Table of Contents > Holidays or Holy Days: Does It Matter Which Days We Observe?
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Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Voice of The hidden Romantic
"It's 4:03 A.M. and I can't sleep Without you next to me I Toss and turn like the sea If I drown tonight, bring me Back to life Breathe your breath in me The only thing that I still believe In is you, if you only knew"
Voice of the Hidden Romantic
"It's 4:03 and I can't sleep Without you next to me I Toss and turn like the sea If I drown tonight, bring me Back to life Breathe your breath in me The only thing that I still believe In is you, if you only knew"
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Worlds Most Prestigous Coffee
At the base of the Himalayan Mountains grows the Kopicillac tree.
Upon this tree grows the worlds most prestigous coffee known as
Kopicillac. In these trees also lives the tree cat. The tree cats
eat the Kopicillac beans and then defficate. The locals gather up
these defications and process them. It is the combination of the
gastric juices from the tree cat and the remaining residue from
the Kopicillac that gives this coffee its distinct aroma.
Upon this tree grows the worlds most prestigous coffee known as
Kopicillac. In these trees also lives the tree cat. The tree cats
eat the Kopicillac beans and then defficate. The locals gather up
these defications and process them. It is the combination of the
gastric juices from the tree cat and the remaining residue from
the Kopicillac that gives this coffee its distinct aroma.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
NASA can't detect all earthbound asteroids
US study finds that NASA cannot meet goal of spotting nearly all Earth-threatening asteroids
- - NASA is charged with seeking out nearly all the asteroids that threaten Earth but does not have the money to do the job, a U.S. government report says.
That is because even though Congress assigned the space agency this mission four years ago, it never gave NASA money to build the necessary telescopes, the new National Academy of Sciences report says. Specifically, NASA has been ordered to spot 90 per cent of the potentially deadly rocks hurtling through space by 2020.
Even so, NASA says it has completed about one-third of its assignment with its current telescope system.
NASA estimates that there are about 20,000 asteroids and comets in our solar system that are potential threats to Earth. They are larger than 460 feet (140 metres) in diameter - slightly smaller than a sports stadium in New Orleans. So far, scientists know where about 6,000 of these objects are.
Rocks between 460 feet and 3,280 feet (1,000 metres) in diameter can devastate an entire region but not the entire globe, said Lindley Johnson, NASA's manager of the near-Earth objects program. Objects bigger than that are even more threatening, of course.
Just last month astronomers were surprised when an object of unknown size and origin bashed into Jupiter and created an Earth-sized bruise that is still spreading. Jupiter does get slammed more often than Earth because of its immense gravity, enormous size and location.
Disaster movies like "Armageddon" and near misses in previous years may have scared people and alerted them to a serious issue. But when it comes to doing something about monitoring the threat, the academy concluded "there has been relatively little effort by the U.S. government."
And the U.S. government is practically the only government doing anything at all, the report found.
"It shows we have a problem we're not addressing," said Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, an advocacy group.
NASA calculated that to spot the asteroids as required by law would cost about $800 million between now and 2020, either with a new ground-based telescope or a space observation system, Johnson said. If NASA got only $300 million it could find most asteroids bigger than 1,000 feet (300 metres) across, he said.
But so far NASA has gotten neither sum.
It may never get the money, said John Logsdon, a space policy professor at George Washington University.
"The program is a little bit of a lame duck," Logsdon said. There is not a big enough group pushing for the money, he said.
At the moment, NASA has identified about five near-Earth objects that pose better than a 1-in-a-million risk of hitting our planet and being big enough to cause serious damage, Johnson said. That number changes from time to time, usually with new asteroids added and old ones removed as more information is gathered on their orbits.
The space rocks astronomers are keeping a closest eye on are a 430-foot (130-meter) diameter rock that has a 1-in-3,000 chance of hitting Earth in 2048 and a much-talked about asteroid, Apophis, which is twice that size and has a one-in-43,000 chance of hitting in 2036, 2037 or 2069.
By Seth Borenstein, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON
Last month, NASA started a new Web site for the public to learn about threatening near-Earth objects.
On the Net:
NASA's near-Earth object site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch
- - NASA is charged with seeking out nearly all the asteroids that threaten Earth but does not have the money to do the job, a U.S. government report says.
That is because even though Congress assigned the space agency this mission four years ago, it never gave NASA money to build the necessary telescopes, the new National Academy of Sciences report says. Specifically, NASA has been ordered to spot 90 per cent of the potentially deadly rocks hurtling through space by 2020.
Even so, NASA says it has completed about one-third of its assignment with its current telescope system.
NASA estimates that there are about 20,000 asteroids and comets in our solar system that are potential threats to Earth. They are larger than 460 feet (140 metres) in diameter - slightly smaller than a sports stadium in New Orleans. So far, scientists know where about 6,000 of these objects are.
Rocks between 460 feet and 3,280 feet (1,000 metres) in diameter can devastate an entire region but not the entire globe, said Lindley Johnson, NASA's manager of the near-Earth objects program. Objects bigger than that are even more threatening, of course.
Just last month astronomers were surprised when an object of unknown size and origin bashed into Jupiter and created an Earth-sized bruise that is still spreading. Jupiter does get slammed more often than Earth because of its immense gravity, enormous size and location.
Disaster movies like "Armageddon" and near misses in previous years may have scared people and alerted them to a serious issue. But when it comes to doing something about monitoring the threat, the academy concluded "there has been relatively little effort by the U.S. government."
And the U.S. government is practically the only government doing anything at all, the report found.
"It shows we have a problem we're not addressing," said Louis Friedman, executive director of the Planetary Society, an advocacy group.
NASA calculated that to spot the asteroids as required by law would cost about $800 million between now and 2020, either with a new ground-based telescope or a space observation system, Johnson said. If NASA got only $300 million it could find most asteroids bigger than 1,000 feet (300 metres) across, he said.
But so far NASA has gotten neither sum.
It may never get the money, said John Logsdon, a space policy professor at George Washington University.
"The program is a little bit of a lame duck," Logsdon said. There is not a big enough group pushing for the money, he said.
At the moment, NASA has identified about five near-Earth objects that pose better than a 1-in-a-million risk of hitting our planet and being big enough to cause serious damage, Johnson said. That number changes from time to time, usually with new asteroids added and old ones removed as more information is gathered on their orbits.
The space rocks astronomers are keeping a closest eye on are a 430-foot (130-meter) diameter rock that has a 1-in-3,000 chance of hitting Earth in 2048 and a much-talked about asteroid, Apophis, which is twice that size and has a one-in-43,000 chance of hitting in 2036, 2037 or 2069.
By Seth Borenstein, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON
Last month, NASA started a new Web site for the public to learn about threatening near-Earth objects.
On the Net:
NASA's near-Earth object site: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Left brain's Grocery List...A must Listen
ATTENTION LADIES: If you send your Hubby to the grocery store, make sure you check the list first...
You have to see this, it's a real riot! and believe me, we "all need a good laugh"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YFRUSTiFUs
Jeanne Robertson "Don't send a man to the grocery store!"
Source: www.youtube.com
Jeanne Robertson, award-winning humorist, professional speaker. Check Jeanne Robertson out on iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/JeanneRobertson Daily on
You have to see this, it's a real riot! and believe me, we "all need a good laugh"...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YFRUSTiFUs
Jeanne Robertson "Don't send a man to the grocery store!"
Source: www.youtube.com
Jeanne Robertson, award-winning humorist, professional speaker. Check Jeanne Robertson out on iTunes: http://www.itunes.com/JeanneRobertson Daily on
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Why Dogs can't use Computers
1. He’s distracted by cats chasing his mouse.
2. SIT and STAY were hard enough; CUT and PASTE are out of the question.
3. The fire hydrant icon is simply too frustrating.
4. He can’t help attacking the screen when he hears “You’ve Got Mail”.
5. It’s too messy to “mark” every Web site he visits.
6. He can’t stick his head out of Windows
2. SIT and STAY were hard enough; CUT and PASTE are out of the question.
3. The fire hydrant icon is simply too frustrating.
4. He can’t help attacking the screen when he hears “You’ve Got Mail”.
5. It’s too messy to “mark” every Web site he visits.
6. He can’t stick his head out of Windows
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Drinking Coffee keeps you Healthy
A cup of coffee a day keeps the doctor away
For years coffee has endured a bad rap, but experts now say the caffeine content can actually do you some good.
Every morning Lesli Boldt starts her day with a serious cup of coffee -- a two-shot espresso with hot water. “I have one coffee a day and I want it to be a good one,” says Lesli, 35, a manager of marketing and communications for the Vancouver Public Library.
Not only does Lesli's coffee taste good, but new research suggests that it may also be good for her. Recent studies have found that drinking coffee can actually be a healthy habit, enhancing athletic performance, increasing mental alertness and protecting against serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even liver and colon cancers. “Coffee consumption fits into a very healthy diet and, if anything, may have a beneficial effect,” Dr. Eileen Madden, a toxicologist and food-safety expert, told a symposium on coffee and health last fall at the New York Academy of Sciences.
That's surprising news for most Canadians who love coffee but treat it as something of a guilty pleasure. Canadians have mixed feelings about the beverage they love to drink, says Massimo Marcone, a food scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario who has studied coffee production and consumption all over the world. “People have a preconceived idea about coffee -- they think it's bad for you,” he says.
And no wonder. Almost every day media reports tell us that consuming coffee may be associated with serious health problems, such as osteoporosis, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, infertility, fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), breast cancer and even miscarriage. But, say the experts, many of those findings were based on poorly designed research and were not supported by further studies.
The benefits of coffee
If you love coffee, here's some of the latest good news.
• A study of 90,000 Japanese by the National Cancer Center in Tokyo found that people who drank one to four cups of coffee daily had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee. Researchers aren't sure why, but they speculate that antioxidants may play a role.
• A study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health that followed more than 125,000 men and women for more than a decade found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 (or late-onset) diabetes. Studies in Sweden and Finland also concluded that coffee consumption offers protection from type 2 diabetes. Again, researchers aren't sure why.
• A half-dozen recent international studies showed a positive relationship between drinking caffeinated beverages -- including coffee -- and lower rates of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
• Other research links coffee consumption with reduced risk of cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer and asthma.
• A cup or two of coffee can improve endurance in activities such as running, cycling and swimming, according to other research. Coffee has a strong ergogenic effect, meaning it helps people work harder and longer, explains Lawrence Spriet, an exercise physiologist at the University of Guelph who has researched the effects of caffeine on athletic performance for more than a decade. "Even small amounts of caffeine can be quite powerful,” he says.
It's still too early for blanket endorsements, but this kind of evidence has many scientists cautiously optimistic about the health-enhancing powers of coffee. "There is some solid scientific data that show there are some health benefits to moderate coffee consumption," says Marcone.
That's good news, especially for the 81 per cent of Canadians who drink coffee occasionally and the more than 63 per cent (18 years of age and over) who drink it every day. The average Canadian consumes about 2.6 cups of coffee a day.
Caffeine is the key
Although there are about 2,000 substances in a cup of coffee, its main active ingredient is caffeine, a naturally occurring alkaloid. Tea leaves, cola nuts and cocoa beans also contain caffeine, but coffee beans have far more. An eight-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 135 milligrams of caffeine compared with 36 to 46 milligrams for the same amount of cola and 43 milligrams for the same amount of average-blend tea (instant coffee contains 76 to 106 milligrams of caffeine).
Caffeine acts as a stimulant, promoting the release of adrenaline in the body and suppressing a natural relaxant in the brain called adenosine. The result? Less fatigue, elevated mood, increased alertness and more energy. Not surprisingly, people who need to drive long distances, focus on a project, work a night shift or fight off jet lag drink caffeinated drinks to stay alert. The stimulating effects of caffeine may also result in enhanced athletic performance.
The benefits are a blessing to coffee lovers, but there's a price to pay. Because caffeine is a mild stimulant to the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, it can temporarily raise your blood pressure and, in larger doses, cause sleeplessness, anxiety and nervousness. “Caffeine jazzes up your body and creates a stress reaction,” explains Dr. David Posen, a stress-management consultant in Oakville, Ont.
Caffeine is habit-forming, too, and although not technically addictive, it can cause some mild withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue or drowsiness if you stop cold turkey.
Moderation is best
So what's the bottom line? Overall, coffee consumed in moderation is safe. After reviewing numerous studies on the effects of caffeine on human health, researchers at Health Canada recently concluded that for the average adult, a moderate intake of caffeine (400 to 450 milligrams per day, or the equivalent of three to four 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee) “is not associated with any adverse effects.”
Marcone agrees, saying, “As long as you stay within the guidelines, you're safe, and I'm confident of that based on the best science.”
Rosie Schwartz, an author and dietitian in Toronto, also concurs with this assessment. “Moderation is the best approach,” she says.
You're the best judge of your coffee capacity, but remember that your response to caffeine may change over time. “The key,” says Schwartz, “is to figure out how it's affecting you. Listen to what your body is telling you.”
If you're feeling stressed, jittery or are having trouble sleeping, Posen recommends that you gradually reduce your coffee intake as an experiment. And he suggests that you don't drink coffee after lunchtime.
Similarly, if you're planning to get pregnant or are already pregnant or breastfeeding, you should consider moderating your intake of caffeine. Health Canada recommends a maximum of 300 milligrams per day (about two to three 8-ounce cups) of brewed coffee. Although there are no definitive studies showing adverse effects, Schwartz advises pregnant women to drink even less than the two to three cups recommended by Health Canada. “It's best to err on the side of caution,” she says.
If you love coffee and want to drink several cups a day, Schwartz has some great advice: use good quality coffee, but try a blend of half-caffeinated and half-decaffeinated. And if too much coffee irritates your stomach, giving you indigestion or heartburn, try a low-acid coffee, says Schwartz.
“Coffee, in moderation, is one of life's great pleasures,” says Marcone. “You should not feel guilty when you're drinking it. When you have a cup of coffee, enjoy it.”
The caffeine content of your favourite drink
The caffeine content of coffee varies depending on how the beans are roasted, the amount of coffee used per cup and how it is brewed. For soft drinks, the caffeine content is consistent.
Espresso coffee (1.5 to 2 oz)
45 to 100 mg of caffeine
Red Bull energy drink (8.2 oz)
80 mg of caffeine
Brewed coffee (8 oz)
80 to 135 mg of caffeine
Cola beverages (12 oz)
43 to 55 mg of caffeine
Warning: Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines contain significant amounts of caffeine. Be sure to check the label or talk with your pharmacist or other primary care provider before taking them.
By Paul Benedetti (canadianliving.com)
For years coffee has endured a bad rap, but experts now say the caffeine content can actually do you some good.
Every morning Lesli Boldt starts her day with a serious cup of coffee -- a two-shot espresso with hot water. “I have one coffee a day and I want it to be a good one,” says Lesli, 35, a manager of marketing and communications for the Vancouver Public Library.
Not only does Lesli's coffee taste good, but new research suggests that it may also be good for her. Recent studies have found that drinking coffee can actually be a healthy habit, enhancing athletic performance, increasing mental alertness and protecting against serious diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even liver and colon cancers. “Coffee consumption fits into a very healthy diet and, if anything, may have a beneficial effect,” Dr. Eileen Madden, a toxicologist and food-safety expert, told a symposium on coffee and health last fall at the New York Academy of Sciences.
That's surprising news for most Canadians who love coffee but treat it as something of a guilty pleasure. Canadians have mixed feelings about the beverage they love to drink, says Massimo Marcone, a food scientist and adjunct professor at the University of Guelph in Ontario who has studied coffee production and consumption all over the world. “People have a preconceived idea about coffee -- they think it's bad for you,” he says.
And no wonder. Almost every day media reports tell us that consuming coffee may be associated with serious health problems, such as osteoporosis, elevated cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, infertility, fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), breast cancer and even miscarriage. But, say the experts, many of those findings were based on poorly designed research and were not supported by further studies.
The benefits of coffee
If you love coffee, here's some of the latest good news.
• A study of 90,000 Japanese by the National Cancer Center in Tokyo found that people who drank one to four cups of coffee daily had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee. Researchers aren't sure why, but they speculate that antioxidants may play a role.
• A study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health that followed more than 125,000 men and women for more than a decade found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 (or late-onset) diabetes. Studies in Sweden and Finland also concluded that coffee consumption offers protection from type 2 diabetes. Again, researchers aren't sure why.
• A half-dozen recent international studies showed a positive relationship between drinking caffeinated beverages -- including coffee -- and lower rates of Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.
• Other research links coffee consumption with reduced risk of cirrhosis of the liver, colon cancer and asthma.
• A cup or two of coffee can improve endurance in activities such as running, cycling and swimming, according to other research. Coffee has a strong ergogenic effect, meaning it helps people work harder and longer, explains Lawrence Spriet, an exercise physiologist at the University of Guelph who has researched the effects of caffeine on athletic performance for more than a decade. "Even small amounts of caffeine can be quite powerful,” he says.
It's still too early for blanket endorsements, but this kind of evidence has many scientists cautiously optimistic about the health-enhancing powers of coffee. "There is some solid scientific data that show there are some health benefits to moderate coffee consumption," says Marcone.
That's good news, especially for the 81 per cent of Canadians who drink coffee occasionally and the more than 63 per cent (18 years of age and over) who drink it every day. The average Canadian consumes about 2.6 cups of coffee a day.
Caffeine is the key
Although there are about 2,000 substances in a cup of coffee, its main active ingredient is caffeine, a naturally occurring alkaloid. Tea leaves, cola nuts and cocoa beans also contain caffeine, but coffee beans have far more. An eight-ounce cup of brewed coffee has about 135 milligrams of caffeine compared with 36 to 46 milligrams for the same amount of cola and 43 milligrams for the same amount of average-blend tea (instant coffee contains 76 to 106 milligrams of caffeine).
Caffeine acts as a stimulant, promoting the release of adrenaline in the body and suppressing a natural relaxant in the brain called adenosine. The result? Less fatigue, elevated mood, increased alertness and more energy. Not surprisingly, people who need to drive long distances, focus on a project, work a night shift or fight off jet lag drink caffeinated drinks to stay alert. The stimulating effects of caffeine may also result in enhanced athletic performance.
The benefits are a blessing to coffee lovers, but there's a price to pay. Because caffeine is a mild stimulant to the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, it can temporarily raise your blood pressure and, in larger doses, cause sleeplessness, anxiety and nervousness. “Caffeine jazzes up your body and creates a stress reaction,” explains Dr. David Posen, a stress-management consultant in Oakville, Ont.
Caffeine is habit-forming, too, and although not technically addictive, it can cause some mild withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, fatigue or drowsiness if you stop cold turkey.
Moderation is best
So what's the bottom line? Overall, coffee consumed in moderation is safe. After reviewing numerous studies on the effects of caffeine on human health, researchers at Health Canada recently concluded that for the average adult, a moderate intake of caffeine (400 to 450 milligrams per day, or the equivalent of three to four 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee) “is not associated with any adverse effects.”
Marcone agrees, saying, “As long as you stay within the guidelines, you're safe, and I'm confident of that based on the best science.”
Rosie Schwartz, an author and dietitian in Toronto, also concurs with this assessment. “Moderation is the best approach,” she says.
You're the best judge of your coffee capacity, but remember that your response to caffeine may change over time. “The key,” says Schwartz, “is to figure out how it's affecting you. Listen to what your body is telling you.”
If you're feeling stressed, jittery or are having trouble sleeping, Posen recommends that you gradually reduce your coffee intake as an experiment. And he suggests that you don't drink coffee after lunchtime.
Similarly, if you're planning to get pregnant or are already pregnant or breastfeeding, you should consider moderating your intake of caffeine. Health Canada recommends a maximum of 300 milligrams per day (about two to three 8-ounce cups) of brewed coffee. Although there are no definitive studies showing adverse effects, Schwartz advises pregnant women to drink even less than the two to three cups recommended by Health Canada. “It's best to err on the side of caution,” she says.
If you love coffee and want to drink several cups a day, Schwartz has some great advice: use good quality coffee, but try a blend of half-caffeinated and half-decaffeinated. And if too much coffee irritates your stomach, giving you indigestion or heartburn, try a low-acid coffee, says Schwartz.
“Coffee, in moderation, is one of life's great pleasures,” says Marcone. “You should not feel guilty when you're drinking it. When you have a cup of coffee, enjoy it.”
The caffeine content of your favourite drink
The caffeine content of coffee varies depending on how the beans are roasted, the amount of coffee used per cup and how it is brewed. For soft drinks, the caffeine content is consistent.
Espresso coffee (1.5 to 2 oz)
45 to 100 mg of caffeine
Red Bull energy drink (8.2 oz)
80 mg of caffeine
Brewed coffee (8 oz)
80 to 135 mg of caffeine
Cola beverages (12 oz)
43 to 55 mg of caffeine
Warning: Some prescription and over-the-counter medicines contain significant amounts of caffeine. Be sure to check the label or talk with your pharmacist or other primary care provider before taking them.
By Paul Benedetti (canadianliving.com)
Friday, June 26, 2009
Farewell to the King of PoP - Michael Jackson
And so the life of Michael Jackson came to an end Thursday, June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson was a phenomenal talent and has been around since I first started listening to pop music. To children of the 80s, Thriller was to pop music discovery what Charlotte's Web was to kiddie lit or Raiders of the Lost Ark was to Adventure flicks. I was ten years old in 1982, when Thriller was released, and it was the greatest thing we kids had ever heard in our lives.
Thriller became the bestselling album of all time and an incredible and unprecedented seven of its nine tracks became top ten singles. The funk pop record bore smatterings of hard rock with a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen. It guested Paul McCartney on a duet, and Vincent Price offered his spooky spoken word for the title track. The Thriller mini movie video broke ground and is often called the best music video of all time. The iconic zombie dance lives on to this day, performed all over the globe, not least impressively by these Filipino inmates. The song styles ran a gamut from the rather menacing Wanna Be Starting Something? to the syrupy ballads, The Lady in My Life and Human Nature.
Of course, Thriller wasn't Jackson's first album. It was preceded by the almost equally stellar disco funk of Off the Wall in 1979. Before that he was the star child, recording many a classic track with the Jackson Five. There were other hits too, like Ben, the theme song for a film of the same name about a boy who befriends the leader of a gang of homicidal rats. The song was nominated for an Oscar.
But Thriller was his greatest work. It sold 40 million copies. At the time of its release, fledgling music television stations, MTV and MuchMusic, were still in relative infancy and, though they had never played many black artists in the past, they played Michael Jackson videos "to death" as Allmusic.com puts it. Jackson, with his flamboyant fashion sense and signature dance stylings did more – by virtue of his mindblowing talent - to integrate black music into the mainstream than anyone had before. Kids my age didn't know this at the time, though, since we weren't aware of musical politics and were content to learn how to moonwalk and show up at school wearing just one glove (I can still moonwalk…and think perhaps a fitting tribute would be for everyone to do so on the anniversary of his death next year).
Jackson never quite managed to recapture the success of Thriller. What are the chances of topping the greatest selling album of all time? There was always quite a wait between albums. In 1987, Jackson released Bad. And while the tour became the highest grossing of all time and the album was the first to produce five number one hits, it sold only 8 million copies.
Meanwhile, Jackson's bizarre behaviour – his friendship with pet chimp Bubbles, his Neverland Ranch and penchant for the company of children, his reclusive habits, and the whitening of his skin, later said to be a case of vitiligo – was fuelling fires of speculation and vitriol. The British tabloid press started calling him "Wacko Jacko."
Dismayed by the moniker, for obvious reasons, Michael was calling himself the "King of Pop" by the time he released Dangerous in 1991. Dangerous debuted at number one but the musical landscape was shifting and soon Nirvana's Nevermind knocked it out of place.
From there, it was a slow, strange downslide for Michael. Amid allegations of child molestation in both 1993 and 2004 (dropped and dismissed, respectively), two failed marriages – one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie, the other to nurse Debbie Rowe who bore him two children – Jackson's reputation suffered further. His appearance became increasingly bizarre through cosmetic surgery. I think many of us were always waiting for him to turn around and do something amazing, praying he'd pull himself out of the funk (the wrong kind). And we were increasingly disappointed when he repeatedly failed to do so. It was ten years between Dangerous and 2001's Invincible, which only proved that he was not.
Michael suffered severe financial trouble, had a very public fallout with Tommy Mottola of Sony Music and lost his Neverland Ranch. There was more. But we were all there. We all know what happened. Michael Jackson had become a very tragic figure.
Recently Michael announced a comeback. Looking frail, he gave a press conference, promising ten shows at London's O2 Arena. Ten later became 50.
And many of us were sceptical. We knew he wasn't going to perform those shows. There was no way. He was too sickly looking. Something was fishy from the start. I blogged my predictions and was surprised by the voracity of the insults that popped up in the comments section - directed at me - from people rushing to his defence.
Five shows were later cancelled and moved to the end of the run. He was reportedly diagnosed with skin cancer. And now he's dead. I know this sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory in the making but I have to say I wonder whether Michael was coerced into these concerts, with someone else pulling the strings. I will be very surprised if any of the 750,000 people who bought tickets to those shows get their money back. And I'm no financial expert but I'm guessing there's quite a windfall of cash there. So, what I'm saying is, I suspect there's more to this story, even if we will never know what it is. Or maybe I'm crazy.
Meanhwhile, I just heard the Reverend Al Sharpton on television suggesting Michael died of a broken heart. Fitting, if overly poetic. Life was not kind to Michael.
But how about that Thriller, eh? Good night King of Pop. You were certainly off the wall.
Story by: Elizabeth Bromstein
Michael Jackson was a phenomenal talent and has been around since I first started listening to pop music. To children of the 80s, Thriller was to pop music discovery what Charlotte's Web was to kiddie lit or Raiders of the Lost Ark was to Adventure flicks. I was ten years old in 1982, when Thriller was released, and it was the greatest thing we kids had ever heard in our lives.
Thriller became the bestselling album of all time and an incredible and unprecedented seven of its nine tracks became top ten singles. The funk pop record bore smatterings of hard rock with a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen. It guested Paul McCartney on a duet, and Vincent Price offered his spooky spoken word for the title track. The Thriller mini movie video broke ground and is often called the best music video of all time. The iconic zombie dance lives on to this day, performed all over the globe, not least impressively by these Filipino inmates. The song styles ran a gamut from the rather menacing Wanna Be Starting Something? to the syrupy ballads, The Lady in My Life and Human Nature.
Of course, Thriller wasn't Jackson's first album. It was preceded by the almost equally stellar disco funk of Off the Wall in 1979. Before that he was the star child, recording many a classic track with the Jackson Five. There were other hits too, like Ben, the theme song for a film of the same name about a boy who befriends the leader of a gang of homicidal rats. The song was nominated for an Oscar.
But Thriller was his greatest work. It sold 40 million copies. At the time of its release, fledgling music television stations, MTV and MuchMusic, were still in relative infancy and, though they had never played many black artists in the past, they played Michael Jackson videos "to death" as Allmusic.com puts it. Jackson, with his flamboyant fashion sense and signature dance stylings did more – by virtue of his mindblowing talent - to integrate black music into the mainstream than anyone had before. Kids my age didn't know this at the time, though, since we weren't aware of musical politics and were content to learn how to moonwalk and show up at school wearing just one glove (I can still moonwalk…and think perhaps a fitting tribute would be for everyone to do so on the anniversary of his death next year).
Jackson never quite managed to recapture the success of Thriller. What are the chances of topping the greatest selling album of all time? There was always quite a wait between albums. In 1987, Jackson released Bad. And while the tour became the highest grossing of all time and the album was the first to produce five number one hits, it sold only 8 million copies.
Meanwhile, Jackson's bizarre behaviour – his friendship with pet chimp Bubbles, his Neverland Ranch and penchant for the company of children, his reclusive habits, and the whitening of his skin, later said to be a case of vitiligo – was fuelling fires of speculation and vitriol. The British tabloid press started calling him "Wacko Jacko."
Dismayed by the moniker, for obvious reasons, Michael was calling himself the "King of Pop" by the time he released Dangerous in 1991. Dangerous debuted at number one but the musical landscape was shifting and soon Nirvana's Nevermind knocked it out of place.
From there, it was a slow, strange downslide for Michael. Amid allegations of child molestation in both 1993 and 2004 (dropped and dismissed, respectively), two failed marriages – one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie, the other to nurse Debbie Rowe who bore him two children – Jackson's reputation suffered further. His appearance became increasingly bizarre through cosmetic surgery. I think many of us were always waiting for him to turn around and do something amazing, praying he'd pull himself out of the funk (the wrong kind). And we were increasingly disappointed when he repeatedly failed to do so. It was ten years between Dangerous and 2001's Invincible, which only proved that he was not.
Michael suffered severe financial trouble, had a very public fallout with Tommy Mottola of Sony Music and lost his Neverland Ranch. There was more. But we were all there. We all know what happened. Michael Jackson had become a very tragic figure.
Recently Michael announced a comeback. Looking frail, he gave a press conference, promising ten shows at London's O2 Arena. Ten later became 50.
And many of us were sceptical. We knew he wasn't going to perform those shows. There was no way. He was too sickly looking. Something was fishy from the start. I blogged my predictions and was surprised by the voracity of the insults that popped up in the comments section - directed at me - from people rushing to his defence.
Five shows were later cancelled and moved to the end of the run. He was reportedly diagnosed with skin cancer. And now he's dead. I know this sounds like a crazy conspiracy theory in the making but I have to say I wonder whether Michael was coerced into these concerts, with someone else pulling the strings. I will be very surprised if any of the 750,000 people who bought tickets to those shows get their money back. And I'm no financial expert but I'm guessing there's quite a windfall of cash there. So, what I'm saying is, I suspect there's more to this story, even if we will never know what it is. Or maybe I'm crazy.
Meanhwhile, I just heard the Reverend Al Sharpton on television suggesting Michael died of a broken heart. Fitting, if overly poetic. Life was not kind to Michael.
But how about that Thriller, eh? Good night King of Pop. You were certainly off the wall.
Story by: Elizabeth Bromstein
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Bewerp - Worlds Fastest 4 door Convertible
Bewerp launches four-door Savage Rivale Roadyacht convertible
Over the past couple of years, the number of upstart supercar manufacturers has bloomed. Brands such as Zenvo, Ascari, SSC and others have brought their six-figure machines to market to challenge more storied brands like Ferrari and Lamborghini.
Some, however, are a little more quirky than others. A prime example is this, the oddly-named Bewerp Savage Rivale Rodyacht GTS.
But the name isn’t the only peculiar thing about this Dutch droptop. Firstly, there’s the way it looks. It’s a bit odd, and rather angular in a cool, Italian ‘80s Lamborghini Countach kind of way, and what’s more is that its beetle-style doors should give Lamborghini’s a run for the money. Traffic pylon paintjob aside, its kitsch factor is furthered by the fact that its doors can be opened remotely via a custom wristwatch.
The second odd thing is the fact that the Roadyacht is a four-door convertible, a body configuration that isn’t popular. Besides the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, I’m hard pressed to think of another four-door droptop.
Last but not least is its performance. Based on the Chevrolet Corvette, the Roadyacht GTS is powered by a supercharged LS7 V8 that develops 670 horsepower and 538 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine provides sufficient power to propel it to 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds, and to 200 km/h in less than 35 seconds.
With a top speed of 330 km/h, the Bewerp is also the world’s fastest four-seat convertible, snatching the title from the 322 km/h Bentley Continental GTC Speed.
By Justin Couture
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