June 18, 2006
Dog Whistle for Teenagers??
Ever forget to turn off your phone or put it on silent when in class? Ever wanted to have a ringtone on and not have your parents hear it? Well you're in luck..
In an article in the New York Times, A Ring Tone Meant to Fall on Deaf Ears PAUL VITELLO reports that this ringtone cannot be heard due to its high pitch and the presbycusis or aging of the ear. If you like link through to the page you can hear or not hear the sound.
Personally I found the sound quite annoying and even heard the sound while the volume was at zero. Maybe this tells me I have awesome hearing but knock on wood I do own iPods. Go ahead and listen to the sound, if you cant hear it, you might have to get your hears checked if you're under the age of 40.
Enjoy the Silence
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September 3, 2005
Wow.. Mr. West... I dont know if shoud give you props or not..
The NBC channels was airing a telethon for the relief of the damage in Louisiana. I didnt really catch much of it, however that night i noticed something that was released on the internet entitled Kanye West blast President Bush, or something to the effects of that. I didnt really take notice of it, because im trying my hardest to keep the bias to a minimal since ive been called a Liberal, like its a curse word or whatever. I dont deal with blantant Politics in my everyday life. I mean its there, but its not like i go around having debates about it. Thats where you are going to set yourself up for trouble.
Kanye West just released him sophomore album which you can listen to here on the right handed side. Its a pretty good album, i wouldnt say its better than the first. The album shows him maturity as an artist and a producer.
Anywho, this morning i see it again. I decided to download it and watch it. All i have to say is that wow, Kanye West must be really really pissed to say what he said. What he said was really specific and called out the character of the President. I mean to add to all the other insults to George W. Bush, like hes uneducated. He is not uneducated people, he went to Yale and graduated there. Is he ignorant? Well thats a total different matter that doesnt involved much education, but i really dont want to go there. West went after him, and it was a pretty big . I have the link to the video and you can judge for yourself. The usual cocky Kanye West, wasnt so cocky. He was trippen over his words, and seem like he just finished having a crying session. I think he was a little nervous to say what he did. You can tell Mike Myers, who was standing with next to him, was as surprised as Chris Tucker, who they cut to right after.
Enough about my commentary and opinions, the following link is where you can download the video yourself and form your own opinions on the matter. One thing i have to state, its not fair how they show a black family getting food and they call it looting, and how they state a white family is looking for food. Its just not right, of course there is looting. Some are looting for person gain, and others are looting to survive...
Download the VIDEO Watch it for yourself.
Honestly.. i dont know what to say. But prayers go out to the families....
Posted by Anh at 4:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 17, 2005
Just read it.. then you can say something..
As far as i know this is a advance preview of this article on amazing Josh Groban. Please do not repost anywhere else. ENJOY!!
Confessions of a choir boy
Beyond the angelic voice and curls, Josh Groban enjoys a good cigar, flouts the speed limit and dreams of hosting Saturday Night Live one day.
By Steven Chean
Predictably, Josh Groban is a very tidy, well-mannered eater. We are in his two-bedroom high roller's suite at the Hotel at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas,where the 24-year-old singer recently performed to a sellout crowd of 12,000 mostly female fans (many old enough to be his mom). A ribbon of windows frames the city's infamous neon skyline. Groban, busy making a sandwich at a buffet table, seems oblivious to the backdrop. He's just a hungry boy, I think, watching him push down the top piece of bread with one hand, then neatly cut the sandwich in half. Actually, he didn't eat the crusts. And he never, ever talked with his mouth full.
By now, most of America knows who Groban is. The boy singer next door. The multiplatinum millionaire recording artist. With soulful eyes and a crown of dark ringlets, he looks barely old enough to drive. So the richness of his operatic baritone comes as a surprise. When he wraps that commanding voice around a pop ballad, you can almost hear his audience (at least the aforementioned females) come apart at the seams. The most loyal fans, dubbed "Grobanites," follow
him from town to town with the worshipful attention given a preacher at a tent revival.
Nearly 10 million copies of Groban's recordings have been sold since he was discovered at age 17 by ueber-producer David Foster, the godfather of sweeping power ballads sung by the likes of Celine Dion and Whitney Houston. Nearly every place Groban plays sells out, including New York's Madison Square Garden. He landed a coveted performance slot at this year's Oscars and has sung in venues as diverse as the Vatican and on "Oprah." Recently, he wrapped a 30-city
tour to promote Josh Groban Live at the Greek, a CD and DVD recorded last September at Los Angeles' Greek Theatre.
How did this superstar ascend to the A-list without the media overexposure that seems to be a prerequisite to modern celebrity? Thanks to carefully scripted appearances, including on PBS' "Great Performances," Groban has managed to climb to the top while keeping a low profile.
"I think what makes him so special is the fact he has this enormous
grass-roots marketing machine behind him," says Miriam DiNunzio, a Chicago Sun-Times entertainment editor. "Let's face it: He's not getting radio play; he's not a staple on MTV or VH1. Yet he's sold [close to 10] million records? He's not part of the crowd, which is what sets him apart. He's not part of the cookie-cutter 'pop music star' vehicle that's so prevalent today, and he doesn't need to
be." Groban avoids the tabloid-feeding party circuit, preferring to hang out with longtime friends from summer arts camp or his girlfriend of almost two years, actress (and Ashton Kutcher's ex) January Jones. Before moving into a new two-bedroom condo in Beverly Hills last year, he lived with his folks in Los Angeles' upscale Hancock Park neighborhood. His close-knit family consists of dad Jack, 59, who owns an executive recruiting firm; mom Lindy, 62, an interior designer; and brother Chris, 20, a film student at the University of Southern California. Who helped to decorate his first bachelor pad? "My mom helped a lot," Groban says. "She knows my style."
Despite this -- may I say it? -- beige image, Groban is not without flash. He savors the occasional cigar (Cuban, no less). He drives a metallic charcoal 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera and has broken the law in it more than once, he confesses: "When I bought it, I said to myself, 'Y'know what? I wanna see what it can do.' I drove out to Vegas and got two speeding tickets -- one on the way there, one on the way back. Clocked me at 100 [mph]," he says, adding, "This is
before I got the radar detector."
Friends agree there's a lighter side to Groban, rarely seen on camera. "From hearing his songs, you might think he's always thinking about landscapes, or singing about rain or sorrow or love," says one of his best friends, New York-based filmmaker Ben Epstein, 23, who met Groban at a summer theater program in Interlochen, Mich., when they were 15. "But he's a very funny person, and you spend a lot of time with him laughing."
And he seems to truly lack the ego that usually accompanies fame and fortune. "One time we went out, and people didn't know who he was and assumed he was just a friend of mine from out of town," Epstein recalls. "One girl asked, 'What do you do?' and Josh said, 'Oh, I'm a singer.' She said, 'Oh, cool. I'm an actress.' They talked for about 10 minutes, and he never let on about what he does. He never went on about how great his life is."
"What separates Josh from other male pop-music stars is that he truly is the boy next door you can take home to Grandma," says Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune music critic Jon Bream. "He is unpretentious and genuinely likable on-and offstage. Middle-aged moms want their daughters to marry him, and young women want to hug him, for starters. Why? Because he's sweet and vulnerable and romantic and cute and has a voice that stands apart. He is the Phantom of the
Popera."
But Groban isn't ready to be labeled a one-note boy singer. What does he sing in the shower? Not Italian love songs. "I'm not a huge romantic song guy ..." he tells me over the phone later.
"You're not?" I reply. "That's kind of surprising."
He pauses. "I know, but I'm really not, and I can't really name you one song. [But] I do a pretty good Eddie Vedder. Even Flow is the one that works best against the [shower] tiles."
Another surprise: Groban does what Epstein calls dead-on impressions of goofball characters like Cartman from "South Park" and "Napoleon Dynamite." At the Las Vegas show, he displays his goofy side. Fans bearing gifts of thick hand-knit scarves are met with "Wow -- these are great" from Groban. Pause. "Too bad I live in Los Angeles," he teases. He reads out loud a sign one female fan holds up -- "Josh, you make us hot and stupid" -- then grabs a fire extinguisher, acts as if he'll pull the pin, then puts it down. The crowd roars. That
Josh, what a cutup.
OK, maybe he is a bit square, but his earnest sweetness is hard to resist. And he's remarkably open-minded musically, critic Bream says: "He is as conversant about Andrea Bocelli as about [the post-punk band] Franz Ferdinand. In concert, he's Pavarotti tripping through an aria in impeccable Italian, and then he'll get as silly as Justin Timberlake between songs," soaking in shouts of "I love you!" for several minutes, smiling, "I'll wait."
"Josh is the real American Idol," Bream says. "Leave the top 40 to Fantasia, Ruben and Kelly, because their combined CD and concert ticket sales don't come close to the numbers Josh has posted."
Groban's ambitions extend further than music. For one, he has his eye on movies. "No matter what business you're in -- music, television -- there is still nothing more powerful than film," says Groban, who first got mainstream notice an episode of TV's Ally McBeal. He longs to lighten up his act as well: "I love comedy. I'd love to host "Saturday Night Live." It's something I've drooled over since I was a kid."
Whatever lies ahead, expect Groban to do it his way. "In this business, it can be very tempting to not be yourself, to follow a formula, and a lot of people have success doing it," Groban says. "I stuck with what I believed in, and the road was much harder, but it was worth it."
Who inspires me to be true to myself
By Josh Groban
One thing my parents always instilled in me is to be true to myself and unwavering in following my instincts. They've always tried to keep me positive. You know the song High Hopes? When I was younger, I had this "I can't, I can't" personality. I had a lot of ability and a love for life and music, but I wouldn't say I had high hopes. I could've raised the bar higher. And my parents were always there just to make sure I knew I could do it.
One of the hardest times I ever had was in junior high. My grades weren't great, it was hard to make friends ... I was pretty miserable, like most kids in junior high! People deal with it in different ways, to try to find who they are. Some do a lot of things they later regret. It was definitely a challenge to stay the course and trust myself, but I managed to do it.
My passion was music, and I felt so lucky to have had that focus. I knew exactly what I wanted, and that really helped me in not feeling like I had to give in to the angst that comes with that time in your life. I had a family that was supportive, and I made sure to soak up culturally all that my city had to offer. The arts made me confident. I had a vision and a path early on that not a lot of kids around me had.
Now, at 24, looking at the new "adult" world around me, some things don't change. It's been a very rewarding last couple of years because I've been able to just go out and be myself. What people see and hear is who I am. The most rewarding risk is the one you take based on trusting the voice inside you. If you make a decision not based on who you really are and it's not a success, you'll always regret it. So far, I have no regrets. I have a lot of choices to make
in the coming years, but knowing they will all come from an honest place makes me excited for the outcome, whatever it is.
A few of his favorite things
Josh likes a Journey tune and a plate of steak and eggs.
-- Gatorade. "I love orange Gatorade. I have a bottle onstage at all times, and I drink a couple bottles before a show. I always have it at home."
-- Cheese. "I don't know whether it's my Scandinavian heritage or what, but I've always loved cheese. Since I was a little kid, I really, really like [Laughing Cow Mini Babybel cheese]. I used to call it 'cookie cheese,' because it's in the shape of a cookie. When you unwrap the red wax, it looks like a Pacman. I'm obsessed with those."
-- Crooners: His favorite is Tony Bennett, left. "One of the great, great romantic singers." Another: Steve Perry. "One Journey song I like a lot is 'Faithfully.' It's about him being on tour and missing his girlfriend, and that gets me. I know what he's talking about."
-- Most likely place to spot Josh: The Original Pantry, 877 S. Figueroa St. in downtown L.A. "I used to go there a lot as a kid. I sit at the counter, have some steak and eggs [$8.25]. Then I'll drive around. I love to drive, even in L.A., where traffic is kind of nuts. My favorite drive is [along the Pacific Coast Highway], from L.A. to Malibu. [Girlfriend] January and I will sometimes go to Gladstone's 4 Fish Malibu [a restaurant overlooking the ocean at 17300 Pacific Coast Highway] and have lunch. It's a beautiful area. I'd love to move
down there eventually."
Meet The Grobanites
They follow him from city to city with the same level of devotion that has driven Deadheads and Phish fans. Grobanites, as fans of Josh are called, express their loyalty in a variety of ways. Ginny Owen, 43, of Meridian, Idaho, and daughter Rachel, 17, reflect his multigenerational appeal. His largely female fan base also includes HOGs, Husbands of Grobanites (Owens and her hubby spent their last anniversary at a Groban concert in Wichita). Owens met her best
friend through a fan site: "I thank Josh for introducing us!"
At friendsofjoshgroban.com, the official fan site run by his record label, Reprise, 12,000 fans shell out $39.95 a year to get never-before-seen video and other stuff. A newsletter is also planned.
Another site, grobanitesforcharity.org, has raised $200,000-plus for Groban's charity work for kids since 2004 through auctions of backstage passes and fans' handmade items (T-shirts, puzzles, even soaps with his image) and personal items (Josh's tennis shoes sold for $480). Marilyn Scandrett, 58, a night nurse from Brick, N.J. (25 concerts), made the $1,500 winning bid for a phone call
from Josh. -- Evan Frank
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April 10, 2005
CBGB... might be coming to an end..
In the recent Rolling Stone, there is a little blurb about the friggin famous Country, Blue Grass, Blues aka CBGB club might be closing. The dang landlord is raising its monthly rent to 40k. Dude that totally hella sucks. I mean they should make this a historical landmark. The Ramones, Talking Heads got their start here in the 70s, and bands still go on to play there. It will suck if the place is forced to close it's doors, i hope not until i make my way back to the NYC to check it out before it does....
Wearing my CBGB shirt loud and proud, after i get it back from the cleaners first...
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April 4, 2005
Pointin' your finger could mean much more...
While we have all these diseases and cancer such as AIDS, Parkinsins, and breast cancer. Many more uncurable things. Scientist have discovered the a corelation of physical agression. When we could use millions of dollars of research on something that would benefit the greater good.
A University of Alberta study finds that measuring a man's index finger length relative to his ring finger length predicts his predisposition to being physically aggressive.
The shorter the index finger relative to the ring finger, the higher the amount of prenatal testosterone and the more likely the man will be physically aggressive, the researchers say.
Well.. in my case.. i am suppose to be aggresive. I mean its not that much shorter i would like to say about a centimeter. Who knows.. i dont think i am aggresive. I never got that way when i wrestled either, so who knows... However, i still want to say that we could be spending all this money on other things.. But then again, we are the United States of America, and if we knew what our millions of dollars of our taxes were going. I think we might reconsider paying them taxes...
USA... the home of the brave..
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February 24, 2005
That is so not HOT!
Paris Hilton. You either love her or you dont. Most of the general public does not for whatever reason. From either not liking her because she is famous for no reason but her being party animal or her infamous sex tape. Anyway you want to put it, shes out there, shes famous, and yes she is overrated, but you hear about her alot because the people want to hear about it no matter how much you disklike her, shes here to stay.
If you have not heard, the T-Mobile Spokesperson had her T-Mobile Sidekick account has been hacked and all her notes, address book, and photos were put online last weekend. If you dont have a T-Mobile Sidekick, the phone is synced with the T-Mobile Servers and you can access all your info on the web throught T-Mobile. I use this function often when i dont have my Sidekick on me, and i need to check phone numbers, emails and so on.
Im sure the first thing you might have been thinking was that, oh her addressbook with all her phone numbers, what famous people would she have on it. It ranges from a famous controversal white rapper to a diirrry pop singer soon to be married and everyone in between. I find it so annoying and unfair to Paris and the people in her phonebook that someone would hack it and put it all over the internet. Changing phone numbers is hard enough already. I am trying to deal with two cell phone accounts and thats already hard. Think about the people on her phonebook who have to update numbers and tell everyone the new numbers. Thats just utterty bullshit. Ive read people tried and call a few numbers where they had full voicemails, not surprised at all. I am connected to Paris and most of the people on her last by minimal of 1 degree of separation and 3 at the most.
However, i found a few things odd. Her photos on her Sidekick that were taken off. She has a few with her topless and one with her kissing another girl. I find that sorta odd to have on your phone but then again, i have a bunch of random images on my phone i wouldnt like to share to the general public. Then certain notes in her notepad were really odd. The one i found odd, said... Tell Ken that Jess wants to bone JT. Took me a second to translate it but i believe Ken is referring to Nick Lachey and Jess is Jessica Simpson. Of course JT is Justin Timberlake. I recall Jessica saying something about Justin is cute or whatever. I dont know. I will talk to my contact about this and see whats up. If i will report this to you guys, i will still have to see.
One last thing i found that totally sucks is that her voicemail was hacked. Whoever did it, used somethign call CALLER ID SPOOFING. That is where you can call to a gateway and then dial whatever number you want with whatever caller id number you want. So i can call your cell phone from my phone and put in the number like it was your mom or smething and you would believe your mom is calling because that is what is going to show up on your phone. If you are wondering if i can do this, yes i can. I can call your phone and make it think it was someone you dont like or perhaps like. Anyways, the problem here. T-Mobile and Sprint do not make you put in your password to access your voicemail. It assumes you are calling from your handset and puts your right though your voicemail. The actual recording of her voicemail is floating around the internet which i got my hands on, however do to my own convictions about my friends friend. I will not have it here avalible to download.
As i am listening to her voicemail, of course the mailbox is full. But what i noticed, a lot of effin retards calling and leaving messages thinking it is funny, but what is even more hilarious is that they leave their phone numbers thinking she would call. So they put their numbers on her voicemail which has been hacked, so a few million people have your cell phone number and can fuck with you and most likely hack your shit too. Listening to more mesasge, she is the jet setting girl you know and love, and an A-lister.
Bottomline that hella sucks. The FBI is indeed getting into this matter. They already caught one hacker messing around with T-Mobile servers and found out other people were in it for months at a time without T-Mobile even noticing. Thats sorta scary because i do have "important" numbers from "important" people and i have notes i wouldnt want people knowing i wrote and photos that arent meant for public view. Yall know i pretty much share everything and think about the shit i wouldnt want out there. Totolly sucks.
I still love my Sidekick and soon to be Sidekick II
-A
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February 23, 2005
Mr. Britney Spears breaks his silence.
If you been living under a rock or just not breathing, then you havent heard about Britney Spears second marrage to a dancer. Of all the peopel who could have dated, let alone married, she settled down with a dancer. I lowly dancer. Its been all over the tabloids, news everything. Kevin Federline cheated on Shar Jackson while she was pregnant with his second child. The imfamous honeymoon photos in Fiji. Jokes about Kevin Federline losing his allowance Britney gives him and what not. However in March 2005 Details, Kevin lays everything out on table with Britney putting her 2 cents in.
Starts off with the background on the guy. You know, the usual humble beginnings and up to no good, go to Los Angeles with the clothes on your back and a dream. I do have to say this dude is a accomplished dancer dancing for everyone from Usher to Britney to Justin Timberlake. What i got incommon with this dude is that he wanted to be a young father and i think that would be really tight. He knows he wasnt gonna be with the mother forever but wanted the kids. What i found odd but i guess is cool? that one of his kids is named Kaleb Michael Jackson Federline. I guess since the Char's last name is Jackson.
Now for the surprising thing. Britney comes and gets into the interview after her work out and says one of the most intelligent and true thing ive heard come out of her.
Britney Spears - "Well, I think a lot of Americans want to sit there and know they are being taken care of by the president. They dont want to think about war and death. This is just me thinking here, but i dont think a lot of people want to face the reality of whatws going on in the world. They want to be entertained. Its like a distraction. People want to live a fantasy. You know what I mean? So Kevin and I, or any other celebrities, are a distraction."
I dont want to go off on a tangent and go on the Bad Bush train and stuff, but she is right. People want to THINK the president is taking care of us. But if you check out his actually work to vacation ratio in the first year of his term in office. It like something like 70 percent vacation, but yeah. Thats enough of that. Britney i give you credit, the credit you deserve.
Then it goes on to something i thought was one of those moments that show they are pretty down for each other. Not so much on Kevin's part, but its all good.
Britney:...Babe, am I talking too much?
Kevin: Yeah, go away! [He laughs and hugs her.]
Britney: Is it okay if I stay? I miss you when I'm not with you.
Kevin: I don't care.
Thats some nice stuff there, giving them props but yeah. They are gonna have a clothing line called Pair a Dice. Play on words and for them becayse dice are lucky for them. I wanna see what sort of stuff they will put out. Im stating this right now. Mark my words. I will sport the clothes, so people needa stop biting and shit. Anyways. All and all it was a nice interview, i have new respect for Britney and a found respect for Kevin. It alway annoys me when people are up in peoples shit thinking their shit dont stink, but yeah. What you are goin to do?
"He's all good. A talented guy, you know. Ive got no problems with him...that's all fine" Kevin Federline talking about Justin Timberlake.
-A
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February 2, 2005
Wire: Bush is sticking it up our you know what again..
Electronic Frontier Foundation, who is the prime group who are protecting us against the govenerment stepping all over our digital right in this electronic age is at it again. Heres a little excerpt.
Washington, DC - Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the FBI and other offices of the US Department of Justice, seeking the release of documents that would reveal whether the government has been using the USA PATRIOT Act to spy on Internet users' reading habits without a search warrant.
Do they have to tell us anything? No. Why? Do to the Patriot Act that was passed shorty after September 11th, to "protect" the general people from terrorism. Which can also double as the government to watch our every move on the internet without proable cause or anything. Read more on the Patriot Act and after you are done reading it, tell me if that little thing this country was based upon, the Consitution cough means anything.
Read more about what the EFF and article stating how the DOJ and FBI will not answer a simple question, Can the FBI Monitor Your Web Browsing Without a Warrant?
Thats why i dont put my name below.
-A
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