Rex has the best of 2007 lists up -- its huge!

Go check it out

http://www.fimoculous.com/year-review-2007.cfm

Posted at 08:46 AM in Current Affairs, Web/Tech | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds from the movie Yellow Submarine

Posted at 06:42 AM in Music, The Beatles | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Get your wheels ready for cold and snow: A thorough winterization is no longer necessary -- but if you live where it snows, there are a few things you can do to prepare your car for winter.

• Check the coolant for the proper mix of antifreeze and water. You can have a mechanic do this or you can buy a tester at your local auto parts store.

• Check the oil recommendations in your car's owner manual. Some manufacturers recommend a different grade of oil that flows better in cold temperatures.

• Check the battery, specifically the level of electrolyte. If it's low, top it off with distilled water. (Note: Electrolyte can be nasty stuff; wear eye protection or have a mechanic check it for you).

• Buy a set of snow tires. They do a much better job than the all-weather tires fitted to most cars. If you've upgraded the wheels on your car, mounting the snows on the original wheels will make changing over much easier.

• Check your tire pressure. So, you didn't get those snows, huh? Well, at least make sure your tires are properly inflated to ensure you’ll have the best possible traction as you drive along — and traction is often severely jeopardized in wet, snowy or icy conditions. You can expect to lose 1 pound per square inch whenever the temperature drops by 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

• Replace your windshield wiper blades with snow blades.

• Examine your belts and hoses. Make sure the belts and hoses get checked for wear and tear — even if you’re driving a modern car. Cold weather wears belts and hoses, so they deserve attention.

• Get a snow brush and an ice scraper; leave them somewhere in the car.

• Run your car air conditioning (at least) once a month. (Running the A/C speeds up window defogging).

• Stock up on windshield washer fluid and top the washer tank off regularly. Be careful not to pour windshield washer fluid into the wrong tank!

• Prepare an emergency kit. Store this stuff in your trunk during the winter months, especially if a road trip is in your future:
     A flashlight, flares and a first-aid kit.
     Jumper cables, a tool kit and tire chains.
     A blanket, warm clothes and gloves.
     Paper towels.
     A bag of abrasive material, such as sand, salt or non-clumping kitty litter.
          (Use this for added traction when a tire is stuck).
     A snow brush, ice scraper and snow shovel.
     Extra washer fluid.
     Extra food and water.
     Extra boots and gloves
     Small shovel

Sources:

How to winterize your car 
Aaron Gold
About.com
http://cars.about.com/od/adviceforowners/a/winterize.htm

Winterize Your Vehicle
Brent Romans
Edmunds Automotive
http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/howto/articles/43799/article.html

10 simple ways to get your car ready for winter   
MSNBC.com
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15940164/

Posted at 06:13 AM in Automobiles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

via NYT

Right about now we need a break from winter: How about some tropical recipes?

Zombie Punch:

 

Adapted from Jeff Berry Mr. Berry believes that this recipe, found in a waiter’s notebook, is the original Zombie introduced at Don the Beachcomber’s in 1934.

3/4 ounce lime juice

  1/2 ounce white grapefruit juice

  1/4 ounce cinnamon syrup (see note)

  1/2 ounce falernum (see note)

1 1/2 ounces dark Jamaican rum, such as Appleton Estate V/X

1 1/2 ounces gold rum, such as Cruzan 5-year-old

1 ounce 151-proof Lemon Hart Demerara rum

Dash Angostura bitters

6 drops ( 1/8 teaspoon) Herbsaint or Pernod

1 teaspoon grenadine

3/4 cup crushed ice.

  Put everything into a blender. Blend at high speed for 5 seconds. Pour into a highball glass and add ice cubes to fill. Decorate with sliced fruit or berries and a mint sprig.

Yield: One drink.

Note: Cinnamon syrup from Sonoma Syrup Company is sold at Dean & DeLuca, Whole Foods and other retailers. To make it, boil 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks pounded in a mortar or with the back of a knife; stir until sugar dissolves, remove from heat, let sit for 2 hours, then strain. Excess can be kept refrigerated for a month. Names of retailers selling falernum, a syrup tasting of lime juice, almonds and ginger, are available from Fee Brothers at (800) 961-FEES.

Beachbum Berry’s Zombie 

Adapted from Jeff Berry This recipe nearly matches the flavor of the 1934 Zombie, but it is simpler.

3/4 ounce lime juice

1 ounce white grapefruit juice

  1/2 ounce cinnamon-infused sugar syrup (see note)

  1/2 ounce Bacardi 151 rum

1 ounce dark Jamaican rum

Sliced fruit and mint for garnish.

Shake all ingredients well with ice cubes. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with fruit and a mint sprig.

Yield: One drink.

Note: Cinnamon syrup from Sonoma Syrup Company is sold at Dean & DeLuca and Whole Foods. To make it, boil 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks pounded with the back of a knife; stir until sugar dissolves, remove from heat, let sit for 2 hours, then strain.

Beachbum’s Own

Adapted from Jeff Berry

3/4 ounce lemon juice

  3/4 ounce pineapple juice

  3/4 ounce orange juice

  3/4 ounce passion fruit syrup (see note)

  3/4 ounce Cuarenta Y Tres liqueur (Licor 43)

1 1/4 ounces smoky, medium-bodied rum such as Lemon Hart Demerara, El Dorado, Pampero or Mount Gay Extra Old

1 1/2 ounces light rum, such as Cruzan 2-year-old.

  Pour all ingredients into a shaker with plenty of ice and shake well. Pour, ice and all, into a double old-fashioned glass.

Yield: One drink.

Note: Passion fruit syrup is available from Finest Call (www.finestcall.com) and Funkin (funkin.us). To make it, dissolve

1/4 cup sugar in 1/4 cup boiling water, then stir in 1/2 cup thawed frozen passion fruit pulp, made by Goya and sold in many bodegas and supermarkets.

Source:
Cracking the Code of the Zombie
STEVEN KURUTZ
NYT, November 28, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/dining/28tiki.html   

Posted at 06:04 AM in Food and Drink | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

This is my vote for the most overlooked story of the year:  Former DOJ Official Tested the Method Himself,  in Effort to Form Torture Policy

A senior Justice Department official, charged with reworking the administration's legal position on torture in 2004 became so concerned about the controversial, interrogation technique of waterboarding that he decided to experience it firsthand,sources told ABC News., Daniel Levin, then acting assistant attorney general, went to a military base near Washington and underwent the procedure to inform his analysis of different interrogation techniques.

Keith Olbermann *SPECIAL COMMENT* 11/5/07-

Part 1

Part 2

DoJ Official Declared Waterboarding Torture      

Posted at 06:33 AM in Current Affairs, Idiot!, War/Defense | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Fun stuff:

click for animation

Posted at 06:44 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

What might "Stairway to Heaven" have sounded like if it had been recorded for the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night instead of Led Zeppelin's IV? Like this, we guess. In the above video, Australia's premiere Beatles cover band the Beatnix remake Led Zep's all-time greatest song about stairways in the style of the Fab Four's early hits.

Where might one procure an MP3 of this wonderful cover? Here. You're welcome.

Hat Tip: Tube Junkie

Posted at 06:13 AM in Music, The Beatles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Scott Haltzman, MD, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University, Providence, on how Married Men can improve their marriages:

1. Treat your wife like a business client. Many men say they don't know what's expected of them in romantic relationships -- yet the same men know what to do in business relationships. The two aren't as different as you might think. If a client made you unhappy, you wouldn't fight with him/her. Instead, you would try to smooth things out. if this client made a crucial error, you would not criticize him -- you would try to help him recover. Overall, you would try to understand who your client is, what his goals are and how you can help him succeed.

2. Forget the golden rule. When we treat our wives as we would like to be treated, we ignore the fact that our wives are quite different from us. Forget whatever you think you know about what makes people happy, and observe your wife for a while. What does she really appreciate? What are her deepest interests and goals? Stop doing things that you would appreciate if someone did them for you and start doing things she will appreciate.

3. Do more than say "I'm sorry."  According to research by the Gottman Institute, a Seattle-based couples therapy organization, marriage tend to be happy when the spouses -- wives as well as husbands -- interact with each other in a positive manner at least five times as often as they interact in a negative manner. Positive interactions might include paying her compliments, saying, "Thank you" or "I love you," offering to do something for her, holding her hand or paying attention to her.

4. Master the makeup. The happiness of your marriage is not determined by whether you fight -- all couples do. It's determined by how well you patch things up afterward. Wait until you cool down -- that typically takes about 20 minutes -- then make a peace offering. Bring her a cup of tea ...say you're sorry you argues ...or tell her that you love her. Such gestures generally help couples get past the fight fast and back to the happy marriage.

5. See your wife's opinion. Wives often feel that they don't have an equal voice in the decision-making. As far as most husbands are concerned, the issue isn't who is making the decisions, but whether the correct decisions are being made.

6. Do some cleaning. Most wives think their husbands should help more with housework. Many husbands think they do so much work around the yard and with the car that housework isn't their responsibility. To make your wife really happy, figure out which household task is her least favorite and do it without being asked.

Source:
Six Ways Men Can Make Their Marriages Much Happier
Scott Haltzman, MD
Brown University
http://www.earlyentrancefoundation.org/peep/articles/2007/happiermarriage.html

Posted at 06:37 AM in Philosophy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

When Jim Power created his first mosaic on a lamppost on Astor Pace in 1987, a concrete band shell still stood inside Tompkins Square Park, admission to the CBGB club cost $5, and about the same amount could buy a night’s lodging in the Bowery.

Plenty in the East Village has changed in 20 years, and, some say, that is one good reason the dozens of pieces of public art created in the neighborhood by Mr. Power ought to be preserved.

“The mosaics have became landmarks,” said Clayton Patterson, a photographer who has documented the area in Manhattan for 25 years. “They’re some of the only things left that give a feeling of familiarity to the neighborhood.”

In the late 1980s, Mr. Power decided to create 80 mosaics that would mark the neighborhood’s boundaries and some significant sites within its borders. The mosaic trail, as Mr. Power refers to the project, has proceeded in fits and starts as the artist’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed.

Source:
Following a Mosaic Path to Chart a Neighborhood’s History
COLIN MOYNIHAN
NYT, December 11, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/nyregion/11mosaic.html

Posted at 09:30 AM in Art & Design | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

A short history of humanity:

• First, tribes: tough life.
• The defaults beyond the intimate tribe were violence, aversion to difference, and slavery. Superstition: everywhere.
• Culture overcomes them partially.
• Rainfall agriculture, which allows loners.
• Irrigation agriculture, which favors community.
• Division of labor plus exchange in trade bring mutual cooperation, even outside the tribe.
• The impulse is always there, though: "Kill or enslave the outsider."
• Gradual science from Athens' compact with reason.
• Division of labor, trade, the mastery of knowledge, plus time brought surplus, sometimes a peaceful extended order and, rules diversely evolved and, the cooperation of strangers - always warring against the fierce defaults of tribalism, violence, and ignorance.
• No one who teaches you knows what will happen.

-Alan Charles Kors

George H. Walker Endowed Term Professor of History
University of Pennsylvania
School of Arts and Sciences 

Posted at 06:38 AM in Science | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The Washington Post's Style Invitational also asked readers to take any word from the dictionary,
alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition.

Here are the winners from the 2005 contest:

1. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

2. Foreploy (v): Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.

3. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

4. Giraffiti (n): Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

5. Sarchasm (n): The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

6. Inoculatte (v): To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

7. Hipatitis (n): Terminal coolness.

8. Osteopornosis (n): A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)

9. Karmageddon (n): It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

10. Decafalon (n.): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

11. Glibido (v): All talk and no action.

12. Dopeler effect (n): The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

13. Arachnoleptic fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

14. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.

15. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a grub in the fruit you're eating.
And the pick of the literature:

16. Ignoranus (n): A person who's both stupid and an asshole

Posted at 06:36 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly neologism
contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.

Here are the winners from the 2005 contest:

1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained.

3. Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. Negligent (adj.),a condition inwhich you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle (n.), olive-flavoured mouthwash.

9. Flatulence (n.) emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon (n), a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), (back by popular demand): The belief that, when you die, your Soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men

Posted at 06:33 AM in Humor | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Cool ad by a snowboarding company

via John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Posted at 05:45 AM in Sports | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

All Together Now from the Yellow Submarine movie

Posted at 07:30 AM in Music, The Beatles | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

There are lots of weak charities that do a poor job of putting your donated money to work.

A few resources to help make sure your donations are well used:

CharityNavigator.org, provided by the nonprofit group Charity Navigator in Mahwah, N.J., rates more than 5,000 U.S.-based charities, using information in their Form 990s. The site is free to people who register.

For an idea of how the rankings work, consider the group's take on United Way of America. The charity, which is based in Alexandria, Va., gets three stars out of four for "Efficiency," in part because 90% of its budget went to programs, and it cost only two cents for the program to raise a dollar.

The organization also gets three stars of four for "Capacity," or its ability to sustain itself over time. The group had annualized revenue growth of 21% from 2002 through 2005 and had enough working capital to operate for about eight months without any income.

~~~

GuideStar.org: If you want to look at the raw data, GuideStar.org is the go-to organization for copies of a charity's Form 990. It covers 1.7 million groups and has about 3.1 million Form 990 images, many of which are available free to people who register.

The site makes money from a combination of donations and subscriber fees, so not all of the content is free. For instance, a prospective donor can see that the March of Dimes Foundation wanted to continue a $75 million education, awareness and research campaign on premature birth in 2006, and that it has more than 1,000 employees.

To get other details, such as the charity's income and assets, you need a subscription. That will run either $30 or $100 a month, depending on the depth of information you want and other factors.

~~~

Give.org, operated by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance in Arlington, Va., reports on whether the approximately 1,200 charities it has evaluated meet the alliance's 20 "Standards for Charitable Accountability." It doesn't do ratings or rankings.

The group's free reports provide information on who runs a charity and list its income, expenses, assets and sources of income. The reports also describe the group's programs; in some cases, this includes a breakdown of how much the group spent on them.

Source:
Checking on Charities
JACLYNE BADAL
December 10, 2007; Page R5
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119679899080713433.html

Posted at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Oh, goody, yet another list. How f$%&ing original!

For some silly reason, there seems to be all this hoo-haa about the silly Vanity Fair article on the top Movie Soundtracks of all time.

These people are wankers for many reasons: 1) The VF weenies press released to death; b) the article is not even available on line; iii) the editors chose Purple Rain as the greatest film soundtrack of all time.

I remain convinced that the purveyors of these annoying lists select a controversial top pick to generate buzz (tho' you would think this would might encourage online posting).

Regardless, let's not play into their hand. Rather than waste too much time telling you how clueless VF's music editors are, or giving them any linklove, I would rather -- in the spirit of Friday Night Jazz -- compile a worthwhile list of films and soundtracks for your perusal.

A few ground rules:

• We are looking for outstanding soundtracks to outstanding films. (Merely o.k. doesn't cut it).

• Groundbreaking films, soundtracks and performances get bonus points. (Mediocre performances get cut).

• Better non-film versions take points away from the movie soundtrack -- where there are superior versions such as the Broadway soundtrack (i.e., Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, etc.) than those flicks don 't make the cut.

• Pure adaptations of Broadway shows also get cut. In my mind, Cabaret, Chicago, Chorus Line are more filmed stage productions, rather than pure movies.  (totally subjective).

Hence, several films failed to make the cut: Apocalypse Now is fantastic in the way it uses music (especially The Doors' The End, and Wagner's The Ride Of The Valkyries), but its not great as a standalone soundtrack; the wonderful My Fair Lady, with Rex Harrison's mediocre voice, and the dubbing of Audrey Hepburn's voice, also doesn't make the cut.

Alternatively, the film can't suck. The greatest soundtrack in the world becomes irrelevant if its attached to a film like, say, Hedwig and the Angry Inch -- a play that sucked two hours out of my life that I will never get back, and will literally regret on my death bed.

These things are totally subjective, and are rarely based exclusively on mere merits. Pink Floyd The Wall was a great album so overplayed when I was in college, that I simply couldn't pull the trigger on it (the film is a bit ponderous to boot). Again, these things are very subjective. We can certainly debate the order of any list, or the contents, and we probably will (thats what the comments are for).

Here's my subjective top 15:

1. A Hard Day's Night:  A brilliant film and album that both remain as energetic and fresh today as they were in 1964. The Beatles personalities were perfectly suited to the medium, so much so that its hard to imagine a better film/soundtrack combo.

A Hard Day's Night

If you want to consider another Beatles sound track, both Yellow Submarine and Help! are fun -- but neither rise to the sheer genius of A Hard Day's Night. 

~~~

2. Stop Making Sense: Quite simply, the best concert film ever made. Yes, some of you will declare The Last Waltz, (with a few stragglers nominating Woodstock) but there is simply nothing else that ha the combination of showmanship, musical innovation -- and the big suit -- like this film does. Marvelous.

Stop Making Sense

~~~

3.  Blade Runner: Forget the ponderous and boring Chariots of Fire, THIS is Vangelis Masterpiece. Not only is the music hauntingly beautiful, but it fits the filmscape so perfectly, making it even better than it originally was. We've already spilled so many words about BR, that the less said the better. "All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain." 

Blade Runner

~~~

4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show: I could try to explain this, but I couldn't do it justice. Find a theater where this is playing at the midnight show, and go with someone who's gone before.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975 Film)

~~~

5. Garden State: My "surprise" entry. A charming little film with a soundtrack that simply refuses to stop delighting you with its lovely ballads, nearly all of which are by bands which, prior to this soundtrack, were unknown. This disc was played constantly in our car in 2004/05.

Garden State

~~~

6.  Harold and Maude: One of the most subversive, outrageously amusing, black comedies ever made -- hysterically funny to boot. Cat Stevens (before he became Yusaf) created a wonderful collection of songs.   This is , quite frankly, one of the funniest films ever made.

Harold and Maude

~~~

7. The Graduate: Not only is this a seminal, groundbreaking film, but the soundtrack is phenomenal. The way the various songs are interwoven into the action, mood, psychs of the players is amazing (listen as Benjamin's Alpha Romeo Spider runs out of gas). I don't know if Mike Nichols is a genius, or just gt incredibly lucky. Either way, its a great soundtrack and a great movie.   

The Graduate (1967 Film)

~~~

8. (tie):Led Zeppelin, The Song Remains The Same
The Who, The Kids Are Alright: Perhaps its my age showing, but I have always found each of these to be tremendous films and soundtracks. The Zep concert film was utterly ground breaking; The Who film was a fantastic documentary.

The Song Remains The Same

The Kids Are Alright

~~~

10. West Side Story: Leonard Bernstein's musical update of Romeo and Juliet. The combination of Stephen Sondheim brilliant lyrics, the kinetic choreography and the bravura camera work made for a fantastic wide screen film. The soundtrack created the perfect counterpoint to the dance and action.

Sure, its a bit dated (hence, #10), but it remains an all time great.

West Side Story

~~~

11. Pulp Fiction: The film does so many things so well -- but the way the music is integrated into the actual plot is simply terrific.  Plus, Travolta and Uma can each dance. 

Pulp Fiction: Music From The Motion Picture

~~~

12.  Purple Rain: There is no doubt that the purple one can sign, dance, play guitar. Acting, not so much. Regardless, his sheer overwhelming talent is why this manages to get onto my top 10. True Story: We saw this int he theaters in college, and my remark was "He's going to be bigger than Michael Jackson" -- who was huge at the time. Its a toss up if I got that one right.

Music from the Motion Picture "Purple Rain"

~~~

13. Little Shop Of Horrors: A fantabulous musical/horror/comedy. It's all a whole lot of fun, and the musical styles range from honky-tonk to doo-wop to straightforward rock n' roll. The strength of the film carries what otherwise might have been a mere Broadway adaption into an entire different level.
 

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986 Film)

~~~

14. Saturday Night Fever: One of those seminal films that tremendously influenced the culture.

My choice in music  was rock-n-roll, and I had little interest in blow-dried hair, white polyester suits, or cruising discos looking for Staten Island bimbos. (but if you wanted to get laid . . . )

The music works as well on its own, as it does as a classic piece of pop history. And John Travolta makes the list twice!

Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track

~~~

15. The Tao of Steve: Another charming little film that surprises with its wonderful songs. Lovely.   

The Tao of Steve: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Thats my top list; A few Honorable Mentions are after the jump . . .

Honorable Mentions:

South Park - Bigger, Longer & Uncut: You will laugh until you piss yourself. The soundtrack is very very funny.

South Park - Bigger, Longer & Uncut

~~~

The Breakfast Club: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

~~~

41 Original Hits From The Soundtrack Of American Graffiti

~~~

Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture

~~~

Superfly

~~~

Reader suggestions:

Grease   

Sound of Music   
Pink Floyd - The Wall   
Apocalypse Now
Forrest Gump
Round Midnight
Manhattan   
Oh Brother, Wherefore Art Thou
Grosse Pointe Blanke
Easy Rider
Last Waltz
Sorcerer Lost in Translation   
The Virgin Suicides   
The Motorcycle Diaries 
The Mission
Rushmore
Cabaret
Chicago
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Hair
Hedwig
Jesus Christ, Superstar
Oliver! (1968)
Absolute Beginners
All that Jazz
Moulin Rouge
Pennies from Heaven
Phantom of the Paradise
Robin & the 7 hoods
Starstruck
Tommy 
True Stories 
Willy Wonka
Beauty & the beast

~~~

If you've hummed along, tapped your feet, or even danced in your seat while watching "Purple Rain," "Saturday Night Fever" or "Trainspotting," you're not alone.

The soundtracks from those movies have been named among the 50 greatest by the editors of Vanity Fair magazine. The full list will be revealed next month in a one-time Conde Nast magazine, Movies Rock, for subscribers of its 14 titles.

"Purple Rain" topped the chart even though it was described as "perhaps the best badly acted film ever," editors at Vanity Fair said, while "Trainspotting" came in at No. 7 and "Saturday Night Fever" was eighth.

Source:
"Purple Rain" greatest film soundtrack: Vanity Fair
Wed Oct 24, 12:30 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071024/film_nm/soundtracks_dc

Posted at 06:00 AM in Film, Music | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

A stunningly beautiful video of underwater Belize, a small Caribbean country in Central America. Fishes and sea creatures dancing to Bolero by Ravel. Just beautiful.

via haha.nu

Posted at 05:42 AM in Music, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I never was interested in an electronic reader, but the new Amazon (AMZN) gadget looks quite intriguing: Amazon Kindle "Reader"

This thingie does have some attractive features: The ability to wirelessly grab books anywhere you are is way cool. But this is more than an eBook: It is a wireless device, grabing RSS feeds of blogs, newspaper and magazines. And, unlike Apple's iTunes, you own the books you buy, and if the device is lost or broken, you can re-download all of your Amazon purchases -- at no charge. (Apple's failure to do that is an inexcusable failing, and one of the reasons I hardly buy songs from ITMS).

Can Amazon generate the sort of frenzy reserved for Apple products? Perhaps -- earlier to today, Amazon as saying the Kindle was sold out. However, there are very few companies -- Apple, Harley Davidson (HDI), Tivo -- which have that sort of appeal or can generate that customer loyalty of that sort. I like Amazon, but its doubtful they will ever be in the rabid loyalty group.

Maybe they should tear a page from the Apple playbook -- after Christmas, slash the price 50% or more.

Why? At $150-200, this becomes a more compelling product. Amazon tells me that since the retail price also includes the wireless connectivity, this is already a $150 machine with $10 per month service for 2 years included. But would anyone really pay a $10/mo for the privilege of wirelessly purchasing books?

Some of the initial reviews of the doohickey were pretty good -- endorsements include Michael Lewis and Guy Kawasaki (below), and the NYT's David Pogue.

Criticisms: Version 1.0 has some obvious shortcomings: A few good observations (and one lousy one) via Scoble:

1. No ability to buy paper goods from Amazon through Kindle.
2. Usability sucks. Didn’t they think how people would hold this?
3. UI sucks. Menus? Did they hire someone from Microsoft?
4. No ability to send electronic goods to anyone else.
5. No social network. Why can't my friends see what I’m reading?
6. No touch screen.

The buying of regular Amazon products and send ebooks or other gifts are good suggestions. Social networking ("What I am reading") can easily be adapted to a widget.

In most software products (and this is an embedded piece of software), by version 2.0, the UI gets improved. Perhaps, the build quality/materials will get upgraded. Note that very few devices start out perfect, and even TiVo and the iPod got better over time.

Scoble's all wrong on the touchscreen: You don't really want to smudge the screen you are reading (Besides, I don't believe electronic ink works with touchscreen -- yet).

I would think that after working at Microsoft, Scoble would (heh-heh) know better than to buy 1.0 of anything.

~~~

Lets me make a suggestion to help Amazon out:

If Jeff Bezos wants to make the Amazon Kindle "Reader" a breakout iPod-like product, he has an easy solution: Get the price under $200, charge $5-10 per month for the service, and include 2 free books per month at that price. I would also think pre-loading the gadget with a few gratis books was an automatic. Home run!

I am not the road warrior I once was, but if I were, I would definitely have one of these . . .

~~~

Michael Lewis

Guy Kawasaki

Scoble Criticism:

General Overview:

Posted at 06:17 AM in Art & Design, Books | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Until 2002, these giant creatures were seen only occasionally in Japanese waters. But for the past five years, they have been swarming every year into the Sea of Japan, the water that separates Japan from mainland Asia. During the biggest invasion so far, in 2005, an estimated 500 million jellyfish -- not yet mature -- drifted in each day.

It's hard to calculate financial damage to fishermen, but the Japanese government last year counted about 50,000 incidents of jellyfish trouble. Fish poisoned by jellyfish tentacles die with their mouths agape. That mars their appearance and reduces their value by as much as 20%. "When their mouths are wide open, it means they've died going, 'I'm in pain! I'm in pain!' " explains Mr. Yoshida.

Scientists have various ideas about what causes the outbreak. One has devised a computer model of ocean currents that suggests the jellyfish are breeding off the Chinese coast near the mouth of the Yangtze River. One theory is that pollution, perhaps linked to industrialization in China, is helping create more algae in the sea. The algae are food for plankton, which is food for jellyfish.

Source:
Invasion of Jellyfish Envelops Japan In Ocean of Slime
Pink 450-Pound Blobs Clog Nets but Spur New Recipes;
Pointing Fingers at China
SEBASTIAN MOFFETT
WSJ, November 27, 2007; Page A1
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119612452419404666.html

Posted at 06:09 AM in Food and Drink, Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Across the United States, the number of severe rainfalls and heavy snows has grown significantly in the last half-century, with the greatest increases in New England and the Middle Atlantic region, according to a report released yesterday

Environment America, a national group that advocates new laws and policies to mitigate the effects of climate change, issued the report.

The report, on the group’s Web site, environmentamerica.org, is an independent analysis of precipitation data from 1948 to 2006 that was vetted by two climate scientists.

It shows that the number of downpours and heavy snows has increased by 22 percent to 26 percent across the country since 1948. Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont were among the states in which occurrences of severe precipitation have increased more than 50 percent, according to the report. In Oregon and Florida, however, the incidence of extreme rainfall dropped slightly, though in Florida the drop was not statistically significant.

Source:
Precipitation Across U.S. Intensifies Over 50 Years
FELICITY BARRINGER
Published: December 5, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/05/us/05storms.html

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Live, (and with feedback):

video

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via John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

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Another wicked cool Sony commercial:

Posted at 06:42 AM in Art & Design, Television, Video | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

The Goyim --You gotta love 'em:

Hysterical!

via kirkwalsh

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Amusing:

Posted at 09:33 AM in Film, Humor, Television, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I'll never think of this song quite the same away again

Posted at 05:53 AM in Design, Humor, Television | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

I love the Elitest Music T-Shirt:

The Commonly Accepted Path of Robot Evolution

This is my IM away message

And this is all too true . . .

Posted at 06:20 AM in Shopping | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

With the assistance of Christina Applegate, Samantha Who? writer Bob Kushell helps you survive your marriage during the Writers' Strike.

Posted at 06:05 AM in Humor, Television, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Cool map of cerebrum island:

flickr set

Unit Seven via boingboing

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from Yellow Submarine - Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

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Are we shortening the life of the Universe by merely observing it?

Forget about the threat that mankind poses to the Earth: our very ability to study the heavens may have shortened the inferred lifetime of the cosmos.

That does not mean the field of astronomy does direct harm. A universe with a truncated lifespan may come hand in hand with the ability of astronomers to make cosmological measurements, according to two American scientists who have studied the strange, subtle and cosmic implications of quantum mechanics, the most successful theory we have.

Over the past few years, cosmologists have taken this powerful theory of what happens at the level of subatomic particles and tried to extend it to understand the universe, since it began in the subatomic realm during the Big Bang.

But there is an odd feature of the theory that philosophers and scientists still argue about. In a nutshell, the theory suggests that quantum systems can exist in many different physical configurations at the same time. By observing the system, however, we may pick out one single 'quantum state', and therefore force the system to change its configuration.

Does this mean we can stop recycling . . . ?

Source:
Mankind 'shortening the universe's life'    
Roger Highfield, Science Editor
UK Telegraph 12:01am GMT 21/11/2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2007/11/21/scicosmos121.xml

Posted at 08:51 AM in Science | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack