Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Xbox 360 Slim Not Quite As Safe As Microsoft Claims It To Be
It all began in 2005 when Microsoft revealed the Xbox 360 to the general public. One year later, Xbox 360s were selling like hotcakes. Then, just one fateful day, a Microsoft Xbox 360 owner discovered what gamers dreaded most from the next-gen console: the Red Ring of Death. The Red Ring of Death is the definitive sign of general hardware failure within the console. Soon afterwards, a slew of Xbox 360 owners experienced the very same Red Ring of Death as did the first gamer. Other problems followed. Discs were being scratched severely. The console overheated after an hour or so. The screen froze periodically from overuse. The 360 also did not play scratched movie DVDs. A class-action lawsuit was brought upon Microsoft by a group of college students from California, stating Microsoft rushed the project out the door, cutting corners, and not giving enough time for the testing phases to be completed. The repair warranty was supposed to last only one year. But because of the high failure rate of the console, the warranty was changed to three years. But still, more 360s were failing, and Microsoft needed a solution. They tried the Xbox 360 Elite model, but discontinued it after only a couple of years. So in the recent E3, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 Slim model, which had 250 gigabytes of memory, and claimed to not 'Red Ring' because of design. But as some gamers have found out the hard way, a new form of general hardware failure has become Microsoft's worst nightmare, the 'Red Dot of Death'. This form of general hardware failure is indicated when the power icon, instead of the rings around it, in the middle turns from a bright green to a flashing red, indicating a catastrophic general hardware failure. Microsoft has yet to correct the problem of its consoles failing so regularly, claiming they have the best sales of any console on the planet, when they know the reason why, because after three or somewhat more years, the console fails. And gamers loyal to Microsoft have no choice but to buy a new one. Microsoft may have the best sales of the console war, but yet, it'a erroneous for the reason why.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Hurricane Irene a Threat to NYC
Major Hurricane Irene is now lashing the Bahamas and could threaten our area this weekend, with heavy rains, strong winds and coastal flooding. As of the 8am intermediate advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Irene was centered about 185 miles SE of Nassau in the Bahamas. The maximum sustained winds are 120mph. Which makes a category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It's moving to the NW at 12mph.
Irene will likely strengthen into category 4 hurricane tomorrow. Most of the computer forecast models show Irene turning north, this weekend. Brushing the North Carolina coast, then heading towards our area. By the time it arrives at in our region, it will be weakening over cooler ocean waters. But it could still be a Cat 1 hurricane. The biggest threat for hurricane force winds, will be over LI. But it possible depending on far west it tracks, that we could see hurricane force winds in NYC.
Everyone in NYC and LI area needs to prepare for this storm. Stay tuned to J&M New York for the latest updates, on this potentially dangerous hurricane for our area.
Tribute to TV Star Mr. Fred Rogers
CHILDREN'S SHOW CREATOR/ HOST
Fred Rogers (1928-2003) was interviewed for four-and-a-half hours in Pittsburgh, PA. Rogers described his work as the creator and host ofMister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which began its run in 1968. He described the show’s evolution, which started with Mister Rogers which he produced in Canada for the CBC. He described each aspect of the show including the origin of his trademark sweaters. He described his early years in television working as a floor manager for NBC on such shows as NBC Opera Theatre, The Kate Smith Hour, and The Gabby Hayes Show. He detailed his move into public television in 1953 with his work as the program director for WQED, Pittsburgh. He described his first children’s program The Children’s Corner (1954-61 WQED; 1955-56 NBC), which introduced several puppets later used on Mister Rogers. He talked about the importance of children’s programming and his longevity as a children's show host.
"I'd like to be remembered for being a compassionate human being who happened to be fortunate enough to be born at a time when there was a fabulous thing called television that could allow me to use all the talents that I had been given."
source : Emmytvlegends.org
by Justin Stenzler
Friday, August 19, 2011
Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon was born in Liverpool. Initially, the fact that John Lennon was married and had a child was concealed from the public, in keeping with the conventional wisdom of the era that female teenage fans would not be as enamoured of married male pop stars.
Lennon inspired one of his father's most famous songs, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", whose lyrics describe a picture the boy had drawn, a watercolour painting of his friend Lucy O'Donnell from preschool[5] surrounded by stars. Another composition of his father inspired by him was the lullaby "Good Night", the closing song of the "White Album". In 1967, Julian attended the set of The Beatles' filmMagical Mystery Tour.
When he was five, Lennon's parents divorced, following his father's infidelity with Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" to console him over the divorce; originally called "Hey Jules", McCartney changed the name because he thought "Jude" was an easier name to sing.[6]
Lennon had almost no contact with his father after the divorce, until the early 1970s, at the instigation of his father's then girlfriend May Pang. Julian began to see his father more regularly, who bought him a Gibson Les Paul guitar and a drum machine for Christmas in 1973, and encouraged his interest in music by showing him some chords.[7][8]
He made his musical debut at age 11 on his father's album Walls and Bridges playing drums on "Ya-Ya", later saying, "Dad, had I known you were going to put it on the album, I would've played much better!"[9]
Following his father's murder, Lennon voiced anger and resentment toward him, saying
"I've never really wanted to know the truth about how dad was with me. There was some very negative stuff talked about me ... like when he said I'd come out of a whiskey bottle on a Saturday night. Stuff like that. You think, where's the love in that? Paul and I used to hang about quite a bit ... more than Dad and I did. We had a great friendship going and there seems to be far more pictures of me and Paul playing together at that age than there are pictures of me and my dad."[10]
He was not included in John Lennon's will, and was annoyed that he had to buy mementos of his father at auctions. A settlement was eventually reached wherein Julian was given "a large but undisclosed sum".[11] By 2009 Lennon's feelings toward his father had mellowed. Recalling his renewed relationship with his father in the mid-1970s, he said,
"Dad and I got on a great deal better then. We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot and had a great time in general when he was with May Pang. My memories of that time with Dad and May are very clear — they were the happiest time I can remember with them."[12]
Lennon has been quoted as having a "cordial" relationship with Ono while getting along very well with her son, his half-brother Sean, even spending time together on Sean's tour in 2007.[13]
In commemoration of John Lennon’s 70th Birthday and as a statement for peace, 9 October 2010 saw Julian, alongside his mother Cynthia, unveil the John Lennon Peace Monument in his home town, Liverpool, England.[14]
Julian Lennon has had an inconsistent career as a musical artist. He enjoyed immediate success with his debut 1984 album Valotte. The album was produced by Phil Ramone. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1985, and produced two top ten hits, the title track "Valotte", and "Too Late For Goodbyes". Lennon promoted the album with music videos for the two hits made by movie director Sam Peckinpah and producer Martin Lewis. The song "Valotte" has remained a staple on adult contemporary radio stations since its release. After the release, Paul McCartney sent him a telegram wishing him good luck. Later that year, the two met up backstage at the New York studios of the TV show Friday Night Videos.
His second album, 1986's The Secret Value of Daydreaming was panned by critics, but reached number 32 on the Billboard Magazine's album chart, and produced the single "Stick Around", which was his first #1 single on the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart. He recorded the song "Because", which was made famous by The Dave Clark Five, in the UK for Clark's 1986 musical, Time (the single is out of print). Lennon never reached the same level of success in the U.S. post-Valotte, but he hit number five in Australia with the 1989 single "Now You're In Heaven", which also gave him his second #1 hit on the Album Rock Tracks chart in the USA.
In 1991, George Harrison played on Lennon's album Help Yourself but was not directly credited. A song off the album, "Saltwater", reached number six in the UK and topped the Australian singles charts for four weeks. Also during this time he contributed a cover of the Rolling Stones' "Ruby Tuesday" to the soundtrack of the television series The Wonder Years. After 1991, Lennon left the music business for several years. He followed his interests in cooking, sailing, and sculpting during his leave from the music industry.
After he began his performing career there was occasionally unfounded media speculation that Julian would undertake performances with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. However, in the Beatles Anthology series in 1996, the three surviving Beatles confirmed that there was never an idea of having Julian sit in for his father as part of a Beatles reunion, with McCartney saying "why would we want to subject him to all of this?"
In May 1998, Lennon released the album Photograph Smile to little commercial success. In 2002, he recorded a version of the Beatles' classic "When I'm Sixty-Four", a song from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, for an Allstate Insurance commercial.
In 2006 he ventured into Internet businesses, including MyStore.com with Todd Meagher and Bebo founder Michael Birch[15].
In 2009 Lennon created a new partnership with Todd Meagher and Micheal Birch called theRevolution, LLC. Through this company, Lennon released a tribute song and EP, "Lucy" honoring the memory of Lucy Vodden the little girl inspired the song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with 50% of the proceeds going to fund Lupus research.[16][17][18]
Julian Lennon will be releasing a new album called Everything Changes on September 26, 2011.
| Birth name | John Charles Julian Lennon |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Jules, Jude |
| Born | 8 April 1963 Liverpool, England |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupations | Musician, singer, songwriter, writer, producer, photographer, actor |
| Instruments | Guitar, vocals, bass guitar,piano, drums, harmonica |
| Years active | 1984–present |
| Labels | Atlantic, Music From Another Room, Charisma, Virgin |
source : wikipedia.org
by Justin Stenzler
Sean Lennon
Early life and education
Sean Lennon was born in New York City on October 9, 1975, his father's 35th birthday. With his parents being John Lennon and Yoko Ono, he is of Japanese, Irish, andEnglish descent. Julian Lennon is his half-brother and Kyoko Chan Cox is his half-sister. After Sean's birth, John became a house husband, doting on his young son until hismurder in 1980. Sean attended kindergarten in Tokyo,[1] and was also educated at the exclusive private boarding school Institut Le Rosey in Rolle, Switzerland, and earlier at New York's private Ethical Culture Fieldston School and Dalton School. He later attended Columbia University, though only for three semesters before dropping out to focus on his music career.
His parents did not force him into the life of a musician: they intentionally hid their musical lives from their son.[2] His debut into the music world came at the age of five, reciting a story on his mother's 1981 album Season of Glass. From childhood into his teen years Sean continued to collaborate with his mother, contributing vocals and receiving production credit on her solo albums It's Alright (I See Rainbows), Starpeace and Onobox. At 16 Sean co-wrote the song "All I Ever Wanted" with Lenny Kravitz for his 1991 album Mama Said. By 1995 Sean had formed the band IMA (with Sam Koppelman and Timo Ellis) to play alongside his mother on her album Rising. Sean also made appearances in film, featured in the cast of Michael Jackson's 1988 Moonwalker and portraying a teenager experiencing visions of various M. C. Escher paintings in Sony's 1990 promotional short-film Infinite Escher.
[edit]Cibo Matto and Into The Sun
In 1996 Miho Hatori and Yuka Honda of Cibo Matto were invited by Ono to remix the song "Talking to the Universe" for a Rising remix EP Rising Mixes. They met Sean and invited him to join them on tour as a bass player. This eventually led to Sean contributing to their side-project Butter 08 and to his becoming a member of the group. He continued to play with them on tour, joining them on television and providing bass guitar and vocals on their EP, Super Relax. Through his association with Cibo Matto, Lennon was approached by Adam Yauch (of the Beastie Boys), who expressed an interest in his music and persuaded him to sign a record contract with Grand Royal Records. Regarding Grand Royal, Lennon has said:
- I think I found the only label on the planet who doesn't care who my parents are and what my name is. It's a good feeling to know that I wouldn't have gotten the offer if they wouldn't have liked my songs. That's pretty rare in the music business!
Lennon's solo début Into the Sun, was released in 1998. A music video for "Home", a single from the album, was directed by Spike Jonze and enjoyed extended airplay on MTV. The album was produced by fellow Cibo Matto member Yuka Honda, who Lennon claimed was his inspiration for the album. They struck up a personal relationship as well as a creative one.
He would go on to tour (often backed by Cibo Matto) supporting Into the Sun. During this period he appeared on radio programs such as The Howard Stern Show and KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. He later recalled promoting the album as a bitter experience due to the media focus on his family rather than his own music. In 1999, Sean's EP Half Horse, Half Musician was released featuring new tracks such as "Heart & Lung" and "Happiness" as well as remixes of songs from Into The Sun. Along with Half Horse Half Musician 1999 saw the release of Cibo Matto's second album Stereo Type A. Sean stepped out of his traditional role as the group's bass player, this time playing a much wider range of instruments (such as drums, guitars and synthesizers). Despite being well received Stereo Type A was the final Cibo Matto album and the group disbanded.
In 2000 Lennon contributed vocals to Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Handsome Boy Modeling School and Jurassic 5. In 2001 on national television, Sean performed Beatles classics "This Boy", "Across the Universe" and "Julia" alongside Robert Schwartzman, Rufus Wainwright and Moby for Come Together: A Night for John Lennon's Words and Music. In the following years Sean faded out of the spotlight. However he collaborated with various bands and artists as a session musician and producer.
[edit]Return and Friendly Fire
After the demise of Grand Royal Records in 2001, Sean signed with Capitol Records (whose parent company EMI has released the vast majority of his father's musical output, group and solo), yet no solo material surfaced until February 2006, when "Dead Meat" was released as the first single from his new album, Friendly Fire. A promotional trailer for the CD/DVDpackage of Friendly Fire was leaked online in early 2006. The trailer featured scenes from the film version of the album, a DVD of music videos comprised into a film. The videos were actually screen tests for Coin Locker Babies, another project on which Lennon is working which became a cinematic counterpart to his new album.[3]
Friendly Fire was released in October 2006. The theme of the album is love and betrayal, and it is dedicated to the memory of a close friend who died. The night the album was released, Lennon made his first major television appearance in five years, performing "Dead Meat" live on the Late Show with David Letterman. Lennon has since appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and The Sharon Osbourne Show. When questioned about the eight-year gap between solo albums in interviews Lennon expressed that he did not feel like a solo artist during those years and that he wanted to experience music anonymously without the spotlight on him.
Since the release of Friendly Fire, Lennon has toured extensively around the world and while in France remixed his song "Parachute" in collaboration with French artist -M-. The remix is entitled "L'éclipse"[4] and was featured as a bonus track on the French release of Friendly Fire.
While reestablishing himself as a solo artist, Lennon continued his work as a session musician and producer, lending his talent to the likes of Dopo Yume, Albert Hammond, Jr. (of The Strokes) and model/singer Irina Lazareanu.[5] In October 2007 Sean joined Mark Ronson in the BBC Electric Proms where he sang "Sail on, Sailor", as well as "We Can Work It Out" alongside Daniel Merriweather, and Tawiah.
Along with girlfriend Charlotte Kemp Muhl, Lennon started a record label, Chimera Music, and stepped into the world of film scores in 2009 with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead, directed by long time friend and school mate Jordan Galland[6] In the same year, Lennon produced a second album on Chimera for his mother, "Between My Head and the Sky," by Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band.
With the release of new material and subsequent touring Sean launched a website featuring music, videos and a forum for his fans. Various members of the forum have created a fan-made cover album entitled Truth Mask Replica.
[edit]The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
Kemp Muhl and Lennon premiered the band The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger[7] during a live performance at Radio City on Valentines Day, 2008. The duo, commonly referred to as 'The GOASTT', host their music on MySpace and perform under the aliases of Amatla and Zargifon. The GOASTT released their debut single, "Jardin Du Luxembourg", on July 6, 2010, and their debut album, "Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (Acoustic Sessions)," on October 26, 2010, both on Chimera, their own label. In conjunction with the debut, they performed six songs during an hour-long interview on WNYC[8] and four songs for a Tiny Desk Concert on NPR.[9]
| Birth name | Sean Taro Ono Lennon |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1975
New York City |
| Genres | Rock and roll, experimental rock, folk rock, alternative rock,indie rock |
| Occupations | Musician, singer-songwriter, writer, producer, film scorer, actor |
| Instruments | Guitar, bass, piano, drums |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Labels | Grand Royal Records, Capitol, Chimera Music |
| Associated acts | Cibo Matto, Dopo Yume, The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger,Mark Ronson, Rufus Wainwright, The Plastic Ono Band |
source : wikipedia.org
by Justin Stenzler
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