, he is caught up in insider trading on selling shares of his family owned medical company. This one is not going away and he is getting pissed as time goes on.
5. Nuclear Option: the gang of 14 took the nuclear option off the table when they banded together to preserve the filibuster.
6. Teri Shavio: the guy diagnosed her from a video tape, months later when the autopsy came out, she was brain dead. Good one Frist, where did u get your medical license, a cereal box?
7. Justice Sunday II: yep after your flipflop on stem cells your rightwing buddies kicked u off the Justic Sunday circuit and replaced you with good ole Tom Delay, looking back probably not the smartest move the american taliban have ever made.
This is only this year and there are others but these were the ones off the top of my head. Its sad that I was able to rattle off so many, in just a few minutes. Frist is retiring and plans to run for President, I'm sorry but after your lame duck status as majority leader I don't think you could be elected the leader of your local book club.
Posted by mardenhill
12/22/2005 08:24:00 AM
Courtesy of www.gizmodo.com
As I recall from my heady college days, having a 1-to-1 keg to tap ratio was usually a bad idea. Someone would do a kegstand and then you’d get a dollop of partially-digested Doritos on the top of the keg, leading to the dreaded party foul. The Octopus Tap hopes to change all that. It consists of up to three taps—not quite octo, but tripus would sound weird—that can squirt out the brass monkey with reckless abandon.
http://www.octopustap.com/
....................
It makes you think what was wrong in the 90s, we had venture capitalists spending millions on internet startups but it takes until 2005 for someone to come up with an easier way to distribute beer. Think of all the time you wasted in line, it could have been avoided and you could have been drunk an hour earlier....
Posted by mardenhill
12/21/2005 10:12:00 AM
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Abramoff_said_to_discuss_plea_deal_1220.html
It looks like Jack Abramoff may plead and start dishing on congress. If this is true it will be a sight to see with all of those connected to Jack scrambling trying to return money and lie their way out of trouble. There is the chance that it may bring down a couple dems but so be it, its time the corruption is stripped away from congress. This will not bode well for Delay who has lost all hope on returning as majority leader in the house. He won't survive his next election let alone regaining any leadership position. This is the final nail in the coffin for Delay and its the start for some others in congress. 2005 was a bad year for the republiscums and 2006 isn't going to be much better. With Snoopgate going on, Plamegate nowhere near finished, both Delay and Frist's scandals, this one is going to sink the repub ship. I have told my friends that happen to lean to the right that they better jump ship before it gets too late. They have all laughed at me but come 2006 I think they will be begging for forgiveness. I have suffered thru the last 4 years of the Democratic rebuilding which has been quite painful and I am ready for my payoff.
Posted by mardenhill
12/20/2005 10:29:00 PM
Well Pitchfork released their top 50 cds of 2005 and guess what, we shared 1 cd between my list and theirs. Franz Ferdinand was the only 1 that crossed between our lists, but Ladyton, LCD Soundsystem and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were honorable mentions. It goes to show that Pitchfork are a bunch of pretentious indie rock wankers who don't know good music if it bit them in the ass. Are there good cds in their list, hell yes there are some awazing ones but they are not as good as the ones I picked. They gave Sufjan Stevens - Illinois #1, this is a good cd but its a bit boring. Its cool that a guy from Michigan gets the award but come on, Kasabian blows that cd away. Another reason Pitchfork sucks big donkey nads is that Ryan Adams didn't even make the list, hello, its Ryan Adams, the voice of our generation. He deserved at least 1 cd, but no, Pitchfork has to be all "Ryan is a sellout, he's mediocre, his music is lame".
Posted by mardenhill
12/20/2005 04:27:00 PM
Posted by mardenhill
12/20/2005 04:04:00 PM
I read about these packs in Wired magazine and they are pretty cool, the website is http://www.bumbakpaks.com/index.html and pricewise not too expensive. They are between $80 & $100 a bag but seeing that it has straps built in, that is cheaper than back surgery down the line. There are a few different models and from the looks of them lots of pockets. My bag is going on about 6 years and is starting to fall apart, I think I need one of these. Laugh all you want but I will be the one with good posture and no pain while the rest of you monkeys will be crawling around screaming cuz your lumbar just blew out.
Posted by mardenhill
12/19/2005 05:19:00 PM
Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis) responded to Gonzales' comments in an NBC interview this morning. "This is just an outrageous power grab," he said. "Nobody, nobody, thought when we passed a resolution to invade Afghanistan and to fight the war on terror, including myself who voted for it, thought that this was an authorization to allow a wiretapping against the law of the United States. "There's two ways you can do this kind of wiretapping under our law. One is through the criminal code, Title III; the other is through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. That's it. That's the only way you can do it. You can't make up a law and deriving it from the Afghanistan resolution. "The president has, I think, made up a law that we never passed," said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)
.....................
Bush and co are trying to spin it that he had the authority from the legislation passed a few years ago and even the republican pundits have gone as far as to blame Clinton for 9/11 cuz if wire taps were legal it would have been prevented. Talk about rewriting history, I bet that was Ken Mehlman's #1 talking point since they have nothing else to go on to defend this behavior.
Posted by mardenhill
12/19/2005 01:06:00 PM
Last nite Erika and I were watching the building of the Ice Hotel 2004-05 on Discovery Science and it was amazing. They take a couple months to build this hotel all out of ice and snow and it is in business for 5 months. To get there you need to fly in and can take a dog sled over to it. Inside there were over 60 rooms and you wear layers of clothing since there is no heat inside. The bar serves drinks in glasses made of ice and there is also a wedding chapel and theatre. Price wise it was 2900 kroner a nite which converts to $368 US for a standard room. Each room has a different theme and an artist who designs the whole thing in ice. I think it would be a lot of fun to stay in the Ice Hotel, if we win the lottery we are going.
How to get to ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi
ICEHOTEL Jukkasjärvi is in the far north, in northern Lapland, Sweden, at a beautiful location beside the River Torne. About 200 kilometers above the Arctic Circle. The site is 17 kilometres from the town of Kiruna, and 12 kilometres from Kiruna Airport.
The direct flight from Stockholm Arlanda to Kiruna Airport takes 1 hour and 30 minutes. SAS has flights daily.
Scandinavian Airlines System, SAS, website www.scandinavian.net
Nordic Airlines +46(0)8-52806820
Hemsida www.flynordic.com
It is a pleasant trip also by train, although it takes longer. Travelling time from Stockholm Central Station and Kiruna railway station is estimated at about 16 hours.
Connex, telephone number +46 771-26 00 00 mail: kundtjanst@tag.connex.se
We will be pleased to meet you either at Kiruna Airport or Kiruna railway station. Book your transfer in advance, one-way fare 100 SEK per person. You can also travel by snowmobile from Kiruna Airport - an exciting way to get to the ICEHOTEL! Please book in advance.
Hire Your own bus within Sweden(in Swedish): Busnet
ICEHOTEL - Contact us
Send us an e-mail or give us a call,
and we will be happy to send you brochures by airmail.
Phone: +46 980 66 800 or toll-free number within Sweden: 020-29 14 33
Fax +46 980 668 90
E-mail: info@icehotel.com
ICEHOTEL AB
981 91 Jukkasjärvi
SWEDEN
Posted by mardenhill
12/18/2005 04:00:00 PM
