Matt Mays & El Torpedo
Terminal Romance
September 30th 2008
Sonic Records

What is going on in Nova Scotia? To borrow a phrase from a dear friend, “What the fuck’s in that water?” Perhaps we as children of the 70’s and 80’s have some strange Freudian obsession that lingers late into adulthood. We want to destroy our proverbial fathers and godfathers, not to dispose of everything that they stand for, but to take their place in the hard fought legacy of rock and roll. This is the difference between acts that sound in style like their forbearers and those that so completely embody those that have come before them that they simply aren't recognizable as part of our time. When a band of this caliber is discovered your affinity for them is involuntary. Innovators like John Cougar and Rick Springfield drew on trend heavy subcultures to create the most perfect pop radio rock songs. Matt Mays & El Torpedo are so stylistically imbued with this same project that it is difficult to claim mere mimicry. The band recorded in England with Chris Tsangarides, a producer who has had experience channeling pop rock in its greatest days. Having produced for Thin Lizzy, Tsangarides is sure to have been shuttled back by their performance.

Terminal Romance is kids living in the city, looking at the lights, riding downtown with nothing but adventure in their hearts and perhaps a touch of coke in their nose. It is big guitars and youthful melodies that together sing celebratory anthems to the night. It is ¾ sleeves and cut off jeans. I mean com’on, this guy owns a fucking DeLorean! Or at least he drives one in the video for Tall Trees, easily one of the album’s best cuts. Digital Eyes and the record’s title track cement Matt May & El Torpedo as visionary time travelers—faster than 85mph and we are back to the future. This ain’t no costume party—this ain’t no remake.

Like any pop-rock anthem of any era, the lyrics, while invocative, aren’t exactly fine art. The words aren’t completely vacuous in that Sarah Palin sort of way, but it’s fair to say the songs rely more on their pop appeal and accessibility than deep rooted meaning. It is incredibly difficult to write a song about loving someone until the end of time without coming off as a complete tool bag. Terminal Romance figures out that it isn’t always the words that matter— it’s the alcohol content. Matt Mays & El Torpedo have put together an entirely entertaining record worth every moment that we are shuttled into our former selves. They give us the ability to see the modern city through a different lens, one that frames it as a playground for the rebel, for the lover, and for those unsatisfied by the quiet streets, dim lights, and slow nights of small towns.

-FF

7/9

http://www.mattmays.com
http://www.myspace.com/mattmayseltorpedo

Other Music
Matt Mays- 2002
Matt Mays & El Torpedo- 2005
When the Angels Make Contact- 2006

Tour
Oct. 1 Middle East Upstairs Cambridge, MA
Oct. 2 Jammin Java Vienna, VA
Oct. 3 Piano's Bar New York, NY
Oct. 7 M Room Philadelphia, PA
Oct. 9 Club Cafe Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 10 Beat Kitchen Chicago, IL
Oct. 11 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN
Oct. 15 Garrick Centre Winnipeg, MB
Oct. 16 Odeon Events Centre Saskatoon, SK
Oct. 17 Dog House Rocks Medicine Hat, AB
Oct. 18 Edmonton Events Centre Edmonton, AB
Oct. 21 B.J.'s Grande Prairie, AB
Oct. 22 Blue Grotto Kamloops, BC
Oct. 23 Queens Hotel Nanaimo, BC
Oct. 24 Sugar Nightclub Victoria, BC
Oct. 25 Commodore Ballroom Vancouver, BC
Oct. 28 Red Deer Memorial Centre Red Deer, AB
Oct. 29 Flames Central Calgary, AB
Oct. 30 Pump Roadhouse Regina, SK
Nov. 1 The Outpost Thunder Bay, ON
Nov. 4 Barrymore's Music Hall Ottawa, ON
Nov. 5 Barrymore's Music Hall Ottawa, ON
Nov. 6 Phoenix Concert Theatre Toronto, ON
Nov. 8 The Casbah Hamilton, ON
Nov. 11 Element Night Club Kitchener, ON
Nov. 12 The Ale House Kingston, ON
Nov. 13 Cowboy's Ranch London, ON
Nov. 14 Les Saints Montreal, QC
Nov. 15 Chez Dagobert Quebec City, QC
Nov. 28 Cunard Centre Halifax, NS
Nov. 29 UNB SUB Fredericton, NB

NanoMarkets believes that over the next few years plastic electronics -- using conductive polymers or organic molecules on a plastic substrate -- will enable entirely new types of products that would not be economically viable using any other technology. Such products will include:

• Roll-up displays for mobile communications

• Flexible solar panels for buildings, cell phones and portable medical equipment

• Intelligent packaging and RFIDs

• Sensor arrays that can be "printed" on buildings

• Low-cost non-volatile computer memories and optical interconnects

This report begins with a thorough analysis of plastic electronics technology. We discuss in detail what the intrinsic advantages of plastic electronics are, what the current limitations are and how they will be resolved. We also take a look at what materials are and will be used for plastic electronics and how plastic electronics is being boosted by other developments in nanoelectronics. We then continue with a discussion of emerging manufacturing approaches for plastic electronics. The dream of plastic electronics advocates is that it will enable circuitry to be printed in much the same way that books and newspapers are printed, radically lowering manufacturing costs compared to CMOS. But of the many different ways now being considered for making plastic electronic devices, which look most likely to succeed?

This NanoMarkets Report:

• Provides eight-year forecasts for plastic logic technology in seven different product categories (processors/logic, memory, interconnects, thermal
management, sensors, displays, and solar panels)

• For each product category,it breaks out the kinds of applications in which they will be used -- everything from telecom infrastructure equipment to iPod-type
devices

• Examines how the plastic electronics industry is evolving.

• Answers questions such as: Which major electronics and materials fi rms are investing in this area? What  are the leading start-ups? Which OEMs are leading
the pack in actually using plastic electronics in their products? How are new production methods lowering barriers to entry in this business?

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It's raining hard that time and I don't even have my umbrella. Too bad, fever waves its hand to me again. Ish

Tomorrow will be my math 21 exam.  Good luck to me~!

The build up to our first date started early our senior year at uni. It began with his casual, non-chalant visits to my door because he "happened to be walking by." Then he woo'd me with his sweet and personal emails, letters, and CD compilations of music he thought I'd like, complete with his own artistic CD labels and cases. For not really knowing me that well, he did a good job in the music selection department. His kind gestures were cute and got my attention. Soon something clicked for the both of us and we each decided we could be good for each other... why not give it a go.

Paul asked me out and I said yes. Off to the Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills we went. Over a Chinese chicken salad for myself and the Thai peanut noodles for Paul, we talked, laughed and tried to hide our nerves. He was the perfect gentleman picking me up with flowers in hand, opening all the doors and of course, he paid the bill. He was sweet, we had a great time and as the saying goes, the rest is history. Whenever I think about that day in 1999, I still get all warm and fuzzy inside. I guess we've still got it after all those years.

By the way, doesn't 1999 seem so long ago? Like a whole other century! God, we're getting old.

Get Free Chocolate for One Year -or- Free Potatoes Forever?

Well, let's see here...

Everyone loves chocolate. It's kind of impossible not to like it. And getting it for free for one whole year sounds like a sweet (no pun intended :-) ) deal. I mean, you don't even have to subscribe to a lousy magazine or nothin'! But, there's a possibility that it could be just the same kind of chocolate every single time, and you might get a little sick of it after a while. For this question, however, I think it means that you wouldn't get sick of it, it represents a good thing for a short time.

I, like many others, love potatoes. There's so many things you can do with them! You can bake 'em, you can mash 'em, and when you get bored you can stick little straws or raw spaghetti in them and make a little porcupine. That's what I did when I was a kid. :-D . So I would be happy to receive potatoes forever. I believe this choice is supposed to represent a normal thing ensured forever as apposed to a delicacy for a short time.

I think it's obvious. If you're really serious in making this decision, many would pick the potatoes over the chocolate. This way, no matter what, you still have potatoes to eat. Or make porcupines out of. :-D

This has included interrogation by the FSB security service, defamatory state television coverage, a warning for home worship and a fine for preaching in public. The congregations concerned all belong to the Baptist Council of Churches, whose communities do not register with state authorities.

In one example, two FSB security service officers in Kurgan Region separately questioned two Yurgamysh church members for four hours about internal church matters. Regional state TV later broadcast a program on the church called "Criminal News". This made unsubstantiated allegations, such as that children from the church are "retarded, downtrodden, dress differently from other [school] pupils and often have to repeat the year," and that church members live off illegal business.

The region's parliament is to consider proposals "to protect citizens from religious sects" on 30 September. Proposals include compulsory notification of the existence of an unregistered religious group and compulsory registration for communities with ten or more members.

Report from the Christian Telegraph

The text is provided by the Knights of Columbus.

* * *

Celebrating 125 years of Faith in Action: Witnessing to the 'Yes' of Jesus Christ

Address of His Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, S.D.B.
Secretary of State of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
August 8, 2007 
Knights of Columbus 125th Supreme Convention

First of all, allow me once again to express my sincere gratitude to Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson and fellow Knights for the invitation to visit Nashville for this historic 125th Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus. I am honored by the opportunity to address all of you this evening on a topic as dear to me as it is to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI: "Faith in Action: Witnessing to the 'Yes' of Jesus Christ."

This evening, I will reflect on the importance of this "Yes" for the Church's lay faithful. I will indicate some of the primary characteristics of the lay vocation within the Church and in society at large, and I will point to a few particular challenges facing the laity today.

Both in his work as a theologian and now in his ministry as the successor of Peter, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has repeatedly drawn attention to the distinctive and irreplaceable role of the laity in the renewal of the Church's mission in the modern world. At 78 years of age, Pope Benedict said "Yes" to his brother cardinals, to the Church, and to the Holy Spirit when he was asked to accept the Petrine ministry after the long and remarkable reign of the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II. The Holy Father's willingness to assume pastoral duties as Chief Shepherd of the universal Church bore witness to the fundamental attitude required of every Christian -- Pope, Bishop, priest, consecrated, or lay person; it is the disposition exemplified in our Lady's humble but sure response to the Lord's heavenly messenger in Nazareth: "Fiat!" -- "Yes!"

The "Yes!" of Faith in Jesus Christ

But what exactly is the essence of this "Yes"? More specifically, how is one to live it out as a member of the laity?

In regard to the first question, this "Yes" is quite simply the "Yes" of faith. It is our full, unmitigated acceptance of Jesus as Lord and our commitment to follow him as master and teacher. Indeed, the word "Yes" only makes sense within the context of a dialog between two persons: someone who utters the "Yes" and someone who accepts it. In the case of faith, the person to whom we utter this "Yes" is none other than the Son of God, the Anointed One, the Eternal Word made flesh. Pope Benedict has emphasized the critical need for each of us to encounter Jesus; more importantly, he has shown and continues to show -- both in his words and through his life -- that true fulfilment, joy, and lasting peace can only be found by saying "Yes" to God's plan of salvation as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Only in intimate communication with the incarnate Son of God do we discover the grace to "put our faith into action."

Your founder Father Michael McGivney was prophetic -- indeed, well ahead of his time -- in that he clearly understood that this complete and total "Yes" to Christ was in no way exclusive to those who received holy orders or had taken religious vows. On the contrary, it is a "Yes" required of every man and every woman.

As a young curate at Saint Mary's Church in New Haven, Father McGivney became keenly aware of the laity's need to be actively and fully engaged in the life of the Church by exercising virtue, cultivating prayer, and caring for others. He had a deep appreciation for the special characteristics of the lay vocation as being thoroughly immersed in the spheres of the family, civil society, and public life. He made it his goal to develop practical ways of ensuring that faith could be put into concrete action: especially by providing for the material needs of orphans, widows, the imprisoned, alcoholics, the unemployed, and the destitute.

However, it is sometimes easy to forget that Father McGivney's conviction was based on an even more fundamental insight: namely, that our concern for the needy and our perseverance in charitable works will eventually become attenuated and deprived of their deeper meaning if they are not rooted in faith -- faith understood as the indwelling of Holy Trinity in our hearts through divine grace as we renew our "Yes" each day to the person of Jesus Christ.

Faith and Love

This is precisely the message Pope Benedict XVI conveys through his Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est. When asked why he devoted his first Encyclical to the theme of love, he replied that he wished to manifest the humanity of the faith. Only by living the life of faith -- that is, only by deeply immersing ourselves in the love and mercy of God as revealed in Jesus Christ -- are we able to love and forgive our neighbor as ourselves. When it comes to living this faith in the midst of an increasingly complex and contradictory world, no one knows more about the obstacles and challenges that can so easily discourage us than the Church's laity. Whether in family life, in the workplace, or in the public square, lay persons are continually tempted to compromise their "Yes" to God by diluting Gospel values and by placing limits or conditions on love of neighbor.

The Holy Father underlined the unique challenges posed by the contemporary world to the lay vocation during his Pastoral Visit to Brazil. Noting that America is a "continent of baptized Christians," he asserted that "it is time to overcome the notable absence -- in the political sphere, in the world of the media and in the universities -- of the voices and initiatives of Catholic leaders with strong personalities and generous dedication, who are coherent in their ethical and religious convictions." The Pope insisted strongly that it is necessary for Christians who are active in these social and cultural milieus to strive to safeguard ethical values. Above all, he said, "Where God is absent -- God with the human face of Jesus Christ -- these values fail to show themselves with their full force, nor does a consensus arise concerning them. I do not mean that non-believers cannot live a lofty and exemplary morality; I am only saying that a society in which God is absent will not find the necessary consensus on moral values or the strength to live according to the model of these values, even when they are in conflict with private interests."[1] In short, being a Catholic in the world today takes courage; yet it takes no more courage than it did when Jesus called his first disciples in Galilee.

The role of the lay faithful: Vatican II and Benedict XVI

The Holy Father frames his teaching on the role of the laity within the context of the Second Vatican Council, and interweaves it in an unbroken line with the teaching of Pope John Paul II. The guiding principle is always the same: namely the "universal call to holiness."[2]

"It is quite clear," the Council fathers teach us, "that all Christians in whatever state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity."[3] Insofar as it is a call to holiness, the call to the lay state is no less a "vocation" than that of the priesthood or religious life. It has its own distinctive nature, which is absolutely essential to the healthy, overall functioning of the Body of Christ, the Church.[4] Lumen Gentium explains: "It is the special vocation of the laity to seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God's will."[5]

Clearly, if lay persons are to "carry out" and "develop" temporal matters according to "Christ's way,"[6] they must first know Christ. They must take seriously Saint Paul's exhortation to have "the mind of Christ."[7] This vision of the Church as proposed by Saint Paul and elaborated by the Second Vatican Council demands not only our active engagement with the world, but primarily our active engagement with the person of Jesus. Otherwise, we can easily fall into the trap of confusing the way of Christ with the ways of the world.[8]

Through Christ's passion, death, resurrection and ascension, he has renewed the face of the earth; but -- as is evident in the words he speaks in the Gospel of Saint John -- the "world" still "has not known" Christ, and in fact often "hates" Christ.[9] It is no surprise then that Christians often encounter resistance, opposition, and even persecution in the world. Pope Benedict reminds us that the only possible response for a Christian in the face of rejection is love -- a response made possible for us through the grace of Christ. Because God's very existence is love,[10] love is the very essence of the Christian life.[11] The universal call to holiness is about patiently, deliberately, and "programmatically" sharing this love with the world.[12] It is for this reason that the metaphor of "leaven" -- used by our Lord and adopted at the Second Vatican Council[13] -- so aptly describes the concrete reality of living as a Christian in this world: the work of Christians is often hidden, but nonetheless steady and consistent, causing the entire dough to rise.

"The Church sets out with humility on her journey, between the sorrows of this world and the glory of the Lord. On this journey, we will need to grow in patience." Nevertheless, as the Holy Father noted, "the Catholic Church grows in every century. Today too, the presence of the Crucified and Risen Lord is growing. He still has his wounds, yet it is precisely through his wounds that he renews the world, giving that breath which also renews the Church despite our poverty…In this combination of the humility of the Cross and the joy of the Risen Lord…we can go ahead joyfully, filled with hope."[14]

Enthusiasm and boldness, filled with hope, have always been characteristic of the Knights of Columbus, and this will no doubt remain at the heart of their apostolate in the future.

Cooperation in the Church: A Challenge and an Opportunity

I would like to pause for a moment to reflect on this point. Our integral and persuasive witness to the truth of the Gospel depends heavily on the ability of Bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity to work together for the spread of God's Kingdom by acknowledging the distinctive role of each vocation within the Body of Christ. For the Knights of Columbus, perhaps this is most clearly evident at the parish level. How wonderful it is to behold the pastor, the local council of Knights, and the rest of the parish mutually supporting one another as they each exercise their unique forms of service for the building up of the local community!

During your time together at this 125th Supreme Convention, I would invite you to encourage and inspire one another by sharing experiences and ideas of how to facilitate effective cooperation between yourselves, your Bishops, your pastors, members of the parish staff, and the civic communities in which you live and work. If your local community is suffering from the wounds of division, be they large or small, take the opportunity to deepen your cohesion, since when this is lacking in a parish family or a local Church, the ability to witness to Christ in the larger society is weakened. At such times, prayer and faith are all the more essential to bring about healing and reconciliation. Pope Benedict writes: "the Spirit is…the energy which transforms the heart of the ecclesial community, so that it becomes a witness before the world to the love of the Father, who wishes to make humanity a single family in his Son."[15]

Benedict XVI's Pauline Vision of the Church

On June 28th -- the eve of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul -- Pope Benedict announced the opening of a special Jubilee year commemorating the bimillenary of Saint Paul's birth. Over the next year, the Church will reflect on the life and writings of this great "Apostle to the Gentiles."[16]

In fact, the vivid images Paul uses to describe the Church -- both at the local and universal level -- have always been very dear to His Holiness. He employs them often in more informal discussions with clergy and laity.

For example, in responding to a question addressed to him during an audience with members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, the Holy Father recently said: "The Church, though a body, is the body of Christ and therefore a spiritual body, as Saint Paul teaches. This seems extremely important to me: that people will be able to see the Church not as a super-national organization, not as an administrative body or means for power and domination, not as a social agency -- even though she carries out a social and 'supra-national' mission -- but rather as a spiritual body.[17]

Pope Benedict is not only a man of deep theological wisdom; he also brings to the Petrine ministry extensive pastoral experience. He has no illusions about the serious challenges confronting local ecclesial communities today.

One such challenge is the tendency to focus too narrowly on the administrative, bureaucratic, and financial aspects of parish and diocesan life. Not that these are unimportant -- on the contrary! However, we end up viewing worldly realities through a distorted lens if we fail to see them with the eyes of Christ. We can only be prudent stewards of worldly goods if we freely subject them to the good of eternal life.

Every concrete method and strategy taught and promoted by Father McGivney in the public square was aimed at the good of the human person destined for eternal life. Father McGivney's legacy lives on today in the Knights' continuing effort to keep themselves -- and others -- informed about complex issues regarding human life, justice, freedom, and the common good.

Friendship and Joy: The Key to Understanding Pope Benedict XVI

Finally, I must say a word about two recurring themes in Pope Benedict's teaching which are absolutely essential for the "animation" of "the entire lives of the lay faithful": friendship and joy. These, I believe, are the keys for grasping Pope Benedict's thought on what it means to translate faith into action.

The words "friendship" and "joy" echo continuously throughout his preaching, especially when he addresses himself to young people as they prepare to gather for the 2008 World Youth Day in Sydney. According to Pope Benedict, "friendship" and "joy" have God as their primary reference. The Holy Father never tires of reminding us that God is near, that he is our friend, and that he is constantly speaking to us about the most essential things in life. He accompanies us on our journey through this life, in our joys and sorrows, and -- as a Good Shepherd who cares only for his flock -- he never abandons us.

At the 2005 World Youth Day in Cologne, His Holiness said this to the young people present: "A true revolution can take place only by radically turning to God without reserve; he alone is the measure of all that is just, while at the same time existing as love eternal. And what could possibly save us if not love?"

Love is the source of the Holy Father's inspiration in all that he undertakes, and especially in his commitment to dialogue. He has spoken with countless lay persons, listening attentively to their practical ways of reasoning. He truly follows the agenda he set for himself at the beginning of his pontificate: "My true program for governing the Church is not to carry out my own will or pursue my own ideas, but to place myself together with the entire Church in listening to the Word of the Lord, discerning his will, and allowing myself be led by him, because he alone will guide the Church through this phase of history."[18]

The Holy Father always teaches with clarity and precision, and with a spirit of humility and encouragement. He wants everyone to understand how beautiful and fulfilling it is to be a Christian, to experience a personal, living encounter with a life-changing "event," to meet the One who opens a whole new horizon and gives life a new, decisive direction. It is precisely for this reason that even the commandments are never too burdensome for us if we are abiding with Christ.

In his first public interview after having been elected Pope, the Holy Father summarized his deepest wish, both for young people and for the entire world:

"I want them to understand that it is beautiful to be a Christian! The generally prevailing idea is that Christians have to observe an immense number of commandments, prohibitions, precepts, and other such restrictions, so that Christianity is a heavy and oppressive way of living, and it would therefore be more liberating to live without all these burdens. But I would like to make it clear that to be sustained by this great Love and God's sublime revelation is not a burden, but rather a set of wings -- that it is truly beautiful to be a Christian. It is an experience that gives us room to breathe and move, but most of all, it places us within a community since, as Christians, we are never alone: first of all, there is God, who is always with us; secondly, we are always forming a great community among ourselves: a community of people together on a journey, a community with a project for the future. All of this means that we are empowered to live a life worth living. This is the joy of being a Christian; that it is beautiful and right to believe!"[19]

Indeed, how beautiful it is to believe, for to believe is to say "Yes" to Christ; and to say "Yes" to Christ is to bear witness to our faith in action. My dear Knights of Columbus, may you always remain men firmly committed to this "Yes" -- "Yes" to your families, to your Church, and to your communities -- but most importantly, to Christ who is the "Yes" to all our hopes and desires. God bless you all.

--- --- ---

[1] Papal Address at the Inaugural Session of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean (Sunday, 13 May 2007).

[2] Lumen Gentium, 39.

[3] Lumen Gentium, 40; Cf. Romans 8:28-30.

[4] Cf. Romans 12:4-5

[5] Lumen Gentium, 31.

[6] Ibid.

[7] 1 Cor. 2:16. Cf. Phil. 4:7.

[8] Matthew 7:13-14. Cf. Deut. 30:15-20; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1696.

[9] Cf. John 15:18; 1 John 3:13; Matthew 10:22 and 24:9.

[10] 1 John 4:8.

[11] John 13:34-35; 1 Cor. 13:13.

[12] Cf. Deus Caritas Est, 31.

[13] Luke 13:20-21; Lumen Gentium, 31. Cf. Matthew 13:33; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2832.

[14] Cf. The Holy Father's Address to the Clergy of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso at Auronzo di Cadore (Wednesday 25 July 2007).

[15] Deus Caritas Est, 19.

[16] See Pope Benedict XVI's Homily for the Celebration of First Vespers of the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul given at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls (28 June 2007).

[17] Response to a question addressed to Pope Benedict XVI during an audience with the priests of the Diocese of Rome (22 February 2007).

[18] Homily (24 April 2005).

[19] Interview with E. von Gemmingen, the head of the German section of Vatican Radio (15 August 2005).

Nintendo has announced the new DSi at its Fall presentation in Japan. The device features a dual touchscreen layout almost identical to the DS Lite, though the company is calling it a "third platform," which means it's complementing the existing system, not necessarily replacing it. Looks-wise there's not much different happening, but it's some 12 percent thinner -- partly because it omits the GBA cartridge slot. The displays are slightly larger, at 3.25 inches apiece, and there's an external three megapixel camera as well as a front-facing camera located on the inside hinge. The DSi has an SD slot and internal storage -- we're not sure how much at the moment -- but photos can be taken directly to the Wii Photo Channel on the card. Nintendo's also launching an online "DSi Shop," which will sell content directly over WiFi, including a free browser app and "DS Ware" game -- and the company will offer free wireless connectivity at "Nintendo Zone" hotspots located in Japanese McDonalds. The shop will take the newly-renamed Nintendo Points (formerly Wii Points), 1000 of which will come free with the handheld until March 2010, and content will be priced in 200 / 500 / 800 point brackets. The DSi will come in white or black finishes, and will cost ¥18,900 ($178) when it launches in Japan on November 1st -- the rest of us will have to wait until next year.

Credited to Engadget.com and Nintendo

This time o' year always gets me to thinking
About life and death and how time flies past
Like a vulture late for the carcass

|-------Twelve Inches------|

How much for one rib?

Pimp of the Year

Too Many/ She’s “The One”

So here I sit, early in the morning and can’t sleep. There is simply too many things rushing through my head. I mean why isn’t there? The future is unknown regardless of what you want to happen or even think is going to happen. I have rarely ever really had a plan for my life. I usually lived it by going from place to place and living life like it comes. But as time passes and situations change I realized that I should have a plan for my life. Otherwise it really wouldn’t go anywhere. Too Many times I have let people get to close to my heart too fast. Too Many times I made a wrong choice. Too Many times have I given in to temptation and peer pressure. There are way Too Many “Too many’s” in my life. It stops now… WITH HER… AND RISKING EVERYTHING TO WIN IT ALL. The stakes are like this: Risk losing the closest thing to you, too keep the closest thing to you. It can go either way. I just hope I can walk away without regret.

My teacher tells my class this on a regular basis, “You can not change the past, so why try to live it like its today? Instead, take the opportunites you have today, and build your tomorrow. For tomorrow we’ll call tomorrow today, so LIVE.” I think that explains so much. And even before I ever heard that, that’s exactly how I tried to live. But sometimes I think that if we live TODAY, we might screw up something that will screw up everyday for the rest of your life. In my past I have had girlfriends that have meant a lot to me. Some of them, ended in complete and utter heartbreak. Some of them, ended mutually and we never spoke again. Some of them, ended and we are still friends today. But every relationship I have ever had I put in everything I had. I gave it my all, but somehow it never was good enough. I got cheated on, I got dumped, I got dumped for being TOO GOOD (yeah wtf), I have been chewed out, disrespected and hurt. I grew up wanting to help other people with their problems because I didn’t want anyone to feel like I did. I didn’t want others to hurt. I constantly asked God to change my life. Change it for the better. And I think all those late night sessions of crying and wanting and praying and wishing payed off. I don’t just think so, I KNOW so.

I have said this before but in the midst of me fucking my life over, to nearly the point where it was going to end, to the point where I was getting into so much trouble, to the point where I didn’t think anything would ever change, it did. God saw that where I was not where I should be. He placed a person in my life that would change my life. Forever. And that is something that I can’t even comprehend. How can someone mean so much? How can one person radically change me. Maybe it wasn’t them who was changing me. Maybe it was me subconsciously changing for THEM. Makes sense doesn’t it?

Tara I screwed up. I know I did. I’m announcing it to everyone who could possibly read my page. I wrote another message/letter that was to another person. It was when I was going out with her and I thought that what her and I had was real. But behind the scenes her friends started telling me that she was cheating. I confronted her and she said she wasn’t. Later on in the relationship I found out that what her friends were saying was true. The relationship ended in a horrible manner and we haven’t spoke since. She was one of the couple girls that I have ever said I loved. And when I look at what you and I have compared to what she and I had, I didn’t love her. Not even close. That was a crush compared to what I feel for you. No other girl has made me want to do so much to secure a future. A future for us. I don’t want to spend my life wasting it away. I want to spend it with you. Whether we are spending time watching a movie while cuddled on a couch, whether we are jogging around a lake, whether we are in church, whatever we are doing is worth it. Absolutely worth it. You are worth everything in this world. More than all the women, more than the money, more than my friends, more than my family. You are the only one that means more than any of that. You come second in my life right along side God. You come first to anything in this physical world. I’m dead sorry that you had to doubt me. But don’t, please if there was anytime to trust me it would be right now. You mean far far too much to let go. So let me revise what I had previously written…

Tara, You are The One

So how do you know when you have found the one? What is the one? The one is the one thing in your life that means more than anything else. It could be a prized possession, a physical item, a meaning, a goal. Whatever it may be I encourage you to strive for it, never let it go, never give up on something that means so much. I recently think that I have found “The One.” The one in my life is my girlfriend Tara. She is “the one” for so many reasons. Firstly let me say that she is by far the best girl anyone could ever meet. She is energetic, stunning, funny, calm, hyper, captivating, and caring. If you find someone better than that, well good for you. Tara, you have my entire heart. I give you my everything. You have every last bit of my trust because no one else can keep it. You have my mind because you know everything I don’t tell others. You have my body because I’m not going to give it to someone else. And above all you have my love. I love you more than I do my parents. Like that doesn’t come easy. And this isn’t something I’m doing to say correctly, I’m not trying to deceive you, I’m being honest.

Tara we can talk like there is never going to be a tomorrow. As if we won’t rack up enormous phone bills. I talk to you without hesitation because I trust you. I trust that you aren’t going to just go around saying things I tell you. There is things you know that no one else does. And I’m sure that I know things about you that no one else does. And those things will remain with me forever. And I would hope that you would  too.

I promise that for as long as we live that I’ll do everything I can to protect you, to love you, to encourage you, to be honest with you, to be open, to comfort you, to share my life with you. I’m telling you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Absolutely forever spend my life with you. I want to move closer to you not only because its where I want to go to school. But so I can be closer to you. So we can talk face to face. So I can hold you when your upset. So we can go have fun doing whatever. Because I want the relationship to grow more than it already has. I want it to be better and stronger. I don’t know if you are mad at me, I don’t know if we are cool. We didn’t get to talk as good or as long as we needed to. But please don’t give up on me, because I’m about to come alive. We have grown so close together, that over something so little, it shouldn’t rip us apart. I don’t want us to end badly, I don’t want us to ever end. Everything I ever said was true. And I know you didn’t lie to me. God is continuing to write our love story. And I guarantee that it will be the best, fullest, most romantic, fairytale-like, Love story that anyone has ever seen. I promise.

Forever and Faithfully yours,

Jaymee Parker

August 16, 2008 – Forever

The items included items of ID with Steve Fossett’s name on it, cash and a jumper. The ID included a pilot’s license and a Federal Aviation Administration Identity Card.

The items found on Tuesday the 30^th September 2008 have been handed over to police.

A command centre was soon set up at Mammoth Lakes Airport and aerial searches of the area where the items were found carried out. Aircraft wreckage has been found in the area and the wreckage is now being investigated.

Fossett’s plane took off from a private airfield south of Reno in Nevada on the 3^rd September 2007 and he has not been heard off since. Fossett has been declared dead by authorities.

BELOW: Footage covering the story

BELOW: Footage covering the original story of Fossett’s disappearance

The items included items of ID with Steve Fossett’s name on it, cash and a jumper. The ID included a pilot’s license and a Federal Aviation Administration Identity Card.

The items found on Tuesday the 30^th September 2008 have been handed over to police.

A command centre was soon set up at Mammoth Lakes Airport and aerial searches of the area where the items were found carried out. Aircraft wreckage has been found in the area and the wreckage is now being investigated.

Fossett’s plane took off from a private airfield south of Reno in Nevada on the 3^rd September 2007 and he has not been heard off since. Fossett has been declared dead by authorities.

BELOW: Footage covering the story

BELOW: Footage covering the original story of Fossett’s disappearance

Mervyns sucks..

in case you were wondering

:)

Bill Madden
Child of the Same God
October 14th 2008
Mad Muse

I’ve developed a bit of a complex from listening to Bill Madden’s soon to be released record Child of the Same God 100 times. You see I am a particularly political guy. It is all I really think about other than music and sex, but this album wears all of Bill’s organs on its sleeve. It is a unapologetic populist anti-war diatribe that seeks company in the hallowed halls of history with Neil Young, Eddie Vedder, and Steve Earl; not that he reminds me of any of these folks, other than his explicit use of political tropes. I totally respect that project…I really, really do. For what ever criticisms I may levy now, know that Bill Madden has talent and his protests are on the right side of history. He has the production sensibilities of Linda Perry post 4 Non Blondes. I mean that in the best way. The elements from which each musician draws are nearly identical. The song Shut It Off is a perfect example of this affinity. Madden’s voice is drenched in tremolo effect as if water were spilling from his mouth as he sings. However, for all his pop rock appeal, the rebelistic lyrics reveal a somewhat trite or at best contrived persona that seeks to embody the symbol of activism and revolution rather than simply exist as an instrument of experimentation and provocation.

“Throughout history, we’ve seen his ilk. Intoxicated by the power he wields in his grandiose imperial dream. The end always justifies the means.”

Madden's instrumentation is solid, blending brushed snares, trumpet, and jazzed piano melody. His style shuttles between mock reggae to that nebulous genre that formulated when record execs came to terms with that hot new Seattle rock some called “grunge” in the mid 90’s. You know…Bush and Tonic…idol contestants with the depth of a candy dish. As a matter of taste, no amount of social awareness and melodic platitude will erase the laughter I felt somewhere inside when a friend turned to me as I listened to the record and said, “This music makes me feel like crashing a car into my face.” He went on to compliment Madden’s voice by exclaiming, “He sounds like Nancy Kerrigan getting fucked by a goat.” To be honest I would disagree. His voice is pleasant enough or at least has potential. But this visceral reaction to Child of the Same God underscores the disconnect that many will feel. This was not an easy record to review; perhaps because his subject matter is so particular and preachy toward a specific fan base. The music is polished and well produced. It is this combination that exposes the record as essentially a bourgeois exercise in protest.

“The emperor has no clothes. He’s alone in a crowd of peers. The palace has no mirrors.”

-FF

3/9

http://www.billmadden.com

Other Music
Gone- 2006