Obama Is The New Black

Those of you out there in Hollywood have probably seen graphic illustrated posters here and there promoting Illinois senator Barack Obama’s political campaign. The Obama Hope Edition Henna-like styled posters are already en route to Texas and Ohio for the primaries in those states and the limited edition silk screened/signed versions will be available shortly via the website Upper Playground.

You’d have to be deader than a zombie in a George A. Romero movie if you have not noticed how we, the denizens of this country, in complicity with the press have turned Barack Obama into an icon of popular culture. Or is it the media that is leading the way? In any event, there are star-studded music videos lauding Obama, all kinds of articles of clothing with his likeness, bumper stickers galore, psychedelic posters… Heck, there is even an online musical I posted about on this blog called “Barackula”! Obama has become the new black (pun completely unintended) and has taken on the persona of a “Rock Star” mesmerizing thousands with his rhetoric, great charisma and profound speeches perhaps reminiscent, many have pointed out, of another American icon John F. Kennedy.

Will the love fest change if Obama wins the Democratic nomination and goes on to become number 44? Hell yea! At the risk of making a huge generalization, we are a fickle society that tends to get bored easily. So off course the honeymoon is going to end in a bitter divorce! It is just a matter of when.

posters

Politicians and Thieves. Or Am I Being Redundant?

Politicians and Thieves
But how do you know which one is which? Hint-the politicians are the ones wearing the expensive suitsThe only rats we cannot eliminate. Call us for all other kinds of pests. The line and the images are from a commercial for a pest control company in Venezuela.

Via

Sleeping With...Hitler?

Travelers to Serbia can share a room with some of the world's most famous and notorious leaders.

In Belgrade's Mr. President Hotel, visitors are able to choose rooms adorned with portraits of figures such as the Soviet leader Stalin, former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, Cuba's Fidel Castro and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. And owner Dragan Zabunovic's political theme idea is proving surprisingly popular even though there has been some protest coming from Serbia's small Jewish minority.

Would you sleep with the fuhrer? I would not sleep in that room. I believe in karma and wherever that dude is, he's not in a good place. Karma is indeed quite a bitch.

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Game Life. The Graphics Are Really Nice

In this first episode of Game|Life, No More Heroes Wii) and Rez HD (Xbox 360) are reviewed, two games with no shortage of amazing graphic style. Which one comes out on top?


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Pimp Your Ride With 23 Carats Of Diamonds!

Talk about pimpin' your ride! Mattel added a little extra bling to a Hot Wheels car to commemorate the production of the 4 billionth Hot Wheels vehicle. The 18-karat white gold-jeweled car is valued at $140,000 and is encrusted with 2,700 diamonds weighing nearly 23 carats in total weight. This Matell model car is on display at the "Millionaire's Fair" which is currently being held in Moscow.
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Alburquerque, New Mexico Hot Air Balloon Fiesta 2007: The Darth Vader Balloon

Feb 14, 1929: Al Capone's St. Valentine's Day Massacre In Chicago

The Infamous Al Capone




Written by Tony Long

1929: The art of the gangland slaying takes a quantum leap when mobsters working for Al Capone use the cutting-edge technology of the day -- the Thompson submachine gun -- to wipe out a rival gang in a garage on Chicago's North Side.

The St. Valentine's Day massacre wasn't the first time a mobster used the Tommy gun in a rub-out, but the slaughter -- seven men were killed -- was unprecedented and therefore shocking, even by jaded Chicago standards.

The massacre was ordered by Capone to wipe out George "Bugs" Moran and his North Side Gang, which was muscling in on Capone's bootlegging operations. The plan was to lure Moran and as many of his men as possible to a garage at 2122 North Clark Street and take care of business there. Although a shipment of smuggled alcohol is usually given as the bait used, what actually brought Moran's men there that night remains unclear.

Moran, however, was a no-show. A Capone lookout mistakenly identified one of the mobsters as Moran, and Capone's men closed in. Two of them, disguised as cops, succeeded in disarming Moran's mugs, who probably suspected some kind of shakedown. The "cops" lined up the gangsters against the back wall of the garage as if they were going to be frisked. They were, with .45 caliber slugs from a couple of Thompsons brought in by two plain-clothed killers.

Although the Tommy guns provided plenty of firepower, these were professionals. The executioners used shotguns to seal the deal.

Incredibly, one of the victims, Frank Gusenberg, was discovered alive and made it to the hospital, even reviving briefly before dying. True to the gangsters' code, though, he went to his grave without squealing. "I'm not gonna talk. Nobody shot me," Gusenberg said before expiring.

Lacking eyewitnesses, the police made no arrests, even though there was never a doubt who lay behind the St. Valentine's Day massacre. And if Capone failed to physically eliminate Moran, the damage was done. Moran lost power and eventually control of the North Side.

As for the Thompson, although it went on to be used effectively during World War II, it will forever be identified as the mob's favorite weapon.

From Wired "Feb. 14, 1929: Al Capone's .45 Caliber Valentine"

Google's Android Makes Its Public Debut

BARCELONA — The Mobile World Congress became the coming-out party for Google's Android OS as four mobile processor vendors showed off pre-production devices running versions of Android.

Google's Android is a Linux-based, open operating system for mobile phones that will sport Google applications. It will be free for manufacturers to adopt, though how free and open the actual phones end up being will be up to phone manufacturers and wireless carriers.

The biggest surprise of the demos was how well Android runs on slow devices. TI showed Android on a Motorola Q-like QWERTY handheld with their 200 Mhz OMAP 850 platform, where the user interface felt smooth and fast, even with little Apple-like animated transitions between screens.
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"Back To The Future" For Real? - Russian Mathemeticians Say It May Be Possible

TREND HUNTER

Nuclear scientists at CERN (European Organisation for Nuclear Research) are planning an experiment that could make that a possibility, according to Irina Aref’eva and Igor Volovich, of Moscow’s Steklov Mathematical Institute. CERN’s high energy atom-smashing tests could “create a rift in the fabric of the universe” that could “open the door to visitors from the future” by warping space-time so much that a link, or “wormhole” is formed connecting the present to the future.

Other scientists, however aren’t convinced. According to the Daily Mail, “Dr Brian Cox, a member of CERN and one of Britain’s leading experts in particle physics, is highly sceptical about the Russian claims, calling them “nothing more than a good science fiction story"”. He explains, “Cosmic ray collisions in the upper atmosphere are far more energetic than anything we can produce...and no time travelers have appeared”.

Sexy Ads Upset The Pope

Warning-You May Find This Post Offensive

(TREND HUNTER) Sex has been used to sell for decades, but in recent years, some companies have really cranked up the raciness in their ads, raising a lot of controversy. That's the whole point of ads though; if it gets people talking, it's doing exactly what it's meant to be doing: raising brand awareness.
The latest in buzzworthy ads is the new Equinox Fitness ad campaign, “Happily Ever.” One image features a group of nuns (one revealing a sexy garter!) sketching a still life portrait of a very chiseled, naked model who looks much like Michelangelo’s David. Judging by their facial expressions, they’re quite amused by the features of their manly muse.

Not so amused, however is the Catholic church.

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The Coffee Cup PC

The Yuno PC is a new personal computer concept designed to help you get the most out of your morning without holding you back or constraining you to a desktop PC. Everyone has their own routine, what they read, watch, listen to, and of course drink. The Yuno PC mug incorporates all the important morning alerts such as weather, time, traffic, stocks, and more on its touchscreen display. You can also display your own images as a screen saver if you just want to relax. It lets you enjoy the morning the way you deserve to, stress free and highly caffeinated.

Designer: Jason Farsai


computer and coffee on the go

Wanna listen to every track of the biggest and best and most hotly anticipated new albums about to drop?

You've heard the buzz behind those hot new albums about to drop. So, now do you wanna listen to brand-new album releases before they're available in stores or anywhere else online? Wanna listen to every track of the biggest and best and most hotly anticipated new albums about to drop? Of course you do! Get a jump on new music on The Leak. The Leak is your ultimate go-to online source for exclusive album premieres by the biggest names in pop, hip-hop, rock, rap, R&B, indie rock and more by your favorite artists.

Stay ahead of the pack and on top of everything that's happening in music on The Leak. It's a chance to listen to new albums in their entirety, from start to finish. Why? Because we love music too. And where did waiting ever get anyone? Listen to full-length albums before their official release, only on The Leak.



From MTV.com

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Google Works to Torpedo Microsoft Bid for Yahoo

Microsoft made a $44.6 billion bid on Friday for Yahoo, the popular search engine based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Yahoo’s rival, Google, has been working behind the scenes to stop the deal.


By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN and MIGUEL HELFT, The New York Times
Published: February 4, 2008

Standing between a marriage of Microsoft and Yahoo may be the technology behemoth that has continually outsmarted them: Google.
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Times Topic: Google Inc.

In an unusually aggressive effort to prevent Microsoft from moving forward with its $44.6 billion hostile bid for Yahoo, Google emerged over the weekend with plans to play the role of spoiler.

Publicly, Google came out against the deal, contending in a statement that the pairing, proposed by Microsoft on Friday in the form of a hostile offer, would pose threats to competition that need to be examined by policy makers around the world.

Privately, Google, seeing the potential deal as a direct attack, went much further. Its chief executive, Eric E. Schmidt, placed a call to Yahoo’s chief, Jerry Yang, offering the company’s help in fending off Microsoft, possibly in the form of a partnership between the companies, people briefed on the call said.

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Three Plead Guilty in Nigerian Spam Scheme

From PC World
Grant Gross, IDG News Service
Saturday, February 02, 2008 8:00 AM PST

Three people have pleaded guilty to charges related to spam e-mail that promised U.S. victims millions of dollars from an estate and a lottery, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

In one scenario, the defendants sent e-mails purporting to be from an individual suffering from terminal throat cancer who needed assistance distributing approximately US$55 million to charity, the DOJ said.

The three defendants, two from Nigeria and one from Senegal, sent spam e-mail to thousands of potential victims, in which they falsely claimed to control millions of dollars located abroad, the DOJ said in a press release. The fraud victims lost $1.2 million by giving the defendants advance fees, the DOJ said.

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Click on the thumbnail of the letter above and you will see a scam letter I received today where I am notified, in a rather clumsy way, by purported World Bank Auditors that I am the lucky winner of 12 million eight hundred and fifty thousand dollars. That is what those letters usually look like. They ask for personal information and once you provide it, they get in touch with you to ask for some sort of payment to cover their expenses or something like that.

As much as we may want to dream and fantasize that a scenario like that is within the realm of the possible, bottom line is that there is no such thing as a "free lunch" to use that old cliche. If it sounds too good to be true, chances are that it is a scam.

Food Fight!: A Short History Of War Through Foods

This is a very interesting approach on the subject of war. Noah Shachtman from Wired magazine says in his February 1, 2008 article "Video: A Tasty History of War": "From Here to Eternity, it ain't. But this trailer for Food Fight -- "an abridged history of war, from World War II to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict" -- is silly enough to waste a few minutes of your work day."Watch as traditional comestibles slug it out for world domination in this chronologically re-enacted smorgasbord of aggression!"

As Mr.Shachtman stated above, the history is indeed very, very abridged so don't expect a tremendous variety of foods from all continents. You will however see the ubiquitous hamburger's presence in all of these conflicts and you will also see, in an irreverent and comical sort of way with this short video, the convoluted disarray armed conflicts leave behind and in that regard, my question is: Who the hell cleans up the mess afterwards? But Food Fight -- "an abridged history of war, from World War II to present day, told through the foods of the countries in conflict" is not the sort of film production that lends itself to very serious intellectual discussion. Clearly, that's not what its meant to do. Its hamburgers and sushi and egg rolls, among other comestibles, duking it out for crying out loud! But its silly enough to be entertaining.

Feb. 1, 1893: Lights! Kinetograph! Action!

By Tony Long, Wired

1893: What is generally regarded as America's first film-production studio, Thomas Edison's "Black Maria," opens in West Orange, New Jersey.

Black Maria (pronounced "Mah-RYE-uh") was known more formally as the Kinetographic Theater -- after the Kinetograph, a forerunner of the movie camera. It was built on the grounds of Edison's laboratories. The Kinetoscope (a forerunner of the projector) had been developed there as well, by one of the inventor's underlings.

Black Maria (nicknamed by assistants who likened its cramped quarters to the black marias, or paddy wagons, used by the police) was where Edison staged his first public demonstrations of films made for the Kinetoscope viewer.

One of the earliest films made there was The Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze, known more colloquially as Fred Ott's Sneeze. And that's exactly what it was: a short film of a guy called Fred Ott, sneezing for the camera.

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Fred Ott's Sneeze and other short features from the 1890's from Edison's Black Maria film-production studio.

Barack Obama, Ron Paul Confirmed For MTV/MySpace's 'Closing Arguments'

Senator, congressman join Senator Hillary Clinton, former Governor Mike Huckabee for Saturday event.

By MTV News staff report

Three days before Super Tuesday, when 23 states hold their presidential-nomination primaries or caucuses, MTV and MySpace will host some of the remaining Democratic and Republican candidates in a "Super" edition of the ongoing MTV/MySpace Presidential Dialogue series.

At 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, "Closing Arguments: A Presidential Super Dialogue" will be broadcast live from the MTV studios in New York. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the two Democratic front-runners, and former Governor Mike Huckabee and Congressman Ron Paul, two of the four remaining Republican candidates, have already been confirmed for the forum, the latest in a collaborative series between MTV and MySpace that has so far hosted events with Senators John McCain and Obama, as well as former senator John Edwards.

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Britney Spears' Police Entourage: How Much Are Taxpayers Dishing Out To Protect Her From Paps?

Swarms of LAPD vehicles and helicopters during her hospital transport was not 'above and beyond,' officials say.

By Gil Kaufman, MTV News

Every time Britney Spears leaves her house, there are a lot of people around to see it, document it and, in the case of the Los Angeles Police Department, make sure no one is injured during the excursion. So, when it came time to transport the troubled singer to the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday morning (January 31) for a mental-health evaluation, you might expect there to be a crowd. Only this time, the police scrum nearly rivaled the horde of paparazzi lying in wait to catch the latest sad chapter in Spears' ongoing public meltdown, raising the question: How much is all of this costing Los Angeles taxpayers?

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