Every week, Coolest-Gadgets.com holds a "coolest gadget of the week" contest. All you have to do to enter is vote for one of the featured gadgets, and leave a comment on their contest post. In each week's contest, a randomly selected individual wins a $50 Amazon gift certificate. I only found out about it last Friday, so last week was my first entry into the contest drawings. Imagine my surprise when I found out Monday that I had won the contest!
Today Al from Coolest-Gadgets sent me my Amazon certificate, and I debated what I would spend it on. Even though I could have been practical and bought something useful (in my house, we always need diapers, etc), I figured I'd treat myself to a little something special and decided to pick up some Amazon Mp3 albums that I've had my eye on for a while. I'm only halfway through my certificate and have already picked up some awesome albums
- Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- The New Pornographers - Mass Romantic
- Frank Black - Frank Black
- Mike Doughty - Golden Delicious
I think I'm going to have to take a break from the buying before my ears explode from pure aural joy.
Oh, and in case you're interested, this week's contest is on. Go try your hand at winning your own gift certificate!
As promised, here's the answers (in red) to yesterday's trivia questions. Categories highlighted in blue are the ones my team answered correctly.
Oh, and Cranky and Grrrace? Anytime you want to come join us for trivia, feel free. As you can see, we really could have used your help on this one!
Round 1
1. Category: History. The Ancon was the first ship to travel through something, in 1914. What did it travel through? Panama Canal
2. Category: Football. Which NFL team was the first to win the Vince Lombardi trophy five times? The 49ers
3. Category: Hobbies. What hobby do enthusiasts spend more money on than any other hobby? (No sports, so golf, auto racing, etc are not right) Gardening
4. Category: Space. Name the 7th planet from our sun. Uranus
5. Category: Advertising. Name
the full name of the sauce marketed as "The Burger Booster" (generic
answers like "ketchup" are not right, it needs to be like "Heinz
Ketchup" (although that's not the answer)). Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
Round 2
6. Category: Music. Kenny Alphin and John Rich are a duo better known by what name? Big and Rich
7. Category: Technology.
President Jimmy Carter was the first president to have these installed
on the roof of the White House. What did he have installed? solar panels
8. Category: Beatles. Provide Paul McCartney's FULL name. Sir James Paul McCartney
9. Category: Beer.
This beer manufacturer makes "Triple Boch", the world's most potent
beer, coming in at 17% alcohol by volume. Name the manufacturer. Samuel Adams
10. Category: US Geography. Name the U.S. state that is bordered by 8 (eight) other states. For 8 bonus points, name all 8 surrounding states. Tennessee
Halftime Bonus Question
B1. Scooby Doo, Where Are You (the original cartoon) premiered on television in what year?
- A. 1968
- B. 1969
- C. 1970
- D. 1971
Round 3
11. Category: Politics. This organization elects the 15 judges of the World Court. Name the organization. The United Nations
12. Category: Religion. This Pope was named an honorary member of the Harlem Globetrotters in 1990. Name the full name of the pope. Pope John Paul II
13. Category: Celebrity Deaths. Ben Affleck starred as this individual in the movie about his mysterious death, Hollywoodland. For 2 bonus points, name the role that made this mystery actor famous. George Reeves, Superman
14. Category: Male Solo Artists.
This artist has released albums such as "Dare to Be Stupid", "Running
with Scissors", and "Straight out of Lynwood". Name the artist. Weird Al Yankovic
15. Category: Weddings. This actress divorced Tommy Lee of Motley Crue fame to marry the lead guitarist of Bon Jovi. Name the actress. Heather Locklear
Round 4
16. Category: Measurements. What is the more common name for a cubic decimeter? A liter
17. Category: US History. On March 4th, 1789, this replaced the Articles of Confederation. Name the replacement document. The Constitution
18. Category: Television. Name the popular hang-out spot (on the show) for the characters the show Beverly Hills, 90210. The Peach Pit
19. Category: Comedians.
Terry Jones, John Cleese, and Eric Idle are three of the six comedians that originally made up which comedy group? Monty Python's Flying Circus
20. Category: Game Shows. Which game show has a possible 61 answers? Jeopardy
Final Bonus Question
B2.
Which of the following was the first to provide a credit card in 1950?
- A. Sears and Roebuck
- B. Avon
- C. Pan Am
- D. Diners Club
How do you travel to and from work - personal vehicle, bus, subway/train, pedal power? What does it cost you per week in gas or fares?
Submitted by Jan.
I work only 6.5 miles from my apartment. For that reason, I drive my personal vehicle. I'm thinking of buying a bicycle and trying that out, one of these days, but I just haven't gotten around to planning out my route. I take the freeway the whole way there so I have no clue what city streets I could take.
Average : 28 mpg (I think, its difficult for me to figure this out)
Tank size : 14.5 gal
Average miles per tank : 406Work mileage : 13 miles
Trips to work per tank (if I did nothing but drive to work...) : 31
Last cost of fill up : $50Cost of round trip to work : $1.60? ($50/406*13?)
Daughter is in Lapland at the moment, being shown where the people who book a trip to see Father Christmas go. So she will be meeting Father Christmas at some point.
What is she gonna say when he asks her what she had for dinner?
Here is her actual text message:
Oh Father Christmas! I hope it wasn't Rudolph!
my go the mosquitos, U wldnt beleive its like soup! Weathers gd, im gd. Had reindeer pizza 2night haha! Very tired. hope all is well at home, see u sat.
Last night was Thursday Night - so off we went to Kay’s, to get a little stoned and a little drunk.
Then BF bought me home, and I got a little more stoned and a little more drunk.
Then we went to bed, and I got a little more stoned and a little more drunk.
Then, as I am pouring a tot of whiskey, I look at the cap, and snort.
Whassup, Hon?
Well, I just looked at this, and it says A Bullock & Co.
Mmnnnnn.
Well, when I saw the A Bullock, the & Co just threw me. I was expecting an adjective or a verb, not & Co.
Snort - Jarring, that sort of thing.
And that is why I love him. Cos I know some people who would have just looked at me as though I were mad.
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07/18/08 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Album Discography
07/19/08 Goshen, IN Elkhart County 4-H Fair 07/21/08 Council Bluffs, IA Harrah's Casino - Stir Concert Cove 07/26/08 Oakville, CA Robert Mondavi Winery 07/27/08 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore 08/01/08 C Mesa, CA Pacific Amphitheatre 08/02/08 Primm, NV Star of the Desert Arena 08/03/08 San Diego, CA Humphrey's Concerts 08/05/08 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery 08/09/08 Aspen, CO Belly Up Aspen 08/10/08 Colorado Springs, CO Pikes Peak 08/11/08 Beaver Creek, CO Vilar Center 08/14/08 Silverton, OR Oregon Garden 08/15/08 Tacoma, WA Emerald Queen 08/16/08 Richmond, BC River Rock Casino 08/17/08 Coquitlam, BC Red Robinson 08/19/08 Medicine Hat, AB Esplanade 08/20/08 Regina, SK Casino Regina Show 08/22/08 ON Thunder Bay Comm Auditorium 08/23/08 MN Grand Casino Hinckley 08/24/08 Sault Ste Marie,MI Kewadin Casino 08/26/08 Verona, NY Turning Stone Casino 08/27/08 Jim Thorpe, PA Penn's Peak 08/29/08 Lincoln, RI Twin River Casino 08/31/08 Bridgeport, CT Klein Memorial Aud 09/05/08 CA Chukchansi Gold Casino 09/06/08 Rancho Cucamonga, CA Lewis Family Playhouse
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I'm probably not qualify to write this article, as I thought I only knew a few popular songs ("Love is a Battlefield" and "Heartbreaker") from Pat Benatar, a pop singer who dominated the American charts in the 80s, but after giving Pat Benatar: Ultimate Collection 2-CD album a listen, I can tell you that I was familiar with a lot of her works!
Her songs, especially the early pop rock hits, reminds me a lot of Patty Smyth in Scandal, both having strong female vocals backed by a tight band, rocking out to music themes such as the heat of the night, children of the street, belonging to something, and promises of love.
There are many good songs on this collection, but I will only be mentioning a few stand-out tracks. "Heartbreaker", her major-hit debut single, originally released in 1979 from her album, In the Heat of the Night.
"Hit Me With Your Best Shot", I've always thought it was an Olivia Newton-John song. Imagine my surprise when I found out that this was a big hit for Benatar!
I was also surprise to hear "I Need a Lover", a John Cougar Mellencamp song! Her take on it emphasized more on her aggressive girl vocals.
"Love is a Battlefield", gives new meaning to synchronized dancing by runaways. I think the cheesy music video to this song, more or less, made the song really popular in the 80s. A little bit of trivia, this original release was on a live album called Live From Earth (1983). Out of this live album are two studio tracks, the battlefield song and "Lipstick Lies".
While the first disc covers most of her singles from her first five studio albums (1979-1983), the second disc covers the rest of her career, but only from her former record label, Chrysalis Records (1984-1993). What's interesting to note is her shift from rocker to a more mellow pop and even jazz, on such classic songs like "We Belong" (this sounds like a Journey song), and the jazzy "True Love" (lots of piano and brass instruments on this one).
It is kind of nice to see Benatar dipping into different genres outside of pop (she even does blues on "Payin' the Cost to Be the Boss"), I suppose it's a sign that she was growing up in those later years. We're talking about thirty year's worth of music, although looking at her discography, there are huge gaps after 1993 that suggests she's in semi-retirement of recording original music? Her last album, Go, came out in 2003, but perhaps with this latest tour and Ultimate Collection that was just released might spark some interest to get her back to the studio?
Ultimate Collection is really meant for casual and new fans, but I think it will also appeal to hardcore fans, as it does a wonderful job compiling Benatar's hits with some misses. The forty songs on two CDs (and official digital tracks), with half of it were top 40 hits. For new fans, this is a great way of getting all these songs for a reasonably low price.
To coincide with the album release (June 24th from Capitol/EMI Records and can be found at all major record stores), Benatar went on tour since May. She's currently just finished up Knoxville, Tennessee, and probably heading to your town. If possible you should see her do live rendition of all her hits.
Links:
www.benatar.com
benatarfanclub.com
myspace.com/officialpatbenatar
The shows are in town so I took Freya along last Sunday while Hamish was having his nap and Lorraine was busy trying to meet her deadline. It was a lot of fun but very expensive. Here's a nice shot I got of Freya coming out of the bouncy place.
- 21:19 Children and grown ups laughed at me during dinner because I got teary eyed during a conversation about Harry Potter. #
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07/18/08 Ed Fest -w- Collective Soul Edmonton, Alberta
07/24/08 Les Saints -w- Missy Higgins Montreal, Quebec 08/05/08 Sudbury Arena -w- Avril Lavigne Sudbury, Ontario 08/06/08 Molson Amphitheatre -w- Avril Lavigne Toronto, Ontario 08/16/08 V-Fest UK Staffordshire, UK 08/17/08 V-Fest UK Chelmsford, UK 09/06/08 V-Fest @ Toronto Island Toronto, Ontario |
You wouldn't think The Midway State (MySpace) would be as good as they are...at least, not if you let some of the information provided on the one-sheet for their upcoming debut album, Holes, influence you. First of all, they were signed to Interscope Records, those wonderful industry giants who have brought you the likes of Soulja Boy and Queens of the Stone Age, by label president Jimmy Iovine himself. Strike one. They worked with "Stevo" from SUM 41 on the video for their second single. Strike two. Finally, they recorded their album with "multi-platinum producer" Gavin Brown, best known for his work with...Three Days Grace?! Strike three--get the hell outta the....
But wait. Have you actually listened to their stuff yet?
When you do, you'll find yourself kicking yourself in the ass for letting assumptions get the better of you. The Midway State are a great band, and if Holes is any indication, they've got quite a career ahead of them and, quite frankly, I'm glad they're signed to a label as big as Interscope, because they deserve to be widely heard. The world of mainstream pop/rock is in desperate need of an infusion of good, solid music that is both palatable to a wide range of listeners but is still creative and full of heart. The Midway State bring a refreshing shower of good ol' rock-n'-roll rich in melodies and sensitive lyrics to the desert of pop radio, but still evince enough "indie cred" in their music to attract the SXSW crowd.
In 2001, while still in highschool in Collingwood, Ontario, pianist/frontman Nathan Ferraro and longtime friend and drummer Daenan Bramberger teamed up with bassist Adam Beamish and guitarist Ryan Horning to form Midway State. After an inaugural tour that drew some well-earned attention, the four fellas moved to Toronto in hopes of Making It Big. After being noticed by producer Gavin Brown, the band replaced Beamish and Horning "after much debate" (read that however you like) with bassist Mike Kirsh and guitarist Michael Wise. The group then set out refining their sound, touring, and producing two EPs, 2006's Eponymous and 2007's Met a Man on Top of the Hill, the latter of which featured their first single, the incredibly radio-friendly "Change For You." Considering their history, it's very tempting to think of the band as just another "made for radio" Future One-Hit Wonder. But Holes, the band's first full-length album (which also features "Change For You"), is a legitimately good album that proves the praise the band's EPs have earned is more than warranted.
Vocalist and pianist Ferraro freely admits that he loves Coldplay and Snow Patrol (as well as Peter Gabriel, Cat Stevens, and even Carole King), and Holes captures the piano-driven sound of Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head without sounding derivative. In fact, though the Coldplay influence is obvious, The Midway State's sound is clearly inspired by the dramatic songwriting of the aforementioned Cat Steves and Carole King, and as such has a prominent '70s pop-rock feel to it--a sound familiar to fans of bands like Rooney and the Pernice Brothers. Each song is primarily built around lead melodies courtesy of Ferraro's expert piano riffs and Wise's catchy guitar lines, but regardless of the slick basslines and rockin' beats, Ferraro's gorgeous baritone voice and tender, personable lyrics are the main attractions, especially in songs like album-opener "Never Again" and the positively-beautiful "Nobody Understands." For some strange reason, I've heard The Midway State called emo...and though their songs are indeed built around melodies and lyrics that carry a lot of emotion (which gives them that magic authenticity that ensures listeners will relate to them on a personal level and therefore take them into their hearts), there is none of the overwrought hysteria and whiny melodrama that defines "emo" evident in even the album's most heavy-hearted numbers, "Nobody Understands"--which quite literally explains every relationship I've ever been in--and "Can't Stop Waking Up To You." Instead of crocodile tears and teenage poetry, Ferraro's lyrics capture the same artful truth of Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes," which is something that everyone from lovelorn teenagers to twice-married adults can identify with.
In fact, after listening to this album, I've become a fan of Gavin Brown's production despite his association with Three Days Grace. This is a perfectly-produced album. Unlike Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head, the piano leads do not sound weak and badly-EQed, but have the same robust sound you'd expect to hear live. The drums mesh seamlessly with the basslines, and the guitars are pristine. Best of all, Ferraro's vocals are always crystal-clear in the mix without dominating the music.
All-in-all, this is simply a great album that has songs to match every mood. I highly recommend it.
Oh, and here's a little interesting fact about the band: Nathan Ferraro, like me, is synaesthetic--that is, he hears colors and sees sounds. Says Ferraro, "Every song that really resonates with me comes coupled with a distinct colour palette. When I listen to any song on Holes I see a different shade. 'Nobody Understands' is dark rose red, 'Never Again' is a saturated royal blue. At least, I think so...the irony is I'm also red-green color blind, so who knows really!" Well, sir, you're absolutely right: "Nobody Understands" is indeed a lush, velvety red (shot through with tones of deep blue generated by the introductory synth-pad melody) and "Never Again" is definitely a deep blue, though my brain sees the lead guitar riff as a scintillant rusty orange. Needless to say, this is a great album for synaesthetes: the color/sound texture varies widely from song to song, which adds an extra dimension of pleasure for those of us with crosswired brains!
The Midway State are currently touring Canada, but will also be playing two dates in the United Kingdom this August. Check 'em out!
Editor's Note: Holes is on limited release July 22nd, a full official release in September. -Vu 7/17/08 10:06 PM
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